Official Luthiers Forum!

Hi Folks, i've been quite busy lately rearranging the shop(YEAH, AGAIN! ) and trying to earn my stripes for the NEAT FREAK CLUB! [;)

I just couldn't move as much as i wanted and hit the bottom of the sawdust chute, decided i had enough and threw away some huge pile of junk(scraps of metal, plastic, plywood, MDF, chunks and bits of wood, sold my old CONTRACTOR TS and bought me this baby here, a RYOBY BT 3100! Light and sturdy, versatile also



It was possible for me to buy this toy at HD with the money i had put on a refunded RIDGID bandsaw, HD had put the money back into a gift card so i thought that i might as well use it well since no cash money was reimbursed!

I also built some kind of rolling platform for my dust collection system, i plan on closing the bottom part to have less noise from the vacuum, not completely so that the air flows to the machine. Put the plastic container on top and can now roll it outside to the huge bins in the garbage room of the building...

the back



The front



made a hole to reach the switch...



Here's a new bench i made with caster wheels under a bed framed platform with 2 (i forgot the name! ) gray furniture things with drawers with the old door as a top!



Dismantled the old big 8' bench that was next to that wall on the right side of the pic and rearranged the futon old base as a zoot rack! Love this



The go bar deck and the drum sander(both on wheels), next to the zoot rack...



Attached a pouch to the TS to store the accessories in, i love the router table attachment on the right side, gonna make my life much easier!



The makeover or should i call it rearrangement of the shop will continue in the near future, still got a few scraps to throw out but i feel way better already, thanks to Hesh who is the inspiration for this, one more big change to come will be to build a traditional workbench!

Thanks for watching!

Serge

Oh and i forgot to mention that i bought a dustmask and a honing guide for my scary sharp lessons!

Nice progress, bro! I've had that same saw for about a year now...it works quite well for the price. Spend the time to make sure everything is accurately aligned and you'll be happy with it.

_________________
JJ
Napa, CA
http://www.DonohueGuitars.com

thanks Hesh, my next bench will be made of a laminated maple slab and hardwood legs, perhaps maple too, it will aso have 2 vises, one at the right end of the bench that will be used mainly to hold the guitar and a smaller vise at the front left for smaller objects, i mainly want to hone my woodworking skills with the hand plane and different techniques realated to traditional woodworking.

Here's a bench i'd love to copy build



Now ain't that noice or whut?

Thanks JJ, did yours come with the DVD also, for the assembly?

Really easy to assemble using it huh?

Looks great Serge. You'll be happy with all those tools on wheels (I know you already are).

There are several good internet links for setting up the saw, not assembly, but making sure that the blade and mitre gauge slots are parallel and that the fence is also parallel. Don't know if that is in the DVD, I kind of doubt it.

Here are a couple of links you might find helpful

Blade alignment

And This one goes into more detail

Great job Bud, have fun with the new saw.

_________________
My Facebook Guitar Page

"There's really no wrong way, as long as the results are what's desired." Charles Fox

"We have to constantly remind ourselves what we're doing....No Luthier is putting a man on the moon!" Harry Fleishman

"Generosity is always different in the eye of the person who didn't receive anything, but who wanted some." Waddy Thomson

Thanks Rod, yup, happy as a clam!

Thanks for these great links bro, saved to file, you are right, i did not see that INFO in the DVD!

Cheers

Serge

Hey! I thought you said you were going to put in a Jacuzzi?

    Looks great buddy ol pal! All you need now is carpet like Hesh and your there!

   Like your saw! I set up an old Crapsman table saw a while back for a friend, it made a clear difference!

_________________
Billy Dean Thomas
Covina, CA

"Multi famam, conscientiam, pauci verentur."
(Many fear their reputation, few their conscience)

Looks good Serge. Are you going to laminate your maple top yourself? I did that once, it's a big job, I would probably buy a blank slab rather that do it again and just build the legs and mount the vises.

Looks good Serge! I have a pile of 98 BFT of hard maple just waiting to be made into a workbench. It's been setting stickered in my garage for about 3 or 4 months. Eventually, I'll get to it.

By the way, if you need a good workbench reference, I would check out The Workbench Book.

_________________
nay

My blogs
Hand Made Gutar
Woodworker++

[QUOTE=ToddStock] Another option is DIY, which is the route I went; however, it's a major distraction from luthiery and a big project.[/QUOTE]

Amen! I did the same thing, but it was before I really got into instrument building, so I didn't mind. I even designed my own tail vise, based on Franz Klaus' and a Shaker style one from "The Workbench Book" and an old bench screw and a beat up bench I had... Like Garret Hack (sp?), I found that building the tail vise took as long as building the rest of the bench! If you want one, buy it!

Oh, and nice work on the shop, Serge! Seems there is something missing tho, something about beers and aliens...?

_________________
Rian Gitar og Mandolin

Hey Serge,

Why did you return the Riged BS? I just bought one not to long ago... did you ahve problems with it?

serge, i like the changes you've made, and like the rolling pin sander you posted a few days ago are a great example of what inventiveness and desire can accomplish. but i would be willing to bet that these changes to your shop are just a start, because if you keep at building you will be doing it over and over again as your preferred methods change and evolve. it seems like a never ending process.

but before you commit the resourses in time and or money to building a traditional woodworking style bench, seriously consider what that commitment of resourses will accomplish for you.

i've been at this for a while and have never needed the weight and strength of a traditional woodworking bench. have a look at the shops of the major handbuilders on line. how many of those type benches do you see? there is a reason you won't find many... they just aren't necessary for building instruments.

if you are seriously considering building furniture then you may need one, but for guitars, etc., i can think of many things i would rather spend the time and money on.

crazymanmichael39064.4601041667

My project last winter was to build a high quality maple bench and did so by following the LV Veritas plans. I also bought their heavy vises which I just love. I was inspired by benches built by Arnt and Todd and they offered some great advice. They are truly some of the experts on such a project.

After 9 months of having it in my shop, it has made my guitar building a lot more efficient as well as for other woodworking projects. Here are a few pics:







This requires a lot of thought before you undertake such a project...it will distract you from guitarbuilding for many, many months. Aside from the time investment, it is a considerable investment in money for the wood and vises. Let me know if I can help.

_________________
JJ
Napa, CA
http://www.DonohueGuitars.com

That bench is excellent! Congrats. I'm jealous

Serge,
I like your setup. You can see every tool!
Also, I like the expanded wood storage so you can see what you've got. Myn is stacked tight and I have to pull it out to remember what I have.
Nice tips guys!
JJ that is one beutiful bench!
I'd love to know more details about building one.
Do those tradisional woodworking vices come in handy for guitar making?
Serge, let us know what you come up with for your bench.
Especially if you build one.
I'm on that path too.

Wade Wade S.39064.4561574074

_________________
Wade
Nashua, NH
http://www.wadefx.com

yeah Hesh gets the neat-freak award, then again I might follow a close second... then again I've not built a guitar!

Neat all around Hesh!
JJ, that's a heck of a tea kettle in the background! Never far away from a drinka hot water!

I gotta clean my shop.... L. Presnall39064.4701388889

_________________
http://www.presnallguitars.com

hesh, i can see from the photos that your workshop has not strayed far from its spiritual home!

alas, i couldn't stay so tidy even if i tried, so i don't.

i find that my benches tend toward yours and serge's, using construction grade timber and ply mostly, though one old rollaround is topped by an old solid door. probably the most solid bench i have is an old mission style refectory dining table in pine that i picked up at a garage sale.

Your shop is looking good Serge. Nice new table saw you got! I really like that bench that JJ posted! i wish I had room for a bench like that

_________________
Anderson Guitars
Clearwater,Fl. 33755

lets start a "pics of the our workshop" thread.

WOW, What a response guys, many many thanks everyone!

Thanks Billy, yeah, a good TS is a great thing to have!

Marc, i'm crazy enough to want to laminate it myself! Time is irrelevant for this project, i will use this project as a mean to learn more about woodworking, it will be done in many steps, one at a time! Thanks

Thanks Nathan for the link!

Thanks for your great input as usual Todd, the lighting in the shop is fine by me but it must be the flash from the camera that makes it appear darker than it really is. I think i'll try to build a 6' long bench with a corner vise like yours and shelves or drawers underneat to store my current builds/projects, my actual bench has 8' of length X 2' wide and the length is making it hard to roll all the power tools around Nice bench you got sir BTW! Might bug ya a bit when i commit to that project my friend!

Thanks Arnt, my Alien decided to stay at Hesh's place, supposedly, it was NEATER there!

Alan, yes, i returned it because of 2 screws that broke into their threads, one on the blade guide assembly and the other on the shaft.

Thanks Michael, i already thought of that, as i said, it will be a long time project thing, made primarily with scrounged maple and other hardwoods, i'll be keeping my actual bench untill the new one is completed in say maybe 2 years from now!

JJ, Again, one nice bench, i love it's neatness and space but mine should be a bit smaller than yours by about 2 feet, thanks for showing yours again, i might bug ya with some questions when the time comes!

Thanks Wade, watch for old futon bases or anything that has some latter pattern, it does simplify the visuals!

Thanks Hesh, nice benches again too, i could easily build me some like yours but complicating things seems to be a good part of my nature, you are too neat, i don't even see a dang scratch on them benches, even after what, 2-3 months?

Thanks Dave! Yeah, me too, i'd love to have a couple more feet available.

Thanks all!

Shops looking great, Serge!! You're gonna like that table saw, I'm sure. I'm going to rearrange my shop, too. I built furniture for many years, and it is not set up well for lutherie.

Ron

_________________
OLD MAN formerly (and formally) known as:

Ron Wisdom

Somewhere in the middle of Arkansas......