Between 485 & 705 SQ/FT The **** Shack

[bdbecker]

Over the weekend, I took advantage of the unseasonably warm weather and got the new door painted.

View media item 107844
And then things got way out of hand and I ended up painting the whole garage.

View media item 107845
Backing up a few steps...

I mentioned before that Wife had told me just to take care of the color scheme and that I had volunteered my garage as a test bed so we could see if we like the color before committing to it on the house. This weekend, I honestly intended on only painting the doors. But, I didn't want to just pick a random black color for the door without having the rest of the palette figured out, so I put some color chips together and had samples mixed up of the light gray for the trim and the dark gray for the siding. As soon as I saw the gray on the siding, I knew it was the right color, so I just went for it.

Yes, I chickened out on painting the man door a bold color. I found the grays and black easily, but could not decide on a color that I liked for the door. After about 10 minutes and probably dozens of paint chips, I just gave up. I figure that I can always repaint it when I'm not pressed for time.

Painting the garage was very much an exercise of putting lipstick on a pig. Its funny how many issues you find when you are brushing paint on every square inch of something. Normally I would have pushed pause on the paint and done some siding repairs, but faced with a tight window of warm weather and the fact that I couldn't even find the needed siding at the two stores I went to, I decided to forge ahead and finish painting knowing that I will have to tackle the siding sometime in the next few years.

The big takeaway from the weekend's project is that I will not be attempting to paint the house myself. No way, no how, not even with a sprayer. I have a hard time with heights. Even painting the peak of my garage had me freaked out. The house is at least twice that height in some places - just thinking about it makes my hands sweaty. The other factor is that I'm too particular to be productive when it comes to jobs like this. I don't need perfection but I do want it to be close. Since I'm not well versed in painting it would take far too much time for me to do a job that would be anywhere close to what a pro could do.

In other news, everyone continues to be healthy, which is nice. The weather has been in the 70's the last week, which is weird, but also nice. Pheasant hunting last weekend was a blast. We hunted the Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge. (Side note for any Iowa guys who might be reading this - the refuge is a pretty cool place to visit if you haven't been there.) We had really good luck - getting six birds between the three of us. We probably could have limited out if we were better shots, but I think I say that every year. The refuge put on a 'competition' of sorts on opening day to see who shot the biggest bird and my friend and I ended up winning first place for our age groups and we both got $50 gift cards to Bass Pro. I was just there for the free coffee, but hey, I'll take the gift card too.

Well, that's pretty much it for now. The leaves have finally fallen and it looks like the temps will be doing the same. I've got the kerosene can filled and ready to go for some winter projects. Until next time...

 

[bdbecker]

Glad you and your family are healthy. We've had a case or two in our daycare but never in my daughter's room so haven't had to quarantine. I can only imagine it's quite the challenge.

Old Top Gear is a treat.

I only had to do it for a week, many more people have been doing it since March - I can't imagine how difficult that would be. I'm feeling pretty thankful for our situation.

I'm a Top Gear addict. I've seen every episode multiple times. It's probably my favorite background noise in the garage.

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Sounds like a kerfuffle. Hang in there, it will get worse before it gets any better.

Thankfully it didn't get all that bad, at least this time around.

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Grandpa always told me to never mow with snow on the ground, it would kill the grass. I always listened to grandpa.

I grew up near West Des Moines, but have lived in the South since 71, haven't missed the snow at all.

Ha! Yeah, I suppose that wouldn't work too well. If anything, that moisture from the snow and the warm temps this last week has the grass greener than it was since June. I usually use the mower to chop up and bag the leaves, this year I'm actually cutting the grass a little too.

Snow doesn't bother me all that much, its the temperature more than anything else. When that windchill hits -20F or -30F, I start thinking about how Arkansas doesn't seem like such a bad place to live.

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Okay, I finally read through most of this thread. What a great shop! I'm quite envious.

Since much of it is old, the only thing I can comment on that's current are the colors you're working on for the house/trim/doors. My house had black trim and it looked "fine", but just that. Without changing anything else I've begun changing it from black to "near black", specifically a really, really dark brown in my case. It looks so much richer and goes with the brick and red eaves and stucco so. Much. Better! In your case I'd probably do the trim in an off-black and go for some color on the doors...

Thank you for the kind words. I'm honored that you'd make your first post in my build thread.

I did heed your advice and chose an off-black color. I'm going to trim out the doors with the light gray/off white color, but the trim around the windows will be the same color as the siding so that the windows have less of a visual presence on the house, if that make any sense.

 

[nicholam77]

It looks great! I like the black doors and darker colors. And any siding defects are undetectable in the pics -- looks brand new!

I think you did the right thing not doing a bold color on just the "man" door. Too many elements. It looks nice to have the overhead and man doors match. And black is still interesting.

I've long been attracted to the idea of a very dark clad house, that is very light and bright on the inside. Not sure if we'll ever get to the point of residing, but the neighbors on both sides have dark gray houses.

Glad you were able to take advantage of the unseasonably warm weather!

 

[XJSuperman]

I've heard of the refuge, but can't remember if I've been or not. I'll look it up.
Garage looks good! Congrats on the big bird lol. My yard and leaves were all taken care of, and then the last tree dumped its leaves Saturday. Yesterday I should have cleaned it up but instead I went and played in the woods. Now its going to rain...oh well.

 

[amkluttz]

I agree with nicholam77, I think the colors look right. Both doors being black was the right way to go. A colored man door might make it look lopsided.

I still think the frames would look amazing either in the same gray as the siding or in black but I see what you were dealing with on the window frame. What you did with the white frames ties it all together. What gray did you end up going with? Is the whole thing wife-approved?

 

[bdbecker]

...I've long been attracted to the idea of a very dark clad house, that is very light and bright on the inside. Not sure if we'll ever get to the point of residing, but the neighbors on both sides have dark gray houses...

Darker colors (and colors in general) are making a resurgence in my neighborhood. Luckily, I don't foresee any of my immediate neighbors copying the look as most of them have re-sided or painted their houses within the last few years. I suppose it only makes sense since all the houses were built around the same time and are probably on a similar timeline for siding/paint/roofing.

We did have a copycat case on the other side of the block. New people moved in two years ago and blatantly copied their next door neighbors scheme of yellow siding with white trim. The people who originally had the yellow house repainted this summer to a nice powder blue color.

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I've heard of the refuge, but can't remember if I've been or not. I'll look it up.
Garage looks good! Congrats on the big bird lol. My yard and leaves were all taken care of, and then the last tree dumped its leaves Saturday. Yesterday I should have cleaned it up but instead I went and played in the woods. Now its going to rain...oh well.

I'd never been there before, but it was really neat. It reminded me a lot of central South Dakota. When we were hunting, there were a few places where all signs of modern life were hidden and it was fun to think about what it must have felt like to the early settlers who first set eyes on the prairie.

What I didn't mention about my bird is that it was not all that big. I've got feathers in my collection that are close to 24" long, but this one was only ~19.5". I only entered it because they were giving out a neat patch you can sew onto your vest and was really surprised when I got the gift card in the mail a few days later. I think the reason for having the 'competition' was so they could collect data on how big the birds are this season (they also measured spur length) and get an idea of the population age.

Don't sweat the leaves - it looks like we're going to have another nice week after the rain moves through.

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...I still think the frames would look amazing either in the same gray as the siding or in black but I see what you were dealing with on the window frame. What you did with the white frames ties it all together. What gray did you end up going with? Is the whole thing wife-approved?

I completely agree about having dark frames. If I didn't have white windows to deal with, it would be a two color scheme for sure. I am only going to do the door frames in the light color - the fascia, gutters, window frames, etc. will all be dark.

Black is called "Limousine Leather"
https://www.behr.com/consumer/colors/paint/color/MQ5-05

Dark gray is called "Shadow Mountain"
https://www.behr.com/consumer/colors/paint/color/PPU24-22

Light gray is called "Graycloth"
https://www.behr.com/consumer/colors/paint/color/PPU26-09

Wife loves the color/scheme. Its kind of funny, we were sipping coffee on the deck Sunday morning and she asked how long it took me to pick out the color. I told her the truth - maybe a minute. I played around with a few different chips of the lighter gray, but the other two colors were found right away. She just rolled her eyes and said "You would find it that quickly..." knowing that she would have come home with a half dozen samples and not liked any of them.

The thing I like about it is that stays fairly neutral no matter the light. It has a little bit of a blue hue to it during sunset when you look at it against the green grass.

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In the direct morning sun, it can be a little tan.

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From what I've seen so far after only a few days is that under most light it looks like a nice, dark gray. I'd like to say its because I'm just good at picking out colors, but I know its just dumb luck. Either way, I'll take the win.

 

[iced98lx]

It really looks great, excellent color choices.

 

[loganb]

I feel better that others have "scope creep" as well! I think the colors look great!

Sent from The Garage Journal mobile app

 

[Air and Water]

Thank you for the kind words. I'm honored that you'd make your first post in my build thread.

I did heed your advice and chose an off-black color. I'm going to trim out the doors with the light gray/off white color, but the trim around the windows will be the same color as the siding so that the windows have less of a visual presence on the house, if that make any sense.

I'm happy to help a teeny bit if I can! I think my best shop idea was a handle to the bathroom that was a lever type on one side so I could open it with greasy hands without touching anything. That and smooth, unadorned, easy-to-clean faucet handles.

The paint looks great and yeah, just a bit lighter than true black works very well with that siding color.

I majored in fine arts and have been a printer for 25 years, so I've looked at a lot of color combinations over the years and I think that looks killer. That said, I'd probably go with an over-the-top color like bright or burnt orange or Kawasaki green for the man door. What can I say? I like color!

 

[mybigwarwagon]

That looks great, you want to come paint mine? You will have to build it first, but you can pick the color.

 

[bdbecker]

It really looks great, excellent color choices.

I feel better that others have "scope creep" as well! I think the colors look great!

Thanks guys!

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...I majored in fine arts and have been a printer for 25 years, so I've looked at a lot of color combinations over the years and I think that looks killer. That said, I'd probably go with an over-the-top color like bright or burnt orange or Kawasaki green for the man door. What can I say? I like color!

Funny... I was honestly thinking orange for the house door, green for the garage door. A bold color is still not out of the question, I could just feel myself getting anxious trying to pick out a color last weekend and decided it was better to walk away than to try and pick something under the gun.

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That looks great, you want to come paint mine? You will have to build it first, but you can pick the color.

As long as there is a steady supply of cold beer and you aren't too picky about the finished product, I'm in.

 

[bdbecker]

Stopped by the ReStore over lunch and this followed me home...

View media item 107913
Its a Craftsman 4-1/8" jointer/planer from the early 1990's (part number 149.236222). Cast iron construction, doesn't seem to be missing any parts, and other than being a little dusty, seems to be in pretty good shape. It fired right up and I ran a chunk of oak through it a few times to see how well it worked.

View media item 107914
It did okay. On the edge cuts, it didn't hesitate. On the face cuts, it bogged a little, but I was also being aggressive with my feed rate to see what it could handle. Cut quality isn't bad, but its not perfect. I have no idea if it is setup right or how sharp the blades are. I have very little experience with a jointer, so operator ignorance is also at play. I'll have to watch some YouTube videos and get my certification course completed over the next few weeks.

If I'm going to complain about anything it'd be how loud it is. No joke, it tickles your teeth. I will certainly be doubling up on the ear protection when I use it. A minor complaint would be the 4" cut capacity, but that's barely a complaint because I didn't even have a jointer before I found this one and the unit is pretty compact, which will make storing it easy. I also can't complain about the $50 price tag, especially when you look on eBay and see they're going for ~$200 shipped.

 

[fourbyford]

Congrats on the find!
If its loud with a marginal cut, means the knives are dull.
Its best if you have a dial indicator...
Check the height of the knives before removing and make a note of that measurement. Then, use the indicator to set the sharpened (new?) knives... be sure to check side to side. Also, you'll need to come up with some way to repeatably index the cutterhead when installing each knife.
Not that bad a job...
While you're looking at the cutterhead, might be a good idea to check the bearings.

...D

 

[fourbyford]

Hmmm... was just thinking...
I can adjust the height of both the infeed and outfeed tables on my jointer. Yours may not have an adjustment for the outfeed. For my jounter, the blade height is somewhat arbitrary. Point being, if the height of your outfeed table is fixed, the blades will need to be exactly at that height. I use a dial indicator on mine... they also make magnetic jigs that attach to the outfeed table. Theoretically, if the cutterhead is indexed correctly, the knives will end up at the correct height.

...D

 

[bdbecker]

Thanks for the tips - I'll take a closer look at the knives tonight. Just want to make sure I'm understanding a few things...

When you say "check side to side" you mean take measurements across the whole blade, not just at one point. That makes sense to ensure the blade is square to the bed.

When you say "find a way to repeatebly index the cutterhead" do you mean make sure that the measurements are taken at the same point in the cutterhead rotation so that both blades are set to take the same depth of cut?

Bearings and a new belt seem affordable enough, I'll probably swap them out just for peace of mind.

EDIT:
The front of the bed is adjustable, but if the rear is fixed, it might actually make things easier - allowing me to use a straight edge instead of an indicator to set the heights.

EDIT (again):
We're in business... I found a PDF of the manual that details how to set the blade height.

 

[bj383ss]

Honestly that board you just ran through if it is a hardwood that is about all it can handle. I had one like that my dad gave me that I used until I burned the motor up. It screamed too. Once you set the outfeed table you can do what you said and just use a straight edge off of it to measure the blade height.

I have mine setup to take a pretty small cut as that helps on the teeth chattering sound as well. Also sharp blades will considerably help. That is often how you can tell the blades have gone dull as it will start getting louder on the cuts.

 

[mybigwarwagon]

As long as there is a steady supply of cold beer and you aren't too picky about the finished product, I'm in.

Too much of a supply and I would be afraid to go inside, LOL.

 

[fourbyford]

Yep... you've got it...
Even using a straightedge, it's important to set the cutter height for all the knives at the same location... as it pertains to rotation.
Seems like a manual I had with a jointer long ago mentioned rotating the cutterhead back and forth to find the highest spot (this is where a dial indicator could be helpful) and then scribe a vertical line on the fence where the knife lines up at the high point. The other challenge is "locking" the cutterhead in place once you've found the high point. IIRC, I might have used a clamp to pinch the belt near the cutterhead sheave... whatever you can come up with to make sure the cutterhead doesn't move while you're trying to set each knife.

...D

 

[fourbyford]

Is this a 2 knife cutterhead?
If so, that could account for a bit of chatter.
Sharp knives and a slower, steady feed will help...

...D

 

[bdbecker]

I've been picking away at making a cross cut sled for my table saw over the last few weeks and finally got it finished today.

View media item 107989
Making a sled has been something I've had in the back of my mind since I got the saw. I've got a project in mind for Wife where having a sled would make it easier to build, so no better time than now to knock this project out.

The sled base is 3/4" MDF. I chose MDF for its dimensional stability. The rest of the sled is made of 3/4" prefinished ply I had left over from a previous project. I sanded and glued the plywood together to make a 1.5" thick board for each of the ends. I kind of made things up as I went along using the drops I had on hand, so if it looks a little cobbled together, that's because it is. I used INCRA Miter Sliders for the rails, and INCRA T-Track for the stop track, and a Rockler easy grip knob for the stop. All these items were chosen out of convenience in that they were in stock when I stopped by The Woodsmith Shop looking for jig parts.

https://incra.com/jig_fixture-build-it_system-imse.html
https://www.incrementaltools.com/INCRA_T_Track_Regular_24_p/ttrackreg24.htm
https://www.rockler.com/rockler-easy-to-grip-5-star-knobs-threaded-insert

To be honest, I'm suspicious as to how long the INCRA Miter Slider rails are going to last. The rail is just their standard t-track with some wedges added that you tighten down to fit snugly in your saw's miter slot. On the surface, it seems like a good idea, but in practice, I think they are going to be an issue long term. The reason being is that in each of my 24" length of rail, there are only 3 points of contact with the miter slot. As the aluminum wears, the rails will loosen and slop will be introduced to the jig. You can always tighten the nut to snug things up, but I have a feeling that they are going to eventually need to be replaced. We'll cross that bridge when we get there. When making this sled, I cut everything in duplicate because I also want to make a second sled dedicated to for bevel cuts. I'll probably try a different product for the rails on that sled.

That being said, I'm very impressed with how well I was able to get it dialed in. I used the infamous William Ng Five Cut Method to square the fence to the blade. I ended up getting it down to 0.00125" over an 8.625" cut on my third try. I didn't dare try to get it any closer than that.

View media item 107988
It's on the smaller size as far as sleds are concerned, but it'll have plenty of capacity for what I have in mind. I figure having a small sled will also be something I use even if I have to make a second, larger one down the road.

 

[nicholam77]

Nice pick up on the jointer, that's something I've had my eye on as well. I've been a little hesitant to grab an old one since I wouldn't know the first thing about how to calibrate or fix it up. Let us know your results on that.

Nice work on the table saw sled... it looks awesome! 0.00125" over ~9" seems deadly accurate for small parts work!

I'm curious about the Incra miter sliders as I've considered them as well... the wedges you speak of, are they aluminum, too? Hopefully they don't wear out. From what I can tell it seems like Incra products are usually well thought out and seem to be well-liked, so hopefully they have it figured out.

I've long debated many of the things you mention... have one sled or multiple sizes, capacity, what accessories to build in, etc. FWIW I have used my two very simple table saw sleds for a couple years now and they've given me very accurate repeatable results by just clamping a plywood stop block. But, I have been planning to combine them into a single sled with some extra features, mostly just for efficiency and space-saving.

William Ng's videos are fantastic, and I've also had excellent results with his picture frame miter add-on. It's very simplistic but sometimes that's the best, and again, it relies on math to deliver the goods.

Anyways, I think it's a great place to start and this way you can discover what you wish it had, vs. spending the time to build in a bunch of arbitrary accessories.

Looking forward to seeing what your first project with it is!

 

[PileDriver]

I've been making an intentional effort to read through older threads from start to finish. Yours was first on my list. It took about a week when squeezing a few minutes to read here and there. Thank you for taking the time to share your garage journey!

Sent from my SM-G960U using The Garage Journal mobile app

 

[bdbecker]

Honestly that board you just ran through if it is a hardwood that is about all it can handle. I had one like that my dad gave me that I used until I burned the motor up. It screamed too. Once you set the outfeed table you can do what you said and just use a straight edge off of it to measure the blade height.

I have mine setup to take a pretty small cut as that helps on the teeth chattering sound as well. Also sharp blades will considerably help. That is often how you can tell the blades have gone dull as it will start getting louder on the cuts.

I knew running that board through would be pushing the limit, but I was curious as to what she could handle. Given the fact that the blades are definitely dull, I'm pretty impressed that it managed to run through that board at all.

I'm going to track down a set or two of replacement blades so I can always have a sharp set on hand. That way if I'm in the middle of a project and start to have issues, I don't have to stop everything to sharpen a set of blades.

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Too much of a supply and I would be afraid to go inside, LOL.

It'll be fine... you know all the water fountains in Iowa aren't actually water, right? Its actually Busch Light.

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Yep... you've got it...
Even using a straightedge, it's important to set the cutter height for all the knives at the same location... as it pertains to rotation.
Seems like a manual I had with a jointer long ago mentioned rotating the cutterhead back and forth to find the highest spot (this is where a dial indicator could be helpful) and then scribe a vertical line on the fence where the knife lines up at the high point. The other challenge is "locking" the cutterhead in place once you've found the high point. IIRC, I might have used a clamp to pinch the belt near the cutterhead sheave... whatever you can come up with to make sure the cutterhead doesn't move while you're trying to set each knife.

...D

Is this a 2 knife cutterhead?
If so, that could account for a bit of chatter.
Sharp knives and a slower, steady feed will help...

...D

I haven't had time to dig into the manual to see what the process is, I just know I saw the section for changing blades and hit the download button.

It is a two knife cutterhead. Chatter is definitely due to the dull blades and aggressive stock feed - I was just trying to push it a little to see what it could handle. I also have no idea where the depth of cut is set.

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Nice pick up on the jointer, that's something I've had my eye on as well. I've been a little hesitant to grab an old one since I wouldn't know the first thing about how to calibrate or fix it up. Let us know your results on that...

I've been watching the classifieds for a few years, but every used one I've come across is either missing something, over priced, or way too large for my shop. I hesitated to buy this one because I'd rather have the 6" capacity, but figured 4" was better than nothing, and the price was right. I will do a project post when I go through it and fix it up.

...Nice work on the table saw sled... it looks awesome! 0.00125" over ~9" seems deadly accurate for small parts work!...

The only problem with that is now if I screw something up, I can't blame it on the sled.

...I'm curious about the Incra miter sliders as I've considered them as well... the wedges you speak of, are they aluminum, too? Hopefully they don't wear out. From what I can tell it seems like Incra products are usually well thought out and seem to be well-liked, so hopefully they have it figured out...

I'll take some additional pics and do a more in-depth post on what I'm seeing.

...I've long debated many of the things you mention... have one sled or multiple sizes, capacity, what accessories to build in, etc...

...Anyways, I think it's a great place to start and this way you can discover what you wish it had, vs. spending the time to build in a bunch of arbitrary accessories...

Projects like this always remind me of when I was buying my first guitar. I asked the salesman what the difference was between the Squire and Fender, other than price. He said to me "once you get good enough, you'll know." I'm not sure if that salesman knew how profound that statement was, but I've referred back to that piece of advice a number of times over the years when approaching stuff like this.

As I do more projects and develop my skills, I'll find the faults in this sled and will have a better understanding of what my wants/needs are and incorporate them into the next one. I'm into this sled for around $75, but that is mostly hardware that can be reused down the road on other fixtures, so I'm not that worried about outgrowing this one.

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I've been making an intentional effort to read through older threads from start to finish. Yours was first on my list. It took about a week when squeezing a few minutes to read here and there. Thank you for taking the time to share your garage journey!

Thank you for taking the time to weed through all my nonsense! Glad to have you along for the ride!

 

[burger]

It'll be fine... you know all the water fountains in Iowa aren't actually water, right? Its actually Busch Light.

Now I know why you Iowans put up with the weather!

 

[bj383ss]

Projects like this always remind me of when I was buying my first guitar. I asked the salesman what the difference was between the Squire and Fender, other than price. He said to me "once you get good enough, you'll know." I'm not sure if that salesman knew how profound that statement was, but I've referred back to that piece of advice a number of times over the years when approaching stuff like this.

As I do more projects and develop my skills, I'll find the faults in this sled and will have a better understanding of what my wants/needs are and incorporate them into the next one. I'm into this sled for around $75, but that is mostly hardware that can be reused down the road on other fixtures, so I'm not that worried about outgrowing this one.

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Man that is some of the greatest advice that salesman had. I built my first sled straight from Shopnotes Magazine. (RIP). It worked great for almost 10 years. Then as you have already figured out I found the ultimate sled that fit all my requirements. There is one thing I don't like about it. And that is that it is heavy. But that's what I get for making it out of 6/4 Mahogany.

Bret

 

[loganb]

Projects like this always remind me of when I was buying my first guitar. I asked the salesman what the difference was between the Squire and Fender, other than price. He said to me "once you get good enough, you'll know." I'm not sure if that salesman knew how profound that statement was, but I've referred back to that piece of advice a number of times over the years when approaching stuff like this.

As I do more projects and develop my skills, I'll find the faults in this sled and will have a better understanding of what my wants/needs are and incorporate them into the next one. I'm into this sled for around $75, but that is mostly hardware that can be reused down the road on other fixtures, so I'm not that worried about outgrowing this one.

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Man that is some of the greatest advice that salesman had. I built my first sled straight from Shopnotes Magazine. (RIP). It worked great for almost 10 years. Then as you have already figured out I found the ultimate sled that fit all my requirements. There is one thing I don't like about it. And that is that it is heavy. But that's what I get for making it out of 6/4 Mahogany.

Bret

I'll say that if you incorporate and use the sled in your process...you may want multiple sizes of sleds if you can manage the storage of them

My last sled that I sold with my Unisaw worked great....when I drug it out. I designed it to try and crosscut a 18 or 20" piece for no particular reason then I didn't think there was a down side to making it bigger.. So it was too big and clumsy to want to pull out on smaller stuff. As a result it primarily hung on the back of the saw collecting dust, but when I did use it for larger crosscuts I was much more confident in both my safety and ability to successfully execute the cuts.

When I get another tablesaw I think one of my first projects will be a much smaller sled...max crosscut depth say 8" or 10"...then when I get the need for a larger crosscut I can either make the larger sled and deal with storing it....or bust out the tracksaw(will be the 1st choice)

Sent from The Garage Journal mobile app

 

[Vahispd]

Alright, I made it through all 46 pages in just 4 days. Great thread.

I especially enjoyed the advice for dealing with AP (analysis paralysis) and will use it to move ahead with my garage.

 

[bdbecker]

Now I know why you Iowans put up with the weather!

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...I built my first sled straight from Shopnotes Magazine. (RIP). It worked great for almost 10 years...

Shopnotes is a good one. There is a big stack of old woodworking magazines from the 80's and 90's at my parent's place and I always find myself reading through an issue or two when visiting. Some of the projects are pretty dated, but the shop tips and fixtures are still very relevant.

In case you're feeling nostalgic...
https://archive.org/details/ShopNotesMag/ShopNotes #01 (Vol. 01) - Shop Built Router Table/mode/2up

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...My last sled that I sold with my Unisaw worked great....when I drug it out. I designed it to try and crosscut a 18 or 20" piece for no particular reason then I didn't think there was a down side to making it bigger.. So it was too big and clumsy to want to pull out on smaller stuff. As a result it primarily hung on the back of the saw collecting dust...

Yep... that is the scenario I was trying to avoid. I'll be curious as to how soon I'll need to upgrade. Time will tell!

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Alright, I made it through all 46 pages in just 4 days. Great thread.

I especially enjoyed the advice for dealing with AP (analysis paralysis) and will use it to move ahead with my garage.

Thank you for the kind words - glad my ramblings could help in some way! I like your signature - I can definitely relate.

 

[bdbecker]

After untold months of kicking around on my workbench, I finally got around to wiring up the GG9k last night. I installed a junction box with an outlet inside the saw stand base, fed. That outlet is activated by the switch on the front panel. This allows me to plug the saw base into the wall, and then plug the saw into the switched outlet. If I want to use the saw in the stand, I can just flip a switch. If I need to use the saw outside of the stand, its just two screws and a plug to remove it. This setup will be much safer than having to plug/unplug the saw from the outlet to turn it on and off. I also wired in a cheap LED task light that is also controlled by the switch.

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I think I've got a good spot figured out where I can leave it setup for easy, day-to-day access without tying up workbench space. Originally, I figured I'd find a spot for it on the shelf and pull it out as needed, but as it's been sitting on my workbench over the last few months, I've found I actually use it a lot more than I anticipated. It sure beats having to bust out the angle grinder with cut-off wheel every time I need to cut something.

 

[harley jim]

BDB
I really like that band saw. Nice looking set up.

Sent from my SM-A102U using The Garage Journal mobile app

 

[bdbecker]

I have been making a focused effort to spend more time in the shop. I read an article where they talked about the benefits of spending at least an hour a day pursuing a hobby or creative endeavor to help reduce stress and get more satisfaction out of life. Makes sense to me, so I figure I'll give it a shot. I've started spending at least a half hour during my lunch break and at least another half hour after the kids have gone to bed working in the shop. This is time I'd usually spend watching TV or dinking around on my phone, so really I'm just refocusing that wasted time onto something more fulfilling.

Yesterday's shop project was re-configuring my drill press tool chest to make room for the GG9k. Originally, I mounted my drill press sideways on the tool chest. At the time, I think I was worried about the drill press overhanging the back of the tool chest or something. When I rotated it, I found that it actually only overhangs by a small amount, so I'm not sure what was going through my head... it made sense in the moment at least.

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After living with it for several years, that has proving to be pretty annoying because it meant always having to pull the chest away from the wall to use the drill. So, two birds with one stone - I rotated the drill press to face out and mounted it to one side, making room for the GG9k. Here's the chest nestled back into it's home.

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I now have access to all three machines for small jobs. If I'm working on something bigger, I can always move the equipment out into the main space of the shop, but this configuration should save at least some of that hassle. Only thing left to do is to mount a power strip on the wall behind the tools so I can keep everything plugged in and ready to use. I won't ever be running all three machines at the same time, so I'm not worried about overloading issues.

In other news, today is my anniversary... my GJ anniversary that is! Five years ago today I joined this forum. I can't even being to think about how much has changed in that time. I've learned so much and taken on projects I never thought I could handle because of the knowledge shared on this board. Thank you everyone who has helped me along the way. Not to get too sappy, but this community is hands down one of the best I've had the privilege of being a part of - a big thank you for that as well. Here's to another five years!

 

[bdbecker]

BDB
I really like that band saw. Nice looking set up.

Thanks Jim!

Like most of my side projects, I make progress in bits here and there. The fab work for the saw started back in April on post #657, with the sides being installed in July on post #700.

 

[XJSuperman]

I guess Im a bit ignorant in terms of some saws, but why both the Delta and the GlitterGrinder? You must have one set for wood and one set for metal? My stuff is crude enough Id probably get by with an all purpose blade, or just metal since I don't do much with wood working.

 

[bdbecker]

I guess Im a bit ignorant in terms of some saws, but why both the Delta and the GlitterGrinder? You must have one set for wood and one set for metal? My stuff is crude enough Id probably get by with an all purpose blade, or just metal since I don't do much with wood working.

Blade speed. A band saw designed for wood runs a couple thousand feet per minute, a band saw for metal runs a couple hundred feet per minute. If you put an all-purpose or metal blade blade on a band saw designed for wood, you'd smoke that blade very quickly.

Back in the early days of my manufacturing career when I was just a gopher in a small metal shop, one of my jobs was to cut out circles from a sheet of thin (20ga?, 22ga?) aluminum. I used a wood band saw for that job, but even then I was changing the blade a couple times a day. It was one of those jobs where the owner just built the cost of the blades into the quote because it didn't justify buying a whole new piece of equipment.

 

[XJSuperman]

Been there, done that. Makes sense, I guess I assumed the delta had the ability to change blade speeds. Im following along now!

 

[mybigwarwagon]

I Like it.

 

[burger]

I have been making a focused effort to spend more time in the shop. I read an article where they talked about the benefits of spending at least an hour a day pursuing a hobby or creative endeavor to help reduce stress and get more satisfaction out of life. Makes sense to me, so I figure I'll give it a shot. I've started spending at least a half hour during my lunch break and at least another half hour after the kids have gone to bed working in the shop. This is time I'd usually spend watching TV or dinking around on my phone, so really I'm just refocusing that wasted time onto something more fulfilling.

[...]

In other news, today is my anniversary... my GJ anniversary that is! Five years ago today I joined this forum.

Congrats on wasting five years with us!

That's good advice to try to spend time with a hobby every day if you can. You're right that it's a lot more productive and fulfilling than watching TV or surfing the web, which I'm guilty of doing right now!


Ed

 

[Unruh]

Nice find with that jointer. I have a small 4 inch one and use it more than I thought I would. Of course, now I want a bigger one!

The table saw sled was also high on my list of things to make. I never realized how much I would use one until I built it. Now I hardly use my Dewalt miter saw.

 

[bdbecker]

...You're right that it's a lot more productive and fulfilling than watching TV or surfing the web, which I'm guilty of doing right now!

GJ doesn't count as wasting time Ed, its important project research.

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Nice find with that jointer. I have a small 4 inch one and use it more than I thought I would. Of course, now I want a bigger one!

The table saw sled was also high on my list of things to make. I never realized how much I would use one until I built it. Now I hardly use my Dewalt miter saw.

I'm excited to go through the jointer and get it cleaned up and ready for work. I found an eBay seller who had a bunch of NOS jointer parts at a good prices - two sets of blades and a new belt should be here Monday. I'm planning on getting new bearings for it as well (assuming its not a PITA to replace them). I want to dig into it but told myself I had to take care of Wife's Christmas gift first.

The more I use my table saw, the more I love it. I'm finally starting to understand what all the "hype" around table saws is about and have a feeling the sled is going to be a good addition to the saw. My miter saw has been great for what I've needed it for, but I don't think its quite up to the task of fine woodworking (which I knew before I bought it).

 

[bdbecker]

Picked up a new piece of bling for the table saw...

View media item 108155https://freudtools.com/products/LM72M010

And tried my hand at making box joints for the first time...

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I had the blade set a touch too shallow, but the fit-up is surprisingly good considering I didn't do any fine tuning on the jig. I ran out of time last night (spaghetti night!) to keep messing with it, but am excited to run some non-warped boards though it and really see how well it does.

There are two reasons for the new blade. First, this blade has a flat top grind (FTG) tooth that works well for making box joints. My current blade had an alternate top bevel (ATB) that left a non-square kerf in the work piece. Woodcraft does a better job explaining it than I can. The second reason for the blade is I've got a whole pile of oak salvaged from pallets that I'm not sure what to do with, but now have a blade to rip it down to a useful size (yes, I was very careful to remove all the nails). A dado set it on my radar, but will have to wait until after the holiday season.

This all ties into the gift I'm planning for Wife. She's really gotten into gardening this year and her current seed storage method is a plastic bag. I'm going to make her a seed storage box with dividers so she can keep everything organized. I thought I'd have a little fun with it and try the blade width box joint. If it ends up being too much trouble, I can always revert back to a simple **** or rabbet joint.

If I don't post before then, I hope everyone has a fantastic Thanksgiving!