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

[jonshonda]

Not that it matters now as you've already made the plunge into the Festool pit, but I'm surprised that you didn't consider the big Bosch 6" sander seeing as you've got another reliable Bosch in your shop. haha

I bought the first generation one a few years back when they were clearing them out to make room for the latest model, and I have zero complaints. But I am guessing the Festool is more refined as well as multiple other perks.

 

[nicholam77]

Question on the vac recommendation-With the autostart thru the plug in port, how much use do you get with the hose end bluetooth remote? Just for quick clean up of the bench/workplace etc? Was looking at the 26 vs the Midi I I think

Just chiming in since I have the CT15 (cheapest!) vac, with no bluetooth.

I don’t know this for sure but I believe some of their battery (cordless) tools can trigger the vac via Bluetooth. If you're going to be plugging your tool in, you won't need bluetooth for autostart. But if you see yourself getting their battery tools it could be important.

Or... if you want to press a button on the end of the hose vs. walk over to the vac when turning it on manually.

All my tools are corded and I don't mind pressing the button on the actual vacuum when needed.

Unless you really need the extra capacity and power of the CT26 (hooking to benchtop tools?) I think the MIDI would be fine.

Fwiw the CT15 and MIDI are the same vac as far as power, capacity, etc, and they share a lot of parts. The CT15 doesn't have the foot brake, Systainer-mounting hose garage, main HEPA filter auto clean, or bluetooth, and doesn't come with the anti-static hose.

Personally I was just going to use for sanding, tracksaw, biscuit joiner, vacuuming the cars, and light pickup of sawdust. I bought the MIDI systainer hose garage as an accessory and got out the door for ~ $400 at the time. Prices have probably gone up.

If you literally just need a vac for sanding and only care about the dust extraction aspect, the CT15 is a bargain. If you want all the creature comforts and upgraded hose, I'd be looking at the MIDI.

---

And just some general comments on Festool dust extractors vs regular shop vac.

— Festool has adjustable suction level - lower is actually better for sanding and I usually keep mine on a level 1 out of 5 for sanding
— the lower suction levels are very quiet, which makes things like vacuuming inside the house or the car much more enjoyable
— even at full suction, it's quieter than your standard shop vac
— the main HEPA filter never gets clogged. At least mine doesn't... it still looks brand new. Maybe others use their vacs more aggressively but it's been several years for me and it's perfectly clean. That's how good their bags are. By contrast my Craftsman shop vac filter is constantly getting clogged, even with a cyclone separator
- their bags cost a little more, but are very efficiently packed, you will get every ounce out of the bag, and they are easy and mess-free to dispose of
- built in autostart
- I find the flat top with the Systainer hose garage super convenient for setting things like track saw or sander, and inside the house keep a Sys 1 open toolbox on top with all my hand tools which is very convenient to roll around

 

[loganb]

Not that it matters now as you've already made the plunge into the Festool pit, but I'm surprised that you didn't consider the big Bosch 6" sander seeing as you've got another reliable Bosch in your shop. haha

I bought the first generation one a few years back when they were clearing them out to make room for the latest model, and I have zero complaints. But I am guessing the Festool is more refined as well as multiple other perks.

I briefly looked at the big Bosch and used it a while ago(several years) at a coworkers, my impression from there is it's more of a "brute". Although this is a 6"/150mm pad, it behaves and acts like a very docile finish sander where the 6" Bosch seems more at home on heavy timbers or very rough sawn lumber. When I need to do some serious material removal, the Bosch or the Festool Rotex would be considered....though if I needed to make a lot of dust quickly used belt sanders seem easy to pick up for 50 bucks and toss a 40 grit belt on would likely be the most cost effective solution.

Just chiming in since I have the CT15 (cheapest!) vac, with no bluetooth.

I don’t know this for sure but I believe some of their battery (cordless) tools can trigger the vac via Bluetooth. If you're going to be plugging your tool in, you won't need bluetooth for autostart. But if you see yourself getting their battery tools it could be important.

Or... if you want to press a button on the end of the hose vs. walk over to the vac when turning it on manually.

All my tools are corded and I don't mind pressing the button on the actual vacuum when needed.

Unless you really need the extra capacity and power of the CT26 (hooking to benchtop tools?) I think the MIDI would be fine.

Fwiw the CT15 and MIDI are the same vac as far as power, capacity, etc, and they share a lot of parts. The CT15 doesn't have the foot brake, Systainer-mounting hose garage, main HEPA filter auto clean, or bluetooth, and doesn't come with the anti-static hose.

Personally I was just going to use for sanding, tracksaw, biscuit joiner, vacuuming the cars, and light pickup of sawdust. I bought the MIDI systainer hose garage as an accessory and got out the door for ~ $400 at the time. Prices have probably gone up.

If you literally just need a vac for sanding and only care about the dust extraction aspect, the CT15 is a bargain. If you want all the creature comforts and upgraded hose, I'd be looking at the MIDI.

Thanks sir! I was looking back at some of your prior posts seeing how you have been using yours! I've been comparing the 15 vs MIDI vs 26, the price point of the 15($419) sure is nice at almost half the price of the 26($799), but that hose garage and being able to drop the box for the sander right on top and also looks very nice. I've read great things about that hose....going to have to see how much I think it's worth. Right now I'm probably going between the 15 and MIDI as usage is just going to be sanding, tracksaw or other handtools as far as I can think thru it right now. Woodcraft locally is shows both a 15 and MIDI instock so maybe today a run over there happens this week to see them in person

[/HR]

And just some general comments on Festool dust extractors vs regular shop vac.

— Festool has adjustable suction level - lower is actually better for sanding and I usually keep mine on a level 1 out of 5 for sanding
— the lower suction levels are very quiet, which makes things like vacuuming inside the house or the car much more enjoyable
— even at full suction, it's quieter than your standard shop vac
— the main HEPA filter never gets clogged. At least mine doesn't... it still looks brand new. Maybe others use their vacs more aggressively but it's been several years for me and it's perfectly clean. That's how good their bags are. By contrast my Craftsman shop vac filter is constantly getting clogged, even with a cyclone separator
- their bags cost a little more, but are very efficiently packed, you will get every ounce out of the bag, and they are easy and mess-free to dispose of
- built in autostart
- I find the flat top with the Systainer hose garage super convenient for setting things like track saw or sander, and inside the house keep a Sys 1 open toolbox on top with all my hand tools which is very convenient to roll around

You had me at "very quiet"! I prop the door between the garage/house open when I'm out there doing "light work" stuff that doesn't involve spinning bits/blades and the kids were complaining about the noise of the shop vac. Being able to have them not fuss about the noise while being more helpful for "momma" helps everyone have a better day

 

[loganb]

Hopefully a bit of actual garage progress on a project of mine may have helped serve as some positive encouragement to get back out there....did some cleaning and breaking down of boxes/throwing away that was definitely needed. Tomorrow is supposed to be in the lower 50's so going to try and open up both doors and do a nice clean out of the garage with the 18v Makita blower...one of my favorite shop tools just for that purpose!

Aside from that, all this talk about vacuums reminded me(well that and using the table saw) that I haven't finished the dust collection hookup for the overarm/overblade port thingy. I had it kinda sorta figured out enough in my head to buy a 10' long 2.5" diameter hose and had 3d printed some magnetic quick connects, but then progress stalled out/shiny thing ran by and I chased something else....shocking I know

But got this far....this is with some random mini bungee cords and a piece of rope that was laying around tied off the Unistrut shelving above



That picture is with the dust collector on....she shrinks up like....well something else on a cold day in the lake. But it was enough to say I think this will be successful and allow me to keep it hooked up to the saw, but with the magnetic quick connects easily move over to hook it up to the router fence in the left side wing or pop it off to use to clean up stuff on the surface

Next up will be designing then printing the matching dust collector port for the over blade, then mounting the just ordered 3-5 lb tool balancer up above and coming up with a slightly nice looking support "arm" for the hose to hang off the balancer.

 

[jonshonda]

I briefly looked at the big Bosch and used it a while ago(several years) at a coworkers, my impression from there is it's more of a "brute". Although this is a 6"/150mm pad, it behaves and acts like a very docile finish sander where the 6" Bosch seems more at home on heavy timbers or very rough sawn lumber. When I need to do some serious material removal, the Bosch or the Festool Rotex would be considered....though if I needed to make a lot of dust quickly used belt sanders seem easy to pick up for 50 bucks and toss a 40 grit belt on would likely be the most cost effective solution.

Yeah the Bosch is a bit of a beast, especially when you switch off the random orbiting feature. I don't have a planer or drum sander so I need something like the Bosch to do some serious removal.

 

[loganb]

Lunch hour concoction here on the overarm/blade dust collection

So intent is some type of a "spreader" to help support the dust collection hose and keep it clear of the worksurface, while still allowing ability for it to connect to the router fence in the left hand(as standing in front of the saw) wing. The hose is 10' long, but I've got an easy mounting point above from the shelves so with some fairly unnecessary but why the hell not curves, couple of holes and the easiest piece of scrap hardwood that was large enough and at hand(and happened to be walnut)...we have this mess.





It's enough proof of concept to show it appears to work. Picture are taken with dust collector on so hose is as constricted as it should get. I'll replace the spring clamp/bungee cord garbage with a hole and zip tie/stainless cable and will likely hang the tool balancer off a piece of steel cable to make adjustment a bit easier

Still have to get the dust port to magnetic quick connect fitting drawn up....that one is probably going to stretch my CAD patience a bit

 

[loganb]

Bit of progress overnight....tweaked version with some size adjustments printing now



Then will work on getting the transition into that magnetic quick attach smoothed out and figure out what angle to have that connect at...not sure between a roughly 45 degree angle to the table and just parallel to the table for a straight up/down to connect

 

[slik560]

Rube Goldberg would be proud of you.

 

[nicholam77]

That's looking great! I like the funky shape of the walnut hanger.

 

[loganb]

Closer...and this iteration is functional

 

[jar944]

Closer...and this iteration is functional

That looks good

 

[a_thiel24]

Scarlet and grey. Go Buckeyes!

 

[82355]

You are going to need to change the colors now.

Martin

 

[loganb]

That looks good

Thanks! Hopefully tonight I get to try it out

Scarlet and grey. Go Buckeyes!

Don't hold your breath on that color combo sticking around....lol

You are going to need to change the colors now.

Martin

That's easy and was already planned. If one looks closely there is a faint white ring between the red adapter and the saw...that's a scrap envelope that was folded over 1x and wrapped around the saw port to make a tight fit. After kid goes to bed I'll pull that out, measure that total thickness then update the model and reprint both the saw port and the hose end connection....probably a boring black. Then I should be able to stick the magnets in it to call this one done....then it'll be time to move to the port for the router fence

 

[loganb]

Printer going brrrr making the new sawdust parts in black. A stiff drink got consumed so no sawdust trials on the tablesaw tonight

In other news...new ISP installing fiber optic finally got to our block





Fiber to the home which will be a huge improvement to the current cable setup from the overpriced Cox. Though in good news supposedly they're lowering prices in our area now that they have some competition so I'll take the 30 or so bucks a month discount till I can switch in about 3 or 4 months if their timeline in other areas holds true here

Attempting to keep disposing of stuff on trash day apparently extended to cleaning up the freezer a bit..turkey had been here for awhile so thawed it out and put it on the smoker. Brined overnight, spatchcoked, some butter under the skin and dry rub on top then 300 degrees for around 4 hours and came out pretty good.

 

[zanyad]

Fiber to the home which will be a huge improvement to the current cable setup from the overpriced Cox.

Lucky. We were 3-4 houses away from fiber in our previous house, with no timeline for when they'd reach our street. Currently we're on a 400M, with the option for 1G of we pay more. No fiber, or any indication when or if it'll be available.

 

[loganb]

Lucky. We were 3-4 houses away from fiber in our previous house, with no timeline for when they'd reach our street. Currently we're on a 400M, with the option for 1G of we pay more. No fiber, or any indication when or if it'll be available.

I had fiber the last 2 or so years at the last place and it was great. Improved upload speed and the consistency in internet speed was the biggest improvement. I think we are on 250 down/50 up and just got this result from the phone



2 minutes later, download improved to 130, same upload. New fiber service will be 500/500 without data cap for around $85 all in with taxes, fees etc and currently it's 110 so that's an improvement I'm estatic for. I've toyed with going to 1 gig, but I don't need it. If kids were older and we both worked from home full time with constant video calls etc maybe, but for what we're doing the biggest improvement will be upload speed and just quality of service with all new gear and dramatic improvements in the system capacity

 

[zanyad]

That'll be a nice upgrade for you!

Just tested. We are getting download speed we paid for, upload speed is ****.

 

[loganb]

That'll be a nice upgrade for you!

Just tested. We are getting download speed we paid for, upload speed is ****.

Damn....that upload sux

I can tell the difference on school weather days or the first couple days of winter or summer break. My video calls aren't as clear and have more issues when attempting to sync large files in the background while doing other stuff. After a couple days of break the kids get caught up on the binging apparently and speed improves lol.

 

[jar944]

Damn....that upload sux

It's all relative..

 

[loganb]

It's all relative..

Oooffff

Looked at Starlink or one of the cell tower based options for better speed?

 

[jar944]

Oooffff

Looked at Starlink or one of the cell tower based options for better speed?

It helps when I turn the wifi on.. doh.

 

[madison069]

Never tested my speed here, but this is on my cell phone. I know we got fiber optic.

 

[legenddc]

Dang. Just looked and Verizon raised our price to $55 for 300/300. I can sign up for a 2 year deal and save $5.
We both work remote and have kids streaming TV without any issues.

 

[loganb]

Never tested my speed here, but this is on my cell phone. I know we got fiber optic.

Yeah that definitely looks like fiber with uploads that close to downloads! That's what I'm hoping for in spring

Dang. Just looked and Verizon raised our price to $55 for 300/300. I can sign up for a 2 year deal and save $5.
We both work remote and have kids streaming TV without any issues.

I'd take that for 55 a month all day long! We don't have any of the 5g based options in our area right now otherwise we would've tried it awhile ago.

And sorry @a_thiel24 .....no more Buckeye support. Though I was cheering for them as I do like your quarterback



Fits nice, need to find then glue in the magnets but once I get that done I think I can call this one complete.

 

[Boostingaz]

We are on the T-Mobile all in one plug and play router thing they have. It's exactly $50 no more no less a month. I have it plugged in and sitting on top of the kitchen cabinets and I'm on the very opposite end of the house at this moment.

 

[loganb]

We are on the T-Mobile all in one plug and play router thing they have. It's exactly $50 no more no less a month. I have it plugged in and sitting on top of the kitchen cabinets and I'm on the very opposite end of the house at this moment.

Dang..... on 5g.... impressive.

 

[Boostingaz]

There, that is a little better. Eventually I may upgrade this light to some sort of LED but at least for now it's not as ugly lol.

 

[zanyad]

We tried the 5G (from Verizon IIRC), but it seems we're on a dead zone

 

[loganb]

We tried the 5G (from Verizon IIRC), but it seems we're on a dead zone

Verizon won't cover our place for the home service, but they do offer it 4 or 5 miles away. T-Mobile will do our house with their 5g internet for 50 to 75 a month, but their speeds are similar to worse then what we have now...so I'll keep with the current service while waiting for the fiber.

 

[bj383ss]

Verizon won't cover our place for the home service, but they do offer it 4 or 5 miles away. T-Mobile will do our house with their 5g internet for 50 to 75 a month, but their speeds are similar to worse then what we have now...so I'll keep with the current service while waiting for the fiber.

I had the same problem with verizon. It only worked out of the window at the front of the house. Great for the PC but dead for the rest of the house. So we kept the cable internet.

Bret

 

[Boostingaz]

There, that is a little better. Eventually I may upgrade this light to some sort of LED but at least for now it's not as ugly lol.

Sorry buddy, totally thought I was on my own thread when posting this, sorry for the clog.

 

[Bob Heine]

We got AT&T fiber a couple of years ago and it's been pretty good. Every time I get a bill from them, something goes up in price. At least I'm getting decent speed from them.

 

[loganb]

Less hacked together



Still a few bungee cords to get rid of but it's better. Will trim the rest of the cable off that taped up service loop once I finalize the height

Also got more 10mm x 5mm magnets in so could finish up these couple of dust collector adapters. The router fence worked out as one of the premade models dropped on nicely

 

[loganb]

I've had my eye on the M12 right angle die grinder for awhile and in planning for it's arrival there was an assorted bag of the generic twist lock sander pads on the Xmas list....well the grinder showed up this week and started sorting the pads and realized I had one of the deeper plastic organizers unused and the discs all fit in with space to spare. As I go thru them I'll probably replace the most frequently used sizes with 3M ones.



Now as I stare at this I wonder about making a 3d printed insert to drop the grinder in there too and have everything in one spot....hum.....

 

[legenddc]

In case you need some inspiration: https://jonahpope.gumroad.com/l/diegrinder90?layout=profile

 

[loganb]

I had the same problem with verizon. It only worked out of the window at the front of the house. Great for the PC but dead for the rest of the house. So we kept the cable internet.

Bret

Yeah that has also been a fear and not wanting to screw around with a modem thingy for 5g based service upstairs but the rest of the network stuff in the basement....1st world problems!

Sorry buddy, totally thought I was on my own thread when posting this, sorry for the clog.

0 concerns sir...the more the merrier!

We got AT&T fiber a couple of years ago and it's been pretty good. Every time I get a bill from them, something goes up in price. At least I'm getting decent speed from them.

That's nice!

In case you need some inspiration: https://jonahpope.gumroad.com/l/diegrinder90?layout=profile

I like it...thanks for sharing! On that vein...this finished today





1.2 kg or so of Bambu PLA to get the sanding discs in the same case as the sander. The slots aren't big enough to hold the entire box of 50 discs per grit but it at least gets 20 or so and the rest can find a spot on a shelf

 

[loganb]

Detour warning...but garage related

I enjoy reading about a variety of topics, but have found that reading about garage/woodworking/making ****...especially when reading in a dead tree format can help ignite/build excitement to get out there and I've been feeling some burnout. While talking with a colleague who is a very skilled handtool woodworker and lathe afficionado we got on the topic of Lost Art Press, classes taken and I ended picking up a couple books I had previously looked at but hadn't ordered.

If you're into woodworking, well bound books or other well made things and haven't checked them out...link below:

Lost Art Press

Publishers of books on hand-tool woodworking. All our books are made in the USA.

lostartpress.com

The books are fantastic quality and the content I have found to be even better. They are often very nuanced, specific topic items but the information is well presented with great visuals, examples etc.

But back onto topic...one of the ones that came home was their sharpening book which was then supplemented by a new diamond stone which led to sitting at the dining table tonight talking with the wife while working on my abused 1/2" general purpose chisel



Big improvement...not yet fully passing the end grain paring test ...but way closer then it was before



Kitchen knives also all got some attention and back to slicing thru paper without hesitation there.

 

[madison069]

I invested in a bunch of stones and sharpening devices a while back. I need to bring them out to sharpen some kitchen knives. Now to add this to my task list.

 

[loganb]

I invested in a bunch of stones and sharpening devices a while back. I need to bring them out to sharpen some kitchen knives. Now to add this to my task list.

When you do get them out feel free to share what you're doing on your thread!

I've got some cheap diamond stones and some oil or water stones but trying to simplify things a bit.

3 grits of sandpaper on a 12 x 12 piece of glass for initial flattening, clean up etc



Fresh sandpaper on it, 3M, likely something orange or blue box had in stock

I hope that once the initial sharpening on a tool is done it doesn't see the sandpaper for awhile...like till I drop it or hit a piece of metal. Then it goes to the Sharpal diamond stone covered in the video below

I haven't gone past that with stropping yet, but there was a good thread the other day and a comment about some mdf blocks with compound on them I intend to try

I follow up with 5 micron and 2 micron diamond paste on an MDF strop block cut to the same size as the stone to fit in the holder.

Now to see if I still have any scrap mdf...