I updated my SketchUp vision of my workshop tonight to include two workbenches. I grew up using a machinist's vise and I have one ready to install. The main point I was thinking about when I drew this was a
2nd bench.
If anyone is curious, here's a link.
formatting link
feel like somethings may be "wrong" with the picture, but that's why I modeled it--to help me think. As many of you already know, the electrical is basically now a reality, though the outlets won't go up until after I finish painting in the spring.
I'm still working on the lighting situation (some things you can't see include the access port to the attic and the garage door).
Comments are welcome (of course). You know who you are who have taught me a thing or three. Thank you!
Bill wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@news2.newsguy.com:
How far are the two doors? One thing I really wish I had in my garshop was some form of switchable light near the back door so I could see to get across to the front door. (Or simply get to the battery charger.)
I used some threaded inserts to make my vise removable. It doesn't get moved much, but since it's at the end of my CMS stand I sometimes need to take it out. If you wanted to do something similar, and make the bench on the side mobile, you could possibly use it as an infeed or outfeed table for the saw.
Long bench looks too close to shorter bench. Drag it left and put an end vise on 'er, wot?
Looks a bit too dense right now if everything is proportional. Check out daylight bulbs. They're much brighter and whiter than the standard soft whites. You can get them from electrical distributors much more cheaply than any other store. Paint the walls, ceiling, and floor with an eggshell -pure- white and it will double the available light, plus make it easier to find those stray pieces of hardware which hit the floor with a "Pinnnnnnng! ting ting tang bump tingtingting rattle."
-- If you're looking for the key to the Universe, I've got some good news and some bad news.
The bad news: There is no key to the Universe.
The good news: It was never locked. --Swami Beyondananda
Article 110.26(A)(2) - Specifies that the width of the working space in front of the electrical equipment (my sub-panel) shall be the width of the equipment or 30 in. (762 mm), whichever is greater.
Not only that, but I believe the "workspace" needs to extends 36" outward too.
Thank you for your paint (color) and lighting suggestions. I'm going to follow them, except I'm not planning to paint the floor white, at least not yet.
Is it 30 inches from the right edge of the smaller panel to the door? If so you're covered.
In any case, if the bench is movable it doesn't count as far as code goes. The empty space has to pass inspection, not the space with all portable furnishings in place. If you're putting a bank vault in front of the panel that's another story, but a work bench that one person can easily drag out of the way isn't any more of a code issue than sticking your stool under the panel would be.
Yes, my thought there is that I will be able to push the saw forward towards the garage door as much as I need to. Although I will make a few cabinets, I'm not building a cabinet shop and I anticipate that the number of full sheets that I need to rip will be quite modest. In fact, I may find it easier to halve sheets with my circular saw. I'm looking forward to (learning to do) the M-T work on these benches, work with my router, etc. I don't think I have enough space to build very many big items! :) Maybe somebody will ask me to build something for them someday? I have made a few things, but I have never made a drawer before. Building the benches ought to keep me off the streets for a while... I may start with a small one for my bench grinder.
Someone mentioned (in another thread) that the 5000K bulbs were good, and then I read somewhere else that they don't produce as much brightness. Do you agree that they are a good choice for a shop environment?
I'm assuming that T-8 is the best choice, but have not decided whether to go with the 4-bulb or 2-bulb (4 foot) fixtures. What factors do you think should affect my choice concerning this, besides price (obviously!).
I switched my entire shop over to "Daylight" fluorescent tubes and it made a world of difference in getting better color results. Not only that, but I think it makes one more productive and helps one's overall mental health.
Regular fluorescent tubes are so green and nasty in color and IMO, are a real strain on your eyes. The Daylight tubes cast such a wonderful tone... they just brighten everything up, literally and figuratively. Think about it... everyone likes to be outside and it's not just because of the nice breeze.
FWIW, the Daylight lamps are up around 6000k and are a little more light natural morning or overcast light, which I prefer. 5000k is more like direct sunlight at high noon. If you're concerned with color matching stains and such, go with one or the other and don't mix-n-match, so you don't get different colors depending on where you are in your shop. :-)
No, no... it's not brighter, it's bluer. That scale is not a measurement of brightness, it's a measurement of color. The higher the number, the more blue, the lower the number, the more red.
Someone asked what the benches would look like end-to-end. Well, I was curious, and here ya go.
formatting link
explained to my wife it was "his & hers", but she didn't buy it.
BTW, this is sort of a subtle advertisement for Google's currently free SketchUp program. Admittedly, I have about $100 into SU-related books. The title, "Automatic SketchUp" arrived in the mail today. I was able to read the first 3 chapters online for free. But, if you are not a programmer, then you probably don't want that book.
BTW2, I should mention that I sweated very little and incurred no splinters or strained extremities in quickly moving the benches around by myself. I didn't even have to get up from my seat in my den. : )
The Indy Habitat for Humanity surplus store had a whole slew of T-5 fixtures (w/bulbs), new, in-box, when I was in there a month of so ago. Don't remember the pricing, but it didn't strike me as much more the the bare-nekkid flourescent fixtures at Lowes.
These had grating over the bulbs, which might be a asset in a shop.
You really don't need a second bench just for a machinist's vice. Just take a board the same depth as the jaws on your wood vice, screw & glue a second board perpendicular to the first, and mount your metalworking vice to the second (i.e., horizontal) board. Don't need to use the metal vice? Unclamp it and stow it away.
Now, perhaps you're using the "need" for this extra vice to justify a second workbench to someone (does your wife pay the bills?), in which case, never mind.
I don't think you grasp the degree of abuse that my metalworking vise is likely to incur. -MIKE- relies on the tranquility of sunshine, I rely on the tranquility of sunshine and a hammer! : ) Screw and glue a second board perpendicular to the first, ha! ; )
haha. I, too, know what a good sledge hammer or splitting wedge can do for the soul. I'm one of those guys who actually loves spitting logs into firewood. Good for my soul, not so good for my back.
Check them out at a lighting store. You'll either love or hate the color. It's not amber, it's more of a bluish white, but it's my favorite. I found that the 13W 5000k 880 lumen bulbs appeared almost as bright as the 23W 2,700k 1,600 lumen CFLs I bought. It blew me away. I'm using a 5000k CFL in task lighting in the shop now, and it looks great, much better than the cool white. (I wouldn't own soft or warm white bulbs, the shit-brindle things.)
If you stain (Blech!) wood, you'll want several different light source types to check your damage, I mean "work", with. What looks good under your fluor lighting can look like crap under incandescents in the home. Keep some halogen task lighting handy in the shop, too.
(2 source, I haven't shopped either yet)
formatting link
2,200 lumens, T12, 5000k
formatting link
lumens, T8
Tube brightness varies, even from the same mfgr. Check specs!
Also, be sure to buy low-temp (if you're in cold country) electronic ballasts. I bought some cheap ones which ate bulbs like candy (24 in
3 years in 4 fixtures.) I switched bulbs and am getting a whole lot longer life from them. I should have paid more money for good fixtures and moved to T8 when I had the chance. Lesson learned. Once I run out of this case of bulbs, I'll most probably be switching to better (and T8) fixtures.
I prefer a couple more 2-tubes than fewer 4-tubes due to the more even spread of the light. You still end up with fewer tubes altogether. My 20x24' 2-car shop has 4 2-tube T12 fixtures with cool-white bulbs right now. It was much brighter when I had fresh white paint and didn't have the extra 8 tons of crap on the floor (and everywhere else), but it's well-lit now, even with that. Some day, I'll have more than a 4' wide deer path when I navigate my shop.
Good man. Always research before buying! Ask, research heavily, ask again with your findings to confirm, and only then make your decision.
While I have your attention, I should bring up 3 disparate things you won't believe ever got together to party: Roy Underhill, a southern fried chicken leg, and a SawStop 'lectric saur.
formatting link
-- Most people assume the fights are going to be the left versus the right, but it always is the reasonable versus the jerks. -- Jimmy Wales
:: Lots of useful stuff and a chicken wing snipped :::
I was looking at the "wrap around" style lights at Home Depot. They were 32W units. Then when I looked at the bulbs I thought I wanted to use, they were 40W. It could be that the 40W were T-12, I don't recall. They didn't have any 40W "wrap around" style light fixtures on hand. Could you help me resolve my confusion about this?
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here.
All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.