VVaholic – Both the belt sander and the spindle sander? Lighting in the shop was something the electrician and I went over a number of times, it’s going to be bright. That is a great point through that a well-lit shop helps a whole lot. How much do you use the band saw vs a scroll saw or the blade runner? Band saw is on the list, might get a smaller horizontal one but the more I think about it a vertical one probably makes more sense. Have you used those helping hands? I’ve never really been a fan of any of the helping hands sets I’ve gotten, they seem great in theory but they always seem fiddly. SteveT44 – Do you use those by themselves are do you need fittings on your workbench to go with them? Bgt0990 – very nice idea, wouldn’t be surprised if some of the local gun shops have a bags of lead shot too. I appreciate all the ideas you guys are throwing out there, it’s really cool to see what other people use and odd items they have found helpful.
A good tap and die set makes a nice addition. Not something you might use every day, but it sure is nice to have one when you need one.
5 each extra m3-.05, 4-40 and 6-32 taps, and a complete set of drill bits including letter and number sizes.
Yes to both belt and spindle as they serve different needs. Blade runner for fiberglass board, band saw with metal blade for aluminum. No scroll saw. Helping hands are best, of course they are expensive but you get what you pay for in this case. Come on down sometime and tour/help build in the shop. Spare bedroom
Put your bench top outlets you are going to use for hand tools on a switch so you can turn them off. Nothing burns down the shop faster than a soldering iron that has a small problem.
Indeed, a soldering gun in my shop died gloriously just 2 weeks ago! Kept burning even after power was cut. No idea why, but it'd been in service for 8 or 10 years. But an easy to reach power switch is a great idea for safety.
OK Chris. just found this thread. as you know, I don't spend much time on the forum. you have seen my shop. you are lining things up very well IMHO. philosophy: once you have this basic tools, plan the dust collection. set up correctly, it eliminates a lot of the particulate and mask use concerns. For instance, I wouldn't change what I did. 220volt Grizzly dust collector ( best value and a workhorse) in adjoining room with radio control module. compressor goes next to it. 2 huge noise sources out of your hair makes long days in the show most pleasant. completing the build, use 4" lightweight pipe for a run of vacuum along one wall and put all your major dust sources along that AND a big workbench with a dust port in the middle. then all window cutting is done in front of it and you can watch the fiberglass cloud entrain into the dust stream and none gets in your lungs. the 1/2 inch copper pipe gets put under this for a run of compressed air with multiple nipples for air tools and a blow gun to clean off hulls and parts of dust. Tee off drop tubes with quarter turn valves to empty off water and bleed the system where it comes through the wall and at the end of the line. I add a second pressure regulator at the end of the line for painting and airbrushing models but you may not find this useful. A thought.
Tools - I endorse the Ridgid sander. Belt is great. dust collection is good, not perfect and this is your worst dust source next to cutting windows. It quick changes to a drum in less than a minute and you know how slowly I work. It sits on a cabinet next to the main bench and has all my sandpaper in the cabinet. 2. second larger bench on opposite wall for electronics. as far away as possible from dust sources. surface - melamine. white but non glare - full sheet ripped lengthwise. extra task lighting on moveable arms for detailed work. 3. plan shelves in this area that make sense for your storage system and try to get some cabinets with doors to store stuff dustfree. simple things but I have found them important. most important, enjoy the fun of designing the space that will bring you a lot of pleasure. N
Proxxon mini table saw... This is a must have. I have been using mine for years and cant imagine life without it.... PROXXON - FET
Dust management makes sense, you do have a very nice system Nate. I thought about that one for a while and came to the conclusion that the real dust producing things won't get to live in the main shop, they will be relegated to the extra garage, dust management through distance. Really the overwhelming majority of the time in the shop is testing and tweaking for me, not dust creation (it's really more of a lab than a shop if we're being honest), so it should work ok. (the shop will have a vent fan to help keep from smelling up the house) Electronics get a nice little 5x10 area off the main part, big enough for a desk, solder station, toaster oven, test equipment, etc. It wont be a clean room but having it semi separated "should" help keep it in better shape, or that's the hope. I've heard that Oil-Lubricated air compressors are much much quieter than the oil-less ones that are very common these days. Anyone have opinions/pluses/minuses about using an oil-lubricated air compressor. (I have a oil-less compressor but it's on the small side and isnt a good candidate for shop air.) I like the idea of a mini table saw, do you have a full size one too or is that it? Wondering how much overlap there is? I'm guessing about 1/4" is where you'd start to transition from one to another? Is having one table saw that can do both hobby (1/8") and regular house (3/4") cuts realistic? Or would two dedicated units be worth it? Speaking of Proxxon, anyone have expereince with one of these I think it would be pretty good for getting nice cuts on brass/copper tube.
Get a cast iron pump with two cylinders, vertical config saves space. Auto drain kit for the bottom (cause you don't want to crawl under there). 5 HP or so with a top end of 125 psi, that should be a minimum (not that pricey). Locate it in the garage or off site to prevent noise from being a problem. Plumb the feeds with Pex tubing 3/4" in size, buy the brass fittings from "Pex supply". After the Pump and regulator make sure you have a copper plenum going vertical, 3/4" copper tubing to condense the moisture with a drain at the bottom (finned tubing would work better, like "slant fin" core).
I wouldn't mess with a 3" chop saw, anything that fits in it is small enough to easily cut by hand or in a small mitre box. The biggest thing that would fit in it is quarter-round molding. Minimum 10" blade and even that is sometimes too small (Like if you want to go through a 4x4 in one pass). Radial arm saws are more useful but not as portable. My favorite saw I have cut through raw milled 3x7 cast iron with it before, wood, aluminum, stainless steel, brass, whatever. I think there is an attachment available to mount it like a horizontal band saw, but I just freehand it.
Nope, but I've got the little Harbor Freight mini cutoff saw ( 2 in. Mini Bench Top Cut-Off Saw ) and it works fantastic for cutting up small diameter brass and copper tubing.
