In the workshop–router table

My main project for the past year has been working on a router table for my workshop.  I don't have much time to do such work and things that take me well nigh forever would take someone who was relatively healthy a much, much shorter period of time.  Also my general lack of skills also has something to do with this, and I took up making a router table as a skill teaching project for myself, and for that it was worthwhile even if the result was failure.  Yes failure is always an option, and to combat it the idea with limited time is to set minor goals one can achieve in a short period of time.  Bit by bit you move forward and at the end, if you played your cards right, you get something half-way useful.

Works, too!

So with no further fanfare, I'll start in on the thing, itself.  No images are color corrected, btw, and the overhead lights don't give a visible yellow cast to things, but that is the way stuff in the distance gets without color correction.  As an example the Incra tracks are an orange-gold color, not that weird yellow green.

This is the front end view, or the business end of things.  My first decision a few years ago was to get a Veritas router table plate from Lee Valley Tools.  I did that because I needed more work surface than your standard router table plate inset into a basic benchtop router table.  My main point of dissatisfaction with a benchtop system is that it couldn't easily handle long  pieces of material: they are great for smaller pieces, but the moment you get to 2x the width and active work portion of it, then you have a problem of actually getting a piece to stay flat to the table.  What I wanted was a system that could deal with that problem by having a larger work surface, and a couple of inches here and there get doubled and the pieces get slightly bigger.  Still the Veritas surface, even with a couple of inches extra, and lovely steel plate with which to use rare earth magnets to hold pieces down, needed some more space.  To get more space means a longer dimension and then pick up the outfeed of longer pieces on something else.

That set up the parameters of being 34" high to use my workbench for outfeed, or manipulating larger pieces, and having a long dimension in which I could shift the fence system around and use that long dimension.

With the trim and such I have 48" of space for active use, and nearly 50" overall long.  Two Incra T-Tracks with measuring tape pieces are on the major sides starting up at the miter slot and going to the end of the table.  Internally there are some regular old aluminum T-Tracks that I got from Orange Aluminum. 

Just under the top on the right side is a large drawer, which I'm using to hold all my 10" saw blades, and on each side is a small circular saw till for the 7 1/2" blades and one of my dado sets.  Saw tills are tilt out, not pull out drawers.

The side exteriors have a 4" dust collection blast gate which is currently serviced by a Ridgid shop vac.

Now I have finally gotten the shop vac out of the way of the rest of the shop and centralized it.  It is still easy to get out and use on its own when that is necessary, like for outdoor cleanout tasks.  This met the requirement for having the shop vac stowed away to where it would have some standardized fittings to it, so that it would be easy to set up between multiple pieces of equipment.  Any future machining pieces will have a 4" blast gate at the same height so that it can be easily attached to an ad hoc collection arrangement.  I don't have the space necessary for a dedicated system, and this will do nicely until then.  Also I can fit a portable dust collector I have to this system and take the vac out and put in a blast gate on its side, so that an actual 4" system can run through all of this.  That portable system is loud and really needs to be run outdoors or with something between it and the shop environment.

All of this gets powered up from the rear with two inlets for 120v AC.  Internally it is wired with 14 ga. Romex or equivalent and I ran it all through the 'can I power it all up and have no shorts?' phase of things while the top was still off.

Note that the entire affair is on casters with brakes on the corners and one in the center to support the bottom of the table so that it doesn't sag. This is a 'must have' necessity of any pieces of shop machine equipment from this point out until such time as living environment allows for a real shop to be put in place.  With that said it is damn handy to be able to wheel heavy equipment around, and anything made out of nearly 5 sheets of 3/4" Baltic Birch plywood is to be considered a bit on the heavy side.

At the front again, the controls on the left are for one of the internal outlets (it is a duplex with the connector between outlets removed) and I have some LED strip lights to put in yet which will be run off the left side switch panel.  Also on the left is the shop vac outlet switch.  On the right is a standard 15A machine switch to run the Hitachi M12V2 router I picked up reconditioned from Big Sky Tool and they did a great job of getting the missing couple of pieces from my router that were supposed to be with it, and are one of the few places I could find that had such a router available at a price I could afford.

On the left and right are drawers running approx. 17" and 3" across, which is handy for putting small parts into.  I have to see if tins from mints can fit in them as handy organizers.  Right now they have my miscellaneous jig pieces, router bits and whatever else belongs with a router or jig work.  The bottom drawer contains all the other router stuff and over-size bits, plus any of the excess stuff necessary for the table or making jigs.  One of the great positives of having that huge expanse in the rear of the table is being able to put Incra jigs on it, and I'll be starting out with a very basic positioner type and seeing how well it can integrate with the Veritas fence.

One thing I've noticed is that the T-slot nuts I get from Lee Valley will work in either the Veritas or Incra equipment, but the Incra nuts only work with their own equipment.  In theory each of these is using standardized slots, but in practice they are not using standardized fittings.  Go figure.

One additional piece to add to this will be a car jack with one of those circular cups made of plastic.  That I will put under the router and use for gross positioning of it, because trying to get the elevation right by lifting it by hand is a PITA.  Time to repurpose one of the jacks I got for squaring up the refrigerator and freezer and pray I never need it for that again.

Also to be done are light door catches for the side doors, and for those small rare earth magnets should fit the bill.  That front door was made out of ripped trim pieces... am I the only one to have thin ripped hardwood tend to warp?  In any event, all of that was given a temporary glue-up, then glued to plexiglass and the thing warped to the slight warping of the trim pieces.  I had always thought I would use a hasp or small cylinder lock on the door, but it would be unsightly if the top and bottom were pulling away.  The answer is to 1/2" cylinder x 1/2" long rare earth magnets (with something like 35 lb. pull apiece) on the interior frame corners and then two 3/4" nominal square pieces of 28 ga. galvanized sheet steel glued to where they can't be seen from the front.  Works like a charm!

Other than that the basics are 5 sheets of 24"x48" Baltic Birch ply from Rockler, plus a couple of sheets of 1/4" ply from them, and then Padauk cut to size, ripped and mitered at the corner (and the fit is not so hot, but the benefit of not gluing the in is that I can always replace them), plus some 3/4" square nominal Padauk for the corners (dowel top and bottom), and 1/4" thin rip 15/16" Padauk for the lower trim.  Mostly that was done for looks, but also it hands me a clamping surface on the top which is needed for jigs.

Originally I had ideas of making the entire thing knockdown and if I sacrifice the lower trim, it still can be.  The top, however, is totally removable and separate from the router plate support system which has all the drawers in the front in it.  This means that if the top gets totally ruined, it can be replaced completely as nothing is attached to it.  At one point I had ideas of putting a set of heavy duty chest hinges in the back which would allow the entire top to swivel up like a car hood... but the thing was already complex enough that I didn't want to do that once I realized that the tills would have to go or be seriously downsized or a major tray put in on the top which would replace the drawer and tills.

Hardware I got from all over with a lot coming from D. Lawless Hardware, but other pieces are coming from Lee Valley and Amazon.  And about a zillion other places I've scrounged parts from... I have a long list of hardware suppliers from the absolutely modern to the 'if it has to be stock period Victorian, we got the knob for you!' sort of place.  Mostly I went cheap on the knobs and handles, but the concealed Soss hinges are a nice touch for the doors even if they are a PITA to install. 

I make no money, get no benefit and no perks from any place I link to – I am just a customer. YMMV.

Basically the table is in the 98 to 99% stage, lacking the LEDs (which I need to splice some wires together to let them fit) and magnet catches.

I finished it with walnut oil (1:4 limonene for a couple of coats, then progressive 1:3, 1:2 and 1:1) and have used an equal portion by volume of beeswax and carnauba wax (90/10), linseed oil (not boiled) with just a bit of leftover walnut and tung, plus limonene.  If you don't need the wax finish all that quickly, just put the limonene (or turpentine if you use that) together with the beeswax in a sealed glass jar (like a mason jar) and set it on shelf that gets sunlight for a week, and it should be dissolved.  I used wax flakes and did a basic 'shake the hell out of it' dissolving, left it sealed in a jar in a warm room for a few weeks and then finally had to use a double boiler, and to do the final dissolving and add the oils.  A fun note is that by basic volume you get a soft wax suitable for rubbing on surfaces, if you do it by weight, you get a hard wax suitable for your tools.  Too much air in wax flakes to do it properly by volume, but it makes for a great wax to rub on, like I did with the surface of the router table.  I have one batch of wax with just linseed oil and a bit of lavender oil (like a quarter teaspoon to a cup of linseed oil), and need to find someone who has lost their sense of smell to pawn it off on as a furniture wax.

The limonene I got as 'technical grade' from someplace on Ebay, and it is derived from oranges.  My prior stuff was from limes.  When I use the waxes as a finish it smells like I've just made some tea... and when I applied the walnut with limonene, it smells like a salad dressing.    Limonene is your turpentine replacement and it is used in shampoos, cosmetics, and as a sort of universal solvent for all things sticky.  Use just as turpentine, and while it is nice you still need heavy ventilation...non-toxic doesn't mean it won't give you a headache.

The trim is done in super blonde shellac that I got from Shellac Shack and with just one 2# cut coating using a French padding technique, and it came out just fine.  Padauk has a lot of natural oil in it and I really can't see wanting to try and mess up the character of the wood by an oil finish.  Only two coats and then a bit of final rubbing out to cut the luster of the shellac and I have zero complaints on that.  A router table finished that you can eat off of if you had to, but I wouldn't recommend it.

Currently doing some of the minor tasks that got put aside for this.

Nearly done with a Oneway grinding/sharpening/honing jig for my 6" DeWalt bench grinder.  Simple compared to a router table.

Next up will probably be a toolchest/workstation/shelving unit for all the major tools that need a real home (like my bench planes and hand saws) and it must conform to the 34" height requirement.

A real benchtop for a set of rivet shelves/workstation has to be done, as well, and that will probably be a rip and glue up sort of deal, with lots of planing and sanding at the end of it.  I got in a couple of small 8/4 Maple slabs to cut the ends for such a thing, but the ripping of other woods will be the major chore.

General tool storage is a big headache and that really should be in boxes, so that is on the agenda at some point.  Custom boxes.

A miter saw station (mobile) to conform to 34" standard and dust collection standard.

I would love to get the contractor table saw down to 34", but see no way to do that with its current stand.  Although I tend to use that outdoors, if it had a proper dust collection system for all the stuff that doesn't go down its exhaust, that would be splendid... no way to cut the noise, though.

Then on the household end a Queen size loft bed would be great to get floor space back in an upper room, but that is looking to be a 'purchase' option rather than hand-made custom option, save for creating a lower interior sewing and computer space under the bed.

A gun display case, not that I have that much to display, but it's the principle of the thing.

All of this should go so much faster with a router table.

In theory, at least.

Practice is something else, again.

Workshop in work

This is yet another post to show the types of things eating into my time.

Anyone who has been to past posts, like this one from JAN 2013, has noted that my limited work environment is more like a mid-scale chess match in which I have limited movement space and pieces that can only fit a certain way.  Basically that post gives some idea of the problem:

I have long boards sitting along the back wall and then whatever can fit on that, like scrap wood ready to fall over, which means that moving anything is a challenge.  Earlier I had the carcass of the router table sitting on the bench, which meant that it was something to get greeted with when you opened the door to the shop as seen last year:

Not really what you want to have there, but do note that the previous router table from Veritas via Lee Valley, was set up on an old computer table.  That also had the shopvac under it and the new router table will house both in a more compact space and still give me some back table space for work processing.  And this post from early last year shows the main part of the mess in the room that causes the chess match situation:

The problem isn't the right side of the room as you enter, but the left side that has a dead corner taken up with a cabinet that really doesn't do anything (although for the $50 I paid for it back in '95 or '96 I am NOT complaining) since it is hemmed in by the other computer table that has the compound sliding miter saw on it.  That table basically kills off the left rear corner of the room and is a mess.  It is a detritus attractor, although on a good day the contractor table saw could just fit back there:

What a mess!

Trying to do more with the limited active space in the right of the room leads to a dead loss and frustration: it couldn't be made better.  On the left rear, however, a better organized section of the shop meant a major rearrangement and excessing pieces.  Basically the cabinet in the corner has to go from that room as it is the space killer and isn't large enough to do any real good for storage beyond small items.  The table next to it is killing valuable floor space all to hold up the miter saw and dust collection hose.  What a waste of volume.  And along the back wall the 10' wood has to get up and off the floor because it gets more moisture there and swells, which requires plane use and often re-sawing to smaller board width.  Also to get any real storage in the left rear corner means moving one bookcase from the left to the right of the room, and that still misses getting to the magic of 60" by 1". 

Why is 60" magic?

Simple: common cut plywood board size that I can lay my hands on is 24" x 48" and a 48" set of shelving will not easily take in such material due to the tightness of fit between boards and any shelving.  And there is no way that I can get that final, magic 1" without moving comic book storage boxes, food storage, shelving and basically re-arranging the entire basement and that is a no-go.

Now with that in mind and that I love boltless shelving (aka rivet shelving) I started to look for solutions.  The shelving, itself, is simple to find.  Shipping costs for any decent height (which is 7' as the basement ceiling is only 8' high) means freight shipping in a residential area with liftgate required.  Sucks like an Electrolux because it almost always adds on $135 to shipping costs.  Of course when I look at it locally that same sort of cost is already factored into the price, save that I have to get it home... and the company has added a profit margin to the total price... thus money is spent for getting it home and the total cost is more than what I can freight and liftgate it to my residence.  That is how marginal overhead cost changes prices and why the Internet is such a killer app for sales of equipment.

I would also like additional project space so I can actually have a high energy project going on (like trying to construct a router table while doing a chess match on limited floor space) and a low energy project going on at the same time (like completing my EMP covers for critical equipment which is basically something that requires space but not a lot of effort) but that I can't do as the materials have to be stored and the high energy stuff takes precedence.  Basically digging through piles of stuff to get to another project kills my daytime energy... defeating the purpose of working on a project.  When you spend more time moving stuff to get to stuff you either have too much stuff (too bad it all is on track to be used), too little space (a major problem), or poor organization of what you have (and that is the crux of the matter).

To get that project space in boltless is possible!  It is not, however, cross-adaptable to anything else on the market unless it simply rests on table surfaces or fits between tabletops and a ledge of metal to secure it.  So you can get basic but if you want adaptable be prepared to pay for that and generally get locked into some company's idea of modularity.  Boltless does cost less and that is a major driver as well (at least, you know, with all that shipping and liftgate stuff factored in).  I looked around at the limited offerings for boltless workstations and shelving (if you sell the workstations you sell the shelving, too, but just because you sell shelving doesn't mean you sell workstations) and for the first time in ages I found my normal supplier, Global Industrial, didn't have what I wanted.  After searching around I went to Action Wholesale Products as they did, indeed, beat the total cost of any competitor I could extract a price quote from by nearly $100.  Yes I could take a hacksaw to uprights and DIY, but if someone is going to do the work for you and think it out for you, then it must be realized that your time is money as well.

Thus I did a mass buy of stuff there as I would also by boltless shelving for along the back wall and get all that lumber up off the floor and start a major effort to get everything that I have where I can get to it easily.  Easily is a relative term here, BTW.

For the corner the old cabinet came out, the miter saw got moved, the dust collection stuff spent a couple of days outside under my half of a shelter under my deck, and the bookcase got moved.  That corner would get 24" x 48" boltless shelving and a 60" x 24" boltless workstation.  The back wall would get two 60" x 18" shelving units with extra shelves.

This is what happens when all that goes up first the left rear corner:

I am still in the sorting phase of things, but already things are looking up!  Everything that was on the table, in the cabinet, and just generally laying around and getting too close to the freezer (which had a minor disaster of icing due to lack of door sealing) is now up and off the floor and on shelving!  One can actually walk to the back door without threading through a path of equipment and stuff threatening to fall on you. 

Amazing! 

There is a ton more sorting and laying out of material to do, but just with that one, single change, I've gotten back square footage to actually take more than two steps without worrying about my safety.

That dead space behind the workstation that shelving can't be in will be taken up by long saw guides, the router guide used for planing wood, long bar clamps and the like.  If it is thin, under 8' long and used rarely, it will go in that little space and get out of the old wet bar area or other places where it is hard to get to.

Let me back over to the entrance, which now no longer has the workbench immediately obstructing passage, although the router table is there, it is in the final construction phase but had to be dismantled to do all of the shelving assembly:

It is now possible to take a few steps into the shop without having to close the door to get around the workbench.  Temporarily the drill press had to get taken from its stand so the stand could be more easily moved and I have a set of post-construction casters coming in so that piece can be mobile.  The old router table from Lowe's will find a home someplace on the shelving for light use.

Now a shot from the left center of the room looking to the right center to rear:

Once the router table gets back into final construction and then finishing, the table saw will go to the end of the new workstation area.

On the workbench is a mess of hand planes, brace, hand drill, hatchet and other hand tools recently acquired that need to be cleaned, sharpened, lapped, and/or refinished:

 

The ammo can used to be the vehicle emergency supply unit, but has been replaced by something a bit more sporty.  That can will be used for storage of stuff that is better off in a dark place, not having just a towel thrown over it, which means some finishing supplies.

Once the router table is finished then the workshop will be reconfigurable around the workbench, so that the table can move to the end of the workbench or abut next to it so that the workbench can be a work support or infeed/outfeed table as needed.  In a pinch the table saw can be unlimbered and finished pieces flowed to the workbench or router table, with the other serving for infeed capacity with just a bit of temporary supports to keep things level.  At some point the sliding compound miter saw needs a real table or stand, as does a bench grinder (of which I have two, a 6" DeWalt and a 6" cheap piece of Chinese junk that may not last long but will be good for buffing, at least).

Part of the concept here is to get as much of the equipment's work surface at the same elevation.  The workbench from HF is at 34" and that is a decent level for me at 6'3" to work with.  Anything that is custom made by me for power tools will be at 34" and on casters.  That decision came after I made the cabinet for the bench drill press as it is not handy having a drill press bed a good 10" above a workbench (or any other table come to that) and if it were just within 1" up or down on average, then I would make better use of it, more often.  That is why the router table is at 34" and I would desperately love to get the table saw down from 36" to 34" (and I'll be looking at wheels to see if that can be accomplished without skewing things).

A major hint to any of the major shop equipment manufacturers: if you standardized your power tools to one elevation (table saw, router table, semi-adjustable drill press, workbench, track saw system to fit on a workbench, etc.) then you would gain a leg up on getting all those tools into an individual's workshop because of the damned hassle involved of trying to retrofit or make custom pieces for them.  To get a modular workplace requires that I have a standard height for my work surfaces and a standard dust collection port system for all my pieces.  I gave up on doing that with the workbench as I needed to use its interior volume for storage but may yet add on a simple tube arrangement in back so I can re-arrange dust collection capability at a moment's notice.   I am in the mid- to small-workshop range for one person and it isn't funny just how much of my time is spent asking: 'is there a way to get this tool to a useful elevation?'

Boltless shelving on 1.5" centers gets an allowance, but only a slight one on this score as 0.75" falls within a range of tolerance for work movement.  At 2" things get rough and a bit hairy and starts to require building of roller platforms.  Anything over that is a dead loss.  Perhaps I am the only individual who requires a reconfigurable workspace and, thusly, a high degree of modularity of equipment that all goes towards the same basic work inside the workspace.  My work flow must be modular not just due to space but due to a variety of stuff I'm having to make.  I'm not just making cabinets, or boxes, or chairs, or what have you... I can have two or three different projects ongoing that each require a different arrangement of tooling that would benefit from a modular workflow. 

I don't always need a drill press, but when I do it is usually not for a small piece but a large one (it never fails).  The table saw isn't always cutting down 4' x 8' sheet goods, but when I need it to do that I have to turn to a track saw and saw horses, not use my workbench and router table as a support system.  Heck when I'm taking a cut off of anything over 28" with my table saw I have to go to an alternative cutting system, which means time spent moving the entire workflow outdoors and loss of precious time doing so.  And the reason for the router table having such a large space behind it is not just for precision jigs for front use, but put the fence on the other side and then use the entire back surface to hold larger sheet goods that require bits that you do not want to use with a router by hand.  That is rare but when the table is done that is now possible to do.  This means that one of the major parts of any production processes is addressing the deficiencies of equipment  for something that should be relatively standardized.  I can picture an entire contractor set-up using modularized tables that fold down and then can be transported and set up anywhere, and you get to make the workflow at the worksite that is customizable to any job needing to be done there.  And then it all folds down for quick transport again.  That would free up valuable van or truck space for other hardware or raw materials storage.

It isn't funny the number of times I've had to adjust entire projects because of this single deficiency which doesn't allow for tools to exist at one level work surface.  You would think that a large corporation would see the extra dough they could charge for another $50 of hardware for cheap metal frames and a bit of standardization... I know the cost of extruded metals (steel, aluminum, et. al.) and hardware and am not joking at mass production levels.  Or even just asking the design engineers: 'Hey, have you tried to use this with our other tools?'

Yeah, Dumb Looks Still Free will be the reaction.

Shop time and other frivolities

Now what have I been doing in my spare time, such as it is?

First is my lady needing a new bed which would be one of those 'Numbers' type, which is a large air mattress (with all sorts of add-ons and internal components) mounted in a frame of sturdy foam and then having an air pressure measuring system with electric pump.  It replaced the old bed (a Sealy Posturepedic from a decade ago if not more) which also had the removal of a set of under-bed drawers get hauled away, as well.  Thus the new bed is lower than the old one.

That was in NOV 2012.

My experiences with waterbeds were that I can't sleep well in them and they leave me feeling less well rested and with additional aches and pains that I don't need.  I cannot adapt to them.  The 'Numbers' bed is also something I cannot adapt to, apparently, and it left me with no added reserves of energy from sleep even while I was sleeping longer.  I do not like a combination in which I sleep longer and less well.  I gave it a fair try (which is beyond the 'we will take it back if you don't like it' 30 day period) and by the beginning of JAN 2013 it was obvious I was in bad straights.  I had gone up and down the 'Numbers' scale, fully inflated and went down, fully deflated and went to fully inflated and down, changed up numbers and did everything I could think of.

Of the major problems with the bed, one of them is the actual height for it in the room.  I am closest to the window and dropping down 15" above the floor left me with cold air from the windows at just about that level.  That did not help matters, I'm sure.

I also gained aches and pains in my back and legs even at the highest levels.  I do note that at 100% it felt as if I was going to fall off the bed (yes it is level) which meant I could not actually sleep at full inflation level.  I gave at least 3 days at everything from 35 to 85 a try, with that 35 having me bump into the bottom of the bed support when I got into bed.  Like when I was on Provigil my sleep was just barely getting me through the next day.

Thus a few weeks ago it was decided to put one of the small rooms into use for me with its old bed (it was an XL Twin) and it was not comfortable but I was far better off on it than on the 'Numbers' bed and actually recovered energy starting on the first night.  Problems with the bed included lumpiness, springs that were half-dead and otherwise not being up to long-term use... so that meant getting a new bed for that room... and for this it was scoping out what was probable online, first, going to a Sleep Mattress Warehouse store to try a few different types (memory foam was a definite 'no' and, in fact, any bed with a foam pad or topping greater than 1" was ruled out) and then on to Sears which actually carried the line I was looking at which was a  Sealy Posturepedic with the titanium springs in it.  There was competition and there were about 3 beds from all manufacturers that I could live with, but for the firmness of the final selection it was a no-brainer.  I've had that for a couple of weeks and I'm regaining energy slowly, losing the aches and pains and now only get disturbed by some residential traffic noises.

This episode really did a number on my energy levels, but they are, finally, returning.

Which has meant getting to work back in the shop...

First up was a small cabinet for utilitarian use that I had most of the pieces cut, but hadn't had time to actually finish.  I went with whatever screws and bolts I had on hand, put on a single layer of shellac and finished that.  It had been eating up what little energy I had for the past couple of months and getting that off the table meant a lot to me:

Not much to look at, I'll give you that, but sturdy and with felt lined drawers.  I will probably put something on the edges of the drawers to make them look nice, but that is only if it bothers me while in use. If not it will continue on as-is.

I was glad to get that bit out of the way!

I've also been getting the bits and pieces together to put a DC power pass-through to my deck so the solar panels can be connected full-time.  I now have all the parts for that, made the internal and external box and am waiting for a good day that is dry to finally get that going.

On the left is the big box of parts, wiring, tools, connector parts and also buried in there is a NEMA-4 box to mount on the exterior.  On the right is a close-up of two old work boxes that will have the specialized connectors for the power systems on the interior of the house.  On the right of that picture is an Anderson Powerpole arrangement for the solo-panel unit I have, and for that you actually can get some panel and other specialized parts as the HAM radio community uses them as well as many in the RV community.  The wallplate is made for RV homes and it fits a 4 piece Powerpole connector gang mounted in a housing made by Anderson for the purposes.

The Anderson SB-50 connectors for my SUNRNR panels, however, that is another story and they are on the left as two red pieces on a wallplate.  It is perfectly valid to say that Anderson makes patch panel pieces for mounting not just their SB-50 but the Powerpoles in the 15/30/45 range of things.  Yes, you can say that.  It is also possible to say that for the Powerpoles in the 15/30/45 group (the 4 piece one) is that they are not only widely available, but to spec.  For the SB-50 connector housings, it is correct to say that while Anderson shows a groove in the housing for a their panel mount pieces, that their current manufacturing run of them does not contain that groove. 

It can further be stated that if you need an actual mount that fits an SB-50 housing in one piece and you can't find the specs to the recharging system of a golf cart using same, that your best bet is either the UK or Australia for such parts.  While the SB-50 is utilized for winches and some other equipment in the US, I looked high and low for patch panel mounts for same and came up empty.  For the Powerpole 15/30/45 range a wallplate is not sufficient or even pretty good for a  patch panel to go into an external wall box.  Luckily due to the housing to go to the wallplate you can cut up some sheet metal and make your own.  Finally, unless you want to make a circuit board for DIY purposes for a patch panel, you will find that plug'n'play pieces for Anderson SB-50 connectors are not made... they do make ones pre-mounted to circuit boards, however, for those needing to lug batteries around and needing a power connector to the box they are lugging them in.

To make the dual SB-50 wallplate I just used a media wallplate that had two larger sized connectors and nibbled it out and used a UK purchased mount to attach them to the wallplate.  For the external box I utilized a piece of angle aluminum for that purpose and used the sheet metal cut-out for the PP-30 gang to give it some final stiffening.  Now with an SDS drill, a 1.125" bit, some flexible conduit, glands and a few other odds and ends including silicone sealant and di-electric grease, I'm just waiting for a nice day to get things going.  I am semi-looking forward to the day I can open up some of the sheetrock and see just what the actual distance is between the exterior brick and the interior sheetrock.  I'm guessing it is between 1.25" and 3.75", but I could be wrong.  It is hard to guesstimate these things without actually seeing what the construction work looks like.

What I can work on in the interim is the router table!

With the drawer cabinet out of the way, that meant I could do some more on Phase 1 of the router table, which included putting up a simple rear brace arrangement for when I have to get plywood up on it.  Plus I could put the back panel on the forward part of the table and rough-fit some interior panels and the first of the electrical boxes.

At that point I could do little else to it on the workbench and still be able to lift it off and down to the floor, thus I had to take it off the workbench, clear the old router table and the table it sat on off, transfer the router top, find places for other stuff on the table and then put the shop vac from Ridgid onto the rear of the table (which will be its final home).

Ta and Da!

That wooden piece now semi-buried is the router table carcass, with a bench grinder sitting on the table top with a blue towel over it.  That needs a real stand, but is a bit farther down on the list of 'what comes next'.

On the left the board sitting on the rear of the router table is a piece of Padauk which will serve as trim pieces for the table.  Leaning against the workbench are the plywood parts for the top and sides, and there are additional pieces to cut for the front and rear.  This means cutting up some large pieces of 3/4" plywood and to do that I have one of those Rockler straight edge guide system things to replace some of my older methods for doing such tasks which just haven't been all that satisfying.  Short of having a panel saw (really, there is no space for it) or a real long surface for the contractor saw (again, space) that means putting the pieces up on saw horses, putting a straight edge cutting system on it and knocking them down to size.  With that I can also more accurately do the cut-out for the router table top surface, which is a big plus.

One of the things I realized after checking to measure that the steel table surface is at the same height as the work bench, is that I now have a long surface for feeding material into the router table!  It can actually help make its own parts... at least for some of the joinery, the sawing and such is another matter.

On the workbench are the tools that still need to be put away and those out to get the plate for the Rockler system put together.  I'm not fond of acrylic for its somewhat brittle nature and may look to get a replacement in UHMW or PVC.  Once you have the system, then making new glide plates is a simple matter of 1/4" plastic sheet stock cut and drilled to size.  I'll be utilizing an old HF power saw for the cutting as it had a few defects in it that don't stop it from turning the blade but have been a PITA, overall.  The store did promise to send a replacement for the original faulty saw retaining screw, but that never showed up and I needed a higher power saw for other things... thus a Skil saw was added to the line-up.  For the old HF I can sacrifice its bottom plate, secure it to the plastic and turn that into my ersatz distance cutting saw until it gives out.  I do like that the Rockler system basically self-packs as a unit without the glide plate, it shows a bit of forethought in the design of the thing.

Also needing to be done with the router table is get the power system laid out, the dust collection system laid out and then pre-prep panels for them during install.  Once the side panels are on and a test fit of the top has been accomplished and looks good, then the rear frame disappears as the panels to the front and rear get attached.  Padauk will go in the corners and over the sides as onlay to hide the edges of the plywood.  The underside has been finished with a single coating of Tung oil (1:4 with solvent) some time ago, and it doesn't need to look pretty.  Birch ply for the sides, front, rear and top isn't the best of all possible looking plywood, but staining that stuff would have to wait until good weather for about a week... actually even an oil finish will have to wait for that.  I would also like to extend the sides of the top out by an inch or so... perhaps tongue and groove some Padauk on, that is mostly for cosmetic purposes, although some light clamping would be nice, as well.  I guess I could cut up the whole top and start putting a parquet together for it out of ply, Padauk and white wood or whatever else I can scare up in square quantities so as to get just a slightly larger top.  A lot of work for a little extra help here and there just might not be worth it...

Other than that an Every Day Carry knife I had been trying out from MTech came apart in my hands after only a few weeks of being EDC clipped to my pocket.  I knew there would be problems with the pivot screw to the folder knife needing tightening every couple of days.  I didn't expect two of the spacer screws to work out along with the pivot screw, however.  Luckily the screws got stuck in pocket lint!  I disassembled the entire thing, saw that it was decent on a per-part basis, just not put together well, did a basic 'get the crud off' cleaning and then re-assembled it.  Using Locktite 262 which is what I use for rimfire sights and such.  After a week and some of EDC there is no movement of the screws, it folds a bit stiffly but that is fine, and looks to be good for the long-term.  It isn't a great knife, all told, but its sharp and has a good heft to it, which is really nice for cutting into boxes.  Just one of those little surprises I could do without in life.

Working on some fiction as well...

I find that I can work a story up to a certain point and let it flow and then I'm forcing it.  At that point I must stop and work on something else, usually another story, and let that one flow.  When a story is flowing, it writes itself.  When I'm having to force it, things just don't feel as good for the writing part... although for filler scenes, its fine... filler scenes are those that are necessary to backfill a bit of plot or storyline that I decided to pass over to keep the main thread running smoothly.  There are tons of places I can backfill other storylines and thought threads in a story, and I sometimes wonder just why the scenes I write are the ones that seem like a good fit to the story.  No idea, on that... I'm writing for myself, not for an audience or money... and I actually do enjoy re-reading them although I'm always correcting spelling or phrases or the little things that just need to be fixed (like having two of a word in a row... happens when I jog off a thought and back on it and try to pick up again).  If its not flowing, don't force it and write something that does flow.

Yup that means less 'real' blogging and more junk like this.

Thems the breaks.

Now I just need to get well enough to get to the range.

Home workshop–Router Table–Phase 1

Put this in the list of 'things eating up my time that keep me from posting'.  Yes that is getting to be a long list.  As I have to measure out my energy and, thusly, my time, projects have to be done in small steps so that I can reach natural completion points in case life gives me something else to do.  Past postings on my SKS, putting in extra parts to my workbench and things like getting an EMP cabinet up are examples of this and I have a few more in the deck beyond this like getting EMP screens set up for some appliances, I'll have to be putting up a small shed on the back deck and then putting a solar power system in that, to name but a few.  Each is done step-wise, usually by scoping out the size of the project, making sure raw materials figured out and ordered, then getting to the project itself.  All told my workbench project ate up about 1o months, total, but had a few other things going on during it.  The idea is to use any physically productive time well to the point where downtime means complete rest.  Sometimes days of it.

For all of that the router table is finally at a point where it is no longer a bunch of cut up lumber scattered on my workbench.  Three weeks ago I would have had little to show but that.  Today I have the pieces cut and partially assembled to be well into Phase 1 of the process: getting the router portion of the internal framework nearly complete.

The objective of this router table is to take the old router bench top's table and put it onto a framework to secure it in the new table.  The new table is to have a height equal to the workbench (34") and be on casters to do that.  Much of the wood that I have on-hand is gently warped from gaining small amounts of humidity over the past couple of years, just enough to make it a hassle but not enough to commit to a major planer to get it down to flat surfaces and lose a bit of width.  Beats me how other people do it, but that's how I'm doing it: if I need planing I can take a hand planer or a block plane out for that and small stuff I can do on the table saw.

Now onto the pictures!

Entering the shop this is what greets you:

Loverly, no?

The entire thing is going to be made on 30"x48" 3/4" Baltic Birch plywood on the exterior.  The interior is whatever wood I have in the shop like the 'white wood' from HD or splendid if very dirty planks I got from a skid used to deliver some outrageously large item (those pieces are of oak and pine from what I can tell).  The very top is the support structure for the Veritas steel router table top (I got mine at Lee Valley tools) and it is in the 'just complete enough to find out where the cuts didn't go exactly right' stage.  It's mission is to sit 3/16" below the top of the table so that the router table top is flush with the rest of the top.  That larger surface will be another piece of 30x48 ply.

That large area in the center will be where my Hitachi M12V2 router (purchased reconditioned at Big Sky Tool) will be suspended under the table.  I'm planning on putting a small scissors jack there and getting the router's elevation adjusted by that, which is a much later part of the process, but I already do have the jack.

And what router table is worth its salt if it doesn't have drawers?  The carcass has space for 5 aside and a large one in the bottom (which I might sub-divide into 1 or 2 smaller drawers).  I left space above the bottom drawer and the top drawer opening for running anything from the rear of the cabinet to the face of it.  There will have to be at least 2 switch boxes (router and dust collector) and one 2.5" blast gate for getting a tube feed to the router fence (or any hose attachments I might want to use).

3/4" plywood is the base of the interior space.

From the side:

Not a lot to see here, save the drawers from the side.  I used a dado blade to put in 1.4" deep dados for those 3/4" strips that will be the supports for the drawers.  The bottom strips likewise have 1/4" deep dados for the side and interior supports, including the interior plywood base.

The rear shows a bit of spacing at the rear of the shelves for yet to be inserted pieces to give the entire thing structural stability.  Those will be nominal 4" pieces to insert, which means the drawer space from side to side is 3.5", ergo the drawers will be 3.5" square faces and up to 24" long (which seems impractical to me).

Seen is a piece with a clamp that needs just a touch more dado work as it is just about 1/16" out of alignment, which I found out by getting a clean crack on the end trying to finger place it.  What can be seen on the near end of that is the amount taken off the side (done to all the pieces) so as to fit better into the space that will be cut out of the plywood top for the router table top.

Notable on the top is oily dirt from a piece that came from the skid.  As no one is going to see it, it is left as-is.  This is true of all non-visible pieces, they are unfinished and unsanded: if they need sanding/finishing, that is a detail piece of work I'll do by hand or with a multi-tool.

Taken from the reverse angle on the other side of the workbench.

One of the problems is that the non-square, non-planed wood gives slightly out of tolerance heights when I get to the top.  This will be addressed, as the old song goes, 'Shim, shiminey... shim, shiminy... shim, shim, pushee...'  Or something like that, anyways.  Yes, shims are the answer to such things.  How the drawers can line up and the top not, that is a question I will leave for the mystics.  Still it is very close and that is all that matters.  Sanding, planing, minor rip cuts... that should take care of the rest plus shims.

What you can't see...

Casters.  Bought from Harbor Freight, cheap, on sale.  I put in knock down inserts into the plywood, pounded them home and used 1/4-20 panhead bolts to attach them.  Made sure the little brake pedal actually shows on two sides so the thing can be properly kept in place, too!  Did a quickie Tung Oil finish on the bottom, just once using a 1 part oil to 4 part thinner (limonene) ratio.  In the hot outside air it evaporated extremely fast.  I left it 'as-is' as no one will most likely see it or care about it.

This is my bench top router table from Veritas.  It is steel, 24" x 16" with rubber bumpers inset to the inside of the table.  Thus those will be on the inside of the top part of the larger table top.  I will be moving from the side router table supports to ones that use T-Track for the fence and anything else when I get this put into the table.  Basically this gets to transition from a very nice bench top to a more standardized table system, for things like jigs.  Or larger boards.  I have nothing against the Veritas system, save that it needs to expand a bit to give me more space so that I can reclaim shop space.

What a mess, huh?

That's the back of the Veritas system.  I have one of those cute, two-way dust collector hose systems with a cup right up under the bit and a hose to the fence.  The hose to the cup stays, the hose to the fence will be replaced with a separate 2.5" feed.  The rest of the stuff is in-process supplies, tools, and other assorted junk that needs to find a home associated with the router.  Getting all the router equipment into one place, where it is easy to find, is a massive priority.

Seen off to the right in the very first picture in all of this is the Ridgid shopvac I'm using for this affair.  It is my ersatz dust collector and general shop cleaning vac.  In off-line storage I have a small dust collector that makes a real racket (from Steel City) and it should also fit into the space in the rear of the table.  The problem is that if I run that and any other piece of equipment, I trip the breaker for the room.  If I need to really clear the air, I can turn that on using an outlet port for a Big Gulp hood and throw that on top of something and leave the room.

One of the 'nice to have' things in the table would be a special drawer for my saw blades in the rear of the table.  Neither the vac or dust collector will take up all the space and I'll have about 5" to play with under the table top in the rear.  Plenty of space for rear drawers or (if I'm really clever) to make the rear part of the table a flip-up affair to get to a storage space under it.  That may be beyond my capability at present, so drawers are a better answer.

With the front area semi-complete, I can put up the sides, internal wall (between the router area and the rear dust collection area) and begin running piping and tubing for the dust collection system, and the power cables to run everything.  Inlets with immediate single outlet boxes in the rear will allow me to run power cables back to the rear and get a single feed for each of the router and dust collector with switches in front.  Doors to get to the rear area (or lower rear area) will be cut out and concealed hinges put in for them, thus allowing easy access to the vacuum area.

When this is done all the routing tools get a home in one place, the dust collection gets centralized (and ports standardized), the table that all of this sits on gets to be folded up to go away someplace, and workflows get straightened out when everything has a home to go to.

After this comes a stand for the miter saw, a stand for my bench grinder (now sitting off-line due to lack of space) and the slow cleaning out to get at the raw materials necessary to build this stuff.  With smaller stands and a home for the dust collecting detritus (fittings, hoses, etc.) another table can come down and the stuff under it can get shelved because the shelves will then be accessible!  Glory Be!  While there will still be large pieces of equipment, they will be mobile and easy to move, and those that have work tops will have a common height so that they can serve as run-out tables, supports or other fine things as yet undecided.  I might even put together a proper stand for my drill press so that its table can be at a common height... then I might even get to put together a seamless workflow utilizing everything... what a thought!  Then, maybe, a special table for small piece finishing and firearms cleaning that I can SIT AT!

More than a body can handle, I know.

I learn a lot along the way by trial and error and this is necessary knowledge. Right now it is one step at a time.  They are small steps, yes, but steps nonetheless, until I can get to that day when I'm doing something other than building equipment to do things I want to do.  Making the tools to make the tools so I can actually get to make things I want to make.