barn saved, near Philly

[Bob Riefer]

Got the table saw outfeed table and side table built today. I used the previously mentioned discount doors to do the job. Went pretty well considering I was building on the fly. I have to get a router bit for the miter slots still, but I'll get to it soon.

The planer still needs the cart, but you can see where it'll sit in its "garage". Once in place, I have a nice long out feet (about 12 feet) and can open the overhead garage door if I need a long infeed (6 feet without the door open.. unlimited with it open).

Moved the jointer to the left of the side table. This gives me 8 feet in and 8 feet out without ever having to move it. The majority of dust collection for planer/jointer/table saw will all be hidden under the outfeed table.

Also picked up 2x4's to stud the walls on the workshop side. I have insulation already, so I'll be warmed in before the weather really turns.

I'd love to OSB the walls in the workshop too, but budget is limited and I have to pick up my band saw in 2 weeks, so I'll be living with insulation showing over there for a couple months. Oh well.

Thanks for reading :-)

[Bob Riefer]

I somehow squeezed a productive barn weekend in between coaching pee wee soccer, attending a kid's birthday party, watching the Phillies lose, and tending to daughter with 24 hour stomach bug.

First, Friday night, I picked up free PVC fittings from a friend. It's 4" (I know, 6" is preferred for dust collection.. but free is a good price for me) and I will only have to buy about $50 worth of materials to do my complete DC ducting solution.

Same friend also gave me a couple speakers to add to the shop stereo system which was a nice bonus. Now I can hear on the woodshop side in addition to the workshop side.

Went to Habitat Re-Store on Saturday. My first visit. WOW. Wish I'd known about this sooner. As an example, they had 12 inch carriage bolts for 10 cents apiece. They also had a nice 24" x 6.5' solid core door for $1.50. It was already painted white and no door knob hole had ever been drilled out, so I brought it home and it will be my assembly table until I feel like making something nicer. Price was right. I will be going to that store every saturday for the foreseeable future. (Another example... Delta grinder - $15.... spring hinges - $1 each... ceiling fan - $20... vinyl windows - $20... brand new vct tiles - $0.50 each)

Studded and insulated the wall by my sub panel. Pain in the butt in an old crooked barn as each stick needs to be individually measured and cut, and I had to box out around the panel. But it turned out nicely.

Got the lumber shelves under the stairs cleared off so that I can get back in there and stud the walls and insulate etc.

Decided on using pump jacks system to do the siding on the barn. Struck out on a few craigs list deals, but it appears they show up often used, so I'll be fine. Don't really want to start siding until spring anyways.

Next up: finish stud and insulation work, followed by wall covering, followed by picking up band saw on November 6th, followed by DC duct work, followed by baffle build and DC purchase, followed by actually building some damn furniture.

[Bob Riefer]

well, since I wrote last, I decided that my under-the-stairs lumber storage was a stupid waste of space. It forced me to have my workbench out in room taking up valuable real estate. So.... I killed the lumber racks altogether, insulated and osb'd everthing, ran electric as needed, and disassembled my old bench, built a new one under the stairs, built a temporary assembly table to hold me over until I can build a nice one, removed the door and the wall between the two spaces, moved my planer to it's final resting spot, swept the floor, had a beer...

some sneak peaks


(edit.. I think I'm talking to myself... anyone out there?)

[Bob Riefer]

Not everyone all at once! (kidding, but I'd love to hear some feedback if you're reading)


Anyways, made more progress tonight

bandsaw pickup tomorrow night

[Mark Godlesky]

Very nice space, Bob. I'm jealous.

[Rob Cunningham]

Looks like you did a great job on everything Bob. The only thing I see wrong is that it's too clean. Start making some dust

[Bob Riefer]

Yay! Comments Thanks guys!

(Rob... I totally agree, time to actually build things instead of building the space itself)

--

New addition to the shop... I think this officially brings me to the point where dust collection and odds and ends are all that are needed to get to work!

The saw is in great condition from the same guy that sold me my drill press. Got another blade with it, the light kit, mobile base... $250. I felt good about the deal.

[Joe A Faulkner]

The shop is shaping up very nicely. You should feel very good about what you've accomplished. Keep us posted.

[Bob Riefer]

Thanks Joe.. I know my place isn't as perfect or awesome as many, but it's really encouraging all the same when I get positive feedback. I hope to post again in a few weeks with the dust collection installation. And then it's time to start building furniture! (at least until spring when I need to side the building and think about gutters... roof is still good for a few more seasons)

[Greg Labacz]

Welcome Bob,
I'm also a beginner in WW. since you're close to Philly (where I live) look at :Philadelphiafurnitureworkshop.com. It's a great woodworking school with courses from 1 night to 1 week. Alan and Mario are great teachers, they taught me a lot so far.

[Bob Riefer]

Hey Greg! Thanks for the tip, I'll definitely check that out

[Bob Riefer]

going to visit my folks next week and they asked for a "shop tour" video.. so I figured I might as well post it here too:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUQc75UKIaU

[Bob Riefer]

Well, woodshop progress is on hold if the step involves purchasing anything. Our family vehicle finally got to the point where it was time to part with it rather than get nickle and dimed, so wifey has a nice new mini van, and I have funds defecit for a little while.

But, there's lots of stuff to work on that doesn't cost anything.

For example, I made the fence system for my miter counter yesterday. It's decidely low tech compared to everyone else's amazing systems, but I think it'll be just fine for the near term (perhaps forever). Basically I took a straight 2x4, marked and labeled it every inch, and screwed it down to the surface. Is a 2x4 perfectly straight? Nope. Does it have every measurement increment? Nope. Does it have fancy hold down system? Nope. Did it allow me to cut 4 accurately measured and perfectly matched work table legs with ease? Yup.

Tomorrow, I'll make the work table that will be my sanding / grinding / sharpening station. Nothing fancy, just a sheet of plywood hanging perpendicular to the wall on some triangle brackets. I do plan to cut the top to a kidney bean shape for some visual interest and because it'll allow me to sit "in" the table area. I have some scrap plywood laying around, so this is another essentially free project.

Next week, it's time to start clearing out the 2nd story of the barn. Lots of barn wood up there, but almost none of it is worth anything. Hopefully in the spring I can start finishing that space.

Happy thanksgiving everyone

[Bob Riefer]

RECAP POST
Well, I realized I've been showing nice "today" pics recently but never took the time to really tell the before story (which makes "today" seem somewhat impossible even to me). I lazily pointed everyone out to a shutterfly site, which is not nearly as user friendly as describing it here.

Background:
The barn was built in about 1902 or so. It is post and beam pegged at the joints and largely sitting upon dry stacked foundation stones. Severe neglect for most of the last 60 years or so left me with a leaning building that was literally sinking and rotting into the ground. At some point, a previous owner poured some foundation out of cement, but honestly did a poor job. The exterior siding is totally shot, the electric was dangerous, and the structure was a death trap overall.

SO... let's go ahead and save that sucker to do woodworking in!

(remember, when I started this project, I had very little construction experience, and absolutely NO woodworking experience. Therefore, this was a labor of love and faith from the very beginning)

Next posts... "BEFORE"

[Bob Riefer]

BEFORE

The building had basically a dirt floor, no insulation, and cobbled together/under-powered electric. The back sill of the building swung freely when kicked. The stairs deflected about 6 inches under my weight. The 2nd story deflected about 4 inches under my weight. Here's what it looked like: