I went out to the shop today to finally integrate my miter saw into the UTS. Unfortunately, I found the sections not to be level. This is a big problem, an I'm glad I found it out now. Without a leveled surface, I can't hope to make a good kitchen table.
Now...it could just be the boxes on top are messed up. If so, it's an easy fix. If not, then the whole thing is a loss.
Combine this with wanting to redo the router table, and I have a problem. I may want to constantly redo things because they aren't perfect. That could get expensive.
A frustrating day, combined with the 1/2" ply I wanted to use for the drill press table being horribly warped, and nothing got done.
What to do?
11 December 2010
10 December 2010
Thinking out loud
As it's my blog, I think I'll allow it.
I'm thinking about doing a French cleat system along one of the walls, and I need to do some calculations here.
The mating sections are 5" wide, combined. My wall is approximately 12' long, and 7' wide. I should probably start the top row 3" from the top.
Using those calculations, one full row of cleats would use approximately 15.5"
(accounting for a 1/8" kerf), and about six rows from a full sheet of plywood.
The truth is, I will get much more than that because I don't need to mate the whole wall. One sheet of plywood should be plenty for all the wall cleats and for what I want to hang. For what I want to hang, I'll need a sheet of 1/2" ply. Since I haven't fully formulated what I need hung, I don't know how much I'll need.
While I'm there, I may go ahead and pick up another sheet of 3/4" in case I want to redo my router cabinet.
I'm thinking about doing a French cleat system along one of the walls, and I need to do some calculations here.
The mating sections are 5" wide, combined. My wall is approximately 12' long, and 7' wide. I should probably start the top row 3" from the top.
Using those calculations, one full row of cleats would use approximately 15.5"
(accounting for a 1/8" kerf), and about six rows from a full sheet of plywood.
The truth is, I will get much more than that because I don't need to mate the whole wall. One sheet of plywood should be plenty for all the wall cleats and for what I want to hang. For what I want to hang, I'll need a sheet of 1/2" ply. Since I haven't fully formulated what I need hung, I don't know how much I'll need.
While I'm there, I may go ahead and pick up another sheet of 3/4" in case I want to redo my router cabinet.
Long time no type
It’s been awhile, hasn’t it?
September, October, November, and now the first week plus of December with no updates to speak of, and for that I can only offer excuses. So I won’t bother.
There haven’t been any major changes to the shop that I can speak of. Mostly little things here and there, small additions that have made working more enjoyable and minor redesigns in respect to work flow. All of the Christmas presents I discussed in August got done nearly two months ahead of schedule. I can’t say they turned out quite like I wanted them to, or that they are fantastic presents by themselves, but I hope those who receive them will appreciate the planning, learning, and eventual execution. This wouldn’t have happened a year ago, I tell you that.
I only have shop projects going right now. I’m still trying to figure out what to do with my router table, if I should keep plugging away or start over because I’m not satisfied with the fit and finish of it. I can say that I finally got around to installing a miter slot in the top. It doesn’t match the ‘Rockler blue’ of the other accessories, but at this point I’m not sure I care about that. Should do very well in implementing a table feather board, a miter gauge or a sled, if I do say so myself. I also played around with making a back to the router compartment with a dust collection port, but like I said – I’m still debating if I want to completely redo the cabinet.
I’ve started on a rather ingenious drill press table that incorporates a fence, dust collection and removable zero clearance inserts for drilling and sanding. However, I didn’t truly appreciate the size of this thing, and I’m not sure what I’m going to do with it once done. It’s large enough that I will need to shorten my drill press cabinet, or store this thing when I’m not using it. My Kreg jig, which is mounted at the front center of the cart, may also need to find a new home. I’ll be doing some thinking on this over Christmas. I also will need another couple feet of T-track to complete the project, but otherwise it’s all about finishing construction and thinking my use of the final product.
I have done some general shop reorganization, in the continual process of making this an efficient workspace. The remaining $20 bench and the Ultimate Tool Stand (the Swiss Army Table, still in progress) swapped sides, and the drill press also moved to the left side of the shop. The metal black shelving unit I had holding my miter saw stand, various cutoffs and tools has been relegated to the house, probably never to return. I simply needed the extra space. Almost everything not related to tools or woodworking has also been removed, with the exception of the mower, trimmer, ladder, and a couple other small things.
Something I did on the advice of some forum friends was to relocate my ladder off the wall and up on the ceiling, as it were. Now it sits directly over the entrance with three store-bought hooks. I was then able to use part of this newfound wall space to hang my extension cords. On bottom is the 12ga, 50ft cord I use for all the tools and I bought a 16ga 100ft cord and matching reel to power lights or my vacuum. Before this purchase, I was unable to run the table saw and vacuum at the same time. But now, I can (and did!) cut something indoors for the first time. It wasn’t the best experience, but I proved to myself it could be done in the event of inclimate weather.
One of my bigger purchases was a spur of the moment thing, a fantastic sale on something I knew I would need in the near to medium future – a cabinet bit set. I’m hoping to give this a try soon, as I have tasked myself to replace a cabinet door for my parents. I should now have all the tools needed to get this accomplished, especially with the new miter gauge in the router table, some additional feather boards, and a 4” engineer square to help me get the fence just right.
Other purchases I can think of include a digital planer gauge for the Ryobi that has already paid for itself with completion of the Christmas gifts. I picked up a 1000w lighting kit at a great sale price, and got with it a free drop light. I’m not sure I’ll have a use for the drop light in the shop, but it might come in handy for doing any driveway auto repairs. I bought some gluing accessories to help me get a better joint, some adjustable aluminum bar clamps from Harbor Freight and some safety equipment.
The next big project I have is to revamp the interior of the shop further. I’d really like to replace all the walls with OSB, and run some wire in the expectation that I will eventually have permanent power. I’d also like to pull down the ceiling panels and evaluate if I’m going to go with a strict replacement, or perhaps leave it open. I’d also like to find the right floor covering that things will still roll, but will alleviate fatigue.
With rearrangement and consolidation, I’ve now made room for two things I thought I would never have – a full floor band saw and a dust collector. The band saw will come first, as it is going to play a major part in my next non-shop project – a table and chairs. Right now I have a bid in on a Ridgid BS1400, and I hope I win it. If I don’t, I might run into some issues going forward.
I’ve made the space for a full size dust collector, but for right now I’ll be continuing to use my Shop Vac and separator setup. But instead of continuing to store it under the table, I’ll make a vertical stand to give me a bit better idea of what space will be like whenever I do get that DC. The reason? Without permanent power, it’s simply the best solution.
That’s probably enough for one post. I’ll have more a bit later.
September, October, November, and now the first week plus of December with no updates to speak of, and for that I can only offer excuses. So I won’t bother.
There haven’t been any major changes to the shop that I can speak of. Mostly little things here and there, small additions that have made working more enjoyable and minor redesigns in respect to work flow. All of the Christmas presents I discussed in August got done nearly two months ahead of schedule. I can’t say they turned out quite like I wanted them to, or that they are fantastic presents by themselves, but I hope those who receive them will appreciate the planning, learning, and eventual execution. This wouldn’t have happened a year ago, I tell you that.
I only have shop projects going right now. I’m still trying to figure out what to do with my router table, if I should keep plugging away or start over because I’m not satisfied with the fit and finish of it. I can say that I finally got around to installing a miter slot in the top. It doesn’t match the ‘Rockler blue’ of the other accessories, but at this point I’m not sure I care about that. Should do very well in implementing a table feather board, a miter gauge or a sled, if I do say so myself. I also played around with making a back to the router compartment with a dust collection port, but like I said – I’m still debating if I want to completely redo the cabinet.
I’ve started on a rather ingenious drill press table that incorporates a fence, dust collection and removable zero clearance inserts for drilling and sanding. However, I didn’t truly appreciate the size of this thing, and I’m not sure what I’m going to do with it once done. It’s large enough that I will need to shorten my drill press cabinet, or store this thing when I’m not using it. My Kreg jig, which is mounted at the front center of the cart, may also need to find a new home. I’ll be doing some thinking on this over Christmas. I also will need another couple feet of T-track to complete the project, but otherwise it’s all about finishing construction and thinking my use of the final product.
I have done some general shop reorganization, in the continual process of making this an efficient workspace. The remaining $20 bench and the Ultimate Tool Stand (the Swiss Army Table, still in progress) swapped sides, and the drill press also moved to the left side of the shop. The metal black shelving unit I had holding my miter saw stand, various cutoffs and tools has been relegated to the house, probably never to return. I simply needed the extra space. Almost everything not related to tools or woodworking has also been removed, with the exception of the mower, trimmer, ladder, and a couple other small things.
Something I did on the advice of some forum friends was to relocate my ladder off the wall and up on the ceiling, as it were. Now it sits directly over the entrance with three store-bought hooks. I was then able to use part of this newfound wall space to hang my extension cords. On bottom is the 12ga, 50ft cord I use for all the tools and I bought a 16ga 100ft cord and matching reel to power lights or my vacuum. Before this purchase, I was unable to run the table saw and vacuum at the same time. But now, I can (and did!) cut something indoors for the first time. It wasn’t the best experience, but I proved to myself it could be done in the event of inclimate weather.
One of my bigger purchases was a spur of the moment thing, a fantastic sale on something I knew I would need in the near to medium future – a cabinet bit set. I’m hoping to give this a try soon, as I have tasked myself to replace a cabinet door for my parents. I should now have all the tools needed to get this accomplished, especially with the new miter gauge in the router table, some additional feather boards, and a 4” engineer square to help me get the fence just right.
Other purchases I can think of include a digital planer gauge for the Ryobi that has already paid for itself with completion of the Christmas gifts. I picked up a 1000w lighting kit at a great sale price, and got with it a free drop light. I’m not sure I’ll have a use for the drop light in the shop, but it might come in handy for doing any driveway auto repairs. I bought some gluing accessories to help me get a better joint, some adjustable aluminum bar clamps from Harbor Freight and some safety equipment.
The next big project I have is to revamp the interior of the shop further. I’d really like to replace all the walls with OSB, and run some wire in the expectation that I will eventually have permanent power. I’d also like to pull down the ceiling panels and evaluate if I’m going to go with a strict replacement, or perhaps leave it open. I’d also like to find the right floor covering that things will still roll, but will alleviate fatigue.
With rearrangement and consolidation, I’ve now made room for two things I thought I would never have – a full floor band saw and a dust collector. The band saw will come first, as it is going to play a major part in my next non-shop project – a table and chairs. Right now I have a bid in on a Ridgid BS1400, and I hope I win it. If I don’t, I might run into some issues going forward.
I’ve made the space for a full size dust collector, but for right now I’ll be continuing to use my Shop Vac and separator setup. But instead of continuing to store it under the table, I’ll make a vertical stand to give me a bit better idea of what space will be like whenever I do get that DC. The reason? Without permanent power, it’s simply the best solution.
That’s probably enough for one post. I’ll have more a bit later.
31 August 2010
Swiss Army Table, part five
Even though I had limited time, I think I made the most of it on a fairly comfortable Monday. I got the vertical supports/dividers installed and the two remaining horizontal pieces on – above and below the supports. That carcass got attached to the torsion box with random screws. It’s not perfect, but it’s fine.
Speaking of not perfect, I forgot to take into account the height of the planer into consideration. It barely fits into the space. It fits as is, but there’s going to be no way I will be able to incorporate the base or slides that should have gone underneath it. Those will have to be stored elsewhere and it won’t be as easy to get it up on the stand. Oh well.
Back to the UTS, I raided the planer stand (because I won’t need it anymore) for its casters. They aren’t the heavy duty ones on the router table, but they should do fine. The vertical supports went on without much effort, thanks to going ahead and using the Kreg Jig a few days ago. All I had to do was measure, line it up and clamp down and screw in. Done, in about 30 minutes. Most of that was measuring and making sure everything was square. I was able to wheel it outside, and if I ever get the ground level and have a hard surface, it should come outside just fine. It even cleared the ramp fine. I do notice that it is about an inch too short, so some ply or hardwood spacers between the base and casters should do the trick.
I may try to sneak out tonight and at least set the saw up for the dado cuts I will have to do on the table top boxes, although that may prove difficult. The old router table and old planer table are in the way, as well as the work bench I had to move to put the UTS in its place. Perhaps I’ll prep the area where the table is to go instead.
On a non UTS note, I realized I have a bunch on my plate before the holidays. I figure I have 12 full weekends left before I have to have most of this stuff ready. And since some of the intended recipients read this, I can’t get too specific. All I can say is I need to make 6-8 of one item that I’ve had trouble with, one item I haven’t even found plans I like yet, and another that I haven’t started to look at the wood I want. There’s another project I wanted to have done in about 9 months, but that project might get shelved due to sheer costs.
But, things are coming along. Once the UTS gets completed, I can bust some stuff out fairly quickly. The shop is a mess right now, and the sooner I can get all the dead weight tossed or repurposed, the better. Hopefully by the end of this weekend I can make that happen.
Speaking of not perfect, I forgot to take into account the height of the planer into consideration. It barely fits into the space. It fits as is, but there’s going to be no way I will be able to incorporate the base or slides that should have gone underneath it. Those will have to be stored elsewhere and it won’t be as easy to get it up on the stand. Oh well.
Back to the UTS, I raided the planer stand (because I won’t need it anymore) for its casters. They aren’t the heavy duty ones on the router table, but they should do fine. The vertical supports went on without much effort, thanks to going ahead and using the Kreg Jig a few days ago. All I had to do was measure, line it up and clamp down and screw in. Done, in about 30 minutes. Most of that was measuring and making sure everything was square. I was able to wheel it outside, and if I ever get the ground level and have a hard surface, it should come outside just fine. It even cleared the ramp fine. I do notice that it is about an inch too short, so some ply or hardwood spacers between the base and casters should do the trick.
I may try to sneak out tonight and at least set the saw up for the dado cuts I will have to do on the table top boxes, although that may prove difficult. The old router table and old planer table are in the way, as well as the work bench I had to move to put the UTS in its place. Perhaps I’ll prep the area where the table is to go instead.
On a non UTS note, I realized I have a bunch on my plate before the holidays. I figure I have 12 full weekends left before I have to have most of this stuff ready. And since some of the intended recipients read this, I can’t get too specific. All I can say is I need to make 6-8 of one item that I’ve had trouble with, one item I haven’t even found plans I like yet, and another that I haven’t started to look at the wood I want. There’s another project I wanted to have done in about 9 months, but that project might get shelved due to sheer costs.
But, things are coming along. Once the UTS gets completed, I can bust some stuff out fairly quickly. The shop is a mess right now, and the sooner I can get all the dead weight tossed or repurposed, the better. Hopefully by the end of this weekend I can make that happen.
29 August 2010
Swiss Army Table, part four
I meant to take pictures today, but we had a little ant incident and had to wrap up quickly. I picked up the extra MDF and screws today and was able to replace the temporary fasteners. Got that done, then cannibalized the casters off of my planer cart. Got those attached, with a piece of ply as reinforcement. The torsion box is done, except for closing up the ends. I have those to put on, plus the vertical dividers/supports which have already been cut and have the pocket holes done. Then I need to get the back put on for structural stability before I start putting equipment on it. I also need to make the remaining two surface boxes. If I can get all that done tomorrow, I'll be doing really well.
Thinking about getting a dust collector and mounting it on the outside of the shed and routing it inside. Was very tempted to pick up the compressor this weekend, but I need to finish this project up first.
Thinking about getting a dust collector and mounting it on the outside of the shed and routing it inside. Was very tempted to pick up the compressor this weekend, but I need to finish this project up first.
24 August 2010
Swiss Army Table, part three
Yesterday brought some nice work on the UTS. I figured out my problem with the torsion box, namely that my dadoes weren’t wide enough. Once I redid all of those, I got to work putting it together. Unfortunately, MDF isn’t that strong and I broke a couple of the cross pieces. No matter, we soldier on. I glued up the pieces and made the best of it. The most important thing is making the structure solid and flat.
Not having a ton of screws left from the previous projects, I used what I had to secure the top and bottom layers of the torsion box. From what I can tell, it appears flat. The two ends are still open because I need to add structure to where the casters will attach, and where the levelers will go, if I feel I need them. Up next will be a trip to the store to get the two pieces of MDF I need to enclose the box and make the vertical pieces, and to get the appropriate screws. Screws will be used copiously.
I did get a chance to finally play with one of my new toys, the Kreg jig. I sprung for the K3 Master System, which is normally $40 more than the K4 unit. The K3MS has a few advantages – the clamp is up front, great for doing large panels. Which, on this project, I certainly will be utilizing. It also comes with a short bit, a face clamp, a portable jig, and a fence stop. I say normally, because I took advantage of either a sale or a pricing error and got the K3MS for $5 cheaper than the K4. At that price, I couldn’t say no. This picture gives a good indication of the clamp:
http://www.geekwood.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/k3vsk4.jpg
If you aren’t familiar with the Kreg Jig, in short it allows you to drill easy and consistent pocket holes for screws. Pocket screws allow very easy joinery, instead of having to use exposed screws through butt joints or more complicated methods like tenons, rabbets or dovetails. With planning, the holes are hidden and the joint is exceptionally strong. In fact, I may default to using this method of joinery unless I’m looking to expand my skill set or the design calls for something a bit more ornate. Pocket screws are the weapon of choice for face frames on cabinets. The screw enters in one piece at an angle, a precise angle that allows the screw to exit in the middle of the edge of the piece and connect with the adjacent piece. This angle is set by the jig, and the proper depth is done that way as well. I had a Kreg jig previously that only allowed for one hole to be done at a time and did not have any automatic settings. A huge PITA and I wondered what anyone saw in this method. No more.
As a temporary measure, I mounted it to the front of my drill press cart, and it actually seems like a good place for it. I’ll have to evaluate its location long-term, but as long as it doesn’t interfere with the drill or the cart, it may just stay there. Or on the side or as a part of my new tool stand. But it’s in a great spot now. I used the Kreg jig to put some holes in the torsion box and I got to make one of the upper stand boxes, most likely the downdraft box. I learned two things – one, that I could really use the right angle clamp. I will have to get that in short order. The reason being is that when the screw digs in to the opposing piece, it tends to walk it off of where you need it. And is why a couple of my pieces aren’t perfectly lined up. The second thing I learned is that it’s pointless to try and attach a 3” piece of MDF on both ends with pocket screws, as while you can attach one side fine, when the top goes on you realize that there’s no way to get your drill in to tighten the joint. Oh well, screws through the joint on the bottom side worked well enough.
I will say that trying to put pocket screws into MDF makes a massive mess. Trying to do anything to MDF makes a massive mess. But with the vacuum hooked up to the port on the jig, mess was minimal. I think this is a great purchase, and having the portable jig included with the Master System will be fantastic for using it other places – the main jig will stay in one place. And since I have a spare drill bit from my previous purchase, I won’t need to take that with me either. I do see a stocking up on the Kreg screws, though. Need to find a cheap supplier. And their Deck Jig looks intriguing as well.
I had to splurge a little bit ($15) and buy a glue kit. Part of why my previous project failed was that I didn’t have adequate glue on the entire surface. This kit will solve that problem. It comes with a bottle, and numerous tops – biscuit, roller, fine tip, brush, dowel tip and covers. As long as I keep it cleaned up with water, it should last me awhile. Not so great reviews on the brush bit, but that seems to be universal with all the brushes I’ve found. Might have to invest in a nice painting brush at some point. And I forgot to clean the fine tip top from yesterday. Crap.
Not having a ton of screws left from the previous projects, I used what I had to secure the top and bottom layers of the torsion box. From what I can tell, it appears flat. The two ends are still open because I need to add structure to where the casters will attach, and where the levelers will go, if I feel I need them. Up next will be a trip to the store to get the two pieces of MDF I need to enclose the box and make the vertical pieces, and to get the appropriate screws. Screws will be used copiously.
I did get a chance to finally play with one of my new toys, the Kreg jig. I sprung for the K3 Master System, which is normally $40 more than the K4 unit. The K3MS has a few advantages – the clamp is up front, great for doing large panels. Which, on this project, I certainly will be utilizing. It also comes with a short bit, a face clamp, a portable jig, and a fence stop. I say normally, because I took advantage of either a sale or a pricing error and got the K3MS for $5 cheaper than the K4. At that price, I couldn’t say no. This picture gives a good indication of the clamp:
http://www.geekwood.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/k3vsk4.jpg
If you aren’t familiar with the Kreg Jig, in short it allows you to drill easy and consistent pocket holes for screws. Pocket screws allow very easy joinery, instead of having to use exposed screws through butt joints or more complicated methods like tenons, rabbets or dovetails. With planning, the holes are hidden and the joint is exceptionally strong. In fact, I may default to using this method of joinery unless I’m looking to expand my skill set or the design calls for something a bit more ornate. Pocket screws are the weapon of choice for face frames on cabinets. The screw enters in one piece at an angle, a precise angle that allows the screw to exit in the middle of the edge of the piece and connect with the adjacent piece. This angle is set by the jig, and the proper depth is done that way as well. I had a Kreg jig previously that only allowed for one hole to be done at a time and did not have any automatic settings. A huge PITA and I wondered what anyone saw in this method. No more.
As a temporary measure, I mounted it to the front of my drill press cart, and it actually seems like a good place for it. I’ll have to evaluate its location long-term, but as long as it doesn’t interfere with the drill or the cart, it may just stay there. Or on the side or as a part of my new tool stand. But it’s in a great spot now. I used the Kreg jig to put some holes in the torsion box and I got to make one of the upper stand boxes, most likely the downdraft box. I learned two things – one, that I could really use the right angle clamp. I will have to get that in short order. The reason being is that when the screw digs in to the opposing piece, it tends to walk it off of where you need it. And is why a couple of my pieces aren’t perfectly lined up. The second thing I learned is that it’s pointless to try and attach a 3” piece of MDF on both ends with pocket screws, as while you can attach one side fine, when the top goes on you realize that there’s no way to get your drill in to tighten the joint. Oh well, screws through the joint on the bottom side worked well enough.
I will say that trying to put pocket screws into MDF makes a massive mess. Trying to do anything to MDF makes a massive mess. But with the vacuum hooked up to the port on the jig, mess was minimal. I think this is a great purchase, and having the portable jig included with the Master System will be fantastic for using it other places – the main jig will stay in one place. And since I have a spare drill bit from my previous purchase, I won’t need to take that with me either. I do see a stocking up on the Kreg screws, though. Need to find a cheap supplier. And their Deck Jig looks intriguing as well.
I had to splurge a little bit ($15) and buy a glue kit. Part of why my previous project failed was that I didn’t have adequate glue on the entire surface. This kit will solve that problem. It comes with a bottle, and numerous tops – biscuit, roller, fine tip, brush, dowel tip and covers. As long as I keep it cleaned up with water, it should last me awhile. Not so great reviews on the brush bit, but that seems to be universal with all the brushes I’ve found. Might have to invest in a nice painting brush at some point. And I forgot to clean the fine tip top from yesterday. Crap.
22 August 2010
Swiss Army Table, part two
Today I got a bit of time to get some of the other pieces cut. Aside from the wood I have not bought yet, such as the vertical pieces and the back, all the pieces were cut to the listed dimensions. I also was able to cut the dadoes in the torsion box pieces.
I tried to start putting together the torsion box, but it proved a bit more difficult than anticipated. I tried to hammer the first piece home, but it just broke the piece. Using a clamp worked much better, but it's going to be a slow process for sure. It will probably take several days to get it put together. I will try to get a couple more pieces together tomorrow, but m main focus might be to put the surface boxes together.
I still haven't played with my birthday toys yet, bu hopefully I'll getto at least play with the Kreg jig tomorrow.
I tried to start putting together the torsion box, but it proved a bit more difficult than anticipated. I tried to hammer the first piece home, but it just broke the piece. Using a clamp worked much better, but it's going to be a slow process for sure. It will probably take several days to get it put together. I will try to get a couple more pieces together tomorrow, but m main focus might be to put the surface boxes together.
I still haven't played with my birthday toys yet, bu hopefully I'll getto at least play with the Kreg jig tomorrow.
Swiss Army Table, part one
The new project is pretty simple in scope - make an assembly table that replaces one of my work tables. But due to size restraints, this table has to function as more. I need storage space, and a space where I can make some crossfire with my circular saw.
Enter the Ultimate Tool Stand.
This is a project I've wanted to do for awhile, but have been reluctant. Its a very big unit, at six feet in length. This is half a wall in the shop, so you can see my reluctance. But the features of this project were just too appealing for me to continue waiting on the sidelines.
This six foot behemoth will store my miter saw and my planer. But it wont just store it. It has a removable section on top that these tools will slide into and provide a platform to use them. I will also have a downdraft sanding table, something that should cut down on dust when I have to sand. The original plans also call for a router station, but my router table works fine. Perhaps at some point when I need more space I will use it, but instead I will have a pocket hole station. The table serves as a great assembly and glue up table, something I don't have right now.
The first part of the project involved picking up three sheets of MDF. It turns out that while I thought I could cut out an entire sheet of MDF by not building the router stuff, I'll have to go and pick up another half sheet. Oh well.
MDF is heavy. In fact, it broke my miter saw station turned assembly table. I took a few scraps of plywood and raised the top panel off of the other ones so I could make some crosscuts. I got four of the six box surfaces done, and got the length for all the long pieces done. I would have gotten more done, but I had to fiddle with getting the fence aligned on the saw. About then I ran out of time and had to shut down for the evening. I didn't get started until about 7:30pm.
The plan for today is to get those long pieces cut to size, and get the pieces for the torsion box cut and put together. A torsion box is fantastic for keeping a structure perfectly flat with no twisting. And when you're putting together glued panels, this is mandatory. I also hope to do a bit of housekeeping around the yard so it doesn't look so crappy.
Enter the Ultimate Tool Stand.
This is a project I've wanted to do for awhile, but have been reluctant. Its a very big unit, at six feet in length. This is half a wall in the shop, so you can see my reluctance. But the features of this project were just too appealing for me to continue waiting on the sidelines.
This six foot behemoth will store my miter saw and my planer. But it wont just store it. It has a removable section on top that these tools will slide into and provide a platform to use them. I will also have a downdraft sanding table, something that should cut down on dust when I have to sand. The original plans also call for a router station, but my router table works fine. Perhaps at some point when I need more space I will use it, but instead I will have a pocket hole station. The table serves as a great assembly and glue up table, something I don't have right now.
The first part of the project involved picking up three sheets of MDF. It turns out that while I thought I could cut out an entire sheet of MDF by not building the router stuff, I'll have to go and pick up another half sheet. Oh well.
MDF is heavy. In fact, it broke my miter saw station turned assembly table. I took a few scraps of plywood and raised the top panel off of the other ones so I could make some crosscuts. I got four of the six box surfaces done, and got the length for all the long pieces done. I would have gotten more done, but I had to fiddle with getting the fence aligned on the saw. About then I ran out of time and had to shut down for the evening. I didn't get started until about 7:30pm.
The plan for today is to get those long pieces cut to size, and get the pieces for the torsion box cut and put together. A torsion box is fantastic for keeping a structure perfectly flat with no twisting. And when you're putting together glued panels, this is mandatory. I also hope to do a bit of housekeeping around the yard so it doesn't look so crappy.
17 August 2010
Router table update
Updates are getting a little farther apart, but unfortunately that’s what happens when you don’t feel like sweating your ass off in a shop with no aircon. It’s hot. It’s freaking hot. There’s more humidity in the air than the World Sauna Championships. At least it won’t kill me, which is more than I can say about the WSC.
So, on to any relevant updates. I really don’t know what I’ve left out to this point, because I’ve been really bad about posting pictures and profiling any day’s work. So I’ll tell you about the router table, because I said I would.
Table 2.0 looks like a movie budget that Michael Bay directed under: in pieces. Tattered, ripped to shreds. Pieces used to do other things with. In a word, dismantled. I wasn’t happy with the way I put it together, so I decided in the scope of a shop overhaul, I would make it right.
It’s a bit of Frankenstein’s monster, when it comes to the materials used. I bought no new materials for this project, everything was a leftover piece. Which is why when I get detailed pictures of it posted, you’ll see that it’s a bit of a motley crew – different grades of ¾” ply, including some “23/32” that I’ll never make the mistake of using again. I aspired to make the top be high enough to be used as an outfeed table for the table saw, and be the same height as the new shop tables I’ll eventually build. Instead of making a distinct toe kick, I opted to finally use my new heavy duty double lock shop casters – I’ve had these for weeks, so making a new table wasn’t done on a whim.
I built this table from the start with a better understanding of how to make drawers, and more specifically, how to put them into the cabinet. Instead of using mechanical slides, I used simple stops on the upper drawers/sleds and hardwood through dovetail slides on the bottom two drawers. The drawers themselves are nothing fancy, just boxes made with butt joints and screws, no glue. They are ripe for being redone with pocket screws or half-blind dovetails as my scrap pile progresses for the former, and my skill for the latter.
Just a couple pictures to show, with the drawers. Also a picture of an edge I put on a shelf for my parents. Just a quick run through the new table after doing a little bit of trial and error. Took about ten minutes all told.
Left to do on the table: do the face frame, do a bit of adjustments on the drawer panels (including making the upper and lower ones), a door for the router compartment, sealing up the back and working out a dust collection method. I can’t fit the safety switch until the door is made (going to set it into the door, I think).
The pics are in chronologic order. You can also see a big yellow box in the new drawer, I’ll get to that tomorrow.
So, on to any relevant updates. I really don’t know what I’ve left out to this point, because I’ve been really bad about posting pictures and profiling any day’s work. So I’ll tell you about the router table, because I said I would.
Table 2.0 looks like a movie budget that Michael Bay directed under: in pieces. Tattered, ripped to shreds. Pieces used to do other things with. In a word, dismantled. I wasn’t happy with the way I put it together, so I decided in the scope of a shop overhaul, I would make it right.
It’s a bit of Frankenstein’s monster, when it comes to the materials used. I bought no new materials for this project, everything was a leftover piece. Which is why when I get detailed pictures of it posted, you’ll see that it’s a bit of a motley crew – different grades of ¾” ply, including some “23/32” that I’ll never make the mistake of using again. I aspired to make the top be high enough to be used as an outfeed table for the table saw, and be the same height as the new shop tables I’ll eventually build. Instead of making a distinct toe kick, I opted to finally use my new heavy duty double lock shop casters – I’ve had these for weeks, so making a new table wasn’t done on a whim.
I built this table from the start with a better understanding of how to make drawers, and more specifically, how to put them into the cabinet. Instead of using mechanical slides, I used simple stops on the upper drawers/sleds and hardwood through dovetail slides on the bottom two drawers. The drawers themselves are nothing fancy, just boxes made with butt joints and screws, no glue. They are ripe for being redone with pocket screws or half-blind dovetails as my scrap pile progresses for the former, and my skill for the latter.
Just a couple pictures to show, with the drawers. Also a picture of an edge I put on a shelf for my parents. Just a quick run through the new table after doing a little bit of trial and error. Took about ten minutes all told.
Left to do on the table: do the face frame, do a bit of adjustments on the drawer panels (including making the upper and lower ones), a door for the router compartment, sealing up the back and working out a dust collection method. I can’t fit the safety switch until the door is made (going to set it into the door, I think).
The pics are in chronologic order. You can also see a big yellow box in the new drawer, I’ll get to that tomorrow.
04 August 2010
Time off
It’s been awhile, hasn’t it? Had a lot going on, including the opportunity to pick up some extra hours at work. Unfortunately, Georgia gives you the nice birthday present of paying for your car registration, so the OT hours were nice. But enough of that.
Since I basically finished the planer cart, I’ve been doing some thinking and some planning. I’ve got a pretty good setup as it is now, but it could use some improvement. I live my miter saw station, but it’s very unwieldy. I like my planer cart, but it’s not fantastic. I like my router table, but…actually, I don’t. I didn’t do it properly at all and it’s not worth trying to fix.
So, I’ve figured out what I’d like to call the ‘Grand Plan.’ Or, as close to it as one could call it. The interior walls and ceiling need to be replaced, and in the course of doing so, more electrical boxes need to be added. I figure three will do, and the lighting will be run on a completely separate circuit. I’d like to add an inlet inside the door to receive the extension cord, thereby making anything hooked into the wall immediately accessible. All of this, however, is of no pressing need. Further, the outside of the shop needs to be cleared of debris on the front and side, something that should start progressing slowly beginning at the end of August.
Of more immediate concern is the working space of the shop. There’s not a ton in there now, and usability remains a concern. This is why a long-term plan needs to be in place and I need to stop making items that I’m just going to redo later. I wanted the planer cart, the table saw and the drill press cart to all interact, but that’s problematic. For one, I need to get multiple things to be exactly the same height. And with the planer revolving, it’s not. I also have to make my tables very tall to have the carts fit underneath. While that’s great for the back, it’s probably not practical.
So, the plan is to incorporate a few features of one neat workstation into the plans, and avail myself to its advantages while increasing my floor space. The workstation is called the Ultimate Tool Stand, and can be found here: http://christophermerrill.net/ww/plans/UTS/Tool_Stand_1.html
As for how I’m going to adapt that plan, and what I’ve done to the router table, I guess that will be the next entry.
Since I basically finished the planer cart, I’ve been doing some thinking and some planning. I’ve got a pretty good setup as it is now, but it could use some improvement. I live my miter saw station, but it’s very unwieldy. I like my planer cart, but it’s not fantastic. I like my router table, but…actually, I don’t. I didn’t do it properly at all and it’s not worth trying to fix.
So, I’ve figured out what I’d like to call the ‘Grand Plan.’ Or, as close to it as one could call it. The interior walls and ceiling need to be replaced, and in the course of doing so, more electrical boxes need to be added. I figure three will do, and the lighting will be run on a completely separate circuit. I’d like to add an inlet inside the door to receive the extension cord, thereby making anything hooked into the wall immediately accessible. All of this, however, is of no pressing need. Further, the outside of the shop needs to be cleared of debris on the front and side, something that should start progressing slowly beginning at the end of August.
Of more immediate concern is the working space of the shop. There’s not a ton in there now, and usability remains a concern. This is why a long-term plan needs to be in place and I need to stop making items that I’m just going to redo later. I wanted the planer cart, the table saw and the drill press cart to all interact, but that’s problematic. For one, I need to get multiple things to be exactly the same height. And with the planer revolving, it’s not. I also have to make my tables very tall to have the carts fit underneath. While that’s great for the back, it’s probably not practical.
So, the plan is to incorporate a few features of one neat workstation into the plans, and avail myself to its advantages while increasing my floor space. The workstation is called the Ultimate Tool Stand, and can be found here: http://christophermerrill.net/ww/plans/UTS/Tool_Stand_1.html
As for how I’m going to adapt that plan, and what I’ve done to the router table, I guess that will be the next entry.
20 July 2010
Wow, what a busy weekend for me. I’ll try to run it down from the last time I posted, and hopefully I won’t miss anything. Chronologically may be another issue.
I bought the casters from Harbor Freight and installed them on the bottom of the cart Friday. It may have been Saturday, I can’t remember. I used an additional piece of ¾” ply for two reasons: one, I wanted a bit of additional height. Two, my screws were too long and would have protruded on the bottom. The casters work excellently, and if I put a piece of ¾” ply on top, it makes for a most excellent outfeed table for my saw. I then cut out a space for the drill column, and I can say that while it’s functional, it certainly doesn’t look fantastic. Trying to cut with a jigsaw isn’t the most fabulous or exact process. But, save for making a drawer and some cosmetic things like banding, the drill press cart is functional and complete.
Here’s a pictorial recap of the process. I still am trying to remind myself to take more pictures.
The next bit of my attention was to work on a bit of inspiration I had for the kitchen. Some time back, we added a blackboard and a corkboard to a blank wall in the kitchen for a ‘parent area’: a place where we could hang a calendar, projects the girls did at school, and a place where they could practice drawing and letters/numbers. I did a basic 3’x5’ section of painted blackboard (with magnetic paint underneath), and Corey put together a same size section of double-depth cork tiles over that. Unfortunately, while the cork stuck to each other well, to the wall it didn’t go so well. So, a replacement had been mused upon for some time.
With us finally deciding to paint the kitchen after the roof leak and ant debacle, the time was neigh. After the paint was dry, I went to work on my already acquired materials – MDF prepainted trim. I did a bulky block on the bottom border, and did standard trim on the remaining three sides. All that remains to do is add a ply backer to the top portion and install new cork to that, instead of directly to the wall. I think that will hold this time. Also, I need to add a divider between the two boards to hold some chalk. Befores and ‘afters’:
And of the rest of the kitchen…
Once I got that done, I could turn my attention to the most pressing need in the shop currently: making a home for my new planer. With it, and the stand that was given to me along with it, it was making room in the shop scarce. And because of that very reason, making a simple stand just wasn’t going to cut it. With that in mind, I set out to design a flip-top cart. Most people who have done this have put a tool on both sides of a rotating top, thus making room for one stand become room for two. With my line of thinking though, I needed the finished cart to roll up under a table.
I started out making a simple box, with two sides and a bottom. For the top, though, I made it a little shorter on the width side and went with double thickness. I used the table saw and made a dado to hold the piece of steel rod I picked up from the BORG. I thought I had bought ½”, but it turned out to be 5/8” diameter instead. Not a big deal, and better for me. Once I got the width and depth of the dado correct, I used my angle grinder to reduce the length of the rod to about 2.5” longer than the ply. Once done, I sandwiched the rod between the two top pieces, and that dado I did on both pieces of ply became a box around the rod. I used a stupid amount of screws to secure the pieces to each other, concentrating my efforts along the rod, and the sides where the most force would eventually be exerted.
Once the top was done, I drilled holes in the sides for the rod to be inserted through. I placed the top in these holes, then reinforced the sides with a hardwood to help keep the sides from bowing. I guess, I’m just making shit up at this point. The next step will be to dado the sides and insert a shelf to help with lateral stability, then add casters and see what my height looks like. I want this to be able to interact with both the table saw and the drill press cart. And since it’s fairly hard to lift up right now, perhaps some weight to the opposite side of the top in the form of heavy MDF and also bring the height up. Some pics:
So, in the last week I’ve worked on the drill press cart and the planer cart, the message board center, painted two rooms, helped plant a tree and I guess that’s about it. Not a bad ten days or so.
I bought the casters from Harbor Freight and installed them on the bottom of the cart Friday. It may have been Saturday, I can’t remember. I used an additional piece of ¾” ply for two reasons: one, I wanted a bit of additional height. Two, my screws were too long and would have protruded on the bottom. The casters work excellently, and if I put a piece of ¾” ply on top, it makes for a most excellent outfeed table for my saw. I then cut out a space for the drill column, and I can say that while it’s functional, it certainly doesn’t look fantastic. Trying to cut with a jigsaw isn’t the most fabulous or exact process. But, save for making a drawer and some cosmetic things like banding, the drill press cart is functional and complete.
Here’s a pictorial recap of the process. I still am trying to remind myself to take more pictures.
The next bit of my attention was to work on a bit of inspiration I had for the kitchen. Some time back, we added a blackboard and a corkboard to a blank wall in the kitchen for a ‘parent area’: a place where we could hang a calendar, projects the girls did at school, and a place where they could practice drawing and letters/numbers. I did a basic 3’x5’ section of painted blackboard (with magnetic paint underneath), and Corey put together a same size section of double-depth cork tiles over that. Unfortunately, while the cork stuck to each other well, to the wall it didn’t go so well. So, a replacement had been mused upon for some time.
With us finally deciding to paint the kitchen after the roof leak and ant debacle, the time was neigh. After the paint was dry, I went to work on my already acquired materials – MDF prepainted trim. I did a bulky block on the bottom border, and did standard trim on the remaining three sides. All that remains to do is add a ply backer to the top portion and install new cork to that, instead of directly to the wall. I think that will hold this time. Also, I need to add a divider between the two boards to hold some chalk. Befores and ‘afters’:
And of the rest of the kitchen…
Once I got that done, I could turn my attention to the most pressing need in the shop currently: making a home for my new planer. With it, and the stand that was given to me along with it, it was making room in the shop scarce. And because of that very reason, making a simple stand just wasn’t going to cut it. With that in mind, I set out to design a flip-top cart. Most people who have done this have put a tool on both sides of a rotating top, thus making room for one stand become room for two. With my line of thinking though, I needed the finished cart to roll up under a table.
I started out making a simple box, with two sides and a bottom. For the top, though, I made it a little shorter on the width side and went with double thickness. I used the table saw and made a dado to hold the piece of steel rod I picked up from the BORG. I thought I had bought ½”, but it turned out to be 5/8” diameter instead. Not a big deal, and better for me. Once I got the width and depth of the dado correct, I used my angle grinder to reduce the length of the rod to about 2.5” longer than the ply. Once done, I sandwiched the rod between the two top pieces, and that dado I did on both pieces of ply became a box around the rod. I used a stupid amount of screws to secure the pieces to each other, concentrating my efforts along the rod, and the sides where the most force would eventually be exerted.
Once the top was done, I drilled holes in the sides for the rod to be inserted through. I placed the top in these holes, then reinforced the sides with a hardwood to help keep the sides from bowing. I guess, I’m just making shit up at this point. The next step will be to dado the sides and insert a shelf to help with lateral stability, then add casters and see what my height looks like. I want this to be able to interact with both the table saw and the drill press cart. And since it’s fairly hard to lift up right now, perhaps some weight to the opposite side of the top in the form of heavy MDF and also bring the height up. Some pics:
So, in the last week I’ve worked on the drill press cart and the planer cart, the message board center, painted two rooms, helped plant a tree and I guess that’s about it. Not a bad ten days or so.
15 July 2010
Drill press cart, pt 2
Some people like to break things when they are frustrated. I used to. Now I build. Or build then break it out of frustration. Whatever works.
After a couple of frustrating days, I finally got back into the shop for an hour last night and was able to give my attention to the drill press cart. I had made the basic structure over the weekend, and dry fit it to make sure everything fit. Yesterday’s task was to pre-drill the holes necessary for the screws along the major panels. Seeing as how I’m also planning for this to double as an outfeed table for the planer or table saw, I need it to be nice and secure. The screws and some glue will take care of that. But for now, just screws.
I could have gotten more done by doing the screws with just my cordless drill. But I haven’t had the opportunity to give my new drill press a good workout, so it got the call this time. I love this thing, I’m going to use it so much. Especially to hog out mortises.
It was a pretty straightforward process, but unfortunately you’ll just have to rely on words. I keep forgetting to take in-progress pics. Perhaps I’ll get better as I get the shop a little more squared away. It’s very tight in there right now. I started out my drilling from the insides of the panels out; doing it this way ensures I have the screws centered on the dado, and thus the perpendicular panel. Being ply, it would be disastrous to have a screw be too close to an edge and crack the ply. Once all the screw holes were done from the back, I changed to a countersink bit, flipped the pieces over and drilled out for the screw heads. Nothing very special about that process.
I then fit the back panel to the sides, and drilled the holes in the back panel with the cordless; doing it with the drill press would have been close to impossible without a table. That got screwed up, and then I fit the top and bottom pieces in the same manner. Here’s the cabinet as I was leaving the shop at about 9pm last night:
The next step is to purchase the casters for it and make sure I’ll be at exactly 36”, or perhaps a 1/8” below. It’s more important to be shorter than the source than taller as an outfeed table. Or, I may make it even shorter and design something to go on to of it. I’m really not sure at this point. But after the casters go on and I figure out what I want to do, then I’ll make the indentations for the drill press column, fit the ply for the base of the drill press, and get started on the drawer for the cabinet. I guess I should also drill the holes for the adjustable shelf before I glue it all up, too.
I’m also planning to work on the kitchen side project; perhaps if I use my time wisely I can have both done before I go back to work.
After a couple of frustrating days, I finally got back into the shop for an hour last night and was able to give my attention to the drill press cart. I had made the basic structure over the weekend, and dry fit it to make sure everything fit. Yesterday’s task was to pre-drill the holes necessary for the screws along the major panels. Seeing as how I’m also planning for this to double as an outfeed table for the planer or table saw, I need it to be nice and secure. The screws and some glue will take care of that. But for now, just screws.
I could have gotten more done by doing the screws with just my cordless drill. But I haven’t had the opportunity to give my new drill press a good workout, so it got the call this time. I love this thing, I’m going to use it so much. Especially to hog out mortises.
It was a pretty straightforward process, but unfortunately you’ll just have to rely on words. I keep forgetting to take in-progress pics. Perhaps I’ll get better as I get the shop a little more squared away. It’s very tight in there right now. I started out my drilling from the insides of the panels out; doing it this way ensures I have the screws centered on the dado, and thus the perpendicular panel. Being ply, it would be disastrous to have a screw be too close to an edge and crack the ply. Once all the screw holes were done from the back, I changed to a countersink bit, flipped the pieces over and drilled out for the screw heads. Nothing very special about that process.
I then fit the back panel to the sides, and drilled the holes in the back panel with the cordless; doing it with the drill press would have been close to impossible without a table. That got screwed up, and then I fit the top and bottom pieces in the same manner. Here’s the cabinet as I was leaving the shop at about 9pm last night:
The next step is to purchase the casters for it and make sure I’ll be at exactly 36”, or perhaps a 1/8” below. It’s more important to be shorter than the source than taller as an outfeed table. Or, I may make it even shorter and design something to go on to of it. I’m really not sure at this point. But after the casters go on and I figure out what I want to do, then I’ll make the indentations for the drill press column, fit the ply for the base of the drill press, and get started on the drawer for the cabinet. I guess I should also drill the holes for the adjustable shelf before I glue it all up, too.
I’m also planning to work on the kitchen side project; perhaps if I use my time wisely I can have both done before I go back to work.
12 July 2010
Misc
Went out today because I was missing three things from my press: a wrench, a key and a switch. Took care of the switch by going to Home Depot and stealing it.
Okay, I didn't steal it. The nice employee let me have one of the display switches after I explained my situation. It's actually not a switch, but a key that inserts into the switch to allow it to work. The one from my saw wasn't a good fit. The key took a little more work. Home Depot didn't have the right size, neither did Harbor Freight. Ace had one, luckily. The wrench is going to have to come from Ridgid directly. I'll ask for all three, just to have an extra.
The drill works great and is super quiet. It has a space for a light bulb, which I had to grind down a piece of metal to fit in. Something that I knew might be a possibility. Just a leftover of casting. Nice and bright. It drills pretty damn straight, although I need to measure and see exactly how straight. Still working on learning how. I'm so excited to have it.
The drill press cart I started on Saturday has sadly been neglected since. I was hoping to work on it some today, but I took on two other things. The first thing to do today was to hang the doors on the pantry. Got that done. No pictures, because it doesn't look quite right, and I need to figure out how I can fix it. More details later this week.
The other project, undertaken with the LOML was to paint the kitchen. It's mostly done, just some trim work. It's a nice Caribbean-esque blue.
So, workshop projects got put on hold today. But for good reason. I will need to make a table with a fence for the drill press, but that's so easy it will take 30 minutes.
Okay, I didn't steal it. The nice employee let me have one of the display switches after I explained my situation. It's actually not a switch, but a key that inserts into the switch to allow it to work. The one from my saw wasn't a good fit. The key took a little more work. Home Depot didn't have the right size, neither did Harbor Freight. Ace had one, luckily. The wrench is going to have to come from Ridgid directly. I'll ask for all three, just to have an extra.
The drill works great and is super quiet. It has a space for a light bulb, which I had to grind down a piece of metal to fit in. Something that I knew might be a possibility. Just a leftover of casting. Nice and bright. It drills pretty damn straight, although I need to measure and see exactly how straight. Still working on learning how. I'm so excited to have it.
The drill press cart I started on Saturday has sadly been neglected since. I was hoping to work on it some today, but I took on two other things. The first thing to do today was to hang the doors on the pantry. Got that done. No pictures, because it doesn't look quite right, and I need to figure out how I can fix it. More details later this week.
The other project, undertaken with the LOML was to paint the kitchen. It's mostly done, just some trim work. It's a nice Caribbean-esque blue.
So, workshop projects got put on hold today. But for good reason. I will need to make a table with a fence for the drill press, but that's so easy it will take 30 minutes.
11 July 2010
The new additions
I made two huge acquisitions today to nearly complete the shop. Really, I have three things left that I really want for the shop: a bandsaw, a planer and a drill press. A bandsaw would let me resaw wood and make tight cuts. After today, I don't think this will ever happen in this shop. I simply don't have the room. A planer takes rough cut wood and makes the surfaces smooth, can reduce the depth, and also joint the edges. A very useful tool, one that actually saves money the more you use it. The drill press is essential for accurate holes, and especially useful for series of holes. Perfect for making the holes for adjustable shelves, as well as being a great tool for starting mortises.
Well, I can cross the drill press and planer off the list.
I've been scanning Craigslist for planers, and almost lucked into a AP1300.(Ryobi) a couple of weeks ago. It went within four hours. Well, I saw another ad for a Ryobi planer for a little bit cheaper. I called, and made arrangements to check it out today. If it was the newer AP1301 model, I wouldn't have bought it. The newer one is a cost-cutter model, eliminating the cutterhead lock and extension tables, two things that help to reduce snipe. Snipe is uneven cutting of the wood and makes part of the piece basically unusable. I took a look, and it was indeed the better, older model. Dusty, one piece broken, but it made a beautiful cut on the wood I tested. Perfect, no snipe whatsoever. The blades made a very nice cut, so I shouldn't have to replace them immediately. Great buy, and he threw in a stand.
Before I picked that up, I made a trip to a Home Depot near there. I got a tip about a huge floor drill press on clearance. I had been thinking about getting one from Harbor Freight, a bench model that would have served the purpose. The main purpose being helping me make mortises for the big birthday present I'm starting soon. Well, this drill press blows the HF ones out of the water. A Ridgid DP1550, it's a 1/2hp model that may be my first and last. Even though I bought the floor model, it should still retain the lifetime warranty. Being the floor model,
it's unfortunately missing some pieces. The key for the chuck, the lightbulb (which may not come in the box), the safety key are all not there. I'll give Ridgid a call tomorrow and see if I can't get those parts, and register the machine. This thing is almost as tall as I am. It's quite impressive, and see why they charge what they do. But better for me, because I got it for half price! For the last drill press I may ever need? Damn fine deal. Thanks to Tommy for helping me grab it. I'll be testing the accuracy of it this week, but it seems rock solid and made a great hole with the one bit I tried.
Damn good day for the shop, even though there's less room. Getting some more tubs out of there will help.
Well, I can cross the drill press and planer off the list.
I've been scanning Craigslist for planers, and almost lucked into a AP1300.(Ryobi) a couple of weeks ago. It went within four hours. Well, I saw another ad for a Ryobi planer for a little bit cheaper. I called, and made arrangements to check it out today. If it was the newer AP1301 model, I wouldn't have bought it. The newer one is a cost-cutter model, eliminating the cutterhead lock and extension tables, two things that help to reduce snipe. Snipe is uneven cutting of the wood and makes part of the piece basically unusable. I took a look, and it was indeed the better, older model. Dusty, one piece broken, but it made a beautiful cut on the wood I tested. Perfect, no snipe whatsoever. The blades made a very nice cut, so I shouldn't have to replace them immediately. Great buy, and he threw in a stand.
Before I picked that up, I made a trip to a Home Depot near there. I got a tip about a huge floor drill press on clearance. I had been thinking about getting one from Harbor Freight, a bench model that would have served the purpose. The main purpose being helping me make mortises for the big birthday present I'm starting soon. Well, this drill press blows the HF ones out of the water. A Ridgid DP1550, it's a 1/2hp model that may be my first and last. Even though I bought the floor model, it should still retain the lifetime warranty. Being the floor model,
it's unfortunately missing some pieces. The key for the chuck, the lightbulb (which may not come in the box), the safety key are all not there. I'll give Ridgid a call tomorrow and see if I can't get those parts, and register the machine. This thing is almost as tall as I am. It's quite impressive, and see why they charge what they do. But better for me, because I got it for half price! For the last drill press I may ever need? Damn fine deal. Thanks to Tommy for helping me grab it. I'll be testing the accuracy of it this week, but it seems rock solid and made a great hole with the one bit I tried.
Damn good day for the shop, even though there's less room. Getting some more tubs out of there will help.
Drill Press stand
Have a few minutes, so I'll expand a bit on my post from last night.
It's a drill press stand. More appropriately, it's a drill press cart. The press doesn't sit on top, because it's a floor model. The cart will fit around the column and be fitted with casters to move out of the way. I've designed it to also double as a mini table saw outfeed table as well. That is, if my calculations are correct.
I went from a plan online, and scaled the vertical pieces up 2" to meet the requirement of the outfeed table. I made two mistakes here: the back piece was supposed to be 1/4" hardboard, but I accidentally made a 3/4" dado. No big deal, I'll roll with it and make the back beefier. Unfortunately I didn't think about that and forgot to make the back two inches higher as well, because it was marked as hardboard originally. No big deal, it's not important. The gap will be hidden my the drawer, so I may fill it in or leave it. I won't be making a new piece.
Everything there was dry fit, because I need to drill some holes for the adjustable shelf. Once that's done, and I make the gap for the press column to fit in, it will be glued and screwed up. I have everything I need for it, minus grabbing some casters from Harbor Freight. No need for big $$$ casters for this project, because it's not going to support the big weight. I'll save my good casters for the router table.
Speaking of which, redoing that got put on hold. The DP cart took more wood than I thought, and the other sheet of ply may be ticketed for another project. We'll see. I can still partially disassemble the router table and make the changes I need to make me happy, and not use much or any new wood at all. I think that's what my plan will be. After today, I'm going to be cutting way back on what I spend for awhile. Only purchases for awhile will be materials, my tool cost is going down to zero, I think. I'll have pretty much everything I need minus a bandsaw, and to get one that will resaw material well, it's a big amount to lay out. As far as materials go, I do have a decent amount in stock for small projects and to make drawers and such. I might buy a bit of hardwood or MDF for drawers, but that's it.
I might have a new post later with some goodie pictures.
It's a drill press stand. More appropriately, it's a drill press cart. The press doesn't sit on top, because it's a floor model. The cart will fit around the column and be fitted with casters to move out of the way. I've designed it to also double as a mini table saw outfeed table as well. That is, if my calculations are correct.
I went from a plan online, and scaled the vertical pieces up 2" to meet the requirement of the outfeed table. I made two mistakes here: the back piece was supposed to be 1/4" hardboard, but I accidentally made a 3/4" dado. No big deal, I'll roll with it and make the back beefier. Unfortunately I didn't think about that and forgot to make the back two inches higher as well, because it was marked as hardboard originally. No big deal, it's not important. The gap will be hidden my the drawer, so I may fill it in or leave it. I won't be making a new piece.
Everything there was dry fit, because I need to drill some holes for the adjustable shelf. Once that's done, and I make the gap for the press column to fit in, it will be glued and screwed up. I have everything I need for it, minus grabbing some casters from Harbor Freight. No need for big $$$ casters for this project, because it's not going to support the big weight. I'll save my good casters for the router table.
Speaking of which, redoing that got put on hold. The DP cart took more wood than I thought, and the other sheet of ply may be ticketed for another project. We'll see. I can still partially disassemble the router table and make the changes I need to make me happy, and not use much or any new wood at all. I think that's what my plan will be. After today, I'm going to be cutting way back on what I spend for awhile. Only purchases for awhile will be materials, my tool cost is going down to zero, I think. I'll have pretty much everything I need minus a bandsaw, and to get one that will resaw material well, it's a big amount to lay out. As far as materials go, I do have a decent amount in stock for small projects and to make drawers and such. I might buy a bit of hardwood or MDF for drawers, but that's it.
I might have a new post later with some goodie pictures.
Great day
I got everything I wanted done, done. So much so, that I'm too tired to submit a full post. I'll just leave you with three teaser photos.
09 July 2010
Upcoming plans
Here’s a little bit of an update going into the weekend here. I’m hoping to pick up one or two sheets of ¾” white birch ply and a matching sheet of ¼”. The ¼” will provide the panel for the second pantry door. The rails and stiles for the door are already cut and have a groove in them awaiting the panel. The rails have also had their tongue cut for insertion into the stiles. All I have to do is make sure of my measurements for the door already done, and I can use that as a basis for how wide this door needs to be. If only I had made the pantry perfectly square, but such is life.
The ¾” ply is more of an opportunity buy. I have to bring the trailer out there for the ¼”, so I might as well stock up a bit. I do have some plans for it, though. It will just depend on how soon I can get to it, but I will probably at least cut the pieces I need for easier storage.
One thing I’d like to do is (probably) redo the carcass of my router table. I screwed up and didn’t realize how hard it would be to retroactively insert shelving or drawers. I’m going to measure what I think I need tonight and have a cut list ready for when I’m able. As far as mistakes go, it’s not a huge one. $30 gets me a full sheet of ply to redo it, and as long as I plan ahead, I should be able to burn through this project pretty quickly.
And I think that last bit is going to help me out in the shop tremendously. I need to do a bit better planning ahead when I’m not out there to get more done in there when I am. A well-conceived plan and order of work will cut down on the time it takes to get things done tremendously. I need to learn to either go by plans alone (which I am amassing), or go out, measure, draw, and go measure again, adjust, then just build the damn thing.
The other project I have in mind immediately for the ply is a storage cabinet. I’d like to make a spot for all of my drill stuff, and possibly my socket set case and my planer case. Possibly a spot for the plate joiner as well. Have to see what kind of dimensions I am looking at, and I’ll know more what I’m looking at on Sunday. The idea is to possibly get rid of the plastic shelving in the shop, as I don’t think I need two. I’m sure I will still have a use for it somewhere, or if need be, the metal one could come inside the house (it won’t be going outside, for obvious reasons). It’s a good set of shelves, and has served me well. But I may have to use them elsewhere. Also, I’m going to try and move the sealed Christmas bins to under the house. Might as well, right?
Looking ahead, there is a few more things lined up on the sawdust schedule. Paint is going to be going up on the walls inside the domicile, and with that I am going to make a border for our chalkboard and message area. The materials were purchased a few weeks ago, and I’m just waiting for paint to go up before I make it. If the vision in my head resembles what actually comes forth, I think it will look rather good. And I’ll be rather pleased with myself.
Slightly related, the LOML has suggested bench seating at our kitchen table. I have a vision of benches with storage slots underneath, along with a half-height wainscoting, and possibly a bookcase or two. This will happen after I move our computer to the built-in desk in our extended kitchen and make everything look pretty by wiring through the wall. The existing bookcase will go back into the living room, and the Ikea Mikael desk will go to a loving home elsewhere. I don’t know if that will be done before or after I finish my wife’s Christmas present.
After that, I’m hoping to still have time to complete the birthday present I should have started on awhile back. I don’t know if I’ll be able to finish it in time. And no, I’m not telling whose birthday, either.
Another project that I want to tackle is getting the front of the shed leveled out. I’ll need help with that, if anyone wants to volunteer.
The ¾” ply is more of an opportunity buy. I have to bring the trailer out there for the ¼”, so I might as well stock up a bit. I do have some plans for it, though. It will just depend on how soon I can get to it, but I will probably at least cut the pieces I need for easier storage.
One thing I’d like to do is (probably) redo the carcass of my router table. I screwed up and didn’t realize how hard it would be to retroactively insert shelving or drawers. I’m going to measure what I think I need tonight and have a cut list ready for when I’m able. As far as mistakes go, it’s not a huge one. $30 gets me a full sheet of ply to redo it, and as long as I plan ahead, I should be able to burn through this project pretty quickly.
And I think that last bit is going to help me out in the shop tremendously. I need to do a bit better planning ahead when I’m not out there to get more done in there when I am. A well-conceived plan and order of work will cut down on the time it takes to get things done tremendously. I need to learn to either go by plans alone (which I am amassing), or go out, measure, draw, and go measure again, adjust, then just build the damn thing.
The other project I have in mind immediately for the ply is a storage cabinet. I’d like to make a spot for all of my drill stuff, and possibly my socket set case and my planer case. Possibly a spot for the plate joiner as well. Have to see what kind of dimensions I am looking at, and I’ll know more what I’m looking at on Sunday. The idea is to possibly get rid of the plastic shelving in the shop, as I don’t think I need two. I’m sure I will still have a use for it somewhere, or if need be, the metal one could come inside the house (it won’t be going outside, for obvious reasons). It’s a good set of shelves, and has served me well. But I may have to use them elsewhere. Also, I’m going to try and move the sealed Christmas bins to under the house. Might as well, right?
Looking ahead, there is a few more things lined up on the sawdust schedule. Paint is going to be going up on the walls inside the domicile, and with that I am going to make a border for our chalkboard and message area. The materials were purchased a few weeks ago, and I’m just waiting for paint to go up before I make it. If the vision in my head resembles what actually comes forth, I think it will look rather good. And I’ll be rather pleased with myself.
Slightly related, the LOML has suggested bench seating at our kitchen table. I have a vision of benches with storage slots underneath, along with a half-height wainscoting, and possibly a bookcase or two. This will happen after I move our computer to the built-in desk in our extended kitchen and make everything look pretty by wiring through the wall. The existing bookcase will go back into the living room, and the Ikea Mikael desk will go to a loving home elsewhere. I don’t know if that will be done before or after I finish my wife’s Christmas present.
After that, I’m hoping to still have time to complete the birthday present I should have started on awhile back. I don’t know if I’ll be able to finish it in time. And no, I’m not telling whose birthday, either.
Another project that I want to tackle is getting the front of the shed leveled out. I’ll need help with that, if anyone wants to volunteer.
Raiders of the Lost Weekend
It’s a nonexistent week at the shop. Due to the 4th Holiday, I wasn’t able to procure materials to finish the other pantry door. Or work on the now screwed-up router table. Frankly, outside of Monday afternoon, I didn’t have the time anyway. There is going to be a lot of new developments this weekend, though. I think. But that’s later.
For now I’m going to allow myself a flit of imagination. Or several.
I was thinking what I would want in a shop if I had unlimited funds. Of course, I’d probably pick a shop the size of a carrier elevator, with three levels and a beer fountain. But that’s just ridiculous: a carrier elevator might be too small. So I’m taking this entry to fantasize about what I would do at my current location with unlimited funds all the way to something practical with potential funds.
The unlimited vision
Under the ‘no holds barred’ scenario, I’d be doing some massive earthworks. I would situate the shop behind the carport, and turn it 90 degrees to face the street. I would dig out the earth to a level 1 foot under the current driveway, and fill and level with suitable materials. The first floor (oh yeah, I went there) would be a conventional one car garage, with about twenty feet further back for tool storage if I had to bring a car in, and an additional five feet of lateral room. Otherwise, I’d have tons of room to set the shop up with a cabinet saw, dedicated miter saw/cabinet wall, a couple of heavy duty workbenches and etc. The shop would be powered on its on dedicated circuit, with plenty of 110 and 220v outlets. I’d have dedicated dust collection and a huge compressor outside in a muffled room. Dust collection and air would be available at several points from the ceiling, and there’d be a ton of natural light.
The upstairs portion would be an apartment, either for someone to permanently live of to be a hangout. I’m sure the kids would enjoy that as they got older.
But, like I said, it’s a flight of fancy. I’m sure you’re looking at 40-50k to do that, and that makes no sense for this house.
More sensible
A plan more in line with reason would be to build a new shop, just not as ostentatious. I’d orient the shop the same way as it is now, but on the other side of the yard after it got graded appropriately. It would have a sliding barn door, be about 16x24, and have it’s own ‘crawlspace’ storage underneath on the low side of the hill to put the yard equipment, and a riding lawnmower (hey, I can dream). Maybe a porch on top. It would have the same power and dust requirements.
Realism
I think I’m going to have to live with certain realities with this place. I could possibly add a lean-to on the back either to expand the floor space, or to store the mower or bins. I don’t think dust collection is going to happen, due to the large amp draw it carries, and it has to be on its own circuit. I think realistically the best I can hope for is a single 20A line ran out there. That would power one tool and some lights, but nothing else when it comes to high amp draws, like the table saw and miter saw. The vacuum would still have to be run off another circuit, probably run by a power cord. It may, MAY be possible to modify the rafters to get a little bit of storage where the ceiling is now, but I’m not counting on it.
Reality
For right now, I think I’m going to wire up a couple of outlets on the inside when I replace the walls, and connect them to an inlet near the door. This way, I could keep the stationary tools plugged in and just hook up the extension cord in when I go in and not have to constantly unplug or move stuff around. I’m going to have to grade the hill in front of the shop to have a safer space to work. Pavers would be nice, or a deck would work, but concrete sure is cheap. With a deck, I don’t have to grade the hill. Tough choice.
That was only slightly depressing. I’m thankful I have what I have. I’m hoping to have an estimate on power sometime this fall, and that will determine a lot of what my future plans are.
For now I’m going to allow myself a flit of imagination. Or several.
I was thinking what I would want in a shop if I had unlimited funds. Of course, I’d probably pick a shop the size of a carrier elevator, with three levels and a beer fountain. But that’s just ridiculous: a carrier elevator might be too small. So I’m taking this entry to fantasize about what I would do at my current location with unlimited funds all the way to something practical with potential funds.
The unlimited vision
Under the ‘no holds barred’ scenario, I’d be doing some massive earthworks. I would situate the shop behind the carport, and turn it 90 degrees to face the street. I would dig out the earth to a level 1 foot under the current driveway, and fill and level with suitable materials. The first floor (oh yeah, I went there) would be a conventional one car garage, with about twenty feet further back for tool storage if I had to bring a car in, and an additional five feet of lateral room. Otherwise, I’d have tons of room to set the shop up with a cabinet saw, dedicated miter saw/cabinet wall, a couple of heavy duty workbenches and etc. The shop would be powered on its on dedicated circuit, with plenty of 110 and 220v outlets. I’d have dedicated dust collection and a huge compressor outside in a muffled room. Dust collection and air would be available at several points from the ceiling, and there’d be a ton of natural light.
The upstairs portion would be an apartment, either for someone to permanently live of to be a hangout. I’m sure the kids would enjoy that as they got older.
But, like I said, it’s a flight of fancy. I’m sure you’re looking at 40-50k to do that, and that makes no sense for this house.
More sensible
A plan more in line with reason would be to build a new shop, just not as ostentatious. I’d orient the shop the same way as it is now, but on the other side of the yard after it got graded appropriately. It would have a sliding barn door, be about 16x24, and have it’s own ‘crawlspace’ storage underneath on the low side of the hill to put the yard equipment, and a riding lawnmower (hey, I can dream). Maybe a porch on top. It would have the same power and dust requirements.
Realism
I think I’m going to have to live with certain realities with this place. I could possibly add a lean-to on the back either to expand the floor space, or to store the mower or bins. I don’t think dust collection is going to happen, due to the large amp draw it carries, and it has to be on its own circuit. I think realistically the best I can hope for is a single 20A line ran out there. That would power one tool and some lights, but nothing else when it comes to high amp draws, like the table saw and miter saw. The vacuum would still have to be run off another circuit, probably run by a power cord. It may, MAY be possible to modify the rafters to get a little bit of storage where the ceiling is now, but I’m not counting on it.
Reality
For right now, I think I’m going to wire up a couple of outlets on the inside when I replace the walls, and connect them to an inlet near the door. This way, I could keep the stationary tools plugged in and just hook up the extension cord in when I go in and not have to constantly unplug or move stuff around. I’m going to have to grade the hill in front of the shop to have a safer space to work. Pavers would be nice, or a deck would work, but concrete sure is cheap. With a deck, I don’t have to grade the hill. Tough choice.
That was only slightly depressing. I’m thankful I have what I have. I’m hoping to have an estimate on power sometime this fall, and that will determine a lot of what my future plans are.
03 July 2010
Pantry Doors, Part 2
I took a look at the measurements for the panel and decided that the piece I had just might work. I measured the dimensions I needed, subtracted the space for the space balls (explained later), and set up my rip fence to the right width.
I glued up one rail and stile for a corner and checked for square. I inserted the balls on both sides and inserted the panel, proceeding to put the remaining rail and stile on with glue. I need to pin the panel so that a gap won't show, but it looks good otherwise. Waiting for the glue to dry while it's clamped up, and then I can see about getting it mounted up, probably after the other door is done.
Also made the drawer shelfs (what the drawer sits on inside the cabinet) for the router table. Unfortunately, I'm out of suitable material to make the drawers right now. I'll try to address that when I pick up the ply for the other door.
I glued up one rail and stile for a corner and checked for square. I inserted the balls on both sides and inserted the panel, proceeding to put the remaining rail and stile on with glue. I need to pin the panel so that a gap won't show, but it looks good otherwise. Waiting for the glue to dry while it's clamped up, and then I can see about getting it mounted up, probably after the other door is done.
Also made the drawer shelfs (what the drawer sits on inside the cabinet) for the router table. Unfortunately, I'm out of suitable material to make the drawers right now. I'll try to address that when I pick up the ply for the other door.
02 July 2010
Pantry Doors - Part 1
Tired, so this is going to be quick.
Went to the store and picked up some more poplar, a couple of boards worth. These are for the rails and stiles of the door. I set the table saw up for a 2.5" width, then decided that it was a bit too wide and cut the stiles (long vertical pieces) to 2.25" width. I had one piece left over that was 2", so I decided the rails (short horizontal pieces) could be slightly smaller. If it doesn't look good, it can always be changed.
Once all the pieces were ripped to the right size, I set up the router table with a slot cutting bit to make the slot where the rails and stiles will meet in a tongue and groove joint, as well for the middle ply panel to sit in. The bit was set up to be as close to the middle of the piece as I could get. All eight pieces got the slot. Had to bring the table into the middle to fit the 7' long pieces.
I then set up the miter table and cut all pieces to the correct length. The stop block made things very easy.
Once that was done, I had to make the tongue part of the joint on the rails. To do this, I used a scrap piece to set up the table saw for the perfect height, as well as the fence to meet the depth of the groove. I made the inside cut, then ate away the waste by continuing to cut the piece and nibbling away at it.
I did a test fit with the scrap piece of ply I had left over, and it looks like it's going to work out just fine. Just need to get a new sheet of 1/4" ply and I can glue up the rails and stiles. The panel will float (no glue).
That's it for tonight. Hot and boring parade in the morning.
Went to the store and picked up some more poplar, a couple of boards worth. These are for the rails and stiles of the door. I set the table saw up for a 2.5" width, then decided that it was a bit too wide and cut the stiles (long vertical pieces) to 2.25" width. I had one piece left over that was 2", so I decided the rails (short horizontal pieces) could be slightly smaller. If it doesn't look good, it can always be changed.
Once all the pieces were ripped to the right size, I set up the router table with a slot cutting bit to make the slot where the rails and stiles will meet in a tongue and groove joint, as well for the middle ply panel to sit in. The bit was set up to be as close to the middle of the piece as I could get. All eight pieces got the slot. Had to bring the table into the middle to fit the 7' long pieces.
I then set up the miter table and cut all pieces to the correct length. The stop block made things very easy.
Once that was done, I had to make the tongue part of the joint on the rails. To do this, I used a scrap piece to set up the table saw for the perfect height, as well as the fence to meet the depth of the groove. I made the inside cut, then ate away the waste by continuing to cut the piece and nibbling away at it.
I did a test fit with the scrap piece of ply I had left over, and it looks like it's going to work out just fine. Just need to get a new sheet of 1/4" ply and I can glue up the rails and stiles. The panel will float (no glue).
That's it for tonight. Hot and boring parade in the morning.
01 July 2010
Insert plates
A day later than I intended, but I suppose that happens.
First things first, here are the insert plates.
I’ve got one turned over, and you can see the detail that’s gone into making them. The white part in the center is where a slot has already been made so that the saw doesn’t catch on the plate when it’s in the table. If the slot wasn’t there, the saw blade would bind on start up and break the belt. Or worse, damage the motor. Also, because the relief is already there, I don’t have to start out with a smaller blade to avoid breaking something. Nice touch.
Here you can see the differences between the stock (yellow) insert and the new ones. Much thicker, as it’s not metal. That’s why the relief is needed to clear the blade. Here’s a little more detail of the underside.
Before I show you how I installed it, let me go over again why I got them. The theory is, that when you don’t have anything behind or supporting a piece of wood (especially plywood), you get tearout – when the cut looks fuzzy or it looks like pieces have splintered away. That’s why some of the projects I’ve done have a ragged looking edge – some of the top layer of ply has splintered off at the cut, leaving behind the darker layer underneath. It doesn’t make for a good look, and most of what you see in my pictures was done by my circular saw. I have some left over hardboard that I’m planning on making a zero clearance insert for that before I use it again. A zero clearance insert also supports small pieces from falling into the saw interior. This was a big reason why I hadn’t been able to use my dado stack yet. A third reason is to reduce uncontrollable dust. With the insert on, you get much more of the dust go where it’s supposed to – out the dust port and not all over the top of the table and into your lungs.
Now, on to the process: The first step was to remove the original yellow insert, which you have already seen a picture of. Next, I raise the blade up and remove the riving knife and guard.
Now, I must pause and explain a little bit about the difference between a riving knife and a splitter, and the important safety aspect all of this plays. The riving knife is the hunk of metal you see right behind the saw blade. This prevents the cut material from closing back up around the blade and producing kickback. Kickback is very dangerous, and can bruise, break and kill. What also helps prevent kickback are the little pieces of metal with teeth, called pawls. They grab the wood and keep it from reversing direction. The guard also gives a visual representation of where your hand should never go. I doubt it would do much if the blade ever came apart, but I try not to think about that. Some guards also have a dust collection port, something I may look into if I start cutting in the shop in any capacity.
Now, there’s one big difference between a riving knife and a splitter: a riving knife is directly connected to the saw’s travel. It tilts, the knife tilts. It lowers, the knife lowers. A splitter does not. It is either directly perpendicular to the table top or it travels with the blade guard. It’s an inferior setup, but not a horrid one. I’d rather have a splitter than nothing at all. Obviously, with a non-through cut (one where the blade does not go through the top of the piece, like a dado or a kerf), neither is used.
Now that the knife/guard assembly is removed, the blade gets lowered all the way down to receive the new insert.
At this point, I reached up into the saw and made sure the blade did not bind on the insert. Again, this is a bad thing. You’ll note that the saw was unplugged while I did this. Saw + power + hands = hospital.
After making sure it wouldn’t bind, I attached a sacrificial board to where the blade would break the surface. I did this to help hold down the insert, and reduce any tearout.
I fired it up, and slowly went from full retraction to full extension, and shut it down and retracted the blade again.
At this point I noticed the huge mess I was making in the shop. So, after dinner the saw got wheeled outside. Good news: no more mess in shop. Bad news: the mosquitoes had a buffet. While I had the knife assembly off, I decided to try out the dado stack and make an insert for that.
A dado cut is a wider than normal cut that does not cut through both sides of the wood, but makes a channel. It’s as wide as you need it to be, but generally as wide as a piece of wood you’re going to use for a joint. The dado set I bought has two outside blades, and multiple chippers than you can stack (hence why it’s called a dado stack) to get the proper width. I went with the 6” version, both because it’s recommended for the motor and I can get a wider cut. I did a ½” stack for simplicity, but I’m probably going to expand it to ¾”.
After I did the exact same process for the dado insert, I reinstalled the standard blade, and cut through the back of the standard insert to make room for the riving knife. I did this by temporarily reinstalling the OEM insert, and lining up the rip fence to where I needed to cut. I then removed the OEM insert, installed the knife, and put on the new insert. Done!
That’s it for now. The project for this weekend is the pantry doors, perhaps. I’ll at least hit up the lumber yard and get what I need for it.
First things first, here are the insert plates.
I’ve got one turned over, and you can see the detail that’s gone into making them. The white part in the center is where a slot has already been made so that the saw doesn’t catch on the plate when it’s in the table. If the slot wasn’t there, the saw blade would bind on start up and break the belt. Or worse, damage the motor. Also, because the relief is already there, I don’t have to start out with a smaller blade to avoid breaking something. Nice touch.
Here you can see the differences between the stock (yellow) insert and the new ones. Much thicker, as it’s not metal. That’s why the relief is needed to clear the blade. Here’s a little more detail of the underside.
Before I show you how I installed it, let me go over again why I got them. The theory is, that when you don’t have anything behind or supporting a piece of wood (especially plywood), you get tearout – when the cut looks fuzzy or it looks like pieces have splintered away. That’s why some of the projects I’ve done have a ragged looking edge – some of the top layer of ply has splintered off at the cut, leaving behind the darker layer underneath. It doesn’t make for a good look, and most of what you see in my pictures was done by my circular saw. I have some left over hardboard that I’m planning on making a zero clearance insert for that before I use it again. A zero clearance insert also supports small pieces from falling into the saw interior. This was a big reason why I hadn’t been able to use my dado stack yet. A third reason is to reduce uncontrollable dust. With the insert on, you get much more of the dust go where it’s supposed to – out the dust port and not all over the top of the table and into your lungs.
Now, on to the process: The first step was to remove the original yellow insert, which you have already seen a picture of. Next, I raise the blade up and remove the riving knife and guard.
Now, I must pause and explain a little bit about the difference between a riving knife and a splitter, and the important safety aspect all of this plays. The riving knife is the hunk of metal you see right behind the saw blade. This prevents the cut material from closing back up around the blade and producing kickback. Kickback is very dangerous, and can bruise, break and kill. What also helps prevent kickback are the little pieces of metal with teeth, called pawls. They grab the wood and keep it from reversing direction. The guard also gives a visual representation of where your hand should never go. I doubt it would do much if the blade ever came apart, but I try not to think about that. Some guards also have a dust collection port, something I may look into if I start cutting in the shop in any capacity.
Now, there’s one big difference between a riving knife and a splitter: a riving knife is directly connected to the saw’s travel. It tilts, the knife tilts. It lowers, the knife lowers. A splitter does not. It is either directly perpendicular to the table top or it travels with the blade guard. It’s an inferior setup, but not a horrid one. I’d rather have a splitter than nothing at all. Obviously, with a non-through cut (one where the blade does not go through the top of the piece, like a dado or a kerf), neither is used.
Now that the knife/guard assembly is removed, the blade gets lowered all the way down to receive the new insert.
At this point, I reached up into the saw and made sure the blade did not bind on the insert. Again, this is a bad thing. You’ll note that the saw was unplugged while I did this. Saw + power + hands = hospital.
After making sure it wouldn’t bind, I attached a sacrificial board to where the blade would break the surface. I did this to help hold down the insert, and reduce any tearout.
I fired it up, and slowly went from full retraction to full extension, and shut it down and retracted the blade again.
At this point I noticed the huge mess I was making in the shop. So, after dinner the saw got wheeled outside. Good news: no more mess in shop. Bad news: the mosquitoes had a buffet. While I had the knife assembly off, I decided to try out the dado stack and make an insert for that.
A dado cut is a wider than normal cut that does not cut through both sides of the wood, but makes a channel. It’s as wide as you need it to be, but generally as wide as a piece of wood you’re going to use for a joint. The dado set I bought has two outside blades, and multiple chippers than you can stack (hence why it’s called a dado stack) to get the proper width. I went with the 6” version, both because it’s recommended for the motor and I can get a wider cut. I did a ½” stack for simplicity, but I’m probably going to expand it to ¾”.
After I did the exact same process for the dado insert, I reinstalled the standard blade, and cut through the back of the standard insert to make room for the riving knife. I did this by temporarily reinstalling the OEM insert, and lining up the rip fence to where I needed to cut. I then removed the OEM insert, installed the knife, and put on the new insert. Done!
That’s it for now. The project for this weekend is the pantry doors, perhaps. I’ll at least hit up the lumber yard and get what I need for it.
29 June 2010
Small update
By small, I mean tiny.
The zero clearance plates came in Monday and I got a chance to look at them today. Real quality, made from polycarbonate. I grabbed four of them, and that lowered the per unit cost to $10 each. I wanted to get out and cut a couple today, but it just didn't happen. Perhaps tomorrow.
I may cheat a little tomorrow and do the writeup and take the pictures after, but we'll see. Either way, I'm very happy that I can start making dado cuts shortly, and also get an even cleaner cut otherwise. Once the plates are cut I will either try to finish the drawers on the router table or do the doors to the pantry this weekend.
The zero clearance plates came in Monday and I got a chance to look at them today. Real quality, made from polycarbonate. I grabbed four of them, and that lowered the per unit cost to $10 each. I wanted to get out and cut a couple today, but it just didn't happen. Perhaps tomorrow.
I may cheat a little tomorrow and do the writeup and take the pictures after, but we'll see. Either way, I'm very happy that I can start making dado cuts shortly, and also get an even cleaner cut otherwise. Once the plates are cut I will either try to finish the drawers on the router table or do the doors to the pantry this weekend.
26 June 2010
A lesson in safety
Some times we make mistakes. We're sloppy. Careless. In a rush. Or, sometimes we are just plain ignorant.
The latter happened to me today. I had used the router and a 1/2" shank flush trim bit on the miter station yesterday. This bit is huge, and I'm not particularly a fan. But, it's what I have to use.
I was trimming the last little bit on the station, I had the router in a horizontal position trimming the bottom of the station (I had it upside down). All of a sudden, the bit walked itself off of the collet, across the workpiece, and back behind the table. I couldn't believe it. This thing was spinning at around 25k RPM, I could have been seriously hurt. Not luckily, I was using all the techniques I had learned to date and didn't put myself in a bad position, and that's the reason I wasn't hurt.
No damage to the bit, just a gouge in the bottom of the workpiece, something I'll take in exchange for closing up the shop with all my body parts intact and no blood on the floor.
Damage done, but it's not important. A safe day in the shop is always a good day. What did I learn today? Check for tightness more often, and always after a long period of not using it.
The latter happened to me today. I had used the router and a 1/2" shank flush trim bit on the miter station yesterday. This bit is huge, and I'm not particularly a fan. But, it's what I have to use.
I was trimming the last little bit on the station, I had the router in a horizontal position trimming the bottom of the station (I had it upside down). All of a sudden, the bit walked itself off of the collet, across the workpiece, and back behind the table. I couldn't believe it. This thing was spinning at around 25k RPM, I could have been seriously hurt. Not luckily, I was using all the techniques I had learned to date and didn't put myself in a bad position, and that's the reason I wasn't hurt.
No damage to the bit, just a gouge in the bottom of the workpiece, something I'll take in exchange for closing up the shop with all my body parts intact and no blood on the floor.
Damage done, but it's not important. A safe day in the shop is always a good day. What did I learn today? Check for tightness more often, and always after a long period of not using it.
In depth on the table saw
Thought I'd do as promised and post a few pics.
The left side, the sliding miter table (SMT).
With the SMT off.
SMT full range of motion.
2.5" dust port on the rear.
The SMT stows over the port when not in use, something I'm going to have to remember to remove each time, or it makes a huge mess.
The router table, which can be mounted virtually anywhere along the rails. It comes with a host of attachments, none of which I've even taken out of the box yet. You can see the miter slots built in, but those are for use only with the router. We'll have to see about that...
The miter bar, miter fence and rip fence all store on the left side of the saw underneath the wrench and blade storage.
Full range of the router table. Can also be mounted on the other side of the blade.
45 degree right tilt capability. Can also rip or crosscut a 4x4. Very nice.
On it's end, ready to be put away.
The left side, the sliding miter table (SMT).
With the SMT off.
SMT full range of motion.
2.5" dust port on the rear.
The SMT stows over the port when not in use, something I'm going to have to remember to remove each time, or it makes a huge mess.
The router table, which can be mounted virtually anywhere along the rails. It comes with a host of attachments, none of which I've even taken out of the box yet. You can see the miter slots built in, but those are for use only with the router. We'll have to see about that...
The miter bar, miter fence and rip fence all store on the left side of the saw underneath the wrench and blade storage.
Full range of the router table. Can also be mounted on the other side of the blade.
45 degree right tilt capability. Can also rip or crosscut a 4x4. Very nice.
On it's end, ready to be put away.
A little bit of Saturday fun
So, I had some free time this afternoon and was able to get in a little bit of work in. The glue had set well enough to flush trim the remaining ash piece I put on yesterday. The router was still set up from yesterday and so it was a very quick jump into action.
Ready for action!
It was a fairly simple operation, with one caveat I'll explain in a separate post. Once that was done, it was time for reassembly and a photo shoot!
In those pictures, you can see the fruit of my labor yesterday getting the measuring tape on. So after that was done, it was time for a bit of cleaning from all those ash shavings. Got the place fairly tidy. At that time, I noticed I still had a fair amount of time, so I turned my attention to making a better stop block. With the tape measure on top of the fence, having the block on front only wasn't going to work. It was simply a spare bit of plywood that I used as a temporary measure.
So, here we go...
Measuring the fence. Hmm...3" exactly? I got an idea...
3" exactly! This was an ash blank that I had lying around, 3/4" thick, 3" wide. Since I had just stowed the miter saw, I decided to use the circular saw and a guide. I should have just used the miter saw, but it worked out.
That's the old stop block. You can see it's a simple hole in the piece, with a toilet bolt (or T-bolt) inserted with a five-star knob to tighten it up. The wide end on the bolt is what rides in the T-slot in the fence.
The new block, ash-style. Hmm...still needs something.
There we go. Mated a top piece to it, perfectly flush on the sides. I was going to use the plate joiner to attach them, but was leery of glue seeping into the hole for the bolt. Two wood screws sufficed, and I have some cherry hole plugs lying around that I'll use to hide the screw heads whenever I'm in the shop next.
And in it's new temporary spot, on top of the metal shelves. I need to grab some rubber bumpers for it to sit on, but the thing is DONE. What a great addition to the shop, and I'm sure it will get a ton of use. The only thing I can see right now is figuring out a way I can hang it on the wall or sit it on it's end to save a bit of room, but it's just fine where it is for right now.
Ready for action!
It was a fairly simple operation, with one caveat I'll explain in a separate post. Once that was done, it was time for reassembly and a photo shoot!
In those pictures, you can see the fruit of my labor yesterday getting the measuring tape on. So after that was done, it was time for a bit of cleaning from all those ash shavings. Got the place fairly tidy. At that time, I noticed I still had a fair amount of time, so I turned my attention to making a better stop block. With the tape measure on top of the fence, having the block on front only wasn't going to work. It was simply a spare bit of plywood that I used as a temporary measure.
So, here we go...
Measuring the fence. Hmm...3" exactly? I got an idea...
3" exactly! This was an ash blank that I had lying around, 3/4" thick, 3" wide. Since I had just stowed the miter saw, I decided to use the circular saw and a guide. I should have just used the miter saw, but it worked out.
That's the old stop block. You can see it's a simple hole in the piece, with a toilet bolt (or T-bolt) inserted with a five-star knob to tighten it up. The wide end on the bolt is what rides in the T-slot in the fence.
The new block, ash-style. Hmm...still needs something.
There we go. Mated a top piece to it, perfectly flush on the sides. I was going to use the plate joiner to attach them, but was leery of glue seeping into the hole for the bolt. Two wood screws sufficed, and I have some cherry hole plugs lying around that I'll use to hide the screw heads whenever I'm in the shop next.
And in it's new temporary spot, on top of the metal shelves. I need to grab some rubber bumpers for it to sit on, but the thing is DONE. What a great addition to the shop, and I'm sure it will get a ton of use. The only thing I can see right now is figuring out a way I can hang it on the wall or sit it on it's end to save a bit of room, but it's just fine where it is for right now.
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