Earlywood: Why the %$#@ is Your Shop so Clean?

Publisher’s note: It’s Saturday morning, and by now, you shouldn’t be surprised by some Earlywood. Every Saturday, we publish a free excerpt from one of the thousands of pieces I’ve written since 1996. Sometimes it’s from a magazine article. Or a book. Or (in this case) a blog entry. This one is from February 2018. Each entry has been updated or annotated with some modern context or point of view. We hope you enjoy it.

When I post photos of my work, a frequent comment is about how my shop is clean. “Sterile,” some might say. “Unrealistic,” others have said. But a few people like it that way, I guess.

The implication is that I don’t do any real work. Or that I stage photos like a magazine art director – arranging the few shavings and dust on the floor with artistry.

A real shop is supposed to be chaotic and messy. A beehive of activity with projects, parts, clamps and tools everywhere. Messy people are the people who do real work.

I’ve worked in messy shops, and I’ve worked in tidy shops. …