Finding design flaws in my miter saw dust hood.

First off, let me be the first to call myself an idiot... I did this to myself, I needed no help in my stupidity, this is 100% on me...

The idea for the hood is to come around to just short of the fence , which I simply fail to do, by about 4"

Not sure if it is obvious from the photos, but I made a HUGE measurement mistake... and kept going with it...

I did however manage to figure out a quick and dirty way to rig up a production stop... Yeah I still need to set up an auxiliary fence with some T track and stop blocks...

I did want a reasonably clean pass through for the power cord, to where it will be useful. Yeah I have to drag the cord to behind the mortiser, small price to pay for space efficiency!

I did notice in this project however, that the table heights between the mortiser and the miter saw weren't level, so I levelled them up, and verified with known straight edges.... Good thing I have those parts bins. The old washers from God only knows where sure came in handy! It's dead flat, and neither the miter saw, nor the mortiser interfere with the other... Assuming of course the mortiser fence is in the rear most position..

You may also notice that I absconded the hose from a "Hyde dustless drywall sander" as the entire sander kit is cheaper than any 1.25 inch shop vac hose I have found so far.. Might as well reuse what I have! (I never should have sold that old shop vac on Craigslist so cheap!). I will order a second one before I actually cut the hose to finish the install. I actually use this thing, and it IS helpful. Lord knows even with this so called Dust Free Drywall sander, there is still a considerable amount of dust, but 90+ percent reduction in dust is better than none!

On top of this work, I managed the following in the shop over the weekend.

1. Hauled all the totes that don't belong, up into the attic. The giant pile of extension cords and adapters got into their own tote and jammed up into the attic next to the reindeer and that big fat elf that ticks me off every December 1...
2. Organized, or at least tried to organize all of the automotive stuff into one place, lawn and garden into another etc... I have so much more to do...
3. Swept, cleaned, blew off, and generally tidied the place up. Again, a bunch more to do!
4. Took apart the existing arrangement and installed the riser for the band saw dust collection / blast gate... Now the band saw dust collection blast gate is within easy reach, no back strain trying to get down to where it is... 
5. Cut and installed slats mounted between the spreaders of the workbench base. This has the unanticipated result of firming up the base and making this bench a LOT more pleasant to use. I would highly recommend anyone using the Get Started In Woodworking plan for the bench to add the base shelf, it REALLY helps!
6. Moved all of the handheld power tools from the miter saw station, and into the lower section of the workbench.
7. Came up with a materials list of what is needed to finish the dust hood / drop plumbing for the miter saw.
8. cleaned up the old silicone caulk off of the spare blast gates, got them ready for reuse...

My next steps are to....

1. Disassemble the miter saw dust hood, rebuild the side frames with ones that, well are sized right. 20" deep instead of 16. This was an embarassingly stupid mistake, but live and lear... 
2. cut extensions for the top to bring it a fully 20" deep as well. I will attach these with biscuits
3. Reassemble, including the replacement back panel. 20" should give me a couple of inches to set up an auxiliary fence to rig some stops onto... 
4. Disassemble the miter saw bench, and reglue the thing. Insuring it is square. Add 2x6 corner blocks to keep it square, and glue / mounting blocks for levelers. Probably just going to use bolts and Tee nuts for levelers. Not sure yet...
5. Install dust collection ducting through the inside of the miter saw station. Get everything plumbed through the side ready to make the turn up.
6. Reinstall / level / insure squareness of miter saw / mortiser station.
7. Complete the riser to the ceiling, and the across ceiling run for the dust collection, tie into the main trunk just before the turn down to the collector.
8. Complete and install the accessory drawers for the miter saw station.
9. Re-populate the base of the miter saw station..
10. Create bit trays for the router bits, and blade dividers for the saw blades. Migrate all of my table saw/ router accessories from the nasty tote and into the drawers.

Little bit of shop time. Got the narrow wall drywalled, mostly, and sized up / dry fit the band saw dust collection riser.

So while last night's dinner was cooking (I popped a pizza in the oven...) and my lovely bride was sorting laundry (I get to help fold woo hoo!) I managed to squeeze a little shop time in for a couple more steps toward done. First things first, I finished sizing up the patches, installing the bracing behind the drywall, and then installing / mudding the patches for the drywall... At least above the AC ducts.

Yes that pink thing is an old blanket that I have wrapped around the hot side line. 

I should mention that once I got that drywall up, and happy, the drafts stopped completely. The shop is notably better off for it too!  My task once this coat dries is to work in this confined space and smooth the mud flat, tape, and re-mud, sand etc... The space below that visible duct is virutally bereft of dryall (Yeah I was looking for a reason to use a fancy word...), I will have to do some extra careful measuring to insure I get it all lined up right, and then get the drywall in place, taped, mudded, sanded and lastly, paint the wall segment, including the part above the doors... Yes the whole interior of the shop is going bright semi gloss white. I am actually tempted to, when I get the attic stairs redone, and the ceiling re-rocked, I am tempted to paint the ceiling semi gloss white instead of flat. And even the flooring... Yes I am on a kick. And yes I am enjoying the effect the bright white has on visibility...

After sufficient gobs of drywall mud were applied, and the box of mud was sealed back up, I moved on tot he next issue. I am unhappy with my dust collection routing I did the other day already. Specifically I put the blast gate for the band saw FAR too low to be actually useful. Now my DC is split into 2 runs, an upper, and a lower. My lower run is literally run along the floor, and this is where the band saw gets is port from. I didn't want to tear it all out without having a replacement prepped, so I did so with a surplus used blast gate, and some extra fittings I had laying in boxes not to mention cut off pipe...

I failed to take before photos of the blast gate, but it was NASTY. I had gobs and gobs of both clear silicone, and white latex caulk stuck to it. I had to razor knife shave most of it off, then use a wire wheel on my Dremel to get the rest of the gunk off so the pipes would fit, but they do very nicely!

I use caulk to seal up my dust collection duct work, and sadly found that my spare tubes of Alex Plus (cheap) latex caulk had spilt and are uusable, I need to get to the hardware store and buy a new tube so that I can finish the job up But for now, the joint you see is simply sealed with HVAC tape.  

Each joint in the system is through drilled and a 1/2" long screw is run through to secure the joint from separating or rotating. I did not do this on my first time installation of the system and caused myself problems this should solve.

I have an early day today, so maybe, just maybe I can get into the shop, and start shoving non shop totes and coolers into the attic, and start ripping the plywood for the framing on my miter saw dust hood. Tomorrow is, as I am married, a non shop day, I get to take my lovely bride out somewhere nice. Why do they put Valentine's day during the worst weather of the year? Galveston is nasty in February. Too cold to go stroll the gulf beaches! But I digress, this weekend I will pick up the 1/8" acrylic, and some 1" wood screws, a box of pocket screws as I have no clue where mine went, and I will try to get this hood done. Knowing my luck, the hood will be all nice and solid, and I will be living with the out of square, wobbly bench for the next 2 years before I get around to getting it done!

Pondering what to do with the wall space between the garage door rails?

So my shop has double overhead doors, with a small hunk o wall between the two. The lower portion of the wall is where the ducts for the Air Conditioner route to the outside are. The upper portion is pretty much empty space. And on top of that, it is REALLY close to the drill press...

I apologize for the poor, far away photo of the space, it was the only one I could find when the muse whacked me in the head... This is pre-insulation and pre-drywall stage. The drywall is getting put up in place now, and I am having some serious long thoughts on what do do here...

I am seriously considering firmly attaching a 3/4" plywood backer to the studs, so I can put a screw pretty much anywhere, and just set up some shelves to hold my drilling stuff. Bit sets, jigs etc... That would be a great use of the space!

Another idea, this one a bit more intriguing, would be to build a small cabinet to go into this space to enclose these items. That would give me the practice I need at making raised panel doors for sure!

The items I need to store are...W

#1. Ryobi 19 piece SpeedLoad bit set.

#2. DeWalt 29 point pilot point bit set.

#3. Irwin SpeedBor Max auger bit set.

#4. Irwin SpeedBor spade bit set.

#5. Grizzly H7694 31 piece master Forstner bit set.

#6. Woodstock Large Saw Toothed Forstner Bit set.

#7. Pull out tray loaded dimensions 6x5.5x6 with large forstners, loose spade bits, countersinks, drilling countersinks, plug cutters, and self centering drill bits.

#8. Quick release hex shank extensions.

#9. General Pocket Screw Jig. (Considering upgrading to a Harbor Freight pocket hole jig).

#10. General doweling jig. (Considering upgrading to a Harbor Freight pocket hole jig).

I know I have far too many projects, and one of my proposed projects is to build a cabinet to straddle the base of the drill press to do the job I mention above plus hold the drills, but let's be honest here. I want to get this done NOW. Or at least soon. Not at some point in the future. But I also want it to look good, and help me build the skills. I have the material if I want to build it out of hardwoods, I am considering grabbing some 1/2" cabinet grade ply and having at that with hardwood (Pecan) trim and door... 

So do I do this fast and ugly, slower, but attractive, or MUCH slower, and much roomier, and not quite as attractive... 

Ugh, so many projects, so little time!

Very little shop time, but got some things done...

Due to the garage door tracks and brackets, I have to basically patch my drywall around those. I am basically doing my best at it, and honestly, I wouldn't have been inspired if it wasn't for the breeze that made its way through, somehow, the caulked seams on the siding, and through the gap between the butted studs.

Nothing I can do there to insulate that beyond...

#1. Take leftover partial tube of Alex Plus caulk, and caulk that seam between the butted studs.
#2. Sheet rock over the whole shebang to at least stop the drafts...

So I got at least the big part done. I know it is less than ideal, but I am patching this wall segment back together a piece at a time. It will be a good thing to just be done with all of this work!

I have one small section up top between the brackets that needs to be patched and of course the area around the AC ducts. Then tape, mud, sand, second coat mud, sand, paint... I don't expect much from this wall segment to be honest with you...

I have the design for the miter saw hood done, and the 3/4" ply set aside and ready to go. I do need to get some 1/2" ply for the top.

Tonight, if I can get time in there, I am planning on finishing up getting the wallboard patches in place, taping done, and the first coat of mud, then if time permits shove the camping / hunting stuff into the attic.

Miter Saw dust hood...

As decreed by my lovely bride, my next shop project, after cleaning things up that is, is I am to build a proper dust hood, and make the appropriate connections for my compound sliding miter saw.

As you might recall from my 2014 shop tour blog post, I have a Chicago Electric (Harbor Freight) 12" single bevel sliding compound miter saw fitted with a Freud Diablo 80T blade designed for sliders...

The saw is mounted on the miter saw / mortiser bench. and if you haven't experienced miter saw dust spewing, you are missing out! It is a disaster in the shop...

For the time being, I have been connecting my shop vac / Thien cyclone rig to the port on the saw, if you look closely you can see the 1.25  to 2.5"adaper installed on the saw. I just pop the the 2.5" hose into the fitting, and saw away, that is if I remember...

My intent here is to...

#1. Get a hose that fits snugly over the 1.25" port. It is the same size as a shop vac, shouldn't be too hard to do. I might have to get ad adapter bushing to connect two males or something stupid like that to make it work.
#2. Pull the miter saw / mortiser cabinet apart again and fix the glue problem, making absolutely certain it is SQUARE and SOLID this time... The old bottle of Titebond II is about to get washed out and recycled.
#3. Build a 3 sided frame of 3/4" x 1.5" wide plywood strips using pocket screws to hold it together, and top it off with a 1/2" plywood panel, relieved for the full articulation of the saw head and hose movement. Use a piece of 1/8" acrylic to form the curved back panel.
#4. Install the duct work in the cabinet, running the 1.25" hose down into the 4" duct getting vacuum from there.
#5. Mount it all up, level it, and connect to the ducting system.

So much to do on it, and no time for the next few days. Just got to squeeze in some design fine details where I can and then get after it!

Busy weekend working on the table saw, wall, and dust collection ducting.

Actually the title gives most of this post away, but here goes nothing...

I managed to get a few more test cuts on the table saw done, and blew out the remainder of the sawdust from the saw cabinet. Once done I reattached the side of the cabinet, and spent a quick trip to Home Depot for some bolts and washers after I failed to locate the bolts to hold on the extension table top... I got everything leveled up and tightened down. It is all looking good so far. In all honesty, I need to re-do my extension table. The hardboard top is separating from the plywood base, and there are some embarassing measurement errors in there! But it works well enough for now, I might try to figure out how to inject glue into the hardboard gap and then hold it together with something heavy, I have lots of that in the shop!

Next was to go onto the dust collection...

I started off by running the drop from the ceiling to the separator. This connects the table saw blade guard and the overhead port for the workbench to the separator. I had a false start on the drywall anchors, but finally managed to get it in there. I need to patch the ceiling now, but there are a LOT of places I need to do that...

I followed that up with running the lower duct. This time I went ahead and simply laid it on the floor, and used risers to get to the tools. I brought the duct to the band saw first since it is first on the way, and then went behind the water purifier system, and poked out behind to split off to the table saw.

Yes that run crosses the floor, but it is worth it to me.. I know a potential trip hazard, but I am aware of it, and work around it... The duct runs over to the lower end of the workbench, and actually runs UNDER the bench. I ran it this way to allow me to put the bench closer to the saw to act as more secure out feed with less of a chance of stuff falling off either the bench, or the saw into the gap between.

The riser for the table saw is split to a 2.5" and a 4", the 4" stays 4" all the way to the belly pan of the table saw. 

The next riser going down the powered wall is the one for the lathe, I have hooked it up to a simple dust hood made from a 4" floor register outlet. It works, reasonably well... 

The last riser is run, but no flex duct is connected. This is to go to the drill press, I just ran out of the hose clamps. As you can see from the photo, I need to attach hanger strap to the wall / around the pipe to keep it steady... 

I have only to finish the build of the dust hood for the miter saw, which is likely the largest dust offender in the shop, and figure out how to run a duct for it. I am figuring it will have to go overhead, and down the wall behind the library cabinet... I will need some more 4" S&D pipe and fittings to make this happen. Thankfully I have a couple of extra blast gates!

If you zoom in on my pics, or have a sharp eye, you can see I have effectively used set screws at each joint. I used Alex Plus white latex caulk on all the joints, and then drilled guide holes for screws, ran the screws in, backed them out, then hacked the screws down to 3/8" - 1/2" long with my Dremel cut off wheel... I then re ran the screws into the holes. This way the screws keeping things steady don't interfere with the air flow causing turbulence, or snagging stringy stuff from the jointer or planer. 

A seemingly small, but significant item I completed this weekend was I blew in the expanding foam insulation into the the previously open wall cavity between the garage doors, and started by putting the drywall patch in place, and measuring up for replacement drywall...  I like how tightly it seals up the wall cavity. I am half tempted to spend the extra bucks and cut out effectively access panels in the existing drywall, spraying in expanding foam, and patching the drywall with the cut out panels... Probably not going to fit the budget though. Most likely will end up blown in cellulose insulation due to cost, and ease of installation.

I am so painfully close to done in here I can taste the non shop projects... I am anxious. And I bet my wife is. I have a strip & stain to do on my kitchen as well as bathroom cabinets. And some temporary hardwood thresholds to transition from stained concrete to tile flooring... 

All in all a productive weekend, but could have gotten so much more done.

So my follow on projects to this need to be... (not necessarily in this order)

1. Finish fixing the sheet rock in the between the garage doors wall, smooth it out and paint it... 
2. Clean, clean, clean. Put stuff up where it belongs. That makes life in the shop so much nicer.
3. Put the totes of camping and hunting gear in the attic where it belongs. That includes the stray coolers.
4. De-rust, and then wax the tables on the band saw and jointer.
5. Finish the small shed / deck box design, build and get the lawn and garden stuff out of my shop!
6. Clear the lumber rack from all resident items, cut the access holes, and blow in cellulose insulation, patch and paint drywall. Re-stock lumber rack.
7. Disasemble the miter saw cabinet, and clean up the dadoes. Buy a pint of fresh glue, and glue that sucker back up, SQUARE. Using glue blocks and levelers, level this thing dead up.
8. Finish design, build, and installation of miter saw dust hood, make plumbing connections.
9. Finish building miter saw cabinet drawers, populate with planned table saw / router accessories. 
10. Finish prepping and installing extension block for the step area of the garage floor to support the freezer and move the freezer in.

Some thoughts on faith, hope, health, and woodworking…

While the subject hasn’t come up here yet, I make no secret of my Christian faith. My faith in Christ is without a doubt the biggest single thing in my life, a central point as it were. I have like so many others along with me, gotten unfocused from time to time. Every time I have lost my focus, God does something, or brings someone into my life, or allows someone to leave my life  to bring my focus back where it belongs.  I have had the blessing recently to have someone interesting wander into my life and that has inspired me to not only be a better woodworker, but to keep my mind on the things of God…

My health has, for over a decade seen a steady decline, in no small part due to inactivity. You see in October 2000, I was involved in a traffic accident in Houston Texas. I was in the left lane on the North freeway when the brand spanking new, paper tags on it and everything Chevy pickup lost the drivers side front wheel in front of me… I stopped, as did the rest of traffic, when traffic cleared, I checked to see if I was okay to change lanes and go on, and I waited for the Camaro to pass, then seeing the lane behind clear, I changed lanes. The guy in the Camaro stopped suddenly and I stopped… And the guy in the 1985 Pontiac Parisienne flying over the overpass, well… didn’t.

Mind you, I was no skinny puppy at the time, but I was no fatty either. I was 6’ 0” and 230lbs of mostly muscle. Flat stomach and all. While I was working an IT job, I was very physically active, and had just gotten into IT less than 2 years before, my prior job in college was a very physical lumber yard job…

So all 230lbs and 6’ 0” of me being shoved forward HARD managed to snap the seat back the back wall of the cab of my truck, and the front wall of the bed of the truck. To put it bluntly, I had my feet on the pedals still, but from my shoulers up, I was laying in the bed of my truck. I had glass stuck in my head from the back window, and my back hurt like the dickens…

I didn’t want to get hauled to Ben Taub and end up dead before a doctor saw me, so I got a rental car, and went to Clear Lake Regional Medical Center. The doctors got the glass out and stitched up the scalp. X rayed my back, gave me some pain killers and sent me on my way…

I should have gotten a second opinion… I have had back problems ever since then, making it painful to work out, or even enjoy the outdoor activities that I love so much…

Mind you, I have tried to get workouts in there, and I try to get outdoors for things like camping, fishing, and hunting as often as I can, but honestly, I have let the health issues get in the way. And working out just wasn't happening...

Well that in turn led to years of sedentary lifestyle. until I was prodded, very recently by a couple of major events. The first was the visit to the doctors office…

You see I have friends and family that have ended up diabetic due to weight issues, and I do NOT want to go there. But more importantly I endure a good deal of back and joint pain that is exacerbated by my excess weight. However the excersize that I need to do to lose this weight hurts too… And the weight I have packed on isn’t unsubstatial either… This has been an intolerable situation for quite some time now… But for some reason I have been putting up with it, not motivated enough, and lacking the faith in that area that God will see me through this.

I have recently been friended on one of my woodworking forums by a north Texas pastor that is a woodworker, and a cancer patient… And the stories he tells me have brought me no end of motivation. To know what he is going through with Chemo and all, and to see how he stays motivated, and endures what he has to go through with the amount of faith that he shows, it is truly inspiring. I am blessed to have this fellow cross my path.

I have been motivated to endure what I need to in order to get through those workouts, and get out to the shop and do what I can instead of putting it off. No more excuses, the tiem to knuckle down is now, I just need to stay focused on what really matters!

This blog entry is a long winded way of saying I think you should check out this guy’s blog series, “Woodworking For Therapy” on lumberjocks.com. Just maybe you will find that little extra bit of faith and motivation that has been eluding you!

My prayers are for Pastor Steve and his family as they go through his trials, and I hope and pray that I can stay as faithful and positive as he is. May I keep on track with the weight loss program and the workouts I have started. I have lost a good amount of weight so far, and I must admit some frustration as I have been perfectly good on the diet and workout yet I bumped up a tiny bit this week. But the jeans are fitting a little looser...

A concerning thought on U.S.A. made tools, or the lack thereof in manufacturing capacity.

As I look through my shop, I realize very little in the way of tools and equipment there is made in the U.S.A., mostly my older, pre 2000 stuff, and even some of that is China / Taiwan sourced. And it got me to thinking...

The Allies in World War 2 won the war in no small part due to American Industrial output. Simply stated, we were able to overwhelm the Axxis powers with tanks, guns, planes, bombs and whatnot to such an overwhelming degree...

Now fast forward 70 years.

Does the United States of America have the manufacturing capacity, and skill needed to win another large scale war like that? For example what would happen if China were to turn on the U.S.?

Just something to think about the next time you go out looking to buy that new tool. I know there are fewer and fewer U.S.A. made options, but wouldn't it be worth a few extra bucks to keep the jobs, and national security here?

Ryobi BT3100 table saw cutting out / bogging down BADLY during a cut. I found the cure!

At least for mine I should specify...

I have had intermittent problems with my Ryobi BT3100 dropping blade RPM, and nearly stalling for a while now. I spent some time troubleshooting the issue and here is what I found...

As many of you know, the OEM switch that One World Technologies supplied on the Ryobi BT3100 is prone to failure. This failure tends to be in the manner of failing closed, meaning the circuit stays on and the saw won't shut off until you unplug it. Mine was effectively losing power / shutting off, but perhaps my switch failed the other way?

The troubleshooting process went thusly.

#1. Bypass the switch by plugging the male stub directly into an extension cord, saw comes on and won't stop until unplugged. A VERY nerve racking experience by the way...
#2. Make my test cut. A piece of 3/4" Aracuo plywood about 18" long. Once the blade was fully surrounded by the workpiece, the saw bogged, I had to stop the feed rate until it picked back up...
#3. Turn off the side, remove the side panel and inspect all the wiring and connections between switch, side outlet thing, and saw motor. All looked good.
#4. I know I have newer brushes in there, and did not see dust in the brush bores when I installed them, so that wasn't an issue at that time, however I DID notice several of the vent slots were caked across with dust. I really didn't expect to get much out of it, but I figured it couldn't hurt, so I blew the motor casing out while installed on the saw, using my compressed air blow gun. The amount of dust that came flying out of the motor casing was downright scary. By the time the dust cloud from that operation dissipated I had recharged the compressor tank (29 gallons) twice. I am going to vac out the saw tonight and blow the case out again to get any stragglers...
#5. Re-test, this time with a different piece of ply scrap (I like my fingers.) This one about 14x12. Made 6 passes cutting 3/4" off per pass (yeah I had the guard off). No bogging. I then picked up a hunk of sort of square ish 1.5" pin oak (stormfall log, I was going to use it for a turning, but REALLY needed to test my saw with hardwood). The block was about 8" x 4" x1.5", and not nearly as impressive as it might sound, Again, no bogging, just the normal slowdown that happens when the motor goes from unloaded to loaded.

At this point I am completely satisfied the issue was the dust caking. I am a bit shocked at the amount of dust in my saw though. With VERY few exceptions, my saw has been operated at least by me, with the dust collection connected and running, seemingly capturing the dust well. I did however obtain this saw used. The prior owner, although the saw had been through a shop incident (fire) it did appear undamaged except for the fence, and that fence damage was seemingly limited to the handle. And I am pretty sure the original owner used dust collection on the saw since he is the one that fitted it with a belly pan and port.

I am wondering though, I necked the port on the belly pan down from the 4" the original owner had rigged, to a 2.5", so that I can split the 4" feed from the DC into the 2.5" belly pan and the 2.5" blade shroud. I am wondering if that was a mistake... Any thoughts? Should I have merely tee'd off the 2.5" to the shroud and kept the 4" all the way tot he belly pan? I might try that once I get dust collection ducting put back together. My Shark Guard upper port / blade guard is a 2.5" port and so I should be good to go for airflow down below. I am just concerned teeing off that 2.5" for the blade shroud will cause a drop in airflow to the belly pan, then again, that drop has to still provide more airflow than the 2.5" port can support..

Starting points. A look back at the workshop from February 2008.

So I ran across a post I made, my first shop tour as it was, on www.woodworkingtalk.com and I am shocked at how far I have come in the years since, especially when you consider all of the other time and financial constraints. All I can say is WOW this has changed quite a bit over the last few years!

For starters, My workbench was a simple Simpson Strong tie 2x4 and 3/4" sheathing grade plywood thing, with an ancient Ace Hardware 6" bench grinder, and an unknown MFG machinists vise that I still own, admittedly now cleaned up and painted a nice bright orange so it is easily visible... Storage was just wherever it ended up on the wall, and I had my canoe hanging from the shop ceiling because, well I needed it up off the floor!

None of this is the same now.

I still have the heater, parts bins, and Snap On clock though!

Just moved elsewhere...

My table saw back then, was a brand new Ryobi BTS21. I was stupid thinking this was the upgrade to the BT3100. While it was a very effective saw, and I did end up selling it to a friend for cheap money, he still uses it a LOT... But it isn't what I wanted... 

The BTS21 did feature a nice folding stand.

It was easy to set up and put to use!

The router table was a separate arrangement. A simple Wolfcraft table, actually the table and router were sold to the same friend. The router table, skil saw, Ryobi router, and Craftsman 6 piece bit set were actually the first woodworking tools I ever bought. I still have the Skil Saw. 

Router, and table set up to use.

The miter saw and stand I still have, but have it relegated to metal cutting duties and stashed away most of the time, is a Black and Decker Firestorm 10" non slider. It does cut VERY accurately, and has been reliable, however, it is a non slider, and it is made by Black and Decker, a company that has a now very tarnished name in the power tool space...

The miter saw and stand when new. They do work well.

My first feeble attempt at dust collection was a Shop Vac hangup model I bought from Lowes. The appeal here was the fact I could mount it on the wall space between the garage doors. Sadly with the puny 1.25" hose, actual air flow was hard to come by... I sold it on Craigslist. Honestly, If they sold one of these with a 2.5" hose, I would sell my Ridgid 12 gallon shop vac in a hot second...

While lacking in airflow,

the Shop Vac hangup IS space efficient!

From this point, I pretty much consider my start. I have bought, sold, and even given away various tools and fixtures over the years since this stage in my shop development. I have learned what I like, and what I don't care for. And I am reaching the point of shopvana... I am very blessed to have the facility I have, and the friends that I have that have helped me along the way... Thank you God for blessing me with this, and show me how to bless others through this gift!

Glue joint starvation and cabinets going out of square.

As seen previously in this blog, I built a workstation for my sliding miter saw, and mortiser. The design is set up so that the mortiser and miter saw tables act as outfeed supports for each other, and when set correctly outfeed from neither will contact the freezer door when closed. (No the freezer is not moved into the shop yet, although that is coming soon, and will be covered here. I need to get some PT lumber, mill it to dimension and liquid nails it to the concrete floor to create an extension for the stepped lip for the freezer to set on... But I digress back to the miter saw worksation!

I noted probably about 2 weeks ago while I was hustling up in the remodel that the cabinet, well looked funny. I checked things out with my drywall square and sure enough, the front corners were well out of square. But why?

Well, upon investigation by pulling the screws from the top on the left side, I was able to easily separate the joint. Glue starvation! Dang...

There are some design adjustments I want to do to this cabinet so that I can incorporate levelers to compensate for my unlevel / uneven floor, so this is going to be looked at as an opportunity. At this point the following changes are going to be made.

#1. Pull the miter saw cabinet section apart. Cut 1.5" from the overall height, Clean up the dadoes etc...
#2. Re-glue and screw this thing together, being generous with the glue. Who cares about squeeze out? I want strong joints not starved for glue!
#3. Install 3/4" leveler blocks to the corners, and install heavy duty levelers using thread inserts.
#4. Size up, cut and install a cross brace spanning from side to side across the front to be installed just below the drawers. 3/4" ply x whatever the width is (Don't recall off hand) x 1.5" tall. This is merely to keep the sides from bowing out over time.
#5. Build, and plumb the miter saw dust hood, connect to the dust collection network.

I have other more pressing shop, and non shop projects at this point, but this is NOT going to fix itself, so it is on the to do list.

My next shop, but yet not really shop project is going to be...

#1. Source up a PT 2x6. Cut it into 48" long segments and let it acclimate to the shop. Sadly I should have done this a year ago. This will be milled to make a total of 48" x 5" x 2.5" extension block to extend the riser lip of the garage floor. This will be attached to the floor using Liquid Nails for Construction, and allowed to cure. Once done this will be painted with gray epoxy paint, and the freezer finally moved into position.

And on the cleanup front, I have 2 full, large totes, and a 160qt ice chest that need to be cleaned up, and thrown up into the attic with the rest of my camping / hunting gear. I will be going over my 4x4, camping, fishing, hunting, etc... outdoors things at my other blog, http://wildersport-outdoors.blogspot.com I haven't posted over there in far too long, and it is high time I got busy with that one too!

Ladders hung, shelving installed, paint done, and look at what I found while cleaning!

So as you saw from my post yesterday, I managed to get the 6' ladder hung up out of the way so today it was time to drag the 10' ladder into the shop and hang it up so that it is finally out of the living room. I am done with it in there for at least 6 months...

Due to the cross braces getting in the way of the very top of the ladder, it actually takes a bit of work to get the thing onto the hooks, but it goes. I might add a chunk of 2x4 block to lower the front so that it will be easier to mount the ladder, but for now, it is there, and secure, just gotta sueeze it up there!

I didn't expect to hit the shop light,

but it just barely clears,

bumping a bit when you take it up and down.

I painted both wall segments I have been busy smoothing, and have gotten the shelving put into place, as well as the wall mounted plastic bins. I also moved around my hammers / mallets so that I only had one per peg hook to reduce stress on the peg board. Hasn't been an issue yet, just being proactive...

Overall I think it is coming together very nicely... It also gave me an opportunity to get my spraying equipment as well as sanding stuff in a location where it is easier to reach. All good stuff!

I also took the opportunity to pick the Ridgid sander up off the floor and put it on the tool stacker. I unfortunately was 1/2" shy of having enough room to get it to go in with the belt on, so I had to take that part off to make it all fit. But at least it fits...

All in all it's coming together...

And after a considerable amount of cleaning, I managed to find a few more tools under the mess, albeit some major HUGE tools, but they are finally accessible. Yes I am talking about the workbench and the table saw...

I KNEW there was a workbench there somewhere!

Yes the extension table is sitting loose. 

I took the bolts out for some unkown reason and am still looking for them!

I used the blow gun to blow it all off (which is why the air hose is just strewn on the floor!), I might have some work to do to the table saw. I think I have a switch or motor problem. It acts like it wants to shut off at odd moments... Good thing I have spares of both!

The last bits of work done in the shop today was to clean off the miter saw / mortiser bench, as well as finishing cutting the access holes for the spray in foam insulation for the narrow wall segment between the garage doors. I am now ready to spray and then close that wall back up! Cleaning the miter saw / mortisingt station took some doing as I have been using it without much in the way of dust collection, and it has been building up, a LOT... However I do have it clean now...

The miter saw bench is clean. If only it was square!

I have to tear it back down and re-glue it. I am thinking

the plywood sucked up all the glue and starved the joints.

The mortiser section of the cab is

completely square and hasn't racked. 

Next steps are to hook the dust collection back up, clean off the miter saw station and figure out dust collection for it, do the between doors wall, and move a certain freezer in... One piece at a time though! It will get done, just takes time...

Not much shop time, and a failed idea...

I had a little bit of shop time today, not a whole lot, but some.... In the meager moments I spent there I got some useful things done, and I discovered what I thought was going to be a good idea turn into a what was I thinking moment...

The not glamorous but productive time I spent was finishing the sanding to the drywall and caulking the gap between door trim and wallboard.Once the caulk sets up I should be ready to finish painting those two areas, and be done with that...

The failure, and it was a good idea at the time, was to use a Bicycle hanger hoist to pull my 6' ladder up to the ceiling and hang it tight. This was an utter, and complete failure. It hangs there, about 6" from the sheet rock, with the hooks dangling by the rails for the door. It was a good idea, but I failed to take into account the length of pulleys and hooks...

Not tight enough to the drywall. 

So I took a suggestion from a fellow member of Lumberjocks and utilized a simple pulley and eye bolt system using on hand materials, and whacked this thing together in literally 5 minutes. I simply pulley the top into place, run the rope across the bottom, fish it through the eye bolt pull it tight and tie it off to the ladder...

Not the most elegant solution, but it should work!

Tomorrow I have paint on the walls that have recently been worked, and insulation in the between garage doors wall to install. The insulation is going to be spray in expanding foam. That stuff takes 24 hours to cure, so I won't be able to even think about starting with the drywall until Monday after work... A little bit of remaining cleanup, organizing totes, reinstalling dust collection ducting and making the connections and I am DONE... At least with this phase of the remodel.

My next phase will involve taking the miter saw bench apart, fixing some design flaws, and using a LOT more glue in reassembly. And build the dust hood, finish up the drawers. And lastly pull everything off the non powered wall, patch the drywall, cut the holes for blow in insulation and do just that, blow in the insulation, patch, paint, re-hang what needs to be hung, and God willing put the non shop stuff in a yet to be built shed...

Once the DC ducting is back up, I should be able to start working non shop projects. While I have a lot of shop projects to do mind you, I NEED to get some house projects done. God willing I will be able to master building raised panel doors and drawer fronts, because my kitchen needs a face lift!

Divesting myself of my old ISP...

For years, and years, and years I have kept my Eathlink account, including the web hosting, so that I could maintain a constant web presence / email address etc...

I have decided that I am going to finally divest myself of that as Earthlink simply is unable to keep up with the changes in broadband in my market. I switched from Earthlink years ago, but maintained the web / email hosting. That is going to come to an end soon. I will be putting my interests online in Blogger format, as well as a few other various sites, and will be maintaining my Google / Gmail account as it seems consistent enough and not likely to change with the whim of whatever my ISP decides to do...

So please ignore my earlier post links to the earthlink pages, they are going away...

Workshop Tour 2014

Welcome to my shop tour for 2014!

I used to house my shop tour on one of the Woodworking Forums, but being as I admin a different one, some forums don't want others mentioned etc... It just got to be easier to post it here. I hope you enjoy the tour.

Those that have followed my writing in the past know I can go long winded, so I apologize for my lack of brevity, but I want to provide you with as much useful info as possible.

I have a definite plan for how I want the shop to eventually turn out, and I am getting there, the process has been slow, but I AM getting there.
so please bear with me, as we walk through starting at the man-door and working our way counter clockwise,
and inward so that we end up in the center of the shop.

The door is in what would be the right side as we enter, and immediately we see the safety and control center of the shop.

First Aid kit, fire extinguisher, thermometer, and remote controls for air conditioning and ambient air cleaner are mounted directly to the door. This insures easy access to shop environment control just as I come in the door.

Just above the top of the door frame on the right wall is a simple 18" deep 3/4 in shelf that holds various safety supplies such as respirators and spare cartridges in air tight plastic boxes, box of nitrile gloves, safety glasses, push sticks etc..
Also stowed on this shelf is a box of "Shop Rags In A Box" for various staining and cleaning duties.
The door and trim are waiting to be repainted bright white gloss for easy cleanup and good visibility.

Attached to the left of that shelf are simple spring clip tool handle clips that hold my 3/4" pipe clamps.
Directly below are a series of wall boxes and a pair of, well fancy towel bars for lack of a better term used for clamp storage.
The open wall boxes house my corner clamps, C clamps, and various work / acid type gloves.
A proper mobile clamp rack is in the design phase, but for now there are 2 simple 2x2 bars mounted to 2x4 cutoffs creating basically an overbuilt towel bar of sorts, these hold my collection of F bar clamps, and my mere 2 handscrews.
My quick clamps, and HF quick clamp clones are simply clamped to a piece of closet rod attached to the shelf bracket.

Looking up you see the Grizzly G0572 hanging air filter, and 6 2 tube T12 4 foot light fixtures.
T8 fixtures are in the future plans, but won't be upgraded to until I run out of T12 bulbs and I have several cases in the attic.

Yes I am aware there is dust on the output vent side

of the hanging air filter, That is what happens when

you forget to turn it ON when you sand drywall!

Otherwise it works great!

Next along the wall is a lumber rack consisting of Closetmaid heavy duty shelf standards screwed into the studs, and 18" brackets.
Not the most beautiful, but the stuff was on clearance at Lowes for less than $25.00 for everything...
Sheet goods for now simply lean up against the wall. A proper rolling lumber cart is yet another shop project on my TODO list.

Next is the area dedicated to Lawn and Garden storage. This will be emptied once I get a garden shed built.
The wall behind all of this has as of yet to be repaired, but is slated to be patched, drilled for blow in insulation, insulated, patched, and painted semi gloss white to insure maximum visibility. This is sthe sole remaining uninsualted wall.

Even with this wall uninsulated, the shop stays warm with minimal heating under the coldest conditions in coastal Texas. Haven't had an opportunity to test cooling under full load yet.

Turn left to the front wall, and you see between the gasketed and insulated garage doors a 13.5K BTU portable A/C unit.
The unit is through wall ducted using 5" dryver vents. The duct from the unit to the wall is insulated using an old fleece blanket for now.
Future plans is to replace the flex line with 5" insulated flex ducting I have leftover from a replacement project in the house.
When the temp dumps to the point we need heat instead of cooling, the job is done with a simple 1600 watt oil filled radiator heater.
The radiator works well, but doesn't cover all that well. I have to stir the air aroud with a box fan to get heat all the way around the shop.
I honestly want to go with a better heater but use it so rarely I don't worry too much about it.
The small stub piece of wall between the doors will be insulated with spray in foam insulation, and sheet rock repaired, then painted, you guessed it, semi gloss white.

Above the AC and hanging from between the door rails is my ladder hanger. I need to make arrangements for a second ladder and move the 6 footer off of here, and put the 10 footer in. Sorry for the mess in the photo, I have since cleaned it up!

Continuing we have a Northern Industrial floor model drill press fitted with a Harbor Freight mobile base.
I set the base wide to stabilize the press and so far it works great!
I am experiencing some sagging in the spreaders and need to redo it with actual hardwood instead of pine. Probably end up using some scrap oak.
I also have a shop made table on it which has been MUCH better than the Grizzly particle board junker I started with.

Turn to the left and he wall we are now travelling down now is what I call the powered wall, this is where most of the circuits live.
I have my 2 clamshell storage cabinets mounted just above the 4' height of the outlets. Below the cabinets is my Harbor Freight 12x36 lathe. The cabinets hold the majority of my hand tools, as well as fasteners such as pnuematic nails, staples, bolts, screws you name it...

The clamshell cabinets when I first re-hung them.

Clamshell cabinet loaded with

my Groz hand planes.

The lathe is fitted with a simple plywood shelf that holds my turning accessories.
I plan on building a base cabinet featuring a ballast compartment for 3 80lb concrete sacks, and drawers for my turning tools and chucks, as well a platform and disk to use the lathe as a disk sander. But that is future expansion.

Immediately to the left of the cabinets / lathe is what I call my tool stacker.
Set up similar to the lumber rack on the other side using heavy duty shelving standards and brackets,
I have simple 18x24 inch 3/4 plywood mount boards supporting my bench tools including Ridgid sander, bench top jointer,
planer, 8" grinder with Woverine jig, and scroll saw.

Clamshell cabinets, lathe, and tool stacker 

with bench top tools. 
The oscillating sander has since been put up!
I have to remove the belt from the sander to put it on here though.

Just to the left of the tool stacker, and above the reverse osmosis system tank is a couple of wall mounted open bins.
The house my extra peg board hooks, as well as. Well... tools for tools. the special spanners etc... for things like table saw, routers etc...
Not installed at the time of this writing, but likely to be within 48 hours is a simple set of 30" heavy duty standards, and brackets and some 24" wide shelves above the open bins.

The plastic open top bins, useful, but dirt magnets!

Next is the Harbor Freight 14 inch band saw. I have it fitted with a riser block kit, cool blocks, cobra coil,
a Grizzly quick tension release from a G0555, and a Craftsman fence. The fence is awful.
This too is on a Harbor Freight mobile base and is working fine.

The hot rodded Harbor Freight Band Saw.

Grizzly tension release in the release position.

Grizzly tension release in the set position.

Lastly on this wall is the Harbor Freight 2 HP dust collector fitted with a Wynn 35A spun bond filter,
 that is pulling through a 55 gallon Thien style separator with a side inlet. The duct work is split 5x4x4 using the HF wye, and feeding an upper,
 and a lower run. Blast gates are Lee Valley self cleaning aluminum models. It is all sealed up with 3M clear silicone adhesive caulk.
 The collector sits on a custom built, and very basic plywood and 2x4 scrap stand made from found woods that were tossed into my yard by Hurricane Ike.
 Chances re this was at one time somebodies roof...

Harbor Freight 2HP dust collector

Wynn 35A spun bond cartridge

Thien 55 gallon separator.

Turn left again and you see the Craftsman tool cabinet, with Proto chest. This is my storage for my mechanics tools, screwdrivers etc...
I purchased this new in 1991 to replace a small Snap On tool cabinet that ended up in a friends storage facility when they went bad on the rent...

Keep going down the wall and you will see hidden behind the big bench is the main air compressor. A Harbor Freight 29 gallon 2HP compressor.
I have had it almost 2 years and it has been a beast so far.

Harbor Freight 2HP 29 gallon compressor

tucked behind mortiser cabinet.

Note the mortising accessory holder built onto

the cabinet side.

The cabinet is a stepped arrangement holding my Harbor Freight mortising machine, and Harbor Freight 12 inch sliding compound miter saw such that the tables work together.
The section with the mortising machine has a tacked on holder for mortiser accessories, and shelves that hold finishes, strippers etc... It is simply a routed and drilled hunk of 2x4 that is screwed and glued on but boy does it work well!
The main section has a lower section that holds handheld power tools, routers, drills, saws etc...
And a series of drawers to hold saw and router accessories.

Old photo of incomplete cabinet, slider, and mortiser.

The cabinet went out of square as glue joints failed.

Working to rebuild that now...

Old photo of mortiser with custom clamp slotted table.

The bench this was on is now in a

friends garage doing automotive duty...

Above the cabinet mounted to the wall via a pair of heavy french cleats is a library cabinet built specifically to house manuals,
and woodworking publications.
Originally designed to be open storage, this cabinet is being converted to simple plywood doors to protect the contents.

Old photo of library cabinet. Ignore the bench setup

that has been changed, but the cab is pretty much the same.

On top of the Library cabinet is sanding, and finishing accessories including the small parts flocking box and gun, spray guns, etc...

Turn again to the left and now to the center of the shop, and you see the main workbench,
this is a modification of the Fine Woodworking magazine's Get Started in Woodworking bench, with the top built a full 6 feet instead of 5 long.
The height is matched to be 1/8" lower than my Ryobi BT3100 table saw and acts as an outfeed support.
It is fitted with a Central Forge 9 inch quick release vise. It works, but could be better.
This bench is slated to be redone as I am finding a good number of design features I don't care for.

Another old photo. The bench is the same, just the 

stuff under it changed. The planer and scroll saw are

on the tool stacker now.

Walk around the bench and you invariably run into the heart of the shop, a Ryobi BT3100 table saw, loaded up with the Wide Table kit, shop made wide table / router table top, shop built router fence, The foot adjusters have been set to completely level this thing off. It is HUGE,
I can crosscut a full 8' sheet of plywood without breaking it down with the circ saw before.
Underneath the extension wing is my 12 gallon shop vac, and 20 gallon Thien trash can cyclone separator.

The table saw. Yeah another old photo. Ignore the 

bench in the background. That is the one that left a while ago...

That pretty much is it for now. A constant spate of storage improvement projects is always in the works, so keep posted here.
I will be updating, often!