Between 485 & 705 SQ/FT 3rd time's a charm with a 3 car workshop

[loganb]

Getting some time today in the garage, mostly misc projects and cleaning up from the painting and shelf moving a couple weeks ago

Kinda a mess...honest shot from last night before spending some time in there:

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Thought it appropriate to honor this guy...easily the best $800 or so bucks spent this fall. Got another hour of use on it today as we were blessed with another roughly 5 or 6" of some super wet stuff.

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And an actual project...originally cut this composite top down to an oversized dimension as wasn't sure how I would like the MFT on top of this hardware cabinet..well I like it and have some plans for expanding the functionality so time to cut the top down to actual size

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More to come on the project but if it works like I hope will pair some Incra goodies on top of that MFT [emoji6]




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[OutlawDrifter]

I'm glad you kept the snow up there! We melted down here pretty well yesterday @ 42*.

Just a light drizzle today @ 36*.

 

[nicholam77]

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More to come on the project but if it works like I hope will pair some Incra goodies on top of that MFT [emoji6]

Nice, looking forward to see the Incra goodies.

 

[loganb]

I'm glad you kept the snow up there! We melted down here pretty well yesterday @ 42*.

Just a light drizzle today @ 36*.

For a 6" snow it wasn't too bad....the roads were basically clean by 4pm as the road temps were warm enough once the bulk was cleared off they melted the remaining slush off pretty well. Today hitting 45 and tomorrow forecasted for 49 should do some very welcome damage to the piles collecting on the sides of the driveways

Nice, looking forward to see the Incra goodies.

Wish I hadn't already screwed something up...but it's recoverable....and taking some cue's from @Bakafish'es great build you turned me onto...more to come!

 

[loganb]

Got some time in the garage and outside today so accomplished a few things

Starting with the first time I think since early November was comfortable enough to open both doors up and let the light and fresh air in!

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Spent much of kiddo's nap time cleaning up in the garage and trying to clear off my assembly table and work benches. Got a set of the inlaws in town with us for the next couple weeks and the FIL is retired and needs some projects to keep busy while the rest of us are working so hoping that a clean garage and stuff put away makes it easier for him to stay busy....either on self directed projects or the list we'll give him

So first project....toddler tower/helper stand for the kitchen. The not yet 2.5 yr old does enjoy spending time in the kitchen while I'm cooking, and if I can give her a better "spot" to be in hoping she won't get into things in other areas....or that's the thought

So for inspiration and source of ideas....too the google machine and these (2) were the ones I drew most of the inspiration from:

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I liked the idea of cutting the panels out to cut weight and with the curves I was thinking that a full size template out of 1/4" hardboard/temper board would be nice to have so to the CAD machine I go. An hour or so later I've got this:

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Not all the holes are in the model, but I was most interested in the side panel so after supper I went to the garage to see what I could do.

As I was trying to align the lines on the 1:1 scale paper templates(11 x 17 format) I realized that a light box would be very nice to have at that moment...then turned around and realized I had a makeshift one with a cordless trouble light and the laser!

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Attempted to glue the template down with a gluestick, it worked ok but spray adhesive would've worked better however I was out and didn't want to go to the store....in hindsight should've gotten that spray adhesive and just sent the 1:1 scale print to a copy place with a plotter and picked it up tomorrow and not screwed with all the sheets....live and learn. Knocked out the perimeter of the side panel with the bandsaw....no pictures but did highlight that I have to actually order my extra bandsaw blades as the 3/4" blades to quote Hawkeye in The Avengers "Can't corner worth a damn"

Some makeshift dust collection on the drill press:
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Drilling out some of the corner fillets with a 1" bit:

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Got the lower cutout zipped out with the jigsaw and decided I wasn't in the right frame of mind to keep going and was best to call it a night and go back inside. Just rushing too much and doing things I shouldn't in the name of "progress"...so I cleaned up a bit and called it a night out there.

Based on the Journal post @Ryan put up last week on SendCutSend and sourcing online laser cut parts I was curious on what it would cost to have a more durable "pattern" cut out in case I got a wild hare to make some of these and see if I could sell them. So while on the computer I pulled up the site and as my first time ever on it, took less than 3 minutes to get (3) different material quotes:

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Super easy, seems to have taken the file(.dxf) without any issues and it detected the proper overall size(20" x 34") so pretty impressed with that. Not planning to order anything at this point...but definitely something I'll keep in mind for future projects

 

[sevenskj]

nice

 

[nicholam77]

The not yet 2.5 yr old does enjoy spending time in the kitchen while I'm cooking, and if I can give her a better "spot" to be in hoping she won't get into things in other areas....or that's the thought

Nice man! That’s going to be really cool!

Your mileage may very but I’ve found the only way my daughter will stay in the stand while cooking is if I have the tv on for her (small under cabinet tv in kitchen). It’s really the only time we let her watch tv, but man it is so helpful when home alone and trying to cook dinner. [emoji16]

Thanks for sharing the building strategy, I like the CAD and template approach.

Bdbecker shared SendCutSend with me awhile back, but I sort of forgot about it. I’m going to have to take another look because that could be super useful!


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[tj675]

The work you do with drawing/modeling everything is impressive. I definitely need to do a better job at that.

 

[Trapps]

I'm glad my shop isn't the only one that swings from order to chaos like a pendulum! I share you sentiments on the SnoMaster - great machine so far after 2 seasons. I got 23 years out of my last Toro (south east Michigan, still runs great) which I just gifted away to a friends daughter who is a new homeowner. I'm hopeful this new one will be the last one I buy (plan is for someone else to deal with my snow issues two decades out...). Kid Kitchen Stool looks very cool; especially the 'containment' aspect.

 

[loganb]

nice

Thanks for stopping by!

It’s really the only time we let her watch tv, but man it is so helpful when home alone and trying to cook dinner. [emoji16]

Bingo....our's often gets a couple episodes on Sat & Sun morning via PBS App...but if it helps me keep her corralled and not under foot with the stove on it's a win...if she's interested and observing/safely interacting it's just an added bonus

The work you do with drawing/modeling everything is impressive. I definitely need to do a better job at that.

Thanks, I'm fortunate in that I've been paid thru time and frustration at work to learn at least (3) different 3D CAD platforms and I'm far from an expert as it's not in my day to day responsibilities anymore, but it does help work thru the details and reduce the number of errors in the shop. It's honestly a battle at times though to do the work when it's something I think I don't need to...then I realized I didn't think something thru and would've been faster to do the CAD work...."Slow is fast" applies here for me!

I'm glad my shop isn't the only one that swings from order to chaos like a pendulum!

Thanks for joining in sir...and yeah....I wish the pendulum would swing faster back to clean and organized more often....it's in much better then average shape right now!

So today's nap time featured more kiddo containment device v1.0 work:

I do love this tracksaw the more and more I use it....zipped the front angle cut, back and bottom off in nothing flat:

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Spindle sander to help clean up the inside:

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And finished....far from my best template work ever but it'll do fine for this...and I really need something for my father in law to work on so if it was too good he wouldn't have to do any sanding! Or that's how I make myself feel better


And in unrelated project....the downside of all this white stuff disappearing:

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Is you realize how much stuff one of these:

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Leaves in the yard over winter:
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That was one of (3) bags picked up yesterday....but in good news the yard looks better!

 

[loganb]

After playing IT wizard at a virtual birthday party....well semi-virtual as 1 of the (2) honoree's is in a long term care facility but the rest were gathered up at another house and calling her on FB Messenger I sat down and put enough more detail to the kiddo tower plans so that father in law can hopefully work as fast or as slow as he wants on it the next day or two:

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5 or 6 pages of 11 x 17 prints detailing the various parts/qtys/dimensions...it's way to detailed for what it needs to be and for him, but I expect a rough beginning of the week for work and need to be able to focus and not worry about that

 

[nicholam77]

Looks like a great design! Ours doesn't have the cutouts on the side (solid 1/2" baltic birch), and it's heavier than I'd like. It gets moved around a LOT, so I think your plan to reduce weight is smart.

I've used the tracksaw in that manner a few times, cutting out long angles just dropping the track down and done in 2mins. I'm always left with the feeling that I've cheated the system somehow

Nice dust cover

Our daughter stopped napping a few weeks ago. Or rather it's about a 10% chance of success.

 

[loganb]

Wow, knew I hadn't been back for an update in awhile but didn't realize it was almost all of March....darn life getting in the way!

So in that time, got our 2nd "covid" funeral experience, this time unfortunately for a close family member(it was for the best, failing mental abilities isn't fun to watch), but of greater consternation/frustration/tear inducing for family members was the strife that came with it. Due to when things happened, mother nature and some other schedules caused a roughly 3 week gap between the passing and the funeral which would turn out to be much more of a curse then a blessing.

There has always been a "divide" so to speak amongst a couple of my wife's family members and has been that way since those involved were in high school(so I'm told)...just totally different personalities and no desire to find middle ground. However with 3 weeks between the passing and the funeral, that time allowed plenty of time for personal feelings to boil over and I think it's put a permanent fracture amongst the family that won't ever be healed....whole thing just ***** and first time I've had a front row seat to such a scenario...hopefully the last time as well and makes me thankful for not having to have dealt with anything similar on my side.

In slightly better news, also got my first biz trim of 2021 which took way more mental and physical effort then it should have as a result of being way out of practice. 2019 I think there was 70-some nights away so the concept is far from foreign, but as many others here experienced, Covid put a crimp on travel and I had 1 night out in 2020 from March to Dec...so definitely out of practice.

Got up to Minneapolis for a quick meeting with an account....hopefully back several more times in the near future due to continued opportunities and maybe a chance to meet up with some GJ'ers in the area...

As flight choices from Omaha to MSP weren't conducive to my schedule....road tripped it thru XJ's country along I-35 so he'll probably recognize this spot:

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Also made it up to Detroit on a separate trip...that time was a plane ride...though after a 4 hr layover it would've been about the same time to have driven it(at least on the way out)

One good part of the funeral was we had MIL & FIL in with us for a 1.5 wks or so and put the FIL to work on the kiddie tower:

Laying things out:

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Sides cut out:

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Action shot:

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It's working pretty well, needs a final sand on some edges but the kiddo loves it and runs full speed to the kitchen to "help" when one of us is cooking so it's worth it for that. FIL did the cutouts differently then I would have, but as I kept telling him(and myself) the drawings were "suggestions" and it was all "craftsman's choice" in terms of how to execute!

Still kicking around in my head the concept of refining this a bit more for efficiency/utilization as well as shipping and putting unfinished ones up on Etsy....

In other projects got a dual light kit for the 3D printer for Xmas but thanks to the giver getting Covid we hadn't met up until February. The additional lights are very helpful when running a webcam for remote viewing of prints (future project) so went ahead and wired it up and got it installed this weekend:

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Long term the printer is going to now live in my home office(aka one of the bedrooms) but as we're going to move that bedroom shortly...it's going to live in the basement mechanical room for now. However before it could go there, needed to get a new workbench mounted for another side hobby and indoor workspace:

Tracksaw makes quick work of lopping 3" off a Menards butcherblock countertop:

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And then a couple of heavy duty shelf brackets and some concrete anchors gets the new basement workbench mounted to the wall and the "medium term" home of the printer. The space is part of the mechanical room and is 4' wide by 8' deep storage area boxed in by foundation walls and then the stairs, but with almost 9' ceilings it doesn't feel too "tight"

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Hopefully later this week will get some time to redo the wall shelfing standards seen in that picture, (4) Wall Control pegboard panels are to be here on Tuesday and will mount over that bench so have to trim down the standards to make those fit. Haven't decided if I'll just trim them down or remove then entirely and just do a couple of fixed shelfs up above them

Hopefully April allows more time for some garage time and resulting updates...will see! Projects coming up still include the custom built in dresser units for the closet(next up), more "improvements" to the basement workbench/printer area, of course more garage improvements and maybe a new 4 wheel inhabitant of the garage....

 

[zanyad]

Sorry to hear about the family issues. Have some similar in my extended family, thankfully none in the immediate family....

Action shot:

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It's working pretty well, needs a final sand on some edges but the kiddo loves it and runs full speed to the kitchen to "help" when one of us is cooking so it's worth it for that.
<snip>
Still kicking around in my head the concept of refining this a bit more for efficiency/utilization as well as shipping and putting unfinished ones up on Etsy....

I'd definitely be interested in this!

 

[XJSuperman]

Wow, you've been busy. I too am sorry to hear of your family issues. Seems to be a more and more common occurrence these days unfortunately.

You went through Huxley and didn't message me? Shame on you. I spent my Saturday across the highway in Cambridge. Someday we'll get a beer together. I can't think of any reason I'll need to head to Nebraska at the moment though.

 

[loganb]

I'd definitely be interested in this!

Hum....maybe time for some further refinement on my idea

You went through Huxley and didn't message me? Shame on you. I spent my Saturday across the highway in Cambridge. Someday we'll get a beer together. I can't think of any reason I'll need to head to Nebraska at the moment though.

I figured you were close by there...wasn't sure how close. Next time I'm thru there I'll drop a line....may have several trips to Minneapolis in the near future due to work stuff and it's either go east then north...or north then east so I normally do both and see different scenery each way! And my preferred airline doesn't have any direct routes there at the moment...so it may just be all driving trips for now which doesn't bother me

 

[Norm Williams]

Hi Loganb,
Just started looking at your post. Nice looking space.
I just came across the picture of the 4" ring light you put on your drill press. where did you find that? It looks very handy indeed.

 

[Norm Williams]

Hi Loganb,
Just started looking at your post. Nice looking space.
I just came across the picture of the 4" ring light you put on your drill press. where did you find that? It looks very handy indeed.

 

[loganb]

Hi Loganb,
Just started looking at your post. Nice looking space.
I just came across the picture of the 4" ring light you put on your drill press. where did you find that? It looks very handy indeed.

Norm-Thanks for joining in and the kind words on the space, much appreciated! The ring light came from what's probably my favorite online money grabbing website....Amazon(McMaster-Carr is a close 2nd).....link below:

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07WGL3R6P/

 

[nicholam77]

Wow you have a lot going on with projects, work, and family! That's a bummer about the family situation, never fun. Sounds like yours is more deep-rooted, but sadly with the pandemic pressure and political polarization I've heard a number of stories like that where things have boiled over. My wife and her 3 brothers actually had a "falling out" with one of their uncles over the summer. It's disappointing for sure, but sometimes people just aren't compatible, even family members.

I really like the helper tower design. I'd buy one from ya if I didn't already have one. Is your daughter proud that dad makes stuff for her? I know mine gets excited and likes to "help".

Damn I'd kill for a 4x8x9 indoor "hobby room" haha. Just the medicine for cold winter temps and a packed garage...

If you do make your way back to Minneapolis and want to meet up, let me know! If you like beer, we have lots of excellent breweries with patios... and it's gonna hit 70 this weekend, just sayin'

 

[loganb]

Peer pressure is a pain at times. Last Sunday the neighbor at the other end of the block mowed the yard...and by Friday I was the last one left standing so today ends up being a yard project day but oh well...

One of the prior owners put a yard tool shed under the back porch and it's wonderful as it keeps all the stuff out of the garage

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Now that snow season is over...think I have the room that if I pull the handle off I can get the snow blower above the mower to free up space in the garage...more to come on that project

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And lastly for now....lawn sprinkler supply line out of the house is in sorry shape with 4 splices within a 3' run of the copper pipe so I'm replacing the vacuum breaker and all the piping down to where it goes underground

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[loganb]

Sounds like yours is more deep-rooted, but sadly with the pandemic pressure and political polarization I've heard a number of stories like that where things have boiled over. My wife and her 3 brothers actually had a "falling out" with one of their uncles over the summer. It's disappointing for sure, but sometimes people just aren't compatible, even family members.

Sorry you had to be on the sidelines for that but I'm sure your wife appreciated the support. The dispute here goes back 40-ish years and it's just as you said, some people just aren't compatible and don't want to try and be...but we move on.

Is your daughter proud that dad makes stuff for her? I know mine gets excited and likes to "help".

She impresses me with how much she remembers about who made what for her...grammy, pappa, grandpa etc but she really likes using it so it's a win for sure. Watching her use it has given me some ideas of changes to the V2 design in my head....

Damn I'd kill for a 4x8x9 indoor "hobby room" haha. Just the medicine for cold winter temps and a packed garage...

Yeah, I'll hopefully make for a nice "clean room" space that'll be good for the current printer home, electronics workbench and anything else small and not dust emitting that I want to play with inside. This house is definitely bigger than we currently need but the space will be nice in late July when the +1 shows up

If you do make your way back to Minneapolis and want to meet up, let me know! If you like beer, we have lots of excellent breweries with patios... and it's gonna hit 70 this weekend, just sayin'

I'll be sure to reach out next time I'm thru as hopefully will be on teh ground for more than 18 hrs!


Few minor projects did get tackled this weekend along with some more garage cleaning:

The previously pictured pile of copper fittings is done:

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Not shown are the standoffs back to the wall but those are installed now. The original iteration had 0 anchors back to the foundation(the standoff just above grade level has there but not anchored to the wall...wtf) which I believe allowed excessive movement which resulted in (4) 3/4" slip couplings being installed in a 22" section of that vertical leg. Stumbled across 3/4" water heater hose as a I was looking for a way to put some "give" into that line to maybe prevent it in the future For $10 it was cheaper than a custom crimped line at an auto parts store and easy to try

This now allows me to fire up my sprinkler system and find out just how many heads I need to move/add as a result of my cedar fence that went in last fall....if I'm smart I'll pay for that work to be done

Karma said I was being too productive around lunch time and needed to slow down....

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So the rest of the yard got push mowed...definitely not selling my rider anytime soon

And the nicer round of weather this past week has surprised us with a nice flower bed in the front! This is our first spring in this house and there were some listing pictures showing the flowers but weren't sure how well they would come back this year....so far so good!
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[OutlawDrifter]

Funny how accustomed we get to the bigger machinery...push mowing my yard would take a century!

 

[loganb]

Funny how accustomed we get to the bigger machinery...push mowing my yard would take a century!

Absolutely agree....bought the zero turn when I bought the rural Iowa acreage almost 12 years ago now. Should've sold it 2x now as it's complete overkill for the yards I've had since I moved off that acreage, but I really really like mowing a large "city" lot(about 12k sq ft of grass) in 20 minutes flat. I don't mind mowing but not looking to spend extra time on it

Actually did make some progress on garage projects this weekend though...hopefully with some vacation I need to burn in the next couple weeks will make even more...but gotta start somewhere.

So trying to get back on the built in dresser project now that a few other things are out of the way. Biggest thing standing in my way has been deciding on how to do the drawers.

The "purist" in me says dovetails, the "the list of stuff to do before baby is getting big" guy says pocket screws and glue....the guy who wants to justify more tools says "buy a new router table and do a locking miter corner bit"....either way these fools been arguing for a couple weeks and I pulled down the router jig this past week to give it a look:

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For those with hobbies that don't included repeated attempts at ruining lumber that's getting increasingly expensive with even more expensive power tools...that's a Leigh D3R jig which is one of the most adjustable joinery jigs out on the market. It's a crappy picture as there are several pieces for that jig stacked on top, but the metal "fingers" you see are exactly that...fingers that are adjustable left or right on a flat bar that allow you to customize the spacing/layout of the dovetails as you see fit. Most dovetail jigs are a flat plate without the adjustability between the joints and would be actually probably simpler/easier for this project....but as I already own this one and have heard great things I decided it was time to either learn it or get rid of it...so here we go

This was picked up with my haul of Delta equipment last fall for the wonderful price of $10...even came with original manual which given the adjustability of this is going to be essential! Unfortunately it didn't come with any bits so that set me back 150 bucks on Amazon for the Whiteside brand set but that's still cheaper than I see the newer D4R jig on the used market so not complaining.

After a bit of cleanup, got it setup on the bench and attempted to give it a shot....nope.

Bushing/template guide for the router too long....so bring out the M12 cordless bandsaw to lop a 1/4" off

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Or not....

Couldn't get the "modern" cordless saw there thanks to the vice jaws....so I grabbed the original "cordless" metal cutter and 30 sec's later it was lopped off and being cleaned up with a file

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So now that the bushing guide doesn't extend down past the "fingers" of the jig...time to get started making chips! I'd already played with the fingers and had them spaced fairly consistently like I thought I knew what I was doing. Grabbed some scrap 3/4" plywood and made the first set of chips

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Quickly realized 2 things...

1. This thing is making a mess
2. That don't look right

To help make it easier...I grabbed the manual and quickly fixed my error and made another pass on a new board:

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That's better....ok so what did I F* up???

That 2nd shot gives you a better picture of the adjustable fingers, well that entire bar moves "in" or "out" based on your board thickness, but also flips over depending on what style of dovetails you're doing. I had it on the wrong side and also set wrong...here 2 wrongs did not make a right. That caused in the first picture the "tails" as they're called to not be that crisp "dovetail" shape as the router bit was rounding them over due to the "fingers" not being far enough away from that face of the board. Amazing how much more sense the instructions make after actually using it and seeing somethings wrong!

Swapped the bit over as I only have (1) bushing guide and did the other half of the joint and I got that one right the first time...or close enough for this!

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Far from perfect, but for plywood for what I'm working on here...it's close enough to make me feel comfortable moving forward with dovetails for these drawer boxes.

Next up will be ordering another bushing/template set so I can keep both the needed bits setup at the same time in the routers and not have to swap back and forth. Also need to design and print a "dust chute" to mount on the front lower edge of that router to catch chips. It shouldn't take much to be able to catch the majority of those chips into a dust shroud and **** them right up as they're coming off the router bit directly back at my chest...and with around 20 drawers to make that'll be a lot of chips to sweep up!

 

[bj383ss]

Cool. I have not gone down the Dovetail rabbit hole yet. Thanks for sharing all your errors. I have never seen bushing guides that long.

Bret

 

[nicholam77]

I thoroughly enjoyed the "humor" in that post. Looks like you ended up with a great result., should be really nice.

At first I thought designing and 3D printing a dust chute seems like a lot of effort, but yeah, 20 drawers is a lot. And I hate dust. I tried a router table dado recently and was reminded of how messy it can get in a hurry.

Is tear out a problem with the Leigh jig / router dovetails? Or not so bad?

Once you have the jig all set hopefully it won't take too much longer than pocket holes. And then you'll be able to flex your dovetail superiority over the rest of us plebs.

You might be down to the wire on this one, but you can do it, I have faith!

 

[loganb]

Cool. I have not gone down the Dovetail rabbit hole yet. Thanks for sharing all your errors. I have never seen bushing guides that long.

Bret

Happy to share the errors....if nothing else keeps me human and maybe helps someone down the road! With the adjustability of this jig I can see how doing custom spacings and making it exactly what one wants to fit a piece could snowball....

At first I thought designing and 3D printing a dust chute seems like a lot of effort, but yeah, 20 drawers is a lot. And I hate dust. I tried a router table dado recently and was reminded of how messy it can get in a hurry.

Dust Shroud v1 coming up momentarily....it got designed way too easy to actually work....

Is tear out a problem with the Leigh jig / router dovetails? Or not so bad?

My recollection from highschool use of dovetails on plywood is yes, chipouts can be a problem....but pretty dependent(as on so many other things) is material and method. If you do the right sequence of passes in making the routes you can better control the chipouts, I may end up putting a "backer" on the outer face side on the actual drawers to minimize the chipout on the visible surface

Once you have the jig all set hopefully it won't take too much longer than pocket holes. And then you'll be able to flex your dovetail superiority over the rest of us plebs.

I'm not going to flex anything till it's all done...and by that time you'll probably have 3 or 4 more projects done to my 1....so yeah

So as alluded too....the shroud got designed....or what I'm calling the v1 shroud:

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Parts like this are both where I think 3D printing should shine...as well as where the modeling gets more difficult for CAD hacks like me. Curves, intersecting curves, hollow cavities...all things that really slow down many traditional home shop based manufacturing methods. It's also parts like this that I don't have a as much experience in modeling "intelligently" for easy flexibility....so I was curious to see how long it would take to model...in the end not bad. Came in around 30 minutes....should've been closer to 15 as I struggled on 1 part and got stuck due to a foolish oversight on my part that I mentally kept blaming the program instead of the operator for....oops! Once I fixed that it was done quickly

Intent is this will basically "slide" onto the fixed base and be secured with 1 or 2 screws that already have tapped holes in the base...I'll manually mark and transfer those holes....it'll be easier! 2" tall overall with a 1.5" diameter dust connection...which I may upsize...will see how things go.

But now that the model is done....over to the slicer!

When printing parts, you often need supports which are disposable elements automatically printed during the process to "support" future layers of the good part you actually want. They're a necessary evil but when possible I try and minimize them because they take time...use filament which isn't overly expensive but still a waste....and they're often a PITA to get out! So with that in mind I thought I might share a bit on this part how changing orientation of the part on the printer can affect print time/cost:

So Orientation 1 or the "open" down on the bed:

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The green grid in Pic 2 shows the support structure it thinks is necessary....I don't think it's actually necessary for this part but going to leave it alone for a more accurate comparision. Bottom right corner of Pic 1 shows a just over 4 hr print time and 115 g of material used.

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Orientation 2 or laying on it's side has advantages of less filament/supports required as shown by the roughly 15% reduction in filament and the 50 minutes less on the machine

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Standing on end though is the most material and time effective...I do have concerns though about the relatively small surface area contacting the bed(supports will help here some though) being able to successfully hold this part down.....so although it's intriguing to try for knowledge....probably going to pass on that for now

End of the day...I like Option 2 best, going to wait till morning to run it though so maybe more to come tomorrow

Oh yeah...would which ever of you Northern Dwellers take your weather back north where it belongs????

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I know we often blame the midwest always changing weather for our lack of conversation skills because it's the default ice breaker around here....but it's supposed to be overnight lows in the upper 40's and we've got 400 acres of corn planted....not frost warnings and snow warnings!

 

[loganb]

Little lunch time of leftovers and printer filament leads to this an hour later:

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And with patience leads to this:

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And ultimately this:

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One thing to note, due to that side span across the "top" of the part as it was oriented and as it is intended to be used, the first "layer" of that top surface that "bridges" that gap isn't stuck to anything as it's a string of plastic hanging in mid air. It makes the surface for the future layers, but in situations like this the PLA I chose can bridge pretty impressive distances without structure...you just need to be aware of what it'll do and if that matters to your part. Here it didn't matter so I had no issues. Had this been printed in PETG which doesn't bridge nearly as well it would've likely needed to either change the orientation or have supports under that entire "hood"

Attempted to highlight the section in question below though it's tough to see in white:

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[loganb]

Success! I think....

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Installed....attachment is just that single screw that goes into a tapped hole on the base plate so easy to attach and remove. Dust hose fits pretty darn good for just guessing on the offset...so time to see how it really works!

Purple line is showing where I need to cut back if I want to put the clear shield back in that window...for now it'll stay out. Didn't consider this at all when I drew the jig but with the guide template in there are no chips in that area anyway so I don't think that piece provides much benefit in this operation.

Cut a couple of pins on a scrap piece, it picks up an impressive amount of the dust which was the goal and isn't getting in the way of the jig...so seems like a success so far. Took a video but it's not liking how I'm trying to attach it so that'll have to wait for another day

 

[bj383ss]

If it worked then I call that a success. By the way this forum doesn't let you embed videos.

Bret

 

[nicholam77]

That's super cool!

I really wish we could embed videos here. Maybe if the forum ends up switching to Xenforo soon we will be able to.

 

[jar944]

Nice duct collection apparatus.

You can embed videos on GG, it just depends on the specific forum. The garage gallery is one where you can't.

 

[tj675]

Nice work on the dust collection hood.

 

[loganb]

Few updates....

Managed to find what must have been a bank as who else would have this much money sitting around:

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Ok...so maybe not a bank....but ouchy on the wallet. Not going to turn into another price complain fest here....I'm in the building materials business and well aware of what's going on and had the option to delay this build but I'd rather get it done so I paid the nice folks and they loaded me up! Got tired of big box grade plywood so went to Intermountain which isn't too far away and should be better quality ply to start the angled closet built in's. Prefinished 1 side birch for not much more than the cost of similar at Menards 2 months ago....didn't buy it all so will see how I like it.

As I got it unloaded and leaned against a wall realized I needed to finish a few other projects to free up space as these were going to take up some room....so got buy in from the part time daycare provided(aka wifey) to take point for a couple hours so I could get a project I mentioned awhile ago done(well started then done):

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Few more cubbies and storage spots I need to build before it's completely done....but snowblower is successfully out of the garage and in what will hopefully be an out of sight, out of mind and out of trip or shin killer space till Jack Frost rolls back in 7 months. Was going to build a ramp for it but as I realized what a headache that was going to be I just had a neighbor help me lift it up there...120 lbs or so total weight so not terrible to do 2x a year.

 

[loganb]

Some quick updates here before the morning gets going in the household....

Karma was smiling on me yesterday as someone was cleaning their garage and put a shop vac out on the curb in our neighborhood yesterday morning:

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Met the owner and they commented that it didn't see to work as well anymore and the husband wanted a new one

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Once that trash was removed from the port it worked great! Will become the new roll around shop vac as I dedicate the other one to dust collection on the chop saw.

Between Monday and Tuesday I got a day of vacation in and got most of the way done on organizing the lawn shed and getting more yard stuff out of the garage:

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The main goal there was the snowblower, the organization and getting the tools hung up was just icing on the cake

With a new shop vac in the garage...time to make some hose adapters for the chop saw:

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Oops....made that ID the exact hose size instead of a bit oversized....made a note to my future self(aka me 15 minutes ago) on what I need to adjust and called it a night

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Also was able to use some previously printed L Brackets to mount to the dovetail jig to hold some of the accessories and keep everything together:

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[OutlawDrifter]

Good score on the shop vac!

Having a place to keep the lawn and garden stuff makes a HUGE difference.

 

[nicholam77]

Lawn shed is looking good. I do the same with the snowblower although mine isn't that big!! Having a shed for garden and lawn tools is a life saver. Nice 3D prints.

 

[loganb]

Having a place to keep the lawn and garden stuff makes a HUGE difference.

Lawn shed is looking good. I do the same with the snowblower although mine isn't that big!! Having a shed for garden and lawn tools is a life saver. Nice 3D prints.

The more I can keep the lawn stuff out of the garage the happier I am! Some days I really wish I would buy a place without a bunch of grass and stuff to maintain...maybe next time lol

Few things happened the last several days...

These showed up via our "Magic Door"...aka Amazon:

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A Pi4(aka mini-computer) for the 3D printer so I can monitor and send programs to it remotely and an autostart switch for the shop vac that's getting dedicated to chopsaw dust collection duty

Got out while it was 80+ and windy to enjoy a bit of time at the neighborhood playground

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Eventually made it to the garage to work on stuff....if nap times were longer I'd get a lot more done!

First couple pieces for a drawer, plan is to make (1) drawer and make sure it works out like I think before I cut up a couple sheets worth of plywood...so here goes:

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Getting the dovetail jig setup for both sides:
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To get a nasty blowout on the very first tail...looks like will need a backup block/sacrificial piece on both sides to help minimize chip out:
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Lop the tails off that ruined piece, clamp it up on the "operator side" of the workpiece and hey...that worked to prevent blowout:
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Next up to see about making it easier to change the boards around without needing 4 hands

 

[loganb]

Magic door works again.... this time the rest of the components to make the mini computer for the 3d printer work. This will hopefully be the project tonight after little one is down

Sent from The Garage Journal mobile app

 

[zanyad]

Got out while it was 80+ and windy to enjoy a bit of time at the neighborhood playground

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What a cutie!

Eventually made it to the garage to work on stuff....if nap times were longer I'd get a lot more done!

Don't I know the truth of that! I was on baby duty yesterday while the wife worked in the yard.