Mopar / Wood Shop Cave

[moparfreak]

Shorty,

Yes those slots are to fit a regular Irwin or similar type quick clamp for holding stuff down. It was an idea that I liked that I saw on several other DP tables.

The other drill press has an amusing setup, it's really a Frankendrillpress. The motor that is used is a DC motor off of a floor scrubber. In order to drive it there's a box he made up that has a transformer and variac inside. This allows for variable speed with a knob rather than pulleys (though it does have a pulley stack, I just keep it on the fastest one). A strange beast it is, but it works well. It's a reflection of how my SFIL likes to recycle and upfit, so-to-speak, shop equipment.

Both of my DPs (bench & floor) have foot pedals. The one on the benchtop is this one:
https://www.harborfreight.com/momentary-power-foot-switch-96619.html

Cheap but works well. The one for the floor standing one my SFIL had picked out of his collection so I'm not sure where it came (but it has a reverse as well, another advantage of the DC motor).

 

[moparfreak]

After tripping over a box of funnels on the floor and dinging my knee, threw these up on the cabinet wall w/ a few screws and pieces of scrap PVC laying around...



Also been thinking about a way to store and easily grab all the sanding discs I've got for my 5" RO, and had a thought as I passed by in the garden section of Lowe's a little plastic planter box:


Some cuts w/ an OMT, and to the bandsaw to make a bunch of cardboard dividers:


Mounted to the wall above the other sanding supplies:


Only thing that cost me on this was ~$6 for the planter box, and went together in about 15 minutes...I'll take it!

 

[moparfreak]

A lot of radio silence from me on the shop. Been doing lots of small stuff, but recently, I started having to clear out the second spot in the front of the garage, it was kinda messy and had stuff crowding up too much, I basically turned into mower parking...



But once that was all cleared away, it made some room for this....

 

[shortykorte]

Rutro. Look at you. Ready to roll now.


Shorty Korte
Always remember quality in QST

Sent from my iPhone using Garage Journal

 

[shortykorte]

Shorty Korte
Always remember quality in QST

Sent from my iPhone using Garage Journal

 

[moparfreak]

Let's see, it's been over 4 years since I've last roamed the Garage Journal and posted updates of my shop. Life got busy, Covid hit, dealt with some health issues, changed jobs, started a kid into high school, finished remodeling everything left in the house (side bath, main bed, main bath, basement), turned 40, etc etc etc. Recently in the last 6 months or so I've started to free up some of my time and head-space to go back to focusing on the shop. For a number of years I've been using it for necessary home improvements and repairs but a lot of the projects in our forever home are behind me now. I can finally start to think about updating a few things, change out tools and overall make improvements to the shop. In the summer I started working on things and found myself getting frustrated at the slow pace of progress. I had more time, true, but not that much more time, so things still went slowly. I sorta had an epiphany about this hobby this week about how the process itself of making and maintaining a hobby shop is enjoyable in and of itself and not to take away from that. The shop helps feed other hobbies but it's indeed a hobby in itself. And patience is well-served here, because I might as well be methodical and enjoy the process rather than get frustrated at the pace (which I can't do much about, given work, family, obligations, etc). Otherwise this whole thing just seems a chore than anything else, and I don't need more chores!

So, this is just my musings about getting back into the saddle and diving into the never-ending project of the shop and being happy about it. So, with that I'm going to go back to posting progress pics on this thread like I did for nearly a decade prior, and take it slow and steady and continue to use GJ as inspiration for my own shop!

With that, here are a few messy ugly current state pics:


What a mess! This is my big center section of the shop. Historically it used to consist of a tablesaw, an assembly table to the side and a workbench on the outfeed. Here's what it used to look like a number of years ago:

This is where my focus will be, as it's where most of my project work is centered at. The biggest change is that I finally upgraded tablesaws from the Craftsman cabinet saw up to a 3hp Sawstop. No regrets there, the Sawstop is amazing, and loads of power, much more than the previous saw. I also got rid of the red MDF workbench as it just wasn't working well for me anymore other than as an outfeed. Finally there's also a Grizzly 8" helical jointer that's added into the mix along the side. So, the machine side of things is looking brighter but the workbenches and surfaces need a serious upgrade.

My initial focus is going to be replacing, redesigning and remaking the assembly table of all assembly tables to replace the white one to the side. The one I have serves as a utilitarian worksurface but everything else about it *****. Too low, poor storage, wrong size, no clamping capabilities, etc. I've started some initial sketching in Fusion and consumed a TON of content of all sorts of benches and assembly tables, and here's the main objectives as I design the new table:

- MFT style top w/ 20mmx96mm dog hole pattern
- Maximized full depth drawers for storage
- Mounted WW tail vise
- Integrated vacuum system for nearby dust collection, and maybe even a boom arm
- Easy integration with track-saw cutting for sheet goods
- Flexible work-holding
- Fold-up surface that serves as apron when down but worksurface I can pull a stool up to when secured up
- Capable of handling a slew of add-ons / accessory jigs / clamping solutions for glue-ups, routing, sanding, assembly operations, etc.

So yes very pie in the sky stuff but I think I can do it! In addition to that, I'm working on finally setting up proper dust collection in the shop. For so long I've just been spewing dust everywhere and sweeping it up all the time. I've plumbed a few of my machines for the eventual addition of DC but never had the unit itself. Well about 3 months ago the one I was watching on Grizzly went on an amazing sale and took advantage. Fortunately I had also pre-wired for it, so it was a pretty easy installation. Here it is, a 3hp cyclone two-stage:

Unfortunately putting the DC unit itself in is less than half the battle. Now I need to plumb it in. and this moves a lot of air and you want to keep it as large an ID as you can right up until the tool its collecting from. So, right now I'm figuring out how to run the big 6" Sewer & Drain PVC pipe up the walls and ceilings and where drops occur and whatnot. So, this is getting pieced together on the fly as I work on designing the new assembly table.

Lots to do, but exciting times for the shop for '24. Good to be back on GJ posting again after a very long hiatus!

Adam

 

[shortykorte]

Welcome back. Sounds like quite the ride.

I too have found I spend a lot of time on the shop vs on my hobbies. Lucky for me I’m starting a new shop again.
I like your idea that the shop is a hobby in itself.

 

[impala4speed]

It's great to see this thread come back up. Life, health and family always will come first, just as you've done. But it's awesome when you can get back out into the shop again. Keep up the great work!

 

[moparfreak]

Nothing too significant in terms of progress over the last few days, but did make a few steps:

Dust Collection
Got pretty much all of the PVC tubing, fittings and misc stuff needed. Really only waiting for a bit of flex tubing and straps to come in from Amazon. I have it sketched out but this is one of those projects that is going to be very iterative and inch along, readjusting the plan with each step that I implement. Hope to get a few connections started today working my way out from the DC itself.


Toughbuilt Stacktech
So for awhile I've been wanting to reorganize my plumbing and electrical toolkits a bit, as I take this stuff into the house quite often to do plumbing and electrical jobs, but they're organized into a big rolling drawer in the shop, and I end up making a million trips from house to shop every time in order to do jobs. For awhile I've been looking at the Packout system since I am a bit of a MT fanboy but close to when I was gonna pull the trigger Toughbuilt came out with their Stacktech system and I just really liked it. It's a bit less cost but seems to have a lot of thought put into it. Got a few of the basic sizes and built out my plumbing toolboxes. Next time I'm at Lowe's I'll pick up a couple more and start the electrical, in addition to getting the rolling base. It opens up a few drawers in the shop that I can repurpose.


Assembly Table
Been doing a lot of thinking on this, and have started the design concept in Fusion360. Here's what I've got so far:

3/4" MDF top with maple trim, using construction lumber that's been jointed and planed down and making "L" legs. Next step is to put in the aprons, cross-bracing, etc and then see how it all looks. One tricky part is I want to keep the sides flush with the table edges, so that I can use tracks and dog holes in the side walls for clamping purposes. A lot of designs out there all have some form of overhang and the sides are inset from the tabletop edges. Hopefully since I did the hardest part (getting started) this will move along smoothly now. Also getting the hang of Fusion 360, which I find a lot more intuitive. Used to use SketchUp for shop project design but this just works better with the way my brain works.

Adam

 

[shortykorte]

I just purchased a few Packouts to carry electrical supplies to new shop build. Regardless the brand they are convenient. I looked a different brands but didn’t see the Toughbuilt.

 

[Aspen RT]

Welcome back. Make sure you save room for the Charger !!!!

 

[moparfreak]

Welcome back. Make sure you save room for the Charger !!!!

Charger is still here, alive and (un)well. 3 years ago I started disassembly and didn't get very far (as you can tell). I'd like to make it my main focus once my main shop improvements and a few fine WW projects in the house are complete (kitchen and dining room tables). Definitely a stretch goal to have this done and running in my 40s. Probably the biggest reason I've never made really serious progress on it is I've never made a good plan for it. Have lots of different things saved as far as inspiration for how I want it to look, what improvements and add-ons I want to do, where I want to restore vs. restomod, etc. But, I've never just made a complete plan of what I want the car to be, so it sorta makes sense that I've never been able to just work on it and execute it since it's hard to start when you don't know where the end is supposed to be. So, that'll be job #1 to just decide what needs doing!


Adam

 

[Aspen RT]

LOL.....only 3 years ? Mines got that beat by waaaaaaay too many years !!!
I know what you mean though, other stuff just happens.

 

[Toolfool]

Back at it !! I've spent the last 2+ years building out my garage/shop. Since it's not my first shop I have been able to approach it as a hobby in itself. I've been patient and avoided listening to that voice (and outside voices) telling me "just get it done". I'm getting close to 'finished' and happy with what I have put together.
I also have a DC system plumbed in 6" PVC and have a lot of S&D fittings (and blast gates) left over that I'd sell if you have trouble finding things.

 

[nicholam77]

Great to see the woodworking part of the shop get some love, and welcome back! Congrats on the Sawstop, jointer, and DC.

I'm a bit of a self-proclaimed MFT nut, because I think the concept works so well, especially when tight on space.

I know you said you already consumed a ton of content, but in case you haven't seen any of these, here is my required MFT viewing playlist

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUZcRe8jSCMxOPEtWjquecr1A5djvAbr5&si=Ds4Q1qhXwOlTKEVk

I also made my own MFT which has served me really well, if you're interested:

https://imgur.com/a/Eoj2Y9G

My hybrid version of a DIY MFT Sysport

My hybrid version of a DIY MFT Sysport

www.festoolownersgroup.com

I think you're on the right track with keeping the top flush with the legs, to employ dog holes or tracks for vertical clamping. Looking forward to see what you come up with!

 

[moparfreak]

Toolfool your shop looks fanstastic! Love all the retro flair. That DC is an interesting one, how is it working for you? Also, how do you have your 6" plumbed? With your high ceilings, are you still doing overhead drops to get the big 6" out to your chipmakers like the TS and MS?

Adam

 

[Toolfool]

Toolfool your shop looks fanstastic! Love all the retro flair. That DC is an interesting one, how is it working for you? Also, how do you have your 6" plumbed? With your high ceilings, are you still doing overhead drops to get the big 6" out to your chipmakers like the TS and MS?

Adam

Thanks.
I planned ahead where my major machines would go and ran 6" PVC and electric conduits under the slab to avoid overheads. Most of my projects are woodworking (retired finish carpenter/GC) and I have been in enough shops with dust and cobwebs falling on me from the pipes and wires overhead.
The turbine DC is a new design and a gamble. I wasn't sure it would do the job that my 5hp cyclone from clearvuecyclones.com, but once I got the 20" planer hooked up at the furthest away from the DC I found out it works just fine. Very little stray chips while planing.

 

[moparfreak]

Wow, putting 6" tubing in your floor is indeed planning ahead! I'll be suspending mine off the walls and ceiling so it'll be clumsy and a bit unsightly but hey I'll take that over breathing all that fine dust. Hope to get the first main trunk running out of the DC mounted this week. Already have a bunch of stuff mounted to the ceiling (lights, fan, etc) so it's gonna be a trick to get around all that stuff or relocate it. The challenges await....

Adam

 

[Toolfool]

Some tips : Avoid using 90's, use two 45's with a short length of pipe in between.
Use good blast gates to reduce 'leakage'.
I don't glue any joints, cut pipe as square as you can, push all connections together till they bottom out, then pre-drill and install three 5/8" long truss head screws into each connection (then you can make changes if you need to).
You might need to ground your pipe, or you can get a nice shock (burying pipe seems to take care of that for me)
Some good info here : http://billpentz.com/woodworking/cyclone/index.php

 

[moparfreak]

Some tips : Avoid using 90's, use two 45's with a short length of pipe in between.
Use good blast gates to reduce 'leakage'.
I don't glue any joints, cut pipe as square as you can, push all connections together till they bottom out, then pre-drill and install three 5/8" long truss head screws into each connection (then you can make changes if you need to).
You might need to ground your pipe, or you can get a nice shock (burying pipe seems to take care of that for me)
Some good info here : http://billpentz.com/woodworking/cyclone/index.php

Definitely wasn't planning on gluing, as I've seen the need for future changes and adaptability. I was planning on either foil taping or wrapping electrical tape around the seam, in addition to the screws for mechanical strength. Do you think that's needed to prevent leaks? I'd think the 3hp motor is going to be pretty good at sucking air out of any leaks it can find.

Right now my main design really only has two 90s but they are right near the machine, so probably affect every downstream branch, and at 6" I really couldn't find anything more gradual than a regular sharp-turn 90. You think it makes a really big difference? I could possibly change to 2x 45s, it might extend that branch out a bit.

Adam

 

[moparfreak]

Haven't gotten much done this week on the table design, but picked up a few more fittings from Menards and finally got started on the ducting. The outlet on the dust collector was an oddball 7", but was able to find an HVAC fitting to fit it. From there I had to crimp it in order to fit the 6" S&D type PVC fittings and then taped the inside so that the crimps don't fill up with gunk and it's smoother flow. Not sure if that'll matter or not but it felt like the right thing to do.


Then got it installed on the dust collector, and here's where things slow down. I wanted to do the double 45s like suggested above but I just don't have the run length to fit those, so 90s it'll have to be.

Next challenge is getting around this sanding station I made a couple years ago. I pre-plumbed it with a bunch of blast gates and hoses to each of the machines, so now I'd like to hook up to that. It's a bit clunky, and in retrospect I'd probably rather use something like this Rockler multi-port. Put one blast gate on it, have a hose to the cabinet and then I don't have all that **** on the wall. Right now I already see that I need to space out the 4" ducting to line up with where the 6" lives in space by about an inch or so.


Adam

 

[moparfreak]

Started to get the main branch going. Decided to pull the monstrosity off the wall to make more room. I still want to put my sanders there and have dust collection hooked up, but will make it much simpler.

Plan to use this manifold from Rockler to make having just one blast gate/port for all the smaller sized bench machines in this area.

Since the router table and the planer are both mobile machines that I usually wheel out to the middle of the open space, I'll have a separate branched wye come down from the ceiling that I can then hook up to either machine and it should unclutter that wall section. This is a very "build it as you go" type of project, but I'm glad to just finally see some slow steady progress.

Adam

 

[moparfreak]

While I sort through the dust collection design and build, I decided to sidetrack myself (typical) and build up a nice crosscut sled for my new SS Tablesaw. One of the things I really want to do is bring some precision into my WW, so making jigs, fixtures and dialing in machines is a priority - especially with things like the table saw, miter saw and track saw - things I use a lot. This will help when I build the Assembly Table and other future shop projects, as well as a couple upcoming table projects for the house. Funny enough, I actually built two different designs. One by Tamar3x3 and one by Kings Fine Woodworking - both awesome sleds. In the end I think I'll stick with the Kings one and sell the other one.

Features I really like are the fixed miter frame jig and the variable angle jig that just adds some extra built-in capability.


And, cause somehow I'm running out of room in a big shop, I've started adding eyelets to my jigs and hanging them from hooks in the ceiling.

Now to clean up some built up mess and then get back to the dust collection build out!

Adam

 

[moparfreak]

Making some progress on CAD design for the Assembly Workbench. Here's what I'm thinking:

MFT style top with 20x96 dog hole pattern. Going to rout Microjig dovetail grooves into the front and left sides of the table so I can clamp stuff to those sides as needed. Going to install a WW quick-release vise on the right side. The front 4 cavities you can see from the front will be filled with drawers (which I haven't modeled yet). It's mostly made from a sheet of 3/4MDF for the top, planed down 2x4 lumber and 1/2 plywood. So, it shouldn't really break the bank too much.

This side has a little alcove that I'll put a dedicated vac into for dust collection that can connect to a boom arm for sanding/cutting/etc on the tabletop surface:

This side, which will have the vise installed towards the left side of the edge, will have a little open shelf unit that will hold a few different vises I can install onto the tabletop when more workholding options are needed:

I was worried about this sagging so I"ll be putting not only casters at the corners but also two in the middle to support weight and keep the top dead flat. Those aren't shown yet. I also plan to build some wide pull-out shelves on the underside to take advantage of the space by the casters which I'll use to hold long skinny stuff like F-style clamps. Sorta like undercabinet shelves you see to hold pans in a kitchen.

Got about 6" of space under the tabletop so I can reach for clamping and also hold things like foam mats for cutting on and track saw rails, etc.

Once I do the CAD work for the drawers I'll start the build, as at that point it's diminishing returns on CAD vs just doing it and making design adjustments as I go. Mainly I just want to get a sense of how big the drawers will be, and what materials I'll need.

Open to any feedback, just trying to think of everything now when its easy to make changes and also maximize every square inch I have!

Adam

 

[Toolfool]

Have you seen these ? https://www.amazon.com/Mullet-ThirdHand-Dust-Collection-Boom/dp/B0CF76W9QF/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[nicholam77]

I think the assembly table looks good. Not sure if you saw my post a few back, but that YouTube playlist has many ideas in it. From that playlist, the Alabama Woodworker (Huy) MO/AT bench seems to be the most similar to your current design:

You might find some of his ideas applicable. Without changing your design too much, I would suggest considering:

- possibly making the top a torsion box, or Paulk style, if you're concerned about perfect flatness. It could even be removable.
- some sort of work support that runs vertical down the legs (peg holes, T-track, microjig dovetail channel)
- track saw goodies and how you're going to implement (rail hinges, crosscut and/or rip fence, sacrificial zero clearance strip)
- maybe budget a compartment for a small air compressor?

 

[moparfreak]

Have you seen these ? https://www.amazon.com/Mullet-ThirdHand-Dust-Collection-Boom/dp/B0CF76W9QF/?tag=atomicindus08-20

Yep, that's the boom arm I intend to use. I have it in my cart!

Adam

 

[moparfreak]

I think the assembly table looks good. Not sure if you saw my post a few back, but that YouTube playlist has many ideas in it. From that playlist, the Alabama Woodworker (Huy) MO/AT bench seems to be the most similar to your current design:

You might find some of his ideas applicable. Without changing your design too much, I would suggest considering:

- possibly making the top a torsion box, or Paulk style, if you're concerned about perfect flatness. It could even be removable.
- some sort of work support that runs vertical down the legs (peg holes, T-track, microjig dovetail channel)
- track saw goodies and how you're going to implement (rail hinges, crosscut and/or rip fence, sacrificial zero clearance strip)
- maybe budget a compartment for a small air compressor?

I watched that playlist, it was very informative. I've pondered it but don't think I want to go the full torsion box approach. Takes up a lot of usable height and also a more complex build. I put some ribs underneath the tabletop to keep it flat, but I figure that as I'm building it I can get a feel for how flat/rigid it's coming out and just add some more ribs as needed.

I'm going to rout the microjig channel into the apron and leg fronts to give vertical clamping. I figure it's not worth modeling but once I am in the build I can put those in. Tracksaw stuff I'm hoping to get a few doghole accessories (fences, squaring jigs, etc) to be able to optimize for it. I don't want to do the permanent attached hinge mounts like so many MFTs have as I don't use my tracksaw so often that I want that stuff permanently mounted and in the way, but definitely want to be able to quickly and easily throw a track on there and make square and parallel cuts without too much setup. I follow "Hooked on Wood" channel on Youtube that has a ton of really great stuff on using doghole tops for tracksaws. Might be good to add one of those sacrificial strips though, or perhaps a T-track groove. I'll think about that one.

I've got the shop plumbed up with compressed air, and I have a dangly drop over the top of it, so I'll just keep that airhose at the ready overhead. Adding the vac will be a nice upgrade as my workbench is always getting messy.

Thanks for all the ideas!

Adam

 

[nicholam77]

No problem! I don't think you'll have any issues with the ribs. Except they can be kind of annoying with the quick clamps that are an L shape, like Microjig or the Festool ones. So I would recommend the least amount of ribs possible that you feel comfortable with for flatness and rigidity.

I use a T-track on mine to slide the rail hinges on and off when needed, but dog holes work, too. If only using dog holes, the key is making sure they are a perfect orthogonal reference grid for square... which depending on how you go about it can be kind of tricky to do. But then in theory setup should be very quick and easy.

Hooked on Wood is a great channel. I love his bench and have watched all his accessories videos... lots of great stuff which I'd like to implement more of myself. I use two Festool quick clamps 99% of the time... and to be honest those alone can clamp almost anything.

 

[moparfreak]

Out in the shop again this evening, and worked on another leg of the system. This time I focused on hooking up the miter saw station and the nearby drill press.

First step is starting to do a reset on all the stored wood. It's just a freakin' mess from top to bottom. So, I'll turn the shop into even more of a disaster and start taking all the wood down, grouping it into similar types, throwing out scraps that I just can't see any good future use for, and then put back neatly and hopefully gain a bunch more space back in my wood storage. While the wood is taken down I can also complete all the dust collection plumbing.

The good thing is when I built the miter saw station, I built a dust hood and worked some plumbing back from it to a 6" blast gate. I had to punch a whole through the top shelf but it was pretty easy to get this leg connected up. I have it continuing on from the miter saw and will snake some 4" S&D tubing along the edge of the wall/ceiling and then bring it vertically down into a blast gate that can feed the drill press (which always makes a huge mess and flings dust & chunks everywhere). Gotta get some more 4" pipe and a couple fittings to finish that side off.


Got two 4" drops going on either side of the window. The one on the left will drop into a new sanding station and I'm planning a magnetic hookup so I can just move it to whichever sander I'm using. The one to the right of the window is for a long section of flex hose that will have the Rockler floor broom on the end of it. The Wye on the far left is what's going to travel across the ceiling to feed the main power tools (table saw, jointer, planer, router table). I figure that leg will be next after I finish off the ones on the wall.



This project is very frustrating as it moves along at a snail pace, and each time I work on it, I either shift the plan around, have to do more research, or realize I need to go pick up another fitting or pipe. I can't wait till I get enough of this stuff hooked up that I can actually turn the damn thing on. There's saw dust and green PVC chips everywhere and I mean everywhere! After the dust collection is done the shop is getting a DEEP clean cause my OCD is suffering....

Adam

 

[moparfreak]

Got the benchtop drill press branch done. Next step on the DC is to start the main trunk that is going to go up along the ceiling to feed the bigger tools. I might fiddle around a bit with the collector nozzle at the drill press down the road but having it all piped up feels good.


In the process of clearing the scrap wood away to run the piping, I decided to dive in and just do a deep clean and re-sort on the wood storage racks. It's been about 4 years of buildup and pretty much run out of space. Too many scraps kept and all disorganized. So, taking EVERYTHING out, piling them up in like groups and then throwing out the scraps I know won't be useful for future projects.

Vacuumed everything up, found a few mouse nests so that was a good sign that I had to do this. Turned the shop into absolute havoc, as I don't have enough surfaces to even put all this stuff while I go through it.

Spent the better part of Sunday going through it all and putting things back. Should have it all buttoned up this week and it feels good! Once I can get the last main branch run to the middle of the shop and at least the blast gates installed I should be able to turn the dust collector on and see how much it pulls through each section. I've held off on screwing and taping joints yet, in case I need to make adjustments, but that will come soon!

Adam

 

[moparfreak]

FINALLY got the miter saw wood storage all cleaned out and sorted and put back. Got rid of a full garbage can and a half's worth (the kind you roll out to the front of the house for pickup) of scraps I just was never gonna use. Frees up a LOT of useful space and all the stuff that's back there is organized now and easy to find. I've got a bit of work in the dust hood around the miter saw to get that all vacuumed out and plumbed properly, but I think I can consider this 'side project' finished up.

I moved my frankenstein drill press over against the wall, it fits nicely here. Also makes it easy to hook up the DC to it as well, as the drop just to the left of it is going to be a flexible magnetic hookup to be able to attach to several of small benchtop sanders depending on what I'm using.

Also finished up the floor sweep drop. It's got about 35' of big 4" flexible tubing that is going to allow me to reach most all of the floor space in the wood shop area. This will give me a good quick solution to get dust off the floor instead of letting it pile up and mix into the air. Used the Rockler hardware here for the floor sweep.

Next up to continue the main branch going to the tablesaw and jointer. Hope to make some progress on that this weekend!

Adam

 

[moparfreak]

Home stretch. Picked up a few more fittings from Menards that I needed and got the main ceiling branch installed that is going to feed the jointer and tablesaw. Installing this 6" tubing up on the ceiling by myself is dicey at times. Fortunately using pre-installed hangers and feeding the tubing through it helps. I'm liking how it's turning out so far.

Got the drop to the jointer also hooked up with the blast gate. Nice clean install, I think.


Last up is the final bit to go to the table saw. It's a bit more involved as it'll split to feed a 2.5" run to the blade guard and then a 4" drop down into the cabinet. Gotta pick up a couple more fittings and blast gates from Rockler so hope to do that this week and maybe get the system turned on and tested this weekend!

Adam

 

[moparfreak]

Getting sooo close. Trip to Rockler yesterday to pick up a few missing odds and ends allowed me to progress on the final stage - the tablesaw. This was a two part - 4" down to the cabinet, and a 2-1/2" split off to the upper blade guard. I'd like to rebuild the blade guard into a custom piece that hovers over the top rather than attaches to the tabletop, to be out of the way easier. I'll probably also add in a separate blast gate for the upper side for when I don't use the blade guard.


In the end, to make the connection to the branch at the top I'm missing one last fitting (of course) so I'll have to wait for it to arrive and then can hook it all up and start to shakedown the system!


Adam

 

[Toolfool]

Already 8x 90's in your system. Lots of 4" and smaller flex pipe. Expect some suction loss.

 

[moparfreak]

Already 8x 90's in your system. Lots of 4" and smaller flex pipe. Expect some suction loss.

Yeah, I tried to stay as large as possible till the end but 6" is just too big and bulky to make that drop down right to each tool. Probably the worst of them is the long run to the tablesaw which is 5x 90s. It's a 3HP cyclone so I'm hoping it'll still be more than adequate when pulling through only one tool path at a time, hope to get it fired up and testing it this weekend....

Adam

 

[moparfreak]

Well I spoke too soon about being able to complete and test it over the weekend. Received a last fitting I needed from Amazon and it was supposed to adapt to PVC but just barely did....not. Too big. This is where I've used the 3D printer a few times and I think it fits nicely into workflow for this kind of thing. Take a quick measurement of ID / OD needed, model it up in Fusion360 and print off a coupler needed to make these parts mate without spending $$ or time to order something in. Such a huge time and cost saver. I have access to a Bambu Labs X1 Carbon at work and it's really as good as all the reviewers say it is. Just tested it out with parts here at my desk and perfect snug fit. Can't wait to install it this evening and start running air through the system.


While I was waiting I went through the miter station dust hood, cleaned it all up and reset the hoses. I had removed the saw and so I also reset it and made sure the fences were all made perfectly parallel again. I do need to go through and verify the 90 stops on the saw to make sure it's getting me perfect cuts.


Adam

 

[moparfreak]

Well it's been a few weeks but haven't stopped making progress. The big news for me is that I got all of the dust collection hooked up and it is all now working. I have a couple small tweaks and things still needed but all in all the system is working quite well. In spite of the extra bends I needed to put into the system, it still pulls really hard at all of the drop points. I do think that the stock overarm dust collection that comes with the Sawstop tablesaw isn't anything special, so I have it on my to do list to design an overhead unit that can do the job a bit better and hangs from the ceiling, so that it's easier to engage and disengage.

The miter saw works really well. I did an overhaul on that and cleaned and resquared everything up, got the fences lined back up and also cleaned the blade as it was covered in pitch. I also took a piece of silicone mat and fabri-cobbled up a dust chute that helps pull the dust coming off the blade even better than before. There's lots of solutions out there developed like this for the common saws (Dewalt, Bosch, etc) but since my Kobalt is an oddball I had to make up my own. Free is good! The background hood collector does a good job of pulling stuff out of the air around the saw and my face, and the rubber chute grabs most of what's coming right off the blade. Ends up being very clean. A nice new walnut zero-clearance insert rounds it out and it's ready for the next project!


Finally I did some overhaul work on my router table. I had the Triton plunge router in it and tried to use it's under-table lift mechanism but it didn't work well. Pulled that out and replaced it with a standard fixed motor and a geared lift that Rockler had on sale in their store. Works much better and far easier to make bit changes and height adjustment.

I've got the Assembly Workstation pretty much ready with a cut list and material list, now I want to finish up design on the sanding station and make those cut lists so that I can buy all my sheet goods at once. Hope to get that done this week and get some material into the shop so that I can start really making progress on those projects.

Adam

 

[moparfreak]

Finally - picked up 9 sheets and a bunch of 2x4 material and beginning work on both the assembly table and sanding station. Starting out on the table first, and working on creating the frame. It's mostly 2x4 material that I'm planing down to 1-1/4 x 3-1/4 to make sure it's nice, square and straight. This is my first time using the proper milling method for rough wood with all my machines dialed in and hooked up to DC, and it's just so much more pleasant to do it now than it used to be. Gives me good confidence for taking on projects of more finesse and detail that will use a lot of rough sawn wood (kitchen and dining room table are in the plans for later this year).

Start w/ miter saw to cut pieces to rough length
Joint one face on the jointer
Joint a square side on the jointer using the newly flattened reference face
Run through planer to final thickness
Cut to final width on the table saw
Trim to final width on miter saw




Just about done with most of these steps. Then I'll begin layout out the joinery. I'd like to not have any obvious screw holes in the showing face of these. I'm not against pocket holes where necessary but will probably also add some floating tenons for more rigidity. I have the Rockler BeadLock system and it's sort of a poor-man's Domino that does the job reasonably well so I'll probably do something like that. More to come!

Adam

 

[moparfreak]

Making some more progress on the table. Glued up the 4 legs, sorta takes the form of an "L" cross-section. Basic but strong, and will allow for easily mounting things to them while still constructing it with relatively cheap material. Working on building the main frame first and using dowels and beadlocks to join things. Hoping to avoid poking a million screw holes and even pocket holes here. I've used this dowel jig before but it *****. Nice for centering automatically but its made of plastic and flexes a lot. Not very precision. This type of operation is perfect for domino but I don't see myself spending $1200+ to get into that system, just wouldn't use it often enough.

That being said, it's coming together. Hope to get the joinery and main frame put together this week with a few evening hours. It'd be great to get the frame itself freestanding with casters, then I can start cutting the plywood and building the boxes up within the frame.

Here's the vision, but I have a lot more worked out in my head beyond the CAD file so I'm really looking forward to getting the main structure of it built up so that I can start "designing on the fly" as that's the most engaging part for me for these types of projects.

I've also learned to not cut everything to final dimension too far in advance. I've been carefully making my final cuts based on measurements rather than pre-cutting everything (which I've done before). This way mistakes or small variances can be caught and accounted for as things go along rather than having to assume everything starts out perfect (which it most certainly does not).

Adam