Great Stuff foam has foam that has a bitterent in it. It’s made to keep mice and other burrowing critters out. I’ve been using it in the house anywhere I find mice have been traveling. So far they haven’t come back through the foam. I need to start using it in the barn. I used a bunch of the pond foam because it’s black and doesn’t show up in the timbers as much, but I found that mice will burrow through the stuff.
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I’ll second the cat.
Barn cats != house cats. A barn cat may need additional food put down, but they’ll use the bathroom in the yard, so nothing to clean up there.
Our house cat spends about half her time outside. We don’t have a rodent problem. She’s barely a house cat in that I can pet her, but the kids are afraid of her.
Good luck with your plans for the day.
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I got some surprise conference calls today, but I’m freeing up. It snowed last night, it’s overcast, and it’s 20F outside, but you guys said to tackle the shed! I’ll put on some long underwear and head out, hopefully I make it an hour and come back in for some more coffee and some laptop work (TS design or sandify work, probably).
Thanks for the help you guys/gals, that was a fun day of cleaning out the shed. It’s a lot of hard work to do. Everything is hard, cold, and dusty, but I think I crossed over the threshold today. I cleaned from top to bottom and front to back. If there’s any more mouse poop in there, I’d be shocked.
If there’s any more mouse poop in there I am going to Great Stuff Foam seal everything like Barry said. And add some poison like Aaryn said.
Here are some more pictures from today:
The “Attic” before:
The “workbench” before:
The thermostat (still broken):
One half after:
Door side after:
Attic after:
There aren’t any good hiding places on the floor. The loose tools are in those boxes (one is vacuum stuff I haven’t installed yet and one is random things that probably don’t belong in the shed). I cleaned out the table saw, completely cleaned and moved the bench, threw away a ton of crap and some more crap.
I have some more of the table saw stand designed I just need to figure out the wheels, and I think I already have all the material. 
[attachment file=“screenshot-2019-02-22-1550878625.png”]
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With all these moving boxes and stuff in two places I am sooooo envious of anything being tidy! There was (past tense I hope) a rodent problem in my new shed as well. I need to get in there and clean it up. That shop seems like a pretty good size, it would be cool to roll stuff out into the lawn on a nice day and work in the sun.
It’s 16x10. It should be nice and big, but it always has felt cramped. About a week ago I got rid of some cabinets and that has helped.
It would be awesome to have a little patio outside the door. There is a sort of beer garden feel right outside with the trees and gravel. The ground goes up though, so I’d need to dig, I guess to get it flatter.
Well, that is better than working outside, a fantastic place to take a break from working.
Some updates on the TS table. I’ve gotten a little away from the CAD, but I think it’s for the best. The biggest trouble I’ve had is actually figuring out how to move it into place, since the saw hangs from the top. Anyway…
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I first got the top rails cut and the joints cut. Those seem good. I think they won’t be enough supoort for the outfeed. I will add some supoort. I am going to find a way to get the router to cut the rabbet for the sheets.
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I build a solid base and this is super sturdy on some serious wheels. I think I am ready for the saw. It’s been hard, since I need the saw intact to make the stand.
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These vertical support pieces are from a 2x12 I used as a temporary workbench, so I’m happy it’s getting incorporated here.
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This side is made from LSL, or LAM, or something. I like the looks and I like how stable it is.
The little chamfer detail, love.
I also found out that these 5/16" 2" bolts that I have approx. 1M of can be used to attach these casters amd thread right into the wood with an appropriate predrill.
[attachment file=97620]
Just predrill and then use an impact driver to drive them in. IDK if they would hold up after multiple attempts, but I won’t be removing these anytime soon.
Looks like you’re making progress. Should look real nice once you’re finished.
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I have installed the saw and installed the top panels. Each panel is installed using just air nails so I can remove them if I need to add anything. I am thinking of adding a chamfer on the edges and then adding some water based poly to it.
[attachment file=98692]
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Also, I spent a bunch of time cleaning up the beer garden.
Now I have a problem of a huge pile of branches. I drive a small station wagon. Any ideas on how to get rid of it? Rent a woodchipper? Hire a tree trimming company? Let nature take its course? Break them into tiny pieces and put them in the trash?
Around here we use a match. A yard like that should really have a fire pit in it, no? Kids LOVE roasting weiners and marshmallows…
This is a biiiig pile. And we live in the suburbs. We do have a tiny fire pit but enevitably, the kids want to start it, but lose interest and I’m stuck with it.
Does your city not do bulk trash?
We have a very large pile of tree limbs by the street. Called the city and they’re showing up tomorrow with a mulching machine to pick it all up. We’re allowed 4 bulk pick ups a year.
Otherwise, I’d rent a wood chipper. That’s a lot of good mulch you can use on other parts of the yard.
Regarding the surface of your table saw… I would consider leaving natural and rubbing in a few coats of a good furniture wax/polish to help make it slick. That way anything you push through the table saw slides out the back easily. I’ve had problems with poly being sticky. Then again, I guess you could polish the poly every so often to make it slick too.
The poly will get wax on after that. For sure. I don’t like wax straight on the wood. It keeps too much texture.
I built a dust box under the hood (man, I really should have done this before I installed the TS…).
This is what it looks like inside the saw (from the slot in the front):
And I used a thingiverse magnet dust collection port which works OK, but not as good as I was hoping: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3649394
Now, it’s time for some work… Maybe…
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I like it. I keep eyeing my LR table, I really want to squeeze my TS in there. This is helping to motivate me.
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That looks really good!
My table saw needs a chute added to the bottom of it too.
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