next iteration of barn shop floorplan

[Bob Riefer]

Thanks Dave!

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Since I last wrote, the digging is done. Digging is the scariest part of projects like these, and it went extremely well, and the crews were PROFESSIONALS. Very impressed.

The horizontal boring went wonderfully, and they hit their target mark within 3/4" from 75 feet away. Not bad right?

So, I now have 4" drain, 1" water, and 1" data pipes stubbed into the corner of my shop awaiting next steps. All tied in at the house already.

More updates soon

[Bob Riefer]

Yawwwwwwwwwwwn.. My project is somewhat stalled as we wait for crew and material availability, so not much of interest to report.

Although, I did do a few small projects in the shop recently to fill some time.


1)
My old mobile scrap bin was a poor design (by me) in that the dividers between sections were only at the top of the bin... so at the bottom of the bin scraps from one section would inadvertently slide into the next section.. soon becoming "clogged" and difficult to use. Also, that bin did not fit perfectly in the spot where it ended up living.

So... old bin was partially disassembled, and full top-to-bottom dividers were added, and this now lives in the lumber storage area.

In my main shop, I built a new bin. This one is not mobile, also has top-to-bottom dividers, and features a channel that can hold about 5-6 partial pieces of plywood or similar. I find that during projects, I will often have panels (either ply or glued up) hanging around during the build, so this channel will be a nice spot to store them safely and also keeping them nearby.

2)
My new drill press arrives tomorrow, so I did some work to prepare for that.

To recap... I had an old floor model Walker Turner DP that had more run-out than I liked, the unit took up more room than I can spare, and it was time consuming to change speeds. So, I inquired here on SMC about sale price for this (I asked if $300 was close), received a few snarky replies that I was dreaming to ever get that price, and sold it in 4 hours (multiple offers for $250, so I guess I wasn't too far off). I turned that around and bought the Rikon 30-212vs which is a "benchtop" model (but a bit beefier than some models) with features I wanted (namely, lever-controlled speed changing).

Anyways, I had an old set of drawers that I got for free many years ago... topped with a piece of leftover butcher block, and locking swivel casters underneath, I have a nice, heavy, mobile spot for the DP to land when it arrives.

This perch for the tool would cause it to conflict with a shelf that was already mounted above that space, so I made some alterations there accordingly.

The drawers under the tool were filled with hammers, files, wrenches etc. etc. etc. I have emptied them out and am instead re-filling them with drill press related items.


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This week, I think I'll begin to tackle the conversion of my shop lights to LED. I had wanted to pay the electrician to do this because I'm low on free time these days, but I'm getting antsy for progress, so I'll just do it myself. One path (perhaps the path of least resistance), that also offers future flexibility, is to remove each current light and replace it with a receptacle. This would allow me to plug in new lights, and they would be "switched" already. In the future if there's ever an issue with a fixture I would be able to simply remove/replace without rewiring. We'll see.

If anyone has recommendations on plug in LED shop lights I would be very interested.

[Bob Riefer]

Recently, I have been trying to figure out how to upgrade the depth stop threaded rod on my new drill press. My chosen solution is to use threaded "button nuts" which allow you to press a button to make quick/gross changes, and then release the button to continue threading for fine tuning. The issue is, my particular DP has a thread pattern (m12x1.5) that doesn't match available thread patterns on these types of nuts. So, a friend of mine and I are going to make a new depth stop that does fit the available nuts (which are m12x1.75). That happens on Wednesday of this week.

Meanwhile, I finished my lighting upgrade work in both sides of my shop this weekend. I previously had 7 fluorescent fixtures (4 foot, 2 bulb) and it was downright dark in there. And buzzing sounds and flickering. I removed those lights, gave them to the scrapper neighbor, wired receptacles, and installed 8 LED plug in fixtures. It is like an operating room in there now!!! And, since I took the time to install receptacles, if ever a light needs to be replaced it will be very fast and easy to do so.

Today, I am removing the beam by my interior stairs / stair well (these stairs are being removed, the stairwell is being filled in to make a 2nd story bathroom). This will involve sistering two existing full length joists, trimming three cut joists (terminating just before the stairwell opening) to common length, installing a beam from sistered joist to other sistered joist, and hanging the cut joists from the new beam. Sounds easy when I type it, but it's likely not going to be a fun day. Wish me luck!

[Bob Riefer]

Barn structural work completed successfully!

[Bob Riefer]

Tool boxes made it home safely!!!!

[Bob Riefer]

Thank goodness the apparently oh-so-fragile supply chain caught up and our home addition work is back at full speed. Windows (delayed for 9 weeks!!) finally arrived, thereby enabling a flurry of work... seeing the siding go on yesterday was exciting, bordering on therapeutic.

What does that have to do with my workshop? Well, our builder (who is doing wonderful work) will only do things in a specific order that he has in his mind. And he will only do the stairs work in the barn when he's at a point that he can use that same crew for some other steps of the main home addition. So.. we.... wait....

But I think that's soon.

Meanwhile, my new garage door will be installed on Wednesday. The original door is still "ok" but had a few things I wanted to improve.. First, I installed it myself about a decade ago, in my old crooked barn, and did a nice job (even according to the installer).. but it sticks and is a bit finnicky to raise and lower. Second, the seals have all died, so having new/improved versions will be nice. Third, the new door has higher insulation value than the old one. Fourth, the new door has a top panel of windows which will bring wonderful light into that side of my shop. Lastly, we opted for the carriage house look with faux hinges etc. so my wife will be very happy about the new look. I'm hoping to sell or give away the old door to someone that could use a bargain, so I'll get that posted locally today.

Other than this, my woodworking is completely stalled for the time being. I can barely move around in the barn given all the stored materials for the home addition, and since the stairs work isn't complete. Sigh.

[Jim Becker]

I feel your pain, but for different reasons. 'Glad things are moving along a little now, however. Supply chain is challenging for everyone right now and I hope it settles down more by the time I'm ready for my shop build.

[Bob Riefer]

Exterior stairs project is underway! The crew got all the structural work done yesterday, and door at top, railings, and lighting will follow in the near term.

I'll follow behind with the interior work and hopefully can start posting some fun progress pics soon. I have plans to build two Maloof-inspired benches for our new primary bedroom (one for me, one for wife) and am so excited to be back to woodworking (rather than remodeling)

[Kris Cook]

Just read through this thread and glad to see you are back underway. I have a stalled out project at home as well but for different reasons. I did something similar with my bandsaw dust collection a couple of weeks ago but I necked down to 4" for the upper collection point. I will be home this next week so hope to get some work done on the shop and the dust collection is on the list. I will post pictures of my bandsaw mod if I get it completed.

[Bob Riefer]

Thanks Kris! Good to be back at it :-)

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My folks were in from Pittsburgh over the weekend... their first visit to see us since start of COVID, and also nicely timed that they were able to see the completed home addition etc.

After they left, I was able to get the interior stairs removed. I saved the stringers and the treads for future projects. This one change is very impactful to the shop space - adds about 60 square feet of usable floor space, plus use of the wall that was blocked by the stairs.

stairs removal 1.jpg stairs removal 2.jpg


Today I plan to get started on setting the tool cabinets along that wall, moving a few receptacles to suit the new layout, and preparing for pegboard install.

[Jim Becker]

Isn't it amazing about how much "usable" space came out of removing that stairway? Even though you could stuff things under it, the area really wasn't conducive to the overall area of your shop. 'Glad you were able to make this change!! One of these days I need to make a field trip up there to see it in person.

[Alan Lightstone]

A couple of questions about your design.

Doesn't the jointer fence get in the way of the table saw for wide cuts? If not, could you share a picture of that?

Also, is your table in the finishing room on wheels? So you can wheel it towards the window / ventilation when spraying finishes. If not spraying, nevermind....

More room is always nice. My new workshop is vastly bigger than my old one, and I would still love more space. And more toys...

[Bob Riefer]

Isn't it amazing about how much "usable" space came out of removing that stairway? Even though you could stuff things under it, the area really wasn't conducive to the overall area of your shop. 'Glad you were able to make this change!! One of these days I need to make a field trip up there to see it in person.

It truly does amaze me how much of a difference this change will make in my shop. I wanted the exterior entrance anyways (allows upstairs of barn to be an apartment, and enables visitors to enter the apartment without going past my tools/dust/etc.) so it was a win-win.

Yes, please... VISIT :-)

[Bob Riefer]

A couple of questions about your design.

Doesn't the jointer fence get in the way of the table saw for wide cuts? If not, could you share a picture of that?

Also, is your table in the finishing room on wheels? So you can wheel it towards the window / ventilation when spraying finishes. If not spraying, nevermind....

More room is always nice. My new workshop is vastly bigger than my old one, and I would still love more space. And more toys...

Hi Alan,
My jointer stands at it's original height, and my table saw stands on a 3" riser... I'm fairly tall (6'2") and have always liked my saws a bit higher to ease back pain, and this configuration also allows the table saw surface to be about 1/2" higher than the adjacent jointer fence. When cutting anything on the table saw, material passes just above the jointer fence.

Edit: Found a pic to illustrate

reorg before the real reorg AFTER 2.jpg

I wasn't planning on having the finishing table be on wheels, but I could always add a retractable set later. That room will have a full perimeter curtain (to protect walls/tools/stored items) and I have a window ventilation filter/fan on one side to pull fumes away. For time being, I only spray water based finishes while I learn, so a box fan with furnace filter is my ventilation approach. The curtain on that wall has a cutout to expose the fan setup, and I try to spray so that I'm aiming in that direction. I wear a respirator as well. I'm very new to spraying, so I suspect this setup will improve over time.

Aside from the new space in the shop (from the stairs removal), having this entire additional room in the mix is a huge win (and nearly free since I already had it). It's been a long time in my mind, so really fun to see it "for real" :-)

[Bob Riefer]

Busy busy busy in the shop (finally!)

I have been dreaming of installing the tool cabinets along the newly-free-from-stairs wall for a long while, and was able to move on that work over the past few days.

As the wall is not straight or plumb, and since the floor has some inconsistencies, getting two separate cabinets to marry up perfectly took some planning and effort.

First, I built two separate riser boxes (one for each cabinet) since I will not be using the casters that come with the units. I took care to select good 2x4's, and also to build the riser boxes as flat as possible by shimming joints as needed. Once each riser box was assembled, I joined them together with temporary braces as well as "wall stand off" braces to ensure even spacing etc.

bases for new cabinets.jpg

I then moved the assembly to the floor and used levelling feet in the front, shims in the back, to level the entire unit.

bases for new cabinets being leveled.jpg

Once level in all directions, I bolted the assembly to the wall and then removed the temporary braces. I then affixed each tool box to their respective platform and double checked for level and spacing.

new cabinets on their bases.jpg cabinets on new bases 2.jpg

Lastly, I spanned across with a 10 foot length of laminate counter top (affixed with silicone underneath). The resulting surface is "flat enough" to check edges of long planks for suitability for table top glue ups (which was my over-arching goal).

countertop installed.jpg


I have white HDF pegboard (Triton brand) on the way, and that will be installed above the countertop on both the left and right side of the window. Shop vac and dust deputy setup will go to the right of the counter, and tool cubbies will go to the left. Utility sink in the furthest left corner.

I also was able to finish prep for enclosing the stairwell. Joists installed, reviewed with plumber... Now I can add the subfloor up there so the plumber can do his work (full bath in that space on 2nd story, utility sink below in shop).

joists in stairwell.jpg