Shop improvement projects.

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  • dbhost
    Slow and steady
    • Apr 2008
    • 9209
    • League City, Texas
    • Ryobi BT3100

    #46
    Keeping the thread up to date...

    Bandsaw.

    After installing the Kreg fence and getting it dialed in, all desired mods are done, kind of . I could use to sand down the base and give it a proper paint job, but not gonna happen any time soon so I am calling it done enough for now.

    Dust collector.

    Done. 12" Wen impeller, Wynn 35a filter, neutral vane, enough CFM to do the job where I need it done. Happy with it. The miter saw collection is still awful but that is sort of the nature of those...

    Benchtop tools.

    Flip top stands done, dedicated stand for hte sharpening station done.

    Shop storage cabinets

    Miter saw cabinet done.
    Table saw under wide table storage drawer done. Shop vac and trash can separator will live immediately under that.

    To do...
    1. Lathe tools storage cabinet. I am simply going to make a box to hold 2 drawers on the OE stand, and an enclosure at the bottom of the stand to hold ballast. Design done, basic plywood box iwth face frames to get some practice in. Consider this in progress at a liesurely pace since it hot out now.
    2. Build extension tables / fence with T track for stops for my miter saw station. Flip stops and tapes finally back in stock, ordered, should be here Sunday, I have enough scrap ply to make this happen quickly. Not sure how to actually make it where I can mount it... WIll figure that out later I guess. Probably screwed in from underneath...
    3. Drill press storage cabient. This is doing to sound incredibly stupid, but neighbor was throwing out one of those wide Sterilite 3 drawer craft stuff containers, I was going to snag it for my wifes crafty stuff, but had a stroke of genious, or maybe just a stroke.Mmount up box on casters tall enough to basically straddle my drill press mobile base, and mount the plastic cabinet to that. I have sterilite cabinets in the shop that have been there 15 years so far. If I have to replace it in 15 or so, so be it...


    Compressed air.

    Done.Mostly. Upgrade to 3/8" MPT Type V couplers since they will also take the what are they Type M I think that Central Pnuematic sells, are being slowly replaced. Going all Miltons here.

    Lighting.

    Done..Double end powered LED light conversion.

    Cleanup. This is mostly done, however...

    Pending.
    1. Sweep and vac up all the sawdust created when the DC was disassembled. There is an awful lot of it. Progress has been made, I joked only slightly joking about opening the garage doors and blowing out with a leaf blower. I might have to do that just to get it clean...
    2. Sort the WTF is it box by the camping gear. THis is an ongoing project that will probably be done when I am dead.
    3. Finish removal of the 4" DWV floor run at the tool wall, This will allow me to get closer to the wall and clean up the stuff clogging up my space. This also means almost all of my tools along the powered wall need to be moved out for a bit. Bleh...
    What at the start of the year seemed an insurmountable amount of shop related projects, is taking shape slowly but surely and coming to a conclusion, although with the heat of the summer coming on, I am likely not going to get much done until the fall.
    Last edited by dbhost; 05-28-2022, 12:16 AM.
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    • dbhost
      Slow and steady
      • Apr 2008
      • 9209
      • League City, Texas
      • Ryobi BT3100

      #47
      So I figure a pictoral representation of hte work that has been done in the shop since I started this thread, I will try to compress pics for multiple proejcts if possible...

      I know I have shown the Wynn filter and the neutral vane is going to be VERY hard to photograph, but here is teh Wen impeller during the install process. The install went super easy and was well worth the few bucks and little bit of time it took. What a HUGE difference in dust collector performance. No it is not in ClearVue territory but it picks up where the prior setup left a lot behind...

      Click image for larger version

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      The compressed air system piping, 3/8" ID fitting upgrade and repair to the Central Pneumatic filter / regulator This was a well worth it upgrade.
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      And at the same time I did the install of the piping system, I moved the Central Pneumatic hose reel to the space between the overhead door tracks

      I also converted all of the formerly T12 flourescent fixtures to LED ballast bypass tubes.

      Also a larger project was the conversion from 4" dual runs to a single 5" main and 4" drops, this is resulting in a much better running system. Not sure how much of that is due to the Wen impeller or removal of the 55 gallon side inlet Thien separator though..
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      I resized to fit one of my sister in laws pullout spice drawers after she had to redo her kitchen due to Hurricane Harvey, this went under the extension wing of the BT3100 and serves to house my table saw accessories, jigs, and safety items like push blocks etc...
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      The band saw recieved its long awaited upgrades. out went the Cool Blocks, in went the Accura roller bearing guides for a MUCH smoother and more stable operation. The upper guide holder for the Accura that houses the micro adjuster for the thrust bearing did NOT fit the Central Machinery band saw, but the yoke that holds the side bearings is a direct fit replacement for the yoke that holds the blocks, so that is how I handled the upper guide. Lower was a direct drop in. The MLCS safety power switch was installed and located on the post, which happened to be drilled perfectly for the mounting screws. I sacrificed an outdoor extension cord to get a sufficient cord for the task at hand. The lower factory dust port was replaced with a larger Jet 2.5" port, and an additional 2.5" port was added to the lower shroud, urethane tires were added but not pictured here, and of course the Kreg Precision Fence has been installed and tested...

      Of course the previous mods of the G0555 tensioner, riser block, wheel brush etc... are still there...
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      The drawers and support tables / production stop rig for the miter saw bench / mortiser bench has been done, and now in use...
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      The wall stacker was killing my back and making me not want to spend shop time working with my equipment, so I built this pair of flip top stands for my bench top tools
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      And if I have it right, this should be last for now, which was the sharpening station.
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      • LCHIEN
        Internet Fact Checker
        • Dec 2002
        • 20920
        • Katy, TX, USA.
        • BT3000 vintage 1999

        #48
        Been a busy season for you!

        A lot of hard work for you!
        Loring in Katy, TX USA
        If your only tool is a hammer, you tend to treat all problems as if they were nails.
        BT3 FAQ - https://www.sawdustzone.org/forum/di...sked-questions

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        • dbhost
          Slow and steady
          • Apr 2008
          • 9209
          • League City, Texas
          • Ryobi BT3100

          #49
          Too many things put off for too long. I have been pushing to get things done...
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          • dbhost
            Slow and steady
            • Apr 2008
            • 9209
            • League City, Texas
            • Ryobi BT3100

            #50
            Still chugging along here. The heat of the summer has slowed me down somewhat, as has the need for car repair, and home repair, but I slog along. Current Shop related projects are...

            A. Drill Press storage cabinet. I am being CHEAP and LAZY about this as I want it done yesterday. I have a rolling 3 drawer Sterilte wide drawer cabinet that will hold my drills and drilling accessories. . I have filled the caster holes with epoxy and dowel pieces. I've sized up and cut a piece of 3/4" scrap ply that is going to be the base and marked my drill through points. The idea is to just mount the plastic box on the plywood, mount some risers for some harbor freight casters to get it up over the harbor freight mobile base, load it up and call it good.
            B. This is taking a LOT more time and thought. Lathe ballast / storage bench. The drawer boxes are done, but horribly. They are cast offs / recoveries from Hurricane Harvey. And literally simple stapled butt jointed poplar boxes. I am dowelling them to at least get SOME sort of strength to them. Not dovetails by any means but oh well. Top will be basically butcher block laminated 2x4s that are jointed, planed and sized to 1.25x3, with the 3.25" vertical so I have a 3.25" thick top. Similarly prepped 2x4 base that is M&T into the top by at least 1.5". Sides and back enclosed with 1/4" ply that should be rabbeted into the framing glued and pinned. Bottom should have a ballast enclosure. The bench should be heavy enough, but I want to keep 2 bags of quickcrete / 140lbs in the base to keep it from dancing. Lastly, I need to figure out some way to rig a Heavy duty mobile base to a wide item like a lathe bench... This is where the newly purchased drawer guide jigs will come in handy to line those drawer guides up. 2 shallow drawers side by side, and 2 deep drawers side by side. Should be way more than enough storage space for al my turning tools AND extra stuff...
            C. Continuing on with the shop cleanup, and organization. I NEED to get that last uninsulated wall exposed. I am just going to blow in insulation, but I need to get the hose to it...
            D. And MUCH sooner than most of these. The Smart switch for the shop has gone bad. I have a new one, just need to swap it out.
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            • Samnins
              Banned
              • Feb 2023
              • 4

              #51
              Tube protection has significant advantages, although my shop lighting consists of outdated salvaged industrial 4' double tube wash down fixtures with translucent covers. Undoubtedly, these covers reduce the amount of light, but they have proven invaluable in preventing numerous tube breakages of glass door. Given that my ceiling is 10' high, shops with lower ceilings would be highly susceptible to tube damage if I were to maneuver a long board around.

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              • dbhost
                Slow and steady
                • Apr 2008
                • 9209
                • League City, Texas
                • Ryobi BT3100

                #52
                I found where i Had stashed my one unused keyed alike lock for the Craftsman tool boxes, and sure enough, it fits the Husky drilling center no problem. I am going to try to insure if at all possible the metal boxes / cabinets in the shop use the same key, that way I don't have to have a huge key ring for all the different locks.... And it is MY shop anyway, nobody else should have access to it... Of course once I kick off, somebody is going to wonder why a Husky tool box has a Craftsman lock / key on it...

                I just looked at the date for the last post here. This thread was right before my wife passed away. Wow these projects have gone a long way in that time.... And so much further to go still!

                Since my July 2022 post just previously as you all know I became widowed, and had a fairly serious bout with my health, so to say the least getting my stuff together hasn't been easy, but here is an update on what got done since then.

                The Northern Industrial drill press is gone, in its place is a Bilt Hard 12" variable speed drill press. Basically the same exact DP that Wen sells but in blue instead of orange, and I got mine on clearance so for about half of dirt cheap... I mounted it to...
                Husky 4 drawer tool cabinet. It was dirt cheap scratch and dent stuff, the dent was minor on the top and I covered that with a maple tool box topper and drilled / used BIG fender washers and bolted the drill press through the top to the tool box. And rekeyed to match my...

                I replaced my 30+ year old Craftsman 26" 9 drawer tool cabinet and 34 year old Stanley Proto top chest with a new 52" Craftsman 2000 series cabinet and chest. The old 26" was going to be used for the drill press but it is too tall. And it is keyed to match the others here, I moved the old box to the shed to hold plumbing tools and parts.after repainting the inside of the drawers...The proto I more or less left alone after heavily degreasing it...

                My Ryobi 8" bench grinder sharpening rig got replaced by a Wen low speed sharpening system / jigs with the addition of the Triton turning tools sharpening jig for this style sharpening system. Yes my Wolverine jig setup will be up for sale at some point in the future, not sure when...

                My Sunhill 6" jointer became problematic to find replacement knives for, so I got a Wahuda 10" benchtop jointer. Still need to make a stand for it...

                My Harbor Freight 12" sliding miter saw was gifted to a friend, and my long overdue Metabo HPT (Hitachi) 12" double bevel front slider sits in its place.

                And I reworked my miter bench, yet again...

                I had a shed built in the back yard to the limit of what the HOA would allow without getting a waiver or just getting their noses involved... My camping gear, plumbing, lawn and garden, and lots of misc automotive parts went out there, or are in the process of going out there.

                I have removed the old portable AC after it more or less, well it worked but it was just a steaming pile of fertilizer after 15 years... I snagged but have not installed an 18K BTU mini split heat pump, will be installing that soon, and I snagged a Grizzly 18" open end drum sander. Not yet assembled having back order issues iwth parts for the mobile base. I only want to assemble this once...

                and I have been cleaning, and purging, and becoming stunned at how much trash ends up in the shop...

                I am at the point now that I am sorting through a bunch of old WTF was this stuff in totes and stuff that ended up on the floor. Keepers get put up, the rest goes into the trash or recycle bin. I have made tremendous strides to getting there, but I have a very long way to go....
                Last edited by dbhost; 10-30-2023, 09:18 PM.
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                • dbhost
                  Slow and steady
                  • Apr 2008
                  • 9209
                  • League City, Texas
                  • Ryobi BT3100

                  #53
                  Something to note since I am dredging this thread back up after finding it again, I guess I am using it as a sort of blog, sorry... But I digress. The old portable AC and as compressed as I could force the hoses to be, took up MORE floor space than the Grizzly wide drum sander, and of course the radiator I have been using to heat my shop consumes floor space which isn't good. The plan is to put the mini split evaporator in an otherwise dead wall space, so that project alone is grabbing me back a bunch of floor space that has been sorely lacking... As is pitching out, or putting in the shed all the lawn and garden stuff that just doesn't belong...
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                  • dbhost
                    Slow and steady
                    • Apr 2008
                    • 9209
                    • League City, Texas
                    • Ryobi BT3100

                    #54
                    Got some time in the shop to clean today, and clean I did, not a ton, but 2 more full bags of packing foam and cardboard mostly. I can now move around the table saw almost unimpeded.

                    More lawn and garden stuff and auto parts went to the shed.

                    I have a new in box AC compressor for an unknown vehicle application that my neighbor gave me. Long story short, his son had a shop, the shop closed down and the compressor was left over. He saw me redoing the AC in my Chevy and decided I needed the compressor.

                    I should probably look up the part # and determine it's application. My BIL has a body shop in Houston where they take auction cars, rebuild them and sell them. Maybe this can save them $100.00 and me some space in my shop.

                    I need to move the rest of the plumbing parts and tools to the cabinet in the shed. My electrical parts need more space in the big tool cabinet in the shop...

                    I have a TON of surplus compressed air fittings, mostly Central Pnuematic Industrial / Milton Type M which are kind of the same thing. I went with Milton Type V High Flows and will never go back to these. Again, BIL's body shop uses this type fitting, so that stuff is going to get boxed up and taken over there...

                    I have a set of non folding roller stands that need to find a new home. Anyone in Houston want them? If not donation pile they go...

                    I am making good progress finally.

                    After continuing to work on the cleanup and organization, I am deciding against taking the wide table off of the BT, too many storage opportunities there.

                    Got an upgraded roller / clamper assembly for my BT fence on its way, milled aluminum instead of plastic, major improvement.

                    Got a micro adjuster for the BT, another major improvement.

                    Once cleaned up and I can get around it, I am going to zero the fence on the BT, adjsut it out as well as the SMT, get everything dialed back in 100%. Probably clean out the sockets for the brushes and if I can find my spares, change out the brushes on the BT just to avoid complications down the road...

                    Yes I was considering applying any bonuses to a SawStop but I am not totally sold on that yet. To get the one I want with the options I want to replace all the function of the BT would set me back about $5K...

                    I still have so much to do, but my shop is starting to resemble a shop again. I have a large chunk of time off I have to take before Thanksgiving, so if the weather cooperates, shop days it will be!

                    So lets look realistically at what my shop projects need to be moving forward.

                    - Finish cleaning up and organzing. Very close, but not all the way there yet.
                    - Redo the clamper on my BT fence, fine tune the BT as best I can.
                    - Working with my friend the AC guy install the mini split in the shop.
                    - Hopefully by that time, Grizzly will have made good on delivering the rails for the mobile base and I can set up my wide drum sander.
                    - Redo the dust hood for the miter saw bench. Pull the curved back in a LOT to keep from having a huge air space back there. side guards to avoid "spray back" and a 4" port in the center of the back. 2.5" port to the factory dust port on the saw. Honestly probably going to try with just the 2.5 at first. That port seems pretty well sorted by Hitach / Metabo HPT...
                    - Sharpening station for the Wen Sharpener. Basically I am thinking a basic plywood box stand with a couple of shelves. A good slathering of my Hunter green paint and mount the sharpener.
                    - Swap the OE style 8" wheels on the Ryobi full speed bench grinder, set it back to OE tool rests etc...
                    - Decommission and sell the Wolverine jig, varigrind, chisel plaform set, and white oxide wheels.
                    - Build new flip top stand for the 10" jointer and my planer. If I can get it apart without damage, re-use the already built side panels and just redo the base and flipper plate so they are big enough. I doubt I can do that though so I will likely only be recyclling the casters...
                    Last edited by dbhost; 11-04-2023, 10:11 PM.
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                    • dbhost
                      Slow and steady
                      • Apr 2008
                      • 9209
                      • League City, Texas
                      • Ryobi BT3100

                      #55
                      I can't wait until the heat pump is installed. I have been out in the yard knocking down pallets and pulling nails and have worked up quite a sweat. It is 80 deg F and 58% RH, so not super muggy, but considering one of the side effects of the meds I am on is body temperature regulation issues. I.E. I will tend to feel hotter than I should... It was not fun... Temp is supposed to nose dive next weekend though... Anyway I am 99% certain I got all the nails, but will wand the pallet pieces before taking them to the planer as I don't really want to donate knives to the cause of stupidity...

                      More on the trash cleanup. I am finding things that are still useable, but not for me, and I can't think of anyone that can use them. Going to start up a donations box so I can make a run to Habitat ReStore and drop the stuff off... Ceiling hangers for bicycles, spare wands and soap tanks for my old very broken B&D pressure washer...

                      I have the saw table mostly cleared off, just some sawdust and a broken cigar left that needs to be vacuumed up.

                      I ordered a lightning deal on a new winter coat from Amazon, I need to cool off before trying it on. Long story short, I know my size, I know I am a big guy but not as big as Amazon sizes say. The Frogg Toggs and Van Heusen (Probably misspelled that) pants are the only clothes I have ordered from Amazon that actually fit correctly. Anyway I fiugred $75.00 for a winter coat from Amazon beats $150.00 for a similar coat at JCPenny. And my brother in law absconded my old favorite winter coat... Not that I expect snow here in TX this winter, but I am hoping should i have the camper sorted out soon enough, to go where snow is this winter...
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                      • dbhost
                        Slow and steady
                        • Apr 2008
                        • 9209
                        • League City, Texas
                        • Ryobi BT3100

                        #56
                        Have you ever had one of those days when you just didn't accomplish 1/4 of what you had planned to do? Today was my day...

                        I am however stopped again by capacity issues. I filled up both trash canss and the recycle bin. So no more capacity there. I futzed with the tree stumps and ran out of drilling capacity due to a dull bit. I ran out of pallets to break down, so I guess that is a capacity issue. 2 of the boards broke along the grain and it was a clean enough break that I can actually glue them back together, so guess what? I am being an idiot and trying to salvage these pieces. What for? Not sure.l Not like I don't have projects waiting to be done though.

                        Got in touch with the Ebay seller after I realized the guy selling the roller / clamper and the guy selling the miter fence clamp are one and the same. Asked him to package them and send them together to save him, and me the time and hassle of 2 packages. I just want less packaging to throw away..

                        Still trying to knock out laundry, that is going to be fun... I have a giant poofy comforter to dry, and a load of actual clothes in the washer, and then one last load of nasty towels. Speaking of which...

                        My old torn up towels my wife apparently had been stashing in my shop apparently as shop towels. I never knew that until I dug out one of the totes to start sorting. I have a full 29 gallon tote FULL of discarded towels from the last 18 years. The stuff I had before we got together, the stuff she had, the stuff we had together that got worn out. How we wore out so many towels I don't know. Honestly I think they are making junk towels...

                        More cleaning, sorting, purging. Once the cans roll back tomorrow, well more cleaning, sorting, and purging. Probably first thing to do is toss all of those old messed up towels!

                        On the roller / clamper assembly. I got the unit that needs to have the old roller which I had replaced previously and do recall it being metal on a metal roll pin, and the metal clamper, so when my new one comes in I need to transfer parts over. Not sure should I be lubing this with something?

                        I know the miter fence clamp obviously no lube...
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                        • LCHIEN
                          Internet Fact Checker
                          • Dec 2002
                          • 20920
                          • Katy, TX, USA.
                          • BT3000 vintage 1999

                          #57
                          The original BT3 roller was a plastic wheel, I think 1+" inches diameter with a 1/4" hole.

                          Never heard of anyone breaking one. Seems easy enough to replace if you need one.

                          The metal clamper I have heard of getting bent, probably excessive force on the locking handle. Like everything else on the BT3, easy does it on the handle.
                          Loring in Katy, TX USA
                          If your only tool is a hammer, you tend to treat all problems as if they were nails.
                          BT3 FAQ - https://www.sawdustzone.org/forum/di...sked-questions

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                          • dbhost
                            Slow and steady
                            • Apr 2008
                            • 9209
                            • League City, Texas
                            • Ryobi BT3100

                            #58
                            Answered elsewhere, but folks seem to keep hitting this thread, including me, so updating here...

                            Got the roller coming from the guy that sells the bracket, plus an already loaded one. Will do a video on swapping bits out and loading it, undecided which one I will use in my fence which will go into my spares, or potentially be sold or gifted. Haven't decided yet.

                            Got the Aluminum miter fence holder on the way as well. Same seller. Aside from a custom storage / mobile cabinet base, I am as loaded out and customized as a BT3x00 can get, and that is a good thing.

                            Delaying my purchase of 2x4s at least one day so I can get them when it is not thowing buckets of rain down on me. I need material for the sharpening station build, as well as the bed frame builds.

                            My saw is entirely clear of cr*p, and the wide table is about halfway there. The work bench on the other hand, has the sharpener, jigs, my formerly usable deep cycle battery that has eaten itself and my jointer. I need to move the battery into the shed and then move the other stuff around for now. and work around it while I make homes for that stuff.

                            I have not yet made a home for the new jointer. Need to hurry up and do that too...

                            I need to purge more trash out of the shop. Giant bags of used and just haggard towels my wife thought would be a good idea as shop towels. I have gone through 2 boxes of shop towels in a box in 10 years. I think I will stick with that just on a space efficiency basis...
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                            • dbhost
                              Slow and steady
                              • Apr 2008
                              • 9209
                              • League City, Texas
                              • Ryobi BT3100

                              #59
                              So my extension bars for my Bear Crawl mobile base has shipped. Next week I get to putting together the mobile base and the sander, get the sander dialed in.

                              Threw my back out again, doing PT and muscle relaxers for a bit so won't be doing a lot for a week or two, HOWEVER, once done I have some camper projects to do, some maintenance on my daily driver to do, and make some room on the wall for the mini split and start the install of the mini split heat pump.
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