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Senor Rix Fix-it Pix
I really have a much nicer shop than I ever had in the
states. Smaller, but really complete, and laid out in such a way that it's
easy to keep organized. Here are some pictures...
 The wood here in Belize is all "clear"
(as in clear pine.). Hardwood costs $1 a foot; mahogany
(which is actually soft) is about $1.50. (In the States, mahogany runs $4-12.)
Raul Dominguez supplies my wood, and cuts it to my specifications. Planing is
a shilling (12.5 cents) a pass (so why own a planer?). Since
the wood is so fine and heavy here, you can build using half the wood you
would use in the States. For instance, the bench legs are 2x4 rather than 4x4,
and the top is 1x8 rather than 2x8. The bench still weighs almost 200 pounds!
Pegboard, a luxury, is made in Brazil and almost $25 a sheet.
To the right, the shelves I just built to hold
my fixit work and materials.
In the States, I would have used 1x12s for sides. Here, I used 1x4s in the back,
and 1x2s in the front. The shelves are 46" long -- they would sag in the
States, but do just fine here.
The Ibenez guitar is hanging on burglar bars which are
installed inside of the building, and become a handy place to hang things!
This room, next to the shop, is where we store everything
mechanical, shop-vac, wheelbarrow, mower, and parts, parts, parts.
The bag at the bottom of the picture is food for our vicious
guard dog "Sadie."
Below, views of the front and back walls. My compressor
(one of the few in town that works) is handy for blowing the dust out of everything!
Notice the first-aid kit on the wall, and the ubiquitous burglar bars. The guitar
on the right is a 1970 Guild top-of-the-line flat-top, which has (sorta) survived
a boat sinking. It is my long-term research project. On
the back wall, my parts bench, which is really overloaded with parts, as you can
see. It really isn't as crooked as it looks -- that's just Belizean
perspective!! Electronics include a Heathkit Oscilloscope, a Variac (thanks to Jim
North), signal generator, function generator, VOM & DVM.
New:
(March 2005) This all went away when Charlotte and I got divorced.
Click here to see my new shop, at 15 Eighth Avenue.
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