Above 1200 Sq/FT Restored 1930's Auto Shop

[RADcustom]

As always, fantastic work on Gus and the welder!

 

[oberst]

...paint was custom mixed to match the original factory color and applied where necessary.

I read this and jumped to the conclusion that our humble scribe decided to invest in on-site powdercoat facilities until I read....

... and the steel wheels sent out to be powder coated.

Ahh. All is back to normal in the Universe, and Thomas's PCG (Powder Coat Guru) can still make his boat payment this month!

Thanks for the update Thomas! Loved the welder refurb, a sympathetic rebuild, keeping it authentic, not antiseptic.
Like many here, I'm sure, I can't wait to see how Gus's new instruments turn out!

Stay safe, everyone!

 

[Grizz1963]

July was a packed month with numerous projects going on. Long days so I choose to rest up and didn't post here but I knew everyone would understand.



Gus, our beloved 1948 Willys shop truck received some loving attention during that time.



A correct, new fuel tank, filler spout and sending unit has been installed...



...a carburetor flooding issue was resolved, the fuel pressure checked and re-calibrated.





Oil leaks from the engine pan were corrected with a new gasket. Fortunately that could be done with the engine in place, still installed. Additionally...



... some transfer case oil leaks were repaired as well. I didn't get any pictures, but the rear output shaft seal was replaced too.




All the dash instruments were checked and found to be in good working order...



... so they were sent off...



... to be professionally re-calibrated and modified to accept 12volts (Gus was an original 6 volt system) and the speedometer is being rebuilt. A new dash wiring harness will be installed once the instruments return late next month. The factory locks on the under seat storage compartments and glove box were disassembled, cleaned and repaired as necessary. Gus is looking and running better than ever. Stand by for more on him.

BTW, if scramboleer from the Old Willys Forum is reading this, Dan would you please email me. I'm having an issue using that forum so please contact me other than that forum. Thanks.

Another project that was completed was refurbishing Mr Johnson's old, Lincoln arc welder. That's the machine my first go kart was made with back in the mid- 1960's.



It's an extremely heavy machine so I took advantage of the lifting ring on top. It was moved from the old shop to the barn where I had more working room.



Once there, the case was removed.



A surprise was that the steel wheels on the case bottom had roller bearings in them. What wasn't a surprise is that they were dry as a bone!



For those who like numbers for the Dreaded Thread Test, (DTT) there were 17 rollers per wheel, none were missing.





The machine was thoroughly cleaned...



...paint was custom mixed to match the original factory color and applied where necessary.



A new plug was installed and the steel wheels sent out to be powder coated.



The refurbished welder was then returned to the old shop...



... where Mr Johnson's welding gauntlets and the old welding cables were cleaned ...



... and new ends were crimped on and then attached to the welder and tested. That old radiator hose that Mr Johnson placed on the handle was used as insulation on the case. It is the same hose seen on the welder in the picture below.



The above picture was taken in the late 1960's with the welder clearly visible on the right. It's still sitting in that very same spot today.



A period carbon tetrachloride fire extinguisher I removed from the basement of the old family house was been installed in the welding corner.



Now that corner of the shop has been brighten up a bit and Mr Johnson would instantly recognize it.

These projects are just a tiny few of whats been going on here lately plus Bonneville is coming up so don't go away. Many thanks once more for all the good wishes and interest in this corner of the world.

Thomas

The thread and author team that just keeps on giving.


Looking good as always Thomas.

Thanks for sharing.

 

[realvc]

Great job on the welder and fire extinguisher as usual.
It is always a treat to see what is going on at the Restored Auto Shop.

Enjoy Bonneville, I'll be looking for the report on all the cool things you will be into out there.

Vince

 

[stillp]

Is the gasket face of that oil pan (we would call it a sump) flat Thomas? It looks from here as if the metal around the fixing bolts has been pulled up, perhaps a previous owner overtightened them to try to stop a leak.
I had that problem on my TR4A, but I know who overtightened the bolts... I had to dress the sump surface flat (on the bed of my circular saw) before installing a new gasket, then did the same with the timing cover, and fitted a new timing cover seal and a Speedi-Sleeve on the fan pulley hub that seal rides on. No more leaks now - satisfying isn't it!
Pete

ps you never did tell us the story of that TR4 that lived with you for a while!

 

[rmalkow2]

Thomas,
The welder refurb looks great and would definitely be to Mr. Johnson’s liking. You and Lou drive safe to Utah and see you on the Salt. I plan to be there Saturday morning and stay the week. Looking forward to a week of fast vehicles.

Bob

 

[BB767]

Is the gasket face of that oil pan (we would call it a sump) flat Thomas? It looks from here as if the metal around the fixing bolts has been pulled up............

............. No more leaks now - satisfying isn't it!
Pete

ps you never did tell us the story of that TR4 that lived with you for a while!

Sharp eye Pete...



...yes many of those fastener holes were distorted a bit from over tightening so they were straighten back into a flat surface. Fortunately, I have several flat metal bench surfaces to chose from to assist with that repair and yes, it is most satisfying to cure chronic leaks!!

You know you're right about our TR4 story. I should just take the time to post about it. Appreciate the reminder. After I'm caught up from Bonneville, let me see if I can relay that story here in a timely manner. Thanks.

Thomas,
The welder refused looks great and would definitely be to Mr. Johnson’s liking. You and Lou drive safe to Utah and see you on the Salt. I plan to be there Saturday morning and stay the week. Looking forward to a week of fast vehicles.

Bob

Bob and anyone else who is going to Speed Week this year, there are two, 2020 Speed Week Mandatory Release Forms that everyone needs to fill out and sign before they are allowed on the salt this year. Here's a link to them:

http://nebula.wsimg.com/3368751915f...89604A3781742F233&disposition=0&alloworigin=1

http://nebula.wsimg.com/456d43ad6ef...89604A3781742F233&disposition=0&alloworigin=1

Please download, fill them out and sign them ahead of time. Note they must be signed in BLUE INK! That will greatly speed up the process if you have them done ahead of time. The forms will be available at the entrance to the salt if you forget to bring them. Because of this, expect delays getting onto the salt. We'll all need to be patient and work together. Last I heard, everyone is expected to practice social distancing.

Now here's something special I want to bring to your attention. The link below is video of the start of Lou's rookie run last year. Make sure the video is not muted and turn your speakers up! What a treat!

https://www.facebook.com/TheSDRC/videos/vb.271252649772/482597482524414/?type=2&theater



See you out there Bob and anyone else.

Thomas

 

[stillp]

Sharp eye Pete...

No, it just looked like mine did!
Pete

 

[rmalkow2]

Thomas,
Thanks a lot for the Speed Week Release Forms and the information. I had missed all that reading about the event this year. It will definitely help to have those ready ahead of time.

Bob

 

[scramboleer]

Great work on Gus. I especially like his gauges.

 

[MG David]

Thomas, I have always considered minor oil leaks from the sump, gearbox and rear axle to be an anti rust measure! Perhaps I have spent too many years working on MGs.

 

[Birddog76]

Thomas,

I have followed your thread and many others off and on for years but did not join Garage Journal until more recently. I can't say anything about your garage, barn, workshop and house that has not been said 1000 times in this thread, but I will say it anyways. You're attention to detail and the panstaking effort you put into even the smallest project shows. They turn out like master pieces than many of us would love to be able to immulate.

I do have a couple questions.

Who did you use to refurbish Gus's instruments, specifically the speedometer and why did you choose them?

The second one is digging back in the archives a little bit. You have your lumber stored vertically and it has been that way for several years. Have you had any issues with warping or bowing with it stored that way? It appears most of the lumber is rough sawn so the thickness may help. Do you have any thin boards or finished stock that you store that way? I love the ease of access vertical storage provides so it something I will file away for future.

Thanks for your time and thank you for allowing us all to follow along.

Allan

PS. You and Lou have an awesome trip and enjoy Speed Week!

 

[A35Plt]

Thank you for letting me visit Thomas and Chris!!! The pictures on this thread really don't show how nice the shop and house really are!
What is really humbling is when you get to see it and you know how much work went into doing things from reading this thread.
Thank you for showing us the rewards of working hard and doing things right. Hard to believe it's been 10 years. Here's looking forward to the next 10!!!
-Robert Starnes

 

[BigDaddyUSMC]

Hello, folks ,, Need Your Help. With the Jerauld's Y Manifold safe in Bagnell's hands , Fredy Lobello's Belly tank back on the salt & a few Bonneville records under out belt with the Bagnell Baggo Chenowth 500cc Turbo motorcycle .... I have taken on a new quest for MY PERSONAL HOLY GRAIL
I trying to find a dragster / Modified Roadster my father ( Terry Chenowth) built in the mid-1950's , Built for a member of the Bean Bandits Car Club , it was races at Paradise Mesa Drag Strip in San Diego . In the late 1959's it was traded to Jesse Van DeVenter for a Hot Rod Model A Ford Street Coupe that my mother drove for several years .

Jesse Van DeVenter ran the dragster as a Modified Roadster in NHRA contrition & won many racer , & 1962 NHRA B/M Roaster Championship. The last time I talked to Jesse he said the car was in a field on the east coast , I asked for the contact info for the folks that owned it , but Jesse never got back to me ,,

Well last night I got a kick in the rear tostep up my search before it was to late , I found that Jesse passed over a year ago Aug 25 2019 ,, He was my only solid lead on finding the car,,

So I'm at square 1 with only a hand full of photos & no real leads on where to start looking .. That where I need the help you y'all . IF you know where this car is ,, PLEASE let me know,, [email protected]

Also looking for photos of the car , I have the original photos of the car being built & a few of it racing , but what all the info & photos I can find....

Here are some photo of the car as it was originally run with a Blown SB Chevy & some as Jesse Van DeVenter raced it as a unblown M/R

 

[BORING HOP YARD]

Hey Big Daddy, you may want to visit one of the Garage Journal sister sites. The "HAMB"
It has many examples of people asking for help finding information on old cars from back in the day. https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/

 

[rmalkow2]

Big Daddy,
Also check out this guy “ The Hot Rod Hoarder” channel on You Tube. He searches for and collects old race cars. If your vehicle was on the East Coast possibly he has heard of it or can give you tips on how to search.

Bob

 

[markviii]

Thanks, BORING HOP YARD and rmalkow2. Solid leads to help in this quest.

Chris

P.S. Here's most of Jess Van Deventer's obituary from Aug, 2019 (drag racing obviously doesn't lead to a life with no accomplishments as Tom was told as a youth):

Mr. Jess Van Deventer, of National City, California, born on September 17th, 1937 in Gotebo, Oklahoma, to the late Francis and Earl Van Deventer, passed away at age 81 on August 25th, 2019 to join his wife, Sharon in heaven. Jess is survived by his sisters, Linda Bennett and Paula Yakel; daughters, Heidi, Jennifer & son in law, Alan Jr.; Jessica & son in law, Javier; grandchildren, Elizabeth, Chloe, Jesse, Christina and Amanda; and sister in law, Susie Della Santina, as well as many cousins, nieces and nephews.

Jess's parents moved the family out to National City when he was seven years old from Gotebo, Oklahoma. Jess attended Kimball Elementary, National City Junior High and graduated from Sweetwater High School in 1957. He was active in his local car club in high school.

At the time of his high school graduation he was competing at the local race tracks with a carbureted V-8 Buick powered 1934 Ford roadster. In 1959 he personally built an injected small block Chevy powered ""B"" modified roadster. It was in this car that he won his first national event in 1960 and set a new class ET record at the NHRA Nationals held at Detroit Dragway. In 1962 Jess won the coveted NHRA World Points Championship Title in the ""Hot Car"" class and reset the MPH and ET class records while doing so. 1963 he won the NHRA Winternationals, built and test drove a blown Chevy powered B/Gas dragster, owned by Phil Parker, and set a new national class ET record at 8.95 seconds. Jess retired in 1963 with an unbeaten record.

Jess received many awards in his car racing years: ""Best Engineered Car"" and NHRA Class Champion at the 1961 Nationals, NHRA Class Champion at the US Nationals in 1962, NHRA Class Champion at the Winternationals in 1961 in 1963, and the NHRA Points Champion in 1962. Jess was featured in editorial coverage in Car Craft Magazine, Popular Hot-Rodding Magazine, Modern Rod Magazine, Rod & Custom Magazine, National Dragster, and Drag News. In 1999 Jess received the NHRA Drag Racing Lifetime Achievement Award and 2015 inducted in the International Drag Racing Hall of Fame.

Jess was married to the late Sharon Marie Flores on April 24th, 1964 at St. Mary's Catholic Church in National City. He has three children: Heidi Van Deventer, Jennifer Jaquish, and Jessica Cornejo.

Upon ending his active participation in drag racing, Jess began working at a National City, California auto-parts/machine shop as a machinist. After purchasing the business with a partner, Jess became president and expanded it into a chain of seven stores. He sold the business in 1985 and entered the world of real estate development and construction as a General Contractor specializing in commercial buildings.

Jess had a desire to give back to his community and entered local politics. He served on the National City, City Council for over 18 years, the San Diego Port Commission for over 12 years(serving as chairman twice), the National City Chamber of Commerce(for over 30 years) serving as president, the Past Chairman and Board member of the San Diego Association of Governments, the Past member of the San Diego Criminal Justice Planning Board, City Representative on the Metropolitan Transit System Board, Member Port of San Diego Public Art Committee, Past member of the National City Planning Commission, the US Bank Advisory Board (for over four years), and the Board of Directors for Sweetwater Authority (for over three years), San Diego Bowl Game Red Coat Association Board Member, and San Diego State Aztec Football Association Member.

Jess will be remembered as a community highlight. He was a member of St. Mary's Catholic Church in National City. Outstanding Family man, Business Leader, Charter Member and Past President of the Sweetwater Kiwanis Club, Past President and Board member of St. Mary's Church Parish Council, Past President, Board of Directors Boy and Girls Club of National City, Chairman and Charter Member of National City Public Art Committee, Capital Campaign Committee Member of the National City Public Library, the Past President of the National City School District Educational Foundation, and Board Member Sweetwater Union High School Foundation.

Jess received many awards throughout his community service: 1994 & 2003 Citizen of the Year; 2010 Community Leader Award; February, 1985 Congressional Distinguished Service Award for ""Citizen of the Month""; 2002 National Service to Youth Award by Boys and Girls Club of America; 2001 Sweetwater Union High School District Inaugural Alumni Hall of Fame; 2001 Partners in Educational Excellence Award; 1998-99 Kiwanian of the Year Award by Kiwanis International; 1998 Wilbur Bradley Award for dedication to youth; 1978 Kiwanis Businessman of the Year.

He shared his love of automobiles starting from his World Champion Drag Racing Championship in 1962 to his two vintages cars he would show in local car shows. He would drive his blue 1932 Ford Roster and 1937 Ford with Sharon to shows around Southern California.

Jess valued family as his number one commitment. He spent valuable time with his family. He had a passion to travel worldwide with his wife, Sharon. He shared the passion with his three daughters and five grandchildren. He took the entire family on yearly vacation trips from going to somewhere in Mexico to cruising in Alaska. He loved spending time with his five grandchildren: Elizabeth, Chloe, Jesse, Christina, and Amanda.

 

[BB767]

Thomas.........


I do have a couple questions.

Who did you use to refurbish Gus's instruments, specifically the speedometer and why did you choose them?

The second one is digging back in the archives a little bit. You have your lumber stored vertically and it has been that way for several years. Have you had any issues with warping or bowing with it stored that way? It appears most of the lumber is rough sawn so the thickness may help. Do you have any thin boards or finished stock that you store that way? I love the ease of access vertical storage provides so it something I will file away for future.

Thanks for your time and thank you for allowing us all to follow along.

Allan

PS. You and Lou have an awesome trip and enjoy Speed Week!

Hello Birddog76 and thank you for your continued interest and patience! This reply to your questions is long over due.

First off, Gus's gauges were serviced by Auto Instruments in Martinsville VA.

http://www.autoinstruments.com/

I first got a recommendation for them from the Old Willys Forum. A member there had his Willys pickup instruments done by them and he was extremely happy with the results. I then contacted them and talked with Gentry, the owner. Extremely nice gentleman and quite knowledgeable. They are running about 8 weeks or more to get instruments serviced. I take that to be good sign. As I write this, Gus's instruments are scheduled for delivery tomorrow, Friday, to the shop. I have every expectation they will perform perfectly. Stay tune for that!

Next regarding vertical lumber storage. Virtually all my lumber is rough sawn so it's approximately .25", (6.35mm) from finish thickness. I do keep the room humidity level fairly constant there (between high 30's and about 45% max). I have not detected any issue with warping, cupping or bowing. That said, after it was first sawn originally, it was all stacked, sticker-ed and air dried horizontally. Presently the moisture content of the wood itself is less than 10%, closer to 6%.

The board thicknesses generally range from 8/4 (2" - 51mm) to 3/4 (.75" - 19mm) with a few much thicker at 4"-5" (102mm-127mm) or as thin as 2/4 (.5"- 13mm). The thin stock mostly appears to be flat, but I haven't work any of the thin material since I got the wood shop finished. If there is more information you'd like, please let me know.

Busy times here, Lou and I returned from Bonneville after a strange but successful Speed Week. Top speed was Poteet and Main's, Speed Demon at 477 mph- (767kph). That's a piston powered, wheel driven car, single engine. Quite an achievement! I'll do more in depth at a later date along with the latest going on here. Thanks everyone for all the positive support and interest.

Thomas

 

[BigDaddyUSMC]

Thanks to all that shared info & photos on the Van Deventer B/M Roadster , I have traced the car to 1965 , Jesse Van Deventer sold it to THE FARLEY BROTHERS in Camp Hill Penn. Claimed they built the car? won some shows & engineering awards with a 10 year old race car ???? Here is a photo from a 1965 Speed & Custom Magazine

I have a report, that the car might be in Atlanta???

 

[rmalkow2]

Bonneville 2020

It was a different year for sure but even with masks on I recognized Lou and Thomas as they waited for me at our morning hello and quick visit. What a pleasure to see you both again and talk a little speed, a little shop and my biggest treat of that visit was an honor to be shown Lou’s personal scrap book of his now famous roadster #19. I love that kind of history and automotive journal and was amazed at all the great photos he had over the years and the wonderful details he described. Again it was an honor for me to get that tour of this very (and still is) cool hot rod. Later that day as I saw it up close in the pits the story made viewing the car all the more special. (I only wish Lou was driving this year)

So here we are a couple months later, still dealing with Covid, still wearing masks and keeping our distance (somewhat) but I journeyed to Carlisle, PA for the annual big swap meet this week. While there I bought some old car magazines. These “little books” are very packed with pictures and information about how hot rods and customs were built back in the 50’s.

As you can see from the cover photo, this December 1958 issue of Car Craft also had a Bonneville story from that 10th Anniversary year. And right there on the page is reference to Lou setting a new C Gas Roadster record with his car and the Olds 303. Too cool!!! (Fourth listing from the bottom)

Congrats Lou!

Can’t wait until Speed Week 2021!

attachmentid=1056914&stc=1&d=1601742040[/IMG]

 

[BB767]

Bonneville 2020

Nice pictures Bob, many thanks for posting them. Yes, it was a very strange Bonneville Speed Week this year.



Friday at motorcycle tech with everyone masked up and trying to social distance while still getting the required inspection done.




This is just before the drivers meeting Saturday morning. Seated is Jim Jensen, long time head starter...



...and next day, Jim along with Jill Iverson on the job as starters on the long course, course #1, masks in place.



Bill Lattin on the left, is Race Director and President of the Southern California Timing Association (SCTA). Unfortunately I don't know the name of the official on the right. The SCTA and Bonneville Nationals Inc (BNI) officials (all volunteers) worked tirelessly to come up with a ways and means to hold the event this year. Kudos to the group for an outstanding job.




This is Lou showing Bob his personal scrap book with images from Bonneville over the last 65 years! Lou is living history!



Lou's Car #19, seen in the pit this year. Once again it was brought to Bonneville, managed and crewed, courtesy of the Bean Bandits Car Club.

https://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/1999/jan/14/bean-bandits/

The red '57 Chevy Sedan Delivery seen on the right...







...is owned by one of the Bean Bandits and was the official push car for car #19 this year. It looked very fitting I'd say.



It wasn't Starbucks, but the Bean Bandits were always happy to share hot coffee in the morning. They are a tremendously talented and dedicated group, many who have known Lou since they were small kids. They hold him in high esteem, just as we do here on the Journal.

Some additional images of Lou's old car...











Most any parts you see drilled with a bunch of holes are parts Lou fabricated 60 years ago.



And let's not forget Bruce Brady, seen on the right, who owns car #19 and his generosity has made all this possible.



It's a testament to Lou's engineering and fabricating skills that this car is still running at Bonneville in speeds exceeding 160 mph, decades after Lou built it.

I have more from Bonneville 2020 if you care to check back. Many thanks to you all.

Thomas

 

[jbmatth]

Very cool to see that everyone was able to make it work out there on the salt this year. Ya'll are truly living the dream.

JB

 

[BB767]

Wood Shop Ceiling Tile Completed

Everyone here has to be the most patient people in the world and I thank you for that. Waiting no doubt, with bated breath, here we go, picking up from a July 4th post #12,235, page 612. This is the basement wood shop ceiling tile work completed!

With the tile grid all in place it was time to finally install the tile. As you might recall I've got "stuff" hanging down from the ceiling everywhere...





...which made installing the tile a little bit difficult to say the least. However, never one to shy away from a challenge, here's how it was done.



Several places dust collection hangers had to be dealt with. A hole was placed in the tile where the strap terminated on the duct...



...and a slit was cut to allow the tile to be slid over the strap.




A nasty area with lots of pipes hanging...





...turned out reasonably well. This is just part of the space Chris uses for her picture framing work.

More problem spots...





...about the best that could reasonably be done.



The material lift area...





...electrical system finished off nicely as did...







...the main dust collection cyclone and after-filter bags.







There are a total of 8 speakers installed throughout.



AC outlets.



A WiFi amplifier was installed to boost the WiFi signal in the basement. Now my internet connectivity there is as fast as in the rest of the house. I use Sonos and the internet for my sound system there and throughout the house for casual listening. I still rely on my turntables and vinyl for critical listening.





The two above pictures show the triangulated area caused by the 15º bend in the house.



You'll notice there wasn't much room between the smaller dust collection ducting and the tiles. The large, main duct is hidden above the tile.








The acoustics obviously are now better as is the light reflectivity. The overall tile installation has a very neat, clean appearance. This is much as I had envisioned this space for several years. Far from perfect, it is for doing wood work and I'm pleased with the results. It's a wonderful space to be in. Very comfortable working condition. I'm now completing the rest of the shop set up. All those little details to make it user friendly. Hope it was worth the wait for you folks to see how it finally turned out.

There is just a bunch more that has been done around here that I need to post. Stick around, I'm not done yet for better or worse.

Thomas

 

[53PontiacSD]

Hi Thomas. That tile work is impressive. I've never been involved putting tiles in a ceiling, but have replaced them in places after they are up. I can tell though that it took a lot of head scratching and probably a few wasted tiles to get that done. Always a treat to see your work. Thank you for sharing.

Billy

 

[jbmatth]

Excellent work as usual Thomas, looks like a ton of work is now behind you.

JB

 

[Boosted1]

Tile ceiling and overall basement looks really neat.

 

[TwoBytes]

Re: Wood Shop Ceiling Tile Completed

Hi Thomas and Chris,

Reading this thread from the start was something I'd wanted to do since I joined GJ many years ago, but to say that it's daunting is an understatement.

I finally bit the bullet earlier this year and started taking small bites out of the 600 page elephant.

I well and truly got sucked into the COTU vortex and after many, many months of truly enjoyable reading I have reached ATP.

I don't have much to add that hasn't already been said, but I would like to reiterate all of the posts that have come before mine that express amazement at what you've achieved and gratitude for all the effort you have put into sharing it all with us.

I was going to ask what "enterprise grade network equipment" you used in your fantastic new home, but I can see from that photo that you went with Ubiquiti UniFi. Good choice!

I use the same gear and can confirm that it "works good and lasts a long time".



Very much looking forward to following your journey in real time.

 

[TwoBytes]

By the way, I've been in touch with Cary about buying a copy of his book.

Now that I've caught up with this thread, I need something else to read, and "The Beltsville Shell" sounds like a must-have.

 

[BB767]

WiFi

Hi there TwoBytes and welcome to our gang. Many thanks for persisting through this thread and glad to hear you didn't think it a waste of time. There are times I think I've put too much information out and then fellows like you come along and, well it just keeps me going. So many thanks for your kind words.

Ubiquiti UniFi components are what is used throughout the house for our networking equipment.



Their switch gear is rugged and robust and as you so aptly phrased it, "it works good and lasts a long time"!

I added WiFi to the old shop this last spring. In non-technical terms, I sent the signal from the house...





...using their nano stations...





...on both ends for transmitting and receiving. This equipment has a range of more than 5 miles, but I'm only transmitting a few hundred feet. Then inside the shop...



...I used this for the access point. Since this was a retro fit, it's a somewhat ungainly installation, but form follows function. My WiFi out in the old shop now is as fast as in the house. Very pleased with it and UniFi.

All the home electronics are rack mounted...



...and to assist cooling them I installed these...



...whisper fans that exhausts warm air into the chase which adjoins the electronics room. The fans are thermostatically controlled and only run when necessary. Highest temperature in the rack now is typically less than 86ºF.

If you should ever bump into our other Aussie friends down there, send along our greetings.

Thomas

 

[BB767]

Beltsville Shell 3rd Printing

Oh, one more thing since you brought it up. Cary has done a 3rd and likely final, printing of "Beltsville Shell". Used books had been selling on eBay and Amazon for $50 to $100 or more and Cary wasn't happy about that so he did a 3rd printing to make copies available at a lower cost. Visit his web site:

http://www.beltsvilleshell.com/buynow.html or it's available on Amazon while copies last.

Once more, I have no financial stake in this. I'm just a big fan of the book and Cary. Thanks everyone.

Thomas

 

[ZRX61]

I see you followed the bizarre American habit of leaving huge gaps under all the doors. I get that people want the door to clear any flooring they may add, but UK practice is either install a threshold or install the door with minimal gap & then trim the bottom to clear any carpet or tile etc. The house I live in has 1.5in gaps under two of the doors & about an inch under all the others. Been here almost 30 years, still baffles me.

 

[MG David]

Traditionally in the UK we tend to heat some rooms more than others. Such as lounges warmer than bedrooms which are warmer than the hall/landing/stairs. You need close fitting doors to prevent drafts where there are temperature differentials.
The questionable modern trend to open plan is changing this.
Perhaps the practices are different in other parts of the world.

 

[stillp]

Ceiling looks good Thomas!
Pete

 

[Spareparts]

How many Snap-on Boxes do you have???

 

[BB767]

I see you followed the bizarre American habit of leaving huge gaps under all the doors. I get that people want the door to clear any flooring they may add, but UK practice is either install a threshold or install the door with minimal gap & then trim the bottom to clear any carpet or tile etc. The house I live in has 1.5in gaps under two of the doors & about an inch under all the others. Been here almost 30 years, still baffles me.

Interesting observation on your house Rick. The doors in our house on the first and second floors are set mostly at 3/4" with a few at 7/8" above the floor. Not sure I'd call them huge gaps. Here are a few...























The door to the garage has a threshold...





...and seals tightly.

In the basement and out in the garage...













...they are still only set 7/8" to 1". I set them higher there for better air flow and to aid in de-humidification in all those spaces.

You might recall we have a system and equipment that monitors and maintains air quality and temperatures throughout the house.



It's called CERV - Conditioning Energy Recovery Ventilator.









It connects directly to our GeoThermo HVAC system as seen above.



Along with temperature and humidity, CERV constantly monitors CO2 and VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds) levels throughout the house and keeps them within our set parameters for healthier interior air. We have no ceiling fans in the house proper, only in the garage. I want a certain amount of air flow in the house to better aid the CERV system. I don't want the rooms tightly sealed off from each other.

With 3 years experience with CERV so far, we have been most pleased with it's performance. The current virus problems have brought healthy, interior air quality into sharp focus. Take all that for what you will. I did set the door heights for a reason.

Traditionally in the UK we tend to heat some rooms more than others. Such as lounges warmer than bedrooms which are warmer than the hall/landing/stairs. You need close fitting doors to prevent drafts where there are temperature differentials.
The questionable modern trend to open plan is changing this.
Perhaps the practices are different in other parts of the world.

David, our house is so tight we get no drafts at all from leakage to the outside. Virtually none. The CERV system, when in operation, only moves air at about 200-300 CFM's. Almost undetectable but yet it still moves the air on an as needed basis. We tend to maintain an even temperature throughout the house.

Thomas

 

[TwoBytes]

Re: Beltsville Shell 3rd Printing

Hi there TwoBytes and welcome to our gang. Many thanks for persisting through this thread and glad to hear you didn't think it a waste of time. There are times I think I've put too much information out and then fellows like you come along and, well it just keeps me going. So many thanks for your kind words.

The size of the thread put me off for a long time, but like so many others have said, it's better than a good book! Definitely a worthwhile investment of time!

Ubiquiti UniFi components are what is used throughout the house for our networking equipment.



Their switch gear is rugged and robust and as you so aptly phrased it, "it works good and lasts a long time"!

First class install and great choice of equipment. I've had a lot of experience with Ubiquiti gear and recommend it highly...

I was also very excited that it gave me an opportunity to use your trademark phrase "works good and lasts a long time"!

Oh, one more thing since you brought it up. Cary has done a 3rd and likely final, printing of "Beltsville Shell". Used books had been selling on eBay and Amazon for $50 to $100 or more and Cary wasn't happy about that so he did a 3rd printing to make copies available at a lower cost. Visit his web site:

http://www.beltsvilleshell.com/buynow.html or it's available on Amazon while copies last.

Once more, I have no financial stake in this. I'm just a big fan of the book and Cary. Thanks everyone.

Thomas

I've emailed Cary directly and he's working out postage to Australia for me. Looking forward to having a read!

 

[ZRX61]

The thresholds in the UK are the same width as the doorjambs & then ya have maybe 1/8in gap. Some are solid thresholds (around 1/2in thick) & some have a rabbet cut in the bottom so the carpet fitter can stuff the edge of the carpet under the edge by an inch. Those ones are 3/4in thick with a 3/8 rabbet.
I prefer the threshold version as it allows you to swap out carpet for tile etc & it doesn't affect the gap under the door.
The other version where the door & frame is fitted with no threshold & maybe 1/4in gap to the floor & then the door gets trimmed at the bottom once carpet or tile is laid.


Maybe they do it this way in the UK because the houses are so damn drafty. At my parents place the garage ceiling was open to the floorboards of the bedroom above it when they moved in. If the garage door was open on a windy day, the rug in the bedroom would lift off the floor with the gusts & move around the room like a flying carpet. That was one of their first fixes, insulation & drywall installed on the garage ceiling. The deal here with the two doors that have 1.5in gaps is because there was originally carpet & pad there, then it was all ripped out for those long vinyl tiles that look like wood, but are only about 3/16th thick. If this was my house I'd add more wood to the bottom of the doors but that's not an option. At my old place I installed seven oak thresholds & had the gaps set at 3/32nds thanks to a thickness planer. No two thresholds were the same thickness. They varied from 9/16th to just over an inch. I beveled the edges on the thicker ones.


That first pic you posted with the carpet & no threshold is about how it would be in the UK.


Another thing is heating in the UK with radiators in all the rooms. With minimal gap under the door you can turn off the heating in that room & it wouldn't affect the temp in other rooms. At my parents old (much bigger, 4 floor 10 bedroom) house every wall in the house was damn near 1ft thick double solid brick, so there wasn't much heat transfer through the walls from room to room... altho when it was built heating was with coal/wood as it had at least a dozen fireplaces.

 

[BB767]

How many Snap-on Boxes do you have???

Now that's a good question, I hadn't really thought about it before. Good test question BTW....... just saying.........





Those two above are my 2 main "go to" boxes. One in the barn and the other in the lift room of the old shop. Then I've also got...



...this bruiser in the old shop.



In the deep drawers it has double drawer slide supports vrs a single slide supports for extra heavy weights in those drawers. As I recall it will support 500 lbs (227 kg) per drawer.

Then there's these...





...smaller roll arounds which are mighty handy at times.



For the house, I use this is a vintage box set that's around 50 years old now. It's from the early 1970's. If you take care of them, Snap On stuff holds up exceptionally well I think.



A while back I bought this early '60's vintage box set to store all the old tools left in the shop. You can see a pile of them on the bench being sorted and cleaned up.





Earlier this summer Lou and I started to finally start the process of sorting and cleaning all the hand tools left behind in the shop when I bought it.





I just might need an additional tool box for the left behind hand tools. I've still got several 5 gallon buckets full of them in the barn. Stand by for that!

Now, what was the question again...........

Slightly confused at times Thomas

 

[MG David]

Thomas, I do like all of your solid wood doors.

 

[BB767]

John Johnson 1948-2020

Hello everyone, I have a bit of sad news to report. John Johnson, the second youngest son of Virgil and Lillie passed away peacefully last September at age 72. I've waited till now to give his family a bit of privacy until I could check with them before posted this news here. Virgil and Lillie had 5 sons and a daughter. Only 2 sons now remain.



John was 5 years older than me so I always looked up to him as a really cool guy. As you can see from this picture, he was just a real cool guy. He never seemed to be bothered by his younger brother's friends (one of which would be me!) when we were hanging around the shop. Always patient if we asked him to explain or show us how something worked around the shop. He's the one who successfully drag raced a 1957 Chevy for several years. As younger kids we were just in awe of him. More than 50 years later at his passing, he stilled owned that car!

John worked off and on out in the shop in his younger years. Gifted in mathematics, John was designing and fabricating parts and projects from an early age. He won first prize in the seventh-grade science fair for building a Van Der Graaff Generator - a small proton accelerator - from parts he found around the family shop.

He was a welder, designing and installing the duct systems used by McCormick & Company to move cryogenically-frozen spices at factories in Baltimore and Chattanooga, Tenn. He worked with some of the best industrial engineers in the country on jobs for the company, but they inevitably fell back on Johnson’s mathematical gifts and the lessons he learned in his father’s shop in Philo.

While highly sought after by McCormick & Company for projects around the world, he wanted to remain close to his family and friends and so he remained in the local area. He worked with his older, contractor brother Kenny, building some of the larger, local construction projects at the time and then managing them afterward.

John's health started to fail at the beginning of this year, 2020 and by mid-summer he had run out of options. His family contacted me in late August, asking if he and they could visit the shop. I was honored that he would want to do that, so in early September, John and his family came for a shop tour. Most of them either had never been in the shop, or hadn't been there in decades. We spent the whole afternoon looking around the shop and grounds with John telling us tales of events that occurred within the shop or on the property. It was a good day.........no, better than that, it was a great day!



Here's John with his wife, daughters, son and a grand-daughter in the shop during that visit. Sadly he passed away 10 days later.

So time moves on and another member of the Johnson family has passed but the legacy of Johnson's Welding and Repair remains. That little shop has figured prominently and shaped and influenced so very many lives. I trust Virgil is smiling.

Thomas