The Shop Tour :D

[John Coloccia]

OK....here's the grand tour of John's shop....long overdue.

Background: the shop is actually a converted 2 car garage. We never use the garage, and it's a death trap to get to in the winter time anyhow, thanks to a VERY steep hill heading down there...followed by a 50 foot drop! So buh-bye garage, hello shop. I tore down the doors, installed windows, tore down all the dry wall, insulated and re-drywalled, installed heat/AC/humidification/dehumidification etc etc....

For those who have asked, here's what my entrance looks like. It's a double outswing door with a handicap sill. Usually, I leave the second door locked and just use the other door like a conventional door. I'm VERY happy how this came out.

http://i913.photobucket.com/albums/ac335/jcoloccia/ShopTour/shop_24.jpg

Here's what it's like wide open...albeit at night :) The door is 6' wide, I think.

http://i913.photobucket.com/albums/ac335/jcoloccia/ShopTour/shop_17.jpg

Here's what I see when I come down from upstairs, looking out at the doors:

http://i913.photobucket.com/albums/ac335/jcoloccia/ShopTour/shop_01.jpg

Turning to the right is where I store a lot of my "tonewood". What makes it tonewood? Beats me. You can see writing on a lot of the wood. I buy it rough, and at the time I buy it I have an idea what I'll use it for. I mark it so when I mill it, some times months later, I remember what I had in mind. There's also some work in progress, some bending forms, etc...

http://i913.photobucket.com/albums/ac335/jcoloccia/ShopTour/shop_03.jpg


Stepping back is the Sjoberg bench. I'm very happy with this bench.

http://i913.photobucket.com/albums/ac335/jcoloccia/ShopTour/shop_02.jpg

Here's a wall mounted bench I just added. A two car garage is NOT big for a shop, so as most of you well know, you really have to make efficient use of the space you have. The things in clamps are a couple of guitar bodies getting glued up.

http://i913.photobucket.com/albums/ac335/jcoloccia/ShopTour/shop_04.jpg

Turning to the right is my little mini lathe, and a converted dresser. That dresser's been following me around since graduate school. I had some poplar sticks laying around, so I made a little frame. That's where I put all of my turning tools as I'm working. Simple, and things don't roll off.

http://i913.photobucket.com/albums/ac335/jcoloccia/ShopTour/shop_05.jpg

Here's the table saw that allows me to check my brain at the door and not worry about the blade because it's perfectly safe. Last night I mounted a Rousseau router plate in the extension wing, holding up a new Triton 3 1/4hp router. That Triton is a VERY nice unit. It's almost a shame to hide it under the table. C'est La Vie.

You can also see a spattering of sanders, my Grizz bandsaw, and my miter saw mounted on my old table saw (the old Delta's now dedicated to slotting fretboards). More on the miter saw later...

http://i913.photobucket.com/albums/ac335/jcoloccia/ShopTour/shop_06.jpg

to be continued..... :D

[Mitchell Andrus]

John, nice shop. Fair amount of elbow room....

I can't figure out what this is (looks like an overhead router with an air controlled height thing):

[John Coloccia]

I forgot to take a shot, but off to the left in the SS shot is the Jet JJP-12...you can barely see it. That's a VERY nice unit too, and very cost effective. It has a small footprint too. Perfect for what I need.

Like I said before, a two car garage is NOT a big shop, especially with metal posts in the way holding up the rest of the house. A lot of the smaller tools are mounted on wheels. The old Delta TS is no exception. What I did is made a little "lid" out of scrap ply and something else (maybe poplar...I forget). The lid covers the saw and fully supports the Dewalt. The little aprons on the sides are fit pretty tightly to the table saw top and keeps the platform from moving as I wheel it around. And of course, the saw is on a mobile base. This works VERY well for me.

http://i913.photobucket.com/albums/ac335/jcoloccia/ShopTour/shop_07.jpg

Here's a shot of the alien spaceship I own....well, actually it's the dust collection. Suckage provided by a Clearvue. I really like that unit.

http://i913.photobucket.com/albums/ac335/jcoloccia/ShopTour/shop_08.jpg

There's wood everywhere. Here's a shipment I got today from Alaska. It's some sitka spruce wedges. Later tonight, I need to seal the ends and sticker them. These particular pieces aren't quite dry yet (sitting at about 15%). In a month sitting in my shop, they'll be down below 8%, or less, and I'll be able to use them. Normally, my wood comes ready to use, but this was an exception.

http://i913.photobucket.com/albums/ac335/jcoloccia/ShopTour/shop_09.jpg

Here's how I store my cam clamps. Just a dowel stuck in the side of a bench. Simple and efficient. Also, nearly no work required, which is mainly why I did it like that :D

http://i913.photobucket.com/albums/ac335/jcoloccia/ShopTour/shop_11.jpg

Chisel storage these days is simply stock pegboard hooks. Look shaky? I thought so too at first. It turns out that the geometry is such that they're practically impossible to knock off.

http://i913.photobucket.com/albums/ac335/jcoloccia/ShopTour/shop_12.jpg

Here's my "I'm using this at the moment" magnetic bar. I gave myself a little space to hold tools that I'm not using right this second, but that I'm using every so often for a task. It's just nice to get this stuff out of the way and somewhere consistent, as opposed to "now where the heck did I put my lineman pliers???".

http://i913.photobucket.com/albums/ac335/jcoloccia/ShopTour/shop_13.jpg

Almost done :)

A repurposed "laundry room" cabinet. My wife didn't like it in the laundry room :) I ripped off the doors and it's now my sander/other miscellaneous stuff shelf. It's mounted on 2X4s, so there a little space behind the cabinet where I can store some rarely used things, like my PVC saw......which, by the way, I hope I NEVER have to use again... The bow saw to the right is my wife's uncles. It's from his childhood. He gave it to me on our last trip to Finland.

http://i913.photobucket.com/albums/ac335/jcoloccia/ShopTour/shop_14.jpg

The matching drawers to the laundry cabinet. Again, no one wanted it, so I took it. When I built the bench, I left enough room for that and for a shop vac. Under the bench to the right is a "mail cubby" for sandpaper sheets. If you get the wrong one, the sheets won't fit. Be sure to check the dimensions. I believe this one is technically a magazine cubby. I picked it up at Staples I think.

http://i913.photobucket.com/albums/ac335/jcoloccia/ShopTour/shop_15.jpg

Another repurposed piece of furniture. I got this from our local mill store VERY cheap. The top was warped, the drawers didn't work, parts where falling off. It's supposed to be a bar. Although I DO have alcohol in the shop (Graves 195 proof....for French polish!), this particular provides storage and more workspace. I simply replaced the top with some plywood, fixed all the mill store screw ups, and I'm good to go.

http://i913.photobucket.com/albums/ac335/jcoloccia/ShopTour/shop_18.jpg

continues.....

[John Coloccia]

No shop is complete without a dart board and a chalk board...

http://i913.photobucket.com/albums/ac335/jcoloccia/ShopTour/shop_19.jpg

Another mill store botch up. This shelf is ROUGH, but for $20, how can you go wrong. Currently holding some planes. Other planes are kicking around in drawers. Check your local mill store. They have whole sections full of botched up furniture that they're happy to get rid of CHEAP.

http://i913.photobucket.com/albums/ac335/jcoloccia/ShopTour/shop_20.jpg

Some wax "pucks". I like to lubricate my saws and planes with paraffin. There's a local candle shop up the street that was all too happy to sell me a block of wax. I melted it down and formed them in a non-stick muffin tin. Let it harden, toss in the freezer, and the wax will just fall out once it's all nice and frozen.

http://i913.photobucket.com/albums/ac335/jcoloccia/ShopTour/shop_21.jpg

Hope you enjoyed the tour. I've gotten so many great ideas from seeing pics of other people's shops. Now that I have a layout that's really working for me, I thought I'd try to give a little back. Maybe someone will get some ideas that will help them with their own layouts. :D

[John Coloccia]

John, nice shop. Fair amount of elbow room....

I can't figure out what this is (looks like an overhead router with an air controlled height thing):

That's a Shop Fox pin router. It's pneumatically actuated so you can have both hands on the work as it plunges.

[Peter Bell]

Thank you John for posting that. Are you sure it really is a two car garage. Looks a lot larger than our standard two car garage in OZ>

What is the actually floor dimensions. It sure looks like you have a lot of head room as well. I am not to sure about the dart board, I have been advised by sawmill Creek users to jettison all non woodworking things out of the shop.

I will have to recheck that post to see it was not you. I have been cleaning my shed up and trying to open it up. If I can do that successfully I should be able to gain another 20% in space which will make all the difference.

Thanks again and well done on a great shop and post.

Peter

[John Coloccia]

My shop is a little under 24' X 24'. The ceilings are barely 8' at the front corner of the shop, and is graded like any garage. I would have preferred the Clearvue on the back wall, away from the windows, but I didn't have the ceiling height due to the grade.

I think 20'X20' is on the small side for a 2 car garage, with just enough room to open doors. Mine is a little bigger than that, but pretty standard for the USA. 2 cars and enough extra room for a little storage (lawn mower, maybe some shelves...things like that). With my previous layout, it looked a LOT smaller than it looks now. Very cramped. This layout really makes great use of this particular space, working around the posts, and leaves a lot of floor space to work around. It's actually quite pleasant hanging out down there now.

[jerry nazard]

What a nice LARGE shop - what I could do with all that space. Pretty neat, John. I enjoyed the tour.

-Jerry

[Peter Bell]

Thanks for the dimensions . The standard here is about 20 x 20 but not much room for anything else, so it is not abnormal to go out to 24 or 30 in width.

Mine is approx 24 x 20 but I lose 4ft because of some non woodworking shelves that have to be there.

It gives me approx 20 x 20 to battle with and I am impressed with your layout as it looks really roomy and it does look like some actual work goes on besides the frivolity at the dart board.

Thanks for sharing

Peter

[Van Huskey]

Thanks, always fun to see another's shop.

[Archie Hendrick]

No shop is complete without a dart board and a chalk board...


+1 on the dart board. It's an essential thinkin' aid. Thanks for the tour.

Archie

[Peter Aeschliman]

Hey John,

I'm about to pull the trigger on a sawstop PCS and I was wondering about simply mounting my router in the standard extension table like you did here. I have a few questions for you if you don't mind.

Did you have to reinforce the table at all to keep it from sagging?

How did you avoid chipout on the melamine (formica?) surface?

Do you plan to install any t-track or miter slots in the table? and lastly

What's your plan for a fence?

Thanks man! Love your shop. You have some nice machinery!

[John Coloccia]

Hey John,

I'm about to pull the trigger on a sawstop PCS and I was wondering about simply mounting my router in the standard extension table like you did here. I have a few questions for you if you don't mind.

Did you have to reinforce the table at all to keep it from sagging?

How did you avoid chipout on the melamine (formica?) surface?

Do you plan to install any t-track or miter slots in the table? and lastly

What's your plan for a fence?

Thanks man! Love your shop. You have some nice machinery!

The contractor saw only has a 3/4" table (I haven't measured but it might even be a little under), but it has a steal reinforcement inboard, a center support leg outboard (the 36" does anyway), and is attached to the fence rails with two steal angles. It MAY sag at some point, but I don't think so. If it does sag I'll probably just replace it with a nicer table. I just did this because for the price of the insert, and a little work, I have a functioning table in just a couple of hours.

re: chipout
I did absolutely nothing special. I just made the cut and didn't really care if it chipped or not. Sometimes, the secret is just to relax, I guess :D LOL.

re: t-tracks & fences
I just plan to use the SawStop fence for now. I have a very targeted use for the router table. I need it for template work with a face frame bit or similar, or for making simple dados, slots, etc. I'm not doing any fancy joinery or anything like that. If I end up needing something fancier later on, I'll just upgrade to a real table and do what I need to do to make it fit the saw.

Thanks for the kind works about the shop. I think a router table in the saw extension is a slam dunk for space savings. If I had a little more time I would have researched it a little bit more, but this got me up and running fast. Basically, I bought some time until I could come up with a better plan.

Honestly, I'm not 100% thrilled with the Rousseau plate. I don't like that it's crowned, and I think there are better plates out there. It's not exactly the Cadillac of router plates, but it was cheap, and Woodcraft had them in stock. I'm absolutely thrilled with the Triton, though. What a great router.

[Mike Cruz]

Thanks for the tour. Love seeing peoples' set up. I really enjoyed it.

[Peter Aeschliman]

The contractor saw only has a 3/4" table (I haven't measured but it might even be a little under), but it has a steal reinforcement inboard, a center support leg outboard (the 36" does anyway), and is attached to the fence rails with two steal angles. It MAY sag at some point, but I don't think so. If it does sag I'll probably just replace it with a nicer table. I just did this because for the price of the insert, and a little work, I have a functioning table in just a couple of hours.

re: chipout
I did absolutely nothing special. I just made the cut and didn't really care if it chipped or not. Sometimes, the secret is just to relax, I guess :D LOL.

re: t-tracks & fences
I just plan to use the SawStop fence for now. I have a very targeted use for the router table. I need it for template work with a face frame bit or similar, or for making simple dados, slots, etc. I'm not doing any fancy joinery or anything like that. If I end up needing something fancier later on, I'll just upgrade to a real table and do what I need to do to make it fit the saw.

Thanks for the kind works about the shop. I think a router table in the saw extension is a slam dunk for space savings. If I had a little more time I would have researched it a little bit more, but this got me up and running fast. Basically, I bought some time until I could come up with a better plan.

Honestly, I'm not 100% thrilled with the Rousseau plate. I don't like that it's crowned, and I think there are better plates out there. It's not exactly the Cadillac of router plates, but it was cheap, and Woodcraft had them in stock. I'm absolutely thrilled with the Triton, though. What a great router.

Thanks for the info. I'm like you when it comes to the router table. I think I'll probably do something similar to your setup.

[Bruce Page]

Sweet shop John. How do you like the Shop Fox pin router?

[John Coloccia]

Sweet shop John. How do you like the Shop Fox pin router?

As they say, you get what you pay for. Getting it aligned is a bit of a pain. Also, it comes with two flow controls regulating the outgoing air. So the control on top of the cylinder regulates the router going up and vice versa. This does NOT work well at all. When the router is sitting in the up position, and you hit the foot pedal, the first thing that happens is all the top of the cylinder becomes pressurized. The router immediately drops about half of it's stroke, nearly completely unregulated. This is due to the weight of the router. It will immediately move to the equilibrium point of equal pressure on both sides of the plunger plus the router weight, which is about half it's stroke. The flow control on the bottom of the cylinder then lets the air out slowly, but you've completely lost a great deal of stroke unless you don't mind plunging at a bazzillion miles an hour.

I tried all sorts of solutions. One that worked was to balance the weight of the router with bungee cords. This worked but was extrememly cumbersome. The solution that actually works PROPERLY is to spend $30 and buy 2 6mm SMC flow controls set to regulate the incoming air. Then you can set the one on top of the cylinder to retard the inrush of air when actuating the cylinder down, and now everything works as it should. I don't know why they don't just do this from the factory.

Now that I have it working, I think it works just fine. I prefer the old Shopsmith one, but I just don't have room in the shop for it. It IS nice being able to have both hands on the work as it plunges, though.

For the price, there's really nothing else like it that I know of. It's indispensible for plunging and following patterns on curved surfaces (like F-holes on a guitar, for example).

[Peter Bell]

John,

beautiful shed. Sorry, had to put that in. Beautiful set up. Is the top section part of a split level home.

Peter

[John Coloccia]

It's just a two story colonial with a walk out basement (due to the grade of the land). It's a split roof. Right above the shop is my living room and dining room. I think the original builders just ran out of money and didn't have the cash to finish it properly. There's stuff in there like one of the closets is plumbed to be a bathroom, including baseboard heat, but no bathroom was installed. Thinks like that.