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Woodshop

Discord: #woodworking, Stewards: @steward (woodshop)

The woodshop and its tools require certification to use.

The woodshop is one of the biggest sources of dirt and noise in the Makerspace and houses many of the more dangerous pieces of equipment. The rules below are to maintain a safe and clean working environment and are required, not optional.

The rules in All areas apply.

Entering the woodshop

  1. The woodshop and its tools require certification to use. Woodshop training is offered on a tiered, regular basis to the best of the volunteer stewards’ ability.
    • You must be certified to be in the woodshop when any tools are running.
  2. Empty shop vacuum/dust collection bags into the building trash room before beginning work, if they’re more than half filled.

While using the woodshop

  1. Keep all doors closed when any tools are in use. This mitigates noise and dirt propagation outside of the woodshop.
  2. Always use the Dust Right when using the shop vacuum. Use the hose attached to the Dust Right (the blue cyclone separator on casters) instead of directly using the shop vacuum. This helps avoid motor burn-out.
  3. Empty shop vacuum/dust collection bags into the building trash room, when they become more than half filled. Do this before continuing use.

Before leaving

  1. Leave the air filter units on with a timer for at least an hour.
  2. Return tools to where they were found, including eye protection, shop vac, and chairs/stools.
  3. Reset tools to their storage states, including the miter saw, table saw, etc., as outlined during the tool certification.
  4. Label any project left in the space with your name, today’s date, and contact info (phone number and/or Discord handle). See: How do I store things at NEM?
  5. Clear all work surfaces of trash, sawdust, tools, and projects. Sawdust from your work can end up outside your immediate working area.
  6. Sweep and/or vacuum the entire floor and the carpet outside the shop, removing all sawdust and debris.
  7. Close and lock all windows, if you are the last one out. Note that someone before you may have opened them.

Safety

  • Dress appropriately for a woodshop. Closed-toed shoes are required to enter. Don’t wear loose clothing or dangling jewelry. Tie back long hair.
  • Wear safety-rated eye protection (ANSI Z87.1) if any tool in the woodshop is in use. Personal corrective eyewear isn’t considered eye protection and doesn’t fulfill this requirement, unless it’s certified under ANSI Z87.1. We provide eye protection that members can use.
  • Wear ear protection of at least 20dB NRR (ANSI S12.6) if any tool that requires ear protection (or is louder than 85dB) is in use. Use the free NIOSH Sound Level Meter App if you are unsure of the volume of a particular piece of equipment. We provide ear protection that members can use.
  • Always use dust collection when possible while using powered tools and turn on the wall mounted air filters when you enter the woodshop space. Instructions on how to activate these are provided during tool certifications.
  • Consider wearing a face mask if you are creating a lot of dust. Your lungs will thank you.

Table saw

  • Always use a riving knife and keep the blade guard installed. For partial, angled, or cross cuts it’s acceptable to remove the guard.
  • Use a push block when making cuts that leave less than the width of your hand between the blade and the fence.
  • For rip cut closer than 1 inch to the blade, use a sacrificial fence.
  • Don’t overtighten to blade. When changing the blade, tighten the arbor nut firmly, hand-tight is enough. The rotation of the blade during operation will keep the nut secure. Overtightening can damage the blade, arbor, or tool and may make the blade difficult to remove later.
  • If you install a specialty blade for a specific cut, please reinstall the general-purpose blade when done.

Allowed materials:

  • Wood - All tools
  • Plastics - Drill press, miter/chop saw, band saw (saws only with appropriate plastic-cutting blades)
  • Soft metals - Drill press (with lubricant), files

Scrap bin guidelines

If you have offcuts that you would like to donate to the scrap bin, please use the gauge graphic next to the scrap bin as a guideline to decide whether the piece is large enough to qualify for the scrap bin. If the piece is smaller than the gauge graphic, please place it in the trash bin instead.

Even if a piece meets the size requirement, consider the quantity of similar pieces already in the bin. In particular, avoid adding large amounts of plywood or MDF if many similar pieces are already present.

If you see something, say something:

  • If a tool is broken or malfunctioning or the woodshop isn’t left in a clean state, please send a message to @steward (woodshop).
  • Members should feel empowered to remind each other about the requirements around PPE when co-working in the woodshop. These are required, not optional, when certain pieces of equipment are in use.