Puget Dude’s creations and fabrications (Random project thread.)

[larry4406]

Scott - I just scrolled thru this whole thread of yours when I went looking for your 2x72 grinder build.

WOW! You have a lot of good stuff here.

Thanks for posting.

-larry

 

[PugetDude]

Thanks, Larry.
I have a couple of things I've been working on lately; just need to get the progress pics sorted and posted.

 

[sanddan]

Where is the thread on the 72” grinder? Looks like a good design, I’d like to take a closer look.

 

[PugetDude]

Post # 95 in this thread.

 

[PugetDude]

Decided to thin out my steel stash a bit this morning.
Had a 55" long piece of 4” diameter tube that wants to fall over every time I am rummaging through the steel pile standing up in the corner. Not sure where I got it, but it's been moved a dozen times over the past year, so it was time for it to go to work.
Cut it into four 13.5” pieces…
And then capped one end with some expanded metal that has been snagging my pants legs every time I walk by the sheet goods stack.

Added some 1” x 2” rectangular tube from the drop pile as spacers. Cut them all 2" long, turned them sideways so I didn't have to cap the ends. Used a piece of 1.5" square tube to space them up off the weld table- this centered the 2" long pieces perfectly on the 4" pipe.

 

[PugetDude]

The bottom end of the tubes are tacked to the intermediate crossbar on the weld table- the tops are attached to the 4" S40 pipe legs with a 3" long piece of the 1" x 2" rectangular tube. (Compound angle cut, took a lot of trips back and forth to the belt grinder to get them to fit.)

Now my angle grinders have a place on my new work-in-process welding table- without the cords hanging out and dragging on the floor. I have my welders, plasma, and weld table all on casters and I always seem to be getting tangled up with extension cords.
I'll add a couple of dual outlet boxes to this table as I get further along. Still need clamp racks, too.

I'm a big fan of the Bosch 1380 Slim 4.5" angle grinders (replaced by the GWS8-45- looks and handles the same) - They are light enough to use one handed, heavy duty enough to use with both hands when I've really made a mess out of a weld- but I did buy a heavy duty Bosch 13 amp grinder to run the big cup wheel, it's a beast with that heavy wheel.

 

[zmotorsports]

Fantastic idea Scott.

 

[PugetDude]

Well, I decided to touch the GJ third rail and build a rolling gantry crane for the shop. My wife bought me an all-steel 32 Brookville Roadster body for our 20 year anniversary to replace the fiberglass body that came with my ‘32 basket case project. It is too heavy to wrestle around with like the glass body; I know it’s going to need to go on and off a dozen times, so I decided to build a small gantry crane.

First stop was at the steel yard, they had a bunch of 3”x3” square tube in the drop pile; most was .120 wall but a few pieces were .188 and .060. Most of them were 5’ long, did have one a bit longer. Bought it all for less than $100, including a scrap 3x5x 8 foot long pallet rack beam.
Got it home and started fabrication on the legs. The uprights are .120 wall, diagonals are .060 and the bases are .188” thick.



8” diameter locking swivel casters came from Amazon Warehouse Deals; these are really nice units at $20 each.I put them on 1/4” plate bases to widen the stance a bit, gusseted the plates with some 1/4” flat bar for additional strength. This gave me an additional 10” in height without increasing the length of the legs.



The top crossmember was fabricated from the pallet rack beam. Cut it down to 7’ long, then added a piece of heavy wall 1” x 1” tubing to fill in the recess because 1. I had a 7’ long piece in the steel pile and 2. I wanted to use a rolling trolley for lifting and needed a flat surface for it to roll on. 3. It would add a bit of strength to the beam
And of course 4. The asymmetry of the beam bugged me.
Used a few pieces of 3/8 plate I cut on the bandsaw to space the square tube so it was flush on the top.
Forgot to take any pics during fabrication but here is one in primer:


More to come…

 

[Bob Heine]

My wife bought me an all-steel 32 Brookville Roadster body for our 20 year anniversary to replace the fiberglass body that came with my ‘32 basket case project.

Scott, is there a thread on the Garage Journal for "Best Wife?" If there is, yours just won.

 

[PugetDude]

Scott, is there a thread on the Garage Journal for "Best Wife?" If there is, yours just won.

You have no idea… she was the one that got away 47 years ago,. Got back together 25 years later. Just celebrated our 20 year anniversary.

Friend visiting from KC saw the body at a shop here in PHX, mentioned it to her. She called the shop, bought it over the phone then conspired with my neighbor to go pick it up with his ATV trailer. Total surprise.

Deliveries on the ‘32 bodies is now over a year out.
This one was only in stock 3 days.

 

[PugetDude]

Here’s the beam to leg connection detail. Top of the legs have a 4”x7”x 3/8” angle with (4) 7/16 nuts welded to the inside of the 4” angle leg; then welded to the top of the 3" square tube legs. A 10” long piece of 3/8” x 4” flat bar was welded to the pallet rack beam to distribute the load, this was capped with a 1/4” end plate and a 1/4” plate gusset . This bolts to the top of the 3' x3' to the welded nuts hidden inside the legs.
The yellow corner brace is a piece of 3” x5” x3/8” angle with a heavy wall 1” x1” tube diagonal gusset.
(4) 7/16-14 ” Grade 5 bolts on each corner brace. Rock solid when assembled.

This way it’s easy to knock down for storage or transport with just a 5/8” wrench.

 

[PugetDude]

I had a couple of solid 2-1/4 diameter solid aluminum rollers with 1/2” bearings left over from my first belt grinder prototype so I dug them out to use on this. The rolling lift carriage frame was built out of 1/4” plate; measures about 8” x 9” x 3.5”.Cut them to size out of 1/4" x 8" flat bar, tacked the two sides together than drilled the through holes. Used a couple of different size annular cutters for the speed holes, just to make it look more interesting and to unnecessarily increase the complexity level.
I used 1/2”x 4" Grade 5 bolts with Nylock nuts for axles.
One plate got a couple of 1/2” nuts welded on the outside for the clamping bolts that lock the it in place on the crane beam.
The 4” long clamping bolts are 1/2” Grade 8 with a big rounded wing welded to the bolt heads to make them easy to turn by hand.
The lift point is just a 1/2” trailer hitch pin with a spring clip; this is mounted on 3/8” plate tabs that I welded to the carriage side plates.




It moves really easy on the ball bearing rollers . I left about .030” width clearance at the top and .060” on the bottom; the clamping concept works well; a couple of twists on the giant wing bolts and it’s locked down tight.. I put a quick paint dot at beam centerline that’s visible through the center speed hole (guess it does serve a purpose after all) to center it up without measuring.

I purposefully bought a 3/4 ton lever chain hoist to weight limit the crane, that’s twice what I will probably ever need to lift and gives me a comfortable margin of safety.

Makes quick work of pulling and installing the body (and the engine/transmission)

 

[LXCam]

That turned out great Scott. No wonder you’ve been a bit absent.

 

[Bears Fan]

Scott, your angle grinder holders turned out great and that was some awesome engineering and execution on the gantry crane, two thumbs up

Holy ****!!! your wife brought you an all steel 32 roadster body for your 20 anniversary, she must be a keeper

 

[don long]

Great work Scott Love the home built crane.
So lets hear what the plans are for the 32 build

 

[PugetDude]

Thanks, Don; the crane was a fun project, one of my larger welding projects recently.

I've had the body on and off a half-dozen times already, the Brookville body is dimensionally accurate; the fiberglass body wasn't. The back of the steel body dropped right in, perfectly centered with 7-7/8" from the inner wheelwell to the center of the tires. The front was another story. I had to open it up 2-1/2" to get it to fit, the brass cowl brackets were an inch outside the frame (which was initially fabbed to fit the glass body.) So, long story short, I broke out a fresh batch of 4-1/2' cutting wheels and the M12 Hackzall and cut my 1-1/2" square center crossmember loose on each side where it was welded to the boxed frame. Also cut the plate frame gussets loose, and built a heavy duty spreader out of 1-1/2" heavy wall square tubing, with back to back 1" and 1-1/4" jack bolts to widen the frame at the cowl by 2-1/2". It took my 15" Crescent wrench and a piece of 1"x2" rectangular tube as a cheater to force the frame out to where it needed to go. It really did not want to move that far.
When I finally got it where i wanted it, I welded in 1-1/4" long extension stubs on each end of the center crossmember and spliced the plate gussets to fit. By cutting it loose on the ends, all my other mounts/holes stay on center and aren't affected by the movement. (seats, e-brake, etc)
It did close up about 1/4" when I released the spreader, but it fits the frame really well on both sides so I decided to leave well enough alone. Did end up moving the two brass cowl bracket holes out half a bolt diameter, now the bolts drop right in.


I marked the body holes on the frame with a paint marker, then drilled 3/4" diameter holes with a step drill so I could weld in 7/16" Grade 5 nuts flush with the top of the frame to secure the body- in 16 places..I used 7/16" because they were easier to weld in than 3/8"...and because i wasn';t paying attention to the Brookville body which had 7/16" holes for 3/8" bolts. Had to open them all up to 1/2"+ to get everything lined up, but it fits well, with just enough clearance I don't have to struggle getting the body bolted down.

More to come...

 

[don long]

I never heard that working on old cars was a piece of cake lol
Thanks for the back story. good luck with going forward with your project love to follow along!!!

 

[PugetDude]

I never heard that working on old cars was a piece of cake lol
Thanks for the back story. good luck with going forward with your project love to follow along!!!

Wish I had your paint skills, Don- that and upholstery are likely the only parts of this project I intend to hire out.

 

[PugetDude]

Loaded up the fiberglass body; heading to NW Phoenix to do some horse trading. Meeting a retired hot rod builder, (HAMB guy) claims he’s got a garage full of stuff… Tired of dealing with every Tomas, Ricardo, and Harry on Craigslist/FB Marketplace who talks a good game but then no-shows. Wasted a week here at home waiting for idiots to show up when they say they will.
Trip may be a bust, but it beats sitting here at home waiting for inconsiderate scammers to grace me with their presence.
Rant over.

 

[PugetDude]

Quick little project while I was going around in a circle with one foot nailed to the floor waiting on “The Ghosts of Craigslist” to appear.
My wife saw a little table she liked at a furniture store. $459… ummm, really? You think for what we spent on two new leather sofas they would throw in a half-dozen of them.



I had some 1” x 1” .065 wall square tube in the steel pile. Bought a piece of 6/4 wormy butternut out of the cut pile at the local hardwood store.

Fabbed up the frame in a couple of hours. I really like these switchable magnetic clamps.



Took a bit of bracing to keep things square when welding.


Bit of grinding and sanding and it’s ready for paint.


Added 1/4-20 Rivnuts on the bottom frame for adjustable feet.

Stained the top dark walnut and hit it with two coats of wipe- on satin polyurethane ( ….so far)

I’ll add photos of the finished table in a week or two (or after the next two full lunar cycles) when the Satin Black Rustoleum is finally dry. Only paint I know that measures dry times with a calendar instead of a clock.

She’s out of town, I always try to surprise her with something like this whenever she gets back from a trip.

 

[PugetDude]

I was looking for a spectacular piece of 6/4 or 8/4 figured hardwood for the tabletop, but took what I could find.

If only I knew someone with a sawmill…

 

[LXCam]

If only

 

[RivennHewn]

If only I knew someone with a sawmill…

When ya find one, find out about their pricing .

Always the hard part for me.


Table looking great!

Happy to see progress on the ‘ol 32 as well

 

[rattle_snake]

I was looking for a spectacular piece of 6/4 or 8/4 figured hardwood for the tabletop, but took what I could find.

If only I knew someone with a sawmill…

Timber woodworking on 60/Stapley has stuff like that, rems.

 

[PugetDude]

Timber woodworking on 60/Stapley has stuff like that, rems.

That’s where I got the piece of butternut.

 

[PugetDude]

Paint actually dried in two days. Probably because I sat it outside in 100F sunshine.
Fits the space perfectly; 1/2” clearance for the chairs to swivel underneath.

Cost:
Square tube ~$15
Wooden top $46
Paint $7
Feet and rivnuts $5
Total $73

Wife’s reaction:
Priceless!

 

[zanyad]

Fits the space perfectly; 1/2” clearance for the chairs to swivel underneath.
Cost Total $73
Wife’s reaction:
Priceless!

Well done!

 

[Monza Harry]

… Tired of dealing with every Tomas, Ricardo, and Harry on Craigslist/FB Marketplace who talks a good game but then no-shows. ... to grace me with their presence.
Rant over.

Uhm, what did I do?

Paint actually dried in two days. Probably because I sat it outside in 100F sunshine.
...
Wife’s reaction:
Priceless!

Well she did buy you a Body for your Hot Rod, so some "Sucking Up" was required! Gotta keep that one HAPPY Scott!
Harry

 

[Jayman17]

Great looking side table and perfect choice on the wood top...

 

[Rckuehn]

Didn’t take many pictures of the weld-up, but here’s the completed bench. Used 1-1/4” pipe for the front side, will be more comfortable to sit on with the rolled edge. Actually built this as a surprise for my wife, she was gone for a long weekend visiting her daughter and grandkids.

This amazing Scott! Going through your thread reminds me of why, and how much I enjoyed spending time with you so many years ago.
I hadn’t thought about it until just now, but you and Don have a lot in common.
Great tribute and a well done project.
Ron

 

[shortykorte]

Is it still available? I can meet you first thing in the morning with cash.

We have similar tables and bar stools. Nice having a welder and score points with our sweeties.

 

[RivennHewn]

Hmmm. Feeling some sort of energy building on this thread.
Kind of like it’s about to see a serious uptick in update postings sometime in the near future.

 

[PugetDude]

Hmmm. Feeling some sort of energy building on this thread.
Kind of like it’s about to see a serious uptick in update postings sometime in the near future.

Man buys a sawmill and suddenly he's clairvoyant?

 

[RivennHewn]

Man buys a sawmill and suddenly he's clairvoyant?

Just one of my two talents.

 

[PugetDude]

Started another project... Pulled out one of favorite tools. Too many cuts for the little cordless Ryobi saw. I don't use a corded saw very often anymore but this one really makes me smile every time I use it. Lightweight, well balanced, plenty of power, and the only saw I own where the blade guard retract functions perfectly when starting angled cuts.


It has replaced my old Skilsaw 77 as my corded saw, it's a lot more comfortable to use.
I am not a sidewinder fan, hate having to look over the saw to see the cutline, grew up using a worm drive where I use the visible cutline instead of the blade guide notch. I can split a pencil line with the blade on the left. Put the blade on the right and I might as well use a chainsaw. This saw is light like a sidewinder but feels intuitive like a wormdrive.

YMMV- Flame on.

 

[Toolfool]

Those PC's are nice, but I still use my Skil 77. It's about 40 years old now. LOTS of hours on it after 35 years in business. I think I'm on the third cord, maybe a few sets of brushes and re-greases. Feels heavier these days, but still running strong.

 

[PugetDude]

My Skilsaw 77 was acquired at a garage sale in Spokane in 1982 for $20; still runs great but it's getting a lot heavier as I get older. Put a 50' 12 gauge cord on it the last time I replaced it. It's a bundle dragging it out and putting it away.
See, us old guys CAN evolve...( But I still hate self checkout...)

 

[RivennHewn]

I still prefer my ol 77 , mostly because I can reach across a full sheet of plywood easier that with your style saw.

 

[slik560]

I've never regretted the PC circular saw that I bought. Or any PC tool, actually.

 

[PugetDude]

I still prefer my ol 77 , mostly because I can reach across a full sheet of plywood easier that with your style saw.

Well, you know what they say about short arms...