rattle_snake's random shop projects v0.1

[Bigblue&Goldie]

I can give a shout out to Sonny's Upholstery in Tempe; they did a nice job on my truck recently.

 

[SilverJimmy]

For changing the oil in your out drive get a cheap bug/roundup sprayer, the kind with a hand pump on top. Just remove the sprayer tip and put a rubber blowgun tip on it. Makes it pretty simple to pump the oil in from the bottom up. We had metal sprayers converted over to do this, but I think a garden sprayer will hold up for home use.

 

[plain2car]

BB&G I will look into sonny's, I will soon be looking to get the seats done on my daily driving '86 C10 build.... (Justin that is a chevy model....LOL!!) thanks!

 

[ntsqd]

I had the Subaru seats in my '73 C10 SBSS and in the '96 CTD reupholstered in the same tweed used on Mastercraft and similar off road racing seats. The stuff is super durable and doesn't stick to you when hot.

 

[slodat]

Justin- I use 3M Adhesive Remover(08984). It has never damaged anything I’ve put it on. Widely available and a little goes a long way.

 

[rattle_snake]

Thanks for the adhesive removal advice. I used WD40, it worked well enough. Put down some vinyl repair tape to cover the holes so nobody gets a foot caught in it. Eventually I'll get it fixed properly, again. Thanks for recommendations.

 

[rattle_snake]

For changing the oil in your out drive get a cheap bug/roundup sprayer, the kind with a hand pump on top. Just remove the sprayer tip and put a rubber blowgun tip on it. Makes it pretty simple to pump the oil in from the bottom up. We had metal sprayers converted over to do this, but I think a garden sprayer will hold up for home use.

I did see something similar for sale, and considered using one of the spare sprayer I have. But I ended up buying a 12V pump. Have the wiring sorted out, I'm able to use the high current charge lines. Cut the battery clamps off the pump and put on a SAE 2 pin and it all plugs together nicely. Just need some fittings to adapter to 1/4 hose.

 

[rattle_snake]

I have been making my own cables and found out that they had no pants on. How embarrassing. So I ordered some cable pants in 10mm size. They make for a cleaner look.

 

[rattle_snake]

Spent 6 hrs on Sunday wiring my daughters Accord for subwoofers, escaping the heat in the A/C'd shop. Ran a 4 ga power wire from battery through a breaker, and through firewall. Found an accessible wire bundle grommet, poked a hole and was able to slip the wire through with some lube. The back seat doesn't fold down and is well sealed off from the truck. Had to remove more interior pieces than I though but got it done.


There wasn't really a good place on the dash to place the remote gain control knob. I ended up choosing to place it inside one of the compartments to conceal. Took the dash apart to do a better job, since I had already done it before.


Although the RF amp has high level inputs, I chose to get a level converter that had the remote gain control, and sensing for a turn on wire. I cut and crimped female spades on the rear speaker wires. I can't bring myself to use those taps.... Made a wire harness for the converter to amplifier.


We took a dad/daughter trip to the fabric store and she picked out some light blue flannel material. I made a pattern, cut, and sewed up the corners. Put down a layer of batting under the fabric to soften the look. Installed the equipment and ready to go in the car.


Made a 4 ga ground cable and found an existing hole to use. Sanded the paint off and put in a stud for ground wire. The RCA cable I bought is too short, so I just hooked it up for now. Will go back and tidy up the wiring, hide the converter, etc. Fired up the system, checked input signal polarity, and adjusted the gains. It bumps pretty good for what it is. Easy to overdrive so will have to explain how not to damage. May need to be secured to the car, will see if it slides around.

 

[rattle_snake]

'Oil change required' message was on in wife's explorer so maintenance time again. Racked, drained, filter swap, refill, clean up all in 40 min. No spills of spatters. I think that is a 1st.
Poked around a bit. Time for air filter. Just put 4 new tires on. 54k. Daughter car is next. Never stops.

 

[OutlawDrifter]

'Oil change required' message was on in wife's explorer so maintenance time again. Racked, drained, filter swap, refill, clean up all in 40 min. No spills of spatters. I think that is a 1st.
Poked around a bit. Time for air filter. Just put 4 new tires on. 54k. Daughter car is next. Never stops.

Audio upgrade in the Honda looks good! I dig the harness with the converter. Is it still running off the factory HU?

Every time I think I'm caught up on oil changes or maintenance there is always an "aaahhhhh ****, that one too" moment.

 

[rattle_snake]

Yes it has the factory head. We added a Bluetooth module to the system, as there is an input for a 'CD changer', if you remember those. Factory speakers, just adding the low end so it has a soul.

I have a few of 'that one too'. Some cabin air filters. I bet the air filter on my Cobra is filthy, doesn't take much time. Tag expired, finally got last readiness item to set today, so can do emissions. Bike needs tags. Then truck emissions and tags.

 

[plain2car]

man Justin!! I am afraid to ask what your going rate is to be a friend!!! although it would be worth every "penny".... now if only we could dress you up a bit with a....... "bowtie"!!!! DDOOOHHH!! ....

 

[rattle_snake]

man Justin!! I am afraid to ask what your going rate is to be a friend!!! although it would be worth every "penny".... now if only we could dress you up a bit with a....... "bowtie"!!!! DDOOOHHH!! ....

Friend rate is free with inclusion of 6-pack.

Oh I've got a bowtie, worked on it last night. Farted around with the HVAC again. Defrost is stuck on with dash vent not working, but at least I can get some air to come out the foot vents. This allows more air through the system. Found a Vid that shows location of actuator, looks like I may be able to turn with screw driver and get vents to work.

 

[rattle_snake]

I made an incorrect assumption in thinking my oil pump had 3/4 FPT ports, however it doesn't. It had 25mm fine thread o-ring fittings.
Found some hose to use on suction side, but for pressure side didn't want to find out if it would hold during the job in a hot ditch. Ended up welding a steel reducer fitting to the metric deal. Turned down a step on the lathe to fit inside and buzzed it up. Now it's 3/8 FPT, to 1/4 barb. Plan to do the outdrive over long weekend.

 

[rattle_snake]

Boat outdrive oil change went OK. The pump was able to handle the 90w. Got warm but wiring and whatnot good enough. I did manage to spill some waste oil trying to open the shop door with hands full, but I guess that's just part of the process.

 

[rattle_snake]

Finished out the wiring on daughter's car. Was able to reroute the wiring into a single bundle and stash the converter box out of sight.

 

[rattle_snake]

Spent some time over the long weekend to work on my absurd shop chandelier project. Committed to a design, went with a vented alignment in a big *** box. 6.75 cu ft with four external 4" ports ~34" long. This yields a box resonance at 28 Hz and -3db @ 34. I chose a cube shape, 24" on a side. A poor choice from standing wave perspective, but goal is to have fun and I liked the aesthetics of the cube. Plus it works well with 49x97 MDF sheet. I proceeded to cut up an entire 3/4 MDF sheet into 8 squares. 6 sides and 2 internal braces. I would love to have a CNC router, but I don't. Since I was already setting up router to cut a 16-5/8" hole for the driver, I used same for design on braces. Swoopy and cool looking, but not visible in the end.


The bracing is needed in the middle of the sides, so made cut outs for the driver and the ports. Driver will face down, ports at the top of the sides. I glued up the box and got this far before realizing the bracing was in backwards. Glue wasn't fully dry so I was able to disassemble and configure properly.




And now it makes sense to have the pi/2 radian relief for port mouth.

 

[rattle_snake]

With box assembled I went on to the ports. Using elbows just because, to make it less boring.


The ends need support, so I drew up some brackets in CAD and cut out the set on the plasma. The torch height control was misbehaving and would fully retract the nozzle mid cut... Ugh, turned it off and finished out the job.


Popped them in the break for a couple bends.




In keeping with the 'fun' theme, I chose to forgo the long and tedious perfect paint process. Instead I went with latex Kilz and same paint on walls of shop. Didn't feel like painting outside in 115+.


Painted the port brackets white and installed the ports and driver. Now it's getting ridiculous.

 

[rattle_snake]

Next up was some sort of lift point. Four points doesn't work as one will be off, three don't work with square so 2 it was, but in the corners so the thing hangs at a 45 to the building. I wanted to through-bolt all 5 sides so I made a corner style bracket. Bent up some flat in the press, fits nicely.


Little weld and some paint.


The ends of the ports are too boring, so I figured I would add some more ridiculousness with some slash cut 6" tips. Not sure they will stay, get painted or whatnot. An no chandelier is complete without lighting, added 4 RGBW puck lights around speaker.


And a RGBW strip for the top, to reflect of the ceiling. Unfortunately most of the green is broken, and some other R and B in random places. Perhaps I will swap out later, but from the ground can't really tell.

 

[rattle_snake]

How to get this big heavy awkward beast up to the ceiling? Rope, pullies and truck winch. Wireless remote was nice to have up on the ladder.


Not entirely happy with placement and rigging but will work for now.


IR remotes for the LEDs, have the usual modes and features.


Put in some hooks for wiring and bundled in a single sleeve. Pulled the new wiring down the conduit.


So, how does it sound? The 8 ohm, 18" woofer is fed with an old QSC USA1310, bridged mono. It might manage 1000W, but seems to be enough as the driver starts to reach it's mechanical limit before the amp clips. Since the 18 is relatively close to listener compared to the 10s and 12s, it needs less gain and it not the limit in the system. Blended together it is another step up in performance. The addition of Rockford 10s and GX5 amp was one noticeable step (including being more robust), and now the addition of the 18 is another. It can deliver clean, tight bass at high SPL without being driven near clipping. And at full power it's damn impressive. Tones in 30-50 Hz range are brutal and shake the entire building. Definitely puts a smile on my face.

 

[Mr.zippy]

That's pretty sick Justin! Wish I could be there to hear it, but looks like I may not hear anything afterwards!

 

[ntsqd]

I vote for red LEDs inside the ports near the tips, but not visible unless almost directly underneath them.

And a fogging machine that will occasionally discharge thru the ports would be a bonus!

 

[SilverJimmy]

I knew I should have invested in Miracle Ear back when these systems started thumping and a bumping! I’d be RICH!!!

 

[rattle_snake]

That's pretty sick Justin! Wish I could be there to hear it, but looks like I may not hear anything afterwards!

Thanks Zip! What?

I vote for red LEDs inside the ports near the tips, but not visible unless almost directly underneath them.

And a fogging machine that will occasionally discharge thru the ports would be a bonus!

I had considered putting LED strips in the ports for indirect lighting. Might do it like you sugested.

I knew I should have invested in Miracle Ear back when these systems started thumping and a bumping! I’d be RICH!!!

Well the good thing is I am in control of the volume, unlike a concert.
The audio company I worked for long ago had a spin-off for hearing aids, Zounds. I was indirectly involved in their products. Looks like they are gone...

 

[rattle_snake]

A/C in my cobra quit on the way home. Then some burning plastic smell. Reminded me of old times before I could afford vehicles with such amenities. And some sympathy for others that can't afford. Thermometer read 119 when I got home, Ugh. I let it cool and popped the gauge set on, 175 psi static. Engine idle low side was 25 and any RPM above that ***** down low side and hits cutoff. I put a can of 134 in and it seems OK. The low side service port gave a puff when I took the cap off, maybe it has a slow leak. Not bad for 20 years. My new, cheap set of quick connects seem to be really cheap. Found a loose connection, but may need to upgrade.

Next was replacing rear shock on wife's 2021 Explorer. For last ~2 years it has been dangerous to drive, big bumps cause RR wheel to bottom out and make vehicle swerve right, then back left. Bad enough to engage the stability control. We have a 1000 mile trip coming up and I'm not OK with it. Ford said loose spare tire. Now that warrantee is expired, I got an OEM ford sock and put it on. The old was trash as I expected. This is why I won't buy extended warranty on wife's cars, she will never actually take it in for repairs. Have an engine air filter and a cabin air filter to do next.

And my riding mower had some issues. Slow to crank even on tender, large puddle of fuel underneath. One of the mulch/discharge cover straps broke and blows clipping directly at my face. So I gave it a good once over and addresses the issues.

2014 F250 has 'advance trac failure' message randomly occurring. I cycled the usual culprit connector, seemed to reduce occurrence but not completely.

Reverse Osmosis system capacity went to nothing. Put a squirt of air in to tank and heard bubbles (not good). Gave it a day and still same so bladder is ruptured. Been a year on filters, so ordered up another set, tank and membrane.

Such is life with too much stuff.

Even the dog has problems. One ear flap is full of fluid, he's going in for service at the vet today.

 

[OutlawDrifter]

Sounds like it's time for a cold beer or two and some tunes...

 

[Ohmthis]

Boat outdrive oil change went OK. The pump was able to handle the 90w. Got warm but wiring and whatnot good enough. I did manage to spill some waste oil trying to open the shop door with hands full, but I guess that's just part of the process.

Sounds about right! I usually make more of a mess with the waste oil/lube than I do doing the entire job. I like the pump, I have one I made for oil changes on our boat, I just use a hand pump for the outdrive.

 

[rattle_snake]

Sounds like it's time for a cold beer or two and some tunes...

Yes I utilized those items
Then 5 day vacation to cooler weather.

Sounds about right! I usually make more of a mess with the waste oil/lube than I do doing the entire job. I like the pump, I have one I made for oil changes on our boat, I just use a hand pump for the outdrive.

Are you using the pump to pull the oil out? I have a 7 qt Vac pump/container that works pretty well. Can use air instead of armstrong power.

 

[rattle_snake]

Still farting around with tuning the latest audio system. I found CH1 was turned down to half the signal as CH2 due to the old amps problems. Leveling them helped a lot. My latest phone has no analog interface, aka headphone jack, for my reference microphone. My lap top does, but I haven't found a free 1/3 octave RTA app. So back to phone with USB C adapter, but need output to BT and input analog. Noise gen app didn't support media switching so I found one that did. Input is really low and not usable. Have some more work to do. Very happy with the performance of the system.
When the bass hits the shop lights dim, I was hoping the LED tubes would not do this like the fluorescents, but they are worse. RMS voltage drops 4-5 volts but I imagine the actual short duration dip is much more. I don't think there is anything that can be done, lots of wire back to service entry on home. The amplifiers essentially short the speakers across the power mains.

 

[ntsqd]

I don't even play an EE on the interwebs, but it sounds to me like the LED power supply needs an accumulator on it's input or output. Unless it's just not worth the effort.

 

[rattle_snake]

yes, however the power supply is internal to the 4' T8 style LED tube, and there are 44 of them. I guess disco lights is just part of having a ridiculously high powered audio system.

 

[PugetDude]

yes, however the power supply is internal to the 4' T8 style LED tube, and there are 44 of them. I guess disco lights is just part of having a ridiculously high powered audio system.

It's an integral part of the speed metal experience.

 

[Mr.zippy]

yes, however the power supply is internal to the 4' T8 style LED tube, and there are 44 of them. I guess disco lights is just part of having a ridiculously high powered audio system.

So I will be deaf and blind after a visit to your garage?

 

[PugetDude]

So I will be deaf and blind after a visit to your garage?

No, just deaf and disoriented.

 

[Ohmthis]

Are you using the pump to pull the oil out? I have a 7 qt Vac pump/container that works pretty well. Can use air instead of armstrong power.

I used the stainless marine pump that HF sells(I’m not sure if they still do). I added a 90* rv water adapter turned down into the top for a 2.5-5 gal bucket. It screws into the dipstick and works very good.

 

[rattle_snake]

Hmmm, I may try that out now that I have a pump and the right adapter for the dipstick. Would be much quicker.

 

[rattle_snake]

I got another 'talk me out of it' call from my hunting buddy at a pawn shop. We drew a group rifle dear hunt this year including his SIL, who hasn't hunted or owned a rifle. Last call was over a model 70 .300 Win Mag, not a starter deer rifle for SIL in my opinion. This time a Browning BAR in 30-06, good shape. Also not a cheap or starter type weapon. For the price, I told him buy it or I will.

I have been looking for a BAR in 7mm Mag or 30-06 for awhile, for elk hunting. The terrain I hunt is huge cedar bushes, cat and mouse, under 100 yards. Time to acquire and fire is 1-2 seconds, and not much more for 2nd shot. A bolt action with a scope is not ideal. Need semi auto and open/no magnification sights. I looked into a new one 5 years back and couldn't justify the cost, plus the tax/ship/fees/sights/ect to get it usable. $1700+ even at cost from a friend with FFL. Need to draw a tag first, but lately I have been doing archery elk...
Anyhow the BAR is 1985 vintage Belgium machined. Minimal rounds though it. Some blemishes on stock, but fine with me, as I will use to hunt. Has a cheap Simmons 2.8x10x44mm scope on it. Probably will come off and go on another bolt 30-06. I gave it a good cleaning. The trigger is amazing, better than any other rifle I have. Happy to add to my collection.

 

[rattle_snake]

With the BAR cleaned up, I turned my attention to the six weapons my wife and I acquired from her late father. Turns out none had been cleaned since last use (decades?), so broken them down and did thorough cleaning and oiling. Also looked up the model and SN info, to get an approximate date.
One of the items is a Savage 110, first generation from the early 1960s, in .308 Win. It had a non-adjustable fixed scope, on some type of not solid quick connect system. Sighting done on adjustable base. Removed the antiquated stuff and ordered some weaver rails, rings and a relatively cheap Vortex 3x9x50mm scope.

I didn't see my wife's double action 45 LCs in the safe, and found them in her (horse) mounted shooting bag, still in the leather holsters. They had some surface rust and cylinders locked up with spend blanks. I freed them up, and gave them a badly needed cleaning. After cleaning and shining up the newer arrivals, it made my stuff look dry and ready for some love. Wiped everything down and took note of the SNs. I was surprised to find out my Remington Sportmaster model 34 .22 rifle is from the early 1930s. Almost 100 years old.

I bought an SKS when I turned 21. I has a really poor 4x20 fixed sight on a crudely made mount. I spent some time turd polishing the mount and removing the sight. Ordered a cheap no magnification reflex sight, probably have to modify the weaver rail to fit the picatinny style mount. It has an aftermarket synthetic stock that doesn't fit that well, so I corrected a few things and ordered a 30 rd mag, which I assume should be detachable.

 

[OutlawDrifter]

Those BAR's are awesome rifles, only downside(and really its not that big of a deal) is the weight. I had one in 30-60 that I wish I would have kept.

The 110 Savage action is one of my favorites, especially with the new Accu-Trigger. I had a cousin from Bakersfield, CA that used to do mounted shooting, even made the cover of a magazine once about 20 years ago.