Workshop Photos

My Grizzly, 10" table saw. I just love this saw. It is powerful and offers great accuracy. To keep it that way, I tune it up every couple of months and keep a sharp blade on it. I mostly use a combination blade but also have an 80-tooth, narrow kerf miter blade for when I need a very fine and accurate cut, say when making small boxes or picture frames. A dado set rounds out my cutting options.

It's on a mobile base so when I need to rip long boards, I can swivel it around to clear the wall behind it in the photo. 

14" Band saw. Another Grizzly tool. You may notice a lot of "Grizzly Green" in my shop. The reason is simple, Grizzly's headquarters are located within minutes of my location here in Bellingham, WA. Plus the combination of price and quality on most of their tools just can't be beat.

The band saw is probably my most used tool in the shop (next to the shop-vac, that is). I added a riser block so I can cut up to 12" in height. I do a lot of re-sawing and make my own turning blocks from logs so the band saw gets a lot of use. I would highly recommend buying the best quality blades you can for a band saw. The expense is well worth the results.

The drill press is a Delta 16-1/2" with a laser crosshair guide. I was skeptical of the laser at first but have found it to be quite accurate and a real time saver.

What sold me on the Delta was the solid feel and smooth motion of the quill along with good drilling depth. It also has a very woodworking-friendly table. Underneath I built a mobile cart which holds all my drill bits and drilling paraphernalia. Plans for the cart are in the Plans section.

My Jet JWL-1642 lathe. This was an upgrade from a Jet Mini lathe since I was ready to turn some larger things. It's a wonderful lathe and has a variable speed motor so switching speeds is simple a matter of turning a dial. The headstock can slide all the way to the opposite end for turning larger bowls. This makes it easier for bowl turning since it gets the bed of the lathe out of you way and you don't have to lean over it to get to where you want to be working.

This photo was taken right after I assembled the lathe so it's brand new and has never been used here. That's all changed now... It gets used a lot.

Here's my workbench and storage area for hand tools. The bench is built into a small alcove so isn't too useful for working on longer items. But it's very high and solid so it's quite comfortable to work at.

I have cushion mats on the floor in front of the major work areas. The flooring is plain concrete and gets tiresome to stand on for long periods of time. The mats help tremendously.

The little electric heater is the only heat source in the shop but keeps it surprisingly comfortable in there in cold weather. I could use another one at the opposite end of the garage.

Here's the Grizzly, 12-1/2" Portable Planer set up and ready to go. It rolls into place when needed and out of the way when done. I hook up the cyclone separator with the planer because the larger shavings tend to clog the intake of my dust collector. Also, my wife uses the shavings as mulch around her flower gardens so it is put to good use.

My only complaint with this planer is the snipe I get and have not been successful at eliminating. So, I always cut my pieces about four inches longer than needed in order to cut the snipe off. A compromise I don't like because I just hate wasting wood.