Hello from smalltown Iowa


Brian1969

Recommended Posts

Hi, everyone.

 

My wife and I bought a house about 6 years ago, and I've been doing a lot of stuff to it over that time. I'm not a woodworker or a construction/contractor kind of guy, but I enjoy learning to do new things. Basically I taught myself how to do crown molding, tile work, flooring, and so on because the house was a foreclosure and they were in the middle of a remodel when the bank came and got it, and I had to finish a lot of stuff up myself. I found I enjoyed doing it and it also saved me a few bucks (I won't try electrical or plumbing, I told my wife that if something I do has the potential to destroy the house or get me killed, I won't touch it, haha).

 

Anyway, along the way I bought a sliding compound miter saw to do some of the stuff I mentioned above, along with some other power tools. Recently, my wife and I bought a new tv and we needed a new entertainment center, but I refused to pay the kind of money they were asking in light of the cheap materials I know they were made of. So, I decided to build one on my own. Watched a lot of videos, read a lot of articles, bought some magazines, etc., and when I was ready, I dove in and built it. And, for my first try, I think I did pretty darn good, and it only cost me about $100 in materials to build. I used solid woods, not the plywood or particle board stuff a lot of the commercial stuff is made of, and it came out pretty solid and sturdy.

 

Still, I know my shortcomings and where I could have done better (wife is happy with it, but I'm a perfectionist....if I know there's something that could have been done better, it'll haunt me forever). So I decided to watch more videos, buy more magazines, books, etc., and do more reading.

 

For Christmas, my wife bought me a router/table combo. It came with what I guess you'd call a starter router: low horsepower and 1/4" collet, just a couple of bits, etc. I took the top of the table and made a small router table, rather than use the setup that they had. Plan on making it better later on, once I get the hang of it....and besides, for no more than I am going to do with it at first, this should be fine. Only problem is, the bit at full height doesn't quite reach up throught the table as far as it should go, there was no starter pin, the fence leaves a lot to be desired, and the featherboards they sent...ugh. Minor issues to be worked out, to be sure. But for now, it's fine. I've been tinkering with it using scrap wood in order to get the hang of it, but have yet to use it to build anything. I'll probably be building some stuff for outside this summer (patio chairs, maybe a table of some kind, and so on), so I more than likely will be using it then.

 

I've got a small one car garage (my truck won't fit in it, lol) that I barely use. If I remember right, it's about 20ftx10 ft (I could be wrong on the width). I built a workbench out there, I store my mower and the bbq grill, and some other misc. stuff, but I think I could use it to make a small workshop to putter around in from time to time. I don't think I'll be getting a table saw or anything major like that, I don't think there'd be room. If push comes to shove, then I may get a smaller contractor type you see, the so-called portable ones, and build a table around it. Should do ok for no more than I'd use it for (I prefer my circular saw with the guide to cut plywood, and I use the miter saw for cutting stuff like 2x4s, etc. Just seems safer to me, and I'm more comfortable using them). Don't know if I'll eventually get a band saw or just stick with my jigsaw (I can't see me getting that involved where I'd need one).

 

Anyway, I'll probably be asking a lot of stupid questions, things you've answered a billion times before, so bear with me. I am totally new to the entire thing.

 

Brian

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Welcome to the forums Brian!  This hobby is a very deep rabbit hole!  I'd like to see you revisit this post a year from now and see where you are  ;)

 

You garage is bigger than some here so, those folks can be a lot of help on your set up.

 

Good luck!  I look forward to seeing some of your projects!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Welcome to the forum!  I got some help with two of the problems.

 

I was just watching this Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rODkYZss7SU

 at 9:45 Norm has a fix for your router table problem, it is a easy and cheap fix or you could buy a router plate http://www.rockler.com/rockler-router-table-plates this can fix into any homemade router table also.

 

For your Table Saw space / smaller shop problem (many others do fine with less space) put it on a mobile base, when not in use a Contractor table saw only needs about 3' x 5' max, roll it into the corner, when needed roll it out to the middle of the shop or even the driveway. You can put any woodworking power tool on wheels. 

 

Good luck, be safe and have Fun.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The top that came with my router, I think I can work with that, actually. Has the mounting I need, so I could probably just build a larger top out of plywood and melamine, or something similar, cut out an area to fit the one I have, and drop it in place. I'd probably cut the top I have smaller and build my own miter slot and stuff, just leaving the area that the router attaches to. In the future, when I upgrade the router, I'll probably build a proper table with the Kreg insert and stuff. For now, my main concern is the bit, which I can probably solve by taking the router, like Norm did, and routing the space they already have in it a little deeper. Funny you should mention that video, I just watched it last night, lol.

 

The garage is new, a little bigger than the one previously. We had a small F1 tornado go through here April 2012 and it took the garage and all the siding on the south side of the house with it. First time I've ever been through one, luckily nobody was hurt, but it did a lot of damage to the neighborhood. Makes you wonder, if a small one can do all that, what a bigger, more powerful one could do.

 

I was actually reading up on how to set up a small shop in a garage about the same size of mine, found a picture and a pdf file, saved them to my computer for future reference. Like I said, I know I'll need a table saw eventually, because there's things you can do with it that you can't do (or do safely) with a circular saw or other tool. But it'd have to be a smaller one, with wheels, and I'd for sure want the safety stuff on it (when it comes to power tools, I'm probably paranoid about them....I'd rather be far more cautious than necessary, just for peace of mind while using them). Heck, the first time I fired up the router mounted to the table, I stood waaaay off to the side, and I didn't even have a board on it yet, lol.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Welcome aboard, corn cob. :D   I share Kev's prediction...the fact that you're posting on a woodworking forum proves you've been bitten by that nasty disease-fraught bug, and you've embarked down the slippery slope which descends straight into the pit of hell.

 

You need a 14" bandsaw if you're not gonna get a table saw.  One or the other.  You'll have one within 3 months.  Just watch.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, I'd be lying if I said I haven't been looking at both. Online and in the stores. I've stood there and thought "Hmmm....I could build a table on wheels and move it over to the wall when not in use...." and then I snap out of it. I haven't gotten that involved just yet to justify buying either, but I'm sure the day is coming.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.