The (not so) envious shop


Jeremy Carlsten

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Hey guys I am going to try to dedicate some time in the next few months to get my little shop into working order, I have let the shop collect a lot of junk and become super disorganized over the last year to six months or so. SOOO as a form of motivation to get my shop to the point that I have something to be proud of I'm posting it here for all of you to see.

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Step one is some basic cleanup after my last project.

10 to 15 minutes later this part is looking much better

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On my list of things todos:

-Get the coop building supplies out

-clean everything

-French cleat wall hangers/tool storage

-I'm thinking of building a torsion box workbench/assembly table to replace my particleboard saw horse one, perhaps even an actual woodworking vise...

I am open to suggestions, comments, and jokes at my own expense!

Hopefully I can use this thread to gage my progress.

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Awesome! I love following these shop makeovers. How big is the space? I have a torsion box outfeed/assembly table. Its great, possible overkill but great!

I would guess it's at least 20 x 20 but I haven't bothered to measure anything its part of a huge metal frame building that has been walled off and (thankfully) insulated. So perhaps I could put some things in cold storage.

This would be a multifunction type table so I kinda want it to last I am going to try to inset my little tablesaw into it so it would be an out feed and wing for the saw as well as my primary work area. The cabinets with the laminate coubters are just too hard to clamp anything to and a bit too high to work comfortably at.

The other catch is I don't really have a budget. So I'm going to try to stay as cheap as possible. I need to actually sell something to support my hobby

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This would be a multifunction type table so I kinda want it to last I am going to try to inset my little tablesaw into it so it would be an out feed and wing for the saw as well as my primary work area.

 

Sounds kinda like the Paulk Workbench...  His is intended to be portable jobsite setup/knockdown, but you could build it more permanently for the shop.

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No jokes to be made...everyone starts somewhere. You just need to go on a tool-buying binge.

But you have the most important part...space. Plenty of it. Break the bad news to the little guy on your shoulders that he probably won't be able to go to college, and get to filling those shopping carts. :)

Sadly he is only my nephew. He and his mom just moved out but he spent plenty of time out in the shop, future woodworker I think....

As for the tools you are more then welcome to start shipping them my way

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

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That vacuum cleaner could be re-purposed as a small power tool dust collector if connected to a dust deputy

That is why I didn't let the wife throw it out! I'm scavenging!

Edit: I also have a small shop vac that I use occasionally but I heard that fine dust can be an issue unless I go buy bags for it

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Highlander I wouldn't say something is wrong just needs spruced up. Not sure what level of detail you all care about....

Last night I got about an hour to slap together a quickie shelf for one of the cabinets. Went from this...

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To this9afef692125af6355a3dfe042c56ee0a.jpg

I live in central Iowa amd it has been raining almost non-stop the past month or so apparently the shop is a little humid...0297bbdee5b61a6f17d660ea493ad8ed.jpg

Eeeewwee..

This one I sanded down and I'll throw a new (much thicker) coat of poly on it. Any ideas short of running a dehumidifier 24/7? I'm worried all my tools are going to turn into giant rust magnets

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Another update on the shop. I had that moment where you think some profanities to yourself and phrases like "why didn't I think of that before." In the main area of my shop the previous owner had rented it out to a metal worker, the homeowner needed a place to work on the house so he set himself up a little workbench in the cold storage, a workbench that I have completely ignored up until last night. 

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More to come. as I get it cleaned up and in place.

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Sweet man.  You have, in my opinion,  one of the most important elements of setting up a nice shop.   Space. A lot of us here work in small allotted spaces,  sections of a garage,  laundry room,  you get the picture.

You can add tools here and there as you see fit. Is quit difficult to add another 10sqft here and 15 sq ft there.  

 

Cool find on the bench.  How is the top?  Is it pretty flat?    If the top is as thin as it looks, you may consider laminating a slab for the top or at least reinforcing enough to create a "pounding zone" for hammering,  chiseling and such.

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Floors aren't quite flat as I would like but i am blessed with my space. Top is 3/4 ply I would guess looking at it. Eventually I would like to build that torsion box top or a solid dedicated bench but they may be pushed off some.... didn't get any time this weekend perhaps later this week.. Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

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Floors aren't quite flat as I would like but i am blessed with my space. Top is 3/4 ply I would guess looking at it. Eventually I would like to build that torsion box top or a solid dedicated bench but they may be pushed off some.... didn't get any time this weekend perhaps later this week.. Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

although torsion box's are great for assembly tables,  they are not strong enough for a bench top imo. I do a lot of heavy work on the bench and couldn't imagine trying to chop a mortise on a hollow core top. 

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although torsion box's are great for assembly tables,  they are not strong enough for a bench top imo. I do a lot of heavy work on the bench and couldn't imagine trying to chop a mortise on a hollow core top. 

I think that it would mostly become assembly and a tablesaw wing. And a dedicated hardwood bench would come, just dreams at this point though. Got the "new" bench in place. Using the old saw horse setup as a temporary outfeed table had to use some ingenuity to move it around without help. It was about an inch too wide to fit through the doorway and had to go all the way around the building without owning a dolly so.... 51d7d2e4087c735b76ac450657e030c9.jpg
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although torsion box's are great for assembly tables,  they are not strong enough for a bench top imo. I do a lot of heavy work on the bench and couldn't imagine trying to chop a mortise on a hollow core top. 

Really depends how the base is built and how the torsion box is supported. There is nothing my top couldnt handle. Im 200lbs and jumping up and down on it doesnt even cause it to deflect.
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