Woodworking, DIY, and home repair thread

[uoftorange 1386]

1 minute ago, Jkwellborn said:

The grizzly expands to like 52” I think. I watched the video on Home Depot’s site. I’ve got enough gift cards to get it for next to nothing. It’s only $450 I think.
Sawstop? I want one but can’t justify it.

I really want a powermatic, but yes, sawstop is what I've been eyeing lately.  

But hard to talk the wife into one given I just bought a festool sander, Kapex and dust extractor.  Even with me redoing half the house haha

[Jkwellborn 6670]

I really want a powermatic, but yes, sawstop is what I've been eyeing lately.  

But hard to talk the wife into one given I just bought a festool sander, Kapex and dust extractor.  Even with me redoing half the house haha

You check out Facebook? I’ve seen some used Powermatic stuff. I went to a Sawstop dealer not long ago, really wanted to pick one up.

[RMac5 1550]

I don’t know much about their jointer, but I just bought a Grizzly cabinet table saw and couldn’t be happier. 

 

[uoftorange 1386]

45 minutes ago, Jkwellborn said:

You check out Facebook? I’ve seen some used Powermatic stuff. I went to a Sawstop dealer not long ago, really wanted to pick one up.

Yes, but they are heavy beast of a saw.  I'd need to grab a trailer from a buddy and then still get it on there.  And even then they hold their value.  There is one posted for 2700 in the Houston area right now.  Not even the one I want, but new that saw is 3800 and that one is 20 years old.  Probably more than it cost new as the used price

So makes more sense to me to get the saw stop new given the tech advantages and improvements over the last 10-15 years in saws

Edited January 23 by uoftorange

[uoftorange 1386]

Anyone else dream of a Delta unisaw because that's what Norm used?

[UT_OB1 2203]

26 minutes ago, uoftorange said:

Yes, but they are heavy beast of a saw.  I'd need to grab a trailer from a buddy and then still get it on there.  And even then they hold their value.  There is one posted for 2700 in the Houston area right now.  Not even the one I want, but new that saw is 3800 and that one is 20 years old.  Probably more than it cost new as the used price

So makes more sense to me to get the saw stop new given the tech advantages and improvements over the last 10-15 years in saws

If you’re in Houston, try TLT liquidator on Facebook, and the offer up ap can be find some good stuff too. 
 

Also - depending on what side of town you’re on, you might be close enough to the Tom’s Pawn shop chain, and they have their stuff listed on their website, so you don’t need to go scour the pawn shops all day just to find they don’t have what you want. 

[dieucla98 2942]

On 1/23/2024 at 8:08 AM, heso said:

Question for the woodworkers that have a jointer: Do you have a 6” or 8” jointer, and if you have a 6 do you often find yourself wishing you had those extra 2 inches? I’m trying to decide if I’d constantly be wishing I would have spent the extra $1k to go with 8” instead of 6”. 

Buy a higher end 6" jointer, IMO. Longer is more important than width and coplanarity is the most important characteristic. The coplanarity is much easier to achieve and maintain on the more expensive machines. I would spend 100% of my budget maximizing the length and coplanarity. 

If you need to do boards wider than 6", build a router sled (that's what I did when I gave up on my shitty 8" jointer). Just be sure to nail the flatness of your reference board.

[dieucla98 2942]

On 1/23/2024 at 11:37 AM, uoftorange said:

I really want a powermatic, but yes, sawstop is what I've been eyeing lately.  

But hard to talk the wife into one given I just bought a festool sander, Kapex and dust extractor.  Even with me redoing half the house haha

I'm planning on upgrading to a Sawstop soon. My argument to my wife is "$2500 is a shit ton cheaper than a new finger". And I've had a few scares on my current saw, especially as my hands get fatigued running 20 boards through the saw.

[RMac5 1550]

What’s the best website for ordering woodworking tools? Talking about clamps and squares and router bits, stuff like that. 

[dieucla98 2942]

22 minutes ago, RMac5 said:

What’s the best website for ordering woodworking tools? Talking about clamps and squares and router bits, stuff like that. 

Bits and Bits for.... bits. https://bitsbits.com/

Amazon for clamps and squares - they actually have a lot of good quality options there. Just have to do research elsewhere on the various woodworking forums or reddit. 

[RMac5 1550]

Thanks amigo!

[Spaulding Smails 1551]

Only took about three months of on-again / off-again work, but finally finished up this outdoor table.  Still need to figure out what we're going to do for benches / chairs, so we're using some cheap ones from Home Depot in the meantime.  I may get roped into building some benches to match the table.  If so, those should be ready in the spring... of 2025.  

Construction was pretty easy.  Welded up some 3x3 square tube for the base.  4/4 Teak for the top.  Fastened with dominoes and left a dime gap between the slats for water to drain.  Had to go back and weld some additional supports for the perpendicular middle piece since I couldn't find any Teak longer than 10'.  Turned out nicer than I expected, but the Teak was waaaaay more expensive than I originally thought.  

[AUinHsv 578]

I will vote for just keeping those chairs. They look pretty good there

[Jkwellborn 6670]

I'm planning on upgrading to a Sawstop soon. My argument to my wife is "$2500 is a shit ton cheaper than a new finger". And I've had a few scares on my current saw, especially as my hands get fatigued running 20 boards through the saw.

My cousin was ripping a sheet of plywood on a table saw. The board popped up and he instinctively pushed it down. Blade caught his hand and split one finger pretty much down the middle and it’s up the another. It was pretty gnarly after the surgery. I plan on getting a SawStop for the same reason. I’ll never be able to justify it use wise, but I like to use my hands to beat off.

[Antidean 200]

15 hours ago, Jkwellborn said:

My cousin was ripping a sheet of plywood on a table saw. The board popped up and he instinctively pushed it down. Blade caught his hand and split one finger pretty much down the middle and it’s up the another. It was pretty gnarly after the surgery. I plan on getting a SawStop for the same reason. I’ll never be able to justify it use wise, but I like to use my hands to beat off.

I never rip plywood on my table saw anymore, it's just to dangerous. 

Track saw is the way to go now when ripping sheet goods.

[Jkwellborn 6670]

I never rip plywood on my table saw anymore, it's just to dangerous. 
Track saw is the way to go now when ripping sheet goods.

This was probably 15 or 16 years or so ago. I guess track saws were a thing, but I’d never heard of one. They certainly weren’t as popular as they are now.

[Spaulding Smails 1551]

19 hours ago, AUinHsv said:

I will vote for just keeping those chairs. They look pretty good there

Good!  So that's two votes for those chairs (me and you).  We only need about 500 more votes in favor of them to override my wife's one vote for two steel + teak benches to match.  

[Mrs Whiggins 13049]

I vote for the chairs as well. Unless the chairs create an issue (damage) with the surface upon which they set, the chairs are way more versatile and easy to replace. Plus, you can stack them as necessary, move them to other locations, and so on. I'm a practical person so take that for what it's worth.

[Jkwellborn 6670]

Keep the chairs.

[thunderlounge 7779]

#TeamCurrentChairs

[RMac5 1550]

Yep me too!

[utee94 15752]

Matching steel + teak benches sound bad-ass.

#TeamTeak

Edited January 26 by utee94

[Hornbeliever 712]

Just got a Pro-ject record player and decided to build a table top organizer after my first month of frustration dealing with the records and where to store them.

Decided on cherry wood and like the teak above, surprisingly expensive.  Definitely nowhere near scale of @Spaulding Smails’s nice new table but still $.  

Now that it’s in use, wish I had done 5 storage sections instead of the 3 with the middle section being very skinny to only fit the record that is playing at the time.  Live and learn.

[Okie State 3789]

I need a track saw. What's the best reasonable option?

Only took about three months of on-again / off-again work, but finally finished up this outdoor table.  Still need to figure out what we're going to do for benches / chairs, so we're using some cheap ones from Home Depot in the meantime.  I may get roped into building some benches to match the table.  If so, those should be ready in the spring... of 2025.  
Construction was pretty easy.  Welded up some 3x3 square tube for the base.  4/4 Teak for the top.  Fastened with dominoes and left a dime gap between the slats for water to drain.  Had to go back and weld some additional supports for the perpendicular middle piece since I couldn't find any Teak longer than 10'.  Turned out nicer than I expected, but the Teak was waaaaay more expensive than I originally thought.  

This house looks awesome. More pics?

[Jkwellborn 6670]

I need a track saw. What's the best reasonable option?

I think Festool makes a decent one. lol Makita makes one. I can’t remember the kind my boss has but he likes it. It’s not a high end one by any means. I’ll try to ask him next week.

[uoftorange 1386]

I want that Festool track saw bad.  But Milwaukee's is supposed to be very good, dewalt is supposed to be solid.  For a short fix and like $100 the Kreg jig that hooks up to any circular saw works decently well

[RMac5 1550]

Grizzly has one that won’t break the bank. $229 for saw, tracks and a couple of clamps and no shipping charge.

[Jkwellborn 6670]

I want that Festool track saw bad.  But Milwaukee's is supposed to be very good, dewalt is supposed to be solid.  For a short fix and like $100 the Kreg jig that hooks up to any circular saw works decently well

I’ve got the Kreg one. Caught them both on sale and figured why not try it. If the cradle for the saw was made sturdier, it would actually be pretty decent, especially for the price.

[Armybrat 40761]

I don’t know squat about woodworking, but know what I like.

This is the solid teak coffee table my Mom (no pics - she dead) designed in 1958. 
Dad had it made by a local Taiwanese carpenter when we were living in a suburb of Taipei. The Asian style brass pulls (with loose tabs) are a nice touch, IMO. 
Several side tables, a dining room set, a china cabinet, and a silverware cabinet were made at the same time. I inherited the china cabinet and two side tables. One of my sons has one of the tables and the cabinet. He will eventually get the other side table and the coffee table. 
My two older brothers have the remainder.

 

 

[Armybrat 40761]

And this copper-lined humidor belonged to Mrs. Brat’s grandfather. Dates from pre-1910. 
He kept his pipe terbacky in it.

 

[ROFL BOX 6647]

Speaking of "dust"... I don't really want to "collect" it, I just want to blow it a decent distance away from the space I'm in.

¿Home Depot vac head that doesn't have a filter & will dump the stuff maybe through a window & 5 ft. away via hoses & into the bushes or cedars?

(Living rural, no worries about appearances, sawdust pile, etc)

[ROFL BOX 6647]

I want that Festool track saw bad.  But Milwaukee's is supposed to be very good, dewalt is supposed to be solid.  For a short fix and like $100 the Kreg jig that hooks up to any circular saw works decently well

Yeah, I think I recently saw a Milwaukee m-18 Track @ Home Depot.
Didn't linger, not easily useful in our roofing work, definitely a "hmmmm" moment.

[dieucla98 2942]

4 hours ago, ROFL BOX said:

Speaking of "dust"... I don't really want to "collect" it, I just want to blow it a decent distance away from the space I'm in.

¿Home Depot vac head that doesn't have a filter & will dump the stuff maybe through a window & 5 ft. away via hoses & into the bushes or cedars?

(Living rural, no worries about appearances, sawdust pile, etc)

I have a CM 2HP dust collector - you can disconnect the hose that leads to the bag and it will work like you described. That works great for most tools but for things like my sander, the shop vac's higher velocity air flow seems to work better. The CM also uses bigger hoses so those will be more expensive but the actual unit itself isn't bad.

https://www.harborfreight.com/35-gallon-2-hp-high-flow-high-capacity-dust-collector-59726.html

[uoftorange 1386]

I have a Jet that's the same idea as the HF above.  With drainage tubes and joints to some hose to all my big tools.  For big chips you want the extra air volume of the dust collector.  For the miter saw and sanders I have a Dust extractor that does better with very fine dust.  I have almost zero dust when sanding with my festool and Cubitron sand paper.  Because of the dust extractor that sand paper lasts forever too

[Spaulding Smails 1551]

@Okie State thanks for the compliments on the house.  Still need to finish landscaping this spring, but I'll try to remember to post a few pics next week.  

[uoftorange 1386]

All done with the fireplace and I squared off the area to the right.  Need to paint that cabinet the correct color (Same as the fireplace and trim work of the house) and the walls from the drywall work.  Looks much better, but still not quite perfect.  After I do the paint work I'll see if that fixes it or not.  The doors are being built for me.  I'm having the whole kitchen redone and I'm not up for the amount of work that would require to do it.  So the guy doing the custom cabinets is going to make two doors so they exactly match with the kitchen ones for me.  

It's the half zoom so makes everything look smaller than it is.  Also gives an illusion that the right side is bowed up, but it's not.  It's an 85" frame tv for reference

[uoftorange 1386]

While my kitchen is getting redone I'm building a new vanity for the master bath.  I'm going to have extra quartz from the kitchen so they are going to install the remnants for me in the bathroom.  Which means I have 2 ish weeks to have this built and installed so they can put the counter on and install the sinks for me.  

One of these days I'm going to figure out sketchup, but not there yet.  Paper and pad works fine

 

[Shoxthemonkey 1976]

On 1/26/2024 at 8:13 PM, RMac5 said:

Grizzly has one that won’t break the bank. $229 for saw, tracks and a couple of clamps and no shipping charge.

We have the Grizzly in the back of our shop. We mainly use it for making shipping boxes out of plywood but it gets some personal use by employees after hours. It does a nice job. 

[otisdog 365]

On 1/23/2024 at 10:26 AM, uoftorange said:

Anyone else dream of a Delta unisaw because that's what Norm used?

I had 8 unisaws (4 left, 4 right) for my business, but the powermatics were the workers favorites. Having said that, I kept a pair of unisaws when I retired.

[uoftorange 1386]

Doors are built.  Hinges are on most of them and they are all sanded up and ready to be painted now.  

My to do list is ridiculous to get this all done in a timely manner.  

 

[uoftorange 1386]

[Okie State 3789]

Always looks different in pictures, but our kitchen table was long overdue for a refinish. Used Waterlox before and was never really happy with it. Tried Rubio Monocoat this time and love how it turned out. One coat of finish and one coat of maintenance oil. Super easy to use and dries to a nice matte/satin sheen that still looks like wood rather than a plastic coating like some do.

[Jkwellborn 6670]

I’ve got a buddy at work that loves Rubio. I’m thinking about building a wardrobe pretty soon. I’d like to use stain grade hardwood plywood and finish with Rubio.

It will definitely be my most ambitious project. But, I’m tossing around the idea of using it to justify buying a track saw and a domino joiner. lol

[thunderlounge 7779]

28 minutes ago, Jkwellborn said:

I’m tossing around the idea of using it to justify buying a track saw and a domino joiner. lol

That’s how ya do it. 

[dieucla98 2942]

I'm nearly 100% Rubio these days. Love the ease, look, and sheen. 

[uoftorange 1386]

I'm about to build a whisky shelf/cabinet out of black walnut starting in a few weeks.  I was planning on doing Rubio but have never tried.  Glad it has a ringing endorsement here too

[Okie State 3789]

1 hour ago, uoftorange said:

I'm about to build a whisky shelf/cabinet out of black walnut starting in a few weeks.  I was planning on doing Rubio but have never tried.  Glad it has a ringing endorsement here too

Highly recommend the Pure color on black walnut. It looks amazing. The maintenance oil really gave it a professional looking finish too.

Also, the sanding is really important. Tons of videos out there, but I used multiple grits all the way up to 180 and water popped the grain between each. Maroon pad by hand before the final maintenance oil coat.

Edited February 26 by Okie State

[dieucla98 2942]

23 minutes ago, Okie State said:

Highly recommend the Pure color on black walnut. It looks amazing. The maintenance oil really gave it a professional looking finish too.

Also, the sanding is really important. Tons of videos out there, but I used multiple grits all the way up to 180 and water popped the grain between each. Maroon pad by hand before the final maintenance oil coat.

Echoing this - pure on walnut is awesome. I sand to 220 for Rubio but that's probably more than necessary really. I think they recommend 180-220 and no more - it apparently needs a little grit to help adhere. Which is another huge benefit not having to wet sand all the way to 400 (fuck off, poly). 

[thunderlounge 7779]

1 hour ago, Okie State said:

The maintenance oil really gave it a professional looking finish too.

That’s the kicker right there. 

[Okie State 3789]

9 minutes ago, thunderlounge said:

That’s the kicker right there. 

Yeah I didn't mind the single coat look, but I could see how a lot of people would think it looked unfinished. Probably looks better on some wood species than others. I was worried the maintenance oil would bring the sheen up too much, but it's perfect. It is more matte now than it was when I took those pictures. Maybe somewhere between matte and satin.