Random Ramblings of Recent Wood-Related Adventures #2: Various Projects

Hello again, another random rambling. I just thought I’d keep you updated on what’s going on lately in my shop.

So you may have known from my thickness sander blog, that I have been agonizing about whether or which sander to buy for many months now. Well, Yorkshire Stewart finally pushed me back over the edge to make my own from his blog (Thanks again!).

This was the design that finally got me excited about making my own:

It’s small and compact and just what I needed. So, I ordered some 5/8” pillow block bearings after a little research. I guy at a machinist shop gave me the 15” rod for free since I work at the used tool store and we refer people to his shop all the time. I am excited to get started on that project.

The pillow blocks and rod:

In the mean time, I just installed a new door on the shop yesterday. This is something I have been meaning to do for a long time for added security. This is the old hollow door:

I finally found the perfect door at recycled building supply store in Santa Cruz. It was marked $75 but I bargained it down to just $35 bucks. Another great deal. It’s solid core with glass windows up top:

It’s exactly what I needed. As you can see, the old door had a tall, skinny window next to it. The new door is wider (36”) so I can get machinery in and out of the shop. So in order to install it the window had to come out. That’s why I am glad I found a new door with some glass, so I don’t loose too much natural light. The new door gives me plenty of light without sacrificing security. It took me a couple of hours to demo the old wall and frame and hang the new door:

I also got a chance to finally use my DeWalt impact driver on that door project for driving the 3” screws. Boy, does that thing work great! The screws just went right in to the studs like butter.

The new door was part of a master plan to try and minimize the rat activity in the shop. The only other door to the shop was an old horse stable door (The lower half only since the upper half has already been changed to a fixed window). So part B of the master rat reduction plan was to convert the half-stable door from a rat highway into a solid wall. So I framed it up and insulated the remaining cracks with expanding foam (which I will trim and paint later):

That old stable door, by the way, is how I got my table saw in the shop… another reason that the new door had to be wider.

Speaking of rats, this is the drawer that I pulled out and put outside to get rid of a huge nest that was made in my nice save-able wood cut-offs (notice the glove that the rat had used)...

Another new addition to the shop which I am quite excited about… a very comfortable drafting chair!

This is possibly the most important tool in the shop… a good place to sit and think. I got this chair for $25 bucks from a bulk tool buy we did at work. The guy said he paid about $250 for it but everything had to go.

What else… oh yea, I GOT A RIDGID oscillating sander!!! MsDebbieP's review finally inspired me to go get one from the big box (one of the few things in my shop which was bought new). But listen to this: First of all I had about $120 in store credit which got me most of the way there. At the store I politely waited an hour for the guy to find the box on the top of the rack. So before I checked out I asked if a discount would be possible and he gave me 20% off JUST FOR ASKING!!! (It never hurts to ask!).

So this is it… it sits sadly on the floor in a corner waiting for me to clean and re-organize my shop to make a home for it:

My shop is a total mess right now. It looks like a bomb went off. The mess started with me trying to get my boss’ Valet box done last week. And I have just been throwing stuff in there and trying to get that door done, etc. But now that those things are done the next thing is another deep clean cycle. I’m excited to get it back together with all the new improvements. I’ll post photos.

The shop after the bomb:

Another new addition to my shop is an old rack I picked up from the same recycled building materials yard that I got the door from. I think it is an old bread or pizza rack from a bakery or something. Tony’s major critique of my shop was my hodgepodge meathod of wood storage. So I plan to use this rack for horizontal wood storage. It will help me organize that cluttered corner. I’ll let you know how that goes, Tony. This thing is pretty big: 32” by 56” (another reason I needed the bigger door).

The bread rack:

Anyway, hope you enjoyed my ramblings. I just thought some of you might enjoy the updates.

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