WORKSHOP PICS, TIPS, & INSPIRATION

[BadMouth]

A couple people in Ond's workshop build thread commented that they would be building workshops soon.
IMO, a one stop thread of pics, tips, & inspiration would be a pretty good resource to have here.

Here's mine which has been evolving for 3 years and is still far from complete:


Way nice for my skill level.  People have done much more with much less, but I kept falling into deals or needed another machine to accomplish a particular project.
It started with just the outer workbench, which was constructed before I had any of these nifty bigger machines.
The jointer sold too cheap to pass up at an estate sale, then I got a pile of hardwood for free, but needed to buy a planer to make it useable.
Extended saw fence was a "maybe someday" thing sitting in my amazon cart when the price dropped by 1/3rd one day.  etc. etc.



Router area still needs a LOT of work.











Wood cart is a mix of designs found online.  It's 6ft because I never have full size 8ft sheets sitting around, but 4ft seemed too short.
The backside is for sheet goods.


Before I bought the house, as a renter I kept all my tools in these bins with all the needed accessories, bits, etc in the bin with the tool.
It worked great when moving around and working out of a shed.  Now it just results in a lot of bins sitting around on work surfaces when I'm using the tools.
Most tools have migrated out of the bins.

[BadMouth]

The pile of hardwood I got for free always falls just short of delivering enough of the same wood to make what I want.
Managed to stretch the walnut far enough to make this audio rack. 
The boards for the bottom shelf were horribly warped and the wrong color, but with some bracing and danish oil it all worked out.



Best boards on top of course.

[BadMouth]

These leg levelers aren't cheap, but make leveling things easy.  If you need to adjust them fast, you can use a hex bit in a drill.
Originally I tried to just use blocks or wedges to get work surfaces level, but they never stayed put.

[opt2not]

Fantastic thread idea. 

[BadMouth]

Harbor Freight foot switches can be useful.  They sell both a momentary and latching one.  I have the latching one by the table saw to turn the dust collection on and off. 
It's a lot cheaper than those automatic or remote control setups.  (They are rated for 15A)

https://www.harborfreight.com/search?q=foot%20switch

[wp34]

This is a great thread.  I'm in the middle of redoing my workspace and have gotten some great ideas already.  Especially for my pegboard arrangement.

Badmouth - I have that same saw and have been considering upgrading/extending the fence as well.  Could you send me a link to what you bought? 

Thanks!

[Mike A]

That's a great work space. I have the cheaper Ridgid saw with the same Vega fence. I use the same tool boxes for my power tools, but I don't have a label maker. I use masking tape. I even have the same foot pedal.

[Nephasth]

Tip: Don't use your lap as a work surface.

[Jimbo]

Man... I wish I had more space... you could fit my entire workshop in the space of your workbench!

[BadMouth]

Badmouth - I have that same saw and have been considering upgrading/extending the fence as well.  Could you send me a link to what you bought? 

It is a Vega 40 PRO.  (because I might build 39" upper cabinets for my kitchen someday)
I'm not sure whether to recommend it or not.  It has worked flawlessly, but the fit and finish feel a bit homemade. 
The cap in the end of the tube is identical to what would be found on a roll of dollar store christmas wrapping paper.
I paid $260 from Vega through Amazon and would recommend it for that price.  No way I'd recommend it for $369.

Here is what amazon gives me as the original product link, although the description is for an earphone cable. 
https://www.amazon.com/WDEAHK-Earphone-Cable-Converter-Compatible/dp/B000022621/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

I'd say the reviews on there are accurate.

EDIT: I still have the original Ridgid fence if you want to try your hand at extending your fence using that. 

[Arroyo]

You guys and your basements.  I was just reminded this last weekend of how awesome it would be to have one.  I'm constantly playing Tetris in the garage putting equipment on the side walls so my wife doesn't shoot me.

That's an incredible work space BadMouth, hella jealous.

[pbj]

Tip: Don't use your lap as a work surface.

Haha... I was telling that story to coworkers earlier this week.... 

 

[wp34]

Badmouth - I have that same saw and have been considering upgrading/extending the fence as well.  Could you send me a link to what you bought? 

It is a Vega 40 PRO.  (because I might build 39" upper cabinets for my kitchen someday)
I'm not sure whether to recommend it or not.  It has worked flawlessly, but the fit and finish feel a bit homemade. 
The cap in the end of the tube is identical to what would be found on a roll of dollar store christmas wrapping paper.
I paid $260 from Vega through Amazon and would recommend it for that price.  No way I'd recommend it for $369.

Here is what amazon gives me as the original product link, although the description is for an earphone cable. 
https://www.amazon.com/WDEAHK-Earphone-Cable-Converter-Compatible/dp/B000022621/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

I'd say the reviews on there are accurate.

EDIT: I still have the original Ridgid fence if you want to try your hand at extending your fence using that. 

Thanks Badmouth.  Did you end up having to drill holes to get it to fit?

[wp34]

Here is a battery storage unit I built last weekend out of scrap material.  It isn't anything special but I built it specifically for the batteries and chargers that I have so everything would fit perfectly.  Finding a workable place to put the EGO batteries and charger have been a particular frustration for me and this ugly thing solved my problem.  So my "tip" is just that you consider building some workshop pieces yourself so they fit your unique needs.

[Mike A]

You guys are all so organized. I need to get my act together.

[BadMouth]

Thanks Badmouth.  Did you end up having to drill holes to get it to fit?

IIRC, I only had to drill one hole in the square tubing on the back.  Had a look and it looks like the furthest left hole wasn't far enough left.  It has an adjusting screw to dial in the height before tightening, so the hole doesn't need to be precise.  I don't recall having to drill a hole in the round tubing up front.  I didn't drill any holes in the saw.  Since this has become a popular mod for the ridgid, Vega may have changed the design.

  The switch bracket is held on with just one bolt, but it hasn't budged.  The change in switch location was irritating for a while.

I'll add that I picked up a general international cast iron router wing and that turned out to be too much trouble to mount on the ridgid, so I mounted it to a rockler base. The cast iron wing was some crazy low price with free shipping to my house from the home depot.   I thought it was a price mistake or wrong description, but the thing showed up!  Although I got it cheap, I later made up for it by buying the base, Excalibur router plate, materials to build the fence, etc. All that to end up with an undersized router table.   If I had it to do over again, I would just buy a wood router table top or build my own.

[BadMouth]

That guy drilled a hole in the saw for the front rail, but on the back drilled the rail like me.  I don't remember drilling the round rail in the front, but may have.  Pretty sure my front  bracket is farther left than his.  (Where there is already a bolt hole)

[Mike A]

No work shop is complete until you have a few Japanese lake monsters lurking around. These guys were only about an inch long 5 years ago. They outgrew my 150 gallon aquarium. Now they live in a 300 gallon tub in my basement work shop. I had to take apart  my staircase to get that tub into the basement.

Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk

[Drnick]

Y'all making me sad,  Sad that I don't have a workshop.  One day I'll win the lottery though and have a workshop that I can actually work in.  Until then I'll just make do with the garden At least the gazebo gives me cover from the lesser elements

[wp34]

Thanks for posting that info on the fence Badmouth.   

I've looked at that same router extension and appreciate your candor with your experience.

[wp34]

Anybody have any tips or suggestions for organizing wrenches on pegboard?  I've used mine out of a drawer since I was using my dad's tools and would like to try something different.  This is what I came up with over the weekend but am not 100% happy with it.  One hook/hole per wrench seems to take up too much space.

[Mike A]

I think some tools just work better in a drawer, but you could use one of those magnetic tool holders.

https://www.harborfreight.com/18-in-magnetic-tool-holder-60433.html?cid=paid_google|*PLA+-+Top+SKUs+-+All+%28Main%29||60433&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&mkwid=s|pcrid|383629141625|pkw||pmt||pdv|c|slid||product|60433|&pgrid=76603533005&ptaid=pla-293946777986&pcid=1398685905&intent=&gclid=CjwKCAjw2qHsBRAGEiwAMbPoDOk_qsTMvZsiTaiDSy6-SH861mAejbMEts19YSyBCQamPBYnumFSGhoCxCAQAvD_BwE

[DaOld Man]

This is a cool thread, giving me several ideas.

[Mike A]

I agree. This is a good thread.

This thread gave me one idea. Clean my ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- up.

I am messy by nature. I want my shop to look like the pics in this thread.

[wp34]

I think some tools just work better in a drawer, but you could use one of those magnetic tool holders.

https://www.harborfreight.com/18-in-magnetic-tool-holder-60433.html?cid=paid_google|*PLA+-+Top+SKUs+-+All+%28Main%29||60433&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&mkwid=s|pcrid|383629141625|pkw||pmt||pdv|c|slid||product|60433|&pgrid=76603533005&ptaid=pla-293946777986&pcid=1398685905&intent=&gclid=CjwKCAjw2qHsBRAGEiwAMbPoDOk_qsTMvZsiTaiDSy6-SH861mAejbMEts19YSyBCQamPBYnumFSGhoCxCAQAvD_BwE

Thanks.  I actually have several of those magnets strips already on my pegboard.  They are nice for holding misc items but I haven't been 100% happy with them as some of the tools slide around too much.  You may be right that a drawer is the best place for some tools.  But I find I am better at putting things back in their proper place on pegboard than I am in drawers.

[Nephasth]

Tools belong in a box! ... A ridiculously over-priced, shiny, metal box... With a Snap-on logo.

[jennifer]

Tools belong in a box! ... A ridiculously over-priced, shiny, metal box... With a Snap-on logo.

Or a shiny red one that says Craftsman...But still +1

[bperkins01]

I've been a woodworker for a long time and worked at a Woodcraft store part time for at least 5 years..  So I have a good set of tools.  I also had my garage built back in 2001.  It has radiant floor heat and outlets every 6 feet around the wall.  I've built a lot of stuff in there..  Once in a while I pull a car in for repairs or cleaning..

One of the best things I ever bought was this:



It has gotten quite full over the years - but its my own personal hardware store..  When I need a screw that I don't have - I'll go buy a whole package of them and add it to the card catalog. 
The top half is screws, nuts, bolts, etc..  The bottom half has a little of everything - nails, cable ties, hinges, air fittings, etc. 




Another update I did in the past few years is add shelves high along the wall in the back to store least recently used stuff.  It was relatively inexpensive - but huge for creating space.



Here is the chopsaw station from "The New Yankee Workshop"  (all hail Norm).  With lumber storage above..  Plenty of storage space inside with assorted tools.



This is for saw blades - I have an assortment of rip, crosscut, dado and box sets.  Making tools and storage is half the fun of building a shop.



A Drill press station/cabinet for bits, drills, attachments, etc.



Finally - big ass compressor, bandsaw and under that pile of crap is a surface planer.
Took up darts over a year ago - so here is where a practice throwing... poorly..



Certainly don't need all of this to build a cabinet..  But it certainly helps!

[Nephasth]

DARTS!!!!!1!1!!1

[wp34]

That is really cool.   

[wp34]

Tools belong in a box! ... A ridiculously over-priced, shiny, metal box... With a Snap-on logo.

Tools belong in a bucket!   

[Nephasth]

Tools belong in a box! ... A ridiculously over-priced, shiny, metal box... With a Snap-on logo.

Tools belong in a bucket!   

[1-UP]

That's a really sweet setup dude. Something to aspire to.

[BadMouth]

...everyone with pegboard also needs this: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:872876 
(X-acto knife holder)

Speaking of pegboard, lots of benefits to 3d printing your pegboard stuff for the shop/garage.

I found the parametric pegboard tool to be very very helpful, especially when dealing with my special sized stuff.

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:537516








And for pegboard, if you have those hooks that just slip down, these clips are a MUST. I will not go back to hanging hooks without em.
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:559094



I also use epoxy all the time, so I made disposable mini pallet knives for small epoxy jobs, since they only give you one mini popsicle stick with each package of epoxy. They work great and hang on pegboard. I attached the STL.