I have been hesitant to post this up because it is pretty redneck, but what the hell. Shop hacks don’t need to be pretty, just functional.
I purchased a proper dust collector for my machine after burning through a couple of vacuums. Yes, it is worth it and it does work better and quieter than a shop vac.
My M2 sled has a port to fit an elbow and then attach a vacuum or the dust collector, but it constantly falls off in the middle of a job, so I either need to pause the job to reconnect it, or just let it finish without dust collection. It frustrated me for quite a while until one day I got mad at it, and glued the sumbitch in. I added the corner brackets to help hold it there while the glue dried, and I could continue working.
My dust collector quit working on me a couple of months ago, and I finally took it in to Busy Bee where I got a lesson from one of the great guys that work there on what causes the problem and how to fix it. The fine dust particles get down into the switch and clogs up the contacts. The simple solution is to take the switch apart and (be very careful doing this as it can fall apart) gently clear out the dust. I’m not a big fan of having to do that all the time, and the little plastic pieces are going to get broken, so I hope that this silly hack with a ziplock freezer bag and zip tied it to the switch casing might help avoid this issue.
I just wanted to add to the syringe and eyedropper paint hacks, too. I got these squeeze bottles from Michael’s, and I really like their fine steel tubes. They work really well for getting into small and intricate carves. The pen tubes are similar, it just gives me a more natural feel like using a pen or pencil.
This isn’t really anything new, and I hope that all woodworkers of all sorts know this already, but if you don’t, here ya go!
Masking tape is a product that I use a lot. It comes in very useful in many ways, besides just masking off areas to be painted.
For this particular example, I am showing two pieces, one that is just measured and cut with a jigsaw directly on the workpiece, and the second piece was covered with masking tape before being cut. The masking tape is quite effective in protecting the workpiece from unnecessary marking by the jigsaw.
You can actually go one step further with this and put painters tape down on the surface that you were attempting to fix something to as well, which will also protect that surface from the glue the same way you are protecting the thing that you are gluing down
This is probably pretty basic and well known, but when doing a simple sign, paint the face of the sign first, let dry and cover with painters tape then CNC the sign.
Rub the painters tape down really good to get a tight seal with the wood after cncing, and use spray paint to color in the letters. Light coats of spray paint wont pass under the paint and is super fast. Remove the tape and touch up if needed with a toothpick.
Save all those tin cans from canned food. Screw them to some scrap ply and mount on the wall. Slide the spray cans in for easy storage and free up shelf space.
Sometimes you just don’t have the time (or lazy) to clean up the paint brushes or rollers or still have painting to do later.
Save your paint brushes and rollers with Saran (cling) wrap. Wrap tight and use tape to prevent it from unwrapping. I have went months and unwrapped a roller that was still wet with paint.
That’s a cool tip. Now I’m torn whether to do this and make use of some of the cans we recycle, or go with the wood rack @Tim_Dow made and get to play with my Maslow.
I have stored them this way for years when I lived in Tucson. Never experienced any issues with clogged nozzles. I tossed it during the move and now have to make another one…
The spindle is a great quiet option with better speed control for the Maslow, however the stock fan is made to work in both directions and provides little airflow. For my 500 watt spindle I replaced the fan with this one from thingiverse. It is a massive improvement in air flow and keeps the spindle a lot cooler.
I use my phone too much honestly for things like this!!
I’m 4.5 feet tall so when I organize my craft room and shop; I put whatever my ADHD has deemed as not a fun hobby at the moment up higher than my current fixation. I use my camera I take pictures of the shelves with each shelf labeled with a name (yep… instead of code or location I give them fun names like will/riker)
But the add on I do is that my main working area walls are cleated. Then I just move the whole shelf, organizer, bins, or machine (laser engraver, 3d printer) up and down the wall. Even my sewing machine I made a hook system to fit it so I can hang it. All tiny accessories, instruction manuals, cords, and just things that will work I have hooks or curtain rods with alligator clips on binder rings hanging from them so I can clip ziplocks of the stuff or just clip the stuff directly. The rod or hooks is drilled directly to a cleat so it can be moved with its machine.
Honestly…… I mostly needed to go vertical because my brain spider webs to new hobbies and my hubby stated it wasn’t allowed to spill out or try to kill him when he walks in my two areas…. lol
Your shop organization sounds cool Kasey. I use French cleats for a lot of stuff too. It is just so easy to reconfigure when I change my mind about where I want things to be.
You should post up some pictures, I’m sure I am not the only one who would like to see your setup.
