limiting my shop to minimum


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So I have been really heavy hitting wood turning the last year or so but I’m bringing my tools home from my school shop. Sick of people miss using my stuff and I don’t want to get in trouble if something should happen to one of the kids. Honestly it sucks for the kids because the tools I use are better and more accurate then the ones at school. So I’m setting up a small shop/craft area in the basement. The area I have to work in is right next to the furnace so I need to keep dust to a minimum so wood turning is out of the question. so for the time being I’m just going to clean it and cover it up for the next 6+ months when I have a new opportunity to move and work in a garage. if that opportunity does not work then I’m going to buy a shed and set up a work area in the back yard. What that means to me is that I’m going to need to do is a switch of my craft style. I have decided that ill need to start projects that are smaller and dust free. I’ll be focusing on wood carving; skill saw work, inlay work, and marquetry. If anyone has any other ideas on types of work that I can do at home in small space that involves little dust please let me know.

if you know any good books, web sites, projects ect.... about skill saw, inlay, marquetry, any other small wood working then please let me know as I am basically starting from scratch at the moment.

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for anyone that has taken a interest in this i have cleaned out the basement area. i bought some brackets and shelves that i will hang up. got two 6 foot shelves that i will use for books, finishes, inlay material, etc.... i bought a light to hang up and provide plenty of lighting. for my carving and inlay, marquetry. after i got it up my dad told me he has one in garage so i'm taking the one i bought back and hanging his up i just need to install some kind of switch. saving 20 dollars and ill just get a extension cord with a switch on it. after i get the shelves up ill start bringing home my tool boxes and lumber a little at a time. leaving my lathe at work for couple more weeks since i have a few kids who still have projects that i'm working on with them. don't want to leave them high and dry. i'm going to take pictures of the work as i go so that you guys can see my new work area and maybe a discussion can be made on working in a small work area.

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Good luck on the transition Duck. With every change there comes opportunity!! :)

ya but in my expierience you usualy lose a opportunity as well wont be able to turn for some time and i realy love wood turning. but at least i wont be geting rid of my rig i just have to store it for the time being.

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You might consider buying a used scroll saw and try getting into that vortex for a while. Yes it does make some sawdust but, it is controllable with a box fan with a furnace filter and shop vac. You might be surprised what you can do with a scroll saw. I can even make vases and bowls with mine along with Christmas ornaments and boxes and allot of gifts for friends and relatives.

Rog

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i have a scroll saw will incorporate that into some of my work still havent figured out what im going to end up making. mybe ill make custome inlay discs for wood turning then i can use later when i get back to it or sell to you guys. add a little extra flair that you can add to costome work pieces.

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Good luck with the transition. Taking all the tools home will suck for the kids, but I agree that it has to be hard to see them misused. No matter what your setup in your basement, don't be shy with the lighting.

What sort of heat is in the house - forced hot air? forced hot water? Steam? I saw in your other post that the area is long and narrow....any chance of putting up a partition wall to block off the furnace from the woodworking area?

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no if i put in any kind of wall i basicly remove my area im working in less then 10 by 10 so its becomeing more a craft area then a true wood shop. so i can do skill saw work, inlay work, carving and marquetry some simple hand work like making some boxes ext....

its forced air so if i kick up lots of dust it will get sucked right into the house so im planing on geting card scrapers, and better hand saws, ect...

going to post some pictures of the area now that im done cleaning it. so you can see the space ill be cramped into. at least im used to fairly small space in a 10 by 15 shop.

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Let's think outside the box a little. Is there a shed or small outbuilding you could use? Perhaps put your lathe on casters in the garage so you can wheel it into the driveway to use?

Maybe you can have two work areas. The basement space could be for marquetry and such, and the garage for turning. Just an idea.

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nope thought about buying a shed then my brother inherited a house. just waiting for it to get cleaned up a little then i can plan on taking over the garage and making that into a shop. and maybe rent or buy the house. i had been thinking of buying a 10x15 shed and making that into my craft/turning shop. had it all planed out and priced. garage is out of the question my dad has filled that to the brim and even if it wasn't filled the winters in Illinois can get mighty cold for outside turning :) not to mention the pelting snow and wind off lake Michigan. nope basement it is or I'm renting a outdoor storage unit and then i would not be able to work at all plus i lose tons of cash each month.

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ok this should give you a idea of what im starting with general basment "stuff"

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cleaned out a old table and some junky broken lamps.got some stuff stacked around the area while i work on seting up lights and shelves

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leaning shelf brackets against the wall to keep them from geting nocked over (lumber rack)

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3-4 hours later after cleaning and hanging lights, hanging shelves, going to menards to get a different set of screws and drill bit for the concrete walls. stillhave lots to bring home but things are starting to come together. more photos tomorow.

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thinking of making a carving bench/ carving table since the space is too small for even a thin work bench. have to wait till i get all my stuff home then see what i have room for in my little shop.

http://www.google.com/imgres?q=wood+carving+bench&hl=en&safe=off&sa=X&tbo=d&biw=1280&bih=855&tbm=isch&prmd=imvnsfd&tbnid=LKNlL6XHaGmFIM:&imgrefurl=http://sleepydogwoodworking.blogspot.com/2010/04/design-of-week-carvers-bench.html&docid=NCHR5BH14fAUwM&imgurl=http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_SrOoaAH39pw/S8SsJ7MGm2I/AAAAAAAAAfM/DV1hjkwzg5w/s1600/carvers-bench.jpg&w=270&h=311&ei=l6FzUJSyM9DiyAGf4IEI&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=186&sig=104435989948568506455&page=1&tbnh=144&tbnw=120&start=0&ndsp=29&ved=1t:429,r:8,s:0,i:101&tx=30&ty=68

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Wow, Duck!!! This is a complete bummer. I just noticed this post and see what you meant by not doing any turning. Maybe you can do some nice carvings with that sinker I'm sending. One piece isn't good for turning anyway because it has some carpenter-bee holes in it.

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i disagree TR i have some spalted maple that is all wormy and full of holes. honestly its probly the nicest vase i ever made.

ok so here is my space so far things will change brought home some of my lumber still got lots more at work. want to get more shelf brackets menards ran out :) 10 million iteams and the you need a bycicle to get around and they ran out of the one thing i needed that day only 7 tisk tisk.

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going to put a drill press, grinder, slow speed grinder, perhaps a small paint/finish spray unit. will go on top of this 3m cabinet. that way i can sharpen and make acurate holes.

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this cabinet currently holds my clothing im going to take them out get rid of the rod inside perhaps the shelf and move my clothes to a closet in another part of the basement. inside this closet im going to store my tool chest http://www.menards.com/main/tools-hardware/tool-storage/tool-chests-boxes/masterforce-26-tool-chest-cabinet-combo/p-1710434-c-9188.htm and im going to hang on the doors my clamps and any other tools that i can get away with like dry wall squares and yard sticks. other other side i think ill store a metal vise (can be mounted in my work bench by bench hook)carver vise (again bench hook) when i get one, router, saw horses, shop vac ect.

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my flex shaft carving tool im going to hang from the roof above my head and have the cuter at bench level. nedd to make a plexy glass cover to set over one end of my bench around a small dust collector. that way the only thing floating is normal basement dust no super fine stuff.

as for my bench still going to make one because i need something to set carving and odds and ends on the problem is haveing both size and strength. what i think ill have to do is make a bench that is 16" by 16" then have one side lift up then that can lock in place so i can extend that size to 32 x16.the table will end up having 3 sets of legs the 4 legs under the 16x16 and a set under the swing up 16x16. i think im only going to make the top 2 inches thick because i wont being doing any heavy planing or sawing on it its mostly for chisling and carving on but i want the top to be able to handle a mallet hiting my work piece.

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as you can see i have some small parts storage on the wall that ill put color pencils, paint, screws, bolts, nails., ect in for my art work and my wood working. i have my carving tools hanging up now still no bench went to menards priceing for the legs and wow what a bunch of junk. wasent planing on making the top out of there lumber but i was not even comfortable making the legs from it. one stack of lumber was still wet. guess ill have to buy it all from a mill. got my power hooked up so all that i have to do is hit one switch and it will turn off all the machines and the light. got all my finishes, glue, inlay ect... home and on the shelf feels kind of messy i might change things around a bit later but for now it on the shelf and secure. still havent goten any machines someone i know has a bunch of tools and i asked if he would sell me the extras since he has like 5 drill presses. still going to get a grinder, drill press, slow speed grinder dont know what else. thought a buffer but i can get a attachment for my drill press for that. eventuly i will get a blow torch thinking i might like to make my own carving tools, and my own knives i can carve the handles and shape the blade in my basement.

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lumber is all home and on my racks i need to install some more shelves for my shorter boards but menards still does not have the shelving hope it comes in soon. because all my short boards are just stacked in a corner or on a shelf. have two long boards that i just dont have heart to cut but im going ot have too they are some realy nice spalted maple that are both very hard but have deep and active spalting

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ok so here is the closet i got my tool box in there with no room to spare. and i started to hang some clamps on the door. thats all i have since i used the schools for most projects but ill add more as i go along. just have to wait and see what i need before i build too much. there is the bulk of my short cutt offs that i want to get on the longer shelving but this will just have to do for now.

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  • 2 weeks later...

just talked to my miller (he's awsome) he told me he would glue up a top for me no extra cost, cut some legs the size i need. and he has a bench screw that he would sell me cheap. plus he will knock off the price on bass wood that he had cut to 1" thick. he can't sell it because most carvers want blocks but i had thought to carve signs out of it.

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Did you get the drill press? If not I have an extra one I will sell you, have an extra jointer too. The link you posted is not a DC, that's just a filter. Keep an eye on Craig's List for an actual DC.

http://chicago.craigslist.org/sox/tls/3368883603.html

http://chicago.craigslist.org/sox/tls/3360531891.html

http://chicago.craigslist.org/nwi/bfs/3341670221.html

http://chicago.craigslist.org/wcl/tls/3354904925.html

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problem i si have no room for dust collector. i was looking at a air filter to pick up dust from my carving tools was going to just set right on table top next to my carving. then i can use my dremel type tool to throw my dust into the collector. perhaps ill hook up a dust collect in the closet and have some piping going across the shop. but im thinking ill be doing hand tool work and hand carving. honestly dont know if i can even use a jointer because where would i put it? no i thought to use hand plane's on a small bench to get my wood flat. in the future i might get a small bench top band saw and jointer/planer that i can haul out of a small shed that i would put under the back porch and just pull out into the yard.

no havent goten any tools yet was waiting for the cost of the bench and then i would take 1000 minus cost of bench to buy carving tools and some small power tools.

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It might be possible to incorporate the DC into the bench, as long as you go small. I was trying to mount 2" ductwork under the back ledge of my lathe bench so I could hook up a dust shroud for it... then I noticed the number of bends I'd need to make to get the DC installed. Currently working on 'Plan D."

I'd think that you could put the lathe where the two small parts bins are, and drape several sheets and filters over the intake on the furnace. I had my lathe probably twice as far as your layout indicates, and I didn't have too much issue with wood dust getting throughout the house. (Did go through filters more often, though.)

Depending on the size of the lathe, of course. (Mine is Midi/bench top...)

Luck with the change!

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Duck, on a lot of our jobsites, we set up a millwork shop right in the house. To keep it from getting into the A/C ducts we build a 1x1 or 1x2 framework and cover it in blue filter cloth. This filters better than most household filters and you can buy it in large rolls. When it gets dirty, we usually used a shop vac and an air nozzle to clean it out and re-use it. Or, you can tear it off and staple a new layer on. Hope this makes sense.

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