My Minimalistic Workbench

Handmade Wood Toy Trains Designed by Norm Marshall

 For several years this was my workbench—some rickety sawhorses with some 2x4 across the top. I made a lot of toys and a few pieces of furniture using this bench.  

I had all my tools in a shed butted up against the edge of a concrete patio. When the weather cooperated, I would drag my tools out onto the patio and work in the hot Florida sun while watching the sky closely for convection storms building up off the coast. I sometimes waited too long and had to make a nad dash to get everything put away before the rains started.

I made and sold enough toys to buy a jointer, built a huge combination bunk bed and desk out in the hot Florida sun that sometimes hovered around 100F. I had to be careful about what I touched; some of the metal parts would get hot enough to burn my hand.

My power was an extension cord run in through a window. Fortunately, the house was wired for 20 amps to all the outlets. I never ran more than one tool at a time, so this wasn't a problem.

My dust collection was the wind.

Etsy Shop Banner

Norm Marshall Wooden Toy Pull Trains On My Patio Workbench

 

 

 

 

 

 

 





 

 

 

 

 

 

 In the mid-80s, I was stationed at Tyndall AFB. My workshop was on the patio at the back of our home. I would drag my Shopsmith out onto the patio and run a power cord out the window. My workbench was some rickety sawhorses with a few 2x4s laid across them. For an assembly table, I sometimes used the trampoline we had for the kids. It was not the best work table, but it was huge, and if it rained, I didn't need to put it away. 

As the crow flies, we lived less than a mile from the Gulf of Mexico. Even during a drought, convection storms were coming in off the gulf. The rain was a constant threat, so I tried not to get too much stuff outside. I usually got plenty of warning, so I seldom got wet. The sun was another issue. Let a cast iron table sit long in the Florida sun and touch it with your bare hand, and you will be sorry. The Shopsmith aluminum tables didn't get that hot.

I made a lot of little projects in this makeshift shop and a few large ones. The pull trains in the banner were one of the projects. My daughters each got one; the rest were given as gifts. I needed a banner when I set up the Odin's Toy Factory Etsy store. It had to be wooden toy-related and fit well in the banner space. I dragged out every photo I could find of toys I had, hoping I would find something that would work. When I saw the trains, I knew that was it. Today, I still use this in my Etsy and Goimagine shops.