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Here’s my setup for my Rockwell 20” drill press. It’s a 3HP Huanyang VFD, with controls broken out for forward, reverse, and a jog button for power tapping. I also have the second selector switch set up to switch between two pre-programmed high and low speeds, or allow speed control via the...

Here’s my 1940s Heuer Primus vise that I restored from the ground up. Took it down to bare metal for a repaint, machined a new handle, and added needle bearings to the lead screw. It’s become my favorite vise in the shop. I’ve got a video of the whole restoration here.

In line with the music- bluetooth hearing protection. I use a pair of bluetooth earplugs. 30 NRR, and the music never stops. I don't have to crank it up to hear it over the tools, and I'm a lot more likely to wear earplugs if they're also my headphones. You can also get muffs too, but the plugs...

I second this. That's how I put holes in steel drums with a hole saw. My method of getting the angle right is to piliot drill with a smaller bit square to the curved surface, and then go back at the appropriate angle with the correct size. Seems to work OK for plastic and steel up to 1/8"...

I use an oxy/propane setup, and it takes me FOREVER to go through a 20lb cylinder. Even with the big propane weed burner for preheats, it's reasonably economical to run. Unless I was going to have a permanent gas-supplied setup, like a forge or furnace, I wouldn't bother. A 20lb tank sitting...

That's a great guide. Definitely saving that for later. Those certainly look like Tweco connectors to me, but measuring the diameter would let you be sure.

Thanks! Shouldn’t be a big deal to make a new one, luckily I’ve got some bar stock that’s the perfect size. I’m just glad that the casting is fine even though it has some wear.

Started work on the drill press. I gutted a little Intermatic timer, and used it for a switch enclosure for the VFD: The VFD is an inexpensive 4HP Huanyang model from eBay- so far, I’m very pleased with it. The motor is 1.5HP, so this is a bit of overkill. That’s on purpose- since I’m running...

After getting the welder up and running, I’ve started to turn my attention to some re-organization and cleanup before tearing in to the drill press. I started by getting one of my cabinets moved over and replaced the janky drill press stand I made years ago: Much improved. It’s a lot more...

Hey all, it’s been a little while since an update but I’m still around! Most of the shop progress since the last post has been more about equipment acquisitions and some rearrangement. I had a good auction score from a plant shutdown up in TN. I snagged a Miller EconoTwin welder and a 20”...

I don’t have any designs, but I do have a tip. I did all my lighting layout in DIALux- it’s a free lighting design software package here. It made it really easy to experiment with different lighting layouts and come up with graphics showing the light intensity for various layouts. The learning...

If you’ve got the space and the power, at that price, sure. It definitely won’t have the same feature set as a modern inverter- it’ll only be running 60Hz sine wave tig with no balance control in AC mode, but if most of what you want to weld is mild steel/stainless I’m sure it would lay down...

Assuming you’re talking about mine? It’s about ~37” so that it matches with the concrete block stem wall along the back of the shop. If I wasn’t constrained by that I would have done 36” height just to make it a nice nominal number. 48” was just too high, so the extra shear cuts were worth it.

I did wainscoting in mine out of 16ga steel sheet, with 1-1/4” flat bar trimwork. Everything was installed over finished drywall. It was a ton of work, but it turned out fantastic and was worth every bit of cost and effort. Here’s a couple pictures: For utilities, I roughed everything in...

It did turn out surprisingly good. I can’t wait to redo that bathroom entirely- it’ll be even better once it matches the aesthetic. Still on the hunt for a vintage sink of the right era to really tie everything together. I’ve got a vision of white tile, chrome fixtures, plumbing, and faucets...

Switching back over to the vintage toilet. My supply order finally came in after dealing with a lot of back ordered parts. First place to start is getting the flushometer mounted to the toilet via the spud nut: Aaanndd it doesn’t fit. So much for the “correct” size. Luckily it’s round, and...

Next up as an example of my poor time estimation- stripping paint off of a 100 year old door. Started out with gutting the lock set and hardware. This door came with a set of Stanley Sweetheart hinges and a Yale hotel double deadlatch. This door used to be between two adjoining hotel...

So yet again, this shop buildout has made me realize that I can’t estimate time at all. I start things off thinking “Oh, this will be easy. Just a couple evenings of work.” Yeah, that never happens. Case in point: plumbing fixtures. I salvaged these a while back knowing that they could be...

So I do Phase I and Phase II environmental assessments for a living- I’ll add my two cents here. If you’re lucky, their bank is just looking to assess the in-ground lifts and not the whole site. Typically for a site with hydraulic lifts, we would collect several soil samples from the vicinity...

Got a good afternoon of work in today. Before getting too far along on the broom closet, I need to get the crawlspace closed up. The flooring in the closet will have to match the framing around the crawlspace entrance, so time to get started. Took out a second mortgage and bought some...