MN Woodshop
About the Maker Nexus woodshop
We have a full woodshop on site. Members take classes to gain certification to use the equipment on their own to build everything from turned pens up to large furniture. We feature a wide variety of hand and power tools, including a SawStop table saw and a 4x4' Shopbot CNC router. Various tables can be used for glue-ups and work assembly. We use mobile dust collectors and ShopVacs to help keep the area tidy.
Non-members may take skill or project-based classes to learn how to use the equipment as well.
Education
Available Tools
Band Saws
Drill Presses
Jointer
Lathes
Miter Saws
DeWalt 12" Sliding Compound Miter Saw
Mortiser
Powermatic PM701 Benchtop Mortiser
Planer
Scroll Saw
DeWalt DW788 20" Variable-Speed Scroll Saw
Table Saw
SawStop cabinet table saw
We have a: SawStop Professional 3HP Table Saw. Please read that page on how to not trigger the saw brake inadvertently.
Please see our table saw safety notes.
Panel Saw
Router Table
- We have 1/4" and 1/2" collets
CNC Router
ShopBot
We have a 4x4 ShopBot. We have a dedicated page for the Shopbot
We have a license to the makerspace edition of Vetric V-Carve. To activate your copy use the license key found in this document on our GSuite file share.
Manual Tools
- Screwdrivers and bits
- Wrenches
- Pliers
- Chisels
- Rulers
- Machinist squares
- Saws
- Clamps
Fasteners
- Screws
- Nails
- Dowels
Hand Power Tools
- Drills
- Drivers
- Routers
- Plunge Router
- Fixed Base Router
- Trim Router
- Sanders
- Random Orbit Sander
- Belt Sander
- Sawzall
- Skilsaw
When using the battery powered tools, always pull a fresh battery off the charger (and put any battery previously attached to the tool onto that same charger) when you start to use a tool. That way, regardless of what pattern other people are following, you always start off with a fresh battery, and at least one other fully-charged battery will be available for the next person who needs one.
Downdraft table
Sanders
- Jet JWDS-1632 16" Drum Sander
- Belt & Disc Sander
- Spindle Sander
Dust Control
Many woodworking tools produce fine dust, which can be both a breathing hazard and a potential fire hazard. Sawdust and other debris on floors can also be a slipping hazard. At Maker Nexus we employ a number of measures to mitigate these hazards.
Hoses from our central dust collectors connect to various machines in the Wood Shop to suck up dust as it is created and filter it out of the air. When using machines connected to the dust collectors, aways check to see that the air intakes are drawing effectively.
Our air filtration units can continuously circulate the air in the shop, filtering out dust not picked up by the dust collectors. A home-built air quality monitoring system incorporating multiple particle counters will control the air filtration units and also allow us to keep a record of air quality in the shop.
We have several shop vacs (as well as dust cloths, brooms, and mops) for members to use to clean their work areas and the surrounding floor. When using tools that require reservations, remember to stop work in time to use the last portion of your reserved time slot—not the beginning of the next person's time—for clean-up.
Finally, when you are using a machine that generates a lot of dust, or when particularly dusty operations are going on in the shop, we recommend—and may sometimes require—that you wear a dust mask.
Dust Collectors
When you turn off a dust collector, after it spins down, turn the beater handle through 3-4 complete rotations to knock free any material that has been pulled tight against the filter paper. If you don't do that, the filters get clogged and CFM goes down, and air quality suffers. (The beater handle is the metal handle that hangs down from the top of the filter.)
Air Filtration
Jet AFS-2000 Air Filtration Units
Shop Vacs
Personal Protection
Faceshield with airflow TREND AIR PRO Airshield Faceshield
