Back issues and shop cleanup, still.

[dbhost]

Not sure if anyone remembers, but before Thanksgiving last year I threw my back out something fierce, cumulative damage from not doing the PT that kept it in check whcih was aqua therapy, and the Colitis kept me out of the pool too long...

So lots of life stopped, particularly anything that involved stooping.

Meanwhile my shop somehow seemed to attact all sorts of junk that took an express trip to the shop floor.

Now this is going to seem old fogey ish to folks but I am not too proud to admit ifi it involved much stooping, it was NOT going to happen. I needed a solution.

I was looking for one of thoe long handled grabber things. And yes they are marketed for the elderly. Well I DO qualify for AARP so I guess I count even if I am not quite ready for Social Security yet...

I must be unpacking things and throwing the packing material in the shop in my sleep or something, but...

Using this...


https://amzn.to/4aI2g7e

I have so far been able to clean up 5 large contractor bags of various trash... I can now walk from the roll up doors to the table saw without having to step over stuff...

Ran out of daylight for today, and even with this helper my back still gets offended after a while, so I am hanging it up for today. Will tackle more of it tomorrow.

Right now I need to play some bit of Tetris in the shed, and make room for surplus car parts still in the shop...

[LCHIEN]

I own three of the Harbor freight grabbers - two in the shop and one in the kitchen/pantry
36 inches and three bucks.

https://www.harborfreight.com/36-in-...ool-61413.html

great for dropping stuff that rolls away in the shop and reaching stuff on the shelves without resorting to a stool.

[leehljp]

I have had a couple of the HF ones but they didn't hold up well or grippers didn't clasp together well enough. Once, when I REALLY needed one a couple of years ago, I had total frustration with its flimsy grip (misaligned and loose grippers) - and after LOML had tried to get the item behind a heavy chest. After that, I ordered three from Amazon at a higher price and still have them today. Much tougher and more precise. I will admit, this is probably one of those items that are iffy at HF - one good batch, one bad batch.

[cwsmith]

I too use the grippers from HF. While they are not the best, they so far have served the purpose and I keep one in the garage, one in the shop, and one down here in the basement workroom. They're great for when something falls behind a bench or under a table.

The other things I use is one of those flexible spring-like shafts with the prongs, to pick up very small objects and of course the telescoping magnet, which is a favorite for picking up screws and other small hardware.

CWS

[dbhost]

I haven't used the HF ones, but the ones from Amazon are quite good. 36", good grippy rubber ends, seems to be well made. At 3x the cost of the HF ones I am curious how well the HF ones work. I am seriously considering the Loring approach and have one in the shop, and a couple in the house... It really helps with the cleanup.

[dbhost]

Another couple of hours spent in the garage / shop cleaning stuff up allegedly... I have taken one huge tote, approx 36" long and separated the stuff out into Electrical general stuff, and a separate tote for Citizens Band radio stuff. Old antenna mounts, radios, microphones, coaxial cables etc... I am still on CB, just not using my 1990s Radio Shack radios any more. Upgraded to modern AM / FM / SSB radios now...

If you haven't seen my video on the new radio install in the camper van...
https://youtu.be/FcJI9Kt-khk?si=AMkHf1T2ZlRKjcrQ

[dbhost]

So over the last 10 days, 4 more totes of crud cleared out, Getting the bits and pieces back where they belong, and finding the floor again. I have a hand truck / flat cart ready to go from the garage / shop to the shed.

I am finding some oddities.

First and foremost, one of my old / continuing hobbies has been CB Radio, Been into it since my teens, and in my process of cleanup, I am finding a huge amount of salvaged mostly antenna parts. including at least half a dozen antenna mount HD barrel springs for 102" whips, 2 102" whip antennas, and 3 matching Radio Shack AM / SSB CBs from the early 90s.

Plus an obscene amount of low voltage electrical bits and bobs as it were...

Still dredging out auto parts, and chemicals. 2 halfway full totes of that stuff waiting to be hauled over. Mostly small bits and parts that will end up in the 26" Craftsman rolling tool cabinet drawers in the shed. Hey I repurposed the stuff...

realized I need to finish up with the drawers for the miter saw cabinet. Hes I designed the drawers like an idiot so they work funky. Long story don't want to admit to too much stupidity...

I guess functional is better than pretty... And this likely will use recycled pallet wood just to get it done on the ultra cheap.

Aaaand now one more just down the the dregs in the bottom of the tote. 2 more PL239 studs in this one... And a large assortment of automobile battery hold down hardware.

I had to stop though. I have an evening appointment with some friends from out of town tonight, former colleagues that are visiting NASA so I will be meeting them and a large assortment of other colleagues from back in the day as it were, mostly social, but need to see if I can shake the professional network tree regarding job opportunities not being publicly listed.

[dbhost]

More on the cleanup, and I now have a 1/4 of the way cleaned off table saw. My wolverine jig and associated stuff is all boxed up, and my shop floor is almost clear enough that you can walk around the table saw.. Progress. I'll take it.

[dbhost]

So no progress on the shop yesterday. or the couple of days prior. Been raining like crazy, and humid. The portable AC is gone and the mini split has not yet beem installed. so I like working with the doors open and fan on. I am actively working to get my walkway and wall fully cleared so thatI can simply roll the band saw aside and set up the evaporator side of the mini split inside, And then hope and pray I have a long enough connection kit. I want the mini split condenser / compressor to be behind my fence so the HOA can't complain.

Spent yesterday on my back underneath my truck, pulling AC compressor, motor mounts and the 2 bottom bell housing bolts. And then the rain started again so we had to shut down. Raining again today...

Something VERY odd. On the Ford 5.4L 3V Triton, the Thermostat housing is also the same assembly as the oil filter attachment. I swear those engineers didn't even care about post assembly / sale servicing of the vehicle...

I tried putting the newer 16 gallon shop vac on the shelf the old 12 gallon used to fit with room to spare, and nope, wouldn't fit. I need to come down about 2" with it... Sigh...

Having a conniption fit with my 3D printer to boot. Flimanent starts to flow, kind of, but stops and will not stick to the build plate. Not sure if the extruder isn't pushing, the hot end isn't melting or what is going on. Working with Voxelab to figure this one out, but if it turns out to be an extruder problem, with a difference of less than $2.00 between the OEM and the upgrade, going to go with an upgraded extruder from Creality. https://amzn.to/3xZkpPm

Likewise if it is the hot end, will likely go ahead and replace that with the Creality upgraded version. For those not in the know, the Creality Ender 3 and Voxelab Aquila are virtually identical following the same exact open source design, software, and components list, however Creality offers some upgrades that improve on the original design. Mostly using better materials and processes (polished bores, higher temp ratings etc...) and oddly enough, the Voxelab official hot end costs double that of the upgraded Creality, so I could cover BOTH upgrades for the cost of just the Voxelab hot end...

I have a concern about the build of the flip top stand for the jointer. Mostly time and materials. I made the first one a bit too well and recycling the sides are going to be next to impossible. But with limited space, I need to get the bench cleared to work on it. Considering a temporary stand to hold it, basically build a new stand that will eventually hold the Wen sharpener, but in the mean time, hold this jointer off the floor and off the workbench... THEN I can address the flipper stand at a later time...

Well, until then I keep chugging along on the shop cleanup. Yay fun!

[d_meister]

For the 3D printer issue, I would suggest first checking the Z offset. If the hot end tip is not close enough to the platen, it won't adhere. Another possibility is the filament is old and has absorbed moisture, so drying the filament would be a possible assist. I've fought with print adhesion issues with different types of filament, and the biggest problem is a cold draft on the platen. Pieces will warp and lift during printing, so a simple wind-block like a cardboard box can help. Otherwise, although I have the latest and greatest magnetic platen liner with the high-tech coating; I have the best results by lining my high-tech platen with 2" 3M blue painter's tape!
For those not involved with 3D printing, I must say that they're an unbelievably valuable contribution to the woodworker's workshop. It could be a good show and tell thread if there are more 3D printer enthusiasts, here.
I have printed soft pads for my old HF F-clamps that didn't come with them, as they do now.
Printing shims for drawer front gaps or other uses, like aligning drawer bottom channels.
You can print the expensive and hard to find Bessey clamp accessories.
There are many freely downloadable designs you can use with a 3D printer, like:
https://www.thingiverse.com/search?q...g+tools&page=1

[LCHIEN]

For those not involved with 3D printing, I must say that they're an unbelievably valuable contribution to the woodworker's workshop. It could be a good show and tell thread if there are more 3D printer enthusiasts, here.

I'd sure like to learn more about 3-D printing and get a machine.
How do you get started and not have to buy everything twice?

[d_meister]

You can buy a refurbished warrantied printer for $120 on eBay from Anycubic, which is what I did after buying a used antique printer from Craigslist that didn't work. Buy the Anycubic and you're off and running. Just buy a roll of filament to burn up while learning and making useless stuff. The printer comes with a starter roll that's maybe 10 meters. A full 1kg roll will have maybe 400 feet? It varies by filament type and maker. I buy filament on eBay and follow the sales. I buy 1KG rolls for $10 to $20 and don't worry about the color because you can spray paint things easily. They only print in the one color of a filament at a time, anyway. Buy basic PLA filament until you get better and have specific needs. PLA is plenty strong and durable, but will suffer UV damage. For workshop pieces it's fine.
You can download designs for free from thingiverse.com and printables.com. Everything about 3D printing is open source and community benefit, including the software that "slices" the 3D designs to feed into the printer. Once you're good and hooked, you can explore designing things yourself with free 3D design software. TinkerCad is the easiest to use if you have no past with CAD design, and it's a free online software utility. There are more advanced CAD design software that are also free. AutoCad provides TinkerCad and wants you to step up to Fusion 360, which is free for non commercial users.
One barrier for me in participating on forums is the time it takes to process photos, so if this forum software supports copy/paste, I could be more involved to help new users. Many forum sites enable drag'n drop image pasting. Let's try here:

Good to go
Just a pic to show dust shield evolution for my Hitachi. The point of the copy paste is that it makes it easier to share images.
Anyway, maybe this should go to it's own thread.
Here's the printers:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/35521533256...Bk9SR9DWnYzqYw
I had a parts failure on my refurb, and they stepped right up and sent a complete print head assembly. Unfortunately, after a few months of 3D printing, I was hooked, so I bought another of the same to get up and running faster. The refurb printers come very quickly, but the replacement parts come from China. 3D printing is a slow process, so having two working printers is great.

[d_meister]

Forgot to mention the elephant in the room about 3D printing: Most things I print are just pennies in cost. Maybe twice I've had big prints that cost just over a dollar. Every 3D printer user has a box of failed and scrapped pieces. No one thinks about the cost because it's so little

[LCHIEN]

Is Anycubic Kobra 2 Plus a good starter machine, refurb its $160 or so, Aside from filament anything else needed to start?

[d_meister]

I have no experience with that particular model, but the biggest difference appears to be printing area size, among others. There could also be enhancements in the motors and controls used to achieve higher printing speeds. You can see a comparison of their models lower in the listing page. I have the lowest spec models, the Kobra NEO, and I'm quite content with it's output. I would also look at it in a price-per-pound type of process and buy the most bang for the buck.
The big differences are print speed and print size. The real differences in print speed are like the difference between driving 55mph and 60mph. No printer produces reliable lightning-fast speeds. If you can't wait for the print, buy more printers!
Print size isn't a real issue. 99.7% of the time, prints will fit even on my smallest of the lot shown. Free designs that are bigger are usually provided in multiple components or split designs.
If you want to immerse yourself in science and engineering related to 3D printing, I would suggest CNC Kitchen,
https://www.youtube.com/@CNCKitchen
and similarly for real-world product testing Thomas Salander,
https://www.youtube.com/@MadeWithLayers
A very interesting video is one made by Marius Hornberger. He is an engineer that was dissatisfied with his oscillating spindle/belt sander and made a better one with 3D parts and wood. It is amazing to see the process and the results, but the real value is how 3D printing is beneficial in a woodworking shop and shows how well they can work together.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHUUXfB0qHY

I've resized one of his designs for my drill press vacuum attachment:

The gray conduit was my old vacuum, it had different nozzles.
After the new Toy aspect is spent, 3D printing becomes a tool for the woodworking shop and not a replacement. For example, I saw a sliding dust collector port selector in a Rockler ad, and thought to 3D print it. Instead, I printed the hose attachments and made the slider out of wood.

That's a HF cyclone, but you can 3D print those, too. Many designs available on thingiverse. This is my East shop vac, the other, bigger one is on the other side of the shop.