Sloping floor shop

[Mainemarc]

quote:Originally posted by LarryG

sitting there all cattywampus

Never heard that one before, but I like it.

It's what I want to do to my cat every morning as I'm grinding the beans for my coffee. I'm still comatose that time of the day, so I never see or hear him coming. I'm facing the kitchen counter struggling with the coffee filters and he always comes up behind me, stands up on his hind legs, stretches out to his full length and sinks his front claws into the back of my thigh.

The sudden shock and pain makes me reflexively smash my knee into the undercounter cupboard door. Which hurts far more.

We do this every single morning without fail. It's a wonder neither my patella nor the cupboard door hasn't long since fractured.

I love that stupid cat, truly I do. But some mornings, I just want to .... cattywampus.

[RayintheUK]

I have a sloping floor, but it causes very few problems. Using any mobile base across the span is easy, it's just stuff that is parked along the slope that initially needs sorting. My solution was to use adjustable feet for all the stationary stuff (lathe, bandsaw, drill press). Here they are under the lathe stand:


I second Larry's comment about getting the drill press stable - an absolute must. Mine is on an oak sub-base, levelled with the feet as shown. The feet are robust enough to cope with both a large lathe and a 20" Jet bandsaw, so they should handle just about anything.

Ray.

[gmack5]

One of the things that I've done is to make my own leveling feet. I looked for years for some that are available commercially, but they were all too expensive, at least for me.

So when one of the publications that sends out a weekly "tip" on the internet published a "DIY" leg leveler idea, I jumped on it and figured out how to build them in quantity.
Here's a link to the idea: http://www.woodworkingtips.com/etips/etip010608sn.html

I use a 1" diameter dowel(1 1/4" long), a 5/16-18 X 5" Carriage Bolt and a 1" ID crutch tip and a long barreled "T" nut, it makes for a very stable "Leg leveler".

[rkc]

Thanks for all the advice - I just checked (by eye) and the slope is probably about 6 inches from the back of the garage to the door.

I don't think levelling it will be practical (For a start I'd have to change the grade of the driveway and the HOA would probably object). I guess that levelling each tool and nailing a sheet of 1/4-inch ply to my left shoe will probably be the solution. It's good to hear that some of you have similar situations and it does not cause too much of an issue.

[mater]

quote:Originally posted by rkc

Thanks for all the advice - I just checked (by eye) and the slope is probably about 6 inches from the back of the garage to the door.

That is probably due to the local code.

[Ken Weaver]

What's a level garage floor? Don't think I've ever seen or experienced one. Do they make them that way?

[Jim-Iowa]

quote:Originally posted by Ken Weaver

What's a level garage floor? Don't think I've ever seen or experienced one. Do they make them that way?

I WAS THINKING THE SAME THING! In these parts if you don`t put some fall in a slab you did not pour it right.
6" over 20 ft is not excessive.

[LarryG]

Woodpeckers has leveling legs at prices I consider very reasonable ... four sizes costing from 75 cents to two bucks each individually, but only 65 cents to $1.50 when you buy at least four (what you usually need) of the same size.

http://www.woodpeck.com/benchlevelers.html

Of course there'd be some shipping costs, but that can be offset by using the need for some levelers as an excuse to order some more of Woodpecker's totally excellent goodies ...