What's going on in your shop?

[fisharmor]

Well? Being productive, or not?

I've been restoring tools recently. Here's a Disston of my Dad's.




What I've learned recently is that another reason to go with hand tools for woodworking, is that if you're not doing production work, then the amount of time you spend $#@!ing with your power tools very likely outweighs the amount of time you save by using them. I can do a hand saw in two nights of easy work, spread among other things I have going on.

Then there's this beast.



Seriously, all I $#@!ing wanted to do was correct a 1/64" blade misalignment. (I'm sure the previous owner thought he nailed it, but I don't even have a dial indicator and could tell it was off.) And it didn't want to budge. So I'm teaching it to do what I tell it to.



A guy with a YouTube channel called "NelsonStudios" has a great Craftsman 113 rebuilt series.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfFp...etC4ViYybituJA

He's where I got the idea to paint the undersides of the table and the inside of the box brilliant white. For when you're fumbling around looking for a dropped washer - it reflects extra light onto where you're looking. It's something I'm going to incorporate in all my tools and work surfaces from now on.

This whole project is a catharsis for me since I ran my left hand over a table saw 20 years ago and haven't been able to play guitar since then. I've been playing with metal as a rule since then, largely because I don't want to get maimed again, but it occurred to me that I do like woodworking, and metalwork hasn't exactly been easy on me, as the doc at the urgent care clinic and I are on a first name basis.

[oyarde]

Mostly I drink beer in the shop and tell the Mrs I am busy and to quit breaking sh!t .

[Carlybee]

I don't have one

[oyarde]

I don't have one

You deserve one .

[navy-vet]

clever idea there fa

[luctor-et-emergo]

Not much goes on there now apart from storing tools and materials. Fortunately/unfortunately depending on the perspective I'm quite busy so not too much time to spend in the shop.

[presence]

this past month I:

turned a salvaged stainless dishwasher front door into a drip tray that fits between my oak barrel and oak bottom board on my apple press.

welded a post pounder out of some pipe and steel bar

built a pocket sliding door out of some 2x10s, roller blade wheels, and the angle iron from a bed frame to separate my garage and basement

ran 200 sqft of inch thick curly maple through the jointer and table saw for my bedroom floor

rebuilt my indoor firewood rack; now holds 2 cord and is easier access for load/unload

pressed 12.5 gallons of apple juice (first press of the season)

machined a custom tool for adjusting valves on my friends diesel tractor

finally got my rebuilt head on my detroit 3-53 to idle properly

raised my shed up on new blocks and 6x6's instead of just 4x4's on a gravel bed... also had to replace a sill beam because of black ants




took two solid flesh wounds for my work...

on sliding door project... shattered a 4.5" 30,000 rpm fibre disk which sent shrapnel into my left hand... could have used a few stitches... meh bandaid is good
on shed project... sliced open finger on righty while using sledge hammer and my hand brushed against some sharp metal... could have used a few stitches... meh bandaid is good

should get some nice scars

[Chester Copperpot]

I interpreted "shop" to mean "business" so if nobody minds.. Ive recently decided to go back into professional fundraising.. go the company all set up and now just going thru some paperwork with the state to get everything approved.. should be done in a week... you guys know how that stuff is... i had been in the business for many years but got out of it a few years after feeling burnt out... but since beating cancer this year I decided Im not going to have any regrets and there are definite aspects of the fundraising business that are fun... I primarily service public safety groups for police, firefighters, and EMS.. but also some veterans stuff and some charitable things like cancer etc..

So if anybody knows any cops or firefighters that need a good fundraiser send them my way and If we work out a deal ill be happy to throw you a nice finders fee.

[fisharmor]

could have used a few stitches... meh bandaid is good

My rule of thumb is, if I can clearly make out subcutaneous fat, I'm gonna get it stitched.
Otherwise, it's to the kitchen - have an Ikea magnet container on the fridge, full of CA glue for the sole purpose of putting skin back together.

('Cause a band-aid gets in the way of getting back to work.)

[Brian4Liberty]

Well? Being productive, or not?

I've been restoring tools recently. Here's a Disston of my Dad's.

What a coincidence. Restore in process right now with a Disston. Have two of them, one has a broken handle.

[helmuth_hubener]

I have an Ikea magnet container on the fridge, full of CA glue for the sole purpose of putting skin back together.

That's super!

[presence]

My rule of thumb is, if I can clearly make out subcutaneous fat, I'm gonna get it stitched.

lol, I should have got both stitched on that rule, there were definitely little parts I needed to tuck back under before I wrapped up.

my rule is if my wife bitches enough about the drops of blood I'm leaving everywhere I'll eventually stitch myself shut.

both these last two wounds had me woozy enough where I had to lay down for a sec and have a lollipop to get my head straight

luckily still toting ten fingers with me


so true story.... I'm working a med booth at a festival... kid comes in all $#@!ed up on drugs and with huge gash on his head... apparently took a beat down for selling bad drugs. So anyway... I recommend we glue the kid's face shut and send him on his way... wound really needs 5 or 6 stitches but is totally treatable with some crazy glue. EMT thinks I'm nuts and has never heard of gluing people shut... but kids bleeding... no better ideas are presented and eventually I convince him its the correct thing to do. Well EMT dude says that he has to do it because I'm not legit / have no paperwork. k whatever; I've glued myself shut many a time as a contractor... but dip$#@! with no experience has the permit. So EMT dude proceeds to spread this gash wide open on the kids face and get the glue all up under the skin then squeezes it back shut like the goal was to glue it from the underside/inside. Holy hell. I was bug eyed. We sent the kid out the door and never saw him again.

[tod evans]

Just pulled off a long remodel, got another to start tomorrow then a year+ office furniture/ conference room gig...

[presence]

cool technique for driving common nails into concrete I learned a while back, just drill hole a little bigger than the nail... then put a piece of bailing wire into the hole first (or a zip tie) then drive the nail home. No need for tapcons or special hardened concrete nails.

[tod evans]

cool technique for driving common nails into concrete I learned a while back, just drill hole a little bigger than the nail... then put a piece of bailing wire into the hole first (or a zip tie) then drive the nail home. No need for tapcons or special hardened concrete nails.

3 16p Paslode gun-nails driven together in a bunch fit tightly in a 1/4" hole....

[Anti Federalist]

finally got my rebuilt head on my detroit 3-53 to idle properly

Really?

What was the problem?

I know the 53 and 71 series pretty well, might have been able to help out.

[Anti Federalist]

Front pads and rotors on the wife's jeep.

[presence]

Really?

What was the problem?

I know the 53 and 71 series pretty well, might have been able to help out.

I've been on a 2x monthly for 3 hours schedule with it... so there's that, then

the head bolts in that beast are 180 ftlbs... that was a mail order tool I didn't have...
the first time I bolted every thing down I had one of the old bad injectors in... much frustration and realization later
second time I bolted it down I had a corner of that rubber band head gasket out of track
The kill switch thing that cuts the air flow off wasn't staying open correctly... had to file a little to get the trigger to lock, can't tell you how many times I thought I opened it but didn't.
wiring issues had to be dealt with
did a filter and lube; air, two fuel, oil, hydro oil

but the damn thing just wouldn't purr... so thought maybe fuel issue
ordered fuel pressure gauge... installed... got good pressure
put clear fuel return line in with loop... no bubbles

what really hung the whole thing up...

factory manual says 1.460 on injectors; I finished out closer to 1.570; mass frustration before realization
factory manual says .025 on valves; I had to shorten my after market valve rods 1/8 inch to get them not to rub as they were bottomed at that point; again mass frustration before realization
check and rechecked my top dead marks upteen times (because factory didn't come with any)
amid the frustration I bent a valve rod, 3 weeks to get a new one for $9 or overnight for $67; I'll wait thanks.
then after getting new rods in... tightened bolts down to spec and one sheered; it was one of those ones that holds down the valves and is oil filled. had to easyout. it being oil filled it already had a hole in it so was one of the easyiest outs of any easyout I'd ever easy'd out. then new bolt: 3 weeks; or rush delivery for arm and leg... 3 weeks.
then my governor was all out of whack.... plus those rack bolts for adjusting the valves gave hell for a while; I ended up wrapping the spring around twice to get good movement in the rack... probably need a new spring; old one wrapped twice is good for now though.


that and I've never messed with a 2 stroke before and neither has my veteran heli-mechanic buddy I'm working on it with... so learning curve

We're going to do one more day on it of fine adjustment before we put a valve cover gasket on for winter, but it sounds nice right now and its a lot easier to breathe around

Next season I get the hydros sealed up proper; need about $1500 in hoses, steering hydro unit rebuild, and front bucket levers rebuilt. Rear levers need all new connecting pins as they're worn pretty bad and I'll probably have to bore them over to 10mm.

Then new bushings on the bucket; maybe a whole new bucket system as mine's pretty beat... I'm thinking of going with a wain roy XLS system

oh... and no brakes yet... or lights, could probably talk myself into some tires but lets no go there yet.

[Suzanimal]

Welp, I have a bagger for the riding mower I've been trying to assemble and get on the thing but Mr Animal has been busy messing around at the golf course in his spare time. He mentioned to me that he wanted a new driver. I was at the ghetto thrift store and saw one that looked new, was a brand I recognized, and came with a cool GA Bulldogs cover so I bought it. Cover and all I paid $3.00. Apparently, it's a $300.00 Ping driver and he's been showing it off all over town.

[Anti Federalist]

Wow, holy $#@!, what a tribulation.

Glad to hear it's running well now.

I've been on a 2x monthly for 3 hours schedule with it... so there's that, then

the head bolts in that beast are 180 ftlbs... that was a mail order tool I didn't have...
the first time I bolted every thing down I had one of the old bad injectors in... much frustration and realization later
second time I bolted it down I had a corner of that rubber band head gasket out of track
The kill switch thing that cuts the air flow off wasn't staying open correctly... had to file a little to get the trigger to lock, can't tell you how many times I thought I opened it but didn't.
wiring issues had to be dealt with
did a filter and lube; air, two fuel, oil, hydro oil

but the damn thing just wouldn't purr... so thought maybe fuel issue
ordered fuel pressure gauge... installed... got good pressure
put clear fuel return line in with loop... no bubbles

what really hung the whole thing up...

factory manual says 1.460 on injectors; I finished out closer to 1.570; mass frustration before realization
factory manual says .025 on valves; I had to shorten my after market valve rods 1/8 inch to get them not to rub as they were bottomed at that point; again mass frustration before realization
check and rechecked my top dead marks upteen times (because factory didn't come with any)
amid the frustration I bent a valve rod, 3 weeks to get a new one for $9 or overnight for $67; I'll wait thanks.
then after getting new rods in... tightened bolts down to spec and one sheered; it was one of those ones that holds down the valves and is oil filled. had to easyout. it being oil filled it already had a hole in it so was one of the easyiest outs of any easyout I'd ever easy'd out. then new bolt: 3 weeks; or rush delivery for arm and leg... 3 weeks.
then my governor was all out of whack.... plus those rack bolts for adjusting the valves gave hell for a while; I ended up wrapping the spring around twice to get good movement in the rack... probably need a new spring; old one wrapped twice is good for now though.


that and I've never messed with a 2 stroke before and neither has my veteran heli-mechanic buddy I'm working on it with... so learning curve

We're going to do one more day on it of fine adjustment before we put a valve cover gasket on for winter, but it sounds nice right now and its a lot easier to breathe around

Next season I get the hydros sealed up proper; need about $1500 in hoses, steering hydro unit rebuild, and front bucket levers rebuilt. Rear levers need all new connecting pins as they're worn pretty bad and I'll probably have to bore them over to 10mm.

Then new bushings on the bucket; maybe a whole new bucket system as mine's pretty beat... I'm thinking of going with a wain roy XLS system

oh... and no brakes yet... or lights, could probably talk myself into some tires but lets no go there yet.

[presence]

Wow, holy $#@!, what a tribulation.

These things happen when you buy a 7 ton, 50 year old, formerly state road crew owned, limited obscure edition backhoe for $2000


I didn't even mention the day spent changing out all the grease fittings that hadn't seen grease in god knows how long.

[oyarde]

Last week , I carved a small detent into a tomahawk handle and stuck a Wheat penny in it and drilled a small hole dead center and attached it with a copper nail. Figured I will know it is one of mine .

[presence]

some other shop projects taken on this season:

installed new $20 crankshaft position sensor in my TDI... which required removing a motor mount. fun! first new sensor installed was dead on arrival. nice! installed new $20 crankshaft position sensor in my TDI again! which again required removing a motor mount.


then two weeks later blew a injector seal on the TDI... thought it was a valve seal at first... so new valve cover gasket... that did nothing.... then realized it was actually injector seal... let me just tell u.... one must go into full $#@!ing beast mode to slide hammer out a tdi injector with 250k miles on it. What finally got it was tying a tshirt around the hammer and sling shotting it with more leverage... nonetheless injector out... seat cleaned and polished, new copper ring... injector back in.... 45mpg purring down the road again While at it I slide hammer'd out all the injectors in my parts engine... when I get some spare cash they'll get sent out for rebuild and new oversize tips... then into my jetta they go

salt has destroyed my rockers on the jetta... so I welded on some heavy C channel so you can still put my rig on a lift; was lucky the road crew dumped a some old steel road sign posts mixed in the fill dirt they're using to fill in a gorge in the state forest; so steel was a score. I like to think I was cleaning up litter.


then

rebuilt the tranny on my scag; its one of those peerless trannies thats supposed to be full of bentonite grease; once greased from the factory lasts for life, never open... yeah so it was empty... cleaned it out... new bearings and bushings... packed it with high temp bearing grease (green lucas) and sealed the box with silicone. then blew a front tire on the scag... then blew a rear tire on the scag... then idler pulley went... fixed fixed fixed since I was at it I made some new hand grips w/ inch pvc pipe/caps... oh and new magneto because mice chewed through the integral spark plug wire. and gave the carb a pinesol bath and new rubbers because it needed it.

a fun project this year... I torched one of the rear hubs off the rear beam of one of my parts cars... then I welded a plate to it and mounted it to a large log so it spins on a vertical axis. Then put the tire back on filled with anti freeze for weight and cut out a circle of plywood that fits like a hub cap. My kid now has a flywheel style pottery wheel

something coming up that's been on the list for a while is building a wool picker; our mattress is a home made custom canvas pouch that holds 8" of sheep's wool we've cleaned over the seasons; maybe 30-40 sheep worth... and its due for a pickin' in the mrs' eyes; so far I have the lumber milled, planed, jointed, and ripped square... I have 300 16d bright common nails ground to hella sharp points. Only thing left is to design and build a picker. I'm torn between swing picker and slide picker... probably go slide because its easier to store when not in use. Really been putting it off too long, but it seems like there's always something more pressing. Especially it being apple pressing season

[presence]

Last week , I carved a small detent into a tomahawk handle and stuck a Wheat penny in it and drilled a small hole dead center and attached it with a copper nail. Figured I will know it is one of mine .

nice

I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it but.... mrs asked me to make a business card holder a few months back when she was doing a garage sale at a friend's place.... so I took a 1x6x10" block of curly maple and stacked a smaller block of cherry burl that has a slot in it to hold the cards... all edges rounded through the router; surfaced to 600 grit and tung oiled. The two boards are held together with six bronze nails.

[fisharmor]

Front pads and rotors on the wife's jeep.

Funny, I had to do everything down to the calipers on the wife's Vue two weeks ago.
I'm not into cars.... I just consider some auto repair work to be like painting... I'm not paying someone else to do it unless I have to.

Dad was the same way and ended up teaching me on Saturday mornings growing up because the man has giant hands and at some point in the 80s they stopped fitting in the guts of his cars. So I got to do stuff like reach thermostat bolts and listen to him bitch about how Toyota was revenge for Hiroshima.

[fisharmor]

Also, Presence man, take some pics of this stuff! I'd love to see that pottery getup.

[TheTexan]

I primarily service public safety groups for police, firefighters, and EMS..

+rep its awesome that you get to do something you can be proud of, helping our heroes in blue

[presence]

Also, Presence man, take some pics of this stuff! I'd love to see that pottery getup.

sent pm with pics

[oyarde]

nice

I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it but.... mrs asked me to make a business card holder a few months back when she was doing a garage sale at a friend's place.... so I took a 1x6x10" block of curly maple and stacked a smaller block of cherry burl that has a slot in it to hold the cards... all edges rounded through the router; surfaced to 600 grit and tung oiled. The two boards are held together with six bronze nails.

I bet that is cool , some burl with bronze nails would be sweet.

[tod evans]

A friend just brought me a nice Greenfield No.7 tap wrench in really nice condition because he knew I like American tools...