So here's mine. It's a bit messy
- Thread starter 98TJ
- Start date
Ole_Red
Well-known member
lookin good man. Quite the difference. Now you have room for your "new" radio to sit out there instead of in the house!
It's been in the garage, but yeah, we've already had that discussion. The '39 Zenith stays in the garage.
I'm thinking about how I want to build that one still. 
I'm stoked. Got some new tools over the past week or so (stuff that I'm actually using - not just buying to have them) and tomorrow the cable guy (fiber actually) will be here to run TV service to the TV room and garage. We've gone for years without cable/sat and have just been streaming everything we want to watch but since we're UK basketball fans I wanted to have the ability to see the games I couldn't see last season due to them being telecast on FSS or CSS. So, for $40-some-odd dollars a month we'll have near 200 channels available.
It'll be nice to listen to/watch the games while working out there.
Omphaloskeptic
Well-known member
New tools with a purpose, great fun! What's the project they'll be used on?
Couple of quick questions:
- Your soldering station, what make/model is it and how do you like it? Is it mainly used for 'delicate' work?
- I can't identify that tool/jig to the left of the TV sitting on the workbench; what the heck is it?
Couple of quick questions:
- Your soldering station, what make/model is it and how do you like it? Is it mainly used for 'delicate' work?
- I can't identify that tool/jig to the left of the TV sitting on the workbench; what the heck is it?
The bolt/screw extractors are for the '77 FJ40. Lots of rusted, seized bolts. Had more than one bolt head twist off when I took the soft top and rear half doors off and installed the hard top and ambulance doors. When I got rid of the body lift I twisted/sheared more - even with lots of PB Blaster and heat. Those extractors are out of necessity.
The HF torque wrenches are nice to have. I bought a Craftsman clicker a few years back at a flea market in FL but got home and found it was inch pounds, not foot pounds. Yeah, a 3/8" drive in-lb torque wrench - odd. After reading how the HF units were accurate, I picked up a set.
The Craftsman Pro stubby Torx drivers were on clearance for $9.95. They'll get used on the Jeep. That thing has Torx all over it. The Craftsman Pro 3/16" x 12" flat blade screwdriver was on clearance for $3.95. Got it just to have it.
The English made Stanley FatMax chisels will be useful for the various woodworking projects that have been happening around here lately.
That soldering station is one I picked up while I was out of town at the in-laws place. Got it at Radio Shack. It's not a Weller (which is what I was looking for) but I needed a soldering iron and, since I was out of town and had two pencil irons at the house, I didn't want to buy another one like that so I went with this station.
It has served me well. I use it for soldering wiring harnesses for car audio head units and gauges, the switching unit for the local car audio shop, the wiring harness for the console radio I'm working on, and stuff like that. Mainly light duty stuff.
For larger soldering jobs I have two Craftsman 150/400W soldering guns. Three, really. I bought the first and used it for years before the ceramic insulator got cracked when I dropped it a time or ten. A new tip was $40 some-odd dollars and Sears had the guns on sale for $25 or so. I bought two guns for the price of a replacement tip + shipping. I use those for heavier gauge wire, but when putting lugs on amplifier and battery cables I'll go right to the torch. Just put the lug in a vise, twist up a bit of solder, heat the lug, melt the solder, and insert the fluxed cable into the lug. Works great. Been doing that for years. It's how I made all of the power and ground cables for the military commo equip.
That chrome tool on the left is a Park TS-2.2 truing stand. Since we have so many bikes to maintain a truing stand is nice to have.
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Omphaloskeptic
Well-known member
Thanks for the info, have fun with the new tools.
GirlnAgarage
Well-known member
Oh no, not another thread with a talented guy and great eye for detail. I'm not a reader! With all these awesome threads I'm subscribing too I'm forced to read a lot
The pics of the bikes are really neat. There is an elegance to your style. Very subtle but gorgeous. Makes a huge impression.
Need to make their dressers in their room look like tool boxes
The pics of the bikes are really neat. There is an elegance to your style. Very subtle but gorgeous. Makes a huge impression.
My wife and I bought them their own tool box so they have their tools to use, keep up with, and take care of. It's great how they will use their tools and put them away when done.
Now if I could just find a way to get them to keep their rooms as neat as their tools.
Need to make their dressers in their room look like tool boxes
Ole_Red
Well-known member
If we have a boy, this will happen.Need to make their dressers in their room look like tool boxes
If they dont look like them, they will be them lolI used to be in to putting bikes together back in the day... I had a lowrider that I built, a trike that had a small stereo built in to the basket (now im selling the trike sans stereo), had a few bmx bikes, mountain bikes, and now I'm down to one:
This has been a cobbled together bike that started off with a **** carpet seat. The tires are oversized and barely fit in the front forks. They were snagged off a modern beach cruiser. I still have the original fenders somewhere but they no longer fit with the tires.
It is nothing compared to the ones that you have built. I am in awe of your bikes.
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Oh no, not another thread with a talented guy and great eye for detail. I'm not a reader! With all these awesome threads I'm subscribing too I'm forced to read a lot
The pics of the bikes are really neat. There is an elegance to your style. Very subtle but gorgeous. Makes a huge impression.
Need to make their dressers in their room look like tool boxes
Thanks.
I like things (somewhat) simple in appearance but still function the way I want. It's a challenge, sometimes. The '39 Zenith I want to build for the garage really has me
with how I want to approach that one. It'll be cool, though. If we have a boy, this will happen.
I used to be in to putting bikes together back in the day... I had a lowrider that I built, a trike that had a small stereo built in to the basket (now im selling the trike sans stereo), had a few bmx bikes, mountain bikes, and now I'm down to one:
This has been a cobbled together bike that started off with a **** carpet seat. The tires are oversized and barely fit in the front forks. They were snagged off a modern beach cruiser. I still have the original fenders somewhere but they no longer fit with the tires.
It is nothing compared to the ones that you have built. I am in awe of your bikes.
Cool bike! I did the same thing with the '65 Western Flyer. Put new tires on (That I scored for $.01 each on clearance at the PX) and they were too fat for the stock fenders. I took the fenders off and they're just laying under a bench right now. Need to do something with them.
Regarding the trikes...
I've been wanting to build two trikes...
One with a small charcoal grill on the back between the wheels, and the other with a cooler.
I've been using bike parts that I would've trashed to build things for the garage. The stool uses 20" bike wheels, and I've used other parts to make clocks.
Here's a clock made from a 203mm (8 inch) disk brake rotor from the Iron Horse. The new hydraulic brakes came with discs so I did this with the old ones.
I also made one for my wife's office using the front sprocket from an old Puch that was given to me. The 3-speed rear hub went on the Western Flyer. Didn't use any other parts of the bike.
The clocks aren't anything that's difficult to make, just simple, quick, and functional.
And the kids stayed busy this weekend. SWMBO signed them up for a build-it-yourself workshop at Lowe's. I've bought the little DIY kits for them but she found that if you sign them up for the workshop they get to build and keep the kits - for free.
Here they are building some monster truck kits with SWMBO.
Then they came home and wanted to do "real work".
I brought out the drill press, their belt/disc sander, and the band saw. They grabbed their tool box and safety glasses and got to work. 
GirlnAgarage
Well-known member
Oh man 98TJ, someone will turn you in to social services because you're utterly and completely disregarding your kids safety and well being in order to let them learn skills and responsibilities. How dare you!
That is really great to see them take an interest in activities other than what most kids these days do, tv, video games and cell phones. Not saying they probably don't use those, just that seeing out there be well-rounded is great! They'll be running the world when we're old anyway so might as well raise em right
That is really great to see them take an interest in activities other than what most kids these days do, tv, video games and cell phones. Not saying they probably don't use those, just that seeing out there be well-rounded is great! They'll be running the world when we're old anyway so might as well raise em right
Ole_Red
Well-known member
I like the clock idea out of the sprockets. My other idea for a clock is to use an old record/record player as a wall clock.
BTW, here is a pic of my old trike as it sits now. It has been in storage for 10+ years.
BTW, here is a pic of my old trike as it sits now. It has been in storage for 10+ years.
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GiaG, I know! I'd better watch out.
Red, nice! The thing that kept me from building the trikes was storage. I just don't have room for them.
We're pulling a late night tonight. I'm making progress on the FJ and helping SWMBO with a shadow box for one of her soldiers that's leaving. She's covering some interior walls for it in this shot. Notice she's using the '56 Craftsman as a work table.
Red, nice! The thing that kept me from building the trikes was storage. I just don't have room for them.
We're pulling a late night tonight. I'm making progress on the FJ and helping SWMBO with a shadow box for one of her soldiers that's leaving. She's covering some interior walls for it in this shot. Notice she's using the '56 Craftsman as a work table.
Red Leader
Well-known member
Lovin' those disc brake and sprocket clocks!
It's great seeing the kids getting into the woodworking and tools.
Keep up the great work.
It's great seeing the kids getting into the woodworking and tools.
Keep up the great work.
I've been chipping away at the FJ. When I removed the body lift there were four bolts per front fender that were seized in the frame. I'm slowly prepping the body panels for paint and cleaning up the frame as I make progress. I need to HTFU so I can drive it in the winter - even if it's just in primer.
aloxdaddy99
Active member
- Joined
- Mar 3, 2010
- Messages
- 27
Did you do the normal 350 swap into the FJ? I have wanted one of those for a long time. I have had a tj,and zj. I will one day have an fj.
No V8 in the FJ, it has all stock running gear with the exception of Powertrax lockers.
We've got a 5.3l in the TJ.
Spent 12 straight hours in the garage today working on the FJ and watching football. SWMBO even brought out sandwiches and we played some basketball with the kids.
It was a good day.
aloxdaddy99
Active member
- Joined
- Mar 3, 2010
- Messages
- 27
5.3 in a TJ?!? That must make for a fun ride.I had the 5.9 in my ZJ.
Here ya go. Bit of info on it here: http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showpost.php?p=1842811&postcount=114
My son got off the bus and got to work on the FJ.
Here he is running the needle scaler on the inner fender to remove poorly applied undercoat from a previous owner. (I know, coiled air hose. I have the 50ft. rubber hose bundled up to take with me to mom's so I can do crown moulding)
Here he is running the needle scaler on the inner fender to remove poorly applied undercoat from a previous owner. (I know, coiled air hose. I have the 50ft. rubber hose bundled up to take with me to mom's so I can do crown moulding)
Caleb T
Well-known member
Sweet bikes man! I've never seen anything
like those before.
like those before.
Red Leader
Well-known member
GiaG, I know! I'd better watch out.
Red, nice! The thing that kept me from building the trikes was storage. I just don't have room for them.
We're pulling a late night tonight. I'm making progress on the FJ and helping SWMBO with a shadow box for one of her soldiers that's leaving. She's covering some interior walls for it in this shot. Notice she's using the '56 Craftsman as a work table.
Hey! I never noticed your '56. Very nice!
Hey! I never noticed your '56. Very nice!
How'd you miss it?
I thought for sure you had posted in the rebuild thread but I just looked through it and didn't see you there.
Here ya go: http://garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=105007
If you're in Sango check out "This Old Place" where Wilma Rudolph becomes College Street. It's on the downtown side of the Kraft and College intersection. They have them there on occasion. I picked up both the '38 GE and the '39 Zenith there.
Nashville Craigslist is also a good spot. Larger market than the Clarksville Craigslist.
Went out of town this past weekend to work at mom's place. I sold a mountain bike and had the intent of picking up a Harbor Freight 56" cabinet here in town after we returned. Since mom's place is in Frankfort, KY and there's a Harbor Freight in Lexington, SWMBO said we should pick up the cabinet in KY and pay their 6% sales tax vs the 9.5% sales tax we'd have to pay in TN.
So that's what we did. Called to see if it was in stock and went to pick it up. We got back Tuesday and the wife and I unloaded it out of the truck with lawnmower ramps. Pretty simple. I decided to stick it next to the 41" Craftsman I've been using for 7 or 8 years.
Then I got to thinking about how toxiclows made a hutch for his from wood. I didn't want to use wood, but that hutch idea seemed nice - especially since we'll be moving to Hawaii in a few months and I won't be able to take multiple workbenches with me.
So, I decided to build a hutch for my HF 56 - but from metal.
I didn't plan anything other than just a general idea. I extended a tape measure off the surface of the cabinet and got an idea of how high I wanted the hutch to be so I didn't whack my head on the thing as I stood in front of the cabinet. For me I decided on 33" from the surface of the cabinet.
I went to Lowe's and found they had 1/8" x 3/4" x 4' angle iron on clearance for $2.63 each. They had seven pieces in stock and I grabbed six of them. One for each vertical leg and two more to make the upper and lower cross-members for each side wall.
I also grabbed two pieces of 1/8" x 1" x 6' ($11.67 each) for the front and back top cross-members and a 1/8" x 3/4" x 6' ($8.97) for the rear lower cross-member.
After a bit of cutting and welding I had the frame pretty much um...framed up.
Here it is without the 1/8" x 3/4" x 6' cut and installed at the bottom of the back wall.
I went to Home Depot and picked up a full sheet of white pegboard as well as a 2' x 4' sheet. Due to the size of this thing I could only get the back wall and one side from the full sheet. Had to make two trips, but it's all good.
My daughter came out and loved it when she saw it partially mocked up.
Then she said something that made me realize how mature she's getting...
"Dad, are you going to pass down your toolboxes to me and Jeff one day?"
But yeah, even though I ran out of pegboard, she loved it. She even went and got a stool so she could sit at the cabinet. "I wish our desks at school were this cool."
Went tonight and picked up a full sheet of 1/2" MDF for the top of the cabinet and the top of the hutch. SWMBO came out and helped guide the sheet through our 10" Craftsman table saw.
Mocked up with the 1/2" MDF in place.
Even though I hadn't hard mounted the top to the hutch, I thought it would be a good time to go ahead and lay out and mount a set of six Xenon puck lights I picked up at Lowe's. These have a touch-sensitive switch and low/medium/high 3-way controller. Since I had 54" of space between the interior walls and six pucks to mount, I marked center, went 4 1/2" to either side, then marked every 9" to evenly space the pucks.
A few minutes later the pucks were mounted, plugs were installed, and it was time to test the lights.
I'm lovin' it.
While I haven't trimmed the cables for the lights to length yet, and the top/pegboard isn't hard-mounted to the frame, this gave me enough of a look at what the finished product will look like to know that the time and effort will be worth it.
I'll update as I progress.
So that's what we did. Called to see if it was in stock and went to pick it up. We got back Tuesday and the wife and I unloaded it out of the truck with lawnmower ramps. Pretty simple. I decided to stick it next to the 41" Craftsman I've been using for 7 or 8 years.
Then I got to thinking about how toxiclows made a hutch for his from wood. I didn't want to use wood, but that hutch idea seemed nice - especially since we'll be moving to Hawaii in a few months and I won't be able to take multiple workbenches with me.
So, I decided to build a hutch for my HF 56 - but from metal.
I didn't plan anything other than just a general idea. I extended a tape measure off the surface of the cabinet and got an idea of how high I wanted the hutch to be so I didn't whack my head on the thing as I stood in front of the cabinet. For me I decided on 33" from the surface of the cabinet.
I went to Lowe's and found they had 1/8" x 3/4" x 4' angle iron on clearance for $2.63 each. They had seven pieces in stock and I grabbed six of them. One for each vertical leg and two more to make the upper and lower cross-members for each side wall.
I also grabbed two pieces of 1/8" x 1" x 6' ($11.67 each) for the front and back top cross-members and a 1/8" x 3/4" x 6' ($8.97) for the rear lower cross-member.
After a bit of cutting and welding I had the frame pretty much um...framed up.
Here it is without the 1/8" x 3/4" x 6' cut and installed at the bottom of the back wall.
I went to Home Depot and picked up a full sheet of white pegboard as well as a 2' x 4' sheet. Due to the size of this thing I could only get the back wall and one side from the full sheet. Had to make two trips, but it's all good.
My daughter came out and loved it when she saw it partially mocked up.
Then she said something that made me realize how mature she's getting...
"Dad, are you going to pass down your toolboxes to me and Jeff one day?"
But yeah, even though I ran out of pegboard, she loved it. She even went and got a stool so she could sit at the cabinet. "I wish our desks at school were this cool."
Went tonight and picked up a full sheet of 1/2" MDF for the top of the cabinet and the top of the hutch. SWMBO came out and helped guide the sheet through our 10" Craftsman table saw.
Mocked up with the 1/2" MDF in place.
Even though I hadn't hard mounted the top to the hutch, I thought it would be a good time to go ahead and lay out and mount a set of six Xenon puck lights I picked up at Lowe's. These have a touch-sensitive switch and low/medium/high 3-way controller. Since I had 54" of space between the interior walls and six pucks to mount, I marked center, went 4 1/2" to either side, then marked every 9" to evenly space the pucks.
A few minutes later the pucks were mounted, plugs were installed, and it was time to test the lights.
I'm lovin' it.
While I haven't trimmed the cables for the lights to length yet, and the top/pegboard isn't hard-mounted to the frame, this gave me enough of a look at what the finished product will look like to know that the time and effort will be worth it. I'll update as I progress.
Garage5.9
Well-known member
I like it , now i allmost want to go build one myself. I noticed you were moving to my state ? which island ?
GirlnAgarage
Well-known member
Nice addition.
Love the in the future comment from your daughter. I like those 'someday' things
Love the in the future comment from your daughter. I like those 'someday' things
Thanks.
We'll be moving to Oahu. Military is taking us there for three years. I'm setting up this 56" cabinet with the hutch so I have a work surface and stuff at our new place. I'm shipping the tool chests and tools, but doubt I'll be able to ship workbenches and such due to garage size there. I thought the hutch would be a good way to simplify things at the new place.
Plenty more to do to it, though.
Nice addition.
Love the in the future comment from your daughter. I like those 'someday' things
Yeah, that got me. I had to ask her to repeat what she said because I didn't think I heard it right the first time.
Looking nice, 98TJ! I don't mean to pry, but are you or your wifey asian? The daughter looks it. Anyway, you are one lucky man, to have a daughter who drools over your tool box! She's a good sport. Now if you can manage to put a screwdriver or drill in her hands and have her exercise some hands-on skills! Maybe she can build her own desk!
GirlnAgarage
Well-known member
Looking nice, 98TJ! I don't mean to pry, but are you or your wifey asian? The daughter looks it. Anyway, you are one lucky man, to have a daughter who drools over your tool box! She's a good sport. Now if you can manage to put a screwdriver or drill in her hands and have her exercise some hands-on skills! Maybe she can build her own desk!
...go back a few pages
Managing is not a problem 
Looking nice, 98TJ! I don't mean to pry, but are you or your wifey asian? The daughter looks it. Anyway, you are one lucky man, to have a daughter who drools over your tool box! She's a good sport. Now if you can manage to put a screwdriver or drill in her hands and have her exercise some hands-on skills! Maybe she can build her own desk!
Yup, wife is Asian. Laotian, specifically. I'm not.
...go back a few pages
Yup, not a problem.
I picked up more materials for the hutch today. Will make progress tomorrow.
Decided to go out to the garage tonight and get a little work done while on the phone.
It was a long conversation so I cut a couple of supports for the center of the rear panel and welded them in place before installing the rear section of pegboard. Never mind the welds, I wasn't really paying attention - phone conversation.
...and the 26" monitor up front.
It was a long conversation so I cut a couple of supports for the center of the rear panel and welded them in place before installing the rear section of pegboard. Never mind the welds, I wasn't really paying attention - phone conversation.
...and the 26" monitor up front.
I love that I have inspired you .. Yours looks great. Love the puck lights. I was eying them up at lowes myself. But devoted to settle on the single multi led bar light as it was in my budget. Really like the flat screen too. Might have to do that withy flat screen and build a computer. My lap top is cool at work. But getting tired of lugging it around all the time. Anyway. Love it. Post uP some more box and drawer pics. I can't get enough of the hf boxes
Your hutch was the best idea I've seen for one of these HF cabinets. The cabinet itself is perfect for homeowners, but when I saw your hutch I KNEW that I needed to make one if/when I got a cabinet.
We bought this monitor for the garage a few weeks back. $249 and it has three HDMI inputs, VGA input, component input, as well as standard RCA inputs. I'll use this to watch football and basketball games while in the garage and, since some of the games (like today's UK/Penn State basketball game) are available only on ESPN3.com, I'll use the laptop with the monitor as well like I have today.
The puck lights were the lesser of two evils. I've used these before over the workbench of a 7x14 cargo trailer that I converted to use at a pit/work area. I really wanted to use LEDs for this but the cost was crazy. Three LED puck lights were $30 and for the length of this hutch three lights wouldn't cut it - I'd have had to buy two sets and $60 was more than I wanted to spend on lights. Maybe it was the way the LED light bars were set up in the display at Lowe's, but they didn't put off enough light for me and the cost was more than the 6 puck Xenon kit. I debated a fluorescent but when I searched for replacement T5 bulbs for the unit Lowe's sold, there were none to be found. The fluorescent was also $41- more than the pucks. So I decided to go with these 3-way pucks with the touch switch.
My wife came out today and helped me drop the monitor from the back wall so I could cut openings for the monitor power and input cables with a 1" hole saw and button it all back up.
I really want to switch from surface mount to recessed mount with the pucks. Might have to do that later today. Right now I'm at point where it's usable. I want to make some wood shims to go behind the pegboard - between the pegboard and metal frame - to push the front of the pegboard flush with the edge of the metal frame.
I also picked up two sheets of 18ga sheet metal to skin the sides of the hutch - the back will remain bare. Got the two sheets cut to 2' x 3' at the local steel/welding shop for $25. The closest size from Lowe's was a 2' x 4' sheet of 22ga for $30-something for a single sheet.
Went to Home Depot for a 2 1/8" hole saw to recess the pucks. While there I was looking at trim moulding and bouncing ideas around in my head.
In the cull lumber area I spotted a 4' x 8' sheet of 1/4" MDF with a thin white laminate on both sides that matched the pegboard. Asked the lumber guy how much it was and he told me $2.
I didn't have a use for the entire 4' x 8' sheet so I asked the guy to cut it to 56 1/2" x 23". I paid $2 for the smaller sheet, was happy, and headed home.
Got the MDF home, sanded one side, threw down some liquid nails, pinned the edges so it couldn't move on me, and gave it some time to sit while clamped and weighted. Since the top has dimensions of 56" x 22 1/2", I had the laminate cut slightly oversize and used the router to flush cut the edges.
Took a little time to start setting up the back wall since it's in place. Still need to attach the left/right sides to the steel frame, but the back wall is now fully functional.
Here's an overall shot. It's about 75 1/2" tall.
In the cull lumber area I spotted a 4' x 8' sheet of 1/4" MDF with a thin white laminate on both sides that matched the pegboard. Asked the lumber guy how much it was and he told me $2.
I didn't have a use for the entire 4' x 8' sheet so I asked the guy to cut it to 56 1/2" x 23". I paid $2 for the smaller sheet, was happy, and headed home.
Got the MDF home, sanded one side, threw down some liquid nails, pinned the edges so it couldn't move on me, and gave it some time to sit while clamped and weighted. Since the top has dimensions of 56" x 22 1/2", I had the laminate cut slightly oversize and used the router to flush cut the edges.
Took a little time to start setting up the back wall since it's in place. Still need to attach the left/right sides to the steel frame, but the back wall is now fully functional.
Here's an overall shot. It's about 75 1/2" tall.
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JonBoehman
Well-known member
Thats Right! Look at the score for UK vs Penn. Lol!