Repositioning tools and a small shop update

[Pwk5017]

A few months ago i took the plunge and decided to completely blow up my layout and almost start from scratch. Over the years i cycled through several tool upgrades, and workflow, duct runs, electrical, you name it, was thrown together piece meal to accommodate the immediate point in time. For the majority of my involvement in the craft, i was mostly focused on generating income, acquiring tools, and working on my house/filling it with furniture. My workspace was always an after thought, and certainly something on the backburner when it came to time and money. This year i felt myself start to transition away from maximizing commissions, and during a month long hiatus, i took the plunge to redo the workspace. It helped that i was also in the process of selling my 12" jointer and 37" drum sander. No matter how you cut it though, redoing ductwork sucks, and so does moving heavy tools. I put some lipstick on the pig with a couple craigslist scores while i was at it. The rubber flooring is 1/2" thick from a former gym, and you wouldnt believe how heavy a 40' roll is. Easily 200-300lbs. It wasnt inexpensive, but i had to cover up my awful brown and yellow basement tiles. It helps that it is pleasant to stand on and vacuums up very nicely. Next, i kept my eye out for any stores remodeling to source cheap slatwall. Finally stumbled on 12 sheets for $100. I painted it a light gray, and i really like the ease of putting different accessories and tools on the wall. It was several hundred bucks in hooks, brackets, baskets, and shelves, but it is a really slick system with a lot of flexibility. I still need to paint portions of exposed block wall, but i was able to redo a lot of my duct work and move tools around to be better positioned.  

As part of the change up, i am now left with a bit of a problem. My space is an L shape with the long leg being 11'x32' and the short leg around 16' x 18'. Originally, i had my unisaw dead in the middle of the space. It was great, i could rip unimpeded for 14-15'. The downside is everything else sucked. Now it is kinda the opposite. My other tools have room and are as convenient to work with as i can imagine--given my constraints--but my cabinet saw position sucks. Ripping over 5-6' requires opening the door to the garage. Finally, ripping anything wider than 12" would hit my bandsaw table, which i discovered is 3/4" higher than the unisaw table. I grumbled about this for a couple months, but just went through moving everything and didnt want to do it again. Now im in a similar position where im going to sell my unisaw, and im finalizing a PM72 that i disassembled, stripped, and repainted. Im trying to brainstorm how to make the Felder combo, bandsaw, and powermatic cabinet saw play nicely together. I dont really want to move the Felder, because it is level and in the best spot i can possibly put it. This leaves me down to two pieces i can move--the laguna and the powermatic. The saw is currently on a dolly, but once i plop it down and bolt the monster cast iron wing on, im not moving it again. The bandsaw has a johnson bar and is mildly mobile. My only idea so far is to position the 72 as tight to the wall and the backstroke of the sliding table as possible, and move the bandsaw towards the garage mandoor. i would need to make the powermatic the highest top of the three so it can rip 10'+. This wouldnt allow me any outfeed support on the back of the 72 saw, but folding outfeed tables that could correct that. Also, as a certain point the Felder cast iron top would act as an outfeed to the powermatic. The only downside to all of this that i can foresee is now my bandsaw will be put in the corner where it only has 5'+/- of outfeed space before it needs to be pulled out and lined up with the open man door. Anyone have ideas or seen clever ways of positioning tools? If my sliding table saw wasnt a combo, i would have made the cabinet saw the outfeed of the slider, but I need access to that side of the machine for the shaper controls. Its also where my feeder drops down to. I dont think i can remember seeing a bandsaw and table saw nested together. 

[Pwk5017]

Oh and for anyone thinking about slatwall, heres what my walls look like. I think ive loaded more crap on them since i took these photos a couple months ago. Painted the whole garage and put up slatwall in there too. I was worried about weight bearing capacity in 3/4" MDF slatwall, but i have a decent amount of weight on the hooks and shelves. Those shaper cutterheads are probably 6-10lbs a piece depending on size, and then the one shelf has the domino xl, rotex,and other random stuff You can add aluminum channels into the regular MDF slatwall, which takes the weight capacity up to 50-70lbs per lineal foot. I think this stuff is closer to 15-20lbs per foot. Its no french cleat system, but its quick and easy. 

[drzaius]

Wow, you've got some very serious machinery there. Nice shop & good luck with the reorg.

[pkinneb]

34 minutes ago, drzaius said:

Wow, you've got some very serious machinery there. Nice shop & good luck with the reorg.

x2

[Chet]

1 hour ago, drzaius said:

Wow, you've got some very serious machinery there. Nice shop & good luck with the reorg.

X3

[wdwerker]

Shop looks great if a bit crowded.  I'm jealous of quite a few tools !

The white  laminated aluminum lined slatwall holds quite a heavy load but the sheets sell for over $150 each. I had to hang a dozen sheets at a Macy's department being re-vamped. Contractor had 18 sheets delivered , department head insisted that we take all the scraps and leftovers away immediately. Who was I to argue ? Big box of chrome slatwall brackets was amongst the haul too.  3 sheets are covered in clamps and we all know how fast the weight piles up hanging clamps. 

[drzaius]

I think when buying slatwall you'd have to shop carefully. I've seen some that just pops of the slats at the least bit of abuse or even just moderate loading. Other holds together even with heavy loading. Is there a particular brand(s) that are good or bad?

[rodger.]

wow - great machinery! Nice shop!

[Mark J]

Well clearly the Felder is in the wrong space.  I'll PM you my address .

Even if I had an overhead view I would probably be of no use.  I reorganized my own shop in October -- and made it worse. 

The only suggestion I'll make is to consider putting the PM table saw on a mobile base' specifically the Portamate 3550.  It is very robust, and has either four points of contact or four steering casters so it is very stable and also very easy to maneuver over the short distances you would have to move the saw for occaisional long work.  It's a pain to have to move machinery, but this would be the least painful.  

Unfortunately the 3550 is pricey, but It's the only model in their line that has 4 wheel steering.  An alternative that might be cheaper is to get two portamate 2500's and take all four steering casters from the 2 boxes and make up one mobile base.  You'd have a lot of parts leftover, but it might be cheaper than the 3550.  It would be less robust, but probably strong enough.

[RileyD]

I just did Proslat earlier this year when it went on sale at HD. I love it. It went up pretty easily.

Does this thing have a home? No. Can I hang it on the wall? Up it goes.

[wdwerker]

A guy invented Slatwall in 1964 (I think) & got it patented. But he had a hard time enforcing it because copiers varied the design just enough to get away with it. Thus many brands with varying quality.  The cheaper & lighter panels are only intended for display not merchandising qualities of products. A stab & twist of a knife in the edge will give you an idea how strong the sheet is. There are several different grades of MDF, some are sold as HighDF. 

[Pwk5017]

As far as the slatwall goes, my brother in law paid big bucks for his garage. He’s into cars and his garage looks better than most people’s living room. He paid $150-200 a sheet. It’s anodized aluminum, I think. I know it holds a lot of weight. To me, I can’t see myself spending $1500+ to put up slatwall. Yikes. 

 

I seriously considered a mobile base, but the ones I’ve used before just suck. They didn’t wheel well, and most importantly they weren’t stable. I hate when things rock and wobble. That’s half the reason I put the money and effort into the 72. With the optional 36” CI wing, I think it’s pushing 950lbs. I don’t want to compromise that stability. I am out of town for the rest of the week, but I did briefly play with moving things last night. The bandsaw is now tight to the wall with only 4’ of outfeed, but I think I’ll appreciate the repositioning. The cabinet saw can now rip 9.5’ and still leaves full travel for the sliding table. The bandsaw is on an integrated mobile base that actually moves pretty well and is stable. Anytime I work something longer than 4’ I can wheel it in front of the door. 

 

I wish there was an official guide or standard configurations to follow. I think too many people make it out to be highly individualized and specific, when really there are just good practices to follow. For example, nesting a jointer and planer makes work easier. The outfeed of the jointer sets your material up for the indeed of the planer. Back to back saws is another example.