Above 1200 Sq/FT building my BIG PARTY garage

[Omphaloskeptic]

"my big party garage"


Never was there a garage more aptly named! There's a famous quote that goes - "Most men lead lives of quiet desperation"; Don, you certainly ain't one of that group! lol

 

[Bob Heine]

Don,
Looks like a great Happy Birthday party -- here's to many more !

 

[Shoottx]

Don

Looks like it was a great party, in a fabulous setting!

Happy Birthday my friend!!!!

 

[ODIS]

All so very cool! Happy Birthday, Don!

 

[80WTI_55_CHEV]

Don i can't get enough of your pics or updates, i have gone threw your pages multiple times and i will keep on doing it. Thanks for the great pics of the party and i hope you can show us some more. lee

 

[Kevin54]

All I can say is "How cool is that"

And the "Party Garage" looks like it's living up to it's name

I had to look a couple of times in a couple of different pic....where'd you pick up Jeeves the Butler at that is standing at the front door? I thought it was real for a second.

 

[akdiesel]

don

Happy Birthday, and great work on getting it all together.

 

[Toolfool]

Happy Birthday !! Looks like everyone will remember your birthday for a long time.

 

[don long]

Thanks guys for the birthday wishes

Omph You're right
the garage is getting a reputation.


Bob Heine
It is going to take many more birthdays to get all of these projects
completed around here. Thanks for the thought.

Thanks Shoottx
I overheard one of my guests commenting on how the place is always changing (I hope for the better) lol

Ody
I want to get up north and see you and your fabulious place
Thanks for the b/day wishes

80ti 55chev
Never worry The pic,s will keep on coming as things happen
around here

Thanks Kevin54
The Butler came with Zoltar the fortune teller (Los Vegas)
He has startled me a few times when walking into the garage
He greats all our guests at the parties and collects tips from
weekly visitors
The party did turn out great Thanks

akdiesel
The party was well worth the work to get the place ready
and it shouldn't need the major cleaning for a few months now
Thanks man

Toolfool
You are right this one was over the top
Thanks for the b/day wishes

 

[jeffmoss26]

Looks like a great time!!

 

[pals444]

Happy birthday, Don!

You sure know how to throw a party. Looked like great fun in surroundings one can only dream of. I just love it.

 

[don long]

Thanks guys
the party is still being talked about.
Now the work must continue or I will never complete the projects at hand
so I have been working on the sand blast box.
I am getting it ready to paint. removed the decals and sanded the box

Got on craigs list and found a 300 lb preasure pot blaster and it needs a larger compressor to run it so I am now wiring up one just for sandblasting
then I will run a 1 " air line to the box from the new compressor, hang lights and juice the air makeup and I will be in business (end of week)

 

[Retroeunos]

Holy S***. That's all I have to say. Jesus.

 

[don long]

Made some progress this week on the blast cabinet
Got the new compressor wired in and the sand blast pressure pot picked up
put one light fixture up and the conduit for the air makeup is also ran








Spent the better part of today locating an air drier to go behind the compressor
most driers only come with 1/2" or 3/4" inlet and I wanted one with a 1" inlet to handle the air volume without restrictions, but settled on a 45 cfm drier with 3/4" inlet so I could pick it up and plumb it in tomorrow

View attachment 1660515

 

[shopnut]

Happy belated B-day Don. I bet you're already looking forward to the next one!

And don't worry about that smaller air drier - it's easy enough to swap out someday if it doesn't suit you, right?

 

[don long]

Thanks for the B-day greeting Shopnut
You are so right about swapping out the drier later.
I am anxious to get this project under my belt so I can move onto some of the fun stuff!!

 

[Omphaloskeptic]

Don, your 'sandbox' is really coming together; you are going to have a 'blast' with it! lol

Any thought on mounting four FL vertically (one for each corner) and shielding them with some cheap/replaceable plexiglass?

 

[don long]

Don, your 'sandbox' is really coming together; you are going to have a 'blast' with it! lol

Any thought on mounting four FL vertically (one for each corner) and shielding them with some cheap/replaceable plexiglass?

Omphaloskeptic
I believe that the 8 t5 lamps will light the place up like the Vegas strip
so any more lights might be overkill how ever you do raise a good point concerning protection for the bulbs and I think I can get tube protectors for each one.

 

[Toolfool]

Omphaloskeptic
I believe that the 8 t5 lamps will light the place up like the Vegas strip
so any more lights might be overkill how ever you do raise a good point concerning protection for the bulbs and I think I can get tube protectors for each one.

I did get the air drier needed to plumb up the compressor to the box and if I weren't so lazy I could have had it finished tonite but maybe tomorrow will be a more productive day lol

Lazy ?!!?? Not from what we've been watching throughout this thread !!

 

[don long]

Lazy ?!!?? Not from what we've been watching throughout this thread !!

Thanks Toolfool for that vote
but when you quit work at 2:30 P.M. cause you don't feel like starting another project,
well thats a bit lazy in my book

Today was a better day.
I took my vitamins this morning and went to work
I finished sanding the blast box. Then pulled out the airless and gave the box
a new look.
After lunch I built a stand for the air drier and mounted it so it could be plumbed into the compressor and the blasting pot.
And tonite I went to the movies

(MUCH BETTER DAY)

 

[foleymech]

Don,

If you had that building here in the PacNoWest, I think you would have to figure out how to keep it from raining indoors! Wow, that is some building! Looking forward to seeing more.

Ody.

Looks like a flood waiting to happen there.

 

[don long]

Foleymech

It took me a day to figure out where you were
The quote from ody was on the first page Hope you are catching up with us

I had to review the thread myself after you commented
and see the vast changes (interesting to me too)
Thank you

 

[don long]

With the sand blasting cabinet almost ready to use my attention span used up on the blaster I think it is time to start another project

So I ordered 4 sheets of 14 guage metal 6' x 6' it was delivered wednesday morning

I took my circle cutter, hooked my plasma cutter to it and cut out a 6' circle from each sheet

Now I'm ready to make a new gas station sign
I will take a pattern from this old signal sign and reproduce it on one of the 6' discs

 

[flybefree]

Holy Schnikes Don you just keep rolling don't you? Love the shots of your party, and may I ask a silly question? What is the blasting box going to be use for? Looks great.

v.r.

Shaun

 

[don long]

Holy Schnikes Don you just keep rolling don't you? Love the shots of your party, and may I ask a silly question? What is the blasting box going to be use for? Looks great.

v.r.

Shaun

flybefree
Its good to have you back on the hunt for insperation and good ideas again
Yes the place doesn't stay the same very long

The sand box will help my illness of old things needing to look new. So the first two items waiting to get blasted are the English phone booth and the 1920s floor jack then on to some visable gas pumps

 

[akdiesel]

don

Argh...Your killing me with everything I want. Great work again on the new sign.
Your alternate use of the lift is exactly what I want to do with an in floor scissor lift.

 

[softailgarage]

Hey Don, the sandbox is looking sharp. Man, I cant even draw a circle much less cut one so perfectly like that.

 

[80WTI_55_CHEV]

Are you doing all the discs the same Don or have you got some other designs in mind for the other 3 mate. Look forward to seeing how they turn out as i have been making some repros as well and the cost factor is great and still has the wow factor. lee

 

[don long]

don

Argh...Your killing me with everything I want. Great work again on the new sign.
Your alternate use of the lift is exactly what I want to do with an in floor scissor lift.

ak
When you are old and the back complains whenever you bend over for any length of time you tend to find alternative ways to get things done.
The lift in the middle of the floor makes a great work bench that raises to the occasion and you can work 360 around it on a rolling chair. The blue lift next to the the one in the center makes a great secondary tool bench (catch all).
Get one they are a life saver.

Hey Don, the sandbox is looking sharp. Man, I cant even draw a circle much less cut one so perfectly like that.

Hey Jeff
Thanks man The blast cabin is coming along very well. I have the fresh air unit all set up, made a bracket to hold the air filter on the pressure pot yesterday. It is in the spray booth waiting for some color to be sprayed on it.
The only thing left to do is plumb the air filter to the compressor,shorten the air line that connects to my rubber suit and I'm in the blasting business (tomorrow)

Cutting the circle from a 6' square was a mystery to me, but my buddy Brett
(the guy sitting in the above picture) brought me a plasma circle cutter.
We attached it to the center of the square with a magnet that has a tab on it with a hole for a bolt. It has an adjustable rod that connects to the bolt in the magnet at one end and a circle that holds the plasma cutter on the other.
The cutting end also has a wheel that glides on the metal as you cut the circle, it worked slick
Good to hear from you Hope all is well at home.

Are you doing all the discs the same Don or have you got some other designs in mind for the other 3 mate. Look forward to seeing how they turn out as i have been making some repros as well and the cost factor is great and still has the wow factor. lee

Hi Lee
No I am not making all 4 discs the same
A friend is taking 2 of them and he is the guy making the pattern for the signal gas sign,and the other disc is a spare or back up for each of us
I ordered a 1 1/2" x 6' angle iron circle to go around the sign so it can be hung. When it's finished the sign will weigh over 125 lbs


Thanks for checking in guys
I will post more as the work progresses around here.

 

[Bronson]

Belated Happy Birthday, Don!
Wow, Elvis, Marilyn AND ZOLTAR! How cool is that?!

 

[80WTI_55_CHEV]

Hi Don, In the other thread you said you liked the traffic lights mate, if i lived in the U S i would of loved to see a set in your garage mate but unfortunately i am a little to far away. If you go into my garage thread you can see some of my other signs i have been making, I am about to make a couple of the mr horsepower clay smith cam signs in the next couple of weeks. I look forward to seeing how the sign will turn out Don as the last one you did was great. lee

 

[don long]

Thanks Bronson
The party was definitely a big hit with all in attendance and Elvis and Marilyn
did a super job with the crowd. Zoltar not so much.This one will be hard to top.

Lee I found your thread
Nice set up and the work looks A1
Sorry to hear bout the water problems (BUMMER)

Today was a great day for me
I finished the sand blasting box today
I hung a shelf for the spray suit and rubber gloves
Added the fresh air system including building a bracket for the fresh air filtration system
building a work table and (taking a piece from Jack Olsen's garage) I hung it on hinges on the wall
I even climbed into the space suit to check it out

 

[bdkw1]

The sand box will help my illness of old things needing to look new. So the first two items waiting to get blasted are the English phone booth

Years ago I refurbed one of those for a telcom company we did work for. That things was heavy! After blasting it did not look good, took a lot of bondo. Putting in the 1000 windows was also a time consuming chore. Looked nice when done, it's still in their lobby.

Does yours still have the concrete base?

 

[e-tek]

Love it.

The blasting room is a great idea.

What will you do with the original "Signal" sign?

 

[don long]

Years ago I refurbed one of those for a telcom company we did work for. That things was heavy! After blasting it did not look good, took a lot of bondo. Putting in the 1000 windows was also a time consuming chore. Looked nice when done, it's still in their lobby.

Does yours still have the concrete base?

I'm a little concerned about the condition of the metal as well
but I do know how to bondo things up
The booth came with new old style glass cut to size along with the glass fillers. The floor is not in the box but I have a piece of steel plate cut to size waiting to be installed.
Heavy is an understatement 1800 lbs is my calc.
How did you move yours around to work on it??
Did you dismantle it (all 4 sides?)
I'm not sure how to get the phone booth inside the spray booth in one piece
and if I paint it in pieces the bolt ends will need to be touched up after reconstruction and I'm not sure how that will look.
May start tomorrow if all goes well.

Love it.

The blasting room is a great idea.

What will you do with the original "Signal" sign?

e-tek
The blast cabin developed from a casual conversation with my son-in-law
about a well furnished garage and what if!!!

The beat up signal sign was purchased so that I could learn how to repair porcelain signs so I will attempt to repair it then it will hang on the out side shop wall somewhere maybe the side of the blast box

Hey I enjoy following your thread. Thanks

 

[ODIS]

Don,

Blasting booth is great! What are you using to blast with? That brown color reminds me of walnut shells, but certainly, it is something else.

Cool deal on your new signs as well. Will be interesting to see the finished product. Chances are, you may be getting orders to produce more. Perhaps, another business to retire from...

Hope all is well in SoCal.

Best,

Ody.

 

[don long]

Ody
You are correct, That is walnut shells.
The pressure tank came as a demo unit and it has walnut shells in it

I will be using 80 grit aluminum oxide to take the paint off the phone booth.

I am not too worried about orders coming in on the signs.
a friend asked me yesterday what I would charge him to paint his car
I told him that if I had time to paint a car, for sure it would be one of my own not some one else's

all is well in SoCal you cant beat the weather here!

Thanks

Don

 

[Omphaloskeptic]

Don, the sand box looks great!

Will the phone booth be the first project to be blasted? I can't wait to see the rotisserie/trolley you build to handle that ~1800# monster. I'm thinking a light truck frame ought to work as the trolley so the booth can lay on its side. Two steering boxes employed; one to steer the 'trolley' and the other to spin the rotisserie!

Would a light truck frame even fit in the box without being shortened/narrowed?

 

[don long]

Don, the sand box looks great!

Will the phone booth be the first project to be blasted? I can't wait to see the rotisserie/trolley you build to handle that ~1800# monster. I'm thinking a light truck frame ought to work as the trolley so the booth can lay on its side. Two steering boxes employed; one to steer the 'trolley' and the other to spin the rotisserie!

Would a light truck frame even fit in the box without being shortened/narrowed?

Omphaloskeptic
You are my hero today
Yes the phone booth was started on in the blast cabin today
I am dismantling it to prep it for paint and repair the broken or missing pieces
two top panels were broken so I needed to take the other good panels down for a patern to work from
Because the bolts holding the booth together are exposed on the outside of each panel. I will reassemble the booth prior to painting. Handling the complete booth will be next to impossible, and I didn't know how that was going to work out until you gave me the answer.
THANK YOU the rotisserie is the answer and I happen to have one!!

The blast cabin is working out very well however I now understand why it is so expensive to have something sand blasted.
It is a slow painstaking process and takes patience (that which I am short on)
Stay close by and see the phone booth take on a personality

Don

 

[bdkw1]

Heavy is an understatement 1800 lbs is my calc.
How did you move yours around to work on it??

Very carefully with a fork lift. We put the forks through the window openings. Made sure that the forks were hitting both sides evenly and lifted it up. Put it on a pallet to go to the painters. It stayed on it till it left. Not sure how the movers got it in the building and off the pallet. With the concrete floor ours must have weighed a few hundred pounds more than yours.

Ours did not have windows in it when We got it. We had lexan pieces cut out and double sided sticky taped them in. I think that saved a hundred pounds when finished.......