Hi! New member!

[Eric Larsen]

I didn't see a new member area, so I hope this is the place.

I'm Eric, and I'm a n00b.

My wife and I just moved to Las Vegas a couple weeks ago, and bought a house.

I said, "Honey, why spend $lots on furniture, shutters and cabinets? Let's just buy some tools and a bunch of wood instead. And make it all!"

To my eternal astonishment, she said, "What a great idea!"

So, I've been trolling the Las Vegas Craigslist. I bought a Jet 13" planer/molder for $300. I bought a Powermatic 66 for $800 and the guy pointed at a lump of pine pitch in the corner and said, "Hey, there's a Powermatic 60 under that heap of crap somewhere. Take it."

So now I have a jointer, table saw and planer/molder. I've spent $1,100, and I barely have a clue what I'm doing.

Anyone know of a woodwrecker's club in the Las Vegas valley?


Regards,

Eric

[James Suzda]

Hi Eric,
Let me be the first to welcome you to the forums. This is the “home’ of some of the most friendly and helpful folks when it comes to woodworking and related subjects on the internet. I cannot help you find any woodworking organizations in Vegas, because all I know of the area is that I have a Brother who lives there.
BTW nice “haul” on the tools and wood!

[Carl Eyman]

You'll like it here, Eric. Use the search function to see if your question has been asked before, and if not, ask away. Welcome.

[Ken Shoemaker]

Welcome Eric,
I'm kind of new myself. You've choosen to associate with the most generous "mentors" I've ever met.
Please post lots of pctures of your work. We all love to see'em.

Good Luck!!! Ken

[Lori Kleinberg]

Welcome to the creek and be prepared to learn alot.

[Jim Kountz]

Welcome Eric, let me say that you are off to a very good start with the tool purchases anyway. Not too many get the pleasure of starting out with a PM 66, way to go! You will like it here, there isnt much that hasnt been discussed here concerning woodworking of all kinds so you should be able to get the answers you need. Good luck and enjoy your new drug!!

[Al Willits]

Welcome, as a newbie myself I'd suggest finding any woodworking classes you can, don't be afraid to start with a very easy project, don't get in over your head till your comfortable with woodworking, this hobby can be very frustrating to the newbie, lots to learn so take your time.
Also maybe see if there's any of us from SMC out that way that wouldn't mind helping, pretty friendly bunch here for the most part.

I discovered that if I make even the easy projects like their going to be furniture quality it helps develop good working habits, I was surprised how little off something can be and it'll stick out like a sore thumb.

Patience is key...and lots of money...:D
Good luck.

Al

[frank shic]

quick, eric! buy a festool domino before the effect wears off! welcome. :D

[Eric Larsen]

We close on the house next week, then project No. 1 is to epoxy-coat the garage.

www.musclegloss.com unless any of y'all tell me there's a better way.

Project No. 2 is to have 240v installed in the garage and move in the tools.

Project No. 3 is the floors. We bought a bare-floor house, and we're laying down the oak and travertine ourselves

Project No. 4 -- Plantation shutters.

http://www.newyankee.com/getproduct3.cgi?0602

This is why my wife agreed to let me have a dream-shop in the garage. Her aunt installed plantation shutters in a similar-sized house, and it ran $8,000 and the quality was "meh" -- As long as I come in under $8,000, I can buy all the tools I want.

Being the frugal (read, cheap as hell) person that I am, I'm cherry picking good deals on eBay and craigslist. I still need a router (Bosch 1617 evspk unless someone convinces me otherwise), and I'm going to want to make a workbench (The one in Shopnotes #84 looks to be what I want).

What I'd love y'all to tell me is:

1) Your thoughts on garage-shop dust collection. I am planning on making (quite literally) a house full of furniture, shelving and shutters. Is there a sweet spot in price/space/function out there?

2) Finishing. I don't want to muck up my garage. The epoxy floor will help, but finishing is inherently messy and garage shops are inherently dusty. Anyone have a solution?

[Cary Swoveland]

What a treat! How often do we have the chance of to offer advice to a new member who is starting almost from scratch?




Project No. 4 -- Plantation shutters.

http://www.newyankee.com/getproduct3.cgi?0602

This is why my wife agreed to let me have a dream-shop in the garage. Her aunt installed plantation shutters in a similar-sized house, and it ran $8,000 and the quality was "meh" -- As long as I come in under $8,000, I can buy all the tools I want.

You certainly can save a lot by building the plantation shutters yourself, but be prepared for a very time-consuming project. It is a fairly complex job for a beginner, but each step should not be difficult with Norm's plans and video. I see you have a molder, so you can do as Norm did and buy a custom cutter to shape the slats. (If the cutter specs are not in the plans, Email Norm for them.) Alternatively, consider contracting out the milling of the slats. Get a good-quality HVLP sprayer (turbine and gun or [big] compressor and gun), as it would take forever to paint a housefull of shutters with a brush, and a sprayer would do a better job. You might invest in one with a pressure pot if you expect to do a lot of spraying. Accuspray and Wagner are two makers that are often recommended. Research is very important here.


...and I'm going to want to make a workbench (The one in Shopnotes #84 looks to be what I want).

I'd hold off on making the workbench, mainly because it may not be what you want after you gain a little experience. I bought a very nice Lee Valley workbench a few years ago, only to sell it a couple of years later when I found it didn't suit my way of working. I suggest you buy a used one, with the view of replacing it in time.


....2) Finishing. I don't want to muck up my garage. The epoxy floor will help, but finishing is inherently messy and garage shops are inherently dusty. Anyone have a solution?

This is mainly a problem with spraying. Look around for ideas on portable, or collaspable, spray booths. It doesn't have to be too big as long as you use an HVLP sprayer (which has much less overspray than a traditional, high-pressure spray gun). If necessary, you could build a stow-away frame and staple on sheets of poly. You can get pretty good ventilation by just opening your garage door, which should not be a problem in Las Vegas.

I know you are in a rush to get moving, but a little research and contemplation now will really pay dividends.

Cary

[Randall Frey]

Welcome to the group, your enthusiasm reminds me of me when I got started. Just a few thoughts to pass on.
Saftey: People get hurt doing woodworking, we hear Norm give his safety speal before each show but if you are new to woodworking this means nothing. You really need to understand all of the potential hazards of the task at hand. With that, I would look for classes, Woodcraft has some if they are in your area. I have taken lots of classes, I remember one where the teacher intentionally caused a kick back on a table saw. It was great, he stood aside while he ripped a thin piece of stock. It shot back so fast, none of us saw it but it went through a hollow core door behind him and on into the next room.
Patience is the next thing, there is an established process for working wood properly and it takes time. Be patient, don't skip steps.
Tools:
Get the best you can afford, do research. (sounds like you are on your way) Use the tools. The hands down best tool I ever invested in was getting educated.
Projects:
Personally as stated already, I would start with the easiest 1st. Bookcases for instance, they use mostly straight cuts, they allow for different joinery methods, they can give opportunity for edge banding (depending on design) etc.
Design:
Take the time to make the best plan for each piece, how every piece will fit together, and a cut list to maximize wood usage. Wood is not cheap. Build mock-up's.

Dust collection, lot's of variables here. I have a small shop and use a portable 600cfm unit that I can roll over to where it is needed. Also have an overhead fan/filter unit for the fine particulate. Wood dust is bad for us, glad to hear you are concerned about it.
Spray finishing: not much to add except HPLV good. There are a few finishing books out there that describe spray booths, Jeff Jewitt wrote one.


Good luck, hope to see pictures of your work.