# The Workshop



## Milo (Apr 24, 2009)

*Starting out - ARGH. Too many projects, but what to do first?*

Now that I finally, (well, almost) have all my boxes unpacked, I am stuck with the dilemma of trying to figure out the proper order in which to put my shop into good working use.

ARGH. Too many projects, but what to do first?

Here are some of the projects I have planned, and the order I was thinking of doing them in.

1) Workbench (duh), Modified Nicholson design.
2) Sharkguard (I plan on making my own)

2) Super Sled crosscut sled
3) Miter Saw Cart w/ extension
4) Plywood mover
5) Cyclone - shop made
6) Clamp rack
7) SOMEPLACE TO PUT MY Radial Arm Saw

9) Router fence

This is all I can remember at the moment…

Please don't be shy ! If there something you think I ABSOLUTELY need to do first, fire away and let me know.

Any organizing tips would be appreciate too.

Milo


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

Milo said:


> *Starting out - ARGH. Too many projects, but what to do first?*
> 
> Now that I finally, (well, almost) have all my boxes unpacked, I am stuck with the dilemma of trying to figure out the proper order in which to put my shop into good working use.
> 
> ...


Hey Milo
It's easy to get overwhelmed . But placing of tools need to come first and some kind of work surface to make the other things on your list. Then saftey items.Then list things you will need done to start the most important upcoming projects


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## lew (Feb 13, 2008)

Milo said:


> *Starting out - ARGH. Too many projects, but what to do first?*
> 
> Now that I finally, (well, almost) have all my boxes unpacked, I am stuck with the dilemma of trying to figure out the proper order in which to put my shop into good working use.
> 
> ...


Make your workbench and table saw/radial arm the same height so you can use the workbench as a support system for the saw. A mobile clamp rack is a good thing.


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## JuniorJoiner (Dec 24, 2008)

Milo said:


> *Starting out - ARGH. Too many projects, but what to do first?*
> 
> Now that I finally, (well, almost) have all my boxes unpacked, I am stuck with the dilemma of trying to figure out the proper order in which to put my shop into good working use.
> 
> ...


if you don't have sawhorses i would make those before anything else. use them for making your workbench and a hundred other things. and as soon as i had decent sized pieces of scrap i would make the crosscut sled. easy square cuts make every project fit together better.
saying you will make the workbench first is easy, actually doing it is harder. I thought i would build mine in a week, it took almost two months.(i procrastinate a bit)but take your time and do it right, wanting a different style bench before you are finished building the first one is disappointing.
have fun and work safe


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## Milo (Apr 24, 2009)

*The WorkShop move on...*

Well, the workshop is coming togather. Slooooowly, but I've gotten a bit more done today. Cleaned things out a bit, got some of the lumber for the workbench de-nailed, got the air filter up on the ceiling, and finished the ZTI for my tablesaw done.

Here are a couple shop pictures. Yeah, it's still a mess…





Tablesaw



And finally, can't you see what a great Workbench I have???



More later…

Milo


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

Milo said:


> *The WorkShop move on...*
> 
> Well, the workshop is coming togather. Slooooowly, but I've gotten a bit more done today. Cleaned things out a bit, got some of the lumber for the workbench de-nailed, got the air filter up on the ceiling, and finished the ZTI for my tablesaw done.
> 
> ...


Super Milo enjoy the organising part


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## chickenhelmet (May 1, 2009)

Milo said:


> *The WorkShop move on...*
> 
> Well, the workshop is coming togather. Slooooowly, but I've gotten a bit more done today. Cleaned things out a bit, got some of the lumber for the workbench de-nailed, got the air filter up on the ceiling, and finished the ZTI for my tablesaw done.
> 
> ...


Nice shop Milo. I need to get a rocking chair in mine!


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## Milo (Apr 24, 2009)

Milo said:


> *The WorkShop move on...*
> 
> Well, the workshop is coming togather. Slooooowly, but I've gotten a bit more done today. Cleaned things out a bit, got some of the lumber for the workbench de-nailed, got the air filter up on the ceiling, and finished the ZTI for my tablesaw done.
> 
> ...


That chair is there to be torn down and re-glued. It creaks something awful!


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## flcopper169 (Apr 4, 2009)

Milo said:


> *The WorkShop move on...*
> 
> Well, the workshop is coming togather. Slooooowly, but I've gotten a bit more done today. Cleaned things out a bit, got some of the lumber for the workbench de-nailed, got the air filter up on the ceiling, and finished the ZTI for my tablesaw done.
> 
> ...


Nice big shop… and lots of nice toys… It looks like it's coming along fine… You're gong to have a great time in there….

Rob


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## Beginningwoodworker (May 5, 2008)

Milo said:


> *The WorkShop move on...*
> 
> Well, the workshop is coming togather. Slooooowly, but I've gotten a bit more done today. Cleaned things out a bit, got some of the lumber for the workbench de-nailed, got the air filter up on the ceiling, and finished the ZTI for my tablesaw done.
> 
> ...


Nice work, Milo.


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## Milo (Apr 24, 2009)

*Adventure in Jointer Repair*

Something doesn't look quite right here…



I've had this 6 inch craftsman brand jointer for a while now. For the longest time I wasn't albe to work on it. I actually didn't really UNDERSTAND the workings of the jointers. Mechanism wise. Well, today I jumped in with both feet and learned a couple things.

I knew that the screw mechanism raised and lowered the table sides, and I had also been told recently to just flip the jointer over to see the jointers workings. I started out by lowering the table as far as I could. It jammed up several times. Achems razor declaired the best bet was that there was something jamming the main screw. So I thought I would worry it back and forth, applying oil to loosen it was I went.

Suddenly there was a loud clank in the tub I was using to catch shavings.



I found this doo-hick laying on the ground. Ugh oh…. So, I took of the fence, the motor, and horsed the jointer upside down. Thank goodness the feet didn't slip as I was lowering it. Thing weighs a ton…

Looking at the underside… epiphany! (My joiner must be so embaressed to show it's privates…)



The set bolt goes on the main screw. It must have worked itself loose, and my ministrations to the screw must have worked it loose. VERY luck for me, because if the set bolt hadn't fallen off, I may not have flipped the jointer. It was nothing to screw the bolt back in place, and I used the one on the other table screw to judge where it went.

Afterwards I flipped the jointer back up. My back and elbow still hurt. Of course, this time the feet slid. Ouch. Low and behold though, the infeed table now raised and lowered now, smooth as silk. I can even get the tables level now, something that was impossible before I started.

I'm pretty sure I got the outfeed table set right.



Here's the rough pine I tested the jointer one. Turned out pretty well!



As another LumberJock always says, "If sawdust (or in this case shavings) where gold…"



Lastly, and this is actually almost the most important thing I learned today, USE PUSH PADS WITH A JOINTER!! Not only is there the safety factor, but MAN, I can JOINT WOOD! It ACTUALLLY WORKED! I've always had a love/hate relationship with this jointer. NOT ANYMORE! I was doing one pass flattening at the end. WOW… 

Here's was I was using…



Don't fear the jointer, man!


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## lew (Feb 13, 2008)

Milo said:


> *Adventure in Jointer Repair*
> 
> Something doesn't look quite right here…
> 
> ...


Anytime you can get something running, it's a good thing!

Take this for what it's worth, make yourself a push stick style jointer safety device. There are a bunch here at LJ projects. They will not slip as easily as push pads and give you a little more control


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## WoodenJeffLV (May 15, 2009)

Milo said:


> *Adventure in Jointer Repair*
> 
> Something doesn't look quite right here…
> 
> ...


Great blog! It seems intimidating to start taking apart your tools, but sometimes that's the best way to really learn how they work and understand WHY it does what it does when you turn a knob or flip a switch.


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## TraumaJacques (Oct 25, 2008)

Milo said:


> *Adventure in Jointer Repair*
> 
> Something doesn't look quite right here…
> 
> ...


Push pads are the bomb I never start the jointer without them at reach. Thanks for posting.


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## Milo (Apr 24, 2009)

Milo said:


> *Adventure in Jointer Repair*
> 
> Something doesn't look quite right here…
> 
> ...


I'm STILL hoping to find plans for a home made blade guard, PARTICULARLY the hinge assembly. I may have found a lead over at OWWM, but it hasn't quite panned out yet.

If you have any ideas, please let know.


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## chickenhelmet (May 1, 2009)

Milo said:


> *Adventure in Jointer Repair*
> 
> Something doesn't look quite right here…
> 
> ...


Nice post. I'm a beginner and can be intimidated by my tools. When I bought my table saw I had never even touched one. The guy says "just needs to be tuned up". Jumped in and found there wasn't that much to it. Nothing better than the feeling of breathing life back into an older machine. I'm lovin' it! Thanks for the post.


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## stefang (Apr 9, 2009)

Milo said:


> *Adventure in Jointer Repair*
> 
> Something doesn't look quite right here…
> 
> ...


I saw a home made blade guard in a recent issue of Fine Woodworking magazine. Try to picture the following.

1. A board about 3-1/2" wide and 15" long standing on edge. This piece gets clamped to your jointer fence parallel with the fence.

2. In in the middle of the first piece is a board the length of your cutter head. This board has a tenon that fits into a mortise in the middle lower part of the first piece, with the mortise length being horizontal in the first piece. The widthe of the 2nd board is then covering the cutter head.

Kind of a long explanation, but I hope it's clear.


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## Milo (Apr 24, 2009)

*Dust Control, Poor Man Style*

Poor Man's Dust Collection

Hey everyone,

Sometime I think I am the most cluttered person on the planet. Well, maybe not up to the level of those "Hoarder" people you see on TLC, but pretty close. I'm the type that puts things down without paying attention, then spends 20 minutes looking for it. Ear plugs, pencils, rulers, Allen wrenches, etc,etc,etc. You get the picture.

Well, one of the things I wanted to get a handle on was dust control. Never had much more than a shopvac to use the for that, and when I moved into my new shop, I decided to try and do something about it. Plus the wife had read something about what dust does to woodworkers over time, and that was that.

Unfortunately, I didn't have the bucks to go out a big dust collector and cyclone from so I started looking around for what I could do on my own. I lucked out soon after moving, and picked up a standard air handler from a garage sale for $50.00. It's a small 1.5hp similar to what Delta puts out. After that I came up with two ideas of what I wanted. An overhead dust collector and blade guard and a cyclone.

I saw this blade guard idea, http://www.woodcentral.com/bparticles/blade_guard.pdf, and used to to make the guard, then went poor man/simple man for the overhead holder. It's just a standard bolt slider directly above the blade. I adjust the guard to slightly over the height of the wood I am going to cut before I start. No floating guard. I really like it because I feel a lot more confident pushing boards through with that guard in place. I'm still needing to tweek it a bit, it's not as stable as I'd like, but my dust mess has dropped considerably.








http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/tt77/hal05154/IMG_0487.jpg[/IMG[/URL]]

That orange and white thing you see in the picture above is a home-made cyclone, and it really works! Its nothing more that an orange HD bucket, a 1 gallon white bucket, a large funnel, a two inch piece of pvc (inside the white bucket) and three pieces of dust port intakes. I use this mini-cyclone with my overheard blade guard on the table saw. It's sorta cool watching the dust go spinning around in the big funnel. ;-)








http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/tt77/hal05154/IMG_0488.jpg[/IMG[/URL]]

The best thing I did though was make a Thein Cyclone separator. http://www.cgallery.com/jpthien/cy.htm. I made a circle cutter our of a piece of ply and my small router. It took a little tweeking to get the measurements right (It's actually stilll a little too big for the trash can), but as you can see from the trash can, it works GREAT. I was AMAZED with how well it worked when I planed down a set of rough boards. If you have a small shop, and want something to help with dust control, I highly recommend making one of these. Phil Thein makes his standard with 2" ports for a shopvac. I made mine with 4" ports to fit my air handler. Oh, the small cyclone has a 4" port on top. I just move the intake tube and move it back and for as I need it.








http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/tt77/hal05154/IMG_0486.jpg[/IMG[/URL]]








http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/tt77/hal05154/IMG_0491.jpg[/IMG[/URL]]

I use the small cyclone on my dedicated dado and router table. It works well for general clean up also.

The best part it I don't think I have $150.00 - $200.00 in all of this. Including the dust handler, you could by everything you need at HD or Lowes. You may need to order the hoses and connector somewhere else. You could do all of this with shopvac supplies and get it all at a big box store, and use pvc connectors of the cyclone lids.

If you have any questions, I'll do my best to answer.

Milo


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## Milo (Apr 24, 2009)

Milo said:


> *Dust Control, Poor Man Style*
> 
> Poor Man's Dust Collection
> 
> ...


Wow, something weird happened with the pictures. Here's a direct link…

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/tt77/hal05154/IMG_0487.jpg

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/tt77/hal05154/IMG_0488.jpg

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/tt77/hal05154/IMG_0486.jpg

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/tt77/hal05154/IMG_0491.jpg

Please let me know if you can't see the pictures.


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## bigike (May 25, 2009)

Milo said:


> *Dust Control, Poor Man Style*
> 
> Poor Man's Dust Collection
> 
> ...


very good work! i'm putting this in my faves.


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## longgone (May 5, 2009)

Milo said:


> *Dust Control, Poor Man Style*
> 
> Poor Man's Dust Collection
> 
> ...


I looked at the link to the overhead blade guard/dust collector. How have you been satisfied with it so far?

I am interested in making one for my table saw since the good manufactured ones are crazy expensive.


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## stefang (Apr 9, 2009)

Milo said:


> *Dust Control, Poor Man Style*
> 
> Poor Man's Dust Collection
> 
> ...


It looks like you are up and running with all those dust gadgets. I'm sure it will be a lot healthier in your shop. When you told about dropping and losing tools nyou could have been talking about me. It's so easy for me to make pencils and other tools disappear that I should have been a magician not a woodworker. It is my hope that before I die (of dust inhalation) I would like to set up a proper dust collection system in my shop too. Good work Milo and you are setting a good example for lazy people like myself.


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## Milo (Apr 24, 2009)

Milo said:


> *Dust Control, Poor Man Style*
> 
> Poor Man's Dust Collection
> 
> ...


Big Ike - Thanks!

Greg the WhoDat - So far so good. I took a very simple route making the overhead collector, and actually had a luck mistake in that I made it shorter, length wise, than how it is shown in the original plans. Because of that, it doesn't interefere with my splitter. A big plus since I am paranoid about kickback. I need to work a bit more on how the guard attaches to the adjustment beam.

stefang - I have to show your post to my wife. She won't believe someone thinks I'm not lazy… ;-)


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## Bluepine38 (Dec 14, 2009)

Milo said:


> *Dust Control, Poor Man Style*
> 
> Poor Man's Dust Collection
> 
> ...


Milo, good idea and plan, one of the good things on my Ryobi table saw was the clear blade guard, but it does
not have an air intake on it. As soon as I can build a dedicated shop, instead of sharing my shop with my
pickup,I am going to try to assemble an overhead setup like that. My present dust collection started with a
1 HP, 14A motor I found in the alley attached to an enclosed 10-5/8" impeller. I routed it into the shop with a 6" stove pipe that ys into 4" and a 2" clear hoses routed through two Thein separators, one for each.
The smaller line hooks to the Ryobi, and with the blade guard on gives satisfactory performance, but I think 
the overhead one will work better. The Ryobi set up does not lend itself to zero clearance blade inserts and
tends to swallow thin cuts of wood, so I have a small 8" Delta saw with no riving knife or blade guard that gets
used for small piece work.


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## Milo (Apr 24, 2009)

*Workbench almost done!*

Wow, I can't believe it's almost done. I've been banging this workbench together FOREVER, and now I'm almost done. I just have to attach the clamps, do a little sanding on the top, and wha-la-lee, done!

It's a not a TRUE Nicholson workbench, I didn't build the in table clamp, but it's really close. Now I just need to get rid of a couple more things from the shop and I'll be done.

THEN WHAT WILL I DO??? ARCH! ;-)





































When I get the paddle clamp put on, the clamp that is in the left leg and will go on the side, I'll post the final pictures.


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## bigike (May 25, 2009)

Milo said:


> *Workbench almost done!*
> 
> Wow, I can't believe it's almost done. I've been banging this workbench together FOREVER, and now I'm almost done. I just have to attach the clamps, do a little sanding on the top, and wha-la-lee, done!
> 
> ...


having hard time viewing pics?


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## Ger21 (Oct 29, 2009)

Milo said:


> *Workbench almost done!*
> 
> Wow, I can't believe it's almost done. I've been banging this workbench together FOREVER, and now I'm almost done. I just have to attach the clamps, do a little sanding on the top, and wha-la-lee, done!
> 
> ...


Until he fixes the links, after you click them, delete everything after the .jpg


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## Milo (Apr 24, 2009)

Milo said:


> *Workbench almost done!*
> 
> Wow, I can't believe it's almost done. I've been banging this workbench together FOREVER, and now I'm almost done. I just have to attach the clamps, do a little sanding on the top, and wha-la-lee, done!
> 
> ...


Fixed!


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## stefang (Apr 9, 2009)

Milo said:


> *Workbench almost done!*
> 
> Wow, I can't believe it's almost done. I've been banging this workbench together FOREVER, and now I'm almost done. I just have to attach the clamps, do a little sanding on the top, and wha-la-lee, done!
> 
> ...


A unique looking bench Milo. I'm trying to figure out how it works. Have you a link for this?


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## BritBoxmaker (Feb 1, 2010)

Milo said:


> *Workbench almost done!*
> 
> Wow, I can't believe it's almost done. I've been banging this workbench together FOREVER, and now I'm almost done. I just have to attach the clamps, do a little sanding on the top, and wha-la-lee, done!
> 
> ...


Break it in gently. Listen to its needs and it'll more than fulfill yours.


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## bigike (May 25, 2009)

Milo said:


> *Workbench almost done!*
> 
> Wow, I can't believe it's almost done. I've been banging this workbench together FOREVER, and now I'm almost done. I just have to attach the clamps, do a little sanding on the top, and wha-la-lee, done!
> 
> ...


great pics, very nice bench can't wait to see it done!


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## Beginningwoodworker (May 5, 2008)

Milo said:


> *Workbench almost done!*
> 
> Wow, I can't believe it's almost done. I've been banging this workbench together FOREVER, and now I'm almost done. I just have to attach the clamps, do a little sanding on the top, and wha-la-lee, done!
> 
> ...


Great progress on the workbench.


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