Shopsmith Forums

Much of my work has been construction type. I am currently digging and pouring piers for the landing on a stairway for our new deck. The deck is 25' x 16', and has been a real challenge. My wife has been my helper, and has been a wonderful help. The deck is a second story deck, standing on 7 piers, and we have managed to hang joists, and apply the decking, and it looks pretty good. During the Winter, we finished her sewing room, making our own trim, and laying a engineered wood floor. We started a bathroom, but Spring came, so we moved outside.

Our next project will be a garage/shop, probably next Spring.

I recently retired, and am having a ball!

Just finishing 2 Cherry wall cabinets with my son-in-law. Also an Arts & Craft end tablel with my daughter, Carved a mystical wizard walking-staff. Built a Shaving-Mule(horse). Carving a trophy for the local Chilli cook off. Will be making my own spoke shave soon. So far 2006 has been a productive one!
Oh, did I say I am retired?

When I got my 510 last summer I jumped right into turning and now have more chisels and gouges than I can use. Pens, walking sticks, clocks, rattles and stoppers have been great for killing time and giving as gifts. I'm in the middle of a quest to have enough Christmas ornaments to decorate a whole tree this Christmas. Once I figured out the hollowing bit, I was good to go.

Right now I'm working on a cherry medicine cabinet for our bathroom with a sassafrass panel in the door. If that comes our correctly I'm going to modify the design for a similar looking cabinet for the other side of the mirror to hang our swimsuits out of the way to dry. I have some vinyl sheeting that I'm going to make into a back panel and trough so we can take it out for cleaning.

This is all warm up for the bedroom suite I'm planning to build for my daughter out of knotty pine. I've only got a few months before she's out of the crib so I'd better master this stuff in a hurry.

I am new to woodworking and try doing a little of everything to get use to working with the shopsmith. Master of noe but having a great time.

Since my job keeps me 200 miles from my shop most of the time, I only get home for three days twice a month not a whole lot gets done. BUT...... when I am home, I get a lot of day dreaming done. I will retire in about 15 months and I have a lot of things already planned. Woodwork three days, fish three days and rest on the seventh!

I am making an old metal school desk into a planer table. I have put two angle iron supports on it with a lawnmower wheel on each end and pipe handles that fold at the opposite end of the table/desk. Kind of like a dual wheeled wheelbarrow set up so I can roll the planer around and out of the way or get it out when I need to use it. I have limited shop space and a lot of tools so I put wheels on everything to make them portable. After I get the planer project done, I am going to make a box joint jig and the boxes on my SS. I'll use the planer to make 1/2" thick boards for the boxes I want to make.

In between big projects I also make tool stands and jigs that I think will help on my next project. My first attempt was a router table, built into a work bench that I had made. Came out great! When I don't need the router I have another top I put in place of the router, so I have the whole table to use. I've also made a cabinet with a flip flip top, has a grinder on 1 side and a belt/dics sander on the other. Also have a special stand to store my jointer, and a seperate stand that holds both bandsaw and scrollsaw when they aren't needed. I've got a couple more that are still in my head being designed. I'm really inpressed with the variety of projects that everyone does. We'll have to get some pictures to show off our projects to each other.

Paul

Ed in Tampa said, "My shop is becoming like a ship with a place for everything and everything in it's place." Ed, I can only dream of having such a thing. Just not enough room.

I'm making several hundred toy cars to give away. After that maybe I'll have the confidence to tackle something a bit more difficult. Or, maybe I'll just keep making cars.

I'm having a heck of a time trying to find how to do a simple thing like reply to this thread, so if you're not reading this right now, you'll know I did it all wrong. I hope the "quick reply icon" is the little pen & paper to the lower right of the bottom post.

I've been working on a few items:
I built an aquarium stand for the wife's aquarium- 55 gallon.
I'm in the middle of building one for my son- 30 gallon.
I built a night stand for my son.
Turned several pens for family members.
Turned several pencils for myself and my family.
I'm planning to work on my daughter's room with some Ikea-like furnishings; that ought to be a fun project!
A workbench.
Two of three under Shopsmith carts.
An outfeed table for the SS tablesaw. This is not a true outfeed table; I built it to catch a particular material. I know when I cut the material, 4x8 sheets of plywood, I'll set the table for one height.
I have a million and one other projects the wife wants me to build a whole bunch of stuff.

The 1st thing is finishing my benches & cabinets. I bought a 12' x 16' "Lil Red Barn", and am doing the inside myself. Fully wired w/pegboard for the interior walls. 2 overhead & 1 bench light. I've run all the wiring & fixtures, put up most walls (waiting for my electrician to hard wire), built my main bench, my chopsaw bench, and a couple cabinets so far. I've designed a fold-down bench against one long wall. I can raise it if I need extra room for glue-ups & such, or leave it down to move my shopsmith to the side (I love that it rolls around!).

My future plans are bird houses & feeders, wind chimes, lawn accessories & doodads (possibly for sale): built in bookcases & such for the house, a jewelry making station for my daughter, possibly adding a 3 season porch: an aquarium stand and a gardening bench for a friend; and I have a wooden ship model I've been waiting to build. I needed a cat-free zone (we have six in the house).

My wife wants to turn bowls and other things on the lathe. I hope she'll get into bandsaw & scroll saw things. I think she'd enjoy that.