5mall5nail5's Modest 2-car Clean-up and Setup
- Thread starter 5mall5nail5
- Start date
OP
5mall5nail5
Well-known member
Thanks crawler - I love the miller table. It's a good size for me and the X slots make clamping great. The shelf on the side to hold the welder was on my list to get for some time and glad I finally picked it up. That table as you see has the interior shelf, exterior shelf, tool-box, slots with clamps, and vise kit. Oh and "convenience" kit and clamp bar.
OP
5mall5nail5
Well-known member
Nothing big going on I just made a sort of photo wall to decorate some. Printed on my Canon Pixma Pro 9500 II on semi gloss and mounted to 5/16" foam board.
Photo Wall by Jon Kensy, on Flickr
Photo Wall by Jon Kensy, on FlickrTheLS1Lover
Well-known member
I have this book marked for when I get a house!
I am actually about to tackle a friends 2001 M3, well the fabrication part as well. Keeping it a small setup, Precision PT6266CEA, Precision 750HP Intercooler, TiAL Wastegate and Blow Off Valve, 304SS and Aluminum, I actually just picked one of these (http://www.radweldingsupplies.com/product/toxicfab-14-welding-cup-kit) up and am uber excited to try it out!
Keep the updates coming whenever you can man!
I am actually about to tackle a friends 2001 M3, well the fabrication part as well. Keeping it a small setup, Precision PT6266CEA, Precision 750HP Intercooler, TiAL Wastegate and Blow Off Valve, 304SS and Aluminum, I actually just picked one of these (http://www.radweldingsupplies.com/product/toxicfab-14-welding-cup-kit) up and am uber excited to try it out!
Keep the updates coming whenever you can man!
OP
5mall5nail5
Well-known member
Thanks LS1Lover. 6266 on a S54B32 is great fun. Tons of RPM and the turbo holds in there pretty well throughout. That's a wild shield cup setup - I might have to try that some day but not at that price lol!
I washed the cars today after working from home. Little cramped, might kick the E30 back outside.
Crowded garage by Jon Kensy, on Flickr
I washed the cars today after working from home. Little cramped, might kick the E30 back outside.
Crowded garage by Jon Kensy, on Flickrwideopen1967
Active member
- Joined
- Nov 18, 2012
- Messages
- 41
Just a quick note on cutting aluminum with a regular saw. If you use a product called mold saver, the saw will cut much cleaner and there will be no aluminum stuck to the blade.
http://www.grainger.com/product/6GD...6GDY7&ef_id=U2qpEAAAAF3DTgJH:20140625002307:s
http://www.grainger.com/product/6GD...6GDY7&ef_id=U2qpEAAAAF3DTgJH:20140625002307:s
SiGmA_X
Well-known member
Wait, your mom's DD came to live with you and your wife?
Both cars, and the garage, look very, very nice.
Both cars, and the garage, look very, very nice.
OP
5mall5nail5
Well-known member
Interesting but I actually didn't have any issues with it sticking granted I only had to cut like 4 or 6 2" square tubes.
My parents are moving soon so I am taking it in for storage/upgrades/work. Though I do sort of feel like I may have just inherited it.
SiGmA_X
Well-known member
Ah nice. I bet you did inherit it. You built it, after all!
OP
5mall5nail5
Well-known member
Ha yeah - we'll see though I want her to enjoy it and honestly not a fan of having 2 cars in the garage. Makes it way harder to work on anything and I don't really want to leave it outside to get pooped on by birds.
gtr cook
Well-known member
Love this garage and hope to have similar at some point.
Really like your work bench setup
Really like your work bench setup
OP
5mall5nail5
Well-known member
Thanks GTR!
Boost Creep
Well-known member
OP
5mall5nail5
Well-known member
i'm pretty sure thats the point where you decide you just need a bigger garage
Oh trust me I want to. Just a little more project than I can bite off right now. We're doing 3/4" oak hardwood throughout the 3200 sq ft house right now! Doing a 3rd car bay on my garage isn't in the cards lol. My dream is to bump it out to a 3rd car with the 3rd bay being deeper and higher ceiling with a 9 ft door.
mfatuation
Active member
No vanos, no care.
rockingthe2
Well-known member
Love this garage. Whenever I get place that I plan on living in for a long time, I'm doing a home network. Garage looks awesome, pictures are awesome too, and I love the BMWs! How much do you have in your powder coating setup and how steep of a learning curve is there?
CudaChick1968
Member Emeritus
rocking, I saw your question just now and felt compelled to just throw my two cents in anyway.
This started off as a PM but with the way I tell a story I just couldn't get it down to 5,000 characters. Sorry -- this is NOT a thread hijack by the way, just an unsolicited answer from the Cheap Seats. 
I have an old hot rod I bought in 1991, typical POS basketcase with the "box of spare parts in the trunk" (it's in my profile pic). My first and only resto, I've tried to do it right along the way. I bought an el cheapo powder coating setup in 1999 for about $40 that got my feet damp and ignited a fire in me.
I coated stuff on my car for a few years with more bad results than good because the aftermarket powder industry was just getting going and I was clueless. I eventually got it down to where I was happy and finally felt comfortable showing it off. Then the valve covers and intake manifolds and brackets started showing up from my friends and the fire only got hotter. I started trying little custom stuff and absolutely LOVED IT.
That little gun worked all right for a hobbyist ... until my (then) new man Billy tried it for the first time. He got the gun too close to the little SBC bracket he was trying to coat and those 50,000 kilovolts LIT HIM UP. At 6'5 and 280 lbs, Billy vs. The Powder Coating Gun didn't last long enough for a sequel. First the gun, then the machine, and then the poor little bracket -- still helplessly attached to the ground clip -- zinged past my head at about 300 miles an hour and crashed into the door into a zillion pieces.
Needless to say, Billy doesn't powder coat too much anymore. LOL
Back in those days I still worked for lawyers ... and then Hurricane Katrina came along. Making this very long story shorter, we moved to Tennessee in 2006. The closest lawyers were 2 hours away. I could spend my life in the car commuting or hang up my own shingle and see if I could turn a fun hobby into a full time job. That was in 2007.
I upgraded to more serious equipment (big compressor, pot blaster, cabinets, etc.) spending about $4 grand in all. Since that initial outlay I've upgraded when I can, the last thing being a 5 foot blast cabinet I scored on CL for $1200.
The shop is and always has been my baby. I celebrated my 7th anniversary on May 31; I've never formally advertised anywhere except for business cards ($40 per 1000), helping out once in a while on message boards like GJ (free) and obviously my website ($80 a year give or take). I rely instead on Word of Mouth, the Best Advertising That Money Can't Buy
; I've had 15 or more jobs here at any given time now for over 5 years straight and the last couple of years that number has usually been closer to 25. I need clones now more than I need anything else.Now with all of that in mind, I'm going to be my usual honest self here and advise you not to get into it. I'm not saying it because I'm afraid you're going to turn into competition -- you aren't
(if you've ever seen my work you'll probably agree) -- but I'm doing it because the market has become absolutely and totally saturated over the last decade.That saturation is happening because of 'net forums like this and Eastwood with their market claims to "Open your own business for $100!" ...... which basically operated to turn everybody and their dog into a "powder coater" .... having no clue wtf they're doing while investing too much money into equipment/overhead, practicing on their customers' parts while trying in vain to get up to speed with the shops like mine that have been doing it very well for years, and getting in way over their heads at the outset. When they've been open for a few months and the unhappy customers' rework starts outnumbering the new jobs coming in the door, most try for awhile but eventually end up closing.
There were 2 shops already here when I moved in. They're now GONE.
There's just too much competition out there, and because of Eastwood's people who now think they can be a pro but who instead turn out ****** work and flood the industry, all of their customers start talking. A happy person might tell 5 people ... but an unhappy one will tell 500 or 5000 ... and before long the entire industry is full of clueless "coaters" giving the rest of us who DO know what we're doing a bad rap and leaving us holding the bag for their mistakes.
Now rocking, please take all of this in the spirit that it's intended, to HELP, EDUCATE and GUIDE rather than knock your feet out from under you. I was in your shoes myself at one time wondering if it could be done and I guess I'm proof now that it can be. But it was never easy ... it's still not ... I don't make a lot of money but I love doing what I do so it's not exactly work per se for me ... but just think long and hard and then rethink it some more before you decide to pull that trigger.
Whatever you ultimately decide, I wish you the best of luck and every success in the world. I'm here if you want to talk.
Last edited:
OP
5mall5nail5
Well-known member
Thanks man - I appreciate it. If you know of any get togethers in the area let me know always looking to do stuff.
No vanos, no care.
Haha awesome - thanks matt! I'll have you know I have a 3.0L built motor with S52 head and cams with... VANOS
Should go in later this year or early next. Welcome to GJ!Thank you! For powder coating I have like... $300 in it lol. I use an Eastwood gun and have a $100 counter top small oven for small parts. For bigger parts I have a local friend with walk in ovens and such. I use a HF bead blasting cabinet and 26 gal 2 stage compressor for blasting. I use powders from Power buy the lb, eastwood, caswell, etc.
Thank you!
I powder coat as a hobby only but have managed a lot of nice parts with my Eastwood gun, counter top electric oven, and bead blaster. My buddy has a lot more equipment that I've got access to from time to time, but this has held me over for most things lately.
I definitely will, hoping I can get my own car in proper running order lol
rockingthe2
Well-known member
Just looking to powder coat my own stuff, maybe some for a few buddies and repay myself for equipment costs hah. Thanks for the reply, and I don't think I could compete with someone who does it as a job and doesn't move every few years.
CudaChick1968
Member Emeritus
You're welcome. Sorry I went so overboard with the answer. Ya know how women talk too much??? I'm just reinforcing the stereotype.
OP
5mall5nail5
Well-known member
Its definitely do-able for that. Like I said I have only a few hundred bucks invested and I've done all the coating on my car. Its pretty easy and overall cheap if you aren't trying to run a business.
TheLS1Lover
Well-known member
Yeah, the shield is expensive as ****, but I like it so far. It has really good control IMO. Even though my welds still look like poop lol.
rockingthe2
Well-known member
Good to hear! Hopefully I can start getting the materials together, might be about as much as everything I want to powder coat!
OP
5mall5nail5
Well-known member
Sorry for minimal updates lately we've been busy working around the house on other stuff. My wife's cousin is doing like 1500 sq ft of hardwood installation in our house which also involved moving some walls and such, so that's been our focus.
I finally got around to hanging up my speakers! Well, I have one side done. Need to do the other soon.
Made a bunch of aluminum spacers:
Speaker spacers by Jon Kensy, on Flickr
Finally got around to using my TIG welded aluminum speaker mounts:
Speaker hung by Jon Kensy, on Flickr
The spacers push the speaker about 3/8" off of the mounting plate so that I can run the wire between the speaker and plate. So, the base has a 1/2" hole in it for the speaker wire to run up through the tubing and then out the mount plate and into the speaker all hidden and clean-like.
Speaker mount by Jon Kensy, on Flickr
Also put in a cool Chamberlain WD962KEV opener:
New opener by Jon Kensy, on Flickr
Its sick - super quiet and supports My Q so I also got the internet gateway for it so that I can monitor its status from my cell phone. It'll send me email when the door changes state! So cool. Have a video going up in a minute highliting the new door opener, speaker, and my ambient lighting under my work bench. Just felt like making a video/post, haven't done it for so long!
Oh and before any one says it, I would have installed a jackshaft unit but it was way too involved for what I wanted to do right now. I would have had to convert the door to the torsion spring system and all. When I get a lift I'll do it, but for now this is great.
I finally got around to hanging up my speakers! Well, I have one side done. Need to do the other soon.
Made a bunch of aluminum spacers:
Speaker spacers by Jon Kensy, on FlickrFinally got around to using my TIG welded aluminum speaker mounts:
Speaker hung by Jon Kensy, on FlickrThe spacers push the speaker about 3/8" off of the mounting plate so that I can run the wire between the speaker and plate. So, the base has a 1/2" hole in it for the speaker wire to run up through the tubing and then out the mount plate and into the speaker all hidden and clean-like.
Speaker mount by Jon Kensy, on FlickrAlso put in a cool Chamberlain WD962KEV opener:
New opener by Jon Kensy, on FlickrIts sick - super quiet and supports My Q so I also got the internet gateway for it so that I can monitor its status from my cell phone. It'll send me email when the door changes state! So cool. Have a video going up in a minute highliting the new door opener, speaker, and my ambient lighting under my work bench. Just felt like making a video/post, haven't done it for so long!
Oh and before any one says it, I would have installed a jackshaft unit but it was way too involved for what I wanted to do right now. I would have had to convert the door to the torsion spring system and all. When I get a lift I'll do it, but for now this is great.
TheLS1Lover
Well-known member
Love it Jon!
OP
5mall5nail5
Well-known member
Thanks man!
Here's a video where I drone on about it all, kind of neat to see in action especially the workbench lighting.
mfatuation
Active member
You need to come by and help me get my new garage started!
hoho98925
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Absolutely love all the photos- and you garage and bad either. Thanks for all the detailed posts.
rockingthe2
Well-known member
And now I'm searching craigslist for Bose 301's... So thanks for that...
ILLuSioNz X
Active member
- Joined
- Jan 1, 2013
- Messages
- 35
Great journal, I just went through all seven pages and I was addicted from page one. From electrical and computers, down to forced induction BMWs and welding, I was excited to see that this one had much more depth than the traditional journal. Keep up the good work!
OP
5mall5nail5
Well-known member
Thanks everyone for the kind words I am glad you guys all enjoy reading this!
mattbarn
New member
Great looking garage, Jon. (Yes, this is who you think it is.)
I'm totally going to copy your workbench design as soon as I can.
I'm totally going to copy your workbench design as soon as I can.
OP
5mall5nail5
Well-known member
Cool stuff Matt - awesome thanks, yeah the bench has been pretty awesome to have
Hugo L.
Well-known member
Great update. Cool stuff with the phone-operated GDO, haha!
Extra points for the gratuitous Corona at the 5:00 mark. Further points for using these great Bose speakers, and finally massive pimpage points for the lighting under the workbench.
Damn!
Extra points for the gratuitous Corona at the 5:00 mark. Further points for using these great Bose speakers, and finally massive pimpage points for the lighting under the workbench.
Damn!