Outlets High on the Wall

OK, so they aren't all that big, after all... :) For <1 hp I'd agree it's pretty-much a wash. Only the little light duty shaper and the old

The example w/ the shaper is why I don't let anything past the gateway

-- if that were quick and you didn't react in time, there's not a much more dangerous tool in the shop than a shaper.

I was fortunate in "glomming on" to a supply of the old Rockwell starters used in a large woodworking manufacturing facility in PA (they had 27 of the old Rockwell/Delta Model 13 planers arranged in 9 rows of three set a fixed thicknesses the did rough prep on all the flat stock coming into the plant. When they upgraded, they sold the lot either intact or piecemeal for some of the more badly worn out ones. Consequently I had a ready supply to retrofit with).

When I said "large tools" I was talking relative to small electric hand tools like drills, grinders, circular saws etc. Actually after I said it, I thought of changing "Large" to "Stationary" Point mainly was simply you can put a lot of stuff on one 20 amp circuit if you only run one tool at a time. Most of my motors are small enough I could run two at a time, like DC and jointer. Third one, like air compressor would often blow a fuse. I up graded to 200 amp service, so I'd have enough room for separate circuits for stuff that runs in conjunction with other tools, like DC. I have TS, Jointer, Lathe, Scroll saw, Drill Press, BS, Shaper, Belt/Disk sander router table and Mortiser, plus most of my hand tool outlets on one circuit.

I agree there. In this case, When I flipped the power back on I was no where near the shaper. For sure my heart skipped a couple beats when it happened:-) Still, it was my fault for assuming the switch was a mag switch. I had no experience with mag switches or even any switches other than the standard light switch before that, so wasn't familiar with their look. I stupidly thought all those big red/green button switches were mag switches. I recall deliberately NOT turning off the tool (with a grin) because I "thought" it was a mag switch.

On 8/16/2020 2:44 AM, Puckdropper wrote: > Outlets are cheap, but time is more expensive. I'm thinking about putting > a few outlets up high, about 7' on the walls of my garage shop. This is > just for the air cleaner or whatever random thing needs to be plugged in up > there. Am I just wasting time by installing outlets at that height? >

I think its a great idea. Not so much your specific application, but the of putting outlets where you need them. It saves time, and creates a safer work environment. Only you know if your application will do that.