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

[Jim Becker]

Out of curiosity, is there a reason why you placed the sliding table saw at an angle? I would think one would want to place machines as efficiently as possible to increase the amount of available floor space. For me, I am placing my slider parallel and closest to the wall as I can.

Yes, I believe I noted that earlier in the thread, but the positioning is to prevent interference with material path for the saw, the J/P and my workbench, both for loading and for cutting/machining. The J/P is also angled. Even in this position, a full sheet on the outrigger for crosscutting slightly overhangs the corner of my bench when I'm trimming the end for a clean edge...and fortunately, my bench is adjustable height and that's not an issue. I also noted that putting it against the wall wasn't workable because it cut off the pathway for material to move from storage out to be worked. This positioning makes it easier for me to get material into storage and easier for me to get it out to the saw because of how the space is arranged around the tools. I did multiple iterations of this "virtually" and then arranged and re-arranged and re-arranged until things made sense and worked for my intended use. Please trust me that this arrangement is the most efficient use of the space...for me. It might not be the same for someone else. It also would likely be slightly different if I had stuck with an 8'6" slider.

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I got started on the mobile clamp storage this afternoon and it's moving along. I'll do a separate build thread for that. So yea...woodworking happened.

[Zachary Hoyt]

I can relate to the angled slider. I angle my Unisaw when I want to make long rips or cut plywood. Otherwise there isn't enough room with the other things in the space.

[Jim Becker]

I can appreciate that, Zachary. This is why mobility is important even for the big tools sometimes. I don't expect to ever need to move the saw, but can with the pallet jack if necessary. One other thing that's at play here is that many of the photos make it appear like this space is "yuge", but some of that is because the shots have a wider angle to them. The space is certainly "generous" compared to what I have, but it's not unlimited and in order to keep space open up front for flexibility, the machinery has to "interlock" toward the back so infeed-outfeed and other aspects don't interfere. That also keeps the dust collection runs to each machine as short as practical.

[Patty Hann]

...
I got started on the mobile clamp storage this afternoon and it's moving along. I'll do a separate build thread for that. So yea...woodworking happened.

Please don't forget to post about it.
I'm in the middle of a debate (with self) about "wall mount" vs "mobile"...Very much interested in seeing your mobile design.

[Jim Becker]

The better part of this afternoon was dedicated to finally "finishing" the dust collection system by installing the iVac blast gate up in the ceiling for the CNC drop. Because I'm using one of those ball housings for the hose drop to the machine, the gate has to be in front of that point to avoid a "yuge" leak. But that's 10' + up in the air. iVac gates can be operated with a simple manual switch and that's the way I chose to handle the situation.

Said simple switch is in the wall next to the CNC computer which makes it convenient. Even though this is low voltage, a normal cheap wall switch, cover and a LV old work "box" was used for the gate control switch. I used a black cover so that it's completely clear that this is a "different" kind of switch, even though it will get labeled like everything else in the shop.

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The simple switch connects to the iVac gate via a 3.5mm stereo plug. I left the wire run slightly long so that I could solder on the plug and not be up on a ladder. Yea, I could have measured the run and did it before running the wire, but I, um...forgot.

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Next step was to prepare the iVac gate by installing the quick connect machine adapters (silicone caulk and short screws) as well as doing the grounding to bridge between the two sides and connect to the gate ground.

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From there it was a matter of taking down things from the 45º elbow on, installing the gate, completing the drop and running a power cord for the iVac gate's power supply.

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Once that was complete, I installed the additional section of OmniWall that arrived and called it a day. Tomorrow I'll be working on the mobile clamp rack some more...it's coming along and I'll be able to post a thread about that soon. Also need to do the additional shelf unit, make a plane till and a few other things to get more tooling up on the OmniWall setup.

[eugene thomas]

i have same ball asembly on my cnc. blast gate at spindal and when start dc draws ball up to seal and no noticable leak.

[Jim Becker]

i have same ball asembly on my cnc. blast gate at spindal and when start dc draws ball up to seal and no noticable leak.

The issue is that the seal is broken when the gate is closed with the gate mounted down at the CNC. I confirmed with Blastgate Company that I had it oriented correctly. Placing the gate before the ball assembly eliminated the problem. It also eliminated the weight of the blast gate on top of the spindle. While I have pneumatic counterbalance, not adding additional weight can only be a positive thing.

[Jim Becker]

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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Next was the lathe and lathe parts/accessories moved in along with the last remaining woodworking stuff from the "temporary gara-shop" which is now officially and completely decommissioned as a woodworking shop. There will still be stuff that gets done there, but it will be house and tractor related for the most part. I was able to set the lathe base right into the Vega mobile setup which will make it easier to move around while I clean it up and figure out where it's actually going to live.

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Of course, moving all that stuff took up all the space I just freed from getting the scaffold and recycling out while at the same time the garage is devoid of more than a few hand tools for use up there and some wood that will eventually move out.

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A few minutes were taken to put up a little woodworking art...da bun and the sign my younger daughter gifted me for Christmas 2021 got hung.

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Lastly, I completed the mobile clamp rack. There will be a separate thread for that, but here's the end result of what turned out to be a very heavy thing that's not going to roll unless it's asked to.

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[Christopher Charles]

Great looking rack! and gotta ask..."Da Bun"?

[John Kananis]

I haven't poked my head in on a while. Fantastic progress, Jim. The shop looks AWESOME. I'm curious to hear how that Harvey handles those long runs.

[Jim Becker]

Great looking rack! and gotta ask..."Da Bun"?

Leftover cutout from this project awhile back: https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread....highlight=Gate

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John, the Harvey does fine with the duct length as far as I can tell. It's definitely a "one machine at a time" DC, but that's just fine for me. That's pretty much equivalent to the Oneida 2 hp Pro "pre-Gorilla" DC I had in the old shop, IMHO. I noticed a little pulsing while running the CNC yesterday but have not had time to think about that or what might be the causes.

[Christopher Charles]

Definitely a worthy shop mascot

Shop it looking great and continue to be impressed by the rate of progress.

[Jim Becker]

The "tool wall" became more complete today as I finished up the smaller, two section shelf unit that would anchor the CNC end of the OmniWall setup. Simple project, but very valuable to continuing with the storage and organizational fit-out for the shop. Here are a few photos of the material prep and assembly...

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And from today after the pain was dry enough to hang it up. I will volunteer that I screwed up with the French Cleat on the case by installing it backwards, but that was easily fixed.

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I have not yet decided what drawer format I'll use for what goes in the upper section or if I'll put a thin back panel in and add a shelf. That needs to mentally percolate for a few days. If I can dig the material out, I need to next make the three drawers that will fit into the open space in the "guitar bench" where an amplifier used to live. I sold that larger thing in favor of a small modeling amp so the space is free to be used for more formal storage of materials and tools.

[Jim Becker]

Given how warm it was today (sorta...), I decided to move the sheet goods from the shed into the shop after moving some things not needed in the shop up to the garage. The Big Orange Power Tool did the travel part, but the human had to move each sheet. I'm not a fan of "three quarter" hardwood plywood in that respect. LOL

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Honestly, it was relatively painless (since I didn't drop anything on my foot... ) and that's one more thing to check off the list. The lumber will move next...not sure when yet.

The plan for where the lathe would go was changed. Originally, it was going in the back between the platform and the lumber rack, but I've decided to put shelving in that space for both solid stock and plywood "shorts" and some other storage needs. All in all, it would have been a bit cramped back there for turning longer things and there was no way to get the grinder close as I prefer for quick touch ups. So the new arrangement puts the lathe on the long wall near the end of the sliding table saw, but with a generous pathway back to the sheet goods storage. I didn't really want a "stationary" tool on that wall, but it's honestly the best choice for this particular machine. There's already an air drop there and getting a DC drop over is easy...I have most of the components already. More on that later. I also considered up front, but a wise person doesn't put a lathe in front of a window...

[Jim Becker]

I put the lathe back together today, taking plenty of time to clean it up, do any surface rust removal from when I had "rust-ma-geddon" in the temporary gara-shop in December 2021 and slather on a little T9 to keep any bare iron reasonably protected. I also did a little lubrication to get rid of a minor squeak I noticed when test running it after reconnection of the motor and wiring. As previously noted, it appears this thing is going to actually live on the North side long wall. There's still going to be plenty of room to move materials past it to the storage areas and it's also a natural spot to get a dust collection drop to for sanding support. I will remove the mobile base later once I'm absolutely sure of the position. It really cannot stay on the machine long term as it interferes with human feet and also makes it hard to clean under and around the machine. I just store it away in case it's needed in the future.

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The area in the back where I originally thought it will go is definitely getting a heavy shelving unit ('cause I ordered it... ) for shorts of both solid stock and sheet goods.

Also went out and picked up a stick of oak from the local domestic wood supplier I use...I need that for the additional tool storage/display things I intend to make for the OmniWall and didn't want to pay 'borg prices for a piece of oak. (not that it's "cheap" at the hardwood supplier, either) It was a nice visit as I had not been there since last summer and actually ran into an old neighbor who is a pro woodworker and lived across the street from our old property. We had a nice chat as he was selecting some beautiful black walnut slabs for some live edge work needed on a job site project.