Finally convinced my wife that I deserve the double garage for my shop and will soon be moving out of the single stall I now call home. This means a f ixed location for most of my machinery, especially the TS (soon to be equip ped with a fixed outfeed table). Need to do the prep work first -- power di stribution and lighting and a good plan for dust collection. Want to minim ize wires on the floor and all the other crap that gets in the way of my fe et.
Larry (48 days to retirement, but who's counting?)
will soon be moving out of the single stall I now call home. This means a fixed location for most of my machinery, especially the TS (soon to be equipped with a fixed outfeed table). Need to do the prep work first -- power distribution and lighting and a good plan for dust collection. Want to minimize wires on the floor and all the other crap that gets in the way of my feet.
Retirement is great when you have something you like to do to keep you occupied. People ask me how it is to be retired. I tell them if I had know how great it is I would have retired when I was 20.
Have fun in the shop. Half the fun is getting it set up like you want.
will soon be moving out of the single stall I now call home. This means a fixed location for most of my machinery, especially the TS (soon to be equipped with a fixed outfeed table). Need to do the prep work first -- power distribution and lighting and a good plan for dust collection. Want to minimize wires on the floor and all the other crap that gets in the way of my feet.
Might I suggest putting every thing on a mobile base. I operated out of a 2 car garage for 30 years and when more equipment that ended up on mobile bases the more functional the shop became. I am now in a 3 car garage and believe even more strongly in mobile bases.
I often erect a 4'x 8' break down work surface. a permanently placed table saw would cramp working quarters. STILL there is no "best place" for the table depending on the type cut.
"HeyBub" wrote in news:ZNGdndCgDsNN- NnMnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@earthlink.com:
I've got an extension cord that hangs down over my bench. It is extremely convenient and gets used often. I mounted it at about wrist height, with my hand fully extended, so it's easy to grab but tall enough to stay out of the way if I ever move the bench.
I've been thinking about dropping a post in the middle of the table saw/jointer/planer area to eliminate the power cord there. It'll also give me a place to run a dust collection pipe.
Actually I have a couple of the light weight plastic saw horses that I have had for several years. I have 2, 8' 2x4' running over them with notches to lock on top of the saw horses. Then 4, 3.5' 2x4s evenly spaced and half lapped with the long 2x4s. Shockingly sturdy, I have had in excess of 8 sheets of plywood/MDF on top.
Normally I have a couple of half sheets of 3/4" plywood on top of the
2x4s to serve as a work surface. 2 halves are easier to move around. I typically set this up in about 2~3 minutes.
When bringing new sheet goods into the shop I will leave the half sheets of ply wood off and stack the new plywood directly out of the truck on to the 2x4 grid. Last sheet gets a sheet of insulating styrofoam below it. ;~) I then cut the sheets into manageable sizes and or finished sizes. Using my Woodpeckers Deluxe 4' Story Stick I get very accurate cuts with the track saw. Last sheet gets cut directly on top of the 2x4s.
As a side note I have always wanted a nice work bench however this crude looking set up seems to fill the bill and does not take up much space when knocked down.
TS, BS, jointer and planer all on mobile bases now, Leon. The other day, you posted a link to the outfeed table you use. Any idea of approximate pricing? The site keeps it a secret.
I first saw the idea - power from ceiling outlets - in a large room full of offset printing presses. The power cord for each press went straight up to an outlet in the ceiling (with a clamp so the plug wouldn't fall out). Twenty or so printing presses all humming along without the necessity of bumps in the floor for conduit or digging up the concrete.
I second the idea of mobile work areas. I learned of the idea when I was working in instrument area in the Chemistry lab.
With everything mobile you can arrange the work area to fit the project. If you are cutting stringers for the boat you are working on you can move the T-saw next to the boat. If you are rip sawing and need an out feed table, move the work bench into place for he out feed table. If you are cutting many pieces, you can arrange the workbench as a staging table for the saw. The combinations are limitless and will save many steps in the shop.
But then, they weren't moving 4'x8' sheets of ply, 6' lengths of 1x, etc. across the top of the presses. The ceiling drop cord is find for just about any tool other than the TS
I have a drop-down cord over the 4'X6' outfeed table, that's shared by 2 TS s (90 degrees to one another). Very handy when doing tasks that stretch ac ross the whole span - outfeed table plus the Ts's side tables make for a 6' X8' area.
ointer/planer area to eliminate the power cord there. It'll also give me a place to run a dust collection pipe. Puckdropper
I have 2 tree trunk posts (supporting a beam that supports the open ceiling joists/roof, i.e., I removed the walls inside the (old house) shop). Each post has outlets (easier to reach than on the ceiling, if need be) and peg s/nails for hanging handy tools - miter guages, push sticks, a few clamps ( specific for the drill press area).
Since I'm still remodeling the house into a shop, the posts will likely be moved, for accommodating relocating the TSs and/or work bench, later. I th ought this moving and relocating might happen, so I played out some extra w iring, to and above the posts, to accommodate any future redecorating. *On e of these posts is inconvenient for one of my saws.
Your drop down post(s) may not be for ceiling support, but consider giving yourself some extra wiring and/or other "utilities", up above, in case you want to move/adjust the post(s), later.
Good suggestion. I have a couple of ceiling drops in my shop in the central area where I have TS, joiner, dust collector, drum sander and router table. Wall outlets around the perimeter too. I find the ceiling drops very handy, best not located directly over a machine though.
I first started hanging power from the overhead in about 1963. I had a photo studio, lights on stands with casters. Cords and casters don't mix well so I strung aircraft cable end wall to end wall, three strands per side, tensioned with turnbuckles (damn near pulled down the frame wall, the other was concrete block). I used power cable the length of the room, formed it into loops and hung it from the cables with metal rings, one per loop and tying the power cords to the rings. Each power line was plugged into a wall outlet, other end hung maybe 60" in the air. I could move anyone most anywhere and hook a light to it, loops straighten out when moved.. When not in use, they could just be shoved back to the end wall. Worked well, ceiling was 12+'.
I intend to do something similar in my shop but will use a lazy "C" shape curtain track attached to the ceiling and plastic slugs that fit it. What I need is some coil cord that I can use as ends for the power cables. Coil cord because the shop ceiling is lower, want to keep the power cord ends as high as possible but still be able to reach them. I can find coil cord but w/o a ground, want the ground. Someday...
Finally convinced my wife that I deserve the double garage for my shop and will soon be moving out of the single stall I now call home. This means a fixed location for most of my machinery, especially the TS (soon to be equipped with a fixed outfeed table). Need to do the prep work first -- power distribution and lighting and a good plan for dust collection. Want to minimize wires on the floor and all the other crap that gets in the way of my feet.
Larry (48 days to retirement, but who's counting?)
Good luck. I retired in 1985 and still don't have enough time to do everything I want to. WW
Look for a "camping" or other retractable clothesline reel. Hang it from your track, add a clamp to hold the receptacle or plug on the end of the retractable reel. A stick with a hook eye will be handy for pulling it down from a fully retracted position. Extra loops midway around the cord to the line will keep it "flaked up high out of the way while retracted.
BTY the extension comes out from the saw far enough that the longer half of a ripped 8' board or sheet of plywood is still on the outfeed and saw. Read that as long enough that you don't have to balance the work after making the cut providing it is 8' or shorter.
ALSO the older units, like mine had a fixed lower support that falls right where the dust port is at on a SawStop TS. It appears that the newer styles have a lower support that is no longer fixed at the bottom. It appears to be adjustable to a different height depending on obstacles.
I was looking at the "current" "design as you go" style owners manual. It shows pictures of my style and obviously newer pictures of perhaps a retrofit where the entire mount might be replaceable. Ill be callint them in the next couple of days.
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