Shack To Makerspace

I used to have a radio-shack in the house, with component drawers on the walls, a filing cabinet to keep tools, parts, hardware etc.

I built things and operated radios.

Then in around 2013 I renovated the old garden shed and moved my shack out there. It was a pleasant few years having a space to do as I pleased, with just enough space to have a radio-bench and a work-bench.

Gradually the shed succumbed to the ravages of the Shetland weather and I decided it wasn't really worth continuing using it. And at the same time I gave up playing radio at all.

I had a few brief periods of in-the-house radio operation last year, but never really got deeply involved.

Now, in 2026 I'm getting interested in radio again - in operating and in building. So I started setting up a shack. One rig was brought out of retirement. Then another.

I put shelves over the operating desk to hold some test gear etc. but I still had no real building/tinkering facilities. My component drawers, junk boxes, books and test gear were still in the shed.

Today I put a filing cabinet in the new shack. Moved books, test gear, some old projects and work in progress into the shack and then moved my wall-mounted component drawers from the shed to the new shack. I can now sit and tinker with circuits on my tiny operating desk. I can build projects. I can experiment. All from the relative comfort of my tiny shack.

I'm still finding places for everything, so it's a bit of a mess, but here's how it looks at the moment.