Mopar / Wood Shop Cave

[LeonardY]

Wow, Impressive organization.

The Lady of the Garden asks me how I find anything in the garage. I tell her it's a very simple. I just look for it.

 

[moparfreak]

Some quiet time in the shop today and I was able to batch work and knock out the rest of the 'Ruwi' pieces. Came out nice!


Fits and stores nicely into the space underneath the worktop.

Time to clean up the shop! Lamp post coming up next.

Adam

 

[nicholam77]

I might have to make some of those Ruwi things. Do you mind sharing where you got the 40x40 extrusion and the non-slip material?

I could see them being useful for sanding, routing, and large cabinet clamp ups.

Also... do you know if the Festool / Bessey-style ratcheting quick clamps fit in the 40x40 extrusion?

 

[zanyad]

40x40 aluminum extrusion is widely available. One of the major manufacturers I'm aware of is 80/20, but they're spendy. A quick Google search for "aluminum t-slot extrusions" got me a lot of other results.

 

[nicholam77]

@zanyad Yep, I'd be looking for something cheaper than 8020 as this would just be a 'nice to have in the arsenal' for me. I've used Misumi Engineering for the few extrusions I've bought in the past, which have been good, but also not cheap. I know there's a million inexpensive ones on Amazon / Aliexpress / Bangood, but not sure if they are crappy... was just curious what @moparfreak used

 

[Jgaz]

@moparfreak
I know you have dog holes in the front edge of MFT table.
Anything specific you use those horizontal holes for?
You might have covered this in your thread but I’m only on page 9.

I just asked the whole group for ideas in this thread. Post #5182.

Lets see your workbench

If it’s OK I thought I’d show the process of my work bench build, this post is a combination of a few posts I did on another forum so some of the text might come across out of context I will start off by saying I also did the garage build from start to finish (not yet finished) I paid...

www.garagejournal.com

I love some of the ideas you’ve come up with for your shop.

 

[moparfreak]

I might have to make some of those Ruwi things. Do you mind sharing where you got the 40x40 extrusion and the non-slip material?

I could see them being useful for sanding, routing, and large cabinet clamp ups.

Also... do you know if the Festool / Bessey-style ratcheting quick clamps fit in the 40x40 extrusion?

I shopped around on these. 80/20 is the old standby. I've used them before. McMaster Carr has them too (and for all I know they use 80/20 as their supplier), but their shipping fee for large item (4' long) was quite a bit. 80/20 was maybe 10% less than MMC. I kept shopping around and then found that Amazon had 4-packs of both 2' and 4' sections which pretty much lines up with what I wanted. Here's what I ended up buying:

4'ers: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0C9PT7BFZ
2'ers: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0D7MBGJSJ

These are of course knockoffs but aluminum extrusion is a commodity at this point, and I don't see any drop in performance here with using these. I would have been going with the hollowed lightened version at MMC or 80/20 anyways. The anodize is nice and they're strong.

To answer your other question about the clamps, the answer is YES - they fit the track style clamps and this gives them SO much more utility. One of the reasons I wanted to build in this system was the added ability to hold up large panels upright to be able to do casework. I've always found it clumsy when putting cabinets together (whether with **** joints, biscuits, pocket screws, etc), it was always difficult holding them upright and square to each other. The video and Ruwi site pictures show a lot of those examples. Here it is set up on my bench with a pic I just snapped:

For the foam topper, I'm sorta 'eh' on it so far. While the friction is pretty good on it, the adhesive on the underside isn't great, and it sometimes peels off and I need to fix it. It's also probably a bit too soft. But, it was cheap (link HERE). I figure I'll use it for awhile and if it gets torn up or has issues then it's an easy replacement to something else.

Next project for the assembly table is to finish organizing the rest of the drawers, cause the ones that are messy are driving me nuts.

Adam

 

[moparfreak]

@moparfreak
I know you have dog holes in the front edge of MFT table.
Anything specific you use those horizontal holes for?
You might have covered this in your thread but I’m only on page 9.

I just asked the whole group for ideas in this thread. Post #5182.

Lets see your workbench

If it’s OK I thought I’d show the process of my work bench build, this post is a combination of a few posts I did on another forum so some of the text might come across out of context I will start off by saying I also did the garage build from start to finish (not yet finished) I paid...

www.garagejournal.com

I love some of the ideas you’ve come up with for your shop.

The front is nice for more workholding options. Sorta acts like a vise in its own right with a lot of holding options, depending on the clamps you have. Here's an example of holding a panel upright so you can do something like edgebanding:

And then building upon that, the zero overhang design also allows to be able to flush up and use that corner as a way to support a panel joint and fasten it together, like this:


Adam

 

[Jgaz]

The front is nice for more workholding options. Sorta acts like a vise in its own right with a lot of holding options, depending on the clamps you have. Here's an example of holding a panel upright so you can do something like edgebanding:

And then building upon that, the zero overhang design also allows to be able to flush up and use that corner as a way to support a panel joint and fasten it together, like this:


Adam

Very nice, thank you.
How deep are your horizontal holes drilled to allow you to use those clamps?
I like them better than the Veritas clamp I’m currently using.

 

[moparfreak]

Very nice, thank you.
How deep are your horizontal holes drilled to allow you to use those clamps?
I like them better than the Veritas clamp I’m currently using.

Those holes are all the way through, and the frame of the table is made up of 2x4 material that's been milled down to about 1-1/4". It's actually too thick to be able to use the regular track clamps like you can on the tabletop (since the top is only 3/4" thick), so I use the other style of clamps.

The ones shown that have the black doghole adapter I got from Banggood pretty cheap. Have to wait a bit longer in the mail but no biggie. Gotta make sure you select the right size (3/4" vs 20mm). For the MFT style which is what I built it to, everything's 20mm.

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Adam

 

[Jgaz]

Those holes are all the way through, and the frame of the table is made up of 2x4 material that's been milled down to about 1-1/4". It's actually too thick to be able to use the regular track clamps like you can on the tabletop (since the top is only 3/4" thick), so I use the other style of clamps.

The ones shown that have the black doghole adapter I got from Banggood pretty cheap. Have to wait a bit longer in the mail but no biggie. Gotta make sure you select the right size (3/4" vs 20mm). For the MFT style which is what I built it to, everything's 20mm.

ENJOYWOOD 16mm/19mm/20mm/28mm MFT Table Workbench Quick Ratchet Bench Dog Hold Down Clamp Clip for 16mm/19mm/20mm/28mm Dog Holes

Only US$38.99, buy best enjoywood 16mm/19mm/20mm/28mm mft table workbench quick ratchet bench dog hold down clamp clip for 16mm/19mm/20mm/28mm dog holes sale online store at wholesale price.

www.banggood.com

19mm/20mm MFT Table Workbench Bench Dog Hold Down Clamps for Carpentry & Cabinetry

Only US$13.99, buy best 19mm/20mm mft table workbench bench dog hold down clamps for carpentry & cabinetry sale online store at wholesale price.

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Adam

Thank you

 

[rollinlower]

were restoring my dads 72 charger

 

[moparfreak]

Lots of progress on a bunch of things as I get the shop cleaned up, put away and ready for the next big undertaking.

I've been on a kick of getting things off of the floors and worksurfaces and onto walls or even ceiling. I'm 6'0" in a shop with 9'0" clearance so there's a few feet to work with there to store things for hanging that are out of the way but reachable.

Starting with these two Ryobi tools, which I actually use rather often, a pretty powerful light and fan, both handy when you need it. I stored them on my bench but wanted to get them out of the way. I noticed they each have a little hook pattern in their legs.

So, a quick project to fashion up a hanger on the ceiling, used a 3/16" rod to fit in those hooks.

Next, I wanted to get my angle grinders onto the ceiling as well for easy access. I used to have them on the wall along with all the wheels, but I found that was actually pretty hard to access, too high up and hard to see.
So, the grinders all go on the ceiling hangers. These were for standard size ones and I used some sheetmetal grinder holders cheap from Amazon.

For the bigger stuff, I had to construct it with a steel bar.


Adam

 

[moparfreak]

Been working awhile also on transferring over and filling up all the drawers in the sanding station. SO much space, it's wonderful. Definitely not regretting the super wide drawers. This opens up a lot of space in other parts of the shop that I can also reuse for other things, and puts all my sanding/grinding/finishing/abrasive stuff in one single spot.


When I was sorting all this stuff, I found these old sanding blocks from a local company called "Milwaukee File Co." They were my grandfather's and I'm very protective of his old tools so I've saved anything I had from him. These are interesting and have that old tool flair to them, probably from around 50s if I were to guess. The metal is in good shape but the rubber pads are pretty degraded. I'd like to try to source some new foam/rubber to restore them to usefulness. I'll have to do some more research into them.


Adam

 

[moparfreak]

Planning on some table projects soon, and I had these 4-way Panel Clamps I had gotten from Amazon awhile ago. Been sitting in a box not useful, so time to complete the build on them. I took a 2x4, milled up all edges to make it square, and formed 4 pieces out of it:

Fully assembled and ready to go, should be able to handle around a 40" top width.

Adam

 

[moparfreak]

Alright, well I've got a new focus for a bit - building a new custom lamp post out front. For years there was an old ugly fixture that we decommissioned electrically awhile ago. A few years back when we were doing the sidewalk I ran conduit out with the intention of eventually building up a new nicer one. That time has finally come.

It'll look like this, which matches columns on the front of the house that support the porch. The black fixture on the top of the column is the lamp itself.

The plan is to excavate a bit and create a small concrete pad, then build it up from there with some internal 4x4 posts. I'll face the posts with plywood and then build a "face frame" box around it. I should be able to build the face frame in the shop and be able to use hidden pocket screws & glue to keep the joints all staying really tight, as usually outdoor trim and carpentry starts showing joint gaps over time which don't look good. Here's the look I'm going to be trying to match:

So I started by digging out the concrete pad. Centered around the electrical service which will run up through the center and be hidden. Also had to rip out the old lamp post.

Created a 24" square form. One thing is for sure is I really don't know what I'm doing here, sorta winging it. I had one bag and then I recalculated that it really needs closer to 3 bags of concrete. So, will pick those up and hopefully get the concrete mixed and poured and screeded off today so that the little mini pad can cure for the next several days. I'll feel more comfortable once we get into the woodworking portion of the project, but I am anchoring the posts to the pad using post brackets so definitely need the pad to cure up enough to be able to grip the big Simpson anchor screws.

In the meantime, my mind is always at least half in my shop, so I've been modeling up a workstation to build for my pocket hole jig. Lots of designs out there, all of them are pretty similar. Mine will also be pretty similar as well, but take the features I like from others. I should be able to build this out of scraps again (win!), here's what I've got so far:

The two wings on each side are going to be hinged on the back so that the inside can be used for storage. I'm thinking screws on the left and accessories/clamps/bits on the right. Having a front fence just helps with squaring and supporting the material and the T-track is there to be able to have an adjustable stop piece for when that is appropriate. I'll make the stop slotted so it can be moved backwards when not being used but also then be a guide on the other side of the workpiece (think of a long cabinet side and how tippy it wants to be when setting up in these jigs). Then there's a handle for carrying and hanging on the ceiling, and also a pattern of 4 holes that lines up with the MFT 4x96 20mm hole pattern so that I can just pop in 4 dogs and it's secure on the workbench. The only thing not shown is the jig itself since there's no point in modeling that up. Maybe I'll be able to get this build going over the next couple of days. It's not super complicated but details matter on this one to make sure all the right surfaces line up properly.

Adam

 

[Toolfool]

Look into MDO instead of plywood. And your concrete pad should be higher than surrounding ground so you're not weed whacking the post.

 

[moparfreak]

Look into MDO instead of plywood. And your concrete pad should be higher than surrounding ground so you're not weed whacking the post.

Good point on the MDO. I have some PT plywood but the MDO would result in a much smoother / nicer surface, I didn't realize it was used a lot in outdoor applications. These will get a heavy coat of exterior paint, so they will be protected from that as well. I'll look into raising the height of the pad but probably can't go too much higher. I plan to edge around the pad with some decorative brick edging which should also keep the grass away from it.

Adam

 

[Jgaz]

Yes, MDO is used in a number of hi way signs.

 

[LeonardY]

I'd like to try to source some new foam/rubber to restore them to usefulness. I'll have to do some more research into them.

McMaster Carr sells neoprene with adhesive backing. That's where I generally get it from. You can likely get it on Amazon too. But you never know the quality of the material.

 

[moparfreak]

I took the advice from Toolfool and added an extension to the form to bring it up a couple more inches. Love the suggestions, and I always try to consider good feedback! Had to get one more bag of concrete and then mixed it up and dumped it in. I forgot how much not-fun it was mixing up bags of concrete by hand.


So that'll dry and then I'll be able to start laying out the inside structure of the lamp post.

I also saw in a WW magazine a good idea for a jig, so I made it up real quick, had some of those toggle clamps. This is nice for laying out drawer joints (can put the two pieces together), and also for screwing right angle sides together. And of course I store it hanging from the ceiling.


Adam

 

[moparfreak]

Progressed some on the Milwaukee File Co. sanding blocks. First I cleaned them up, they were coated with the old dried up foam. First I peeled it off but then had to use roloc and die grinder to get all the residue off and back to bare metal.

Next I got a piece of foam from McMaster and trim a piece to size, to get it ready to glue up.

Now I just gotta get some E6000 to have a good glue bond from the foam to the metal, so I should be able to get that done this week and have them finished up and usable like they were 75 years ago!

My SFIL brought over a big straight piece of buckthorn. He's got a lot of it on his property and when it's mature like this it makes nice orange/honey colored wood that is very tight grained and good for small carvings and utensils. Cut in half and glued up the ends and it's going up in my attic to dry out for a year or so.


He also brought over a neat little jig that he made up. It's a bandsaw blade soldering jig. He has three different bandsaws and it's most economical to just buy blade stock and solder up the blades. So, he made a little jig out of angle stock. The main piece holds the blade, the two loose pieces on top clamp it down and there's a spot to make the solder joint. The pieces are rabbeted to make room for the blade stock thickness as well as to clear the set of the teeth. He made up a second one for me as well since my bandsaw is also an odd size that isn't stocked by most of the regular blade companies. Pretty slick if you ask me!

 

[jar944]

Not sure if you started on the post wrap yet, but it's hard to beat pvc for maintenance avoidance and longevity.

 

[moparfreak]

Jar944, those columns look great! Am I correct in that you are using the Castle system for pocket hole? It looks great!

I thought about PVC but couldn't find a product locally that I liked. If I do a rip cut, the edge ends up looking poor as it shows pinholes rather than the nice glossy and finished edge. My strategy is to use PT 1x4 material for the rail/stiles, and I've switched to MDO for the backing panel. They will be built around some 4x4 posts to anchor it to the ground that are lagged into the ground using some post brackets. I hope to do similar approach to what you did - which is to pre-build the assembly and use glue+hidden pocket joints to keep all the joints super tight. Then slide it over the top and nail in place over the plywood. Fitment and squareness will be critical for the strategy to work. Then slather it all with a very durable outdoor paint.

Finished up restoring my grandfather's old sanding blocks!


Other time in the shop has been spent working on the pocket hole fixture. First up was to take a piece of 3/4" scrap cabinet grade plywood and shape it, as it has some funky cuts and curves, including the interior handle, which will be used to carry it as well as hang it up on the ceiling. In retrospect I wish I left a bit more meat on the edge, but it should be alright.

Then I used the Parf system to layout and cut the 4x dog holes at the corners. The point of this is to clamp it down all I really need to do is put some extra long dogs through and they should line up reasonably well with the MFT style top. I probably really only need to put in two dogs to secure it and keep it from moving around while using it.

Then I rounded, sanded and softened all the edges and started laying out the two "wings". First one is on the left, this one is 12" square and I'm going to make some dividers to hold the various size screws.

On the other side, I might be able to stretch the right hand wing a bit farther as it'll be meant to store clamps / bits / drills / accessories so it could use a bit more length.

Adam

 

[moparfreak]

Pushing to finish up the pocket hole jig workstation this week. Completed the left hand wing, made it a touch longer than the other side to fit some clamps better.

Next is to work on the worksurfaces which is from 3/4" scrap. First cut on the cross-cut sled and tune to size. This allows me to size the riser platform that the jig will sit on so that all the surfaces are coplanar.

Next is use some more scraps to whip up a little riser platform to get the jig positioned just right. Once I made the riser I also realized it would have a little tunnel so I used some 1/4" ply I had to make a small drawer. Always want to make the most out of storage possible!

Later today I'll set the tablesaw up for the dados so I can install fence and T-tracks and then it will be finishing touches with hardware, which I still have to make a trip to Menards for. Hope to get this one knocked out and done by Tuesday.

 

[Jgaz]

The little drawer is a nice touch.

 

[moparfreak]

Today was spent on the lamp column. First set the 4 posts. Probably a better way to go about this but this was my approach. I found that a lot of finicky work was necessary to get all 4 posts perfectly set relative to each other so that the column remained upright and square in all three dimensions. I found making some stretchers out of scrap stock and securing the posts as they were installed helped a lot to keep my measurements consistent.


When it came time to face them off with the MDO plywood, it wouldn't sit flush at the bottom on two sides due to the brackets and screw heads, so I had to clearance away 1/8" or so of material. I initially set up to run a dado stack on my saw, but since I didn't have the dado width brake cartridge the saw wouldn't let me run that combo. Oh well gotta order one of those, and so then I decided to rout the material way using an auxiliary base and my trim router.


Then just installed the 4 sides and lined them up, being sure to leave a gap at the bottom so they don't touch the ground and wick up moisture.

Next step is to start building up the face-frame overlay. Going to try to do this as one piece so that I can pocket hole the corner joints internally and keep them tight forever, then slide it down over the top (which is why it needed to be straight and square). Then a plywood topper, a coat of paint and then the lamp gets installed.

 

[jar944]

Jar944, those columns look great! Am I correct in that you are using the Castle system for pocket hole? It looks great!

I thought about PVC but couldn't find a product locally that I liked. If I do a rip cut, the edge ends up looking poor as it shows pinholes rather than the nice glossy and finished edge.

Adam

Thanks, Yes I'm running a castle (actually its a castle branded as a porter cable 552)

The pvc in those wraps is just the home depot veranda brand. I used 3/4" for the frames and 1/2" for the panels. Iirc that was 4 sheets to make 6 post bases. If you look closely all the edges are mitered (except top of the baseboard) so no exposed edges. Some guys will do a acetone wipe on a cut edge to smooth it out before paint.

There shouldn't be any voids though. I've used it for a few different items and find it to be similar to using wood.


If you want to see some really cool exterior millwork using pvc sheet check these guys out https://www.instagram.com/executivearchitecturalmillwork?igsh=MXZhOHZzOXQwbWg0dQ==

 

[moparfreak]

By the time I get home from work it's getting to be nearly dark, so hard to make progress on the lamp and other outdoor projects. So, continued further on the pocket hole workstation. Setting up to do the dadoes in the two pieces of 3/4" ply that serve as the worktops. While I'm still waiting for the brake cartridge to arrive for the Sawstop, I set up the router table instead.

Of course what's not shown is the fact that I mis-measured and ruined my first set of panels. Cut the groove on the wrong side and from the wrong edge. Grr, those lapse in focus mistakes get me steamed. Left the shop and then came back in a while later and remade the panels and put the dadoes in properly.

One dado is for the fence and one is for the T-track that will allow for a moveable stop block. I got all the hardware also today so should be able to start putting it all together now.

 

[moparfreak]

Not a lot of time in the shop today, but got the tops installed with the hinges.

Last up is to put some hardware into it.

 

[moparfreak]

Pretty much can call this project complete! Put the finishing touches onto it over the last day or so.

Ordered some Schaller bins and made them fit just right with some filler strips so that it can be hung from the ceiling without the screws falling out:

The right hand side is more for larger items, I hot glued in the bins so they stay in place.

Dust collection so that it hooks up easily to the workbench hose. It also removes easily so that I can still access the bins with the screws.

Sorta weird but I did a snap pull for the little pull out drawer which I use for the drill and driver bits, turns out most easily accessible latches at the hardware store are just too large for this small of a drawer. Not pretty but it's functional.
Made up some quick stop blocks for the T-tracks on the wings.

Here it is all finished. I'm really happy with how it turned out. Going to use it today for the lamp post face frames and then I'll fashion up a way to hang it from the ceiling as it's around 3' long.

 

[nicholam77]

Pocket hole jig looks nice. That thing has got to be heavy!

 

[moparfreak]

Jumping back into the outdoor lamp project, time to do the face frame decorative part of the column. Have some relatively straight GC PT 1x4s that I trim to size. My plan is to pocket hole into 4 frames and then assemble them in the shop, then slide it over the column and nail into place w/ SS 16g trim nails.

This is why I wanted to finish up the pocket jig workstation, it made things a breeze.


The MFT top really shines here along with the accessories. Squaring things up and clamping parts in place are much easier than before.


It was pretty simple stuff but took time as I was very meticulous with measurements of the column and triple checking sizing. I'm going to screw and glue these together and want it to slide over the column like a glove, just right but not too tight or loose.

 

[moparfreak]

Pocket hole jig looks nice. That thing has got to be heavy!

It's not light, but it'll hang from the ceiling when not used and I won't really be lugging it around much (hopefully). I have an unfixable tendency to overbuild things......

 

[moparfreak]

Assembled the column frame tonight in the shop.


Pocket holes and Tightbond II and I don't think those corner seams will open up, even sitting outside. Doing it this way allowed me to get all those internal pocket hole joints accessed. The PT boards were pretty decent, I spent a lot of time at Home Depot picking out good straight ones, but there was definitely some twist/warp in the panels that had to be taken out during clamping and assembly, so it took longer than expected. That's why the longer open time of the Tightbond II is really nice sometimes, plus it's exterior rated.

Tomorrow job is to sand the exterior and then fit it over the column and tack it into place. I spent a lot of time on my measurements and it's all glued up now so if this doesn't slide right over then I'm going to lose my ****.

 

[moparfreak]

Got the pocket hole workstation hung and mounted up on the ceiling. I'll probably reinforce the handle with some steel bar I have lying around as that thing is heavy, no kidding! I think having all filled up with screws doesn't help, lol. Might eventually look for a place down lower to store it but overall it's a wrap on that project and it really helped for the lamp column.

 

[moparfreak]

Been a little while, not so much room for project work the last few weeks. just got back from a family vacay in Nassau, and I'm eager to get back to the shop!

A small one that I knocked out recently was to build a rolling shelf out of scrap material that lives underneath the parts washer. This gave me a place to organize & store brushes/cleaning products. This allowed me to pretty much clear out that middle shelf.


Next another mini-project is I want to get my scroll saw off it's spot on the floor. Here's where it currently resides:

Not very usable. But I do like how it's out of the way in an underutilized space under the jointer. It's not a tool I use too often. So, my thought is to build a little rolling cabinet where I can roll it out into the open and then put it on a cheap raising platform to get it to working height. I'm starting from the top down. Here's the lift I got from Amazon cheap.

Then I grabbed a piece of scrap plywood that was about the right size. Unfortunately it has a bad warp to it, so I cut and installed some steel bar to the sides to help straighten it out.

Here it is mounted, now I just need to build a small ~10" cabinet base for the bottom side. Hope to be able to pull that together with more scraps!

 

[moparfreak]

Skipped a few steps I think on the lamp post, but I've been chipping away at it. Finally got paint on it and installed and hooked up the lamp fixture. Just in time for winter cuz I think snow comes later this week. Will give me light when I need to go outside and shovel the driveway at 4am!

 

[Mike65]

Nice work.

 

[moparfreak]

Oof, not much work in the shop these last couple of weeks. But, did get the scroll saw rolly thing mostly built. Now I can keep it underneath the wing of the jointer which was previously dead space. I can use the lift to bring it up to the height of a workbench to help stabilize it.

I made a little cabinet with a pull out "drawer" that is just two slides on a panel that I'm going to use to mount storage of my other saws, which previously were just collecting in a big pile underneath a different workbench. So, some more organization needed to get this all figured out.