uhh guys I have a big mess (round3)update

[TedAS]

Re: uhh guys I have a big mess (round2)

Wondering if I should take my SS of the stand

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and put it on the bench I built

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What are your thoughts

I'd put it in the living room:gar-Bi

Then you will have more room in the shop.

 

[CarvedTones]

Re: uhh guys I have a big mess (round2)

Wondering if I should take my SS of the stand

View image in gallery​

and put it on the bench I built

View image in gallery​

What are your thoughts

I vote no, but I often control cuts on the SS by walking around it to turn the piece and keeping my hands still relative to the workpiece and my body. I suspect I am not the only one as nearly all SS stands are made with room to allow that.

One thing I have found is that putting tools on large shared tables or benches is usually inefficient space wise in the long run. You still need that open space for layout and assembly sometimes, so you end up moving them.

 

[ScottM]

Re: uhh guys I have a big mess (round2)

Leave the SS on the stand. As such you can move it as needed. Once mounted on a bench it is permanent. I do not think just sitting it on a bench will not work as it will tend to move.

 

[CarvedTones]

Re: uhh guys I have a big mess (round2)

I "voted" the same way as Scott earlier, but thinking about it more I would go even further and question whether or not a constrained bench with no organized storage is even a good idea at all. By constrained, I mean one that you can't move and is obstructed so that you can't have things hanging off the ends or back. I have a constrained bench, but with cabinets underneath except for a kneehole, a hinged pegboard above it and a drawer unit at one end. It does have a benchtop DP, grinder and WorkSharp on it. But I have pretty much accepted that it is primarily storage and except for a small area above the kneehole where I have power carving equipment, it really doesn't function as a workbench.

 

[Mike Davis]

Re: uhh guys I have a big mess (round2)

1) Get a good heavy tarp hung up in the yard or as a lean to off the side of the shop

2) get everything out of the shop and under the tarp so it can stay there until there is a proper place for it

3) set up your tools in the shop as you would like to use them

4) make any unused space into storage by building cabinets and shelves

5) anything that doesn't fit or won't be used goes in a yard sale and to the dump if left after the yard sale.

6) enjoy your shop more than you ever have before.

 

[PChristy]

Re: uhh guys I have a big mess (round2)

Leave the SS on the stand. As such you can move it as needed. Once mounted on a bench it is permanent. I do not think just sitting it on a bench will not work as it will tend to move.

Scott, I am really thinking about space wise here - I really built this bench for tools to sit on - I have a 12" bench top drill press that will go on this bench, an OS and maybe the WorkSharpe (it might go on the lathe bench) If I do take it off the stand it will be mounted to the bench not just sitting there I usually do not move it anyway - When I do scrolling I am usually sitting down and work from the front through out the project - If I do put it on the bench and don't like it I can always put it back on the stand

 

[PChristy]

Re: uhh guys I have a big mess (round2)

I'd put it in the living room:gar-Bi

Then you will have more room in the shop.

Already tried that one Karen didn't go for that - When our daughter moved out we had an extra bedroom and I could scroll in there in the winter and be all warm and everything but no way did that work either:icon_scra

 

[Glennbear]

Re: uhh guys I have a big mess

I have decided that there is a law, written or unwritten, that applies to woodworking shops. (EXCEPT Alan in Little Washington!!:nah that ANY horizontal surface WILL gather "stuff!" :icon_thum Mine sure does, from the floor, (HS) to benches (HS) to my work surfaces (HS) so I've just resigned to living with it!!:wsmile:

I DO attempt to keep the clutter to a level that I don't trip over anything, since that was my last accident of any significance!

Good luck, Phillip!! :wsmile:

Thanks for mentioning this Reggie, I totally agree. There is a law in physics that nature abhors a vacuum, there must be a similar one for empty horizontal surfaces. :wsmile:

 

[cskipper]

Re: uhh guys I have a big mess (round2)

Already tried that one Karen didn't go for that - When our daughter moved out we had an extra bedroom and I could scroll in there in the winter and be all warm and everything but no way did that work either:icon_scra

Keeping it on its stand makes it sturdier and less prone to vibration. Mounting it on a counter is going to increase the vibrations. Plus, you will be amazed how quickly your work area for the saw becomes cluttered (see Glen's law re: horizontal surfaces),

I have mine in the spare bedroom here (with one of the plastic chair carpet covers under it). My drill press is at arms reach on an adjacent table. The one at home is in the dining room. I rigged a grocery back under it to catch the saw dust, which works well. I don't have a vacuum set up at either because I haven't found a small enough one that is also quiet enough to use in the house.

 

[ScottM]

Re: uhh guys I have a big mess (round2)

Scott, I am really thinking about space wise here - I really built this bench for tools to sit on - I have a 12" bench top drill press that will go on this bench, an OS and maybe the WorkSharpe (it might go on the lathe bench) If I do take it off the stand it will be mounted to the bench not just sitting there I usually do not move it anyway - When I do scrolling I am usually sitting down and work from the front through out the project - If I do put it on the bench and don't like it I can always put it back on the stand

One thing you might want to think about is cutting the bench so the entire saw, stand and all can slide in. Save the piece of the top you removed and add frame around the three sides of the opening so that will accept the top insert for when you need to use the full bench as a bench.

 

[CarvedTones]

Re: uhh guys I have a big mess (round2)

Interesting idea, Scott, but if his stand is as deep as mine (also a 20", so suspect it is) then the top would get cut into 2 separate surfaces for all practical purposes. I like/hate Mike's suggestions. I like it because it is the most practical way to deal with what you have and hate it because I have done pretty much the same thing and had to make painful decisions about getting rid of stuff I really couldn't easily fit and couldn't justify taking up a large amount of my limited space. My most used work table is a 2'x4' piece of OSB and 2 folding sawhorses. Because I don't have the space to leave it out all the time, it never is cluttered. Most of my bench work gets done on the small construction style bench I had at the picnic:

(picture courtesy of dotBob)

If I were in Phillip's shoes (and to some degree I am; different space but the part I am allowed full time is as small or smaller) I would think mostly about organized storage and rolling tools along the walls. I would have a flat surface or two but would not count on it being my primary open work area. Let's face it - you and I are prone to letting our workshops end up cluttered and have been that way for so long that any plan that involves changing that is probably doomed to failure. If the work surface isn't something either small or that gets collapsed to put away, it will become a shelf. the giant shelves these surfaces become are very inefficient for storing tools. Put in efficient storage, limit yourself to what you can put away (some hard decisions have to be made) and use a collapsible table for assembly and a WorkMate or similar for smaller general bench operations. Roll out larger tools to use them (I do have my lathe and SS accessible all the time, but need to roll out the SS for any large work). Just my advice, worth every cent you paid...

 

[Mike Davis]

Re: uhh guys I have a big mess (round2)

Three times in my life I have had to close shop and give up all my tools. It was painful to get rid of favorite tools that were searched out, refurbished and used to great effect. The memories of those tools and the pain of giving them up are sometimes too much to think about but, also cleansing in a way. You get to start all over, knowing more than you did before and trying new things in different ways.

A small shop can be much more challenging than a very large one. Getting just the right tools and supplies to accomplish all that can be conceived, and in a very limited space is the hardest job I have ever done.

My stumbling block is that I like to do lots of different things and combine different materials in my creations. When i was younger I thought there would never be time to do all that I imagined. Then I realized that in some cases imagining is enough. I don't have to build everything I think of and I don't need to prove anything. I just do what I want to do and the only one I need to please is me.

So, if it all fell apart and all I had was a pocket knife I could still sit under a tree and whittle a twig.

 

[CarvedTones]

Re: uhh guys I have a big mess (round2)

I have never given up all at once, but I understand what you mean by "cleansing in a way". In the midst of despair over giving up tools, there is a sense of relief when it is done whether there are regrets or not. It would probably be harder now, as several of my tools are upgrades that I feel more strongly are the "right" choice. The desire to be able to do anything and everything in your shop is a tough one. I really will do carving, turning and scrolling projects and not having the tools for that would be a personal hardship. Those can fit in a small shop.

 

[merrill77]

Re: uhh guys I have a big mess (round2)

Wondering if I should take my SS of the stand <snip> What are your thoughts

As a fellow small-shop guy, I'd try it. Put it onto a small sheet of plywood that can be clamped onto the bench when needed...and then stowed below when not in use. I'm not a scroller (though I have the same saw) but I'm guessing you can orient it so the saw hangs off the front a bit so you can pull your stool right up to it. If the bench is sturdy, it will not vibrate any more than it would on the stand. Since the stand breaks down, you can stow it away in case you change your mind.

You might consider doing the same with other tools you plan to put on the bench but don't use frequently...

 

[cskipper]

Re: uhh guys I have a big mess (round2)

One suggestion is to make some of your storage flip-tops - so that they hold 2-3 power tools in one space. LOML has is oscillating sander and belt sander on one he built. The other thing he built was shelving at the most vertical space possible. The other "portable" equipment lives in there.

 

[PChristy]

Re: uhh guys I have a big mess (round2)

One suggestion is to make some of your storage flip-tops - so that they hold 2-3 power tools in one space. LOML has is oscillating sander and belt sander on one he built. The other thing he built was shelving at the most vertical space possible. The other "portable" equipment lives in there.

Cathy I have been thinking about doing this for awhile now - not sure which two machines I can use for this application thoe

 

[PChristy]

ok I used what I had lying around to make this workbench - I now have three

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I also put this heavy piece of slab on the end - why I do not know -what could I use this for ?? - I will have to get a piece of 5/8 ply to put on the bench to even it out from wood to the slab

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I am not the best but I get by with what I have - It is coming alone slow and I hope to geter done soon:swoon:

 

[TedAS]

If you decide to put your scroll saw on your bench, put it on that heavy slab to help dampen the vibration.