Better Shop Furniture

Not all furniture is fine art, but it should still be built well and with purpose, regardless of its intended use.

We recently finished up a work table for RE Speed, our neighbor here at the shop. A specialty builder of rotary engines, storage and workflow were a problem in their shop. If you’re of a certain vintage, you’ll remember that rotary engines were popularized in this country by Mazda in the 1970s and later with their Rx7 and Rx8 models. While no longer in production, these cars have a loyal following for both street cars and racers as they’re just exceedingly fun to drive. So if you happen to have a rotary engine car in need of some love, check out RE Speed.

Quality Craftsmanship Colorado

But back to the furniture story. Since moving into the space, one area was used for both deconstruction and reconstruction of the engines. This was inefficient at best. The old engines were dirty, and needed to be disassembled with care, so that each part could be assessed. After thorough cleaning, and with whatever new parts were needed, the new engine, which is like a 5 layered sandwich, had to be assembled in the same space as the dirty parts. Not ideal for a shop priding itself on meticulous, quality work.

After a few brainstorming sessions we decided to move things around and create a completely separate assembly space. This will greatly improve workflow, which will greatly improve the fun factor for the shop.

We used an 8 foot long stainless steel table top. This was reinforced underneath with high quality baltic birch plywood. Rather than using standard legs, we hung the top from the wall on a ledger, with triangular reinforcing brackets. The brackets are up off the floor by a few inches.

Listening is Why We Matter | Details Matter

Rounding over the edges of the supports is a custom touch that makes the structure more comfortable. The height of the table is placed exactly where it’s needed for the individuals who will be using it. We’ll be adding appropriate lighting soon, as the rebuilding work is very detailed. Again, the benefits of a custom job. Details matter.

While not our ordinary type of work, this was still a fun and challenging job. It wasn’t just about building a thing, but listening to the needs of the shop, collaborating on ideas, discussing work flow and function and bringing everything together into a package that makes their shop work better.

That’s what it’s about - details, listening and being better.