December 10

Got going on the duct for the dust collection yesterday. A lot of boxes and a lot of fittings! Everything goes together well and they provide a crimp tool if you need to make one end smaller to fit in the adjoining pipe. The plan provided is very detailed and easy to read. The only adjustments needed are in the straight sections of pipe. They are all 5" sections and they are not snapped together which makes for easier cutting. Still this is 26 gauge metal so it's pretty robust.

Some of the fittings.

More fittings

This is the line going to the shaper and floor sweep.

The other end of that run.

Floor sweep.

The shaper has 2- 4" dust ports, one off the back of the fence and one that draws from below the cutter.

These are the blast gates. They are used to control which line is in use.

December 9

Yesterday I got started assembling the dust collection system. I got back from Boerne about 1 pm, had lunch, and went to the shop. Lots of pieces and parts. I spent about 4 1/2 hours getting the collector together. This is one heavy thing! It consists of 4 large pieces; the heaviest is the motor and fan assembly. And it goes on top. Today I'll start the duct after I get the collector in it's final spot.

This is it! It stands about 8 feet tall and the large appendage in the front is the filter.

I was just starting one of the 3 legged tea chairs when the truck showed up on Wednesday. This chair is for Nancy Stroud in Denton.

This is what the final product will look like. We will travel to Denton next Saturday and my hope is to finish it by then. So I better get to work!

It's cold!!

Texas is not supposed to get this cold. I got up this morning and it was 23! I guess I'll have to turn the heat on in the shop in a few minutes. Today the dust collection system arrives! I hope to have it all installed by the weekend. I ordered from Onieda Air. They will provide a detailed layout of all the duct and fittings for free when you order a 3hp system or larger. If it's smaller they have a $200 charge. Not bad. I ordered the 5hp Pro 2000. I have to run a new circuit for the system. No problem.  I spent the day yesterday designing a new bed for us using Google Sketchup. This a really good 3d design program that is free. Free is good! Takes awhile to get to know it but the more you use it the easier it gets. I designed the latest project,a  kitchen and bath cabinet job, with it, and it came out nice. The ability to see your design in 3d is great. I finally finished the second dining chair. It's in the shop waiting to get more coats of finish on it. I also spent the weekend getting the shop cleaned out. Sometimes you hoard too many scraps and with the burn ban finally lifted I got the lumber storage pared down to a workable amount. Still have to build a sheet goods storage rack and some additional tool storage cabinets but I'm getting there.

This is the bed I designed with Sketchup yesterday. I was inspired by furniture maker named Mark Love. His studio is in Wimberly, Texas. He builds beautiful Asian and art-deco inspired furniture.