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Official Pit Home Improvement/DIY thread

6.5" circular saws are generally a waste. The circular saw is the most versatile and important of all power tools IMO, and that small size drastically reduces its efficiency. Definitely go with 7 1/4. I've got a Ryobi that has been my primary circ for the past few years that I've been pretty impressed with. it has good accuracy with the bevel markings and strong power. It is the first one I've had with a laser sight ... Not really a necessity for a circ but a nice additional feature for long rips. I've also got a Black & Decker that has more power, but I have a bad habit of throwing/dropping the saw on the ground when I am done with a cut, and after a few years it knocked the blade wheel out of alignment. The Ryobi has held up better to that. So the B&D i only use for plywood or other relatively thin boards where the slant does not affect the cut. I had a Craftsman for a bit but the motor burned out after about a year.
 
Either get that one or, for about the same price, a Black and Decker 15 amp saw, again with 7-1/4 inch blade. The bigger blades cut to a max of 2-3/8 or 2-5/16 at 90 degrees. A 7-1/4 blade gives a cut depth of 1-13/16 inches at 45 degrees. Standard 2by lumber is 1-1/2 inches thick, so you have about 5/16 inch of teeth clear for the angle cut. One brand of saw with the 6.5 inch blade has a depth of cut of 2-1/8 at 90 deg, and 1-5/8 at 45 deg. This will just barely cut through at 45 deg. For the small savings in weight, the smaller saw isn't worth not being able to cut any angle you want, IMHO.

laser for seeing where you are cutting is a very good accessory for this kind of saw.
 
The hall tree project has begun. The base is complete:

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This is all very loosely based on the plans for this:

3154813726_1344878557.jpg
 
2&2 Slider To Leyritz said:
6.5" circular saws are generally a waste. The circular saw is the most versatile and important of all power tools IMO, and that small size drastically reduces its efficiency. Definitely go with 7 1/4. I've got a Ryobi that has been my primary circ for the past few years that I've been pretty impressed with. it has good accuracy with the bevel markings and strong power. It is the first one I've had with a laser sight ... Not really a necessity for a circ but a nice additional feature for long rips. I've also got a Black & Decker that has more power, but I have a bad habit of throwing/dropping the saw on the ground when I am done with a cut, and after a few years it knocked the blade wheel out of alignment. The Ryobi has held up better to that. So the B&D i only use for plywood or other relatively thin boards where the slant does not affect the cut. I had a Craftsman for a bit but the motor burned out after about a year.
Click to expand...

I've got one of these:

51QIN2MEVWL.jpg



I'm shopping around for a new table saw. I've got an old Ryobi benchtop table saw that just isn't useful for cutting sheet goods. I'm thinking of either buying something bigger, or taking the motor out of this saw base and mounting it in something much bigger.
 
LK, sounds like it's time for the saw/tool table you mentioned over a month ago. Maybe time to step up to a more heavy duty (Delta commercial, Grizzly etc.) saw and build the saw table with enough top to do full sheets and built in dust collection along with a bunch of storage for the rest of your stuff. Maybe put a router table on one end. Get some 80/20 and make a nice 8 ft long fence.
 
Deaconblue said:
LK, sounds like it's time for the saw/tool table you mentioned over a month ago. Maybe time to step up to a more heavy duty (Delta commercial, Grizzly etc.) saw and build the saw table with enough top to do full sheets and built in dust collection along with a bunch of storage for the rest of your stuff. Maybe put a router table on one end. Get some 80/20 and make a nice 8 ft long fence.
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I'm definitely leaning that way, but trying to decide if the cost is worth it. I've been asked by a handful of people if I want to build something for them, and I like to think I have enough skill to make some money on the side doing something I really enjoy doing. Shop space is at a premium in my garage, so I can't do a Cabinet saw right now. That's why I am looking at building the mobile workstation I mentioned earlier. Get the saw and router into a single cabinet that can handle bigger sheets with outfeed support.

The way I am looking at it now, I can try to rehab the old saw motor and mount it in a better table/workstation, and use the money saved to pay for building the workstation. Or I can spend $600 on a decent mobile table saw.

Bottom line, I love this hobby and it's so damn tough to resist the urge to buy everything I want all at once!

I did step up my dust collection game recently. Built a cyclone dust collector to make my shop vac more efficient. Also started wearing a respirator while working to keeps lungs a bit safer!
 
Sounds like you need to make do with what you have for the next project or two for other people, so you can charge them what it takes to buy your new equipment. Then it won't feel as much like you are coming out of pocket for the upgrades and you can use them to start making more money doing it.
 
Liquid Karma said:
I did step up my dust collection game recently. Built a cyclone dust collector to make my shop vac more efficient. Also started wearing a respirator while working to keeps lungs a bit safer!
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LK,

What did you use to make the cyclone dust collector? 5 gal bucket, or something bigger?
 
lbE08 said:
I am an excellent stud finder.

:rimshot:

(no really, though - I'm pretty good at the tap/listen method)
Hope that works for you!
Click to expand...

1928 house, plaster walls. Studs are IMPOSSIBLE to find. TSY does your contraption work on plaster? If so I will take two...

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk
 
I've used it on drywall and plywood so far. It supposedly scans deeper than other stud finders. So far it's worked well.
 
Deaconblue said:
LK,

What did you use to make the cyclone dust collector? 5 gal bucket, or something bigger?
Click to expand...

5 gallon bucket. Built a Thein baffle for the particle separation.

Works like a charm. No more clogged filter in the shop vac.
 
Liquid Karma said:
5 gallon bucket. Built a Thein baffle for the particle separation.

Works like a charm. No more clogged filter in the shop vac.
Click to expand...

Thanks. Saw plans for that, thought about making one. Always good to have some feedback from someone who has made and used one.


Any use of it with drywall mud sanding dust? I'm building a closet and will need to be doing some drywall finishing=lots of fine dust.
 
hey guys, clamps. the best right? i don't know how i ever built something until i bought a few.
 
Deaconblue said:
Thanks. Saw plans for that, thought about making one. Always good to have some feedback from someone who has made and used one.


Any use of it with drywall mud sanding dust? I'm building a closet and will need to be doing some drywall finishing=lots of fine dust.
Click to expand...

I haven't used it to suck up drywall dust, but it does good at sucking up sanding dust and filtering most of it out before it hits the shop vac filter.

My reason for doing it was I got tired of having to clean out the shop vac every day to unclog the filter.
 
yeah i just saw those the other day; looks pretty slick.

im not sure i can afford this to be a hobby right now lolz
 
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