Archive for November, 2009

Miter Saw Table And Workstation

Posted by Joshua Bardwell in Homesteading on November 3rd, 2009

For this project, I built a miter-saw table and work-station in the barn. The miter-saw table has a long counter top to the left and right of the saw, level with the work-surface of the miter saw. This allows long boards to be cut on the miter saw without having to fuss with any additional support. The counters double as work-surfaces.

Materials:

  • Sheet of 4×8′ plywood, with a veneer top so it looks and feels nice. I
  • 2x4x104 5/8″ studs – 8x
  • 3″ coarse-thread drywall screws – many

Tools:

Above, you can see a photo of the finished project. I didn’t take many build photos, but the process is basically the same as the work-counter I documented previously. For this one, I didn’t use the technique of screwing a 1×2 to the wall as a level guide. Instead, I set the framed counter top onto a pair of adjustable-height sawhorses and pressed it against the wall where it was to be affixed. I made sure that one end of the countertop frame was at the right height and put a screw through it into the wall. Then I set a 4′ level on the frame and adjusted the other end until the back of the countertop was level. Then I put in another screw so that both ends were attached. Now that the counter top was level side-to-side, I put some more screws in across the back side to complete the attachment of the counterotp to the wall.

I took the sawhorses out from underneath the counter top frame and used a clamp to attach the front of the frame to the side of the sawhorse. This gave me some up-and-down leeway to adjust the front-to-back level of the counter. I moved the clamps up and down until the counter was level front-to-back.

Once I had the counter frame affixed to the wall and level, I measured and cut the legs. I would rather have used vertical legs, because they would be stronger than diagonal legs, but the floor in the barn is simply sheets of plywood over wooden joists. As a result, its’ got a lot of flex, which would compromise the counter’s level. Additionally, the plywood may need to be replaced some day, and I don’t want to be pulling out the counter’s legs when I do it. diagonal legs will allow me to connect back to the floor joist that’s against the wall. This will provide more support than a piece of plywood floor, and will mean that I can replace the floor if I need to without tearing apart the counters.

I put the 4′ level in place where a leg would go and used an angle-measurement tool to determine that the leg would be at a 23 degree angle from the vertical. This was actually the same angle as my basement work-counter. Mental note: counters of approximately 24″ deep at heights of approximately 33-35″ have a miter of about 23 degrees on their legs. That could come up again! I mitered the end of a 2×4 to that angle and then set it in place. I then used the top surface of the table’s frame as a straight-edge to mark where to cut the 2×4 off to make the leg. This method was crude, but it avoided any complicated measuring, and ensured that each leg was a perfect fit. I actually cut the top end of the leg a little short, to keep it from protruding above the table’s top and deforming the plywood.

I screwed the legs of the counter into the floor joist on the bottom and clamped them to the frame at the top. This being done, I removed the sawhorses so that the countertop frame was entirely resting on the legs. I double-checked the level and then screwed the legs to the countertop frame and removed the clamps.

Finally, I cut the plywood to size using the table saw and affixed it to the counter top frame.

Above, you can see the miter saw in its station. The miter saw’s work-surface is exactly 3.5″ above its base, which is the height of a 2×4, making it easy to align the work-surface with the two countertops to the left and right. It’s almost as if they designed it that way! The miter saw has two sets of mounting holes, one for larger bolts and one for smaller screws. I have bunches of 3″ drywall screws, so that’s what I used.

Just behind the miter saw, to the left, you can see the 6×6 vertical building support that got in the way of the left-hand counter. The counter top has been cut out to allow the 6×6 to pass through. Rather than try to build the frame of the counter around the 6×6, I simply attached the counter to the wall just to the left of it and then left an extra 12″ or so of plywood hanging off the right side of the counter top, so that the plywood would come up against the left edge of the miter saw. I cut out an opening for the 6×6 with a jigsaw and then put in just enough 2×4 framing to support the end of the plywood that hung off of the counter top. This meant that working around the 6×6 could be done in an entirely cosmetic manner, since the structure of the counter was already secure.

In the photo above, you can see how I attached the miter saw station to the two counters. I simply screwed a couple of lengths of 2×4 to the underside of the counter, one for the front of the saw and one for the back. My 3″ screws wouldn’t go all the way through a 3.5″ 2×4, so I mitered the ends of the boards at a 50 degree angle (the max angle for my saw) to give me a few inches of board where a 3″ screw would penetrate into the counter above. I drove two screws in from beneath at each attachment point, and then drove a third screw in for good measure. The boards were a little too easy to twist, so I put some cross-pieces in, running front-to-back, for good measure.

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Blackhawk Gladius

Posted by Joshua Bardwell in Self-Defense, Technology on November 2nd, 2009

If my previous posts about tactical flashlights made you want one, you’re lucky that there are literally hundreds being made today. Mine is the Blackhawk Gladius. Like all tactical flashlights, the Gladius is very bright and very rugged. Here’s what I think sets it above the others.

The Gladius has three modes: momentary-on, constant-on, and flashing. Momentary-on turns on the light when you press the tailcap button and turns it off when you release the button. This is useful for a quick flash of light when you’re glancing at something in the dark. It’s also useful in combat, and especially gun-fighting, where constant light might give an attacker something to target.

Speaking of combat, the flashing setting is designed to disorient an opponent. I haven’t found it to be useful for day-to-day use. The flashing is rapid enough that, from the user’s end of the light, the strobing looks effectively similar to constant light. From the other end, the flashing is harder and slower to adapt to than a constant, bright light.

The constant-on mode turns the light on when you press the tailcap and off when you press the tailcap again. This is useful when you want the light on for extended time and don’t want to have to hold the button down the whole time. The constant-on mode has an additional useful feature in that it can be dimmed to preserve battery life (looking for your keys doesn’t require 200 lumens, you know) and to preserve night vision. Additionally, the flashlight can be set so that the constant-on mode comes on at full brightness, at minimum brightness, or at the previously-set brightness level. I have mine set to come on at the dimmest setting. If I want a utility light, I turn it on in the continuous mode and know I won’t blast myself with bright light. When I need maximum light, I switch to momentary mode, or just turn on in continuous mode (at the dimmest setting) and hold the button down to cause the flashlight to ramp up to full brightness.

This might sound a bit complicated, but the flashlight is very well designed. There is a ring around the tailcap button that is used to select between the light’s three modes. The first position is constant-on, the second is strobe, the third is momentary-on. The dial turns easily with one hand, and switching between modes quickly becomes second nature.

Speaking of ergonomics, I’ve held tactical flashlights whose tailcap button was quite stiff. I suppose this keeps the light from being activated accidentally, but it means that your thumb gets quite a workout when using the flashlight in momentary-on mode. The Gladius has a lock-out position on the rotary dial to prevent accidental activation of the light and easy-to-press tailcap button.

A final nifty feature of the Gladius is its power management circuitry. The light moderates the current to the LED bulb to keep light output stable as the battery gets weaker. When the battery is getting low, the light blinks once every fifteen seconds to indicate that you should change the batteries soon, but the light continues to operate at full output right up until the moment the batteries totally crap out. What this means is that you’ve always got a heads-up that your batteries are getting low, but as long as there is any battery left at all, the light is fully usable. Actually, it’s not quite fully usable. When the batteries are low, the constant-on mode is disabled. The idea here is that you are no longer able to use the light in its most utilitarian mode, but if you need full brightness for something important, you’ve still got it. The same power management circuitry monitors the LED’s temperature and reduces light output if the LED gets too hot. Overheating the LED is one of the ways that these flashlights can be damaged. For the record, I’ve never had this happen. I imagine that it must happen when the light is used continuously and/or in a very hot environment.

Some reasons people might choose another flashlight over the Gladius include: It’s not the absolute brightest light out there, for those who are into the numbers game. It doesn’t have built-in rechargeable batteries. Sure, you could buy rechargeable CR123 cells, but their performance is hit-or-miss in many tactical flashlights. And, of course, there’s the cost. $150-$170 depending on where you buy it. It does not come with a strike bezel, so for those for whom a strike bezel is an absolute must, this flashlight is out. Finally, it only comes in one color of light: white. People who want a red (for night vision) or blue (for tracking an animals blood trail) light will have to either buy gels to put over the light’s standard 1.25″ bezel or choose a different flashlight with colored LEDs built in.

A last word: The Gladius is not designed first and foremost as a weapon light, but it is rugged enough to be mounted on a firearm without damaging it, and its 1″ diameter body fits into a standard set of scope rings, for attachment to an accessory rail.

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