Collecting Power Tools ... now what?

[Ruff_Hi]

After promising to not cut any fingers off, I have been allowed to collect some power tools - idea presents for the last few Christmases and Birthdays.

First up was a circular saw - dewalt DC390
Second up was a compound miter saw - dewalt DW713

With these (and sketchup) I was able to design and build my own computer rack. This is my ethernet hub, location of the DVR, Server, UPS, etc. Ripping the surfaces with the circular saw was fun ... and drew heavily on my mathematics ... and my ability to bodge something together.

I've also almost filled my basement work area with storage shelves - thanks to dadand for their design (seems I can't post links yet ... will return to add some links when I have the required number of posts and I remember) that I had to tweak a little to fit the standard storage container (link to be added).

And for my birthday just past, I got a Dewalt table saw DW745 (without a stand as I said I would build my own workbench for it).

You can get away with a miter saw and no stand ... but I can't imaging using a table saw without a stand.

So ... I am planning to build a portable work bench that fits in a pre-selected location in the garage (double, nice, wide and deep) that has to hold 2 cars, snow blower, grill, big wheel trash things, a collection of dog crates (the hard, plastic ones that don't fold up) and a stack of bricks.

In short ... not a bunch of room ... but no zero room. I should go and measure it . Update: I have 40" width to play with. Other dimensions can be anything as long as I don't go absolutely crazy (think 10' or more probably equals crazy).

What do I want this work table to hold? Well, table saw, miter saw, area for dust collector, should I add a sawdust baffle? I have some horses, so I can use those to extend the support as required ... but I think that means my table height has to fit in with the horses.

So ... what I am hoping to get out of the garage forum is suggestions and helpful tips about the above and observations about things I could add or things I have missed.

I recently finished a build log for my new liquid cooled computer. That involved posting updates, answering questions, illustrating what I was doing, etc, etc. Do people do that here?

 

[HOTFR8]

Welcome to the GJ.

May I suggest you update your profile with a location (other than your Home) as in future you may find that helps. Specially given this is a very global forum. Often you will find subjects may get different answers depending on locations and regulations.

 

[Ruff_Hi]

Ok, initial thoughts re my work bench.

Both of my saws are approximately 23" x 23". The miter saw is deeper, but it will mostly be sitting on top of the bench so I think I can ignore the extra length. My aim is to put the table saw in the middle of one end with the ability to run the wood into the saw along the length of the bench. The miter saw will be at the other end of the bench on the front edge.

Allowing 14" between both saw locations gives me a total bench length of 60" ... a nice round number. For width, I think I will plan on 40".

Very initial mock up (bench top and two tools, no legs or anything else) has it looking like this ...

Obviously, I can't leave the miter saw there when I am using the table saw.

My horses (with a 2x3 inserted) is 33" high. I can either make my table hight fit into that and use the horse to help with really big pieces of wood, or I can add a fold out top portion at the miter saw end. If I go the horse route, that will lock in the bench height ... if I go the fold out route, then the bench height is still up in the air.

Qs ...

1. the table saw is currently in the middle of the table (front to back) ... is it better to have it to one side? If so, which side?
2. Obviously, I don't want the table saw's fences getting in the way of any wood that I want to cut with the miter saw. I can remove the fences ... or I can set it up so that the miter saw is normally clear of the fences
3. I think I want the ability to put in much longer 'guides' for the miter saw so that I can clamp stops when I am repeating cuts of the same length - I will need to think about how to do this ... should these 'guides' be fixed in place or removable?
4. Looking at the above picture, I can easily see situations where I want to be able to extend the bench surface area / provide additional support. Maybe the horse height option is the way to go.
5. Finally, I know that I am using some wrong words here (guides) ... is there a terminology link somewhere so that I don't confuse myself and others by using the wrong words?

 

[HOTFR8]

Thanks for updating your location. You may be better posting a topic in General Discussion.

 

[gtabasso]

Any plans for large equipment like lathes or mills?