A Word on Safety...

2008-09-01

In all the time that I've maintained this blog, I haven't made any posts regarding workshop safety...especially around power tools.  Well, that's going to change right now.

Today I had a serious mishap in the workshop.  Fortunately, I am fine...but I believe this is largely due to the emphasis I place on safety at every step of the construction process.  I wear eye protection every time I fire up any power tool and I make it a point to consciously respect the terrible damage these tools can inflict.  But even with this conscientious approach, mishaps do happen.  The good news is that, when using these tools safely, they don't get the opportunity to harm life or limb.

To get to the point, I had a fragment of material come off a piece of MDF board I was cutting and it caught on the circular saw which drew it into the saw housing.  Near as I can tell, the piece struck the blade housing in such a way that it became unstable and warped into the rotating blade.  What happened after that was complete housing destruction, warping of the feeder plate and impact deformation of the blade itself.  All of this happened within a fraction of a second.

The red-colored bent plate you see here is the feeder plate.  This was originally flat by design, but now it is clearly bent. The damage was apparently caused by the force of impact from the blade housing fragmentation and from what appears to be glancing impact from the saw blade.

What you see here is all that remains of the saw housing.  As can be seen here, it was completely destroyed in the mishap.

This is where the feeder plate (shown above) used to be mounted next to where the saw blade spun.  This is why I always have the eye shield lowered over the blade when it's in operation.  It's certain that parts must have flown out the top opening.  Fortunately, my eyes were double shielded by the blade cover and the eye protection I was wearing.

This is a view of the underside of the table saw.  The blade housing is completely gone.  Near the bottom edge of the blade you can see the remnants of the housing.  That's all that is left.

This is where the saw blade housing was.  Just to the left of the blade you can see the mount bolts for the housing.  They were both severely bent by the force of the rotating blade destroying the housing.  It was rather unsettling to see this kind of destruction occuring in such close physical proximity not only to my face, but also near my legs.

So the moral of the story is, always utilize strict safety practices in the shop!  You never know when failure of a component will occur and sometimes the only way you can prevent injury is by constantly giving these tools the respect they demand.  Taking safety for granted at any point can have disastrous results.  While I'm none too happy that my table saw is out of commission, I am just glad that the only thing that suffered for the mishap was the machine itself.  This incident was just too close for comfort.

The Garage Storage Cabinet Project is Finally Done!

2008-07-04

Geez!  It's hard to believe it was almost a month ago that I started this project, but it's finally done!  Today I finished installing the last of the door catches and making the last of the adjustments to the cabinet doors.  This long project is finally over.  And not a moment too soon.

Looking back on this project, I can honestly say that this is perhaps the most poorly-engineered but best built project I've undertaken in years.  The original plans were completely inadequate, but the course corrections I made as I went along made for a very strong and resilient structure that should hold up for a decade or more.

Oh yeah...Happy Fourth of July!

Getting close to completion...

2008-06-28

Lately it's seemed to me that this project is taking an inordinately large amount of time.  And as it goes, it looks like I've got a few more days to go before I can call this one done.  All the same, I managed to add nine doors to the cabinet today and have only three doors left to go.  Each of the door sets needs a bit of tweaking to improve their fit.

I'll resume this project tomorrow and hopefully have it completed by the end of this week.

Progress on the Garage Storage Cabinet...

2008-06-22

I had a lot of odd jobs to do around the house today, so I wasn't able to devote much time to the storage cabinet, but I did manage to fashion a couple more doors and affix the requisite hardware to them and get them mounted to the frame.

The fit was a little tight, but I'll be fixing that later this week.  Everything works fine, though.

And here's a close-up of the door catches that I've installed.  They're cheap.  They work.  That's all I need.

Still More Progress on the Storage Cabinet...

2008-06-21

I spent a lot of time today just ripping boards for the door mounts and door panels.  Because I work alone in the garage and often use only pieces of scrap lumber to push wood past the spinning table saw blade, I figured it was time I made a permanent tool for this job.

What you see here is the product of two ½" MDF boards glued together and then cut out with a jig saw.  The forward lip allows me to both push and stabilize the board I'm cutting as it moves past the blade.  Best of all, it keeps my fingers out of harm's way in the event of kickback.  This tool may look crufty, but it is elegant in its function and simplicity.

Anyway, after a whole lot of prep work, I finally managed to mount the first pair of cabinet doors to the frame.  The fit is a little tight where the door edges meet, and I'll be fixing that tomorrow.  That said, the overall installation went very well and I think progress will pick up speed as I install the remaining 14 cabinet doors.

Today's Progress on the Garage Storage Cabinet...

2008-06-20

Work continues on the storage cabinet.  Today I finished cutting the door openings on the front panels.  Then I reattached the panels and secured them to the frame.  The sections went on well and now the next step is to prep the panels for the door hinges.  Meanwhile I'll measure the ½" MDF boards for the doors and see about finding some outside corners to tidy up the edges of the storage cabinet.

I figure I'll be working on this project for a few more days before I'm convinced that it's done.

Test Fitting the Storage Cabinet Front Panels...

2008-06-17

Today I finished cutting the front panels and test fit them to the frame.  Everything fit pretty much as expected, and I'm pleased with the results.  After fitting the fourth front panel to the frame, I drew up the cabinet door openings and drew the lines using my 2' level.  This assures that the door openings and mounted doors will all line up fine after I take the panels down and cut out the cabinet openings.

I figure I'll spend the next few days taking down the front panels, cutting out the eight openings and cutting the sixteen cabinet doors.  With luck, I'll be able to affix all the cabinetry hardware (hinges, knobs, door catches) this week and finish up by this weekend.

Continuing Work on the Garage Storage Cabinet...

2008-06-15

After dealing with a nasty summer cold, I resumed work on the storage cabinet. Work's resuming slowly, but steadily. Today I affixed the ¼" MDF board to the side as shown here.

Then I secured the ¼" MDF to the opposite side as shown here. Then I got to work on affixing the MDF on the top.

All MDF sections were affixed using 1¼" screws. Next I'll be making the face of the storage cabinet. This will be comprised of four 36½" x 90" panels; each having two openings.

Oh yeah...Happy Father's Day!

Garage Storage Cabinet Framework Complete...

2008-06-10

I'm coming down with a nasty summer cold, but it's not severe enough to keep me from working on this project...at least today. So I start out by test fitting the remaining shelves.

Everything went just fine, so I proceeded with the cutting and mounting of the horizontal supports. About an hour and a half later, the storage cabinet frame was complete.

As can be seen here, the storage cabinet is essentially eight open-back 36"W x 45"H x 18"D boxes. This affords the structure a fair amount of strength and sturdiness with a minimal amount of framing. With the shelves individually rated for up to 200 pounds load each, this structure could conceivably store nearly 2.5 tons of material.

That's a little bizarre to contemplate now that I think about it...

Not one to waste time or space, I quickly set to work loading up the shelves. This also served as a good test to make sure everything I wanted to store would fit properly. I'm happy to report that everything fit with much room to spare.

If I'm feeling well enough tomorrow, I'll start bolting on the ¼" paneling on the top and sides of the storage cabinet. Then I'll get down to the business of fashioning the front panels and doors.

Further Progress on the Garage Storage Cabinet...

2008-06-09

Got to work in the late afternoon on the project and finished the left frame box by adding two horizontal supports and the 2x4 vertical post.  This completed the left frame box, so I moved on to starting the right frame box.

Next I added three short horizontal frame stubs to support the left corner 2x4 vertical post.

Once the three horizontal supports were in place, I levelled the 2x4 post against them and secured them with screws.  I also checked for level on three axes and made minor adjustments to keep everything true.  I then proceeded with the next column of horizontal supports and added the next vertical 2x4 post.

Once that part was completed, the shelves slid in for a nearly perfect fit.  Tomorrow I'll add two additional long horizontal supports in the right frame box to keep it sturdy, level and square at all corners.  All told, I was pleased to have accomplished this much in only two hours.

More Progress on the Garage Storage Cabinet...

2008-06-08

I got a late start this morning, but got things rolling quickly.  First I marked up all vertical boards for notch cutting, then I started checking the floor boards for level.

I quickly figured out that the slope of the floor was not a perfect mathematical slope, but had slight imperfections along the length of the rise.  To accommodate for this, I put together a number of shims to have the concrete and wood slope edges match up.  This is a good lesson learned that I'll carry over to a project I plan to undertake early this autumn.

I used my table saw to cut out notches in the vertical boards.  First I sliced the notch areas as shown here.

The I used a slotted screwdriver and a hammer & chisel to clear out the notched areas of the vertical boards.

Once all the boards had been notched, I began assembly of the cabinet frame. I got enough done to test fit the shelves into the frame end and horizontal support wedges. Though incomplete, the frame and shelves are remarkably sturdy. I'm looking forward to resuming work tomorrow afternoon and getting more done.

Constructing the Garage Storage Cabinet...

2008-06-07

It's always interesting starting a large project on an uneven surface.  The garage floor is sloped to accommodate quick water runoff with an appreciably significant rise over a 20' run.  The area I chose has a net rise of 2½" over a 12' run, but it also has a level beveled edge where the floor and wall meet that I also had to take into account.

To get accurate measurements, I engineered a temporary tool which allowed me to assess level and plumb at the same time.  I made this using a right angle protractor and a small level.  This helped me verify that the measurements I was taking were valid in spite of the uneven work area.

Once I'd measured and cut the 2x4 to complement the floor's slope, I used the shelves to assure that my measurements would accommodate the space they required.  I made a ½" tweak and marked the floor for later reference.

Then I got to work cutting up eighteen 8" horizontal support wedges from a length of 2x4.  These wedges will be mounted to the wall to support the back corners of each shelf.

I drilled one pilot hole into each wedge and threaded a 2½" screw into it.

I spaced each wedge 36" apart horizontally and 15 & 3/8" vertically.  Each wedge had Liquid Nail applied to its wall-mated surface and was then secured to the wall with the screw.  Once secured, each wedge was individually checked for level, then collectively checked for level across the horizontal span.  Once I was satisfied with each row, I moved up to the next level.

Having finished the installation of the horizontal wedges, I applied Liquid Nail to the underside of the slope-countering boards and placed weights on the wood to ensure adhesion to the (freshly cleaned) garage floor.

It's been a busy day and I got a lot done, so I took a few preliminary measurements on the vertical 2x4 supports and called it a day.  Now it's time for pizza and a movie!

Designing Storage Cabinets for the Garage

2008-06-06

Time to take on another large project!  This one will be for my workspace in the garage.  About a year ago I purchased several Workforce Storage Organizers for storing things in the garage.  They work fine and all, but with the increase in woodworking I've been doing, everything they hold gets covered in a fine layer of sawdust, which is kind of problematic after a while.  So to overcome that issue, I've decided to construct a wall-mounted storage cabinet replete with doors to store my things in the garage.

This design takes away one column of shelves, but it adds two rows, so I'll be able to store as much as before.  I'm planning on purchasing a radial arm saw later on this year, so it will be good to have some additional room near my workbench.  This cabinet will be 7½' tall, 12'1" wide, and 19" deep.  To save a little money, I will be reusing the Workforce Storage Organizer shelves within the new storage cabinet.  I plan to start this project this weekend and finish it by Father's Day.

Water Heater Construction Finished!

2008-05-22

Finally!  After many hours of working on this beast, the water heater cabinet is finished at last!  I've finished attaching all drywall panels and have applied drywall mud and drywall tape where the panels meet.

As a novice in working with metal, I'm reasonably pleased with the outcome of this project.  It was difficult and required some re-engineering from the original design, but it turned out very solid.

I was originally going to skip painting this cabinet, but I've learned that the drywall will darken over time and I'd rather that the unit blend in well with the rest of the garage interior.  I'll be painting this a flat eggshell white in a few days.

So, with little delay, I painted the cabinet a basic flat white.  Not bad for an evening's work.

Progress on the Water Heater Cabinet

2008-05-20

Time marches on and work continues on the water heater cabinet.  I've now mounted two drywall panels to the metal frame and things have come together quite nicely.  First I cut, fitted and affixed the left wall panel as shown here.

Then I cut the right drywall panel to size.  Once that was done, I cut out the vent holes by holding the vent grill to the drywall; scoring the vent interior edges with a nail, drilling four pilot holes, then cutting out the vent hole using a jig saw. After that, I drilled two small holes for #8-10 1" screw anchors with which I affixed the 6"x14" vents.

Bolting the drywall to the frame was a bit of a maneuvering trick, but was nonetheless accomplished just minutes later.  The high vent's uppermost edge is 14" from the top and the low vent's bottom edge is 18" from the floor.  This arrangement allows for optimal air flow for this unit.  Next I'll fashion the drywall segments for the front and then it's on to applying the drywall mud and drywall tape.

Slow but Steady Progress...

2008-05-10

I've been sidetracked with a lot of little projects lately, and progress on my larger projects have slowed down as a result.  Finally, after several weeks of delays, I've been able to resume work on the water heater cabinet.  In doing this, I essentially constructed the entire frame horizontally as shown here.

The cabinet is 8' tall, but the longest metal brace sold at the local Home Depot was just 6' in length.  To work around this, I cut four 4' braces into 2' sections and braced the pieces together using ¼" hex bolts.  This arrangement lengthened the 6' sections by 2' and joined each section together with a 2' section of brace reinforcement secured by six ¼" hex bolts.

Once the 8' sections were completed, the corners were reinforced with diagonal braces.

Right angle brace reinforcements were used for the adjacent corners.

Then I partially disassembled the frame so I could fit it around the water and gas pipes that lead into and away from the water heater.  Then I anchored the frame to the wall using 2" wood screws.  Everything is rock solid and ready for the fire-rated gypsum drywall.

Once I mounted the water heater cabinet frame to the wall, I spent some time applying a few coats of water sealer on the boards around the sink area of the work bench.  After a few hours, the wood was reasonably protected against moisture in the working area.  It isn't anything that I'd submerge on a regular basis, but it'll certainly hold up to everyday sink usage for the next several years.