Assembling my Grizzly 1023SL

Saturday I was unable to get away to the shop but I made it Sunday morning with high hopes about getting my new table saw put together. Overall the assembly was pretty easy and straight forward, and I have it all together except for the blade guard witch I may or may not put on later.




Although, I didnt have the resources or the time to get power to the saw so I never got the chance to cut anything with it. That will be my assignment first thing in the morning though. The saw is 220v so I cant just plug it up to a regular socket. Luckily I do have 220 in my shop but the plug isnt really close to the saw and it looks like I will need to purchase about 16 of the appropriate cord to get it ran. I also have to buy a plug because the saw doesnt come with one since there are various 220 plug arrangements. This shouldnt be a problem but it just means another trip to Lowes. Cant complain about that because when you are setting up a shop it seems like there is ALWAYS something else you need.

I even went to Lowes today in search of some wiring things to get the saw running but when I arrived it seems that I didnt do enough research back at my shop to see just exactly what I needed to get the saw running. I did however pick up three sheets of 3/4" birch plywood to build a nice outfeed table out of though. That will be the first thing I build using the new table saw, I cant wait.

Categories: 1023sl, assembling, grizzly, my

A Home For My Planes

Now that my Bastard Tool Cabinets carcass pieces are cut to size, its time to make my plane shelf. Other than the outside dimensions, Im winging it in terms of the design, so I wanted to get the biggest interior item sized and built before assembling the carcass.

Beginning the shelf layout.

Unlike many parts on this project, the plane shelf was sized by measuring. I made it 24" long to accommodate my 22" #7 and somewhat arbitrarily decided 16" was a good width (this may have been too narrow). Once the shelf was cut, I then switched back to relative dimensioning for the dividers.

Too many planes.

I tried a number of layouts for my planes, and quickly found that when I included them all they spilled well beyond the size of the shelf. I then went through them and decided which were the ones most likely to be used (only about half of them are tuned for use at present). I tried again and ended up getting 8 planes on the shelf. That will certainly cover my normal usage. The others can go on the shelves which will be under the plane shelf (the plane shelf will pivot up on a piano hinge).

Final divider & plane layout.

I made dividers from 1/2" wide strips of 3/4" Baltic Birch plywood scraps. I laid them on their side because I liked the aesthetic. For layout, I began by attaching the first divider even with the right side of the shelf. I laid my #7 against it, used tooth picks as spacers and installed the next divider. I kept this process going until I reached the left side of the shelf. All the dividers are attached to the shelf with #8 x 1" stainless steel flat head screws. I used screws so that as my plane collection changes over time the shelf can change too (I went stainless because Im a sucker for it).

Note the shelves behind the
plane shelf (which is angled).

The next step (after screwing in the last few dividers) will be to mount the plane shelf and the shelves underneath it. I think Ill then probably mount the right carcass side. As for the left, Im not sure if Ill build the slots for the shoulder planes first or put the side on first. We shall see.

How do you store your planes?

Previous posts in the series:
Cutting the Cabinet Carcass (In Relative Terms)
Trudging Towards Tool Storage
The Bastard Wall Cabinet (for Tools)
Winter Wall Cabinet Wonderland

Categories: a, for, Home, my, planes

My New New Tools

Just a quick post while Im waiting for some glue to dry...

While making my small bedside table I quickly came to realise that I was spending most of my time making my inaccurate cuts to length correct by planing the end grain with a block plane. My old steel backed backsaw is slightly bent, almost blunt and in need of a sharpen, not to mention a slightly loose handle. This combined with my natural inability to saw straight meant a lot of wasted time, especially as I was leaving the marking lines and then some just incase the cut went wrong.

Now dont get me wrong, I know I could spend some time sharpening the saw etc but what better excuse than to splurge on some shiny new toys?

I have to say a big thankyou to my girlfriend for my late Birthday presents...

My new bling bling Lie Nielson 14ppi Crosscut Carcass Saw & 15ppi Thin Plate Rip Dovetail Saw has made cutting to size a breeze. I can choose to split the line or leave it intact with a very minimal of effort and maintain a square cut. Yes they are pricey and probably way overkill for my beginning needs, but the smile I get just from picking them up makes them worth it!

I was a little worried when I first used the new saws as they seemed to jump out of the cut and generally not seem to behave, but soon learnt not to force the cut and relax both my grip and pressure letting the weight of the saw and the sharpness of the teeth do the work. The result an almost perfect square cut 99% of the time.

The nice shiny plates also allow me to mark a straight perpendicular line on the non-waste side of the cut and the reflection in the saw plate aids as a guide to keep the blade straight and plumb. In short these saws are teaching me how to saw accurately and correctly.

They look stunning as well!...

Categories: my, new, tools