Coolmeadow Creations Shop Rehab

[Jim O'Dell]

Ok, now for some more of the enchilada. Got most of the other bench done. Need one more 8' 2X4 to finish the extra braces. DSCN1504.jpg I won't get much shop time the next 3 weekends, major cleaning for company after next weekend, then company for 10 days or so with local dog shows the weekend following the Fourth holiday. We'll show 3 of the 4 days. And I doubt that I'll have the money to start the bench tops by next weekend. Maybe if Bob comes through with the adjustable feet I need, I can get that finished up on the second half, and get it levelled to the first half. It will take about 2 hours to drill the adjusters to be able to mount them. And another hour to level the bench.
Hope you've had some quality time in your shop or with your family this weekend! Have a great week. Jim.

[Jim O'Dell]

Long time no update! My thread seeking help on building the torsion boxes kept me going in the interim.
As of this weekend, I now have the torsion boxes leveled and co-planer to the TS top, and attached to the bench bases. DSCN1654.jpg DSCN1655.jpgThe "fences" are now built, laminated, and attached to the benches. DSCN1656.jpg I thought I'd have time to build one of the top sections and cut the hole for the cyclone ductwork to go through, but I ran out of time.
I will need to build a spacer to put under the T-track to have the top of it match the lamintate surfaces of the tops. DSCN1657.jpg It looks like 2 thicknesses of the laminate will do a perfect job. Hopefully I have enough scraps to do it.
Thanks for looking in! Have a great week. Jim

[Jim Becker]

Bench looks nice, Jim! Thanks for the update.

[Don Bullock]

Wow, Jim that's quite a job you've been working on. Your shop is really starting to come together. As one who also shows dogs, I can relate to all the time needed for that aspect of your life that takes you away from your shop project. There are months when all our weekends are taken up with shows. I'm at least a year or two away from being able to set up a shop. After we retire the LOML and I plan to move to a place where we can have all our dogs and I can have a dedicated shop. Reading through your thread has given me some great ideas and also shows my how much work is involved. For now I share a garage with two cars in a tract home with a wife and seven basset hounds. Yes, it gets very crowded. Thanks for your posts.

[Kendall Landry]

Gitter done Jim !!!

[Tyler Howell]

Got a first hand look last week.
Looking great Jim.
Fine work.

[Jim O'Dell]

Thanks guys. I have the tops made now, but only the 8' sections resting in place for now. DSCN1662.jpg The short sections still need one more coat of poly on the back sides.DSCN1664.jpg
Worked my fanny off on the roof today. Got the old torn off, and the felt in place. Will start the shingles in the morning. The heat wasn't as bad as the sun shine. I came inside from 12 to 3, then the trees were shading half of the roof and made things bearable again. Changed shirts 3 times! Had to go get some more felt as I was aobut 17 feet short. Just looked, the picture I took is too fuzzy even for me to post.
Well, it's my turn to start supper. LOML will be in from teaching in about a half hour. Hopefully I'll have pictures of shingles tomorrow! Jim.

[Bob Feeser]

Looks to me like somebody is woodworking heaven. Keep the pics coming.

This is better than being a kid. You really are building your own fort, and you are using more than chairs and a blanket.

Way to go. I shared that feeling when I built my addition and shed. Wish I had more ground.

They say home is where the heart is and it is apparent that yours is in this creation.

[Jim O'Dell]

Well, I see I haven't updated the multistation cabinet pictures, since I do have the tops on! DSCN1671.jpg

I've been working on my router table for the last week, which is why I have so many questions out today about different aspects of the router table! Thought I'd share some of my progress.

This first picture is the base with the top frame on top. DSCN1676.jpgThe stained legs are the part that I salvaged from the 2 story dog crate stand from the old house. Had to add the stretchers on top to get to the height I needed. Bracing is all half lapped, glued and bradded. Couldn't stretch the base out farther because of the limits of the Herc-U-Lift. It is jury rigged now to get it this big! the base is 31.5 X 39.5
This second shot is of the bottom layer of the table top. DSCN1677.jpg I had to piece it together to get it all out of 1 sheet of MDF. I doubt that it will be a problem. I had to piece together the torsion box tops for the multistation tops and they did fine.
The last shot is of the top section.DSCN1678.jpg I still need to put the edge on it, and then laminate the edge and top. Then cut in the ledge for the PRL to sit on. I plan on taking one afternoon off from work this week, then I also have next weekend. Still need to try my idea out for the cord. Lots of things to finish up.
Hope you had a good weekend! Jim.

[Jim O'Dell]

Thought I'd post a little update. I have the top done now. Didn't go flawlessly, but it is done. I haven't locked it down to the base yet. I did the modifications to make it an updraft design. Will report later when I get everything on it and working.
The problem I had is somehow I missed a piece of wood chip that got on the laminate. I had been very careful. Maybe it was on the wood sleepers I used between the 2 pieces to align the laminate before sticking it down. Regardless, there is was. DSCN1688.jpg DSCN1689.jpgA mountain growing under my laminate. Only thing I knew to do since it wouldn't pull back up was to take a small Forstner bit and drill out the spot so that the laminate would lay down flat around it. I'll have to patch it with something. May try some laminate, may make the spot the size of a penny and epoxy it in and put an epoxy coating over it so it is level with the laminate. The other thing I thought of was to get a brass screw with a flat head the size of the opening and put it in level with the top. If you have any suggestions, I'm open to them!
This last picture shows the 8 X 4 metal outlet and transition between the framework of the base for the dust collection. DSCN1691.jpg I've built a sliding "door" that will cover a 6" hole in the bottom of the router chamber that I can open fully, or close off as much as I want to see if it will control/balance airflow between router chamber and fence pickup. Thanks for looking, and I let me know if you have a better solution for my hole than I do. (Visible in the first 2 piectures.) Jim.

[Chuck Lenz]

Jim, I kind of like the penny idea, but if the hole isn't big enough put a dime in it, and see how many people try to pick it up.

[Nathan Conner]

I'll have to patch it with something. May try some laminate, may make the spot the size of a penny and epoxy it in and put an epoxy coating over it so it is level with the laminate.

I read that and thought..."WOW. What an ingenious idea!"

Then, I realized I misread it.

But I remember as a child going to my Grandmother's house. There was always this wheat penny embedded in the concrete steps up to her door that I'm sure is still there to this day. I always was fascinated with it when I went there, and hearing you say that brought memories of that flooding back.

So, just do it like I misread it...put a penny in it - 2007, nice and shiny - and then use a good clear epoxy/finish over it. Great for nostalgia, years from now, and a nice conversation piece.

Or, perhaps I need to get out more.

[Chuck Lenz]

Another option would be to put a miter track there.

[Jim Dunn]

Go for one of those recalled Susan B Anthony dollar coins. That's such a rich looking router table it needs something more than a penny.

[Kelly C. Hanna]

I like the penny idea too...nice table Jim!