Between 705 & 1200 SQ/FT A new lease on life: 30x40 schoolhouse conversion

[burger]

Oh geez Scotchlocks. I'm not usually in favor of government control, but they should ban those.

 

[82355]

The engine will be fine on the motor mounts. It will lean.

Martin

 

[jollygreengiant]

Scotchlocks? Hold your hand out palm facing down so I can slap it. Bad boy, bad boy.

Lol. Yeah I deserve that.

Don’t feel bad, I’ve used scotchlocks in a pinch, for it to turn permanent. It happens.

Lol. It's only temporary unless it works, right?

Oh geez Scotchlocks. I'm not usually in favor of government control, but they should ban those.

They really should. I was at an outdoor equipment show this summer and was looking a bit at some new build utility trailers. Guess what some of them used for wiring connectors? Yep, scotchlocks.

The engine will be fine on the motor mounts. It will lean.

Martin

Thanks. Good to know it won't drop on me.

 

[jollygreengiant]

Anyone have a good way to mark impact sockets that will hold up? The factory size markings on some of my black impact sockets is really getting worn off.

 

[loganb]

Anyone have a good way to mark impact sockets that will hold up? The factory size markings on some of my black impact sockets is really getting worn off.

I've got a laser engraver that will do the job....but entry fee is kinda steep to just mark sockets

 

[Prospecter]

Paint pens are inexpensive if you aren't super fussy about experience appearance.

 

[xtremek]

number stamps?

 

[xtremek]

BTW, who in the right mind thought that kind of marking was a good idea?

 

[83VillageRepair]

Silver Sharpies Mark those pretty good

 

[captain14]

BTW, who in the right mind thought that kind of marking was a good idea?

Someone in charge of the budget process. It’s the cheapest way!

 

[jollygreengiant]

I've got a laser engraver that will do the job....but entry fee is kinda steep to just mark sockets

Lol, yeah that might be a bit expensive for this. Is that part of a 3d printer or a separate machine?

Paint pens are inexpensive if you aren't super fussy about experience appearance.

Silver Sharpies Mark those pretty good

I thought about a sharpie or a paint pen, but then I also thought they wouldn't last very long. I find that I pretty frequently have my hand over the socket while using it, which I'm thinking would wear it off.

number stamps?

I hadn't thought of that, could try it and see how it holds up. And I have a full set of number stamps now, another random auction deal I found.

BTW, who in the right mind thought that kind of marking was a good idea?

These are Maximum brand from Canadian Tire, so not bottom of the barrel for quality but not snap on level either. I have some black chrome Stanley sockets and the chrome finish on those is keeping the markings looking brand new.

Someone in charge of the budget process. It’s the cheapest way!

Yep, people who likely don't even know what sockets are.

 

[Spareparts]

HF socket holders, just have to remember to put it back in the right hole.

 

[georgiadave]

Electric pencil

 

[jollygreengiant]

HF socket holders, just have to remember to put it back in the right hole.

I do have a set of socket trays for all my sockets. Usually the problem comes up when I'm switching between multiple sockets during a job, as they aren't going back to the toolbox until the job is done.

Electric pencil

I've never heard of that. Will take a look.

 

[zanyad]

Couple more ideas:

• Dremel with a small ball
• Vibratory etcher with a carbide or diamond-tipped stylus.
• Electric etcher (like this). You may be able to find one used.

 

[jollygreengiant]

Well there hasn't been much of anything happening in the shop recently. We've been in an extended period of below normal temps; lows at -20 (C) or colder, and daytime highs struggling to get above -15. So needless to say about the only thing I've been doing in the unheated shop is going out to get the snowblower out. Which is also really enjoyable at windchills of -30 and colder. Really, it's a fantastic experience. If you haven't had the chance to try it come on up and I'll let you run my snowblower for as long as you want. I won't even charge you for it!

On the plus side, this cold weather means that Lake Huron is finally getting some good ice cover. I think it was over 70% as of yesterday. That means the lake effect snow that we have been having almost everyday for 2 months now will finally stop! And it's about time, some of the banks and snow piles are getting deep around here. I guess it could be worse though, up north of here were they have been hit hard by lake effect, there are some towns that are now over 3 meters of snowfall so far this winter. Although we might not be far off of that, I know we were well over 1 meter back in January so we are likely over 2 by now.

Anyways, since winter has calmed down a bit it's actually been kinda nice. Here's a pic from yesterday, the frost/snow on the trees made for a really scenic landscape.

 

[xtremek]

We're finally getting close to -5C. Gets much warmer, I'm going to open the pool.

 

[captain14]

We're finally getting close to -5C. Gets much warmer, I'm going to open the pool.

Remember to use your sunscreen.

 

[jollygreengiant]

We're finally getting close to -5C. Gets much warmer, I'm going to open the pool.

We are supposed to warm up next week, with daytime highs around the freezing mark, and I'm more excited than I should be lol.

Remember to use your sunscreen.

That is actually a good reminder for some of us. There's been more than once where I've been outside splitting wood this time of year, and ended up getting a sunburn.

 

[jeep63]

This is quite the build! Your garage looks terrific!!

Seeing the snow you get makes our small recent storms insignificant for sure.

 

[jollygreengiant]

Well things finally warmed up here in the past little bit so I've been able to get some projects done in the shop.

This one wasn't a shop project but a tractor project. I had a good 6-8" layer of snowpack on the driveway that got absolutely tore all to h*ll after a utility truck decided to turn around in the driveway and promptly got stuck. Had to use the tractor to scrape it down to something half way smooth.



I started working at getting the new woodworking machines operational. I have easily a half dozen woodworking projects on my short list that have been waiting for warmer temps, so I want to get these machines ready to go. I'm putting an extension on to the dust collector so I can incorporate a collection bin for bigger chips, that way I won't have to empty the dust collector as often.



I needed to plane down a board to use for the base of the drill press, so I put it somewhat together to try it out as a proof of concept with my planer. I need to come up with a sturdy way of securing the bin, and I need to add an elbow to where the intake hose comes into the cyclone lid. As it is, that stiff hose puts a lot of sideways force on the bin. But it did work! The large chips all collected in the bin, while the dust collector bags themselves just had the smaller pieces in them.



I also need to do some minor repairs on the bandsaw. When I hauled it home I laid it flat on my trailer so that the base of it was facing the rear of the trailer. Well what I didn't know was that when my grandfather assembled it he didn't get the motor mounting bolts very tight. When I got it home I realized that 3 of the 4 bolts holding the motor on had come loose and completely fallen out during transport. The last bolt, which was holding the motor on, barely had the nut still threaded on. If I had driven much further it would have come loose, and the motor would have fallen on the road. Thankfully I should have enough hardware here to get it secured properly.



And a sunrise picture from the other day.

 

[zanyad]

And a sunrise picture from the other day.

worthy of a postcard!

 

[jollygreengiant]

I'm about ready to wave the white flag....

Once again the weather has kicked my @ss. We went from solidly below freezing with a heavy snow pack to 10-15 degrees C with lots of rain. So once again I found myself dealing with water problems.

This summer the lawn is getting torn up. And maybe the driveway. This is twice this has happened now; it's time to put in some drainage.





The worst part of this wasn't the water outside, it was the water in the shop. It has been cold for so long that everything in the shop is also thoroughly cold. So once the temperature started warming up everything started to form condensation. It basically looked like it rained inside of my shop. And it took days to get everything dried out.

I knew this was likely coming and took some steps to try and mitigate it but this was easily the worst it's ever been. It wasn't in the timeline yet but we have to get some insulation and heat in here. There's 5 figures worth of tools in this shop, some with sentimental value, that are all rusting from the water.

 

[M.Brane]

Don't forget the AC. Not for the cooling, but for the drying.

 

[jollygreengiant]

Don't forget the AC. Not for the cooling, but for the drying.

I've been thinking about that too. Always just planned on a propane unit heater for heat, and never really worried about cooling here. But we are pretty humid here being close to lake Huron, so I've been wondering about a mini split so I can pull some humidity out in the summer. Especially since I'm likely going to have a bunch of wood stock stored in there as time goes on.

 

[xtremek]

Looks like you need to wear either chest waders or swim trunks in your shop. Good luck getting it dried out.

 

[captain14]

Can you safely set up a fan just to get air moving for now?

Maybe a ceiling fan?

 

[jollygreengiant]

Looks like you need to wear either chest waders or swim trunks in your shop. Good luck getting it dried out.

Yeah, swim trunks rubber boots and waterproof gloves I think.

Aside from checking on the stuff I had running in there I actually pretty well stayed out of it for a couple weeks. It was just way too depressing.

Can you safely set up a fan just to get air moving for now?

Maybe a ceiling fan?

I had almost every fan I owned running out there, including a high volume fan off of a tobacco kiln. But even with them running alongside a dehumidifier it took a few days to get most of the moisture off of my tools. Some things that had more mass to them, such as my drawer full of chisels and punches, took a lot longer.

Fortunately it has gone back to cold weather here so that also fixed the condensation problem. And looking at the forecast we should be doing more of a gradual warm up next week, so hopefully the condensation won't be near as bad.

 

[jollygreengiant]

Does anyone have experience working around bats?

Since we are going to be putting insulation in the shop this year that will include insulating the ceiling. However last year we noticed that a small colony of bats is living in the roof of the shop. We were having a bonfire one night and watched about 8-10 of them that were coming and going from a small hole in the fascia at the peak. As long as they stay just in the shop roof and don't get in the house I actually don't mind having them around since they play a big part in the ecosystem. But are they going to be a problem when I'm working in the attic putting in insulation? The attic itself is somewhere in the 10-12' tall range, so if they're up in the peak I shouldn't be disturbing them too much? Or am I way off in my thinking?

 

[kj_mustang]

Bat poop can be unsafe because of histoplasmosis and you need to worry about any rapid bats while you up there too. Wear a good mask if you are around bat poop.

 

[Prospecter]

I think I would use blown in cellulose. Cheap, and easy to install. I also think I might hire an insulation company to do the job.

 

[AC-WC]

Like kjmustang said get rid of the bats. They will $h!t all over everything, wood rot, plus any poo disease. I've had them in my barn and still struggle to keep them out. They ruined the paint on a car I had in there for just 2 weeks.
If you can install a bat house outside somewhere close, seal the hole so they can't get back in.

 

[jollygreengiant]

Bat poop can be unsafe because of histoplasmosis and you need to worry about any rapid bats while you up there too. Wear a good mask if you are around bat poop.

That was my main worry, if there was any rabid ones. I certainly want to avoid that.

Will definitely be wearing a mask up there. There's still lots of dust and other critter droppings.

I think I would use blown in cellulose. Cheap, and easy to install. I also think I might hire an insulation company to do the job.

I priced that option out when I did the garage, but it was actually cheaper to use fiberglass. Especially since I found a source of bulk fiberglass rolls. Yes I had to do more cutting, but the total cost was less than half of what it would have been with store bought batts. So I'll likely do the same in the shop. Although I may need to do a flash and batt system, depending on what I need for a vapour barrier.

Like kjmustang said get rid of the bats. They will $h!t all over everything, wood rot, plus any poo disease. I've had them in my barn and still struggle to keep them out. They ruined the paint on a car I had in there for just 2 weeks.
If you can install a bat house outside somewhere close, seal the hole so they can't get back in.

I'm leaning that way. I haven't seen them or their droppings at all in the lower shop but sounds like they can be a problem over time.

 

[jollygreengiant]

Now that the weather has warmed up I can get started on the long list of woodworking (and other) projects. First is this potting bench for the wife.



I need more clamps. This used every medium & large clamp I had. I was planning on using biscuits since I inherited an unused biscuit joiner but realized I don't have any biscuits, so I resorted to using some dowels instead.



Here's the rough bench top on the frame to get an idea of how it will look. I was originally thinking that the entire thing would get painted, but now the consensus is that we are going to stain the top.



Unfortunately this is about all I've been able to get done since the middle of March, and this was only in the last week. I was hoping to be a lot farther along but I lost three weeks at the end of March/early April because of multiple blood clots that showed up in my leg. Thankfully the meds seem to be working now and I'm able to get around better and can get a few things done.

One of those was getting the first plants out in the garden. Even had my supervisor out to make sure I was doing it right lol.

 

[M.Brane]

"I have too many clamps!"

- Nobody

 

[zanyad]

Blood clots are nothing to sneeze at. Glad you're doing better.

 

[jollygreengiant]

"I have too many clamps!"

- Nobody

I never really got that statement before now, I figured it was just an inside joke that woodworkers used. Now I realize it's 100% accurate lol.

Blood clots are nothing to sneeze at. Glad you're doing better.

Thanks. It's certainly something to process. I never thought about something like that at my age.

 

[jollygreengiant]

And that's one project done. Well, mostly. As it is there is no drain in the sink, and I fully intended to put it in. But the thought has also come up that we could leave it out and put a screed over top of the sink to sift soil. She's going to use it for a bit and decide what she wants in terms of faucet and sink setup.

 

[burger]

Bench looks great and I’m jealous you’ve been able to start on your garden

 

[flyingJ]

Just finished reading this whole thing the past couple days, great work on the old schoolhouse looks awesome.