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38K views 39 replies 21 participants last post by  rweitz 
#1 ·
making room

this is my winter project. I need to clean out the basement of the junk and move stuff from the garage to have 'elbow room"! no pics yet, but the garage is small so every inch counts.
 
#3 ·
I find that's a never ending project! lol. Everytime I think I have things picked up and organized, I run out of room again. (I think it multiplies when I'm not looking). LOL. Sounds like a good plan though and there are a lot of great woodworking shops set up in garages. Good luck and keep us posted.
 
#5 ·
So you want pictures....

Several of you requested pics so here they be!
As you can see lots of "non-essential" stuff in here.

Front of the workshop area
front section- before

Back Wall of the workshop area
back wall - before

Mark 1 drill press
Mark 1 Drill Press

Craftsman Tablesaw - 113.298.341
Craftsman 113.298341

Delta chop saw and Ridgid folding miter saw stand - love this product.
Delta and Ridgid stand

 
#6 ·
It looks like you have a lot going on in there and I see that you have plenty of offcuts that you just can't bear to part with as well. Bummer about the non-woodworking things taking up space in your shop but I guess they have to go someplace. :)

You have a nice shop with a good group of tools to work with.

Thanks for the pictures.
 
#11 ·
The Red-Line

So I got the windows done in the basement and rewarded myself by installing my new fence upgrade.

new fence

I got the 36" Redline fence from Dave and got it installed. A bit of tweaking and tinkering and I have a nice new fence. It's very nice to be able to roll it up to a setting on the ruler and make cuts without all the measuring and waiting for the saw to spin up and down. I had set it up temporarily while I got used to it to finish the windows, but the first project I got done was this bag recycler to hold those plastic trashbags so we can reuse them. I made it from scraps left from the window projects. All nice clean cuts and setup quickly making this simple project a simple weekend afternoon project.

Bag box

I also got a hold down jig built for the slotted fence. It works slick! gotta love those featherboards for keeping things safe. Now its back to the clean up of the basement so I can get the garage/workshop put together. You can't really see it but I did clean out the rafters of the garage and put in two new 8' lights so I can see what I'm doing as well. That is a great improvement too!
featherboard
 
#18 ·
Table Saw Router Table - I've been framed!

So I got going a bit more waiting for a decision from Project Manager (read wife) on what to do next. We did put together some of the basement and recycled, trashed, and donated a truck load of stuff, but there's still more to go.
Meanwhile I pulled some more scraps out of the bin and made a frame for the router table that will grace my new fence rails. Eventually I'll pull the sheet metal extensions and put all table in there, but I don't have big enough scraps so currently its just a 19" deep x 27" wide table on the end.

Router table frame and fence

I bolted the frame to the Redline rails front and back:

Front rail and frame

Back Rail and frame

but with a 3/4" top it might be too low. I think I'll try a 5/8" Melamine MDF top and glue a 3/4" MDF piece between the cross frames under the router for support and depth. I'm still debating buying an insert or seeing if I can cheap one out by making it myself, since this is a trial run table….yah riiiiiight.
 
#21 ·
First draft - in but not flat

Well I decided to go with a 1" MDF for the base and router out a rabbet and dado and to let me raise my frame a bit higher on the rails. This meant I had to match my existing frame instead of just laying a flat board on top, but it gave me more material to hold the insert plate.

back rail

so now it sits more comfortably on the rail. This is my first whack at using a wobble blade to cut the dados and rabbet on the TS. Got two tops cut down ready to "get the groove on", and got it all cut and glued and installed today.
Unfortunately one of my rails did not seat properly or maybe the MDF was not as flat as it should have been, but after I got all glued up and took off the clamps there is a bow in the center of the top - argh@!

Oh well, it still looks nice. And since I'm planning on replacing this eventually I kept on going and installed the plate for a trial run.

Table saw Router Table extension

I think I'll go back to the drawing board on the mounting system and see what I can come up with for mounting that 1" MDF and get some more clamps to make sure I can make it flat when I glue up.

The plate I used was the Bench Dog from Rockler and I got the template with it as well. Those all worked wonderful and I got a nice flat perfect fit on the plate even though today was my first go-round with a router. A bit of tape under there and it will be nice and flush with the top. I routed the insert in two passes and it was the easiest part of the day. Lot of dust though!!! hack hack hack…

Next I'll see if I can figure out a way to get some new holes drilled and get my router mounted on center.
 
#22 ·
flat, round, and mounted... router in place

Well I took a different approach, I did not finish mounting the router, I went back and framed the second top I had cut yesterday. It was nice and flat, I checked before I put the new frame in it. I also glued it up laying flat on a table rather than clamping to the frame and I think that helped as well. It don't look to much different than yesterday, but the new top is a nice .012" from the bottom of the fence all the way around.

Photobucket

This shows the mounted router. I still need to countersink the screw holes and get some flathead screws to mate with the router, but the new holes I put in the Benchdog plate are perfect. I used a copper pipe fiting and tape to build a centering jig matching the old router plate to the Benchdog insert.

Photobucket

then positioned my old router plate to find an area that I could drill the new holes and still be able to access the router. Taped the old router faceplate down and punched, pilot holed, and drilled the new mounting holes. Everything fits centered, flush, and flat. I round cornered the edges of the new table top so the MDF won't chip as bad, and used my own version of a Kerfmaker to make the new dados on the framing.
 
#23 ·
Router Table Fence and Miter slot - all that dust!

Well, I put a slot in the router table for the miter gauge and my garage got a nice dusting of MDF. Never again - this baby is gonna have some dust control!! I read some on LJ about how people liked to finish their MDF and put some finish oil on this table top just to keep the moisture out. Left it to dry for a couple of days and still wanted a better finish so wiped on some Ebony Polyshade.

Oil Finish:
Photobucket

Then I put the miter slot from Rocker in rounded off the corners and built a barebones router fence that will mount to my table saw fence. Here is the Ebony poly finsh and the fence and slot all in place:

Photobucket

If you wonder why the fence is not as wide as the table? the answer is that I'm using scraps for everything here so I can keep the costs to a minimum. I want to rebuild this someday and remove the stamped steel extensions and replace them with a full table. The fence has glides on the bottom to let it ride smoothly over the table that I routed a notch for them to keep the fence close to the table but not quite on it. I like how this worked but had to make sure the glides didn't stick out past the face of the fence.

Photobucket

Here is the back view with the dust port. Used the router again to make the hold downs on the dust port:

Photobucket

Next is working on the under port. I taped it in place to see if it worked when I routed some dados and it picked up most of the dust. I'll have to come up with some kind of flexible mount here so I can move it when I need to adjust the router up or down, or to change the bits.

Photobucket
 
#26 ·
long time no see

Well after getting a working router table in my newly rebuilt table saw, I asked my wife what cool project to work on next. She said "paint the trim in the hallway". WHAT!!!! so I covered up the TS with tarps and have been using it as a table to paint the doors while I do the trim. Needless to say that means no progress on the workshop and I'm dragging my feet altogether. Soon soon soon I hope to uncover the TS and get back to working the shop. Meanwhile I inherited a small scroll saw from in the depths of my sister's garage so I have visions of curved legs dancing in my head at night…
 
#27 ·
I can go one better than that. After I got my new Incra system for my table saw my wife asked me to replace the baseboards with taller/larger ones and paint them…and to me painting is about as much fun as being constipated. At least when she asked me to renovate the kitchen I made oak baseboards and varnished them.
 
#29 ·
Workbench

I built this workbench out of scraps from other projects I had. The MDF for the top was left over from the router table extension. cupla new 2Ă—4's and some old ones, even made my own 1' ply for the shelf from some old 1/2" ply that was in the treehouse we tore down this year. That wood has seen life in 4 projects now! started out as concrete forms, moved to temp decking, then the treehouse and now a workbench.



I used my Kerfmaker to notch out the 2Ă—4's so I could make the top kind of a torsion box, it also lets me use the edge of the MDF topper to hang clamps on instead of a full frame around the outside edge or to clamp down to when I have a work piece on it Picked up some plastic bins from HD to use as "drawers" to hold all my smaller power tools and some hand tool, also a rag box, and a bin full of fasteners.



I cleared the existing shelf above and the cupboards above for storage as well, still working on configuring that space for working rather than just junk storage.
 
#31 ·
Breathing room - Ahhhhh

Still need to work on configuring spaces and tools and materials but I got most of the un-project related stuff out of the garage (except the golfing and fishing stuff) and have room to move around a bit now.



I still need to pack up the chop saw when I am done but everything else can stay in place while I work and after. No more "one hour to make space, one hour to pack it all back" type of project days. I can actually just walk in after work and pick up where I left off. The saw with the extension is pretty big for my small garage, and i need to turn it depending on if I am ripping long pieces or need to get in the fridge, but I may be able to config it to keep is positioned as shown. We'll see….

In case you did not see the first posts - prepare your eyes for the horror that once was….



 
#34 ·
New Workbench/ Table Saw workcenter

Well with the router table and the fence installed on my Craftsman it gets kind of tippy on that end. I needed to add some legs, but that would take away the mobility from my wheeled table saw tool stand.
Table Furniture Plant Wheel Desk


Also I wanted to have my shopvac tucked under and roll with the saw so I'm starting on a Table Saw Workcenter I found in Woodsmith "Table Saw Secrets" specialty mag I had picked up, with some mods on almost every aspect!

First off I used an old bed frame we had for the base instead of putting in on the floor, stationary. I picked up some 4" casters on stems that fit inside the existing frame feet exactly, allowing me to be able to lock or unlock the casters with my feet being higher off the ground than my current casters. Here is the frame on top of the workcenter base getting cut to size and screwed on.
The base is 2Ă—4 with a 3/4" MDF topper.
Wood Table Workbench Machine tool Toolroom


Table Wood Hardwood Wood stain Tool


Next we'll get some cabinets built.
 

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#35 ·
Table Saw Workcenter - 2

Got some cabinets in place and it is starting to look like a work center. The rolling base is high enough off the ground but with all the weight in place the legs are a bit wobbly rolling in the long direction of the base.
The second pic shows the vac in place.
On the plans the near cabinet under the router gets some drawers, and the far one under the other end of the saw gets a shelf. I'll reverse that setup on mine since I also made the depth longer for my setup, and the vac takes so much room on the router end.

Wood Gas Workbench Engineering Machine


Gas Wood Electrical wiring Machine Automotive tire
 

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#36 ·
Table Saw Workcenter - 2

Got some cabinets in place and it is starting to look like a work center. The rolling base is high enough off the ground but with all the weight in place the legs are a bit wobbly rolling in the long direction of the base.
The second pic shows the vac in place.
On the plans the near cabinet under the router gets some drawers, and the far one under the other end of the saw gets a shelf. I'll reverse that setup on mine since I also made the depth longer for my setup, and the vac takes so much room on the router end.

Wood Gas Workbench Engineering Machine


Gas Wood Electrical wiring Machine Automotive tire
cool
 

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#37 ·
Table Saw Workcenter - wobbly legs

I used some of the cutoff angle iron from the frame and made some braces for the legs - worked wonderfully and now the saw rolls well in all directions with no sag or bending. The legs on the frame were already braced in one direction so I just needed to add one set of braces. If you use a bed frame look at the bracing before you get the saw on top, it would have been much easier to brace these when I had more room to work.

Automotive tire Bumper Floor Flooring Automotive exterior


Notice the bent leg in the upper right corner of the pic above to see what I mean.
the pic below shows the bracing.
Automotive tire Motor vehicle Bumper Automotive exterior Wood
 

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#38 ·
Table Saw Workcenter - outfeed basis

I have gotten some Ridgid Flip top stands for Christmas and I love them! Would not have been able to do this project without the pair of them. One alone would not have done it. Still I planned the extra depth on this work center so I could add some outfeed area to the back of the saw. That is why the cabinets extend beyond the table top - out to about the back of the blade guard mounting post.

Wood Automotive exterior Bumper Motor vehicle Floor


Once I get the side supports in place I can have a short outfeed top to cover the area directly behind the table top but too close to it for the Flip Tops to reach. This will also give me a larger area (about 4") to hold the near end of the board when the far end is resting on the Flip Tops.
 

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#39 ·
Table Saw Workcenter - outfeed basis

I have gotten some Ridgid Flip top stands for Christmas and I love them! Would not have been able to do this project without the pair of them. One alone would not have done it. Still I planned the extra depth on this work center so I could add some outfeed area to the back of the saw. That is why the cabinets extend beyond the table top - out to about the back of the blade guard mounting post.

Wood Automotive exterior Bumper Motor vehicle Floor


Once I get the side supports in place I can have a short outfeed top to cover the area directly behind the table top but too close to it for the Flip Tops to reach. This will also give me a larger area (about 4") to hold the near end of the board when the far end is resting on the Flip Tops.
just got done looking thru your blogs about the work center, coming along nicely. thanks for posting
 

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#40 ·
Mostly finished with the center - still planning the outfeed

Got the base about finished. I'll be doing a few more projects before I can get to planning the outfeed and getting that built but here it is so far.
Wood Gas Automotive tire Machine Engineering


I got it stained in two colors, black and red to kind of match the colors on the Craftsman it houses. Then to seal the MDF I put on a coat of water based poly with a brush. It worked nicely but raised the surface a bit to give it a raspy feel. I was going to sand this down and recoat it but I may leave it this way, it feels nice to the touch and gives some grip.
I did have a couple of touches I added to a standard workcenter.
Wood Gas Machine Engineering Hardwood


This shows the iVac I added to the back. I can plug in my shopvac and TS so when the TS starts up the vac starts dust collecting. I choose the iVac since it has two plugs for power in to let me put the vac and the TS on separate circuits. Next I'll put a power strip under the front of the table so I can plug in the TS and the router and have either startup the vac. It will also allow me to shut off power to both tools without needing to unplug everything for safety when changing bits and blades. I'll clean up the cords once that is done. The thing is huge in my garage but it rolls about very nicely on the wheels and it's very easy to lock them since they are on those long bedframe legs - which is what started this project in the first place so - MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

I could put it on Projects I guess since it is mostly finished, I think I'll do that in fact. Anything after this would be an addon to the mobile base anyway.
So here are the full monty pics:

Motor vehicle Automotive exterior Wood Gas Bumper


and
Coil Motor vehicle Automotive tire Electrical wiring Gas


and
Wood Bumper Gas Automotive exterior Hardwood
 

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