It’s been a while since I’ve posted and a lot of things have been happening in the shop.

This year I decided to do major shop improvements. I purchased a Hammer B3 table saw to replace my old Craftsman saw. I wanted a safer saw and one that would be much easier to use. While I ordered it out of Austria in January, Covid-19 delayed production for 8-10 weeks, and it arrived last week. I’ve spent the last week putting it together and becoming familiar with the saw. This unit also has a shaper, which is excellent at doing things like moulding and cabinet doors. I’ll look forward to expanding my skills and who knows, maybe I’ll start accepting commissions for build-ins.

To make room in the shop for the Hammer, I moved most of the shelving and tools inside. I’ve also moved my milled lumber so that it is stored in the same climate as it will be used as a product. Vicky, who’s an architect by training, kindly took my shop space and found a better layout for all my stationary tools and other items that need to stay in the garage. A big thanks to her as it no longer feels cramped. Well, as cramped.

I also upgraded to a stationary planer. The portable one was always in the way, out of the way. Now all my major machines are ready to use at any time. The only major thing I have left is I really need to upgrade the dust collection. The one I have just isn’t big enough for the joiner or planer and I’m weary of always having to step over the hose.

With the planer upgrade, I had to add a 30-amp 220v circuit to my shop. With the help of my son, I also swapped out the fluorescent lights with more and brighter LED ones. A much-needed improvement.

And finally, in May, I launched a YouTube channel titled Cut it with a Hammer. While the focus will be on sliding table saws, I also have various other things that may be of interest.

That pretty much gets everyone up to date.