My Workshop / Garage

[wbrian63]

agr81 - thanks for the kind words. Hard to believe, but I talk even more verbosely than I write.

We spent most of the day shuffling items around in the loft, and moving a lot of stuff to the loft. Made 1 trip with the truck to transport the last few odds'n'ends from storage, and wanted to get 1 trip with the truck and trailer, but mother nature had other ideas.

Tomorrow is supposed to be clear-ish, we are ready to take all of the lumber and move it to the new shop. Should be possible with the truck and trailer.

 

[wbrian63]

Lucky soul that I am, Saturday evening, something blew in on the wind, and my allergies objected. I spent from 7:30p until 4:00a with a on-and-off runny nose, interspersed with bouts of sneezing to the point where I thought my eyes were going to fly out of my head.

Finally got to sleep about 4:45a, and woke around noon to the sound of rain. So much for moving lumber from storage to the shop Sunday.

About 6pm, I did go to the storage and cull thru all the **** I've accumulated, lumber wise. Seems like if it wasn't sawdust, I attempted to keep it. Nearly a full truck load of MDF, melamine and various bits-n-pieces went to the dumpster.

I won't miss it - didn't know I even had it...

Monday (9/20), my welder buddy made good on his promise to help me weld up the lumber rack. Construction should be good to go for whatever I should choose to put on it - 2"x2"x1/4 wall square tubing. 20' stick had 4 2-foot pieces cut off and welded at 12', 10', 8' and 6'. We've got 6 of these pieces, to be spaced about 2' apart on the east wall. This should give us nice level storage for lumber up to 12' long, and maybe, in a pinch, 14'.

Here are a few pictures:

Here's Danny doing the welding. Some people have a talent - Danny's talent, besides telling you how good a welder he is, is being a very good welder. Knows the technique, all the methods, is certified in a number of techniques, etc. We did the 6 racks in about 2 hours, carefully placing the "shelves" on the first rack, and then using that rack as a jig for the remaining 5. His horizontal welds look just as good as the vertical ones. The square joints where the shelf meets the tube look as clean as the j-joints where the shelf meets the radius edge of the tube. We've got another project in the works, one where time won't be as critical. I'm gonna learn some from him for when I "grow up"...

Each shelf has 3 tapped holes for 1/4-20 bolts. I'm going to get some 1/2" HDPE and cut it into 1-1/2" wide x 24" long strips. I'll counter-sink bolts to hold these strips onto the tubes. The result will be a nice "slick" surface that will allow the lumber to slide easily without marring the surface, plus I won't have to worry about raw steel-on-wood stains.

Across the end of each shelf leg, I've got some 2x2x1/8" angle that will be used to tie the individual racks to each other, plus provide a place to lean a ladder, as only the lowest shelf will be reachable by "normal" humans.

I'm going to paint the racks. Something utilitarian, but they will be painted.

To install these, we'll put 3 rows of horizontal 2x4's on the wall, at 12', 6' and on the floor. These will be securely attached to the studs in the wall, and the rack will be attached to the 2x4's with lag screws. I don't think we'll need anything beyond that for support. I'm going to carefully watch the plumbness of the wall as the rack gets loaded. If I see we're pulling on the wall too much, we can add legs from the bottom shelf to the floor to provide additional support.

 

[petemarkey]

How bout some detail on the small parts trays on top of the cabinet.... looks like some washable tupper wear type stuff that slides into dados?

 

[wbrian63]

Bingo - give that man a cigar!

The containers are a local store brand here in Houston (Kroger is the store name). There are 2 sizes, and they do indeed slide into dados.

I can't take credit for the idea - read it in a woodworking magazine some time ago.

The larger size is about 6"x4"x3" (LxWxT). The smaller size is about 5"x3"x2" (LxWxT). I think there are 20 smaller units (2 columns of 10 containers) in each rack, and 16 (or maybe 14) larger units. Fortunately at those combinations, the height of the racks is the same for each size, they just differ in depth.

The racks hang on french cleats for ease of installation/reorganization. The containers aren't terribly durable - nowhere near as strong as the "real McCoy" - tupperware. However, several years ago, I stumbled on a sale at the local Kroger where all of the containers were on sale for $1.99 a set (4 or 5 to a set, can't remember for sure.)

I literally bought the store out. Two baskets full... Clerk thought I'd lost my mind...

They stack neatly one-atop-another, so when I have to go do something away from the shop, I can pile a bunch of them in a 5 gallon bucket.

I've got the "formula" written down somewhere - it tells me how wide to set the dado head, how deep to make the cut and what the various measurements read on the saw fence. I make the racks out of scrap 3/4" MDF, cutting the dados in large pieces, and ripping them down to the proper width for the sides. Add a top, a bottom and a simple 1/4" luan back and I'm good to go.

 

[wbrian63]

Update from weekend of 9/26 and 9/27.

Weather finally cooperated and we got the balance of the lumber moved out of the storage and into the workshop - this is what we get for all our diligent work - a space you can't walk through without climbing over something.

Sunday morning, we went and fetched the wood rack from my consulting gig where it was welded on Monday, 9/20 - 6 pieces now stand proudly outside the shop, waiting on me to paint and install them:

After we watched the Texans take a beating by the Cowboys, we went back to the shop and finished putting the OSB on the south wall in the loft. We also broke down the scaffold and bolted the two end frames together in preparation for storage.

Today after work, I built 2 brackets and installed what I thought would be a series of pulleys to allow me to hoist the scaffold up onto the west wall for storage above the man door. Everything works, except the assembly won't lift evenly. I've got another thread with a question to hopefully get some insight as to what I need to change to get it to work right. http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=76481

Installed 3 outlets in the south wall of the loft, now that the OSB is up. Turned the breaker back on and nothing popped - so we're good to go.

Tomorrow I'll build the base bracket to hold the scaffold on the wall and start painting the wood rack. Weather here has been glorious the past couple of days, and this week promises more of the same.

 

[wbrian63]

Update thru October 3.

Got the wood racks painted. So far, I'd not had to move these frames solo. On Wednesday the 29th, I got my chance. I attached a couple of 2x4's across the trailer and moved the racks one-by-one to the trailer so I could wire-brush the surface rust off and clean the oil in preparation for painting.

Boy, are these things heavy! According to the tables, each frame should weigh about 108#'s. 100 #'s is no big deal to lift, but when it's spread out across 12' in length and not evenly, it becomes a chore.

I took the first frame and laid it down on the trailer with the arms standing up. Then I clamped it to the trailer.

Added the remaining frames and began the laborious task of removing the scale and rust. I had a variety of tools to use, none of them ideally suited to the task. Couldn't find my small right-angle grinder to save my life, so I resorted to using my homemade flex shaft grinder with a flapper sander. That worked OK until the cable broke, but I'd managed to complete 5 of the 6 before this happened, and my little cordless drill got me thru the last one.

I ran through a ton of rags and about 1/2 gallon of acetone to clean the oil and crud off... Took the better part of 3 hours to get this work done.

It was a good thing I clamped the first frame to the trailer, because about half-way through the work, while shifting the stack so I could get at another frame, I bumped one and 3 tipped towards the clamped frame. The clamp held and nothing went crashing to the ground.

Then I had to move them into the shop for the night so they wouldn't rust again in the morning dew. This is the same shop that has a total of maybe 10 square feet of floorspace. Finding enough floor space, then clearing it out, and staggering in the door through the obstacle course to the free space was another PITA.

Thursday, I got them painted. Had to move them again to do this work, but this time it was one at a time. I'd move the frame into place, flip it shelves down and wire-brush the rust off the back - the part I couldn't get access to on the trailer. Found an old two-speed craftsman 6" grinder that worked like a champ, but the gear case is leaking oil and the sucker makes a horrible racket. A final quick scan for any missed rusty spots, and a second cleaning after that with new rags and more acetone.

Painted them a nice blue in Rustoleum with a roller. First application had bad holidays in the paint, but after the first coat, a light re-roll over the entire frame evened the paint out to a nice finish. Shifting them from the painting rack to the drying rack was done with a pole in the top and me holding the top shelf arm, and a pair of vice grips clamped in the bottom end on the back side - very carefully.

Here's what they looked like all decked out in their new paint:

And a view from the stair landing to the loft:

Saturday, we got them installed. We attached 3 2x4x12's to the wall at the floor, 72" up and about 138" up on the wall to serve as mounting rails for the frames. These were lagged into the studs which are 24" OC with 3/8 X 3-1/2" lag bolts, countersunk into the face of the 2x4 about 1/2". With the sheathing, that gives about 2" of solid penetration into the wall stud. All holes were first counter-bored with a 1-1/8" spade bit to allow for the washer and the lag screw head, then thru-drilled with a 3/16" drill into the wall stud as far as we could go. Then the 2x4 was overbored with a 3/8" drill.

Just to be careful, we also laid a 1x4 on the floor in front of the bottom mounting rail for the bottoms of the frames to stand on.

Originally, I was going to place them 2' on center, for a total run of 10' (6 frames at 0, 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 feet). Tin suggested I was being over conservative with the spacing, and we had the space for a larger span. After looking at it, I agreed, so we installed the outer frames first, each about 2" in from the ends of the mounting rails. These are attached with 5/16" x 4" lag bolts, with the 2x4 being pilot-drilled with a 3/16" bit.

After the first frame was installed, I had Tin watch from along the wall as I hoisted myself off the floor by hanging on the bottom shelf. I weigh 240, and even with a bit of dramatic bouncing and wiggling, Tin observed no movement in the wall.

The remaining frames were installed, and we checked for even elevation across the shelf arms after each frame went up. I'm not concerned that the frames are level from frame to frame, only that they're plumb in all directions. So long as the elevation is consistent, if it trends uphill or downhill a bit, no worries. We only had an issue with one frame, which was about 3/32" lower than its pals. We shimmed it up with a couple of 3/8" flat washers and got within 1/32" - more than good enough.

Here's the picture of the frames mostly installed:

And here's the group fully installed:

And here it is FULL of lumber:

All of the top shelf and most of the 2nd shelf is lumber I got from my great uncle (same one I got all the unusual tools from). The top has about 60 pieces of t&g 1x4 clear pine from his parents house which was demolished in the late 1940's. The longer pieces are 16'+ feet long - there are about 70 of these, and there are some shorter 10' pieces, about 30 in number. They're sanded smooth on one face, and that has paint (probably lead-based). The reverse is rough-cut. This stuff is no longer fit for use as t&g wood, as all the tongues & grooves are a mess (no care was taken to preserve this feature when they were removed from the house). However, in all the 1300+ linear feet of lumber up there, I don't think there's a single knot. We only had to toss one piece that had a nasty crook. The rest are straight as an arrow. Tin just rolls his eyes when I say things like "that kind of lumber isn't available anymore at any price", but it is true. Have I got plans for it? No. Will I ever use it? Maybe.

2nd shelf has some odd bits 'n pieces. There are a couple of pine boards that are from a cabinet somewhere. They're about 72" long and 16" wide. Old stuff - still flat with very few knots. I've got 6 or so 12' 1x6 heart redwood, plus a 12' 2x6 heart redwood. Beautiful straight-grained and knot free, and light as a feather. Some really old oak, and a couple of pieces of maple too. There are some boards that look like batten from a cabinet back. They're about 3/8" thick pine that's quarter-sawn... Somewhere in that pile is a 1x8x12' piece of beautiful Fir - no knots and quarter sawn. My uncle didn't have what he believed to be "fine" wood. When he accumulated it, it was just "lumber" to him.

The third shelf is the mixed lot from my various projects. Poplar, maple, walnut, cherry (my favorite wood) - even a nice piece of Wenge.

Last shelf is all structural lumber - just standard fare. Much of it will be used to build some shelves in the loft.

The good part is that EVERY LAST STICK of hardwood that's more than 3' long is in the rack. We took a plumb reading on the middle frames with a level before we started. Watched it as the rack was slowly filled up, and checked it at the end. There's probably well over 1,000#'s of lumber up there, and the total deviation on the "plumbness" - by my eye - was less than the thickness of the wall of the bubble...

The final item for the rack is a set of 4 shelf edges. 2" x 1/8" angle that will be attached to the ends of the arms. I'm going to fashion some 2x blocks that have a gradual taper and drive them into the ends of the arms. Then I'll use a 1/4" lag screw driven into a too-small pilot hole to wedge the block in the arm and hold the angle up. This will allow a ladder to be propped against the shelf for access to the lumber without actually bearing on the contents of the shelf. That iron is being cut today, and hopefully it can be installed next week.

This weekend is occupied with a project for my former landlord, where the old shop was. In earlier threads I noted that we were lucky enough to sell the entire contents of the interior structure to him when we left. Our lease allowed for its removal, but selling it, even at a strong discount, was a far better deal. Never finished that space like this one, and now he wants to convert it to office space, so we're finishing up the walls, etc. That's gonna take a couple weekends to complete, but should bring in some $ to offset the sink-hole expenses in the new space.

His dad is a retired HVAC contractor, so I'm thinking I might negotiate a trade for a new furnace and A/C for our shop in exchange for our work...

We shall see.

 

[wbrian63]

A few things about this design. I'm happy with the capacity of the shelves, but not with the spacing. 12 feet is a LONG way off the ground, and 2' between each shelf is a bit much. In my head, I'd planned on a shelf at 12', 10', 8' and 6'. However, when you start with a 12' long frame, and add 2" thick arms every 24" (we used one of the shelf arms as a spacer), you get the top shelf at 12', the next one at 9'-10", the third at 7'-8" and the fourth at 5-6". The bottom shelf, for my height (5'-8") is at the wrong level. It's just high enough to be in my blind spot and poses to be a head-cracker if I'm not careful. A little lower would have been OK, but higher would have been better. In retrospect, I think I could have gone with 5 18" shelves, and started with the top shelf at 11-feet, with even spacing and the bottom shelf at 6" above the floor. Oh well - it's done and in. Maybe next time...

 

[wbrian63]

As noted previously, this weekend brought work away from the shop. When we chose to move from our old space to the new place, we worked a deal with our old landlord to sell the contents of our space to him. Our lease entitled us to remove everything in the space that hadn't created a "material change in the space" and had further details to indicate that bolting something to the structure did not constitute a material change. So, basically, we could take the whole inside. However, that was going to be a lot of work, and making good use of the materials was going to be difficult in the new larger space. So, selling the interior, even at a substantial discount, was a far better deal.

Anyway - what follows is a few pictures of the old space. It's basically 17' wide x 40' deep. The original build-out had only the loft on the north side, which is 8' deep, and a closet of 4' x 8' on the right-hand side. The space below the loft to the left of the closet was open. Eventually, we closed that area in and added ventilation to allow for painting / finishing. Then, several years later, we added the loft on the south side, which is 12' deep.

This is the southeast corner:

Southwest corner:

Northwest corner:

Both of the loft's have folding stairs that are lifted using winches attached the purlins above. You can see each winch in the pictures, and the control box is the grey square box on the lower left-hand side of the Northwest corner picture. The lift's are just HF 220# units, and they'll lift the stairs (they fold in mid span) without issue. Lowering them requires you to reach out and catch the bottom tread with your foot and swing it out as the stair comes down, but that's not a big deal.

Northeast corner:

South loft - sorry for the poor image. I failed to notice the bright light outside washed out the photo.

The plan is to install a pair of inward-swinging patio doors at the edge of the space, just inside the roll-up door. The landlord has a "stone yard" business - pavers, landscape bolders, retaining wall stone, aggregate, etc. This space is going to become an office/showroom. The wall that houses the doors will run up to the bottom of the south loft, and side to side within the space, sealing that part of the opening. However, the space between the patio doors and the roll-up door exposes interior to the outside over the top of the south loft. The intent is just to raise the door enough to clear the patio doors so light can enter the space, etc. Rather than trying to box in the tracks, etc for this 12x14 door, we're going to build a wall at the edge of the south loft, from loft deck to the ceiling. Since the loft is only 12' wide and the door is 14' tall - if it's ever opened fully, the door will have to come past the wall, so we'll build the wall such that there's a large opening that can be covered with a long hinged front and the door can pass thru this gap if required. That turns the south loft into un-conditioned space, but that actually makes conditioning the rest of the space easier - less volume.

These pictures are intended to capture the bare parts of the structure that our work will cover up.

We made good progress on Saturday and Sunday. All of the framing to support the west wall extension is in place, along with most of the structure for the north wall. The west wall has a bit more to be done, and the south loft enclosure wall is 80% complete, including a 2x8x16' header beam that spans the gap for the door pass-thru.

We may actually complete this job in the allotted time... oops, shouldn't have said that, now I've jinxed the whole affair...

 

[wbrian63]

This is my week to spend evenings at the shop. Yesterday, I did some sorting of **** and started on the sheet good storage frame.

The base of the frame is a piece of countertop I got for $16.50 at Home Depot on the clearance rack. It was to be a corner piece, but I cut the 45-degree bevel off and added 1/4 bracing across the bottom so it would sit level on the floor. The idea is that the formica surface will let me slide the sheet goods in and out without marring the floor, and they'll slide easier to boot.

On the edge of the sheet, I mounted a 2x4 on edge, lagged into the floor as the edge of the frame base. Later, I'll add some vertical sections that tie across to the wall, so I can flip thru the sheets like the pages of a 4' x 8' book.

Today (10/12), I finished the base, adding a bumper at the back to stop the sheets from traveling too far as I push them into the stack. This also prevents the friction of sheet-against-sheet from pushing out the back as I add sheets to the pile.

Here it is installed:

The big problem with the location of the rack is that it's adjacent to the main door, and at the corner of the doorway sits the gov't required safety beams - prime targets for a bad meeting with a heavy piece of plywood:

Solution? Build a solid housing to hold the sensors that can be screwed tight to the door frame. It's just a scrap of 2x4, cut 3-1/2" long (to match the width of the door trim).

Holes for mounting screws and the view port for the tell-tale LED used to indicate proper sensor alignment.

Hole in the end for the lens

Hollowed out in the back to allow a snug fit of the sensor

And mounted securely to the door frame:

Tell-tale still visible. The hole is a bit off, but I'm still looking for all my good rules, calipers, etc in ALL THOSE FRIGGIN' BOXES!

These kind of projects are time-consuming, but very rewarding. The first housing took about an hour, the second about half that.

Now that I look at it more closely, I think I'll notch out the door trim and recess the sensor further.

Well, tomorrow's another day.

 

[wbrian63]

The balance of the week was interrupted with other non-shop items, so little was accomplished.

One thing I did get finished was to install one of the air hose reels. This is a Lincoln unit I got for a good price off eBay. Where it's installed, there's a potential obstruction for the stairway to the loft, so I had the bracket welded to a large piece of angle iron, and that allows for the reel to sit parallel to the wall.

It took all of Wednesday afternoon to get the mounting block cut to size, drilled for bolts to hold the reel and mounted to the wall. Then up went the reel, and thanks to a fair amount of double- and triple-checking of measurements, it went up the first time without issue.

Friday I got the plumbing done. The mounting method leaves a dead steady reel, and so I decided skip a flex line in favor of good old copper. Got it all plumbed up nice and tidy, and after looking at it for a bit I thought "I should have put a valve in the line - what if it develops a leak and I want to shut it off for service???"

Not really wanting to undo what I'd just done, I pressured the lines up and checked for leaks.

Had to put a little more muscle to the union to stop a small leak there, but where is that damn hissing noise coming from???

Checked the rotating coupling - nope, not there.

Did I not tighten the quick disconnect on the hose good enough? No - solid there.

So, there you are, you little ******. The hose is old, and a nice bubble has formed where the hose fitting is attached to the hose. Can't see it without air pressure in the lines...

OK - off the lines come, and in a valve goes....

 

[wbrian63]

I've changed my schedule for my consulting gig to have more contiguous time available for the shop - one must have priorities. I used to consult MWF, now I go 5-days straight with 1 week off. So, updates will come in spurts instead of regularly.

The weekend of 16 & 17 October was more work at the old workshop, and nothing spectacular to show for it. The week of 18 - 22 October was full time consulting, so nothing at the shop. Last weekend was back at the old shop, and some nice progress was made.

During our absence, the landlord with his helper managed to get the insulation up on the east wall of the shop.

The insulation is 1/2" styrofoam with a foil backing. They put 2 layers in place, taping all the seams. There's nearly 18" between the outside wall of the structure and the back of the wall, so with that airspace, and the gap between the plywood sheathing and the insulation board, there should be some "decent" barrier.

I think the main goal here is to prevent the loss of conditioned air, so hopefully the goal will be achieved.

Saturday, and Sunday, we finished sheathing the front wall and installing the patio door.

The space above the wall is to allow for forklift access to the loft above. The loft area is unconditioned space - the wall that the door is in seals to the right and left of the overhead door, and to the bottom of the loft.

Here's a view from the inside. To open the overhead door, you'll open the patio door, and pull the latch for the overhead door and open it from there.

We also built a deck for the HVAC unit which is due to be installed in the next few days. This was far more fiddly work than I was expecting. All told, it took almost 2 hours to complete. We still have to come back and add blocking to the hole in the wall - that will be later.

This coming weekend (10/30 & 10/31) we're out of town. Following week is consulting, and out of town again Nov 5 thru Nov 7. Then it's back to the shop during the week and hopefully buttoning up most of the build-out of the old shop the weekend of Nov 13/14.

 

[wbrian63]

Updates from 10/24 thru 11/22.

Hard to believe nearly a month has gone since I last updated this thread. As noted, two weekends saw us out of town, and the weekend of 11/13 & 11/14 was consumed with work at the old shop. We should button that work up this weekend (I hope, I hope...).

A few evenings at the shop have allowed me to continue with the general task of getting things set up to have the shop actually be a working facility, instead of a place to store stuff.

We had a small portable radio, but I knew from the outset I wanted something better. I've grown to be a great fan of Sirius satellite radio, so that was in the cards as well. Did a little digging on eBay and came up with a rack-mounted receiver/tuner/amplifier. Manufactured by Pyle, it's good enough for us. Mounted thru the wall into the loft adjacent to the landing to the loft. Used a piece of 1/2 birch plywood to create a frame for appearance, and also to guarantee a tidy fit. This was made on the table saw, and installed where the bottom of the amp sits on the sole plate of the wall.

The amp is listed at 3000 watts which is complete BS. However, it does come with it's own ventilation fan, which is a surprise. I now need to make a box to cover the amp and seal around the back so I can protect the amp from dust, etc. I picked up a good 12x12 furnace filter, and that will sit on top of the box, and the fan will blow the heat out of the box and draw thru the filter.

I found a pair of in-wall speakers - also manufactured by Pyle. $30 for the pair, including shipping. Positive is that they're enclosed in the back, so no need for in-wall boxes. Negative was the seller shipped them in the same box they'd have been sold in, so some damage did occur to the perimeter of the speakers. You can see the damage to the upper right corner of the speaker. They sound nice - enough - for a workshop.

I decide to mount the 2 trouble lights and one cord reel together adjacent to the door. I originally installed a single plug to service the door opener. Having just cut a 10x14" hole in the wall adjacent to the outlet allowed me to remove the box from the backside, add a expansion box to it, enlarge the hole and reinstall the box, then add another receptacle to the box. 3 cord reels, one opener, and we've got a full house. Right now, the reels are mounted in a non-standard orientation - they work best when the mounting bracket is against the ceiling. The reel on the left is having some issues with smooth retraction, I may flip it upside down and see how that works.

Also found a battery backup for the opener. Had a coupon to Amazon.com, and found a seller there for the unit that offered free shipping. This is more a necessity than a convenience, as we have no man door into the space. It's supposed to provide enough power for a week's worth of normal door operation. I like it that the clock on the wall control now no longer resets every time the power flashes. You can see the unit up on the wall to the right of the opener.

One thing I didn't realize when I was ordering the tuner/amp was that while it has a infrared remote control, one thing you can't do is turn the unit off and on from the remote. It's more than just inconvenient to climb the ladder (eventually stairs) to the loft to turn the tuner off and on. Solution - put some more $ in Smarthome's bank account, and order some more Insteon hardware. I've added 3 switches, plus one switched outlet. The switched outlet is where the tuner is plugged in. The switches allow me to turn off the lights in the equipment alcove, the finishing room, and the loft. The switch below controls the 4 items previously noted, plus the main lights in the shop. Each button has a tell-tale backlight, so I can see when something's on. (Once the door is installed to the loft, that will be a big plus - that and I plan on keeping the doors to the finishing room closed most of the time.) The big convenience is not having to go back into the shop to turn off the lights in the loft, etc. when ready to leave. The paddle switch to the left is the compressor control. All the switches are relay-type - no dimmers.

Smarthome has a Microsoft Word template you can use to make up your own button labels. Works nice, but you have to have steady hands to get a good result when cutting out the labels. You can see that Equip Room is not quite straight...

When I first installed the switch for the compressor, I discovered that the design of the switch fills the entire cavity of the box from top to bottom. Plenty of space behind, but not at the top and bottom. Problem is the conduit or BX connector that protrudes into the box won't allow the switch to seat properly. Solution at the door was to frame out the box with some of the trim that borders the garage door. That gives an additional 3/4" of depth and allows the switch to set properly in the box.

For the other switch locations, I need to do the same thing. Rather than blocking together some 1x4's like before I wanted to make a spacer plate. The construction is a piece of 1/2" birch plywood cut 1/2" larger than the switch trim, and an additional piece of 1/4" masonite cut 1/2" larger than the birch. Pin the 2 together at the corners, cut out the center and screw it to the wall at the perimeter of the box - the face plate covers the mounting screws.

The first one I made was for a triple box, the switch for the finishing room shares space with the switch for the room vent fan, and the lamps that line the finishing room walls. That was easy, because I could cut the interior out with the table saw. The remaining 3 circuits will have only a single outlet box, so I had to figure out a way to cut out the interior easily.

Solution was to use a standard outlet box - same dimensions as those installed in the walls:

I ran 2 #6 screws backwards through the flange normally used to attach the device installed in the box. These act as alignment pins.

Drilled two 9/64 holes in the proper place on the spacer and the box sits nicely atop.

Used a 1/2" pattern bit in the router table to rout out the interior of the spacer:

Elevate the bit enough to engage the inside of the outlet box:

A pair of heavy gloves, and some slow controlled motion with the box always moving in a counter-clockwise motion eventually opens the interior out to the exact dimensions as the box:

Now, all I have to do is use a forstner bit to cut out the places where the mounting tabs are. The holes drilled for the alignment pins of the box will serve nicely as guides. I'll also have to rabbet out part of the face to allow the flange of the switch to set level with the surface. The flanges are a lot thicker than the tabs on a normal switch or plug, and the keep the wall plate from setting flush to the wall.

Earlier, I talked about getting Sirius Conductor. Have one of these at home for the whole house audio system and it's wonderful. The remote is RF, so it works throughout the house. With no walls to speak of in the shop, this unit will work well.

The remote communicates bi-directionally with the tuner, so you can see what's playing on the screen:

It's supposedly programmable - if I can figure it out, I can put the remote for the amp in the desk drawer.

I got the unit from an eBay seller, on a BINBO deal for $95 shipped. A little trouble and irritation at the beginning. When the offer was accepted, I took a whole 2 hours before I paypal'd the money to the seller. The next day, I get an eMail saying another person had put in a best offer and the seller had accepted both our offers. The other bidder paid before I did, so he shipped the item to them. Worse, he only had 1 to sell. He indicated he'd procure another tuner and get it out to me promptly. I accepted his assurance that he'd do so, reminding him nicely that selling something you don't possess without prior notification to the buyer is a clear violation of eBay rules. Since I'd payed with PP, I new I could file a "non receipt" grievance against the seller and get my $ back. I waited 3 days and followed up with the seller, again reminding him how thin the ice was he was treading upon. Within 1 hour, I got a "we've just shipped your purchase" eMail. I thought "yeah-right" - all you have to do is use PayPal to print a shipping ticket and that triggers the notification eMail. However, 3 days after that, the product showed up.

 

[smsteve]

Love this post WBRIAN63, your explanations and photos are some of the very best out there. Everything is so clear and concise, makes me feel like I'm there along with you helping make decisions, hehe. Keep up the great work and don't stop posting!

 

[wbrian63]

Thank you for the kind words, SMSteve. Scrolled thru your thread - nicely done in a confined space. Truly "a place for everything and everything in its place."

Keep reading, and I'll keep posting.

Regards

 

[woody 73]

Very nice job,I only wish my two car garage was that big.

 

[wbrian63]

Tuesday evening, I built a rack to hold some of the various lengths of conduit and other pipe I just can't seem to get rid of. A few pieces of 1/2" pipe, some 1/2" floor flanges, 1/2" elbows and some crafted mounting blocks gives a nice result.

Here's a closeup of the mounting block - 4" x 4" from a scrap piece of 2x6, with a 4 degree bevel across the face. Don't really need it with the elbows on the end of the pipe, but can't hurt:

Tonight, started work to install the dust collector. Finally found the two mounting frames that were at the bottom of the last box I looked in...

Here's a picture of the monster - it's a Woodsucker - no, it really is a Woodsucker - that's the brand name...

Have had it for about 8 years. Did a lot of research when I was in the market for a DC, and this unit performed better than comparable offerings from Oneida for about the same money, plus it was made in America. 2hp unit, flows about 1000cfm at 2" wc, according to the manufacturer. Sadly, the one-man company that made them is no longer around, a victim of too many orders and too few hands to fill them.

Tonight, standing on the landing to the loft and looking out over the clutter on the main floor of the shop, I was reminded of two sayings:

"How do you eat an elephant?"

"One bite at a time"

and

"One must remember when up to your *** in alligators, your original intent was to drain the swamp"

There is SO much to do, and I've already done a LOT...

Happy Thanksgiving to all...

 

[wbrian63]

Very nice job,I only wish my two car garage was that big.

I started in a 2-car garage and "graduated" to a 17x40 rented space for the first shop. This one is 25 x 51 and, as expected, the contents of the smaller shop are swelling to fully occupy the new space.

Hopefully, the "next" shop will be something owned, not rented...

Thanks for the kind words.

 

[wbrian63]

It has been far too long since I posted anything on this thread. Time to remedy that.

We've been busy with holidays, family obligations and finishing out that seemingly never-ending build-out of our former shop space. I'll not post any more pictures of that effort - this thread, after all, is about our workshop, not his new office.

As the shop starts to take form, there are more and more fiddly little things that need to get done, none of which is material in the grand scheme of the build-out/set-up, but each of which must be done to have a complete shop.

I'm sure I'm missing stuff here, and I'll add more as I remember what's not in the thread.

I did finally get the DC hung in place - it is not possible for one man to hang a 200+# DC alone. With Tin's help, one evening, and 1 hour and it was firmly attached to the wall. Slowly but surely, each machine is added to the system.

The table-saw was first, and oddly, I have no picture of that.

The second was the jointer, which sits adjacent to the table saw. In the old shop, it's position was less than ideal - now I think it's better. In order for it to sit next to the saw, it has to be lower than the top of the saw. So either raise the saw, or lower the jointer. Raising the saw was decided against, as it is at a comfortable height, and changing that would probably mean a learning curve that I'm not interested in. So, cut out the floor, fashion a set of mounting blocks attached to the concrete and put the jointer in place.

Plumbed everything we could with 4" SDR PVC. Better than the standard 4" dust collector corrugated hose - better flow.

The connection noted above is less than ideal. The OD of the blast gate is less than the ID of the elbow. Finally discovered the simple solution - cut a 1-1/2" collar of SDR and attach it to the blast gate with a couple of short flat head screws. Clip off the screws where they poke into the airstream, and the OD of the SDR pipe is perfect fit into the ID of the fittings. A little of that "fiddly" work, but everything seals without the need for duct tape or any other material.

Next came the router table. It used to be mobile, because it had to be stored away when not in use. Here, it has it's own home, so the casters came off and a base was built to keep it near the same height as it was previously. Base is attached to the floor and the router table is screwed to the base. Seriously heavy router table it is. Nearly 2 sheets of 3/4" MDF, plus a 2" solid top, plus all the drawers, bits and the Porter-cable 7518 router. Had to use a floor jack to hold the table up to remove the casters. Now it's fixed and plumbed into the dust collection system. The DC pulls through the table top, and past the router. Later, I'll plumb in a connection to the vacuum system for situations where I need to add vacuum capacity which is thru the Incra fence system. Mostly, the DC is more than enough to provide a near dust-less routing experience.

Same deal for the planer. This Dewalt unit isn't my ideal planer, but it will do for now. It has planed many thousands of feet of lumber of all types and has been a good investment. The table it sits on has(had) a rotating top. The planer could be stored upside-down in the table for better storage. Now it has its own home, so I've fixed the top in a permanent position. The planer shares a DC connection with the Jet horizontal drum sander mounted next to it.

The planer table is seriously heavy too, but a frame like the one for the router worked a treat.

The Jet 22" horizontal drum sander isn't my favorite tool, but there are times when it comes in handy. I adjusted the height of one of my old table saw outfeed tables to have the sander table about 1/4" below the outfeed height of the planer. Then I built a simple cover to sit under on the table, which has a rotating belt which is nothing more than a big sandpaper loop. I had thoughts of making them the same level, and just turning on the feed table when I needed to plane longer stock, but the feed rate of the planer is about 50% faster than the full-out speed of the sander feed belt, so the cover works just fine. It's a piece of melamine coated 1/4" MDF, so it's nice and slick.

The only problem with this arrangement is the planer will only pass boards up to 12", the sander can handle 22". Eventually, I want a more robust planer, and I'll figure out a way to have it's stand rigid enough for tough work, but easily pivotable or liftable to get it out of the way when I need to pass something wide and long thru the belt sander.

I've got the band-saw on the DC, but no pictures there.

The final item that needs DC assistance is the miter saw. My old 10" Dewalt unit had an open base, so under-the-table dust collection, coupled with a hose attached to the outlet on the blade guard worked nicely. This Hitachi unit is sealed, but the guard dust outlet is only partially effective in catching dust. My solution is to cut a hole below the saw that is attached to a 6" line feeding the DC. The hole is only marginally larger than the perimeter of the rotating base of the saw, so hopefully the air velocity in that area will be enough to help pull the dust that the guard attachment doesn't catch.

Mounted below the table is a hood that was part of a down-draft sanding table kit I bought years ago that was not very functional. The hood lives on...

Took the time to finally insulate the door. There are rubber gaskets on the outside, and 1" foam board on the inside. Here you see the insulation board up, and I've partially filled the gaps with expanding spray foam.

Also found and purchased a high-volume regulator for the compressor. 175psi is wonderful when you're using an air-gun to dust-off before going home, but it's not good for tools rated to work at 90-120psi.

I do wish I had taken the time to provide a line out from the compressor to an air-hose reel pre-regulator. I do miss that high-pressure air.

Last weekend, our main Sunday project was building the stairs to the loft. 2 16' 2x12's for the stringers, and 2x10 planks for the stairs. Had to wait this long to build it because we needed the planer operational to dimension the lumber. The result is a nice staircase. The old shop had stairs to the lofts, but they were structured more like ladders, and with my big feet, I always had to use them as such. This unit is a real staircase. Vertical separation on the treads is a comfortable 7-23/32". Run of the staircase to take you from floor level to the 9' landing outside the loft is just over 10 feet.

Next weekend will see rails go on the stairs.

We took the time to mortise sockets for the stair treads, which are 2x10's planed to about 1-1/8" thick x 9" wide. Edges are routed with a 1/4" round-over bit, and the pockets were cut with a 1/2" dia pattern bit and a jig. Makes for a tidy fit. The screws just hold the stringers to the treads - the mortises hold the weight of the user.

We made quite a few test cuts before we decided we liked the fully housed mortise you see in the previous picture.

That's all for now.

 

[Boosted1]

Wow. That is alot of work you have put into that place.
Looks good. I like your storage rack. I have that same Hitachi saw and yes the dust collection leaves something to be desired. Saw works very well though.

 

[wbrian63]

I do like the Hitachi. Paid big $ to get the digital read out and the laser. The DRO is a waste of time for the type of work I do. It resets whenever you turn it off, so you have to re-zero everything and reset the display if you turn the DRO off with the saw not at 90 degrees in all axes. I think a better implementation of this technology would be a true DRO, where it knows where everything is all the time, instead of a counter. Probably cost prohibitive...

The laser is designed for right-handed persons, and I'm not one of them. I prefer to work from the left side of the saw and have the laser indicate the cut mark with the blade wasting to the right of the line. To set the laser this way, it's right at the limit of its adjustment range, so the accuracy isn't great, and the line is actually skewed away from parallel with the blade. I might try to make some adjustments to it to cure this problem.

I'd also like it better if the laser cut off automatically. I'm forever returning to the shop only to discover that I left the laser on for days on end.

However, I am very satisfied with the cut quality. Being able to lock the slides with them facing forward instead of projecting behind the saw makes for a fairly tight installation against the wall. Of course, I'd really like the new Bosch unit, which costs about as much or maybe just a tad more than I paid for the Hitachi, but I've barely got the Hitachi broken in.

It does take some getting used to with the slide. To me, it's more dangerous than a radial arm saw. With a RAS, the saw will certainly come at you if you overfeed it or if the blade binds in the cut. However, what usually happens is the saw just stalls. With this setup, if the blade binds, it will crawl up on top of the work and run right at you. I've learned to stand off to the left more than I'd like to, and to religiously use the material clamp any time the board doesn't sit perfectly flat on the table and tight to the fence. I do feed it properly - out to in - but there are still situations that will make you sit up and take notice.

The blade that came with the saw doesn't give a very good cut in hardwoods. Fixed that with a 100-tooth (I think). Negative rake angle and ATB makes for a real nice cut if you take your time. Of course, that added $100+ to the cost of the saw...

 

[rieferman]

I haven't posted in here for about a year I think!?!? I lost track.. wow, great job. Since I posted here last, I've learned a lot more about woodworking (including dust collection) and can't wait to learn more. I also can't wait to see what you come up with next. Inspiring read.

 

[wbrian63]

Update for Saturday, January 15 2011.

Tin had to work until noon, so in the AM, I worked on making a 6" blast gate for the chop saw dust collector connection. Sure, I can buy one, but that costs money, and I'll have to wait for it to show up.

First - need a top and bottom for the gate frame. These need to have an ID that matches the OD of the 6" SDR pipe, which is about 6.200".

Made a simple jig to cut the 6.200" hole on the router table. We have a couple of Jasper circle cutting jigs, but by the time I could get the router out, attach the jig and cut the hole, I'll be finished with the entire gate.

The jig is a piece of 1/4 tempered hardboard. Drilled and countersunk two holes to align with 1/4"-20 tapped holes already present on the router table.

The lower left corner was removed to allow the key for the router lift to be used.

Bolted the jig to the table and slowly raised a 1/2" two-flute spiral router bit up through the jig. Lowered the bit and measured 3.100" out from the edge of the hole to somewhere on the template. Removed the template and drilled and counter-sunk a hole for a #8 wood screw. Had this been a more precision job, I'd have used a screw with more blind shank, and would have ground off the threads.

Took 2 pieces of 3/4" MDF, cut to 8.250 square. Screwed together at the corners, and twice in the central area, plus a hole drilled through the center to accept the "pin" in the jig.

Lowered the bit below the surface of the jig and placed the blank on the table atop the pin. Started the router and slowly raised the bit to machine approx 1/8" at a time.

Must keep a firm hold on the block, with fingers on the top only. If the router should grab the blank, it will spin it violently, and any fingers hanging off the end may be sacrifice. I'm also wearing a pair of latex coated gloves for good gripping power.

After numerous rotations and raising of the bit, plus a number of shut-down and lift to remove the dust, we come to this:

Here, we're about .700 through the stack. Need to do something to keep everything stationary when the bit comes through the top. A simple scrap piece of masonite, pin-nailed at the corners, and also in the middle to attach the cutout block to the body.

Slowly raise the bit until it pokes thru, then make the final rotation. Here's where caution reigns supreme. If anything comes loose, things will get ugly quickly. Hold tight, but be prepared to let go at a moment's notice.

Once the entire body is machined, remove the masonite strip, and separate the blocks after making a witness mark to allow them to be reunited later.

Cut 2 strips of masonite about 1" wide, plus a larger piece for the gate. This valve will be a self-cleaning, so the gate is extra long. The masonite is smooth on one face, and textured on the reverse, so take a sander and knock down much of the texture on the gate - leave the 1" strips alone.

The width of the gate, plus the width of the 2 strips is about 1/16" less than the total width of the 3/4" body pieces.

Attach the two strips to the edge of one of the 3/4" blocks, then position the 2nd block on top of the first and screw it together. Make sure to re-align the stack using the witness mark made earlier. You now have 2 3/4" MDF blocks with a gap between that's about 1/16" wider than the gate.

Use the circle cutting jig again to cut a hole in one end of the gate, centered side-to-side and far enough from the end to allow for about 1" of masonite to stick out behind the gate blank when the hole in the gate is centered with the hole in the gate block.

Add a stop block to the end with the hole. This prevents the gate from being pulled completely out of the groove when the valve is open. This block is just attached to one side of the gate.

Slide the gate into the gate block and attach a handle to the end of the gate. The handle provides a positive stop when the gate is closed, plus a hand-hold to open the gate.

The handle has a 3/4" x 1/4" rabbet cut in it to hide the edge of the masonite plus provide a better finger grip.

The gate is attached to a piece of 6" SDR that will stub into the dust collection piping below the chop saw. The fit was exact, but to make sure, I drilled and countersunk four #6 x 1/2" flat-head screws around the ID of the pipe, connecting to the bottom of the gate block.

Things I would have done differently. A larger hole in the jig around the bit would allow the dust collector to pull the shavings down into the table. However, it would make it more difficult to position the pin.

Tin arrived about 1:00pm, and for the balance of the day, he worked on another set of shelves under the wood rack for misc cutoffs, and I began the railing for the stairs. After a time, we worked moving some stuff up into the loft and planned our Sunday activities.

 

[wbrian63]

Sunday, January 16, 2011

More reorganizing and stowing away. Finally got the bolt bins mounted on the wall. There's a lot of vacant space, but I've still got over 100# of fasteners I bought from GJ member Alex71...

The bins are also something I read somewhere. They're just 2 sizes of Kroger-brand (grocery store) food storage containers. Their dimensions are such that 12 small containers will fit in the same vertical space as 10 larger ones. I caught my local store with a sale on these bins a few years ago and bought everything they had on the shelf. 2 shopping carts worth for about $75, if I remember correctly. I've still got inventory of unused containers.

They work well, but they aren't very durable. After a period of time, they get brittle and crack, and it seems to be usage that causes it. There are some hanging in the racks that have been there for years and are still nice and flexible.

The big plus for me is they're clear so I can easily see what's inside, and they have lids, so the contents don't get filled with sawdust.

The clamp racks were next. I can't take credit for the design - just read it somewhere, but it works well. It uses a standard T-track that fits a 1/4" bolt. (Sorry for the out-of-focus picture. This is one of the downsides of a point & shoot camera - you can't really tell when the picture is "almost" in focus...)

Made a blue million of mounting blocks from scrap 2x4's. Milled them down to 1" thick x 3" wide x 3 & 4" long (2 lengths), cut a slot in the back to match the track, and a counter-bore in the front so the bolt doesn't stick out. Used the router table to round over all the edges except for the back where the block meets the wall. This isn't new work, the rack was installed in the previous shop and lives again in the new place.

It's a fiddly business to get all of the blocks installed and properly spaced, but once done, everything fits neatly (again with the fuzzy pictures...):

Yes, there are clamps still on the floor. Yes, there are clamps elsewhere that haven't found a home here. In the old shop, we had every clamp available in the racks, and many were just there gathering dust. Old 3/4" pony pipe clamps, some Jorgensen and Bessey F-style clamps, etc. We tend to use the Bessey K-body clamps for almost everything, plus the little 6" Bessey F-styles. The clamps on the floor will find a home soon.

 

[wbrian63]

Monday, January 17, 2011 - Martin Luther King Day.

Day off from work. We didn't get Jan 1, because it fell on a weekend, but we always get MLK day off... Who am I to complain?

Today was work to get the vacuum system up and running. There are 8 outlets scattered around the shop. All of them needed gate valves and appropriate mounting blocks, depending on usage.

The router table has a drop, but I only use it when I'm doing work that can't be pulled down through the table, or when the chip load is high.

PVC will tend to sag under it's own weight, so the router table drop has a little supporting shelf to hold the weight of the piping:

Turns out I put the outlet for the drill press on the wrong side, and a bit low to boot. A few fittings and we're good to go. The blue flex tube works great to position the intake at just the right spot. Plus, since it's now mounted to the wall instead of to the drill (where it was in the previous shop), it actually stays put instead of slowly creeping down with the vibration of the machine.

Got the vacuum for the chop saw installed as well. Added a "t" below the counter for an extra outlet.

You can see the 6" dust collector feed to the bottom of the chop saw. This is where the 6" gate valve went - it mounts to the bottom of the black frame below the counter.

All of the vacuum lines come back to the closet where the dust collector is mounted.

Originally, I was going to power both truncs with the same vacuum. As noted, there are 8 outlets in 2 trunks:
Trunk 1 - working from farthest back to closest. This line runs under the floor:
Chop saw
Floor under table saw outfeed table
Floor adjacent to man door (to be capped - bad idea and bad placement)

Trunk 2 - working from farthest back to closest. This line runs in the ceiling:
Misc outlet - vacuuming floor, other tasks.
Stationary stander
Drill Press
Router table
Outlet in loft - misc duties

Most likely, the two gates that would be open frequently, if not all the time would be the drill press and the chop saw. The problem is with the distances involved, more than one gate open at a time decreases performance dramatically. The chop saw needs a good vacuum source very badly.

So, I built a shelf in the closet to hold one vacuum above another. The top vacuum will handle Trunk 2 loads. The bottom vacuum (not installed yet) will handle Trunk 1 loads.

The dust collector and vacuums are controlled by an old-school X-10 based system. The bottom vacuum is controlled by a switch/receiver that's plugged into the wall. The vacuum is plugged into the switch/receiver. The upper vacuum is plugged into another X-10 device that's just a switch - called an Appliance Module, and plugged into another outlet. (Separate circuits for each vacuum). The outlets are on the wall hidden behind the dust collector feed line.

The dust collector has its own heavy-duty 220v switch.

At each workstation, there's a key-fob RF remote that can switch two separate X-10 devices on or off. (It also has buttons for dimming, but that's not applicable here - the device switches are non-dimmable). I set the dust collector as House Code A, Device 2. The upper vacuum is House Code A, Device 3. The lower vacuum is House Code A, Device 1.

The key-fob remotes have a primary address and a Plus 1 address. If I set the first on-off buttons to A-1, then the 2nd set will be A-2. So, for Trunk 1 devices, on/off buttons 1 control the vacuum, and buttons 2 control the dust collector. For Trunk 2 devices, on/off buttons 1 control the dust collector and buttons 2 control the vacuum.

I got the remotes on sale for about $10 each, so it was easy to buy a bunch for spares and to have enough for one button at each machine or nearby (planer/sander share one, jointer/table saw share one, etc.).

I got all the RF X10 controls from Smarthome.com:
Keychain remote (currently $10.55):

RF Base (currently $14.54):

20a-220v switch (currently $17.99):

Appliance module(currently $11.80, 3-pole version $8.77):

All of these devices came from the old shop and have worked reliably for years.

To set up a dust collector remote control, you'd need 1 RF base, 1 keychain remote, and one 220v 20a switch - total $43.08. I'm pretty sure this is cheaper than a lot of "custom" setups. There's even a special going on with an RF base, and 1 keychain remote for $15.98, which brings the total down to 33.97...

 

[Nighttrain]

Another great post Brian. Although a little "Jiggy" lol. I may have missed in earlier post are you going to run a ground wire in the PVC pipe? I had that wire in my old set up but am now thinking of not doing that in my new build. Just keep hearing different ideas. Again thanks for the detailed post and pictures. I really like to see the time you take to do the little things like round off the corners of all the wood and dado the stairs etc. Keep up the great work. Also what type of gloves are you wearing while doing the wood work? I have yet to find a pair that I am comfortable wearing while working on the saw, router etc.

 

[wbrian63]

Ground wire - not this time.

I've read many online articles about the dangers associated with dust and static electricity. In the volumes and velocities that I (and many hobbyist woodworkers) produce, there's little danger.

I have been shocked before when using a shop vacuum to clean the walls in the paint booth of fine overspray powder, but that was in cool and dry weather, something we have very little of here in Houston. Even still, the shock was just that - a good zap, nothing more.

I had a ground wire running through the pipes in the old shop. It started at one end of the main trunk and ran to a point just in front of the dust collector, where I drilled a small hole to pass the wire out of the pipe to a ground screw on the dust collector housing. That wire had the effect of being a snare for all manner of fibrous wood. I had built a garden fence out of rough cedar, and there were a lot of cuts that took just slightly more than 1/8" off the board, leaving a bunch of stringy strands that got pulled into the saw by the blade, and sucked into the dust collector. I'd say the knot of cedar fibers was 30+ percent blocking the 6" dust collector inlet.

So - no ground wire this time.

The gloves I got at Home Depot. They're cheesy little things that last maybe 16 hours of regular use, but they're great. A pack of 10 pairs was $9.88. I bought one pack on a lark, and liked them so much I decided to buy more. When I went back, they weren't available any more - a typical once-and-gone deal from Home Depot. Weeks later, I was in a different HD and there they were again. I bought 3 more packs.

They're just a thin mesh on the back of the hand, and they're not too tight around the wrist - I can't stand to wear gloves that are tight around the wrist. The fingers and palm are coated with nitrile rubber - nice and grippy.

The nitrile starts to wear off on finger tips, and it loses its "grippiness" after a time - that's when I toss them in the trash.

I spent several hours today doing a preliminary sort of a number of "catch-all" boxes, bins and bags. I picked and culled hundreds of washers, nuts, bolts and screws. Never had a bit of trouble plucking a single item off a smooth table - no way I could do that with other gloves.

I have arthritis to a small degree, and I've noticed that my working grip strength isn't what it was 10 years ago. With these gloves, I need far less strength to lift and carry.

I've seen other nitrile coated gloves, but they're way more expensive. Maybe they'll last longer as a consequence. We shall see once my current inventory runs out.

Thanks for the compliments. Stay tuned for another update.

Regards

 

[wbrian63]

Tuesday, January 18, 2011.

Got a nice early start today. Finished the last of the plumbing for the vacuum system and moved the 2nd vacuum into the closet.

Somehow yesterday, I mislaid a special drill bit I use to pilot #6 wood screws. I know I had it up in the loft where I installed one drop for the vacuum system, and I remember picking it up and carrying it downstairs once that task was complete, but where it wound up is anyone's guess.

Because I'm so scatter-brained, and have the amazing capacity to look right at the item I'm searching for and not see it, I've taken the path to peace and tranquility. This path involves putting each tool back in its proper place after each task or sub-task is complete. This is a waste of time, as many of the tools just come right back out into use, but it saves me countless hours of frustration searching for something right under my nose.

For example - most of the vacuum system work yesterday involved cutting 2" PVC to length and gluing it in place, then adding the gate valve. Some drops were more complex, like the dual outlet around the chop saw, or the drop for the router table with the special shelf to support the pipe. Those items are sub-tasks of the overall larger task of fitting out the vacuum system. Each of these sub-tasks required figuring out how and where the pipe should be run, then making a spacer block to go behind the pipe where the pipe clamp would be mounted. The spacer blocks are screwed to the wall, and most are made of 1/2" Baltic birch plywood. Since the walls are measly OSB, if I don't pilot drill and countersink for the screw, they'll just strip out in the OSB before the head flushes up with the face of the plywood. So each spacer requires a drill with the countersink bit, 4 #6 x 1-1/4" square drive screws, an impact driver with a #1 square drive bit, a 5/16" driver bit for the #10x3/4" sheet metal screws used to attach the pipe clamp, 2 #10x3/4" sheet metal screws, one 2" PVC pipe clamp and the spacer block.

I get each of these items out of their respective storage spot and take them to the place where the block is to be installed. Once the block is installed, I take the drill and impact driver back to the tool cabinet. I take the pilot bit out of the drill and put it back in it's proper place. Same for the #1 square drive bit. Both the drill and impact driver go back in their slot.

Then I start on the next sub-task, knowing that whatever I need tool-wise, I can find it right where it should be.

The pesky bit (this is what it looks like, minus the stop collar)

has gone AWOL.

I spent more than an hour looking for it. Usually, when things like this go missing, if I take a few minutes to tidy up something, my mind relaxes and I remember where I left it. Either that, or the cleaning-up causes me to stumble upon the missing item. Well, I cleaned for quite a while, and no luck. Resorted to other methods to get through the day.

This AM, after finishing the vacuum system, I decided to update the tool cabinet to add a place to store tape measures. These items lack a "home" in the shop, so they're always walking around, just ahead of where I'm looking for them. Guess what - to make the holder, I need THAT STUPID BIT!!!

So, I did some cleaning again. A LOT of cleaning. I took every catch-all box, bin or bag and emptied them out onto a table. I sorted the contents by what the item is, size will come later. I've got a container for bolts, one for nuts, one for flat washers, one for lock washers, one for machine screws, one for self-tapping screws, etc., etc. The end result is great, but I still don't know what I did with THAT STUPID BIT!!!

I finally built the holder for the tape measures using other methods to compensate for the missing pilot bit and got it installed, plus adjusted a few items in the tool cabinet to boot.

If you should spot a #6 Fuller tapered counter-sink bit on the side of the road, tell him his family misses him, particularly his larger brother, the #8 pilot bit and countersink, and send him home. He's probably in the company of a single black sock that went missing in last week's laundry.

On to other things.

The next task is to build the outfeed tables for the table saw. Here's a bird's eye view of the work area.

The lone object on the floor at about 9-o'clock from the table saw blast gate is a drop for the vacuum system. I'll plumb this in when the tables are complete.

Here's what I'm going for:

No way to build a single table of this size. Several smaller tables are better.

The main outfeed from the saw is 60" from the back of the saw (Table 2). This means I can feed a full 4x8 sheet good without worry that it will tip off the back of the saw when I let go.

I'm adding a long table to the left of the saw, to make it easier to cross-cut large sheets (Table 4).

Table 1 fills in to the right of the saw, up to the end of the fence frame.

Table 3 fills in the corner between Table 1 and Table 3.

Started with the leg blanks. 12 pieces of 2x4, cut to 36" (to allow for waste).

I want the leg blanks to be exactly the same - makes building and assembly quicker and more accurate. So each blank had one face and one edge trued up at the jointer, then ripped to 3-1/16", and the cut edge re-jointed to make a close-to-perfect 3". The blanks were then planed until they were 1-1/4" thick. The end result is a stack of 12 legs of the right size and ready to join the table.

When I got close to the right thickness, I decided now was a good time to add to the planer the digital depth gauge I got over a year ago...

The end result allowed me to final-machine the blanks to 1.245 thickness - more than satisfactory for the task at hand.

I cut out the pieces for the frame - one is a 2x10 that will have to get ripped down later.

Random or no? As I was cutting the leg blanks to width, each leg generated a single cutoff that fell to the floor as I pushed the part past the blade. I was intrigued by the pattern they took as they fell:

Hopefully, tomorrow will see the outfeed tables completed. They'll be topped with 3/4" MDF, and that will receive a cover of high-pressure laminate. MDF is dead flat, but it doesn't like moisture at all. The laminate is also much slicker when properly treated than the MDF - makes using the saw much easier.

 

[Nighttrain]

Maybe those cutoff pieces are pointing to your missing bit. Lol. I too have a problem when using multiple bits. Yesterday I spent 30 minutes looking for a 1/4 drive for my drill. I am currently building a pole barn for the horses. I was thinking of making a temporary bit holder (piece of wood) with holes drilled into it that will hold the bits as I remove them and replace with another bit. I guess I’ll get around to that. Right now I just have to be contempt with yelling a the kids or wife for not putting the bit I just used not back in its place

 

[meissen]

Amazing updates - keep up the great work!

 

[wbrian63]

Nighttrain - I can't blame anyone else - there's nobody there but me... Actually, I broke the pattern because I got too lazy to haul all the needed tools upstairs. I just took a drill. Got the vacuum drop installed and plumb. Then I positioned the mounting block behind it and drilled one pilot hole. Removed the bit and changed to a square drive bit for the first screw. Set the first screw and then put a level on the block to make sure it was right. Now, change back to the pilot drill and sink 3 more holes. Then back to the square drive bit to sink the 3 remaining screws. Then change to a 5/16" hex drive bit to set the #10x3/4" screws that attach the pipe clamp.

Had I done as I usually do, the piloting bit would have remained in the drill, and the other bits would be swapped in and out of the impact driver.

See what happens when you don't follow the rules????

I solved the problem tonight. Stopped by my local Woodcraft store and bought a new bit... Worked out OK, as they sell the countersinks separate from the bits, so I bought 2 #6 countersinks, 1 #8 countersink and 1 drill for the #6 countersink. The spare #6 & #8 are for the truck toolbox, where the countersinks are dull as dirt.

Miessen: thanks for the kind words.

 

[wbrian63]

Wednesday, January 19, 2011.

Another early start, and some good (but never enough) progress.

I worked on a couple of "fun" things first, and that burned up a couple of hours. I'm holding updates on this "fun" work until I'm ready to show it.

Jointed and planed the 2x6 stock for the table frames. Last night, I was perturbed that I didn't seem to have enough 2x6 stock, and couldn't figure out what I'd done with the 6 2x6-8's I'd bought just a few days earlier. I only found 4 to work with, and had to pull from "inventory" in the lumber rack. Was able to get enough material to do the job. More about the missing 2x6's in a minute.

Here's the rough stock, ready for planing and jointing. The saw tables in the old shop were made from 2x6 frames with 2x4 legs, but none of the stock was milled, except to joint one edge of the frames. Looked like crud, but worked well enough. This table is going to be far better, both in appearance and design.

Milled the 2x6 stock down to 1.250 thick x 5" wide. The DRO on the planer worked great. Only pulled out the caliper to check the final cut, and I was within .005 of my target dimension.

Built the 2 frames for Table 1 and Table 2. Cut the length of both tables 2" less than the top dimension, to create a rim where (should the need arise, saw tables are for sawing - not - for - assembly) clamps can easily be used. Those frames went together easily. Table 3 took a lot more time, and there was no way I was going to try to calculate the various dimensions. Instead, I placed tables 1 & 2 on the stack of MDF that will be used for the tops, orienting them to each other as they'll be installed. Squared table 1 with only 12" supported on the table. By using the accurate machined dimensions of the MDF, I saved a lot of time. Clamped the table in place and used the 41.5" length to offset Table 2. This guarantees a nice 90-degree inside corner. Added the two sides for Table 3 that run adjacent to Tables 1 & 2 clamping them in place. Then I laid the outside edge of Table 3 across the corners of Tables 1 & 2 and scribed the angles there.

Turns out that the angle at the corner of Table 1 is 35.5 degrees. Guess what that makes the angle at the corner of Table 2? Yep - 54.5 degrees. What kind of angle can my Hitachi chop saw bevel to? 45 degrees...

Turns out I can go up to almost 60 degrees to the right if I stand the material up against the fence. The saw won't cut thru 5" vertically, but it almost makes it, and a quick trim with a handsaw and a block plane result in tidy joints, more than suitable for a saw table:

You can see in the above picture that the planer has a "few nicks" in the blades. (The ridge in the surface of the lumber.) No small wonder - some of these boards had huge knots, which is effectively vertical grain, and it makes a horrible racket as it passes under the planer knives.

Back to the missing 2x6's. As I was clamping the freshly beveled frame for Table 3 in preparation for screwing the frame together, I had to shift one of the boards that the MDF is sitting on to allow for the clamp. Guess what the MDF is sitting on?

The missing 2 2x6-8's....

Knocked-off early to make a run to my lumber wholesaler to pick up the laminate to be used to cover the MDF. 3 sheets Wilsonart "brite white", a gallon of adhesive and a couple roller covers, and 2+ Benjamins bite the dust... I think I paid $1.95/sq ft for the laminate. The last time I bought any, it was around $1.00/$1.25, and that wasn't that long ago.

I'm back at "work" tomorrow, but will spend a few hours tomorrow evening at the shop.

Thanks for reading...

 

[JMisora]

Awesome!... A lot of work for a rental, hopefully you'll get out of it what you have put in.

 

[Plump]

Dude, you're completely insane. Unbelievably talented but insane.

If this project doesn't make you jealous, nothing will. Love the details and being a fellow OCD'er, I'm glad to see others obsess about the strangest things.

Here's to a long stay at your fantastic shop and thanks so much for all the detailed and emotional posts. What a project!

 

[SuperSocket]

Man this place is like a house of horrors if you're a tree


I could only dream of having a space like that, but dang the labor in setting that up is incredible.

 

[NUTTSGT]

A very nice build and shop. But damn, it took me 4 hours to read.

Any thoughts that the counter sink bit fell down in the hole ? Some what like a glue cap ?

 

[wbrian63]

That's what I'm thinking. We're also missing a 2' level - we think it's under the toekick of one of the big cabinets.

I've since replaced the bit, and the level too, for that matter.

 

[wbrian63]

Thursday, January 20 thru Sunday, January 23.

Vacation was over on Wednesday, so work time was limited to a few hours in the evening.

In the previous shop, the outfeed tables for the table saw had levelers consisting of a short 3/8" carriage bolt with a 3/8" nut threaded into a 3/8" 'T' nut driven into the end of the legs. Worked OK, but there were a few drawbacks.

1 - the bearing surface of the carriage bolt was small compared to the weight of the table, and it took some time before things stabilized with the wood floor. The bolt heads actually dented the wood to a small degree.
2 - the gap between the end of the leg and the floor was just big enough to act as a catch point for electrical cords and air hoses. This was a far bigger issue than the denting - very frustrating at times.
3 - cleaning around the table legs was a pain - lots of sawdust, etc liked to hide in the dead zone around the leveler foot.

For the new shop, I wanted something that solved the 3 previous issues. What I came up with was a leveler system that's not at the bottom of the leg.

I started with 12 pieces of 3/8-16 all thread, cut from a larger blank. To do the parting, I drilled a 5/16" hole through a scrap 2x4 and split the block in two.

I wanted blanks 3" long, but the block was only 2-1/2", so I just made sure to measure 1/2" of thread sticking out of the block, and put the assembly in the vise.

In just a few minutes, I had 12 thread blanks.

A few minutes at the grinder trued up the ends and removed burrs.

These were to be the jacks that will be used to lengthen or shorten the table legs.

The feet that these jack screws would be inserted into came next. I cut 2" off the end of each leg, and drilled a Q-sized hole (.332) 1" deep in the center of each foot. The picture is just for illustrative purposes. I properly secured each block before drilling...

Then I took a 3/8" hex nut and threaded it on to each thread blank about 1-1/8" off the end. I chucked the long end in the drill press (hand-tight only) and set it to it's slowest speed. Setting a flat washer over the hole, I fed the thread blank down into the foot. As soon as it started to thread into the wood, I allowed the quill to return to it's upmost position, while I carefully held the block in position. As soon as the threads hit near bottom, I'd let go of the block.

I had thought of just tapping the feet with a 3/8-16 tap, but my tap set wasn't at the shop. Proper drill size for a 3/8-16 thread is 5/16 (.3125), but a hole that small would most likely cause the foot to split as the thread blank was forced in. The threads only serve to keep the thread blank steady in the foot - the washer and nut actually bear the load of the table.

A few minutes work and I had 12 feet complete with levelers.

Next came the effort to drill the end of each leg to accept the foot.

I had thought about doing the same thing with the leg that was done with the foot - then rotating the foot would change the length of the leg. However, I want the feet to be in-line with the legs, so a collar (to be added later) can be slipped down to cover the gap and keep things looking tidy, as well as preventing the foot from turning if bumped, and changing the length of the leg. Plus, a 1/2 rotation (the minimum adjustment possible if a collar is to be installed) is 1/32" (with 16tpi all-thread), which is not a fine enough resolution for leveling the tables to the saw and to each other.

So - the hole will be 3/8" and the foot will be a slip fit to the leg.

I clamped an old twin-screw wood clamp to the bench, and each leg was clamped there.

I drilled a scrap block of wood with a 3/8" hole in the right spot. The drill guide was friction fit into the clamp once the leg was secure, and all but one of the legs wound up with a nice vertical hole - 2+ inches deep.

From there, it was a simple matter to attach the legs to each of the table frames. The table frames were drilled for pocket screws to attach the top. The old tables were assembled with the top screwed to the frame before the laminate was added - now it's nearly impossible to take them apart with out major destructive surgery.

The more I thought about it, I want the collars to look tidy. So, I added a sub-foot to each foot. When the collar slips into place, it will have a nice finished end. Plus, I'll be able to pin the feet to the floor by screwing through the sub-foot. That's a plus if I accidentally bump a leg with a hand-truck or a rolling piece of machinery - no risk to stability and level.

Here's a picture of the frames all assembled and in their destination spots around the saw. This completed Thursday and Friday evening's work.

From the loft stairs:

Saturday, amongst other tasks, we cut out the tops and attached them to the tables. The pocket screws worked just fine - everything is nice and snug as can be.

Our task for Sunday was putting the laminate on. Nary a hiccup - everything went according to plan.

The tables are in-place and attached to the saw with clamping blocks. (Just a simple 2x4 block 3" wide x 4" long, with a .150 deep x .500 wide rabbet in the end across the grain. Bolted to the table aprons where they meet the saw, and lipping over the saw table casting, there's no moving that connection. Should any adjustments be required later, a block of wood and a stout mallet will provide sufficient persuasion.

The tables are bolted to each other. The main outfeed table is just shy (about .010) of the top of the saw, and the tables meet nearly perfect to each other. There is a slight bow in the main outfeed table where it joins the triangular table - you can see it in the darker seam. We could try to persuade these edges into plane and re-bolt the tables to each other, but as the seasons change and the humidity follows, who knows if the setting will stay put. The lip is from the main table to the triangle table, and it's in-line with the feed direction of the saw, so there's no edge to catch.

Not worth worrying about.

The last table still needs to be made, but I wanted the 3 main pieces in place so I could see how things will fit together around and over the jointer. I'm also going to add some solid-wood edging to the exposed edges of the tables, for durability. Along the edge adjacent to the saw fence, I'll cut a rabbet and inlay a solid piece of wood there - also for durability.

Plus, it just looks nicer...

Also have to make 12 snug-fitting collars for the existing legs.

Always something else to do - and that's wonderful

 

[wbrian63]

Looks like I need to do some rust abatement on the saw top and also on the drill chuck. I am cursed with very oily skin, and that oil has an adverse effect on any raw metal I touch - namely rust. I'm trying to be a good steward of the equipment, and the gloves you see in many of the pictures are part of that solution.

 

[peelman]

That is insane, AND incredibly helpful! I’m working on drawing up plans for a long, 6-leg work bench, and was worried about how to do levelers on the legs. I knew I wanted them, but wasn’t sure how to go about it, as my carpentry skills are not nearly where yours are, and the damned thing will undoubtedly but just far enough out of square to wobble enough to piss me off. I want the bench to be sturdy enough to beat on something clamped in a vise, but I also want the damned thing to be level and not wobble.

I’ll be stealing that idea outright, if you don’t mind, except using 4x4s and fender washers to stand up to a bit more punishment. Collars may happen too, but I’ll wait to see how you do yours and how they turn out

 

[Boosted1]

wbrian63. Very nice work on the saw table. You are giving me good ideas.
Nice dust collection you have too. I am envious of that. I clean more than I work it seems. Where did you get the fence extension for the table saw??

Here is a pic of my mobile saw cart. Same saw as yours.