Shop Build...should be a fun journey...

[Greg Parrish]

That looks like a really nice lathe Jim. Can't say that I've ever seen one of those before but looks well built. What is the total swing capacity for bowls?

[John Kananis]

That's a nice hunk of iron right there. What do you turn?

[Jim Becker]

That looks like a really nice lathe Jim. Can't say that I've ever seen one of those before but looks well built. What is the total swing capacity for bowls?

Omega Stubby 750 from Australia. Over the ways is 16" capacity, but pulling back the ways gets you 24" capacity, all inboard. This machine is optimized for bowl/vessel type projects but can do reasonable length spindles, too, as there are accessory ways that permit getting a tool rest back toward the headstock as well as a second tool rest holder that as the post mount on the opposite end. It's a very flexible machine. I have not been doing much turning in recent years other than some spindle work for other projects. But I still love the activity.

[Alan Lightstone]

Several things were accomplished today...

The scaffold and boxes to be recycled were removed from the new shop building to reclaim space for the actual shop and the pallet of clamping delight was moved in.

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I know we have that oft used quote that you can't have too many clamps. But seeing them transported with the big orange power tool???? You may have crossed a threshold. "Pallet of clamping delight". ROTF

[Jim Becker]

Alan, they are heavy for sure. And honestly, I don't have enough 30" clamps. Or enough smaller quick clamps. Or...or...or...

[Michael Burnside]

I kind of feel I'm finally at the "I think I have enough clamps" stage. I went nuts this summer and recently I bought a bunch more Bessey quick clamps. So far I think I'm good, but I do wonder if I should buy more of those Rockler Bandy clamps?

[Jim Becker]

I only got those Bandy clamps recently when I visited the new Rockler store in NJ after it opened late last year. I have used them once and really like them for what they are designed to do. I only have the small ones and probably should grab a few of the larger ones at some point. But what I'm really needing more of are Quick clamps of some type. I love the Irwins I have and don't particularly like the inexpensive Bessey quick clamps I got as a gift last year. I may try a few of the spring action versions that are out these days as they require one less hand for certain situations and that would be, um...well...you know...handy.

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Finished up a chisel and carving tool rack for the OmniWall system (separate thread coming) and started on a mobile lathe tool rack so I can finally abandon the wall mounted rack I made years ago from scraps that looks like a total pile of you-know-what. There will be a separate thread for that, too, once it's completed. I have a few more "new shop" type things to do, but they revolve around lumber storage and I'm waiting on a heavy duty shelf system to arrive next week for that. Otherwise, only a DC drop for the lathe remains for "shop" fit out and I'll deal with that when I replenish the money pile.

[Paul F Franklin]

<snip> But what I'm really needing more of are Quick clamps of some type. I love the Irwins I have and don't particularly like the inexpensive Bessey quick clamps I got as a gift last year. I may try a few of the spring action versions that are out these days as they require one less hand for certain situations and that would be, um...well...you know...handy.

I picked up a couple of the spring action quick clamps from Rockler a while back. Jury is still out. If you just squeeze the "trigger" all the way, they slam closed with enough of a jolt that they usually move...either themselves, or the item I'm clamping. If you squeeze more gently, it is possible to control how fast they close, but it takes some finesse and I seem to have to relearn it every time I go to use them. You can avoid the issue by pre-positioning them close to needed dimension, but if you're going to do that, you might as well use a standard quick clamp. I bought the longer ones, but they still only open 10" which I find limiting. And of course they are heavier than a similar capacity Irwin quick clamp. I have a bunch of the Irwins and I love them as long as you don't need real high clamping force. I'm not rushing out to buy more of the rockler version. Maybe someone else makes a better version.

[Jim Becker]

Thanks for that feedback on the sprung clamps, Paul. I will likely still try them, but only buy two for obvious reasons. I may just get more of the Irwins as they have been good to me over the years.

[Jim Becker]

The shelving unit I ordered finally arrived yesterday at Lowes, so I picked it up and put it together. The backstory...I chose to not build from scratch a heavy rack for "shorts", turning stock, guitar body blanks, etc., so I wanted a heavier metal storage rack solution that I would further partition to organize the "stuff". The space is 62" wide. It seems that most of the available solutions jump from 48" wide directly to 77" wide. 60" seems to be a unicorn. Fortunately, the Gladiator brand offers their setup in 60" as well as a bunch of other widths and I caught a sale/promotion that knocked a few shekels off the cost. Shipping to the store eliminated any delivery fees, too. Picked it up with the trailer (I could have fit it in my Ascent, but chose to use the trailer because it was easier to load/unload "heavy") and then used the Big Orange Power Tool to get it into the shop. The package was not "super" heavy, but the combination of weight and bulk is what it is...

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These heavy shelving units are totally "tool free" for assembly, although I will admit to using a utility knife to slit the shrink wrap and a dead blow mallet to fully seat the stretchers. A nice feature are these intermediate cross supports that help kick the weight capacity for the entire unit up to 2000 lbs. They snap in easily and support the wire rack inserts nicely.

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Assembly is really, really easy which was appreciated.

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Now this particular spot has that little bump out to accommodate the minisplit lineset that has to make a turn from inside the wall to the outside of the building which meant the next to lowest shelf is at about 30" off the floor and the bottom shelf needed to be modified to account for the space of the bump-out as well as the inability to use the rear rail. A little measuring for both height requirements for support as well as the necessary cutout on the wire rack was done. Wood supports would hold up the rear of the rack and are fastened to the baseboard so they stay in place. As I am not putting anything wood directly on the concrete floor, small plastic "feet" were figured into the dimensions of the supports.

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[Jim Becker]

The wire rack was marked for modification, another power tool was employed and the wire was modified to fit.

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And with that, the unit was in place and ready for next steps...and it's a near perfect fit for the space, too.

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Ok, so what's next? I need to create some partitions on the shelves so that the material to be stored remains "somewhat" organized. While I absolutely hate OSB, I have a bunch of it stored in the shed from the crate my CNC shipped in a few years ago, so that's what I'm going to use. I'll probably paint it to take away some of the pain of OSB being OSB. More on this later once I figure out my plan and execute on it.

[Michael Burnside]

Hah! Clever, and you got lucky and only needed to remove one row from the back and you could leave the horizontal bar. Nice

[Jim Becker]

Yea, that was fortunate, but I ready to just do a platform "down there" if need be. I do need to put a couple more supports along the back of the wire rack, but ran out of the little plastic "feet"...will get them in place once I replenish the supply or find an alternative non-wood material in my "bag of tricks". The non-used rail is just stuck on the back up higher to keep it around in case I decide to move the unit in the future and use it "normally".

[Jim Becker]

Decided to slice up some of the aforementioned OSB left over from my CNC machine's crate and not only partition, but also replace the wire shelving with the solid material which is honestly, more appropriate for the intended task, especially if anything small gets thrown on there. I have a few more things I intend to do and can then start moving material as the weather and backyard swamp allow. There's just not going to be any freezing this year, so I'll try not to rip things up too much by using the big trailer and doing things in about two loads from the storage tent.

Yes, one partition isn't straight as it was deflected sideways when screws were going in from the bottom. It's not worth ripping things apart to fix it at this point.

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[Jim Becker]

Today was the day for getting all the "shorts", turning stock and guitar body blanks moved to the new rack. It was a beautiful day out and the ground has dried a bit, so two pallet loads made their way into the shop with the help of the Big Orange Power Tool followed by the smaller Red pallet jack.

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When the deed was done...this was the result. And there's still a little room.

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Next up is all the "grown up" boards. LOL