Any woodworkers?

great project idea, ...it really has a great vintage look to it! ..."functional" and a great keepsake!

 

...some pics of the assembly of the fireplace mantel...

photos of the installed mantel here: https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/home-improvement-today.12120/page-382#post-12548939

view from back (top: mantel assembly with corbels and hanging cleats, middle: fascia board, left/right: pillasters)

1. pillasters get mated to fascia board via captive dowels and bolt/barrel-nuts

2. pillaster/fascia assembly get mated to mantel assembly by pressing pillasters onto the small corbels on either end (notice the dowels there for alignment and support), then screwed into the back of the corbels w/ 1/4" lag screws and #8 pan-head screws.

3. pillaster/fascia/mantel assembly gets "hung" onto mating aluminum cleats on the wall above fireplace...



closeup of pillaster-fascia joinery... i designed this to be knock-down, the dowels provide for alignment and strength, held together using barrel-nuts and bolts (not shown). the reason for the slotted hole is to accommodate any expansion/contraction of the fascia board across its width, since it is pretty wide and it's a cross-grain joint interface with the pillaster)


...aluminum "z-clip" cleats on wall support the weight of the entire assembly... these are 1/4" thick, beefier than the ones for hanging pictures and such...

 

my new office desk and bookcase in Cherry

 

Shop stool I made from cedar. I have since added a semi-gloss clear coat. I consider myself a novice for sure. I would like to get into hand cut joinery (mortise and tennon, dove tails etc). This does not even hold water compared to the works of art in this thread.

 

Rousseau miter saw stands: this seems like the best place to ask.

I'd like to get a dedicated miter saw stand/setup for in-shop use (not mobile/job site), and I've considered making one from plans, but the reality these days (especially with a 1-year-old son) is that it will simply be another project I can never get to before I can get to all the other projects I can't get to...that I want to use it for.

So now I am looking at some off-the-shelf options. This is for DIY home improvement stuff, occasional use, and limited space. That said, I am willing to pay for stuff that is quick to set up and go, and is sturdy/stays true.

Rousseau seems to have some reasonably priced stuff that has good reviews, but I've not been able to get my hands on one.

I'm interested to hear from anyone who has one of these! How good is it? Can you recommend it?

Reviews: http://www.woodcraft.com/product/827207/shop-style-miter-saw-stand-kit-model-2850.aspx#REVIEWS

The structure looks a little...skimpy, so this give me some concern about sturdiness/rigidity.
http://rousseauco.com/miter-saw-stands/shop-style-kit-miter-saw-stand-model-2850/




http://rousseauco.com/miter-saw-stands/shop-style-miter-saw-stand-model-2875xl/


They also make this pretty cook dust collection hood I'm considering.

http://www.woodcraft.com/product/851659/rousseau-5000-dust-solution-for-miter-saws.aspx



Please opine...

 

Make one from the guys youtube videos that got posted in the home improvement thread

 

I prefer a solid top outfeed table on either side rather than rollers or material supports

 

*Does not conform with my above-stated criteria. I just don't have time anymore. This is becoming abundantly clear with each passing day. New truck to mod, new-old house to mod/maintain, new son to mod/maintain...

Yeah, rollers are a fiddly bitch. The second model comes with wing framework in which you can insert your own solid-top feed surface, so I could fit some Baltic ply in those wings, which fold down for storage. Could also attach a stop system, which is another feature I really want. In the pics it looks like they have MDF in place just for illustration.

 

I would go with #2 then

 

One other option might be to hire a local carpenter to construct a dedicated set-up at your house. Option #2 is $450 and might be sturdy as hell but you might be able to get something very nice that is custom made for that price. Can't hurt to ask and you won't have to spend the time constructing it yourself.

 

In all seriousness , a solid core door and 2 folding aluminum sawhorses , done

 

I am leaning that way.

The other part of the equation is that if my wife and I decide to go forward with demolishing the existing bare-bones 2-car garage and rebuild a 3-bay garage with extra perimeter width for storage/work surfaces, I'd then build in a dedicated mitre saw bench under my Port-mate stock racks. But that would be 3 years from now at least LOL.

That sounds like table saw outfeed. #aluminumsawhorseprobs. I just need to buy those things, but space is a bitch.

I am currently building a mobile shorts bin to take care of the biggest pain in my ass right now: inadequate/dodgy storage for anything under 4 feet long.

 

When I trim out buildings I have the solid core door slab and 2 folding aluminum sawhorses for my chop saw

Stores compactly , breaks down and moves easily and its cheap

 

But what do you use for in/outfeed support?

Right now I just use my trusty yet not dead flat roll-around multipurpose work table and stick a couple screws through the saw base.

 

Sometimes I just screw a block to either end on the door slab that is the same height as the saw table , sometimes I put blocks and a 3/4" plywood table extension on either side , depends what I'm doing

When I need a longer fence / zero clearance blocks for tear out , I screw a longer piece of stock to the saw fence through the screw holes provided in my LS1013's fence and then chop through it giving me a zero clearance throat in the fence , tear out protection and I can clamp a stop on to the fence if I want to

 

I am just getting into woodworking... erm.... mutilating wood with cheap power tools, rather.

Building the drawer system/sleep platform for my truck right now, but I have a long list of wood mutilating projects on my list. This weekend I am building shelves for my patio closet. Once thats done I will free up a decent amount of space in my garage and move lots of things that should not be subjected to the saw dust out of the way.

After that I am going to build a bastardized version of Ron Paulk work bench. I don't need an 8' outfeed table, so I will probably build 6' one. My "shop" is a 1 car garage where I have to park my truck, so I need something I can easily take apart and stow away at the end of the day. Will also use this opportunity to upgrade my $120 Ryobi table saw and maybe add a decent dust collection system. Festool is out of the question for my beginner needs, so I'm hoping to find something decent in $150-200 range.

I am really looking forward to building a few furniture pieces once I hone up my skills a bit more. A bench for the dining table, liquor cabinet / bar, etc. Also, I never know what to gift people for their birthdays and much rather gift them something I made instead of a gift card or whatever. Custom made jewelry boxes and handmade whiskey bottle cases sound like a good gift to me. I'm also hoping to get my kid interested in making shit, but I'm not holding my breath. He is in 100% Pokenmon Go mode at the moment. haha

 

@scocar

Started working on the Rhino Fence today and chucked a quick sub fence on to cut some multiples so took a few pics so you were clear what I was saying

I just screw on a straight piece of scrap to the LS1013 fence through the holes provided in the saw fence . I lift the sub fence up on a couple pieces of thin cardboard or similar ( in this case Ramboard ) so if I have to swivel the table it doesn't jam and sawdust doesn't pinch between it and the sub fence , then chop through it and pull out the cardboard .

I can then add a stop block for multiples and the whole set up takes 5 minutes tops plus it provides a zero clearance tear out advantage for the pieces I'm cutting

 

Wow, that Mak has like no fence to start with. But I like the idea for zero clearance on the back side especially for really fine work or small pieces. The DeWalt has a large V cutout there that I can remember at least once being a bit problematic with something I was doing. And screwing a stop block to that exactly where desired without fussing with clamps is a good idea. I'll give it a try this weekend when I chop some upright supports/corner blocks for my rolling shorts bin. Although those are all 8 footers I should just keep bisecting to nominal 2 ft sections.

 

The LS1013 fence to the left of the blade flips up to provide a taller section , I have it flipped down in that pic

 

Sooo... I overbuilt some shelves this weekend and this morning. The house was a complete shit show over the weekend with people and dogs coming and going for 3 days straight, so I had to work on this in 1-2 hour intervals between entertaining. Nothing special, just wanted some shelves in the patio closet, so I could move a bunch stuff out of the garage and make space to build more shit. There is no way I could use a "woodworker" title with my current skillset... more like lumber mutilator. This is literally my 3rd "woodworking" project.

I like to obsessively plan my projects, to avoid numerous trips to the store, so I made a SketchUp model to figure out what I need to buy, exactly. I also picked up a Kreg pocket hole jig and a cross cut guide, so, naturally, I had to use them here.

Pocket hole jig is impressive. I wish I bought Kreg clamp because it allows clamping the jig and the workpiece at the same time. None of my existing clamps were able to do that, but that may have something to do with the fact that I used by Ryobi table saw at a work bench... And let me tell you, it makes a shitty work bench. Surprisingly, shelf frames ended up being straight as an arrow. No wobble or twisting. I had to pat myself on the back.

Ripping plywood with the Kreg cross cut guide ended up being a pain in the ass. I am not really impressed with that tool, but I kept thinking something was wrong with my technique and instead of going back to using a T-square as a saw guide I kept using the Kreg tool, which resulted in some not-so-straight cuts at the end of the workpiece. At the end everything lined up OK, but ended up dampening my mood a little.

I also failed to account for the fact the the closet was built completely crooked, none of the walls were straight and I had to get the shelves in, twist and cantilever them into position. Scraped some walls and had to bust out a jig saw to shave some corners.

Special shoutout goes to Deckmate star drive coated screws. Those things are a life changer. I am never using drywall screws on any wood projects! lol

Shelves ended up pretty bulletproof. Had about 350lbs of humans standing and jumping on the bottom shelf last night. Pretty sure the shelves will outlast this house.

Validate me, internet strangers!

SketchUp Model


2x4's are all cut


Pocket holes drilled


Frames assembled


Plywood is on


First shelf installed. A glass of Aberlour Single Malt to the rescue!


Rest of the shelves installed. No way to get a good angle for the photo



Bottom view