Woodworkers and Wood Shops

[rob_s]

The house we bought last year has an 800 SF shop on the property. Two 10' high rollup doors, 18' ceiling, etc. As it's always been a dream of mine to have a nice wood shop, I've been slowly working on that process. So far I have a rolling work table with two layers of 3/4" plywood on top, and an 8' long built-in bench against one wall, which currently holds my chop saw. I also have an old Harbor Freight bench with my drill press and band saw on it. Immediate plays are hardboard sheathing the table and bench, a rolling lumber cart to hold the scraps and such, and a rolling chop saw stand to go at one end of the built-in but that can be rolled out to be used elsewhere. Long-term goals are a table saw (hopoing sub-$1k) and central vac. Longer-term includes central compressed air piped around the walls. Long-long-long term is to build a loft along the back wall for storage, etc.

Anyone else into woodworking? Have a shop? Advice on proceeding? Specifically as relates to the table-saw and central vac purchases?

Built-in and rolling work surfaces shown here. I've added a power strip to each end of the bench, and one under the work table since the pic. next steps here are the sheathing as well as drilling holes every 6" or so on the work table to make clamping easier. You can see (a) why I want a better compressor and (b) why I want the lumber cart.

[JV_]

I do a bit of wood working.

What kind of table saw are you considering? A more portable type, like a contractor saw, or a (less portable) self standing unit? If the latter, make sure it's a belt driven / induction motor setup. And, don't pay for a feed table, make one.

[rob_s]

This is the saw I want
http://www.rockler.com/jet-10-prosho...s-riving-knife


But this is probably what I'll wind up with
http://www.grizzly.com/products/10-H...able-Saw/G0771


the good news is that the shop has an attached guest house which is wired for a kitchen that isn't used, so I potentially have some 220 circuits if I need them. The bad news is that the shop isn't wired for it now, so I'd have to get an electrician involved, possibly run exposed conduit, etc. I figure that both the table saw and dust-collector can be purchased as 110-120v and then converted later if I get serious.

The dust collector I'm considering, BTW. I looked at the Harbor freight, and doing a custom separator... the damn Grizzly winds up being only $50 more and it's ready to go out of the box, plus as the remote.
http://www.grizzly.com/products/1-1-...-Series/G0703P

Because it's "on sale" I may do the dust collector first.

[JV_]

If you don't get the Jet, don't overlook Delta saws. I would check out the 36-5000 and 36-725. If you have a Lowes near you, they probably have the 36-725.

[Joe in PNG]

I'm rather partial to Delta table saws- I've ripped literal tons of wood on one that pretty much just sits in an open shed in the moist and humid tropics, and it just keeps going.
Sadly, my generous neighbor with the well equipped wood shop has moved away. I do have access to our mission's shop, but it's a bit of a walk to get there.
No worries- how many bass guitars does a guy need? I've built about 9 in PNG, and twice that in the USA.

[rob_s]

I've been considering Delta, but it sounds like they got sold in the last couple of years, and quality took the predictable nose-dive.
http://www.finewoodworking.com/item/...wanese-company

In fairness, I've seen far more reports of "they are now owned by Taiwan, the quality will suck!" posts than "I have a Delta made in 2015 and it's a POS".

Jet seems to be universally liked, with the only predictable criticism being that they are expensive. That's not a bad thing, IMO.

[The Apprentice]

I've mostly switched to hand tools and only kept my chopsaw and old craftsman table saw for home projects. The chop saw grenaded its self this last fall when I was redoing the siding. I will say hand tools are a slippery slope they can get real expencive real fast.

[pablo]

From what i see in your picture I would lay the lumber down flat, it'll start to warp leaning up against a wall like that.

I have a Jet bandsaw and drill press, they are nice. Powermatic and Jet are owned by the same company.

I have Sawstop 36" contractor saw, it's worth every penny. I'm more careful about not accidentally touching the blade and trashing the blade and brake, than I ever was about not cutting off a finger.

A good thin kerf blade that's kept sharp will make up for a lot of power.

Is your shop wired on a single 20amp circuit? If it is running a saw and dust collection probably won't work out.

If you can run the dust collector outside or in a small shed and that'll keep all the fine dust out of the shop and cut way down on noise.

http://www.grizzly.com/products/3-HP...eries/G1030Z2P

I'd rather run this outside than a vortex collector inside.

I'm a fan of pipe clamps. They don't twist or get out of alignment.

[rob_s]

From what i see in your picture I would lay the lumber down flat, it'll start to warp leaning up against a wall like that.

Yep, hence the lumber cart plan. I've been messing with modifying this design a bit.

Is your shop wired on a single 20amp circuit? If it is running a saw and dust collection probably won't work out.

The panel has at least two for the outlets. I need to track down which circuit goes to which outlet(s). I'm pretty sure one circuit does all the outlet around the two walls you see in the picture, and the other circuit does the other two walls. I think I'll be able to split them across the two, hopefully.

If you can run the dust collector outside or in a small shed and that'll keep all the fine dust out of the shop and cut way down on noise.

Unfortunately I doubt I'll be able to put the whole thing outside, but I *might* be able to at least vent the fines to the outside. if so, I'll do something with a Harbor Freight Collector and a Dust Deputy, but it would require cutting a hole in the wall and I'm not sure I'm ready to commit to that.

I'm a fan of pipe clamps. They don't twist or get out of alignment.

Good to know. I've been meaning to add some of those.

[The Apprentice]

I also like pipe clamps mostly because I'm a pipe fitter and had a bunch of 3/4 stainless left over from a job so I cut and threaded a bunch of it now I dont have to worry about them staining the wood. I use the rockler ones because of the added clearance but I think some of the othe manufactures have copied the design.