Neglected century barn is becoming my workshop and garage

[Bib Overalls]

My Colchester is and appears to have always been blue.



Colchester Student Lathe 1 by Formerly JimboT, on Flickr

 

[mtm_motors]

I really like seeing your tool restoration! You are an inspiration to many of us. This place is turning out really well..

 

[Cdstahlman]

Truly amazing workspace that you've created. You're attention to detail is awesome. I've really enjoyed seeing your progress and hope to continue to do so.

 

[Bears Fan]

Man that is just cool, it has a real high level of character that you just can't get in new construction

 

[Bears Fan]

Just putting in my two cents worth...I really like the blue color

 

[Techie1961]

Thanks so much guys for the comments. It's nice that some of you are inspired as that is what this site has done for me. I find that seeing others achieve some truly amazing stuff has made me remember to put in that bit of extra effort. I used to be much more detail oriented but let it drift for a while. Happens when you get older and the last three years have definitely taken its toll on me.

Thanks Bib Overalls of the photo of your old Colchester. I think that I have narrowed it down that mine will be the light green. Not a crazy restoration but a nice tidy up is in store of mine.

Yeah the blue is definitely staying and there will be a few more pieces such as the sandblaster, parts cleaner, grinder etc. that will be getting a fresh coat.

Hey Bears Fan and others, no comments on the burnt Orange? It's kind of growing on me and might stay.

 

[Bears Fan]

Well maybe if you went with a little darker blue, that orange would really pop

 

[GJoustra]

Wow Great job! Thanks for keeping the barn and using what you had and not tearing it down and starting over.

 

[BUGTHUG]

Maybe a DENVER BRONCO color

 

[LanceMc]

Beautiful barn shop. I sure do like your work!

 

[BigNuge]

Maybe a DENVER BRONCO color

C'mon now, don't be muckin up the mans thread with that BS....

GO PATS!!!!




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[bro.steve]

Did I miss it or have you not installed the steel I-beam in the ceiling to hold up the beams?

 

[BUGTHUG]

C'mon now, don't be muckin up the mans thread with that BS....

GO PATS!!!!




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We will see in a few days

 

[Techie1961]

Why do I have this eerie feeling that I am being hijacked? No worries though. It shows you what I know about sports (note my nickname "techie").

Thanks for all of the kind comments about the work that I've done on the barn. I think it's a pretty cool place too and really enjoy it.

Regarding the steel beam, I was hoping at the time to be able to install one so that I had a completely open floor and the ability to hoist things. Money got way too tight though so I had to put in a post to support the existing wood beam. That is why the lathe ended up being there as well. Since the post was kind of permanent I might as well put something heavy there that didn't need to be moved.

 

[Fast914]

Re: Time to build my shop and I am going to need some help

Techie, I just came across your thread, what a beautiful garage and the work you have done...holy ****!!!

I came across your post where you had considered delaying anymore updates pending some interest from readers....I was responding before I clued in that there were another 10 pages ahead to read....LOL...I know it is a lot of work to post with picks and notes so thanks so much.
Have a great weekend! Grant

 

[BigNuge]

We will see in a few days

Sorry techi, last post regarding football.....



Your shop is killer man....I've always wanted to work my way into manual machining work. I had a brother that was a machinist....he would have loved that.




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[Techie1961]

Re: Time to build my shop and I am going to need some help

Techie, I just came across your thread, what a beautiful garage and the work you have done...holy ****!!!

I came across your post where you had considered delaying anymore updates pending some interest from readers....I was responding before I clued in that there were another 10 pages ahead to read....LOL...I know it is a lot of work to post with picks and notes so thanks so much.
Have a great weekend! Grant

Thanks Grant. It was kind of weird at first because I was posting and it seemed like I was in a vacuum or something. Comments like yours and the other praise has kept me pushing a bit harder. After all, I can't post up photos that look bad can I.

 

[Techie1961]

I had to clean up some scrap metal that was accumulating and while dumping it at the scrap yard, I saw this little gem sitting there. I kind of thought at first that it must have been cracked or something but nope. Cleaned her up and there was a nice vise underneath.

Strange thing about this is that I thought that it being a 6" vise and my other vise being a Record 6", the jaws would be the same. The bolt spacing is different and the holes seem to be 1/4-20 where my other vise is 5/6-18. Looks like some research is in order. Or a plea to the vise gods on Garage Journal. It was missing jaws so either I'll make some or find some.

I also put up the other piece of slat board and I think it's an improvement. It balances things out a bit better. The new vise is just sitting on the bench for now. Need to find it a home.

 

[Bears Fan]

Be careful no to cover up to much of that stone wall because that is so cool

 

[Techie1961]

Be careful no to cover up to much of that stone wall because that is so cool

Yes, I have been told this a few times. I was leery to put this piece up and I think that's about it for wall attachment.

 

[yossarian19]

I had to clean up some scrap metal that was accumulating and while dumping it at the scrap yard, I saw this little gem sitting there. I kind of thought at first that it must have been cracked or something but nope.

You **** Good for you, man, that's a score and a half!

 

[mtm_motors]

Your space is just getting better and better! I really enjoy seeing all the tool restorations... it is good motivation to redo some of my rusty old tools.

 

[Techie1961]

You **** Good for you, man, that's a score and a half!

Why thank you kind sir!

Your space is just getting better and better! I really enjoy seeing all the tool restorations... it is good motivation to redo some of my rusty old tools.

Glad to hear and thanks for the compliments. I think if you saw some of the other tools that I have, you would think my restorations are a drop in the bucket and I'd better get busy.

 

[madoc1]

wow! great find on the record vise. also, I like the slat board against the stone-a good contrast.

jim

 

[Techie1961]

Thanks Jim, I wasn't sure about the white and have a mind to paint them but can't think about a good colour.

For today, I spent some time on a sad piece that I have for storage. It's a black cabinet with shelves on the right side but they have been kind of abused in the past and someone tried to braze them. I tried to straighten them when I moved stuff in but they are very light and too busted up.

I came up with a way to put some plywood shelves in it utilizing the existing tabs. I had some bars that are used for shelving brackets and cut them to the right width. Next was some sheet metal that I cut slits off and made some little U clips. I welded them on the ends of the bars and left a bit of clearance for the tab to slide in.

The tabs are the same width as the shelving bars and the clip go outside of them so they are a close fit going over the tabs. The completely surround them too so they aren't going to collapse outward and slide off. I put some 3/4" plywood over that and they are very solid now.

I'll likely pull it all apart some time and repaint the whole thing but for now, I just needed something that would work.

 

[1949 caddyman]

That is nice lookin 7 core plywood. Some paint on them & your done.

 

[BUGTHUG]

Wonder why the shelves are so busted up? could it be the hundreds of pounds the tooling weights.

 

[Techie1961]

Wonder why the shelves are so busted up? could it be the hundreds of pounds the tooling weights.

Naaah! They were busted up before I even got the cabinet but I knew they wouldn't hold up too well.

 

[Power Sedan]

Outstanding barn refurbish! Love all the old school machinist tooling equipment. I work with a couple LaBlonde Lathes, and Landis and Karsten ID/OD and centers, 1960's (possibly older) era. You could certainly have a great full custom shop!

Thank you for sharing all editions/progress to the barn!
Keith

 

[Techie1961]

Outstanding barn refurbish! Love all the old school machinist tooling equipment. I work with a couple LaBlonde Lathes, and Landis and Karsten ID/OD and centers, 1960's (possibly older) era. You could certainly have a great full custom shop!

Thank you for sharing all editions/progress to the barn!
Keith

A custom shop would be nice and thanks for the compliments. The only problem is that the area isn't zoned for commercial.

I just figured out what year my Colchester lathe is. The serial number points to 1961 around the same vintage as yours.

 

[Techie1961]

I finished up my junkyard vise that I picked up. The holes were stripped and since it was a different jaw insert than the standard 6" vise that Record builds, I figured I'd machine it so it could take a regular jaw. The standard jaw is 1" x 1/2" and this one was 3/4" tall. The dynamic was easy to set up but the base was another story.

I had to balance the base on the table a bit. The bottom is kind of cone shaped so I had to put 4 clamps on it and bump it around like a 4-jaw chuck to get it vertical as well as square. While it was on there, I cleaned up the anvil pad as well.

 

[Bib Overalls]

Very nice piece of work. I just upgraded to a decent lathe and I am hoping to swap out my mill as well. My table is rusted up and in a previous life it was exposed to some indifferent and/or incapable operators. Your prime looking table is a gem.

 

[Techie1961]

Very nice piece of work. I just upgraded to a decent lathe and I am hoping to swap out my mill as well. My table is rusted up and in a previous life it was exposed to some indifferent and/or incapable operators. Your prime looking table is a gem.

Thanks Bib, glad to hear that you got yourself a decent lathe. Too bad about the mill but if it's a lower end model, not too much loss I guess. Still sad to see a machine abused.

 

[Techie1961]

The Rockwell belt sander is completely apart. Very glad that I did as well since the lower bearings were pretty bad and there were a lot of loose bolts and screws. The base is a bolted together assembly so I opted to pull it completely apart and paint it in pieces. The sandblaster is getting lots of work these days.

This is the before of it. While I have it apart, I'm going to change out the motor for a 1 HP that I happen to have. I thought that it was a 1/2 HP but it's actually a 3/4 HP. Someone was saying that they had up to 2 HP in them.

This is the motor that I'm going to run in it. It's actually new but has been stored poorly.

The unit is much better built than I had originally thought. The drums looked like they were thin stampings but once it was apart, they are actually fairly heavy walled casting. Not sure if pot metal or aluminum but they seem strong. I'm used to the machines with 1/2" walled machined aluminum drums from billet.

The paint was very thin and blasted off easily. My sand media is quite fine since I don't mind a bit more time on it rather than damaging my parts.

The screws for the base are interesting as I've never seen this style. Obviously for sheet metal with dimpling and they seem to be a good design. They cleaned up nicely on the wire wheel and have a bit of a luster to them.

Once I got the bearings apart, I realized that it might be a problem finding them. I hadn't thought about it but they would definitely be older style inch bearings. As it turned out, I had them in stock. I had purchased a whack of bearings a few years back from a motor guy that retired. I had all four that I needed.

 

[BigNuge]

Hey Techie, as it happens I am picking up a sandblasting cabinet tomorrow. I was wondering what grade of media you are using. I want to get a good all-around grade of media for it, but prefer to have a finer grade for the same reason you mention (prevent damaging parts). I don't mind taking extra time on parts.

Thanks for any input!

Great progress on the place as always man! You make me want to get into machine work in the worst way...


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[Techie1961]

Hey Techie, as it happens I am picking up a sandblasting cabinet tomorrow. I was wondering what grade of media you are using. I want to get a good all-around grade of media for it, but prefer to have a finer grade for the same reason you mention (prevent damaging parts). I don't mind taking extra time on parts.

Thanks for any input!

Great progress on the place as always man! You make me want to get into machine work in the worst way...


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Now you got me racking my brain. I had a look at the Princess Auto site (our Harbor Freight) and from what I can remember, it's crushed glass and they only had one type. If I can remember to have a look next time I'm in there, I'll post the type.

 

[Techie1961]

My Rockwell belt sander is coming along. I put the bearings and shaft back into the main housing and did some more painting on components.

Unfortunately, once I sandblasted the upper bearing and shaft support, I found a crack in it. I now have to decide if I should drill a small hole at the end of it and hope for the best or weld it up and take a chance with it.

 

[BuickFarmer]

Can't wait to see this baby finished!! Congrats on finding the bearings in house, you're a lucky squirrel ;-)
Will be back to see if you drill or weld.....
or both?

 

[Bears Fan]

Nice job on repairing that cabinet and those vises look new again! Now we wait to see how the belt sander comes out! Oh by the way you better anchor that belt sander to the concrete because I have been looking for one for a while now

 

[rodbuilderjim]

Really nice work! Love the restoration of awesome tools. Especially the sander, I want one of these soo bad. My HF 6" belt sander is okay but I want one of those rockwells.