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    Let's show off our free tools/supplies!

    It pays to be in charge of the company asset list as well as the keeper of the off-site warehouse inventory. Managed to "scavenge" a new, unused Jet belt Grinder, a well used but functional Ellis 1600 Band Saw and a Steel City 10" table saw.
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    Cheapest way to weld aluminum?

    If you do forego a spool gun, help yourself out and use 5356 wire. It's a lot stiffer than 4043 and feeds better. IMO it welds better too. Before I invested in the Lincoln spool gun, I did similar to what is described above; I zip tied a length of 1/2" PVC conduit to the torch cable to help...
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    Cheapest way to weld aluminum?

    As a few have stated, becoming proficient at aluminum welding will take a lot of practice. What thickness material are to planning to use? If you're planning on using material thinner than .100", and are planning MIG welding, you will probably end up making hundreds of very short, quick...
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    Worn Screwdrivers

    I sacrificed two so far. I hammered the handle off and repurposed then for handles on flat files.
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    Worn Screwdrivers

    Ok, not an actual problem, but there are too many screwdrivers in the tool chest drawer. Not sure where they all came from…they seem to multiply like wire coat hangers. Some of them in the drawer are very old and worn and some of the flat bladed ones have been “sharpened” to try and extend the...
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    Electric trench in concrete floor?

    Thanks. FWIW, the leading edges of the extrusion holding the front casters have been rounded should I dive on one again.
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    Garage door beam reversal

    Hopefully I'm not retracing previous replies, but does your garage door opener have a "Vacation Mode" or "Lock" feature? The Genie door opener at my house has an extra button on the wall unit that locks and disables the remote control function on the receiver. It's fairly easy to use...
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    Fireplace in the garage? Other heating ideas??

    if anyone was questioning being able to heat an uninsulated pole barn with a wood stove in one corner... Granted, it only got into the low 50's inside, but it was far better than the single digits outside.
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    Electric trench in concrete floor?

    Thanks. The cut was small, but deep. I came down on the front corner of the lower leg of a welding cart and ended up with a 2 sided, 90 degree, 1/2" long piercing in the meat of my (58 year-old) right deltoid. I'm sure it needed stitched, but I was too pissed about the fall and messing up...
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    Electric trench in concrete floor?

    I think the solution going forward, (cost, implementation time, maintenance, adjustability) will be cord reels suspended above.
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    Electric trench in concrete floor?

    I specifically don't want to use a power pole (my shop is relatively small and I'll eventually damage the power pole). It will either be power run under the floor, or retractable cord reels from above.
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    Let's see your toolbox.

    I recently acquired all the milling and lathe tools from my father's workshop and needed a place to keep most of it. Since I still had some of the 1/8" aluminum from this old tool chest project, I built a new 10-drawer companion box and attached it tot he end of the existing tool chest.
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    Electric trench in concrete floor?

    I'm not opposed to this. How do the pull down cord reels hold up? Many years ago, I watched one short out when the cord was being extended.
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    Electric trench in concrete floor?

    I now have a strong dislike for extension cords, despite using them every time I’m in the workshop. It’s not the cords so much, it’s that I am constantly walking across them, or stepping on them. This past week, I ended up tripping badly on a cord, taking a fall and in the course of...
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    If you had $4,500 to spend, what would you do?

    Blast out and replace the concrete floor in my workshop.
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    Suggestions for a small bench top lathe?

    Probably late to the party, but I just ordered a Shop Fox M1049 (same thing as a Grizzly G4000). Based on available shop space, budget and features, the M1049 seemed to check off most of the boxes.
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    Fireplace in the garage? Other heating ideas??

    I heat a 24' x 32' pole barn with a Vogelzang Boxwood stove tucked into a corner. To improve the efficiency, I built what I call a coaxial heat exchanger on the flue pipe. Basically, it's a section of 8" duct with the 6" duct inside. There is a aluminum fin in the space between the 6"...
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    Welder storage in unheated garage.

    After I insulated the underside of the roof in my pole barn, I found there was considerable condensation build up. Some days, it seemed to be raining inside the barn. I added a powered gable vent fan (https://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200673792_200673792) and a...
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    Frost line question.

    Crisis partially averted…Racecougar, you guilted me into looking at it again. Took an early lunch and ran home. Turns out, the cast faucet head is cracked and flexed, and is not providing adequate down force on the valve to keep it closed. I'm guessing the higher water pressure pushed the...
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    Frost line question.

    Question about frost line and freezing. In my pole barn, there is a frost-proof faucet. It’s the kind with a lift up handle and a long pipe with the valve at the bottom. I replaced it about 20 years ago, and since then, I’ve used water from it only 3 or 4 times, i.e., it’s not really...
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