Page 1 of 3 123 LastLast
Results 1 to 15 of 33

Thread: New shop tour

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    Bellingham, WA
    Posts
    1,933

    New shop tour

    It has been about 6 months since I’ve done any regular posting, ever since I signed a lease on a commercial space and began planning, moving, setting up, and finally catching up on orders last week! It has been a long haul with lots of long days and nights. I’ve got a great employee helping full-time now, so I’m taking the 4th as vacation – a rarity in years past. I’ve gotten a real kick out of taking woodworking from a hobby to a full-time occupation over the past 6 years, so I thought I would share a little shop tour now that I have a few minutes. This shop is set up for solid wood cabinet door production.

    I’ve got a 2550 SF footprint, with about 500 ft of loft office space that I’m just using for personal storage so far. Actual shop floor space is about 1900 sf. Here’s a view from the stairs going up to the loft, looking over the main production area. You can’t see the overhead door up front, or the lumber receiving/storage and rough crosscut station. I bought a shop's worth of used Nordfab ductwork, which has allowed this temporary setup using my old 10 HP blower and cyclone. We ran the duct over a weekend after moving the equipment in on a Friday. The Jatoba board sticking up in the picture in not an unusual dimension. This one got set aside for future use because it was flat and straight, which is somewhat unusual.

    <img src="http://www.nas.com/~harmonic/NewShop/overhead shop.jpg">

    Unless the lumber is poor quality, I rough rip on an old beater of a PowerMatic 66 with a 4-wheel feeder I got at the Grizzly tent sale. The saw has a 3 HP motor, and I definitely wish for more with the feeder. I have an HVAC fitting screwed to the fence side of the feeder with 4” pickup, and a 5” hose to the saw base. There is still some dust escaping to the table, but I’m not breathing it.

    <img src="http://www.nas.com/~harmonic/NewShop/rip saw.jpg">

    Then the strips get crosscut a bit overlength before going to the face jointer. I’ve removed the fence and built a guard that covers the infeed side of the cutterhead. The part that bolts to the table acts as a guide so that boards don’t get an accidental rabbet on the back edge of the table. The feeder is in the way, but There wasn’t a good place to mount to the back side, since belts run up from the motor the the cutterhead along that side. The original swing-away guard slips underneath the new guard to get full protection. The router underneath is used to sharpen the blades in place.

    <img src="http://www.nas.com/~harmonic/NewShop/face joint.jpg">

    The planer is positioned so that the parts coming off the facer, get piled so they are ready to get picked up and go directly to the planer. I put a Byrd Shelix head in the planer last summer, and it does a great job. Anyone can feed the planer without looking at grain direction. I mounted a Wixey gauge on the planer as well (next to the mag switch), which simplifies repeatable thicknessing, and makes for easy standardization of parts. The plywood top cap is used for stacking parts for multiple passes. The planer has a 5 HP 1 PH motor, and I am considering replacing it with a 7.5 HP 3 PH motor to allow full depth cuts on wider Jatoba boards.

    <img src="http://www.nas.com/~harmonic/NewShop/sf planer.jpg">

    Parts get carried a few feet to the edge jointer. I got this discontinued Grizzly from their showroom floor this past spring. It is nice in that it has a 4” cutterhead with index pin for setting knives with an indicator. The fence is much better than the newer jointers, IMHO. It keeps adjustments pretty well. I slide it out every few jobs to get wear across the entire cutterhead before sharpening. It needs a bigger DC pickup – 4” is not enough. The 1/4 HP feeder works pretty well for edging, but the hardware for tightening adjustments is lousy. I’ve broken one handle and stripped the threads on another.

    <img src="http://www.nas.com/~harmonic/NewShop/edge joint.jpg">

    After edging, parts are ripped on the G350, which finally got new bearings last month. The overarm guard has a 3” DC hose, and the base has a 4”. I’m thinking about reconfiguring this finish rip station with a power feeder so that you stand at the end to feed and catch parts. I use it for panel ripping though, so I may ultimately need another dedicated saw for ripping.

    For finish crosscuts, I use a 10” slider with Chopmaster blade. I built the integrated table to raise the stock to get 15” crosscut capability. The fence is a Scotsman and is made os steel with 1/16” spaced teeth on the back side. The stop engages the teeth for repeatability. It is really nice compared to a cursor type, since I rarely have to cut anything other than 1/16” increments. They make an accessory that allows 1/64” adjustments. The portion of the table under the blade is replaceable to maintain zero clearance. I smeared it with super glue at the kerf to try to keep a crisp edge on the MDF.

    <img src="http://www.nas.com/~harmonic/NewShop/crosscut.jpg">

    I use a pair of #27 shapers for cope and sticking, as well as edge shaping stock for mitered frames. The spindles are loaded with the 3 most common cutters and adjusted vertically to change profiles. A digital gauge for each is planned for when I eventually go to insert tooling. The cope sled looks a bit rough, but it is actually quite tight and cuts square joints. The backer board cane be replaced quickly as needed for clean exits. I run an outboard fence for the sticking shaper, with spacers to ease setups. Eventually, this will get an integrated fence, but for now a straight board and some C-clamps work well enough. I’ve got a HolzHer 1117 feeder that I’m rebuilding with tractor feed to use on the sticking shaper.

    <img src="http://www.nas.com/~harmonic/NewShop/cope + stick.jpg">
    <img src="http://www.nas.com/~harmonic/NewShop/sticking spacer.jpg">
    JR

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    Bellingham, WA
    Posts
    1,933

    Shop tour part 2

    Panels get run on the big shaper, which I got locally via a “pickup only” auction. The fellow lives less than 10 miles from my house. Even though it is an older machine, it got minimal use and is in great shape. The spindle has a few cutters on at any given time, and there is no vibration during startup or in use. I added a reversing switch, since some of my cutters run CCW. The aux fence allows continuous contact of panel edge via 1/8” aluminum strips. One edge has the strip set against the shaper table for panels with one flat side. Flip it over and the strip is spaced up to allow a backcutter. The Univer feeder is a sweetheart. You can adjust vertical position and spring tension on each wheel.

    <img src="http://www.nas.com/~harmonic/NewShop/stick + panel.jpg">

    I recently got a JLT door clamp for assembly, which had become a bottleneck using K-Bodies. We now use spaceballs and 23 ga. pins in the stub tenons for a fast process. I had to grind a bit off the tip of my Accuset gun to get the pins to countersink reliably in harder woods. The new cyclone is on the floor behind the clamp, and you can see the Oneida filters of the old, temp setup at the back of the shop.

    <img src="http://www.nas.com/~harmonic/NewShop/jlt clamp.jpg">

    I’m still using my double drum sander while I decide on which way to go long-term. I run 120/180 full time, and change wraps every 5-10 days. I’ve found a stroke sander belt at Woodworker’s Supply that I can cut to get 2 wraps. Cost ends up about $8 per wrap this way.

    <img src="http://www.nas.com/~harmonic/NewShop/sander.jpg">

    I still have a ways to go in terms of getting a permanent DC setup. I’ve got a 15 HP Torit cyclone with hopper base waiting to be installed outside. An Aget baghouse with shaker should be here within 2 weeks. I’ve blown up a couple more Oneida cartridges due to high backpressure and have decided to go to fabric long term. It is just too hard to clean the super fine Jatoba dust/talc with a blow gun.

    Here are a few shots of the finished product in my biggest customer’s showroom. The Jatoba looks really nice and deep, with a rich chesnut color. Pics don’t do it justice.

    <img src="http://www.nas.com/~harmonic/NewShop/bookmatch.jpg">

    <img src="http://www.nas.com/~harmonic/NewShop/island.jpg">

    <img src="http://www.nas.com/~harmonic/NewShop/sub zero.jpg">

    Here is a set of furniture-type cabinets that I did the drawers/doors/finished ends for (not the curved faces). The mirror was a bit of a challenge as well, since I don’t have CNC (yet!) The panels are an embossed cherry plywood. The reflection shows some of my other doors on a different display, but that's enough for now, I think.

    <img src="http://www.nas.com/~harmonic/NewShop/furniture.jpg">

    Thanks for virtually stopping by!
    JR

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    In the foothills of the Sandia Mountains
    Posts
    16,622
    JR, thanks for the excellent tour!
    How long does it take to make a door from scratch to finish product? Do you have a finishing room?
    Please help support the Creek.


    "It's paradoxical that the idea of living a long life appeals to everyone, but the idea of getting old doesn't appeal to anyone."
    Andy Rooney



  4. #4
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    Bellingham, WA
    Posts
    1,933
    I can do about 150 doors and drawer faces in a week. So that works out to about 16 minutes per door. But that is just an average and isn't man-hours, just shop time. Square footage, style, glue cure, lumber quality, etc all factor in.

    No finishing, I just wholesale to local cabinet shops.
    Last edited by J.R. Rutter; 07-04-2006 at 2:10 AM.
    JR

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    SE PA - Central Bucks County
    Posts
    65,688
    JR....awesome shop!! Really! And that cabinetry is really wonderful. I especially like the design of the bath setup. Very sharp.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Feb 2005
    Location
    never-never land
    Posts
    751
    JR,

    Congrats on a shop and tools to drool over! I really appreciate the way you set tools up for work flow. I'll be checking back on these pictures when it comes time to arranging things in my new shop.

    Thanks for posting...
    - Marty -

  7. #7
    Top notch shop JR and you do some gorgeous work!

    Corey

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Jan 2005
    Location
    Harrisburg, NC
    Posts
    2,255
    Great tour JR. It's always great to see pro shops.

    Richard

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Feb 2005
    Location
    Sterling CT
    Posts
    2,473
    excellent tour on your shop.

    can you provide a little more info on the scotsman fence system?

    thanks
    lou

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    Bellingham, WA
    Posts
    1,933
    Here's a link:

    http://www.locstop.com/quickloc.htm

    I looked at several measuring/stop systems before buying this one. CTD also makes a similar stop using a length of allthread in much the same way. I have that one on my D45 double miter saw. Most others use a cursor and threaded thightening mechanism to set the stop, which is fine but doesn't guarantee repeatibility. It is nice to slide all the way out to 8' then back to 12" in seconds and have it lock in the exact same place every time. I looked at a system with set screws for common dimensions, but all of my stuff is custom made to order, so while I have common dimensions, they vary enough that this toothed setup works best for me - until I can justify a TigerStop ;-)
    JR

  11. Gittin' along...

    It's a shame you are making-do with so little equipment.
    Nice tour--Thanks for sharing.

  12. No wasted motion at all, I imagine with some more time in, you will tweak it even further.

    Thanks for the tour, VERY impressive!

    Cheers!

  13. #13
    Nice tour. You just proved to me :-
    1- I really do need another 1000 ft2
    2 - I really do need to get my shop tidied up and organised
    3 - I have been wise not to do a tour of the shambles in which I work.

    Nice shop but even more important - nice product. Enjoy the 4th.

    Ian

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Jun 2005
    Location
    Brentwood & Altamont, TN
    Posts
    2,334
    What a nice shop and an inspiration to all of us woodworking "Walter Mittys" out here! My dream is to retire from my real source of income in about 12 years and have a woodworking shop as a second career. That way, since I will have a retirement income from my current job I can afford to pi$$ off all my customers and do what I want to. Isn't that one of the few benefits of getting old?

  15. #15
    nice shop jr! glad to hear you`re moved in and running. tod
    TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN; I ACCEPT FULL LEGAL RESPONSIBILITY FOR MY POSTS ON THIS FORUM, ALL POSTS ARE MADE IN GOOD FAITH CONTAINING FACTUAL INFORMATION AS I KNOW IT.

Similar Threads

  1. Tour of my small shop (PICS)
    By Bob Noles in forum General Woodworking and Power Tools
    Replies: 57
    Last Post: 05-03-2006, 7:05 PM
  2. Shop Tour with the "PIX FIX"
    By Bob Oehler in forum General Woodworking and Power Tools
    Replies: 9
    Last Post: 10-11-2005, 5:25 PM
  3. Shop Tour #1: Le-ca-getty Central. The Power House
    By Dev Emch in forum General Woodworking and Power Tools
    Replies: 24
    Last Post: 10-01-2005, 11:19 PM
  4. O.K. My shop tour #1 is done.
    By Dev Emch in forum General Woodworking and Power Tools
    Replies: 3
    Last Post: 09-26-2005, 11:07 PM
  5. Shop Tour # 7 B 24" Italian Planer
    By lou sansone in forum General Woodworking and Power Tools
    Replies: 13
    Last Post: 04-23-2005, 7:29 PM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •