Scrounging Firewood (and other stuff)

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I've got a crapton of stuff in the basement, before any of it goes into the barn, the barn needs to be way more finished and I have to go thru everything. I have so much that was bought to resell, I just need to get the barn finished so I have the time to unload it all. Before I built the barn I sold a bunch of saws, that helped, but there's still a good number of them down there.
I do know within 8' of where I want my door to the main bay, so I have that going for me :laugh: .
Is your loft going to be in the whole thing like an attic, or just one side. I plan on having a shelf around much of mine, it needs to be high enough to walk/work under so I can have benches and storage underneath, but low enough that I can put a pallet up there with the tractor.
I have a cheaper Craftsman compressor, but it's fairly tall, I will enclose it, as I don't want to listen to it either. It should be enough for my needs, I'm more concerned about its longevity. Hopefully it actually works, I did get a good deal on it though lol.
One of my most used garage tools , IMG_3809.jpeg
 
Only about 60% sure where I want the door between the shop and side room right now, let alone recept boxes or anything else.
Put in more outlets than you think you need. Box, receptacle, wire nuts, and cover are cheap - still only cost about $3. My dad (who was a commercial electrician) even laughed at me because in my last garage shop, I had over 20 boxes. And it was only a 20'x20' garage. But I could stand anywhere near a wall and reach at least two outlets. If tools are plugged in or something is mounted in front of an outlet you still have options. Use 12 ga wire and have one or more 20 amp circuits. Use a GFCI at the beginning of every circuit. Take photos of each wall before you cover it for future reference on wiring. And don't use the push in wire feature on the back of the receptacle, use a pigtail attached to the screws.
 
I've got a crapton of stuff in the basement, before any of it goes into the barn, the barn needs to be way more finished and I have to go thru everything. I have so much that was bought to resell, I just need to get the barn finished so I have the time to unload it all. Before I built the barn I sold a bunch of saws, that helped, but there's still a good number of them down there.
I do know within 8' of where I want my door to the main bay, so I have that going for me :laugh: .
Is your loft going to be in the whole thing like an attic, or just one side. I plan on having a shelf around much of mine, it needs to be high enough to walk/work under so I can have benches and storage underneath, but low enough that I can put a pallet up there with the tractor.
I have a cheaper Craftsman compressor, but it's fairly tall, I will enclose it, as I don't want to listen to it either. It should be enough for my needs, I'm more concerned about its longevity. Hopefully it actually works, I did get a good deal on it though lol.
Loft on the man door side, right now I think 8'wide x16' long. I have a triple stack palette rack in the basement too. 4' wide x 12' long. Thought with that, is to use it as an actual rack vs a junk storage shelf. We'll see. My wife thinks it's staying in the basement lol. I will be putting a shelf up across the front of the shop at the header of the main door. Gonna store my antique saws and nick nack collection up there.
I've thought about separating the compressors from the tanks and mounting the tanks up on the one back wall, motors and compressors mounted out in the wood shed section. May still happen. I'm just too undecided to commit, other then they arnt staying in the shop permanently.
Great saw.
Yes, made by makita, well sort of; like huskys are made by Electrolux.
View attachment 1208416
Shame they are being phased out. I've often thought about picking one of their smaller 30-40cc saws up, but I'd have the same lack of parts issue like I have with my older zenoah/red max saws. Such a shame.
Put in more outlets than you think you need. Box, receptacle, wire nuts, and cover are cheap - still only cost about $3. My dad (who was a commercial electrician) even laughed at me because in my last garage shop, I had over 20 boxes. And it was only a 20'x20' garage. But I could stand anywhere near a wall and reach at least two outlets. If tools are plugged in or something is mounted in front of an outlet you still have options. Use 12 ga wire and have one or more 20 amp circuits. Use a GFCI at the beginning of every circuit. Take photos of each wall before you cover it for future reference on wiring. And don't use the push in wire feature on the back of the receptacle, use a pigtail attached to the screws.
I hear that. I already have 8 recept full most of the time. Part of the issue is I'm not committing to where anything is getting placed. I've moved my tool box around to several spots to see if I like it, but I still don't have my welding bench out there yet either, which will take up a decent amount of space against a wall. Still trying to be mindful of where the lift posts will eventually be going and how much room my crew cab will hog up. Should have made the shop bigger.... first world problems lol. I can say, I'm already planning on 4-6 220v outlets for the welder and plasma cutter. Wherever one of those ends up I'm gonna put a air bib too. Oh, all the reception will be surface mount in the shop, so I can kinda get everything sorta placed then run conduit. It's a bit more expensive upfront, but if I ever need to change or add on it won't be too difficult.
 
Put in more outlets than you think you need. Box, receptacle, wire nuts, and cover are cheap - still only cost about $3. My dad (who was a commercial electrician) even laughed at me because in my last garage shop, I had over 20 boxes. And it was only a 20'x20' garage. But I could stand anywhere near a wall and reach at least two outlets. If tools are plugged in or something is mounted in front of an outlet you still have options. Use 12 ga wire and have one or more 20 amp circuits. Use a GFCI at the beginning of every circuit. Take photos of each wall before you cover it for future reference on wiring. And don't use the push in wire feature on the back of the receptacle, use a pigtail attached to the screws.
I highly recommend these

https://store.leviton.com/products/...e-15-amp-tamper-resistant-duplex-outlet-white
 
Loft on the man door side, right now I think 8'wide x16' long. I have a triple stack palette rack in the basement too. 4' wide x 12' long. Thought with that, is to use it as an actual rack vs a junk storage shelf. We'll see. My wife thinks it's staying in the basement lol. I will be putting a shelf up across the front of the shop at the header of the main door. Gonna store my antique saws and nick nack collection up there.
I've thought about separating the compressors from the tanks and mounting the tanks up on the one back wall, motors and compressors mounted out in the wood shed section. May still happen. I'm just too undecided to commit, other then they arnt staying in the shop permanently.

Shame they are being phased out. I've often thought about picking one of their smaller 30-40cc saws up, but I'd have the same lack of parts issue like I have with my older zenoah/red max saws. Such a shame.

I hear that. I already have 8 recept full most of the time. Part of the issue is I'm not committing to where anything is getting placed. I've moved my tool box around to several spots to see if I like it, but I still don't have my welding bench out there yet either, which will take up a decent amount of space against a wall. Still trying to be mindful of where the lift posts will eventually be going and how much room my crew cab will hog up. Should have made the shop bigger.... first world problems lol. I can say, I'm already planning on 4-6 220v outlets for the welder and plasma cutter. Wherever one of those ends up I'm gonna put a air bib too. Oh, all the reception will be surface mount in the shop, so I can kinda get everything sorta placed then run conduit. It's a bit more expensive upfront, but if I ever need to change or add on it won't be too difficult.
I don't know how you're planning on running your compressed air lines but I have a recommendation. I used RapidAir nylon pipe and push lock fittings. I was hesitant at first but 10 years later it's holding up well. I have drops every 8 ft around the shop and at the bay door and the walk door. Easy to put up and easy to change if you don't like something.

Your shop's looking good. Have fun with it!
 
Not that I'm against wago style terminals,(the electricians at work switched over to them a few years ago, with good success.) but 15 amp rating and not spec/commercial grade is a hard pass in a shop environment for me.
I don't know how you're planning on running your compressed air lines but I have a recommendation. I used RapidAir nylon pipe and push lock fittings. I was hesitant at first but 10 years later it's holding up well. I have drops every 8 ft around the shop and at the bay door and the walk door. Easy to put up and easy to change if you don't like something.

Your shop's looking good. Have fun with it!
I haven't settled on anything for air lines just yet, only think I know for sure is it won't be something that's going to eventually rot out. We use this plastic coated thin walled stuff (picture) at work,for the past ~13 years. So far so good, but it's pretty expensive. Starter kits with 3/4" main is around $300.00. Fittings are kinda expensive to, and it doesn't lend very well to major changes. So I'm open and welcome any other options/ opinions for a better and cheaper system.
 

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I haven't seen those (and they *may* be an improvement), but generally follow this:

How to Wire an Outlet

The standard best practice for connecting circuit wires to a switch or receptacle is to use the screw terminals, which are typically located on the sides of the device body.
Another way to wire an outlet is to use the stab-in connectors on the back of the outlet. While generally not recommended, stab-in connections are allowed by code and they speed up the process of wiring an outlet.


I'm not sure if commercial allows the stab-in style of connection by code - dad always used a pigtail attached to the screws as the proper method and said as much. 20 amp and GFCI outlets don't even have stab-in connections as far as I can tell. Builders love the stab-in because they are fast and the builder is long gone in 10 years when the homeowner has to deal with issues. I've replaced several that were faulty and rewire or replace every one that I service for any reason.
 
I haven't seen those (and they *may* be an improvement), but generally follow this:

How to Wire an Outlet

The standard best practice for connecting circuit wires to a switch or receptacle is to use the screw terminals, which are typically located on the sides of the device body.
Another way to wire an outlet is to use the stab-in connectors on the back of the outlet. While generally not recommended, stab-in connections are allowed by code and they speed up the process of wiring an outlet.

I'm not sure if commercial allows the stab-in style of connection by code - dad always used a pigtail attached to the screws as the proper method and said as much. 20 amp and GFCI outlets don't even have stab-in connections as far as I can tell. Builders love the stab-in because they are fast and the builder is long gone in 10 years when the homeowner has to deal with issues. I've replaced several that were faulty and rewire or replace every one that I service for any reason.
stab in/ push connectors have caused a lot of issues over the years. When we sold the farm and built a new house they used them everywhere. Wasn't more then a few year and one of them went up in smoke. Pop spent considerable amount of money having them replaced. These newer wago connectors seem to be pretty reliable though. It's a cam lock, vs stab in good but of metal connecting the wires together, and both stranded and solid thhn are allowed to be used.
Do you tape around your recepts before stuffing them in the box? Used to be a standard thing but I haven't seen it done in practice recently.
 
Do you tape around your recepts before stuffing them in the box? Used to be a standard thing but I haven't seen it done in practice recently.
I don't tape, but I do fold the wires in the box neatly before installing the receptacle (or switch or whatever). I have heard of taping, but I have never seen it done in person. There are cubic inch/volume specs for boxes depending on usage, though I'm guessing most standard outlets won't have an issue meeting them. By no means am I an electrician or code inspector, heck, I even called dad a few weeks ago just to confirm my welding plug wiring plan. ⚡
 
I don't tape, but I do fold the wires in the box neatly before installing the receptacle (or switch or whatever). I have heard of taping, but I have never seen it done in person. There are cubic inch/volume specs for boxes depending on usage, though I'm guessing most standard outlets won't have an issue meeting them. By no means am I an electrician or code inspector, heck, I even called dad a few weeks ago just to confirm my welding plug wiring plan. ⚡
I was just curious, didn't know if it was a common thing or not. I have been taping when going into metal boxes, just out of paranoia more or less. I know enough about electrical in general to make do, any out of the ordinary stuff I get one of the electricians from work to stop by or walk me through it. I have 4 runs of 3/ 4 way switches that needs done, between the house and exterior lights of the shop. We'll 2 of them are just 3 way, and 2 of them will have 4 way switches involved. Above my pay grade. Just get the pros in for that lol.
 
I was just curious, didn't know if it was a common thing or not. I have been taping when going into metal boxes, just out of paranoia more or less. I know enough about electrical in general to make do, any out of the ordinary stuff I get one of the electricians from work to stop by or walk me through it. I have 4 runs of 3/ 4 way switches that needs done, between the house and exterior lights of the shop. We'll 2 of them are just 3 way, and 2 of them will have 4 way switches involved. Above my pay grade. Just get the pros in for that lol.
Yep, sounds like we are about the same pay grade then! LOL
 
Just in case anyone was wondering about the wago connectors I was talking about.
https://www.wago.com/us/wire-splicing-connectors/compact-splicing-connector/p/221-413
We often (the electricians) have to set temporary runs, and this has been their go to. Actually they have been using them in permanent installations pretty often lately. So far I've been pretty impressed with them, other then the cost. Kinda expensive vs bug nuts.
 
All down one long wall of my shop, I put double boxes, one side is wired for 220v with #10 wire, and the other receptacle is wired for 120v using "20 amp" receptacles that I ordered from Home Depot. The rest of the shop has those 20 ampers too.

I can plug one of my 220v machines anyplace down that wall and also have quality 120 volt power anyplace in the shop.

SR
 
PXL_20241002_134457841.jpg
I actually scrounged! 🤣 In-laws had some tree work done so I hooked my miniscule tractor to the 5x13 trailer and me and the ms460 drove around the corner and sliced it up. Son number 3 was home so he helped load.
Off on vacation today, we fly to Halifax for a week, this afternoon.
 
Just in case anyone was wondering about the wago connectors I was talking about.
https://www.wago.com/us/wire-splicing-connectors/compact-splicing-connector/p/221-413
We often (the electricians) have to set temporary runs, and this has been their go to. Actually they have been using them in permanent installations pretty often lately. So far I've been pretty impressed with them, other then the cost. Kinda expensive vs bug nuts.
I can come over and help with your wiring if you want Sean. I did my whole shop and no issues so far. :crazy2: :surprised3:
FB_IMG_1703165769749.jpgFB_IMG_1703165749224.jpg
 
stab in/ push connectors have caused a lot of issues over the years. When we sold the farm and built a new house they used them everywhere. Wasn't more then a few year and one of them went up in smoke. Pop spent considerable amount of money having them replaced. These newer wago connectors seem to be pretty reliable though. It's a cam lock, vs stab in good but of metal connecting the wires together, and both stranded and solid thhn are allowed to be used.
Do you tape around your recepts before stuffing them in the box? Used to be a standard thing but I haven't seen it done in practice recently.
My personal practices: RE tape… In general, metal boxes yes, plastic boxes no. I use the screw terminals. If there are multiple 3 or 4 way switches I tape regardless of the box material.

Good tools help… I bought Klein screw drivers (including the cross ones for connections), sheathing and wire strippers, and pliers. Those tools made me realize how bad my old ones were! The work is much neater and the connections are tight too…
 
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