What a thrill it is after 4 years to finally...

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be using my shop to build something for the first time!

4 years ago, I started building this shop as you may remember. The empty shell was done by mid-July. I painted it, installed the electrical, insulated it, covered the walls.........AND THEN THE TURNERS STRUCK! Well for the next 18 months, I was in the Vortex and couldn't find my way out. Last September I finally got a temporary reprieve from the bottomless turning pit and began finishing the shop. It's finally painted.....the lights are up....the DC is installed......(but I'm going to make some minor changes on the hookup to my tablesaw) and today I started using the shop for the purpose it was made.

I began constructing my first shop cabinets. What a joy it was. I had a wobble dado blade and hated the results. I had purchased a Freud stacked set and they had been sitting for 2 years unused. What a joy it was to use them today. The results were as you would want and desire.

I've got some Mother's Day obligations but tomorrow without too much effort I should complete my first shop wall cabinet.

What a kick it was to set up a tool...use it.....have most of the dust picked up by the DC and get the results I wanted. I can nitpick joints as tightly as I want considering the dynamic medium wood is.

After I have the first one completed I will gladly submit photos .....but for now I'm just enjoying the process!
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Glad to see you're finally reaping the fruits of your labor, Ken. :thumb: Enjoy, and watch those fingers. You're probably out of practice. ;)
 
Yes, Ken. You are right. And i think it will be just as big a kick when we finally start making something in the shop that has it's final destination outside the shop! I've been working on the rehab of my shop building for 3 1/2 years now, so I know what you are feeling! I need to rebuild an outfeed table, build a couple more drop ins for my multifunction wall, and finish out the finishing room, and I'll be there. Jim.
 
:clap: :clap: :headbang: :headbang: :clap: :clap: :congrats:

Ken...glad your finally able to get to work in your shop! :thumb:

Now...don't make me call the pic police on you!:dunno:
 
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Ken, you give me hope. We're getting our house on the market this month with me having the vision of a shop at the next one. Currently I work out of my garage. My neighborhood doesn't allow any out buildings, so we're looking to find one that does. I'm sure this will mean that a new/new to us house will have a lot of projects as well, but as long as I get my shop I'll be content.
 
its bout time!!!

well ken your gonna find theings that you want to change long after you start using it.. i havnt been up to full operation yet and already have things i wished i had changed and probally willlater but i too got things i need to get done first... now continue to take pills for that disease of abyssnomonia and perhaps you will be cured of it:):thumb::rofl: fortunatly i still am immune to it got all my apendages crossed to help in case it trys harder:D congrats ken.. oh by the way do you have a blade guard suction on your table saw?
 
Larry,

Nope I don't have a overhead blade guard suction. I don't know that I'll be able to add one easily either. I have a contractor's saw.....it's a Ridgid TS3650 ...a gift from the wife.....just prior to her giving me the shop. It's got a nice flat cast iron top on it. Underneath the tabletop, the blade is enclosed and has a hookup for the DC. It works okay but I'm not overly impressed by it.
 
...Underneath the tabletop, the blade is enclosed and has a hookup for the DC. It works okay but I'm not overly impressed by it.
Ken, I removed the shroud around the blade on my TS3650, sealed the back as best I could with magnetic sign material, and put a bottom on it with a 4" DC port. It's better than the other methods I tried, and I'm sure your cyclone will do a better job than my single-stage canister setup.
 
I fell into the vortex of shop improvement about 2 months ago and haven't been able to get much done since. Oh I've been gettin out the work that comes my way but I haven't gotten to do much for our own use. Today I've been working on our entertainment center.

Oh, by the way, howdy guys, haven't posted here in a while.
 
Hey Bony, good to see you. :wave: I saw your name and thought "Wow, haven't seen Jim here in a while." Glad to see you're staying busy. Sounds like "retirement" hasn't been all that "retired".
 
Hey Bony, good to see you. :wave: I saw your name and thought "Wow, haven't seen Jim here in a while." Glad to see you're staying busy. Sounds like "retirement" hasn't been all that "retired".

I've been as busy as a one armed paper hanger in a windstorm but lately it's really slowed down to a crawl. Economic slowdown I guess.
 
CONGRATULATIONS, Ken. Since we started on my shop about a year and a half or more before you started yours, all I can say is that I just wish I could make the same post you just did, but one of these days............:(
 
Ken, I removed the shroud around the blade on my TS3650, sealed the back as best I could with magnetic sign material, and put a bottom on it with a 4" DC port. It's better than the other methods I tried, and I'm sure your cyclone will do a better job than my single-stage canister setup.


Thanks Vaughn! Where did you get the magnet sign material? I have a bottom with a 4" port but haven't installed it yet. I'm thinking of attaching the bottom ...semi-enclosing the back and then using the 2 1/2 on the blade enclosure too. It works ...so-so right now.
 
Thanks Vaughn! Where did you get the magnet sign material? I have a bottom with a 4" port but haven't installed it yet...
I found the sign material on eBay. I cut two two of them to overlap each other and work around the belt somewhat (but only for 90º cuts). It's not perfect, but it beats the shop vac attached to the 2 1/2" port on the shroud. Your cyclone may be strong enough to suck the sign material into the cabinet. If that's the case, you could probably laminate it to some thin ply or Masonite to stiffen it up a bit.

Installing the bottom was a challenge, since a single piece of plywood sized to fit the "ledge" at the bottom of the saw cabinet won't fit into the hole where it needs to go. I ended up using a two-piece bottom, then taping the seam after I got the two pieces in place.
 
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