Yesterday I was the only person at work

"AestheticsInMotion" (aestheticsinmotion)
07/05/2018 at 14:30 • Filed to: None

Quite possibly the most fun I’ve ever had while being paid. Music blasting, fireworks in the background. Ended up working 12 hours organizing, and designing more robust systems for the company. End result is the shop side of the garage is finally usable! Woo-hoo! Before and after pictures below...

Still a ton of room for improvement, but oh man you should have seen it when I first arrived three months ago. The below “before” pic is actually AFTER a solid three hour clean.

Two questions. One... Is there a good way to handle sawdust from the old school table saw..? This thing’ s older than me but built like a GD tank. There are absolutely zero safeties of any kind, so you know if was built in a different time. .. Dangerous but man is it quick to do a few cuts. I love it, but it gets sawdust everywhere.

Question two! Any bright ideas for organizing the “raw meterials” section?

And because you’re all so great, I’ll leave you with a fantastic way to spend your money. Whalen makes the absolute best shelving units I’ve had the pleasure of using. These things will outlive you. And... Costco will ship two straight to your door. I’ve got two already and just ordered two more.

https://www.costco.com/Whalen-Industrial-Rack%2C-77”W-x-24”D-x-72”H%2C-2-pack.product.100341995.html

DISCUSSION (20)

ttyymmnn > AestheticsInMotion
07/05/2018 at 14:34

And now your coworkers will come in and trash the place.

/I hope not

AestheticsInMotion > ttyymmnn
07/05/2018 at 14:38

They're actually pretty good about keeping tidy. The garage is split into a "crew" section and a "shop/computer" section. They pretty much stick the the crew section, and all of the massive labels for everything seem to be working. I'm trying to come up with systems that are intuitive and simple so as to require as little upkeep from me as possible

MonkeePuzzle > AestheticsInMotion
07/05/2018 at 14:41

how much room do you have for the raw materials ? I’d think some simple racks to hold it all horizontally would work best.

just some poles protruding outwards, with a slight up angle to make materials roll back towards the wall.

cmill189 - sans Volvo > AestheticsInMotion
07/05/2018 at 14:43

My suggestion for the sawdust issue is to convince whoever is in charge to spend a few hundred dollars for a decent miter saw. That thing scares the shit out of me just looking at it. I’m sure it used to have a guard but I seriously cannot believe people willingly stick their hands and face near an open blade like that. A new one will have a dust bag which can be replaced with a hose going to a shop vac or similar dust collection device.

Urambo Tauro > AestheticsInMotion
07/05/2018 at 14:50

For the long, skinny scrap stuff, you could make a cart like the one O.C. threw together . Build it as small as you like to take up less room, or bigger to allow room for more cut-offs.

Big sheets of stuff like plywood are tricky, though. If you can find a spot suitable for it, see if you can stand them up on their 4' side (standing 8' tall), with the edges all facing you. That way, you can see what you have at-a glance and can pull any one of them out individually (like a bookshelf) without having them stacked on top of or in front of one another.

punkgoose17 > AestheticsInMotion
07/05/2018 at 14:50

To keep it from being messy you want something like this, machine guard / dust guard with shop vac connection. I don’t know where to get one for a reasonable price. (forgot the link)

https://www.amazon.com/Bosch-1605510215-Cutoff-Machine-Guard/dp/B000WA4PZY

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > AestheticsInMotion
07/05/2018 at 15:31

Umm, that’s a good way to loose an eye, a hand, an elbow, fill in the blank body part.

Kinja'd!!!

shop-teacher > AestheticsInMotion
07/05/2018 at 15:40

First off, that’s a miter saw, not a table saw.

Second, holy hell is that thing dangerous! Throw that bastard in the scrap pile and spend maybe $200 on a new DeWalt with a proper guard and a blade brake. That saw is a huge liability. If I was your business’ insurance carrier, I’d send you a letter giving you 30 days to get rid of that, or lose your coverage. It’s that bad. Also, it will have a great little spot to hook a shop vac up to for dust collection.

As for your raw materials, organizing stuff like that is always tricky. I think I would try a set of bins to stand the long and narrow things up vertically, but in a more orderly way.

Also, good job organizing your bench.

AestheticsInMotion > shop-teacher
07/05/2018 at 16:07

New saws is coming, any recommendations? Yeah I’m still working on my proper terms haha. I’m HOPING I got the power tools correctly labeled...

Kinja'd!!!

Ended up just removing all the raw material, sorting it and putting it back in a tidier fashion with some 5 gallon buckets for smaller cuts. Lot better for now , one of these days I’ll tackle a better solution. Also glad I did this because I found (and killed) six black widows. Nope nope nope.

AestheticsInMotion > cmill189 - sans Volvo
07/05/2018 at 16:09

Well, I'm sold. My boss is a safety nut, the only reason this hasn't been updated yet is because it was so covered in junk nobody could use it anyways...

AestheticsInMotion > Urambo Tauro
07/05/2018 at 16:10

I saw that! I was going to go that route, but I'm going to wait and see if I can come up with an outdoor storage setup for the plywood first. I'd rather have the extra space in the shop

AestheticsInMotion > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever
07/05/2018 at 16:11

But it gets such a close shave. Waaaaay better than my old Gillette razor

AestheticsInMotion > MonkeePuzzle
07/05/2018 at 16:13

I have the room, but I'd rather use it for something else. Company is growing like crazy, and I want some wiggle room. The longer we can wait before buying a warehouse and relocating HQ, the better I look haha

MonkeePuzzle > AestheticsInMotion
07/05/2018 at 16:24

my only concern is that a vertical storage solution could damage one end of the material. given the space I’d go horizontal.

can put it overhead? or is that an osha issue that I dont have problems with at home?

Sovande > AestheticsInMotion
07/05/2018 at 16:53

Yeah that thing is nutty. I'd sure as hell wouldn't use it. Dust collection on a chop saw is difficult, though Festool makes a nice one that hooks up to their dust collection system. The saw alone is about $1,700 though.

cmill189 - sans Volvo > Sovande
07/05/2018 at 18:00

Watching This Old House just makes me want all the Festool tools that I don’t need nor am I worthy of.

shop-teacher > AestheticsInMotion
07/05/2018 at 18:10

If that size saw does all you need it to do, this $220 DeWalt will do you well.

If increased capacity would be helpful, then step up to a 12" sliding compound miter saw. I have an old version of this saw, and I love it.

If I were to buy a new saw, I’d warm up the plastic, and buy this super bad-ass hinged arm Bosch .

Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo > AestheticsInMotion
07/06/2018 at 09:56

I second shop-teacher’s recommendations. I have the $220 DeWalt and like it overall. I do wish I’d splurged and got the unit with the laser guide. Not a huge burden to just lower the (non-engaged) blade to check your alignment though. Also it will probably need more room behind it as the chip bag really hangs out there.

Sovande > cmill189 - sans Volvo
07/06/2018 at 10:42

My father has a bunch, he is a carpenter by trade . They are like surgical instruments as opposed to power tools. Their dust extraction system is really nice too. Super quiet and efficient. I like the plunge saw and track system the most. Ripping a sheet of plywood on saw horses is so easy.

Sovande > AestheticsInMotion
07/06/2018 at 10:46

I would recommend a Hitachi chop saw. Better quality than Dewalt and same price point. Get a double miter with a laser.

Hitachi C12RSH2 15-Amp 12-Inch Dual Bevel Sliding Compound Miter Saw with Laser Marker https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01GET8278/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_ic4pBbE012S8G