I have 2 sets of the rigid drill/impact combo sets from homedepot. I use them every day 1st set is almost 3years old. Lifetime batteries if you register as a homeowner.

Absolutely great for 90% of all jobs except for heavy mixing and boring. I use a big dewalt when mixing grout or boring doors, using the hole hawg etc.

150bucks for the set

So my new place is going to have a full blown workshop in the basement. The unfinished space has a 4th garage door alongside the walkout section (it's going to be badass....)

At the moment I'm looking for a good cabinet style table saw (thinking a used Grizzly 220v model should do nicel). I'd like to come across a drill press, jointer, bandsaw and maybe a belt sander as well.

How would some of the more experienced woodworkers here go about building a shop on a finite budget? I can't just buy it all at once so what tools would you suggest getting first?

How have you dealt with ventilation? The workshop has vents for a dryer so I think I'm going to try to set up gated ducts for each tool and run them out the dryer vent but I don't really know how to go about suction.

I want to try to make a torsion assembly table as my first project and then probably a little table/chair set for the kid.

Sounds interesting.

I've never had a woodshop in the basement. Keeping the rest of the house clean would be the problem.

I would think that the easiest way to get it through a vent would be to rig up a vacuum on the outside, but you would have to save it from the weather. Maybe just hook it up when you are working.

We cut 2/5 gallon jugs in half and attached them to the bottom of our grinder for filings. You could do a similar thing to your saws and try to catch most of the sawdust, and just vacuum up the rest.

If you're going to be working with anything exotic, go over the top with it. They sell units to do what you want, but like everything, they're not cheap. I found an old paint booth system at an auction and ran some pipe to the lathe and sander with caps I just put back on when not in use.

African Blackwood on the lathe tried to kill me and Spalted woods are the devil. Take care of those lungs.

It's under the excavated section of the garage - there's a full steel door in between it and the finished section. It should stay pretty self-contained. I'm mostly concerned with the really fine particulate. I may just end up opening the garage and setting a fan there when I work.

That does sound bad ass!

That's probably what I would do. You can buy a commercial fan that moves a shitload of air for not too much money.

Yeah, I'm some distance removed from that kind of expensive.

A buddy of mine was working with some wood that was black and spalted with red so it looked like flame through the wood. This stuff was as pretty as anything I've ever seen...and it cost him about $200 to build a pen holder out of it.

Maybe on some one-off projects I'd use purple heart or something interesting like that, but I don't expect to be doing much like that; I'm simply not nearly good enough (and my patience is...uh...lacking).

If you do, just run a respirator.

How much problem you had with motors burning out?

In my experience on bigger projects, battery life is a much larger impediment.

Granted, I'm not a contract carpenter working day in, day out, but we have erected major structures over the years.

And, like others have said, if I'm moving away from 'weekend warrior' projects, I pull out the corded and paslode gear.

I've had a dewalt chipping hammer and right angle drill for 15+ years. I've changed the cord on both and the trigger on the chipping hammer. I've had a 18 volt cordless drill for 10 years and haven't even replaced a battery. Never had any issues with any of the motors on anything but the sawzall. It burned out after 5 years and since I didn't like the design, I went with a Bosch. I've had it for 8 years now and just replaced the blade locking mechanism for $30. I'm pretty rough on my tools, so anytime I can get 10 years out of a tool I'm happy

Dude I've got a couple new battery powered impacts in 1/2inch and they are absolutely bad ass.i hardly ever use my air impact anymore, only for really stubborn stuff.

Yeah, they're a lot handier than air, but I a lot of the time I'm not in a shop and I have a compressor in the back of my pickup.

I can't get my air impacts of any size to last at all. I don't know what I'm doing wrong, but for what they cost, they all go crap way too fast.

Most of the local tire shops have gone to battery powered impacts and I think I'm about to do the same. It's either that or put an oiler on the portable compressor and see if I'm just not oiling them right or something.

Just buy some air tool oil and put it in before each use.

That and drain the water out o your compressor and lines. In the shop we put in a water trap and it catches more water than you think. And I live in the desert.

Maybe my oil is just cheap crap because I use quite a bit of oil and try to drain the moisture regularly, but very little comes out each time. Only time I notice moisture is when running the air wand non stop. Water just pours out of the shop compressor so I don't know why it would be different with the portable. :shrug:

It hasn't been bad on the my portable. I'd guess it is because it compresses a lot less air to 120 instead of 170. Maybe the air impact won't work over the long term but I've done the battery thing and it's never charged when I need it.

You. Could get a small water trap and attach it to the impact. I've seen that before. But you have to be careful so you don't bust it off.

Oh. The other thing we found with the shop compressor is that the air doesn't cool and condense the water until it gets into the pipes in the walls. Accordingly we have a water trap and essentially an air dump at the low spot in the pipes in the shop.

This time of year gets my handyman task list in motion.

I've got more going than I have time but have been chipping away. My to-do list includes finishing my shop, building a globe fire pit out of an lp tank, changes and repairs to my favorite truck...and getting my latest truck going....1966 international.

This is part of what I finished today. Need to finish the tailgate benches I'm going to build for here and a couple of stump tables for beer.

Lewdog wants to put out some low voltage landscape/path lights in the front yard. Everything I read asks if you have minor electrical experience. I do not. Something I can still tackle without a big problem? How hard is this? Any recommendations for an 8-10 light kit with a transformer?

If you've ever wired up a car stereo you have the necessary experience for that.

I do not. But can I figure it out?

/Not a handy man but I can learn some simple things (like a chimp).

Did you have one of these as a kid?

http://www.radiomuseum.org/images/ra...kit_329524.jpg

If so, you are qualified to install landscape lighting.

**** no.

I had legos, hot wheels, nerf guns and baseballs.

I did not go into engineering for a reason.

You're making me nervous now.

Have you ever plugged a lamp into a wall socket? Did it explode afterwards? If not, you're probably ok.

ROFL

Lew, you can figure out low voltage lights. Just don't strip wires with your teeth when it is plugged in.

Tip number 1..hook it directly up to power first then lick the wires to make sure you have power..best way to make sure your wires are hot

Lewdog - I'd suggest do a little online nosing around. I know Lowes, typically, have online info & guides for low voltage lighting that would include installation instructions. It'll give you an idea of your comfort level. It's kinda hard, but not impossible, to fook up the low voltage side of things. The hardest part maybe finding an exterior electrical outlet to tap into to power the power supply. Normally, it is the 110v side that gets tricky.

Or get the ones with solar panels. No wiring needed.

Lay out the lights where you want them

Run power cord to lights and clip together

Plug it in

Profit

Ok, and if it did?

Blow up?

I can't figure out what I'm doing wrong......

Solar ones don't put out enough light and I want something I know will be on, not based on the light it gets from the day. The solar ones all look cheap. We have some in the backyard which work ok but we have an HOA and I think they would look tacky in the front.

Where do you find Masonite siding replacement, the stuff with all the lawsuits. My house is covered in it and I need to replace a couple of sections. I bought some siding at Home Depot and it didn't match for crap. Anyone?

painting sheet rock?

Just built a new house and have a big garage. I want to paint it, but need to know if I have to sand it first. The seams have been taped and mudded by the builders, but the screw holes have not.

Definitely getting a sprayer.

http://www.centrahomes.com/wp-conten...7440907273.png

Nope just throw paint on it.

paint and primer or the new paint/primer mixed?

I'd prime it. New sheet rock is thirsty.

Strip wallpaper without messing up the drywall? Paint is going on after paper is off. Crappy job but wife says I gotta do it

Paint/primer combo stuff sucks. Don't use it. Ever.

And the only time you really have to prime drywall is if your using a glossy finish on it. Throw a couple coats of eggshell finish on it and be done with it.

You're at the mercy of the person who installed it and the quality of the wallcovering. Godspeed.

Ugh. I've heard hairdryer, but son of a bitch I haven't got the patience for that. I've read a couple other techniques but I can't remember what they are. Do some googling and try everything.

Best case scenario is it's a high quality paper-backed vinyl. Then you just peel the top layer of vinyl off and soak the paper backing with water to reactivate the glue. Once it loosens up either peel or scrape it off. Then wash the remaining glue residue off the wall.

There are also strippable vinyls that come off real easy but they're fairly rare and they're still dependent on the wall being properly prepped.

From there it can only get worse. I've had a few nightmare scenarios such as one home where the builder installed the wallcovering over bare unprepped drywall with clay based glue. That shit was part of the wall, ended up having to paint over it which I hate doing.

Best thing to do is just dig in and start trying too see what you can peel off by hand and then go from there.

Looks like Thursday is the day.
would get this-they said use exterior paint because it gets cold here and the garage is not heated.


http://www.homedepot.com/catalog/pro...cb8bf9_400.jpg

Also, can I use this on the ceiling or do I need ceiling paint also?

Same product on the ceiling is fine. I'm not a fan of Behr paints though.

The sprayer rental is at HD. Just want to do all at the same place.

They also have Glidden paints which I prefer. And if you're spraying raw drywall you'll want to have someone backrolling behind you.

Oh fun, Double duty. no one else in the house at that time. It can be done with me alone-in small sections.

Really? I got along OK. Maybe more coats?

You'll end up with rough areas, generally around the edges of the drywall joints where the paper is roughed up by the sanding.

If i just need to smooth out the joints, no issues. garage-not the Taj Mahal.

If it were me I'd just spray the **** out of it and move on.

Going well but slow. Lots of stuff to move and up and down the ladder with the 9 foot ceiling. I also rolled the walls. That was fast. Did about half. Should be done tomorrow afternoon.

Hey-its a garage.

ps- like the smell of paint

Now I am being invaded.

We got sod a week ago. Watering the crap out of it because it is clay underneath.

Sure frogs are ok-to a point. Just don't want the damn things in the garage. Wifey no likey.

Bring out the anti freeze

I always use PVA primer with fresh drywall.

The garage
 

Here it is. We have a lot of stuff in a storage unit, so that is why I built shelves.

The builder of the house did not recommend putting boxes above the sheet rock because it is rated for snow load only. Oh well.

Next-ceiling fan and find a way to put in a vent so that some hot air escapes to the rafters and out the ceiling vents. Suggestions appreciated.

I think you got more shit than me, displaced!

Anybody know someone cheap and reputable that puts in sump pumps? Thanks

I just stained Hardwood floors in a rental property it took 10 friggin days for the stain to get dry enough to put the varnish on. WTF did I do wrong? Did I just put it on to thick ? I used a sponge mop BTW.

Got tired of the little 2 foot wide pocket door to my bathroom. Cut out another 16 inches and put in a barn door. Course I had to paint both rooms and build my monster door. Hardest part was the trim and ripping everything with no table saw.

I think you can install an industrial exhaust fan and move the air up and out.

There's a compnay called big ass fans, they'll have what you need

put in an attic fan, should be all you need.

Who here has experience with wood burning fireplace inserts? I'm shopping around for estimates and have gotten very different quotes. I need an insert rated to heat at least 2000 sqft that is EPA approved (I guess most are these days). The insert needs to be a flush mount, otherwise I will need to extend the hearth. I've looked at the Quadrafire Voyager/Voyager Grand and the Timberwolf EPI22. Any others I should look at?

Building a new work bench; created a gridwork torsion box table top and will get to work on the cabinet for it in short order.





Incredibly happy with the table top. I'm going to frame in the sides with some 3/4 inch oak and put a hardboard sheet on top of that as a replaceable top but it's as flat as an iron and very sturdy, but still light enough to move if needed because of the grid work.

Dipping my toes into the wordworking thing with my new shop; man oh man do I have a ton to learn. But I'm getting there.

In related news, I grabbed a Vega Pro 50 table saw fence....holy hell is that thing amazing. I'm literally able to rip down to the thousandth of an inch using just my cursors. It also has a micro-adjustment on it so I don't have to sit there and bump it if I don't like where it's cutting. It's smooth with a very easy cam to lock.

I threw that on my secondhand 3 HP Jet 220v and that rig is a great setup now.

ARGH!!!

Dear guy that built my plug cutter - .405 inches and .375 inches are NOT the same !@#$ing thing. And in the future, try putting a taper on the goddamn thing.

Spent 2 hours drilling out a shitload of walnut plugs to make a little more interesting look on some facing. Had all the face boards drilled and ready to rock. Started trying to put the plugs in and not a one of them fit. I grabbed my calipers and the 3/8 inch plug cutter is plugs just a hair shy of 13/32 without the taper I'd need to make them work. So rather than spend 5 hours sanding down a shitload of plugs to make them fit, I unmounted all the boards and re-drilled at 1/2 inch because I've used the 1/2 inch plug cutter in the past and I know it works.

Shit that's frustrating. A night absolutely wasted and I have softball the next two nights. I really wanted to get that done so I could do hardware work on cabinets, etc.... once the cup hinges show up on Thursday. Assholes.

Oh, and side note, walnut will stain the absolute shit out of your hands. Woke up this morning and thought I had the plague.

I didn't see any specific thread or discussion within this thread about DIY deck building, and I was wondering if anyone recalls some good info here in CP on that subject that I might be able to do another search for.

I talked to a contractor over the summer about doing the work, but he unfortunately never got back to us (I know, should have contacted Phil instead), but in the mean time I have done enough research that I think I could manage it as a DIY project.

The deck will be 28' wide from the main story of our walkout basement and 16' out from the house. Most of the deck will be about 10' off the ground, and I was wanting to try to keep the row of posts down to one instead of two, and was trying to figure out if a 14' span and 2' cantilever would be ok, as most of the online design tools I have found keep wanting to add a second beam into it at about 8' and put the other beam out on the edge.

I want to use composite decking, and a calculator I found said 2x10 joists would be needed for the 14' span. I wanted to try to make sure my ducks were in a row before I talk to a lumberyard to push things further, which it sounded like would be the place to start, so that I can take what I get there to the HOA for approval, and from there to get the permit.

To the short of your question, if you frame it with 2x10 SYP joists @ 16"OC according to my span tables you can span up to 16'6" (not that I'd ever got to the max, as it will feel spongy).

Given that, you will need a sizable beam to support that large of a deck and some sizable posts. There are several free online deck design tools available that can assist with that.

I am fairly comfortable with carpentry and construction, but even I'd sub out an elevated deck. I've built several decks on or above grade.

Because of the difficulty of heaving up the ledger (and attaching) and beams I assume?

One side of the deck will be less of a height, as it will be on the back side of a small retaining wall, but that is one of the main concerns I had as well. I can work from the ground on that higher ground side, but the rest would be from step ladders.

For the span, I was going to add a line of blocking to help with the sponginess, but don't know if the whole thing will be a bit bouncy or not for a 14' span.

For posts, I was going to use 5 6x6's and a double 2x12 for the beam sitting on them in a notch.

I had also thought about trying to get a contractor that would do the frame only, and then take care of all the decking and railings myself.

I dunno if it would help you, but theres products you can get that would allow you do to most of the work UNDER the deck, and with the added benefit of longer lasting decking because youre not punching a bunch of holes through the decking.
More rigidity as well...might add a little to the cost /labor but maybe somethign to look into

see here:

<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-XPw02TdgeY" allowfullscreen="" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0"></iframe>

<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/fJIibzjsxCs" allowfullscreen="" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0"></iframe>

(its a lot more work probably but you could do some from under...i guess its probably not worth it unless its a really high end wood maybe)

You're probably on the right track, though I might prefer an engineered beam for aesthetics.

Mostly, just the time, hassles, and danger of elevated decks. Imagine down the road you throw a party and have 50 people on the deck. Do you trust your knowledge to do it right?? It's one think to have a deck collapse 3 feet, but that far is a different ballgame.

We used that on my father in laws ipe deck because that damn ipe is so dense it would eat a screw gun alive. You'd spend a week pre-drilling and driving holes.

They work well.

Yeah. Would use a hidden deck fastening system, looking at the timber tech ones so far though. Done from above, but same idea

I am assuming the permit and inspections would help keep me from anything that wouldn't be up to par for what is needed.

not necessarily. they will look for code violations, but don't review engineering.

Any advice on dust collection?

I'm building a 2-stage system by converting a single-stager using a chip collector (Super Dust Deputy) that I'll install in-line. I got one of the newer Nano cartridge filters from Wynn Environmental that I'll use to replace the on the collector itself to increase airflow exponentially.

I'm pretty sure I'm going to run 4'' PVC from each tool up to the ceiling then run it across to a couple of secondary lines that will feed into a 6'' main trunk. If I put blast gates at each tool, I should be able to ensure that the full force of the collector is being thrown at whatever individual tool I'm using.

Anyone have any experience building these guys?

Well I have a finished product now after not getting to work on it for awhile:



I'm actually pretty damn proud of that thing. Built it all the way from scratch; has four drawers in it with nice solid joints that I could stand and jump in without blowing the bottom out. The doors on the left and right have the soft close hinges and I learned to do the European cup hinges so they're hidden. It's mirrored on the back side (though I'm going to take the drawers out of the center at some point on the backside and build an insulated air compressor section then run airline up to the ceiling so I have constant air I can just reach up and grab).

I learned a lot and it's a hell of a table. Got some Rockler heavy duty lifters so it's perfectly aligned with the saw for a smooth out-feed. Should be an awfully nice setup.

So interesting note; if you look at the second picture in my quoted post above you can see in the back left the single-stage dust collector I had. Well I took it apart and re-engineered it a bit. I added a Wyn Environmental nano filter (amazing airflow) and a dust deputy to create a 2-stage filter. Then I mounted it to the wall to save space and ran ductwork that I can splice into and drop lines wherever I need. The end result:





Works like a dream. I can put sawdust on my zero clearance insert for the saw and it just sucks it right off the top. 95% of it falls into the receptacle below with the cyclone pulling the real small stuff up into the cartridge. By making it 2-stage, most of the dust stays out of the cartridge so my airflow and static pressure stay at/near peak.

By the time I get the shop where I want it I'll probably be burnt out on building shit anymore....

Getting this to the front page. I have a question about replacing one of our light switches to a timer switch.

Post coming soon.

Ok, here's the deal. I want to put a programmable timer switch for the first switch in the picture below. The first switch in this pictures turns the outside garage lights on and off. I would like to have this a programmable switch for security and safety purposes such as going on at dark every night and shutting off at say 10 pm. Coming back on at say 5 a.m. before I leave for work and off at daylight. Adds a bit of security and makes it look like we are home since we have blackout screens on the front windows and even with lights on inside, the house sometimes looks empty.

Am I able to simply take the programmable switch in the link below and easily connect it to the first switch? I don't really know much about electric work but we changed a switch from a regular one to a dimmer switch once and that was super easy.


http://i.imgur.com/vOjvD06.jpg

AMAZON switch below.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004SOZHXY..._t1_B004SOZHR0