Between 485 & 705 SQ/FT A Garage Rehabbed

[Duker]

I have had this 1/3 hp buffer for a few years and I have only used it a time or two. It's not powerful enough for the larger stuff and I end up sending that out to a great place in town.



If it doesn't get used, there's no reason for it to occupy precious real-estate.



It's going to hit the classifieds over the next couple days.





And, Duker, I wouldn't hold out on y'all! Do you need a toy buffer? If so, let's work out a trade.

Brent, I just had to give you a little grief for the blasphemous action of actually selling a tool! [emoji3] As for the buffer, I should probably sell a couple of mine as I seem to collect anything Baldor. Once I get stuff set up in the new shop I may have to purge a few as well.

I hope you have a great time with the kids birthday party!




Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

 

[krcoomer]

Duker, thanks for having me do this. At first I was reluctant/embarrassed but now I'm really happy to see the change.

Brent: I spent part of today getting caught back up with where you are. Things look so much different than the first time I checked in on you. You have a rocking shop that shows a lot of your character.

I picked the quote above because I think a lot of us are in the reluctant/embarassed or flat out ashamed category. You have certainly breathed new life into your garage and have nothing to feel but pride. I will try not to let you get another 10 pages or so before I check in again.

 

[zmotorsports]

Looking good Brent. I sympathize with ya on getting your sprinkler system up and running. That seems to be all I have been working on is the sprinkler system and getting the back yard ready for sod the past month. And the two months before that was my drainage issues.

Keep up the great work.

Mike.

 

[-Brent-]

Brent: I spent part of today getting caught back up with where you are. Things look so much different than the first time I checked in on you. You have a rocking shop that shows a lot of your character.

I picked the quote above because I think a lot of us are in the reluctant/embarassed or flat out ashamed category. You have certainly breathed new life into your garage and have nothing to feel but pride. I will try not to let you get another 10 pages or so before I check in again.

Kenny, wow, thanks so much for writing that. I like how you said breathing "new life" into the garage because I feel that every time I walk into the door and flip the light switch on.

Looking good Brent. I sympathize with ya on getting your sprinkler system up and running. That seems to be all I have been working on is the sprinkler system and getting the back yard ready for sod the past month. And the two months before that was my drainage issues.

Keep up the great work.

Mike.

Thanks, Mike. I ordered some valves, since I can't find them locally. Problem is, the previous owner of my house didn't install couplings, so I probably will have to rebuild the old valves, in place, using the new ones. Hopefully it works. I don't want to have to redo everything in the box, this year.

 

[-Brent-]

Not all that much going on with the shop but I did sneak out for a little bit, tonight.



This is where the original light switch was mounted. I had shot some spray foam to finish off a can, way back when, and it's one of those thing that you see it and it's an eye sore. I'd been planning to mix up some mortar and patch it up (along with some other spots) but I came across a forged hook that I thought would be useful to hang a coat in the winter.



^ A pic from the seller.



Installed.

I've had a potential buyer texting me about the buffer, so I pulled it.



I put a couple screws in place so the inserts don't get **** in them.





This little side-drawer set-up had been sitting on the floor, without a home. It's out of the way, here, but I don't know if it will stay. I don't need it but it's a neat, kinda rare piece. Maybe I'll toss it on my butcher block counter in our utility room?

Since I was knocking out little things. I decided it was time to put a new Scotchbrite pad/wheel on. I use these, a ton. I try to get the most out of them.





And back in business.



And, that's the boring update. By the end of the week I should have some brackets and a tool box side shelf back from my buddy Carl, whom does plasma cutting. I send him some fancy, high tech pencil drawings and he always turns them into something great.

 

[Grumblebum]

I don't think it's boring if you are ticking things off the list Brent.

 

[zmotorsports]

Absolutely nothing boring about it Brent. Love seeing the progress regardless of what you're working on.

Keep it up and keep the pictures coming.

Mike.

 

[-Brent-]

Thanks, fellas. You’re too kind.

This morning I got a text from Carl that he’s done with the projects I sent him. He’s got a neat little side gig. The guy is a great fabricator and I’m always impressed with everything that comes back to me. And, truth be told, I’m pretty picky.

Here’s what I sent him. They were drawn on the kitchen table. No CAD, no real skills or knowledge other than my imagination and a ruler. The top drawing is for the tool box side shelf. I couldn't find one with a surface that fit my needs. It will have a tuner, housed in a plywood box just to keep it somewhat protected.



The lower pic is of corner mounts for some shelf speakers. Again, these are produced but they're overpriced and over-complicated for what they need to accomplish.



My 3 and 5 year old took interest in this drawing, since I drew it with them sitting on my lap, so it’ll be neat to show them what was made from the drawing.



This is the kind of update I’ve been waiting on and now I’m chomping at the bit to get these pieces finished and installed. I didn’t have him cut the mounting holes. I figured it would be easier for me to transfer marks and drill holes than adding more marks onto the drawings.

This stuff is overkill at 10 gauge, especially the speaker mounts. I like overkill: I don’t have a good reason why.

 

[-Brent-]

I sat the side shelf on the side of the box and INSTANTLY saw a giant oversight. I didn't account for the bend of the mounting lip, where I had planned to mount the piece I took from the side box that previously sat in that space.

I slapped my forehead in disbelief. I've made a few things with Carl in the past and it was enough to know about some problems I could face. I just didn't think.




However, one of my strengths is problem solving. I immediately repositioned the piece and saw that I could actually mount this without the piece that Craftsman uses to mount their side boxes. I measured the lip depth and transfered it onto the piece.




I scored the piece with the cut-off wheel and broke it cleanly.



After pulling it out of the vise. I cleaned up the edge and tested it out.



And, wouldn't you know. It fit better than what I had planned with the lip mount stolen from the side box. It's snug, a perfect fit actually. Haha, my oversight ended up better than my actual plan. That's not usually how mistakes work.



The bend provided enough offset that the legs set against the box side - perfectly.



Bottom view.



A closer view of the lip seat area.

Next up is to get a cabinet fabricated for the tuner.

 

[bj383ss]

That shelf came out great Brent. Sometimes mistakes lead to something better than you expected as you said. That happens to me all the time!

I may have missed it but what is the letter T on the piece of corrugated steel panel you have on the wall?

Oh and there is nothing wrong with overkill. Just means you will never have to fix anything down the road right?

Bret

 

[-Brent-]

That shelf came out great Brent. Sometimes mistakes lead to something better than you expected as you said. That happens to me all the time!

I may have missed it but what is the letter T on the piece of corrugated steel panel you have on the wall?

Oh and there is nothing wrong with overkill. Just means you will never have to fix anything down the road right?

Bret

Well, Brett, you're a lucky SOB if that's happening to you often! I've seen your work quality and I wouldn't have ever guessed.

That hand-painted T was from the roofing material I used for the open bay ceiling. When I was going through the pile, the day I bought the metal, I noticed the T and was hoping to find the other piece that had whatever was written on it as I thought that'd be neat up on the ceiling. But, it must've been a patch piece stolen from somewhere else because nothing was to be found.

Since I have a couple Model Ts, I felt it would make a neat wall hanger. It's funny, most of my decor is cast offs or random junk and the few folks I've had around to buy items had eyed that as one of the things to make an offer on. There's no sentimentality to keeping it but the offers crack me up. It's not that the offers are anything significant, they were both like $10 bucks, but it's interesting to me to see what folks focus on when they come in.

 

[-Brent-]

I worked on getting the corner brackets drilled and mocked up.



First thing was to remove the bracket used to hang it.



I measured the mount bolt location and transferred it onto the bracket.



A view from the back to see if maybe I should drill the hole a bit larger for some wiggle room. It laid out to where it wasn’t necessary to do so.

After drilling all the holes needed I cleaned up the steel and shot some primer on them.



I had a visitor in this shop and he didn’t like the hammer drill noise, so we postponed my work so he could get some items done.





He labeled some items in the shop.



He even swept up some. I could take a lesson or two from him.

We made a hammer out of some scrap bin items. I saw this nut and bolt at a garage sale and they worked perfect. I love old, wonkey items like this. The $1 hammer:





When Mom called him in for a bath, I commenced the noise making.



When I was drawing this up, one of the things I made sure could happen was that I could fit my hand behind the bracket so that installation, removal, etc., could be done with ease.



Mocked up before paint:





I’m terrible when it comes to waiting for paint to dry. So, after I shot the back sides with primer, I went in the house and hung out with my better half.

Because I’m impatient, I did sneak out to the garage and shoot a first coat of color on a couple hours later. No pics of that, however.

 

[zmotorsports]

Bracket turned out great Brent. Looks awesome.

Nothing wrong with being impatient to get something accomplished. At least that is what I keep telling myself.

Mike.

 

[-Brent-]

Bracket turned out great Brent. Looks awesome.

Nothing wrong with being impatient to get something accomplished. At least that is what I keep telling myself.

Mike.

Thanks, Mike.

I'm definitely one of those people that touches wet paint. Now, I just walk away. It's like I cannot even be in the shop because I'll test it knowing full well it's not ready. Haha.

 

[zmotorsports]

Thanks, Mike.

I'm definitely one of those people that touches wet paint. Now, I just walk away. It's like I cannot even be in the shop because I'll test it knowing full well it's not ready. Haha.

Sorry to sidetrack but a funny story. This happened about 15 years ago when I was still using the shop at my parent's farm as my paint shop after getting vehicles ready to paint at my home shop.

I was building a 36 Ford coupe for a friend/client and had the car completely blown apart for paint after the mockup phase. The chassis was already at home after being painted as was awaiting assembly while I was painting and clearcoating all of the remaining suspension and chassis components. I had a couple of hangers that I hung from the ceiling that hooked into small brackets for quick use and some long rods that ran approx. 15' in either direction. I could hang a lot of small parts on them and knock them all out at one time after mixing up some paint and clear.

I had just put the first coat of clear on about 30 or so components and had opened up the large overhead door to vent the shop. I was standing at the mixing bench mixing up enough clear for the last coat. I heard my aunt come into the shop as she frequently did to say hello as she lived next door to my parents. She was this sweet, sweet woman who always came out to chat with me when I was there working. I heard her say "oh these are cute what are these?" I turned around to see several of the small parts swinging while suspended from the ceiling and my sweet aunt standing there with her fingers touching her thumb and index finger with a look that said, oh **** what is that??? I couldn't even be mad at her because it was so stinking funny to see the look of bewilderment on her face. I said "please tell me you didn't just touch all of those parts." She said "OK, I didn't."

Whenever I paint something and want to touch it as a "test" I always remember my late aunt looking at her fingers as they were sticking together and chuckle to myself.

Mike.

 

[-Brent-]

Hahaha! I could've been buddies with your aunt! Thankfully, it's my own work that I cannot resist to test.

If it wouldn't take up so much time to type, I'd tell a story about this time I walked into this old-timer's shop while he flipping out about this man whom walked into his shop and swiped his finger over wet clear on his first gen, blown drag Camaro (with white tigers and half naked ladies with swords on it). I tried to about-face and get out of there but, instead, I got called back so he could retell the whole debacle to me. Man, that was an uncomfortable moment.

 

[zmotorsports]

Hahaha! I could've been buddies with your aunt! Thankfully, it's my own work that I cannot resist to test.

If it wouldn't take up so much time to type, I'd tell a story about this time I walked into this old-timer's shop while he flipping out about this man whom walked into his shop and swiped his finger over wet clear on his first gen, blown drag Camaro (with white tigers and half naked ladies with swords on it). I tried to about-face and get out of there but, instead, I got called back so he could retell the whole debacle to me. Man, that was an uncomfortable moment.

I'll bet. At least mine was some smaller parts that were actually quite easily repaired. An entire car, not so much, especially a custom paint job.

Mike.

 

[-Brent-]

I'll bet. At least mine was some smaller parts that were actually quite easily repaired. An entire car, not so much, especially a custom paint job.

Mike.

It was just the top of the fender. But, still, you're right. He was a pretty high strung guy, whom always had a cigarette burning in the corner of his mouth. I remember how that thing was bouncing around as he ripped the guy a new one.

And speaking of paint work. I had my crew working on the corner speaker brackets.


One wet sanded.



The other polished.



They are cheap labor. All I have to pay them is attention and maybe a confection here and there.

Later, I got one speaker up and wired. Here's the cable to go from the box to the speaker.



And everything mounted up.





And with the drill press back in place.



I'm hoping to get some time out there, tomorrow, to get most of the speakers set and wired.

 

[bj383ss]

Great progress Brent. They maybe cheap labor but you are giving them life lessons that will be priceless when they grow up. I dig the heat shrink you put on the wires. I love that stuff. Use it every chance I get.

I really like that sign about using your brain. I need to make some of those and hang them at work.

Bret

 

[Duker]

I'll bet. At least mine was some smaller parts that were actually quite easily repaired. An entire car, not so much, especially a custom paint job.



Mike.

Ok since you guys are sharing paint stories, mine is a cross between impatience and stupidity..... I used to paint cars to make money for college. I was trying to rush a job so that I could get some money for a ski trip with my buddies. I shot everything in the open since I had no paint booth and late one night I had half dozen pieces hanging that I had just finished shooting the first color coat. This was back in the day when Imron was the paint to use so I hung a couple of heat lamps to try and help the flow curing along. Went to go crash on the couch for a few hours until I could shoot another coat. Forgot to close the window I used to help vent the shop and when I came back in the parts had become one giant fly and Gnat trap..... needless to say I missed that ski trip....


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

 

[zmotorsports]

It was just the top of the fender. But, still, you're right. He was a pretty high strung guy, whom always had a cigarette burning in the corner of his mouth. I remember how that thing was bouncing around as he ripped the guy a new one.

And speaking of paint work. I had my crew working on the corner speaker brackets.


One wet sanded.



The other polished.



They are cheap labor. All I have to pay them is attention and maybe a confection here and there.

Later, I got one speaker up and wired. Here's the cable to go from the box to the speaker.



And everything mounted up.





And with the drill press back in place.



I'm hoping to get some time out there, tomorrow, to get most of the speakers set and wired.

WOW Brent, cuttin' and buffin' speaker brackets? That is impressive. I'm not even that ****.

Great to have your kids out there helping you. My son when he was little used to come out and I would stick him doing something and he was just happy to be hangin' with pop. Now that he is 25 years old he still enjoys coming out to the shop to work (well back when we had a shop ) but I think I enjoy it now more than he does.

Mike.

 

[-Brent-]

Great progress Brent. They maybe cheap labor but you are giving them life lessons that will be priceless when they grow up. I dig the heat shrink you put on the wires. I love that stuff. Use it every chance I get.

I really like that sign about using your brain. I need to make some of those and hang them at work.

Bret

Thanks, Bret. I always dig your perspective.

Ok since you guys are sharing paint stories, mine is a cross between impatience and stupidity..... I used to paint cars to make money for college. I was trying to rush a job so that I could get some money for a ski trip with my buddies. I shot everything in the open since I had no paint booth and late one night I had half dozen pieces hanging that I had just finished shooting the first color coat. This was back in the day when Imron was the paint to use so I hung a couple of heat lamps to try and help the flow curing along. Went to go crash on the couch for a few hours until I could shoot another coat. Forgot to close the window I used to help vent the shop and when I came back in the parts had become one giant fly and Gnat trap..... needless to say I missed that ski trip....

Aw man, my heart sank when I got to "[f]orgot to close the window." A buddy of mine had his little autocross car painted (single stage) by a kid whom did side work out of a body shop he worked at. He must've left some door open because when my friend when to get his car there was all sorts of nighttime insects in the paint. The kid didn't have the money to get more materials so he didn't charge my buddy and the car left the way it was. At every autocross we'd see folks walk by, stop, and do a double-take and lean in to see some messed-up insect mark on the car (and there were hundreds) of them. From a distance, the car looked fine, but there wasn't a decent area of paint on the whole car.

He kept it that way, for years, too.

WOW Brent, cuttin' and buffin' speaker brackets? That is impressive. I'm not even that ****.

Haha, I doubt it. I'm small time compared to the quality of you and some of the other posters in this thread. If they show interest I try to find something interesting to do, which keeps them coming back coincidentally. I probably wouldn't have done it otherwise. I will say, that you get what you pay for when your crew is made up of a 3 and 5 year old.

My hope is that they'll always be fond of garage time and that they'll learn to do some things on their own. I hope, too, that when they're 25 I am still able to work in the shop and such. Sometimes I look at them and think I waited too long to have kids (I'm 40, now). I know that's silly, but ever since turning 40 that stuff is on my mind, often.

And, fellas, thanks for chiming in. I love the different viewpoints and stories and such. Fun stuff.

 

[zmotorsports]

Haha, I doubt it. I'm small time compared to the quality of you and some of the other posters in this thread. If they show interest I try to find something interesting to do, which keeps them coming back coincidentally. I probably wouldn't have done it otherwise. I will say, that you get what you pay for when your crew is made up of a 3 and 5 year old.

My hope is that they'll always be fond of garage time and that they'll learn to do some things on their own. I hope, too, that when they're 25 I am still able to work in the shop and such. Sometimes I look at them and think I waited too long to have kids (I'm 40, now). I know that's silly, but ever since turning 40 that stuff is on my mind, often.

And, fellas, thanks for chiming in. I love the different viewpoints and stories and such. Fun stuff.

Thanks Brent, I am flattered but your work is just as inspiring. As for be time spent with the kids, that is valuable no matter your age. I remember when my son was born thinking how I wish he would get old enough to work (or play) in the shop with me, then when he started getting older I wish he would slow down. Time has a way of getting away from you that's for sure.

It seems as though turning 40 does that to a person. I though I was invincible until I hit 40 years of age. All of a sudden at 40 my body started telling me I was getting older. Things started to ache that I never even knew existed.

As I get older and have lost my parents after watching them suffer for years with ailments and then a very, very good friend and mentor unexpectedly just a couple of months ago, I too have been thinking more and more about my own mortality and what kind of life I have led and what I will leave behind for my son. Not necessarily the worldly items, but what kind of life lessons, morals and ethics have I left for my son to live up to and hold tight to.

I find myself pondering these things more and more lately and just want to hold my family as close as I can and cherish every minute with them as long as I can.

I commend you wanting to spend the time with your kids. Gifts are one thing and only go so far, but memories of being with parents are things we tend to cling to moreso than any physical gifts. The gift of your time I am sure they will find more valuable as they get older.

Sorry for that deep rant there. I've just had a weird day hanging with my son working in the yard today and then my wife saying tonight as we went for a walk saying how much she enjoys having the windows open in the house and listening to my son and I joke and laugh outside kind of hit me. Then seeing your comments brought up some feelings.

Mike.

 

[-Brent-]

Mike, I appreciate you taking the time to write that. It was great to read.

 

[-Brent-]

As for progress, this weekend, there was little. Saturday got sidetracked and Sunday was Mother's day. Both days were filled from start to finish.

I did sneak out late last night to get an hour in. I was set on getting something, no matter how small, accomplished.



I've never messed with these ports so I'm not entirely sure if I've run the wire into them correctly. They seem like they only work one way. If anyone has experience with them, please post up.



Here's the end result.

 

[taumac]

There must be something about the age 40 because I went through something similar. I made a lot of big changes personally in my life and also the way I thought about the garage. It's nice to know that that just turning 43 and I'm not the only one who has the same thoughts.

 

[dittle fart around]

Nicely done. I would have hidden the connection box behind the speaker. Coming from a nuclear submarine shipyard space is at a premium. Sometime you just can't undue the training.

 

[zmotorsports]

As for progress, this weekend, there was little. Saturday got sidetracked and Sunday was Mother's day. Both days were filled from start to finish.

I did sneak out late last night to get an hour in. I was set on getting something, no matter how small, accomplished.



I've never messed with these ports so I'm not entirely sure if I've run the wire into them correctly. They seem like they only work one way. If anyone has experience with them, please post up.



Here's the end result.

Nice job on the speaker connection/cover. I am going to have to use something like that on mine.

Mike.

 

[HSpencer]

Brent

I totally LOVE that Craftsman Vintage Drill Press!!! WOW.

Best Regards
Herb

 

[-Brent-]

There must be something about the age 40 because I went through something similar. I made a lot of big changes personally in my life and also the way I thought about the garage. It's nice to know that that just turning 43 and I'm not the only one who has the same thoughts.

Thanks for sharing Taumac. I appreciate when people get real, with me. I try to be honest with my social media because there's so much boasting and pretentiousness. What I get in return is other folks sharing in a WAY MORE honest way. That said, I always thank folks for being real when they present themselves.

My relationship with time or how I value it changed drastically as I got closer to 40. In a way, I feel a bit bad that it didn't hit me sooner. I imagine how things could be different if I took parts of life more serious when I was younger. But, that's part of maturation.

Knowing a few folks that passed too young has only made the reality more stark.

Nicely done. I would have hidden the connection box behind the speaker. Coming from a nuclear submarine shipyard space is at a premium. Sometime you just can't undue the training.

You worked on nuke subs? That's pretty cool! This shop is about as far as you can get from a nuclear sub shipyard! Where were you, New London/Groton?

When I was wiring I went over a couple different placements but that's all you really get when you have to surface mount something. If it were a stick-built shop, I could see hiding it. Since it's a block garage, I've learned to keep it simple. Plus, with my big paws, I couldn't imagine trying to fasten the speaker from the back and then plugging it in.

I think if you worked with pallet wood and well-used barn tin in a building where nothing seems to be square, some of that precision training would get undone. I know it worked wonders for me, haha.

Nice job on the speaker connection/cover. I am going to have to use something like that on mine.

Mike.

Thanks, Mike, once again! The materials are priced reasonably enough that for small jobs like yours or mine, the nicer stuff is easily affordable. I kept an eye on speakers and materials for a while and bought most of the stuff right after Thanksgiving. The prices were about a $100 less than, now. Right after new year the tuner and speakers went up about $25 each. So, I'd shop around a bit in advance.

Hey, we need to plan a get-together. Maybe you can use an extra hand on garage move-in day?

 

[-Brent-]

Brent

I totally LOVE that Craftsman Vintage Drill Press!!! WOW.

Best Regards
Herb

Thanks, Herb! It has a drill press reduction based on the "How to Bore the Big Ones" article written years back.

I ended up finding a NOS reduction pulley but I haven't used it since this reducer works so well at every bit size.

 

[dittle fart around]

You worked on nuke subs? That's pretty cool! This shop is about as far as you can get from a nuclear sub shipyard! Where were you, New London/Groton?

I was a shop 99 electrician at Mare Island Naval Shipyard. My shop supplied all the temporary power, lighting, ventilation and gas testing for other trades to work in drydock and along the water front.

View media item 17025
That's dry dock 4 in the photo. There's a sub under all the enclosures.

 

[zmotorsports]

Thanks, Mike, once again! The materials are priced reasonably enough that for small jobs like yours or mine, the nicer stuff is easily affordable. I kept an eye on speakers and materials for a while and bought most of the stuff right after Thanksgiving. The prices were about a $100 less than, now. Right after new year the tuner and speakers went up about $25 each. So, I'd shop around a bit in advance.

Hey, we need to plan a get-together. Maybe you can use an extra hand on garage move-in day?

That is a hell of an offer Brent. I really appreciate that.

Either way, we definitely need to meet up. I would love to check out your garage remodel in person.

Thanks again.

Mike.

 

[klusenhusen]

Hi Brent
Nice progress in your shop, I’m in every week to see and read.

I took the liberty of copying your machine sign.
This machine has no brain, use your own, will be present several places in my garage.

A friend of mine was 18, and his girlfriend insisted that they had to have a yellow car, so he set about painting it one early Sunday summer morning.
Outside in the shade behind the barn, by 10 the sun crept around the corner and the car that had been painted yellow was brownish grey, by 12 greyish black.
Amazing all the insects that are drawn to large yellow flowers.
Needless to say they were not a couple for long, but my friend drove the greyish black car for at least two more years.

 

[-Brent-]

Hi Brent
Nice progress in your shop, I’m in every week to see and read.
...

A friend of mine was 18, and his girlfriend insisted that they had to have a yellow car, so he set about painting it one early Sunday summer morning.
Outside in the shade behind the barn, by 10 the sun crept around the corner and the car that had been painted yellow was brownish grey, by 12 greyish black.

Amazing all the insects that are drawn to large yellow flowers.
Needless to say they were not a couple for long, but my friend drove the greyish black car for at least two more years.

Thanks, Jan!

I couldn't imagine that many insects on the car. And I get his girl leaving him. My wife is ready to leave her whole family if there's a single insect in the same room!

 

[CoolMooseMan]

Fantastic Garage! The theme is awesome and I am very jealous of the old signs and tools you have accumulated! I just read the whole thing throughout today at work. Probably should have done something useful, like working... But I couldn't stop reading!

Also, why the locking hubs in the rear? Flat tow a lot? Want only FWD sometimes?

He does NOT corner the market on photos! He's pumped out some pretty cool work out of his 20x20 workshop like this:

 

[-Brent-]

Fantastic Garage! The theme is awesome and I am very jealous of the old signs and tools you have accumulated! I just read the whole thing ...

Also, why the locking hubs in the rear? Flat tow a lot? Want only FWD sometimes?

Wow! Thanks for spending the time and going through the whole thing. One of these days I think I should read through it... sometimes it's all a blur.

Don't be jealous of the old stuff I've accumulated. It's, by far, the easiest stuff to accumulate. I do have a knack for presenting it in a way that makes it look neat, I will say that. But really, a good portion of this stuff was relegated to someone else's junk pile at one point. I just picked things out here and there. If you'd like some junk, I have some that didn't make it to be displayed! I'm not joking.

As for the Sammy, I bought a kit from Front Range Offroad to convert the rear to a full floater using front brakes and hubs, which match the front. They market the kit for its ability to drive even with one axle broken. While that's a plus, I liked it because now I can flat tow without the driveshaft spinning and no impact on the Tcase and such.

I've flat towed Samurais all over the place, including this one, but the taller they get and the more built-up they are, I see them being more finicky. So, we'll see how this one does. I've never had a set-up like this. As my rigs got bigger, I usually trailered them. I'm hoping that this will keep things simple and I won't need a trailer if we want to head down to Moab in a comfy truck.

 

[zmotorsports]

I've flat towed Samurais all over the place, including this one, but the taller they get and the more built-up they are, I see them being more finicky. So, we'll see how this one does. I've never had a set-up like this. As my rigs got bigger, I usually trailered them. I'm hoping that this will keep things simple and I won't need a trailer if we want to head down to Moab in a comfy truck.

I couldn't agree more with you Brent about flat towing. The taller they get the less friendly they are when it comes to flat towing, no matter Sammy, Jeep or anything else.

I have easily flat towed Jeeps well over 110k miles combined between my four Jeeps over the past 25+ years of RVing, and another 50k + of hauling in enclosed trailer. Although I loved hauling my large 26' Haulmark Edge trailer around behind the coach, flat towing is sooo much more pleasant when trying to find a place to camp and when hop, skip and jumping from location to location.

The main reason I haven't gone any taller of lift or larger tires is that currently my JKU flat tows so beautifully and is so comfortable driving on the highway.

We will definitely have to get together and run a trail or two sometime my friend. Either locally or better yet in Moab or Ouray areas.

Mike.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[-Brent-]

We will definitely have to get together and run a trail or two sometime my friend. Either locally or better yet in Moab or Ouray areas.

FOR SURE! I have some much to learn about wheeling in Utah. I'm definitely looking forward to getting out with folks and wheeling/exploring.

 

[-Brent-]

I had some daylight to work with so I chose to get my old 24" pallet rack/shelving, which used to sit where the 3 Craftsman stacks now reside, and shorten the uprights to fit up in the attic.

This is one of the last items I need to do to get my yard back into shape.

First, a bit of a rewind. A few weeks back I went to a local industrial shelving and rack supplier rather than the guy an hour north of me where I got my racks and beams, previously. It turns out, my 104" beams aren't a common size. I hadn't ever measured them before setting out to buy another pair and I assumed they were 8'. Luckily, I measured them before leaving.



I'd never been here and I wish I could've gotten you all some pics but when we walked back, I was overwhelmed. It was crawling around and measuring at a pace that was pretty frenetic.








After a few minutes with the woman running the place, we figured out that I wasn't going to find a 104". They could have made me a pair but I'd have to wait. The whole time at the place I kept thinking about the 104" being too long. I saw a rack with some beams that were an odd size, but shorter. So, I picked up 4 and will use the other beams elsewhere.

Fast forward to today:



I dragged out the two uprights, put a new blade on the saw and got to shortening. Yes, the shop is a mess. Those boxes on the side of the roadster are build parts. The rest of the stuff needs to go into the attic... on those shelves.



Easy enough.



I think these cut-offs could get paired with the leftover beams and make a low shelf along the west wall of the attic. Could be a nice spot for camping gear, coolers, etc.



After dragging it all up into the attic, which you can see is NOT yet finished, I assembled it and called it a night.



And... in looking at this pic I see the bottom beams aren't even!