A new workshop and some updates

[Plain Old Barry]

So far I’m impressed by the SawStop riving knife and guard setup. You can switch from one to the other with no tools in about 30 seconds. Not much excuse not to use them.

They really got it right. I don't have the SS guard because I already had the Excalibur overarm on my previous saw, a General 650. When I sold the General in favor of the SS, I kept the guard. It swings in and out of position at the flick of a lever.

 

[lbridenstine]

I didn't forget about the mic build. I cut the surface off of the wood on all sides and let it sit in the workshop for a while so I could keep an eye on it and make sure it was done moving. I've had it for several years and it seems plenty dry and stable now.

So, I got my friend's mic that he wanted me to copy the measurements from.

And now I have a comparison shot of how different these 2 mics are.

The one on the left is the one we're taking the parts from.

 

[lbridenstine]

The tiniest of mic updates:

We are going to go with the little round purple flower for the inlay and fill the cracks in the wood with copper colored resin.

But the real reason I'm updating this thread is just to show this off:

Yes, a year after moving in, I have finally mounted some of the guitars and basses.

And Koa's always up for posing for a good picture for me.

Those are my dining chairs because I haven't gotten back to the table yet and it looked too bare in that corner. I'm planning on buying (or making) a bench to sit against one wall.

I was initially planning on painting this corner black and doing a slat wall design, but I kinda like it as is. I think the fretless guitar would get lost against a black background too.

 

[lbridenstine]

I don't remember what I have and haven't posted here, but I've gotten back to a few workshop things lately, so here is the more recent stuff.

I finished up this wall design.

And here's the other pegboard wall.

I have 4 clamps on the floor that I still need to find room for.

I unpacked the rest of the boxes!

I added slats to the bottoms of the workbenches to make shelves.

The workbenches are in disarray right now because I couldn't stand the gaps in the dining table and decided to cut the table apart and start over. I had to move stuff because of the lengths of the boards.

By the way, I cup it apart by hand before bringing the boards down to the basement.

These ones have been jointed on the tablesaw. I haven't gotten to the rest yet...

I ended up running them through the planer to clean up the rest of the resin, so here's a look at that.

This part is the coolest, but this earwig ruined the picture.

I'm sure that will all look much better with finish on.

After I get the table done I can move things back around and maybe get some "final" pictures of the workshop!

I have a few more things I want to get done soon.
-Clamp racks for those other 4 clamps
-Router and drill bit storage
-Bench vise
-Sharpen chisels/blades

And of course I still need to do the whole finishing room...

 

[Lo-E]

I don't remember what I have and haven't posted here, but I've gotten back to a few workshop things lately, so here is the more recent stuff.

I finished up this wall design.

View attachment 5126435

And here's the other pegboard wall.

View attachment 5126437

I have 4 clamps on the floor that I still need to find room for.

I unpacked the rest of the boxes!

View attachment 5126440

I added slats to the bottoms of the workbenches to make shelves.

View attachment 5126443

View attachment 5126444

The workbenches are in disarray right now because I couldn't stand the gaps in the dining table and decided to cut the table apart and start over. I had to move stuff because of the lengths of the boards.

By the way, I cup it apart by hand before bringing the boards down to the basement.

These ones have been jointed on the tablesaw. I haven't gotten to the rest yet...
View attachment 5126445

I ended up running them through the planer to clean up the rest of the resin, so here's a look at that.

View attachment 5126446

View attachment 5126447

This part is the coolest, but this earwig ruined the picture.

View attachment 5126448

I'm sure that will all look much better with finish on.

After I get the table done I can move things back around and maybe get some "final" pictures of the workshop!

I have a few more things I want to get done soon.
-Clamp racks for those other 4 clamps
-Router and drill bit storage
-Bench vise
-Sharpen chisels/blades

And of course I still need to do the whole finishing room...

Okay, the clutter is starting to put me at ease. All that earlier neatness was freaking me out.

Extra points for the earwig photo-bomb.

 

[lbridenstine]

Okay, the clutter is starting to put me at ease. All that earlier neatness was freaking me out.

Extra points for the earwig photo-bomb.

The earwigs won't leave me alone.


So, yesterday I was using the [Craftsman] bandsaw and all the sudden it started slowing down. The belt broke. So, I decided to go back to my Laguna bandsaw and do some re-sawing. A few seconds after the first cut was completed, I hear a POP and the blade stops moving. At first I didn't know what happened, but it was the blade. It broke at the weld. Luckily the blade has a 1 year warranty for the weld. But right now I can't use either bandsaw and I decided that I probably shouldn't touch anymore tools that day.

I have a belt ordered and I'm about to contact Laguna about the blade.

 

[Gary_M]

The earwigs won't leave me alone.


So, yesterday I was using the [Craftsman] bandsaw and all the sudden it started slowing down. The belt broke. So, I decided to go back to my Laguna bandsaw and do some re-sawing. A few seconds after the first cut was completed, I hear a POP and the blade stops moving. At first I didn't know what happened, but it was the blade. It broke at the weld. Luckily the blade has a 1 year warranty for the weld. But right now I can't use either bandsaw and I decided that I probably shouldn't touch anymore tools that day.

I have a belt ordered and I'm about to contact Laguna about the blade.

Sympathy like!

I've had to spray my storage shed twice this year for earwigs (and bugs in general). With all the humidity, the dang earwigs are out of control. I opened the door last week and there were like 3 dozen of them in between the piano hinge plates just scurrying everywhere... gives me the heebie jeebies.

Invalid Link Removed

 

[lbridenstine]

Sympathy like!

I've had to spray my storage shed twice this year for earwigs (and bugs in general). With all the humidity, the dang earwigs are out of control. I opened the door last week and there were like 3 dozen of them in between the piano hinge plates just scurrying everywhere... gives me the heebie jeebies.

Invalid Link Removed

Ewww. I hate that.

So, I'm not sure if it's working or not, but I've been spraying a concoction of water/dish soap/peppermint oil around the doors and I haven't seen any more coming in the house (main floor) since I started spraying it, at least. The one in the picture was in the basement, so I don't know exactly where it came in from.

 

[Gilmourisgod]

Shop looks great! How are you keeping it so clean? The dust in the shop I share with my brother is brutal. To fix it now, we'd have to take everything out, vacuum every square inch of it, and install a serious dust collection system. Even the best tablesaw dust collection, like the overhead blade guard systems, seem to only catch part of what the blade flings out in all directions. I found out the hard way that I'm pretty intensely allergic to walnut dust. I should have known, if I eat a walnut, my tongue gets a weird tingling sensation. Cocobolo too.

 

[Lo-E]

The earwigs won't leave me alone.


So, yesterday I was using the [Craftsman] bandsaw and all the sudden it started slowing down. The belt broke. So, I decided to go back to my Laguna bandsaw and do some re-sawing. A few seconds after the first cut was completed, I hear a POP and the blade stops moving. At first I didn't know what happened, but it was the blade. It broke at the weld. Luckily the blade has a 1 year warranty for the weld. But right now I can't use either bandsaw and I decided that I probably shouldn't touch anymore tools that day.

I have a belt ordered and I'm about to contact Laguna about the blade.

The blade on my 1930s Walker-Turner 12” saw broke a couple of weeks ago. It was on the saw when I bought it and was well on its way to dull so I’m not sad but it’s an odd size (78”) and I don’t have another handy. I decided to do some minor restoration and clean-up work on it that the previous owner hadn’t addressed yet so now it’s in pieces. I’m also getting very close to retiring my Craftsman 3-wheel 10” saw because no amount of careful setup will ever make that thing a good tool. I can get it cutting great for a few hours and then everything goes sideways the next time I go to use it. Just too much stamped metal and plastic to rely on.

So I’m in the same boat; No bandsaw at the moment.

 

[Beej]

The blade on my 1930s Walker-Turner 12” saw broke a couple of weeks ago. It was on the saw when I bought it and was well on its way to dull so I’m not sad but it’s an odd size (78”) and I don’t have another handy. I decided to do some minor restoration and clean-up work on it that the previous owner hadn’t addressed yet so now it’s in pieces. I’m also getting very close to retiring my Craftsman 3-wheel 10” saw because no amount of careful setup will ever make that thing a good tool. I can get it cutting great for a few hours and then everything goes sideways the next time I go to use it. Just too much stamped metal and plastic to rely on.

So I’m in the same boat; No bandsaw at the moment.

78"?! That's a meat-cutting bandsaw blade length.

 

[Lo-E]

78"?! That's a meat-cutting bandsaw blade length.

It is a standard meat saw size.

It’s also a size that W-T used for this saw circa 1937. I can only get them from places that weld them to order (and I haven’t bothered to do that yet). Quite a few of these have been fitted with 1” risers to enable them to take 80” blades and, If I have the time and inclination, I’ll do the same. It would make life easier in the long term.

 

[lbridenstine]

Shop looks great! How are you keeping it so clean? The dust in the shop I share with my brother is brutal. To fix it now, we'd have to take everything out, vacuum every square inch of it, and install a serious dust collection system. Even the best tablesaw dust collection, like the overhead blade guard systems, seem to only catch part of what the blade flings out in all directions. I found out the hard way that I'm pretty intensely allergic to walnut dust. I should have known, if I eat a walnut, my tongue gets a weird tingling sensation. Cocobolo too.

Ugh, I have sawdust allergies too. Long sleeves, skin shielding lotion, and either Zyrtec or Xyzal is what I do for the skin symptoms. And sometimes gloves. I haven't been wearing the gloves lately and I guess I'm just waiting until I regret it. I wear a filtered dust mask too.

I run the dust collector to everything (one at a time with a quick connect attachment) and also have an air filter on the ceiling to catch the stuff in the air. There's definitely some sawdust around, but it's not very bad and it doesn't seem to be escaping the room at all, which is surprising because the room has a wide opening with no door within a few feet of the table saw.

Neither of my bandsaws are great about dust collection. The spindle sander is surprisingly good. The blade guard on the table saw is good at collection when I'm cutting thinner pieces of wood, but the thicker the wood, the more space there is between the guard and the table and then the sawdust shoots out.

I just have the Harbor Freight dust collector. The air filter is from Wen, I think, and I have 2 filters in it. I'm really happy with the air filter. It catches all the fine dust in the air pretty quickly. Then I use the dust collector hose to vacuum up the stuff that lands on the floor/tools/benches when I feel like it.

 

[lbridenstine]

The blade on my 1930s Walker-Turner 12” saw broke a couple of weeks ago. It was on the saw when I bought it and was well on its way to dull so I’m not sad but it’s an odd size (78”) and I don’t have another handy. I decided to do some minor restoration and clean-up work on it that the previous owner hadn’t addressed yet so now it’s in pieces. I’m also getting very close to retiring my Craftsman 3-wheel 10” saw because no amount of careful setup will ever make that thing a good tool. I can get it cutting great for a few hours and then everything goes sideways the next time I go to use it. Just too much stamped metal and plastic to rely on.

So I’m in the same boat; No bandsaw at the moment.

Ugh, that sucks too. I hope you can get something figured out for it soon.

Wow, 78", the one I'm getting replaced is 115".

 

[Lo-E]

Ugh, that sucks too. I hope you can get something figured out for it soon.

Wow, 78", the one I'm getting replaced is 115".

The 12” W-T is a pretty small saw.

 

[Gilmourisgod]

We had a very wealthy client a few years ago build his "dream shop" in the enormous house basement. It had an "airlock", a small vestibule with doors each side, and negative air fan that would tend to pull dust back into the shop when you opened the inner door. Fabulous shop, but I went back a couple years later, and it looked virtually untouched. I think he likes showing it off more than actually using it. In my shop, every conceivable surface is covered with a fine layer of dust, despite my big Jet dust collector and a fine dust collector filter hanging from the ceiling.I use it anyway.

 

[lbridenstine]

We had a very wealthy client a few years ago build his "dream shop" in the enormous house basement. It had an "airlock", a small vestibule with doors each side, and negative air fan that would tend to pull dust back into the shop when you opened the inner door. Fabulous shop, but I went back a couple years later, and it looked virtually untouched. I think he likes showing it off more than actually using it. In my shop, every conceivable surface is covered with a fine layer of dust, despite my big Jet dust collector and a fine dust collector filter hanging from the ceiling.I use it anyway.

Sounds fancy. It could be untouched, or he could just like to keep it clean? I feel like if I invested in all that, I'd probably try to keep up with the cleaning (at least when people come to look at it).

Mine has a fine layer of dust too, it just didn't show up in the pictures. The thing I'm the most concerned about is the dust in the air, so I'm really happy that the air filter works good. You know how you can see dust floating under a light? With the filter on, that disappears in a matter of seconds, it seems like. I have a small room, so that probably helps. Most of the dust on surfaces is the stuff that lands right around the tools. That's good enough for me.


BTW, it is feeling kinda tight in the workshop, so I decided to take out the miter saw and once I'm done working on the dining table boards in there, I'm going to have to see if I can do a little rearranging. It's mostly just the one side along the longer wall where there's just not enough room.

The workbenches have been solidly covered with stuff, but I'm going to try to make myself use those shelves on the bottom, now that I have them, to move some stuff around so I have more surface space to work with. I gotta move the combo sander too. It's in the way sitting on the workbench.

 

[BishopJP]

Sounds fancy. It could be untouched, or he could just like to keep it clean? I feel like if I invested in all that, I'd probably try to keep up with the cleaning (at least when people come to look at it).

Mine has a fine layer of dust too, it just didn't show up in the pictures. The thing I'm the most concerned about is the dust in the air, so I'm really happy that the air filter works good. You know how you can see dust floating under a light? With the filter on, that disappears in a matter of seconds, it seems like. I have a small room, so that probably helps. Most of the dust on surfaces is the stuff that lands right around the tools. That's good enough for me.


BTW, it is feeling kinda tight in the workshop, so I decided to take out the miter saw and once I'm done working on the dining table boards in there, I'm going to have to see if I can do a little rearranging. It's mostly just the one side along the longer wall where there's just not enough room.

The workbenches have been solidly covered with stuff, but I'm going to try to make myself use those shelves on the bottom, now that I have them, to move some stuff around so I have more surface space to work with. I gotta move the combo sander too. It's in the way sitting on the workbench.

An air filter is one of the best investments I made for my shop, I feel a little dumb for not doing it sooner!

I also found my miter saw to be a bit intrusive, so I got a folding stand for it; works great! I can fold up the stand with the saw attached and roll it into a corner, out of the way. The saw doesn't get used much for guitar building, for other wood-dorking projects it is vital, but I don't need it sitting in the way for months until I need it again.

Shop looks great! Also, it's nice to see some clutter...

 

[lbridenstine]

An air filter is one of the best investments I made for my shop, I feel a little dumb for not doing it sooner!

I also found my miter saw to be a bit intrusive, so I got a folding stand for it; works great! I can fold up the stand with the saw attached and roll it into a corner, out of the way. The saw doesn't get used much for guitar building, for other wood-dorking projects it is vital, but I don't need it sitting in the way for months until I need it again.

Shop looks great! Also, it's nice to see some clutter...

The funny thing is, I bought this filter for my last shop, but the ceiling was too low to hang it, so it didn't get used much. Now that it's up and running I see what I was missing.

I put my miter saw on a shelf just outside the room and figured I can grab it and put it on the workbench on the rare occasion that I use it. At least it's moveable.

Thanks!

 

[BishopJP]

The funny thing is, I bought this filter for my last shop, but the ceiling was too low to hang it, so it didn't get used much. Now that it's up and running I see what I was missing.

You can literally see what you were missing! My shop is a garage; I had to find a spot where the door wouldn't hit the air filter...