Shop Projects

A few shop-projects that I have completed over the past few months (and some new tools).

Cordless drill storage (March 2016)

Dial indicator mount for checking table saw alignment (February 2016)

New Estwing hammers (20oz and 16oz), I love the look of these classic leather grip hammers.

Tool tray for my bench.  This was a simple plywood strip that I screwed to the underside of the bench.  This allows me to store small tools in the tray, and keeps stuff from falling behind the bench (February 2016)

Vise mount for bench.  The four bolts are attached to the bench using t-nuts underneath the bench.  I can remove or install the vise in about 30 seconds.

Garage door insulation (February 2016)

New Porter Cable Drill Press with mobile base and simple table (finally replaced my benchtop drill press).

LED Light over the lathe (January 2016)

Shop Cleanup

One of the biggest advantages of having everything on wheels, especially in a small shop, is that it makes cleanup super easy.  This morning I wheeled everything out of my shop area and used my shop-vac to thoroughly clean up all the sawdust that accumulated behind and under all my tools.

Lathe Stand

This was a relatively simple cabinet build for my lathe.  The size allows me to store the lathe in the bottom shelf and the entire cabinet can fit under my MFT when not being used.  All joinery was done with my Festool Domino and Kreg Pocket Holes...and as with all shop furniture, no glue in case I need to change something in the future.

Lathe Tool Holder

Built a simple lathe tool holder today out of 3/4" plywood.

Shop Organization

Over the past month I have focused most of my time on the shop.  When we moved into our new house about a year ago I set up the shop as quickly as I could, placing tools and storage areas in what I thought was the best places.  Since I was coming from a small two car garage (about 400 sq. ft.) to what I thought was an enormous garage (about 1,000 sq. ft.), I spread everything out as much as possible, not utilizing the space very efficiently.  After working on many projects I found that I needed to move some equipment around and build some additional storage.  While I am far from completed, I feel I have made some significant progress. 

In addition to some reorganization, I have installed two additional 20-amp circuits in the shop.  The idea is that one circuit is for dust-collection (either my large dust-collector or a shop-vac) and the other circuit is for the tool.

Tool hanging rack on left and a saw-till on the right are the latest additions to my tool storage.

New out-feed table (Kreg Universal Bench and plywood top).

Moved the dust collector into a different corner so that it is more convenient for all machines.

The cart on the right was built to house my Festool Systainers and the router table and spindle sander.

Timer for cordless tool batteries.