Exiled
What do you do when you have too many things for the available space? Something has to go, thats what. Like in those lifeboat movies where they pick someone to…
What do you do when you have too many things for the available space? Something has to go, thats what. Like in those lifeboat movies where they pick someone to go over the side.
Ive mentioned Im about to redo a shop wall to better organize storage, consolidate dust collection and provide a better workflow pattern for machine placement. That wall currently has a band saw, miter saw on a mobile cabinet, combo sander and drill press on another cabinet base, plus a planer and lathe each on separate mobile cabinets or stands.
To make it work, one of those tools has to go somewhere else. But there is no somewhere else it can easily go, at least not in the sense that itll always be up and ready to use. Itll have to be stored out of the way, and yet remain accessible.
Choosing the tool was fairly easy. The band saw, combo sander and drill press get used for nearly every project I do so their place is assured. I dont use the lathe often, but its size would make it both difficult to store somewhere and drag it out to use, plus itd require a bit of setup to do so each time.
The miter saw draws the short straw, and I guess thats OK. I probably use it more often than my lathe, but not that much more often since I do most of my cutoff work on the table saw. Plus its lighter and more self-contained than my lathe. Its even easier to tote because of the locking handle on top. Ive got a spot picked out, on the lower shelf under my assembly table/outfeed extension behind my table saw.
Logical choice, right? Yeah, but I still feel odd about it. Ive had that miter saw for a long time, and for certain chores its far more appropriate than anything else. Its just that in recent years Ive gravitated more to the table saw for crosscutting in the shop. Outside the shop like when I was building my 10x10 shed it was perfect. But since I had to carry and tote it outside for that task, relegating it to the carry-and-tote category of storable tools inside seems logical.
But Ill miss seeing it in its accustomed spot.
Till next time,
A.J.
A.J. Hamler is the former editor of Woodshop News and Woodcraft Magazine. He's currently a freelance woodworking writer/editor, which is another way of stating self-employed. When he's not writing or in the shop, he enjoys science fiction, gourmet cooking and Civil War reenacting, but not at the same time.