Shop Update #3: Playing the waiting game

If there is one thing you can rely on to be unreliable, it’s the weather.

We went from 8 degrees Celsius last week to -1 and snowing today. As I wander around the garage tidying and planning, I realize that until the shed is up, it’s going to be semi-pointless to actually start working. Oh well.

I have done drawings for my router table and the sheer size of my Triton 3 1/4HP router is going to cause issues. It’s going to need 13” of horizontal clearance in the cabinet, and barely fits in and out of a standard router plate opening. Add to this the fact that my selected router table top (Jessem Mast-R-Top) has it’s mounting holes at only 25” wide and you start to realize that I am only going to have a very slim amount of room to build drawers along the sides. That’s okay though, I have a plan!

The shed should be here in a week or two. I ordered an 8’ x 6’ resin kit from Keter Plastics. They seem to get good reviews. I suppose there is an irony to a wannabe woodworker ordering a plastic shed kit, but I have to be realistic about my time and cost allowances for this project. This is one area where I am willing to compromise.

My other revelation this week is that it’s going to be really hard to do all my glueups and the like without a workbench. I really didn’t want to add another project to my plans, but this is something I think I need to do early.

I’m planning a plywood and two-by SPF construction lumber torsion box workbench inspired by the one in Shopnotes issue 112, or the one HERE

They look like a solid weekend’s work but that will be a good workout for some new tools that arrived this week: A Makita 5007MG Magnesium circular saw, and a 50 inch Pro-grip straight edge clamp with the UHMW zero-clearance universal base. Should make knocking down sheet goods a lot easier and more accurate!

-- I'm just learning how to cut the stuff with some other stuff...