It started off modestly. A few posts here, a few jokes there, some news, some videos, and slowly it grew.
From a walk to a run to a gallop, then as competing pressures came to bear it has dropped back to a quieter place. But still, we got there.
Stu’s Shed is officially 10 years old today.
Some Stats
Because I like stats.
Total views: 3,207,017
Total unique visitors: 691,972
Total posts: 3042
And as I like to quote, those views do not count other platforms, so the rough estimate would be around 5 million views of the content.
Videos: Well, I’ve completely lost track of this number, having changed hosting platforms and a bunch of other issues for tracking. There are over 200 videos, and people have heard me say “G’day, welcome to Stu’s Shed” over a million times. One video on YouTube alone has been seen 256,296 times.
Humble Beginnings
Using the Wayback Machine, I found a very early post to see what the site looked like back then. Even I had forgotten! Not sure if I recognise the person in the heading either any more!
Back then I was still running woodworking courses on the weekend at Holmesglen Tafe, and going to the Triton Woodworkers Club that I had previously been the President of. The website I built for them is long gone now, but the Wayback Machine still has snapshots on file.
Anyone remember back that far?
Stu’s Shed went through a number of changes over the years, refinements rather than drastic changes.
The Physical Shed
The shed itself has also undergone constant change over the years too. It started out as a 3m x 3m, that I crammed in a Triton Workcentre, router table, and a lathe. Don’t even have a photo from inside back that far.
The next iteration was the addition of a 6×3 shed, which was a massive improvement.
That lasted a while until a gusty day saw half of it deposited over the neighbour’s fence
It was repaired and lasted a few more years, until finally an expansion was again required.
This photo is during the build, and the shed grew to become an 8m x 4m. Again, the luxury of so much space. At the time! It took a few more years, but I outgrew that one too.
It was then that we decided to move house, so a brand new shed was on the cards. It took 12 months of operating in the garage of the new house, but finally version 4 of Stu’s Shed was built.
Inside, it keeps going through changes, but that is still how it looks in general. The door fell off the other day (hinges gave up), and the floor inside is thick with sawdust, but it is still working. I still haven’t finished unpacking from the last move!
I don’t even remember when the inside of the shed looked this clean, and lacking clutter! Sigh.
So I guess that it is for this retrospective. 10 years of blogging on Stu’s Shed.
Where to from here, I have no idea. But if you hang around and check in occasionally, no doubt you’ll get to hear and see when I do know! In the meantime, I’ll still post when I can, and when there is something to discuss. Things sure have changed in the blogosphere over the last 10 years too. There were only 3 of us running woodworking blogs back then. Now there are 1000s. And in my small way, I might have played a part in that too.
Thanks for the last 10 years of sharing this adventure. And let’s see what there is to come next!
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Stu's Shed 
G’Day Stu, you’ve come a long way in those 10 years. Well done mate. Happy 10th birthday.
Congratulations on 10 years of informative blogging. There maybe 1000s of bloggers out there on woodworking but it is very much a case of sorting the wheat from the chaff, and we know good wheat when we see it.
On iterations of workshops, I found that interesting because I moved just over two years ago and arrived at a new build property with no garage, workshop or shed. I lie, the developer left what he called a 6′ by 8′ shed that obviously was thrown together and sold through one of the big box outfits.
That has been renovated and is now used for garden tool storage. My main workshop is 16′ by 12′ and in 21 months I have reorganised the layout four times and see the fifth approaching fast as I change out machines.
So how long before you move it all around?
Stu … well done Mate. We all appreciate and understand how life dictates what we can do and when. I am sure you have a huge contingent of followers just like me, who are so very much like you. Still we sit here passively, feeling connected through your great web site and watch you share you experiences in the shed so generously. It is fantastic how you put yourself out there for our benefit and I for one am grateful for your generosity. Perhaps in the next 10 years we can all help you with some content and get more involved. In the meantime, I for look forward to your next tip or adventure with wood.
Well done Stu, ten years is a long time to keep a blog going. There are many ghost blogs that just sit there after a few posts. I have enjoyed many of your posts and even met you at a woodworking show.keep up the good work. A blog is like a public diary and you and all of us can look back at what you have achieved. Not forgetting what is to come .
Yes Berniesr, I have one of those ghost blogs!
Thanks Stu for sharing all the pics of your shed progression over the years. I’ve been through a similar journey with sheds, started in a 3mx3m. Only now I’m moving back to my last one 6×4.5m, a bit smaller than the one I’m renting now so I think it’s time to expand the old one again.
I also have a small 3x3m behind for my Triton timber racks which I need to put back in after I’ve installed insulation on the walls and roof. I’m thinking of cutting a door through to join them both. Just trying to figure out if the loss of wall space in both sheds will be worth it. Means I won’t have to walk around in the rain to get timber into the workshop.
Thanks Stu for sharing posts over the past 10 years, keep it up.
I remember when your site looked like that, I remember thinking you worked for Triton at the time and I remember reading about the Triton dust bucket mod. That might be one of the first times I read your blog. I turned mine into a Cyclone and am still using it to this day for dust extraction.
Love the Wayback machine. Your first site doesn’t look too bad at all, I remember it looking like that. My site was much more simple at that stage, I started it in 2004 and was using Godaddy’s onsite builder back then. I don’t think anyone had even heard of WordPress, it was still in its infancy. If only I’d hung in there a bit longer before starting I could have learned WordPress a long time a go instead of trying to play catch up today.
Thanks for all your time you have donated to woodworkers over the years and congratulations – 10 years! No wonder I’m getting grey hairs these days.
From humble beginning to something that’s still going strong. Congratulations on your ten years
Merry Christmas to Stu`s shed
Yep, Merry Christmas to Stu! Where is he? Have followed the shed daily for years but no posting for months…
Is this the end of Stu’s Shed??? no post since April 2017???
Love this blog! My husband and I have bookmarked it for future reference. That transformation was great. We just started woodworking together and we will be visiting this blog again. Here is a book we found helpful too https://bit.ly/2MPC3Nn