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Above 1200 Sq/FT Restored 1930's Auto Shop

Wokspaces above 1200 squarefeet.

Jim C.

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To take this a bit further I will sometimes snap a photo and write the auto generated name from the camera on the ziploc bag so that I can reference the photo months later when I put it back together. Works great for things like window lifts, latch assemblies and electronics.

Photos are essential!! I like your method of referencing the parts with the corresponding picture(s). I'll have to try that. It might save me a little time when I have to find the right picture on my computer.

Jim C.
 
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Lou's Garage

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Anderson, SC
I was catching up with this thread and I noticed the driveway bell on page 337. It set my mind to wandering about getting one for here, just for fun. In the course of my search, I ran across this:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Gas...047?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item257d4590f7

In case the link doesn't work, or disappears over time. Thomas, your bell appears to be a Gierco Driveway Signal made by W.G. Giersberg of Liverpool, NY.

Lou
 
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BB767

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Thomas, about the monkey wrench in the picture; I know absolutely nothing about hydraulic fittings, so I'm wondering if this is the correct tool for the job, or just a little bonus fun for all of us hangers-on?

oberst I was going to comment on the monkey wrench also I figure he had to throw that in for a few die hard old tool lovers (we are out here)
My great uncle (an old blacksmith) always said for a square nut or bolt nothing was better than a monkey wrench but use it on anything else you will find out first hand why they call it a monkey wrench. bacause after you split a couple knuckles your dancing around fanning the air and cussing like a monkey

Ahhhhhh, good question. Go back to that post and take another look at the 5th and 6th pictures showing the flexible hydraulic lines. Meantime I've got to go out to the shop for a bit, perhaps you'll see the answer to your comments/questions. ;) I'll elaborate more when I return.

Are we having fun yet? :)

Thomas
 

IMCA38

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Bennet, NE
Ahhhhhh, good question. Go back to that post and take another look at the 5th and 6th pictures showing the flexible hydraulic lines. Meantime I've got to go out to the shop for a bit, perhaps you'll see the answer to your comments/questions. ;) I'll elaborate more when I return.

Are we having fun yet? :)

Thomas

I was going to guess that the monkey wrench was used to hold the square blocks at the end of the hard lines.
 

oberst

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Ah yes. Square unions.
I would have been reaching for the crescent wrench, but T M W A D I R (The man who always does it right) knows that the monkey wrench is the better tool, and he also has one within striking distance.

Well played, sir, Very well played! :bowdown:
 
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BB767

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oberst I was going to comment on the monkey wrench also....

My great uncle (an old blacksmith) always said for a square nut or bolt nothing was better than a monkey wrench...

I was going to guess that the monkey wrench was used to hold the square blocks at the end of the hard lines.

Ah yes. Square unions.
I would have been reaching for the crescent wrench, but T M W A D I R (The man who always does it right) knows that the monkey wrench is the better tool, and he also has one within striking distance.

Well played, sir, Very well played! :bowdown:

Clearly gordyy your great uncle was a wise sage, not only is there nothing better than a monkey wrench for square nuts and bolts...




... but as IMCA38 points out, they're pretty good for square fittings as well. :thumbup: I think I've mentioned it before, but that wrench was my grandfathers and for certain applications there is no substitute. I'm sure he'd be pleased to know it's still going strong, 70+ years later with no end in sight for it.

oberst you really made my day with your last comment. I have to tell you and everyone else who has contributed here so far; doing this thread has been an absolute blast for me. Honest and truly!!! I always look forward to what you guys come up with, you just never know what will pop up next. Thank you oberst and everyone else. :bounce:

Highly amused Thomas
 

shopnut

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Thomas,

Chris stopped by the ASYLUM thread a while back and commented on how well she thought we might get along, if we were to meet. So I jumped over to your thread shortly after and what do I find? You're talking about something near and dear to my heart, the roll-top desk. You see, my father currently has my great grandpa's old roll top desk and I have loved that thing since I was a kid. After seeing yours, I asked my dad to take a few pictures of it so I could share it with you.

M34-Great-Grandpa's Roll Top Desk-02.JPG M35-Great-Grandpa's Roll Top Desk-04.JPG
(click to enlarge)

Here's a Sear's-Roebuck ad from that time period that my dad sent along with the other pictures as reference. $11.95 bought a nice piece of oak furniture back then!

M36-Great-Grandpa's Roll Top Desk-05.JPG M37-Great-Grandpa's Roll Top Desk-05.jpg

I'm told my great-grandpa bought it sometime around 1913-1915 when he was running his livestock business near Milwaukee. My dad took possession of it in the early '70's and I still remember sitting at it doing my homework in grade school back then. I simply loved that thing with all its compartments! And nowadays, that thing would be perfect for me because I have a tough time keeping my desk clean and would love to be able to just roll the cover down to hide it all :thumbup:

Anyways, thanks for sharing yours. It reminded me to let my parents know I'm ready and willing to carry the torch on that family heirloom when they're done with it.
 
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BB767

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To take this a bit further I will sometimes snap a photo and write the auto generated name from the camera on the ziploc bag so that I can reference the photo months later when I put it back together. Works great for things like window lifts, latch assemblies and electronics.

aggierailroad, that's a splendid idea! Watch this thread when I post about the loader re-assembly for some other high tech, new fangled ways to take advantage of our modern world. Hold that thought.

Slightly mysterious Thomas
 
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BB767

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I was catching up with this thread and I noticed the driveway bell on page 337. It set my mind to wandering about getting one for here, just for fun. In the course of my search, I ran across this:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Gas...047?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item257d4590f7

In case the link doesn't work, or disappears over time. Thomas, your bell appears to be a Gierco Driveway Signal made by W.G. Giersberg of Liverpool, NY.

Lou

Boy Lou you nailed that one, thanks for thinking of me. The one on eBay is from the very same manufacturer as mine and now I know who made it! Many thanks again for that bit of information. The power of the internet strikes again!

I emailed Don, the owner of the eBay driveway bell and sent him the post on my restored bell which he really enjoyed. His is a bit older than mine but not sure how much older. I would also encourage you to find one from whatever manufacture you like for your garage. Remember they're PNC. :)

Thomas
 
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BB767

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Thomas,

Chris stopped by the ASYLUM thread a while back and commented on how well she thought we might get along, if we were to meet. So I jumped over to your thread shortly after and what do I find? You're talking about something near and dear to my heart, the roll-top desk. You see, my father currently has my great grandpa's old roll top desk and I have loved that thing since I was a kid. After seeing yours, I asked my dad to take a few pictures of it so I could share it with you...

Here's a Sear's-Roebuck ad from that time period that my dad sent along with the other pictures as reference. $11.95 bought a nice piece of oak furniture back then!

I'm told my great-grandpa bought it sometime around 1913-1915 when he was running his livestock business near Milwaukee. My dad took possession of it in the early '70's and I still remember sitting at it doing my homework in grade school back then. I simply loved that thing with all its compartments! And nowadays, that thing would be perfect for me because I have a tough time keeping my desk clean and would love to be able to just roll the cover down to hide it all :thumbup:

Anyways, thanks for sharing yours. It reminded me to let my parents know I'm ready and willing to carry the torch on that family heirloom when they're done with it.

It's posts like this that make me wish we could all live a bit closer to one another. It's great sharing these experiences here but how much more fun it would be if we were but a short distance away. I too have always had a fascination with roll top desks, but no one in our family ever owned one. That you even have a advertisement for your great-grandpa's is really special. Wow, only 100 years ago you could purchase it for just under $12.00! Try to imagine what the next 100 years will bring. :dunno:

Still enjoying your thread and some of the creative projects you're involved with. And oh, by the way, we will meet one of these days, rest assured of that. :) Thank you so very much for posting the pictures and background information. Cherish that desk when you get it.

Thomas
 

HOTFR8

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Wow, only 100 years ago you could purchase it for just under $12.00! Try to imagine what the next 100 years will bring. :dunno:

Thomas

Another Roll top desk owner chiming in. Mine is much bigger than those and I hate to think what it would be valued at now. To big for my work so I have my Gandmothers smaller fold down in my office and it is used every day.
 
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BB767

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PART II - Big Green Loading Machine - BGLM



One of the loader guild pads (circled yellow) had been cut off and was missing when I originally bought the loader so...



... a new one was fabricated seen here in primer.



Now everything had been taken apart and cleaned. The cylinders had always leaked from day one so they were take to be rebuilt with new seals.



Our local hydraulic repair shop has been in business for over 50 years. This is the jig they secure the cylinders in...



...while taking them apart for servicing. By using a chain clamp it normally won't mark up the outer cylinder walls. This jig was over 15' (4.5 m) long so they can accommodate some very long cylinders.



If new flexible lines are needed this is the machine they use...



... to crimp the ends for smaller lines. For larger lines...



...this is the bad boy they use and these are the various...



... sizes of jaws they use depending on the size of the line being made.




Here are spools of various diameter flexible hydraulic lines.



For large rams this lathe...



...is used to cut new rams from existing stock.





I don't have in my notes the size of this lathe, perhaps some can recognize its capacity?



This is the lathe used for smaller rams.



Here then are all the various new flexible lines needed for the loader.

While the cylinders were being serviced...



...the various loader bits...



...and pieces were taken to Rick to be...



...powder coated!!!!!!! Rick is seen here beside his humongous blue oven with the bucket just out of that oven.



Oven fresh...



...and looking terrific.



To make sure everything arrived back at the barn in good shape I used plenty of furniture blankets...



...and old towels to wrap all the parts during transit. I was able to get everything in the van making only one trip.







So with this load of parts done a partial re-assembly began...but I'll save that for the next time.

Thomas
 
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wog

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FL
Looks great, better than new!



I don't have in my notes the size of this lathe, perhaps some can recognize its capacity?

The lathe is probably a 20" x 8' (or 10').
I don't think "Chas. Molitor" is the manufacturer, but a company that once owned it.
 
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Omphaloskeptic

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Ultima Ratio, Wa.
It's not often one gets to see a tractor get detailed! lol

The attention to detail is amazing! This shop and everything in it will look fresh and sharp well into the 2030's.
 
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BB767

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Looks great, better than new!



The lathe is probably a 20" x 8' (or 10').
I don't think "Chas. Molitor" is the manufacturer, but a company that once owned it.

Well that makes all kinds of sense. No wonder I'd never hear of that lathe manufacture before! A cursory glance at the lathe didn't show a name plate so in my haste to bother the guys at the shop as little as possible, I took a picture of that. Sigh........:eek:

Thanks wog for what I suspect is a pretty good guess at it's size.

Thomas
 
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BB767

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I think that place could use you to teach them how to clean !!

Working with hydraulics is extremely messy work (as if you didn't know that)...



...ask me how I know. :eek: Look at the mess I made with just 4 small cylinders. Like Mr Johnson their way of doing business seems to be working for them, they've been at it a loooonnnnng time.......but hey, thanks for the vote of confidence just the same. :thumbup:

Thomas
 
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BB767

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PART III - Big Green Loading Machine - BGLM



With most of the powder coating done I could do a partial re-assembly.



Once I got this far I started what turned out to be the most difficult and often frustrating part of this whole project.



These are the original one piece hard hydraulic lines. Once I started to clean them up I realized what poor condition they were in. Pitted, bent incorrectly and in a couple of places kinked :eek: it made no sense to powder coating them only to have a leak develop so...



... I decided to install new hard lines. While new lines of the correct length were available from John Deere...



... they would all have to be bent individually into position.



Once installed they are stacked together so each line affected all the other lines. Also single, one piece lines were no longer available; each line was now made of 2 pieces, note the unions to the right of the square fittings which joined the two pieces together. So clearance for the unions had to be provided for by bending clearance into the line also. If the line touched one of the fittings or unions it would eventually chafe a hole in the line otherwise.



Two items to note here. I've taped a length of computer punch card onto the loader frame to minimize getting that new powder coating all scuffed up and I've wrapped different color wire around each line. In this picture the top line has a red wire wrapped around it with white wire wrapped on the line below it. There are 4 lines made of 2 pieces each equaling 8 separate pieces of line. Also once bent they had to be installed in the proper order.



By color coding the various lines it helped me keep them in order ie: the two red lines went together and were on top, followed by the white lines next, then the blue lines and last were orange coded lines- red, white, blue and orange. :)





You can see how I used some Jorgensen wood clamps to temporally hold the lines while they were being fabricated. The blue painters tape was used to protect the powder coating also.









So here are the 8 separate lines that when joined make up the 4 hard lines. Squint hard and on the left you'll see red, white, blue and orange wire wrapped around each one. This represents several days and many, many, many hours of bending, tweaking checking and rechecking to get these lines bent with slight little clearances and correct fits. It's a good thing I don't do this for a living, I'd starve! Once done...



...Rick finished them off with beautiful powder coating. John Deere makes some similar lines that have a protective finish on them so they won't rust but these lines didn't have that finish. They had to be protected in some way either by paint or in this case powder coating. With that tiresome chore out of the way you'll next see how it all comes together in Part IV. :thumbup:

Thomas
 

anilv

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And I've finally reached the most recent post...

Dear Tom,

it's been a great read, I love how you've managed to revive the old shop while still keeping links to the past.

Now I can spare some time on the other great garages on this site.

Anil

ps.. I'm in Malaysia btw, I know that Continental Micronesia used to send the 727s to Kuala Lumpur for maint checks. Use to see them there when I worked for Flying Tigers. Did you ferry any of them (or out)?
 

p_mori7

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Montreal, QC., Canada
IMG_1694.jpg


So there he is under the Ferrari, Porsche, BMW etc flags in all his glory, head held high! :bowdown: If only Mr Johnson could see him now. :bounce:


Late at night, when all the lights are out; I am sure that Mr. Johnson calmly strolls towards his truck...steps over that little chain...opens the door...slides into the seat...caresses the rim of the steering wheel...palms the shifter knob with his hand and swiggles it right-to-left to make sure it's in neutral...presses in the clutch...snicks the shifter thru the gears before bringing it back to neutral...steals a glance in the driver's side mirror...then opens the door and slides back out before gently closing the door with a soft click...and then heads back to the shop...
 

markviii

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east central IL
p_mori7 - you may have something there - I think Mr. Johnson is always here looking over Tom's shoulder, seeing his old things become newer than they ever looked in his lifetime. Mrs. Johnson loved watching and was very pleased with the transformation of the shop and property.

Chris
 

markviii

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east central IL
I suppose it's about time to update the state/country list from 12/8/2010 (post #1921, pg. 97). Page 340 is easier to get to than page 97 when I'm trying to look for the post again. I've copied it below with the update for Malasia I just made. If anyone feels I missed their state/country on the list, just send me a PM so I can correct it. There is sooo much content on here and some people post with no locations (or imbed their country as anulv just did). We have all the continents covered. If you have a way to get us the Space Station, that would be a great addition!

Chris

---
12/8/2010
Thanks for joining, William. We had an official Scotland (country #2) early on, but he actually lives there. You made the extra effort to move LOL. You have now been officially initiated because you actually took the time to read the entire thread before posting ( I have ways of knowing this - kind of like The Great Karnak). Can you believe some people actually admitted to skipping ahead in the thread just to post in? I don't think that will help them very much on the test! Omphaloskeptic calls it our "Fortress of Solitude". (Is that like Max Smart's "Cone of Silence"?) (we watched too much TV in our youth, I think, but TV shows were actually worthwhile back then) I say you've been sucked into the vortex. All in all, it's our little slice of heaven. Tom is of Scottish heritage (McMillan on his mother's side).

Oops!! I violated my self-imposed "no more posting rule". I must not be busy enough. No more hints either. (I think that there have been more than 24,000 "hits" since last Wednesday, putting us closer to 1/2 million every day. I'm working my fingers to the bone getting that test ready!)

Chris

Here's the real reason for posting:

Here's an update of the state/country list (from page 86). If I missed anyone, sorry. Just let me know. I don't want to leave anyone out of the fun!

** indicate states that are represented so far. If you've posted, but haven't identified your location, you can PM me if you want and I'll ** the state or add the country of origin. So far 35 states have posted. (4/29/10 - we now have 37 thanks to Todd and Tom in Nebraska and West Virginia)(also welcome Jay for #38)(I can't remember who was #39, but #40 on 7/3/10 is wats56 from WY)(and #41 on 9/27/10 from NH). Only 7 more states to go!
As of 11/16/10, we now have 44 states (as of 12/14/10)(I know those other 6 states are lurking!)(45 included as of 3/14/11) (46 states as of 5/4/11 with DE coming on board) 47 states accounted for 5/5/11 (Welcome Guam! 5/8/11)(48 states as of 7/21/11 with the addition of HI!) 50 states as of 1/17/13
States (& Possessions included because Tom flew there at one point in his career)
** = posted
**AL
**AK
AMERICAN SAMOA (AS)
**AZ
**AR
**CA
**CO
**CT
**DE
**Wash DC
FEDERATED STATES OF MICRONESIA (FM)
**FL
**GA
**GUAM (GU)(Guam (GU)(organized, unincorporated territory of the United States)
**HI
**ID
**IL
**IN
**IA
**KS
**KY
**LA
**ME
MARSHALL ISLANDS (MH)
**MD
**MA
**MI
**MN
**MS
**MO
**MT
**NE
**NV
**NH
**NJ
**NM
**NY
**NC
**ND
NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS (MP)
**OH
**OK
**OR
PALAU (PW)
**PA
PUERTO RICO (PR)
**RI
**SC
**SD
**TN
**TX
**UT
**VT
VIRGIN ISLANDS (VI)
**VA
**WA
**WV
**WI
**WY

Countries represented so far (24 as of 12/8/10)(I know there are more!):
(26 as of 1/25/11)(27 as of 2/19/11)(28 as of 3/17/11)(29 and counting as of 8/11/11)(30 as of 9/27/11)(31 as of 7/2/12)(32 as of 7/15/12)(33 as of 7/24/12), (34 as of 1/9/2013)(#35 as of 1/31/13)
# 36, Antarctica as of 2/10/2013, #37 and counting as of 2/12/2013
#38 and still counting as of 2/21/13 (#39 posted in on May 10/11, 2013) #40 posted on 7/17/13
France
UK (many locations)
Scotland
Switzerland
Australia (several locations)
Canada (many locations)
Sweden
Netherlands
New Zealand
Ireland
Iceland
Portugal
Hong Kong
India
South Africa
Turkey
Afghanistan
Iraq
Denmark
Philippines
Peru
Norway
Malta
Belgium
Japan
Estonia
United Arab Emirates (UAE)
Croatia
Argentina
Spain
Wales
Finland
Brasil (Brazil) (I don't know how I missed this one!)
Romania
China (Shanghai)
Antarctica (Mcmurdo Station)
Poland
Germany
Malaysia
Thailand
 
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gordyy

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And all of this revolving around the center of the universe!!!!!
Spring has finally come to North Dakota so along with remodeling my small shop to fit a lift in, I actually am working again. Its garden tilling time soon to be followed by mowing and more mowing.
Thomas fantastic work on the BGLM. Mine is BLack and I must say I do not take care of it as nicely as you do, I put a couple hundred hours a year on my machines and am not all that fussy about how close to pine trees and other objects I get. So they do look scuffed a bit lol. But I do keep up with the maintanence in fact time to do another oil change right now,

I am afraid there is so much material for Chris's famed TEST my brain will IMPLODE, (there is too much lost knowledge these days for it to explode)
 
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BB767

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PART IV - Big Green Loading Machine - BGLM

With the hard lines now powder coated it was time to install them along with the cylinders and flexible lines. To aid with all that...



...I set up my laptop (actually a net book for the computer geeks out there :)). To the left of the loader back by the wall on the grey wheel cart...



...is not only my net book with pictures I had taken of the loader before dis-assembly...



... but also the loader shop manual and parts list and diagram.



So by cross referencing all three it made reassemble much easier. Look in the shop manual, double check the parts and then look at the pictures. Easy-peasy, lemon squeezy! :thumbup: This is the future of restoration projects I feel. If there's any questions, using all these resources should help clear up any ambiguities.



Now it was just a matter...



...of re-assembling all the various pieces - parts.

The cylinders originally...



...used these cotter pins to secure the locating pins into the loader frame.



I substituted these quick release...



...pins instead.

To give you and idea of the the hydraulic connections that had to be made...



...here are the plugs that came out of the different lines and fittings. Once all the connections were done, tightened up, and powder up............not one of them leaked!! :bounce:



There are two (left and right) lock/release rods that secure the loader to the mounting frame. I had to re-bend some incorrect bends in them...



... and install...



...new T handles on them also.



While I was at it, I also had the tractor forward grill powder coated...





...which I'm glad I did. I found some light rust on the bottom of it so that was corrected and shouldn't ever be a problem in the future.

The last item placed on the loader before it was mounted on the tractor...



...was this fabric wrap on the hydraulic hoses that connect to the tractor. These bundle the hoses together and helps prevent damage to them.



In preparation of installing the loader on the tractor - the loader mounts, most of the green parts seen here, were installed on the tractor.



This is the fixed mount and on the other end...



...is where the detachable mount installs.



That would be all these parts including the new guide plate seen in a previous post.



Here it is installed. Note the 4 hydraulic quick release hose connections with black dust caps in the background.



Seen is some of the grade 8 hardware that was used for this mount.



Here the tractor was driven into the loader and stopped short while...



...the hoses were attached. Once that was done the loader was then lowered into the mounting bracket.

With everything now installed and tighten...



...I went back to all the fittings that were scuffed during the assembly process and used some touch up paint with an artists brush to give it a last touch up. While the paint is not as hard and durable as the powder coating, it does protect any areas that were chipped.

Once I was happy that everything was properly installed, adjusted and operating satisfactorily the last bit of this restoration was...



...placing all the various decals onto their proper place. That you'll get is to see in the final installment of the BGLM. Thanks everyone.

Thomas
 
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BB767

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And I've finally reached the most recent post...

Dear Tom,

it's been a great read, I love how you've managed to revive the old shop while still keeping links to the past.

Now I can spare some time on the other great garages on this site.

Anil

ps.. I'm in Malaysia btw, I know that Continental Micronesia used to send the 727s to Kuala Lumpur for maint checks. Use to see them there when I worked for Flying Tigers. Did you ferry any of them (or out)?

Nice work Anil, many thanks for those kind words. Sticking with the thread and reaching the latest momentary pause is a proud accomplishment isn't it? Not everyone has been able to do it and it's getting harder all the time I'm afraid. :eek:

Most of the Air Mic maintenance ferry flights to Kuala Lumpur were flow by the guys who lived on Guam or were not married and not those of us who were married and commuted. Our schedules were set for the month before we ever arrived on island and the ferry flights were additional flying so to do them we'd have to stay an extra day or 2. Most commuters, including me didn't want to do that even though flying to a different part of Asia was very appealing. Once my scheduled flying for the month was done I was on an airplane headed back to Miss Chris and my kids. :D

You'll find there are some terrific threads here on Garage Journal and I'm honored that you chose this one for your first post. :bowdown: Check back here from time to time and see what other mischief I've managed to get myself into. Welcome to the vortex!

Thomas
 
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BB767

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Philo, IL
Late at night, when all the lights are out; I am sure that Mr. Johnson calmly strolls towards his truck...steps over that little chain...opens the door...slides into the seat...caresses the rim of the steering wheel...palms the shifter knob with his hand and swiggles it right-to-left to make sure it's in neutral...presses in the clutch...snicks the shifter thru the gears before bringing it back to neutral...steals a glance in the driver's side mirror...then opens the door and slides back out before gently closing the door with a soft click...and then heads back to the shop...

Now that is some wonderful mental imagery p_mori7, thank you so very much for sharing it. Ever since I found Mr Johnson's name tag in the backyard several years ago I've been extremely aware he must be around here watching all the developments. I've said it before, it's been an honor to be the caretaker of his shop and breathe life and vibrancy back into it. What was a near terminal case of the shop being lost forever, it now seems secure, at least under my tutelage.

You have my most grateful thanks again for sharing with us. When you get a chance, come visit us.

Thomas
 

gordyy

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 10, 2013
Messages
180
Location
North Dakota
Thomas you are an inspiration to all of us.
that was a great rebuild on your loader no doubt your son will someday give it to one of his children along with a bottle of touch up paint.
Fantastic
 
OP
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BB767

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 24, 2009
Messages
3,724
Location
Philo, IL
And all of this revolving around the center of the universe!!!!!
Spring has finally come to North Dakota so along with remodeling my small shop to fit a lift in, I actually am working again. Its garden tilling time soon to be followed by mowing and more mowing.
Thomas fantastic work on the BGLM. Mine is BLack and I must say I do not take care of it as nicely as you do, I put a couple hundred hours a year on my machines and am not all that fussy about how close to pine trees and other objects I get. So they do look scuffed a bit lol. But I do keep up with the maintanence in fact time to do another oil change right now,

I am afraid there is so much material for Chris's famed TEST my brain will IMPLODE, (there is too much lost knowledge these days for it to explode)

Hi there again gordyy. Spring is my favorite time of year for sure. Machines are to be used for work, it's just when I see them neglected or abused that I have an issue. Just no need for that. No worries, mine get scuffed as well and when it gets too bad I do something about it and the process starts all over again.

It is remarkable isn't it, how through the internet, this small shop and its story has reached people and places all over the world. What would Mr Johnson think? :)

I'm not sure but I think we've overwhelmed Chris with content. A while back she spoke of trying to get something ready for a test by page 100 but that didn't happen, so now.............who knows? She stills works on it from time to time (I hear her giggling evilly about it in her office) but what final form it take.............

Thomas
 
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BB767

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 24, 2009
Messages
3,724
Location
Philo, IL
Most seasoned pilots use the fewest words possible when communicating from the cockpit...I've always called it economy of speech...very important when the airways are crowed around busy airports.

Roger that santagary. Good point.

Unfortunately on this thread occasionally I have a tendency to, well.........run on and on. But in the cockpit - Never! :D

Thomas
 

anilv

New member
Joined
Apr 6, 2013
Messages
2
Dear Thomas,

One thing that I find missing is the 'little boy'.....what struck me is the post that asked why all your visitors are old people..

All of us have memories from when we were young and the people we hung around with and effectively made us what we are....

Is there a kid who hangs out in your shop and who will, in about 30 years time, probably be looking out for a shop of his own and modelling it after 'old Tom's shop' and doing it with the same appreciation for the past owners that you have shown?

I known your son is actively helping you but currently...? neighbours?

Anil
 

markviii

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 25, 2010
Messages
1,310
Location
east central IL
Sadly, there are few kids around us. The one neighbor boy who hung out at the place when he was 9 and 10 became a teenager and the novelty of the pop machine and helping Tom around the place wore off. It seems that football and girls in this rural area take precedence over everything, so his visits ended. We have no grandkids and I don't teach school anymore, which provided a source of students who would take interest once in a while. So, it seems it's all us "old" people who frequent the place. We actively recruit "younger" people into our collector car club, but it's difficult.

Our son is still involved - mows the grass when Tom can't get to it and helps Tom with some heavy lifting that I can't do. He has his own house to work on now and things have slowed down in terms of "rehab" at the property. I expect he'll help out again more actively when we get into the building of the retirement house. He's helping me declutter our house in preparation for sale - it's a big job getting rid of 54 years worth of stuff. What to keep?... what to toss?...What will fit the character/use of the retirement place?... Our daughter came out yesterday to begin taking pictures of all her favorite things at the house. That should take her a month of Sundays (or Saturdays)! She's feeling a huge sense of impending "loss" right now since her nursery (in what was her grandparents' house at the time) is in this house. If she and her husband had the resources and if the house could be made handicapped-accessible, and, and, and... she would want to keep the house. But it's not to be. Change is difficult.

Chris
 
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