Whole lot of nothin'

Two days and no shop time. Not that I've really minded, I badly needed to clean my car out yesterday and today is a very dreary day. With no projects on deck there's not much reason to head out there except for some measuring, which I might do in a bit.

I've been looking for ideas to store my power tools on the wall and I've not had much luck. It seems it's not a project that's discussed too often. Or one that pictures aren't taken too routinely of. It seems like I'm going to be left to my own devices on this project, and to truly do what's the most efficient storage for the tools instead of any particular design. Some stuff like the air tools, multifunction tool and Dremel will most likely live in drawers. It's the saws, drills and etc that will be up on the wall.

I keep thinking I may swap the drill press to the opposite wall next to the table saw. I'm still trying to figure out the most efficient use of that corner, of all the possibilities I have: drill press, air compressor, or jointer. What I may have to do is remove all the scrap wood on a nice day and simply move things and see if they work. Sketchup isn't going to help me much here, because most of my models aren't to scale.

Another project that's in the research phase is a new set of doors. The T&G plywood that's pretty much the entire exterior of the shop has seen better days, with the doors taking the worst of it. Not meant for exterior use, they've bowed out and aren't suitable for storing anything. That's not to mention the complete lack of protection from animals or cold air. I've been looking at different styles of doors and am not close to deciding anything yet. I'd love a single, sliding door, but that's going to be cost prohibitive. Barn-style doors and hinges are the most likely outcome.

I was able to hit up a refurb tool store about an hour from home and browsed their selection. I was tempted by a few things, but ended up only coming home with a 4v wall stud sensor and an 18v leaf blower. The stud sensor works well enough, and is of the Ryobi Tek series. I have their screwdriver and love it. I also have a electronic lock that I couldn't care either way for, but buying it netted me a spare battery and charger for less than just a battery. Now I have three chargers, three batteries and three tools for under $70. The leaf blower isn't at all powerful, at least on wet leaves. I think it will come in handy in the fall when they start falling though, and it's super light and fairly quiet.

The only thing I did shop-wise in the last few days was I built the beginnings of my air compressor garage. I took some spare 2x4s and cut them to size to make the side support of the garage. The other side will be a wall and a cleat. I didn't feel like changing out my saw to do dados, so I experimented with my bandsaw to make half-laps. The result was rather good, in that I wasn't looking for precision. If I was, I would rather have the table saw. But it worked, even with the blade drifting. My shop-made band saw fence is nice, but I think I'll be buying something at some point for accuracy. Not really worried about it until the riser and a good blade gets purchased.

I am going to go out tomorrow and make a mess, as I want to put my new jigsaw through its paces and make sure it works for me.

Stuck in neutral

I attempted to purchase the plywood for the cabinet build yesterday, but I couldn't get things to come together. I decided I was pressing and should let the experience 'come to me' as it were. I've found when I try to rush things and not let them play out naturally I get disappointed. Prime example - the drill bit holders I tried to make yesterday. They aren't a failure, but I would have been happier with them had I taken more time with them and not taken shortcuts. The cabinets will come, in time. This weekend would be a good time to do it, but I'd rather pad the coffers if you catch my drift. Best time again would be in a couple weeks, but perhaps I can work something out a little earlier. The plywood will cost $30 a sheet, and I'll need three sheets it looks like, plus about $14 for the hardboard that will protect the surface. I'd also like to trim it out, but that may have to wait awhile.

The only thing to do right now is to research more storage options for tools, bits, and other knickknacks. If I find anything interesting, I'll report.

Peace in our time

To take from Disraeli and Chamberlain, this is how I feel right now: the design for the south wall cabinets is done. I'm finally at peace with my decision, and feel confident going forward. I had been so unsettled by multiple options with my planer and my miter saw that it turned into paralysis by analysis.

Monologues included...Should I put the miter saw in the middle or the right side? Flip cart for the miter saw and planer? Planer below miter saw? Expansion room for a bigger miter saw? Where should the router table go? Should I integrate the router table in the cabinet top? Flat or tiered top?

And it went on and on. Whenever I settled on a for sure, slam dunk design I had second thoughts a day later. I was so set on one design a week ago that I was picking out my plywood before I decided to hold off and then changed my mind on the design. I'm pretty confident in this one, and I'm planning to walk away from the design phase and start gearing towards getting it built. The tool storage above it (or on another wall) will still be debated and run through until I'm happy with it.

A short virtual tour:



There are six 'spaces,' and I'll refer to them in left to right order.

Space #1 will be for storage, most likely in drawers of my least used tools. The large cabinet may relocate right at this wall, and I don't want to hit my head often.

Space #2 is an open floor for the rolling router cabinet, and should be wide enough to fit the current one.

Space #3 is an open floor for a rolling planer cart. The planer will line up with the cabinet top, and when I get the Dewalt I could thickness plane right where it is. With the Ryobi, I will have to pull it out. My hardware containers will fill the cart, and I'll have a false floor for weight to counterbalance the planer.

Space #4 is the same as Space #1, but for more used tools I'm thinking.

Space #5 is where the miter saw will live, for the most part. Under this is storage...


...for a modular tool system.

What I planned out was that the Space #3 and Space #5 is exactly the same, so that tools mounted on a 22"x24" piece of plywood can be mounted in either space and be used at any time. There will be plywood tabs just under the surface of the cabinet so that the bases can sit flush. I know of three modules already: dovetail jig, Kreg station and downdraft sanding box. I'll also have regular blanks to fill in the surface for using the planer or assembling a long piece. Each module blank will be ganged and drilled for inserts so it all lines up.

As to when this project will get underway? Perhaps today...

Planer stand update

Yesterday I did my measuring and found that the DC separator measured in at 28"x24". Fairly large, no wonder I felt like it was a behemoth. What I did find interesting, either by design of the plans or by accident, was that the planer bed was exactly (and I mean exactly) 36" high. I think that may have been a sign to at least try what I'm attempting.

(A couple days pass)

What I did was to cut down the long side to 20". I didn't try to make this particularly neat, just for illustrative purposes. Surprisingly, it looks like it might work. I could make a spot for it to live in the bench, but it could go anywhere. In particular, it could hide next to my table saw.

The problem I'm on now isn't what to do with the planer, but what to do with the miter saw. I'm pretty happy with my 10" Hitachi, but I could see the need in the future to upgrade to a standard 12" or a 12" SCMS. Unfortunately, those generally run at least 24" wide - quite the leap from the 17" wide my Hitachi takes up. And this isn't including 45 degree travel. They're also especially deep. As much as I want to make room for a bigger saw, I don't see how its possible. It's something I'm going to sleep on, and I'm going to have to be sure about it before construction can begin.

Idle hands are the devil's workshop

Or so the saying goes. More apt to describe me would be 'Idle hands make the mind work overtime.'

I'm waiting for all the stars to line up, so to speak, to get started on my cabinet project. With the weather (cold this weekend), money (more is always better) and time (never enough) thwarting my plans for the next little bit, and the shop in one of it's cleanest phases, I'm left to my own devices until I can start building.

I started going through all the scenarios if the planer shouldn't go on top of the cabinet. Again. The thought was I would only have 52" or so of infeed length - I couldn't even put the boards for the workbench through there. And it seemed to be a reasonable point. It would also mean I would have to dump the tables to my current planer and I wouldn't be able to add any to any future ones.

I think before I make any design changes I'm going to try something - the DC box I made that I no longer need, and that my planer sits on now, is too big for the shop. I'm going to measure it, and see how it would compare to the DW735 in regards to size. I wonder if I could reduce the size enough for it to still be useful but not be so big. It will cost me nothing but a little bit of time (and with what I said above, I have some to spare) and I might get a better idea if I can have a mobile stand for it at a comfortable height, or I have to continue on with my original plans.

3000+ views

Wow. I was going to post about hitting 3000 views and I procrastinated and we're well over 3100 now. That's amazing, and I'm very thankful for the visits this blog is getting.

Later today - current pictures of the shop and some more musings.

Ryobi forum

There used to be a Ryobi tool forum a few years back, but it sadly died away. Apparently, a new one is on its way and you can pre-register for it at the link below.

Being a card-carrying member of the Ryobi Nation, I've already signed up. Now to take the tablet out to the shop and start registering some tools.

Ryobi Nation

The cabinet

What to do with this? I made this last year (at least, would have to check exactly when) before I had moved the lower cabinet to this wall, before I had made a master plan. It's solidly built, if a little inaccurate and hastily assembled. It does an admirable job holding a bunch of stuff I'd otherwise not have a spot for. I have room for it where it is in the master plan, but I'd rather have the ability to make that entire top half of the wall a tool repository. It's a want, but not a need. I realize that this is a rather big cabinet and it can't go too many other places, whereas individual tools can fill a lot of smaller holes.

However, this is where the work will be done.

As for alternative locations, there isn't many. I could turn it 90 degrees and have it above the jointer. I may have to shorten it by a couple inches and make some shelves, but it wouldn't be too hard of a process. I'd get rid of the frame and do something different. It's possible it could go on that same wall, either vertically or horizontally, on the other side of the bandsaw. I had planned on having a hand tool cabinet that opening would interfere with that location, but the hand tool cabinet could move more toward the center of the south wall.

The only other spot would be if I swapped the wall rack to the opposite wall, and moved the cabinet and drill press here. This would probably not work as I'd hit my head on it constantly.

The cabinet top

One of the best elements of the cabinet design is the top. I was never satisfied with the prospect of having two levels - one for the miter saw and planer and a terrace above the miter fence. It made things too complicated and it eliminated valuable work space. After consulting an extensive Google Image search on miter benches, I came up with the following:



It's a length of T-track embedded into the surface, allowing uninterrupted use of the planer without having to move it. The T-track should not affect the planer's use at all, and the only consideration for the miter saw will be the spot where the planer is. I'll be using a stop block and a length of adhesive measuring tape along the length of the track. This will give me the repeatable results I desire with the miter saw. The lack of a fence will ensure that I use the saw's fence, where the blade is squared up and not have to worry about getting the auxiliary fence spot-on. I am considering having the planer slightly below the surface, and bring up the planing surface with a sheet of MDF or plywood. I can either continue the miter track in this insert, or the planer can be level with the cabinet and I can use an auxiliary, longer stop block that will give me the measurement I need. And since the Ryobi and Dewalt have the exact same deck height, whichever way I choose will work long term.

The Ryobi will certainly fit in the center section, and I can even reduce the width a bit because the Dewalt is only 20.5" wide in the planing direction (the Ryobi is 14" without the tables). Doing this, I could increase the width of the miter saw section and improve the clearance when it goes to 50 degrees. I would ideally like to get this section to at least 25" wide, for future-proofing, but I'm not sure I'll squeeze that much out. I may have to move the sander to a different spot, but I'm not worried: if I swap it to a different box, the storage I had planned for there will easily move to where the sander is projected now.

I have a full 4' section of T-track waiting in reserve, and I'll purchase another one and that should be plenty for the cabinet surface. Once I get the lower cabinets sorted out I can work on making the upper portion of the wall usable.

Speaking of the upper wall...well, next time.

Calm before the storm

I was considering jumping into the cabinet project with both feet today, but I've decided to wait a week or three until funds come back up and I can buy all my materials in one shot. This will help make sure the top of the cabinet is nice and level by making the same cuts at once.

The other reason is that I'd be making a huge mess if I attempted to do this right now. I still have stuff scattered everywhere, especially from the two wall sections that were replaced. Notably, the saw blade caddies, the light holder and a few other things needed to find a home to start the project, at least temporarily. I temporarily mounted the saw blade holders near the miter saw to get them out of the way. I put the light holder up behind the bandsaw, which seems like a really great spot. When that wall section gets replaced, it will stay there.

I also disassembled the battery/charger station, as the addition of the Ryobi Supercharger really eliminated the need to store all those batteries. The waste was disposed of, and the battery charger may still have a use in the shop. The Supercharger can store six batteries, but can only charge one at a time. Having a spare charger or two (I have four total right now) can really speed up getting everything charged back up.

Otherwise, there's not much to talk about right now. I've got the plan mapped out for the cabinets, and two sheets will do the entire right-hand portion of it (from the planer to the miter saw), and I think just one more sheet would take care of the rest. Once the cabinet bodies get sorted out, then it's time to start saving up for a few sheets of 1/2" plywood for the drawers, any shelves I might make and the tool cubbies that will go somewhere on that wall. I'd really like to work on the air compressor garage, but I'm currently stymied by too much scrap and a slight uncertainty about if my wall scrap storage will switch walls.

Finality

What you see above is it. The end. No do-overs, no whoopsies, no take-backs. I'm done trying to design the perfect bench, this will have to work.

I'll go through the design from left to right. The left box is sized to hold hardware bins, possibly up to 10. Next to that is a cubby for the standalone router table to slide in for storage. In the middle is a lowered platform that is sized to fit a Dewalt 735, but will also fit my Ryobi. The Ridgid sander should fit under just fine, with perhaps the socket set just under the planer.

Next to that is a single box for drawers. I had intended for a lot more storage, but when it came down to it, this was the best solution. There will be some storage in the next box under the miter saw, but I'm going to use this area for modular storage. I'll expound on that as the build gets closer and some photographic cues can accompany. The far right space is for four sawhorses. The boxes above the miter saw are not final, just an indication of tool storage to be further fleshed out.

It's too late and I'm too tired to flesh out more details, such as the lack of a miter saw fence. But I'm excited to start and that could come very, very shortly.

Design oops

In touting my final design for the miter saw cabinet, I forgot to take into account I was trying to make it future-proof. The Hitachi's deck is rather narrow compared to the 12" sliding models out there. I can't say I'd ever upgrade to a SCMS, but I think if I don't have a way to make that an option, I know it won't happen. So I'm looking at the design to see if I could squeeze out another ten inches of room for one to fit. If not, then I know it wasn't meant to be.

Also, I'm having a fleeting thought of making the entire top of the cabinet flat, and have the miter saw slide out instead of the planer. Might not be the worst idea, honestly. If I planned the drawers right, I might could use them as the infeed supports. We might be getting a bit above my skill level to get it all to work though.

Review - Safety Glasses

This is first in a series of tool and equipment reviews I'll be having to fill some of the down time I expect in the shop.

(Unless otherwise noted, I have not received any compensation or consideration for any of the reviews listed. These have been purchased with my own funds at regular or sale prices publicly available.)

Something I use almost every single time I head out to the shop is my safety glasses. I can be demoing the walls like I was last week, working on my car like I was yesterday, or doing nearly everything else in the shop - I have to protect my eyes. Just as much if not more than my hands and fingers, my eyes pay the bills in my day job. While I'm not the best at getting them checked, I do try to avoid things flying into them if at all possible. Enter in my favorite pair of safety glasses ever, the Milwaukee MK2400.

It's not just that I bought a (read: five) pair for $3.99 each during a (couple) sale(s) on Amazon, it's that their so damn comfortable. I can't count the number of times I get done in the shop, and get inside the house and realize I have them on. And the next time I need them, remember that they're in the house.

Unfortunately, it appears that Milwaukee has discontinued this product. I hate it when I find a product I love and then it stops getting made. I have three pair currently (one active, two in the box), and I'll have to be careful about where I set them down. The current pair got twisted slightly, but I was able to bend them back in place and they still work fine.

I will be exploring outdoor options, seeing if I can find a similar style and fit with a UV rating for working outside. I never saw an exact version of these with a tint.

Below is a link to the glasses. It is an Amazon Associates link. If you want to try what I review, I'll be listing a direct link to the product that you can purchase and also help out the site monetarily. This is purely optional, but if you're thinking about trying them out please consider purchasing it through this link. Future products I review will also contain a link like this and there will be a button on the main page that if you buy on Amazon anyway, click through the link and help out the site and the shop.

I will also take requests for reviews if possible monetarily. Your cooperation with the Amazon links will help fund these reviews.

If you are a manufacturer who would like to get a product reviewed, please contact me. All reviews will be done fairly without consideration for any products gifted or loaned. Full disclosure will be provided as well.




Milwaukee 49-17-2400 MK2400 Safety Glasses Clear Hard Coat