Around the same time I begain the planning for my new shop, I started using “igoogle” for my browser homepage. I also discovered a couple cool “craigslist” widgets for igoogle that display search results for preconfigured searches on your homepage. So, for example, if I’m considering the purchase of, say, a new dust collector, I’ll add a craigslist “dust collector” search widget to my igoogle homepage. Since I basically live online weekdays it’s unlikely I wouldn’t catch a new relevant post within, say, the first hour of it being posted. This is how I got my rather old but very competent 3HP 2100CFM dust collector for $225.
This is also how I found my latest workshop addition: A Grizzly G1066 24″ Dual Drum Sander for $400. Brand new these machines run about $1,500 delivered. Now the machine I got is not even remotely new — the copyright on the original manual (yeah, the seller had the original manual) is dated 1992 and the “Grizzly” logo is an older variety — but the insides were all there and it runs beautifully. Included with the machine were 2 new 150 grit rolls and 1 new/1 half used 100 grit roll of sandpaper. Considering these cost >$40 each, I figure I actually paid less than $300 for the actual machine. I consider this a very good deal, indeed.
Heavyweight
Finding the machine was the easy part. Since this machine weighs in at over 400lbs., getting it home and in place was a bigger challenge. I was lucky that the seller had a couple pretty big guys pickup up some other equipment a the same time as I. The 4 of us (seller, two “big guys” and me) basically muscled the thing into the back of my minivan. I nearly passed out on the last push and am fairly certain that, were anyone looking, they’d have seen my eyes bulging out of their sockets. I’m not kidding. Fortunately, lowering it out of the van, with the help of my brother-in-law and a couple of his football-player sons turned out to be a bit easier than I’d feared…and my load-in ramp for the shop easily supported the weight. It was in!
Power
When designing the shop, I saw fit to have a total of (4) 240V circuits installed. Two 15A and two 20A. One is for the dust collector, a second for my Grizzly 17″ bandsaw. This leaves one 15 and one 20A circuit available. The 5HP motor on this monster demands 240V @25A minimum. This meant installing a new dedicated 240V/30A circuit in the shop. Since I already had the 10ga. wire on hand, the expense was minimal (some 1/2 conduit and a breaker) and in about 2 hours yesterday afternoon I installed the new line.
Test Run
Much of the comments I’ve read on drum sanders dealt with frustrations over either burning wood like cherry, or tracking issues. These left me a bit apprehensive about what I would encounter when using this tool. I decided to track down a current owner if I could and solicit some advice. Based on some of his prior posts, it appeared that a fellow “Lumberjock” (Todd A. Clippinger) who’s work I’ve admired (and partially ripped off) had at one time owned this exact model. Todd took the time to provide me with a weath of information that I was able to put to immediate use. (Thanks!) So, after loading up the drums, per Todd, with some new 100 (front roller) and 150 (rear roller) grit, I picked up the first >9″ (minimum length per docs) piece of scrap I had at hand — a ~6″W x ~10″ long piece of cherry. I fired up the dust collector (a must) and then the machine and ran this piece through, cranking up the table until the piece just made contact with the drums. It was a beautiful sound and after multiple passes without any burn or apparent strain on the machine, I eyed the cherry and walnut side panels I’d recently completed for my current project.
Beautiful! A few passes and the joints were dead flush and looking gorgeous. I’m hooked!
Did I mention how I love craigslist?
UPDATE: Todd responds here with some additional helpful information and photos.
My original design for the shop included multiple compressed air outlets scattered about the shop. At the heart of this system would be a 60gal Ingersol-Rand 2-stage compressor providing at least 15 SCFM@90psi. Now months later, I’ve significantly revised and downgraded my plans. Part of it was financial, but most of it was a realization that all that I really needed was to be able to use my nail guns without the hassle of dragging out the compressor every time and tripping over hose.
Retractable Air Hose
To that end, I revised my plans and settled on a much simpler setup. I would put my existing 17gal Husky in the crawlspace below the shop, and run a hose through the floor next to my main assembly table. To this I would attach a combination regulator/filter/oiler and a retractable hose. This is precisely what I did.
The air filter/oiler unit is a $20 special from Harbor Freight…well, I got it for $20. It was down to $15 last time I checked…sigh. Unfortunately it only occurred to me after I had purchased the filter unit that I don’t really want an oiler. While most of the time I’ll be using a nail gun, I do occasionally wish to use the air hose to blow off the shavings from a piece in progress and I doubt that misting it with tool oil would be very good for the finish. I’ve mounted the unit anyway and plan to keep the oiler empty. Perhaps someday I’ll move this device to another location on a separate hose and reserve it specifically for tool use. Or maybe not.
The hose reel was $30 for 20ft. It was the cheapest I’ve seen and while not as “industrial” as some of the more expensive units, I kinda preferred the compact size and appearance of this one. It also included a swivel mount. It works great right now…hopefully the mechanism will prove more reliable than the price would imply. We’ll see.
Automatic Drain Valve
Another Harbor Freight special. The plan was to locate the compressor in the crawl space, accessed via a trap door in the floor. Draining it regularly via the drain cock would be somewhat of a hassle. What I needed was an automatic drain. Thankfully I found this site in about 5 minutes of research pointing to a product from Harbor Freight. It was fairly straightforward to install — except that the inner diameter of the hose running from the unloader valve to the pressure switch on my compressor was too small for the included fittings. I ultimately wound up buying a different fitting which suffered from the same issue — but was setup in a such a way that I was able to coax the hose over the inner brass piece by applying a bit of heat. A bit of sanding of the outer tube was also required to get the connector attached to the tee. It was a bit of a chore, but ultimately I managed to get it all to work. And just like the author of the site above, my new drain cock valve was no good…so I also replaced it with a part from HD. The thing about the drain is that it only opens when the compressor starts and shuts off. So I can either leave the compressor on so that it “tops off” periodically (thereby activating the drain) or program the switch it’s on (see my other posts re: Insteon) to run it for a few minutes each day and give it a chance to drain any condensation.
Vertical Sheet-goods Pen
Finally, after filling the compressor, I used my new hose and old air nailers to build a 9′ tall x 30″ wide x 36″ deep vertical sheet goods pen just outside the shop door and install some cheap pre-primed moulding around the pen face and shop doors.
This is the start of my next big project:the Garage Remodel.
Over the past month I found very little contiguous time to make progress on the shop setup. Consequently I never felt like I had made significant enough progress in any given week to warrant a new post. While I’m still quite some distance from the finish line, I finally feel like I can actually say, once again, “I have a shop!”
Dust Collection Controls
I installed a half-dozen doorbell buttons around the shop, under bench tops near power tools, on the wall by the bandsaw and underneath the tablesaw fence next to the power switch. I installed a couple power outlets in the crawl space under the shop for the controller as well as my air compressor which I located in a corner of the crawl. I also programmed the air filter as I discussed in my last post to automatically switch on with the dust collector and off 2 minutes after the collector is switched off. I’m extremely pleased with how this has worked out.
Supplies Organized & Remaining Tools Installed
I finally managed to commit to drawer assignments for my tools and supplies. For the most part the drawers are logically organized, though a few of them are temporary “catch-alls” waiting for the day when I complete the upper cabinets. I enlisted the aid of my brother, sister-in-law and nephew to help wheel the 17″ Grizzly bandsaw up a ramp and into the shop. This turned out to be not as difficult as I’d feared it would be. I also unboxed the Ridgid oscillating sander I’d purchased nearly 3 months ago and connected both to the dust collection drops installed previously. All the tools are in!
Clamp Racks
Following some quick research at my favorite site, I assembled and mounted some clamp racks for my rather modest pipe, parallel and bar clamp collection. I still have a number of spring and “C” clamps to hang, but I’m satisfied with the arrangement for now.
A Number of Tasks Remain
No matter how much I manage to accomplish, the list never really seems to get any shorter. Some tasks that remain are setting up dust collection for my router table and building an overarm blade guard for the table saw. The router table will require installing some kind of enclosure around the hanging router…which will take some time to devise. I’m also working on a design for a tall thin “drawer” to fill the 2 spaces in the RAS cabinet. These opening are roughly 36″ tall by only 9″ wide. I’m thinking that I’ll create a sliding angled vertical panels in one to hold router bits and a vertical pull-out panel in the other for miter/RAS/table/circular saw blade storage. Next steps also include major improvements to the “large piece assembly area” — which my wife insists upon calling a “garage.” Improvements include an updated lumber rack and sheet goods pen as well as some custom cabinets for “non-wood-related” storage…though I can’t imagine what that might be.
The bottom line is that I’m just about ready to get back to spending at least some time working “in” the shop instead of “on” the shop! Hooray!
After completing my dust collection system installation, I turned to my air cleaner, the Delta 50-875. I had decided to install it just above my table saw — about 2/3rd’s of the way along the wall, where the intake would be in line with the front door and the outfeed inline with the ceiling mounted vent fan. After reading “Woodshop Dust Control” this seemed like the ideal placement and this location had the added benefit of not obscuring any usable wall space — which is at a premium in my small shop.
An Awkward Arrangement
One of the selling points of this unit is the built-in infrared remote control that allows you to install it out of reach and control it from below. The problem is that the remote sensor is in the back of the unit. While the unit location is ideal for air flow, it’s rather awkward for IR control as I’d need to walk around to the back of the unit, and to a “far” corner of the shop, to turn it on/off. I’ve always thought that what I really wanted to do was to control it with a switched outlet. The problem with that scenario is that the control panel built into the unit is solid state and doesn’t “remember” the settings when you unplug the unit. That is, if you turn it on and then switch off the outlet it’s plugged into, when you switch the outlet back on, the air cleaner will remain “off” until you again manually press the “on” key on the unit or the remote control.
So, there was no way to make this happen…or was there? I reasoned that since it’s just an electric motor and a control panel, certainly there would be a way to re-wire the unit, bypassing the built-in solid-state controls so that I could hook to a switched outlet.
Exploration
The air cleaner itself is pretty basic. It’s a rectangular metal box with a blower motor/fan in a housing, and a control panel. The motor and control panel are both mounted on the back panel which is simply screwed into the metal box. Once the backpanel assembly, including the blower was removed, I began the process of working out exactly what needed to be done to re-wire the motor. Fortunately, the motor wiring connects to wires from the controller through a nylon connector that, once unplugged provided an easy means of measuring various voltages and resistance. As I knew nothing about wiring AC motors, I began the process with a google search…many of them. Unfortunately, none provided me with anything that I could really use to definitively determine how this motor worked. In fact, I was left with more questions than I’d had originally…who knew there were so many types of AC motors! Initially, as there were 3 colored wires (Red, Blue and Black) and one White (clearly “common”), I assumed there were 3 windings and each color represented one of the 3 speeds that the unit boasts. Based on what I’d read, however, I was now concerned that the large-ish capacitor on the red wire indicated that I might have a “capacitor start” motor which would require something more complicated than simply applying voltage to one of the wires. Perhaps an electrical engineer, at this point, would have provided me a definitive way to check this out…but there weren’t any in my shop, so I tried a different tack.
I reasoned that the best way to reverse engineer this setup was to hook up each of the colored wires in turn to my volt meter — using white for common — and turn the unit on, cycle through the various speed settings and note the voltages. This did the trick. Here are the measured results:
wire
slow
medium
fast
RED
121V
9V
9V
BLUE
9V
121V
9V
BLACK
14V
14V
121V
Clearly this was going to be as straight-forward as I had first hoped! Red = slow, blue = medium and black = fast. That’s all there was to it!
Let the hacking begin…
Now I was ready to start. In thinking through exactly how I wanted to wire this up, I realized that I might want to have the ability to change the speed at some point without opening the unit up. I also figured it would be pretty simple to install a switch that would basically allow me to “undo” this hack and use the unit as nature, and the Chinese factory had intended without having to un-hang and re-open the unit. The solution was a couple toggle switches. Since there’s an Ace hardware store right up the street from my office, I decided to stop by at lunch and see what they had. I was looking for a SP3T rotary switch that would allow me to cycle through all three speeds — but the only one they had was rated at 4A max. The fuse mounted in the control panel is rated at 5A, so I figured this switch wouldn’t do. The next closest was a SPDT switch, center off — and two speeds seemed “close enough.” For the “hack bypass” switch, I got a DPDT. While it seemed like it should be sufficient to switch only the “hot” wire, since I was going to essentially be supplying power to the output of the controller when using the hack (see drawing), I was concerned that a closed common connection might allow a circuit to complete and result in “who knows what”(tm) happening. So, I decided the safest thing to do would be to simply switch both common and hot.
The plan
Here’s a basic drawing of what was done:
Moving forward
So the whole point of this modification was to allow me to control the unit by a switched outlet. The switched outlet is managed by an Insteon SwitchLinc which will allow for event-driven activation, such as turning on and off automatically with tools and/or the dust collection unit and wireless RF remote control via an X10 keychain remote. I’ll be refining the programming over the coming weeks/months.
If you read my last post you might recall how I decided to purchase an X10 “Powerflash Interface” to test out as a controller for my dust collector. My skepticism about how the unit worked turned out to be well-founded. The Powerflash device sends an X10 “on” signal when 6-18VDC is applied to the contacts — but once the voltage is removed, the unit immediately sends an “off” signal. What I was looking for was a way to use a single momentary switch to toggle the collector on and off…so that won’t do. In fact, the plan was to mount multiple doorbell-style pushbuttons around the shop and have it wired so that I didn’t have to turn the unit off at the same station where I turned it on. Since the Powerflash unit didn’t support this, I set out to basically build my own.
I’m not an electrical engineer and couldn’t design a circuit to do what I wanted, but I had no trouble finding a few options online. As a kid I used to quite literally spend hours loitering at my local Radio Shack store and would frequently spend what money I had on their “Engineer’s Notebooks” and specialty ICs to tinker with. So while I don’t fully understand the specifics of the circuits, it wasn’t much trouble reading the schematics or assembling the circuit. Of the three circuits I found online, my local Radio Shack store only stocked all of the required parts for one of them. This was, naturally, the most complicated one. It is succinctly if not aptly named Alternating ON-OFF Switch, #2.
A big box of parts…
After a couple after-work evenings, the “DustBunny 3000″ was born…
Hooked up to the “Powerflash” for testing…
Labeled and plugged into the volt meter showing ~4.74vdc on the output
And here’s the video demonstration of the system in action:
I’ve been dying to start stowing my tools away in the newly built shop cabinets — getting them both organized and out of the garage where they’re making it difficult to keep the car. The last remaining obstacle is finishing the countertops. Not that I couldn’t finish them with the drawers full…but some time ago I noted that while the tops were individually level, they weren’t perfectly in the same plane with each other. If they’re not properly aligned, I’ll have a heck of a time using my compound miter saw accurately. Therefore, until I remedied the situation, the drawers needed to remain empty and easy to maneuver. This weekend was my chance.
T-Track
Once they were properly aligned I routed a 3/4″ wide x 1/2″ deep dado in the tops 16″ from the wall to accept a mini t-track. I had originally planned to use the blue stuff that Rockler sells — but I live much closer to a Woodcraft. Turns out that the only track Woodcraft carries that matches these dimensions is the siginficantly more expensive Incra stuff. Now, you’re probably thinking: Why didn’t he buy the track first and then route the dado to fit? The simple truth is I had neglected to order the stuff in advance (bad planning) and I didn’t want to stop working to head out to the store and the only track I had on hand was a length of the Rockler stuff. I also was actually planning to head to Rockler until google maps reminded me just how long a drive it was…2 hours round trip not counting shopping time would have put too big a dent into my limited time. I ultimately decided to spend the extra bucks for the Incra track rather than wait for a delivery from Rockler. This turned out to be a good move. The Incra stuff is simply better…and for one single reason: the track leaves a space for the mounting screws. My regular mini-track can be a bit annoying to work with since the screws fit into a small countersink…and if you’re even a hair off alignment of the screw, the head will protrude from the surface and at the very least provide an occasional snag as you’re adjusting your stop block. Incra solves this by giving the screws their own space by milling little ledges on the sides above the screw heads for the guides to ride on. The screws can stand proud of the bottom without a snag. Simple but elegant and worth the extra $$.
Jointer Dust Port
One of the items I had left ’til now was hooking up the dust collection to my Ridgid 6″ jointer. The jointer lives under the countertop in the middle of the wall. I cut a hole in the back corner of the top and continued the run under the counter. I installed the blast gate at a convenient spot just above the counter.
CMS Dust Collection
Collection from my DeWalt 706 CMS was a bigger unknown. When setting up the PVC lines, I set a 4″ drop with blast gate just off center of the saw on the wall behind it. As I started to work out the details, I realized that I’d have to offset the pipe a bit more. The reason was that I wanted to have a hose hooked up to the built-in dust collection port installed in the “throat” of the saw…but I knew from past experience that this wouldn’t be sufficient, so I also was planning to build a venturi-box to collect from a wider area just behind the saw. The problem is that the hose sticking out of the back of the saw presses in pretty low at the back, making it impossible to run a pipe straight down from behind. Thankfully I didn’t use any glue in connecting the PVC, so moving the drop roughly 6″ to the right was fairly straightforward. At this point I’ve got the 1-1/2″ hose hooked up to the saw and a 4″ open pipe waiting to be hooked up to the yet-to-be-built venturi box. Next weekend, maybe?
Remote Control
This is still a work in progress — and if you’ve read this far and have had any experience at all, I very much welcome your suggestions/recommendations/comments. No where is this more true than with my emerging remote control setup. The dust collector is plugged into a 240V 20A Leviton X10-enabled outlet. I use Insteon for the majority of lighting controllers in my house and for the most part I love it. I decided to extend this into the shop. Unfortunately, at the time of this writing, there was no Insteon version of the 240v oulet. As Insteon is X-10 compatible, I decided to try it. I was unable to find much information/discussion online regarding using X-10 for dust collection, though I seem to recall reading a comment somewhere where someone indicated that it was less than reliable. This doesn’t surprise me as I’ve read quite a bit about the unreliability of X-10, and in fact have experienced it first hand in my setup where I’ve been forced to use it. Undeterred (or crazy), I decided to forge ahead anyway. Early on I had considered a blast-gate operated system like the Long Ranger or JDS system. It certain is an elegant solution, but the thing is I wasn’t sure I wanted to be forced to close all the gates in order to turn off the system…though there is clearly an advantage in that you’d know when a gate was inadvertantly left open. Anyway, I still wasn’t sold and have thought that what I’d really prefer is a bunch of discrete momentary switches placed strategically around the shop - a single switch that I could press once to turn on and then again on any of them to turn it off again. After some searching and a brief chat with a Smarthome employee, I decided to try an X10 Universal Module. It’s still not clear to me that “mode 3″ will actually do what I want - I’m very skeptical - but the Smarthome guy said it would and for $26, I’m willing to give it a try. I also picked up an X-10 keychain remote. In the meantime, I’ve programmed one of the buttons on my main shop KeypadLinc to control collector and have also plugged in an extra X10 controller I happened to have gathering dust in a corner. I guess it’s still gathering dust, just in a very different way!
OK, so maybe not exactly a “monster,” but the old Woodtek 3HP double-bag dust collector I bought sure does sound like one…and appears to live up to its 2100CFM (free-air) rating.
I’ve finally finished the main duct work runs and over the weekend I cut the hole from the shop into the external “dust collection closet” and ran the 6″ main through. As I had feared, the dust collector argued mightily against being confined in such cramped quarters. The closet is <30" deep and ~60" wide with a standard 36"x80" door. The two-bag collector simply wouldn't make the tight turn through the doorway. Fortunately I'd half suspected this would be the case and was already mentally prepared for the situation...which likely saved my neighbors an earful.
The solution: disassembly.
I removed the upper-half, post-fan section that holds the bags to the blower and then removed the lower half, including the motor from the base. I’d already purchased a length of 6″ flexible hose that I’d planned to use to join the collector to the 6″ S&D piping…figuring that it would likely be a rather convoluted angle and possibly too tight a fit for a hard plastic 90-degree elbow. By mounting the base directly to the floor of the closet, I also gained an additional couple inches - making it now possible to use rigid fittings. Ultimately the hookup turned out to be “do-able” using rigid piping as well, eliminating the need for the rather pricey 6″ flexible hose. Anybody need any 6″ hose.
Though I don’t have any tools for measuring CFM or static pressure, my quick test sweeping some sawdust piles into the floor sweep at the very furthest end of the longest/narrowest run and hearing the swooooosh as the debris found its way swiftly into the waiting collection bags was enough to convince me that the system should do just fine. I’m hoping to do a test using the planer tonight — if it can keep up with the 13″ planer, it should have no trouble with the other tools.
My one real disappointment is with the on/off mechanism. I outfitted the 240v 20A circuit with an X10-controllable outlet and programmed the “D” button (for “Dust collection” of course) to send the appropriate on/off commands. It worked the first couple times I tried it, turning the collector on and off as expected. However, the third time I tried using the second keypad (linked to the first) and this time…nothing. I went back to the first and tried it a few more times. Again, nothing. I recall reading some forum posts (don’t recall where) by some unhappy woodworkers/X10 enthusiasts complaining about the poor reliability of X10 — specifically in the context of dust collection systems. I was planning on purchasing a “Long Ranger” or similar system and using a combination of manual switches and blast-gate mounted microswitches in the future…apparently this will need to happen a bit sooner than I’d anticipated.
As usual, the entire installation process — well, the indoor portions at least — was covered by my trusty D-Link wireless cameras. Here’s the finished video:
UPDATE: Last night I completed the “planer†test as planned. I hooked up my Rigid 13†planer to a port at the end of the run and took some fairly decent passes on a 9†piece of poplar. The dust shroud was empty. I opened a couple other blast gates and repeated the test. Still clear. Looks like this “monster†will do the job!
Not “green” in the environmental sense, mind you…but green in a very literal sense. I’ve spent literally months planning out most of the details of my new shop, since before they broke ground. One of the features I was most anxious to include that I was unable to have in my shared garage space was an honest-to-goodness central dust collection system. One of the earliest decisions I needed to make: metal or plastic?
Metal of Plastic?
I first read Sandor Nagyszalanczy’s oft recommended book “Woodshop Dust Control” where he makes a strong argument against the use of plastic PVC piping for ductwork citing the risk of explosions that could ruin your day/shop/life/etc. After reading this book it was clear to me that metal was the only way to go. That was, until I began researching actually purchasing the stuff. Expensive. What’s more, the stuff they sell at the “Big Box” stores is too thin…so the only real way to do this with metal ducting, beyond finding a local supplier (which I was unable to do) is to meticulously plot out the whole thing and place one big order to have shipped to the shop. While I’m no stranger to meticulous planning, I’ve never setup a dust collection system before and was not 100% sure I could plot this out perfectly without actually attempting to fit some pieces together first. In fact, I was pretty darn certain that I couldn’t plan this out to the last screw in advance of ordering the materials. I just knew I’d get half-way done with the install and either change my mind or realize I needed some other type of fitting(s) to finish the job. Without a local supplier, I’d be forced to place an order — likely a small one — and incur additional shipping charges and delays. Time’s too much of a premium to lose an entire day because I can’t get what I need. This realization sent me searching for alternatives.
It didn’t take long for me to find some interesting forum discussions online…but the clincher for me was this extremely well-crafted article. The upshot of reading this article was that I was now certain that I would definitely use the cheaper/easier-to-find S&D PVC piping for my system. Fortunately or Un- I was now also paranoid about what I could appreciate was the most dangerous aspect of my dust collection system — a smoldering fire in a collection bag. (Mental note: daily emptying of the bags is a must. But I digress…)
A bit of searching locally initially indicated that my local “Big Box” stores carried only up to 4″ diameter piping. My basic math says that I’d really be better off using a minimum of 5″ ducting for the main run. As S&D pipes aren’t offered in 5″, I opted for the next size up…which, as I mentioned, I was unable to locate locally. That is, until an unrelated and rare trip to Menards where I discovered all the 6″ and 4″ fittings and pipe I would ever need. Excellent.
Goin’ Green
Menards stocks their PVC piping in an outdoor lumber yard. This meant that I placed an order off a sheet with a nice picture of white 6″ PVC pipe listed as ASTM 2729 S&D. When I got into the yard, however, the pipe was actually the green stuff..ASTM 3034/SDR35. The Menards product number on the sticker on the pipe and the label on the bin matched my receipt, so I’m not sure if there was a mistake in their inventory or their labeling…or if they for some reason sell the 3034 and 2729 interchangably (seems unlikely), but I didn’t see the 2729 anywhere so I figured I’d use the somewhat heavier, green 3034 that I had paid for rather than start the hunt over again. I purchased a few 10′ lengths of the 4″ thin white stuff from Lowes as well figuring I’d at least have white drops.
Fittings
I purchased my blast gates and quick disconnect fittings from my local Woodcraft store and started the assembly. What I discovered during the assembly was that the thicker-walled SDR35 was a significantly snugger fit for the pipe fittings. Also, while a special coupling is required to attach the blast gates to 2729, they fit perfectly in the green stuff. So, while the 2729 is a bit cheaper and much lighter, I save money overall with the SDR35 since there are no adapters needed to fit the blast gates to the pipes. Serendipity.
Assembly continues apace. I’m currently roughly 50% complete with the core installation, that is the main 6″ line is 80% complete and half the drops are essentially in. I still need to build the hoods for the RAS and CMS and work out the details of the fittings for the router table, which will likely take more time than the assembly time to date. I’ve still got the two cameras capturing the process and have been sure to move them as needed as there’s no one position that can capture even most of the shop. Editing of the time-lapse is ongoing and I will be posting the completed video when the job is done, natch.
I’m not what you would call a “neat freak.” However, I do try to keep things generally organized and find it near impossible to work in a cluttered shop. Not only do I find it technically difficult to work in an unorganized mess - I find it hopelessly depressing as well. Consequently, when the shop is cluttered I will typically avoid doing any woodworking until the mess is resolved.Keeping the shop organized is especially difficult when the thing you’re working on is the shop itself. For the past couple months our garage and the new shop space has been a jumble of scraps of lumber and sheet goods, plastic bins of random hand tools, power tools, hardware, etc. somewhat haphazardly-arrange throughout. Need a hammer? Time to go routing through the bins. Double-stick tape? I just knowit’s here somewhere. Not fun. Coupled with the scarcity of available “shop time” and basically nothing hasbeen done since Thanksgiving.
To turn this untenable situation around I took a week-long vacation from my real job beginning January 7th. As luck would have it, this happened to coincide with a major “January thaw” with temperatures soaring into the 50’s and 60’s early in the week. After spending a day cleaning out the garage and setting up a temporary table to somewhat organize my tools/supplies, I set out to complete the job. First priority was the cabinetry. I had completed the carcasses and counter tops in November but hadn’t even planned the drawers. Drawers. After spending way too much time agonizing over their arrangement (do I make 3 or 4 drawers in this bay? One very deep or 2 shallower?) I settled on a design and slapped together some boxes out of 3/4″ ply and pocket screws. Not very “fine” I know, but I’d prefer to just get the shop done and get down to business on pieces bound for the house! Ply banded with 3/16″ maple bullnose serve as drawer fronts. After that I installed the ceiling-mounted speakers, running the wire through the 2″ PVC I ran before the walls were finished. I also ran RG-6 and Cat 5e cable to the 4 boxes placed around the shop, patching the works together, neatly, in the crawl space before hooking up a home run back to my communications panel in the main basement.
While I frequently use Google SketchUp to design my projects, I find that working things out on a whiteboard can be extremely helpful in the shop. I frequently use a whiteboard for my cut-list — writing large enough to be visible across the room. The one from the old shop is roughly 18″ x 36″. For the new shop, I wanted something a bit bigger, but “real” dry erase boards can be rather pricey. A quick google search turned up this page http://wiki.xtronics.com/index.php/Shower_Board_as_a_white_Board. For $10 plus some scrap pine I was able to build my own custom board for the shop. I installed a 4′x4′ sheet in the middle of the back wall and still have 1/2 sheet left for future uses. Lastly, I installed the TV on a wall-mount (for NYW and Woodworks, natch!) and moved the metal paint cabinet into place beside the slop sink.
As usual the process was covered by a couple web cams and I’ve edited together a brief time lapse…I only wish I could have completed the actual work in only 5 minutes.
Note: The angle of the cameras, properties of the lighting and advanced image compression may make it appear to the untrained observer that my hair is a bit thinner at the top. I assure you this is merely an optical illusion.
Over the long holiday weekend I only managed to sneak in roughly a day and a half of work on the shop. Between Friday afternoon and Saturday I secured the base cabinets, assembled the “floating” top for the DeWalt 706 miter saw, and built the three countertops. Not too bad considering the time.
Over the years I’ve made many bone-headed mistakes.
Cut a piece too short because I “knew” the measure and didn’t feel the need to consult the drawings I spent hours preparing. Put a dado at the wrong height, the wrong length, or worse, the wrong side! Glue a part on backwards. I’m not quite old enough to say “I’ve made them all,” but by now I’ve definitely made my fair share of them. And while I tend to make fewer and fewer mistakes as time goes by…and thankfully don’t typically make the same mistake more than once (OK…maybe a couple times)…there’s usually at least something that requires special attention (repair, “design-around” or re-do) in just about every project.
This one’s unfortunately no exception.
A few months back, while visiting my folks in Florida, I read a magazine review for something I just had to have. I was so concerned I’d forget about this miracle device that I immediately went online and surrendered $40. It’s called the Wixey Digital Angle Gauge. This is incredibly cool - due to both it’s utility and utter simplicity. Place it on the tool’s table, zero out the measure and then place it on the blade to verify/adjust the angle. Quick, easy, AWESOME! That is, when you actually use it.
This past Saturday I began my day in the shop (after helping my wife with the kids’ breakfast, of course) by cutting out the various parts for the new 22′ long cabinets/work bench/miter saw fence for the shop. After lunch, it was time for assembly. I had cut dadoes for the cabinet bottoms and tops and was looking forward to the satisfaction of dry-assembling the pieces and lightly “banging them home” with a mallet. Things were going swimmingly until I went to attach the top supports. The top was nearly 1″ wider than the bottom!
How could this be???
After some choice words and a bit of grumbling I decided to have a closer look at my tools…and noticed the blade on the table saw read some 2-3 degrees off 90…which led to cabinet bottoms angling the walls a bit beyond their intended target. With the glue already curing and available time short, I decided to basically force the sides square and call it a bench. Truthfully, as mistakes go this one’s not too awful — there’s enough play in the dadoes to allow for the readjustment — but hopefully this will serve as a reminder to verify the dang blade angle before starting a new project; even when it looks 90 degrees.
Oh, and by the way…I also managed to assemble the right-most cabinet mirror-image to the design with the wider drawer compartment closest to the right-hand wall. No matter…I’ll just tell people I planned it that way.
This weekend marked the beginning of the “load in” process. With Grandma and Grandpa in for the weekend, the kids were well occupied and I had the time to finally start to finish the shop addition.
On Friday evening I finished the loft underside — and did my typical lousy job of taping/plastering the seams. “Hat’s off” to the pros who do drywall for a living…someday I hope to get it right.
On Saturday, I needed to pay a visit to my local Woodcraft store in Woodridge. They were having a “tent sale” this weekend. I’ve been eying a cast iron router table extension for some time now. I was aware of two — one from Bench Dog and another from Peachtree Woodworking Supply. While the Peachtree version was significantly cheaper ($219 vs. $325), I was a bit hesitant about it as I was unable to actually see it and there were no online reviews available. From photos online it was clearly a different product from the Bench Dog version, though I’m guessing that they’re both imported from Chinese factories. In any event, Woodcraft had the Bench Dog ProMax listed as “no longer carried” on their website, so deep down I was hopeful that they might have a floor model or clearance package at the store that I might get at a good price.
After trolling the aisles for nearly an hour, picking up ~$30 worth of small accessories, I made a second swing past their closeout table and noticed something I hadn’t seen earlier — on the floor behind and underneath the closeout table — a Bench Dog ProMax wrapped in cellophane! Awesome. Apparently this was the floor model detached from a demo saw that was sold the previous day. After some brief discussion with the manager and then the “boss” (aka my wife Suzy), it was mine for $255!
The best part is how easy it was to install.
Not being a metal worker, nor having cut any metal denser than aluminum in many many years, I was concerned that I wouldn’t be able to properly drill holes in the cast iron top if needed. Turns out that a) I only needed to drill one hole through the front to attach the fence and b) it was not an issue. The holes in the table lined up perfectly with the saw top and it took almost no effort (even alone) to get the top flushed and tightened. Beautiful. While they say you don’t have to attach the front edge to the fence rail, I figured it couldn’t hurt. So I drilled a hole for the bolt - first 1/4″ starter, then a 5/16″ to finish size.
I then removed the wooden wing from the other side of the table and drilled 5 holes in the cast iron so that I could mount the old left wing in its place. I now have a full 60″ of cast iron top and no sagging melamine extension. I’m sure the extra weight won’t hurt either.
I then installed the track lighting and extension cord reels under the loft and got about as organized as possible to prepare for the construction of the cabinetry that will act as both storage and a shared miter saw/radial arm saw counter top and fence. Since I was getting no where visualizing the cabinetry required for these saws — even using SketchUp — I decided the only thing to do was to simply move them into the shop, test and fine tune their locations as best as possible, and take measurements from there. With some help from my neighbor Wilson (seriously) I was able to load in the jointer, miter and radial arm saw. I now have them positioned where (I think/hope) they’ll best be used and have begun the process of creating the detailed construction drawings for the cabinets/counter top.
Considering my available free time, I’m hopeful I’ll be ready to build/install drawers within two weeks!
OK, so the inspections went well — though it took 3 visits from the inspector. Mostly little stuff — but Jay promptly dealt with all of the issues and we finally made it.I’m now working on getting the shop “in shape” before moving all of the tools in. This includes building a 4′ x 14′ loft 7′ 6″ from the floor at the far end. I ran conduit and wiring for (2) ceiling mounted cord reels and a track light. I still need to tape and plaster the seams and screws before I can paint it and mount the extension cords and lights.
A couple weeks ago I picked up a used (circa ‘89) WoodTek 2100CFM dust collector from a guy in Indiana for $200 (Craiglist is very cool). The first thing I did was replace the power cord — which is a good thing as the ground wire had apparently become disconnected.
Last weekend I extended some of the “old shop” (a.k.a - the garage) power into the addition. I ran (1) 20A 120v, (1) 240v 15A and (1) 240v 20A circuit into the room. The 240/15 is for the tablesaw and/or bandsaw. The 240v/20A is temporarily being used with the dust collector — I plan to keep it in the shop while I build the cabinetry and fixtures. After the cabinets are complete I will be running duct work so that I can move it to its permanent home in the street-facing “closet” in the front of the shop. I’ve also installed a smoke/CO detector in the shop as well…should make it a bit easier to sleep at night after a late night in the shop.
Today I’ve decided to build an overarm blade guard/dust collector for the table saw as well. So the next steps are - complete the loft “ceiling,” build the overarm collector, build the cabinetry and workbenches.
Considering my limited amount of “free” time, I suspect this will take me through the end of the year and a bit into 2008 before I move the rest of the stationary tools in. Then there’s the shelving/upper cabinets, drawers, etc to do before the small power and hand tools are organized. This could take a while!
Tomorrow is the final electrical/plumbing inspection. Provided everything passes, I plan to begin work on the interior on Sunday. (My wife’s birthday is Saturday so I’m taking the kids while she has a “spa day”.)
I’ve been reading “the Workbench Book” by Scott Landis and plan to read Ron Schleining’s “The Workbench” based on recommendations on Amazon and elsewhere, and my head is swimming with ideas for finishing the interior. At this point I have a pretty decent handle on the cabinetry for the long wall - opposite the fireplace - where the radial arm and DeWalt 706 miter saw will live and share a fence/stop system.
I build a lot of case goods and am frequently drilling shelf ping holes, routing dadoes for shelving, installing hardwood drawer glides, etc in substantial plywood panels. In the past I’ve used “back-to-back” straight-edge clamps to hold these on the workbench. I also enjoy cutting my own custom veneers. Therefore, I’m also thinking about building a rolling assembly table/veneer press that will live behind the table saw, underneath a flip-up outfeed table. I’m thinking the outfeed table will hinge on the fireplace wall (actually attached to the bricks) and flip upwards to reveal the assembly table which may also be wheeled around to make more room. In my head, this table is roughly 3′ x 6′ and features two full-width end vises, one on each 3′ end, along with a row of bench dog holes on both the front and back edge for clamping the wide stock.
I’ll post the plans for those once the drawings are complete.
In the meantime, I’ve finished the time lapse video of the exterior construction…from breaking ground through landscape repair. I may make some additional edits in the future…maybe make a 3-4 minute version (this one’s ~6mins. long). But at least for now…here it is:
I spent this past weekend installing Knotty Pine tongue and groove paneling in the new woodshop. As with the floors, I cut costs on materials by purchasing the “value line” stuff (offcuts, etc.) However, unlike the flooring, this stuff was awesome! When they said that most of the pieces were 3′ - 8′ long, they weren’t lying — in fact, there were far more 8′ pieces than I expected and though I tried to stagger my usage, I ended up running out of the smaller pieces before I was done. The 1′ - 4′ pieces were simply more convenient to handle when cutting out notches for doors, outlets, ceiling peaks, etc. This is good stuff and I highly recommend these guys.
The only real downside was that FedEx freight from Michigan cost nearly 50% of the cost of the lumber itself…however it was *still* comparable in price to buying the crap T&G paneling they sell at Menards or The Home Depot. In fact, I was a bit concerned that I would run out near the end and went to HD to buy a piece or two of theirs to use in an unseen area. Not only didn’t it match, it was just plain bad stuff…full of checks and dings and just not very attractive. I wound up buying a couple 8′ pine boards and milled a bevel top and bottom to match the look. I wound up with 2 8′ pieces left over after using 3 of the “mock” T&G boards.
Did I mention that I didn’t have to discard a single piece of of the paneling…or cut around any defects? Honestly…it was all good.
It was a very busy Labor Day weekend. On Saturday I began the process of installing 300sq ft. of “utility grade” Oak hardwood flooring from Lumber Liquidators. This stuff is only $.89 sq. ft. — and for good reason. Much of it was under 10″ in length (many pieces significantly less). There were numerous pieces that were improperly milled, missing tongues, missing grooves, etc. I originally purchased 330 sq. ft of the stuff, but upon further reflection decided that I should have purchased less utility grade stuff - maybe closer to 250sq. ft. and maybe 100sq. ft. of good stuff (select Red Oak). I ultimately wound up buying around 60sq. ft. of select Red Oak so that I’d have at least a few long pieces to weave in periodically. Inserting the occasional 8′ long piece after working with tons of 6″ pieces also served as a morale boost - speeding up completion of that row significantly.
All things considered, I probably saved less than $200 in materials. However, I actually prefer the “patchwork” look for a workshop floor and it will definitely be easier to stomach the occasional inevitable incident that results in nicks, scratches and potentially gouges in the hardwood.
The next question is: How do I finish the floor? Do I apply Polyurethane? Water-based? Or should I leave it unfinished?
I’m fairly certain that at some point someone is bound to knock over a can of stain in the shop…and without *any* sealer, the wood will soak it up like a sponge. I’m also concerned about mud and water damage in the traffic areas. However, I’m also leery of a heavy - and occasionally slippery - polyurethane finish. For now I’m thinking of filling, sanding and then using a sanding sealer or possibly a light coat of water-based poly. Research continues.
There’s still a lot of work to do on the interior…but here’s a time-lapse of the weekend’s endeavors below:
The “kid” helping me in the video is “Mike” — he works for the GC who built the addition. My GC recommended him to me and my wife insisted I hire an assistant. My back thanks all three!
…wait a bit longer. Initial inspections were completed last week — electrical, plumbing, insulation, house-wrap, etc. This week the crew finished the rest of the siding. Yesterday the drywallers came in and hung the sheet rock ceiling. On Monday, my order of pine 8″ T&G siding for the interior walls arrived, and I picked up some “utility grade” Oak hardwood flooring for the floors.
Now, it’s just about my turn to get crackin on the interior! Unfortunately this will have to wait since my wife is working all weekend and I don’t think Annalise (19mos.) and Sean (7mos.) are quite ready to help their Dad yet!
In the meantime, work on the final time-lapse video continues and plans are underway for the inaugural poker game sometime near the end of September.
A couple quad boxes with 1.25″ PVC run into the crawl space
Before the celing is installed (later this week?) I decided to install some PVC and low-voltage quad boxes to act as conduit for speaker wire, RG-6 and cat5e cabling. The plan is to install 2 sets of 6.25″ speakers in the ceiling — two on the north wall and two on the south just below the sky lights. I also placed two boxes on the outside back wall to allow for external speakers facing the back yard.In each corner is a quad box that may be used as an access point for any cable, cat5e and/or speaker wires depending ultimately on exactly where I wind up placing the audio/video components.
Though I’m fairly certain where I want everything, now’s the time to do this and I can never be 100% certain of where everything will ultimately wind up. Also, should the purpose of this room change, having a number of options will be attractive.
Finally, I was able to take advantage of this opportunity to rectify a situation that’s bugged me for some time. Our master bedroom has only a single cable outlet, inconveniently located on the wall behind our headboard. Apparently no one considered our particular arrangement of furniture when the room was designed. Unfortunately, the TV is in a corner of outside walls — where it’s rather painful to run cabling from the basement. As the addition adjoins one of these walls, I was able to open it up from the outside and finally run some PVC conduit and cabling to exactly where I need it. My wife’s eyes glazed over when I gleefully explained this to her — but I’ll be happy to finally be rid of the RG-6 cable and IR receiver wiring currently running along the entire side wall from the headboard to the TV in the opposite corner!
Here’s the most current construction time-lapse video. So far we cover groundbreaking through roofing. The trades were here today installing plumbing and electric. We’re closing in!
Once they were properly aligned I routed a 3/4″ wide x 1/2″ deep dado in the tops 16″ from the wall to accept a mini t-track. I had originally planned to use the blue stuff that Rockler sells — but I live much closer to a Woodcraft. Turns out that the only track Woodcraft carries that matches these dimensions is the siginficantly more expensive Incra stuff. Now, you’re probably thinking: Why didn’t he buy the track first and then route the dado to fit? The simple truth is I had neglected to order the stuff in advance (bad planning) and I didn’t want to stop working to head out to the store and the only track I had on hand was a length of the Rockler stuff. I also was actually planning to head to Rockler until google maps reminded me just how long a drive it was…2 hours round trip not counting shopping time would have put too big a dent into my limited time. 
