Archive for the ‘Workshop Tips’ Category
Cleaning Up Shop With An Electric Leaf Blower
For many of us, times are tough and our budget has to stretch a bit further than it used to. So for many of us with a workshop, we have to make our tools into multi-function tools sometimes.
An example of what I’m talking about is owning an air compressor. This is a great tool for many things, but many people only use it for blowing up their tires occasionally, or using it to blow all the sawdust and dirt out of the workshop at clean-up time. These reasons alone are usually not enough for people to spend the money on an air compressor tank due to the fact that they can blow up their tires at any gas station, and shop clean-up can be achieved through other slower, but cheeper methods.
I’ll show you how to clean up your shop with a one of the power tools you might keep around the house anyway. This tool is the electric leaf blower. Not only will it clean up the yard in the fall, but you can keep it running all year in the shop blowing all the saw dust off your work surfaces. This also has a great advantage over a gas powered leaf blower because it produces no fumes and is much more quite.
The Benchmark Of A Great Workshop
When building a bench in your workshop, you want to make sure that you’re getting the most out of your time and materials. We’ll go over a few basic steps to help you build a workbench that’s perfect for you. The power tools you’ll need for this project are a nailer and a power drill. You will find a tape measure and marking tool, such as a pencil to be helpful as well.
- First, identify what bench-top surface you prefer. Personally, I use MDF (medium density fiberboard), which is a composite of tightly compressed materials. You may find that using plywood, particle board or formica top is right for your needs though. Just make sure if you use particle board or MDF, when exposed to water, the surfaces have a tendency to swell up if not protected.
- Next, select either four-by-fours or two-by-fours for your bench frame. I like a bench that can hold the weight of a Buick, so I use four-by-fours. You may find this overkill if you don’t expect to do any heavy pounding work.
- Some people like to use a power drill to drill pilot holes, then use screws to tighten the bench top to the frame. I use a nailer made by DeWALT power tools though, because with the MDX and four-by-fours, you don’t have to worry about cracking the wood as much.
- Finally, when mounting the workbench to the wall, know that nailers can easily split a two-by-four. It may work out better if screws with pilot holes are used for this part. The mounting can actually be done before attaching the bench top. It just depends on what step you find more comfortable doing first. Note, that mounting the bench to the wall is not completely necessary. There are plenty of solid free standing workbenches out there.
Reconditioned Tools Are A Valuable Asset To Any Workshop
If you’re like many, and looking to construct a well balanced workshop, then you are probably looking to acquire a substantial amount of power tools. Now, if you just wanted a few power tools to keep in the garage, then that’s a different story. We’re talking about a workshop though, and this usually requires power tools of all shapes and sizes. This can get quite expensive though, especially for the hobbyist.
A money-saving option to consider, especially when looking to pick up a large quantity of power tools, is reconditioned tools. I’m sure that anyone that investigates the matter will find that they are getting name brand power tools at a much more reasonable price. They don’t have to worry about the tools breaking down either because all reconditioned tools are repaired by trained factory personnel. Not only that each tool is tested and inspected before it’s sent back out into the market. The icing in the cake is that it’s still cover under the full manufacturer’s warrantee. If you want a like-new name brand tool, at a price that much easier on the wallet, then buying reconditioned tools is the way to go!
Powering Up A Workshop With Power Tools
When some one is starting a workshop, one of the most important things to consider is what kind of power tools you need. For instance, if you know you’re interests are in wood working, then perhaps getting a miter saw and a circular saw as well as a sander are going to be of huge benefit, obviously. If you’re not into the huge operation though, and just want to keep a little garage workshop for at-home repairs, then may be a cordless drill, along with some basic hand tools do you just fine.
Not only is it important to figure out what kind of power tools you need, but who the manufacturer is plays a key role in getting the most out of your power tools. I always suggest a reputable company the you trust. If you are unfamiliar to the world of power tools though, I recommend looking at companies such as Milwaukee tools, their products seem to really take the punishment I give them. DeWALT power tools is another brand I seem to have experience little problems with. Another brand is Skil Tools, who are really liked by many people I know, and personally, I love some of their stuff. I bought a cordless drill from them a couple of years ago, and it’s turned out to be the best cordless drill ever for my workshop because it’s so light and the battery lasts forever. And finally, Makita is another popular brand of power tools manufacturer. No matter what you choose in the end though, always make sure the the feel, weight and price, are right for you.
As an avid hobbyist, one of my main hobbies is working on my workshop. Being the type of person that’s into many type of crafts that cover many different needs for hand tools and power tools alike, I find it it most efficient to design an ergonomic shop to maximize workflow. Like many, I keep my hand tools up on peg boards. But I take it a step further and hang specific tools in specific places in the room, as to make sections where certain applications require specific tools more often. For example there’s the “woodworking section” where the chisels and tools for working wood would be, or the “vice section” where i would use pry bars and welding supplies more often.
Certain power tools however, get used in many different applications and I’m certainly not going to buy more than one saber saw to hang up in different places in the room like I would a tape measure or utility knife, which I have written about in a previous post. So my economical solution to this was when I designed the shop, I built in what I call the “Tower Of Power Tools”, which is a term adapted from a line out of a Frank Zappa song. The tower of power tools is a special rack with hooks custom built for each specific tool, that I constructed in a central location in the room. And because the room isn’t too large, I can access all the power tools I need without having to go too far.
I recently designed and built a home workshop, where every item is categorized, grouped, and then hung on the wall so that it’s right there when I need it. Seeing that I used certain tools more in seemingly all applications like a utility knife or pencil, I would buy a number of those tools and hang them up all over the room so one would be within an arm’s reach anywhere in I needed one in the shop.
Through this process, I found that a tape measure is the tool that gets used the most, so I custom built mounts in four places so that I could hang a tape measure on each of them to ensure that there was one available when I need it. Additionally, occasionally I find that I set down my measuring tape and not remember what I did with it. If you’re like me with the tendency to misplace thing from time to time, you may also find it a good idea to hang up multiple tape measures for this reason alone.