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I'm looking to build myself a workshop in my back yard; it's getting kind of old to try to do carpentry in the garage with the laundry and dry-food storage and etc. etc. etc. 16'x24', concrete slab foundation, fully permitted and all that. I've done a decent bit of small-scale carpentry in the past, but nothing remotely on this scale before. Lots of reading up on construction codes and how to frame houses; it's been a real education. Fortunately this job looks to be relatively straightforward compared to what I'm reading about -- single story, no interior walls, just building directly on the slab (well, with a moisture barrier and pressure-treated sole plate). I'd love to have someone who's actually experienced in this kind of thing who I could bounce my plans off of. I put a bunch of images up here if anyone would care to comment. The plans were all made in Blender. I just know if I'd tried to do the planning "by hand" with a sketchbook then literally nothing would line up properly  Eventually I'll be taking this stuff to the city engineer to get it all signed off on, but the less back-and-forth and revising I have to do, the better. EDIT: replaced album with almost-identical album that fixes a dumb error in the plans. TooMuchAbstraction fucked around with this message at 00:36 on Oct 28, 2013 |
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Oct 28, 2013 00:28
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Let me make some actual progress beyond the planning stages before I make a thread; this could still all too easily fizzle out. This is definitely something I want to do, but especially if I have trouble with the permit process or with finding a concrete contractor in my area (the San Francisco Bay Area) who doesn't charge 2.5x normal rates, I'm not going to be going anywhere fast. I appreciate the enthusiasm though!
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Oct 28, 2013 14:59
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door Door door posted:There are plenty of ready mix concrete places in the bay where you just rent a trailer full of premixed concrete and pour it yourself. For a simple slab like that shed would require I don't see why you'd need to hire a contractor to do it. Just make sure you read the code and see what's required in terms of depth and reinforcement. Concrete is an intimidating prospect for me: you're time-limited, so you have to work quickly, and if you gently caress up then you have a gigantic mass of uselessness you have to clean up. And a 16'x24'x6" (or it might be 4", I forget) slab is not a small amount of concrete, either! I mean, you're right, if I do things myself then I can save a lot of money. There are risks involved, though. At the very least, I'd want to have someone who knew what they were doing who was around to supervise. For the actual construction, I can take my time and think things over, and if I screw something up, I'll probably just lose a few 2x6s which can probably be repurposed anyway. There's no such luxury when it comes to concrete pours.
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Oct 28, 2013 16:42
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Blistex posted:If this workshop does happen, have a single row of concrete blocks along the bottom of the walls (naturally not at the doors) to give those 2x6" some extra height and to keep your walls off the slab, where they will soak up moisture and begin to rot and mold. The plan is to use pressure-treated lumber for the sole plate, with a moisture barrier (some kind of flashing) between it and the concrete. The sole plate has to be bolted to the concrete -- can't have it floating on the slab! Especially not in earthquake country. That does remind me though that my current plan calls for a vaulted roof with structural ridge beam, and the 6x6s that support that ridge beam would also need to be treated and protected. Rotting ridge beam supports...brrr. As for self-leveling concrete, I think the main issue is simply that the slab calls for something like 8-9 tons of concrete, and it all has to be put in place in a fairly short time. There's also some moderately skilled work later to ensure that it cures cleanly, that the anchor bolts are in the right places, that it has a nice edge, etc but the biggest problem is simply getting all the concrete in place before it starts to set up.
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Oct 28, 2013 19:15
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calcio posted:Any good links and/or tips for making picture frames? I have a miter saw, a table saw and a router. I've made a few basic frames. The main thing in my experience is that if you want to do 45-degree mitered joints then you'll need a special clamp to hold everything together while the glue sets. I have one of these and while it's a bit fiddly to get set up it works just fine. You can also make a lap joint that looks like a 45-degree miter joint from the front; I've never tried that but I've seen it done. That would give you more face surface area to get a good glue joint. On my larger frames, I've drilled partially into the middle of the miter joint (from the back, so you can't see it) and glued in some pegs to get a bit more surface area; I don't know how much of a difference it makes but it was good for my peace of mind. Otherwise, use your router to put a roundover or chamfer on the interior edge, something fancy like an ogee on the exterior edge, and a rabbet on the back, glue 'em all together, done.
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Oct 28, 2013 22:33
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rotor posted:its pretty easy to make a shed on your own. you can check out my cabin thread. you probably do need a permit for something over 10x10 but jesus like 80% of construction in SF happens without a permit so I say gently caress it. Anything over 120 square feet needs a permit in my area. I'm not really willing to do unpermitted work mostly because it'd be detrimental for whenever I eventually sell the house. I've put a ton of sweat equity into this place; it'd be a shame to undermine that with a crappy unpermitted workshop in the back just so I'd have a nice place to tinker. In other words, this project is something like 50% selfish "I want a man-cave" and 50% "I want to improve the lot for whoever comes after me, and incidentally get more of their wallet". There was a small 10'x12' shed on the property when I arrived, which was on pre-cast concrete piers. I can definitely see the attraction, but they wouldn't be valid for a large permitted structure. Anyway, I'm gonna talk to the building inspector tomorrow morning to get some questions answered; maybe tomorrow evening I can take some photos of my setup and make a new thread. Thanks for the advice so far, folks!
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Oct 29, 2013 04:40
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I went ahead and put a thread up. Here's hoping we can make something happen!
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Oct 30, 2013 03:17
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Looks nice! What are the materials?
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Nov 3, 2013 17:13
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Worst comes to worst, you can always burn stuff that doesn't have any finish applied to it and isn't composed too heavily of glue.
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Nov 9, 2013 02:06
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quote:What do I need to look for when buying hardwoods? I can pick through a pile of #2 studs to find the best ones but where does one go to pick out some oak? Look for lumberyards in your area; if you're reasonably lucky then there'll be one that has a selection of hardwoods. Otherwise you'll probably be stuck with your local Home Depot/Lowe's, which will only sell pre-surfaced boards (all four sides are flat and smooth) at extortionate prices. The most common hardwoods in the US that you'll run into are maple, oak, and poplar. Poplar is actually quite soft (about as strong as pine), and has a bit of a greenish tint to it, but it's comparatively cheap and easy to work. Maple and oak are harder and more expensive, but stronger (maple is kind of ridiculously strong). Depending on your location, different woods will have different prices, of course, since shipping lumber around is expensive.
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Nov 11, 2013 02:15
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Maybe use a dowel tenon? I.e. drill holes in the brace and the main piece, insert a dowel + glue. Probably easier to get that perpendicular than it would be to get a standard mortise+tenon joint perfectly sized. But I suck at joinery, so grain of salt.
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Nov 12, 2013 01:46
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I haven't worked much with plywood, so I don't know what happens to its strength if you cut partway into it for a dado joint. For your setup, I'd be inclined to just buy some metal 90-degree brackets and screw them in, no glue at all. They'll be hidden by the horizontal braces, and all you need from this anyway is something to keep the vertical supports from slipping sideways (i.e. the joint is not itself load-bearing).
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Nov 13, 2013 01:16
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Bad Munki posted:Any preferred/recommended suppliers for bandsaw blades? I got a 3/4" (or maybe it's 5/8", I forget) Wood Slicer blade for my 14" bandsaw, from Highland Woodworking. I've generally been happy with it. I recommend keeping a spare blade around so you aren't completely shut down when your current blade gives up the ghost.
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Nov 15, 2013 07:41
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wormil posted:So I need to dry it, because the wood is still green, and I'm debating on drying as is so I can attempt to remount it on the lathe or going ahead and shaping then accept what comes from drying. I'd be inclined to go with the latter, just in the interests of doing something different. A little irregularity in a small piece can add interest instead of detracting. Plus I kind of feel like pipes ought to not be perfectly machined down to the micrometer.
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Nov 17, 2013 19:24
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In a desperate attempt to keep my highly-energetic dog entertained, I'm considering making a modified version of his Kong kibble toy where the top of the toy hangs from a chain -- so he'd have to bat the toy around in the air to get it to dispense treats. And since the bottom of the toy is weighted, he'd need to work pretty hard to get it to the point where the side port will let any kibble out. I figure I can probably just drill a pilot hole into the top of the toy, and insert an eyescrew with a carabiner to attach the chain, then build a simple box frame to provide something for the other end of the chain to attach to. My question is, does this sound vaguely sane? Will it actually work? That is, will it provide a toy that's harder than the basic Kong toy without being totally impossible? Also it needs to be something that he can't chew to pieces; he's not a strong chewer but damned if he isn't persistent. I'd guess maple that's been hit by a roundover bit to smooth the edges will survive pretty well.
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Nov 18, 2013 18:33
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Good point on him simply ripping the toy off the chain. I'll have to check how thick the plastic is at that point. If it's too thin, I can fill in the top of the toy with epoxy and give the eyehook screw something more to dig into. I'd avoid most power tools (especially power saws) for the time being. They can cause a lot of damage in a hurry (c.f. lost fingers), so it's best not to work with them until you have a feel for the wood. Drills are pretty harmless, though you'll still want to wear goggles while using them. A workbench, a simple handsaw, a carpenter's square, some clamps and woodglue, sandpaper, maybe a handplane; those will get you started for simple projects. Once you feel ready to "graduate" to the bigger power tools, a table saw or circular saw is usually the next item, followed by a router (ideally with a router table to go with).
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Nov 18, 2013 19:11
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JEEVES420 posted:My parents dogs chew through kongs with ease. Have you thought about just hanging it using a rope going through the kong? My parents dogs could care less about a treat being in them I could do that for the stuffable Kong (which has holes top and bottom and thus is easy to thread), but this is the bobble Kong; it's made of hard plastic, and he actually can't chew it because his jaws are too small to fit around it. There's only one hole, on the side, and the two sides screw together so you can easily pour kibble in. They have to knock it around until the hole is facing downwards, at which point kibble falls out. I'm thinking that modifying this by suspending the Kong might make things trickier. Then again, it might not. Guess it depends on how hard it is for him to hold the Kong sideways at the right angle.
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Nov 18, 2013 19:41
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wormil posted:fake edit: I like the Kong on a rope idea much better. A wood toy with a treat inside would last about five minutes with my lab mutt. To be clear, I'm not suggesting that the treat enclosure be made of wood. I'd still be using the hard plastic Kong which is in no danger of being chewed to bits. The wood would just be to have some framework that the Kong would be suspended from. Also from what I've heard it's a super bad idea to give rope (or cloth in general) to dogs to chew on, because they can swallow the strands and those'll get tangled up in their guts. Hence why I said I'd be using chain. Then again, my dog obliterates every stick he can find in the backyard (except for one we got that's made of some kind of hardwood), and he's fine. We had a Lab as a kid whose chewtoys were literal sticks of firewood; he'd work on them until they were rounded off at the ends and thinned way down in the middle, then they'd break in half and we'd get another off the pile. Never seemed to hurt him despite what I hear about splinters being horrible things for dogs. 
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Nov 18, 2013 20:26
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I've found a use for a jigsaw: it's pretty good at cutting drywall! 
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Nov 19, 2013 16:08
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E-Money posted:Skimmed the OP and a bit of the thread so apologies if this is a terrible question. I've been looking for a small project to keep me busy and would love a small woodworking project. I live in an NYC apartment and don't have any studio access/knowledge and am a rank beginner. I would love to have something small that I could fiddle with in my apartment using hand tools or anything with a low entry cost. I just want to keep myself busy, and maybe learn a few neat things in the process. Any suggestions? When I got into woodworking, I started with two projects: a box to hold one of my board games, and a puzzle cube (like a Soma cube). The former was made out of 3/8" plywood and 5-minute epoxy, the latter out of poplar and 5-minute epoxy. For the puzzle cube you'd need to find some way to get a "board" with a square cross-section, but once you have that you can cut the cubes off with a hand miter saw. Plywood can be cut with a standard wood saw as long as you have something to clamp it to (and clamps, of course). You'll probably need practice to get a sufficiently straight cut.
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Nov 25, 2013 20:20
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wormil posted:I need some ideas for father-in-law gift. Been putting it off hoping something would come to me but ... nothing. He likes cheap whiskey, hunting & woodworking (but can't do either anymore because of hip operations), ships and airplanes, and socializing/entertaining. He pretty much has everything he wants. Maybe a conversation piece, like a simple machine or automata? Can't be too complicated though because I'm running out of time. Build him a box, put a bottle of whiskey in the box?
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Dec 12, 2013 21:40
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wormil posted:I can't ship him whiskey but he might like a nice box. Build him a box, put a gift certificate to BevMo (or something classier, I'unno) in it.
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Dec 13, 2013 04:01
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I've made end-grain cutting boards without pre-planing the boards and not had problems, but as you say it could be a per-lumberyard kind of thing. Best to check the board yourself before you go gluing stuff up.
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Dec 19, 2013 23:54
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OSU_Matthew posted:I'm pretty clueless on the rockers. I've no idea how to make something like that free hand, so I wound up cutting straight lines at half intervals from the center of the board, clamping the two rockers together and sanding them even to each other. I don't think it'll rock very well though... does anyone have any ideas on how to improve that or a link to rocker plans ~50"? Also, what would be the best way to attach the legs to the rockers? I was thinking I could cut dadoes into the rockers shaped like the hooves, but I don't want to impede the integrity of the rockers. You might consider looking into steam bending. It's a fairly involved process though. One of those things I've been wanting to try for ages but never gotten around to, myself. If you don't want to go down that road, you can make an arbitrarily-large compass out of a pencil and some string. Just fix one end of the string to something 50" away from the board you want to inscribe the circle on. As for attaching things, my vote would be for dowel tenons, all the way through, plus glue. Basically just line up your pieces on top of each other, drill through them, and insert a glue-covered dowel (probably 3/8" to 1/2") in the hole. Use a contrasting wood and it should look quite nice.
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Dec 22, 2013 05:02
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OSU_Matthew posted:Thanks! I'll just use dowels then. I was originally concerned that lateral forces would cause it to rotate free of the glue, but I think you're right, that would be perfect. Well, you should also glue the faces together normally. I don't think there'll be too much "splitting force" trying to pull the two pieces apart though, so you should be fine.
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Dec 22, 2013 05:29
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I have a bandsaw, and it's definitely possible to rip with it, though it takes some skill to keep the blade from wandering. The main thing I like about bandsaws vs. table saws is that all the blade force is downwards. A bandsaw is not going to fling your workpiece back at you the way tablesaws can if the blade binds. They can still chop a finger off of course, but any saw can do that. Tablesaws are more portable than bandsaws are, though. I wouldn't really like to imagine trying to move cross-country with a bandsaw, at least not without a lot of help packing and moving tools.
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Dec 28, 2013 17:13
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Sylink posted:Since it will be painted I will use cheaper wood, should I opt for poplar or stick with pine for something I'm going to paint over? The internet is telling me that poplar is a nice choice. The tables will be used so I wasn't sure about the softness of pine. My general take on this is that poplar is green-tinted and knot-free, but a bit more expensive than pine. If you can find knot-free pine then you might as well use it for this kind of situation; I don't think the softness of the two woods is very different.
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Jan 1, 2014 02:25
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I own a Grizzly bandsaw and have been happy with the tool quality and what little support I've needed for it.
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Jan 14, 2014 04:21
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I'd say use the planer, honestly. Easier, safer, more precise, you can get wider panels. On the flipside you have to buy twice as much wood...but if you need a large amount of thin boards (where this would make a difference in how much lumber you have to buy) then what kind of project are you doing anyway? Find a buddy with a bandsaw and get them to resaw it for you. Also, I've done a small amount of resawing on my bandsaw, and one thing to watch out for is that you're changing the stresses on the board, which can cause the new, thinner pieces to warp. That's less of an issue when using a thickness planer since you can remove equal amounts from both sides of the board.
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Jan 23, 2014 04:04
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Or you could steam-bend the pieces instead.
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Feb 12, 2014 21:58
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I keep meaning to get into steam-bending, but my workshop is enough of a disaster zone as it is; I really need to clean it up before adding even more tools/toys. Sounds like red/white oak are my only real options if I give it a shot though, at least for the woods available around here.
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Feb 13, 2014 20:32
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I did a cutting board with a diagonal layout. For the corner issue, I just didn't go all the way into those corners -- that is, the final shape was not rectangular because two of the corners were "truncated" (making a final shape with 6 edges). I don't know if that would translate well to a table, but if nothing else you can always support the boards on the underside of the table. The diagonal zebrastripe pattern you can get by alternating materials (e.g. maple/walnut or something else of similar starkness) is quite striking, especially when on the diagonal. It's not something you see every day, that's for sure!
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Feb 20, 2014 17:49
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Bad Munki posted:1cm / 2 = 5mm, 5mm / 2 = 2.5mm, 2.5mm / 2 = 1.25mm, 1.25mm / 2 = 0.625mm, 0.625mm / 2 = 0.3125mm This argument is a lot easier to make when you're cooking, honestly. With carpentry, you're often dealing with weird distances. Or at least, I am. Quick, what's half of 9 5/8"?
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Feb 26, 2014 05:55
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Realistically you aren't going to be able to achieve a perfect match, if for no other reason than that the parts you aren't painting are considerably more weathered than the parts you are.
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Mar 11, 2014 03:24
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Very nice. And how often did you have to stop to sharpen your tools?
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Mar 12, 2014 05:00
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Yeah, hours + materials (+ tool deprecation, but that's probably not much), and don't short-change yourself on your time. Making things for myself or as a gift is one thing; making them for sale is completely different (at least for me) in terms of how much I enjoy the work.
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Mar 13, 2014 19:10
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I was out taking my dog for a walk today, and happened to walk past a garage sale -- a lady was selling off the accumulated stuff her late husband had acquired. I picked up two slabs of redwood burl for $50 total. Now I just have to figure out what to do with them...  (One of them was already finished; looks like polyurethane)
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Mar 16, 2014 23:45
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mds2 posted:How long are they? If anything let them sit till the inspiration comes. Or sell them to me. They're about 4.5' by 13" (at the widest point) by 2.25". I like the idea of resawing and bookmatching; you could make a nice pair of coffee tables that way, or maybe the doors on a rather odd cabinet. But there's no way my 14" bandsaw could fit them for resawing (max thickness is something like 6-8"), so I'd have to find someone with a bigger one to do it for me. And yeah, for now they're just joining the rest of my lumber stash.
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Mar 18, 2014 02:30
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I asked about sliding compound miter saws awhile back, and the recommendation then was to just get a non-sliding version. You very rarely need the extra depth of cut that the sliding action gets you, and it introduces significant complexity in the tool (adding cost and making it harder to calibrate for accurate cuts).
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Mar 27, 2014 16:20
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| # ¿ Apr 29, 2024 17:10 |
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Walked posted:How would I go about joining these for a tabletop? Theyre all roughsawn on the sides, but the wide surfaces are decent. I'm not too pressed with making the table perfectly level (e.g. I am up for keeping the texture of the boards), but I do want to have them boards at least joined as decently as possible to minimize gaps. A jointer (or a hand plane) is the normal tool for cleaning up board edges. I don't know anything about table construction or what Frogmanv2 said about board movement though.
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Apr 3, 2014 16:27
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