Notes from the newbie's shop

[JokerRN]

Not sure how many newbies there are here, or if any of you guys can even remember being a newbie, but thought I'd share a couple of notes/learnings/updates as I continue to build my shop to where I can actually do some work out there without having to first move 9 things (bikes, trash cans, wife's car, etc) out of the way.

It's been a couple of weeks since I brought home the entire inventory of a cabinet shop that was going out of business:

I managed to get most of the material stored in the shop side of the garage. There is dimensional lumber (also gotten from the cabinet shop) spanning the gaps between shelves. The bottom shelf in the pic is mostly 3/4" thick mahogany boards, 3 - 7" wide and 4 - 14' long. There are a couple of cherry boards and a maple board there as well. The top 2 shelves are almost entirely mahogany and cherry molding...crown, base, panel, etc. Underneath the bottom shelf are the maple and walnut drawer boxes I got and a bunch of ipe.

I also cleared a spot for the sheet goods. The wavy sheets on the left are bendy ply. I also threw together the high shelf on the way left for paint/stain/finish cans.

Finally, I started building what will be my outfeed/assembly table. I used 4 cherry corner posts as the legs. They started out like this:

I trimmed them to length, cut out some spots for the supports and got this far today:

KEY LEARNING OF THE WEEK: If you lose focus for second in the shop, someone can get hurt. I was using my 10' metal ladder last weekend in the garage and left it out for the day. As I was cleaning up my workbench, my daughter (4) came out and asked if she could open the garage door. I had my back to the doors and said "sure." As the garage door opened, it caught the ladder and slowly started to tip it. I just about [censored] my pants when the thing fell over. When I turned around, my daughter was no more than a few feet from where it landed. I'm embarrassed to tell this story, but it was a huge learning moment and I am still a bit shaken from it. I don't even want to think about what might have happened if that had fallen on her.

Sorry for the length, just felt like sharing.

[Steve N]

We never had kids, so I can't be the voice of full understanding, but perhaps a ground rule where Mommy has to check to see if it's ok to go out when Daddy is playing with his toys???

Beyond the near miss, it looks like you are kicking butt on getting that huge pile organized. From there it is just making a plan and planning that work.

Never asked, what kind of RN? You should be used to that make a plan, and work it thing

[David G]

Good job clearing up some working space. Plenty of room to build those cabinets!

[JokerRN]

Steve N said:

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We never had kids, so I can't be the voice of full understanding, but perhaps a ground rule where Mommy has to check to see if it's ok to go out when Daddy is playing with his toys???

Beyond the near miss, it looks like you are kicking butt on getting that huge pile organized. From there it is just making a plan and planning that work.

Never asked, what kind of RN? You should be used to that make a plan, and work it thing

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Thanks, Steve.

Probably a good rule to set, but it wouldn't have prevented this one. I gave her permission to open the garage door...my lapse in focus.

I was a critical nurse in the Army. Wasn't for me...sold my soul to big pharma over 15 years ago.

[JokerRN]

David G said:

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Good job clearing up some working space. Plenty of room to build those cabinets!

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Thanks, man. Getting there.

[Steve N]

Oh nooooooo not the conspirators at big pharma. I tired of the hospital grind too, and for a lot of years have been in an occupational setting, working with the safety cops. Still a Nursing function, just so much nicer.

[JokerRN]

Steve N said:

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Oh nooooooo not the conspirators at big pharma. I tired of the hospital grind too, and for a lot of years have been in an occupational setting, working with the safety cops. Still a Nursing function, just so much nicer.

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Ahh...didn't realize you were a fellow nurse (or as my coworkers call male nurses, "a unicorn"). I had big plans of making a career of the Army and going to anesthesia school, but it didn't take long for me to start making other plans.

[DieselDennis]

Are you sitting that plywood down with it's edge on the garage floor? Any chance for water or wetness to get on the floor?

Hate to see the edges of all that ply get ruined.

[JokerRN]

At the back of my garage there is a little stop up about 2' from the back wall. I put a layer of bricks in front of the little step (because I had them and they were the perfect height) and then ran a piece of MDF all the way from the wall out to about 50". Makes a nice smooth surface for the sheets to slide out on.

If I have water up that high in my garage, I have bigger problems that a bunch of plywood!

[bennybmn]

My little guy is just about 18 months, and nothing jolts me out of a day dream like imagining me letting him get hurt. I feel your pain! My shop/garage is an out-building, so I can lock doors, etc, but I still need to think about ways to keep him safe. We should start a little kid safety thread