April 10, 2024 By Carol Britton Meyer
Hingham woodworker Sandy Weymouth is opening a new woodshop in neighboring Weymouth where other experienced woodworkers can rent shop space and access a large array of machinery in a spirit of collaboration and creativity, while also saving costs. Sandy is also the owner of Sawtimber Woodworks.
The 6,000-square-foot “South Shore Woodworks” features shared office space, machine and finishing rooms, and a workbench area, hardwood floors, plenty of natural light, high ceilings, and an interesting history.
“I was looking for a bigger space and eventually found one in Weymouth, but it was too big for just me,” Sandy told the Hingham Anchor. “I had for awhile had the idea of sharing a shop with other woodworkers — as an extra set of hands on a particular project and to expand our knowledge base — all under one roof.”
‘I instantly fell in love with the space’
The previous business was a third-generation company that manufactured conveyor belts for the tobacco industry, and two of the huge machines — relics of the past — remain because they were too big to move, adding interest to the surroundings. “I instantly fell in love with the space,” he said.
Each woodworker will have his or her own private space to set up a workbench and store their tools and full use of the 20 woodworking machines Sandy acquired over five years, from as far away as Maine and Long Island.
These include jointers, planers, table saws, sanders, lathes, and shapers. There are more than one of the most commonly used machines, so multiple people can work on projects at the same time.
“I’m a big fan of older American-made machines,” he explained. “Some were built in the 1940s and ’50s and still work great. All except for one I bought used. I looked on craigslist and at auctions [to find just the right ones].”
Woodworkers need to use a number of different machines to make furniture and other items, and not everyone can afford to buy their own or don’t have enough space to store them, according to Sandy.
While there are a couple of remaining woodshops like this in the Boston area, there aren’t any on the South Shore that Sandy is aware of, “so I thought there would be a demand for one. Historically there were a lot of these shared businesses, but they had to move out of the buildings in which they were located when they were converted to condos or other uses.”
As background, after 14 years in the environmental engineering field, Sandy started thinking about a career change when he became interested in woodworking.
“I really started paying more attention to furniture when my wife, Jenny, and I began buying pieces for our apartment in Boston at the time,” he said. “After looking at the price tags, I thought, ‘I think I could make these myself,’ since I had always liked making things.”
Taking his interest to the next level, Sandy went on to enroll in a three-month intensive furniture course at North Bennet Street School in Boston — continuing on to completion of NBSS’s two-year furniture and cabinet making program in 2018 — starting his career in woodworking from there.
Functional furniture with clean lines
His focus is on custom-made, functional Scandinavian-style furniture with clean lines, from coffee tables and dining room tables to cabinets and chairs.
“My goal is to make furniture that will last for generations — that can be passed onto the buyer’s grandkids,” Sandy said. “The engineering side of me loves to design furniture.”
Because South Shore Woodworks will feature a number of different woodworkers with different talents once it’s fully up and running, customers will have a wide variety of styles to choose from when they have a particular piece of furniture or project in mind. “The idea is for this to be a destination for people who are looking for [quality] furniture,” he explained.
It’s often faster “to order furniture from a local woodworker than a big company with a long lead time, while truly buying local,” Sandy noted. “Customers can stop by the shop to see how their furniture is being made.”
Quality is also a big draw. “Most of the furniture will be made from hardwood — white oak, walnut, maple, or cherry — featuring solid joinery that will last for years,” he said. “That’s the difference.”
There is currently one other woodworker besides Sandy, with several more expected to join in the coming months. The website will soon be live.
South Shore Woodworks is located at 122 East Street in Weymouth. For more information, call (339) 201-7561 or email sswoodworksshop@gmail.com.
For further details, visit https://www.southshorewoodworks.com/ and https://www.hinghamanchor.com/qa-with-hingham-woodworker-sandy-weymouth/.