AstroDave Posted December 15, 2014 Report Share Posted December 15, 2014 Figured I should start a journal rather than continuing to post in my "Proposed Shop Layout" thread. I plan to inaugurate the opening of my new shop with two projects. They will be Christmas gifts for family members. The first is a wooden beer tote that was suggested by Tom and of course the second project will be cutting boards. There are numerous plans/pictures for beer totes on the web... I will come up with some hybridized combination of these examples. I will begin with the beer totes as I don't have my jointer yet and the lumber I have for the cutting boards is rough. For the totes our local Home Depot had some s4s maple that I will use in combination with a few other species. One of the first lessons I learned is that I can't drill a perpendicular 1" hole with a power drill free hand. Hmmm could be why a drill press is so handy They looked great until I stuck the dowels in the holes... Hard to see in the pic but the boards are not parallel in the least. In any case believe or not I did not run out and buy a drill press... I am sure many of you would have expected me to do that. (Eric) I went the less expensive route and just picked up a drill guide. I'll get a drill press next year. Although Jet's are on sale right now 15% off...hmmm...hmmm...don't do it Dave... OK crisis averted we can move on. One other piece of advice that members on this forum gave me and have given others is to buy tools when the project dictates it! If I had heeded that advice I would have a purchased the drill press today and likely not gotten a Domino so soon. But the "Green" just had me under its spell. So it was back to the Home Depot for some more maple and will begin anew this evening. My daughter said she'd help...might be good idea to have 2 sets of eyes looking at this... stay tuned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerryMcK Posted December 15, 2014 Report Share Posted December 15, 2014 It's a good job Festool don't make drill presses. They really are worthwhile Dave and you can pick them up reasonably cheap. A drill press really does keep them holes square. Great to see the shop in operation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted December 15, 2014 Report Share Posted December 15, 2014 All part of the learning process.. I would suggest a full stand up press rather than a bench top version.. Nice to see some sawdust in the new shop.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Posted December 15, 2014 Report Share Posted December 15, 2014 Good first project and great to see some sawdust being made! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Cancelleri Posted December 15, 2014 Report Share Posted December 15, 2014 Awesome Dave, I look forward to seeing how they come out. Are you using a template or any pattern to do any curves or anything? As for the drill press, floor standing would be the way to go. I almost never use my drill press, and now that I need it. I don't have it, it's in my parents basement. I have no space to put it in the shop right now. Time to move things out, giving my dad my media blast cabinet and I'll put the drill press there. Problem solved. 2 weeks off during Christmas break to get my shop as complete as I can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vyrolan Posted December 15, 2014 Report Share Posted December 15, 2014 I would suggest a full stand up press rather than a bench top version.. As for the drill press, floor standing would be the way to go. Why? I often see that advice but have never understood the reasoning. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Tarbell Posted December 15, 2014 Report Share Posted December 15, 2014 I was thinking the same thing. I have a full-standing model but I am considering replacing it with a bench-top model. The odds of me needing to drill a piece that won't fit in a benchtop seems unlikely. Regaining the floor space seems like a nice route. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wouldwurker Posted December 15, 2014 Report Share Posted December 15, 2014 A learning experience. Could have been worse...you could have turned the board into a helicopter blade on the powerdrill. Just at a glance, ganging up your boards during the drilling process might solve some of the accuracy problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Cancelleri Posted December 15, 2014 Report Share Posted December 15, 2014 Last year I helped my dad rebuild a car engine and we used my drill press to drill a hole in the back of the heads and then tapped the hole for a bolt to mount a bracket to. His bench top drill press wouldn't fit it. Also, you generally get a bigger table, deeper throat, and you could bore through longer stock for making lamps, and such (if you don't have a lathe) Bigger lathes also have bigger motors and more power. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wouldwurker Posted December 15, 2014 Report Share Posted December 15, 2014 TIODS, on 15 Dec 2014 - 3:52 PM, said: I would suggest a full stand up press rather than a bench top version.. Why? I often see that advice but have never understood the reasoning. Imagine drilling a 3/8" hole two inches into the endgrain of a 4 foot board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted December 15, 2014 Report Share Posted December 15, 2014 Why? I often see that advice but have never understood the reasoning. It never fails that as soon as you don't have that capacity, you need it. I would much rather have my drill press usable for large stock where the holes are critical. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davewyo Posted December 15, 2014 Report Share Posted December 15, 2014 The chuck on my benchtop drill press is too small for the larger forstner bits, say 2.5" and up. Also, on larger shank bits it's tough to get it tight enough to keep the bit from spinning in the chuck. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric. Posted December 15, 2014 Report Share Posted December 15, 2014 One other piece of advice that members on this forum gave me and have given others is to buy tools when the project dictates it! If I had heeded that advice I would have a purchased the drill press today That advice can be put in a variety of ways, but the way you just laid it out is the most boiled down. I'm not sure anyone ever said, "Go out and buy every tool you can fathom you'll ever want for every project you ever plan to build." The wisdom of that advice is when it's used in a more nuanced way, such as, "When there's a task you need to complete, and there's no other way to do it without a particular tool, then go buy that tool." I'm in no position to give you flack for buying tools...I'm an addict, too. But most of us have been slowly building our collections for years or decades, and finding work-arounds for countless challenges through countless projects. I'd actually argue that it makes you a better woodworker to be deprived of certain tools in the beginning, because you're forced to think outside the box and try different techniques. Good to see you mangling some wood, Dave. Slow down and take a breath. It's going to be frustrating in the beginning. It always is. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vyrolan Posted December 15, 2014 Report Share Posted December 15, 2014 Slow down and take a breath. It's going to be frustrating in the beginning. It always is. Yea you never know if you're doing it right...too fast too slow...too hard too soft...is this working at all? Well it seems kinda nice...I'll just keep going...oh I think I'm getting a hang--uh oh...all done. Time to clean up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Tarbell Posted December 15, 2014 Report Share Posted December 15, 2014 Yea you never know if you're doing it right...too fast too slow...too hard too soft...is this working at all? Well it seems kinda nice...I'll just keep going...oh I think I'm getting a hang--uh oh...all done. Time to clean up. lol, that sounds more like a teenager's first go at it than it does woodworking 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vyrolan Posted December 15, 2014 Report Share Posted December 15, 2014 lol, that sounds more like a teenager's first go at it than it does woodworking That was the joke Bill. =p Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisphr Posted December 16, 2014 Report Share Posted December 16, 2014 lol, that sounds more like a teenager's first go at it than it does woodworking You made bourbon come out of my nose. Hurts so good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted December 16, 2014 Report Share Posted December 16, 2014 So it was back to the Home Depot for some more maple and will begin anew this evening. My daughter said she'd help...might be good idea to have 2 sets of eyes looking at this... stay tuned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted December 16, 2014 Report Share Posted December 16, 2014 You could have used them and claimed it was the first 2 six packs fault ! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AstroDave Posted December 16, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 16, 2014 So it was back to the Home Depot for some more maple and will begin anew this evening. My daughter said she'd help...might be good idea to have 2 sets of eyes looking at this... stay tuned. Maple at HD? Ours has syp, poplar and red oak. Curious as to what others have throughout the US? But, I guess that's guts for another thread Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AstroDave Posted December 16, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 16, 2014 So I think the drill attachment helped but it was no panacea... It felt like there was a lot of slop. I did drill a pair of boards at a time which helped a bit. I may end up down at WoodCraft asking to use their drill press. Also made the first real cut on the table saw... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric. Posted December 16, 2014 Report Share Posted December 16, 2014 I count ten hot dogs! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AstroDave Posted December 16, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 16, 2014 Unintended purpose of the pic but accurate nonetheless. I realized after posting it someone would infer ... "Hey he still has all his fingers!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vyrolan Posted December 16, 2014 Report Share Posted December 16, 2014 I thought it was the obligatory "for the low low price of 30 grand, you too could cut this board!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AstroDave Posted December 16, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 16, 2014 Hell by the time I'm done I won't even see 30 grand in the rear-view mirror and probably not my wife either... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.