What did you do "IN" your garage today?

[Jgaz]

Except for a coat of wax, my long running “use material on hand” box project is finished.
Tried a couple different techniques on these builds, not that it’s easy to tell.


The only thing I didn’t have in stock was enough felt dots for the bottoms of the boxes.

 

[2001ZR2]

With the low temps I've been using the leaf blower to clear my decks and some of my drive. So charging batteries in the garage. But took some time to tear down and clean up the Thorsen 1/4" ratchet that I got for free. It was was rusted up and wouldn't turn. Drove the truck to get an Rx for for my son but have chosen not to go out much. If tonight doesn't go sideways with negative temps then we should get much closer to the normal temps with daytime highs in the 20's

 

[Fordguy1964]

I got home from my birthday/Anniversary dinner with the wife. Went to the garage to put away a new tool she got me... just then the power went out. Big boom and a loud arcing noise. Walked around to the front of the house following the noises only to see my front yard on fire and a power wire laid across my yard and driveway. As I turn and walk in the house I come out the front door to see my rocket scientist neighbor walking right up to it. Since I don't want dead people in my front yard I told him that the power can go across the ground and kill him. He finally gave it a little thought and turned and walked away.

 

[Outlawmws]

only to see my front yard on fire and a power wire laid across my yard and driveway

And no snow, ice, or wind?

 

[CoogarXR]

Opened up my snow blower to see why it threw the belt. It looks like the auger pulley was half full of ice? Weird. I mean, smooth, clear ice, not snow. I melted it with a heat gun and I'll see if the belt stays when I run it in the morning. The belt looks pretty shot, I need to get a new one anyway, but it would be nice if I could clear the driveway one last time with it...

Oh yeah, and my heat gun exploded, lol. That's a first. I had it running, and I leaned it up against the snow blower while I went to get a screwdriver and "pow", fire and sparks blew out of the blower speed adjuster on the back. It stopped running, then started back up like nothing happened. I unplugged it and put it on the scrap pile lol.

 

[bugnut]

Turned up the heat, test fit a few parts, then did a bit of modeling, fired up the 3d printer and doodled some more while the printer hummed along.

 

[bmwrd0]

Mostly just cleaning and organizing. My shop is always a bit of a disaster, but once a year or so I just take all the junk I couldn't make a decision about and trash it. Sort of a "why is this still on the bench?" kind of thing.

 

[PhantomEB]

Tell me more! Where did you get this?

Got mine from Princess Auto up here in Canada. I know Vevor has similar and is available on Amazon.

Any info on the table? How do you like it? Thank you.

14x14 ish base, 330 lbs which was good for my 205 and doubler in one shot. Only thing I would change for under truck work is longer levers.


same Size vents for each of the 205 and doubler. Cleaned the hell out of mating surfaces. Everything in high gear now.

letting silicone set for 24 hours before adding fluid. Pretty sure I know where my leaks were coming from….two of the clocking holes which been siliconed up. If it has to come back out I will make plugs for them next.

But fingers crossed no leaks so I can hook up cables this week.

 

[Itinerant]

Yesterday. Continued mower engine tear-down. Was going to build a small jig to support the engine during disassembly then realized I had an unused grinder stand that would work for that purpose.



With everything off the top I could see that the crank seal was leaking and when I pulled the head I found there was quite a bit of oil in the cylinder and the head gasket was blown. The carbon on the head and piston is really thick and baked on. Without soaking it a steel scraper wouldn’t remove it.






This isn’t a project I’m willing to put much money into, if I have time today I’ll finish tearing it down and think about its future.

 

[XJSuperman]

Yesterday I installed the new 4l60e filter and oil pan, pushed it all out of the way, and crammed the car inside to tear it apart for some new parts n pieces.

 

[stonesfan68]

The wife unit decided that she wanted some wall box molding installed. I didn't do it after Harvey because I was tired of remodeling. She's happy with the results. I'll spend next weekend filling nail holes, caulking and painting.

 

[niget2002]

Ran out to the shop to check on the chickens in their cage. Fed and watered them. Poked around at a few things, then came inside where it's warmer.

 

[kaymccampbell]

Hung my soaked winter woolies on the boiler.

 

[rd65]

Installed new air filter in the pressure washer and got it put away. Gave the empty area a light sweeping. Moved the Miata from the house garage to the shop. While letting it warm up a bit at the house, the check engine light came on. Something to look into I guess. Shut it off in the shop and restarted, light didnt come back on. It is a 91, so no scanner port. I will need to run a jumper wire, turn on key, count flashes. That will be for another day.
Moved some stuff(more like **** ) around in the house garage so that I could fit my daily CX30 in where Miata was parked. No more scraping windows for me this season.

 

[GreenIron]

Walked into the shop to check on the wife's potted plants. Because of the freezing temps, we placed them in the shop for protection. They're looking ok, with a small heater keeping things warm on the shop floor.

 

[evildky]

those sets are same dimensions across the entire Tekton line





1/4 drive specs are very close to Icon G1. Guess that's why the Tekton 3/8in small body kits fit. I kinda like the thinner, less bulky plastic handle and 1/2in longer on Icon. Not sure why Tekton doesn't sell the prebuilt small body with soft handle but can be done with extra kit, $9.

How small are the icon heads? The Tekton is actually a touch smaller than my snappy. The old craftsman is still my favorite.

 

[BonzoHansen]

Got mine from Princess Auto up here in Canada. I know Vevor has similar and is available on Amazon.


14x14 ish base, 330 lbs which was good for my 205 and doubler in one shot. Only thing I would change for under truck work is longer levers.

like this one? Lifts up to 36" i like it, i'd have more room to store it vs some of the bigger ones. need to see if that comes up to my tailgates. thanks for the info

 

[Jure]

Changed the air filter on one of my bikes. Somehow i managed to drop the small square nut down,I saw it hitting the alternator,but I had no idea if it went inside the alternator or it bounced off and landed somewhere. After an hour of leaning the bike,shaking and doing all kind of dumb things I was ready to get the alternator out. When I removed the side fairing,the nut fell on the ground. Thank god!
And this is how the alternator on 90's gsxr looks like.

 

[Beerhippie]

I think this looks much better than what I had before:





I think it'll work better, too.

 

[Crazyjake8493]

After clearing up the rest of the snow with the tractor, I had to replace a broken shear pin on the snowblower and lube the plunger and bolts for the chute deflector. Put the heater on for a few hours to melt off the snow as I always do.

 

[kaymccampbell]

Parked the Dingo for the night. Hung my soaked winter woolies on the boiler, again.

 

[Kent_B]

Not a whole lot. I got a set of Weathertech front floor mats and a rear cargo tray today. Outside temp was about 11* and inside the garage wasn't much warmer. I got the fronts in, no problem but the rear cargo tray came rolled up. It's currently in the living room warming up and flattening out. Tomorrow looks like a good day for that and a rear wiper blade.

 

[Bay79Matco4S]

Today’s garage “project” was not wrenching… it was me messing with some new-tech wizardry like a degenerate.

I did a quick walk-through video of my toolbox setup and then slapped a “blue-collar anthem” over it… because apparently my brain thinks we’re producing a Netflix documentary now. The weird part? It’s way more satisfying than it has any right to be just drawers, lighting, and that “everything has a place” dopamine hit.

Be honest: how’d I do?
Is this actually satisfying to watch, or am I just hypnotized by smooth drawers and a good layout?

Also: what’s one tool organization move you swear by that instantly makes you faster in the shop?

 

[Itinerant]

Finished tearing down the mower engine. Internals looked better than I had expected.

 

[kaymccampbell]

Also: what’s one tool organization move you swear by that instantly makes you faster in the shop?

Putting **** away at the end of the job.

 

[niget2002]

Swapped the raspberry pi with octoprint on the big 3d printer for a 4b with klipper on it. I need to flash the firmware and configure it, but it's cold in the shop and I was hungry.

 

[M.Brane]

Putting **** away at the end of the job.

Or even during if it's gonna be a while. I've tried to convince my partner in racing of this philosophy, but he still spends too much time wandering around looking for that thing he just had.

If you're not going to need it again soon just put it back in the box.

 

[Beerhippie]

Or even during if it's gonna be a while. I've tried to convince my partner in racing of this philosophy, but he still spends too much time wandering around looking for that thing he just had.

If you're not going to need it again soon just put it back in the box.

A recently former coworker had the philosophy that wherever he last used a tool was where it belonged. I wasted hours searching for the tools I needed.

 

[TurnipTruck]

My daughter signed up for the roadkill phone list years ago. Every winter the Peninsula has at least 300 moose/car collisions, and early this morning was her third free moose.
She called for help, so I loaded up some things, excavated the little trailer from its storage snowberm, and we went for a drive. I don’t have a rear winch on the Gladiator, so a suitcase generator powering a Warn AC winch sucked the yearling on to the trailer so we could get out of traffic as fast as possible and then home to quarter the poor little cow in the shop.
We estimate more than 100 lbs of roasts and 5 gallons of burger, and
the carcass is already at a friends bait station.



She even salvaged the skull so her flesh-eating beetles would have something to gnaw on.

 

[vwpieces]

How small are the icon heads? The Tekton is actually a touch smaller than my snappy. The old craftsman is still my favorite.

Same as the 1/4 drive. It is a 1/4 drive body converted to 3/8in drive.



Specialty use... My #1 is a Hazet flex for past 20yrs in 3/8dr. Never skipped a beat and head still holds without flop. Hard pebble grain plastic handle is now well worn smooth. 8816G model?? I forget, need to look it up.

edit: found a post I made if the Hazet 3/8 flex, with pics.

Explain Hazet Ratchets to me...

They seem fine but nothing special, yet cost like a Snap-On. What justifies the $$$ for them?

www.garagejournal.com

 

[SMOKEYBEAR]

Mounted the drill press motor and adapter plate to the factory Craftsman mount for what I believe will be the final time. The splined factory pins where not very secure in Craftsman mount, maybe from the age? or removal/ assembly ? Either way, some steel epoxy putty was added with a small chamfer to each side, secure now. A little sanding and touch up paint and its all set.

Next is either the post or head unit sanding, to cold to do any painting even with the parts in the house.

 

[bugnut]

Opened the shop door, backed out the tractor, closed door ramped up heat. After spending a few hours moving snow put the tractor back in the shop. Then fired up the 3d printer. I had purchased an adjustable receiver hitch. Wanted to store it securely between uses. Purchased a utility box at HF, Measure printed, proofed, reprinted. It all fits and should not rattle. May add a little foam protection on the sides. Includes space for the anti rattle and the tools required. Top of box has space for spare pins and r clips.

 

[evildky]

Same as the 1/4 drive. It is a 1/4 drive body converted to 3/8in drive.



Specialty use... My #1 is a Hazet flex for past 20yrs in 3/8dr. Never skipped a beat and head still holds without flop. Hard pebble grain plastic handle is now well worn smooth. 8816G model?? I forget, need to look it up.

edit: found a post I made if the Hazet 3/8 flex, with pics.

Explain Hazet Ratchets to me...

They seem fine but nothing special, yet cost like a Snap-On. What justifies the $$$ for them?

www.garagejournal.com

That's tiny. I cant think I've ever needed that additional .3" clearance, and hope I never do

 

[CraigStu]

Grabbed a can of spray silicone for the house front door seals which was hard to open at 7*F.

 

[rd65]

Today’s garage “project” was not wrenching… it was me messing with some new-tech wizardry like a degenerate.

I did a quick walk-through video of my toolbox setup and then slapped a “blue-collar anthem” over it… because apparently my brain thinks we’re producing a Netflix documentary now. The weird part? It’s way more satisfying than it has any right to be just drawers, lighting, and that “everything has a place” dopamine hit.

Be honest: how’d I do?
Is this actually satisfying to watch, or am I just hypnotized by smooth drawers and a good layout?

Also: what’s one tool organization move you swear by that instantly makes you faster in the shop?

Leaving commonly used tools out all the time. I never put away: Lisle scribe, 2 sizes Stihl small screwdriver, 2 different Stihl spark plug/T27 wrenches, 2 small wire brushes, small needle nose, small side cutter, Stihl locking pin, 8 mm combi wrench, 13 mm combi wrench, small ball peen hammer, Stihl .004 feeler gauge. I am a small tool mechanic in Public Works and use almost all of these daily.
**Cleaning tools before putting them away.

 

[Jgaz]

Leaving commonly used tools out all the time. I never put away: Lisle scribe, 2 sizes Stihl small screwdriver, 2 different Stihl spark plug/T27 wrenches, 2 small wire brushes, small needle nose, small side cutter, Stihl locking pin, 8 mm combi wrench, 13 mm combi wrench, small ball peen hammer, Stihl .004 feeler gauge. I am a small tool mechanic in Public Works and use almost all of these daily.
**Cleaning tools before putting them away.

What ever works for you is the system to use.
I assume your shop is secure 24/7?

The majority of my work time was in a 3 shift department. All of my tools were picked up and put away at the end of every shift.
Sometimes, if I was working in a remote area of the shop, I would pick up at lunch time and lock my roller cabinet.

YRMV.

 

[kaymccampbell]

That's tiny. I cant think I've ever needed that additional .3" clearance, and hope I never do

Just wait. I remember looking through all the sockets in the tool truck to find two that were broached differently, so I could swap them after every tiny twitch of the breaker bar. Thanks late 70s GM products.

 

[rd65]

What ever works for you is the system to use.
I assume your shop is secure 24/7?

The majority of my work time was in a 3 shift department. All of my tools were picked up and put away at the end of every shift.
Sometimes, if I was working in a remote area of the shop, I would pick up at lunch time and lock my roller cabinet.

YRMV.

Yes, secure. 13'x13' box in a box. I am the only small tool guy. My lead has been known to give tools away to PW crews, city supplies the tools, but so very irritating just the same.

 

[Beerhippie]

A recently former coworker had the philosophy that wherever he last used a tool was where it belonged. I wasted hours searching for the tools I needed.

I was reminded of another quirk of this coworker: He couldn't coil an extension cord, rope or hose to save his life. The reminder was when I went to use a 50' 12AWG extension cord this AM and had to untangle and stack the whole damned thing to be able to lay it out. I don't even know how an apparently coiled cord could be so tangled.

 

[gearhead1960]

Replaced belt on snow blower after it gave up on me during recent snow storm....had gotten about 1/2 through when the belt decided it had enough after 25 years....I knew I was on borrowed time....