Underground Lair of the Squankum
- Thread starter Squankum
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Teardown of a 20,000 hour industrial diesel engine that had been given Schaeffer synthetic motor oil and Schaeffer diesel fuel additives its whole life. Observe as they find... nothing!
EDIT: It turns out I've posted this video before, but I will leave it up, because I think it's cool.
EDIT: It turns out I've posted this video before, but I will leave it up, because I think it's cool.
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Gave the new Subaru its first tire rotation the other day. When I removed the first wheel I realized -- I'm not used to working on new cars!
The spare tire is not just full-sized, it's the same exact kind of alloy wheel and tire, meant to be part of a 5-tire rotation, extending tire life by 25%. (And ensuring a spare tire that's not too big in diameter, which would cause wear on all-wheel drive bits.)
Hey, look at the cotter pin on that rear suspension arm! Somebody in Japan has brought shame upon their village.
(I checked, this model is not assembled in Indiana.)
The next day, she let me know that the tire pressure light came on, that and a generic doom warning of "GET CAR SERVICED", which I'm sure is related to that. To see the pressures of the individual tires, I don't know if that is available on the big screen, but she can look at that on her app on her phone. And what we have going on here -- a "sleepy" tire pressure sensor on the spare that is now on the left front position -- sends everything into a tizzy and no pressure readings for any tire show in the app. Ay yi yi yi yi. I may have to buy a scan tool.
The 2013 BMW we have, I can even put a new sensor on a wheel (well, my Mexican tire shop can) and I can drive away and before I'm two blocks away the big computer has figured it all out.
When the Subaru comes home next I'll have to see if I can reset TPMS from the big screen in the car. Ms. Bilo couldn't find that but had other things on her mind that day. (And was worried there was a disaster afoot, while I kept reminding her that I put a tire pressure gauge in the driver's side map pocket and if you're that worried.... of course, that answer was not satisfactory.)
The spare tire is not just full-sized, it's the same exact kind of alloy wheel and tire, meant to be part of a 5-tire rotation, extending tire life by 25%. (And ensuring a spare tire that's not too big in diameter, which would cause wear on all-wheel drive bits.)
Hey, look at the cotter pin on that rear suspension arm! Somebody in Japan has brought shame upon their village.
(I checked, this model is not assembled in Indiana.)
The next day, she let me know that the tire pressure light came on, that and a generic doom warning of "GET CAR SERVICED", which I'm sure is related to that. To see the pressures of the individual tires, I don't know if that is available on the big screen, but she can look at that on her app on her phone. And what we have going on here -- a "sleepy" tire pressure sensor on the spare that is now on the left front position -- sends everything into a tizzy and no pressure readings for any tire show in the app. Ay yi yi yi yi. I may have to buy a scan tool.
The 2013 BMW we have, I can even put a new sensor on a wheel (well, my Mexican tire shop can) and I can drive away and before I'm two blocks away the big computer has figured it all out.
When the Subaru comes home next I'll have to see if I can reset TPMS from the big screen in the car. Ms. Bilo couldn't find that but had other things on her mind that day. (And was worried there was a disaster afoot, while I kept reminding her that I put a tire pressure gauge in the driver's side map pocket and if you're that worried.... of course, that answer was not satisfactory.)
Mundane shop maintenance last weekend. Did the annual oil change on the air compressor. Also put air in its tires, because they always leak slowly while looking normal.
Just showing this pic to show off the tip I invented: control a hose with the box end of a large wrench.
I covered it years ago, but when the drain plug hole is this big you can make your own "Fumoto valve" in the plumbing aisle of the hardware store. (Black background is just a comfy kneeling mat held up to block distracting floor clutter.)
Yeah, I'm a nerd.
Just showing this pic to show off the tip I invented: control a hose with the box end of a large wrench.
I covered it years ago, but when the drain plug hole is this big you can make your own "Fumoto valve" in the plumbing aisle of the hardware store. (Black background is just a comfy kneeling mat held up to block distracting floor clutter.)
Yeah, I'm a nerd.
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This weekend was also time for the annual changing of the box fan dust collector's filter.
Also changed the furnace filter for the house. No pic, mundane stuff, no strange static electricity welding marks this time.
Also changed the furnace filter for the house. No pic, mundane stuff, no strange static electricity welding marks this time.
Slightly More Than Picayune Project!
When I moved into this rental house, it had a pretty decent amount of shelving already in the garage/shop. Alas, some of it was built in a very, uh, thrifty fashion.
This top shelf section, the shelf was made of 1970's style paneling. Thin and saggy. No way to run a railroad.
(And yeah, I need to tidy up my collection of special-tools-in-blow-molded-boxes, label them, too.)
Huzzah! New, thick plywood. What made this slightly more than picayune is that when I break out the circular saw, I start moving very slowly, trying to get precisely the dimensions I want. Careful set up, scrap of board for a fence, clamps, etc.
Also, I found a quick and dirty solution to my collection of rolls of Gates vacuum hose. (I decided a few years ago to never have to stop a project and go to the store for something this mundane.) They had been sitting on top of that tubing box, making access very fussy. I recently bought some half inch steel tubing for a project that it turns out didn't require it, so until I get another spare broomstick, this steel tubing plus one nail will keep them up out of my hair. Hmm, I might even mount it perpendicular to the joists, right up against their bottom edges.
(That steel gate handle on that floor joist? I have no idea. Just no idea. From before my time. I leave it there in case someday I can figure out that puzzler.)
Much better! Tomorrow, another saggy shelf just like it.
When I moved into this rental house, it had a pretty decent amount of shelving already in the garage/shop. Alas, some of it was built in a very, uh, thrifty fashion.
This top shelf section, the shelf was made of 1970's style paneling. Thin and saggy. No way to run a railroad.
(And yeah, I need to tidy up my collection of special-tools-in-blow-molded-boxes, label them, too.)
Huzzah! New, thick plywood. What made this slightly more than picayune is that when I break out the circular saw, I start moving very slowly, trying to get precisely the dimensions I want. Careful set up, scrap of board for a fence, clamps, etc.
Also, I found a quick and dirty solution to my collection of rolls of Gates vacuum hose. (I decided a few years ago to never have to stop a project and go to the store for something this mundane.) They had been sitting on top of that tubing box, making access very fussy. I recently bought some half inch steel tubing for a project that it turns out didn't require it, so until I get another spare broomstick, this steel tubing plus one nail will keep them up out of my hair. Hmm, I might even mount it perpendicular to the joists, right up against their bottom edges.
(That steel gate handle on that floor joist? I have no idea. Just no idea. From before my time. I leave it there in case someday I can figure out that puzzler.)
Much better! Tomorrow, another saggy shelf just like it.
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When buying C-clamps, treat yourself. Get yourself the adjustable kind!
I was almost done with the new shelf boards when I realized the problem with this whole shelving unit is that every bay is very tall. So I added a shelf for smaller items, leaving plenty of room below it.
Hooray for my Metabo palm nailer!
This is a job I could have pulled off years ago with the most rudimentary of tools*, but most of these tools appeared in my life after having this garage and discovering GJ. And getting an air compressor! The Craftsman hammer dates back a few decades. (I also used my framing hammer, something I didn't even know existed until GJ clued me into Vaughn hammers, HJE, Wal-Mart and Ace stocking Vaughn, etc.)
Palm nailer just the thing for reaching into far, awkward spots. Also for driving finish nails to tack down the shelf boards on that second shelf, where there was no room for a hammer.
Really didn't do all that much work, but boy, it's a mess. A few more things get cut tomorrow, then I'll clean up.
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* Back in my apartment era, I would have to build things on the sidewalk in front of the front door, using an old wood chair as my workbench and with short little hand saws. I have two large MDF bookcases that I built in those days that, when I look at them now, shock me at how good a job I did back then with so few tools and such primitive conditions.
I was almost done with the new shelf boards when I realized the problem with this whole shelving unit is that every bay is very tall. So I added a shelf for smaller items, leaving plenty of room below it.
Hooray for my Metabo palm nailer!
This is a job I could have pulled off years ago with the most rudimentary of tools*, but most of these tools appeared in my life after having this garage and discovering GJ. And getting an air compressor! The Craftsman hammer dates back a few decades. (I also used my framing hammer, something I didn't even know existed until GJ clued me into Vaughn hammers, HJE, Wal-Mart and Ace stocking Vaughn, etc.)
Palm nailer just the thing for reaching into far, awkward spots. Also for driving finish nails to tack down the shelf boards on that second shelf, where there was no room for a hammer.
Really didn't do all that much work, but boy, it's a mess. A few more things get cut tomorrow, then I'll clean up.
________
* Back in my apartment era, I would have to build things on the sidewalk in front of the front door, using an old wood chair as my workbench and with short little hand saws. I have two large MDF bookcases that I built in those days that, when I look at them now, shock me at how good a job I did back then with so few tools and such primitive conditions.
A Chinese factory is making replacement body panels for classic enthusiast cars. Oh, what the hey, you want an entire body? They'll sell you that, too.
Toyota Corolla (AE86), Ford Bronco of yore (they've built over 600 bodies so far), 1967 Mustang fastback, VW T1 Kombi, Datsun Z car, and, of course, a Cobra. A Porsche 911 but the second gen, which was slightly modernized and preferred by some modifiers for high-cost project cars.
Not just a bunch of low-wage frantic people with hand tools. There's some serious CNC and I'm guessing laser scanning, too.
I always assumed that someday China would start producing new Porsche 356 bodies, especially Speedsters, as that's where the money is. (Also, old Ferraris, and first-gen 911s.)
Toyota Corolla (AE86), Ford Bronco of yore (they've built over 600 bodies so far), 1967 Mustang fastback, VW T1 Kombi, Datsun Z car, and, of course, a Cobra. A Porsche 911 but the second gen, which was slightly modernized and preferred by some modifiers for high-cost project cars.
Not just a bunch of low-wage frantic people with hand tools. There's some serious CNC and I'm guessing laser scanning, too.
I always assumed that someday China would start producing new Porsche 356 bodies, especially Speedsters, as that's where the money is. (Also, old Ferraris, and first-gen 911s.)
Gosh! This is me? "Organized" is a much better feeling.
Took a day off. The last bit of work was caused by the minimal number of finish nails I hammered downward to hold the plywood down. They were a tiny bit long and poked through in a few places. Now, the usual GJ-approved method is POWER TOOLS! the right-angle grinder has a flapper disc mounted on it right now! But then I thought about sparks. I don't want any sparks going to some other dusty corner of this wall shelving area and causing a fire when I turn my back. So hand filing it was. Made a few fumbling attempts with my biggest file that never seems to work, then, tonight, round two, dug through the workbench archaeological pile and found my trusty Craftsman 10" mill file that always does impressive work.
After a minute or two of that on one nail tip, I walked back to the toolbox to grab a Knipex Cobolt to see if it could make a dent in the job. Yes! Heard a little bit shoot off some of them. Then I resumed filing. Didn't take long.
Then came returning the stuff to its place. (A place for my stuff!) And some labeling.
Took a day off. The last bit of work was caused by the minimal number of finish nails I hammered downward to hold the plywood down. They were a tiny bit long and poked through in a few places. Now, the usual GJ-approved method is POWER TOOLS! the right-angle grinder has a flapper disc mounted on it right now! But then I thought about sparks. I don't want any sparks going to some other dusty corner of this wall shelving area and causing a fire when I turn my back. So hand filing it was. Made a few fumbling attempts with my biggest file that never seems to work, then, tonight, round two, dug through the workbench archaeological pile and found my trusty Craftsman 10" mill file that always does impressive work.
After a minute or two of that on one nail tip, I walked back to the toolbox to grab a Knipex Cobolt to see if it could make a dent in the job. Yes! Heard a little bit shoot off some of them. Then I resumed filing. Didn't take long.
Then came returning the stuff to its place. (A place for my stuff!) And some labeling.
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Having had that nice little victory of shop clean up with the saggy shelves replaced and a new shelf installed, I realized, Ms. Squankum will never see it. She doesn't go there. (She thinks the whole shelving area is clutter and junk and should be thrown out. She has no idea what goes into fixing all of the cars. (Or uh, someday fixing some of these cars.))
So maybe I should clean something up that she sees? That will make her much happier. Me, too.
This is the clumsy closet. I had not even thought about putting things in it, and recently peeked in it and realized that's a lot of storage space I really do need nowadays. What makes it clumsy is that the door doesn't open very far. I have to step in, and close the door, then close it, to proceed to the larger two-thirds of the little room. I keep light bulbs and a few pest control items in there. Some charcoal and a cast iron hibachi I don't use much lately. A large box with a few remaining dubious-status florescent tubes were also in there, those are gone now. Plastic totes and stacks of motor oil boxes stacked up in front of this doorway. Dummy me realized just the other day, hey, I could store that motor oil and the motor oil and coolant and washer fluid jugs I'm keeping in the far end of the shop, in here, closer to the work-on-cars bay.
Something else made this clumsy. Door doesn't close well. Bottom edge fights that red carpet if things aren't perfect. Door doesn't swing into the room very far, either. Is it banging into one of the shelving units built in there? No! It's hitting a higher spot in the concrete. This door needs its bottom edge shaved!
Two stacks of shelves built by a DIYer in the past. You know how somebody used paneling for a large shelf in the other end of the shop? Yeah, they used random scraps of wood for this one. The other day I put the cast iron hibachi (black trash bag) on top of that top shelf and quickly discovered it's a bunch of slats perched on one central cross-rail. Shelf below it is a high-class pine board, though, so for now, it goes there.
I've already temporarily moved some oil boxes in there.
Here's that shelf, close up. My initial goal to fix that was to cut some of my leftover thick plywood and put it there, after yanking these little scraps. But look at the right end of the shelves. The vertical side of this shelf unit? Thin paneling. Oh my. I'm amazed it's all working as well as it does. I'm going to have to redo this. Or just go buy one pine board. Make that two, the left side upright is the same thin paneling.
And now for the big volume of the closet/room, which, alas, much of it is wasted when the door (now fixed) swings into it. A previous resident had built this as a closet to hang clothing. The closet rod? And old broom or rake handle. Ha! I'll use it for those three rolls of Gates vacuum hose! That was quick! Also, two curtain rods they thought might be handy someday. To the scrap metal pile they go.
That paneling shelf, about two feet deep, is now outside to receive the next rain storm. I did that with the last two paneling shelves and it helped me fold them up easily and put them into trash bags.
.
So maybe I should clean something up that she sees? That will make her much happier. Me, too.
This is the clumsy closet. I had not even thought about putting things in it, and recently peeked in it and realized that's a lot of storage space I really do need nowadays. What makes it clumsy is that the door doesn't open very far. I have to step in, and close the door, then close it, to proceed to the larger two-thirds of the little room. I keep light bulbs and a few pest control items in there. Some charcoal and a cast iron hibachi I don't use much lately. A large box with a few remaining dubious-status florescent tubes were also in there, those are gone now. Plastic totes and stacks of motor oil boxes stacked up in front of this doorway. Dummy me realized just the other day, hey, I could store that motor oil and the motor oil and coolant and washer fluid jugs I'm keeping in the far end of the shop, in here, closer to the work-on-cars bay.
Something else made this clumsy. Door doesn't close well. Bottom edge fights that red carpet if things aren't perfect. Door doesn't swing into the room very far, either. Is it banging into one of the shelving units built in there? No! It's hitting a higher spot in the concrete. This door needs its bottom edge shaved!
Two stacks of shelves built by a DIYer in the past. You know how somebody used paneling for a large shelf in the other end of the shop? Yeah, they used random scraps of wood for this one. The other day I put the cast iron hibachi (black trash bag) on top of that top shelf and quickly discovered it's a bunch of slats perched on one central cross-rail. Shelf below it is a high-class pine board, though, so for now, it goes there.
I've already temporarily moved some oil boxes in there.
Here's that shelf, close up. My initial goal to fix that was to cut some of my leftover thick plywood and put it there, after yanking these little scraps. But look at the right end of the shelves. The vertical side of this shelf unit? Thin paneling. Oh my. I'm amazed it's all working as well as it does. I'm going to have to redo this. Or just go buy one pine board. Make that two, the left side upright is the same thin paneling.
And now for the big volume of the closet/room, which, alas, much of it is wasted when the door (now fixed) swings into it. A previous resident had built this as a closet to hang clothing. The closet rod? And old broom or rake handle. Ha! I'll use it for those three rolls of Gates vacuum hose! That was quick! Also, two curtain rods they thought might be handy someday. To the scrap metal pile they go.
That paneling shelf, about two feet deep, is now outside to receive the next rain storm. I did that with the last two paneling shelves and it helped me fold them up easily and put them into trash bags.
.
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Of course, when I say that the previous DIYer used random scraps of wood and paneling, I also imply that odds bits of cardboard show up here and there, too. Look in the background of this shot. That triangular piece? Oh, that's some drywall. Not nailed to anything, just leaning. Okay, then.
The clumsy door got removed and I trimmed the bottom edge with a circular saw (carefully, with a scrap wood fence.) When I reinstalled it, I found another problem -- lower edge of the front panel of the door was catching on the door frame when it was opened, and had the panel had come loose from the door. Some water staining on the door and above indicates some water from above (possibly cat pee?) in the distant past and that may have loosened that part of the door, too.
So I shaved the bottom 12" of the door frame on that side with my handy plane (I used it on the previous shelf project, too!) and since you can't plane the last two inches, Stanley Surformer to the rescue. (How do people live without these?) Then I glued that front panel back to the internal frame of the door.
It's 2026 and they're less than $10. Get one!
When I removed the door, it did not take me long to figure out that somebody put these hinges on upside down. I didn't spend much time tapping with hammer and punch in the way it ought to be. On the bright side, these pins weren't falling out. On the other hand, the door gets very little use.
As I figured out that the bottom door shave wasn't my only problem, and the door was rubbing on the frame when it was opened, I also noticed another problem: the door handle's latch/bolt was installed backwards and it wasn't a 45-degree ramp on its tip that was hitting the striker plate in the frame. It was just banging into it with the blunt backside of that tip. What this meant was that the door didn't want to close when you pulled it closed, but if you used the door knob and turned it so the latch/bolt would go into the hole in the striker plate, it would open easily, as the ramp/tip was happy to slide the latch/bolt open in that direction. A door that doesn't want to close when slammed and wants to open with a gentle push.
Another clue: I could find unused chiseled zones for door hinges in the opposite/door knob side of this door frame. Now, this isn't the only door way like this in this part of the basement! There's another door four feet away where I had noticed the same ghost chiselings and thought, "Oh, I guess with experience they concluded that the door was more convenient mounted the new way." But now I think somebody was just a ****.
I'm going to have to disassemble the door knob and reverse things. Hope that goes well -- tried to upgrade a similar cheap old doorknob on a cheap modern lauan door elsewhere in the basement and couldn't even get the old one apart. Not my first rodeo with a doorknob. Very interesting, as the voyeuristic German soldier used to say.
For space efficiency inside this closet, I'd really like a pocket sliding door. I went to the big box hardware store website and priced that no, we won't be doing that. Egads.
The clumsy door got removed and I trimmed the bottom edge with a circular saw (carefully, with a scrap wood fence.) When I reinstalled it, I found another problem -- lower edge of the front panel of the door was catching on the door frame when it was opened, and had the panel had come loose from the door. Some water staining on the door and above indicates some water from above (possibly cat pee?) in the distant past and that may have loosened that part of the door, too.
So I shaved the bottom 12" of the door frame on that side with my handy plane (I used it on the previous shelf project, too!) and since you can't plane the last two inches, Stanley Surformer to the rescue. (How do people live without these?) Then I glued that front panel back to the internal frame of the door.
It's 2026 and they're less than $10. Get one!
When I removed the door, it did not take me long to figure out that somebody put these hinges on upside down. I didn't spend much time tapping with hammer and punch in the way it ought to be. On the bright side, these pins weren't falling out. On the other hand, the door gets very little use.
As I figured out that the bottom door shave wasn't my only problem, and the door was rubbing on the frame when it was opened, I also noticed another problem: the door handle's latch/bolt was installed backwards and it wasn't a 45-degree ramp on its tip that was hitting the striker plate in the frame. It was just banging into it with the blunt backside of that tip. What this meant was that the door didn't want to close when you pulled it closed, but if you used the door knob and turned it so the latch/bolt would go into the hole in the striker plate, it would open easily, as the ramp/tip was happy to slide the latch/bolt open in that direction. A door that doesn't want to close when slammed and wants to open with a gentle push.
Another clue: I could find unused chiseled zones for door hinges in the opposite/door knob side of this door frame. Now, this isn't the only door way like this in this part of the basement! There's another door four feet away where I had noticed the same ghost chiselings and thought, "Oh, I guess with experience they concluded that the door was more convenient mounted the new way." But now I think somebody was just a ****.
I'm going to have to disassemble the door knob and reverse things. Hope that goes well -- tried to upgrade a similar cheap old doorknob on a cheap modern lauan door elsewhere in the basement and couldn't even get the old one apart. Not my first rodeo with a doorknob. Very interesting, as the voyeuristic German soldier used to say.
For space efficiency inside this closet, I'd really like a pocket sliding door. I went to the big box hardware store website and priced that no, we won't be doing that. Egads.
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I thought I already linked to a video of a CNC brake line bender, but I couldn't find it earlier tonight. Here's a similar one, but doing some larger tubing.
And here are automated rebar benders cranking out required shapes:
And here are automated rebar benders cranking out required shapes:
In southern Indiana, on the banks of the Ohio River, Corn Island Shipyard is building tugboats, barges, scows, and other unique things.
I saw one vessel in their videos that was headed to San Diego! A long trip down the Mississippi, then to Panama, etc.
They say they've been at it since the 1990's. I would not be surprised if the company is younger than the shipyard. Not only have the Mississippi River and its tributaries needed barges and tugs well before that, America also produced ships well north of Louisiana during WWII. One reason was just labor -- migration and housing. Instead of putting more pressure on seaside ports, they established construction in other places. Places that probably already had some shipbuilding going on. Evansville, IN, and Jeffersonville, IN (think Louisville, KY) built LST's (tank landing ships, with the cuckoo clock noses.)
My memory says that in my travels in IN or IL I saw something commemorating the building of Liberty Ship hulls there, which were floated down to New Orleans for completion. Not a lot in the overall large number of ships built, but some.
I saw one vessel in their videos that was headed to San Diego! A long trip down the Mississippi, then to Panama, etc.
They say they've been at it since the 1990's. I would not be surprised if the company is younger than the shipyard. Not only have the Mississippi River and its tributaries needed barges and tugs well before that, America also produced ships well north of Louisiana during WWII. One reason was just labor -- migration and housing. Instead of putting more pressure on seaside ports, they established construction in other places. Places that probably already had some shipbuilding going on. Evansville, IN, and Jeffersonville, IN (think Louisville, KY) built LST's (tank landing ships, with the cuckoo clock noses.)
My memory says that in my travels in IN or IL I saw something commemorating the building of Liberty Ship hulls there, which were floated down to New Orleans for completion. Not a lot in the overall large number of ships built, but some.
Website:
More ship launches:
www.youtube.com
More ship launches:
CornIslandshipyard
Located on the Ohio River in southern Indiana, Corn Island Shipyard has quietly become the premier builder of custom barges and specialized marine structures. Since the launch of our first barge in 1991, CIS has strove to offer durable, high-quality products at a reasonable cost. We have...
www.youtube.com
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This past weekend brought much progress on the underutilized Lair closet project.
I mentioned this drywall triangle before. It's just leaning there, I said. So I pulled it away.
Okay, two studs hanging down. They're not touching the concrete. One has nails sticking out of it, facing me. Uh... okay.
I asked myself, "Will this be a hard demolition task to undo?" (bop bop with hammer) Not at all! Came right off!
This opens up room under the stairs for some really long-term storage, and I have some items for there, too. (Under-the-stairs zone currently blocked from the conventional approach by the spare GTI engine on engine stand, and GTI, too.)
I mentioned this drywall triangle before. It's just leaning there, I said. So I pulled it away.
Okay, two studs hanging down. They're not touching the concrete. One has nails sticking out of it, facing me. Uh... okay.
I asked myself, "Will this be a hard demolition task to undo?" (bop bop with hammer) Not at all! Came right off!
This opens up room under the stairs for some really long-term storage, and I have some items for there, too. (Under-the-stairs zone currently blocked from the conventional approach by the spare GTI engine on engine stand, and GTI, too.)
Nature's Rich Bounty
Went for a walk yesterday, found a professional-grade mechanic's shop rag! Huzzah! I get one of these every couple of years. This time I think I'll throw out one of the old, very hole-y ones.
Went for a walk yesterday, found a professional-grade mechanic's shop rag! Huzzah! I get one of these every couple of years. This time I think I'll throw out one of the old, very hole-y ones.
Monday's shelf project in the underutilized closet. I had to work around the limitations already built in, and didn't have the luxury of any other angle of approach. Not everything back there was square but it wasn't far off.
Black line is a steel support column. Seasoned 2x4 was supporting a shelf there long ago, and was longer before I chopped it short with the jigsaw. Had to space out a 2x4 behind the column with some blocks and a two scraps of plywood, so the horizontal support bars on that side didn't hit the column.
Ditto with the new vertical 2x4, which needed spacing out from the stair stringer. Not pretty, but this new 2x4's job is vertical load.
Other than the old 2x4's up top, the rest of the front and side bars are 2x3.
(Don't be fooled by those nails through the front crossbars and into the end grain of the side bars. They got normal nails to the side 2x4's, too.)
I wasn't sure what to do in the back for a support, so I didn't. Shelves are 23/34" (identifying as 3/4" wood) and I added some stiffening beams underneath them. 2x3, five Spax screws, glue. They don't connect to anything, quick and dirty work but I think it's going to be fine.
Notched with the jigsaw for a 2x4 on the back wall.
Done! But I might add a higher shelf someday. (Note, old timey paneling was used to make some kind of ceiling in this closet in the past, too. With crude holes hacked in it for little chains to hang a florescent light, I'm guessing.)
That left front stud that only does vertical work, not even connected at the top, either, but this whole unit is solid as a rock. I'll have to ponder a way to connect it to the large beam it almost touches the bottom of.
Shelves are around 32" wide. If I was young and energetic and motivated and lived alone, I might have gotten creative and found a way to make shelves that filled gaps to their left and right, maybe patterning two halves using cardboard that could be slipped in and laid down, with protruding wings on each side but... nah. This job wore my *** out! My guess it was that the heat, with the garage door open. I try to make dust outside, and on this day, I was using the miter saw outside as usual, but circular saw inside the garage near the open door.
Black line is a steel support column. Seasoned 2x4 was supporting a shelf there long ago, and was longer before I chopped it short with the jigsaw. Had to space out a 2x4 behind the column with some blocks and a two scraps of plywood, so the horizontal support bars on that side didn't hit the column.
Ditto with the new vertical 2x4, which needed spacing out from the stair stringer. Not pretty, but this new 2x4's job is vertical load.
Other than the old 2x4's up top, the rest of the front and side bars are 2x3.
(Don't be fooled by those nails through the front crossbars and into the end grain of the side bars. They got normal nails to the side 2x4's, too.)
I wasn't sure what to do in the back for a support, so I didn't. Shelves are 23/34" (identifying as 3/4" wood) and I added some stiffening beams underneath them. 2x3, five Spax screws, glue. They don't connect to anything, quick and dirty work but I think it's going to be fine.
Notched with the jigsaw for a 2x4 on the back wall.
Done! But I might add a higher shelf someday. (Note, old timey paneling was used to make some kind of ceiling in this closet in the past, too. With crude holes hacked in it for little chains to hang a florescent light, I'm guessing.)
That left front stud that only does vertical work, not even connected at the top, either, but this whole unit is solid as a rock. I'll have to ponder a way to connect it to the large beam it almost touches the bottom of.
Shelves are around 32" wide. If I was young and energetic and motivated and lived alone, I might have gotten creative and found a way to make shelves that filled gaps to their left and right, maybe patterning two halves using cardboard that could be slipped in and laid down, with protruding wings on each side but... nah. This job wore my *** out! My guess it was that the heat, with the garage door open. I try to make dust outside, and on this day, I was using the miter saw outside as usual, but circular saw inside the garage near the open door.
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Now, everybody knows that if you want the best views of Manhattan, you sneak into a construction site after hours, evade the security guard, walk up the steps of a skyscraper all the way to the top, then climb the crane.
(They do not descend via hook.)
(They do not descend via hook.)
This is my first post for CNC_Rick, who is slowly working his way from the beginning of the Underground Lair. I'll get to my call for action for Rick (or any other readers) at the end, but first, I need to talk about an Englishman I just learned about.
Previously I mentioned famous English civil engineer Isamabard Kingdom Brunel, said to be one of the greatest English figures of the Industrial Revolution. Pictured here in front of a whacking great chain:
en.wikipedia.org
Tonight, looking into a book I want to recommend to CNC_Rick, I discover that the Englishman who wrote that book also wrote a book in 1957 about Brunel that repopularized him for modern readers. (The book also helped the author stop being broke.)
The author, L.T.C. Rolt, liked old cars, old canals and barges, old trains and railways, and did what he could to preserve them. He lived on a narrow barge for a good spell. (On this small barge he installed a Model T engine, and later, a bath, and that helped an adventurous lady move in and live with him for quite some time before she joined the circus.)
He helped found the Vintage Sports Car Club in 1934. He wrote many books about trains and barges/canals, and was instrumental in preserving England's small canal network.
en.wikipedia.org
And now for my prescription for CNC_Rick. Back in the early 90's, stuck at home on a break from school, I found this book at the public library and read the first couple of chapters, and it was outstanding. It's a history of machine tools, and giving a good foundation to the centuries of attempts to, say, bore cannon barrels before the Industrial Revolution being the foundation of boring machines needed to properly build large steam engines.
The book is titles A Short History of Machine Tools. Its also titled Tools for the Job: A Short History of Machine Tools. Published by a publisher in England, and in the USA by MIT Press.
Wikipedia:
"Rolt, L. T. C. (1965), A Short History of Machine Tools, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA: MIT Press, OCLC 250074. Co-edition published as Rolt, L. T. C. (1965), Tools for the Job: a Short History of Machine Tools, London: B. T. Batsford, LCCN 65080822"
I recommend reading this book!
Do I recommend buying this book? Maybe. Maybe not. It's hard to find and it's not cheap. A decade ago I bought a copy as a gift for a friend at $45. I checked the usual sources tonight (Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Abe Books, ebay) and lots of dry holes and a few insane prices.
But you can always ask your local library to get you one on the interlibrary loan (ILL) system.
en.wikipedia.org
I have no idea how Google books works nowadays. That may be a possibility.
Previously I mentioned famous English civil engineer Isamabard Kingdom Brunel, said to be one of the greatest English figures of the Industrial Revolution. Pictured here in front of a whacking great chain:
Isambard Kingdom Brunel - Wikipedia
Tonight, looking into a book I want to recommend to CNC_Rick, I discover that the Englishman who wrote that book also wrote a book in 1957 about Brunel that repopularized him for modern readers. (The book also helped the author stop being broke.)
The author, L.T.C. Rolt, liked old cars, old canals and barges, old trains and railways, and did what he could to preserve them. He lived on a narrow barge for a good spell. (On this small barge he installed a Model T engine, and later, a bath, and that helped an adventurous lady move in and live with him for quite some time before she joined the circus.)
He helped found the Vintage Sports Car Club in 1934. He wrote many books about trains and barges/canals, and was instrumental in preserving England's small canal network.
L. T. C. Rolt - Wikipedia
And now for my prescription for CNC_Rick. Back in the early 90's, stuck at home on a break from school, I found this book at the public library and read the first couple of chapters, and it was outstanding. It's a history of machine tools, and giving a good foundation to the centuries of attempts to, say, bore cannon barrels before the Industrial Revolution being the foundation of boring machines needed to properly build large steam engines.
The book is titles A Short History of Machine Tools. Its also titled Tools for the Job: A Short History of Machine Tools. Published by a publisher in England, and in the USA by MIT Press.
Wikipedia:
"Rolt, L. T. C. (1965), A Short History of Machine Tools, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA: MIT Press, OCLC 250074. Co-edition published as Rolt, L. T. C. (1965), Tools for the Job: a Short History of Machine Tools, London: B. T. Batsford, LCCN 65080822"
I recommend reading this book!
Do I recommend buying this book? Maybe. Maybe not. It's hard to find and it's not cheap. A decade ago I bought a copy as a gift for a friend at $45. I checked the usual sources tonight (Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Abe Books, ebay) and lots of dry holes and a few insane prices.
But you can always ask your local library to get you one on the interlibrary loan (ILL) system.
Interlibrary loan - Wikipedia
I have no idea how Google books works nowadays. That may be a possibility.
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Sikorsky/Erickson Skycrane helicopter helping with antenna work.
(You'll have to click through.)
Just as impressive as the pilots are the guys working the top of that tower. (This being GJ, yes, I freeze framed, that's a Mastercraft 1-13/16" wrench. Somebody underneath has some kind of impact gun.)
Just as impressive as the pilots are the guys working the top of that tower. (This being GJ, yes, I freeze framed, that's a Mastercraft 1-13/16" wrench. Somebody underneath has some kind of impact gun.)