Post Recession Shop Rehabilitation Project

[shortykorte]

Looks like you sprayed oven cleaner on your whole yard.

Chevy in a Toyota, off-road truck I presume?

Cute additional to the family.

 

[NedNorton]

1/2 Cup - Thanks. Jackson has been a blast!

Bret (bj383ss)- I appreciate the kind words on the frame progress. I never thought to use the oven cleaner on blades. (I use Simple Green, the Purple Stuff) I was always told to keep anything with lye away from carbide for fear that it would loosen the teeth and send one flying To be honest, I've never seen it happen though.

Huxley - I was going start a thread on IH8mud but was going to wait until l had more to put up. The LC4 is just a 6.0 vortec. The plan is 6.0, NV4500, NP203 Doubler, LC split-case to an 80 series rear axle. When I get the thread rolling on mud I'll post up a link.

AZpilot - Working on it! i've got 24 more months before the "scheduled" complete date. I'm using scheduled, loosely.

ODIS - Great to hear from you! We are looking forward to a long time together.

shortykorte - Snow. More snow. (Little oven cleaner). The Chevy motor swap will be emissions legal. The old 6 cylinder wasn't running when I got the truck and I sourced a low mileage vortec for almost nothing from a neighbor. With the overdrive transmission it should make it perfect to take the family to and into the backcountry.

Thanks for stopping in guys, I appreciate it.

Cheers,
Chris

 

[NedNorton]

Rain… What to do?

A little lathe time making a new clutch tool for the Norton. Making chips brings a smile to my face, for sure.

Second project...

Soon my wife will want her new raised bed built. It is slated to go where the Land Cruiser is sitting now so there is pressure to get the frame inside so the LC can then go where the frame is. A little musical chairs, just with auto parts. Once the frame moves inside space will be at even more of a premium. That brings us to the second rainy day project. The mill came to me several years ago and I haven't done anything to it. It’s filthy and needs some attention. That attention needs space to happen and now that the shop is in working order, I decided to get the cleaning and repaint done. All this before the frame comes in and eats up the available space.

The mill…

This is a good example of the current condition… (Dirt, grime, shop made brackets and several layers of paint. It all has to go!)

Out comes the engine hoist for the table…

On a dolly…

Knee off and right into a tub with degreasing solution…

Head off…

All this took the second half of the day to get done. Notice that it was dark when I was pulling the head.

Sunday… (more rain)

Back at it. Removing the name plates and getting ready to strip the old paint…

Aircraft paint stripper is nasty but it works. (Gloves, face mask and respirator + ventilation mandatory)

This is what starts to happen just 30 seconds after it goes on. (The green is the original color. It was under 4 layers of grey.)

Close-up…

Here is the base after almost a full day of paint removal.

The knee is out of the solution and the paint/ grime is gone.

I’m torn as to what to use to finish the mill. One side of me says, "Tractor and implement paint, It’s cheap and easy. This is a working tool." The other part of me says, “This tool is from 1945 and deserves some respect. With the little use I will give it, this paint job will be around a long time.” That pushes me to a two--part automotive finish route with all the primer and putty work associated. Most likely a high build primer and single stage urethane. Not so cheap and not so easy.

The other question is, "What color?" Machine Grey or the original color, Reseda Green RAL 6011 (For reference, that is the color of my lathe and I like it).

I’m open to comments and suggestions.

That is where things stand now. I should have a few hours this week to throw at it before the wife and I go to Fruita mtn. biking and camping for weekend.

Thanks for reading the ramblings.

Cheers,
Chris

 

[rmalkow2]

The mill would look great in the original green and if it matches your lathe that's a bonus. Too many machines in plain grey. Since it's from Jackson MI which is not too far from E. Lansing and the Spartans we have to say, Go Green!

 

[AZpilot]

Which paint choice makes you want to put it on? Gray is to plain in one shade. If you did a light and dark gray that would be cool. different shades on different parts. But to much gray and to many cloudy days bums me out. Go green.

 

[bj383ss]

I vote for Green and the auto 2 part paint. Will take more time and money now but think of in the future how proud you will be you spent the time and money. You are already invested in time so why not.

I am surprised to see you had results with that stripper I tried to use that on the hood of the 64' and the roof and it did nothing at all. Did not lift any paint just discolored it. I got so mad I threw it in the trash. Just my experience.

Bret

 

[Lyndon]

Chris

My vote is for green too. Will look good in your shop.

You'll do a great job of it too I'm sure.

Lyndon
Yep, still here

 

[1/2 Cup]

Chris

My vote is for green too. Will look good in your shop.

You'll do a great job of it too I'm sure.

Lyndon
Yep, still here

As above

Regards

 

[KST1]

Three things:

1: I'd go with green. It's original, it matches the lathe, and it's a good color.
2: I'm curious as to what degreasing solution you used, and did it work well? I have a power hammer that needs degreasing badly.
3: Hello to Jackson. He looks like a fun pup.

Keep up the good work. I'm following along.

-Derek

 

[Strouty]

Looking really good, hope you get some more nice weather, I enjoy seeing your progress, it motivates me! Even though I am not a dog person, Jackson is adorable, just think someday he will be poking his head out of that LC window!

 

[dhubbard422]

Welcome, Jackson! Based on his paws... Jackson looks to have a bit of growing to do!

Hey Chris, Someday, I'll have to do to my old Southbend 9 what you just started on your mill, unfortunately, I expect that my project will take me longer...

I'll also have similar choices regarding paint choices and finish quality. My lathe and mill use the same colors (gray & green), only they are polar opposites from yours. My Benchmaster is freshly refinished in green and I expect that I'll just paint the Southbend to match; IMO, there's something pleasing about using the same color for the machines in your shop.

I'm often a believer if it's worth doing, it's worth over-doing. But, I've also learned that I can't over do everything, at least I can't when my to do list is long... If you plan to use the mill to make lots and lots of chips, it might not be worth the time spent to "over-do" the finish, but on the other hand... a beautifully restored piece of machinery is pretty special. I expect that it'll look great either way! I hope you continue to post pictures of the restoration.

 

[nine4gmc]

That mill is goung to be awesome!

Sent from my SM-T230NU using Tapatalk

 

[TMaulick88]

I think you have to do green, sticking with that original color and making it look right again would be awesome, sure it's a little more but like you said it's going to be around for a long time why not make it as close to original as possible you just don't find the old american quality like that anymore. Either way thumbs up and I can't wait to see how it comes out!

 

[Bib Overalls]

Green. I have had good results with PPG DelFleet. Summit Racing has a house brand that is priced right. Give it a shot of compatable etching primer and shoot the top coat during the open window. No sanding and no mud. Will last forever.

 

[jbmatth]

You have me itching for a mill, okay so I've been itching for a mill for a long time, but I really want one now. I'm with just about everyone else, you have to go green and keep some consistency with your big metal working machines.
JB

 

[shortykorte]

Green with envy.

 

[NedNorton]

rmalkow2, AZpilot, Lyndon, 1/2 Cup, nine4gmc, Tmaulick88 & shortykorte - Hearing you guys loud and clear... Green it is!

I am surprised to see you had results with that stripper I tried to use that on the hood of the 64' and the roof and it did nothing at all. Did not lift any paint just discolored it. I got so mad I threw it in the trash. Just my experience.

Bret

I'm glad that it worked on the mill base but I have to say that from some of the reports I had read from folks; I had the expectation that this stuff would remove multiple layers at a shot. That was not the case. It took an application per paint layer to get down to metal. Also, my guess is that the paint on the '64 was tougher than what was brushed on the mill over the years. I was patient with it mostly because I figured that the bottom layers of paint contained lead, so the idea of sanding or wire wheeling it off defiantly was not appealing. I have been soaking most of the parts in Heavy Duty Degreaser overnight, or for a few days, and the paint is falling off.

Derek (KST1) - I'm using the ZEP purple stuff. It's mixed strong and has been working great. Takes off everything; paint, grease, everything.

Looking really good, hope you get some more nice weather, I enjoy seeing your progress, it motivates me! Even though I am not a dog person, Jackson is adorable, just think someday he will be poking his head out of that LC window!

Anytime someone gets motivated by reading through this I'm excited. The forum keeps me motivated to keep cranking along. Your thread, Strouty, is in that bunch that helps me move things along.

Welcome, Jackson! Based on his paws... Jackson looks to have a bit of growing to do!

I'm often a believer if it's worth doing, it's worth over-doing. But, I've also learned that I can't over do everything, at least I can't when my to do list is long... If you plan to use the mill to make lots and lots of chips, it might not be worth the time spent to "over-do" the finish, but on the other hand... a beautifully restored piece of machinery is pretty special. I expect that it'll look great either way! I hope you continue to post pictures of the restoration.

Don (dhubbard442) - Thanks! Jackson is growing quick. I have to loosen his collar every week! Over doing? You mean like mirror polishing concrete floors?

You have a Benchmaster mill? I have been looking out for one up here for years. Such a cool tool. A bench-top mill that is a serious mill. Not something that you see often.

I'm not going to go crazy with the refinish but it will get a good primer and 2-part automotive paint after a complete teardown, clean and strip. I guess "overdone or crazy" is in the eye of the beholder.

Green. I have had good results with PPG DelFleet. Summit Racing has a house brand that is priced right. Give it a shot of compatable etching primer and shoot the top coat during the open window. No sanding and no mud. Will last forever.

Thanks, bib for the recommendation. I'm looking around for a paint supplier here in the Boulder/Denver area that carries PPG so I can get the primer and paint. Most places aren't excited to deal with non-professionals.

You have me itching for a mill, okay so I've been itching for a mill for a long time, but I really want one now. I'm with just about everyone else, you have to go green and keep some consistency with your big metal working machines.
JB

JB - Green, with shop envy! I wish I had a shop as big as yours and my machines could be "big metal" machines. My neighbor said you can make small parts on big machines but not vice versa. My machines are smaller than I would like. I had a chance to pick-up a big Cincinnati mill and monster Monarch lathe a while back for a song but they would have taken up the entire shop. Plus, the cost to move them would have eclipsed the cost to buy the machines. What can you do?

Thanks for checking in guys,
Chris

 

[NedNorton]

Mill work. Or, more to the point, work on getting the mill back up and working…

Before we went off camping and mountain biking for the weekend I did have a little time to get into the shop on Thursday night. There was also a little time after we got home on Sunday. I'm working on the glacier project pace again with a couple hours here and there.

The Aircraft Stripper works well on the big stuff but I have been submerging smaller parts in a bath of Zep heavy-duty degreaser to get the paint and junk off.

After a day in the tub the paint is nice and soft…

Easy scraping with a plastic putty knife. Works great without all the fumes from the Aircraft Stripper. Plus, it leaves the body filler (bright green stuff) intact which is nice.

I also had some time to get going on other parts. Here is the shaft that connects the head to the worm-drive crank at the back of the mill. It’s a precision diameter at both ends so I only used 2000 grit to polish things up without taking off too much material. (The mic says less than .0005 so I'm not worried)

Cleaned up…

One face wasn’t machined from the factory so I figured why not get that rectified…

No one will see this as it's buried in the back of the head but I’ll know. And, I'm OCD like that.

More parts out of the tub…

More bubbling paint…

Clean and shinny…

I have been hitting the handles with 400gt, 800gt, green scotch-bright, 2000gt and then finishing up with this polish. (the shafts get 2000gt then polish only) It brings the steel to nice shine.

Just a little work to take this…

To this…

Or this…

To this…

The completed parts table so far (All the polished steel was hit with Top-Coat to keep it clean. The cast iron parts still need primer, sanding, primer and finish.)

This is taking a bit of time to get done but I think that it will be worth it in the end. (All that shinny metal makes me happy! Even better, the screws are showing very little wear according to the mic! )

Next I'm hoping to have some time to get to the table.

Thanks, as always, for reading the ramblings. I appreciate it.

Cheers,
Chris

 

[Bob Heine]

Mill work. Or, more to the point, work on getting the mill back up and working…

I have been hitting the handles with 400gt, 800gt, green scotch-bright, 2000gt and then finishing up with this polish. (the shafts get 2000gt then polish only) It brings the steel to nice shine.


Cheers,
Chris

Chris, I'm really enjoying your thread even though I don't post very often.

That Simichrome Polish is amazing. I avoided buying it because of the high price but you need so little to get outstanding results that a small tube goes a long way.

I'm glad you detail the stuff no one ever sees. Makes me feel better about polishing the inside of an aluminum transmission pan.

 

[AZpilot]

Looks great!

 

[Strouty]

Man those handles came out nice, did you do those by hand or what?

 

[Makoto]

I'm totally stealing some organization ideas from here. great work!

 

[Mr. Roboto]

Just did some catching up in here, spectacular work as always! Seeing all the pictures of your lathe/mill make me miss my days in the machine shop...and also, having access to one. It was so nice to be whip up just about any random part I needed as a project called for it. Glad to see that old mill is in your hands as well, I can't wait to see how it turns out. Add another vote for the green from me, but it seems as though that color won by a landslide!

 

[don long]

Hi Chris
I have been a little lax with my reading so tonight I thought I would spend a bit and catch up with the happenings in Colorado. I started back at my last post on pg. 18 and quickly discovered that all your pictures are gone clear up to post 500 when they start again So whats up with that (I read by pictures)
So the mill handles and screws look great

Don

 

[Lyndon]

Chris

Wow. Those parts look great!

And if that's Glacially slow, then I'm positively, oh, I don't know - what moves much slower than a glacier..... Anyone?

Lyndon
Lovin' your work!

 

[NedNorton]

Don,
Always great to hear from you. I just checked and they are up. Maybe photobucket was having a hiccup? Let me know if there is still an issue.

Thanks for the compliment. The mill has been a bunch of work but it should clean up great. You were on my list of folks to reach out to about paint/primer recommendations for the mill. When it comes to auto paint I'm lost.

Cheers,
Chris

 

[dhubbard422]

Chris, Your attention to detail is "up there". I expect that your customers receive a similar level of attention and I can only hope that they appreciate it appropriately!

Were the handles done by hand? Or do you have a buffing wheel? Either way they polished up very nicely. Simichrome is great stuff. Simichrome and Nevr-dull are two "old-school" products that work really well.

The progress on stripping, cleaning and polishing your mill is really coming along. At this rate it's gonna' be looking special soon. Do you have other plans for it? DRO? Other?

I'll post pics of my little Benchmaster when I get around to building the bench for it. They can be a bit hard to find, I lucked into mine when the gentleman that restored it was in Dallas - only a few hours drive away.

 

[Huxley]

When it comes to auto paint I'm lost.

Cheers,
Chris

A friend of mine paints cars in Boulder. Let me know if you have trouble getting supplies.

 

[NedNorton]

Lyndon - Thanks! I think I have gone from one wall all at a time to one mill part at a time. It feels slower since the mill arts are so much smaller!

Don (dubbard422) - Yes, the handles are done by hand. I have to say, it's relaxing to polish them up the old fashion way and I only have a few to do. Don't get me wrong, I am happy to have the lathe to do up the rods and screws. Plans right now for the mill include a DRO (either 3 or 4 axis, we will see what the budget allows) and a new VFD set-up to power the new Balder motors (main and x axis power feed). Right now I'm try to get the repaint and tune-up done so I can move the LC frame in. The rest will have to wait until I get through a few projects that have to take priority. So it's looking like later this summer into fall before mill project part 2 begins.


Huxley - I appreciate the offer! I'm checking into paint suppliers Thursday and will let you know.

Thanks for checking in.

Cheers,
Chris

 

[NedNorton]

Back to the Kahiltna (aka the Glacier)…

I did have a few hours to put in this evening and managed to get one or two pieces cleaned up. The before and after shots…

Parts coming out of the degreasing tub (this is the motor mount bracket)…


Worm screw and housing for the head angle adjustment (stuck due to all the paint)…


Before (y axis dial)…


After…


Before (worm gear and rod after being removed post 2 days in solution)…


After…


I put a few things back together…

Dial installed on the shaft (Does it look good or what?)


Worm gear assembly…


Couple of gears all cleaned up…


Here is the cleaned up parts table as of tonight. Progress!


Thanks for checking in. I appreciate you guys taking the time.

Cheers,
Chris

 

[Grumblebum]

Chris that is going to be one nice unit when back together.

GB.

 

[1/2 Cup]

Chris, as usual just awesome work.

Regards

 

[Mr. Roboto]

Everything looks brand new! Spectacular work, as always. Keep it up!

 

[duffman04]

I am in awe! Awesome garage and attention to detail. I will definitely be taking some ideas from what you've done here. Great work!

 

[rebelmyers1]

What's in the degreasing tub chemical wise?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Bob275]

Taking the time to do it right, like you are, is going to make that one beautiful machine... can't wait to see it complete.

 

[dhubbard422]

Chris, The freshly polished mill parts are looking really nice. Your mill is going to be transformed!

 

[BBChevro]

Hey Chris, I just caught up on the last few pages...

The mill would look great in the original green and if it matches your lathe that's a bonus.
...

Yep, my vote is for the green too.

...
...I am surprised to see you had results with that stripper I tried to use that on the hood of the 64' and the roof and it did nothing at all. Did not lift any paint just discolored it. I got so mad I threw it in the trash. Just my experience.

Bret

Hey Bret, I've had similar failures with paint stripper - a friend pointed out later what I possibly did wrong was not score the paint enough before slapping the stripper on it - apparently that helps it to permeate through the layers better.
I haven't tested the theory though (I've just sanded anything since).

Chris

Wow. Those parts look great!

And if that's Glacially slow, then I'm positively, oh, I don't know - what moves much slower than a glacier..... Anyone?

...

Answer - Progress in my shed.



A big welcome to Jackson and that mill is coming-up a treat Chris.

Cheers

 

[NedNorton]

Grunblebum - Thanks! The hope is that it will serve the shop well for years to come.

1/2 Cup -

Chris, as usual just awesome work.

Regards

That means a lot coming from you! I appreciate it!

Mr. Roboto - It looks almost new. The handles are taking a ton of time but I'm going slow using the method that removes the least amount of material to get the best result. On a different note... Your lift looks great!

duffman04 -

I am in awe! Awesome garage and attention to detail. I will definitely be taking some ideas from what you've done here. Great work!

Thanks. It has been a long process over the last year getting things back to a usable state. I'm always humbled when folks can take something away from this and put it to use.

rebelmyers1 -

What's in the degreasing tub chemical wise?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

It's this stuff...


The tub is mixed relatively strong.

Bob275 - You are right. Better to take the time now and have something that will last. I lucked out and the bearings are all good and it keeps good tolerances (.001 +/-). It could probably do better with a better operator.

All this has got me thinking that I should take a scraping class.

Don (dhubbard422) - I hope that I can keep up the quality level. Not having painted anything in a long time the finial finish has me a bit worried. I'm hoping though!

Mark (BBChevro) - Thanks for the "welcome" for Jackson. He is growing so fast and is settling in. The mill is coming along. Glacier pace for sure. Maybe we should coin the term "Glacier-Shed" pace?


On the Glacier-Shed pace theme...

More hand polished, aka slow progress, metal. A few handles and a dial to be exact.

Handle before...


After with it's buddies...


I am continually impressed with the quality of the steel INDEX used for these. Cheaper steel would have had a ton of little inclusions and would not have weathered the years of active use as well, there-by making polishing them up a real bear. This was forged and turned in the 40's and comes up to almost a mirror shine!


The wife is out of town for the week so I may get some stuff done. Maybe. I am meeting her in Bozeman on Thursday and we are driving back through Yellowstone so it will be a short work/shop week. If I work at it, the parts could be ready for primer. I'm hopeful (and possibly overly optimistic).

Thanks folks for reading along. You keep me motivated and I appreciate it more than a few words here could explain.

Cheers,
Chris

 

[1/2 Cup]

Chris, attention to detail plus, the results speak for themselves.

Regards