Posts Tagged With: Shop Tour

I cleaned up the last pile and dimensioned a few pieces of Mahogany that I bought for the Blacker House sconce I’m going to make.  And the shop stayed clean, no sawdust cloud or debris on the floor.  I now have my power tools operational and ready to go to work.  It’s been a slog, getting everything pulled together, organized, wired and ducted.  And I still have a tool cabinet to build for my hand tools and my roubo bench to finish.  Tomorrow morning I’m going to do a first pass on organizing my metalworking shop, and I’ll probably bring my hand tools over into the new wood shop, so this is the last time this space will look so spacious.

First, the table saw.  I got the sliding extension in place, it was a no-brainer when it came down to it.  I think I was over-thinking it.  The main mount bracket sits on the raised band at the bottom of the cabinet, I marked and drilled four 1/2″ holes and bolted it on, then added the rest of the parts and adjusted it level with the sliding table.  The table is wide enough to support a 48″ wide sheet of plywood against the far fence.  Both fences are adjustable for angled cuts

Sliding Table Saw with Cross Cut Extension

Hers is the back side of the saw with the duct collector hookup.  I think I have enough space to make an out-feed table about 36″ wide that doubles as a router table.  I’ll build in some storage for router bits and the fence for the router table.  That will also hide the hoses.  I don’t like the flex hose on the top of the saw, I’m going to make a rigid arm to replace that.  I’m still waiting for the dado insert and miter gauge and the pointer for the rip fence, I called General and they were happy to supply the missing parts.

Table Saw

The jointer is a 12″ Grizzly with indexible cutters.  It seems to work well, I’ve jointed a few boards and it leaves a nice finish and has plenty of power.

12″ Jointer

And the 20″ General planer with straight knives.  I wish I had indexible knives, but I got this and the table saw at an auction even though they were new — for about 1/4 of the best online price I could find for them. – so I can afford to upgrade it to a Bryd cutter head in the future.

20″ General Planer

I added two floor sweeps and a branch for a 4″ hose so I can use the dust collector to sweep the floor – like a giant shop vac.  I bought some flex hose for this, but it’s too heavy and stiff, I need some lighter, thinner stuff for this part of the setup.

Shop Vac Replacement and Floor Sweep

I’d hoped to install the cross cut table extension on my table saw yesterday, but when I unpacked the parts the only paperwork in the box was an exploded diagram.  I can see how this bit goes together easily enough, but no indication how how it should attach to the saw cabinet.  I emailed General in Canada and they sent me the same diagram back again. Merci Infiniment.

My main concern was getting this properly lined up with the sliding table.  I think what I’ll need to do is assemble the entire thing on the floor and then lift it into place while marking and drilling four holes in the cabinet.  THAT should be a hoot.  I think it will be really handy once it’s installed, it will make it pretty easy to cross cut sheets of plywood, just what the doctor ordered for making kitchen cabinets.

Parts List

I made some decent progress on my shop this weekend.  Paint and air compressor hook ups done.  I re-located the timer for the outdoor lights.  And I roughed in the ducting for the dust collector.  I can’t do any more on the ducting until the blast gates and flex hose arrives later this week.  I’m still missing a few odds and ends — like a dado insert for the table saw.  It’s a peculiar size and shape so I’m having to order it from General.  And I need to make some cabinets to store my planes and saws.  They had “cabinet grade Birch’Maple” plywod on sale at Home Despot for $40 a sheet.  It’s probably just the ticket for some inexpensive storage cabinets.  I really wanted to use some nice hardwood plywood, but $130 a sheet is a bit spendy for shop storage.

Ducting for the other side

I started hooking up the ductwork for the dust collector this morning.  I looked at all of the obvious options for materials to do this — PVC, HVAC supplies from Home Despot, Nordfab tubing, spiral tube.  I was pretty stunned at the cost for ducting, you could easily spend as much or more on the ducting than you spent on the dust collector itself.

After I priced out the different options I discovered that the HVAC ducting from the local big box store was the cheapest alternative.  As much as I hate spending money there I braced myself and took the plunge.  The downsides of this setup are that the bends are a little too tight, and the crimped ends could cause resistance in the flow.  Or maybe a disturbance in the Force, I forget.

I’m using 6″ tube and fittings everywhere, including 6″ flex hose for the the last few feet to connect to the machines, with a reducer right on the machine.  The flex tube, blast gates and floor sweeps are all on order from Penn State.  They should be here by Friday, so next weekend I should have everything hooked up and working.

I started out by just dry assembling parts according to my layout.

Roughing in the First Stretch

After I got the first few parts test fit it was obvious that I needed to start locking things down because everything was on teh verge of falling apart.  I ran some sheet metal screws into the joints and got the first bit mocked up, then added some strap hangers and duct taped the duct.  This is the first time I’ve ever used duct tape on ducts, kind of a novel feeling.  Usually I put in on hot rods and welding fixtures.

First Run Locked In

I need to pick up 2 more “wyes’ and maybe one more length of straight tube to get the second run roughed in along the wall where the dust collector and table saw are.  The opposite wall where the jointer and planer live is ready to add the blast gates and hook ups.  All of the junctions are screwed and then everything is sealed with duct tape.

This side is roughed in, waiting for more parts to finish

I’m taking a short break, then I’ll probably make a run to the store for supplies and finish the rough in.  Tomorrow I’ll try to assemble the extension for the table saw and do a little cleaning and organizing.  I need to design two or three wall cabinets to hold my planes, saws and other hand tools.  And finish my workbench.  The end is in sight, I can’t wait!

I’ve been plugging away setting up my new wood shop between emergencies at work that conspire to steal my weekends.

I finally called it quits on fixing up the drywall.  I’ve never seen such a poor job of drywall as this.  I’m sure there are worse, and I hope to never see them.  I patched the holes that I created to run the new outlets for the tools, and tried to float out the worst of the seams, but in the end there are too many problem spots and it’s a workshop after all.

Ode To Drywall: How I Hate You

After rolling out a coat of white paint (it really needs a second coat) the walls look OK.  The problems will be less noticeable once I put in some window trim, make some tool cabinets and have a few piles of wood stacked everywhere.

The Walls are Passable

I also mounted my air compressor to the concrete floor (it was still on the shipping pallet) and moved it as close to the garage door as possible to make more room for other junk.

Compressor Mounted

And I re-attached the air lines to the metal shop, and added a two stage filter and regulator, and a pair of quick connects.  In an ideal world this wouldn’t be so close to the compression, in my reality it’s finished and checked off the to-do list.

Air Drop for the Woodshop

Tomorrow I will start running the ducting for the dust collector and install the slider extension on the table saw.  The rest of the duct parts won’t come until next week, so I won’t be operational this weekend…but I’ll be really close.

Then I need to clean up and organize the metal shop.  A lot of my hot rod parts and extra tools were stored in what is now my woodworking shop, so as this space has gotten progressively neater the other space has gotten a little out of control.  I really want to get back to making stuff instead of setting up my workspace.  This is fun, to a point, but it’s really just a means to an end.

Thank god this blog isn’t “McGlynn on Drywalling”.

If setting up a new shop space is a bell curve, with the peak of the curve being at one end being choosing and ordering new tools representing, and the peak on the other end being walking out into a well-organized shop, then drywall repair is the the big, ugly valley in between.

I hate doing drywall.

Even worse is repairing drywall that was badly installed in the first place.  The seams in the drywall aren’t level, and the joints aren’t centered over a stud.  How is a joint with no support supposed to not crack?  Where “Dick”, the previous homeowner did put joint compound on the wall it’s just a big lump with no effort to smooth it out.  None of the electrical boxes are level or fit the drywall.  Frankly, it really should be striped out and done over.  But it’s just a garage workshop, and I’m eager to get it back in operation.

Holey Drywall

I trimmed back the drywall so I’d have part of the stud to screw it to, then cut and fit pieces of drywall into the holes.  Where patches would be unsupported I screwed wood strips to the back of the existing drywall to support the patch.  Then I put down some self-adhesive fiberglass tape over all the seams and slathered on a coat of joint compound.  This stuff is pink when it goes on, and it turns white as it drys.

After 5 hours there are still pink spots.  I’ll need to put on another two or three coats to “float” out the seams and get things in reasonable shape.  I have a couple of more holes to patch on another wall, but I’d had my fill of drywall for the days after this wall.

Better, But Still Ugly

I have another day’s work in smoothing out the walls, at least.  Maybe the drywall elves will come while I’m asleep tonight.  Once this is done I just need to paint the walls and run the ducting for the dust collection and I should be in business.  Woot!

While I was waiting for the joint compound to dry I started making another pepper mill, this one for my folks, so I did get a little woodworking in.  I used Black Acacia for this one.  It needs a few more coats of finish and then I’ll install the grinder mechanism.

Black Acacia Pepper Mill

I’ll be the first to admit that there isn’t a lot of stuff getting made in the shop these days.  I’m in the “set up the new shop” phase, and it’s taking way too long for my tastes.

I’m excited to be setting up a dedicated space for woodworking, and at the same time moving my blacksmithing tools to my metal shop so I’ll have them ready to user.  But still, it’s not as much fun as using them to create something.

This weekend my son Kolya and I got some new wiring in place and were able to power up all of the tools for the first time.  That’s a major accomplishment in my book.  Nothing particularly glamorous, just poking lots of holes in the drywall and stuffing in romex.    I used 10 gauge for everything, three 220 outlets for the table saw, planer and jointer, and one 30 amp 110 circuit for the dust collector.

Working out here convinced me that the previous homeowner was clueless.  The drywall job is terrible and I probably should have just ripped it down and done it over.  None of the seams are over studs, big gaps abound the outlet boxes – just sloppy work.  I personally hate drywall work, but I’m going to try to patch things up as best I can next weekend.

Kolya pulling nails

We perservered and got outlets in and even made some test cuts with the new tools.  That was pretty exciting.  I haven’t checked the jointer to make sure the tables are properly adjusted, but it seemed to do OK.

Outlets In Place

I still have two or three “piles” of stuff to deal with, including the extension support for the table saw that I need to install and junk that needs to find a new home elsewhere.  Fixing the walls and painting will be a good sized job.  And of course I have to run ducts for the dust collector.  I have a couple of more cabinets to tear out, and another dump run to haul stuff away too.  I need to slightly reposition my air compressor and re-work the air lines.  All in all, maybe two or three days of work.  Maybe two more weekends.

I’m worried about the lines for the dust collector.  Not running them as much as buying the parts.  Holy bleep, a guy could spend a small fortune on that stuff.  The cheapest (metal) option seems to be Home Depot HVAC ducting, but they don’t have all of the parts I need.  And I hate shopping there.  I had a cart full of supplies last week and stood around for 30 minutes trying to get someone to help me find what I was looking for.  After getting the famous orange-coated blank look and unhelpful vacuous stare I just left.

I looked at the Nordfab ducting that Grizzly and other carry.  It’s beautiful stuff and would work great but it’s probably $1,000 worth of parts to hook up three machines to my $1,000 duct collector.  That seems crazy and excessive.  PVC would probably work, but I don’t have a ready source for 6″ plastic pipe, and I’d rather not use plastic anyway.  So I’m still looking for the “right stuff”.  At the moment I’m leaning towards the “economy” ducting from Penn State (http://www.pennstateind.com/store/economy-ductwork.html).  It looks like what I’d get at Home Depot, but with slightly improved long-radius 90s.  And of course they have the reducers and blast gates I need to hook everything up.  I made a rough sketch of the duct layout last week and need to make a final shopping list to see what the damage is going to be.

Starting to look like a workshop

Kolya thinks the new shop is pretty groovy so far.  I put a Forest Woodworker #2 blade in the table saw and it leaves a pretty amazing finish.  No splintering at all when cross-cutting green doug fir.  This saw has a second “scoring” blade on it’s own motor for cutting plywood.  I’m eager to try that out. and make some cabinets for the shop to hold my planes and hand tools.  That will probably be the very last thing I do, I’m eager to get back to making the Blacker house sconce I drew up.

Kolya waiting to make a test cut on the table saw

After a busy weekend in so-cal visiting the Gamble house, looking at furniture in museums and touring Sam Maloof’s house I’m back home chomping at the bit to get my new wood shop operational.  And to get some time in on some of my hot rod projects.

After work today I conned my son into helping me start assembling my new dust collector.  I actually thought it would be bigger (should I have bought a bigger one?).  We got it “mostly” assembled.  Hopefully by the end of this week I’ll have it all assembled and wired.

Kolya Helping

More progress on the new shop space this weekend, but it’s slow going.

I tore out more of the old cabinets, and have yet another pile of junk to haul to the dump.  Unbelievable.  This is my pile from today.  (edit: this is my SEVENTH such pile, and that is AFTER the person that bought the chopper parts business took all of the inventory and packing supplies out of this garage)  I have no idea how this much stuff could fit in there, although to be fair some of this is debris from the shipping crate from my gigantic new jointer.

Dump Run Waiting to Happen

Here is the new jointer getting acquainted with the planer I picked up on auction with the table saw.  When I look at this picture I just see more work to do to get the shop set up.  Old plastic air lined to take out, another cabinet to tear out, window trim to replace, walls to paint, and more junk to find a new home for.

Jointer and Planer

Kolya and I mostly focused on this back corner today.  There were two cabinets that we tore out.  I have to find a new home for most of they contents, I threw away what I could.  Once we had the space cleared out we bolted a piece of 2×12 and 2×6 to the wall to support the dust collector.

Dust Collector Mounts

Once the dust collector is mounted it will be tough to paint behind it, so we painted the area first using an old can of paint that I discovered in one of the cabinets.  I’m going to move the forge, anvil and power hammer into the other shop so all my metal work stuff is in one place.  I’ll make a doghouse for the generator outside, next to the garage.  That will help a bunch.

Looking Better

I have the supplies to run the electrical outlets for the tools (something I never had to worry about with my hand tools), but I probably won’t have a chance to get out there for two weeks.  Next weekend my buddy Ron and I are going to LA for a “joinery” tour of the Gamble House.  We’re also going to stop at the Huntington and probably at the Peterson automotive museum.  Definitely a man-cation.

This is what I’m doing next weekend

So I haven’t posted any updates in a week or two, but I’ve been keeping busy.

I’ve been spending a fair amount of time making dump runs to clear out my two-car garage so I can have a dedicated place for woodworking, away from my metal work shop.  This has a number of advantages, chief among them is that I’ll have a lot more space for both activities.  I’ve now taken six pickup truck loads of junk to the local recycle yard.  The previous owner had made some cabinets that I’ve demolished and hauled away.  I still have another load or two to go.  I’ve collected all sorts of metal odds-and-ends over they years.  I’m going to recycle a lot of it, but I have so much metal stock on hand I doubt I’ll miss it.

I’ve bought a couple of power tools.  There, I said it.  I love working with hand tools, but honestly dimensioning rough stock for any sizable project is just too time consuming.  I want to make new kitchen cabinets, furniture, and lots of other things and at the rate I’m able to make progress it’s not going to happen without a little power assist.  Not to mention that the thought of cutting plywood for cabinets square with a hand saw leaves me cold.  I have a lot of work to do to finish off this space, including wiring some 220 volt outlets, dust collection and more organization and debris removal.  And maybe a coat of paint.

I got a really good deal on the tools, I found a table saw and planer, both new, on an auction for about 1/3 the cost new.  I spent a few hours assembling and adjusting everything so that that rip fence and sliding table were true.  I’m eager to make some test cuts, but until I get some outlets installed I’m stuck.  Hopefully next weekend I’ll get power in place.

Table Saw

I also need to make a few birthday presents.  I made a pepper mill for my brother.  I need to rub in a few more coats of finish and fill it with pepper corns and it will be done.  I have a few more presents to make, maybe I can get some time in one night this week.

Walnut Pepper Grinder