So now that my craigslist water heater’s been installed (and thus is no longer in my way in the shop…) I’ve rearranged the shop and made it more ‘shop like.’
My $25 yard sale find in the form of a DeWalt radial arm saw is now in line with the porch door. That way I can open the door to work with much longer stock than I could where it first landed in my shop.
The yard sale find in the form of a back-up generator is now where last years failed experiment in the form of a (now deceased) tomato plant was.
The little computer table that had been in the living room before finding it’s way to the shop (also a yard sale find) is now where the radial arm saw was and will shortly be transferred to storage pending its being listed on craigslist. (You wouldn’t happen to need a nice little computer table by any chance? I’ll give you a really good deal on it…) Once brought to storage the table will be replaced by my Black & Decker Workmate (which is yet another yard sale find from a bunch of years ago.)
I had to reposition the main power strip and reconnect everything because of the equipment’s new locations in the shop. Yes, there are several significant power tools plugged into the same power strip. They only get used one or at most two at a time. So I don’t think the load is a problem. (The second being either the compressor or the shop vac.) The power strip has its own breaker anyway, just in case. I don’t remember if the power strip was from a yard sale of not…
A bunch of other little stuff has been shuffled around to make things a bit neater. And a bunch of boxes of stuff that piled up out there while the shop was unusably filled with a water heater have been moved to Galileo’s cargo bay pending delivery to storage.
As for all this yard sale stuff… Why pay full price? That vintage radial arm saw set me back $25. A modern RAS if purchased new would cost at least $250 for a piece of junk that wouldn’t last and would potentially be dangerous to boot. A good saw comparable to my yard sale find would probably set you back a grand or more. I have seen high end radial arm saws listed on-line for as much as $3,500 (!) though I don’t think this one’s quite in that league… All mine needs is a good cleaning and for the table to be replaced, which, if used the way the previous owned did, is sacrificial anyway. I know better and will set it up right, so that won’t be an issue in the future.
A lot of this ‘getting the shop back in shop shape’ was spawned by last night’s efforts to fix the power head of my electric string trimmer. I managed to get the job done – and the lawn mowed – but it wasn’t the most convenient shop that I’ve ever worked in by any stretch of the imagination! This arrangement should be much better and when it’s finally organized the way I want, it may actually be a pleasure to spend time out there puttering.
I sure hope so!
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