Things turned around quickly in the shop after I did some slight experimentation with the layout. I noticed that I had more room in real life between the bench and the cabinet than I did virtually. I slid the bench closer to the cabinet and was able to slide the saw the same distance. This opened up the front right corner, and I'm trying the planer/dust separator cart there tucked up under the wall scrap storage. I only have to loosen the fence on the table saw (to raise the handle) to let it slide out. I can now simply slide the planer out from the corner to use it. May still put the jointer in that corner, but I like being able to access the full front of the saw.
I also reoriented the jointer in the same corner to take up more of the left wall than the back wall. This allowed me to move the router table to the back wall, but it could easily stay where it was. I now have a lot more room to move around in. May play around with it some more before I make any final decisions. I would still like the jointer to be a bit more accessible - merely rolling in one direction versus the parking game I still have to do. Perhaps one of the front corners is still in play.
Until Home Depot does another paint recycling day, I did find some temporary, out of the way storage on the shelf of my old sander stand which is serving as a fake extension table for the saw.
Also got to try out my new toy, but I'm saving that story for another day.
30 December 2011
29 December 2011
The mess
My wife made a comment to me the other day after I came in from being in the shop. I said I had been cleaning up, and she stated that it was all I did. She's right. It seems like 80% of the time out there is some sort of cleanup or organization. I've been trying to address this as best I can, but it always seems like I'm moving something to get to something else. I'm hoping typing out what I feel needs to be addressed will give me a decent gameplan of how to fix that, and make a space where I do more work.
Front right corner:
I'm looking at two bins that have wood scrap stacked upon them. I need to go through that scrap and weed out what I don't need. I need to take that top bin and find a home for all the cordless tools that are inside it. The bottom bin is household items, neither are a huge priority at this point. The wall scrap in this corner may be better served in the front left corner. Lots of wasted space over here under and around the table saw.
Front left corner:
A bit of a jumble right now. The router caddy is in the wrong spot for where the router table is, and interferes with the drill press. The tall cabinet I currently use for detailing supplies is not a long-term solution. I'd like to move everything in here to the wall cabinet I have built, but don't know where it will go because I plan for a full width wall cabinet for tools and misc storage. More planning will have to be done about that. I'm considering incorporating the router table into a joint saw/router cabinet that would replace the mobile stand that the table saw came with. Another option would have it slide under the full width floor cabinets on the back wall. I could also incorporate the router into the floor cabinet itself, but that limits options for routing long stock. I don't have a ton of router bits, and all my accessories don't have to live in the current table. Hotdog air compressor can go virtually anywhere, but I would like somewhere close to the door so I could wheel it outside and have the air reel near where it stores to hook it up to.
Right wall:
As stated, the wall scrap may be best served on the opposite wall. Existing back wall cabinet may fit in front corner, but limits what I could feasibly put under it due to depth. Router/saw cabinet would probably not work. Jointer could go here, but would necessitate moving table saw for stock longer than infeed table. Window takes up middle portion of the wall, and future wall cabinet takes up back corner. Clamps do and will take up the small amount of real estate available.
Left wall:
Drill press, router table, bandsaw, planer and jointer take up this wall currently. Have to move planer (and DC cabinet it sits on) to get to jointer currently. Everything else is basically usable, but crowded. Elimination of router table would free up room for saw/router stand to slide over when routing. May need to consider eliminating dust separator cabinet and stow planer low under something. I like the height of the planer but I need to consider space here. Possibly could combine planer and router cabinet, but that presents problems of width and depth for router table. Router table is incomplete and due for revamp, so all possibilities are open. Jointer could feasibly tuck under floor cabinets, or move to front corners.
Back wall:
Jointer, floor, wall cabinets and sander currently reside, as well as french cleat system for hand tools. Need to revamp most of french cleat holders, so will probably eliminate in favor of cabinet storage. May use cleats somewhere else in a smaller capacity. Current floor cabinet gives very little room to right of miter saw. Very little dust collection for miter saw. Drawers in floor cabinet incomplete; ones that are done suck. Upper cabinet doesn't have doors. Would like two wall cabinets with cubby storage in middle for power tools, miter saw in middle of wall and a better fence system.
Minor issues (stuff):
I can't easily access my tool box. Needs to not sit behind the miter fence.
Need to make storage for drill bits near drill press so they don't constantly sit on surfaces. Same goes for the drills themselves.
Sander - considering putting in drawer in cabinet as it's light enough to lift up when needed (40#)
Clean out scrap bin under miter saw to fit more stuff in. Consider eliminating it when new cabinet is built (and where scrap would then go)
I wouldn't mind a trash can instead of a bag lying on the floor, but I'm not sure where I would put it.
Will need to incorporate storage for my container boxes and new socket case. Probably will go into floor cabinet or new bench.
That's what I can think of for now. Hopefully I'll have a review up tonight of my new toy.
Front right corner:
I'm looking at two bins that have wood scrap stacked upon them. I need to go through that scrap and weed out what I don't need. I need to take that top bin and find a home for all the cordless tools that are inside it. The bottom bin is household items, neither are a huge priority at this point. The wall scrap in this corner may be better served in the front left corner. Lots of wasted space over here under and around the table saw.
Front left corner:
A bit of a jumble right now. The router caddy is in the wrong spot for where the router table is, and interferes with the drill press. The tall cabinet I currently use for detailing supplies is not a long-term solution. I'd like to move everything in here to the wall cabinet I have built, but don't know where it will go because I plan for a full width wall cabinet for tools and misc storage. More planning will have to be done about that. I'm considering incorporating the router table into a joint saw/router cabinet that would replace the mobile stand that the table saw came with. Another option would have it slide under the full width floor cabinets on the back wall. I could also incorporate the router into the floor cabinet itself, but that limits options for routing long stock. I don't have a ton of router bits, and all my accessories don't have to live in the current table. Hotdog air compressor can go virtually anywhere, but I would like somewhere close to the door so I could wheel it outside and have the air reel near where it stores to hook it up to.
Right wall:
As stated, the wall scrap may be best served on the opposite wall. Existing back wall cabinet may fit in front corner, but limits what I could feasibly put under it due to depth. Router/saw cabinet would probably not work. Jointer could go here, but would necessitate moving table saw for stock longer than infeed table. Window takes up middle portion of the wall, and future wall cabinet takes up back corner. Clamps do and will take up the small amount of real estate available.
Left wall:
Drill press, router table, bandsaw, planer and jointer take up this wall currently. Have to move planer (and DC cabinet it sits on) to get to jointer currently. Everything else is basically usable, but crowded. Elimination of router table would free up room for saw/router stand to slide over when routing. May need to consider eliminating dust separator cabinet and stow planer low under something. I like the height of the planer but I need to consider space here. Possibly could combine planer and router cabinet, but that presents problems of width and depth for router table. Router table is incomplete and due for revamp, so all possibilities are open. Jointer could feasibly tuck under floor cabinets, or move to front corners.
Back wall:
Jointer, floor, wall cabinets and sander currently reside, as well as french cleat system for hand tools. Need to revamp most of french cleat holders, so will probably eliminate in favor of cabinet storage. May use cleats somewhere else in a smaller capacity. Current floor cabinet gives very little room to right of miter saw. Very little dust collection for miter saw. Drawers in floor cabinet incomplete; ones that are done suck. Upper cabinet doesn't have doors. Would like two wall cabinets with cubby storage in middle for power tools, miter saw in middle of wall and a better fence system.
Minor issues (stuff):
I can't easily access my tool box. Needs to not sit behind the miter fence.
Need to make storage for drill bits near drill press so they don't constantly sit on surfaces. Same goes for the drills themselves.
Sander - considering putting in drawer in cabinet as it's light enough to lift up when needed (40#)
Clean out scrap bin under miter saw to fit more stuff in. Consider eliminating it when new cabinet is built (and where scrap would then go)
I wouldn't mind a trash can instead of a bag lying on the floor, but I'm not sure where I would put it.
Will need to incorporate storage for my container boxes and new socket case. Probably will go into floor cabinet or new bench.
That's what I can think of for now. Hopefully I'll have a review up tonight of my new toy.
2011 - review and looking forward
2011 was a big year for the shop, and myself with skills I learned and tried. However there was also a lot of things that went unfinished or not started at all.
I acquired a bandsaw, which was one of my last major purchases for the shop. I looked everywhere on CL, but eventually bought one from Harbor Freight. A few upgrades later, and I'm still happy with it. This year I hope to finally order the riser and put some good blades on it. A jointer joined the fray late in the year and has been a great purchase.
The Ultimate Tool Stand was scrapped and replaced with a floor cabinet for my miter saw and some drawers. Unfortunately, it's still a work in progress and may be scrapped entirely for a full wall-width floor cabinet. Plans are still in progress.
I got interested in hand tools, and bought my first plane. I'm hoping to upgrade my chisels this year and refine my technique on both. I made a scrap cabinet and bought some wall storage for scrap and have found them totally inadequate for the amount of scrap I had been keeping. My solution is to keep less of the crap, and keep the good stuff. Most of the non-shop stuff has left the building, with the two golf club bags being the notable exception. When the Christmas decorations get put away, that will be done at the same time. The doors still haven't been replaced, nor have the rest of the walls. I'm hoping both get done this year.
I did some more work on my router table, but it's still not finished. I don't think it ever will be, to be honest.
Some major spacial organization occurred, and that's still a work in progress. But I have managed to be able to use all my tools inside the shop, which is great for inclement weather days. Part of this involved moving one of the workbench tables out, and the other one may get replaced this year with a Holtzapffel bench - then I can really start rocking the good work.
I added a new router for hand work, as well as an additional saw on a track for rip cuts (the 18v just kept cutting out too much), plus some other minor tools that I can't quite remember right now. (edit - like my oscillating spindle sander!)
It's been a good year, and I can't wait to try and improve on it next year.
I acquired a bandsaw, which was one of my last major purchases for the shop. I looked everywhere on CL, but eventually bought one from Harbor Freight. A few upgrades later, and I'm still happy with it. This year I hope to finally order the riser and put some good blades on it. A jointer joined the fray late in the year and has been a great purchase.
The Ultimate Tool Stand was scrapped and replaced with a floor cabinet for my miter saw and some drawers. Unfortunately, it's still a work in progress and may be scrapped entirely for a full wall-width floor cabinet. Plans are still in progress.
I got interested in hand tools, and bought my first plane. I'm hoping to upgrade my chisels this year and refine my technique on both. I made a scrap cabinet and bought some wall storage for scrap and have found them totally inadequate for the amount of scrap I had been keeping. My solution is to keep less of the crap, and keep the good stuff. Most of the non-shop stuff has left the building, with the two golf club bags being the notable exception. When the Christmas decorations get put away, that will be done at the same time. The doors still haven't been replaced, nor have the rest of the walls. I'm hoping both get done this year.
I did some more work on my router table, but it's still not finished. I don't think it ever will be, to be honest.
Some major spacial organization occurred, and that's still a work in progress. But I have managed to be able to use all my tools inside the shop, which is great for inclement weather days. Part of this involved moving one of the workbench tables out, and the other one may get replaced this year with a Holtzapffel bench - then I can really start rocking the good work.
I added a new router for hand work, as well as an additional saw on a track for rip cuts (the 18v just kept cutting out too much), plus some other minor tools that I can't quite remember right now. (edit - like my oscillating spindle sander!)
It's been a good year, and I can't wait to try and improve on it next year.
Holiday time
Not much time out in the shop due to the holidays and friggin cold weather. I haven't bothered with checking on the couple cans of finish, they're probably toast because of the cold. Oh well. Been too busy to consider it. I checked the surface temperature of a few things yesterday afternoon, and they were acceptable. Need to get out there early one morning to check them then.
This is starting to sound like a broken record, but the shop is a disaster from my last project. Now that it's been given as a gift, it was a Keurig K-cup holder that mounts under a cabinet. I experimented on this one, and did sliding dovetails as the sliding apparatus. The tails were too narrow, but they work. Need to investigate how to correct that in the future, most likely a smaller dovetail to create the socket. Holes for the cups were made with a 1.75" hole saw, and eased with a chamfer. I'm sure I have a picture somewhere, I'll see if I can find it. It's not finished yet, because there was the chance it could be painted to match the cabinets.
Christmas was good to the shop. While it didn't get everything it asked for, it did ask for a lot. A new Ryobi Supercharger (6 port battery charger) now holds all my current batteries and gives them a place to charge without having to plug in three chargers. It only charges one at a time though, so if I'm in need I'll have to plug another one or two in to give me rapid charging. If I had constant power out there, it wouldn't be an issue.
I also picked up some 'mechanics' tools, some wrenches and sockets that I've wanted for awhile. Will have to find a place to store them. I should be receiving a One+ Tile Saw today, something of an impulse buy it was so inexpensive. I'm hoping that it can serve double duty as a trim saw, but if it can't I'll get my money's worth even if I just use it to clean grout. Won't take up much room to store either. I'm hopefully receiving my new table saw guard after about a couple of months. Really looking forward to that, so I can work safer with a better riving knife and can use it in instances where I can't use a guard.
This is starting to sound like a broken record, but the shop is a disaster from my last project. Now that it's been given as a gift, it was a Keurig K-cup holder that mounts under a cabinet. I experimented on this one, and did sliding dovetails as the sliding apparatus. The tails were too narrow, but they work. Need to investigate how to correct that in the future, most likely a smaller dovetail to create the socket. Holes for the cups were made with a 1.75" hole saw, and eased with a chamfer. I'm sure I have a picture somewhere, I'll see if I can find it. It's not finished yet, because there was the chance it could be painted to match the cabinets.
Christmas was good to the shop. While it didn't get everything it asked for, it did ask for a lot. A new Ryobi Supercharger (6 port battery charger) now holds all my current batteries and gives them a place to charge without having to plug in three chargers. It only charges one at a time though, so if I'm in need I'll have to plug another one or two in to give me rapid charging. If I had constant power out there, it wouldn't be an issue.
I also picked up some 'mechanics' tools, some wrenches and sockets that I've wanted for awhile. Will have to find a place to store them. I should be receiving a One+ Tile Saw today, something of an impulse buy it was so inexpensive. I'm hoping that it can serve double duty as a trim saw, but if it can't I'll get my money's worth even if I just use it to clean grout. Won't take up much room to store either. I'm hopefully receiving my new table saw guard after about a couple of months. Really looking forward to that, so I can work safer with a better riving knife and can use it in instances where I can't use a guard.
17 December 2011
New project and interlude II
Set out to do more work on the project, and I did to some degree. I was able to trim up the board to a length a bit longer than intended, but with plenty of room for mistakes. I took one edge and ran it through the router to create the long dovetail. Unfortunately this is about where it stopped for today. I discovered that the piece I was going to use for the sides was twisted. So I found a piece that was suitable, but unfortunately not as wide. So I've changed plans slightly in regard to mounting, but I will need the sample to properly gauge where it's going to intersect the board. Hard to describe, but pictures will do when I get it done.
Did a very slight more amount of cleaning up, and worked to get closer on getting the bandsaw fence done. Took a bit to figure out layout in my head while I was in there, and I think if I can move the wall rack to the opposite wall, I will be closer to where I need to be. Being in that corner takes away a lot of options for me, especially since the table saw is pretty much set where it is.
Still working.
Did a very slight more amount of cleaning up, and worked to get closer on getting the bandsaw fence done. Took a bit to figure out layout in my head while I was in there, and I think if I can move the wall rack to the opposite wall, I will be closer to where I need to be. Being in that corner takes away a lot of options for me, especially since the table saw is pretty much set where it is.
Still working.
16 December 2011
New project and an interlude
I set out today to start on a late Christmas present, one involving techniques I haven't used before and is bound for disaster. Oh well, at least I'll be able to say I tried. I can't reveal too much of it, for obvious reasons. Back to it at the end.
As I was prepping everything I noticed how much junk was lying around in the form of scrap pieces. So I abandoned doing too much on my project in favor of making some progress on this front. Scrap was everywhere - a huge pile on the router table, some in front of the planer, on the work bench, and on the table saw. Basically everywhere I don't want it. So I took about an hour tossing some stuff and finally doing a bit better job sorting my wall of wood. Not the greatest accomplishment, but it was desperately needed.
While doing this, I was contemplating the next steps for organization. I've been thinking over a major change to the south wall (cabinet wall) that would include full width lower and upper cabinets. Unfortunately, where I run into problems is all the other stuff I have that takes up massive amounts of floor space. I had wanted to store the jointer under the miter saw, but this is going to be impossible. It's nearly 40" tall, and that would be to the bottom of any surface. Simply too high to store under there regardless, much less to have a miter saw directly above it. The center is only that tall, so I may be able to shove one of the tables under a portion of the cabinets as the tables are only about 35" high.
I've been playing around with Sketchup for the last couple of weeks trying to figure out a bit better way of having everything stowed. The system now isn't too horrible, but I also don't have as much room as I would have with a full-width lower cabinet. I had visions of storing the spindle sander on a shelf instead of being on it's own rolling cart. Still kicking around ideas.
Back to the project. I had a large board of poplar that I bought several months ago for transforming into a chair. Perhaps even a year ago. Haven't gotten around to it, but I knew it would work for this without having to outlay any cash. It was rough milled, about 1-1/8" thick. I cut off a bad section, then cut approximately a 21" long section of the board, which is also about 10.5" wide. Slightly narrower than I would have liked, but not so much that it was worth gluing up two boards. 11" was my goal, this will be fine. I planed it down to 3/4", and jointed the edges. I did it this way because it was slightly bowed and still got nice parallel faces and edges. It became too low of light to proceed, so I left the board for tomorrow ready to trim to the proper length and run through the router table. I'm attempting sliding dovetails, which if I get right will be a real feather in my cap.
As I was prepping everything I noticed how much junk was lying around in the form of scrap pieces. So I abandoned doing too much on my project in favor of making some progress on this front. Scrap was everywhere - a huge pile on the router table, some in front of the planer, on the work bench, and on the table saw. Basically everywhere I don't want it. So I took about an hour tossing some stuff and finally doing a bit better job sorting my wall of wood. Not the greatest accomplishment, but it was desperately needed.
While doing this, I was contemplating the next steps for organization. I've been thinking over a major change to the south wall (cabinet wall) that would include full width lower and upper cabinets. Unfortunately, where I run into problems is all the other stuff I have that takes up massive amounts of floor space. I had wanted to store the jointer under the miter saw, but this is going to be impossible. It's nearly 40" tall, and that would be to the bottom of any surface. Simply too high to store under there regardless, much less to have a miter saw directly above it. The center is only that tall, so I may be able to shove one of the tables under a portion of the cabinets as the tables are only about 35" high.
I've been playing around with Sketchup for the last couple of weeks trying to figure out a bit better way of having everything stowed. The system now isn't too horrible, but I also don't have as much room as I would have with a full-width lower cabinet. I had visions of storing the spindle sander on a shelf instead of being on it's own rolling cart. Still kicking around ideas.
Back to the project. I had a large board of poplar that I bought several months ago for transforming into a chair. Perhaps even a year ago. Haven't gotten around to it, but I knew it would work for this without having to outlay any cash. It was rough milled, about 1-1/8" thick. I cut off a bad section, then cut approximately a 21" long section of the board, which is also about 10.5" wide. Slightly narrower than I would have liked, but not so much that it was worth gluing up two boards. 11" was my goal, this will be fine. I planed it down to 3/4", and jointed the edges. I did it this way because it was slightly bowed and still got nice parallel faces and edges. It became too low of light to proceed, so I left the board for tomorrow ready to trim to the proper length and run through the router table. I'm attempting sliding dovetails, which if I get right will be a real feather in my cap.
03 December 2011
Sneak peak 2
This will at least tell you what tool it's going to be used on. I'm sure you can guess what it is now.
The biggest thing on my to-do list right now is find a way to get rid of these paint cans.
The biggest thing on my to-do list right now is find a way to get rid of these paint cans.
30 November 2011
Sneak peak
Sneak peak at a project that hopefully will be complete in the next week or so. It's a huge upgrade, and that's all the hint I'll give.
Also, I now have four drills, which will make life so nice.
Also, I now have four drills, which will make life so nice.
20 November 2011
Sunday musings
Something is like to look at in the layout of the shop is a place to use multiple tools, a multi tool table if you will. I need a spot where I can set up my Kreg jig, as with the table saw inside the outfeed of stock will hit it where it is. I'd also like to set up a joiner jig with my HF joiner, as the fence is crap. This could also be a place where a bench grinder could go, as well as my WorkSharp.
The problem, as always, is space. I do have a couple of ideas though. One is to take inspiration from my tall sander stand and make a semi-portable stand with removable inserts. I think I will start out with this and see how it works with stability. This is a very low-cost experiment. When I start I will detail the plan.
The other option, and a possible long-term solution, is to make a new bench that extends the width of the back wall, as was the plan early on in the renovation strategy. With current space concerns, this would have to wait until I possibly make a combination table saw stand/router table.
I'll be playing around with Sketchup some this week and will try to throw some rough drafts of what I'm thinking about.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
The problem, as always, is space. I do have a couple of ideas though. One is to take inspiration from my tall sander stand and make a semi-portable stand with removable inserts. I think I will start out with this and see how it works with stability. This is a very low-cost experiment. When I start I will detail the plan.
The other option, and a possible long-term solution, is to make a new bench that extends the width of the back wall, as was the plan early on in the renovation strategy. With current space concerns, this would have to wait until I possibly make a combination table saw stand/router table.
I'll be playing around with Sketchup some this week and will try to throw some rough drafts of what I'm thinking about.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
17 November 2011
Brrr
It hasn't even gotten really cold yet and shop time has already been cut substantially. That, and there are some really compelling video games out there now that have been taking up some of my spare time.
The only things I have to update that are shop related is I have a couple new container boxes that I'm going to try and get most of my screws into and have some sort of storage for. Really, that's it. I'm hoping this weekend I can work on a planer sled, perhaps also work on somewhere to put my Kreg jig.
I'm thinking about working on some tool profiles in order to fill the lean season and keep the blog going.
The only things I have to update that are shop related is I have a couple new container boxes that I'm going to try and get most of my screws into and have some sort of storage for. Really, that's it. I'm hoping this weekend I can work on a planer sled, perhaps also work on somewhere to put my Kreg jig.
I'm thinking about working on some tool profiles in order to fill the lean season and keep the blog going.
07 November 2011
Marching along
Had the opportunity Saturday and Sunday to do a bit of cleaning and rearranging in the shop to get it closer to what I consider my vision. And I have to say, with some minor exceptions the layout is complete.
Saturday was just some minor cleaning, and Sunday I started by putting casters on my sander stand and moving the scrap plywood that was occupying it's future home. After that was done, I checked the height and I don't think I'll have to make any modifications to it to get it to fit. I'm not sure what I will do with the storage space I built in to the stand. I was considering putting sandpaper and sanders there, but I'm not sure. There's room to put something there for sure. Perhaps my Work Sharp could live there if the paper doesn't.
I had some additional time after that short assignment so I set out to make one of the last major changes to the shop orientation - making room for the saw. Now to do that involved moving other stuff, but since that was the goal I'll call it that. First thing was to clear the corner where the router table would go. I moved the paint cans to a temporary spot and walked the drill press out of the way. The router table slid over to it's new home and I took down the drill bits off the wall and hung the router cubby in it's new home. That done, I could worry about getting the drill press over to the other side of the door. I'm not completely happy with how it turned out, but it makes the shop flow so we'll see. I have put a few of the bins on the floor in that corner, and found that they might be able to stay there for awhile. But truth be told, I still have a glaring need for sheet goods storage in my shop, and it will have to be addressed.
With the router table and drill press in their new homes, the table saw cozied up to the table and will work just fine, I think.
As you can see from the pictures, I still have a good deal of work to do before I can see the finish line. Sheet goods storage is a priority, as is cleaning up the rack on the wall. I need to buy and fit the riser for the bandsaw, as well as invest in some good blades and a fence. I just ordered a Shark Guard for the table saw, I figured it was about time. I'll have more on this closer to when it will arrive. With that purchase, the bandsaw stuff will have to wait until 2012. As far as construction goes, the walls still need to be replaced with 7/16 OSB. I also need to decide if I want to paint said walls to lighten things up. The ceiling needs to be replaced with the same, and I have to decide if I want to use some pot lights or something else that could be run off batteries.
The doors need to be replaced, for security and insulation purposes. I'd also like to get a nice new window installed so I can close and open it easily. Besides, the one in there now is permanently partially open. As for the floor, I was thinking about adding a durable interlocking mat system to cover the entire thing. I also would like to fix the (nowhere near) level of the shop, but that will require a lot of doing. Insulation under the floor will probably happen at the same time. Want to build or buy a corner cabinet for my detailing equipment to go into. May check a Habitat Store for that.
And finally, the big piece of the puzzle - the Holzapffel bench. Not sure if that will start in the spring or I will need to first get the structure of the shop sorted first. This thing is going to be heavier than the shop.
Pics coming shortly - like within the hour. Ok, maybe 4.
Saturday was just some minor cleaning, and Sunday I started by putting casters on my sander stand and moving the scrap plywood that was occupying it's future home. After that was done, I checked the height and I don't think I'll have to make any modifications to it to get it to fit. I'm not sure what I will do with the storage space I built in to the stand. I was considering putting sandpaper and sanders there, but I'm not sure. There's room to put something there for sure. Perhaps my Work Sharp could live there if the paper doesn't.
I had some additional time after that short assignment so I set out to make one of the last major changes to the shop orientation - making room for the saw. Now to do that involved moving other stuff, but since that was the goal I'll call it that. First thing was to clear the corner where the router table would go. I moved the paint cans to a temporary spot and walked the drill press out of the way. The router table slid over to it's new home and I took down the drill bits off the wall and hung the router cubby in it's new home. That done, I could worry about getting the drill press over to the other side of the door. I'm not completely happy with how it turned out, but it makes the shop flow so we'll see. I have put a few of the bins on the floor in that corner, and found that they might be able to stay there for awhile. But truth be told, I still have a glaring need for sheet goods storage in my shop, and it will have to be addressed.
With the router table and drill press in their new homes, the table saw cozied up to the table and will work just fine, I think.
As you can see from the pictures, I still have a good deal of work to do before I can see the finish line. Sheet goods storage is a priority, as is cleaning up the rack on the wall. I need to buy and fit the riser for the bandsaw, as well as invest in some good blades and a fence. I just ordered a Shark Guard for the table saw, I figured it was about time. I'll have more on this closer to when it will arrive. With that purchase, the bandsaw stuff will have to wait until 2012. As far as construction goes, the walls still need to be replaced with 7/16 OSB. I also need to decide if I want to paint said walls to lighten things up. The ceiling needs to be replaced with the same, and I have to decide if I want to use some pot lights or something else that could be run off batteries.
The doors need to be replaced, for security and insulation purposes. I'd also like to get a nice new window installed so I can close and open it easily. Besides, the one in there now is permanently partially open. As for the floor, I was thinking about adding a durable interlocking mat system to cover the entire thing. I also would like to fix the (nowhere near) level of the shop, but that will require a lot of doing. Insulation under the floor will probably happen at the same time. Want to build or buy a corner cabinet for my detailing equipment to go into. May check a Habitat Store for that.
And finally, the big piece of the puzzle - the Holzapffel bench. Not sure if that will start in the spring or I will need to first get the structure of the shop sorted first. This thing is going to be heavier than the shop.
Pics coming shortly - like within the hour. Ok, maybe 4.
03 November 2011
Bandsaw upgrade, part 1
(Part 1 of a proposed 3)
It's starting to finally feel like fall in Georgia, and that means less work out in the shop since it's not heated, or particularly well insulated. The insulation part I hope to have remedied by next winter, but we'll see. That involves getting the low side jacked up and on a skid, then putting insulation under the floor, since I'm sure there's not any. Plus, a new window and new doors. I think everything but getting it level is realistic, and could probably get done this winter if I really set my mind to it. But the point is, I'm not going to be doing a bunch of projects out there for a few months. So my attention is turning to continuing the shop reorganization and some upgrades to some of my tools.
I have a Central Machinery 14" bandsaw. This is a decent basic bandsaw, but at the price point it's lacking in a couple of things that the pricier versions have. One of those things is a decent power switch.
On the CM, the power switch is located on the base, a very awkward position to turn on. I suppose one could use their foot to turn it off, but it's not natural. So, I ordered a push-button paddle switch from MCLS. There's already mounting holes for it, since the saw is a copy/same thing of the other 14" import saws elsewhere available. Installation is fairly straight-forward, but can be time consuming thanks to the strain reliefs and any holes you might want to thread it through. A thirty minute job can stretch into two hours easily when you figure out you have to backtrack some to get one little connector on. And so it did for me, although it turned into two days because I had almost finished when it got too dark. Then I almost finished again when it was time to eat lunch.
The switch is located on the C-arm of the saw, between elbow and shoulder height. Much more usable, and it comes with a paddle off switch, and a lockout for the on position. Meaning, you have to pull the paddle out and then hit the on button for it to work.
What I did was I removed the stock switch from the base, and disconnected all the wires. The power cord connects to one side with a standard 16/3 cord, as does the wire to the motor. I completely removed the power portion (to the wall) and set it aside. I purchased some additional 16/3 cord and used it to extend the (from) motor cord up to the new switch position. I utilized a predrilled hole near where the cord would exit the stand for ground. I ran it up to the new switch and connected both cords up. I utilized one of the mounting holes for a ground. I realize I technically have two grounds, but it doesn't affect operation. I left myself plenty of slack for the next upgrade to the saw, which will be done and detailed TBD. I probably could have saved a buck by buying 2 feet less of cord, but I wanted plenty to work with. I reinstalled the old switch and box to close up the hole temporarily. I need to replace the painter's tape that is covering the holes with electrical tape. These holes were made accidentally because the instructions were poor.
Total cost of modification: $23 - switch, + $7 16/3 cord and connectors = $30
Saw upgrades to date: switch, V-belt, nylon washers for motor, zero clearance insert, cool blocks, duplicator pin.
Next up: riser block
It's starting to finally feel like fall in Georgia, and that means less work out in the shop since it's not heated, or particularly well insulated. The insulation part I hope to have remedied by next winter, but we'll see. That involves getting the low side jacked up and on a skid, then putting insulation under the floor, since I'm sure there's not any. Plus, a new window and new doors. I think everything but getting it level is realistic, and could probably get done this winter if I really set my mind to it. But the point is, I'm not going to be doing a bunch of projects out there for a few months. So my attention is turning to continuing the shop reorganization and some upgrades to some of my tools.
I have a Central Machinery 14" bandsaw. This is a decent basic bandsaw, but at the price point it's lacking in a couple of things that the pricier versions have. One of those things is a decent power switch.
On the CM, the power switch is located on the base, a very awkward position to turn on. I suppose one could use their foot to turn it off, but it's not natural. So, I ordered a push-button paddle switch from MCLS. There's already mounting holes for it, since the saw is a copy/same thing of the other 14" import saws elsewhere available. Installation is fairly straight-forward, but can be time consuming thanks to the strain reliefs and any holes you might want to thread it through. A thirty minute job can stretch into two hours easily when you figure out you have to backtrack some to get one little connector on. And so it did for me, although it turned into two days because I had almost finished when it got too dark. Then I almost finished again when it was time to eat lunch.
The switch is located on the C-arm of the saw, between elbow and shoulder height. Much more usable, and it comes with a paddle off switch, and a lockout for the on position. Meaning, you have to pull the paddle out and then hit the on button for it to work.
What I did was I removed the stock switch from the base, and disconnected all the wires. The power cord connects to one side with a standard 16/3 cord, as does the wire to the motor. I completely removed the power portion (to the wall) and set it aside. I purchased some additional 16/3 cord and used it to extend the (from) motor cord up to the new switch position. I utilized a predrilled hole near where the cord would exit the stand for ground. I ran it up to the new switch and connected both cords up. I utilized one of the mounting holes for a ground. I realize I technically have two grounds, but it doesn't affect operation. I left myself plenty of slack for the next upgrade to the saw, which will be done and detailed TBD. I probably could have saved a buck by buying 2 feet less of cord, but I wanted plenty to work with. I reinstalled the old switch and box to close up the hole temporarily. I need to replace the painter's tape that is covering the holes with electrical tape. These holes were made accidentally because the instructions were poor.
Total cost of modification: $23 - switch, + $7 16/3 cord and connectors = $30
Saw upgrades to date: switch, V-belt, nylon washers for motor, zero clearance insert, cool blocks, duplicator pin.
Next up: riser block
01 November 2011
Router cubby
While I was gathering information and inspiration for redesigning the shop, I cam across a set of shelves for routers. I took what I saw as an idea and adapted it to work in my shop. Since I routinely make mathematical errors in my work, I took the opportunity to design this from scratch and make this my first Sketchup-derived project.
The render of the model is below, and you can find the Sketchup file here.
It's not very conplex: three shelves, with a portion of the shelf removed to let bits hang below the base, two sides and a back. That's it. It's sized for 1/2" plywood, and that should be all you need as routers and bases aren't too terribly heavy. One thing I would change in the future is to size the shelves about 2" wider so that the bases and routers wouldn't have to sit diagonally. The wood is all scrap out of my shop so it was a $0 project.
I cut the pieces to size on the table saw, then used some tape to gang the shelves together to cut the holes. That was accomplished with a forstner bit on the drill press, and the valley was cut with the band saw. I cut the dados on the table saw - one on each piece for the shelves, and one on each side at the back to accept the rear panel. It was assembled using glue and I went a bit overboard with some brad nails. I used some nails on one top edge, plus some on the other side to mount the more important accessories that otherwise didn't have a home.
The render of the model is below, and you can find the Sketchup file here.
It's not very conplex: three shelves, with a portion of the shelf removed to let bits hang below the base, two sides and a back. That's it. It's sized for 1/2" plywood, and that should be all you need as routers and bases aren't too terribly heavy. One thing I would change in the future is to size the shelves about 2" wider so that the bases and routers wouldn't have to sit diagonally. The wood is all scrap out of my shop so it was a $0 project.
I cut the pieces to size on the table saw, then used some tape to gang the shelves together to cut the holes. That was accomplished with a forstner bit on the drill press, and the valley was cut with the band saw. I cut the dados on the table saw - one on each piece for the shelves, and one on each side at the back to accept the rear panel. It was assembled using glue and I went a bit overboard with some brad nails. I used some nails on one top edge, plus some on the other side to mount the more important accessories that otherwise didn't have a home.
29 October 2011
Making progress
As you can see some major progress has already been made on changing stuff around in the shop. Just today I moved the basement door project out and into position (it's so horrible I'm going to have to redo it. I don't have the energy to try and explain my errors right now.), so that freed up some space. I moved the clamp rack to the more obvious spot between the benches. You can also see my new parallel Irwin clamps, my first set of parallels - first of many. I set up some stuff under the wall cabinet, a box of gloves, paper towels, small bags and a new screwdriver caddy. It's going to be little steps for awhile improving things. In the spring the rest of the walls will get pulled and replaced, and I'll have to decide if they'll get the white paint treatment to lighten up the space. It'll also be at that time where I build my version of the Holtzapffel workbench. The only real expenditures between now and then is I'm going to get my bandsaw up to snuff by adding a fence of some sort, a riser block and finally putting on some decent blades. I also have a new switch on order, so I can convert it from being below my knee in a very awkward spot to up on the spine about shoulder level. Much more convenient spot and I think safer. I'll be burning through as much plywood stock as I have for small projects like the router caddy and some more drawers for the cabinet. I need to look at my hardwood stock and see if there's anything I can do for gifts. I know I'd like to make a lamp or two, but I've not attempted something like that to this point. Another cutting board or two wouldn't be out of the question. I also am going to be spending a little bit of time tuning up the other tools in the shop, getting ready for the winter lull.
Here are the Sketchup renders I promised, laying out what I consider a 'final' version of what I'll be turning the shop into. I haven't been able to think of a more efficient use of my layout, and there's only two more power tools I'd be interested in adding to the shop - a mortiser and the very outside possibility of adding a mini lathe. I haven't gotten a response from the comdev commissioner on if I could attach storage for a dust collector. That's still pending.
Ignore the obvious column error with the pictures, I wanted them to show as much detail as possible without having to click-through. The first render shows the view from over the front left corner. The bandsaw, planer, jointer, cabinets, miter saw, compressor and clamps are already in their final positions. The remaining renders follow the process anticlockwise. There is one point I do need to make though - after I made these renders I did swap the drill press and router table and I think that will do better for workflow. The next time I'm in there playing with the model I'll make new renders.
As always I hope you enjoy the blog.
28 October 2011
Design on a dime...or a ten-penny nail
I've spent a long time trying to finalize my long term plans for the shop, and I think I'm nearing the end. It's been an interesting ride from having a bunch of crap in piles with moldy curtains and stinky carpet to even this point. But from here is where it really turns the page to an actual shop.
The reason for the master plan is that I don't want to keep building projects only to tear them down later when they don't meet my needs. I also wanted to have a layout to see exactly what I could fit in the shop. Fit, but it also needed to be usable. One of the biggest problems I have now is stuff piled on top of stuff because I needed to move that stuff to reach other stuff. I need more work space, more efficient work space. The project I just (sorta) completed I had to assemble on top of my table saw. Which, in and of itself isn't a horrible thing, but I don't want it to be the go-to surface that's not occupied. In short, I need an assembly table, a woodworkers table.
So as I said, I had to plan my shop to see not only if I could fit one, but how best to arrange it. After some consultation with some fellow woodworkers, I think I have a master plan that should be one that I can use even my table saw inside for some things and only have to set up stuff outside for large projects or for finishing. This is the work of a few months contemplating and playing with different things, and Sketchup has been an invaluable tool to visualize all of this without picking up a single tool.
It's taken me so long to formulate what I want to write that even now some of the changes have already started. In some previous posts and pictures you may have seen my golf clubs on an elevated stand. Under this stand sat four plastic tubs filled with various items, only one of them being actual tools for the shop. Another was scrap wood, another is drywall and assorted house supplies. The fourth was junk for the house. Well today I disassembled the stand, liquidated all the scrap in the scrap bin and that bin is now gone. The house junk bin will come inside to be evaluated, and the drywall etc bin will probably go under the house since I need it so rarely. Also under my workbench was another bin, filled with sporting goods. That will also go under the house. I have a spare Shop Vac that I'm not sure what I'll do with. Guess the standard answer of under the house might apply.
So, to what has already happened - I mentioned the golf area got disassembled. The miter stand/floor cabinet and wall cabinet both went in it's place. I also moved the wall cabinet up a little higher this time to create a higher workspace on the cabinet. It's still got enough gap at the top where I can stow my straight edges. I took the time to level the cabinet, and unfortunately the shop is so not level it's very distracting. Oh well, that will just have to do until I can get the side area cleaned up and get it level. I think it's slowly sinking on the earth side. The work bench moved from that same wall to a space facing the cabinet. It has created what would best be compared to a galley kitchen. When I'm assembling something very large, I hopefully can use the two together as a large work surface. I gave myself enough room in the galley to use a vise on the bench, and open all of the drawers and pull out the scrap bin. I'm hoping this arrangement will work well, as it's key to making enough space for everything to function well.
Since the bench moved to the middle right of the space, right underneath the window, that meant the bandsaw had to relocate, and it did to the opposite wall where the cabinet was. When everything is said and done, I'll have enough room to cut a 5-6' long piece without having to move it. Should be plenty. Where the bench was in the back left corner now sits the jointer. I swapped the front and back on the base so I could maneuver it into position. It's really not usable in the parking space unless the stock is short, but it will pull out towards the center of the shop for actual use - no different than it was doing. Under the infeed table I parked the air compressor, with no permanent home in mind.
Everything else for now has been left alone or slightly moved to make temporary space. The saw still gets parked wherever, and the spindle sander is now next to the bandsaw until I find suitable wheels for the short cart. But I dunno, I might not put wheels on it at all, as it might be too low to use sitting down. I won't worry too much about that for the time being, as I think the casters I have already will work fine as long as I shorten the sides of the cart. This is because I planned for it to call home under an extension of the miter saw cabinet, to the saw's right. This will give me a little bit of room to cut to the right, but I'm worried that it might not be enough. I suppose I could flip the miter saw to the left of the cabinet and have about 5-6' of room on either side. That would be fairly easy to do later on if I find it was shortsighted. The drill press is going to move to the other side of the door, and basically swap places with the router table. Above the router table will be a mini-cab with three spots for my router bases and possibly accessories.
My mobile miter saw base will probably get scrapped. I never use it anymore, but I'll have to see with where the cabinet now is. I have to dispose of all the old paint, and find a home for the pails I want to keep. The detailing cabinet is up in the air - I'd like to put something up on the wall. With this new configuration, I think I will be able to use the new bench as an outfeed table for my saw, and keep it set up ready to go. We'll see. I may or may not return the door I bought as a knock-down outfeed table and pick one up again should it become necessary. Of course, the walls still need to be finished, and they might get covered with a coat of white paint to lighten things up a bit.
The temporary planer cart has been disassembled and I built a planer cart/dust separator in it's place. This makes it a bit taller, but skinnier. Hopefully the dust part will work out well. I haven't decided what I'm going to do about a dust collector. I will either get a wall-mount DC and hang it outside when in use (come in through wall) or build a lean-to and use a full DC. The latter would be my preference but I am unsure as to if that would meet code. I do have a query about that into the community development commission. I'm not going to attach pictures to this post as it's already very long. I'll have my Sketchup renders and pictures of the shop as current in the next post.
The reason for the master plan is that I don't want to keep building projects only to tear them down later when they don't meet my needs. I also wanted to have a layout to see exactly what I could fit in the shop. Fit, but it also needed to be usable. One of the biggest problems I have now is stuff piled on top of stuff because I needed to move that stuff to reach other stuff. I need more work space, more efficient work space. The project I just (sorta) completed I had to assemble on top of my table saw. Which, in and of itself isn't a horrible thing, but I don't want it to be the go-to surface that's not occupied. In short, I need an assembly table, a woodworkers table.
So as I said, I had to plan my shop to see not only if I could fit one, but how best to arrange it. After some consultation with some fellow woodworkers, I think I have a master plan that should be one that I can use even my table saw inside for some things and only have to set up stuff outside for large projects or for finishing. This is the work of a few months contemplating and playing with different things, and Sketchup has been an invaluable tool to visualize all of this without picking up a single tool.
It's taken me so long to formulate what I want to write that even now some of the changes have already started. In some previous posts and pictures you may have seen my golf clubs on an elevated stand. Under this stand sat four plastic tubs filled with various items, only one of them being actual tools for the shop. Another was scrap wood, another is drywall and assorted house supplies. The fourth was junk for the house. Well today I disassembled the stand, liquidated all the scrap in the scrap bin and that bin is now gone. The house junk bin will come inside to be evaluated, and the drywall etc bin will probably go under the house since I need it so rarely. Also under my workbench was another bin, filled with sporting goods. That will also go under the house. I have a spare Shop Vac that I'm not sure what I'll do with. Guess the standard answer of under the house might apply.
So, to what has already happened - I mentioned the golf area got disassembled. The miter stand/floor cabinet and wall cabinet both went in it's place. I also moved the wall cabinet up a little higher this time to create a higher workspace on the cabinet. It's still got enough gap at the top where I can stow my straight edges. I took the time to level the cabinet, and unfortunately the shop is so not level it's very distracting. Oh well, that will just have to do until I can get the side area cleaned up and get it level. I think it's slowly sinking on the earth side. The work bench moved from that same wall to a space facing the cabinet. It has created what would best be compared to a galley kitchen. When I'm assembling something very large, I hopefully can use the two together as a large work surface. I gave myself enough room in the galley to use a vise on the bench, and open all of the drawers and pull out the scrap bin. I'm hoping this arrangement will work well, as it's key to making enough space for everything to function well.
Since the bench moved to the middle right of the space, right underneath the window, that meant the bandsaw had to relocate, and it did to the opposite wall where the cabinet was. When everything is said and done, I'll have enough room to cut a 5-6' long piece without having to move it. Should be plenty. Where the bench was in the back left corner now sits the jointer. I swapped the front and back on the base so I could maneuver it into position. It's really not usable in the parking space unless the stock is short, but it will pull out towards the center of the shop for actual use - no different than it was doing. Under the infeed table I parked the air compressor, with no permanent home in mind.
Everything else for now has been left alone or slightly moved to make temporary space. The saw still gets parked wherever, and the spindle sander is now next to the bandsaw until I find suitable wheels for the short cart. But I dunno, I might not put wheels on it at all, as it might be too low to use sitting down. I won't worry too much about that for the time being, as I think the casters I have already will work fine as long as I shorten the sides of the cart. This is because I planned for it to call home under an extension of the miter saw cabinet, to the saw's right. This will give me a little bit of room to cut to the right, but I'm worried that it might not be enough. I suppose I could flip the miter saw to the left of the cabinet and have about 5-6' of room on either side. That would be fairly easy to do later on if I find it was shortsighted. The drill press is going to move to the other side of the door, and basically swap places with the router table. Above the router table will be a mini-cab with three spots for my router bases and possibly accessories.
My mobile miter saw base will probably get scrapped. I never use it anymore, but I'll have to see with where the cabinet now is. I have to dispose of all the old paint, and find a home for the pails I want to keep. The detailing cabinet is up in the air - I'd like to put something up on the wall. With this new configuration, I think I will be able to use the new bench as an outfeed table for my saw, and keep it set up ready to go. We'll see. I may or may not return the door I bought as a knock-down outfeed table and pick one up again should it become necessary. Of course, the walls still need to be finished, and they might get covered with a coat of white paint to lighten things up a bit.
The temporary planer cart has been disassembled and I built a planer cart/dust separator in it's place. This makes it a bit taller, but skinnier. Hopefully the dust part will work out well. I haven't decided what I'm going to do about a dust collector. I will either get a wall-mount DC and hang it outside when in use (come in through wall) or build a lean-to and use a full DC. The latter would be my preference but I am unsure as to if that would meet code. I do have a query about that into the community development commission. I'm not going to attach pictures to this post as it's already very long. I'll have my Sketchup renders and pictures of the shop as current in the next post.
22 October 2011
Quick hits
I've been buying some small stuff for the shop the last couple of weeks an one of those items was a saw plate for my straightedge clamp. I have a Pro Grip clamp for crosscutting full sheets I bought probably a year ago. These clamps come with a couple of slots to use accessories, one of which you can use to make your own version of a track saw.
I love my little Ryobi One+ saw, but it just doesn't have any guts anymore. Accurate, but underpowered. So I bought a clearance Task Force saw at Lowe's a few weeks ago but it was horrible with my straightedge. Wanted to wander, but I liked the power of the corded and larger saw.
I finally made it over to Peachtree Woodworking to buy the saw plate that goes with the clamp. It's a little pricey at $30, but after today I'm glad I spent it. It doesn't come with hardware (which I think is a mistake), so I had to buy some 1/4 bolts and nuts to attach it. After some careful measuring I drilled the holes in the saw base an the saw plate. They advise you to line it up with the edge, but I wanted to line up the blade with a nice easy number so I could easily figure out where to place the clamp. I aimed for 6" from the clamp.
After drilling the holes I had to countersink them. I don't have a bit that large so I used a chisel. Not pretty, but it worked. I attached the saw to the plate and tested it out. Instead of 6", I have 6-1/8" but that's easy to remember.
As long as I take the time to set up the clamp correctly, using the saw now is an absolute pleasure. It's as close to a track or panel saw as I'll get. Set the clamp, and go to town. I was able to do the crosscuts for my new project so much faster than I could before. What used to be a chore is now an easy task.
And about that new project? Next time.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
I love my little Ryobi One+ saw, but it just doesn't have any guts anymore. Accurate, but underpowered. So I bought a clearance Task Force saw at Lowe's a few weeks ago but it was horrible with my straightedge. Wanted to wander, but I liked the power of the corded and larger saw.
I finally made it over to Peachtree Woodworking to buy the saw plate that goes with the clamp. It's a little pricey at $30, but after today I'm glad I spent it. It doesn't come with hardware (which I think is a mistake), so I had to buy some 1/4 bolts and nuts to attach it. After some careful measuring I drilled the holes in the saw base an the saw plate. They advise you to line it up with the edge, but I wanted to line up the blade with a nice easy number so I could easily figure out where to place the clamp. I aimed for 6" from the clamp.
After drilling the holes I had to countersink them. I don't have a bit that large so I used a chisel. Not pretty, but it worked. I attached the saw to the plate and tested it out. Instead of 6", I have 6-1/8" but that's easy to remember.
As long as I take the time to set up the clamp correctly, using the saw now is an absolute pleasure. It's as close to a track or panel saw as I'll get. Set the clamp, and go to town. I was able to do the crosscuts for my new project so much faster than I could before. What used to be a chore is now an easy task.
And about that new project? Next time.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Jointer pics
Had a spare minute, so here we go. Nothing flashy, but after a bit more tuneup should do the job. It's very difficult to feed stock through, it's either of the beds most likely.
I love the HTC base, it's a breeze to move around. I bought a jointer jig to fine tune the outfeed table and knives, and at some point this winter I'll flip it on its side to see what I can do about hooking up dust collection.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
I love the HTC base, it's a breeze to move around. I bought a jointer jig to fine tune the outfeed table and knives, and at some point this winter I'll flip it on its side to see what I can do about hooking up dust collection.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Dearth Essayer
Sometimes I don't find enough to write. Sometimes there's nothing worth writing about. It's been a bit of both these last three weeks, primarily getting my day job done along with some volunteer work, and work in the shop has consisted mostly of cleanup. I worked some on a basement door, getting the base done (more on that next time) and doing some major cleanup. The things I was using was making a big mess, and I had to keep hunting for what I was looking for. I took several days to put things where I wanted them, to the best of what the shop affords right now. I need to be able to find things, and then remember to put them back when I am done. It will be a major focus of what the shop is all about over the winter.
I'm working on a longer post, plus I finally took pictures of the jointer. Those I don't have a timetable for posting, but they will be up as soon as I have time.
I'm working on a longer post, plus I finally took pictures of the jointer. Those I don't have a timetable for posting, but they will be up as soon as I have time.
01 October 2011
Changes
I said in a previous post that I would be making some changes, but it turns out that it will be much more extensive than I had anticipated.
The first part of this process is to look at the things that don't have a place and find them a home so they aren't sitting out all the time. I have a bit of a problem with scrap wood and small tools. If I can finish the drawers on the miter cabinet, that will accomplish the later. The former will be just using some scrap wood wherever possible.
I also like to use Sketchup to figure out a long term plan and to see where things need to go to best facilitate workflow and not have to constantly move things to get to other things.
A major goal in this process is to determine if I have enough room for a real dust collector. The shop vac and separator has reached it's limits and a better solution must be obtained. More airflow is needed to contain the chips in the planer and the jointer. Also, the dust at the miter station has become intolerable.
Tomorrow I will share the pictures of my Sketchup progress as I think I've pretty much finalized where most everything will go. Part of those plans called for scrapping the sander stand I just made, but it needed to be done if I want a more efficient shop. I will be storing the sander on a low mobile cart underneath an extension of the counter. It will be very low, but sitting down for the sanding process might be a decent idea. The cart itself was constructed today, just needing casters to be called finished.
I also mocked up plans for storing the handheld routers and bases above where the router table will nest, I may be able to start on that tomorrow. But at least I finally attached the alternate Milescraft/Craftsman base on one of the extra bases. This will be great for edge routing and circle routing. Template routing might also become easier.
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The first part of this process is to look at the things that don't have a place and find them a home so they aren't sitting out all the time. I have a bit of a problem with scrap wood and small tools. If I can finish the drawers on the miter cabinet, that will accomplish the later. The former will be just using some scrap wood wherever possible.
I also like to use Sketchup to figure out a long term plan and to see where things need to go to best facilitate workflow and not have to constantly move things to get to other things.
A major goal in this process is to determine if I have enough room for a real dust collector. The shop vac and separator has reached it's limits and a better solution must be obtained. More airflow is needed to contain the chips in the planer and the jointer. Also, the dust at the miter station has become intolerable.
Tomorrow I will share the pictures of my Sketchup progress as I think I've pretty much finalized where most everything will go. Part of those plans called for scrapping the sander stand I just made, but it needed to be done if I want a more efficient shop. I will be storing the sander on a low mobile cart underneath an extension of the counter. It will be very low, but sitting down for the sanding process might be a decent idea. The cart itself was constructed today, just needing casters to be called finished.
I also mocked up plans for storing the handheld routers and bases above where the router table will nest, I may be able to start on that tomorrow. But at least I finally attached the alternate Milescraft/Craftsman base on one of the extra bases. This will be great for edge routing and circle routing. Template routing might also become easier.
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It's finally here
This is the post I've been waiting to write for nearly a year now. I finally got my jointer.
In the course of building a worthy shop, there are a few major tool purchases one will need to make. A table saw is a near-must. While a bandsaw with a great blade and a fence will do your rip cuts in a pinch, and a radial arm saw or router can take care of your dadoes, a table saw is great and preferred method of doing both...at least for me. A bandsaw is critical for resawing, or making delicate cuts that would cause your arm to fall off if you tried a jigsaw. While you can use a router to accomplish it, a planer is mandatory in my book for getting work down to the right thickness and getting parallel faces. Going to find it very difficult to do moldings without a router. I've got all those things, but I've been having trouble getting a nice edge. That's where the planer comes in.
I experienced some bad glue lines when I tried to put together the cutting boards last year, and even my microwave stand top a few days ago. You need two nice flat surfaces to get a good glue joint, and it wasn't working well with me with my table saw. Those with standard table saws with miter slots would find it easy to use a sled. Since I don't, and still haven't added my miter slots, I wasn't getting the results I wanted. I could theoretically achieve the desired results with a bench plane, or on the router table, but I wasn't doing well with either. On the router table I was getting gouges, and the planes would take way too much time. I knew I needed a jointer, so I started looking.
And looking.
And looking.
I looked for about a year, seriously. I had searches set up on Craigslist, and kept looking at ads for Sears, Rockler, Woodcraft...you name it. I found the used models on Craigslist to either be way too high, or gone within an hour if it was a good deal. I had gotten to the point where I was seriously looking at buying new. I had cash in hand to buy the Harbor Freight model that is well-reviewed, but the day I went to buy I discovered a clearance sign to $200 (good!) but they were out and it was discontinued (bad!). It had come down to a Craftsman or a Ridgid otherwise, about at the same price ($400). I briefly considered Grizzly, but their freight prices pushed them over the top.
I finally found a worthy specimen in an older Craftsman that was listed for $200. Its a contractor series saw from 1996, and it was well taken care of. In fact, just a bit of mineral spirits and wax were needed to get smooth operation. Took me a little while to get it dialed in, but once I did it cuts beautifully. Very pleased with my find. Pictures to come.
In the course of building a worthy shop, there are a few major tool purchases one will need to make. A table saw is a near-must. While a bandsaw with a great blade and a fence will do your rip cuts in a pinch, and a radial arm saw or router can take care of your dadoes, a table saw is great and preferred method of doing both...at least for me. A bandsaw is critical for resawing, or making delicate cuts that would cause your arm to fall off if you tried a jigsaw. While you can use a router to accomplish it, a planer is mandatory in my book for getting work down to the right thickness and getting parallel faces. Going to find it very difficult to do moldings without a router. I've got all those things, but I've been having trouble getting a nice edge. That's where the planer comes in.
I experienced some bad glue lines when I tried to put together the cutting boards last year, and even my microwave stand top a few days ago. You need two nice flat surfaces to get a good glue joint, and it wasn't working well with me with my table saw. Those with standard table saws with miter slots would find it easy to use a sled. Since I don't, and still haven't added my miter slots, I wasn't getting the results I wanted. I could theoretically achieve the desired results with a bench plane, or on the router table, but I wasn't doing well with either. On the router table I was getting gouges, and the planes would take way too much time. I knew I needed a jointer, so I started looking.
And looking.
And looking.
I looked for about a year, seriously. I had searches set up on Craigslist, and kept looking at ads for Sears, Rockler, Woodcraft...you name it. I found the used models on Craigslist to either be way too high, or gone within an hour if it was a good deal. I had gotten to the point where I was seriously looking at buying new. I had cash in hand to buy the Harbor Freight model that is well-reviewed, but the day I went to buy I discovered a clearance sign to $200 (good!) but they were out and it was discontinued (bad!). It had come down to a Craftsman or a Ridgid otherwise, about at the same price ($400). I briefly considered Grizzly, but their freight prices pushed them over the top.
I finally found a worthy specimen in an older Craftsman that was listed for $200. Its a contractor series saw from 1996, and it was well taken care of. In fact, just a bit of mineral spirits and wax were needed to get smooth operation. Took me a little while to get it dialed in, but once I did it cuts beautifully. Very pleased with my find. Pictures to come.
26 September 2011
Upcoming shop projects
While I'm in a posting mood, I might as well put down what I'm looking to do since my tool purchasing is going on a hiatus (more on that next time). More organizational and layout stuff than anything. Perhaps starting small is the wise thing.
I have a few loose items lying around that really don't have a home, or have a poor, temporary home. First thing is to figure out where these things go, so the larger projects have a home.
I have a few cans of paint and like-sized things that need a home. I was thinking a shallow bookshelf, but don't have anything sorted out yet. All I know is the area behind my drill press needs help. Also behind there is my mobile miter platform, I'm debating keeping it or scuttling it. Those two problems solved, and that section will be done.
Moving along that wall, I need to finish the drawers in the miter saw cabinet. That should be the extent for small storage for the foreseeable future. On the upper cabinet, I need to make doors with dry erase inserts for random thoughts or measurements. Dust collection for the miter saw is a must.
My work table has been a warrior, but I need a new work surface that's dead on flat and has bench dog capacity. A cabinetmakers workbench is in order, or a least the style. The footprint will have to stay equal. I have two bins underneath that will leave, but will have to figure out a plan for the spare shop vac. The French cleats above will stay, but a few of the tool holders need to be reworked.
Unknown what I will do with the sander at this point. Will stand pat for the time being. Golf clubs may be on the way out. I can consolidate bags so they can go elsewhere. Four bins are under those, but only two are related to the shop. Don't know where those go.
The router table is going to be redone in the NYW style. Tired of it being Frankenstein. The prototype of the planer cart is going to morph into a dust separator cart, pulling double duty.
Only other things I can think of are a mobile base for the bandsaw and a more stable base and possible storage for the drill press.
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I have a few loose items lying around that really don't have a home, or have a poor, temporary home. First thing is to figure out where these things go, so the larger projects have a home.
I have a few cans of paint and like-sized things that need a home. I was thinking a shallow bookshelf, but don't have anything sorted out yet. All I know is the area behind my drill press needs help. Also behind there is my mobile miter platform, I'm debating keeping it or scuttling it. Those two problems solved, and that section will be done.
Moving along that wall, I need to finish the drawers in the miter saw cabinet. That should be the extent for small storage for the foreseeable future. On the upper cabinet, I need to make doors with dry erase inserts for random thoughts or measurements. Dust collection for the miter saw is a must.
My work table has been a warrior, but I need a new work surface that's dead on flat and has bench dog capacity. A cabinetmakers workbench is in order, or a least the style. The footprint will have to stay equal. I have two bins underneath that will leave, but will have to figure out a plan for the spare shop vac. The French cleats above will stay, but a few of the tool holders need to be reworked.
Unknown what I will do with the sander at this point. Will stand pat for the time being. Golf clubs may be on the way out. I can consolidate bags so they can go elsewhere. Four bins are under those, but only two are related to the shop. Don't know where those go.
The router table is going to be redone in the NYW style. Tired of it being Frankenstein. The prototype of the planer cart is going to morph into a dust separator cart, pulling double duty.
Only other things I can think of are a mobile base for the bandsaw and a more stable base and possible storage for the drill press.
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Loose ends
Occasionally I feel the need to think out loud, or put thoughts into physical form to evaluate them later. Now that I can take a short breather and evaluate the shop, I need to tie up loose ends and put some things in their place.
Things that need a more permanent home:
- paint cans. 4-6 in a shallow bookcase behind the drill press? Don't need to be accessible.
- drill bits. Have plans for these, execute.
- shop vac. Dust collector will render obsolete. Separator will be tossed when separator cart is built.
- tool belt. Need to hang somewhere besides the entry. Door?
- tool cases. TBD. Bookshelf? High shelf?
End of random thoughts for now.
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Things that need a more permanent home:
- paint cans. 4-6 in a shallow bookcase behind the drill press? Don't need to be accessible.
- drill bits. Have plans for these, execute.
- shop vac. Dust collector will render obsolete. Separator will be tossed when separator cart is built.
- tool belt. Need to hang somewhere besides the entry. Door?
- tool cases. TBD. Bookshelf? High shelf?
End of random thoughts for now.
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Dusty Rhodes...err, floors
The American Dream...to have clean shop floors.
I've struggled a bit with this over the months, and have tried to make a bit of progress along the way. For most of the time, it really hasn't been an issue: make a mess, clean it up later with a broom. It's not really even the dust, but it's the larger chips and flakes. But, as I make things a bit more mobile - due to space restrictions - I need to keep things cleaner.
I have two 3HP Shop Vacs (one is a spare, and was bought at the same price as an additional hose) that have done decently so far, especially with my router. However, it showed its deficiencies when it came to planing last week. The dust chute clogged on the planer and chips were shooting out the front, making a huge mess on the floor and some settling on the board, making indentations as it got planed. I can't continue to clean up pounds of shavings each time I plane, and with the planer cart I can't just wheel it outside anymore. Besides, I want to stop making a huge mess on the ground outside.
I bought a Kobalt wall-mount vac a few days ago to see if that would help. It only offers a marginal improvement in CFM, but I could mount it on the wall and it had a remote start. It worked well for a few days, but then the same problems came about. It will be returned. If I didn't already have a (two) shop vacs, I might have kept it for convenience. I really need a true dust collector, if I can make the room. I'm interested in the small 1HP model from Harbor Freight or the Rockler wall-mount, but the HF one is a lot cheaper. The Rockler one you're paying for the nice look I think. Rockler also has plans for a very interesting dust separator cart, something I could put the planer on top of. Might be worth checking out, would have to find alternate storage for my plastic tool cases, but that's not that big of a deal. My 5gal 'Homer' bucket is going to be completely useless for a dust collector anyway.
Think I'll be headed down to Rockler later this week to check out some 4" hoses. This is going to incur some expense to go from a 1.25" Shop Vac system to a 4" collection system.
I've struggled a bit with this over the months, and have tried to make a bit of progress along the way. For most of the time, it really hasn't been an issue: make a mess, clean it up later with a broom. It's not really even the dust, but it's the larger chips and flakes. But, as I make things a bit more mobile - due to space restrictions - I need to keep things cleaner.
I have two 3HP Shop Vacs (one is a spare, and was bought at the same price as an additional hose) that have done decently so far, especially with my router. However, it showed its deficiencies when it came to planing last week. The dust chute clogged on the planer and chips were shooting out the front, making a huge mess on the floor and some settling on the board, making indentations as it got planed. I can't continue to clean up pounds of shavings each time I plane, and with the planer cart I can't just wheel it outside anymore. Besides, I want to stop making a huge mess on the ground outside.
I bought a Kobalt wall-mount vac a few days ago to see if that would help. It only offers a marginal improvement in CFM, but I could mount it on the wall and it had a remote start. It worked well for a few days, but then the same problems came about. It will be returned. If I didn't already have a (two) shop vacs, I might have kept it for convenience. I really need a true dust collector, if I can make the room. I'm interested in the small 1HP model from Harbor Freight or the Rockler wall-mount, but the HF one is a lot cheaper. The Rockler one you're paying for the nice look I think. Rockler also has plans for a very interesting dust separator cart, something I could put the planer on top of. Might be worth checking out, would have to find alternate storage for my plastic tool cases, but that's not that big of a deal. My 5gal 'Homer' bucket is going to be completely useless for a dust collector anyway.
Think I'll be headed down to Rockler later this week to check out some 4" hoses. This is going to incur some expense to go from a 1.25" Shop Vac system to a 4" collection system.
24 September 2011
The big reveal
With my schedule, it took a lot longer to complete than I would have liked. But it's basically done, and I can move on to other projects. The project is a microwave stand/garbage and recycling cabinet. The garbage can has been sitting out on the floor, and the recycling bin has been in the pantry. I wasn't comfortable with that, and wanted it changed.
I measured the garbage can (the recycling can will be replaced with the same style) and based my measurements off eventually having the bins sit on door-mounted drawers. More on that later. I splurged slightly at the lumber yard and bought two-sided prefinished plywood for the case. This will help prevent stains with little effort. I cut the bottom and sides to size, and cut dadoes on the back to accept the 1/4" plywood back, and on the bottom and top to accept...well, the bottom and top. There was really no need to construct a full top to the carcass, since there was going to be a counter-style top. So I made two small stretchers to help tie the carcass together and give an anchor to the real top.
Helping with structural integrity and providing a visual cue is a face frame made of 5/4 poplar, joined together with butt joints and pocket screws. I went out of my comfort zone and attempted biscuit joints to attach the face frame to the carcass. I must say I was rather pleased with the results. I attached a separate toe kick box (again, a new technique) on the bottom with pocket screws. The counter came out about .5-1" too high, but being a separate box construction, I can easily remove it, trim it, and put it back on to get the right height.
The top itself is constructed of soft maple, planed to a thickness of 1.5", then rip cut to that same specification. Then the pieces were turned on edge and glued together to form two pieces. Those got planed to around 1-3/8", and joined together to form a top that is about 18" deep. The ends were trimmed perpendicular and is about 47" long. It's secured to the carcass with six screws.
There will eventually be doors covering the bins, but we're going to let that simmer for a few weeks while we determine what we want - the bins on door drawers, or just regular doors and pulling the bins out manually. Either way the doors will be a rail and style construction with hardware matching the rest of the kitchen.
With this project I can really see how far I've come with my skills, with this project sitting right next to the first one I did, the pantry. My face frame skills have greatly improved, but still needs polishing. I wanted to plug the pocket holes, but forgot to do so in my haste to get the frame glued on. I need better clamps before I try to glue up a butcher block style surface again. Also, better glue brushes are mandatory.
Also, being a true butcher block surface, I could remove the microwave (and any future appliances) and use it as a food prep counter. I don't think I would do any cutting on it, because it's not hard maple and wouldn't stand up to abuse (soft maple provided a cost savings over hard at around 50%).
I do have a small shop, but I'm proud to say that a large portion of this project was accomplished completely within the confines of the 144. Some during rainy conditions. This was a fairly large project, and one I hope to try again at some point as I gain experience, a few more tools and most importantly - better developed work surfaces.
I measured the garbage can (the recycling can will be replaced with the same style) and based my measurements off eventually having the bins sit on door-mounted drawers. More on that later. I splurged slightly at the lumber yard and bought two-sided prefinished plywood for the case. This will help prevent stains with little effort. I cut the bottom and sides to size, and cut dadoes on the back to accept the 1/4" plywood back, and on the bottom and top to accept...well, the bottom and top. There was really no need to construct a full top to the carcass, since there was going to be a counter-style top. So I made two small stretchers to help tie the carcass together and give an anchor to the real top.
Helping with structural integrity and providing a visual cue is a face frame made of 5/4 poplar, joined together with butt joints and pocket screws. I went out of my comfort zone and attempted biscuit joints to attach the face frame to the carcass. I must say I was rather pleased with the results. I attached a separate toe kick box (again, a new technique) on the bottom with pocket screws. The counter came out about .5-1" too high, but being a separate box construction, I can easily remove it, trim it, and put it back on to get the right height.
The top itself is constructed of soft maple, planed to a thickness of 1.5", then rip cut to that same specification. Then the pieces were turned on edge and glued together to form two pieces. Those got planed to around 1-3/8", and joined together to form a top that is about 18" deep. The ends were trimmed perpendicular and is about 47" long. It's secured to the carcass with six screws.
There will eventually be doors covering the bins, but we're going to let that simmer for a few weeks while we determine what we want - the bins on door drawers, or just regular doors and pulling the bins out manually. Either way the doors will be a rail and style construction with hardware matching the rest of the kitchen.
With this project I can really see how far I've come with my skills, with this project sitting right next to the first one I did, the pantry. My face frame skills have greatly improved, but still needs polishing. I wanted to plug the pocket holes, but forgot to do so in my haste to get the frame glued on. I need better clamps before I try to glue up a butcher block style surface again. Also, better glue brushes are mandatory.
Also, being a true butcher block surface, I could remove the microwave (and any future appliances) and use it as a food prep counter. I don't think I would do any cutting on it, because it's not hard maple and wouldn't stand up to abuse (soft maple provided a cost savings over hard at around 50%).
I do have a small shop, but I'm proud to say that a large portion of this project was accomplished completely within the confines of the 144. Some during rainy conditions. This was a fairly large project, and one I hope to try again at some point as I gain experience, a few more tools and most importantly - better developed work surfaces.
23 September 2011
The train bridge
Sorry for taking so long on this update. With my day job and home life, sometimes I don't get the time I want to share what I'm going. The limited amount of time I get in the shop takes up most of my free time. Hopefully with smaller posts like this I can squeeze them in.
My son has gotten into trains, big time. Especially Thomas. So naturally, he has a very big collection of wooden train tracks. One of the items he has is a tower drawbridge. Here is a stock photo:
Well, I always thought it was kinda dumb to have a solid base underneath with no way for a train or a boat to go through. After I had done my other work Saturday, I decided it was time to change that. I took the bridge and a short section of track out to the shop, and started disassembling the base. It is held in place with four screws, but after those were out it wouldn't budge. They tricked me! After some gentle persuasion the towers came free and I discovered they used a bit of glue and dowels to hold it in. Not bad construction here. Some of the paint came off the base, but it was all hidden by the tower anyway. I found the middle, and started tracing the outline of the male connector on each side. Making this a female connection on both sides was going to be the easiest thing to do and not make it look odd. I used a forstner bit on my drill press and made the holes, then used the bandsaw to complete the connector.
From here I test fit the male piece and both sides were ready to go. But there was no actual track yet, the trains would not be able to pass. I used my combination square to mark lines for the tracks. Now here is where my common math errors come into play once again. I measured from the end of the piece to the nearest line to set my router table and 1/4" straight bit to make the tracks. But I used this measurement on the wrong side of the bit. I should have measured from either the other side of the bit, or the second line. So when I put the track back on, the lines didn't match. I was so close to having a great project! I had to readjust the fence and make another pass so the tracks would line up. The second side came out perfect, but it looked odd. So I intentionally made the other side match the goof side to make it look intentional. The tracks are now double width, but it doesn't affect the function. A bit of hand sanding with a used random orbit paper cleaned up the edges and everything went back together. I didn't bother to reapply glue to the dowels, as the boy isn't that rough with his toys.
And here is the finished product. I now see that Rockler has a bit set designed to make your own tracks, but at over $100 it's a bit unnecessary and spendy. Individual track pieces are easy to come by, and cheap enough to not bother making your own unless you need a custom piece. Now if I start selling custom train tables and want to match it with some custom track pieces (say, the ability to have raised track extend out over the edges to expand play) then I might look into it.
(The pen is my son's artwork, not mine)
My son has gotten into trains, big time. Especially Thomas. So naturally, he has a very big collection of wooden train tracks. One of the items he has is a tower drawbridge. Here is a stock photo:
Well, I always thought it was kinda dumb to have a solid base underneath with no way for a train or a boat to go through. After I had done my other work Saturday, I decided it was time to change that. I took the bridge and a short section of track out to the shop, and started disassembling the base. It is held in place with four screws, but after those were out it wouldn't budge. They tricked me! After some gentle persuasion the towers came free and I discovered they used a bit of glue and dowels to hold it in. Not bad construction here. Some of the paint came off the base, but it was all hidden by the tower anyway. I found the middle, and started tracing the outline of the male connector on each side. Making this a female connection on both sides was going to be the easiest thing to do and not make it look odd. I used a forstner bit on my drill press and made the holes, then used the bandsaw to complete the connector.
From here I test fit the male piece and both sides were ready to go. But there was no actual track yet, the trains would not be able to pass. I used my combination square to mark lines for the tracks. Now here is where my common math errors come into play once again. I measured from the end of the piece to the nearest line to set my router table and 1/4" straight bit to make the tracks. But I used this measurement on the wrong side of the bit. I should have measured from either the other side of the bit, or the second line. So when I put the track back on, the lines didn't match. I was so close to having a great project! I had to readjust the fence and make another pass so the tracks would line up. The second side came out perfect, but it looked odd. So I intentionally made the other side match the goof side to make it look intentional. The tracks are now double width, but it doesn't affect the function. A bit of hand sanding with a used random orbit paper cleaned up the edges and everything went back together. I didn't bother to reapply glue to the dowels, as the boy isn't that rough with his toys.
And here is the finished product. I now see that Rockler has a bit set designed to make your own tracks, but at over $100 it's a bit unnecessary and spendy. Individual track pieces are easy to come by, and cheap enough to not bother making your own unless you need a custom piece. Now if I start selling custom train tables and want to match it with some custom track pieces (say, the ability to have raised track extend out over the edges to expand play) then I might look into it.
(The pen is my son's artwork, not mine)
17 September 2011
I fibbed
I said I'd go in-depth on my current project, but I'm so wiped from working on it today I don't have the energy. Tomorrow, I promise.
Sneak Peek
Just a little preview of the new project. Hope to have a more in-depth overview later today.
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- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
15 September 2011
Wish list - big stuff
As I think about the things I would like to build in my shop, my thoughts sometimes turn to tools I still want to obtain. Alternately, there are tools that I hpe to one day upgrade to something a little bit nicer.
For a tool I still want to buy, a jointer is at the very top of the list. I'd really like to find a used floor model 6-1/8" model, such as the Ridgid. It's the one I can think of right now that has the most reasonable price point. I'd take a table model, but if it's my money I think I really need the floor model for doing these table tops that I want to. In fact, I think I'm going to only ask for funds to get this for Christmas. I have seen some decent things about the Harbor Freight jointer, but at $400 it's still a bit too rich. Now if they put it on sale for about $300 and I also use a 20% off coupon, all bets are off.
One other item I'd like to get my hands on is a mortiser. Sure, I could do most of what I want to do with my drill press and chisels, so this is more about convienence than actual need. It will probably be the last major tool I buy for the main reason of it being so superfluous.
As far as upgrading goes, there's really only one tool I have that I wouldn't mind getting a better version of: my planer. The little Ryobi AP-1300 does a pretty decent job, and should continue to function well once I dial it back in and change out the knives. But what I really have my eye on is a Dewalt DW735, the cadillac of portable planers. That's just a wish list item at this point, but it would be a nice upgrade.
Unfortunately at this location I'll never have true dust collection, due both to space and power issues. The same thing applies to a drum sander and a cabinet table saw. But it is what it is, and I have to deal with it. I can get pretty close on the table saw by adding miter channels and a couple of auxillary tables.
Hopefully I'll get some fresh pictures taken tomorrow for an up-to-date look at the shop progress. That is, if I can get to the Yard and pick up some maple to get this new project started.
For a tool I still want to buy, a jointer is at the very top of the list. I'd really like to find a used floor model 6-1/8" model, such as the Ridgid. It's the one I can think of right now that has the most reasonable price point. I'd take a table model, but if it's my money I think I really need the floor model for doing these table tops that I want to. In fact, I think I'm going to only ask for funds to get this for Christmas. I have seen some decent things about the Harbor Freight jointer, but at $400 it's still a bit too rich. Now if they put it on sale for about $300 and I also use a 20% off coupon, all bets are off.
One other item I'd like to get my hands on is a mortiser. Sure, I could do most of what I want to do with my drill press and chisels, so this is more about convienence than actual need. It will probably be the last major tool I buy for the main reason of it being so superfluous.
As far as upgrading goes, there's really only one tool I have that I wouldn't mind getting a better version of: my planer. The little Ryobi AP-1300 does a pretty decent job, and should continue to function well once I dial it back in and change out the knives. But what I really have my eye on is a Dewalt DW735, the cadillac of portable planers. That's just a wish list item at this point, but it would be a nice upgrade.
Unfortunately at this location I'll never have true dust collection, due both to space and power issues. The same thing applies to a drum sander and a cabinet table saw. But it is what it is, and I have to deal with it. I can get pretty close on the table saw by adding miter channels and a couple of auxillary tables.
Hopefully I'll get some fresh pictures taken tomorrow for an up-to-date look at the shop progress. That is, if I can get to the Yard and pick up some maple to get this new project started.
14 September 2011
Going global
You can now follow @the144workshop to get updates on when new content is posted, and you can always email the144workshop@gmail.com with any questions or comments. Thanks for taking part of this little corner of the internet!
13 September 2011
It's all good
For the first time in awhile after I left the shop, I was excited. I've finally gotten the shop to a place where I feel I could take on a major project. The last few days, I really haven't made any major changes, but the culmination of ideas and projects have finally come together into a functional shop.
I still had a bunch of leftover MDF from disassembling my Ultimate Tool Stand, so I used a majority of it to build a working design excercise - a planer cart. I previously had a flip-top planer cart, but it felt way too unstable for what it was. I purposely left off a counterbalance so it could fit under a table, and the design just didn't work. So for the past six months or so, it sat in the corner neglected, without a permanent home. I figured out what the ideal height would be for my arms, and took that scrap MDF and repurposed it into a lower, wider cart. While this will take up more floor space than the flip-top, the cavities below the planer now hold my plastic cases from various tools, making it a decent trade-off.
Part of the reason I had room to make this was that I finally removed the lawnmower. I had a corral that it sat in, with a shelf on top for my golf equipment, the vac/separator and the planer. I repurposed that into a taller, shallower shelf that still holds my clubs. But now I have room underneath to store four plastic bins, and perhaps my dovetail jig can also find a home on top. I think the shelf may even be tall enough to house a jointer when I finally get one, but I can't claim that was in the design - just getting it tall enough to fit the bins under was my goal.
A couple of weeks ago I finally purchased the spindle sander I have had my eye on for about a year, and it came in really handy for duplicating the train table that finally gave out after eight months. But the only place I had for it was on top of the router table. I considered buying a metal stand for it, and actually did from Harbor Freight. But unfortunately the holes were horribly misaligned. Plus, I just disassembled and tossed the metal stand that was included with with my planer. For $30, I wasn't impressed. I thought, 'this is a woodworking shop. Make it out of wood already.' So I did. I went to the Borg and bought two 2x4s and had it built in about an hour, mostly. The skeleton was done. Simple pocket hole construction, about 32" high with structural support a foot below the bottom of the top rail. Today I rummaged through my extensive (overly so) scrap collection and found two pieces of cheap plywood that would do the trick. The first one fit the top nearly exactly. It's about 1/4" short on all sides, but it was way too perfect to even cut. Screwed it down, and only had to trim 1/4" off one side of the second piece to make the shelf below. I need to attach some adjustable feet on the bottom, but for $5 it's a really sweet stand. I think the shelf will hold my sharpening tool, but it may become home to all my sandpaper and the cordless sanders instead. Probably room for both.
The best part of that project was that I was able to get in, get it done and feel like I could just close the doors and leave when I was done. No extensive cleanup, no huge piles of crap everywhere. I didn't have to move a bunch of stuff to get it done. I'm very, very happy with how the shop is doing right now. Sure, there are some things I still need to acquire and make a home for, but that's okay. That will be for another blog entry.
I still had a bunch of leftover MDF from disassembling my Ultimate Tool Stand, so I used a majority of it to build a working design excercise - a planer cart. I previously had a flip-top planer cart, but it felt way too unstable for what it was. I purposely left off a counterbalance so it could fit under a table, and the design just didn't work. So for the past six months or so, it sat in the corner neglected, without a permanent home. I figured out what the ideal height would be for my arms, and took that scrap MDF and repurposed it into a lower, wider cart. While this will take up more floor space than the flip-top, the cavities below the planer now hold my plastic cases from various tools, making it a decent trade-off.
Part of the reason I had room to make this was that I finally removed the lawnmower. I had a corral that it sat in, with a shelf on top for my golf equipment, the vac/separator and the planer. I repurposed that into a taller, shallower shelf that still holds my clubs. But now I have room underneath to store four plastic bins, and perhaps my dovetail jig can also find a home on top. I think the shelf may even be tall enough to house a jointer when I finally get one, but I can't claim that was in the design - just getting it tall enough to fit the bins under was my goal.
A couple of weeks ago I finally purchased the spindle sander I have had my eye on for about a year, and it came in really handy for duplicating the train table that finally gave out after eight months. But the only place I had for it was on top of the router table. I considered buying a metal stand for it, and actually did from Harbor Freight. But unfortunately the holes were horribly misaligned. Plus, I just disassembled and tossed the metal stand that was included with with my planer. For $30, I wasn't impressed. I thought, 'this is a woodworking shop. Make it out of wood already.' So I did. I went to the Borg and bought two 2x4s and had it built in about an hour, mostly. The skeleton was done. Simple pocket hole construction, about 32" high with structural support a foot below the bottom of the top rail. Today I rummaged through my extensive (overly so) scrap collection and found two pieces of cheap plywood that would do the trick. The first one fit the top nearly exactly. It's about 1/4" short on all sides, but it was way too perfect to even cut. Screwed it down, and only had to trim 1/4" off one side of the second piece to make the shelf below. I need to attach some adjustable feet on the bottom, but for $5 it's a really sweet stand. I think the shelf will hold my sharpening tool, but it may become home to all my sandpaper and the cordless sanders instead. Probably room for both.
The best part of that project was that I was able to get in, get it done and feel like I could just close the doors and leave when I was done. No extensive cleanup, no huge piles of crap everywhere. I didn't have to move a bunch of stuff to get it done. I'm very, very happy with how the shop is doing right now. Sure, there are some things I still need to acquire and make a home for, but that's okay. That will be for another blog entry.
04 September 2011
Getting there
It was a very productive couple of days in the shop this weekend. No projects were worked on, but a lot of cleanup was accomplished. The air reel was mounted to the wall at the entrance under the drill press. Not sure if that's where it will stay, but it's a good start. Made spots for my weedeater (which will stay), various odds and ends and etc. Really it needed a major cleanup in order to progress to getting the planer, sander and dust collection storage done.
Speaking of which, I'm still trying to decide how that's going to be done. When I think of it I'll post it up. BTW, the train table came out great.
Speaking of which, I'm still trying to decide how that's going to be done. When I think of it I'll post it up. BTW, the train table came out great.
29 August 2011
Summer vacation
Can't believe its been two months since I posted, but that's what happens when it gets hot with no A/C. I've kept busy with a few small projects, such as repairing some balusters for my parents, and also a replacement drawer. Other than that, activity has been low due to the heat.
Did finally buy myself the Ridgid oscillating spindle sander the other day, have had my eye on it for quite some time. I will be making some room for it soon by playing my last card - finding a new home for the lawnmower. By doing this, I'll create enough room for the sander, give the planer a new home and maybe make room for the last two things I want: a jointer and a mortiser.
Other than that not a lot has changed. Shelves in the upper cabinet, and a new blade rack are the latest shop projects. Tomorrow I get to (re)build a train table.
Did finally buy myself the Ridgid oscillating spindle sander the other day, have had my eye on it for quite some time. I will be making some room for it soon by playing my last card - finding a new home for the lawnmower. By doing this, I'll create enough room for the sander, give the planer a new home and maybe make room for the last two things I want: a jointer and a mortiser.
Other than that not a lot has changed. Shelves in the upper cabinet, and a new blade rack are the latest shop projects. Tomorrow I get to (re)build a train table.
01 July 2011
Keep going
I haven’t been able to spend much more time in the shop recently, but I have made good progress since last time. I installed my clamp rack and it’s a absolutely huge addition to the shop. No more clamps in random places, besides my Kreg clamps, and those will have a place soon enough.
I bit the bullet and moved some stuff around and it’s made a nice difference. The work table moved into another corner and along with reorientation of the plastic rack, it has opened up the place nicely. Lots of floor room again, room to move around.
The next steps, which I hope to accomplish this weekend, are to get the drill press moved to where the bench was, along with putting in drill bit storage somewhere in that corner. The other project is to get the lumber rack up to replace the plastic shelves which will head to the basement. Getting all of the scrap on this rack will free up a bit of room on the floor to put the planer underneath or the table saw. Not sure yet. Saw might be the wiser choice as the planer cart could sit over the base of the drill press.
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10 June 2011
Change of pace
I was able to finally purchase a small clamp rack, and it should hold almost all I need it to. Hopefully that can go up in the morning. I don't know what else will get done, because it's that time of the year where it's almost too hot to do anything. No AC makes me very unproductive.
So, attention turns elsewhere. This is the end of the woodworking content, if that's important to you.
I've been wanting to set up a home network ever since I moved in, and it's about that time. We've been doing other upgrades, and this is a natural progression. This post is really just a catalog of my ideas that I need to incorporate.
The modem needs to relocate to the exact opposite side of the house. That's right where the cable meets the house anyway, and it will be the easiest place to come up into the wall. With the modem is the new router which has four gigabit ports.
The longest run will be to the HT, about 50'. From the wall plate a four port gigabit switch will serve the two game machines and the DVR. The fourth port will be open for future expansion or as a port I can plug a laptop in if needed.
The other three cables will be run to the opposite side of the original room to my workstation, XBMC and sat box.
Not very exciting.
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So, attention turns elsewhere. This is the end of the woodworking content, if that's important to you.
I've been wanting to set up a home network ever since I moved in, and it's about that time. We've been doing other upgrades, and this is a natural progression. This post is really just a catalog of my ideas that I need to incorporate.
The modem needs to relocate to the exact opposite side of the house. That's right where the cable meets the house anyway, and it will be the easiest place to come up into the wall. With the modem is the new router which has four gigabit ports.
The longest run will be to the HT, about 50'. From the wall plate a four port gigabit switch will serve the two game machines and the DVR. The fourth port will be open for future expansion or as a port I can plug a laptop in if needed.
The other three cables will be run to the opposite side of the original room to my workstation, XBMC and sat box.
Not very exciting.
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31 May 2011
Idle hands
With the Memorial Day weekend and the fairly extreme heat, nothing new to report in the shop. I will say that with the additional storage and relative order, I can get in and out of the shop quickly when I need to grab something. It's nice to know where something is, and expect it there every time. I've done various tasks around the house, like install a glass tile back splash, upgrade my computer, do some cable management, etc. That stuff really isn't important, but I've needed multiple tools and I've been able to access them quickly and easily.
As for the shop itself, it will be another weekend of being idle. I did buy my air hose reel, so that can be knocked off the list. I will also try to get out there tomorrow or Monday and see if I have enough scrap to throw together a planer cart to finally get rid of this metal stand.
As for the shop itself, it will be another weekend of being idle. I did buy my air hose reel, so that can be knocked off the list. I will also try to get out there tomorrow or Monday and see if I have enough scrap to throw together a planer cart to finally get rid of this metal stand.
22 May 2011
To do list - projects
This is an incomplete list.
To be built:
Planer cart
Auto cabs (2)
New chisel rack
New saw blade rack (2)
Drill bit storage
Doors for upper cab
Finish drawers for lower cab
Trim router table
Finish replacing walls
Replace doors
Replace window
To be bought:
Air hose reel
Paper towel holder - done 5/22
Scrap rack
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To be built:
Planer cart
Auto cabs (2)
New chisel rack
New saw blade rack (2)
Drill bit storage
Doors for upper cab
Finish drawers for lower cab
Trim router table
Finish replacing walls
Replace doors
Replace window
To be bought:
Air hose reel
Paper towel holder - done 5/22
Scrap rack
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To do list - layout
Too often I just start going without a plan. Hope to fix that this time. I'll work on the formatting later.
Halogens back on wall.
Clean up long scrap in NW corner. Rotate shelves temporarily and RT goes in front.
Table moves to SE corner. Board scrap moves to NW corner. Clock moves to SE corner. Radio/fan mount relocates TBD.
Drill press to NE corner.
Auto cab gets split into two, up on wall TBD.
Out of shop - softball equipment, spare shop vac, carpet and felt paper rolls, misc plastic containers.
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Halogens back on wall.
Clean up long scrap in NW corner. Rotate shelves temporarily and RT goes in front.
Table moves to SE corner. Board scrap moves to NW corner. Clock moves to SE corner. Radio/fan mount relocates TBD.
Drill press to NE corner.
Auto cab gets split into two, up on wall TBD.
Out of shop - softball equipment, spare shop vac, carpet and felt paper rolls, misc plastic containers.
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Thinking out loud
I'm in the shop right now and thought I needed to assess where I was and where I needed to go, respective of layout. I figured here was as good a place as any.
On the west wall I am limited by my decision to keep the lawnmower and golf equipment in the shop. I know that ultimately the golf equipment will have to go. Those could easily go downstairs with little ill effect. The mower will have to stay until the point where I obtain a riding version. So, I'll ignore that corner for now. my halogen work light could fit between the window and the golf clubs...
In the NW corner is my plastic shelving unit and assorted long stock. The plan is to put a stock shelving unit on the wall and reclaim the floor space underneath. This is probably where the router table will be stowed, and possibly a mobile version of a planer cart. Still thinking about the design of that, but once done I can toss the old stand which takes up way too much room. Board scrap will hug the N wall next to the door.
The south wall is replaced with OSB, but the cleat system still isn't finished. With my new cabinets and drawers, I may only need one more section. In fact, I know I only need one more section on that wall. The only other things there I want fast access to are the rest of the cordless tools, and safety equipment. I will keep either the drill press or the bandsaw on that wall, and the other will move to the NE corner (maybe). The tall white automotive cab will be replaced with two wall units. I think my old work table with vise will relocate to the SE corner, under the original cleats. Will have to move the vise. The table saw will probably go in front of the window.
The east wall is pretty much set aside from replacing the wall. The clock will go to the SE corner and I will work a bit on better using the wall space. I think the drill press will go to the NE corner and I will make the wall behind/next to it hold all my drilling stuff.
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On the west wall I am limited by my decision to keep the lawnmower and golf equipment in the shop. I know that ultimately the golf equipment will have to go. Those could easily go downstairs with little ill effect. The mower will have to stay until the point where I obtain a riding version. So, I'll ignore that corner for now. my halogen work light could fit between the window and the golf clubs...
In the NW corner is my plastic shelving unit and assorted long stock. The plan is to put a stock shelving unit on the wall and reclaim the floor space underneath. This is probably where the router table will be stowed, and possibly a mobile version of a planer cart. Still thinking about the design of that, but once done I can toss the old stand which takes up way too much room. Board scrap will hug the N wall next to the door.
The south wall is replaced with OSB, but the cleat system still isn't finished. With my new cabinets and drawers, I may only need one more section. In fact, I know I only need one more section on that wall. The only other things there I want fast access to are the rest of the cordless tools, and safety equipment. I will keep either the drill press or the bandsaw on that wall, and the other will move to the NE corner (maybe). The tall white automotive cab will be replaced with two wall units. I think my old work table with vise will relocate to the SE corner, under the original cleats. Will have to move the vise. The table saw will probably go in front of the window.
The east wall is pretty much set aside from replacing the wall. The clock will go to the SE corner and I will work a bit on better using the wall space. I think the drill press will go to the NE corner and I will make the wall behind/next to it hold all my drilling stuff.
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21 May 2011
The shop keeps coming along
With a slight change in my work schedule, I haven't been able to get out to the shop during the week, and I forget to write about it as well. I, with the help of my BIL, did some work on the house last weekend, so not a lot got done in the shop.
But, that's not to say things haven't been accomplished.
I ordered my drawer hardware and it came in last Wednesday. So far I've made three drawer boxes complete with bottoms. The rest of the drawer sides are ready to go, but I ran out of 1/4" plywood. The drawers have gone in fairly well thus far, except I seem to have misjudged the width by 1/2". So a piece of 1/4" ply went on both sides to bridge the gap. All three drawers are on the left side right now.
In the bottom drawer is the impetus for this whole drawer idea - air tools. I have my three air nailers standing up in one corner, with my impact gun, oils and accessories also in the drawer. The next drawer up currently has some random stuff, and the third drawer up has more of the same. When I head out there I'll refresh my memory.
The upper cab face frame went together just like I wanted it to until it was time to attach it. I didn't concentrate enough on making sure everything was square with the cab, so I couldn't use biscuits. I also didn't feel like taking it off the wall to use pocket screws. So I just simply attached it with a couple of screws through the surface for now. When I take the cab down to replace the walls I'll do it the right way and fill in the screw holes.
Pictures to come a bit later.
But, that's not to say things haven't been accomplished.
I ordered my drawer hardware and it came in last Wednesday. So far I've made three drawer boxes complete with bottoms. The rest of the drawer sides are ready to go, but I ran out of 1/4" plywood. The drawers have gone in fairly well thus far, except I seem to have misjudged the width by 1/2". So a piece of 1/4" ply went on both sides to bridge the gap. All three drawers are on the left side right now.
In the bottom drawer is the impetus for this whole drawer idea - air tools. I have my three air nailers standing up in one corner, with my impact gun, oils and accessories also in the drawer. The next drawer up currently has some random stuff, and the third drawer up has more of the same. When I head out there I'll refresh my memory.
The upper cab face frame went together just like I wanted it to until it was time to attach it. I didn't concentrate enough on making sure everything was square with the cab, so I couldn't use biscuits. I also didn't feel like taking it off the wall to use pocket screws. So I just simply attached it with a couple of screws through the surface for now. When I take the cab down to replace the walls I'll do it the right way and fill in the screw holes.
Pictures to come a bit later.
05 May 2011
Weekend Outlook
Time hasn't done me many favors lately, and not much has gotten done. Where I am now is I bought a piece of Poplar to cut up and use as a face frame for the upper cabinet. My last foray into the world of face framing didn't go too well, but I hope this goes a bit better. I need to be more precise in my cabinetmaking.
I also think I have the measurements I need to build all my drawers for the lower cabinet. I also think I have all the material for the sides, but not the bottom. Have to decide if I want to use 1/4" ply, hardboard or 1/2" ply.
I'm hoping I get the time I need on Sunday to get both accomplished. I've already laid out the cut lines on the Poplar and did some sketching on some paper for the plywood, I think I've got everything down. The drawer parts will be cut even though I haven't bought the hardware yet. I think I may go ahead and order that tomorrow so it will be here for next weekend. I also saw some great plans from Marc Spagnuolo (The Wood Whisperer) for a shelving system for stock. That might go ahead next weekend, or the one after that. An outfeed table for the table saw is a priority as well.
Other than that, things are going pretty well in the shop. It's fairly clean, and I'm going to soon have space to start working on actual non-shop products. A jewelry box and chess set are on the horizon, as are this year's Christmas presents.
I also think I have the measurements I need to build all my drawers for the lower cabinet. I also think I have all the material for the sides, but not the bottom. Have to decide if I want to use 1/4" ply, hardboard or 1/2" ply.
I'm hoping I get the time I need on Sunday to get both accomplished. I've already laid out the cut lines on the Poplar and did some sketching on some paper for the plywood, I think I've got everything down. The drawer parts will be cut even though I haven't bought the hardware yet. I think I may go ahead and order that tomorrow so it will be here for next weekend. I also saw some great plans from Marc Spagnuolo (The Wood Whisperer) for a shelving system for stock. That might go ahead next weekend, or the one after that. An outfeed table for the table saw is a priority as well.
Other than that, things are going pretty well in the shop. It's fairly clean, and I'm going to soon have space to start working on actual non-shop products. A jewelry box and chess set are on the horizon, as are this year's Christmas presents.
01 May 2011
Wall cabinet
Posted about it last night, and how I was going to redo the joints. Decided I'd rather not today, as there were other minor little things I didn't like as well. So I just planed some of the front surface in preparation for whatever face I decide to put on it. May do a frame, may just laminate the edges.
30 April 2011
Just...one more thing
No, I'm not announcing the new iPhone 5. But I did forget to say I did buy a new router during this little absence. Sears is apparently closing out their very well-reviewed routers, presumably in advance of a new line. Having wanted a D-handle router for some time, I took the opportunity to pick up the Craftsman 28084 3-base set on sale. I went to one of the lesser traveled Sears stores (a converted Kmart) and found an older version that came with an injected molded case. This is a pretty good upgrade over the old one. A bump in HP from 2 to 2.25, better dust collection and of course with the D-base, more control. I really like it. So much so that I hope to pick up an extra motor before they sell out. Perhaps I'll post some pictures tomorrow.
I'm taking ideas for Christmas presents for this year. Last year I had the cutting boards done before Thanksgiving, and with the cold weather it was a good thing. If there's something you might want that you think I might be able to do, post it up.
I'm taking ideas for Christmas presents for this year. Last year I had the cutting boards done before Thanksgiving, and with the cold weather it was a good thing. If there's something you might want that you think I might be able to do, post it up.
Catch-up time
I meant to post sooner, but work and home life has gotten in the way.
The month of April really has been about cleaning up and feeling out how I want things and exactly what I need to do next. It has been at times greatly frustrating and rewarding. I was thinking one Saturday how crappy my shop was and how unhappy I was with it. I took a break and came back about 30 minutes later with an idea. An hour after that the shop was more clean than it ever had been. Sometimes you just need to take a break and come back at it with a fresh approach.
After some general cleanup, I embarked on something I wanted to do for awhile - a fence for my miter saw. With my portable miter saw stand, I had this. Unfortunately, my measurements for the fence were slightly off and it wasn't exactly square. The fence was removable, and keyed to the saw by bolts and nuts on the extensions. Since I moved my saw to a wing of a cabinet, and I didn't want to put any holes in the cabinet because I wanted to retain the work surface, I couldn't go that route.
I took most of my design from a ShopNotes plan, seen here: http://plansnow.com/dn3089c.html I don't have a current need for the extension portion of the fence, so I left it out for now. It's a basic upside-down U design, with aluminum T-track on top. It is in this that a stop mechanism rides. It adjusts to any length from 11-42". I'll be making another extension that will handle lengths under that. There is a left-reading tape measure that sits right in front of the track for very precise measurement.
Now in the plans, it calls for an L-attachment at the back of the fence that you use to bolt down the fence to the table. Instead of that, I made the fence register to the sides of the cabinet so that the surface would be undisturbed. I estimate my variance from the saw is a millimeter or two. Close enough.
Something I started on today was finally putting in an upper cabinet. I get so little time in the shop that a lot of my shop projects aren't quite up to the standard I would like. I often have to take shortcuts and use simple methods to achieve results. For the cabinet instead of lock miter or a rabbet lock joint, I had to go with simple butt joints and screws. I may go back at some point and make those joints stronger, but for now it will have to do. All of this was made out of the cutoff pile, another attempt at paring down what I have and trying to make room.
Here's a teaser shot. It's up on the wall (which still needs to be replaced), it needs a face frame (which if I want to fix the joints I'll have to do that first), a pair of shelves and doors. I also have something of a surprise underneath. Just have to see what my clearance is. My new fence does fit nicely up top though.
The month of April really has been about cleaning up and feeling out how I want things and exactly what I need to do next. It has been at times greatly frustrating and rewarding. I was thinking one Saturday how crappy my shop was and how unhappy I was with it. I took a break and came back about 30 minutes later with an idea. An hour after that the shop was more clean than it ever had been. Sometimes you just need to take a break and come back at it with a fresh approach.
After some general cleanup, I embarked on something I wanted to do for awhile - a fence for my miter saw. With my portable miter saw stand, I had this. Unfortunately, my measurements for the fence were slightly off and it wasn't exactly square. The fence was removable, and keyed to the saw by bolts and nuts on the extensions. Since I moved my saw to a wing of a cabinet, and I didn't want to put any holes in the cabinet because I wanted to retain the work surface, I couldn't go that route.
I took most of my design from a ShopNotes plan, seen here: http://plansnow.com/dn3089c.html I don't have a current need for the extension portion of the fence, so I left it out for now. It's a basic upside-down U design, with aluminum T-track on top. It is in this that a stop mechanism rides. It adjusts to any length from 11-42". I'll be making another extension that will handle lengths under that. There is a left-reading tape measure that sits right in front of the track for very precise measurement.
Now in the plans, it calls for an L-attachment at the back of the fence that you use to bolt down the fence to the table. Instead of that, I made the fence register to the sides of the cabinet so that the surface would be undisturbed. I estimate my variance from the saw is a millimeter or two. Close enough.
Something I started on today was finally putting in an upper cabinet. I get so little time in the shop that a lot of my shop projects aren't quite up to the standard I would like. I often have to take shortcuts and use simple methods to achieve results. For the cabinet instead of lock miter or a rabbet lock joint, I had to go with simple butt joints and screws. I may go back at some point and make those joints stronger, but for now it will have to do. All of this was made out of the cutoff pile, another attempt at paring down what I have and trying to make room.
Here's a teaser shot. It's up on the wall (which still needs to be replaced), it needs a face frame (which if I want to fix the joints I'll have to do that first), a pair of shelves and doors. I also have something of a surprise underneath. Just have to see what my clearance is. My new fence does fit nicely up top though.
28 March 2011
Router table upgrades (cont)
I was able to accomplish a couple of things in the shop toward my ultimate goals. I removed the top two bit drawers and extended the drawer fronts up (new pieces) and I think I'll have enough room now for extra tall bits. I also added a front for the deep drawer on the left side to match. The new pulls are on all the finished drawers.
Remaining tasks:
- trim everything with ash
- false front behind paddle switch
- fronts for lower drawers
- router door
It's getting really close.
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Remaining tasks:
- trim everything with ash
- false front behind paddle switch
- fronts for lower drawers
- router door
It's getting really close.
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Router table upgrades
While I decided to keep the router table I have instead of completely scrapping it, there are still a few things I want to do to it before I can call it finished.
First order of business is to fix the drawers. When I made the side drawers before, I really didn't have a good idea of how many bits I would get, and how tall they would be. I now know that I made too many drawers and made them too small.
To fix that I will either just eliminate a couple and make the drawer fronts bigger, or resize them all to what I think I need. I have enough ash left over where I should be able to make matching drawers for the upper portion. To make the drawer fronts for the bottom will probably require a trip to the store.
Speaking of store, I spotted some drawer knobs on clearance Saturday and stopped back by again to look at them a bit more closely. They are brass (?) and maple, but it's close enough for the price at $.28 per. Couldn't make ones cheaper than that. 12 will take care of the whole router table, plus a couple left over.
At the same time I picked up a hook to keep the router cords out of the way. It doesn't work great, but I'll keep an open mind about it.
The knobs are only on the drawers I have bits in, so that gives you an idea of how much space I don't need.
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First order of business is to fix the drawers. When I made the side drawers before, I really didn't have a good idea of how many bits I would get, and how tall they would be. I now know that I made too many drawers and made them too small.
To fix that I will either just eliminate a couple and make the drawer fronts bigger, or resize them all to what I think I need. I have enough ash left over where I should be able to make matching drawers for the upper portion. To make the drawer fronts for the bottom will probably require a trip to the store.
Speaking of store, I spotted some drawer knobs on clearance Saturday and stopped back by again to look at them a bit more closely. They are brass (?) and maple, but it's close enough for the price at $.28 per. Couldn't make ones cheaper than that. 12 will take care of the whole router table, plus a couple left over.
At the same time I picked up a hook to keep the router cords out of the way. It doesn't work great, but I'll keep an open mind about it.
The knobs are only on the drawers I have bits in, so that gives you an idea of how much space I don't need.
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