What did you do today?

[GrumpyDad]

Started building the new Sawstop PCS and associated stand, I have been anticipating this day for a long time

I live in a home built in 1962. The shop space is in the basement. Basement slab slopes towards center floor drain at an angle that is a bit hard to fight. I have the PCS model with a 36 inch fence. Original owner had it setup in about same space/situation but had the right side table legs installed. Based on how stiff the rails are I see little need for this (unless I add a router insert) at this time.

For my needs..

1 - Ability to move the saw
2 - Cabinet/outfeed/assembly structure that could be moved in and out of storage space under right side of table
3 - Dust control is shared amongst a few devices at this point.

I hate to reinvent the wheel so I opted for a simple sturdy platform to place the unit on. This will allow me to put more effort in to the secondary cabinet from point 2 above. Something like this...
https://cdn.popularwoodworking.com/w...S_IMG_4306.jpg



I looked at all of the portamate type solutions and the expensive saw stop bases and opted to use a server rack base the IT department had tossed at work to solve the issue.
Middle Atlantic CBS-WRK-32 - Skirted Wheelbase, Fits 32"

https://www.empirepro.com/pro-audio/...rk-series.html

I simply built a structure that sits over the top of this like a "hat" with a shallow well that goes around the base of the saw. 1300 pound capacity is more than enough. The slight bit of raise allows me to get the saw up a bit higher which is more to my taste. I will add some leveling / immobilizing for the base and call it done. I used this same base idea under my jointer/planer.

[dbhost]

I live in a home built in 1962. The shop space is in the basement. Basement slab slopes towards center floor drain at an angle that is a bit hard to fight. I have the PCS model with a 36 inch fence. Original owner had it setup in about same space/situation but had the right side table legs installed. Based on how stiff the rails are I see little need for this (unless I add a router insert) at this time.

For my needs..

1 - Ability to move the saw
2 - Cabinet/outfeed/assembly structure that could be moved in and out of storage space under right side of table
3 - Dust control is shared amongst a few devices at this point.

I hate to reinvent the wheel so I opted for a simple sturdy platform to place the unit on. This will allow me to put more effort in to the secondary cabinet from point 2 above. Something like this...
https://cdn.popularwoodworking.com/w...S_IMG_4306.jpg



I looked at all of the portamate type solutions and the expensive saw stop bases and opted to use a server rack base the IT department had tossed at work to solve the issue.
Middle Atlantic CBS-WRK-32 - Skirted Wheelbase, Fits 32"

https://www.empirepro.com/pro-audio/...rk-series.html

I simply built a structure that sits over the top of this like a "hat" with a shallow well that goes around the base of the saw. 1300 pound capacity is more than enough. The slight bit of raise allows me to get the saw up a bit higher which is more to my taste. I will add some leveling / immobilizing for the base and call it done. I used this same base idea under my jointer/planer.

To paraphrase my 16 year old neice. Totally jelly....

Seriously though, that's my dream. Saw. Assuming Ryobi doesn't take a hint and make a "next generation" BT3x00 with a blade brake, a CI top, and a 3HP motor, but with the SMT, and myriad of add on accessories. Admittedly with a regular router plate insert instead of their proprietary router table insert.

So last night, the toilet flush handle rod rusted out and fell to bits. Went to Home Depot and got a bronze fluidmaster and installed it. Yay flushing toilets!

While I was at Home Depot. I picked up a packet of "small speed load" drill bits. The 1/8 and under. Refilled one of my Speed load kits only to find the 5/64" missing. Sadly that size is not to be found from Ryobi, so I ordered a 4 pack from Amazon of the closest thing I could find to them.

Dug up an old segment of Wiremold for the bandsaw power cable inside the stand.

Tapped the hole in the riser block for 1/4 - 20, installed screw / cable retaining strap for the power cable, mashed the rubber hose "bushing" into place. It's not going anywhere until it rots away. Sized and installed the wiremold and closed up the base. Some minor surface rust to deal with left...

[twistsol]

Got outbid on a fixer upper for my daughter. It was a 1966 Medallion house in decent shape, but has had no updates since the day it was built. The mid century modern cabinets and builtins were in flawless condition. The rest of the house just needed minor TLC and a new electric panel. It must have been close to the last house built with screw in fuses. Furnace and water heater were reasonably modern as was the central AC. It was at the top of their price range so better to lose it than go over budget.

Back to beginning in the house search.

[dbhost]

Let's see. More work, puttering around the shop doing more cleanup although quite minor today. Measured, and marked down the dimensions of the drawers for the lathe bench. Getting ready to stash them aside until the carcass for the bench is done. Worked on a sketchup model of the new shop layout. Assuming compressor is housed outside. Lumber is stored elsewhere, and no auto repair stuff / lawn and garden, and camping gear, I will actually end up with more useable space in the 10x20 than in my 2 car garage.

Also ordered some 3/8" to 1/4" NPT bushings as I believe the outlet blocks are 3/8 FPT, yet the fittings from the kit and the quick connects are 1/4". I noticed this with Rapidaire, and the Klutch kits as well. Difference is they included the bushings. Eh...Amazon has them cheap. Like a dozen for $10.00 or something like that...

[dbhost]

Spent more time in Sketchup than I care to admit to, and spun the tought around. If I compelte my shop storage projects, put it all on wheels, and put together a simple 10x12 storage shed. The camping gear except for the jumbo coolers, the lawn and garden and the other non shop related stuff that REALLY should not be in my garage anyway, can get moved out, and I am back to a shared between woodworking and auto / home repair 18x20 workspace. If I pull the jack handle, the floor jack fits nicely under my workbench. That literally means I stash 4 sets of jack stands. The big 6 ton truck / SUV stands, and the normal automotive 3 ton units. And the Craftsman / Stanley Proto base cabinet / chest set. If I build a rolling sheet goods cart. I can literally just roll everything to one side / bay, and let my wife use the other side for her car. Pull the car out, roll out tools, set up and go to work...

A LOT less short term work on me, but does not eliminate her tendency to put stuff out there...

I should have bought the house I wanted further away from the coast, on a hunk of land, with a regular garage, and a big steel 2 bay motorhome / RV size steel building. It was probably 30x45....

Oh well, live and learn!

Something of note. I have mentioned in the past my garage has a funny bump out along the back wall, a 2.5 foot recess that is 6 feet long. After we finish the master bathroom remodel, which will include a full walk in shower, that bump in / out will no longer exist as we are going to move the wall to install the shower.

That back corner can get a bit crowded though, the shutoff valve for the water is there, as is our water softener / filtration system.

I can move the lumber storage to the to be elongated common wall to the house, pray I find a place that makes sense for the DIY books and magazines. They may have to end up back in the house somewhere... Rear corner ca house the DC, and compressors, WIll need to make a space for the spray guns, filters, stand etc... The existing Thien for the shop vac and shop vac itself have shelves that can go. But that begs the question of where to put those items...

I feel more time in Sketchup coming soon...

[dbhost]

Sister in law dropped off the laptop we gave her after she lost hers to Hurricane Harvey, says she never used it. Reinstalling WIndows 10 as, well, I don't trust she didn't get a virus in it...

I really need a better laptop honestly. Need something for video editing....

Went to stow drawers in the attic when my wife decided she wanted us to go out, so I guess that has to wait another day or so...

Currently watching the Win 10 install and digging lights for outdoors up. We do our outdoor lighting mid Dec and pull it 2nd week of Jan by our tradition. HOA not thrilled but ppppfffffttt...

[LCHIEN]

Cleaning up daughters room upstairs. She moved out to an apartment in 2004 after she graduated college, has married and is expecting her third child in 11 days. She has constantly said don't throw her stuff away yet living 6 miles down the road she hasn't come for it yet. Now she has decorated a new room for her coming baby with bay furniture and has given me the full size bed I made for her when she was in college. So I'm putting it in her old room... next to her old twin bed. So I'm oving out her junk because she says she has her hands full of stuff they are trying to dispose of and doesn't want it.

So what appeared to be about 100 CDs (not my kind of music) that I didn't want to throw away before turned out to be just empty jewel cases (have no idea of where the discs went) so I threw all those away along with four years of college notes, papers, projects and other useless stuff. But you know ya gotta look through it for important stuff. I saved for her some pictures and letters she might want and tossed the rest in the garbage and recycling.

Cleaned off the ceiling fan with 25 years of dust and crud on the top of the blades and replaced the old incandescent bulb in it with an LED as we have just used it as a guest room for the last 16 years apparently infrequently enough that the original light bulb is still there.

Carried the bed, less mattress, upstairs and set it up according to the Visio plan I made. Fit. I like my Bosch laser measuring tool.
Will need help with the mattress. Not too heavy but too bulky to handle one person.

Now, we have a rack in the other bedroom with a brides dress and three mother of the bride dresses that neither party wants to part with even though they don't fit any of them anymore. The parties involved said they spent too much (of my money apparently) on them so they can't let go. My wife claims I have too much stuff but she has three closets in this house filled with just her clothes and shoes and there are at least 7 purses in my daughter's room because there's no room in the closets for them.

[twistsol]

The 3-6" of snow we were supposed to get turned into 12-15". Spent 2 and a half hours of quality time with the snowblower.

Last night and today wrote a program that calculates the sizes of all the parts for a cabinet with and creates an import file for Cutlist plus. I have 15 cabinets to build for a project over Christmas break and I got tired of making mistakes in my math because I'd forget to subtract for faceframes when I use them, or if I adjusted a cabinet width, not every part got adjusted in cutlist, or adjusting for 19mm melamine vs 18mm plywood, etc. Contrary to the screen shot below, I'm using home center birch plywood. I can't afford 21 sheets of baltic birch but baltic birch was already set up as a material in cutlist.

(EDIT) I just noticed looking at the screen shot that the width and depth don't convert correctly to inches (added for my wife) because I have the fields swapped. Doh!

[capncarl]

I used home center Baltic birch to build a bunch of cabinets with, and other than the math snafu’s the biggest boo boo was to think that home center birch plywood would surfice for cabinet doors. I was wrong. Nothing warps like plywood. The only choice was real cabinet grade plywood for doors…. At $175. Per sheet 8 yrs ago. I might add it would have been a bargain seeing that half of the doors I built have some kind of warp in them! It

ask me about cabinet paint.

[twistsol]

I'm only using the plywood from the home center for the cabinet boxes. Doors, face frames, and drawer fronts will all be solid birch. the only time I've made doors out of sheet goods were for the shop. I used 3/4 MDF, and got one side painted in October before it got too cold to spray outside.

[dbhost]

Finished installing Windows 10 and installing updates. I made the mistake of doing a factory reset on the laptop which brought it back to Windows 8.1, and I had to try to patch THAT up to date, THEN apply the win 10 upgrade. I got sick of the 8.1 service packs barfing on install, so I just went ahead with the Win10 straight install. No problem...

One of the cross drawers / spice tray I found the side lumber had split. So got that in glue. The split was clean so glueup was easy. That is in clamps drying now. Spent a good bit of time hunting down bits and baubles and putting them away.

Once the glue is dry, the clamps are put back up, the drawers go UP into the attic. THEN I can take the dog bed tot he laundromat and get his stinkyness washed off. Bleh....

Oh, and OCD overwhelmed Me and I finally out outgrow replaced replaced the 12 by 24 mount board that the scroll saw was mounted on with my standard 18 by 24.. I managed to cut it on the sliding miter saw.

Which is great because I don't want to dig out the stuff from on top of the table saw to make the cut nor do I want to cut it with the circular saw..

[dbhost]

So the latest Windows updates apparently hide the option to log in with a password, but instead require a PIN number. Somehow a PIN is more secure than a longer alphanumeric password? Riiiigggghhhhttttt....

I found the setting, in accounts turn OFF Windows Hello.

Made breakfast.

Spent some more time moving non shop stuff out of the shop, jettisonning abandoned projects. I am NOT going to patch that partially rotted turned patio post, I can buy a new one for far less if I were to even pay myself $5.00 and hour...

Why am I keeping unused roller bed frames in the garage?

That sort of thing...

I have 2 woodcraft bar stools. Some of the fasteners have walked theselved out, and off to heaven only knows where... . They are basically steel binding posts and screws. Not going to stay with that. Just going to use shallow domed screws washers, and acorn nuts, with loctite.

Starting a couple of new totes. Most ntable is a large one. Truck camper parts. This includes the water pickup rig for the AquaTainers, 12V pump, 110v through wall penetration. GFCI etc... The trailer kitchen stuff.

Continuing with my shop cleanup! If the totes hagning out at the front of the shop get put up in the attic, I can walk around the table saw!

Update. The stacks of drawers have, with no small amount of effort, been relocated, and staged in such a way that they are spearated by the specific drawers intended for a given project, and drawers with no clue what I am going to do with them. I now need plywood. But first things first.

#1. Sheet goods and cutoffs. I have a LOT of odd shaped plywood cutoffs. I mean a LOT, and most of them are too small / odd shaped to be of any real use. I am seriously considering chunking them into bits no bigger than 6x6, and put them aside for burning off this winter in the fire pit. Any of the 1/2" stuff needs to get sized up for the drill press table inserts, and pack them aside for cycling through.
#2. I need to build a sheet goods cart with spaces for the larger cutoffs. I have the casters, just need the plywood.
#3. Finish the drawers for the for the miter saw table. With those done, I can stash things that are in the library cabinet above, actually IN the drawers where I had first intended.
#4. Next time I go to Wally World, need to pick up one of those plastic multi drawer paper organizer things, they are perfectly sized to house the boxes or rotary tool accessories.

I have so much more work to do, but I can see so much more floor, workbench, and table saw now. REALLY happy with the progress, just wish I didn't have to do all of this...

My back issues, and moving tools on / off the tool stacker has convinced me to pull the bench grinder / wolverine jig off of there and build a proper stand for it Basically a stabilized X base holding a 4x4 post, and the mount board / grinder mounted up. Not super pretty, but certainly effective... Needs levellers though. Need to source some up and install them and some T nuts... Need to build a little box to hold the Geigers Dressing tool, and the VariGrind...

It was a pretty productive day, but I think I am done for today. Just feeling like I am done with it.

[woodturner]

"I found the setting, in accounts turn OFF Windows Hello." THANKS for this, had not been able to find the setting :-)

[dbhost]

woodturner Not a problem in the slightest. I am not sure who at Microsoft felt a PIN was more secure than a password, but give me the option to use either, don't hide Password auth. It's not as good as 2 factor but it beats the tar out of a simple PIN.

[dbhost]

Got up, did my team meeting, initiated my morning scan / report generation. Posting here and looking for levelers while I wait.

Update #1. First work thing done. Ordered levellers. Likely to be here tomorrow, or Wednesday. This will allow me to stop the wiggle in the sharpening station.

[twistsol]

This weekend, I finally managed to get all the boxes from the move unpacked and stuff put away in the shop. Tools that need to travel are organized into 5 DeWalt toughsystem boxes and a bunch of systainers. Also ordered carpet last week for the basement stairs that is being installed as I type this. I did forget to finish the painting on the stairs, but since the shop and storage area are both organized at least I know where all the painting tools and drop cloths are.

Next up is to tackle the hardware cabinet which is 11 drawers of mayhem and one that is actually organized and labelled.

[dbhost]

Separate thread on this, BUT.... knocked together a sharpening station / grinder stand. Added and adjusted the levellers. This thing is rock solid!

Have some more work I need to do to it...

#1. Build and add a cup holder for a quenching cup.
#2. Relieve the sharp endges with my orbintal sander and some 80 grit.
#3. Coat with a coat of Kilz2.
#4. Paint with Rustoleum brush on hunter green gloss.

[capncarl]

A friend requested a carved wood spirit for his mantle in his log house. I couldn’t get to the “public” wood in my Red Cedar stack so I used a piece of my special stock that came from our old family cemetery. It was growing at my great great grandfathers gravesite, dated 1831-1912 Company E 6th Florida Regiment of Infantry. Hurricane Michael blew it down. This area was all one big Indian village located in the fork where 2 rivers merge, with numerous mounds and chipping grounds. I cut most of it out with the chainsaw wheel on a King Arthur Merlin 2 grinder. Not my best work, I couldn’t seem to get the right roundness of the face right. The angle of the photo makes the nose look too big and the face flat,