| Blog series by dbhost | updated 104 days ago | 64 parts | 83454 reads | 371 comments total |
Part 1: Background and history lesson. Welcome to the Wayback Machine!
This entry, the first in the series Workshop Development.” is where we get into the wayback machine, and go for a little history lesson. Specifically, how, and why I went from a guy with a garage and some tools, to being a guy with a workshop in progress. Not sure if I will ever be done, but at least it is in progress! In the beginning there was a garage, Dave saw the garage and said it was good… Hmmm okay maybe a little to grandiose for my posting… Let me try again…...
Part 2: Why the garage anyway?
In my first installment of this series, I noted some of the history, of how I cam around to wanting to build a workshop of my own. Having a supportive wife was the biggest key issue here. I could have built a shop as a bachelor for sure, but having me the right woman, and wanting a family bachelor life just wasn’t for me… But I digress… That garage seemed, at first, an ideal space to do some woodworking. I’d pick up a couple of basic tools, and some wood and get to ...
Part 3: Starting to fill up, taking up too much space with too little stuff...
In my last posting I ran through some of the issues and thoughts behind keeping the shop in the garage instead of adding a dedicated outbuilding. Boiled down to soup & nuts, a combination of money, space, and HOA restrictions will keep me out of a dedicated shed type workshop, but I will be adding a shed to get the remaining non workshop stuff out of the shop. (Lawn & garden, and BBQ equipment and supplies like charcoal and smoking wood) About this time, I was starting to get tract...
Part 4: Permanent floor model equipment moves in, dust collection becomes a higher priority.
When we last left off, I had built, what I like to refer to as workshop 1.0. It was up, it was effective, but it wasn’t feature rich and lacked the capacity I wanted. The little Ryobi BTS21 was a good saw for what it was, but it wasn’t what I wanted, I was wanting to start cutting raised panels and the little 1/4” shank Ryobi router wasn’t going to cut it either… I had a lot going on, but lacked a lot as well… Thing were about to change, FAST… When...
Part 5: Bringing us up to speed. Almost to where we are today...
In the last installment I think I had gotten to adding the dust collector etc… Mind you, I am setting this out a little out of order so I can lump certain projects together. For example the adding of the separate Thien separator on the HF DC happened nearly a year after adding the HF DC… But I wanted to put those two projects together because they are related… Now with that bit of info tucked away, shall we continue? I know somewhere along the line I forgot to mention ...
Part 6: Looking toward the future. Dust collection...
As you, gentle readers have found… I have a Harbor Freight 2HP Dust Collector. Not a perfect machine, but certainly capable of sucking up dust, and keeping it out of the air… And it is quite capable of being hooked up to a ducting system, particularly in a shop as small as mine… My biggest issue is that I don’t want pipe size to strangle it. Now the machine is capable of supporting 5” ducting, but… Well have you tried to find 5” duct? I have found ...
Part 7: Dust collection and air cleaning continued.
Okay so the discussion / future planning of dust collection really kind of muddied up the waters. I still think I would be better off coming out of the DC, and separator with 5”, and then reducing at the Wye to 4” going to the tool. My biggest concern is providing enough air flow to pull from BOTH the top, AND bottom of my table saw. I MAY just end up going to the separator and out with 5” to the 5×4x4 Y fitting then into the 4” S&D for the main circuits, and ...
Part 8: The plan moving forward.
Now at times, it may seem like my shop progress is going ahead kind of willy nilly, with no plan, which is anything but the truth. It may not be a FIRM plan, or even a GOOD plan, but I DO have a plan… Now this plan is flexible, within certain limits of reason. Since I am limited by space, and the amount of tools, equipment, and supplies I am dealing with, for a broad range of projects, not just woodworking… Now mind you, many of the steps in this plan are dependent upon OTHE...
Part 9: Pondering replacing the 10" CMS with a slider, or a RAS. HELP ME DECIDE PLEASE!!!
The small capacity of my 10” non sliding compound miter saw has been on my nerves for quite a while now. Especially when doing outdoor projects where I tend to cut a lot of 4×4 lumber, and any idea of crosscutting stock wider than about 4” or maybe 5” if I am lucky, is just shot out the door. Most of the time it’s fine, but there are more than a few occasions where the lack of capacity had me trying to figure out a way to accurately guide a circular saw, in 2 dif...
Part 10: The new saw decision has been made. The winner is...
Okay so I did a lot of calling around on RAS’ in my price range, and to be blunt, they were TRASHED. Or too danged small for my needs. There was one old DeWalt 12” out there, that had the capacity, and everything was there, but it was so badly rusted it would take me a year and a ton of money to fix what was left to rot… So before it expired, my coupon and I went to Harbor Freight, where they had a stack of the #98194 12” Sliding Compound Miter Saw with Laser. Mind ...
Part 11: LOTS of shop cleanup, and improving dust collection at the miter saw...
This weekend LOML did something bit different, she more or less gave me all the time I needed to actually get things done in the shop. What is doubly frightening is that after cleaning, organizing, sweeping, and tossing out a full 64 gallon trash container, and 2 contractor bags full of shavings, debris, and unrelated trash, I still have a LONG way to go before my shop is actually anything close to clean… I simply let it get too dirty to be a good thing… But with projects on hold...
Part 12: Not much shop time, but more cleaning is done!
Just as a little side note, the piles of stuff on the table saw, as well as the outfeed workbench are now things of the past. I have another tote that is now nothing but empty space, and another giant trash bag full to the brim. The Strong Tie workbench is down to just misc small stuff. As the old saying goes. Lord Willing and the Creek Don’t Rise, the cleanup project should be done by this weekend! This is a HUGE relief for me as this has been nagging at me for a very long time now. Th...
Part 13: It's clean, now on to other projects!
I pushed too hard to get this done… But it’s finished… I have updated my workshop page, which is linked in my signature. So for pics go see that, or, for a more concise pictoral of the shop, see my post on BT3Central.
Part 14: Camcorder is charged up, tripod is ready, need to shoot and edit...
And I am hoping to get my fellow LJs inputs here. I really am starting to like how I have the tools laid out, and although DC tubing adjustments need to be made (blast gates aren’t exactly where I want them), I am close enough to call it good for now… So what I have left to be concerned about is power. I have only 1 15 amp outlet (20 amp breaker) in the shop. For the longest time, I have been running an extension cord in to the laundry room to power the tools, and run the DC off o...
Part 15: Router table fence V3.0 is underway!
The Ryobi router fence clamps leave a LOT to be desired in the way of stability, so I found myself staring at a pile of 3/4” plywood cutoffs and thinking. I know that’s dangerous, but I was doing it… It finally hit me how to build the sliding faces (I have all this T track and it took me this long?).... So I got busy, not really with a plan of any sort sketched out, but rather, with it all in my head. 24” wide x 6” tall, faces adjust on T tracks, and a fixed face...
Part 16: Finally, the video shop tour.
It’s in 2 parts, and I am no videographer, the audio stinks, but here it is in all it’s semi glory… Part 1 of my video shop tour. Part 2 of my video shop tour.
Part 17: Dust collection, and cat litter. Project in progress...
So I have an old 40 pound cat litter container. You know the kind the litter comes in, hard plastic, looks sort of like a square 5 gallon bucket? Well it’s been sitting under my Strong Tie workbench, been there for years, just waiting for some great idea, or even dim witted idea to come to me and beg to be used… Well tonight, is partially that night… I have been fine tuning my router wing, and one area is is desperately lacking is in under table dust collection. Now HE...
Part 18: Still playing with the kitty litter... tub.
It’s not much to look at so far, but it IS starting to take shape. Cutting the litter tub in a straight line with a box cutter wasn’t quite as easy as I had thought it would be. It is however looking fairly promising as long as the port stays put!
Part 19: Kitty litter tub under table router dust hood prototype pics...
Sorry about the fugly “door”. I am testing ideas, not execution here… The door with the duct taped hinge is just to close off the gaping hole to put the router in… But here are some pics of my progress so far… If you look close enough, this time wasn’t clear silicone, I had a mess of Alex Plus acrylic caulk left over from a bathroom job that just sort of blends right in, so I used it… The door / hinge are NOT permanent, nor is the hokey latch…...
Part 20: Kitty Litter Dust Shroud installed.
Okay so I am not a huge fan of cats. But at least their stuff can be somewhat useful… And yeah I know it’s not pretty, but it should work well… The table without the bucket installed. Note the location of the router table power switch. This is the reason for the location of the power cord hole… The makeup air holes. Hopefully this SHOULD be enough. I will know soon! I am half tempted to punch a few more 3/4” holes in for makeup air. The S&D PVC port ...
Part 21: Better late than never, the shop built floor sweep installed pic...
This hot to cold to hot to cold weather has ended up leaving me feeling kind of under the weather…. So I spent some quality time with some hot tea and my pillow instead of shop time or posting pics here… But there you guys go I promised to get a pic of the shop built floor sweep that I installed this weekend posted. It works pretty well, with a tendency to pull material from a good distance on the floor away from the opening. There is some large debris that got stuck under ...
Part 22: Ripping the rotted masonite off, adding the Hardie siding...
It’s been a busy weekend. I managed to rip off the old rotting pine and Masonite siding and trim from around my garage doors, and replaced it with products from James Hardie. I also was finally able to properly install both 5” louvered vent ducts for the air conditioning. I still need to replace the semi-round trim, caulk and prime it all up, install the door gaskets, and paint. I started caulking, and very quickly ran out of caulk…. My trip home from work tomorrow wi...
Part 23: Keeping the outside out, and everything protected...
I know this is in all honesty more home repair and improvement, but it had to be done in order to allow for my portable A/C unit. The only other option was to vent it directly to the attic, which would have been simply terrible. So with the new siding in place, as well as the garage door trim, and seals, the caulking and painting is finished more or less. There are a couple of spots where the trim color bled through or found a way through the painters tape and newspaper and on to the main ...
Part 24: Can you fit 4" dust collection hose to 4" PVC S&D pipe? Yes you can!
This is an older video I made to answer a question on Phil Thien’s forum about if you can fit 4” DC hose to 4” S&D pipe. The answer is a quick and simple yes. The video was to prove it to doubters. I thought LJs might be interested so I am sharing it here!
Part 25: Progress on the wide drum sander.
I’ve mentioned it elsewhere, but like so many LJ’s say, no pics, didn’t happen… This is what MDF scraps are useful for. My first couple of Thien separators were built on trash cans using MDF baffles, and plywood tops. I have since gone to hardboard baffles and reusing the drum lid. So I had to put that excess to use right? The disks are 3/4” MDF cut into 3” disks using a cheapo HF hole saw set. I am anxious to get a much higher quality set, but th...
Part 26: Now that the cabinets are up, the peg board is down...
So I went ahead and installed the catches for the second clamshell cabinet, which freed me up to at last get rid of that old peg board. What a relief! I have a couple of small storage projects left to do that I can glean enough good peg board out of this, and what is left over from the cabinet project that I won’t need to buy peg board. Now on to fixing all the little holes, and slapping some bright white paint on that wall!
Part 27: Cleanup, and tool tuning..
Sorry no pics, yet… After my clam shell cabinet builds, and ripping down the peg board, I realized I have “stuff” pretty much everwhere I looked, whether or not I wanted it. LOTS of cardboard I had been using for prototyping dust hood ideas, cut offs not in the cut off bin, and generally tools not put back where they belonged. It was time to get busy… After LOTS of picking up, sweeping, and throwing out junk that shouldn’t have been in the shop anyway, I ma...
Part 28: Stealth gloat. New to me, NIB Central Machinery mortiser.
After checking out the reviews, seeing the shortcomings of the HF mortiser, and comparing it to models from Steel City, Grizzly, Jet, Delta, and WoodRiver, I noted they all more or less stink in one way or another. Mostly the fences and hold downs are pitiful. Seeing how the HF fence works it is similar to others, better than some, but worse than most, so that is not really a factor. The hold downs on all of them I looked at stank. I would end up using clamps as hold downs no matter the machi...
Part 29: LOML is wanting storage in the garage. May be time to rethink the whole shop arrangement.
I know, I know, I’ve been gone from the blogging for a while now. Life has been happening, lots of stuff going on, not the least of which, my lovely bride is getting the itch to put the car in the garage, not to mention storage for household non perishable goods etc… Time for rethinking the approach to my workshop… So let’s look at the pros / cons of the options that are available to me… Keep the shop in the existing garage.Pros. #1. It’s already set ...
Part 30: Adding the library wing to the manor...
Now I may have mentioned this before, but my collection of DIY, automotive, and woodworking books, magazines, and other misc publications is gobbling up space in the house, and not really where I need it. So a bit of inspiration came my way, and I decided to build a bookshelf for the shop, sideways, and mount it to the ceiling. Yeah floor space is priceless, but I have ceiling space that is unused… So today, after work assuming everything has dried out enough, you see it rained like ...
Part 31: More work on the Library wing...
So my idea was simple. Make a simple reinforced plywood cabinet, frameless, with the sole function of holding books and magazines in the shop. The design was simpler still. a top and bottom panel cut to 12×72”, a back panel cut to 16×72” 2 side panels cut to 16×12.75” all out of 23/32” cabinet grade ply, and then 2 divider panels cut to 12×14.5” centered 24” on each side made from 5/8” cheapie scrap ply. All of it simply butt jo...
Part 32: The library progress thus far...
Okay okay, no pics, didn’t happen right? It’s not much, but it IS big, and it is sized to be ideal for my books / magazines. The priming is coming along nicely, enough… This is coat #2. And I have noted a few minor problems… I have some more sanding to do, but we are really humming along. Or not… My long weekend is getting trimmed by work. Oh well, pay the bills right?
Part 33: Almost ready to finish up the library...
I am now waiting for the final coat of paint to dry on the workshop library cabinet. I have the cleat ripped and ready to install, and am more than ready to put it to use…
Part 34: The library is almost finished. Photos coming very soon...
I know y’all want to see photos, you are just going to have to be patient for a couple more days… Today is going to be install day. In what free time I did have over the weekend, I took the opportunity to fill holes, prime and paint the wall that the library will be mounted on. Now mind you, I didn’t bother with sanding down the patches all that well. It IS a garage after all… and most of the patches will be hidden behind the library, but it’s done. Gone is the b...
Part 35: The library is done!
I posted a project up on it, but since the recent projects change, they no longer come up in chronological order… Oh well… That’s okay. Take a peek at my project page http://lumberjocks.com/projects/56261 It’s just a simple box with a couple of dividers, a cleat and a spacer to hold it to the wall, and plenty of paint to keep it from making the shop feel more crowded. One thing I was VERY concerned about was the mortiser handle, which thankfully clears no problem...
Part 36: Sliding Miter Saw Dust Hood. Success and failure...
Over the weekend I cobbled together, out of scrap in my shop, a quick and dirty sliding compound miter saw dust hood. Materials are cast off 3/16” tempered hardboard for the back and ramp, 5/8” Aracuo ply for the top and sides, screws, nails, and of course 4” S&D PVC. I made a measurement error on the width, even after measuring 3x, and ended up about 1” too narrow. But I can slide it back and forth as I go all the way with miter cuts… I still have t...
Part 37: Hunting and gathering for electrical and insulation work.
Okay, after meeting with the city code enforcement / permit office as well as a licensed electrician friend of mine, I am now in the phase of collecting the goodies to get the job done. Once the hardware and supplies are in hand, we will move forward with the project, and it will be done in steps… Step #1. Remove everything from the east wall and ceiling of the shop, meaning all of the shop equipment gets pushed to the southmost and west most corner of the shop, leaving enough room f...
Part 38: A Craigslist mini gloat, and one of the pieces of equipment I wasn't planning on but...
The “wood” holiday decor that LOML loves so much falls apart after one or two seasons… And she wanted me to make better ones NOT made out of pressed cardboard… So I needed a scroll saw… I tried to snatch up a Delta that looked good in the pics, but the owner never did respond to me, so I assume he sold it… This morning, a quick check of CL showed an older Dremel 1671 2 speed saw, with a cast iron base, and cast (aluminum, but cast) table. It is good a...
Part 39: Uh oh... Where to put the scroll saw?
Okay I admit it, I didn’t exactly think this one 100% through… You see, I have a “Tool Stacker” of sorts, that is basically a pair of Rubbermaid heavy duty closet shelf standards, and a series of 18” brackets, these in turn hold up my bench top tools that are mounted to 3/4” plywood mount boards (18” X 24”))... I have my Ridgid Sander, Ryobi Planer, Sunhill Jointer, and Ryobi Grinder / Wolverine jig set up on this rig, and it utilizes wall...
Part 40: Pnuematic improvements...
I have been dealing with some stupid air system problems. Specifically I had leaks at critical junctions, and they were getting worse, and worse, and worse… Half my airflow seemed to be seeping out of 2 of my couplers. And I had wanted to do a little expanding of the system… So a trip to Harbor Freight got me a bunch of the quick coupler setups, a 50’ 3/8” polyurethane air hose, and a package of paint strainer cones. Some quality time was in order to get all the ...
Part 41: Workshop library lessons learned. Use more screws and bigger cleats...
Note to anyone wanting to use a French Cleat system to support anything with any reasonable amount of weight on it. Do NOT make 1.25” wide cleats that are only held on every other stud…. Just sayin’.... Now mine are 2” with 2 screws in every stud…. Woo Hoo! And yes, I underbuilt this thing, not imagining I would ever have nearly as much weight on it as I ended up with, and yes I did something insanely stupid… Somehow, with working one day out of...
Part 42: Fixing a stupid mistake.
So yesterday, while I was changing the oil in my air compressor, I discovered the paint on the tank to my HF 2HP 8 gallon compressor was flaking off, all over, the handles, the brackets, the tank body itself, everywhere, now I don’t really care about cosmetics, this is a Harbor Freight compressor after all, but I do want to prevent rust, so I HAD to do something… Out came the sanders, knocking the flaking paint off, sanding it all smooth, meant that I had to remove certain comp...
Part 43: Or in this case deconstruction to make way...
The freezer is coming, the freezer is coming! Of course along with it is going to be the subpanel, circuits, and insulated garage walls I have been wanting for the last few years. This means that for me, I have to get busy. I have a 9.5’ chunk of wall, a 36” wide freezer, and a presently 8’ long Simpson Strong Tie 2×4 and plywood workbench that holds my mortiser, sliding miter saw, and LOTS of misc garage storage. I MUST make a change to this layout. NOW. I am not pa...
Part 44: I have achieved Sprayvana!
Okay, so I admit it, I was trying to make the old Central Pneumatic 2HP 8 gallon compressor do duty driving a spray gun. Hey the specs on the spray gun were fairly low, But having to stop so often to let the compressor catch up was getting old, FAST… I mean it worked, more or less. But progress was painfully slow. So even with the upgrades I made just a few days ago on the little compressor, I did what I should have done in the first place, and got a bigger compressor… The work...
Part 45: Cleaning up my shop in preparation for the miter / mortising / storage station build.
Since I have been getting the business over talking about it and now showing any pics, here are the pics… I did a big cleanup of the mess of a shop, got the compressor stashed reasonably out of the way, but accessible. I have so much more to do but it now involves builds, not cleaning! Both of my clamshell cabinets are up and in use. I use almost every last square inch of space inside and on top of them. You can see the compressor stashes in very nicely next to the water softener...
Part 46: Miter Saw / Mortiser station / Compressor enclosure / Storage bench work came to a grinding halt.
Due to a sudden, unexpected, and very unpleasant go round with pnuemonia. I am back on my feet, but know better than to push myself too hard for the next couple of weeks, so instead I got back to Sketchup, and tinkered around with the design some more. The main section is still going to be 48” wide x 34.75” tall x 36” deep. There will be a partial divider down the middle of this carcass, extending from the front of the case back 24” to provide separation between the...
Part 47: Miter Saw / Mortiser getting done... Dry fit of the miter saw segment.
The case for the miter saw station is now cut to final size, dadoes and rabbets cut with a few minor mistakes, but nothing that will impact function. Dry fit looks good, I am taking the day off of work, so I am in the shop today, I should have the cabinet in glue and clamps this afternoon. Right now the cab will have to wait. I am getting dressed for a lunch date with my lovely bride… Talk to you guys this afternoon!
Part 48: Miter Saw bench, in glue and screws.
I need to complete the mortiser cabinet, the compressor enclosure, miter saw dust hood and the foot of the cabinet. I didn’t realize before I started, but the floor is FAR from level. The shop library cabinet is dead level. There is 1/2” drop over the 4’ of the miter saw cabinet dropping to the left. I will likely take some scrap 1/2” ply to shim the base so that the cabinet is level. At least the stuff from overhead of the clamshell cabinets.
Part 49: Making adjustments on the fly... Mortiser bench...
Due to the depth needed to make the Mortiser fence line up with the miter saw fence, I need an inch and a half more depth than I had initially designed in. Not this isn’t a show stopper, HOWEVER, I will likely not build the enclosure for the compressor as I had initially planned. This is okay. The purpose was never committed to covering up the or cancelling out noise from the compressor, but rather keeping the compressor out of the way. The clamping risers and dust hood for the miter...
Part 50: More on the miter / mortiser workstation...
Last night was a very lazy night, LOML spent plenty of time snuggling up on the sofa, and, well honestly dozing off watching the Olympics… But I did get some shop time in, and was able to manage to get the shelves, shelf cleats, and front blocks for the shelves cut to size. The front blocks will live somewhere around where my shins are, so I am SERIOUSLY considering breaking out the router and relieving the corners of these things before I install them… My construction methodol...
Part 51: Thoughts turning to getting non shop out of my shop!
Progress on the in shop builds is going well, taking a little bit of a breather for now to let my back catch up. A huge storage problem for me is non shop stuff that is sucking up huge amounts of space in the shop. Now I have storage problems that there are solutions for, but that requires a bit of construction. For now I have been jettisoning any non shop, and some shop related stuff that is either no good, or exceedingly redundant such as…. #1. The 4 different spray bottles of A...
Part 52: Fixing another stupid mistake...
I haven’t been able to spend much shop time this weekend. But what time I have been able to spend I have been using to fix mistakes. Specifically the mounting of the mortiser accessory rack too high such that the chisels would interfere with stock. I spent a few rather vigorous minutes with my Japanese pull saw cutting off the mistake, then a few more minutes cleaning the mistake up with my #4 plane. Now it’s mounted lower, and in clamps waiting to dry… My local Lowes / H...
Part 53: Clearing the wall... Moving the clamshell cabs...
I spent the time I had expected last night, clearing out the remaining clam shell cabinet, and getting it off the wall, and on to the floor. I made some discoveries while I was there. Once everything was taken off the peg hooks, and laid down in a single layer, it covered the entire top surface of my table saw, and the majority of the surface of my workbench. This is a space of 6’ x 8’ covered with everything from pnuematic nailer nail boxes and nailers, to measuring and markin...
Part 54: Of all the stupid things. Peg hooks.
Okay I must admit, one of my main frustrations in my shop is peg hooks. Now I am not one of those that hates peg board and wish harmful things to those that invented, make, and market the stuff. I actually love pegboard, and the little hooks that go with it. It’s just the way those hooks are typically marketed that drives me nuts. You see most of the big box stores have either the size hook you want a piece at a time at an insanely high price, like 2” hooks for $1.89, or they w...
Part 55: Filling the clamshell cabinets to clear up space, and cleaning out racks.
Last night was relatively productive. I finished re-loading the clamshell cabinets. However somehow this time, I seem to have come up with a more efficient peg configuration than I had previously, It may be the new hooks, but WAY more stuff fits now. I am going to take photos of the layouts so I can re-stuff the cabs this way when they go back on the wall… Once the clamshell cabs were done, I started reorganizing things on the lawn and garden shelving, and made more space for the rem...
Part 56: Getting stuff out of the way...
I finally did it. I got the black plastic shelving unit cleared off 100%, broken down, and bagged / taped up. It now needs to get stashed in the attic until the shed gets built. I have also started pulling nails that are in the original sheetrock out. The deal is that the wall is supposed to be devoid of sheetrock on the day of installation. Part of the cleanout / making room is getting rid of surplus tools. I have been trying to get rid of my firestorm miter saw, stand, and router alon...
Part 57: Spent a sweaty, hard work day ripping out walls. Can't wait for Friday!
So yesterday was Columbus Day, which for my job is a paid holiday. I used it well. As Sunday was spent cleaning up the area, I had everything off the wall, and ready to go. Then yesterday came and whamo! Yep took the old mallet through the wall board and started yanking… 22.5’ total of wall yanked out rather unceremoniously. Now the western wall in my garage is ready for the electrician to come in Friday… By Friday evening I should have my inspection done and pow...
Part 58: The power is in!
I waited a few days until folks had a chance to read Ms. Debbie’s interview, but the long, long, long awaited sub panel and circuit install is DONE. Due to storm damage to the main, and a desire to up the service from the electric company, we upped the service to 200 amps, and installed a new 200 amp main panel. The original was in pretty poor shape. The new one has PLENTY of spare slots for new circuits if desired. The sub panel is a 6 slot, 12 circuit job, and feeds 3 dedicated ...
Part 59: Installing the insulation.
I spent the better part of the afternoon trimming up insulation, and installing it in some odd wall cavities… To say the least, my wall studs aren’t right. I am marking the ceiling where the studs are as well… The good part is it’s getting cold here so I won’t be sweating through the install… The better thing, with the power in, and the insulation going in, I won’t be sweating out there next summer… Yeah this is a bit of a gloat…
Part 60: Need to work on the lumber wagon... And planned upgrades to both the shop, and wagon.
I need to get sheet rock to finish my current shop disaster project. One very, very big problem… The lumber wagon is busted. I was working on mounting up a hidden winch, and trying to adjust the factory transmission cooler lines just a smidgeon to the side when something went POP! Sure enough, I actually cracked the trans cooler itself… A quick call to Tasca Ford Parts and a new cooler, the upgrade model from the Towing package got sent along… Now I need to cr...
Part 61: Been a while. Starting to get the sheet rock on the walls. Planning the next stages.
I’ve been busy, so I haven’t been in my shop much lately, well that’s not exactly true, but it IS true that I haven’t gotten done what I want to yet. After scheduling the time to get a rented hoist, then discovering the hoist won’t work for holding drywall up against the studs while I start the screws, I got a helping hand from my lovely bride, who could only go so far with it. I need to get some volunteers to help me out here! Long story short, we wrestled...
Part 62: All is well, but keeping very busy...
I have had very little shop time since October, when I had my electrical run. In the time in between I have… #1. Finished up the remodel of my laundry room. #2. Finished with the paint and electrical upgrades in the living room. #3. Assembled a cheapo computer armoire for the master bedroom. This is a temporary thing as I am presently working on … #1. Purging the YEARS of junk accumulated in my home office. I literally had stacks of boxes filled with various documentation, ...
Part 63: Workshop status, and what has been keeping me away...
As regular readers know, and I am about to tell the non regulars, I added power to my shop back in October, which required ripping down the sheet rock from the “powered walls”. And I work full time in what can best be described as large enterprise information technology. Well careers and tech being what they are, I need to stay on top of hardware and software trends as best I can, and in this era of trimmed (management speak for non existent) training budgets, I had to take matter...
Part 64: Okay I admit it. I work SLOWLY sometimes...
After some unexpected issues over the last two weekends, I ended up with not much else done to my drywall. I did manage to get my remaining upper panel cut. If I can con LOML into helping me out tonight, I should be able to get that up into place this evening, and then start on the bottom. Once the top is finished, I need to insure the stud locations are VERY clearly marked, and then get to work on making a panel lifting jig to jam the lower pieces into place so I can get the screws started&#...
