[ThunderPoit]

I'll make you guys see what I did instead.



Mistakes were made, but so was a cabinet carcass! Its going to be my coffee bar

edit: Ahh, beans, this should be under Creative Endeavors

[psmith2.0]

That's awesome. With the right tools and time/patience, it's not hard to build such things. If you break it down, they're just simple boxes with space left for drawers/doors.

I know that's highly simplifying it, but if you know how to plan, mark and measure worth a damn - it's shocking how many people really don't! - and you know how to use your saws and other tools, stuff like this is totally doable.

I love the idea of building custom stuff sized exactly for the space needed. I've done it a few times, and I'd rather make a mess in the garage/backyard, than spend hours in IKEA or Home Depot, desperately trying to will something they don't have into existence.

I'm creative enough, big picture, that I can usually recognize the problem needing solving or the need needing met, and draw, sketch accordingly. Illustrator (now Affinity Design) and Sketchup allows me to work precisely and to-scale. I ALWAYS "build" anything that way, first, on screen. Especially via Sketchup. Then it's just transferring the measurements, marking accordingly and staying focused.

Woodworking/carpentry is achievable by the regular schmo. Learn the basics, build on that, and keep your mind on your work.

And remember to always wear safety glasses. It blows my mind, the number of YouTuber, hipster woodworker types on, well, YouTube using their miter saws, table saws, routers, etc. with no eye protection whatsoever. Come on...do they truly not know how fast stuff can break loose and unpredictably kick back or fly toward your head?! They can't be that unaware, doing what they do. Yet, I see them all the time. I see a lot of them wearing long sleeves, with rings, bracelets and watches on as well, just begging to be snagged on something rotating about a gazillion times a minute (and sharp). If I'm wearing a long sleeved shirt, then the sleeves get rolled/pushed up past my elbows and absolutely no jewelry of any sort on my wrists or fingers. I learned that on day one of ever fooling with power tools! I cringe and watch through my fingers, that's how nervous it makes me! The first time a 4-5 inch sliver of ragged pine shoots into your (unprotected) eye, you'll be wishing you did. I don't do anything - woodworking, building, carpentry, yard mowing, weed-whacking, etc. - without safety glasses/eye protection. Too high a chance of a fast-acting accident or "unexpected" happening, totally destroying your eye(s), and possibly more. I don't roll that dice. Thanks, Norm! Your words have stuck with me forever. I've been hit in the face by rocks, slivers of cut-off wood, etc., bouncing harmlessly off my cheek/chin, or the safety glasses themselves, sparing my peepers. I always stop what I'm doing, catch my breath, gather myself, whisper a word/prayer of "thanks" and then ease back into the job.

Enough finger-wagging/lecturing. I hope you share the progress and show the other parts as it all comes together. I love seeing people build stuff like this.

[ThunderPoit]

Before we get started I'd like to take a moment to talk about shop safety. Be sure to read, understand and follow all the safety rules that come with your power tools. Knowing how to use your power tools PROPERLY will greatly reduce the risk of personal injury. And remember this. There is no other more important safety rule... *taps glasses* than to wear THESE... safety glasses... and also HEARING protection when necessary.

Genuinely disturbs me how many people skip out on ear protection or a dust mask, but nothing floors me more than people who use their table saw with no riving knife or splitter, and the blade is extended to the highest height. It's like they want to die in that shop.

edit: Here's a better view of my shop

[drewprops]

A shop like this is so cool. Keep posting!!?


...

[Kickaha]

Hell yes! I have envy. That's awesome. I have an electrician adding outlets and lights today, including in our carport so we have an external shopspace finally. Dust vacuum is going to live out there, and most of the woodworking will be done there as well as weather permits.

First task? Proper worktables.

[ThunderPoit]

Kick, what kind of vacuum? I got a dust deputy and a bucket in front of mine, and then mine has a hepa filter and bag. I have yet to change the bag. I originally tried to make my own dust bucket with some PVC and a couple of pails, but it was more headache trying to keep it together than it was worth.

[Brad]

Originally Posted by Kickaha Hell yes! I have envy.

Big ups, this.

I remember in high school being exposed to all the amazing machinery in the shop, loving every single bit of it, and it's been a dream since then to have my own. I've acquired an assortment of smaller tools over the years, but I still don't have the space in my home to buy anything big.

ThunderPoit, keep 'em coming so us nerds can live vicariously.

[ThunderPoit]

Originally Posted by Brad ThunderPoit, keep 'em coming so us nerds can live vicariously.

oh boy, this is going to end with me being yet another woodworker on YouTube, isn't it...

[Kickaha]

If you're lucky...

No dust vacuum at the moment, just an old ShopVac I use to clean up after the fact.

Sometimes. LOL

Brad, I still maintain that my favorite class I ever took was wood shop in 9th grade. I had more *enjoyment* in that class than anything else. Most people think I'm nuts when I tell them that, but it's true. If I hadn't been such a nerd, I'd likely have gone into a trade instead of a PhD.

[ThunderPoit]

Kick, you can use a shop vac for exactly what I described. I have two, actually. One is an old small shop-vac brand that sits under my miter saw. I cleaned it up and put on a filter and bag. I then have it attached to a Dustopper from home depot on top of a 5 gallon pail. It helps keep dust out of the air, huge improvement over not using a filter bag.

[Kickaha]

I actually was looking at a 5gal bucket trap this weekend. A buddy has a *cough* prosumer system in his (massive) garage, with PVC ductwork and inlets all over the damned place. It's positively obscene. (I waaaaaaants it.)

But I'm thinking ShopVac in the carport, with a duct through the wall to the garage for PVC routing to a couple of select places on the workbench. Remote switch, and voila, clean up on aisle everywhere. I don't really need anything more than that.

*Want* is another matter, but needs are small.

[ThunderPoit]

Originally Posted by Kickaha A buddy has a *cough* prosumer system in his (massive) garage, with PVC ductwork and inlets all over the damned place. It's positively obscene. (I waaaaaaants it.)

::drool::

I keep seeing proper dust collectors on marketplace, but I have to keep reminding myself that my entire shop is run off of a single 15A circuit. If I run my tablesaw and my vacuum at one time, that takes 12A. Since my walls are uninsulated, I did a lot of reading and watching YouTube videos (working hard to avoid mt stupid on the dunning krueger curve) and wired up 6 LED tube lights, but I plan to redo the slab in my garage and move in there vs putting more power into the shop

[psmith2.0]

I the past year, I’ve found myself more drawn to the “by hand” (no power tools) end of things. I chiseled/saw cut my first dovetail joint last summer and I couldn’t have been more proud of myself. I’ve always been a Norm Abram fan/viewer, but in the past 9-12 months, that Roy Underhill fella has come on strong, and I love the hand chiseling and using pegs/dowels, and one of those old timey turner-arounder drills. And I’m always trying to get my hammer skills better. A consistent two-hit nail-drive, etc. The Internet/YouTube is great for this stuff! If I had to rely on 1-2 PBS shows a week, I'd be up the creek.

[ThunderPoit]

My shop isn't insulated, so I can't use it once temps dip, which in MN is a large chunk of the year. I was toying around in the basement over the last winter with a #5 hand plane that I picked up at a flea market, but I got hung up on trying to get things sharp and flat, and then I never got beyond that because I, not having hand plane experience, didn't realize that the lateral adjustment on my plane was too loose, making it impossible to square an edge.

I picked up two miller's falls planes, a #4 and #5, and once it gets cold again, I'm going to get back into my basement and see what I can do. The biggest issue that I have with the planes is that wood chips keep getting between the chipbreaker and iron. I even went as far as buying a brand new one from Hock Tools, but it had the same issue. After talking with the owner, he sent me a SASE along with a new shipbreaker and iron that he set up and told me to use it w/o making any changes, but i could still see light between them and got chips in between, so I don't know, I just need to get them in my hands more.

[Anonymous Coward]

Originally Posted by psmith2.0 I the past year, I’ve found myself more drawn to the “by hand” (no power tools) end of things. I chiseled/saw cut my first dovetail joint last summer and I couldn’t have been more proud of myself. I’ve always been a Norm Abram fan/viewer, but in the past 9-12 months, thatvRoy Underhill fella has come on strong, and I love the hand chiseling and using pegs/dowels, and one of those old timey turner-around ER drills. And I’m always trying to get my hammer skills better. A consistent two-hit nail-drive, etc. The one nyernet/YouTube is great for this stuff!

In my experience, one of the best websites for hand tools is Lee Valley featuring the Canadian brand, Veritas. Less expensive than the US made Woodpecker tools, but that's not saying much if you are familiar with their prices. If you've never heard of them, I recommend looking into plow planes and their uses.

[turtle]

I dream of a wood shop like that. One day it will happen. I just need to build it first.

[ThunderPoit]

Do you have a basement? This YouTube channel focuses on simple low budget builds and hand tools https://www.youtube.com/@RexKrueger

[turtle]

I do have a basement, I'm just overly concerned about sawdust in everything. I make my wine down there and really don't want to make cleaning for wine prep that much of a hassle.

[psmith2.0]

There's something satisfying about hand-sawing with an old "grandpa saw", once you find your rhythm and hit your groove. Bonus points for knowing there's no way I'm going to cut off a limb or appendage this way, setting my own turtle speed and nothing spinning a thousand miles an hour. Table saws scare the heck out of me. I don't use them enough to be super dialed-in/comfortable, so the kickback or "oops, there went my left hand" is always present.

I'd rather, at this point, just clamp the board and saw the old-school way.

I'm getting back into guitar and bass-playing in 2023, so losing a hand, or any finger(s), just isn't gonna work for me. I'm not on the clock, so it's all just "when I feel like it" hobby-level to me. I'd use power tools if I were building a deck or porch steps or pantry doors or whatever. For my own personal jollies, I love the manual-powered stuff. Scares me less, being completely honest. Jigsaws and bandsaws don't scare me. Table saws, routers and miter saws kinda do. Anything that spins fast, because if shit goes sideways, there's just no time to escape or avoid something awful. Pushing stuff through a bandsaw at my own speed/comfort doesn't give me the willies like running something through the table saw always does. "Can y'all slow that blade down a little? That's a hand-taker!"



Yeah, lawn mower blades or the business end of a weed-whacker...anything that spins fast and can do real damage, I kinda hate and get real nervous around. I watch people - either Neo-hippies or Amish(?) types use a scythe to mow their yards on YouTube. Now that I've written this out loud, I'm guessing most Amish don't have camcorders/smartphones and YouTube channels...so, neo-hippies it is! I sometimes think "I can do that, and then I'll never accidentally cut anything off!"

Once I hit 50 four years ago, I spend all my time/energy looking for ways to not injure/kill myself in a way that I never really thought of/cared about before. "I'm 34...I'm gonna live forever!" has given way to "I'm 54...I might die eating some peanuts or changing a light bulb later...any scenario that hinges on me standing on a chair for 3-4 minutes."

I try to not bitch about the whole "getting old(er)" thing because it does beat the alternative all to hell...

[Kickaha]

Originally Posted by turtle I do have a basement, I'm just overly concerned about sawdust in everything. I make my wine down there and really don't want to make cleaning for wine prep that much of a hassle.

*psst* That's what the dust collection vacuum is for... XD

My buddy's setup was such that he could saw, drill, route, plane, didn't matter, no sawdust of appreciable amount ever materialized. There was nothing to speak of to clean up after, because it was sucked up at point of creation.

Like I said, much envy.

But, it does mean that a nearly sawdust-free shop is possible.

[Anonymous Coward]

Originally Posted by psmith2.0 Yeah, lawn mower blades or the business end of a weed-whacker...anything that spins fast and can do real damage, I kinda hate and get real nervous around. I watch people - either Neo-hippies or Amish(?) types use a scythe to mow their yards on YouTube. Now that I've written this out loud, I'm guessing most Amish don't have camcorders/smartphones and YouTube channels...so, neo-hippies it is! I sometimes think "I can do that, and then I'll never accidentally cut anything off!"

Not sure I understand this. I mean, there is a lot of difference between a noisy two stroke engine driving a spinning nylon cord whip and a fixed blade at the end of a six foot handle. I'm sure I qualify for "neo-hippy" or even just plain "hippy" age wise, but not in any other way. Maybe I should look for YouTube videos to see what I am doing wrong (with my scythe).

[ThunderPoit]

Tonight’s project: a picnic table as a belated Father’s Day gift for my dad, design courtesy of Norm from the new yankee workshop. Rather than be sensible and use my circular saw to cut the notches on the 4x4s, I decided to balance them on my table saw and make the cuts with a dado stack, now my arms hate me. Live and learn, I guess.

I’ll post more pics when it’s done.

[psmith2.0]

Originally Posted by Anonymous Coward Not sure I understand this. I mean, there is a lot of difference between a noisy two stroke engine driving a spinning nylon cord whip and a fixed blade at the end of a six foot handle. I'm sure I qualify for "neo-hippy" or even just plain "hippy" age wise, but not in any other way. Maybe I should look for YouTube videos to see what I am doing wrong (with my scythe).

Probably nothing. Relax.

[psmith2.0]

Originally Posted by ThunderPoit Tonight’s project: a picnic table as a belated Father’s Day gift for my dad, design courtesy of Norm from the new yankee workshop. Rather than be sensible and use my circular saw to cut the notches on the 4x4s, I decided to balance them on my table saw and make the cuts with a dado stack, now my arms hate me. Live and learn, I guess. I’ll post more pics when it’s done.

Ah, cool. Picnic table?

[turtle]

Originally Posted by Kickaha *psst* That's what the dust collection vacuum is for... XD My buddy's setup was such that he could saw, drill, route, plane, didn't matter, no sawdust of appreciable amount ever materialized. There was nothing to speak of to clean up after, because it was sucked up at point of creation. Like I said, much envy. But, it does mean that a nearly sawdust-free shop is possible.

I could look more into the dust collection systems out there. It just always struck me as just not quite good enough and winemaking is more of a passion for me over woodworking. So I haul my table saw out of the basement to make cuts, that kind of thing. The drill press stays where it is because it is heavy and it doesn't generate that much dust. Most all my other tools are portable so they all just get used out back.

[ThunderPoit]

Ahh, crap, I think I was reading my plans upside-down

[Brad]

That's the strangest sawhorse I've seen today!

[ThunderPoit]

That's because its supposed to be a picnic table, does this help?

[psmith2.0]

I love those little seats that convert tova one-man picnic table. I saw some at a craft fair thing a few years ago. Have you seen/made one of those? You have a simple chair with a back, but the back can pivot/rotate up to become a flat table and the seating area is more of a bench.

How long you make the seat/backrest determines the seating number/table size, so it could be tweaked to seat 2-4.

I love clever stuff that can be 2-4 different things. Because I live in a small place, that’s how I have to see/view things, buying or designing/building. I rarely need anything that has to be the same thing 24/7, so if something can shift roles and serve another purpose as I sleep or an away, great. Lately, I’m always thinking about cat-related stuff. Sleeping/lounging areas doubling as perches or steps for window view/access. 🐈‍⬛😁

[ThunderPoit]

Multi-taskers are great. This is going to sit on some family land on the Mississippi where my parents park their camper all summer long, so it will do well as a 24/7 picnic table