MFournier

BP is already using materials that absorb oil what do you think a boom does.
Problem is the huge amount of oil the booms quickly become completely soaked and ineffective. first off how would you contain the saw dust to the area you want. probably the same way the booms absorbent material is contained.

remember in addition to there being thousands of gallons of crude oil it is spilling into the Gulf not a little cup of water you have millions of gallons of sea water and not all the oil is floating on top.

To see just how impractical your idea is dump one cup of crude oil in a 15,000 gallon swimming pool then attempt to clean it out with saw dust.
then clean out all the saw dust all while someone makes waves in the pool and continually mixes up the oil and saw dust. you will have oil all over the sides of the pool long before you absorb the oil and the sides of the pool are the shore and you will have oil residue in your pool for a long time.

I am not a expert ether but I can tell you that BP knew a leak like this would be a huge problem to deal with the sin fact there really is no cure that gets all the oil. The Exxon Valdez incident was nothing compared the the amount of oil that is spilling in the gulf. And contrary to what JimmyD. writes all the oil in Price William Sound was not cleaned up and you only need stick your hand in the beach sand and you pull up oil and the toxins in oil remain even after the oil on the surface is gone.

THis is a huge problem with no simple solutions

WOW kind of limiting as to what you can build down there isn't it?

How do you get anything large out? And I see all the sheet goods how do you get a 4x8 panel down there? If it was me I would keep the cars out and use the garage space above it.

Certainly would not work for a cabinet shop like mine but it must work out for you like to see examples of the stuff you manage to build down there.

OK first off there are many types of table saws from small very cheaply built portable table top saws to large cabinet saws. Some of the cheapest saws are so flimsy and poorly made that even properly used are inherently unsafe.
I feel these saws should not even be allowed to be sold. (but they are).

Now for in shop saws a over head guard with dust extraction is the best way to go. (http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=18185)
I added a EXAKTOR Overarm Dusthood on my Jet saw more because I hated getting dust in my face when using a zero clearance throat plate now I have a safer and cleaner saw. And this guard can easily be moved when i use a crosscut sled or other table saw jigs in seconds and then put back just as easy. Personally anyone buying a Cabinet saw or a better contractors saw and setting up a wood shop should consider replacing their stock guard with one of these.

Now that makes the shop saw safe but job site saws have other problems. One they are smaller and lighter so they need good stable potable stands and the blade guard needs to be portable as well. So a guard like that EXAKTOR Overarm Dusthood is not practical. So far I have not seen a single portable saw with a good guard on it that is usable for the type of finish work I do. First off the Pawls on blade guards mark refinished stock I can not use any guard that has pawls. And then most portable saws have flimsy guards that require tools to remove and re-install again not a option and the reason why most pros remove these guards and they never get put back on.
For pros safety in in how you use it not how many safety guards are built in.

I still want t be safe so I modified my saw removing the old guard and installing a riving knife. Then I made a push stick/block that had a built in guard. With this I can make even the thinest rip and securely hold the work piece all the way past the blade. While keeping my hands well clear of the blade.
I never use the portable saw for crosscutting since my sliding miter saws does a much better job of that.

OK now lets be completely honest guys any experienced woodworker knows most stock blade guards must be removed to allow you to make about 60% of the operations we do on the table saw. And I say that is a pretty poorly designed safety device if 60% of the operations the tool is used for can not be done with out removing it.

Now as for the question have I ever been hurt Yes once in 25 years and it was just 5 years ago. So I had 20 years experience.

Now here is what happened.
I was working on a job and the General contractor asked me to help him rip some 16 ft trim stock. Now he had his saw set up with no out feed and because the guard had been removed so the pawls would not mar the pre-finished trim and it was a thin rip so the fence would also have hit the stock guard. Had no push stick around and It was the end of a long day and I was tired. I reluctantly agreed to help him with him supporting the out feed end I was making sure the trim was tight to the fence and on the second piece as my hand went past the blade he twisted the board pushing my thumb right into the blade. Now because I had lowered the blade so it was just slightly higher then the thickness of the trim the cut was only about 1/8 deep. But it was bad enough that I missed a weeks work. I knew better but the combination of me being tired and not taking proper safety precautions cost me. And that is how most accidents happen at least with experienced wood workers they are rushing or tired or both.
I am sure novice mistakes are caused by a lack of experience and/or lack of training.
But experienced wood workers usually are very aware of what they should have been doing but failed to do when they get hurt.

Start wood working?? You mean as a hobby??
Never
Now pay me and I will make what ever you want. :)

I entered into woodworking with one goal to do it for a living and you know I never thought of it any other way.

But seriously even if your goal is just to make a feel things yourself as a hobby my advice is the same your first investment in wood working should be to acquire knowledge way before you purchase any tools.

Many wood working tools in the hands of anyone with out the required skills and knowledge will at least ruin a lot of wood and at worse take a good piece of your hand, eye. Even hand tools can cause a good wound and some power tools can even cause a fault blow. A work piece turned projectile striking the right place can do a job.

I apprenticed with a veteran cabinet maker and you know unlike a lot if shop teachers he had all his fingers and both eyes. Proper technique is the best safety devise ever.

The advice about taking a course at a Voc tech school is a good idea also there are many other wood working schools around the country. And the best thing is you get to learn how to use tools without having to go to and buy them first.

What tools you need depends a lot on what you want to make and just how quickly you want to make it. My whole house was including all the raised panelling trim windows frame, every floor board and even the nails was made with out a single power tool. And some of the most beautiful furniture ever made was made in the 18th century all with hand tools. So if you want you could make anything without any modern large stationary shop tools. Of course making furniture completely with hand tools takes much more skill then power tools. But can be much more rewarding.

Now since my goal was to make a living doing this power tools are a necessity for and some pretty big expensive ones at that.

But if I was to do it as a hobby I would go the Roy Underhill route and do it as they did in the 18th century from tree to furniture with out a single power tool.
You still will need to spend a good bit of money and you will need to search a few flea markets for many of the tools you just do not go down to the Home Depot to buy a draw knife, and shaving horse or a Spring pole lathe or even a good morticing chisel.

RE SAMinOK's comment
Yup the guy owns a new convertible two seater Mercedes
But won't pay a lumber yard that would actually deliver.

The more we live with this Home Depot Wal Mart mentality the dumber we get.
How do figure a guy driving a Mercedes won't pay a small fee to get something delivered.

Or better yet why have we gotten to a point that we buy things from stores that obviously are too large for most cars and even small trucks to safely carry home yet do not demand that the store offer delivery as part of the purchase.

The ability to deliver large items you sold was once considered a necessary cost of doing business. If you sold those type of items people simply would not buy it if you did not deliver today people accept this to save 5% if anything at all.
Go ahead people start demanding delivery make these resellers know if they want your money they are going to have to earn it.
Stop using self check out also heck they already pay so little to these register people then they want to make you do it yourself eliminating yet another US job.

Oh one last comment

Remember the local lumber yards you know the place people went to buy lumber before the home centers took most of the home owner DIY market.
The place that you do not have to load your lumber on a cart first and push it up to a register like you are at the super market. No if you have a truck you drive up to were the lumber is and load it directly on your truck.

No truck you just tell them what you want pay and go home and guess what they show up at you house (or job site) with the load of lumber and will even send someone to help you unload it or move it were you need it sometimes for free sometimes for a small extra fee.

Many of those local lumber yards delivered locally free of charge or for a small fuel charge if outside their normal delivery area. My local yard will deliver anywhere in town free. There really is no reason for this type of stupidity.
It was once expected that when you bought lumber that it was going to be delivered.
All lumber yards before the Home Depot and Lowes came along expected to have to deliver lumber and guess what they still do.

For those who feel they are saving by not paying delivery costs you need to rethink the indirect costs of your time your own gas and the damage to your vehicle that was not designed for what you are trying to do with it.
As well as the safety risks you are taking.

I really really feel if you do not have the ability to safely transport the load you should not be aloud to leave with it. This crap that the lumber yard or home center is not responsible is bull. They can flat out say this item's price includes delivery charges unless you give proof that you have a appropriate vehicle for transporting the load you are purchasing.

The same goes for furniture stores I am sick of seeing people driving home with a new mattress on the roof tied with a small piece of twine or worse holding it with their arm out the window.
Some products should just be purchased with delivery expected I do have a large work van that is more the capable of handling most loads but I still have things delivered when ever possible. First off I I am not responsible for its condition until it is actually at my home or job site. Most items are damaged during delivery if I do it I own it if they do it I get a new one.

People are simply penny wise and pound foolish
If you say you do things like this because you are poor you are not just poor but stupid. This often makes me wonder if Darwin was not on to something.

To parttimer Your kidding right???

What are you trying to win a darwin award?

Take a look at this one
http://www.swapmeetdave.com/Humor/Workshop/Overload.htm

People really are not that bright.
The cost of a rental truck or replace your car after you damage it? Which do you think cost more??

And if they were stupid enough to try that do you really think they are capable of actually knowing what to do with those materials once they do get them back to the job sight?

I doubt it.

About Mosheim's Desk drawers they have one feature that makes a problem for most standard dovetail jigs curved fronts don't want to lay flat in the clamps of a dove tail jig so in the that specific case a router cut half blind dovetail would require a specially made jig.

Also for Mosheim's drawers great for one set of drawers but build 20 sets or even 100. and you will find drilling and pinning all those drawers vs setting up a jig to cut dove tails takes longer to do and to assemble.
But again it would be a specially made jig for curved drawer fronts but once made you could make curved drawers faster and just as strong. (the pinned drawers Mosheim made are very strong maybe even stronger then dovetails)

So I am not saying dovetails are the only way to make quality drawers I just want to debunk the myth that dovetail joints take longer and are less cost effective.
I feel they are the easiest way to build a quality drawer once you have the tools.

I would like to dispute this one specifically

dlrosenbloom writes: Couldn't agree more. Dovetails are nice when you have the time and the budget. Otherwise they are not a commercially viable option. Most clients will not pay the extra $$$ for them. I have never had a pinned rabbet joint drawer fail in over 20 years of woodworking.

In fact half blind dove tailed draw boxes is one of the most commercially used draw box joints. Yes They are Machine cut half blind dove tails but they are used in most commercial kitchens and better commercial furniture.

If you want to compete with IKEA and Walmart for the low ball price then go ahead and and don't use-em But frankly I say good luck no matter what they will still be cheaper.

If you want to Compete for the better paying clients that have money even when times are bad then you give them quality they can see and that means dovetail joints. Even KraftMaid uses dovetail draw boxes.

I know with modern glues a rabbeted joint is very strong but It is about perception and it really does not take any longer to do if you have the jigs and machinery to build-em.

And no customers do not pay more for dovetails alone but they ARE willing to pay more for Perceived Quality that is why Abercrombie can sell the same made in China jeans that sell at WallMart for $19.00 for $70.00.

If strength was the only criteria I could just rabbet and glue and then staple that bottom on and then let the draw glide hold the bottom and it would be plenty strong enough after all My work bench drawers get more abuse then any desk draw and I put much heavier tools in them and they hold up fine but they don't look so nice.

Wow I never thought so many wood workers would completely miss the point.
Hand cutting dove tails has it's place (Traditional reproduction furniture and cabinetry for one)

But half blind dovetails cut on a jig with a router (or in a industrial Dovetail cutter) make a great joint and is one of the quickest ways to build a lot of strong drawers quickly. I have built a kitchen full of drawers (over 30 drawer boxes 3 different depths and 6 different widths.) in half a day. (oh and these are dovetailed back and front and the bottom is fully captured not slid in and stapled at the back.) And the backs are notched and drilled for Blum under mount drawer glides.
How? I make parts in a production style I have a very detailed cut list and repeatable jigs and setups that I do not need to measure I simply put the parts in the jigs and cut the assembly takes the longest time but again I have clamping jigs for the most made sizes I make.

I am sure if I had Jigs and machinery to cut a rabbeted box joints I could do it that was as quickly also. But why? a Dovetail looks good, customers do not need to be convinced of it's quality as a strong joint and it is fast and easy to do with the proper tools and setup.

Why is the dove tail the holy grail I do not know But I do know that historically it was used because it does not rely on glue to stay together.
Also many traditional joinery takes wood movement into account if you build a chest out of solid wood (not plywood) you simply can not glue a long cross grain joint you need a mechanical joint that will not pull apart but will also allow for movement. so a sliding dovetailed dado vs straight cut dado for case
construction.

Sure there are other joints but I just do not except that any of the other are better then the dovetail joint it is easy to assemble and it is easy to make and it does not rely on glue alone to resist pulling apart. And requires no pinning no nails no screws.

As for learning to cut dovetails by hand well it is taught because to make a tight dove tail (and end up with a square box the correct final size) requires many wood working skills from planning and measuring to cutting. So it is part of being a complete wood worker.

As Carpenter the first thing I ask a new apprentice to do is build a set of horses and I can tell by how well they do this just what kind of carpenter I am dealing with. Sure you can go buy a set of horses that folds up and is easier to move from site to site but that does not tell me just how well a apprentice is going to measure cut and assemble framing or finish trim on the job but If they make a perfectly matched set of horses that do not wobble and tight joints then I know I have a worker I can count on.

And that is the same for the dovetail it is a joint you can see after it is assembled and it is a indicator that the rest of the furniture is also assembled with the same care and attention to detail as that joint was cut.
You can not see if a tenon fit snugly after it is assembled (unless it is a through tenon) but it is a safe bet if there is also hand cut dove tail that is tight and well proportioned and the angles are consistent and the sizes of the pins and tails are uniform it is a safe bet the rest of the attention to detail was just as meticulous.

Great shop I loved this comment
"The Blade Guard has been removed for photographic purposes."
How long do wood workers have to deal with blade guards that interfere with basic table-saw functions so much that we eventually resort to having the blade guards off more then they are on the saw.

Even if you are studious about safety with most standard blade guards except for basic ripping the saw is useless with the guard on.

Instead comments like "The Blade Guard has been removed for photographic purposes." we should be demanding that tablesaw manufactures fix the flaws with standard blade guards that could make it possible to use them during more operations and make it much easier to remove and reinstall them.

Tell the truth this cut can not be made with the blade guard on. Wood workers all know the truth standard blade guard offer almost no extra safety because 80 to even 90% of the time they are removed and most are a pain to take off and put back on so often they are left off even during operations that they could be used during simply because 5 min later you are going to need to remove it again.

So we all know this so why not just say you can NOT do this with the guard on, so that is why it was removed. And that you must be very careful and use proper push sticks to keep you hands clear and do not stand where a kick back could fling a piece flying back at you. Table saw safety is about being smart not blade guards (well not the junky standard guards mounted on splitters anyway)
I would list reasons they are removed but the list of things you can do with the standard guard on is much shorter then the list of operations you can't use it. But I digress and I am using your space to rant.

Again love the shop, I know many have much smaller spaces and would love to have a converted 2 car space but really it is a small shop by professional wood workers standards. So really you have packed a lot in a small space.