Making a mess and an outfeed table

Right now my shop is a total mess. I got some free foamboard insulation that I've been working on installing. This meant clearing a spot on the floor to stack the 4'x8' foam boards. Then moving everything away from the wall, cutting the foam into strips to fit between the studs, then moving everything around to get to another section of wall and repeating the process. The main result seems to be millions of tiny styrofoam balls all over the place.

I also slightly redid my end wall. Since I had to take down the shelf and corner cabinets to put in the insulation, I put back up a full sheet if pegboard above my shelf. I also started on my internal walls while I had everything down.  I am recycling pallets destined for the landfill for my interior walls.  I have a couple sources for about as many pallets as I want.  At a truckload of pallets each week, it is going to be a lot of work and take a long time, but it is free. This shop is a study in cheap construction!



 

Before I had made such a mess of the shop, I made a new stand for my table saw and an outfeed table. The standard under the saw has room for storage, but I don't know what kind of storage I want/need at this point. Drawers or a cabinet with doors. I'll decide eventually. The space under the outfeed table is perfect for my shop vac. I even incorporated a port for a shop vac connection for dust collection on the table saw. It kinda works.



 

 

 

I now have a working door handle and latch on my shop door. I had a screen door handle/latch that I had bought for my screened in porch and ended up not using. Being cheap and not wanting to buy anything, I decided I want to use it for my door.  The thing is, it's made for doors up to 2" thick and mine is 4" thick. So, for a while now, I've been just using the inside latch and opening the window and reaching in to open the door.

I looked high and low for the screws of the proper side/thread that were at least 4" long. No luck. So I contacted a friend I know that works in the fastener industry and he supplied me with some lengths of all-thread of the proper size/thread along with some dome nuts.

I used a bit of welding rod to span between the outside button and the inside latch.





Also built a lumber rack this weekend. Just some 2x4 and 1x4 arms screwed to the studs.





Unfortunately, I don't have any "nice" lumber of significant size. Just some pine boards, small cedar cut-offs, and pallet scraps. But, it definitely helped clear up some space.

That thing in the upper left corner is a genuine antique. Although I'm sure it's really a footboard, my grandparents used it for the headboard on the guest bed for longer than I can remember. I used it as the headboard for my son's first "big boy" bed after he outgrew the crib. I've been hanging on to it for a long time now with no use for it but too attached to it to get rid of it but no idea what to do with it. But one of those "picker" shows on TV (the one with the two women) gave me an idea for it. I'm going to attach a bench seat to it and it will become the back of the bench. I'll put it in the girls' room where I'm sure they'll cover it with stuffed animals. But it hangs nicely where it is for now.

Shop Layout Planning

I took a step back in my shop layout planning.  I read a few articles online (which I can't seem to find now to link back to) and went with the "graph paper and scale cutouts" process.  I outlined my shop dimensions on a sheet of graph paper, and cut out scale representations of the major tools that take up floor space.  That includes my table saw, jointer, three Shopsmiths (one of which is a dedicated drill press) and the router table I mentioned in the last post.  Although I don't have them yet, I also cut out scale representations of a workbench and outfeed table.  I didn't even account for a dust collector and air compressor.  I hope to keep those outside the shop and run the appropriate hoses inside.

Conclusion:  I don't have enough room.  Or maybe I have too many Shopsmiths.  Nah, I just don't have enough room. 

Well, I do have enough room, I just need to figure out the best use of it. 

For one thing, the router table will either have to be a bench-top design that can be pulled out for use and stored (under my existing counter, workbench, or outfeed table) when not in use.  Or, I need to integrate it into another existing table such as a wing of the table saw or in the outfeed table or workbench.  I've been hesitant to do this because what if a setup I don't want to undo on one interferes with a cut I need to make on the other?  But I have the three Shopsmiths so with the proper planning and tool usage, this shouldn't be a problem.

Another idea is to make one of the Shopsmith 10ERs (The Black Baron) into a short shorty.  A "shorty" Shopsmith is one that has had the tubes cut shorter (typically about 18") but still long enough that the carriage and table will fit.  (A "mini" Shopsmith has had the tubes cut so short that only the headstock will fit on the tubes and is used just to power SPTs like the bandsaw or jointer.)  This still gives it room for the carriage and table.  It can still be tilted into drill press mode.  I could never cut the older, heavier, thicker, and more rare 10ER tubes so I would swap them out with the Mark 5 and cut it's tubes for use on the 10ER and make it a shorty.  Then I would put it on a short bench that would roll under the center section of the shelf I built against the back wall.  Hence a "short shorty."  That should free up some floor space, but I've only envisioned this in my head - I haven't gone out to the shop and measured everything to see how this idea might work.

Router table

I have so much storage and shelving and fixtures to build and organizing to be done that it's rather intimidating at times.  It was much easier in my old garage-based "shop" where I had acquired things gradually and found homes for them as they were acquired and just shuffled a couple things around as needed.  This "throw everything in the shop, then organize it" approach I've taken is a lot more difficult.  I'm paying for my earlier lack of patience and now spend a lot of time in the shop just standing around looking at everything trying to figure out what I'm going to do with it.

I tried to focus this past weekend on building some shelves for the things I was unboxing so I would at least have a place to put everything where I could see it so I could better plan additional shelving/storage as well as my tools and materials needs.  But I did stop to build a router table top.  Just the top for now, at the risk of getting ahead of myself.  I haven't decided yet if the router table will take its own floor space, or a bench-top design that I will clamp to my workbench (which I still don't have) when I need to use it.  Although, the more I've thought about it, I think a bench-top design will make the best use of the limited space I have.

I took a lot of inspiration from Kevin Brady and his router table he built using a Shopsmith drum sander/shaper fence which he documented here.  I used the top off of an instructional multi-media cart.  It is MDF with a Formica top on it.

Instead of t-nuts, I re-used the self-tapping screw-in threaded inserts that were already on the underside of the top (for mounting it to the steel cabinet it was used with).  But I did drill a through hole and screw them in from the underside like Kevin did.



I messed up a little when I was routing the rabbet for the router plate.  There are a couple of jagged, uneven edges, and the corners are a different radius, but the router plate still sits tight and flush with the top.  I did not add a miter gauge slot.  I can clamp featherboards to the table and can push stock through with a square block behind it and/or push blocks/sticks. 



I made a few test cuts with the table top sitting on a trash can.  Dust collection is going to be an issue I'll have to work out, but other than that, it works great.  The Shopsmith fence gives a lot of flexibility.  Future improvements will be larger fence faces, bolts with knobs on them to make moving/removing the fence easier, and of course dust collection.

Building My Workshop Part 11

Originally posted on Shopsmith Forums on 1/18/2012


After the kids were in bed tonight, and we watched Storage Wars and my wife was getting ready for bed, I sought her permission to go work in my shop some. I think she understands I'm like a kid with a new toy right now, so she gave her permission with the stipulation I not stay up too late.

I hope 1:00am doesn't count as "too late. "

But I did get the big shelf completed.



I screwed a 1x6 to the studs across the back wall, then screwed a 2x4 to opposite studs on he right and left walls and added some 2x4 legs. Then I squared and cut to length the studs I prepared earlier. I used a rubber mallet to knock them tight together alternating the end grain direction. I only put one nail in each board to allow for movement. Then I screwed a 1x6 to the front 2x4 placing it so the the top edge of the 1x6 was even with the top surface of the planks. I also added a small strip that was ripped off of the 1x6 to the back of the shelf to keep small parts from falling behind it.



It's not dead flat or perfectly smooth, but that isn't necessary here. It looks like it is not level, but my 4' level says otherwise. I think it is an optical illusion caused by the slat board that the tin is screwed to not being parallel to the floor. But it is very solid. I hopped up and sat on it and it didn't move. And at least I have a place to start getting stuff off the floor and start sorting stuff.

Building My Workshop Part 10

Originally posted on Shopsmith Forums on 1/17/2012

GREAT progress yesterday. Although, as typical, not as much as I would have liked. But great progress anyway!

This is my 8'x10' storage shed that I had everything crammed in to:



My main toolbox and a few power tools like my drill, circular saw, etc. has been accessible - once I move the air compressor. I haven't seen most of what's in that shed for over a year now! Unpacking the shed was like playing Jenga... pull out the wrong piece and the whole thing might come falling down!

And here's everything put in the new workshop. Nothing has been sorted or put in any kind of permanent place. Just brought it and put wherever there was a spot for it.



Here's an old friend I haven't seen in a long time and look forward to getting re-acquainted with!



Three of my four Shopsmiths. Another 10ER is disassembled with parts scattered around the shop (but mostly in the corner to the right of that bench grinder). I may end up giving that one to my dad once I get it cleaned up and put back together.



Nothing is organized yet, but I have everything out of storage and I'm well on my way!

First order of business is to build a shelf/counter/work area against the back wall. This will extend 2' from the wall and extend across the entire back wall. I'll probably add some shelves under it on either end, leaving the middle open so I can sit there with a stool or chair. I'll add some shelves above it on either end as well with maybe a pegboard above it between the shelves for hanging tools.

No time to do alignments on my machines - I've got to get to work on shelves so I can get organized! And this isn't really "woodworking" but "carpentry" so woodworking level of accuracy isn't required.

I was having too much fun making sawdust to stop and take pictures. My shelf/counter/work area will be 2"x4" supports and 1"x6" planks for the surface. I cut lengths of rough cut 1"x6" lumber to roughly 25" long (just using a circular saw), then used light passes on the planer to get them flat and consistent in thickness. This brought them down to about 15/16". Then I jointed one edge on the jointer, and ripped the other side parallel on my Craftsman table saw. I decided to use tongue and groove joinery between boards. I've never cut tongue and groove before, but this was a stunning success!

I wanted to use my Craftsman wobble dado (which I use when there is no benefit to using my stacked dado set over the wobble) on my Mark 5 to cut the tongues. But before I could do that, I had to make a dado insert. This was also my first attempt at making table inserts. It took me a few minutes of thinking and planning and a couple false starts to figure out the best way to go about making them.

My bandsaw is out of commission (just before I had to pack everything up for the move, I accidentally started the Mark 5 on a high speed with it attached to the bandsaw and the old tires were slung off the wheels in several pieces - scary learning experience!), so used the planer to plane a couple pieces of oak (?) to the right thickness. Then used my Craftsman table saw to rip them to the right width. I didn't measure anything - just set them on a flat surface with the existing insert to judge thickness, then used the existing insert to set the fence width on the table saw. I used the disc sander on a 10ER to round the ends.

Then I used the Mark 5 as an overhead router (along with the shaper/drum sander fence) to route the lip around the edge of the underside. Again, I just used an existing insert to set the depth and width of cut. Finally I used the Mark 5 in drill press mode to drill and countersink the screw holes. I made two inserts as I was going in case I messed one of them up. I figured if both survived, it wouldn't hurt to have that extra one anyway.



I then installed an insert, mounted the dado blade to the Mark 5, clamped a board over the insert, and slowly lowered the table onto the blade until I had the depth I wanted. Raised the table, added the sacrificial fence and adjusted it to the width I wanted then lowered the table back down to make the cut into the sacrificial fence. Width and depth of cut was just eyeballed. I don't know what the best practice is, but I wanted the tongue to be about 1/3 the thickness of the board. So I eyeballed a couple marks on the edge of a board and used that to set the blade height.

To cut the grooves, I used my Craftsman table saw. Again, no measurement. I used one of my boards to set the fence so the outer edge of the blade was even with the outer edge of the tongue and made some test cuts. Run a board through, flip it around and run it again, clean out any strip in the middle with my pocket knife, and see how the tongue fit the groove. A couple of tiny adjustments and I had a nice snug fit.



With the planks done (except cut to final length) I started framing out the platform they would sit on. I didn't get far with that until it was time for supper and my workday was done. All said, I think that was great progress but I would have loved if I could have gotten that shelf/work area finished.

Not a bad day! I got to use my planer, jointer, table saw, Mark 5 (dado, router, drill press) 10ER (disc sander). I did some things I've never done before (tongue and groove, custom zero clearance inserts). I made a lot of sawdust and made great progress on my first shelf/counter thingy!

I meant to add that I was concerned with rust on the machines after being in that storage shed for over a year. Before I packed everything up, I put a good thick coat of Johnson's Past Wax on everything cast iron and on the Shopsmith tubes and then just left it there. No buffing it off. I had hoped that would protect the surfaces against rust and it looks like it did the job. The worst cases of new rust I could find were on the quill feed handles and the table tilt lock handle on the 10ER. Easily cleaned. Some of the arbors have some slight surface rust spots, but I'm not too concerned about that.

Building My Workshop Part 9

Originally posted on Shopsmith Forums on 1/16/2012

Beautiful weather and a three day weekend!

Had my 21-year high school reunion Friday night so we stayed the night at my parents. That gave me a late start Saturday, but I did manage to get a lot of the wiring done. I got my new breaker box mounted and the feed wires connected and got the lights wired. Like I said I would do, I put outlets on the ceiling to plug the lights in to. That was all the daylight I had.

Today I wired as many outlets as I could before I ran out of wire. Then I tied the electrical in to the breaker box on my utility pole. That pole has the meter and under that is a big breaker box and from there it feeds the house and the AC unit on different circuits. I put in a double 50amp breaker in that box for the shop.



Also as I mentioned (I think in the first post of this thread) I'm using the breaker as the light switch. I was concerned about doing that after JPG's warning. But I had also asked what the SWD stamped on my breakers meant. I've since learned that means the breaker is rated for switching duty, so I stuck with my plan.

Then I got everything cleaned up again and almost got everything moved from the 8"x10" storage shed to the shop. I'm off tomorrow and will finish moving things over, finalize some layout ideas, and hopefully start building some shelves and getting things arranged.

I brought back this old wood burning stove from my dad's. I was thinking I might use it to get through this winter, but at this point I'm no sure it will be necessary. It just hasn't been cold enough. But I think I might do a full restoration on it before I give it back to him. He might could use it in one of his shop extensions.



I have a lot of sentimental value in this stove. Dad got it when I was a kid (and it was old then) to heat our house. We were quite poor, living in a little trailer house. Someone we went to church with gave it to my dad. I helped Dad build a brick hearth to place it on. Then I spent many Saturdays out with dad cutting trees and chopping wood for the winter. And many cold winter nights enjoying the results of that hard work.

Building My Workshop Part 8

Originally posted on Shopsmith Forums on 1/10/2012

It rained pretty heavy yesterday and last night, so that gave me the chance to check my roof for leaks. I only had 3 which wasn't as bad as I had feared. One was an old hole I completely overlooked when I was plugging them. The second was a lap screw that wasn't sealing - it probably stripped out when I put it in. The third is going to take some more investigation. The seam between two overlapping pieces of tin was wet along the whole seam. Water was running down the seam, then coming to a point where it was dripping. I've got buckets set up and have everything marked (from the inside). When everything dries I can silicone those first two and investigate the 3rd.

Building My Workshop Part 7

Originally posted on Shopsmith Forums on 1/8/12

The wife got home giving me enough daylight to get my lights hung and about 6 outlet boxes nailed to studs. I went with the cheap 48" florescent shop lights. I just like that light and absolutely hate the CFL bulbs and don't ever want to be forced to use them where I can avoid it. If I could swap out all the fixtures in my house to avoid CFLs I would do it.

The shop lights have cords with plugs instead of being directly wired. I briefly contemplated cutting the plug off and splicing them in to the wiring. But I quickly decided the smarter thing to do would be to put an outlet on the ceiling to plug them in to. And now I can at least plug one of he lights into an extension cord until I get the wiring done.

And I adjusted the floor plan at least another 6 times while I was hanging the lights.

Building My Workshop Part 6

Originally posted on Shopsmith Forums on 1/2/2012

I forgot to mention that I did add 6 more blocks along each side. Treated lumber cutoffs on concrete pads. I used my motorcycle jack to lift the building a hair at each blocking point to place the blocks.

It's a good thing I don't do this for a living. It took me all day just to build a crummy door!

My father-in-law gave me three old windows. Two small ones and a big one ("big" being 36" square). I decided to put the small ones on the side walls, and the big one in the door. Why the door? I wanted the big window on that end since it faces the house. But I didn't want to take up more wall space than the door was already taking up.

I framed out the door then held it in place with wedges. I concentrated the wedges to hold up the side opposite the hinge knowing it would sag a little. With it held firmly in place, I put on three heavy duty hinges and set the window. I tested the swing and it was nice and smooth and had no tendency to swing itself open or closed when I let go.

I wedged it back in place and cut the tin and screwed it on. There wasn't much sagging at all when I removed the wedges and the door was still as smooth as could be.







That used tin with all the holes and discoloration and rust spots makes it look like a 100 year old hillbilly shack, but for the price I can't complain!

I'm not nearly as far along as I had hoped to be at this point. I had 2 weeks off from work and had hoped to be all done and moved in by now. As it is, I still need to run electrical, install lighting, build shelves, finish sealing gaps, and a ton more. I have to go back on work tomorrow, so progress will be slow for a while. But I'm well on my way and very happy to have what I have.

Building My Workshop Part 5

Originally posted on Shopsmith Forums on 1/1/2012

I'm a bit late on the progress updates. I was lucky enough to get my dad's help 3 days in a row this week. The first day, as previously mentioned, we got the walls framed and rafters ready to be nailed down.

The second day it seemed like we didn't make as much progress. We got the rafters nailed down, the "bird boards" cut and nailed in, and the tin on the roof.



Then next day we got the rest of the tin siding on, ran electrical feed wire from the pole/meter/breaker box to the workshop (but not tied in at either end yet). Dad's help and guidance was invaluable!





The next day (Friday) I had to go into town and by the time I got back into only had enough time to put some silicone in all the holes in the old tin on the roof.

Saturday we had to run into town again that morning and had a New Years party to go to that evening (an early family friendly one). Between that, I put silicone in the holes in the walls, put a few more screws in the tin, and used up the 4 cans of Great Stuff I had filling gaps (think I need about 10 more cans!).

Building My Workshop Part 4

Originally posted on Shopsmith Forums on 12/27/2011


The rain broke and my dad came out today and we made some great progress. Got all the walls framed and all the ceiling joists cut. He's coming back tomorrow and we should finish getting the rafters nailed down and all the tin on. Then I'll just have electricity, shelves, unpacking the storage, etc.

Building My Workshop Part 3

 Originally posted on Shopsmith Forums on 12/23/2011

 Got the floor done today. The Shopsmith legs/tubes will become a miter gauge/planer stand. I couldn't help going ahead and setting it on there to start getting a feel for potential layouts.



More rain on the way, so I covered it with a tarp and I'm done until after Christmas.

Building My Workshop Part 2

Originally posted on Shopsmith Forums on 12/22/2011

Between the rain and having to go into work on my days off (was supposed to be off all this and next week, but had to work Saturday, Monday, and Tuesday and it rained Sunday, and today, so Wednesday has been the only day I've had to work on it) I got the sub floor finished.

For braces between the floor joists, I used landscape timbers. My father-in-law's other son-in-law's mom works for a timber company and they get bundles of those timbers really cheap. He brought a bundle to my FIL a while back and they have just been sitting there under a tarp since. I was afraid I might run short of 2x lumber, so I asked and was told I could use as many landscape timbers as I wanted. I think it took 24 and I barely dented the stack.

I set up a little jig with my miter saw.



144 of those...



By the time I got to the end it was too dark to take a picture (I had to have my wife hold a flashlight so I could drive my last few nails) so that one was from when I took a break about half way through.

Hopefully the rain will stop and I can finish the floor tomorrow.

Building My Workshop Part 1

Originally posted on Shopsmith Forums on 12/11/2011

It rained all last weekend so I started the build this weekend.

Got the skids down, blocked, and leveled.



Since this is all rough cut lumber, every floor joist had to go through the table saw twice to get two (mostly) straight sides and get them all to a consistent width. I borrowed the little table saw from my father-in-law. The old picnic table made a good outfeed table.



Then the ends had to be squared up and the boards cut to length. My helper had to stop and take a nap in the sunshine while I did this.



All ready to start laying out the floor joists.



I put down the first and last joist, measured front to back and diagonally to get them squared. Then I ran a string line from front to back on each side to guide the lateral placement of each joist. I cut a length of 2x4 to guide the spacing between each joist placing them 16" apart on centers.



I put on the side pieces, then had just enough daylight left to clean up.



Happy with the progress, but wish I could have made it a little further. I plan on putting 2x4s every 16" between the floor joists making a torsion box. I had hoped to get that done today too, but just didn't make it. It will be well over a week before I can do any more work.

This Blog

I'm starting this blog to document the building of my workshop and some of the things I do there. This is mostly for my own use, but if others stumble upon it and find it interesting, I'm fine with that.

Some of these posts first appeared on other forums such as http://www.shopsmith.net/forums or Lumberjocks.