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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.
 

 

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.