Shopsmith Forums

Dusty, regarding your post last month about hardboad vs Masonite. If you're not aware, there are two types of hardboard. Standard hardboard and "tempered" hardboard, the latter being Masonite and the former much softer and less durable.

pennview wrote:Dusty, regarding your post last month about hardboad vs Masonite. If you're not aware, there are two types of hardboard. Standard hardboard and "tempered" hardboard, the latter being Masonite and the former much softer and less durable.

Thank you for that feedback. I believe the tempered hard board, which is not as readily available in local outlets, is what I was wanting.

Being impatient, I put regular hardboard on my bench tops. It will probably not last as long but at least it is smooth and looks much better than the old bench tops did.

While looking for this, I found a 1/4" veneer that is masonite like on the outer veneers and has a solid wood core. Price was outrageous though.

Speaking of outrageous pricing, I priced some 3/4" MDF while in town Saturday. $30/sheet!

heathicus wrote:Speaking of outrageous pricing, I priced some 3/4" MDF while in town Saturday. $30/sheet!

Scary isn't it.
Such pricing is the reason that I have been slipping in a lot of OSB (at about $6 a sheet for 7/16") on things that are utilitarian in nature. If something nicer is needed I will pop for it but I find that for many things if I need a smooth surface a good wet coat or two of porch & floor enamel or of polyurethane will work wonders at making a smoothly filled surface. Again it is hardly like fine veneered stuff or solid wood but neither is the price.


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I haven't updated this thread in a while, but it's time for another question!

Between my last post and now, I put up some foam board insulation between the studs (walls and ceiling). Nothing super thick, but it was free and it made a very noticeable difference this past summer.

Now, a friend of mine gave me some 1/4" wall paneling. It was used, pulled out of renovated house, full of little nails, outlet cutouts, etc, but once again it was free and I happily accepted! Turns out it was just enough to do my whole shop - including ceiling. (I'm talking about that stuff popular in the 70's and 80's that comes in 4'x8' sheets and is supposed to look like vertical boards of varying widths and frequently used in trailer houses. Now I just need to get some shag carpet, and re-paint my tools Avocado Green or Harvest Gold.)

Has anyone put wall paneling on a ceiling before? I'm a little worried about sagging between the 2' ceiling joists. Is that going to be an issue? Does it matter which way the paneling runs relative to the ceiling joists (parallel or perpendicular) other than aesthetically?

Sounds to me like there is not much to loose on this project, if the price was free your investment would be in time to install. You could possibly run some furring strips over the 2x4 and then attach the paneling to the furring strips. Mount strips on 14 0r 16" centers and staple the paneling to those. Just a thought....

just a couple thoughts on the shop . first of all i used to think that all i wanted for my walls was wood . but after a couple years with 1/2 plywood on the walls . i keep a build up of sawdust hangin on the plywood. yes i have the dust collecter and decent control of the sawdust, but still was a pain to keep clean. and then there was the lack of paint on the plywood. so i broke down and put drywall on the walls and ceilings . and a light paint color made such a difference the lighting was better. turned out to be more inviting more relaxing place to be . i spend alot more time out there now . as for the recepticals. in the floor is just to dangerous . all my wall recpticle covers are chauked around the edges and when not in use i use plug covers to keep out any dust. when i do any heavy cutting or sanding i always do a very good cleaning of my shop. remember the shop is your escape, hobby sanctum. keep it clean keep it safe enjoy thanks hagreat day jim

I ditched the idea of outlets in the floor. The wall and ceiling outlets have been adequate.

Unless something convinces me otherwise, I think I'll run panelling parallel with the ceiling joists, and add a cross member where the sheets meet. Maybe additional ones depending on how lazy I am. I'd like to paint the panelling, but don't want to shuffle the whole shop around again.

heathicus wrote: I'd like to paint the panelling, but don't want to shuffle the whole shop around again.

Wait a minute, half the fun of having a new shop is moving everything around and trying to improve the layout. I have changed my shop at least half a dozen times in the last year and a half and am already considering a couple of changes. For the moment cleaning house is the first task. Jim

Well, I moved everything around a few times and came up with a layout that worked. Then I moved everything around to put in the insulation. Now moving everything around again. I feel like I spend more time moving everything around than I do making sawdust!