Month: January 2014

Technology in the Shop – Updated Wireless

Published on by Mike  (Leave a comment)

main_routerA discussion on home network infrastructure on a woodworking blog?  Why not?  🙂  I am tying this back to the Technology in the Shop series of articles that I wrote last year, and I believe this post could be beneficial to those who are wanting to do a similar setup that I have done.

Before I had the dedicated computer in the shop, I would carry my laptop out for the webcam, drawings, and such.  The router and access point for the house was on the extreme opposite end of the house, and I wouldn’t always get a good signal.  I ended up buying a WiFi extender.  While this would benefit me out in the shop, it would also benefit everyone else in the house by, in theory, decreasing some of the dead zones we had.  The result was a slight improvement.

wifi_extenderWhen I setup the permanent computer, which was an older machine, it seemed to experience more connectivity issues.  I added a newer 802.11N USB card on the laptop which helped some.  However, I still got frequent drops, which was especially annoying when I was trying to stream.  So much so that I don’t do it very often anymore.

The final straw was we got a Chromecast for Christmas.  It actually worked great, but what I found was that it would overwhelm the extender, and other devices on it would suffer.

new_routerI decided it was time to add a second access point on our network, and do away with the extender.  I was putting serious thought in running an ethernet cable through the walls and ceilings, which would be a pretty serious under taking.  Someone then recommended that I try ethernet over power first.  I had looked into this a few years ago, but it was an expensive solution that had varying degrees of success.  Based on the recommendation, I looked at it again, and the cost of these had come way down, and by reading the reviews, it seemed like they were very stable.

EoP_adapterSo I found an EoP option that was on sale, and bought a second wireless router.  A note on the router, while I couldn’t buy the exact model we have for our primary router, I bought one that had very similar specs.  In theory any two WiFi APs should work together, but it is a wise to get  the same brand and model when possible.  Once the EoP arrived, I hooked them up and configured the new router.  The first thing I did with the new router was turn off of the routing and DHCP functions on it.  After that I set the IP address and name of the router (not the SSID) to something different than first router.  I then setup the security and the SSID identical to that of the primary router, so that all of our devices would connect to it seamlessly.  I then disconnected the extender, plugged in the first end of the EoP to the primary router, and the receiving end to the new router.  I then ran a few tests to verify that the new connections were working.

For the devices  we have inside the house, we noticed the improvements almost immediately.  Even my wife and kids noticed improvements in the quality of their connections.  So much so that I suspect that the extender was causing a lot of unneeded network traffic that has now been eliminated.  Due to the extreme cold, I have not had a chance to test the shop computer with the new setup, but I am very optimistic that I will also see a significant improvement with that as well.

Dust Collection – Part 3

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hf_dcWith the table saw and jointer prepped, it was time to hook them up to the DC.  While it is always preferable to use rigid pipe for DC ducting, the distance were so short for each connection, I used flexible hose for ease of setup.  The table saw hook up is about 3 feet, from the DC, and perhaps 1.5 feet from the ground.  The jointer is about 6 feet from the DC.  The first run of hose was from the DC to the Y.  From the Y two runs went to the table saw and to the jointer.

y_hookupsAfter getting this setup, I ran some test cuts through the table saw and over the jointer.  I was impressed with the difference it made.  With the jointer, I had been using the small DC whenever I used it, but I found the new setup worked just as well clearing the chips and shavings away.  With the table saw, I saw the biggest improvement.  The biggest improvement was no dust hitting the floor under the saw.  Between the two, using the blast gates has proven effective at keeping the CFMs up at the machine being used.  One thing I have noticed is that if the blade isn’t completely buried in the blade I get a lot more dust on the top.  So the next modification I make will be some sort of blade guard attached to the DC.

dc_ts_jtrAs I previously stated, my dust collection setup will be something that will always be improved upon.  Besides the table saw upgrade, I have want to expand it to more.  The next be chip and dust generator is my router table.  I made it many years ago and has served me well, but it is grossly lacking in its dust collection ability.  I have been putting serious thought into build a new router table which will incorporate the connection to the large DC.  I also have an OSS that generates a lot of dust.  I want to get a better option setup for dust collection as well.

One thing I will say about the new dust collection setup, is it has cut my clean-up time in half, especially around the table saw.   The updates I made were long overdue!

Dust Collection – Part 2

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hf_dcSince the table saw and jointer rarely get moved, it made sense to do something a little more permanent for them for dust collection.  I decided it was best to add a second dust collector to my shop.  After doing a bit of research, and some craigslist searching in vain, I decided to give the large Harbor Freight dust collector a try.  While the quality for most of their power tools are questionable at best, the dust collector seems to be one of their gems, and it is very affordable.  Plus, everything it will connect to is no more than 10′ away from the machine, which means minimal ducting, resulting in less loss of CFMs.  For now my goal is getting the jointer and table saw hooked up.

I then went to the local woodcraft and bought the DC accessories I needed.  I bought a tray for the table saw, a new hook up for the jointer, 2 friction fit blast gates, a Y fitting, a flexible hose, and hose clamps.

ts_dcAfter getting the DC assembled and in its home right next to the table saw, I started working on modifying the table saw.  As my table saw is an old contractor style table saw, it had an open bottom.  The try itself was smaller than the opening so I had to close in the opening a bit.  I grabbed some scrap wood and made some support cleats that screwed into the bottom of the saw.  The tray was then able to sit on these cleats.  I secured the tray to the struts with a few screws.  Next came the blast gate.  The idea of the friction fit was so it was easy to remove when I needed to move something around.  The problem was it was too easy to remove and I later found that the force of the DC would often pull them off.  So I put the blast gate on as tight as it would go, then drove a couple screws into it to hold it in place.  I elected to keep the back open on the table saw

jointer_dcNext came setting up the jointer.  Being a new jointer (less than a year old at the time) it came with a standard 4″ connector for DC.  The friction fit blast gate didn’t fit it, so I bought a new connector and modified it to fit my jointer.  I attached its blast gate in a similar to the table saw.

The next and final post will discuss running the hose, testing the new setup, and what I plan for future enhancements to my dust collection setup.

Dust Collection – Part 1

Published on by Mike  (Leave a comment)

rikon_dcThis is one article I have been putting off for a while.  The topic of dust collection can be as touchy as discussing politics or religion.  However, one of the major projects I took on this past summer was improving the dust collection in my shop.

First, before I go any further, my disclaimer is that my solution is by no means the best solution out there.  There were a couple constraints I had to work within as well, and I was more or less focused on solving a couple specific issues with my setup.  Finally, I believe any dust collection setup is like any other aspect of the shop, in that it will be something that will always continue to be improved and updated.

shop_vacBefore I started, I wasn’t completely without dust collection.  I had a small 1 hp dust collector, that I used it directly on each machine.  This meant either bring the machine (namely the planer) to the dust collector, or bringing the dust collector to the machine itself.  This worked, but it got to be a hassle.  In fact, it made the process of milling lumber difficult.  On top of that my table saw had no dust collection at all.  I got tired of the mountain of sawdust that would always develop under my table saw.  I also have a shopvac that I use for sanding and general cleanup.

What I would have really liked to have done is put in a cyclone system that I could have ducted to each of my machines.  However, I don’t have the ability to run a dedicated 220 line to power it.  Also I had promised my wife that I would not make any large tool purchases for the year, as past years I had made quite a few of them.

planer_bs_dcTo start with the improvements, I took a look at the layout of my tools.  The small dust collector is kept behind my band saw as that is where it gets most of use.   Also, the jointer is just across the from the band saw, so it made since from both a dust collection stand point, and milling stand point to move the planer  However my planer is on the cabinet that stores all my router bits and accessories which I wanted it next to my router table.  However, when I put the tool cabinet in place, the planer was in the way.  So this gave me the opportunity I needed to move it.  My new OSS on its stand was short enough to go under the tool cabinet, so I just simply swapped them and have to take a few extra steps to get to my router bits.  I now dedicate the small dust collector to the band saw and the planer, simply by moving the hose between the two machines.  This also has significantly improved my workflow for milling boards.

This, however, left my jointer and table saw without dust collection, and with the layout of the shop, it was hassle moving the small dust collector from machine to machine, which made it way too easy to not use dust collection at all.  My next post I will discuss what modifications I made to those machines to improve their dust collection.