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I have to say that I'm running in to this problem right now. MDF is easy to cut and get a flat surface, but when drilling in to the material it is questionable. My 7" inch Jorgensen vice pulls away from the face of my bench when I have material clamped using bench dogs. If you plan to make wooden jaws for your vice with dog holes that you line up with dog holes on your bench, then in my experience plan to see your vice pull away from your bench face when clamping material that runs horizontal (i.e. parallel to the bench top). I can't say I know exactly what is to blame here, maybe I just b

Also, any thoughts about running the lines behind the drywall vs. over the dry wall (with flexible conduit)? My concern with running behind is obviously the extra time and cost. But my concern with over the drywall is having conduit in the way of shelving, or any other items I plan to get mounted on the walls (like a clamp rack I plan on building soon). -Brandon

Thanks for the suggestion on counter height. Looks like the 4' rule is a popular solution as well. The outside of my house only has a single outlet on the back porch, and I have an electric leaf blower, so in order to run it in the front I either have to go through a window or through the garage, both a PITA. So I actually have a 2nd project planned to add some power outdoors as well for leaf blowing, and for any other random uses for outdoor power (like xmas lights). Plus my driveway is sloped so unfortunately I won't get to do any fair weather outdoor woodworking, but at least I can open th

Brilliant idea. I'm planning to add an additional 3 120s on the ceiling to give me 4 total. "Think vertically!" as Marc once said. Thanks for this idea. I'll be sure to get 12/2 for the 120 and 10/2 for the 240. And yes this helps!

Mark, If you look close enough in the 3rd picture of the back wall, I actually already have a sub-panel in my garage in between the two cabinets. It is fed off of a 60A breaker from my main panel. The problem is my sub-panel runs almost everything in the house, except for my 2 AC units which are run off the main panel. I had a guy out Wednesday, and he recommended that for the extra outlets to run directly off of the main panel, and punch through the wall of the right side of the garage. He said running from the sub-panel might cause lighting "droop" in the house when I switch on the larger

Howdy all, I'm in the middle of getting quotes to add more power to my shop, and I'm looking for any advice on what to look out for, tips, or things to consider. I'm currently in a 20'x20' two car garage (one side of which is currently consumed by the biggest waste of space, my wife's car ), and sadly I only have 3 110V outlets in the whole space! I'm planning on filling up the shop with larger power tools in the next year or so, and with that comes the need for 220V. I know a lot of you have some great experience with building shops, or have had work like this done before, or just kn

Beautiful shop, and very clean to boot! How do you like your SS compared to the Delta? Aside from the added safety, what are your opinions about the rest of the saw (power, finish, features)? Very jealous -Brandon

Any woodworkers in the Austin Texas area on this forum? I'm just getting started in woodworking as a hobby and wondering who might be local.

I just joined the forum, so this reply is a bit late, but I wanted to mention that the Woodcraft store in Austin gives classes. Check out this link: Austin Woodcraft Classes (If the link doesn't work then just search for Austin Woodcraft and go to their "Classes" link. ACC also offers Woodworking classes under their "Building Construction Technology Department". But it looks like you have to be on a degree/certificate plan and take credit hours to take these classes: ACC 2011 Woodworking Classes (Again if the link doesn't work go to ACC's website and search for the WDWK classes under their