Shop Improvements

[Von Bickley]

What has been your best shop improvement?
Mine was adding left & right extensions for my miter saw station and building my table saw outfeed / assembly table.
Lets hear about your shop improvements and ideas.

[Scott in Douglassville, PA]

<a href="http://www.shoptours.org/shop_tours/files/scott-perry.html">Cleaning</a>.

[Douglas Robinson]

I built a rolling shop cart that fits underneath my floor standing drill press. The cart fits around the column of the drill press, has adjustable extensions to hold large work pieces, and stores all my bits, and accesories. It came from plans in Woodsmith and has been a great use of wasted space. I also like the 60" x 37" European style workbench I built.:)

[Jim Izat]

Adding a window for natural light!

Jim Izat

[Tim Spickler]

My new JET air filter.

[Ken Salisbury]

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Adding a Fridge
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[Dave Avery]

Horizontal router table, used mostly for making mortises in loose tenon joinery

[Daniel Rabinovitz]

Built in 2000
Rolls out in the drive to work.
10" air filles rubber tires
167 MPH in the lights 12.34 seconds

[Brad Risley]

Moving from a 10' X 10' shed to a 24' X 36' dedicated shop building.

[Ron Taylor]

Adding a bathroom with hot and cold shower, washer and dryer. No more of MY sawdust on HER carpet. Taj-MaShop?

[Jim Baker]

Building a 4' x 8' assembly table with 12 drawers and 4 cabinet sections underneath. Plenty of room to work and store everything.

[Angelo Schembari]

Cleaning up and a clamp cart. I can actually find clamps when I need them, and the clamps actually make it back to the cart when I'm done (usually)

http://members.aol.com/schembari3/images/clamprack1.jpg

[Bruce Page]

Building a decent bench

[Scott in Douglassville, PA]

Originally posted by Bruce Page
Building a decent bench

Holy <i>crap</i>, that's a beaut! Nice bench, Bruce!

[Bruce Page]

Thanks Scott, I've enjoyed it.

[Bart Goldberg]

Well, I've made lots of improvements, but most recently, like you - I built a miter saw stand with fold out wings and dedicated dust collection. Made it from the plan in Popular Woodworking. Also bought the HTC outfeed table for my Jet cabinet saw - like them both alot. I'm still in need of a "decent" wookworking bench. Thats the next shop project.

[John Miliunas]

DC system and home-made air filtration box. :cool:

[Dave Hammelef]

This

[Phil Phelps]

I put a building in my building. 30x60 and hvac. Got tired of 115 degree summers and bone chilling winters. Not as cold as some;) but cold enough. And, 28, 4' four lamp flourescents. I can see!!:D

[Phil Phelps]

Originally posted by Daniel Rabinovitz
Built in 2000
Rolls out in the drive to work.
10" air filles rubber tires
167 MPH in the lights 12.34 seconds
That's a really nice rollabout. The trouble is, your neighbors. "Hey Danial, ol' buddy ol' pal. I need to borrow that saw thinggie you built. I'm sure you wouldn't mind". Grrrrrrrr.:D

[Don Henthorn Smithville, TX]

Originally posted by Daniel Rabinovitz
Built in 2000
Rolls out in the drive to work.
10" air filles rubber tires
167 MPH in the lights 12.34 seconds

Hey, Dan, That is realy nice What kind of brakes do you have on that rig?

[Jerry P. Doan]

That's a very nice bench, Bruce. Are those dovetails I can barely see in the drawers?

[Dr. Zack Jennings]

Heat & Wood Storage This time of year I would have to pick heat: My 2 propane heaters and my woodstove. I can really make it toasty.

Every element you add to a shop increases your ability to produce sawdust. I'm working on storage, now. I still have to finish some walls before building my chop saw table.

I look forward to the day I add the cabinet saw, Jointer, DC, bandsaw.....but most important (besides heat in the Winter) I have to pick Storage. Lots of wall storage, benches that have drawers, cabinets under the router table and work bench.

Having a place for everything and being able to find it quick. Next, I would say organization. I envy people that are organized. I'm looking for something constantly. I doubt that will change.

[Tom Sweeney]

ahead of it :D

I have a long way to go but Upgrading from a junk 8" craftsman TS to my Jet contractor saw is no doubt the best improvement so far..

My next big improvement will hopefully be making a router table of some kind.

[Bruce Page]

Originally posted by Jerry P. Doan
That's a very nice bench, Bruce. Are those dovetails I can barely see in the drawers?

Thanks Jerry. Yes, they're dovetailed on both ends. I wish I could claim credit for handcut but I used my omnijig

[Von Bickley]

Bruce,
That's not a work bench. That's fine furniture.

[Bruce Page]

10" air filles rubber tires
167 MPH in the lights 12.34 seconds

Those are some serious wheels! I hope you don’t have a blowout at those speeds!:D

[Todd Burch]

Curly Oak! Niiiiiice. Todd.

[Gary Bindel]

My best improvement is a combination outfeed table/downdraft sanding table/air filtration unit. Having the outfeed table has made it real pleasure to use the table saw and added greatly to safety. I can't recommend it highly enough as an addition to a shop.

[John Sanford]

1) Getting a shop. :D

2) Workbench

3) Planer stand/rollaway.

4) Just added, not sure of the utility yet: 9 new 4' 2 lamp fixtures and 9 quad 120v/20a receptacles.

[George@Colonel's Workshop]

Good Afternoon Von,

Congratulations on such a nice thread. I think Ken's refrigerator idea is an excellent one, and I'm sure his is well stocked like mine. My new shop incorporates a lot of the features others have described,. My favorites are: very good dust collection in my wood milling area for stationary power tools, AND floor pick up. Its so nice not to have to drag around a shop vac. A seperate finishing room, great overhead and task lighting in both shop rooms, plenty of handy electrical boxes and overhead retractible cords, and everything on casters.

[Scott Corbett]

Creating a mini DC system from my shop vac for the smaller tools ( I use a 1-1/2 hp Jet DC for the table saw, etc).

[Jim Young]

Moving to a new house with a bigger basement. Added about 200 sq. ft. plus I now have my lumber stack in another room, so now it doesn't use up space.