Some Assembly Required

With the construction phase of the shop complete, it's time to start assembling the tools.  The jointer and bandsaw are in process.  Here are the major tools in the shop ready to go to work. 

Construction Phase - Complete

This weekend marked the end of the construction phase in my shop.  The last coat of paint went on Saturday afternoon.  The remainder of Saturday and part of Sunday were spent cleaning up.

And on Monday the real fun started.  The dust collector is assembled and tested.  The planer stand is ready for the planer and the jointer base is ready to be mounted to the mobile base.

This weekend was fun for another reason since I had some frequent help.  Danae and Renata were great help cleaning up and holding pieces in place while I assembled the tools.  Here are some pictures from the weekend.

One step closer

I just left the shop after checking out the 2 coats of primer that went on last weekend.  If all goes well I will start cutting in the corners on the color coat tomorrow night.  After that 2 coats of the primary color on Saturday.

And you know what that means . . . the tools start getting assembled on Sunday.  It is, perhaps, even more important to me than the Packers' game.   That's not sacrilegious is it?

BTW - I am on a photo hiatus of the shop until it is done and the tools are in.  But don't fret, it won't be that long.  There may even be a video tour in the future.

A few big weeks

Wow.  I didn't realize it had been more than 2 months since I posted.

So here's the short version.  I got a lot done in November but spent most of December not being able to climb a ladder or stand on the cement to get anything done.  The push to get the electrical installed the first week of December did a job on my knees so I spent December on ice and meds.  It's okay though.  I don't think we were home a single weekend all month.

Well, the lights and and ceiling fans are hung and operating.  The lighting in the shop is fantastic.  No shadows or dead spots.

 

Today I declared the walls ready for primer and paint.  This is a good thing since I am really rather sick of plaster and dust.  The paint colors have been picked.  The upper portion of the walls will be Raffia Cream and the wainscoting will a beadboard plywood painted New Chestnut.  I hope to complete the wall prep and paint the walls on the Martin Luther King long weekend.

 

Many of the tools are in the shop.  They just haven't been unpacked or assembled.

Another major accomplishment happened this weekend with wonderful help from the Krieger clan (Regan, Danae, and Renata) and Barb.  I have years and years of woodworking magazines I have collected.  Thus far, they have been in cardboard boxes that were heavy and not very functional for a library.  I finally found some plastic bins to store everything so we spent New Year's day watching football and sorting and putting all the mags in order.  I think I could actually find something now.

 

So what's a shop blog without a discussion of tools.  Santa's elves were very busy bringing quality toys and I must have been a very good boy.  It started with a Dewalt planer and mobile stand arriving in early December.  January will start with the delivery of a Jet jointer this week.  These two tools will be invaluable as they allow me to buy rough cut wood or helping me process the wood off my own property.  Either way, it will help save money.  The final tool should arrive in the next week or so.  The Jet spindle sander will make quick work of sanding curves and making templates.