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	<title>small-workshop &amp;laquo; WordPress.com Tag Feed</title>
	<link>http://en.wordpress.com/tag/small-workshop/</link>
	<description>Feed of posts on WordPress.com tagged "small-workshop"</description>
	<pubDate>Mon, 20 May 2013 03:52:35 +0000</pubDate>

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<title><![CDATA[Sketch of the Day: Wall-Mounted Work Table]]></title>
<link>http://chiefsshop.wordpress.com/2012/11/20/sketch-of-the-day-wall-mounted-work-table/</link>
<pubDate>Tue, 20 Nov 2012 12:00:21 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Chris Hill</dc:creator>
<guid>http://chiefsshop.wordpress.com/2012/11/20/sketch-of-the-day-wall-mounted-work-table/</guid>
<description><![CDATA[I was recently asked about a solution for a small workshop including a concept like this wall-mounte]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I was recently asked about a solution for a small workshop including a concept like this wall-mounted work table. Unlike many I&#8217;ve seen, this one includes four legs instead of two. I would of course add a lot more structural support to the legs and probably would add rails to that the front set and back set were each one assembly. I also feel that some sort of storage is needed underneath the top (perhaps with doors), so that would be added as well.</p>
<p><a href="http://chiefsshop.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/farmtable11-19-12.jpg"></a></p>
<p><a href="http://chiefsshop.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/wallmountedworktable11-20-12.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-4386" title="wallmountedworktable11-20-12" alt="" src="http://chiefsshop.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/wallmountedworktable11-20-12.jpg?w=470&#038;h=369" height="369" width="470" /></a></p>
<p>Be sure to like <a title="Chief's Shop on Facebook" href="http://www.facebook.com/ChiefsShop" target="_blank"><strong><em>Chief’s Shop on Facebook</em></strong></a>! At 1,500 likes someone will be selected to receive a box of 500 Kreg pocket hole screws.</p>
<p>Make Some Sawdust!</p>
<p>Chief</p>
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<title><![CDATA[Five Tips for Setting Up a Woodshop in a Small Space]]></title>
<link>http://literaryworkshop.wordpress.com/2012/06/29/five-tips-for-setting-up-a-woodshop-in-a-small-space/</link>
<pubDate>Fri, 29 Jun 2012 16:16:26 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>literaryworkshop</dc:creator>
<guid>http://literaryworkshop.wordpress.com/2012/06/29/five-tips-for-setting-up-a-woodshop-in-a-small-space/</guid>
<description><![CDATA[How big is the ideal workshop? Just a little bit bigger than the one you have. We don&#8217;t like t]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>How big is the ideal workshop? <img class="alignright" title="small shop" src="http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t315/bibliofile13/Workbench%20and%20Shop/ReproductionSidingbyHand086.jpg" alt="" width="306" height="229" /></p>
<p>Just a little bit bigger than the one you have.</p>
<p>We don&#8217;t like to work within strict limitations, especially not those measured in square feet.  Yet most amateur woodworkers have to make do with relatively small shop spaces, many of which are set up inefficiently or haphazardly.</p>
<p>There are many ways to conserve space in a small shop. Here are some I have used successfully:</p>
<p><strong>1. Go Vertical.</strong> Use your wall space and even your ceiling space for storage. Install shallow cabinets for hand tools and hardware and wall racks for clamps.  You can store lumber in wall racks or even hang it from the ceiling, which I&#8217;ve seen done effectively in garage shops.  You haven&#8217;t really filled your shop until the walls are full, too.</p>
<p><strong>2. Get Rolling.</strong> I&#8217;m not fond of big machines on wheels. The casters raise some of the work surfaces a little too far above a comfortable working height for me. And locking casters are seldom as stable as a machine standing directly on the floor. Nonetheless, being able to pull out a drill press and then push it back into its corner is a major space-saver. Collapsible or multipurpose out-feed tables help, too.</p>
<p><strong>3. Go Outside.</strong> Patios, driveways, and porches offer big spaces, natural lighting, and good airflow. Just sweep or rake away the chips and shavings when you&#8217;re done. Don&#8217;t have space for a dedicated assembly table? Use a picnic table. Don&#8217;t have space in your shop for a chop-saw station? Set up a temporary one outside with a couple sawhorses for workpiece support. In the summer time or during rain, you could put up a canopy under which to work. Do your finishing on the patio or on the porch&#8211;you could even build yourself a collapsible spray booth.  I do all my finishing outdoors where fumes are minimal and sunlight enriches the natural colors of many woods.</p>
<p><strong>4. Use Your Hand Tools.</strong> <img class="alignright" title="layout tools in chest drawer" src="http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t315/bibliofile13/Workbench%20and%20Shop/LayoutTools2012--1.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="224" />If you learn to saw accurately by hand, you will find that some machines and many jigs are unnecessary. If you learn to joint boards by hand, then you can forgo a powered jointer but keep the thickness planer. Plus you can work with boards of any width without having to work within the limitations of a powered jointer.  If you do your joinery by hand and get a good bandsaw, even the table saw becomes optional.<span style="color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:medium;"> A dovetail saw takes up less cabinet space than a dovetail router jig. A large set of molding planes takes up less space than a router table. A mortise chisel takes up less floor space than a mortising machine.</span></span></span> Most of my tools fit into a single tool chest, which rolls under one end of the workbench. The rest are stored in two wall-mounted racks. So long as you don&#8217;t start collecting hand tools, they&#8217;re quite the space-saver.</p>
<p align="LEFT"><strong>5. Set an Acquisition Limit.</strong>  Every woodworking magazine and website touts the newest, most improved, must-have tool that we didn&#8217;t know we needed until we read the glowing product review.  But your shop space is limited.  It limits the number and size of tools you can acquire. Do not buy a new tool that you cannot store or use in a convenient location.  If you absolutely must have a tool you don&#8217;t have room for, then make space by selling or giving away non-essential tools.  Focus on equipping your shop with the most versatile, high-quality tools you can get and learn to use them effectively.<span style="color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:medium;"><br />
</span></span></span></p>
<p align="LEFT"><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:medium;">The acquisitive spirit is the enemy of craft. Nobody has ever made anything out of wood by wishing he had a bigger shop in which to work. The best way to work in a small space is to go work in it. </span></span></span></p>
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<title><![CDATA[Spring Clear Out?]]></title>
<link>http://ollypj.wordpress.com/2012/04/03/spring-clear-out/</link>
<pubDate>Tue, 03 Apr 2012 20:16:32 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Olly Parry-Jones</dc:creator>
<guid>http://ollypj.wordpress.com/2012/04/03/spring-clear-out/</guid>
<description><![CDATA[There is one resolution that I made several weeks after the arrival of the new year; when I first re]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>There is one resolution that I made several weeks after the arrival of the new year; when I first returned to my workshop in 2012 and realised that I really don&#8217;t have sufficient space to work in&#8230; So, although this is something that I&#8217;m sure I investigate once every six-months or so, I really need to look carefully at the machinery and power tools I currently have at my disposal&#8230; Which ones do I really need? Could I manage sufficiently without one of those? One thing I&#8217;m very short on is floor space &#8211; and that, to me, is more important than <em>any</em> tool that you can buy.</p>
<p>If you can&#8217;t move comfortably within your space then, you&#8217;re putting yourself at risk, each and every day. When you&#8217;re tackling a larger job (something too tall or wide to stand on the bench), where will you be able to work on it?</p>
<p><a href="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7042/6836597386_78b51dcdf4.jpg"><img class="aligncenter" title="Axminster AW106PT Planer/Thicknesser" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7042/6836597386_78b51dcdf4.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="375" /></a></p>
<p>So, I&#8217;m going to look closely at some of the machines that I would consider selling, starting with my <a title="Axminster AW106PT2 Planer Thicknesser" href="http://www.axminster.co.uk/axminster-axminster-aw106pt2-planer-thicknesser-prod650093/" target="_blank">Axminster AW106PT planer/thicknesser</a>&#8230;</p>
<p><!--more--></p>
<p>I can hear you! Yes, I&#8217;ve always believed this to be one of the most essential tools in any workshop (unless you enjoy preparing all your timber by hand). Personally, it saves me a lot of time and, as more of a &#8216;weekend woodworker&#8217; these days, I don&#8217;t have an awful lot of that to spare, working five (four-and-a-half) days a week.</p>
<p>This machines has good capacities (10in wide planer/jointer, with a thicknessing depth of 7in) but, in a narrow workshop, I&#8217;ve always found it highly inconvenient to have to spin the machine 180° when changing between planing and thicknessing modes, so that the outfeed is always pointing towards my extractor.</p>
<p><a href="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7195/6987876497_1e9263b1a6.jpg"><img class="aligncenter" title="Where's My Workshop?" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7195/6987876497_1e9263b1a6.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="375" /></a></p>
<p>Even if I was to run a short length of 100mm soil pipe along one of the walls so that I could connect the extractor without having to move the planer, there would still be the obstruction of the two tables, which don&#8217;t stand perfectly vertical but hang back slightly, beyond the line of the machine&#8217;s footprint. Also, the fence has to be removed and stored elsewhere.</p>
<p>In short, I&#8217;ve never been a great fan of combined planer/thicknesser machines and this is the second of its kind that I&#8217;ve owned. Alas, I&#8217;m rambling on without a cause here because, as you should already know, I recently bought myself <a title="Axminster CT1502 6in/150mm Surface Planer/Jointer" href="http://www.axminster.co.uk/axminster-axminster-ct1502-150mm-planer-prod370404/" target="_blank">a stand-alone 6in planer (jointer)</a> and I&#8217;ve removed the tables and fence from the other machine to make that in to a reasonably quiet and sturdy thicknesser.</p>
<p>Although I&#8217;ve posted details of its completion on a couple of the UK woodworking forums, I haven&#8217;t yet shown you the complete table saw/router table station, which I promise I will do very soon.</p>
<p><a href="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7057/6993856753_e8aef1b903.jpg"><img class="aligncenter" title="Table Saw/Router Table Station" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7057/6993856753_e8aef1b903.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="375" /></a></p>
<p>That was started in November, with some hope that I&#8217;d be able to use both machines within my increasingly confined workspace. It took a while for me to finish this but, it didn&#8217;t take long at all before for me to decide that this was the first item on my list which has to go!</p>
<p>I&#8217;ve received one offer from an anonymous member of one UK forum (albeit, lower than my asking price) and the unit is currently on eBay as well. Last time I checked, there were five watchers with six-days still left to run. In it&#8217;s place, I&#8217;ll be making my first floor-standing router table from 18mm MDF. Slightly larger than the 600x450mm top of my old benchtop one. <em>More on that to follow soon!</em></p>
<p><a href="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7064/6847735308_842605ca3c.jpg"><img class="aligncenter" title="Router Table Half or Table Saw Station" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7064/6847735308_842605ca3c.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="375" /></a></p>
<p>It seems hard to believe that I&#8217;ve had the monstrous <a title="Startrite 401e Bandsaw" href="http://www.dm-tools.co.uk/product.php/sn/STE401E/tool/Startrite" target="_blank">Startrite 401e bandsaw</a> in my workshop for over two-years now. I still remember the day it was delivered&#8230; Stood vertically on its pallet, it almost fell off the lorry as the tail-lift was lowered! As it was too tall to fit under the door, we had to leave it on the drive way until I could claim further assistance &#8211; with snow falling from the sky above, the race was on for me to get  it &#8216;weatherproofed&#8217; with tarpaulins and ratchet straps. Oh, how the Black and Decker Workmate did suffer, as we slid the saw in to its new home&#8230;! <img src='http://s1.wp.com/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_wink.gif' alt=';-)' class='wp-smiley' /> </p>
<p>You see, I know that, one day, I&#8217;m going to have to go through much of that all over again! Why wait until I move (whenever that may be)? Why not just replace it with a smaller model right now and get it all over and done with?!</p>
<p><a href="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7207/6836598528_def0dee31e.jpg"><img class="aligncenter" title="Startrite 401e Bandsaw" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7207/6836598528_def0dee31e.jpg" alt="" width="375" height="500" /></a></p>
<p>When it&#8217;s set just right, it is a beautiful saw, capable of ripping through the deepest of timbers. I&#8217;ve successfully cut oak veneers around 8in deep and yet, it still leaves me with the impression that it is capable of so much more. With the imminent sale of my small table saw looming, it will always be the main &#8216;workhorse&#8217; of my workshop. I guess I would be made to sell it now, after all. <img src='http://s2.wp.com/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_razz.gif' alt=':-P' class='wp-smiley' /> </p>
<p>As far as drilling machines go, I&#8217;m quite happy with both my pillar drill and hollow-chisel mortiser. Neither commands much of a resting space and they&#8217;re not the sort of tools I&#8217;d like to buy again.</p>
<p><a href="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7206/6982724277_636bf6aebb.jpg"><img class="aligncenter" title="Makita LS1013 - Mitre Saw Station" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7206/6982724277_636bf6aebb.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="375" /></a></p>
<p>I&#8217;ve spent the last year or so toying with the idea of upgrading my <a title="Makita LS1013 Sliding Compound Mitre Saw Crosscut" href="http://www.itslondon.co.uk/pd_MAK110LS1013_LS1013_MakitaCrosscutMitreSaw.htm" target="_blank">Makita LS1013 mitre saw</a>. It&#8217;s not essential and, of course, I&#8217;d only be buying something similar to serve the same purpose. It would be nice to have a saw (like the <a title="Makita LS1016L Sliding Compound Mitre Saw with Laser" href="http://www.axminster.co.uk/makita-ls1016l-260mm-compound-mitre-saw-with-laser-prod856812/" target="_blank">LS1016L</a>) with a crisp, accurate laser line and space-saving rails around the back. But, I cannot quantify this one as an &#8216;essential&#8217; for sale item.</p>
<p><a href="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7051/6836598096_2bf4e87962.jpg"><img class="aligncenter" title="What's That... Behind There?" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7051/6836598096_2bf4e87962.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="375" /></a></p>
<p>Staying at the same end of my workshop, I have a <a title="Hegner HSM300 12in/300mm Disc Sander" href="http://www.hegner.co.uk/HSM300" target="_blank">12in Hegner disc sander</a> sat on top of an <a title="Axminster AWVSL Woodturning Lathe" href="http://www.axminster.co.uk/axminster-axminster-awvsl900-woodturning-lathe-prod780608/" target="_blank">Axminster M900 woodturning lathe</a> &#8211; that, alone, should tell you something!! I&#8217;ve talked before (back in November) about replacing the disc sander with an edge sander of some kind but, do I really need a lathe of this size? It&#8217;s rarely used but still, I can&#8217;t deny that it&#8217;s sometimes useful to have one. Maybe one day I&#8217;ll get bitten by the woodturning bug&#8230; This very morning, I received an e-mail from someone (initially asking for firewood) who may be in need of my &#8216;turning services as he looks to replace the broken rail on a chair.</p>
<p><a href="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7209/6836598854_699204588d.jpg"><img class="aligncenter" title="Disc Sander/Woodturning Lathe... Station?!" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7209/6836598854_699204588d.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="375" /></a></p>
<p>I&#8217;d certainly consider down-grading my lathe but, still feel as though I need a sander of some sort for sanding external curves and convex edges.</p>
<p>Unless I&#8217;ve forgotten anything (I&#8217;m not including the extractors or my <a title="WorkSharp 3000 - The Wood Tool Sharpener" href="http://www.rutlands.co.uk/workshop-&#38;-power-tool-accessories/sharpening-machines-&#38;-jigs/worksharp-sharpening-system/WS3000KIT/the-wood-tool-sharpener-with-free-knife-sharpening-system" target="_blank">WorkSharp 3000</a>), that leaves only my bobbin sander; the <a title="Jet JBOS-5 Oscillating Spindle/Bobbin Sander" href="http://www.axminster.co.uk/jet-jet-jbos-5-oscillating-spindle-sander-prod21290/?src=froogle" target="_blank">Jet JBOS-5</a>. Yes, I could always make-do with a similar set up in my pillar drill. This one is a bit of a luxury item but, in all honesty, it doesn&#8217;t consume much space at all and almost slots away beside my mitre saw station rather neatly.</p>
<p>My table saw/router table is already receiving interest on eBay. Before I make any other decisions, I&#8217;ll see what space it frees up and will also try to crack on with the design for the router table, so that I can (speaking figuratively) hit the ground running as soon as the big one is gone. There are a couple of power tools that I&#8217;ve ear-marked for sale but, perhaps I&#8217;ll save that for another post, hey! <img src='http://s0.wp.com/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif' alt=':-)' class='wp-smiley' /> </p>
<p style="text-align:center;">Thanks for reading.</p>
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<title><![CDATA[Getting a Grip]]></title>
<link>http://ollypj.wordpress.com/2012/03/26/getting-a-grip/</link>
<pubDate>Mon, 26 Mar 2012 17:15:08 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Olly Parry-Jones</dc:creator>
<guid>http://ollypj.wordpress.com/2012/03/26/getting-a-grip/</guid>
<description><![CDATA[It must have been late-2009 when I made a plywood base cabinet to sit directly underneath my chip ex]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>It must have been late-2009 when I made a plywood base cabinet to sit directly underneath my chip extractor (an Axminster ADE1200). Small workshops are all about making the most of whatever space you can find. As this extractor wasn&#8217;t very tall (no more than 5ft, to the top of the filter bag), I seized on the opportunity to increase its height by a good foot and to keep some of my &#8216;junk&#8217; from off of the floor.</p>
<p><a href="http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6032/6871990846_8f7746989d.jpg"><img class="aligncenter" title="Wood Chip Corner!" src="http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6032/6871990846_8f7746989d.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="375" /></a></p>
<p>This extractor lives in a corner of the workshop, which makes it very difficult to access directly, when the time comes to change the bag. So, it&#8217;s often easiest for me to clear a space ahead and to roll the unit forwards. A problem occurs then because the weight of the unit is still on top, with the motor and so, attempting to drag of push the extractor out of or in to hiding often results in it tipping up. That&#8217;s why I decided to finally make and fit another handle lower down, which would allow me more direct control over the &#8216;weight-less&#8217; half of the unit, directly supporting the upper load.</p>
<p><!--more--></p>
<p>I started off with two more lengths of that American lime I was using in my previous post. This was the second project of the weekend where I cut in to my left over stack of this timber. There&#8217;s still some work to be done on the third mini-project.</p>
<p><a href="http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6231/6871990384_3a0518fe05.jpg"><img class="aligncenter" title="Drilling in Pairs" src="http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6231/6871990384_3a0518fe05.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="375" /></a></p>
<p>I decided it would be easiest to keep each &#8216;side&#8217; [<em>what's the correct term?</em>] parallel in its length (64mm) and to then mitre the lower end of each. To make the machining process even easier, I held both halves together by wrapping them with masking tape. Normally, I&#8217;d use double-sided tape but, it can hold a little <em>too well</em> at times, making the two parts difficult to separate and sometimes leaving a residue that&#8217;s awkward to remove.</p>
<p><a href="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7275/7018098941_d46d992b35.jpg"><img class="aligncenter" title="Rounding Over" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7275/7018098941_d46d992b35.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="375" /></a></p>
<p>Once the top ends were rounded over at the corners, I fitted my router table with a ¼in radius round-over cutter and removed all the sharp edges. I did the same with the handle (32mm x 21mm), which just happened to be a conveniently-sized offcut of oak I found in the bin.</p>
<p><a href="http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6222/7018098773_b736ce4c4d.jpg"><img class="aligncenter" title="Location Block" src="http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6222/7018098773_b736ce4c4d.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="375" /></a></p>
<p>These were to be fixed either side of the cabinet, on the outer long edges of the top sheet, 18mm thick. There&#8217;s nothing complex about the construction or assembly; 1¾in screws with plenty of glue! Pre-drilling (pilot holes) are important when screwing in to plywood edges and I added a couple of scrap blocks (sycamore &#8211; less than 15mm thick) to sit on top of the plywood cabinet and to locate the new handle assembly.</p>
<p>And finally, a new (more attractive) handle in a lower position that seems to work quite well:</p>
<p><a href="http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6051/7018099303_70025290cc.jpg"><img class="aligncenter" title="New Handle - Fitted" src="http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6051/7018099303_70025290cc.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="375" /></a></p>
<p>If I could go back a few steps and re-do one thing, it would be to fit a longer part of location blocks. In use, I&#8217;ve found that this new handle has a tendency to pivot slightly on the screws fixing it to the ply carcase. It&#8217;s not an impossible fix to put in to practise now, though. I only wish I&#8217;d thought of it earlier.</p>
<p>After shuffling around, I do also now have somewhere secure to store the unused tables, guard and fence from the jointer-half of my planer/thicknesser:</p>
<p><a href="http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6048/6871991220_da09dca9f2.jpg"><img class="aligncenter" title="A Home for Cast Iron" src="http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6048/6871991220_da09dca9f2.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="375" /></a></p>
<p style="text-align:center;">Thanks for reading.</p>
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<title><![CDATA[One Last Stand (...for 2010)]]></title>
<link>http://ollypj.wordpress.com/2010/10/27/one-last-stand-for-2010/</link>
<pubDate>Wed, 27 Oct 2010 19:27:52 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Olly Parry-Jones</dc:creator>
<guid>http://ollypj.wordpress.com/2010/10/27/one-last-stand-for-2010/</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Now, I remember why I used to hate working forty-hours a week &#8211; it leaves you with very little]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Now, I remember why I used to hate working forty-hours a week &#8211; it leaves you with very little time (<em>and energy</em>) for woodworking &#8211; hence, why I haven&#8217;t had much to blog about for almost an entire month now. Working a mixed shift pattern of early mornings late evenings doesn&#8217;t help much, either. With money coming though, I&#8217;ve been able to stock up on materials for a few workshop improvements I&#8217;m planning to keep myself busy through the winter. This first one is a simple cabinet stand for my recently-acquired <em>PK200</em> table saw. I also have plans to make a fit some new fences to my mitre saw and router table; while I&#8217;ve also decided I will make an MDF table for my pillar drill, even though <em>Axminster</em> sell something that costs only £50.</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4126/5118559268_11df6711e0_z.jpg"><img class="aligncenter" title="Taking Its Stand" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4126/5118559268_11df6711e0_z.jpg" alt="" width="288" height="384" /></a><!--more--></p>
<p style="text-align:left;">You can see that it&#8217;s taken its place just beyond the right-hand end of my workbench. I have deliberately positioned the saw so it&#8217;s pointing <em>towards</em> the saw, which I think will make it easier for me when I drag it out around the front of the bench and want to make a rip cut, heading towards the entrance of my workshop (<em>in short; I don&#8217;t have to spin it 180° to set it up conveniently</em>). I haven&#8217;t yet purchased or made any of the extension accessories due to the limited space in this area &#8211; the base rails alone would add at least another 500mm to the width of this saw&#8230; My original plan was to cut up all the MDF for this stand using the saw but, without the extensions, it just wouldn&#8217;t be safe enough or practical.</p>
<p style="text-align:left;">As usual, my local timber merchant was happy to cut each 8x4ft sheet down in to &#8216;quarters&#8217; [<em>4off approximately 1200x600mm for each thickness - 6mm, 9mm and 18mm</em>]. From there, I marked out my cuts, roughed them out with the jigsaw and then cleaned them up with my router; running a bearing-guided against one of the freshly-sawn, clean edges of one of the other pre-cut sheets.</p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><a href="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1099/5117956879_30317d9863_z.jpg"><img class="aligncenter" title="Down-Sizing" src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1099/5117956879_30317d9863_z.jpg" alt="" width="384" height="288" /></a>I previously decided that I wanted the top and base of this unit to overhang the sides by 50mm all round. I&#8217;m not entirely certain of <em>why</em> I wanted to do this but, more importantly; both 18mm sides and the 9mm back panel are situated directly under the circumference of the machine&#8217;s body.</p>
<p style="text-align:left;">In the past, I&#8217;ve used screws alone to join MDF with mixed results&#8230; Sometimes, I can get away with using drywall screws in 18mm MDF and, if I drill a 3mm diameter pilot hole, short of the required depth, it can sometimes pull the joints up tightly without splitting&#8230; <em>Sometimes!</em> There&#8217;s still always the struggled associated with keeping all the components aligned as you tighten the screws so, for the first time, I decided to reinforce the joints and aid alignment with three biscuit joints in each (<em>the screws de-necessitate any need for cramps</em>). This is actually a tip frequently advented by <em>jasonb</em> on <em>UKworkshop</em>.</p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><a href="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1117/5118558660_82a5342ec5_z.jpg"><img class="aligncenter" title="Tips for Biscuits" src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1117/5118558660_82a5342ec5_z.jpg" alt="" width="384" height="288" /></a>Knowing that I was looking for a 50mm overhang all round, I used my saw to rip a couple of MDF scraps to that width, which were then secured in place around the perimeter with double-sided tape. Whether this is intentional or not; biscuit jointers are designed perfectly for cutting slots central to the thickness of ¾in thick material, when referencing off the base. This even works well with a cheap biscuit jointer &#8211; the fence can be as wonky as you like, as you don&#8217;t need to use it. It&#8217;s still important to work from the same face when slotting the edges of the sides (<em>in this case, that would be working with the outside faces flat on the workbench</em>).</p>
<p style="text-align:left;">All of my machines are setup to be portable, so that I can move them around to adjust my working setup when and how-ever required. Normally with something like this, I&#8217;d just stick four swivel and brake rubber castors underneath and call it a day. This isn&#8217;t a pillar drill or bobbin sander, though&#8230; Table saws are not to be messed with &#8211; <em>you don&#8217;t want this thing moving around the workshop while you&#8217;re trying to rip a length of hardwood!</em></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><em><a href="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1243/5118559052_fa0cbd63c8_z.jpg"><img class="aligncenter" title="It's What You Don't See..." src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1243/5118559052_fa0cbd63c8_z.jpg" alt="" width="384" height="288" /></a></em>So, I opted for just the two locking castors at the rear, with two purpose-made &#8216;<em>feet</em>&#8216; at the front of the cabinet &#8211; these are simply two scraps of 45mm thick pine, machined to a width identical to that of the castors plus 18mm MDF. Minus a 3mm allowance for the thickness of the rubber non-slip router matting. This was applied using a cheap brand of spray adhesive and it&#8217;s so far held on very well. In use, it also seems to work well and stops the unit from sliding about, even before I&#8217;ve loaded my power tools in to the storage space below. For aesthetics, I mitred the ends of each block by 15°.</p>
<p style="text-align:left;">If I was stupidly rich, this would probably be a good place to stash some of my <em>Festool</em> luxury products&#8230;</p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><a href="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4034/5117957825_be286b9185_z.jpg"><img class="aligncenter" title="Power Tool Storage" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4034/5117957825_be286b9185_z.jpg" alt="" width="288" height="384" /></a>Although I didn&#8217;t get to use it for this entire build, I was able to rip a few narrow strips of MDF on this saw in order to finish this project. Even with the 40t <em>Trend</em> blade fitted, it performs very well and leaves a decent finish. I should have a couple of new saw blades arriving some time this week and I look forward to seeing what they&#8217;re like, having never even heard of this German manufacturer before seeing the company&#8217;s advert in the back of one of the UK magazines&#8230;</p>
<p style="text-align:left;">Dust extraction seems to work quite well, with my Nilfisk vacuum hooked-up to the crown guard outlet. Until I buy some 40mm flexible hose though, it cannot be in two places at once, which is why I&#8217;m temporarily borrowing the dust bag from my Makita mitre saw to collect all the waste ejected out the back (<em>it doesn&#8217;t take much to fill it up, either!</em>).</p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><a href="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4092/5117958105_190e2e67cb_z.jpg"><img class="aligncenter" title="Dust Bag!" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4092/5117958105_190e2e67cb_z.jpg" alt="" width="384" height="288" /></a>One detail I haven&#8217;t photographed properly is the actual <em>fitting</em> of the saw to the top of the cabinet. Much to my surprised, there don&#8217;t appear to be any mounting holes underneath this model &#8211; <em>how you would attach Metabo&#8217;s own stand then, I really do not know!!</em> It does come with four rubber feet fitted, which prevent the saw from sliding around on clean surface. So, I&#8217;ve used this to my advantage by placing one 90mm square of 18mm MDF under each foot, with a 30mm x 10mm hole drilled centrally in each. These are screwed down on to the top and prevent the saw from going anywhere without the cabinet (<em>although, when the need arises; I can easily lift the saw away</em>).</p>
<p style="text-align:left;">You may recall from a previous post that I wanted the working height of this saw to sit 5mm clear of my workbench. Well, before I added the blocks below the feet, I had just that. But, I then realised that I didn&#8217;t like the fact that the saw was still 5mm short of the bandsaw&#8217;s table. Fortunately, those extra 18mm blocks came to my rescue and I&#8217;m now able to use my bandsaw as an outfeed support for long(<em>-ish</em>) lengths inside the workshop.</p>
<p style="text-align:left;">This was all done within one of my &#8216;rest days&#8217; in the previous week. Earlier today (this morning, in fact), I managed to knock-up this simple but effective handle for carting the table saw around the workshop; in and out of its resting place:</p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><a href="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4091/5120794427_c499039cd7_z.jpg"><img class="aligncenter" title="You Can't Handle the..." src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4091/5120794427_c499039cd7_z.jpg" alt="" width="384" height="288" /></a>It folds up; it folds down. Most importantly of all, it&#8217;s at just the right height to take all the strain out of my lower back. It&#8217;s large enough to be used with two hands, if necessary. I would rather have used a larger dowel but, this 21mm diameter length of pine was the largest I had in my offcuts bin. I did manage to use some of my 16mm scraps of tulipwood for the sides, though &#8211; one down; about a dozen more to go! <img src='http://s1.wp.com/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_wink.gif' alt=';-)' class='wp-smiley' /> </p>
<p style="text-align:left;">That&#8217;s all I have to say on this for now. However, I have been working on something else this afternoon which is of relevance and I do plan to add one or two other accessories, in time&#8230; Hopefully, I&#8217;ll be able to let you know about in <em>less than four-weeks</em>&#8230;!!</p>
<p style="text-align:center;">Thanks for reading.</p>
<div id="_mcePaste" class="mcePaste" style="position:absolute;left:-10000px;top:1793px;width:1px;height:1px;"><a href="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1243/5118559052_fa0cbd63c8_z.jpg" rel="nofollow">http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1243/5118559052_fa0cbd63c8_z.jpg</a></div>
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<title><![CDATA[Back-Saving Labour]]></title>
<link>http://ollypj.wordpress.com/2010/09/14/back-saving-labour/</link>
<pubDate>Tue, 14 Sep 2010 09:20:50 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Olly Parry-Jones</dc:creator>
<guid>http://ollypj.wordpress.com/2010/09/14/back-saving-labour/</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Ever since I bought the monstrous Startrite 401e bandsaw earlier in the year, my one, persistent com]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Ever since I bought the <em>monstrous</em> <a title="Two New Toys - Olly's Small Workshop" href="http://ollypj.wordpress.com/2010/02/19/two-new-toys/">Startrite 401e</a> bandsaw earlier in the year, my one, persistent complaint is that the working table height is too low for general shaping work, particularly if you&#8217;re a fairly tall person. While I appreciate the ways in which this aids to ripping of larger timbers, I&#8217;d been meaning to sort this issue out for a while.</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4146/4987159428_25dc97b02f_z.jpg"><img class="aligncenter" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4146/4987159428_25dc97b02f_z.jpg" alt="" width="384" height="288" /></a></p>
<p>Yesterday, with a bit of heaving, some sweating and lots of hammer-action, I managed raise the height up by a good 2in, which has already begun to make a world of difference to the comfort of my back when using this saw.</p>
<p><!--more-->There&#8217;s nothing complex about this at all; I&#8217;ve essentially taken two short scraps of 4x2in (<em>with a finished thickness of 44mm</em>) and, before fitting them, have attached scraps of 11mm OSB to the underside, which increases the height enough to see the working height increased to a good 10mm above my workbench [<em>planning for the future...</em> <img src='http://s1.wp.com/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_wink.gif' alt=';-)' class='wp-smiley' /> ].</p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><a href="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4083/4986559029_8e75f5bd2b_z.jpg"><img class="aligncenter" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4083/4986559029_8e75f5bd2b_z.jpg" alt="" width="384" height="288" /></a>Getting the blocks underneath the saw and, sat inside the <a title="Axminster Universal Mobile Base - Axminster.co.uk" href="http://www.axminster.co.uk/axminster-axminster-universal-mobile-base-prod364881/">mobile base</a>, was the trickiest part of all. Even with a second-pair of hands, it would&#8217;ve been a struggle. I started by placing one block in front of its destined position. Then, by tipping the saw up at one end, I could slip the block underneath one end using my foot [<em>steel-toe caps - <strong>essential!!</strong></em>]. Then, by carefully swinging the saw around, I could do the same at the other end. Where any fine adjustment of the blocks was required; <em>that&#8217;s where the hammer came in!</em> <img src='http://s1.wp.com/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_wink.gif' alt=';-)' class='wp-smiley' />  Finally, I secured the base to the blocks with an M10 coach screw driven in to each corner.</p>
<p style="text-align:left;">If ever you&#8217;re intending to do something similar yourself, I do, of course, recommend you find someone who can give you a hand, to reduce the risk of injury. I managed to get this done on my own but, it&#8217;s still not something I would recommend.</p>
<p style="text-align:left;">The end result is that I can now do a whole variety of work on my large bandsaw without straining my back. <img src='http://s0.wp.com/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif' alt=':-)' class='wp-smiley' /> </p>
<p style="text-align:center;">Thanks for reading.</p>
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<title><![CDATA[Sawhorse Solution]]></title>
<link>http://ollypj.wordpress.com/2010/04/11/sawhorse-solution/</link>
<pubDate>Sun, 11 Apr 2010 15:19:47 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Olly Parry-Jones</dc:creator>
<guid>http://ollypj.wordpress.com/2010/04/11/sawhorse-solution/</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Two old horses. One of the items that&#8217;s been sitting near the top of my To-Do List pile for so]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="wp-caption alignright" style="width: 260px"><a href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2035/4511040426_f6e9aa8775.jpg"><img title="Danny Proulx's Design" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2035/4511040426_f6e9aa8775.jpg" alt="" width="250" height="187" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Two old horses.</p></div>
<p>One of the items that&#8217;s been sitting near the top of my To-Do List pile for some time now involves replacing my existing pair of saw horses with something more &#8216;functional&#8217; for a small workshop. This previous design also came from <a title="Danny Proulx's Toolboxes and Workbenches - Amazon.co.uk" href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Danny-Proulxs-Toolboxes-Workbenches-Projects/dp/1558707077/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&#38;s=books&#38;qid=1270750879&#38;sr=1-8">Danny Proulx&#8217;s Toolboxes and Workbenches</a> title, like the toolbox tote I completed earlier this week. They&#8217;re not a bad design. In fact, they are very sturdy and will withstand a good amount of weight (<em>as I found out, last summer, when I buily a 6ft workbench from 3in beech</em>). I keep tripping over the feet, which consume valuable floor space on their own. They can be removed and stored on the legs but, it&#8217;s a real chore and a bit of a faff. A sound design then&#8230; But still, you need a good amount of working space to avoid any trips and falls.</p>
<p style="text-align:center;">So, what have I now come up with?</p>
<p><!--more Read on...--></p>
<p>My latest solution comes from another title written in the US &#8211; <em>WOOD Magazine&#8217;s</em> <a title="How to Build a Great Home Workshop - WOOD Magazine - Amazon.co.uk" href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Build-Great-Home-Workshop-Magazine/dp/1402711778/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&#38;s=books&#38;qid=1270995764&#38;sr=1-2">How to Build a Great Home Workshop</a>. This idea again breaks away from the traditional A-framed design (<em>yep, I&#8217;ve also tried those, but not without similar frustration!</em>). Two shorter &#8220;leaves&#8221; unfold in to a three-sided frame that easily becomes a temporary work or assembly table, with a sheet of ply, MDF or chipboard on top. As quickly as it unfolds in to position, it also folds away again, with a profile that&#8217;s low enough not to interfere with any machinery close by or my steel-capped toes.</p>
<p>Rather than to consign the old horses to the firewood bin (or <em>Freecycle</em>), I wanted to re-use as much of the existing timber [<em>cheap pine; spruce</em>] as possible. The tops on all three [<em>did I not mentioned I actually have <strong>three</strong></em><em> of these horses?</em> <img src='http://s0.wp.com/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_biggrin.gif' alt=':-D' class='wp-smiley' /> ] were pretty chewed up from the last couple of years of service but, I was able to reuse all the legs and did have spare lengths of PAR 4X2in to hand anyway. I cut them all to length on my sliding mitre saw before setting the depth stop to make the shoulder cuts for each of the lap joints &#8211; this should be much stronger than the butted screw joints they&#8217;ve used in the article. Now, my mitre saw does a good enough job of making trenching cuts but, without a dado blade (!) for these saws, it can take a very long time (<em>especially if you have to chisel some of the waste away, afterwards</em>). That&#8217;s why I next set up my bandsaw to complete the cheek cuts, running parallel to the grain (<em>the joints came out looking very clean and it didn&#8217;t take too long, either</em>).</p>
<div class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 310px"><a href="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4030/4510402465_dee846039b.jpg"><img title="Lap Joints" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4030/4510402465_dee846039b.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Lap Joints - cut on the SCMS and bandsaw.</p></div>
<p style="text-align:center;">
<p>Each joint was then held together with 1¼in x 8 screws while the ten-minute PVA cured. Later, I removed each screw and replaced it with a short length of wooden dowel.</p>
<p><a href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2692/4510404379_9b8ec8a547.jpg"><img class="aligncenter" title="Screwing the Lap Joints" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2692/4510404379_9b8ec8a547.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a></p>
<p>At the same time, I decided to fill the voids left at the bottom end of each leg, courtesy of the previous design. One block of wood for each, cut on the bandsaw. I don&#8217;t see any need to fill the saw kerf just above though, I did drive a couple more dowels through the sides, just to ensure the blocks aren&#8217;t going anywhere.</p>
<p><a href="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4006/4510406425_9c4cf520de.jpg"><img class="aligncenter" title="Blocking Up" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4006/4510406425_9c4cf520de.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a></p>
<p>Oh, yes&#8230; This next image shows the shoulder I didn&#8217;t mean to cut! To fill the saw kerf left by the mitre saw blade, I simply cut a thin strip of timber (approx. 2.5mm) on the bandsaw and glued it in. If you can make this very slightly wedge-shaped then, it&#8217;ll improve the fit in the groove no end. It&#8217;s hardly an &#8220;invisible&#8221; repair though!! <img src='http://s1.wp.com/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_redface.gif' alt=':oops:' class='wp-smiley' /> </p>
<p><a href="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4050/4510408423_cfcf7248ec.jpg"><img class="aligncenter" title="Oh, for Kerf's Sake!" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4050/4510408423_cfcf7248ec.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a></p>
<p>That is about as far as a got, Saturday afternoon, so, I decided to leave it all until the next morning. When dawn broke much earlier today, I was out in the workshop, looking to flush-trim all those dowels and any unevenness between the lap joints. If I was pressed for time, I&#8217;d have no doubt used my belt sander. But, as I like to try and keep noise levels to a minimum on weekends <em>[with one exception of my radio!!</em>], I got my Stanley no.5 out the drawer and proceeded to make shavings&#8230; <em>Lots of shavings!</em></p>
<div class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 310px"><a href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2164/4511050712_7913e45f1c.jpg"><img title="Shavings" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2164/4511050712_7913e45f1c.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">&#34;Shavings... Lots of shavings!&#34;</p></div>
<p>I&#8217;m not sure which &#8216;<em>mess</em>&#8216; I hate more&#8230; The very fine dust created by power sanding that gets absolutely <em>everywhere</em>&#8230; Or, having to drag my feet through small mountains of curly shavings, which also seem to fill up a black bin bag in no time at all!&#8230; I mean, I opened up my planer/thicknesser yesterday morning to do some service work [<em>first time in two-years!!</em>] and found all this inside (I can only imagine it&#8217;s been dragged under the machine by the wheel kit)!</p>
<div class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 310px"><a href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2128/4511038206_1b534daae1.jpg"><img title="Shavings, Bloody Shavings!!" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2128/4511038206_1b534daae1.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">...Shavings, bloody shavings!!</p></div>
<p style="text-align:center;">
<p style="text-align:left;padding-left:30px;"><em>Anyway, back to the saw horses&#8230;</em></p>
<p>With all the joints flush off nicely thanks to my plane, I reached for my router and removed all the sharp arrises with a ¼in round-over cutter.</p>
<p><a href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2740/4510412553_edce64b0fe.jpg"><img class="aligncenter" title="Rounding-Over" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2740/4510412553_edce64b0fe.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a></p>
<p>Each &#8220;leaf&#8221; is joined to the main beam with two 150mm T-hinges (as per the article). In practice, I&#8217;ve found that these hinges are quite flimsy. The steel is fine; it&#8217;s just the joint or pin location between the barrels.</p>
<p><a href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2796/4511055050_087891e982.jpg"><img class="aligncenter" title="Tee-Hinges" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2796/4511055050_087891e982.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a></p>
<p>One final step (something that has worked well before &#8211; <em>I like to think of it as my own idea, as I&#8217;ve never seen it done before!</em> <img src='http://s0.wp.com/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_biggrin.gif' alt=':-D' class='wp-smiley' /> ) is to cut a series of biscuit slots in the top of each rail, and a corresponding series of slots in to the face of some 44x20mm pine I had lying around. MDF is also find although, it tends to go mouldy if it gets wet or damp when used or stored outside. I glued no.20 biscuits in to the pine strips but <span style="text-decoration:underline;"><strong>DO NOT</strong></span> glue these in to the rails &#8211; this provides positive location but, also, it means I can easily remove and replace them once my circular saw has cut through them several times and they&#8217;re beginning to fall apart. That&#8217;s another reason I used biscuits rather than screws or nails &#8211; they won&#8217;t damage a saw blade or cutter in the same way. <img src='http://s1.wp.com/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_wink.gif' alt=';-)' class='wp-smiley' /> </p>
<div class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 310px"><a href="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4003/4510421503_037d1ba340.jpg"><img title="Biscuit Tip" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4003/4510421503_037d1ba340.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Biscuiting Tip!</p></div>
<p style="padding-left:30px;"><em>And now, for the final photos&#8230;</em></p>
<p>In use, it&#8217;s a surprisingly sturdy unit with a sheet of 18mm MDF on top. If ever I was concerned about rigidity, I could easily fix the sheet down in to the sacrificial strips of pine and biscuits. Each leg flaps about while suspended but, the &#8216;floppy&#8217; hinges don&#8217;t have any negative effect one all-fours are firmly rooted on to the floor.</p>
<p><a href="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4056/4510416963_6ae6ea52a7.jpg"><img class="aligncenter" title="Finished!" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4056/4510416963_6ae6ea52a7.jpg" alt="" width="350" height="262" /></a></p>
<p>And here, you can see it resting in position back against the lathe. I deliberately made this only 1200mm long so that I could store it easily enough in my workshop. As an assembly table, I think it will provide a useful working surface. Or, I could just stick a larger sheet of MDF on top! I rarely work with solid timber any longer than 6ft (<em>otherwise, it won&#8217;t fit inside in the back of my car!</em>) so, that shouldn&#8217;t give me many problems, either. As a solution for the small workshop, I think this will prove to be very handy indeed.</p>
<p><a href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2071/4510419361_e5e1b90ba6.jpg"><img class="aligncenter" title="Folded at Rest" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2071/4510419361_e5e1b90ba6.jpg" alt="" width="350" height="262" /></a></p>
<p style="text-align:center;">Thanks for reading.</p>
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<title><![CDATA[Chop Saw Challenge]]></title>
<link>http://ollypj.wordpress.com/2009/11/23/chop-saw-challenge/</link>
<pubDate>Mon, 23 Nov 2009 23:48:51 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Olly Parry-Jones</dc:creator>
<guid>http://ollypj.wordpress.com/2009/11/23/chop-saw-challenge/</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Over eighteen-months ago, I built what I thought was the &#8216;ideal&#8217; solution for my sliding]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Over eighteen-months ago, I built what I thought was the &#8216;ideal&#8217; solution for my sliding compound mitre chop saw; a <a title="Mobile Mitre Saw Station" href="http://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?t=23098&#38;start=0">mobile work station</a> with flip-up work piece supports and storage space below (now consumed by my &#8216;shop-made router table). Plans for this design were downloaded from<em> Popular Woodworking.com</em> in America. What we tend to forget over here is that, as convenient as these creations often appear to be, they&#8217;re rarely tailored to fit a small <span style="text-decoration:underline;"><em>British</em></span> workshop. That&#8217;s certainly my opinion, having spent considerable time with this setup in my workshop.<!--more Continue reading...--></p>
<p>Anyone who follows <a title="The Wood Whisperer.com" href="http://thewoodwhisperer.com/">The Wood Whisperer</a> will know that Marc moved in to a &#8220;<em>small</em>&#8221; &#8216;shop of his own, not long ago &#8211; yet, it&#8217;s still large enough for <em>TWO</em> bandsaw, I should point out!! I don&#8217;t wish that to sound critical of Marc; I have full appreciation and a lot of respect for what he does (regardless of the Health &#38; Safety issues, &#8220;<em>language barrier</em>&#8220;&#8230;, etc.). It&#8217;s just that, sometimes, it seems as though we&#8217;re woodworking in the wrong country&#8230;</p>
<div class="wp-caption alignright" style="width: 285px"><a href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2587/4112757081_c7951f91ab.jpg"><img title="Current Mitre Saw Station" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2587/4112757081_c7951f91ab.jpg" alt="" width="275" height="205" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">My current design, which requires a lot of room to set up.</p></div>
<p>In truth, my current design offers plenty of support for long lengths of timber (with a total span of over 3m) but, having to swing the table up each time you need to use it is a great inconvenience when you&#8217;re working within a confined space. For example, I was routing some tenons on my router table, recently (my preferred method for this operation). After getting cutter height set correctly, I needed to trim my rails to length on the mitre saw. But, with the router table set up, there was no room for the tables to swing and I had to drag this back in to the far end of my workshop to where my pillar drill and planer/thicknesser were already at rest.</p>
<p>When the tables are up, they don&#8217;t cause any interference as the working height is clear of my router table and bandsaw. It&#8217;s the process of getting them up and in to position which has been causing me a headache &#8211; and, for some time, now. That is why I&#8217;m <em>now</em> thinking a table saw would actually be a <em>bad idea</em>, with the reduced working height.</p>
<p>In my search for a solution, I selected a post on the <a title="Sawdust and Shavings - Mitre Saw Stand" href="http://sawdustandshavings.wordpress.com/2009/04/01/a-small-project-for-the-sliding-compound-miter-saw-tool-stand/">Sawdust and Shavings</a> blog as my main point of inspiration. Harold also works from within a small space [<em>admittedly, it's nearly twice the size of mine!</em>] and so, knows the importance of organisation and efficiency; maximising your working area and storage space. I find his approach to supporting stock on his mitre saw station quite ingenious. No hinged or fold-up supports; these ones simply bolt in place. When you want to remove them, they store &#8216;vertically&#8217; in the same place. So, I&#8217;ve decided to interoperate this in to my existing design and, as work progresses on that, I will of course keep you updated. The question now is whether to do this soon with my Bosch saw or, wait until after I&#8217;ve replaced this model of mitre saw. To be honest, the <a title="Bosch GCM 12 SD" href="http://www.axminster.co.uk/product.asp?pf_id=210854&#38;name=gcm+12+sd&#38;user_search=1&#38;sfile=1&#38;jump=0">Bosch GCM 12 SD</a> is too big for me and, as a 110v tool in a small workshop, it frustrates  me having to plug-in the transformer and reach for the yellow extension lead to run this one machine for the first ten-minutes of every project! I do have questions over the accuracy of this model but, I suspect most saws are like this. Particularly the bigger ones, which is why I&#8217;m currently looking at the <a title="Makita LS1013" href="http://www.dm-tools.co.uk/product.php/section/6107/sn/MAKLS1013">Makita LS1013</a>, which has received some very positive comments in the past. I&#8217;m also aware of how highly many seem to regard the <a title="DeWalt DW712" href="http://www.dm-tools.co.uk/product.php/section//sn/DEW712L">DeWalt DW712</a> for its accuracy. But, the maximum depth of cut of 70mm is a limiting factor for me as I regularly work with 3in. thick material (generally sawn to around 81mm). Plus, I am a bit of a Makita fan&#8230; Which begs the question; why didn&#8217;t I initially buy a Makita saw instead?!</p>
<p><a href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2715/4124533802_d3388d34a6.jpg"><img class="alignright" title="Extending Fence1" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2715/4124533802_d3388d34a6.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="175" /></a>As it is only generally before a project begins (as I&#8217;m down-sizing sawn, waney-edged timber) that I need to cut longer lengths, I think I could save a lot of time and effort by simply  fitting a longer fence &#8211; looking in the previous issue of <a title="British Woodworking magazine" href="http://www.britishwoodworking.com/Home.html">British Woodworking</a> magazine, I notice Steve Maskery does something very similar. Once a project is under way, I rarely seem to work with components any longer than 1200mm when I&#8217;m making furniture. These kind of lengths could probably be supported and clamped to the saw&#8217;s bed without the need for full extensions.</p>
<p>Now, I&#8217;m also proposing to take this one-step further by building an extendible fence, for those &#8216;rainy days&#8217; where I may need to cut several longer components and also, to save a bit of space in my workshop (I currently have a load of beech and oak stood vertically against a wall to the left-hand side of my saw station, which is difficult to get at and sort through at the best of times!). I hope the enclosed sketches make it clear of what I intend to do and, as with the rest of the re-build, this will be the first place for you to follow the action!</p>
<p><a href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2544/4123764055_d959402636.jpg"><img class="alignleft" title="Extending Fence2" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2544/4123764055_d959402636.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="175" /></a>One last question&#8230; While trying to sell my Bosch saw, I&#8217;ve struggled to sell it locally. In order to obtain more interest from sellers on eBay, I&#8217;d like to look at offering a courier service for this item. But, due to it&#8217;s size, this could be challenging as I currently don&#8217;t have anything larger to package it in.</p>
<p>Does anyone know of a supplier of &#8220;<em>very large</em>&#8221; cardboard boxes? eBay sellers seem to sell in quantity only and, I just need the one box.</p>
<p style="text-align:center;">All thoughts would be greatly appreciated!</p>
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			<span class="latitude">51.455313</span>
			<span class="longitude">-2.591902</span>
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