Rough year for my shop!

[dbhost]

Larryl,

Sorry to hear of your fire. but I am glad to see you are recovering quickly. Insurance is a good thing...

I know for me, I absolutely forbid smoking in my shop due to the hazzards. My smoker friends and I can hang out under the EZ-Up and shoot the breeze. I have been known to cart out a folding table for an assembly table so my friends can smoke while we tinker...

I am curious though. It looks from your photo that you gambled a bit on Harbor Freight's equipment, and I was hoping you could perhaps tell us a bit about your gear. I have been looking at the HF jointer, and that same lathe, have you done reviews on them? Can you tell us a little bit about how you like them? (Do you wish you had bought higher $$ stuff, or do these tools do what you want them to?)

[Larryl]

I am curious though. It looks from your photo that you gambled a bit on Harbor Freight's equipment, and I was hoping you could perhaps tell us a bit about your gear. I have been looking at the HF jointer, and that same lathe, have you done reviews on them? Can you tell us a little bit about how you like them? (Do you wish you had bought higher $$ stuff, or do these tools do what you want them to?)

Good questions, I won't comment on the HF DC because there are litterly hundreds(?) of threads on this and other forums. I'll be honest I haven't used the jointer near as much as I thought I would, but it seems to do exactly what it is suppose to do. I have never owned another brand but I feel the HF jointer is just as effective/accurate as any other the main thing is it is a little less refined and the fence can be a pain to reset. I am a complete novice with the lathe, but this model was on sale one day and I found it following me home. I bought it to turn some legs on a drop-leaf Shaker style table I made for my son's apartment. It did what I wanted it to do and it may be my lathe for quite a while, but it is very light and I doubt it would serve me if I ever decide to get into turning bowls. Do I wish I had bought better, yes. Good example is the small drill press in the "before" picture. I bought it when it was all I could afford and I was in my first small (8' x 12') shop and everything had to be used and stowed away. I discovered early on that a much larger drill press was needed but the little HF was very accurate and I made-do with it. The fire was a good excuse to start over with the tools I feel will carry me well into the future. Bottom line HF tools can be a real bargan and work well for you, however, some are absolute junk. I would look at HF but compare them to other branded tools, you may find that the only real difference is cosmetic or that the brand name tools offer a real difference in quality and refinement. Sorry this is so long, but some times my writing is like my talking(i.e. I don't know when to shut-up).

[dbhost]

Good example is the small drill press in the "before" picture. I bought it when it was all I could afford and I was in my first small (8' x 12') shop and everything had to be used and stowed away. I discovered early on that a much larger drill press was needed but the little HF was very accurate and I made-do with it.

Actually, a multi speed HF drill press would be an upgrade for me.

Don't get me wrong, the Vermont American drill press jig is actually pretty accurate. It punches holes in at the angle I set the table, but setting the table is a pain in the tail! I get to use a level and a protractor a lot in my shop! And I honestly have no intention of upgrading my drill press anytime soon. I know I will outgrow this one, but I figure my next DP will be a floor model so that I can work on larger work pieces...

I am looking for best bang for the buck to finish out my shop, and several HF tools are on my short list. But I haven't decided if they are worth the chance... The 7" Industrial Rabbeting Jointer is among them, as is that particular lathe. I am also looking into alternatives from Ridgid, PSI, and Grizzly to fill out my shop the rest of the way. Unfortunately budget gets in the way I fear...

Finding anyone that will write up a review on HF tools is kind of tough, and a lot of people hammer on them. From the experiences I have had with HF's hand tools so far, I like their stuff. Pretty stout, does a good job, just doesn't look as pretty as some competitors...

[MikeMcCoy]

It looks like you turned a bad event into a super nice new shop. You have almost as much equipment as I do but you have but what looks like double the open space. Hmmmm, I think I need to take another look at my setup (again).

[Larryl]

Shop restore complete.

Just a quick update, I finally got my dust collection system put together and it seems to be working pretty well(as well as a HF DC can). I now have everything in place except for a router table, guess that will be my next project.

[kano32]

Sorry if I missed it, what is the size of your new shop?

It looks good.

[Flatlander]

I had a fire last September that started in my garage. Fire completely destroyed the garage and laundry room, and smoke and water, the rest of the house. Finally got to move back in a month ago, and I'm working on re-building the shop. It's nice getting new stuff, but when you have to replace everyting, it is really a pain. The best part of the garage, is that when it was re-built, they finished taped the drywall (was fire taped), and I have an epoxy floor coating that looks great. The builder said the floor looked so good, he trimmed out the garage, it adds another room to the house.

Good luck to you.

[TB Roye]

Beautiful shop to start then a mess and now wow. Glad everythinkg came out ok. You must have a good insurance company.

Tom

[Larryl]

Sorry if I missed it, what is the size of your new shop? It looks good.

The shop is only 16'x20', but compared to my first shop(the storage building next to it in the picture) it is large. The thing that has helped in this shop is the loft, where I can store all the sheet goods and odd boxes, etc. Thanks to everyone for your kind remarks.

[dbhost]

Larry,

Is that a prefab shed / shed kit like a Tuff Shed? Or is that a site built custom?

If it is Tuff Shed, is it worth the $$$$ they want for those?

How hard was it to get a service panel run to the building?

I am working on planning out a similar (but smaller) shed / shop project.

I am thinking either 12x16 or 12x20. A Tuff Shed would make it go up faster, but I am concerned about #1. The cost, and #2. The Quality...

[Larryl]

Larry,

Is that a prefab shed / shed kit like a Tuff Shed? Or is that a site built custom?

If it is Tuff Shed, is it worth the $$$$ they want for those?

How hard was it to get a service panel run to the building?

I am working on planning out a similar (but smaller) shed / shop project.

I am thinking either 12x16 or 12x20. A Tuff Shed would make it go up faster, but I am concerned about #1. The cost, and #2. The Quality...

It is a Tuff Shed, I had looked at a building built off-site and hauled in but if you look just behind the shop you can see the guywire of the utility pole in the corner of my yard. I can't really say if it is a good value compare to having one custom built on site, however, they have to meet all the building codes and these guys put up one every day. I feel it was worth the cost, the building is completed in one day, there are no materials lying around your yard for days or odd scraps when they leave(they leave the site clean). I don't remember exactly what it cost ~$7,000, then I hired an electrical contractor to run the electrical to the building, put in the panel and wire the plugs (including three 220 plugs). That was ~$850 with me digging the trench for the conduit from my house. Strangely that is almost exactly what the fire restoration company charged to repair after the fire (this is still the same building). Good luck completing your shop. The only advice I would say is don't waste time and money building cabinets like in a kitchen, everything below waist level should be a drawer, not shelves with cabinet doors, and put everything you can on wheels so you can change your shop as you acquire new tools or figure out the best configuration for the way you work. HTH.

[dbhost]

Due to my covenants & restrictions, I don't think I can do that now. (Researching a bit you know...) But I will likely go with either that size, or the 16x32 with loft when I can finally afford a piece of land with NO HOA!!!