# My Garage/Work Shop Makeover



## MT_Stringer (Jul 21, 2009)

*What a Mess!*

I thought I would document my desire to reorganize my one car garage/workshop. My woodworking tools share the floor space with a washer, dryer, upright freezer and a hot water heater. The outside wall has a heavy duty storage rack that takes up about 2/3 of the wall. Another storage rack and the Harbor Freight dust collector takes up the remainder of the wall space.

That leaves me with the center of the garage and the other long wall to use. After adding a cabinet table saw, an outfeed table/work bench/assembly table multiuse table, a 14 inch band saw and a 6 inch jointer. There is not a lot of room left. I also have the Harbor Freight large rolling tool box with two add-ons which take up almost 6 feet of the available wall space.

Many years ago, I built a simple work bench and bolted a vise onto it. The other day when I was doing some cleaning and sweeping, I found a magazine behind a storage rack that was dated April 1988!  That was a year after we moved into this house. Guess I should clean up more often, huh?

After that many years you can imagine I have collected a lot of stuff. I still have some of my original Sears Craftsman tools from my first tool purchase in 1967.

I have already made several improvements. A few years ago, we had the siding replaced on our house. While the siding was off, I had the contractor insulate the outside wall of the garage.I'm glad I thought of it while the wall was open and easy to get to. We also bought a new energy efficient overhead door and had it installed.

Last summer it was 95-102 here in the Houston area. It was miserable to try to work in the shop. I even set up a pop up canopy to do some of the work outside under it. But the homeowners assoc didn't like that so I took it down.

As a result, I bought a Fedders 12K split system air conditioner and me and my son installed it. He works for a HVAC company and did the AC part. I hired an electrician to run a new dedicated circuit for the AC unit. The outside unit sits behind the privacy fence and is actually only about 6 feet from the electrical service panel.

The following week, I had an insulating company blow in 11 inches of insulation in the ceiling over the garage, the adjacent bedroom and bathroom. Boy howdy, what a difference that insulation made. One of the added benefits is sound deadner. It has really muffled outside noise. In fact, you can't hardly hear the overhead door when it opens or closes.

The big difference is the insulating factor. With all of the walls (and ceiling) insulated, the garage is just like the rest of the house. The AC keeps the temp at about 74 deg F. It will drop it to 73 if I don't raise the door much. 
That is while it is 90+ deg outside.

Now I can work anytime. The AC unit is also a heat pump so those cold harsh Houston winters (sic) don't faze me…33 deg outside, 69 inside. 

The other day it was 91 outside - 74 inside. I like that a lot.









*The Plan*

I have devised a plan and it goes like this:


Clear out the 4 foot x 6 foot alcove that was used to hold a tool box and a lot of other stuff.
Build new upper cabinets and install them on French Cleats. Stock the cabinets with paint and stain supplies.
Remove the old work bench and clear out all of the junk along that wall. Paint the wall as I go.
Relocate the rolling tool box to make better use of the floor space.
Build two new cabinets and hang them above the tool box on French cleats.
Add some electrical receptacle boxes for power tool use by running 1/2 inch EMT conduit as needed.
Build new cabinets to house the bench top drill press, miter saw, and planer. Note: This is still under consideration. I haven't actually get it figured out yet but I have 92 inches of wall space to work with.
Build more cabinets above the power tools if room allows.

Note: Once all of the cabinets have been built, I will build face frames and attach them to the cabinets. Doors will probably come last.

*Before Pictures*

Here are some pics taken before I started this project.




































I guess that is all for now. In the next segment, I will start building the cabinets for the alcove and get them hung and stocked.


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## steliart (Jan 15, 2011)

MT_Stringer said:


> *What a Mess!*
> 
> I thought I would document my desire to reorganize my one car garage/workshop. My woodworking tools share the floor space with a washer, dryer, upright freezer and a hot water heater. The outside wall has a heavy duty storage rack that takes up about 2/3 of the wall. Another storage rack and the Harbor Freight dust collector takes up the remainder of the wall space.
> 
> ...


I know the feeling, it all looks allot now but it's gonna be great


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## kepy (Mar 5, 2012)

MT_Stringer said:


> *What a Mess!*
> 
> I thought I would document my desire to reorganize my one car garage/workshop. My woodworking tools share the floor space with a washer, dryer, upright freezer and a hot water heater. The outside wall has a heavy duty storage rack that takes up about 2/3 of the wall. Another storage rack and the Harbor Freight dust collector takes up the remainder of the wall space.
> 
> ...


I know where there is a shop that you could use as a trial run to see how it would go.


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## MT_Stringer (Jul 21, 2009)

MT_Stringer said:


> *What a Mess!*
> 
> I thought I would document my desire to reorganize my one car garage/workshop. My woodworking tools share the floor space with a washer, dryer, upright freezer and a hot water heater. The outside wall has a heavy duty storage rack that takes up about 2/3 of the wall. Another storage rack and the Harbor Freight dust collector takes up the remainder of the wall space.
> 
> ...


Thanks. I swear I am not a hoarder!


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## clieb91 (Aug 17, 2007)

MT_Stringer said:


> *What a Mess!*
> 
> I thought I would document my desire to reorganize my one car garage/workshop. My woodworking tools share the floor space with a washer, dryer, upright freezer and a hot water heater. The outside wall has a heavy duty storage rack that takes up about 2/3 of the wall. Another storage rack and the Harbor Freight dust collector takes up the remainder of the wall space.
> 
> ...


Sounds like a good plan. It will be much appreciated when it is completed I am sure. Look forward to seeing some of the future posts regarding the undertaking.

CtL


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## whitebeast88 (May 27, 2012)

MT_Stringer said:


> *What a Mess!*
> 
> I thought I would document my desire to reorganize my one car garage/workshop. My woodworking tools share the floor space with a washer, dryer, upright freezer and a hot water heater. The outside wall has a heavy duty storage rack that takes up about 2/3 of the wall. Another storage rack and the Harbor Freight dust collector takes up the remainder of the wall space.
> 
> ...


sounds great,can't wait to see your progress….


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## redryder (Nov 28, 2009)

MT_Stringer said:


> *What a Mess!*
> 
> I thought I would document my desire to reorganize my one car garage/workshop. My woodworking tools share the floor space with a washer, dryer, upright freezer and a hot water heater. The outside wall has a heavy duty storage rack that takes up about 2/3 of the wall. Another storage rack and the Harbor Freight dust collector takes up the remainder of the wall space.
> 
> ...


Love your drill press set-up.
You know what they say, "Organization is for people who are too lazy to look for things"........................


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## KiwiCraig (May 1, 2013)

MT_Stringer said:


> *What a Mess!*
> 
> I thought I would document my desire to reorganize my one car garage/workshop. My woodworking tools share the floor space with a washer, dryer, upright freezer and a hot water heater. The outside wall has a heavy duty storage rack that takes up about 2/3 of the wall. Another storage rack and the Harbor Freight dust collector takes up the remainder of the wall space.
> 
> ...


Can't remember painting my tool cabinets red! Great progress further on in your blog.


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## MT_Stringer (Jul 21, 2009)

MT_Stringer said:


> *What a Mess!*
> 
> I thought I would document my desire to reorganize my one car garage/workshop. My woodworking tools share the floor space with a washer, dryer, upright freezer and a hot water heater. The outside wall has a heavy duty storage rack that takes up about 2/3 of the wall. Another storage rack and the Harbor Freight dust collector takes up the remainder of the wall space.
> 
> ...


"Can't remember painting my tool cabinets red!"

@Kiwi - That's the way it came from Harbor Freight.


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## MT_Stringer (Jul 21, 2009)

MT_Stringer said:


> *What a Mess!*
> 
> I thought I would document my desire to reorganize my one car garage/workshop. My woodworking tools share the floor space with a washer, dryer, upright freezer and a hot water heater. The outside wall has a heavy duty storage rack that takes up about 2/3 of the wall. Another storage rack and the Harbor Freight dust collector takes up the remainder of the wall space.
> 
> ...


Worked out in the shop today. The high for today set an all time record for the Houston area - 36 degrees F. We knew that the tail end of the arctic blast was coming, so we were ready for it.

Working in a small area has it's drawbacks, and many times I wish the place was larger, but it isn't and it is not going to get any larger. But being insulated and air conditioned/heated does help make up for the size limitation.

It has been 72 deg F in the shop all day - T shirt weather!  For you guys north of here, I don't envy you one bit. It is hard for me to imagine the temps being reported on the news.


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## rbrjr1 (Nov 2, 2017)

MT_Stringer said:


> *What a Mess!*
> 
> I thought I would document my desire to reorganize my one car garage/workshop. My woodworking tools share the floor space with a washer, dryer, upright freezer and a hot water heater. The outside wall has a heavy duty storage rack that takes up about 2/3 of the wall. Another storage rack and the Harbor Freight dust collector takes up the remainder of the wall space.
> 
> ...


I've got a 1 car garage shop also.. 
and mine has junk everywhere just like these photos..

You've added to my inspiration to organize and make the space useful again.


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## helluvawreck (Jul 21, 2010)

MT_Stringer said:


> *What a Mess!*
> 
> I thought I would document my desire to reorganize my one car garage/workshop. My woodworking tools share the floor space with a washer, dryer, upright freezer and a hot water heater. The outside wall has a heavy duty storage rack that takes up about 2/3 of the wall. Another storage rack and the Harbor Freight dust collector takes up the remainder of the wall space.
> 
> ...


I hope the redo will go off without a hitch. You will enjoy it and it will be a rewarding experience. My suggestion would be to divide it up into segments and finish each project completely before starting with another. This way you can see the improvements as you go along and it will be a wonderful motivator. Good luck!

helluvawreck aka Charles
http://woodworkingexpo.wordpress.com


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## MT_Stringer (Jul 21, 2009)

*Cabinets for the Alcove*

Finally, I am making some progress. The first two cabinets are being made from A/B Sanded pine plywood. Since I am painting them, they should look OK when I get through.

I forgot to mention in the first entry that I am using pocket hole construction to build the cabinets. No glue is used except where I attach the French cleat to the back of the cabinet. I glued and screwed it. I used this series of Kreg videos as my inspiration and I sorta followed the guys path of construction.

I have a pocket hole jig that I bought last year. It works pretty good for me. I attached the dust collector shroud and usually connect it to a Bucket Max from Lowe's. It provides good suction and generally helps keep the board sucked to the jig when I am moving it around and setting up to drill the next hole.










It hangs on the wall when not in use.



























As stated previously, I built two cabinets and mounted them on the wall using French cleats. One cabinet would have been hard for me to mount by myself. So I built two of them.

I painted the pieces before assembly. Much easier on my tired old aching arms. A coat of primer and two coats of Battleship Gray! 



























And here are the cabinets hung and stocked with all of my paints and stains that I normally use. I am a pretty happy camper.










I may add another shelf later but for now, that is all I am going to do until it is time to build the face frames.

Note: To drill the shelf pin holes, I bought the Kreg Shelf Pin Jig. That thing works great. I wish it was longer, but I made it. I even helped a friend that needed shelf pins for her entertainment center. I was able to set up a spacer and drill the holes for her. Perfect!

Stay tuned. Don't touch that dial. The next entry will be the construction of the cabinets that will be mounted on the wall above the rolling tool box.


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## GrandpaLen (Mar 6, 2012)

MT_Stringer said:


> *Cabinets for the Alcove*
> 
> Finally, I am making some progress. The first two cabinets are being made from A/B Sanded pine plywood. Since I am painting them, they should look OK when I get through.
> 
> ...


Mike,

Great cabinets, good solid build.

3/4" plywood, should be able to park a Buick in them if need be. ;-)

Best Regards. - Grandpa Len.

Work Safely and have Fun.


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## MT_Stringer (Jul 21, 2009)

MT_Stringer said:


> *Cabinets for the Alcove*
> 
> Finally, I am making some progress. The first two cabinets are being made from A/B Sanded pine plywood. Since I am painting them, they should look OK when I get through.
> 
> ...


Thanks grandpa. They are square, level, and screwed together. The face frame should make them look like one cabinet.


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## whitebeast88 (May 27, 2012)

MT_Stringer said:


> *Cabinets for the Alcove*
> 
> Finally, I am making some progress. The first two cabinets are being made from A/B Sanded pine plywood. Since I am painting them, they should look OK when I get through.
> 
> ...


very nice.great work and already filled up.what more could you want.thanks for sharing…


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## clieb91 (Aug 17, 2007)

MT_Stringer said:


> *Cabinets for the Alcove*
> 
> Finally, I am making some progress. The first two cabinets are being made from A/B Sanded pine plywood. Since I am painting them, they should look OK when I get through.
> 
> ...


Great start. Starting to look better already. Gotta Love the Kreg Jig. Thanks for the small tip about the Lowes Bucket Max been wondering how well they work. May have to pick one up for the shop.

CtL


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## MT_Stringer (Jul 21, 2009)

MT_Stringer said:


> *Cabinets for the Alcove*
> 
> Finally, I am making some progress. The first two cabinets are being made from A/B Sanded pine plywood. Since I am painting them, they should look OK when I get through.
> 
> ...


I couldn't stand the mess any longer. Today, I cleaned off the metal shelving unit, posted a picture of it on FaceBook, and found someone to take it. Turns out, it was my wife's nephew. His girlfriend has potted plants and this stand will work great for them. I have had this stand for almost thirty years. 

Before:









With the stand removed and the area cleaned up, I proceeded to attach a couple of pieces of 1/2 inch plywood to the wall. And I mounted a shelf that I had used previously. It has a power bar. That should come in handy.

One of the reasons I wanted this wall space, is to store my pocket hole jig and the table saw sled.
I screwed on a bracket of the pocket hole jig/sled to rest on and added a lip of 1/2 inch plywood. To keep it from falling, I fabricated two catches to hold the sled in place.

Then I mounted a shaker peg on the plywood so the table saw sled would have a place to hang. There was already a hole in the sled, so this worked nicely.

Lastly, I added a separate piece of plywood with another shaker peg so my table saw auxiliary fence would have a place to hang. When all was said and done, my HVLP sprayer sits underneath nicely.

Finding a place to hang these pieces of equipment helped clear the floor of stuff that constantly gets in the way.

After:
Here is the after pic with everything in it's place. Feeling pretty happy tonight.


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## MT_Stringer (Jul 21, 2009)

*New Cabinets Over the Tool Box*

To prepare for the next phase of the makeover, I demoed the old work bench that has served me well for the last 20+ years. Fortunately, it was built with drywall screws and came apart easily. I only had to pull the 6 nails that I used to fasten it to the wall. I called a friend and he came over and loaded it up. In a week or so, I'll go help him set it up in his garage.

I cleaned up the area and painted the part of the wall that I could get to. Then with a lot of pushing and pulling, I managed to move the toolbox down the wall to where I wanted it to sit. It is heavy and thank goodness the heavy duty casters worked great. Then I painted the wall that had been blocked by the toolbox.

The wall is starting to look pretty good. Fresh paint always helps!  I have a blank canvas! 









Part of my makeover plan is to build and install cabinets above the rolling toolbox. With the toolbox in place, I was ready to start building the two cabinets that will be mounted on the wall above it.

I bought a couple of sheets of Birch plywood from Clark's Hardwood Lumber Co. - a local lumber distributor. They have a lot of hardwood to chose from. The birch was $40/sheet which is as good as I can get in my area for 3/4 inch A/B plywood.

Here is a pic of my "plan". I had to make a couple of adjustments on the fly so take the dimensions with a grain of salt! 









Each cabinet has three components.


Each cabinet will have six compartments for storing plastic "tackle trays" which have everything from screws to bolts…and more. With 12 compartments, I can keep the most used trays within easy reach and have the others stored for use if needed.


Immediately above these compartments will be six compartments with 1/4 inch plywood dividers. These will be used to store drills/ drivers, nail guns, etc. Again, all within easy reach.


Above those compartments will be a storage area with shelf pins so shelves can be adjusted to whatever height I need. I am pretty stoked about this design. I think it is going to work out great.

Later I will build the face frames and add doors to the top portion.

So, let's get to cutting, routing, painting and get 'em put together.









I'd like to mention here that to break down the plywood sheets, I used a track saw that I bought recently with this project in mind. It is the CS55 model made by Scheppach. It looks identical to the Grizzly model in every way. I also bought the 55 inch track from Grizzly to give me over 100 inches of saw capability. All parts fit like they came out of the same box.  So far, I haven't had any problems with the saw or track pieces and I am getting more comfortable with the saw with each use.

Here are the two sides of the first cabinet with my layout lines marked for routing. I have an exact width dado jig made similar to the one The Wood Whisperer built. Thanks for the inspiration, Marc. I used a 1/2 inch flush trim bit to cut the 3/4 inch and the 1/2 inch dadoes. For the 1/4 inch dadoes, I switched to a guide bushing and used a 3/16 router bit made specifically for undersize plywood. I took a lot of time to layout where the dadoes needed to go, and fortunately for me, all worked out perfect. I guess I was just lucky.










After drilling the shelf pin holes, I was ready to paint and assemble it.
Here it is ready to hang. Touch up painting will come later.









Here is the cabinet hanging on the wall before I moved the toolbox.









Trial fit with some of my tools and tackle trays.









Close up!









This pic is after I relocated the toolbox.


















When my friend came over, he helped me scoot the cabinet over a couple of inches so it is now in the right spot.

Next up is some electrical mods. I am going to put in a couple of receptacles connected with 1/2 inch EMT conduit.

Stay tuned. more coming soon.


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## clieb91 (Aug 17, 2007)

MT_Stringer said:


> *New Cabinets Over the Tool Box*
> 
> To prepare for the next phase of the makeover, I demoed the old work bench that has served me well for the last 20+ years. Fortunately, it was built with drywall screws and came apart easily. I only had to pull the 6 nails that I used to fasten it to the wall. I called a friend and he came over and loaded it up. In a week or so, I'll go help him set it up in his garage.
> 
> ...


Mike, Really like that wall cabinet. Great idea on the tackle box storage.

CtL


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## redryder (Nov 28, 2009)

MT_Stringer said:


> *New Cabinets Over the Tool Box*
> 
> To prepare for the next phase of the makeover, I demoed the old work bench that has served me well for the last 20+ years. Fortunately, it was built with drywall screws and came apart easily. I only had to pull the 6 nails that I used to fasten it to the wall. I called a friend and he came over and loaded it up. In a week or so, I'll go help him set it up in his garage.
> 
> ...


Great wall cabinet with room to expand. Nice to get things put away…...................


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## GrandpaLen (Mar 6, 2012)

MT_Stringer said:


> *New Cabinets Over the Tool Box*
> 
> To prepare for the next phase of the makeover, I demoed the old work bench that has served me well for the last 20+ years. Fortunately, it was built with drywall screws and came apart easily. I only had to pull the 6 nails that I used to fasten it to the wall. I called a friend and he came over and loaded it up. In a week or so, I'll go help him set it up in his garage.
> 
> ...


Isn't it amazing how much inspiration and confidence comes from a thought to a drawing to fruition.

Keep on truckin', it's looking Great.

Best Regards. - Grandpa Len.

Work Safely and have Fun.


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## Flocktothewall (Jan 16, 2011)

MT_Stringer said:


> *New Cabinets Over the Tool Box*
> 
> To prepare for the next phase of the makeover, I demoed the old work bench that has served me well for the last 20+ years. Fortunately, it was built with drywall screws and came apart easily. I only had to pull the 6 nails that I used to fasten it to the wall. I called a friend and he came over and loaded it up. In a week or so, I'll go help him set it up in his garage.
> 
> ...


It looks to me as though your french cleat system is attached to the "nailer" strip on the cabinet? Does this cause it to lean forward or the shelves to have a downward slope, or did you put a on the bottom of the shelf so it sits flush?

Great looking cabinet.


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## MT_Stringer (Jul 21, 2009)

MT_Stringer said:


> *New Cabinets Over the Tool Box*
> 
> To prepare for the next phase of the makeover, I demoed the old work bench that has served me well for the last 20+ years. Fortunately, it was built with drywall screws and came apart easily. I only had to pull the 6 nails that I used to fasten it to the wall. I called a friend and he came over and loaded it up. In a week or so, I'll go help him set it up in his garage.
> 
> ...


@Luke. I put a spacer on the back of the cabinet across the bottom so the shelf sits perpendicular on the cleat. Each cabinet has three 4 inch "backs", one at the top, bottom and one just above the shelf above the cubbie holes. Lots of pocket screws and strong as heck.


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## whitebeast88 (May 27, 2012)

MT_Stringer said:


> *New Cabinets Over the Tool Box*
> 
> To prepare for the next phase of the makeover, I demoed the old work bench that has served me well for the last 20+ years. Fortunately, it was built with drywall screws and came apart easily. I only had to pull the 6 nails that I used to fasten it to the wall. I called a friend and he came over and loaded it up. In a week or so, I'll go help him set it up in his garage.
> 
> ...


very sweet,nice organization.


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## MSW (May 3, 2014)

MT_Stringer said:


> *New Cabinets Over the Tool Box*
> 
> To prepare for the next phase of the makeover, I demoed the old work bench that has served me well for the last 20+ years. Fortunately, it was built with drywall screws and came apart easily. I only had to pull the 6 nails that I used to fasten it to the wall. I called a friend and he came over and loaded it up. In a week or so, I'll go help him set it up in his garage.
> 
> ...


Mike,

I was researching the www for build projects using the Kreg Jig and one of the searches ended up here on LJ's of one of your projects. It caught me by surprise when I dug a little deeper and realized who you were and that we had spoken via P.O.T.N a few times. I didn't realize you are an avid woodworker as well. You have some really great stuff in your project and blog sections, and you did a fantastic job with this cabinet! I definitely have this one on my to do list. Thanks for sharing.


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## MT_Stringer (Jul 21, 2009)

MT_Stringer said:


> *New Cabinets Over the Tool Box*
> 
> To prepare for the next phase of the makeover, I demoed the old work bench that has served me well for the last 20+ years. Fortunately, it was built with drywall screws and came apart easily. I only had to pull the 6 nails that I used to fasten it to the wall. I called a friend and he came over and loaded it up. In a week or so, I'll go help him set it up in his garage.
> 
> ...


Thanks Mark. I sorta switched hobbies.  I retired from shooting high school sports, sold a few pieces of camera gear and bought some woodworking tools.

The shop cabinets are working great. Almost everything I need is in one of those plastic tackle boxes. Very easy to grab and go.


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## MT_Stringer (Jul 21, 2009)

*Adding new receptacles*

With my tool box where I want it to be from now on, and one cabinet set in place, it was time to modify my electrical receptacle. I have been using this single receptacle with a 6 outlet adapter for 20 years. It is time for a makeover!

First thing I did was determine which breaker fed the existing receptacle. That only took two tries!  I even used a Klein circuit breaker finder but it didn't do as good a job as I expected. But I managed to isolate the power. Since I am the only one here this week, I was good to go.

If you look closely at this picture, you can see the existing receptacle.









A trip to my local big box store provided a few things I needed to go along with the supplies I had on hand.

I removed the existing receptacle box and mounted a conduit box a little to the right and a little lower on the wall so the conduit would run easily beneath the cabinets. It is attached firmly to the wall stud.

After re-routing the romex through a plastic bushing into the box, I closed up the old hole in the sheetrock and patched it up with drywall mud. After it was painted, it simply disappeared.

I decided to put only one receptacle in this particular box so I would have room to tie in the wires. That turned out to be a good move on my part.









After some careful measurements, I cut the 1/2 inch EMT tubing and installed two more boxes. Each is mounted to a wall stud.









Don't let the camera angle fool ya, everything is level, at least it is according to my 4 foot level. 









Time to close it up.









After some touch up painting, the wall looks like new.









Hurray! My mods passed the smoke test! 









This brings me up to date. I have my work bench cleared and ready to assemble cabinet number two.
Stay tuned.


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## jimmyb (Mar 21, 2013)

MT_Stringer said:


> *Adding new receptacles*
> 
> With my tool box where I want it to be from now on, and one cabinet set in place, it was time to modify my electrical receptacle. I have been using this single receptacle with a 6 outlet adapter for 20 years. It is time for a makeover!
> 
> ...


I tip if you may. When working over my workshop, I wired a mechanical 60 minute timer switch to one on my outlet boxes. The two Craftsman battery chargers plug into them permanently. When I want to charge the batteries (only 60 minutes per instructions) I pop the battery(s) in and turn the dial and leave the shop or continue working knowing that they get charged for the proper amount of time.

Kinda like this:


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## muleskinner (Sep 24, 2011)

MT_Stringer said:


> *Adding new receptacles*
> 
> With my tool box where I want it to be from now on, and one cabinet set in place, it was time to modify my electrical receptacle. I have been using this single receptacle with a 6 outlet adapter for 20 years. It is time for a makeover!
> 
> ...


Good move with the quads. It could almost be a rule of thumb: if you need an outlet there, you'll eventually wish you had a double duplex.


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## MT_Stringer (Jul 21, 2009)

MT_Stringer said:


> *Adding new receptacles*
> 
> With my tool box where I want it to be from now on, and one cabinet set in place, it was time to modify my electrical receptacle. I have been using this single receptacle with a 6 outlet adapter for 20 years. It is time for a makeover!
> 
> ...


Thanks for the tip Jim.


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## MT_Stringer (Jul 21, 2009)

*Wall Cabinet #2 Build*

Today proved to be productive even if it did take all day! :-(

I had all the pieces for the second cabinet except for one and I had to cut some dadoes in another. These were the cut to fit parts of the tray cubbies and the tool cubbies.

I won't bore you with pics of the front since they are the same as the first one I built.

Here is the cabinet from the back side.









This pic shows the French cleat and bottom spacer attached.










Close up of the cleat.









And the spacer.









Gotta love it when a plan comes together. Just like I drew it up! 









Dead level!  Check out the bubble on the back of the drill. 









Shelves temporarily set in place to make sure they fit. Of course they fit, I cut them to fit. 









Looks like it is time to build some face frames. I bought some poplar at the lumber yard that was discounted 50%. Perfect sizes for the frames.

I am feeling really satisfied with the outcome so far.


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## Robb (Aug 18, 2007)

MT_Stringer said:


> *Wall Cabinet #2 Build*
> 
> Today proved to be productive even if it did take all day! :-(
> 
> ...


Looks great, and you're moving right along on this!


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## whitebeast88 (May 27, 2012)

MT_Stringer said:


> *Wall Cabinet #2 Build*
> 
> Today proved to be productive even if it did take all day! :-(
> 
> ...


great work,kinda as if you planned it that way


----------



## MT_Stringer (Jul 21, 2009)

*Touch up painting and pegboard*

Over this past weekend, I finished trimming out the cabinets that were built for the cubbie hole. The way I applied the trim, the cabinets now look like one. I can't image anyone wanting to take them down in the future.










Also, when I demoed the old work bench I took the existing pegboard down from the wall. I found a new home for it! It is now residing on a portion of the wall that is adjacent to a door. It has never been used because there is only a few inches of useable space. I now have a new home for some of my templates, track saw tracks and the pocket hole jig. It is working out nicely with no interference when opening the door.










Next up in this makeover is a new miter saw station. I am still thinking about it and sketching a few design options. I hope to get a good bang for my buck with room for storage in cabinets underneath the extension tables, shop vac beneath the saw, upper cabinets on the wall and possibly room for a couple of my sanders.


----------



## whitebeast88 (May 27, 2012)

MT_Stringer said:


> *Touch up painting and pegboard*
> 
> Over this past weekend, I finished trimming out the cabinets that were built for the cubbie hole. The way I applied the trim, the cabinets now look like one. I can't image anyone wanting to take them down in the future.
> 
> ...


the cabinets look great and a nice place for your peg board.looks to be coming together nicely.


----------



## Buckethead (Apr 14, 2013)

MT_Stringer said:


> *Touch up painting and pegboard*
> 
> Over this past weekend, I finished trimming out the cabinets that were built for the cubbie hole. The way I applied the trim, the cabinets now look like one. I can't image anyone wanting to take them down in the future.
> 
> ...


Very nice. I'd like to read a review of your track saw system too.


----------



## MT_Stringer (Jul 21, 2009)

MT_Stringer said:


> *Touch up painting and pegboard*
> 
> Over this past weekend, I finished trimming out the cabinets that were built for the cubbie hole. The way I applied the trim, the cabinets now look like one. I can't image anyone wanting to take them down in the future.
> 
> ...


Thanks whitebeast88.

"Very nice. I'd like to read a review of your track saw system too."

Thanks Buckethead. I will be cutting some more plywood this week. So far, no problems with the saw or tracks. I would like to get a little more use and experience before writing up a review.


----------



## Robb (Aug 18, 2007)

MT_Stringer said:


> *Touch up painting and pegboard*
> 
> Over this past weekend, I finished trimming out the cabinets that were built for the cubbie hole. The way I applied the trim, the cabinets now look like one. I can't image anyone wanting to take them down in the future.
> 
> ...


Very slick! That's a great spot for the repurposed pegboard. I'm fresh out of available wallspace in my 2-stall garage, or I'd steal that.


----------



## Bsmith (Feb 2, 2011)

MT_Stringer said:


> *Touch up painting and pegboard*
> 
> Over this past weekend, I finished trimming out the cabinets that were built for the cubbie hole. The way I applied the trim, the cabinets now look like one. I can't image anyone wanting to take them down in the future.
> 
> ...


Wow! I went back to the first post and picture. What an improvment. Way to keep after it!


----------



## MT_Stringer (Jul 21, 2009)

MT_Stringer said:


> *Touch up painting and pegboard*
> 
> Over this past weekend, I finished trimming out the cabinets that were built for the cubbie hole. The way I applied the trim, the cabinets now look like one. I can't image anyone wanting to take them down in the future.
> 
> ...


Thanks Bryan.


----------



## rexb (Mar 28, 2012)

MT_Stringer said:


> *Touch up painting and pegboard*
> 
> Over this past weekend, I finished trimming out the cabinets that were built for the cubbie hole. The way I applied the trim, the cabinets now look like one. I can't image anyone wanting to take them down in the future.
> 
> ...


I really like everything you've done so far, especially the two cabinets over your toolbox. I may have to steal your design…

Keep up the great work!


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## MT_Stringer (Jul 21, 2009)

*New Miter Saw Station*

My next part of the garage makeover is to build a miter saw station. I bought the plans from Ron Paulk and studied them over and over and watched his videos on building his work bench. So, I finally used Mikey's Sketch pad to design my version of the miter saw station.

Here is my plan.










Sorry there is not a lot of detail in my plan but here is the jist of it.


Build two cabinets that will be used for storing power tools and larger jigs and leave room for short cut offs 24 inches or less. Use 3" locking casters on the front.
Add drawers or trays as necessary to make it easier to get to the tools such as the air compressor.
Position Shop Vac in the area under the miter saw.
Build the Ron Paulk version of The ultimate Miter Saw Station…with a few exceptions such as the width will be 24 inches instead of 18.
Attach the miter saw station to the cabinets with 3/8" bolts.
Build an extension table for the left side of the miter saw. Support it with Ron's saw horse as shown in his plans.

All of this planning sounds good except, I have made slight changes as I went along. Hopefully for the good. I am mainly using Ron's plans as a guide and to see his ideas of designing his bench and stand.

I have searched You Tube over and over watching videos until it all became a blur. However, I do like the ideas Jordan incorporated into his miter saw stand. I should also have room to set up my belt sander and maybe the oscillating sander. The more, the merrier.

Other inspiration came from the miter saw station built by Steve at downtoearthwoodworks.

Dust collection for this saw is #1 priority on my list. I already have the Shop Vac hooked up to it with the dust routed through the Oneida cyclone which works just great. I checked the vac and there is nothing but an empty bag in it. If I do set up a sander or two, I will most likely build some sort of short manifold so I can connect the tools to the Shop Vac also. That shouldn't be to hard.

But the main thing I want to do is build some sort of hood to catch the airborne dust and draw it downward into a port that will be routed to my Harbor Freight Dust collector. That is a work in progress. I think it is doable because there will be about 6 1/2 inches behind the miter saw station that I can use for plumbing. 

*Cabinet Construction*
I have completed the carcases for the two cabinets. I used Birch plywood purchased from a lumber yard for $39.95 sheet. That is not too bad price wise.

Each cabinet has two sides and a center divider, along with a solid bottom. I connected these pieces with 4 inch stretchers also cut from the plywood and everything was joined together using pocket hole construction. Since I want these cabinets to be strong, I used some 1/2 inch plywood left over from another project to fill in the back of each cabinet. I used the Kreg micro pocket hole jig to drill the 1/2 inch pockets and one inch screws. That made the cabinet very strong.


















I mounted some plywood pads under each corner of the cabinet to give the casters some extra meat so the lag screws will get a good grip.










And here we are, up to date. Both carcases are ready for drawers and face frames. I have them set in place and mocked up the saw, air compressor and the shop vac.









After the initial dry fit, I realized that I probably should shorten the overall length a few inches and leave room for the dust deputy to sit at the end which will make it really easy to empty. So I think I will shorten the miter saw Station overall length to 80 inches instead of the original 90. After doing some preliminary measuring, I will be able to have about 8 1/2 inches of full support for whatever I will be cutting with about 37 inches to the right of the blade and about the same to the left. With a short extension, I will be able to support a full 8 feet to the left of the blade and still have the garage door down. To the right, I can go out over 12 feet with no problem.

That brings the project up to date. I think I will ponder the situation and maybe go to the store and check out the HVAC metal stuff. Hopefully, I will be able to fit in the duct work so I can rout it to the dust collector.

I forgot to mention that the miter saw is brand new. I sold my original Harbor Freight model and bought the Hitachi 12 slider from the Big Box Store. So far, I really like it. Smooth, not too loud and the factory blade works surprisingly well. The main reason for purchasing the saw new was to gain about three inches of wall clearance with the two position slider. Maybe I can do a review after I have had it for awhile and get used to it.


----------



## steliart (Jan 15, 2011)

MT_Stringer said:


> *New Miter Saw Station*
> 
> My next part of the garage makeover is to build a miter saw station. I bought the plans from Ron Paulk and studied them over and over and watched his videos on building his work bench. So, I finally used Mikey's Sketch pad to design my version of the miter saw station.
> 
> ...


Excelent liter saw you have their and the projects looks great


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## helluvawreck (Jul 21, 2010)

MT_Stringer said:


> *New Miter Saw Station*
> 
> My next part of the garage makeover is to build a miter saw station. I bought the plans from Ron Paulk and studied them over and over and watched his videos on building his work bench. So, I finally used Mikey's Sketch pad to design my version of the miter saw station.
> 
> ...


It's really nice and will give your shop a lot of organization.

helluvawreck aka Charles
http://woodworkingexpo.wordpress.com


----------



## NormG (Mar 5, 2010)

MT_Stringer said:


> *New Miter Saw Station*
> 
> My next part of the garage makeover is to build a miter saw station. I bought the plans from Ron Paulk and studied them over and over and watched his videos on building his work bench. So, I finally used Mikey's Sketch pad to design my version of the miter saw station.
> 
> ...


I started this reply yesterday, had to watch Steve's video, you did a wonderful work station, thank you for sharing


----------



## Kentuk55 (Sep 21, 2010)

MT_Stringer said:


> *New Miter Saw Station*
> 
> My next part of the garage makeover is to build a miter saw station. I bought the plans from Ron Paulk and studied them over and over and watched his videos on building his work bench. So, I finally used Mikey's Sketch pad to design my version of the miter saw station.
> 
> ...


Coming along nicely


----------



## MT_Stringer (Jul 21, 2009)

*New Miter Saw Station - Construction Details*

I have been working diligently trying to get this phase of the makeover finished.
Here are some pics of the construction.

Case work with drawer slides ready for drawers or trays.


















Top of the cabinet. The miter saw portion will bolt on to the top of the two cabinets.









Laying out the templates for the sides and ends. Dang that MDF makes a lot of dust.









Rough cutting the openings so I can route 'em smooth using the template I cut from MDF.









Two routers are better than one! Here I was routing the pieces for the sides and ends of the miter saw stand. When I finished routing a piece, I would use the other router to do a little round over to ease the sharp edges. Then I would move to the next piece and repeat.









Time to drill a few pocket holes. Check out my air filtration unit in the background. Don't laugh, it works great.









Dry fit. I cut the two tops for the stand and set the saw in place to see how it would fit.









More construction pics coming soon including the final assy and the installation of the Kreg Precision Trak. Rockler had a 20% off sale going so I couldn't pass up saving almost $25 on the Trak.


----------



## Handtooler (Jul 24, 2012)

MT_Stringer said:


> *New Miter Saw Station - Construction Details*
> 
> I have been working diligently trying to get this phase of the makeover finished.
> Here are some pics of the construction.
> ...


Great Blog! In-depth info/instructions and super pics. It gave me some much needed knowledge on adding a pedestle unit to a previous desk I constructed years ago. Thanks for your efforts.


----------



## whitebeast88 (May 27, 2012)

MT_Stringer said:


> *New Miter Saw Station - Construction Details*
> 
> I have been working diligently trying to get this phase of the makeover finished.
> Here are some pics of the construction.
> ...


its coming together nicely,can't wait to see it finished.thanks for sharing.


----------



## steliart (Jan 15, 2011)

MT_Stringer said:


> *New Miter Saw Station - Construction Details*
> 
> I have been working diligently trying to get this phase of the makeover finished.
> Here are some pics of the construction.
> ...


WoW! It will be a great station, niceeeee!!!

I got very interested to have a look at your assembly table with the holes and t-tracks, but it was not in your projects, could you present that to us when you can?


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## Kentuk55 (Sep 21, 2010)

MT_Stringer said:


> *New Miter Saw Station - Construction Details*
> 
> I have been working diligently trying to get this phase of the makeover finished.
> Here are some pics of the construction.
> ...


Nicely done.


----------



## moonie (Jun 18, 2010)

MT_Stringer said:


> *New Miter Saw Station - Construction Details*
> 
> I have been working diligently trying to get this phase of the makeover finished.
> Here are some pics of the construction.
> ...


nice build so fare but Im waiting to see how the track is installed.


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## MT_Stringer (Jul 21, 2009)

MT_Stringer said:


> *New Miter Saw Station - Construction Details*
> 
> I have been working diligently trying to get this phase of the makeover finished.
> Here are some pics of the construction.
> ...


Here are a couple of pics of what will be discussed in the next segment. Just a tease.
Still installing the Kreg Trak. But the rest is good to go.


----------



## Handtooler (Jul 24, 2012)

MT_Stringer said:


> *New Miter Saw Station - Construction Details*
> 
> I have been working diligently trying to get this phase of the makeover finished.
> Here are some pics of the construction.
> ...


WOW! What a wonderful piece of shop equipment! You'll really enjoy that. VERY nicely done, Sir


----------



## NormG (Mar 5, 2010)

MT_Stringer said:


> *New Miter Saw Station - Construction Details*
> 
> I have been working diligently trying to get this phase of the makeover finished.
> Here are some pics of the construction.
> ...


Great addition


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## MT_Stringer (Jul 21, 2009)

*Assemblying the Miter Saw Stand*

As promised, here are some pics of the construction of the miter saw stand. If you remember from the first entry, I am using the plans from Ron Paulk to go by. However, I have made some changes to fit my situation. So this stand is kind of a cross between his workbench and his miter saw stand.

Onward and upward…

In my last entry, I made a couple of templates out of mdf to use when cutting and routing the parts for the stand. I forgot to include pics of them, so here are the pics of the templates after they had been fabricated.

To make them, I laid out the dimensions and cut a 5 inch hole on each end with a hole saw. Then I used a straight edge to mark in between the circles. I cut just inside the line with a jig saw, then attached the guides with double stick tape and ran the router along the edges with a flush trim bit attached. They actually turned out pretty good.



















With all of my parts cut, I started the assembly by building each side of the stand. I turned the top upside down and attached the front, back and side pieces with pocket screws. I used some glue but pretty much abandoned it after slicing my finger wide open when I was in a hurry (glue setting up) to drive the screws and literally drove the screw past my index finger on my left hand. Dang that hurt…and I bled like a stuck hog. First Aid to the rescue. Thank goodness for a caring wife.

I managed to get both pieces of the top together without further incident.

I sat them aside and concentrated on the base of the stand. It is a single piece of 3/4 plywood 80 inches long by 22 1/4 wide. I positioned it on top of the two lower cabinets and bolted it to them with 8ea 5/16 inch bolts.









Next, I glued and screwed the two frame stiffners to the bottom. I scrounged up some 2×4's to make some simple caulls.










I gave the glue about an hour and a half to dry then turned the bottom over and drove the rest of the screws.










With the bottom complete, I turned it over on top of the two top pieces and screwed through the bottom into the frame members of the two tops. I used a lot of drywall screws for this operation.

These pics show the stand completely assembled and bolted together.
Yep… it's dead level. Guess I lucked out this time.































































My next entry will cover the construction of the fences and the installation of the Kreg Precision Trak System.


----------



## GoWinLions (Apr 14, 2012)

MT_Stringer said:


> *Assemblying the Miter Saw Stand*
> 
> As promised, here are some pics of the construction of the miter saw stand. If you remember from the first entry, I am using the plans from Ron Paulk to go by. However, I have made some changes to fit my situation. So this stand is kind of a cross between his workbench and his miter saw stand.
> 
> ...


Love it!


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## moonie (Jun 18, 2010)

MT_Stringer said:


> *Assemblying the Miter Saw Stand*
> 
> As promised, here are some pics of the construction of the miter saw stand. If you remember from the first entry, I am using the plans from Ron Paulk to go by. However, I have made some changes to fit my situation. So this stand is kind of a cross between his workbench and his miter saw stand.
> 
> ...


nice build you have used alot of ply wood on this one.


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## helluvawreck (Jul 21, 2010)

MT_Stringer said:


> *Assemblying the Miter Saw Stand*
> 
> As promised, here are some pics of the construction of the miter saw stand. If you remember from the first entry, I am using the plans from Ron Paulk to go by. However, I have made some changes to fit my situation. So this stand is kind of a cross between his workbench and his miter saw stand.
> 
> ...


This is a nice crosscut table and you did a fine job on it.

helluvawreck aka Charles
http://woodworkingexpo.wordpress.com


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## whitebeast88 (May 27, 2012)

MT_Stringer said:


> *Assemblying the Miter Saw Stand*
> 
> As promised, here are some pics of the construction of the miter saw stand. If you remember from the first entry, I am using the plans from Ron Paulk to go by. However, I have made some changes to fit my situation. So this stand is kind of a cross between his workbench and his miter saw stand.
> 
> ...


very nice,can't wait till the next one.thanks for sharing.


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## steliart (Jan 15, 2011)

MT_Stringer said:


> *Assemblying the Miter Saw Stand*
> 
> As promised, here are some pics of the construction of the miter saw stand. If you remember from the first entry, I am using the plans from Ron Paulk to go by. However, I have made some changes to fit my situation. So this stand is kind of a cross between his workbench and his miter saw stand.
> 
> ...


Looking beter and beter
well done


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## KDO (Oct 26, 2010)

MT_Stringer said:


> *Assemblying the Miter Saw Stand*
> 
> As promised, here are some pics of the construction of the miter saw stand. If you remember from the first entry, I am using the plans from Ron Paulk to go by. However, I have made some changes to fit my situation. So this stand is kind of a cross between his workbench and his miter saw stand.
> 
> ...


I just discovered your blog, and am enjoying it.

Being a Texan who currently lives in Florida because of an aging set of in-laws, I always enjoying hearing TEXAS come through when I am reading something. 
Some of your expressions sound just like me, and I often draw a laugh when I blurt them out.

" Dang that hurt…and I bled like a stuck hog." 
I have had to explain that more often than I could count!

Nice work! I am sure that you are enjoying your shop.
Thanks for taking the time to document the process.


----------



## fantail (Dec 16, 2016)

MT_Stringer said:


> *Assemblying the Miter Saw Stand*
> 
> As promised, here are some pics of the construction of the miter saw stand. If you remember from the first entry, I am using the plans from Ron Paulk to go by. However, I have made some changes to fit my situation. So this stand is kind of a cross between his workbench and his miter saw stand.
> 
> ...


Nice build, What grade of plywood did you use?


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## MT_Stringer (Jul 21, 2009)

MT_Stringer said:


> *Assemblying the Miter Saw Stand*
> 
> As promised, here are some pics of the construction of the miter saw stand. If you remember from the first entry, I am using the plans from Ron Paulk to go by. However, I have made some changes to fit my situation. So this stand is kind of a cross between his workbench and his miter saw stand.
> 
> ...





> Nice build, What grade of plywood did you use?
> 
> - Robert Cheramie


3/4 inch Birch from the big orange box store.


----------



## MT_Stringer (Jul 21, 2009)

*Kreg Precision Measuring System Installation*

With the basic components of the miter saw station complete, I turned to the installation of the fences and the Kreg Precision Measuring System. Rockler had their 20% Off sale so I snatched it off the shelf!

The installation instructions specify the top track be mounted on a fence that is 2 1/4 inches high. So, I made a couple out of some maple I had on hand.

I used pocket hole construction to attach the two boards together to form an "L".









Top Trak installed and ready for the tape to be installed.









This pic show how the track is attached to the fence with screws provided in the kit.









Part of my original plan was to build this miter saw station so it could be used for other things also. With that in mind, I decided to attach the fence to the table with 1/4 inch bolts and brass inserts set in the table.

I used a straight edge to line up the fence, then drilled two 1/4 inch holes through the fence and just far enough in to the table to mark it. Then I switched drill bits and drilled the hole in the table for the insert.









To install the brass insert, I used a bolt with a couple of nuts and a washer to help guide the insert into the plywood table top. This worked pretty good…at least the second time around. I discovered that I needed to lock the nuts on the threads so I would have room to back them off. The first time I locked them at the end of the threads and couldn't loosen the nuts. The installation went smoothly after that. I used a wrench and slowly turned the bolt to drive the insert into the table top.









Here is a pic of the fence attached and ready to go.









The Swing stop and production stop ready for action.









The production stop has dual cursors so it can be used on either side of the saw.









To install the measuring tapes, a board cut to exactly 24 inches is used to help position the tape. The tape has to be installed with an offset so the cursor can be used to line up the mark correctly. Whew! My head went round and round with this part of the installation but I finally got it right.









Got it!









The Swing Stop has only one cursor so I set it up for the left side. If desired, you can swap to the right side by re-configuring how the stop is put together and switch the cursor to the left side.









A quick check and some slight tweaking of the cursor and I had the Swing Stop right on the money.









NOTE: Before buying the Kreg trak system, I had watched the various videos but didn't realize the Swing Stop could only be used on one side of the saw or the other. That is if you are using the measuring tape to set the stop. The problem is there is only room for one cursor so you have to decide which side to set it up for. I have since ordered a second Swing Stop so I can use it on the right side of my saw.

First use of the Kreg System was to cut the face frames for the cabinets. That was a quick and smooth operation.

I mentioned earlier that I want to use the table for other things…like my pocket hole jig. 









My next entry will cover building and installing the drawers for the miter station. The paint is drying as I type.


----------



## steliart (Jan 15, 2011)

MT_Stringer said:


> *Kreg Precision Measuring System Installation*
> 
> With the basic components of the miter saw station complete, I turned to the installation of the fences and the Kreg Precision Measuring System. Rockler had their 20% Off sale so I snatched it off the shelf!
> 
> ...


Beautifully done, is gonna be one of the best stations in here


----------



## MT_Stringer (Jul 21, 2009)

MT_Stringer said:


> *Kreg Precision Measuring System Installation*
> 
> With the basic components of the miter saw station complete, I turned to the installation of the fences and the Kreg Precision Measuring System. Rockler had their 20% Off sale so I snatched it off the shelf!
> 
> ...


Thank you sir.


----------



## MT_Stringer (Jul 21, 2009)

*Face Frames and Drawers, Oh My!*

I finished up the basic construction on the miter saw station and put it in service. I am loving it.

Using pocket hole construction, I built face frames for both of the lower cabinets. 
Note: All of those clamps might be overkill but they kept my stuff where it was supposed to be.





































Next it was time to build the drawers. Actually, there are two trays and three drawers.



























I set up a dado blade on my table saw for a 1/2 inch cut. That allowed me to do two operations:

Rip the drawer pieces for the 1/2 inch plywood I used for the drawer bottoms.
Cross cut the ends of the front and back pieces only.
I set up a stop block on the table saw fence so the boards would have some space between the end and the fence.

Don't laugh at the painters tape. It worked well as an "almost zero clearance insert". 














































I also made a simple tray for one of the drawers. It is holding the hardware for my next project.









And then i ran out of paint! :-(

If you remember, I wrote about the Kreg Precision Measuring System in my last entry. GAWD that thing is the cat's meow. I quickly cut the pieces to build a cooler. Then I realized I had lumber left over, so I cut most of the pieces for the next cooler. The first one is finished and out the door. I plan to start the assembly of the next one tomorrow.



























I had to label the various pieces so I won't get confused.









And from that pile of boards POOF! Just like maagic, they turned into a cooler.









Next up in my makeover plans is to incorporate dust collection into the miter saw station. I will have room for the 1 inch belt sander and the oscillating sander.

I found a Fernco plumbing repair rubber boot at HD that is a perfect fit for my miter saw dust port. Inside diameter on both ends is 2 3/8 inches (for 2 inch PVC, I guess). That fit the dust port and the shop Vac hose is 2 1/4 inch diameter so it fits on that end also. Snug the clamps and it is a done deal.


















...and temporary set up for my router table!!!



















And last but not least, a new tape rack! I used a pallet board and some shaker pegs I had on hand.









Did I mention I am having fun? Well, I am.
Mike


----------



## Handtooler (Jul 24, 2012)

MT_Stringer said:


> *Face Frames and Drawers, Oh My!*
> 
> I finished up the basic construction on the miter saw station and put it in service. I am loving it.
> 
> ...


Mike you are doing some awefully nice and very useful work! Your organizational skills are taking over as you improve your shop. Very nice router table also. Your plans or some you obtained? And did you blog the construction?


----------



## steliart (Jan 15, 2011)

MT_Stringer said:


> *Face Frames and Drawers, Oh My!*
> 
> I finished up the basic construction on the miter saw station and put it in service. I am loving it.
> 
> ...


you are doing an excelent job, love the way you set it up


----------



## Kentuk55 (Sep 21, 2010)

MT_Stringer said:


> *Face Frames and Drawers, Oh My!*
> 
> I finished up the basic construction on the miter saw station and put it in service. I am loving it.
> 
> ...


I like the way you've got your router table incorporated in there also


----------



## harry1 (Feb 22, 2012)

MT_Stringer said:


> *Face Frames and Drawers, Oh My!*
> 
> I finished up the basic construction on the miter saw station and put it in service. I am loving it.
> 
> ...


I love your photo-shoot Mike and I've got two great ideas from you. I'm about to buy a Bosch GCM12GDL glyde saw and your cabinet looks ideal, also the tape rack, almost every time that I open a certain cupboard rolls of tape come flying out.


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## MT_Stringer (Jul 21, 2009)

MT_Stringer said:


> *Face Frames and Drawers, Oh My!*
> 
> I finished up the basic construction on the miter saw station and put it in service. I am loving it.
> 
> ...


@handtooler - the router table is all my doings. It is about 20×32. I glued two pieces of 3/4 inch mdf together, trimmed the sides/ends flush, then attached oak edge banding. After cutting and sanding all four corners, I laminated a piece of Formica on the top and trimmed with a flush trim router bit.

To attached the fence, I installed a pair of "T" tracks so the fence can be adjusted. The plate is the Rockler Group A (fits the Bosch 1617 router). I drilled a hole in the plate so I can adjust the bit height from above the table.

I already had mine built when I saw this video Steve posted on You Tube. You might get some inspiration from him.


----------



## RibsBrisket4me (Jul 17, 2011)

MT_Stringer said:


> *Face Frames and Drawers, Oh My!*
> 
> I finished up the basic construction on the miter saw station and put it in service. I am loving it.
> 
> ...


GO TEXANS!!!!!!!!!!!


----------



## moonie (Jun 18, 2010)

MT_Stringer said:


> *Face Frames and Drawers, Oh My!*
> 
> I finished up the basic construction on the miter saw station and put it in service. I am loving it.
> 
> ...


nice work thats thinking outside the box.


----------



## Jenine (Sep 6, 2013)

MT_Stringer said:


> *Face Frames and Drawers, Oh My!*
> 
> I finished up the basic construction on the miter saw station and put it in service. I am loving it.
> 
> ...


This whole blog is awesome. "Poof…a cooler". So cool. What kind of paint did you use…it looks like Milk Paint in Soldier Blue, but I could be way off. I am in love with Milk Paint lately - love how you can see the wood grain through it when it is mixed a bit on the thin side. This is just awesome, great work - great inspiration!


----------



## MT_Stringer (Jul 21, 2009)

MT_Stringer said:


> *Face Frames and Drawers, Oh My!*
> 
> I finished up the basic construction on the miter saw station and put it in service. I am loving it.
> 
> ...


Hello Jenine. The paint color is "Battleship Gray". To me it looks like it has some blue in it and the pics don't do it justice. I live just a few miles from the San Jacinto Monument and the Battleship "Texas" is berthed nearby it. So that was my reasoning behind the color choice. It does resemble milk paint.


----------



## Nezzerscape (Jan 14, 2016)

MT_Stringer said:


> *Face Frames and Drawers, Oh My!*
> 
> I finished up the basic construction on the miter saw station and put it in service. I am loving it.
> 
> ...


Is your router table fixed? If so how do you to do dado cuts and the like?


----------



## MT_Stringer (Jul 21, 2009)

MT_Stringer said:


> *Face Frames and Drawers, Oh My!*
> 
> I finished up the basic construction on the miter saw station and put it in service. I am loving it.
> 
> ...





> Is your router table fixed? If so how do you to do dado cuts and the like?
> 
> - Nezzerscape


That router table has been replaced with this one.
http://lumberjocks.com/projects/101964

However, most of my dado cutting is done with an exact width dado jig. Works great!
http://lumberjocks.com/thewoodwhisperer/blog/21254


----------



## MT_Stringer (Jul 21, 2009)

*Dust Collection for the sanders*

With the miter saw station almost complete, I had to stop and build a couple of coolers. Today I worked on setting up the dust collection for the sanders. It appears I will have room for a HF belt sander, the 1 inch strip belt sander, and the Oscillating sander. All three will fit nicely behind the miter saw fences.

With the miter saw station in place, I have about 7 inches of room from the back of the cabinet to the wall. So… 


I devised a plan to rout the dust from the miter saw to the Dust Deputy and then on to the Shop Vac.
I plan to use the Bucket Max for the three sanders.
Cut and fit 6 inch wide shelves to cover the area between the saw cabinet and the wall.
Use a pair of vertical supports to support the board on each cabinet.
Drill holes as needed so the pipes/hose can pass through the verticals.
Use 1 1/2 inch PVC Pipe and whatever it takes to make everything fit between the sanders and the Bucket Max. 

At least that is the ultimate goal.
However, for now, I need to temporarily hook up the 1 inch belt sander. When I get back from a road trip, I have another cooler ordered and that sander will be needed to sand the pieces for the Texans logo.

I mounted the two verticals to the back of the cabinet using pocket hole screws. Then I put the shelf in place and attached it with wood screws so it can be removed if needed. So far it looks good.

I drilled two holes for the dust collection to pass through. Lucky me, I think I covered one up with the belt sander! Just my luck.

This is all for now. When I get a chance, I will work on the other side and begin roughing in the pipe. Kinda makes me feel like a plumber. 

Here are several pics.
My crude "plan".









Pics of the first shelf laying on the work table.


















Both sanders temporarily set in place with a hose run to the one I need to use next week.


----------



## steliart (Jan 15, 2011)

MT_Stringer said:


> *Dust Collection for the sanders*
> 
> With the miter saw station almost complete, I had to stop and build a couple of coolers. Today I worked on setting up the dust collection for the sanders. It appears I will have room for a HF belt sander, the 1 inch strip belt sander, and the Oscillating sander. All three will fit nicely behind the miter saw fences.
> 
> ...


It looks like your set-up is gonna work just great!!! well done


----------



## MT_Stringer (Jul 21, 2009)

MT_Stringer said:


> *Dust Collection for the sanders*
> 
> With the miter saw station almost complete, I had to stop and build a couple of coolers. Today I worked on setting up the dust collection for the sanders. It appears I will have room for a HF belt sander, the 1 inch strip belt sander, and the Oscillating sander. All three will fit nicely behind the miter saw fences.
> 
> ...


Wow! I didn't realize it has been almost 2 years since I started on the dust collection. However, I have finally got it complete.

Following my original plan, I have plumbed up the PVC pipe and got it connected to the Dust Deputy and Shop Vac. The Dust Deputy sits at the end of the miter saw station in a small cubby hole part of the garage. The Shop Vac sits underneath the Miter Saw. The pvc pipe is not glued, but they are held in place with sheet metal screws and each joint is wrapped with duct tape.

Some of the joints had to be improvised. It seems no two items fit as they should. Several wraps with the heavy duty duct tape helps to take up the slack.

I now have several dust ports, each controlled by a blast gate. A couple of them are plastic and the last two I just finished making. Actually, mine work better than the store bought ones.

*Port #1* - Miter Saw



























*Port #2* - General purpose connection for ROS, router, Clean up, etc.



















*Port #3* - 1 inch x 30 belt sander



















*Port #4* - 4 inch Belt Sander.



















*Overview*








*
Plumbing behind the miter saw station*


----------



## MT_Stringer (Jul 21, 2009)

MT_Stringer said:


> *Dust Collection for the sanders*
> 
> With the miter saw station almost complete, I had to stop and build a couple of coolers. Today I worked on setting up the dust collection for the sanders. It appears I will have room for a HF belt sander, the 1 inch strip belt sander, and the Oscillating sander. All three will fit nicely behind the miter saw fences.
> 
> ...


*Shop Made Blast Gates - How I made them*

I used scrap pieces of 3/4 inch plywood and some 1/4 inch plywood. The spacers for the slide gate were also made from 1/4 inch plywood. I added 5 layers of painters tape to each one so the slide would be easy to move in or out. The spacers are attached to the bottom part of the gate with glue and staples. The top piece is attached with screws only so I can take them apart if needed.

I attached the 1 1/4 inch PVC pipe to the blast gate with a couple of pocket screws that just barely penetrate the plastic pipe. That is holding the pipe in place.

Finally, I attach the completed blast gate to the miter saw station with a couple of 2 1/2 inch pocket screws.

They seem to work very well.



















*Parts*


----------



## MT_Stringer (Jul 21, 2009)

*Drill Press Makeover*

I have been really busy lately building a couple of my coolers. The miter saw station is working out great. I still have to make drawer fronts and install them and finalize the dust collection system.

So, I looked around and realized my drill press was just in the way with no easy way of moving it without literally picking it up and moving it onto the work table.

So, I devised a plan.  After browsing the internet and checking out projects fellow LJ'ers have posted, I decided to build a stand with several drawers to hold all of my stuff.

Stuff:

Drill bits of varying style, size - some of which are in cases and some are loose in the drawer.
Forstner bits - some in a case, some loose and a couple are really big.
Hole saws - up to 5 inches in diameter.
Assorted accessories like key chucks chamfer bits and other misc stuff I have collected over the years.

Here is what I started with. A bench top drill press from Northern tool with 3/4HP motor sitting on a B&D Workmate. I had previously built a table for the drill press but it is going to be replaced by the one described in ShopNotes Issue #94.









I didn't have enough plywood so I bought a sheet of Maple at Lowe's. I had a $10 discount card so that helped.

I cut two sides, a top and a bottom piece and a couple of pieces for the back. Also, I attached a 1/2 inch wide piece across the top and a three inch piece across the bottom in the front. The two raw edges were covered with some 3/4 inch maple I had in the scrap pile.

I cut the sheet down to rough size with a track saw. I doubled when I cut the sides. 









Before doing any assembly, I decided how many drawers and what size I would need. That turned out to be fairly easy. I will build all four drawers 4 inches deep. That means the bottom drawer will actually be a tray to hold my two vises and whatever else I can pile in there. 



























Next up was assembly of the mobile base purchased from Harbor freight. Twenty percent off made it $31 and some change. I have the same base on my band saw so this should have been a breeze. Right? Not hardly.

I followed the directions and milled a 2×4 into 1 1/4×1 1/4 pieces. Then I cut them according to instructions. A trial fit showed everything was too short. So I cut the long ones shorter and made two new long sides. I guess I was just goofy because the instructions are correct . The side boards must be cut so the rear wheels can fit into the frame. :-(

After putting this thing together and taking it apart several times, I finally got a good fit. The only problem is the front casters weren't high enough to provide enough ground clearance for my very unlevel concrete garage floor. So, I took them off and added a couple of washers to each one (front casters). that solved the problem and it moves easily around the shop.

One additional step I took was to drill a hole in each of the corner brackets so I could bolt the cabinet to each piece. A 5/16 inch bolt/washer/nut has the cabinet securely mounted in place. I marked the holes with masking tape and drew an arrow to each one. I drilled these. They weren't part of the kit.


























I made a top for the stand from part of a solid core door which was left over from when I built my work table. It is 1 3/4 inch thick. I trim it slightly to get the sides even, then I attached an edge band made of 1/2 inch Baltic Birch. Still making use of the stuff I have available to use. since the door has a particle board core, I used a goodly (  ) amount of glue, countersunk screws and lots of clamps. Hopefully it will stay together for a long time. I covered the top with some white Formica I had on hand. After all was said and done, I trimmed the Formica, then ran a chamfer bit around the top to ease the sharp edge.

Here is the cabinet painted and installed on the base.









And VOILA! My job here is complete! Well, almost. I still have drawers to build and the table. Note that I mounted the drill press to the stand by bolting through the top and the plywood top of the stand by using 3/8 inch x 5 inch bolts/ washers/lock washers and nuts. BTW, this setup is really stable. That had been my main concern from the very beginning.









And I just devised a plan to make an adapter so I can bolt my bench vise to the drill press base!  I sent my buddy a note requesting for a piece of plate to make an adapter. He usually has all sorts of stuff laying around his shop also!










Hope you liked this post. i will post pics of the table build when I get it going.


----------



## DaddyZ (Jan 28, 2010)

MT_Stringer said:


> *Drill Press Makeover*
> 
> I have been really busy lately building a couple of my coolers. The miter saw station is working out great. I still have to make drawer fronts and install them and finalize the dust collection system.
> 
> ...


Once you get the Back on there will be even more stability.

Nice Job !!


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## MT_Stringer (Jul 21, 2009)

MT_Stringer said:


> *Drill Press Makeover*
> 
> I have been really busy lately building a couple of my coolers. The miter saw station is working out great. I still have to make drawer fronts and install them and finalize the dust collection system.
> 
> ...


Thanks Pat. I haven't decided whether or not to add a back. Especially now that it is all bolted together. It is plenty solid as is. The two boards across the back are 6 inches wide each, glued and pocket screwed to the sides, top and bottom.


----------



## whitebeast88 (May 27, 2012)

MT_Stringer said:


> *Drill Press Makeover*
> 
> I have been really busy lately building a couple of my coolers. The miter saw station is working out great. I still have to make drawer fronts and install them and finalize the dust collection system.
> 
> ...


very nice,i need to build something like this for my planer.great work,thanks for sharing!!


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

MT_Stringer said:


> *Drill Press Makeover*
> 
> I have been really busy lately building a couple of my coolers. The miter saw station is working out great. I still have to make drawer fronts and install them and finalize the dust collection system.
> 
> ...


You had me until the paint on maple ply… It looks good, I just happen to be rather fond of maple grains…

Aside from the personal preference issue though, it looks like you have done a good job so far.. Tthe proof so to speak will be in the puddin once a back and drawers get on there…


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## MT_Stringer (Jul 21, 2009)

MT_Stringer said:


> *Drill Press Makeover*
> 
> I have been really busy lately building a couple of my coolers. The miter saw station is working out great. I still have to make drawer fronts and install them and finalize the dust collection system.
> 
> ...


If you look closely, there is something black in the bottom of the stand. It's two small saddle bags filled with sand. I had them left over from my photography days to anchor my light stands. Now they add about 20 additional pounds to the lower part of the stand. 

I have a 5 inch drill press milling vise and a 4 inch drill press vise destined to occupy the bottom tray.


----------



## MT_Stringer (Jul 21, 2009)

MT_Stringer said:


> *Drill Press Makeover*
> 
> I have been really busy lately building a couple of my coolers. The miter saw station is working out great. I still have to make drawer fronts and install them and finalize the dust collection system.
> 
> ...


"You had me until the paint on maple ply… It looks good, I just happen to be rather fond of maple grains…"

 All the new stuff is getting painted. I never claimed to be a fine furniture maker.  The paint makes the little boo boos less noticeable. heh heh.


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## moonie (Jun 18, 2010)

MT_Stringer said:


> *Drill Press Makeover*
> 
> I have been really busy lately building a couple of my coolers. The miter saw station is working out great. I still have to make drawer fronts and install them and finalize the dust collection system.
> 
> ...


nice work


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## twokidsnosleep (Apr 5, 2010)

MT_Stringer said:


> *Drill Press Makeover*
> 
> I have been really busy lately building a couple of my coolers. The miter saw station is working out great. I still have to make drawer fronts and install them and finalize the dust collection system.
> 
> ...


great shop improvement project!


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## Kentuk55 (Sep 21, 2010)

MT_Stringer said:


> *Drill Press Makeover*
> 
> I have been really busy lately building a couple of my coolers. The miter saw station is working out great. I still have to make drawer fronts and install them and finalize the dust collection system.
> 
> ...


Ya gotta luv that pocket hole joinery. Nice cabinet


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## MT_Stringer (Jul 21, 2009)

MT_Stringer said:


> *Drill Press Makeover*
> 
> I have been really busy lately building a couple of my coolers. The miter saw station is working out great. I still have to make drawer fronts and install them and finalize the dust collection system.
> 
> ...


And now for aan update.
I finally finished the cabinet for the drill press.
I built the drawers and installed a 1/2 inch plywood back.
I made drawer fronts, added knobs and painted all to match.
I am loving it. Rock solid!

Note: I also made a base for the bench vise and it is bolted to the drill press base. Loosen the bolts and the vise can be moved to my work bench and bolted down for heavy duty work.
Here are some pics of the drawers. I now have all of my drilling tools and accessories in one place.


----------



## MT_Stringer (Jul 21, 2009)

*New Drill Press Table*

For several years, I have had a small bench top drill press. I made a table for it out of 3/4 inch plywood. It worked OK, but just wasn't as good as could have been. When I upgraded to my current drill press, I transplanted the table and sold the other press to a friend.

Since I am building a rolling stand for the drill press, I decided to upgrade the table also. I chose the plan from *Shop Notes Issue #94.*

Features of this table include the following:

large work surface (15×28 inches)
two "T" tracks used to attach a fence and/or clamps, hold downs and/or jigs. The track is the Rockler universal style which accepts 1/4 and 5/16 inch flange bolts.
four slots cut through the table which allow the use of common bar clamps.
custom dust collection box.
fence with "T" track which is useful to set up stops for repeat drilling operations. (future project coming soon)
custom inserts - I still have to make them for drilling or when the the drill press is used for sanding operations. Inserts can be easily replaced.

So, here it is.









All sorts of clamps and hold downs can be used with this table. In this picture, I have a Kreg Klamp in one track and a Rockler hold down in the other. Two quick release bar clamps hold down the front of the sample piece of 3/4 plywood.








In this picture, I have a custom piece made to connect my Shop Vac to the dust collection box. I got a good fit by slicing the pvc and then reshaping it it with a heat gun.









Note: The plan called for a small drawer in the box under the table, but I decided to skip it. I blocked off part of the interior just ahead of the insert opening. I might cut an opening later but I doubt it.

As a bonus, the added height of the dust collection provided just enough room for the crank handle to clear without having to cut part of the table away.

----------
And here is how I did it! 

The plan calls for laminating two pieces of 3/4 inch Baltic Birch but I can only buy it in full sheets…and that is expensive. I suppose I could have used regular plywood, but I recently bought a 5×5 piece of 1/2 inch BB, so I made my table out of two pieces of the 1/2 inch glued together.










Lots of clamps and some drywall screws.









To make the slots, I drilled holes on each end of the slot with a 1 1/4 inch forstner bit.









Then I cut out the waste with a jig saw and I used my router jig to route the area between the holes. They are kinda smooth but not perfect.

















I made a pattern for the filler pieces, then cut out four identical pieces.









I installed "T" nuts and bolted the bottom of the DC box to the drill press metal table.


















Per plan, I made filler pieces to fill in the area under the metal table so it will be easier to clamp to.









Dust Collection fitting test fit.









Final dry fit of all pieces.









Preparing to cut the opening for the insert.


----------



## DocSavage45 (Aug 14, 2010)

MT_Stringer said:


> *New Drill Press Table*
> 
> For several years, I have had a small bench top drill press. I made a table for it out of 3/4 inch plywood. It worked OK, but just wasn't as good as could have been. When I upgraded to my current drill press, I transplanted the table and sold the other press to a friend.
> 
> ...


Mike,

I 'm going to do a drill press table build in the near future. I've seen a few interesting home shop builds. I plan to use my new out of the box bought in 2004 delta mortising attachment. Have you any plans to use hold downs? Where did you purchase your rails? Any plans for a back support and stop blocks for this tables future?

What would you do different? LOL!


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## MT_Stringer (Jul 21, 2009)

MT_Stringer said:


> *New Drill Press Table*
> 
> For several years, I have had a small bench top drill press. I made a table for it out of 3/4 inch plywood. It worked OK, but just wasn't as good as could have been. When I upgraded to my current drill press, I transplanted the table and sold the other press to a friend.
> 
> ...


Doc, The blue tracks are from Rockler. I bought two 36 inch pieces of the universal track (for 1/4 or 5/16 flange bolts or 1/4 inch hex bolts). I cut one piece to fit the table and had a little piece left over.

I am still undecided about the fence. I have a few pieces of maple that might work and I have more Baltic birch. I can always glue up a 1 inch thick fence that is about 2 1/2 - 3 inches tall. Then rout a groove for the track and install it.

For your mortising attachment, it might be better to make your table 1 1/2 inches thick because of the downward force you will be applying when cutting the mortises.

A thicker table would provide more room for longer screws when attaching the T track. I could envision you making a jig that would span the two tracks and be positioned near the front of the table. Several toggle clamps securely mounted to the jig should help keep your wood in place when you remove the bit. At least that is my thinking.

I will have to get more use out of this table before I can make any comments about what changes I would recommend.
I struggled with my old table because I couldn't get clamps in the right position. That happened time after time. It appears I have solved my problem with this design.

I found some plans on Plans Now that look a lot like the table I built. The dust collection box is practically identical to the one I built. The table is not as fancy but that can be modified to fit your needs. The fence looks like what I will probably build.


----------



## DocSavage45 (Aug 14, 2010)

MT_Stringer said:


> *New Drill Press Table*
> 
> For several years, I have had a small bench top drill press. I made a table for it out of 3/4 inch plywood. It worked OK, but just wasn't as good as could have been. When I upgraded to my current drill press, I transplanted the table and sold the other press to a friend.
> 
> ...


Thanks!

Considering Rocklers hold down kits.

Also hope to mortise on angle so I would most likely need a jig set at correct angle or adjustable angles. Did you consider mdf w/ melamine as it seems many tables have that?


----------



## MT_Stringer (Jul 21, 2009)

MT_Stringer said:


> *New Drill Press Table*
> 
> For several years, I have had a small bench top drill press. I made a table for it out of 3/4 inch plywood. It worked OK, but just wasn't as good as could have been. When I upgraded to my current drill press, I transplanted the table and sold the other press to a friend.
> 
> ...


"Did you consider mdf w/ melamine as it seems many tables have that?"

I did but I didn't!

I went with the BB because I had it on hand. However, I think two layers of 3/4 mdf would do you just fine. That is white Formica I put on my table…because I had it on hand also.  Weldwood contact cement is what I used to glue it to the table.

I don't see why you couldn't glue it to both sides. Should make it even better.


----------



## MT_Stringer (Jul 21, 2009)

MT_Stringer said:


> *New Drill Press Table*
> 
> For several years, I have had a small bench top drill press. I made a table for it out of 3/4 inch plywood. It worked OK, but just wasn't as good as could have been. When I upgraded to my current drill press, I transplanted the table and sold the other press to a friend.
> 
> ...


My *********************************** table extension! I needed some support while drilling some recesses for screws on the toy box sides (18×30) so I came up with this idea…and it worked great!


----------



## MT_Stringer (Jul 21, 2009)

MT_Stringer said:


> *New Drill Press Table*
> 
> For several years, I have had a small bench top drill press. I made a table for it out of 3/4 inch plywood. It worked OK, but just wasn't as good as could have been. When I upgraded to my current drill press, I transplanted the table and sold the other press to a friend.
> 
> ...


More drill press action.


----------



## MT_Stringer (Jul 21, 2009)

*Under Table Wheeled Tool Storage Drawer*

I was sick and tired of my clamp situation. There is not really any wall space available for a clamp rack. So I decided to clean out under my work bench and build a drawer with wheels that I can roll in and out.

I used whatever I could find to make the tray. The front and rear pieces and one side are 3/4 inch plywood. I had to use a piece of 1/2 inch for the other side.  The bottom is 1/2 inch CD plywood glued and stapled to the frame. I used a piece of 1/2 inch plywood to make a separator for the drawer to keep the clamps separated and somewhat organized. I wish I could have fabricated some slotted pieces so I could let the clamps sit straight up, but there isn't enough clearance to do that.

I made the wheels out of more 1/2 inch plywood. I used a 5 inch hole saw which made the job a snap. All I had to do was sand off the fuzz and install them with 1/4 inch bolts, washers and lock nuts.

As you can see, this is not high end cabinetmaking, but dang this sure is handy and helped reduce the clutter I was dealing with.

I still need a handle. Next trip to town I will get a handle to match the two drawers.

After seeing what a big difference this drawer made, I looked around realized there is more room under my big tool box. so, looks like I will be making several more of these drawers in the near future.

Hope you like it.
Mike

*Note:* This was not my idea. I ran across it in a magazine a while back. I forgot which one.


----------



## gsimon (Aug 12, 2012)

MT_Stringer said:


> *Under Table Wheeled Tool Storage Drawer*
> 
> I was sick and tired of my clamp situation. There is not really any wall space available for a clamp rack. So I decided to clean out under my work bench and build a drawer with wheels that I can roll in and out.
> 
> ...


genius!


----------



## Handtooler (Jul 24, 2012)

MT_Stringer said:


> *Under Table Wheeled Tool Storage Drawer*
> 
> I was sick and tired of my clamp situation. There is not really any wall space available for a clamp rack. So I decided to clean out under my work bench and build a drawer with wheels that I can roll in and out.
> 
> ...


Very inovative. And I really like your Drill Press Table and your assembly blog Thanks for showing us you shop improvement projects..


----------



## moonie (Jun 18, 2010)

MT_Stringer said:


> *Under Table Wheeled Tool Storage Drawer*
> 
> I was sick and tired of my clamp situation. There is not really any wall space available for a clamp rack. So I decided to clean out under my work bench and build a drawer with wheels that I can roll in and out.
> 
> ...


good idel on the wheels


----------



## Kentuk55 (Sep 21, 2010)

MT_Stringer said:


> *Under Table Wheeled Tool Storage Drawer*
> 
> I was sick and tired of my clamp situation. There is not really any wall space available for a clamp rack. So I decided to clean out under my work bench and build a drawer with wheels that I can roll in and out.
> 
> ...


That's a good idea.


----------



## Tugboater78 (May 26, 2012)

MT_Stringer said:


> *Under Table Wheeled Tool Storage Drawer*
> 
> I was sick and tired of my clamp situation. There is not really any wall space available for a clamp rack. So I decided to clean out under my work bench and build a drawer with wheels that I can roll in and out.
> 
> ...


Moving right along with the shop, looking good.


----------



## MT_Stringer (Jul 21, 2009)

MT_Stringer said:


> *Under Table Wheeled Tool Storage Drawer*
> 
> I was sick and tired of my clamp situation. There is not really any wall space available for a clamp rack. So I decided to clean out under my work bench and build a drawer with wheels that I can roll in and out.
> 
> ...


Thanks Justin. I added a pair of handles and it has been getting a lot of use.


----------



## MT_Stringer (Jul 21, 2009)

MT_Stringer said:


> *Under Table Wheeled Tool Storage Drawer*
> 
> I was sick and tired of my clamp situation. There is not really any wall space available for a clamp rack. So I decided to clean out under my work bench and build a drawer with wheels that I can roll in and out.
> 
> ...


I made another drawer today out of some 3/4 inch plywood and 1/2 inch (including a 1/2 inch bottom).

This going to work out great. I filled it with nails of various types that I hardly ever use. More clutter organized and out of sight.

Mike


----------



## Jenine (Sep 6, 2013)

MT_Stringer said:


> *Under Table Wheeled Tool Storage Drawer*
> 
> I was sick and tired of my clamp situation. There is not really any wall space available for a clamp rack. So I decided to clean out under my work bench and build a drawer with wheels that I can roll in and out.
> 
> ...


Toe-kick drawers are my favorite, great use of otherwise unused space! I want some in my shop…and in my kitchen. Nice work!


----------



## Axle505 (Feb 11, 2016)

MT_Stringer said:


> *Under Table Wheeled Tool Storage Drawer*
> 
> I was sick and tired of my clamp situation. There is not really any wall space available for a clamp rack. So I decided to clean out under my work bench and build a drawer with wheels that I can roll in and out.
> 
> ...


Nice-most people never think of wheels, either sliding flat or on tracks!


----------



## MT_Stringer (Jul 21, 2009)

*Mo Power!*

Yea! The electricians have arrived. They are going to run a dedicated 20 amp circuit for my 2HP HF Dust Collector. Last week I fired up my new Grizzly 18 inch drum sander and tripped the breaker.

So, I decided to call out the experts. Now the drum sander will be on one circuit and the DC on a completely separate circuit.

AND…they are also going to run a new 15 amp circuit to the dining room and kitchen. We have had problems in the past tripping the breaker in the kitchen especially during the holidays when the microwave, toaster oven and one other appliance is being used. Now the new circuit will solve that problem. Also, I am fixin' to start building a new set of cabinets in the dining room so two outlets will serve the counter area for them. That will make my wife a very happy girl…and me too.


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## Handtooler (Jul 24, 2012)

MT_Stringer said:


> *Mo Power!*
> 
> Yea! The electricians have arrived. They are going to run a dedicated 20 amp circuit for my 2HP HF Dust Collector. Last week I fired up my new Grizzly 18 inch drum sander and tripped the breaker.
> 
> ...


I'm sure you will enjoy the extra power availability, as will she. Congrats on you new addition of the sander. You'll likewise enjoy that.


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## Fresch (Feb 21, 2013)

MT_Stringer said:


> *Mo Power!*
> 
> Yea! The electricians have arrived. They are going to run a dedicated 20 amp circuit for my 2HP HF Dust Collector. Last week I fired up my new Grizzly 18 inch drum sander and tripped the breaker.
> 
> ...


"AND…they are also going to run a new 15 amp circuit to the dining room and kitchen. We have had problems in the past tripping the breaker in the kitchen especially during the holidays when the microwave, toaster oven and one other appliance is being used." 
Kitchen and dining room both must be 20 amp. Circuits by code! The refrig could be on a 15 amp. By itself.


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## doubleDD (Oct 21, 2012)

MT_Stringer said:


> *Mo Power!*
> 
> Yea! The electricians have arrived. They are going to run a dedicated 20 amp circuit for my 2HP HF Dust Collector. Last week I fired up my new Grizzly 18 inch drum sander and tripped the breaker.
> 
> ...


More power is a good thing. And safer!!! We had the same problem in our home when we bought it. Had to install 2 more circuits in the kitchen.


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## MT_Stringer (Jul 21, 2009)

MT_Stringer said:


> *Mo Power!*
> 
> Yea! The electricians have arrived. They are going to run a dedicated 20 amp circuit for my 2HP HF Dust Collector. Last week I fired up my new Grizzly 18 inch drum sander and tripped the breaker.
> 
> ...


"Kitchen and dining room both must be 20 amp. Circuits by code!" and that is exactly what they did. And a GFCI 20 amp circuit dedicated to the dust collector in the garage.

It is a good clean installation.


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## Kentuk55 (Sep 21, 2010)

MT_Stringer said:


> *Mo Power!*
> 
> Yea! The electricians have arrived. They are going to run a dedicated 20 amp circuit for my 2HP HF Dust Collector. Last week I fired up my new Grizzly 18 inch drum sander and tripped the breaker.
> 
> ...


"Mo Power" is always good.


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## MT_Stringer (Jul 21, 2009)

*Table Saw Fence Rail Modification*

I am making preparations to build some kitchen cabinets, and hopefully, another cabinet or two for the shop. I needed more width so I can cut pieces for the cabinet bases 32 inches or wider.

So, after reading Knotscott's instructions, I decided to modify my fence also which would result in the ability to rip up to 36 inches. This is going to work out great.

Steps involved were:

Relocate front fence tube to the right.
Fabricate an extension for the rear fence
Fabricate a wing to fill in the opening to prevent hangups.

This is the before picture.









I relocated the front fence tube one set of bolt holes to the right. If you look closely, you can see a pair of threaded holes. I used them later to bolt on a piece of 3/4 plywood to act as a support for the extension wing.









Newly positioned fence tube.









I installed a support by bolting a piece of plywood to the bottom of the fence tube with a pair of 1/4×20 bolts and a couple of fender washers.









I fastened a piece of hardwood to the rear fence rail. I was able to line up the two bolt holes and drill corresponding holes in the wood. That worked out great.









I fabricated a "wing" using scrap from the wood pile. After building the frame, I glue and stapled a piece of 1/2 inch Baltic birch on top. I drilled a few 3/4 inch holes for clamps…just in case they are needed.



























I installed the wing with pocket screws.



























Here is the finished product. The wing fits nicely and is level with the table. My fence slides cross it with no hangups. I now have the capability of ripping sheet goods up to almost 37 inches wide. That works for me.






















































And I can use the clamps to secure a router fence if needed. Most of the time I use the fence for dust collection only. I usually have a roundover bit installed in the router ready to go at a moments notice. I have a separate router table for other operations.


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## knotscott (Feb 27, 2009)

MT_Stringer said:


> *Table Saw Fence Rail Modification*
> 
> I am making preparations to build some kitchen cabinets, and hopefully, another cabinet or two for the shop. I needed more width so I can cut pieces for the cabinet bases 32 inches or wider.
> 
> ...


That wood extension for the rear rail is really slick!


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