Help me setup a basic woodworking shop...

[Sticks McGee]

My 2 cents:

You seem very similar to me in your projects you have done, projects you have planned and the tools you have available

My tools:
Grizzly 1023 (older) table saw
Dewalt router in a home made router table
Dewalt plunge router
Dewalt random orbit sander
Hitachi 12" sliding miter saw
Dewalt biscuit joiner
Old jig just like the Kreg pocket jig.
About 8 pipe clamps with various pipe lengths
4 12" jorgensen light duty clamps
2 36" jorgensen light duty clamps
4 12" clamps similar to jorgensen that are HF
handful of c clamps and some spring clamps
50" clamp-on cutting guide
Makita Jig saw
Old seras circular saw
Old Skil circular saw (not worm)
18ga brad nailer (HF my brother gave me)
33 gal sears oiless compressor
Sears table top drill press.

I don;t have any of this stuff really organized at the moment but I think this is the #1 thing on my list. Get it organized and in a way that makes it more useable. I waste so much damn time looking for things that should be readily available to use.

Plans I have:
Build a work bnech with storage above and below to mount my vise on and put my drill press on. This will be attached to the wall. I want to build a version of the Paulk work bench that I can use as a main layout and assembly bench. I want to take my table saw and build a mobile cabinet base for it and turn one extension wing into a router table. My current router table is huge (3'x5' with a home made 2x4 base) and I need to save space. This will allow me to utilze the table saw fence for the router. I want to build a miter saw station on wheels for my miter saw. I plan to build one very similar to a Norm Abram one that I saw. Most of my stock is gonna be 8' or less so I don't need a huge miter station to hold 12 and 16 ft pieces. I want storage in the miter station to keep things handy for the miter saw. I want storage in the table saw base to keep all the table saw stuff withn reach as well as the router stuff. I plan to build all of these things to the same height so they can double as extension table for the table saw and temporary additional glue up/assembly surface.

I am perfectly happy using factory sheet goods at this time. Somewhere down the road maybe a jointer, planer and band saw but not really on my short list at this time. The last couple small projects I did I used the biscuit jointer and really liked using it. It in no way will create joints like a tradiaonal mortise and tenon joint but it does make quick, strong and easy to set up joints. I need my stuff to be mobile within the garage but I won't be loading it up and taking it to a jobsite. When not in use I want the stuff to take a much smaller footprint. My garage is 24x24.

Working smarter and more efficiently is on my short list along with picking up more clamps and some better clamps (like the Bessey) My table saw is the center of my most used tools. I use it for ripping, some crosscutting, cutting dados, rabbits and beveling edges. Some of these things can be done with a router too as it does a better job but there are many ways to skin a cat. One of my most recent tool buys is a true stacked head dado to replace the old dual "wobble" blade I had used prior.

 

[owdlvr]

Started building a workbench yesterday that will fit in the space I have for woodworking stuff:

Need to bolt everything down, add some dust collection and then for the moment I'm just going to leave it unfinished. I have visions of either pegboard, or shelves, or hooks for clamps and such...but need to spend some time using it before i decide. Mitre saw will be bolted to a 3/4 sheet of plywood, which I can lift out, as I'll need to remove it for most table saw work. Annoying, perhaps, but a necessity of keeping the bench only 6'ft wide.

-Dave

 

[kctyphoon]

Edited again - I didn't go back and see that you already built another work table before writing this, but I'll leave what I wrote anyway...

Looks very nice, I like it..

May wanna consider some channels in the top for the miter gauge for both the table saw and router.. another idea - maybe add 2 cleats 3/4" (guessing) below the work surface by the miter saw on both (or all 3) sides.. so you can SLIDE the saw out, (from the front) and make a plywood insert that you can lay in the empty space to fill in the recessed area - so you can have a larger work surface when needed.. hope I explained that well enough.. might even be able to flip the miter saw upside down, and have the flat surface face the table if you add those cleats (if that's the right word), and recess the bolt heads..

You might even be able to mount plywood along the back of the table (facing the garage door) on a long piano hinge (or a few hinges) so you can flip it up and secure it with legs to really extend that table when needed.. you'd be able to rip down sheet goods with that.. kinda like this -

Edit - did some image searching.. see how his miter saw is - so he can slide it out, flip it over, and make the table surface flat. That's what I was trying to suggest. Hope that helps.

 

[owdlvr]

May wanna consider some channels in the top for the miter gauge for both the table saw and router.. another idea - maybe add 2 cleats 3/4" (guessing) below the work surface by the miter saw on both (or all 3) sides.. so you can SLIDE the saw out, (from the front) and make a plywood insert that you can lay in the empty space to fill in the recessed area - so you can have a larger work surface when needed.. hope I explained that well enough.. might even be able to flip the miter saw upside down, and have the flat surface face the table if you add those cleats (if that's the right word), and recess the bolt heads..

That's a brilliant idea, and as I've already recessed the bolt heads, that's super easy to do. Thanks for that!

You might even be able to mount plywood along the back of the table (facing the garage door) on a long piano hinge (or a few hinges) so you can flip it up and secure it with legs to really extend that table when needed.. you'd be able to rip down sheet goods with that.. kinda like this -

The first bench I built and this one are the exact same working height, and both on wheels. I've also got a tool box which I have to build a base and top for, so it will end up being the same height as well. All planned so I have lots of options for feed tables, extra supports, etc.

Thanks!

-Dave

 

[dirt_dobber]

WOW!!! those are some great ideas for the mitre/table saw solution. PM sent to owdlvr.

 

[owdlvr]

Now that I have the bench, figured it was time to start shrinking my scrap wood pile. But first I needed to extend the mitre slots. Cue learning to use a router for the first time (practiced on scrap first)

Whittled the scrap pile down into more manageable chunks. Let me just say that there was a LOT of repetitive cuts to get to this point. My gosh.

At this point you might be wondering just what the heck I'm doing. I was originally going to be buy plastic bins for sorting hardware, wire, etc. But why buy something when you can make it? Not the prettiest, but functional and that's what I need.

At this point, I went to fire up the table saw to start ripping the masonite down for the dividing squares and...nothing. Well, not nothing, but rather a couple of large bangs from the motor and then nothing. Guess after 10yrs in storage putting it to extended work was a bit too much! Will be pulling the motor apart to see if its simply brushes or the switch.

-Dave

 

[Corndoggeh]

What you WILL need to buy is ................CLAMPS !!!!!!
You will never have enough if you're working on big projects.

C-clamps in various sizes for edge clamping.
Pipe clamps in various lengths for big projects (buy the heads and then multiple size pipes to swap out).
Strap clamps (endless cargo clamps w/out the hooks) for holding box shapes together.

A good glue dispenser is helpful, as well as bulk disposable acid brushes to spread the glue.

Hi I'm Corndoggeh, and I'm a clamp hoarder.

 

[cnc-me]

The only way to get rid of the dust/mess of wood is to separate the two.
Keith Rucker on you tube has it down pat, with his new shop.

Well, we were a production shop that never had a table saw in use.
We used Dewalt radial arm saws for crosscutting and some light-duty ripping.
Heavy ripping was done on a Straight line ripsaw (Yates American)
I second theoldwizard1's opinion - spot on.

The real workhorse of our shop was one of these.
Porter 612 pin router, these can be bought super cheap now days
but they kick the **** out of any router table setup out there.
Almost a replacement for a shaper.
Back before the days of CNC this is what cut out the majority of wood parts
on a production basis.

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[owdlvr]

Thought I would post a thank-you follow up to everyone who helped me out. The other day I was moving the bed into my guest bedroom, and realized that for now I would need to stack some boxes for nightstands. Hmmm, can't afford to buy furniture...but wood is relatively cheap? I _may_ have gotten a little over-ambitious for a "weekend project"

My rolling workbench has some limitations. You really need to plan ahead so you do all your mitre cuts, and then all your table saw cuts (or vice-versa). Otherwise, you're swapping out the mitre-saw off the bench constantly. The fact that I can roll the whole "woodshop" outside, and close the garage doors makes up for it though. No more dust in the shop! I turned a pickup truck load of 2x6, 1x6 and 1x4's into various cuts and sizes. So many cuts...so much sanding.

Did I mention the sanding? Yeah, it got dark there was so much sanding to do.

Bed frame and trim, I think this is the second coat of stain.

Headboard, and a coat of stain:

And lastly, the night stand design. I'm not happy with the look of the door (which is unfinished as of yet). I think I need to redesign it with a thinner frame. Might go with horizontal planks like the headboard. Somewhere in the cutting and sanding I miscounted some planks and didn't make enough to do the second nightstand, so I'll correct that tonight. Lol, so much for a weekend project. Hopefully I can have everything finished and in the guest room by the weekend?

Bed frame is ready to put in the bedroom, and the headboard should have the third coat of polyurethane on it by mid-day. Definitely learned some good lessons for the next time I decide to make some furniture, but happy enough with how this is turning out.

-Dave

 

[owdlvr]

Finished the bed tonight. The room is pretty small, so it's tough to get photos!









-Dave