Image by Kreuzschnabel/Wikimedia Commons, License: artlibre

Every time I discuss electrical power as it relates to the shop someone will inevitably bring up the question of solar energy. After all, I’m in the “Valley of the Sun” and if anyone should be able to harness the awesome power of that big ball of fire in the sky it should be Phoenicians with our 296 days of sunshine per year! Well, you might be surprised to know that I actually do have solar panels and I thought it would be helpful to share my story and experience. This is not meant to be a guide to solar energy and I’m not really prepared (or qualified) to give much advice on the topic. When you dig into the world of alternative energy you’ll quickly find out that there’s a lot of ever-changing local laws, regulations, and red tape that will dictate what you can and can’t do so be sure to do your research. If anything, my hope is that this blog post encourages you to look into your options with realistic expectations.

Our Setup

When we decided to go solar, the company we hired did an audit of our electrical usage over the last few years. Their goal was to correctly match our power needs with our future power production. They also made sure our house could accommodate the number of panels we needed and of course the roof had to be able to support the additional weight. In addition to the panels, we had to select a location for the power converter dealie-wackers. In our case, these were three large wall-mounted devices that live in our garage. Some people put them outside but it’s quite an eyesore. Something to keep in mind is that these things make quite a bit of noise during the day. As they process the energy, they make a rhythmic clicking sound that can easily be heard in the guest bedroom on the other side of the garage wall.

To Buy or Lease?

While on the surface this might seem like a big part of the decision, but for us it was a no-brainer. We found the purchase price to be prohibitively expensive (approximately $35,000) so we went for the lease program. The lease locks us in at a monthly price of $220 for 20 years and ensures the system will continue to be operational for the duration of that period. If we sell the house, the new owner simply takes over the lease. And after about six years, we’ll have the option to purchase again at the appropriate reduced cost. I doubt we’ll take that option.

How Does it Work?

It’s not as simple as you might think. I was originally under the impression that solar panels would pull us “off the grid” and we would be self-sufficient but that’s not how it works. The solar panels produce energy and that energy is sent back to the electric company. They keep track of our production as it offsets our usage. So we still pull power from the electric company just like we always have, but the power we send to the electric company cancels out the power we draw. If we produce more than we consume, we will get paid for the unused energy. The value of that payment is something that seems to be in flux and it was recently lowered.

The Financials

Our electric bill used to average $350 and increased each year. We use dramatically more energy in the summer due to the constant running of air conditioners so we rely on a level-pay program to keep our bill predictable each month. So now that our solar panels are compensating for our energy use, our electric bill amounts to about $20/month. Just by virtue of being connected to the grid, there will always be small associated fees that need to be paid. Our total monthly payment is:

$20 (electric company) + $220 (lease fee) = $240 Total
Savings: At least $110/month

Because our panels were set up to handle our worst case usage scenario, we won’t likely see a change in our monthly bill for a very long time and we generally over-produce each month. Furthermore, this setup insulates us from energy price increases as the lionshare of our bill is going to our lease and not the electric company. Of course there may be unforeseen circumstances that cause us to regret our decision to go this route, but now that we are two years into this arrangement I have to say we are extremely happy with it. Below you can see a graphic showing our power production for the last 14 months with some cool statistics about what that amount of energy equates to.

Don’t Take My Word For It!

Do your research. As I mentioned before, the laws are ever-changing and the system (government and big utilities) seems to be set up to discourage folks from incorporating alternative energy sources into their homes. For example, I heard recently that they are considering a special surcharge for folks who have solar panels and efforts are already underway in Oklahoma. I’ll refrain from getting too political here but let’s just say it can be incredibly frustrating for people who are just trying to “do the right thing.”

If you already have solar, I’d love to hear about your experiences. And if the laws are different in your area, I’d love to hear about that too. Let’s compare notes!

Every time I discuss electrical power as it relates to the shop someone will inevitably bring up the question of solar energy. After all, I’m in the “Valley of the Sun” and if anyone should be able to harness the awesome power of that big ball of fire in the sky it should be Phoenicians with our 296 days of sunshine per year! Well, you might be surprised to know that I actually do have solar panels and I thought it would be helpful to share my story and experience. This is not meant to be a guide to solar energy and I’m not really prepared (or qualified) to give much advice on the topic. When you dig into the world of alternative energy you’ll quickly find out that there’s a lot of ever-changing local laws, regulations, and red tape that will dictate what you can and can’t do so be sure to do your research. If anything, my hope is that this blog post encourages you to look into your options with realistic expectations.

Our Setup

When we decided to go solar, the company we hired did an audit of our electrical usage over the last few years. Their goal was to correctly match our power needs with our future power production. They also made sure our house could accommodate the number of panels we needed and of course the roof had to be able to support the additional weight. In addition to the panels, we had to select a location for the power converter dealie-wackers. In our case, these were three large wall-mounted devices that live in our garage. Some people put them outside but it’s quite an eyesore. Something to keep in mind is that these things make quite a bit of noise during the day. As they process the energy, they make a rhythmic clicking sound that can easily be heard in the guest bedroom on the other side of the garage wall.

To Buy or Lease?

While on the surface this might seem like a big part of the decision, but for us it was a no-brainer. We found the purchase price to be prohibitively expensive (approximately $35,000) so we went for the lease program. The lease locks us in at a monthly price of $220 for 20 years and ensures the system will continue to be operational for the duration of that period. If we sell the house, the new owner simply takes over the lease. And after about six years, we’ll have the option to purchase again at the appropriate reduced cost. I doubt we’ll take that option.

How Does it Work?

It’s not as simple as you might think. I was originally under the impression that solar panels would pull us “off the grid” and we would be self-sufficient but that’s not how it works. The solar panels produce energy and that energy is sent back to the electric company. They keep track of our production as it offsets our usage. So we still pull power from the electric company just like we always have, but the power we send to the electric company cancels out the power we draw. If we produce more than we consume, we will get paid for the unused energy. The value of that payment is something that seems to be in flux and it was recently lowered.

The Financials

Our electric bill used to average $350 and increased each year. We use dramatically more energy in the summer due to the constant running of air conditioners so we rely on a level-pay program to keep our bill predictable each month. So now that our solar panels are compensating for our energy use, our electric bill amounts to about $20/month. Just by virtue of being connected to the grid, there will always be small associated fees that need to be paid. Our total monthly payment is:

$20 (electric company) + $220 (lease fee) = $240 Total

Savings: At least $110/month

Because our panels were set up to handle our worst case usage scenario, we won’t likely see a change in our monthly bill for a very long time and we generally over-produce each month. Furthermore, this setup insulates us from energy price increases as the lionshare of our bill is going to our lease and not the electric company. Of course there may be unforeseen circumstances that cause us to regret our decision to go this route, but now that we are two years into this arrangement I have to say we are extremely happy with it. Below you can see a graphic showing our power production for the last 14 months with some cool statistics about what that amount of energy equates to.

Don’t Take My Word For It!

Do your research. As I mentioned before, the laws are ever-changing and the system (government and big utilities) seems to be set up to discourage folks from incorporating alternative energy sources into their homes. For example, I heard recently that they are considering a special surcharge for folks who have solar panels and efforts are already underway in Oklahoma. I’ll refrain from getting too political here but let’s just say it can be incredibly frustrating for people who are just trying to “do the right thing.”

If you already have solar, I’d love to hear about your experiences. And if the laws are different in your area, I’d love to hear about that too. Let’s compare notes!

The post Solar Power for the Workshop? appeared first on The Wood Whisperer.

‘Tis the season… When we build projects for all of the relatives on our gift list.

Sure, there have been years when Aunt Mabel wants a cutting board, mom wants a picture frame, your cousin Vinny wants a cigar humidor, and you built individual projects for each.

But it’s so much more efficient to build one kind of project for everyone. This way, everyone on the list gets the same item built in steps. You can cut all the pieces with the table saw fence set to the right width, cut mortises with the router bits set to the right depth, etc. Essentially, it becomes production work.

So this week, tell us if you’ve built multiple copies of a particular project and how many you’ve batched out!

How many copies of one project have you ever built at one time?

The plans have been drawn up. The tools have been sharpened. The shop has been prepped. The only thing you need to do is buy wood to build that special project.

Now, where will you get the wood from?

In years past, there was little choice. All lumber was bought locally at a hardwood supplier, construction yard, or at a local sawmill.

Today, the Internet offers a tremendous variety of sources to choose from. Whether you look at an online auction such as eBay or find an online provider such as Bell Forest Products, your purchasing options are seemingly limitless.

So this week, let us know if you have ever taken the plunge and bought your lumber online.

Have you ever bought wood for your projects online?

You know what’s coming up this week here in the United States: Thanksgiving!

And, immediately following Thanksgiving is Black Friday where people lose their minds, wait in hours-long lines and attempt to buy every single holiday gift in a frenzy of shopping bliss. Which is also followed by Cyber Monday, the first day back to work from the holiday when many of us – ahem – ‘borrow’ the bandwidth of our employers to do a little online shopping.

It’s an annual rite and no matter how much we dislike it we continue to do it year after year. Sometimes, the sales are even awesome for us woodworkers.

So this week, the question is will you be buying any woodworking tools this coming Black Friday or Cyber Monday or will you be staying out of the fray?

November is rolling by! The stores have had their holiday decorations up since, I dunno, the end of summer? Like it or not the holiday season is bearing down on us like a runaway sleigh pulled by nine crazy flying reindeer and it’s only picking up speed.

So it’s time to for the annual question: Are you building any holiday presents this year? Is it a given that you will, or are you surprised by just how quickly time is flying by? We asked this question last year too so click here to see those results.

Let’s face it, hanging out in the shop is fun. As woodworkers, we take the money other folks would spend on golf clubs, fishing tackle or bowling balls and blow it on miter saws, hand planes and cabinet scrapers. We could spend hours standing in the same place in our shop using a belt sander to flatten a poorly glued end-grain cutting board and actually enjoy it.

But as always seems to be the case, we never have enough shop time. All of those little obligations that we agreed to, or were thrust upon us by others, tend to soak up the time we would otherwise spend creating masterpieces in the shop.

So this week, we want to know what you consider to be the greatest obstacle to getting more shop time. Is it family? Work? Something else?

There are plenty of different types of woodworking projects. Turnings. Cabinetry. Lutherie. Believe me, if there are plenty of choices. But, then there are decorations. Woodworking projects that are just used seasonally to make your yard or home look more festive.

Whether they are decorative reindeer for Christmas, red white and blue decorations for Independence Day or even spooky coffins like the one I built a few years back to add some fright to the Halloween decorations in the yard, you have lots of options out there for bringing a unique woodworking element to your holiday celebrations.

So today, tell us if you have ever built a decorative holiday themed project.

In order to get tight joinery and excellent results with your woodworking projects, you have to start with flat, straight and true boards. And, when it comes to edge jointing your boards, there are lots of options out there.

From shelling out big bucks for an aircraft carrier sized jointer to some clever and creative work arounds, everyone has their favorite method for getting their boards edge jointed.

So, what is your preference? How do you get those arrow straight board edges when it comes time to mill your lumber?

Dovetails. One of the toughest joints to master, yet one of the prettiest to look at.

There are lots of ways to cut a dovetail joint, but any way you go, the cutting starts with careful marking of baselines (shoulders) for the pins or tails.

Here comes the question – how do you mark those baselines? Do you use a square to mark those baselines from the edge of the board, or do you use a gauge to mark the baseline from the end of the board? Do you even cut dovetails to begin with?