Aaron’s Workshop

Shop Tour - Submitted by Aaron Brown from Dalton, GA
Added on November 17, 2010

My shop is in a prefab 12′ x 16′ building. It’s insulated but I still haven’t got around to putting in A/C or heating. I build cabinets as a side job in this shop, and it is comical to see me manhandling 4′ x 8′ sheets of ply on to my table saw. So, any way I hope that you enjoy the tour.

Discussion

Don November 17, 2010 5:28 pm

LIKE! It’s an efficient use of space, and the sign is SWEET.

But insulated? You ceiling will leak heat like crazy! Oh. GA. I guess that’s not an issue there like it is here in MN.

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Aaron B. ( Dalsaw) November 17, 2010 6:11 pm

Wow It’s so weird looking at it now sence it looks nothing like the photos anymore. These photos were took back in May. Don the ceiling dose loose heat like crazy the walls are insulated though.

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Larry Clinton November 17, 2010 7:29 pm

Hey Aaron,
That’s something I’ve thought about doing when I see those little buildings at Home Depot. However, being in the city limits I’d have to do a lot more toward building permits, pouring a slab, etc.. so I’ve just crammed my shop into the basement. Nice organization, though. I almost didn’t see your dust collector. At first I thought you’d put it outside. I like your miter station, too. Mine is quite similar. I got the plans from one of my Woodsmith books but made it taller than the plan.
I think I’d need some heat in the winter time, though. And Don, while it doesn’t get as cold for as long as it does where you are, it does get cold in Georgia. Aaron is in the mountains so he probably gets it worse than I do in NE Georgia. It is nice that our cold season is relatively short, though. A woodstove would be the logical choice…plenty of scraps to burn.
I’d like to see a picture of your shop from the outside looking in to help get a better idea of the scale. I guess if you wanted more space you could get another building and hook them together somehow. I see a back yard with 4 or 5 of them all strung together.

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jason November 17, 2010 9:11 pm

coldest i’ve ever been was a february spent at ft. benning.

where do you do your assembly? is there an area not shown? or do you do most of it during installations?

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Eric Sweeney November 17, 2010 9:16 pm

i like the miter stand. nice idea using metal rods to connect the arms to the case. How do you lock them in place?

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Aaron B. ( Dalsaw) November 17, 2010 9:59 pm

Larry: I don’t have any photos of the outside, now as for more space I’m currently building a 24’X32′ shop. IWF back in August kinda pushed me over the tool limit that my shop can handle.

Jason: Right now I’m doing assembly and finishing in my garage.

Eric: That stand had arms that I rased up and inserted a pin in to lock them in place. It was replaced when I bought a new larger saw with one of the dewalt stands.

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- Aaron B. ( Dalsaw) November 18, 2010 1:50 pm
  
  Keven: I removed both of those stands, when I bought some new tools a few months back, If I still had them I would have put some shelves on them.
  
  Rusty: That drill press is a Delta DP300L, it has served me well over the past 3 years, and I haven’t had a single problem with it. It is being Replaced by a floor standing model that I’m picking up on Friday.
  
  Reply
Jeff Waggoner November 17, 2010 11:41 pm

Very nice use of space. I like the wood floor I have total ruined and piece with one drop on my concrete floor.

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Kevin November 18, 2010 8:57 am

Like the layout – good use of the space. Suggest adding a shelf under the jigsaw/buffer stand and the miter saw stand. That will increase storage without taking up more space. Also, put the miter saw scrap in a box on the new shelf so it is easier to access and save your back.

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Rusty November 18, 2010 9:06 am

Aaron- great shop! I’ve got a small one too….I see you have a benchtop drill press – what brand/model is it and have you been happy with it? thanks, Rusty

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Mike M November 18, 2010 10:40 am

Very nice workshop! Looks like you have very well thought out what you need. From your previous post, it is amazing how much we change our shops around as our tools change and our skill level grows.

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Bryan Huot November 18, 2010 2:46 pm

Sweet little shop….seeing as how I share the garage with my wife’s car I’m definitely jealous of the dedicated space….especially the new shop you are building!

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Ben November 22, 2010 9:39 pm

I sympathize with the small space, but it looks like you use it well. Table saw looks over-sized for the space–hence your comment about 4×8′ sheet goods I suppose. I also like the miter saw stand. I love the idea of having the scrap bin right under it–that could save some not-very-Michael Jordan-like heaves across the shop…

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Vic November 23, 2010 2:29 pm

Aaron, I hadn’t realized you’d already gotten the shop in. Very cool. Now you have to get the internet out there and start streaming. I’m tired at watching all the same ol’, same ol’ streams ;o)

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Aaron B. November 23, 2010 5:37 pm

Hey Vic, thats my old shop. The slab for the new shop hasn’t been poured yet. I just got U-stream producer, so I might stream a few times before I move to the new shop.

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Dalton November 26, 2010 1:22 pm

Brilliant! Very tidy. Looks like the inside of a SWA/SEA hut (SouthWest/SouthEast Asia) that we build in the Seabees.

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holznabie November 27, 2010 6:15 am

sehr sch

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Aaron B.(dalsaw) December 1, 2010 9:37 pm

Anybody know what holznabie said, i think he’s German but I don’t really know. I can’t seem to remember anything from from the foreign language class I took a few years back in high school. lol

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Aaron December 2, 2010 12:16 pm

Aaron,

This is my best guess at the German, but I’m rusty!

“Very nice shop! I wish mine was also so orderly!”

Aaron #2

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Jon December 2, 2010 7:09 pm

Aaron,

Did you have a plan for the chop saw station or did you just design one yourself? I can get a pretty good idea of how to make one from the picture, but if you used a plan what was it?

Jon

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Aaron B.(dalsaw) December 2, 2010 8:14 pm

Aaron: thanks

Jon: That station was just one of those projects that I built as you go. I didn’t even draw it up or use a plan.
It was real easy to build just a box I dadoed the the back and slid in 1/4″ ply and the wings I just played with untill they worked like they were suppost to. All I used for hinges was some bolts that I had laying around. I don’t have it any more or I would get some measurements for you. But like you said, I think that you have a good idea form the photo.

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- Jon December 4, 2010 12:01 pm
  
  Aaron,
  Are there any changes/additions you’d make now after using it?
  
  Reply
Aaron B.(dalsaw) December 4, 2010 12:29 pm

If I build one again I would use piano hinges instead of bolts. I also would redesign the the brace that holds up the wings, after a couple months of use they started to sag. A stop block system would have been nice, mabey something like the one that Kreg Tool has.

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- Larry Clinton December 4, 2010 1:16 pm
  
  The one I built uses piano hinges both for the drop down wings and for a triangular piece of plywood that hinges out and supports them. The height is adjustable with a bolt and lock nut on the top corner. It’s hard to describe. I got the plans from a Woodsmith book series I have called Custom Woodworking in a volume called Shop Built Machines. It also has a shelf under the saw and a wooden box that sits in the bottom of the cabinet for scraps.
  
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Mitch December 22, 2010 10:51 am

Aaron,
Very nice shop. Can you tell me what model table saw that is? Is it the R4512? If so, I’m in the market for exactly that saw. How has your experience been with it?
Thanks,
Mitch

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Aaron B.(dalsaw) December 22, 2010 12:01 pm

Thanks Mitch, The tablesaw is the R4511, it’s the Ridgid saw with the granite table. I’ve had the saw for 2 years and it has been a pretty good saw with no major problems. But last summer I had part of the leg break during use and I had a little problem with Ridgid’s LSA and them wanting me to take a 500 lb saw to a service center to get fixed. But anyway after a few heated conversations with a customer service rep I was able to get a replacement part. But really that has been the only bad experience I have had with the saw. I wouldn’t want to discourage anybody from purchasing the saw sence it has been a good unit.

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Mitch December 22, 2010 12:30 pm

Thanks, Aaron. Yeah, I could see how it wouldn’t exactly be convenient to cart around a 500 lb saw! On that model and the R4512, I’ve seen the criticism that the trunions are table-mounted. But I’ve also read that there is a little cam that helps you align the saw blade. Did you have any trouble getting the blade aligned to your liking?
thanks again,
Mitch

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Aaron B.(dalsaw) December 22, 2010 9:05 pm

Actually on the R4511 the trunions are mounted to the cabinet, so aligning the blade to the table isn’t too difficult to do. However on the R4512 like you said the trunions are mounted to the table and makes it more difficult to get the blade aligned to the table.

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jIM April 3, 2011 6:38 pm

How did you secure the added table insert to the saw left of the blade. The Granite does not allow drilling to mount this extension. I wanted to make a second router table in that space. I am not sure how to secure the added table top.

Do you mount it to the rails of epoxy to the table. And while there how did you mount the out-feed table?

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Aaron B (Dalsaw) April 3, 2011 7:12 pm

I just drilled and bolted it to the front and back rails, memory serves me right, I had to make a plate to attach the table to the front rail from the bottom. And the outfeed table was freestanding it wasn’t attached to saw in anyway.

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Charles N January 25, 2012 5:33 am

Arron B
I like the utilization of space, I just got my new shop dried in hoping to get the door & windows built this next week. Then it is insulation, wiring, and interior wall covering. Yes it dose get cold her in the GA mountains. Aaron maybe some day our paths will cross Im just over here on Fort Mountain just a few miles from you. Keep up the organization I think that is the key to working in a smaller space.

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Aaron’s Workshop

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