Between 265 & 485 SQ/FT 1950s Craftsman Garage retro remodel

[armstrr]

did you put the kraft paper facing the interior or exterior? In cold climates would it normally be to the interior?

 

[Red Leader]

um...you're overdue on your promised "update".

Christopher,

I apologize about that. I've been 'on call' for watching our kid this weekend while my wife prepared and threw a baby shower for her sister. Needless to say, I've gotten a lot of good father-son time but very little guy-garage time

Let me see what I can do about it - I'll try and get a picture up here before the night is over.

Thanks to you and everyone else for your patience when things like this happen

 

[Red Leader]

did you put the kraft paper facing the interior or exterior? In cold climates would it normally be to the interior?

When I insulated the garage, I put the kraft paper backed insulation on the inside of the garage.

Regarding your question about cold climates, it all depended on exactly where you are. On top of that, there are lots of different schools of thought on vapor barriers and there seems to be a paradigm shift in thinking every 20 years or so. What was great in 90s (in some places) led to a lot of mold and moisture damage in some homes.

You could read up on theories of vapor barriers until your head explodes

If you do a search on this site for 'vapor barrier', you'll come up with some links to some fascinating and in-depth reads about the subject.

 

[rickairmedic]

um...you're overdue on your promised "update".

Chris " Dave " has a system for updates . He tells us one is comming and then lets us get to the point of foaming at the mouth in anticipation and then unloads them on us .

Dave Most of us with kids understand that life gets in the way of " cave time " and will wait here patiently " foaming at the mouth " for updates .


Rick

 

[Red Leader]

Chris " Dave " has a system for updates . He tells us one is comming and then lets us get to the point of foaming at the mouth in anticipation and then unloads them on us .

Dave Most of us with kids understand that life gets in the way of " cave time " and will wait here patiently " foaming at the mouth " for updates .


Rick

Yeah and how sad is that? (that I make everyone suffer so much)



Okay, a little late, but here we go.

I found my new 'workbenches'!!!

And...









guess what they are going to be made out of...
















just guess...what are some of my favorite things to work with....




































Yep, thats right...



Furring strips!!!


So, I had no intention of this to begin with, but earlier this week I was going to HD to look for a faucet drain part for the bathroom sink. I thought, hmmm, lets just 'check out the furring strips', like everyone else does (right? right.)

So I walk over there and I am greeted by some of the most beautiful wood I've ever seen!!! I hit the absolute motherload. Anyone who is looking for some killer trim and is near the Denver area, the HD off of Parker Rd and Chambers still has tons of this stuff, and it is still the really good stuff.

Here is what I scored:



Just look at the grain/swirling/patterns!


You have to have a vision/imagination for this stuff - I think most, including me, under normal circumstances would look at this and see 'behind the wall/spacer wood' at best, and 'throwaway wood' at worst. But look a little deeper and you can find the buried treasure. It looks 'okay' now, but just imagining what this will looking like a nice clear gloss finish on it...it will look absolutely stunning.

These are 1"x2"x8' furring strips (more like .75"x1.5", but nevertheless) and both main sides are rough cut, then one small side is finished and the other small side is rough cut. Since I don't want to have to do a ton of sanding, I chose based on the quality of the finished standing up edge. The plan is to get the right depth for the workbench, then laminate (glue) them all together. I bought enough to do both workbenches (the main one, and the one that will slide in perpendicular to the main one). I was originally planning on doing the 2nd sliding workbench with the white formica top, but this wood has changed my mind, it is so beautiful.

Cost? When put together, they will be around the same price (maybe a few dollars more) than just 1 of the IKEA workbenches/countertops of the same length (8ft):

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/10146525/

The same IKEA bench with the same thickness (1.5")will be about $100 more than both these benches.

Anyone with clamps and glue can do the same.

Hopefully I'll be able to get a few more clamps and go to town putting these bad boys together.

In other news, I was going to work on the tool board some more but was busy with MUCH more important things (wife and son) so it will happen some time later (hopefully soon!)

On another note, I tried raising my garage door up now with all the insulation panels in place and it is significantly heavier. I don't mind so much when I'm lifting it, but I'm worried about the garage door opener. For those who added insulation kits, how did you get around the weight issue?

 

[tinbender 66]

Hate to say it but you probably need to (carefully) tighten the spring some more. Until the door is balanced i.e. will stay wherever you let go of it. Those opener gears are made of plastic and not that hard to strip. Ask me how I know. At least they're not expensive. If you've never done it before get educated first. I hung all three of my doors without ever doing it before. Google is your friend. Or just ask here.

 

[ChristopherLutz]

Red Leader - I hope you read my update comment as sarcasm. I'm looking forward to seeing the workbench top.

On the garage spring/adjusment - be extra safe... those springs are some of the most dangerous items in the house.

 

[Wingnut65]

Dave, For the door weight with insulation, my double wide has an opener and it hasn't even noticed the difference. But the single door is now very touchy to get to stay up. I open and set it in place a couple times and it stays. I do need to address the spring issue, but as Chris says above, it is one piece in my house I have a right to be afraid of or at least treat with high respect.

For your workbench, you are on the right path with a cool fit for your shop.

 

[rickairmedic]

Dave the new workbench tops look great . That was a great idea . I calculated my costs with Shipping on 2 8 footers and it would be cheaper for me to go down and visit my mom ( and Jeff ) and pick them up than it would be to have them shipper here . The 2 tops were only $100.00 but shipping was $349.00 ouuuuuuch.


Rick

 

[E.rodz]

garage is looking good is your vert. bandsaw a 16"i have the original accordion light that came on mine if you need it it's yours.be carefull when you adjust your garage door springs they carry alot of energy!!!!!
also when you get done gluing your tops find someone localy that has a time saver sander to get it flat and dust free in your shop.it would be worth it. keep up the great work.

 

[GirlnAgarage]

Dave, love the enthusiasm and the way you see the beauty in the materials you use

Looking forward to these benchtops. There' gonna look awesome in there.

 

[Firefyter-Emt]

When you get done gluing your tops find someone locally that has a time saver sander to get it flat and dust free in your shop.it would be worth it. keep up the great work.

FWIW, I would not even try gluing these up until you can run them through a planer. I have done this on a smaller scale, and it is not as easy as you think. I would work in small "batches" to glue up boards, and then glue them into a bench. Really watch the grain and make sure you get it in line. Just one board running backwards will drive you crazy trying to flatten it!
What is your plan to flatten the top anyway? It will be very hard to find someone with A) a planer wide enough to run something as wide as a bench through, and B) someone willing to even do it. A nice long hand plane will work, but my word... you will KNOW you did it!

Way back when, I built this workbench when we first moved here. As you know, I am a cheap yankee... When we moved almost 10 years ago, we decided it was time to give up the water bed. (yea, I know... bow wow chicka chicka.) I had the frame of the water bed sitting in the garage and wondering what I was going to do with it. The more I looked, the more I noticed that under all that dark wood stain, was really a ton of southern yellow pine that was a good 2" thick.

One of the projects that bed became was this work bench top and legs.

I had to flatten this top with hand planes and even though this was a few wider boards, it will take it out of you faster than you think!~

 

[cat06]

not sure the size of your garage door. But you can add about 1/2 to 3/4 turn on the spring fairly easy, you basically want the door to stay about 1/2 way up on it's own if you let go of it. If it falls it needs more spring if it gos up on it's own it needs less. If you need to add more than 3/4 turn on the spring call a door company out as you really need them to weigh the door and calculate and make new spring for it. Springs are sized for the weight of the door and if you added too much weight insulating the door, it will require a larger spring. For winding the spring use only cold rolled steel for the winding bars, about 18 inches long.

I went back and looked at some of your pictures, the 1/2 to 3/4 a turn can be added to both spring (or each side), looks like 1/2 inch diameter bars 18 inched long cold rolled steel (hot rolled bends too easy).

 

[Mandres]

I'd give those furring strips plenty of time to dry out before doing anything with them. Around here at least the construction lumber at the big box stores comes almost damp to the touch. Your new top could end up twisted like a pretzel.

 

[tinbender 66]

Dave?? DAVE!?!?!?! Hope all is well.

 

[Red Leader]

Sorry for the recent lack of updates - honestly there really hasn't been anything to update! Although, I might try to get some aluminum flashing strips glued up on the tool board tomorrow. That stuff is a little tough to cut with scissors so I've had to space it out to give my hand a break.

Also, I might have to redo the panels on the garage door. I realized that creating a tight wedge fit bowed the sheet metal framing, mostly near the unsupported parts of the garage door and that has created some funky spacing where the panel hinges come together. SO! now I need to:

1. Take the panels off that are causing the door to bow (without damaging them)
2. Cut to proper size and glue in (wedge fit won't be present anymore)
3. Install turnbuckle system on door
4. Redo spring tension on door
5. Adjust start/stop point of garage door opener

After 3 months, it feels like I haven't done anything with the door at all haha

Been there done that!

Thanks to all for the suggestions about the garage door and the tension springs. I will explore that route, but also apply a lot of caution. I bet I'll look pretty funny up there wearing my motorcycle helmet (worst case scenario something gives)

Also, thank you for the suggestions about the wood bench tops. The wood will definitely sit for a while to get acclimated to the weather, and I have a feeling that the strips will help counteract each other as some have some slight warping. Plus, I need to get a few more clamps before I glue things up, and plan out the bench top more carefully before going right into it.

Maybe in addition to the flashing strips I'll work on some trim tomorrow. Right now I have a priority to do some work in the basement to wall off our furnace room (really what I mean is to buy tools to be able to rework some plumbing so I can move the water heater, redo some gas pipelines, frame around the ductwork, frame some walls then add some sheetrock)

The work never ends! At least I enjoy it

Thank you for all who continue to follow this thread, even in the slower times. I appreciate you all!

 

[ChristopherLutz]

Any job that gives you an excuse to buy tools is a good job!

 

[smschriefer]

Hey Red Leader, I didn't get the bench grinder like yours. The guy would never respond to me. Oh well, I decided to steady my nerves with a few local purchases instead. I got another Craftsman 113 table saw (this one is from 1948) and an Atlas 6001 joiner from around 1950. I don't want to hijack your thread, so here is a link for you. I also finished the restoration of my drill press.

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=120627

 

[Red Leader]

Alert! Alert!

Craftsman cabinet saw 2245x/27270 quest item found locally...trying to establish contact with seller.

Stay tuned...




(fyi, here is a picture of what I'm talking about for reference)

 

[Red Leader]

Any job that gives you an excuse to buy tools is a good job!

THAT, sir, is a very good point.

 

[Red Leader]

Hey Red Leader, I didn't get the bench grinder like yours. The guy would never respond to me. Oh well, I decided to steady my nerves with a few local purchases instead. I got another Craftsman 113 table saw (this one is from 1948) and an Atlas 6001 joiner from around 1950. I don't want to hijack your thread, so here is a link for you. I also finished the restoration of my drill press.

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=120627

Bummer on the no response, was a great looking grinder. Keep your eyes open, there are more out there

 

[smschriefer]

That is an awesome saw if you can get it and a quest item to boot! My back just aches looking at the photo and thinking about loading it up to bring home. hehe

I hope you get it!

Steve

 

[Red Leader]

Alert! Alert!

Craftsman cabinet saw 2245x/27270 quest item found locally...trying to establish contact with seller.

Stay tuned...




(fyi, here is a picture of what I'm talking about for reference)

Spoke to the seller this morning, agreed to purchase. Will most likely pick up on Friday.

Whoohoo!!!

Now comes the challenging part - the saw comes without a motor or motor mount. No motor, no big deal. However, the motor mount was proprietary to this saw. I'll need to find a donor mount from another one of these saws, which may be a tall order.

Absolute worst case scenario, there is a fellow local OWWMer (who is likely going to buy my Craftsman jointer) who also has one of these saws and, with enough begging, may allow me to send his motor mount in to get a reproduction cast. From there its just all the small bits and pieces.

These quests are always so much fun!!!

-Dave

 

[smschriefer]

That is a 103.22450, so a King Seely. You are saying that the motor mount is different than the bench model? I borrowed a few pics from VintageMachinery.org to provide you some good **** viewing while you wait for Friday.
Here is the link with a few more pics... http://vintagemachinery.org/photoindex/detail.aspx?id=10645

 

[rickairmedic]

Dave I think you need more table saws .


Supposing you can get ahold of a factory mount and get me some good pics with dimensions ( and it doesnt " have to be " cast ) . I would bet I could make you a mount .


Rick

 

[Red Leader]

Dave I think you need more table saws .


Supposing you can get ahold of a factory mount and get me some good pics with dimensions ( and it doesnt " have to be " cast ) . I would bet I could make you a mount .


Rick

Haha, I think so too

Really though, the Unis will be sold off. More than likely, the Atlas will be sold off. The more I think about it, the more I want to go 'all' Craftsman, or at least mainly Craftsman. I think there is room for non-Craftsman tools, but a while back the garage was having a bit of an identity crisis. No more. I think I'm leaning Craftsman on just about everything. It might take years to get there, but the journey is what makes this so fun.

Now, one must keep in mind that it doesn't mean I'd turn down a four footed Unisaw for $50...I'll always keep a bare spot in the garage for 'future opportunities'


Oh, and here is a detailed picture of the missing motor mount:

I keep hoping that I'll show up on Friday to pick up the saw and the seller greets me with "Yeah, so I found that motor mount/motor/rare belt cover assembly you were asking me about. I also happened to find the basically unobtainium blade guard for this saw, as well as the extra extension. No extra charge. Have a nice day."


Hey, we can all hope, can't we?

 

[rickairmedic]

LOL I'm outa change so might as well hang onto hope . That is a cast piece but could be welded up from regular steel and be pretty close to original looking .


Rick

 

[tinbender 66]

Nice score on the saw!! It looks like a cool piece.

 

[Firefyter-Emt]

Awesome deal on the saw! Don't fear the motor mount, that is something that can very easily be recreated from normal metal stock. (a welder may be required) I can tell you the one from the bench saw of this era does not have the same mount. The mount has two rods, but side to side, not up and down.

Oh... and I wounder how close this blade guard is to working with the cabinet type saw... I have one for my saw, and if it mount's the same, could open up an avenue to find one for your saw. Honestly though, I really do not like it on the saw, it just hides way too much of the blade and it make's cutting kinda scary IMHO.

PS.. it's old and dusty, but I never did show you the look of a cast iron gray type color for the table saw. If you look at the webbing on the extension, you can see the gray I sprayed on the inside of the webbing when it was cleaned and restored. It's kinda a neutral look, not to make it pop, just kinda hide in plain sight

 

[Red Leader]

Update Time!!!

Alright! So I got off work early today and the wife decided to go over to her sister's place, so I had a little alone time in the shop. I was finally able to do a little more work on the tool board, including the aluminum flashing facing and some work on the trim.

Here is the process I used, starting with a few rolls of 10" by 10' aluminum flashing rolls.

I marked them for the width of the slats on the tool boards and went to town:

Maybe thats why it took a while I cut about 80ft of this stuff with hand scissors

Here is what all the strips looked like laid out:

Ohh yeah, this is gonna look cool

So, next up was the tool board. Here is what it looked like to start out with:

Pretty, ain't she? Saying that backwards might be a little more accurate

After roughing up the formica (or formica-like) slats I coated them with the glue and got the strips ready:

Alright! First strip up!

Alright, ready for this?

















Are you sure?





















BAM!!!

Sweet! (any waviness you see in the metal was done when cutting with freakin' scissors and not when applying to the tool board)

So then I started working on trim. I needed to sand it with 150 grit (already had been sanded with 100 grit) and the dang finish sander sucked. Its like the little clamp down spots aren't far enough apart and so the sandpaper just loosely attaches, which makes it tear. About 1/3 of the way through, I gave up on the sander and just went to hand sanding.

Then! I got to apply the finish. I LOVE this part because right before your eyes you get to see things drastically and visibly change. Was super fun seeing what the grain turned out like.

Wood, prior to finish:

Yes! This is what I like to see!

Check out the difference!

Finished the 1st coat:

Sitting in my garage for a while, this wood was very dry and sucked up the finish, so I'll definitely need a second coat. I'm hoping to get that on tomorrow and then maybe Friday get the trim up around the tool board. Once that is up, a cover strip (in black) will go over the seam between the wood and the tool board.

Also, several days ago I started working on the turnbuckle system. However, before that I had to individually remove each and ever panel and cut about 1/8" to 3/16" off so that the wedge fit wasn't so tight - it was actually bowing out the metal framing on the back of the door, which was causing gaps in between the panels and hinges.

So I did that and then finally got some of the turnbuckle system rigged up. I actually have 3 completed (1 more to go), but only have pictures right now with 1 up:

And here is the difference it makes, pulling up the slack in the sagging panels:

You can see the light coming through the slit between the panel that has been 'tightened' up and the rest of the sagging panels.

I don't think I'd quite get the contour to match the bottom where it meets the concrete, but I think that is more of a concrete issue than a door issue. The concrete looks more 'peaked' than the door is 'sagged'. However, this system will go a long way to helping the individual panels stay up on their own, instead of sagging and crushing the bottom-most panels.

Still lots of work to do out there and, like usual, the garage is a disaster. But, progress is being made and its been fun!

Hope you all enjoy these updates! I should have a few more between now and next week as I am also working on some paintwork with the Atlas cabinet saw. We've got good weather

 

[rickairmedic]

Dave everything looks great . May I suggest some " Midwest shears " if you want to keep playing with metal .

Rick

 

[Red Leader]

Dave everything looks great . May I suggest some " Midwest shears " if you want to keep playing with metal .

Rick

You may Tell me more!

 

[Toolfool]

You know, they make actual laminate products with metallic faces that look identical to the real thing (aluminum,copper,stainless, etc.) and they glue up easier, and can be cut easily with a laminate 'slitter'. Project is looking good.

 

[Red Leader]

You know, they make actual laminate products with metallic faces that look identical to the real thing (aluminum,copper,stainless, etc.) and they glue up easier, and can be cut easily with a laminate 'slitter'. Project is looking good.

Well, I just happen to like doing things the hard way.

j/k thanks for the tip. I've got another, LONGER tool board to do. Maybe that might help out. Certainly if it is cheaper than aluminum flashing (expensive!!!).

-Dave

 

[Red Leader]

Awesome deal on the saw! Don't fear the motor mount, that is something that can very easily be recreated from normal metal stock. (a welder may be required) I can tell you the one from the bench saw of this era does not have the same mount. The mount has two rods, but side to side, not up and down.

Oh... and I wounder how close this blade guard is to working with the cabinet type saw... I have one for my saw, and if it mount's the same, could open up an avenue to find one for your saw. Honestly though, I really do not like it on the saw, it just hides way too much of the blade and it make's cutting kinda scary IMHO.

PS.. it's old and dusty, but I never did show you the look of a cast iron gray type color for the table saw. If you look at the webbing on the extension, you can see the gray I sprayed on the inside of the webbing when it was cleaned and restored. It's kinda a neutral look, not to make it pop, just kinda hide in plain sight

Thanks for the encouragement! I figure that since I'm going to have the saw a long, long time, I'll have plenty of time to find a mount for it. But I do hope it is sooner than later

I wouldn't be opposed to getting a mount made, especially if it is more stable. However, I wish I could just do it myself but I have no mill, no lather, no welder.

I know Rick's gonna give me grief for that

 

[Red Leader]

Nice score on the saw!! It looks like a cool piece.

Thanks Paul! I'll make an update once it is in the garage.

Oh man...I need to clean the garage.

 

[rickairmedic]

I will pull mine out of the truck tomorrow and get some pics for you . I prefer Midwest over Wiss today as they are still well made while Wiss in my opinion are not . Heres a nice starter set .

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00942890000P?prdNo=2&blockNo=2&blockType=G2



One little secret even with the scisors is to not go all the way to the end of the blade when making a cut . Only go about 75% or so down the blade then open them and reset .

Rick

 

[rickairmedic]

Oh yeah nifty little trick I saw today for veneering ( such as you are doing with the metal . Put glue on the surface you wish to veneer as well as the back of your veneer and let it dry . Once dry position your veneer where you want it and steal SWMBO's iron and run it over the veneer ( after its heated up ) . The heat from the iron will fuse the glue .


Rick

 

[tinbender 66]

+1 on the Midwest snips. That's all I have used for years although I prefer the offset ones. Sears here has a set of left and right offsets for about $34. Personally, I have never used the 'straight' ones (yellow handle).

Also, it really helps to cut so that the 'waste' piece is falling away from the cut. Any burr will end up on the inside of your piece.

Here's the offset ones. I think most duct guys (like Rick) prefer the other ones.

If you can ever find an old pair of Wiss 'bull' snips snap 'em up. These are at least 25 years old. They still make some but like everything else they just ain't the same.

Last but not least is this pair of tongs (new guys call 'em hand brakes). These are Hamlett's (sp) forged by a guy in Idaho. Don't know if he still makes them. This pair is somewhat rare in that the jaws are 4" wide and all the other ones I've seen are 3 1/2". Either way, a handy tool. The vise grip ones are ****.We'll turn you into a tinbender yet.

 

[tfreer85]

Hey I just got done restoring some of those! I had no real idea what they would be used for, glad I stopped by here.

Sorry for the thread jack RedLeader, got a little excited there.