u/ScrappyRN

After doing quite a bit of research and having a very limited budget but wanting to keep my lungs & shop a little less dusty, I bought the Bauer canister dust collector with the two micron filter. All the reviews I read about it were really good and the YouTube videos I watched recommended it as great for a budget option. I got it all put together and read the instruction manual which recommended gauges for extension cords etc. I plugged it in to one of my heavy duty shop power strips that's fed by a 14 gauge feed and it blew its internal fuse. I then plugged it directly into a 14 gauge overhead reel that I have and it blew it's fuse. So then I decided to just plug it straight into the socket and see what happened and it worked fine. (20 amp circuit) I'm going to try a 12 gauge extension cord tonight. But they are super expensive . I have a 12 gauge extension cord that my portable HVAC for the shop is running on because I needed power from inside the house to be able to run it at the same time as shop tools. So I'm going to try it on that before I go buy a new one. I was just frustrated and worn out last night and didn't want fish it out from behind everything. My question is , is this normal? I know it draws a lot of amps but 14 gauge is pretty stout. The run was less than 20 ft, it shouldn't have been that bad. And it's blowing the fuse instantly on start-up.

After discovering French cleat wall systems earlier this year, I decided to give it a try for my workshop. I have been slowly getting my workshop ready to be able to build things to sell at a local flea market recently. I'm really pleased with how the French wall turned out and I made this drill bit holder as one of my first brackets to go on the French cleat wall. This was all very beginner friendly. The only difficult part of the whole build was getting the 45° on the cleats cut. I used my table saw but the strips like to climb the blade when it's at 45° so you have to hold it really really well against the fence with your push blocks. I messed up the first one but after that it went much better once I knew what to do.

I finally finished my French cleat wall and designed this drill bit holder for it today. Showing progress pics of the French cleat wall build and my first bracket which was to hold just a few of my clamps. One thing I like about the French wall idea is that I can move things around whenever my needs change. I have tons of clamps that I need to build brackets for and a whole bunch of other things. I'm really enjoying this process!

I was browsing online and came across this gentleman who is a cabinet maker and apparently once a year sells off his wood scraps. I went to pick them up and load them in my Jeep today. And realized just how much there was for only $85! I make small woodworking things and so this was absolutely perfect. It was 99% oak, poplar, and hickory. There was everything from small project boards to 1x8x12 boards up to 10 ft thinner pieces. I am beyond stoked!!