Between 265 & 485 SQ/FT Nick's Two-Car Detached Vdub Garage

[Trapps]

genius. To be filed under “today I learned.”

What he said!

Nice work, Nick!

 

[nicholam77]

I'd say that's a pretty nice job there scribing that! Guess it means you should add a 12" to 14" bandsaw to the 2021 XMas list so you can cut closer to the line than you can with the jigsaw!

I like the way you think

Regarding the quad outlet, they also sell a standard duplex with 2 USB ports on it.

I put these in by my nightstands to add some convenience.

https://store.leviton.com/collectio...x-receptacle-15-amp-t5632?variant=18216836099

That's a great idea, thanks!

Nice update. At first, I was thinking just cheat with a backsplash type trim. However, seeing it in place, it looks clean without it and I think it was worth the effort.

Thanks Mike!

So a tip for the next scribe. Cut about 1/16 to maybe 1/32 or so short of the line, but cut it on a bevel. Then use you block plane, RO, palm belt sander or angle grinder with a sanding disc to sneak up to the line. The back bevel on the primary cut means you only have a small amount to sand off but you maintain clearance under the line.

Awesome, this is helpful. Do you cut the bevel with the jigsaw? I'll try this on the next one and maybe use the random orbit sander to clean it up as I don't have the other tools. My only fear is messing it up on the actual piece but maybe I'll do a practice on a scrap board. Thanks for the tips.

Only catching up on this thread just now. Great work.
As the two routing errors were into the margin between the two slots, I would have been inclined to use the router to remove the top 2 plys in that centre section and do the reverse on a scrap piece of ply, then glue it into the gap and re-route the slots. I suppose it would have been advisable to create the patch first, to whatever thickness, before reducing the centre out of the workpiece. Too late now but just an idea.

Thank you Tom. That is a clever fix I had not thought of. I actually haven't fixed the 2nd, larger screw up, yet, so I'll see what I can do there.

What he said!

Nice work, Nick!

Thank you!

 

[jar944]

Awesome, this is helpful. Do you cut the bevel with the jigsaw? I'll try this on the next one and maybe use the random orbit sander to clean it up as I don't have the other tools. My only fear is messing it up on the actual piece but maybe I'll do a practice on a scrap board. Thanks for the tips.

On some things I'll pre bevel with the tablesaw leaving a 1/8 or so flat above the bevel.

If I'm doing it "on site" I'll use the jigsaw.

This sort of show the process, but it wasn't a critical scribe so it's straight off the saw without sanding to the line.

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[nicholam77]

On some things I'll pre bevel with the tablesaw leaving a 1/8 or so flat above the bevel.

If I'm doing it "on site" I'll use the jigsaw.

This sort of show the process, but it wasn't a critical scribe so it's straight off the saw without sanding to the line.

Cool, makes sense, thanks for describing that. I ended up adding a bevel after the fact with the track saw and it did help. I'm pretty happy with the fit, actually.

 

[nicholam77]

Playroom Closet Door

A small distraction project. My daughter's playroom has a closet that when we moved in had no door. There was a jamb, and hinges, but no door. It's stayed like that for the past 4 years.

Recently my wife decided it was urgent to fix, so I ordered a door.

I've hung a few doors in our house, always with the help of my dad. Easier with two people of course, but with covid, and wanting to try it solo, I gave it a shot.

It had been awhile and I couldn't remember my dad's methodology, so I got some help on YouTube from my good buddy Tommy Silva. It worked out pretty well so I'll sort of detail it below.

First I checked the floor to see how level it was.

Turns out 3/16" out of level over 24", wtf?

Anyways Tommy's method is to pre-shim the hinge side. This makes a lot of sense to me and definitely makes doing it alone, easier.

I picked up a new tool for this project, a 48" Stabila. It (or something like it) has been in my Amazon wish least for a few years, and I was almost going to get it just for the built ins, but when the door got tacked on it just made sense.

After checking the jamb side of the opening I could tell the middle was high. So I arbitrarily tacked some shims at the bottom about a 1/4" thick. Then level the middle ones to that. Then level the top ones to that, working up.

Btw I put the shims at the approximate hinge locations.

Back to the floor being out of level. I trimmed the difference (3/16") off the high side of the door jamb with the track saw, because why not!

Now the door can be tacked in on the hinge side, and then just shim the rest and go around the other side and top.

My dad always used 8p nails by hand, definitely overkill solid. I don't think I'm going to paint this door so I used 16 gauge 2 1/2" brads, which helped me fasten it and hold it in place at the same time.

Will have to follow up with the trim and stuff later, but most importantly, my daughter approves.

 

[Arclitgold]

Sweet work!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[old-air-performance]

Impressive work!

 

[mcgeedesign]

Hey Nick, just dropping in to say thanks again for your recommended threads to checkout! I started off with the Tiny Tokyo Shop, which led me down the rabbit hole of the Mid-Century Moto Mecca Makeover and I'm currently completely and utterly addicted to that thread! I've been reading it every free second and am currently on page 55...I'm reading stuff from 7 years in the past now and so pumped to keep reading and catch up to present day. Thanks to Gregor, I'm now also in need of a Stabila level...along with a Japanese mechanical pencil, Franklin Sensors stud finder and probably a motorcycle! (luckily I already have a bunch of Festool, but more of that too! haha)

I'm still working on my custom MFT workbench. It has now evolved into my take on a hybrid of Hooked on Wood's and the Holzwerken Werbank. I'm still debating on how I want the tracksaw rail bracket set up. I've already got an actual MFT and I absolutely despise the slop in the front and rear rail brackets...I've spent countless hours dickin around with it, added a slop stop, bought a giant square, etc...a few years ago I actually removed the whole setup and just use a TSO rail square/dogs on it. I reinstalled it for the 1st time last week and quickly remembered the frustration it creates, but also how convenient it is being able to just lift the rail to adjust for the next cut and having a fence. This has me now debating on getting the Dashboard Rail Bracket and using it on both my MFT and my new workbench or building one like the Holzwerken and just having it on my new workbench. Don't want to distract from your thread, but I'll attach a photo of the current state of the workbench top and in Gregor like fashion, a metric tape I highly recommend. Anyways, I'm rambling...maybe I need to start my own thread soon as a place to document my garage too!

Cheers,
Matt

 

[nicholam77]

Sweet work!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Impressive work!

Thanks guys

Hey Nick, just dropping in to say thanks again for your recommended threads to checkout! I started off with the Tiny Tokyo Shop, which led me down the rabbit hole of the Mid-Century Moto Mecca Makeover and I'm currently completely and utterly addicted to that thread! I've been reading it every free second and am currently on page 55...I'm reading stuff from 7 years in the past now and so pumped to keep reading and catch up to present day. Thanks to Gregor, I'm now also in need of a Stabila level...along with a Japanese mechanical pencil, Franklin Sensors stud finder and probably a motorcycle! (luckily I already have a bunch of Festool, but more of that too! haha)

I'm still working on my custom MFT workbench. It has now evolved into my take on a hybrid of Hooked on Wood's and the Holzwerken Werbank. I'm still debating on how I want the tracksaw rail bracket set up. I've already got an actual MFT and I absolutely despise the slop in the front and rear rail brackets...I've spent countless hours dickin around with it, added a slop stop, bought a giant square, etc...a few years ago I actually removed the whole setup and just use a TSO rail square/dogs on it. I reinstalled it for the 1st time last week and quickly remembered the frustration it creates, but also how convenient it is being able to just lift the rail to adjust for the next cut and having a fence. This has me now debating on getting the Dashboard Rail Bracket and using it on both my MFT and my new workbench or building one like the Holzwerken and just having it on my new workbench. Don't want to distract from your thread, but I'll attach a photo of the current state of the workbench top and in Gregor like fashion, a metric tape I highly recommend. Anyways, I'm rambling...maybe I need to start my own thread soon as a place to document my garage too!

Cheers,
Matt

No problem! The MCMMM thread is a staple around here, and also one of my favorites.

When you were asking about benches I wouldn't have guessed you already have an MFT/3. What's the reason to go custom? Purely the rail brackets? Or size/stability? Just curious.

I have to agree with you about the rail brackets. I realize Festool is aimed at the contractor market, not necessarily fine furniture makers. But the design of the guide rail pivots is just not great. I also recently picked up a slop stop (not the original, but Rob from Dashboard sells one), and it helped, but there's still the tiniest play. I may add some tape or something. Previously I've been using my hip to push the track against the same side of the locating pin for each cut, and I've heard this is what you're supposed to do. Pretty silly if you ask me. It makes squaring more difficult (which I do every time I use my setup), and is just asking for an error. The other thing that kills me is the slop in attaching the rail to the pivot guide. Makes it hard to maintain a consistent kerf in the table for zero clearance. And lastly raising and lowering the guides for different stock thicknesses does not give me confidence in maintaining square, so I always re-square if I adjust it.

Originally I was going to get the Dashboard bracket, but it was more expensive and my 39" rail would not quite fit with it on my 30" table. In retrospect I should have just done that and used the 55" rail. I think the Dashboard bracket looks like a considerable upgrade and Rob (the founder) is awesome. He has always emailed or messaged me right away when I've inquired about stuff.

But to be honest, if I built all over again, I'd take a hard look at doing it the Holzwerken / Kavieratelier way. Dashboard would be easier, but Holzwerken definitely cheaper and probably just as functional.

Do you have the TSO parallel guides by any chance? I've seen people actually attach the TSO guide rail square to the Festool MFT rail pivot, and use the parallel guide as a fence. That way it's always square to the rail and you can still lift it up. Here's a pic showing it with the Dashboard rail, but I believe the rail square as pre-drilled holes to work with the MFT bracket:

Thanks for the pics of your bench - I would be super interested in seeing what you do and how it turns out. Please let me know if you start a thread (and I think you should!).

I will check out that metric tape measure, I could use something like that as I'm exploring metric cabinet making.

 

[mcgeedesign]

Hey Nick, thanks for getting back to me!

Yeah, I already have a MFT and I actually built my 1st MFT cart based on a video on the Garage Journal YouTube. I unfortunately had no clue that the name of the channel referenced this forum…wish I would’ve stumbled onto it back then!

I absolutely love the functionality of the MFT cart so I’ve been planning for years to implement it on my outfeed/router table. This current build finally started as I was searching for a good way to mount the fence for my router table using dogholes. I have one side of my two car garage for my shop space, so I need to be able to quickly set it up accurately and then take it off and store on the wall when not needed. That search led me to the Hooked on Wood build and that then led me further down the rabbit hole to the Holzwerken bench (I ended up getting some of the magazines even though they’re all in German and there’s a lot of good unique builds in there…I find a lot of the ways Euros think about builds really interesting) And then I got to thinking it would be cool to have a foldable extension table that hooks to MFTs to break down plywood/added workspace and that led me to your thread. Pretty crazy!

While thinking about the build, I decided that having a bigger table to make tracksaw cuts would be awesome…and even better if I could use the build to once and for all be done with the Festool rail brackets. The amount of time I’ve wasted squaring them up over the years is so frustrating...I swear it needs to be squared up if I breathe on it wrong! My 1st build when I got the MFT was actually a cabinet with beveled sides that I was hoping to waterfall…that exacerbated how hard it was to keep the rail square and resulted in my 1st woodpecker purchase while watching countless setup videos. I’ve read the rail was meant to have sideward tension when engaging with the front pin, but that’s the 1st time I’ve heard about using your hip! There’s a lot of guys who claim to be ‘MFT whisperers’ and have no trouble keeping theirs square, but over the years I have realized they’re either lying or not checking cuts after adjusting it. Looking at the design I can’t believe festool would release a product with so much inherent slop. From the way the front pin indexes to all the play when adjusting height for different materials, it’s just a bad design imo. I really wish instead of wasting all the time/materials on the protractor (which I’ve only used once just for sh$ts/giggles and is incredibly bulky) they instead would’ve made a beefy simple bracket system. If I end up going with the Dashboard rail bracket (he’s right down the road from me and I love supporting local biz) I’m considering selling everything on my og MFT besides for the table itself, but not sure how big a market there’d be for it?…mind telling what you paid for yours? I’m still not certain on the best way to mount the Dashboard if I go that route…I’ve emailed Rob and he suggested t-track from Orange Aluminum. Do you like the actual rails you used on your build? I've watched the BFT garage journal build video and gotten some ideas there too.

I don't have the TSO parallel guides, but would like to add them at some point...I actually just got the TSO rail connector in the mail from Lee Valley, but am yet to use it.

For my current MFT build I decided to make a 6/4 maple frame that my 18mm baltic birch top is recessed into. I didn’t like how ‘HOW' or Holzwerken screwed/domino’d/glued their top supports directly into the top. I wanted a way that I could quickly replace the top if needed…not really planning on making a bunch of random tracksaw cuts throughout the top, but I said the same with my og MFT and I’ve now cut all over it! The maple/birch combo results in a really hefty good looking top too!

Anyways, I’m still playing around with design ideas for the base. I’m using 6/4 maple laminated together so it’s going to be beefy and I love the idea/look of throwing that veritas twin vise on at some point. (I’d like to get into more hand tool work.) I was planning on just going with the Holzwerken trestle design, but having only one side of my two car garage everything needs to be on wheels…adding wheels to the trestle base feet kind of detracts from the look/function imo. I’ve got the ’step down to activate’ Rockler wheels on my current outfeed table and they are kind of a pain to deal with, especially since my floor isn’t level and I have to use leveling feet as well. Have you seen any slick workbench bases on wheels you really like? I’m basically looking for an elegant way to add wheels to a modified version of the Holzwerken trestle feet...maybe just rounding over the sides so they look a bit better than just a post down there? I'm going to be looking at this workbench just about everyday for a long time so I'm trying to make it as visually appealing as it is functional. I'm planning on building the Holzwerken box compartments and keeping my spindle sander and mini lathe underneath in those along with other random storage. Being able to pull it out and clamp on the workbench and then store away out of site in cabinets should be pretty cool.

(I’ll add some photos so you can see my current garage setup...1st is it in storage mode and the 2nd is it in use. The miter saw is out of place as I just got it for X-Mas from my old man and I'm planning on using that on one of the foldable extension wings like yours that I'll build once I complete the workbench...plan is to build a Paulk like fence for it that links into the MFT's dogholes. It's gotten pretty crazy in there over the years and it's always a work in progress. I have automated craigslist searches setup for tools and stumbled into one of those honeyhole estate sales you hear about, but never think you'll be the one to find....long story but ended up literally racing an hour and a half and bought most of a whole woodshop: Sawstop, dust collector, tons of festool, incra router table/lift/fence, woodpecker, parf-guide for MFT's, etc at fire sale prices. It was an absolutely insane score!)

Thanks again for the links to all these great threads, it's nice to have someone to chat with about this MFT build too. If you've got any ideas for the workbench feet or my shop layout, I'd love to hear them!

EDIT: not sure how to upload these photos to GJ without being massively compressed? They're 2mb jpegs. Here's an imgur link that shows it in better resolution: https://imgur.com/a/dFai3kr

Cheers,
Matt

 

[bj383ss]

Mcgeedesign all I am going to say is you need your own build thread! Awesome setup.

Bret

 

[loganb]

Mcgeedesign all I am going to say is you need your own build thread! Awesome setup.

Bret

Yes! There is a lot of drool worthy stuff in that space and it's obvious a lot if thought has gone into it...please share more!

Sent from The Garage Journal mobile app

 

[Unruh]

Mcgeedesign all I am going to say is you need your own build thread! Awesome setup.

Bret

Yes! There is a lot of drool worthy stuff in that space and it's obvious a lot if thought has gone into it...please share more!

Sent from The Garage Journal mobile app

Agreed!

 

[nicholam77]

Hey Nick, thanks for getting back to me!

Yeah, I already have a MFT and I actually built my 1st MFT cart based on a video on the Garage Journal YouTube. I unfortunately had no clue that the name of the channel referenced this forum…wish I would’ve stumbled onto it back then!

Yeah haha. I don't know him personally but I think he runs the GJ site? He goes by AtomicRyan on FOG.

[...] that then led me further down the rabbit hole to the Holzwerken bench (I ended up getting some of the magazines even though they’re all in German and there’s a lot of good unique builds in there…I find a lot of the ways Euros think about builds really interesting) And then I got to thinking it would be cool to have a foldable extension table that hooks to MFTs to break down plywood/added workspace and that led me to your thread. Pretty crazy!

I do, too. Even though Festool is mostly above my price point I am fascinated by the homemade jigs and systems people build around the tools. I didn't know about the magazines, I just recently stumbled on the Holzwerken channel. I'll have to check it out more.

If I end up going with the Dashboard rail bracket (he’s right down the road from me and I love supporting local biz) I’m considering selling everything on my og MFT besides for the table itself, but not sure how big a market there’d be for it?…mind telling what you paid for yours? I’m still not certain on the best way to mount the Dashboard if I go that route…I’ve emailed Rob and he suggested t-track from Orange Aluminum. Do you like the actual rails you used on your build? I've watched the BFT garage journal build video and gotten some ideas there too.

Ha, that's cool. If you don't mind spending the money, his product seems awesome and from what I've seen his customer service is really good. I think he mades a version of the bracket that mounts to the MFT profile and a version that mounts to regular T-track. I used Orange Aluminum on my MFT build and I can recommend it. Fits the Festool quick-clamps as well. However if you go the T-Track route, then you may not be able to use it on your actual branded MFT. You'd have to check with Rob on that I guess.

As far as my home-brewed rails... I don't love them. The T-tracks are great, but it took a bunch of extra time to route the Festool bracket profile and the aluminum bars. The brackets don't slide quite as easily as I would like, but I really only take the front one on and off. I think saving money on the extra aluminum and hardware, and saving the time building, and putting that towards the Dashboard brackets would have been worth it. The only real reason I did it this way was to use the Festool brackets.

Which brings me to... I paid about $100 combined for the two Festool brackets from mmToolParts. So decent savings over the Dashboard, but like we've discussed, the functionality is disappointing for the price point

I actually just got the TSO rail connector in the mail from Lee Valley, but am yet to use it.

Another bit of a disappointment for me. The keystone feature didn't perfectly align my Makita rails, but there are slight manufacturing differences in my rail extrusions. Maybe it will work fine with your Festool rails, let me know what you think of it!

Have you seen any slick workbench bases on wheels you really like? I’m basically looking for an elegant way to add wheels to a modified version of the Holzwerken trestle feet...maybe just rounding over the sides so they look a bit better than just a post down there? I'm going to be looking at this workbench just about everyday for a long time so I'm trying to make it as visually appealing as it is functional.

Is this the bench you're referring to?

I think that looks pretty nice as-is. I don't know that I have anything to offer off the top of my head. I think a roundover is a nice idea, though. I totally feel you on uneven floor (have you seen mine?!?).

I highly doubt it's what you're after but this bench has a pretty cool base.

Thanks again for the links to all these great threads, it's nice to have someone to chat with about this MFT build too. If you've got any ideas for the workbench feet or my shop layout, I'd love to hear them!

Sweet setup! I've actually seen those pics of your space somewhere previously... FOG perhaps? The GJ chorus has chimed in... I think you need to start a thread. I would also love to see what you make in that space. Especially being a normal garage.

I'm no expert but I do like MFTs and did a lot of looking at other people's builds (if you can't tell!) so I'd be happy to discuss whenever you like. Your MFT build might be a nice first project to kick a thread off. I can think of a handful of users on here who would be interested or have similar intentions. Can't help you with shop layout -- looks like your leaps ahead of mine in that department. And in the tools department for that matter too... I'm still waiting for my "score of the century"

 

[nicholam77]

Small update.

While the snow storms have been wreaking havoc over a lot of the country... meanwhile in Minnesota:

Yes I took this pic at the grocery store and it was -20° F that morning, last week. Funny enough I saw a different pic of the same guy post on Reddit!

Daughter had stomach bug on Thursday and Friday and I took off work to look after her. Wife worked the weekend. So I've had lots of kid time. But now that it's warmed we finally got outside at a nearby nature center. Can you spot all the deer?

Today I tried a first... doing some power tool work with her present. I had her wear my ear protection and she was cool with it. Only made a few cuts with vacuum and track saw.

Indoor workstation in my basement:

I was cutting casing for the window above one of the built ins. I like doing it on the track saw now vs. miter saw.

I did, however, do a poor job with the installation. Definitely some issues with wall flatness and window squareness, but still disappointed.

** WARNING: if you're reading this jar944, please avert your eyes! In addition to the graphic images of embarrassingly gappy joints, there is a complete and utter lack of moulding detail on these casings **

Fortunately it's paint grade #thankscaulk

Once sanded, caulked, and painted, I think it will still look nice.

 

[jake28]

Putty and paint make it what it ain’t.

 

[jar944]

** WARNING: if you're reading this jar944, please avert your eyes! In addition to the graphic images of embarrassingly gappy joints, there is a complete and utter lack of moulding detail on these casings **

Lol. I got a good laugh out of the warning. Moulding is all about personal preference and the look you want. If you like a certain style wether that be plain to ornate that's all that matters.

I've never tried to cut moulding with a track saw. I would think its considerably more difficult than a miter saw. Picture framed window casing is already more difficult since all 8 cuts needs to be dead nuts to come out perfect vs an apron/stool casing where you can tweak the casing legs if you are a bit off of 90 degrees.

If you plan on doing a lot of window and door casing consider pre-assembly of the moulding. It allows you to glue it all up square and tight. using biscuits will strengthen the corner joints and will keep the miters from opening up with seasonal wood movement. The other benefit is you can bend the assembled casing to fit wonky walls.

 

[nicholam77]

Putty and paint make it what it ain’t.

I was trying to think of that saying!

Lol. I got a good laugh out of the warning. Moulding is all about personal preference and the look you want. If you like a certain style wether that be plain to ornate that's all that matters.

I've never tried to cut moulding with a track saw. I would think its considerably more difficult than a miter saw. Picture framed window casing is already more difficult since all 8 cuts needs to be dead nuts to come out perfect vs an apron/stool casing where you can tweak the casing legs if you are a bit off of 90 degrees.

If you plan on doing a lot of window and door casing consider pre-assembly of the moulding. It allows you to glue it all up square and tight. using biscuits will strengthen the corner joints and will keep the miters from opening up with seasonal wood movement. The other benefit is you can bend the assembled casing to fit wonky walls.

I've become really interested in Modernism. It's a bit frustrating because my house is practically the opposite, but it was a new development for me after buying the place. I do think some of the ideas can still apply, so yes, I am trying to strip back and simplify visually. It's not a big house and the rooms are compartmentalized, so I feel like there isn't "space" for that traditional ornamentation. And like you said, some of it is personal preference. However, I do have a strong appreciation for the craftsmanship that goes into more traditional work, and seeing what you do in your thread has been a big inspiration.

In any case I agree that architecture and a home (and any detail within) is extremely personal. In my humble remodels I've tried to keep that top of mind, strictly doing what I want vs. any sort of resale value type upgrades.

I've had success with tight fitting door casings using the track saw before. Then again I'm always using the simple flat MDF stuff that's easy to cut with it. I know it's not the ideal tool but it was easier than dragging my (crappy) miter saw out in the cold, which currently has no fences or work supports.

I almost pre-assembled the frame before attaching. I will definitely try this next time. I did put wood glue but as you saw some of the joints aren't tight. Or rather in some cases the back of the joint was tight but the front had a gap because of the unevenness of the window and the wall. Normally I try to shim it but like I said it was just a sloppy job this time. I will also try biscuits on the next one. I've definitely had issues with miters opening in winter with unglued joints.

Thanks for your good advice!

 

[mcgeedesign]

Hey Nick,

Thanks for getting back to me again! I may actually start a thread here soon as I tend to ramble. I'm now a little over 100 pages into Gregor's thread and it's cool how he's kept people updated on his various builds and how that kind of motivates him to push forward. I find I can sometimes get out of the groove and perhaps updating a thread and taking some photos with my dslr could help me too. I'm planning on building kitchen cabinets soon, so it's been cool seeing how he's used the LR32 system...that's one pricey system. I saw one come up on craigslist at a decent price last month, but hadn't seen Gregor's thread yet or I probably would've tried to get it. It's been cool seeing how you and the Tokyo shop guy have made custom versions of it!

That photo you posted is indeed the Holzwerken bench I'm referring to. My good friend/neighbor who has a ton more woodworking experience than me (he's a 79 year old retired NASA engineer and 40+ years my senior) convinced me to just stick with the Holzwerken style base and incorporate my current Rockler wheels. He's been teaching me a lot about hand tools and couldn't believe I was planning on putting on dedicated casters. He let me use his hollow chisel mortiser today and I'm making some progress on the base (I'll attach a pic I took today). His shop is pretty insane from a tool standpoint and engineering one too...HOA denied him pouring a path in his side yard so he could easily access his walkout basement door and have a basement shop...that pissed him off so he literally knocked down his garage, excavated 15 ft deep, built a dream shop underneath it, then re-built his garage over the top of it. He's a mad man!

I did post photos of my shop on FOG looking for advice on layout. I didn't really get any suggestions there, but seeking a way to maximize my small space did lead me to this thread and now a wealth of other shops to checkout! Really grateful for that and I greatly appreciate you taking the time to chat with me and give me all the links to other great threads. Once I get my young kiddos to bed, I've been reading Gregor's thread literally every night and staying up way too late! Haha.

Cheers,
Matt

 

[Unruh]

I've become really interested in Modernism. It's a bit frustrating because my house is practically the opposite...!

I like it too. I wanna make a Jetson style chair. My wife likes craftsman style, so I make craftsman style...lol.

 

[jar944]

I was trying to think of that saying!





I've become really interested in Modernism. It's a bit frustrating because my house is practically the opposite, but it was a new development for me after buying the place. I do think some of the ideas can still apply, so yes, I am trying to strip back and simplify visually. It's not a big house and the rooms are compartmentalized, so I feel like there isn't "space" for that traditional ornamentation. And like you said, some of it is personal preference. However, I do have a strong appreciation for the craftsmanship that goes into more traditional work, and seeing what you do in your thread has been a big inspiration.

In any case I agree that architecture and a home (and any detail within) is extremely personal. In my humble remodels I've tried to keep that top of mind, strictly doing what I want vs. any sort of resale value type upgrades.

It's funny how ones preffered architecture aesthetic can change over time. At one point I was fascinated with the arts and crafts design, but have gone the exact opposite diving into more and more complex and ornate structures. Im about as far away from Modernism as you can get, without going full gilded age victorian "over the top" ornamentation.

I did strictly resale based upgrades in our last house, and while it worked well for the resale I didn't want to do that again. I can see the viability in that plan though for a lot of people. It makes sense especially if you are only planning on being in a place for a few years.

 

[nicholam77]

I'm planning on building kitchen cabinets soon, so it's been cool seeing how he's used the LR32 system...that's one pricey system. I saw one come up on craigslist at a decent price last month, but hadn't seen Gregor's thread yet or I probably would've tried to get it. It's been cool seeing how you and the Tokyo shop guy have made custom versions of it!

That's quite a shop your neighbor has. I could see the LR32 being worth it if you have other Festool gear and are planning to do a whole kitchen. Bakafish's setup is pretty slick. Mine is ok. Haven't truly been able to test the accuracy with shelves in place yet. Also I can't find a router bit to do hinge cups (other than the Festool bit which is $90 on its own!).

Get that thread started. Sounds like you have a lot of projects to share.

I like it too. I wanna make a Jetson style chair. My wife likes craftsman style, so I make craftsman style...lol.

I had to look up what a Jetson chair is. That looks hard to make... but cool!

It's funny how ones preffered architecture aesthetic can change over time. At one point I was fascinated with the arts and crafts design, but have gone the exact opposite diving into more and more complex and ornate structures. Im about as far away from Modernism as you can get, without going full gilded age victorian "over the top" ornamentation.

I did strictly resale based upgrades in our last house, and while it worked well for the resale I didn't want to do that again. I can see the viability in that plan though for a lot of people. It makes sense especially if you are only planning on being in a place for a few years.

This is my first house and I'll be honest 4 years ago I didn't know what I wanted. I certainly wasn't thinking "architecture" when we were looking. And I didn't think I was going to be locked into it either (wife currently doesn't want to move for the foreseeable future, I may have fixed it up too much ). I was just excited to have my own place. In the process of working on it I've become WAY more interested in architecture and developed preferences.

I think your point about resale upgrades is a good one, it definitely depends on how long one plans to live in their home.

One day I'd like to make a different move, but realistically it's going to be awhile and there would be the usual obstacles of school districts, proximity to family, proximity to work, and of course price.

 

[nicholam77]

I don't have much of an update, I've been slammed with work. But I've been checking off small processes for the other built in cabinet in the evenings when not too tired.

One thing about the built ins... they are going to displace a cherry end table I used to have next to the couch by the fireplace. I don't know what I'm going to do with it yet. But to install the first cabinet I moved it next to a chair instead, and it was catching the light the other day in a way it never did in the previous location:

So this table was the first woodworking I ever did. My dad helped me every step and was built on his tools about 8 years ago. But I made all the cuts and sanded and did all the gluing, drilling, routing, finishing, etc.

It's imperfect, but has remained my favorite thing I've made. And in the sunlight, I was thinking how good the cherry looked and wondered if I should have made the built in doors cherry instead of walnut. A bit late since I have the walnut ply already and it wasn't cheap, but it probably would have made sense.

Anyways, thought I would share the table and how my woodworking journey officially started, as it was on my mind.

I also picked up a CT15 dust extractor:

Well actually it was a combined birthday gift from a few people, and I pitched in from selling some things on eBay.

I've been working in my basement, including sanding, the past 3-4 weeks and my shop vac is loud and despite collecting the dust there remains a fine particulate cloud after sanding. I'm hoping this new dust extractor will give me some more flexibility to work inside with HEPA filtration, something I hadn't considered doing during the winter until recently.

It's compact and I think I will make good use of it for home improvement plus small tool dust collection.

It has some nice features like variable suction, tool-activated on-off, etc.

Have only played with it briefly but I'll probably give more thoughts after using it for awhile. Long term plan is likely to build it into the MFT cart and build a boom arm for track saw and bench tool use.

Hope everyone has a productive weekend!

 

[Unruh]

I don't have much of an update...

I am super jealous! I’m excited to hear your review of it!

 

[mfg0772]

X2 on the jealously. Now that I'm on the Makita platform, I've been looking into their corded/cordless dust extractor. That purchase will still be a ways out but I have found that the sooner I can figure out what I am looking for, the more likely I will know prices and be able to find a good deal.

 

[topcok88]

Nick - I think you’ll find the CT15 will check most of your boxes on being able to work indoors. I use my CT MIDI I with my TS55 in my sons toy room (walk out basement French doors and finished living space that is immediately before my shop) and I have minimal cleanup. I won’t claim it’s perfect because I do run a vac over the floor when I’m finished but it’s miles ahead other options like running 4X8 sheets over my TS by myself. The most annoying thing you’ll find with the CT15 is the ribbed hose (gets caught on stuff), lack of hose garage (having to use the bungie on top) and lack of a manual clean function for the Hepa filter. The extractors are miles ahead of a shop vac and you will notice the biggest benefit with sanding and being able to turn the suction down. Now to pick up the DF500 - the only tool I would say that is dust free every time I use it in or outside my shop. Actually going back to your finish carpentry experience, I use a Domino for the finish case work in my house. All the doors and window miters get the same treatment with wood glue prior to install.

Looking good Nick! Can’t wait to see more updates!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[nicholam77]

I am super jealous! I’m excited to hear your review of it!

I am excited too. It's funny to think about being excited about a glorified vacuum... but here we are...

X2 on the jealously. Now that I'm on the Makita platform, I've been looking into their corded/cordless dust extractor. That purchase will still be a ways out but I have found that the sooner I can figure out what I am looking for, the more likely I will know prices and be able to find a good deal.

Just based on paper I would include the CT15 in your search if you're after a "HEPA dust extractor" and are open to a non-Makita brand. Unless you're determined to be cordless. But the CT15 is actually quite competitive when it comes to price and features when compared to similar Makita offerings.

If the HEPA filtration or some of the other features like auto tool activation aren't needed, a standard shop vac would work well with your new saw, too.

Nick - I think you’ll find the CT15 will check most of your boxes on being able to work indoors. I use my CT MIDI I with my TS55 in my sons toy room (walk out basement French doors and finished living space that is immediately before my shop) and I have minimal cleanup. I won’t claim it’s perfect because I do run a vac over the floor when I’m finished but it’s miles ahead other options like running 4X8 sheets over my TS by myself. The most annoying thing you’ll find with the CT15 is the ribbed hose (gets caught on stuff), lack of hose garage (having to use the bungie on top) and lack of a manual clean function for the Hepa filter. The extractors are miles ahead of a shop vac and you will notice the biggest benefit with sanding and being able to turn the suction down. Now to pick up the DF500 - the only tool I would say that is dust free every time I use it in or outside my shop. Actually going back to your finish carpentry experience, I use a Domino for the finish case work in my house. All the doors and window miters get the same treatment with wood glue prior to install.

That's great to hear about working indoors, I think that will be super helpful for me to not lose all momentum in the winter. I already have some hair-brained ideas cooking to set up a mini work area somewhere in my basement. My track saw, biscuit joiner, sander, and now pocket-hole jig have near-perfect dust collection, so I'm thinking I could actually get a lot done inside in the evenings.

I'm used to a ribbed hose already so no worries there. Also, the revised MIDI hose garage fits the CT15 so I have one of those on order

Do you use the manual filter clean much? From what I read the filter stays pretty clean due to the efficiency of the collection bags.

And, yeah, a primary reason I wanted it was for sanding. Both for the filtration and I've had some issues with my ETS 125 skipping around the surface a bit and "turning down the suction" has been suggested a lot. We'll see if that helps. But either way, I like the lower noise that comes with doing that.

I knew I was missing something on my casing work... a Domino!! haha

I'm not going to say never on a Domino, but despite my desire for one I can't justify the crazy expense for the type of projects I'm building right now. I've had good results and I believe good strength with the biscuit + pocket hole strategy, and both are pretty fast to do. If I was doing a significant amount of hardwood work like real furniture, I'd consider it. Maybe one day I'll run into one of those once in a lifetime Craigslist steals...

 

[loganb]

Great addition with the VAC! I've been watching craiglist and FB Marketplace for a Festool or similar style VAC with on/off by the tool and adjustable suction...I find myself using my at least 12+ year old Shop Vac less then I should when working because I don't like it and then I have to use it more to clean up the mess by not using it....I should be smarter....but I'm not yet

A Domino and a Festool Vac are (2) of the things many folks I've talked to said would be there only Festool tool if they could only have 1....maybe I should finally break down and get the Vac....

 

[nicholam77]

Great addition with the VAC! I've been watching craiglist and FB Marketplace for a Festool or similar style VAC with on/off by the tool and adjustable suction...I find myself using my at least 12+ year old Shop Vac less then I should when working because I don't like it and then I have to use it more to clean up the mess by not using it....I should be smarter....but I'm not yet

A Domino and a Festool Vac are (2) of the things many folks I've talked to said would be there only Festool tool if they could only have 1....maybe I should finally break down and get the Vac....

Thanks! I always use my shop vac in the garage, it helps a ton with cleaning up after the fact. Unless I've done some heavy routing or something I rarely have to even vacuum the floor. 1st world problems for sure but it is a pain in the *** to get all positioned and set up for a cut or biscuit plunge or whatever and realize the vac is across the room and needs to be turned on. This happens to me all the time, so I am super looking forward to the tool-activated switching with the CT. I'll still be using my regular shop vac + separator for table saw and router extraction, and general cleanup, but in addition to small-tool use I could see using the CT15 as a secondary extraction (like table saw blade guard if I every get around to making one)?

I watch the marketplaces too, and it least in my area, there never seem to be good used Festool deals. If people are selling, they are either super old and beat up, or practically retail priced.

 

[nicholam77]

Weekend Project

Got sidetracked on a small project for my dad this weekend. He's been asking me to help make some floating shelves to complete their bathroom remodel for about a month, and since it finally warmed a bit I said we could give it a go.

Essentially they are a copy of the ones I did for our kitchen:

Only in cherry to match their vanity:

I cut the top and bottom panels a hair large and sneak up on the fit.

A trick I read somewhere to take a small shaving with the table or miter saw is to **** the workpiece up to the blade (with the saw off), then either lift the miter saw blade or pull the crosscut sled back so it's no longer in contact, turn the saw on, and take a pass. This takes off a super thin shaving probably 1/32nd or less. Repeat until it drops in perfectly.

I do this will all 4 panels across the 2 shelves vs. just cutting an arbitrary dimension that should fit, because there are bound to be some minute differences after gluing up the miters of the edging.

Here they are dry fit and you can see the construction. They will have a cleat in the back, so no visible hardware.

Surprisingly it only took me 2 hrs to get this far.

And this morning I got up early and glued the first one up. You know what the saying is.

Should be able to finish these in short order and then pass off to dad for finishing and installation.

Then hopefully back to the built ins.

 

[T-handle]

Great work Nick! Very cool projects and new tools

 

[Bakafish]

Just catching up, you've been busy!

Seeing you route those long dados with just an edge guide made me break out in a cold sweat. If there is one thing I believe it is that, "The best substitute for skill is constraint." The Makita router guides for their rails are inexpensive, likely easy to get working with that decidedly un-green router you are using, and make it so that you will never drift off a straight path. Routers are wandering creatures by nature, with a ferocious bite and should always be locked down as much as possible. They are the one tool I regularly use that can just instantly destroy hours of work and threaten life and limb while doing so.

Also, a small Japanese style flush cutting saw would have been handy trimming back that beautiful patch job you did. The teeth have no outside set to them, so they can cut flush with little to no marking on the surface. The blades are extremely thin and flexible, cut on the back stroke, and they should be fairly cheap. Put one on your shopping list, it will come in handy.

Lastly, the TSO rail connectors look quality, but my experience with making tooling for these rails tells me the concept seems better in theory than practice. Concentrating all that load on the corner radius of the weakest parts of the rail seems less than ideal. The Makita ones are cheap, but use a split design that prevents them from making dimples in the rail from the set screws, something the Festool design (unsuccessfully) tries to workaround by crippling their fasteners with flathead screws. The Makita uses tiny hex head set screws though, and I can't help but believe that there is a better solution to be found. Another thing to put on my list...

 

[nicholam77]

Great work Nick! Very cool projects and new tools

Thanks T-handle!

Just catching up, you've been busy!

Seeing you route those long dados with just an edge guide made me break out in a cold sweat. If there is one thing I believe it is that, "The best substitute for skill is constraint." The Makita router guides for their rails are inexpensive, likely easy to get working with that decidedly un-green router you are using, and make it so that you will never drift off a straight path. Routers are wandering creatures by nature, with a ferocious bite and should always be locked down as much as possible. They are the one tool I regularly use that can just instantly destroy hours of work and threaten life and limb while doing so.

Also, a small Japanese style flush cutting saw would have been handy trimming back that beautiful patch job you did. The teeth have no outside set to them, so they can cut flush with little to no marking on the surface. The blades are extremely thin and flexible, cut on the back stroke, and they should be fairly cheap. Put one on your shopping list, it will come in handy.

Lastly, the TSO rail connectors look quality, but my experience with making tooling for these rails tells me the concept seems better in theory than practice. Concentrating all that load on the corner radius of the weakest parts of the rail seems less than ideal. The Makita ones are cheap, but use a split design that prevents them from making dimples in the rail from the set screws, something the Festool design (unsuccessfully) tries to workaround by crippling their fasteners with flathead screws. The Makita uses tiny hex head set screws though, and I can't help but believe that there is a better solution to be found. Another thing to put on my list...

Yes, been busy

I 100% agree with you on routing and the track adapter, and just general philosophy about leaving as little to chance as possible. I actually had the DeWalt track adapter, which fit my router, but I could not get a snug fit on the Makita rail and there was no support on the side that hangs over the rail so it was not level. Just a mediocre product so it went on eBay.

I've seen the Makita adapter can be made to work with my router with different size rods and using one big hole and one small hole (offset). Kind of clunky but apparently it works according to an Amazon review. But leaves the bit off-center from the center of the adapter.

I still want to develop a better LR32 clone like you did, possibly using the track saw rail. I might either try to make a DIY baseplate for my dewalt, or... invest in the Makita compact plunge base and trim router. It's well reviewed but would kind of be doubling up tools for me so I've been hesitant.

Yes to the flush cut saw. I have a big one but a small one would be much easier for small pieces like that. Sometimes I accidentally knick the wood with the large one.

Agree on the rail connectors. The TSO product itself is excellent quality, just falls apart in practice. I'll have to try again on my next plywood build but my current opinion is I should have gone for the long rail. As far as other commercial options, there's this, but it ain't cheap!

Thanks for stopping in!

 

[nicholam77]

Quick update to wrap out the shelving project.

Yesterday I did the last step which was to flush trim the "lip":

It's kind of tricky to do, especially the short sides, but things slide around in glue up a little so I find it's worth it to do it this way to ensure everything is smooth and flat at the end.

Then I took the liberty of sanding them for my dad.

I used the CT15 to do this in my basement and no complaints so far. I was using on lowest suction, and it does seem to leave a fair amount of dust on the workpiece surface, but the air seemed much cleaner than with the shop vac. So I'm calling it a success.

Then I handed off to my dad and he made this little contraption to finish them:

Three coats and he sent me this pic - looking nice!

Pretty stoked on how they turned out. I'll update this post with a final installation pic if he can send me one.

EDIT:

Here's the final installation:

 

[tab2]

How do you like the CT15?

I haven’t seen one in person yet, but the price is appealing. If the hose fits in a pack out and some pack out feet could screw on the vacuum itself to roll around some more tools, it would be REALLY appealing.

 

[Matias]

The shelves turned out very nice! A lot of tips can be found reading your thread, thanks!

 

[nicholam77]

How do you like the CT15?

I haven’t seen one in person yet, but the price is appealing. If the hose fits in a pack out and some pack out feet could screw on the vacuum itself to roll around some more tools, it would be REALLY appealing.

Hey tab2, I haven't used it a ton yet but so far I like it. Compared to other Festool dust extractors, or even similarly-featured competitor dust extractors, it's a value proposition for sure.

The selling points over a standard shop vac for me were:

1) compact size
2) HEPA
3) variable suction
4) tool-activated auto on plug
5) quite operating noise (relative to other vacs)

It delivers on all of those points.

I don't know if the hose could fit in a pack out (that's the Milwaukee box you mean, right?), but the hose is pretty slim, so possibly. I'm not familiar with the pack out system as much so I'm not 100% sure if the feet could work. The top of the CT15 actually has a plastic door that opens to store the cord and route the hose. Perhaps you could screw something to that, like a plywood board and then put your pack out interface on that? I'd probably check one out in person if you can if you're intending to modify it.

The shelves turned out very nice! A lot of tips can be found reading your thread, thanks!

Thanks Matias! Glad you find the thread useful

 

[nicholam77]

Living Room Built Ins - part 10

I have been working on the other cabinet. Haven't been posting or taking as many pics because it's basically the same as the first one. And I've been slowed down by some installation complexities.

This is the space for the cabinet on the right:

It needs to facilitate the outlet, cat5e ports, and speaker wire. This is the current placement, courtesy of the previous owner:

Ugly. And too low for my cabinet.

The speaker wire is something I had routed when doing the baseboards in this room.

Should be easy to move everything around right?

Started with some baseboard surgery:

Making some tester holes:

Hmmm, better open it up a bit more.

And a bit more.

Are you serious?!?

Damn I really need a stud finder.

Side story -- all these adjacent studs are where the living room used to end. I forgot there was a small bump out on the front of the house in this room.

Getting there.

Ah, perfect! Just a teeny tiny hole.

I ended up installing a fresh box for the outlet, and there was juuuuust enough slack to move it up a few inches. And then re-routed the speaker wire and cat5e low voltage stuff to the adjacent stud cavity.

I knew I was saving this drywall for something.

Also got the ladder base leveled and screwed to the wall. My daughter was helping me by handing me the tape measure, levels, and screws. So I let her sign the patch since she "helped". Always important to sign your work.

A lot of steps to go still, but I couldn't resist putting the cabinet in place.

I don't know how I grossly underestimated the amount of work and pitfalls it would take to make two measly cabinets, but little milestones like this get me excited about the outcome again and motivated to push forward.

 

[Arclitgold]

I love the style of those cabinets. Nice work!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[bj383ss]

Holy Cow the inside of that wall is what nightmares are made of!

You work looks really good Nick. Good thing you made those nice cabinets to cover up all that mess.

Bret