Above 1200 Sq/FT The ASYLUM - Happy 40th Birthday to Me! (Est. 2005)

Heel Bone

Of course, there might be just a bit of physical therapy to get things back to an acceptable level again. They said be expecting some pain

As more of a lurker vs poster I spent a few days thinking about what to post. As one who has been there and done that (12/06) the answers to the above is yes and yes! My Dr. never mentioned rehab so I ended up a bit of a crip until I figured it out and started a walking program. Insist that your Dr. develop a good therapy plan and depending on how badly the joint was damaged (Dr. should be able to tell you) there will be pain. (your results may vary) Hope your recovery goes well and you make it back to 100%.

THE LOCAL CRAFT STORE HAD A SALE ON PICTURE FRAMES…

Being somewhat limited in capabilities lately, I figured it was the right time to have some of these images printed out large size for “garage art”. I have some wall space in the stairway and upstairs office for framed art. Like the ASYLUM sign, they too will sit for awhile until I'm back up on two feet.

These first two are large prints (20x30" and 20x26") of me riding the bikes in the mountains of eastern TN.



These are 8x10’s and will probably end up going on my office walls at work rather than the ASYLUM. The one on top is probably my favorite. It shows my original Kawasaki H1-500 with the Chevelle in the background (circa 1985). Just a little history on the bike... After a couple of years lusting over it, I finally saved enough money to buy the old Kaw from my neighbor when I was in high school. I spent countless hours making custom fiberglass bodywork for it (and riding it, of course). Well, a few years later when it was parked at the university, someone stole her away from me. Has anyone seen it? I would love to get it back! That picture was taken shortly before it was stolen.



I swear these last two helped get me through college. I had the Chevelle since I was a junior in high school and although new paint had her looking good, I always dreamed of the day I could fix it up to perfect condition. An engineering curriculum is quite demanding (at least, it was for me) and I had to spend a lot of time studying at the library. On those late nights when I needed to take my mind off of my schoolwork for a while, I would wander over to the transportation section of the library where they had back issues of HOT ROD magazine. There is where I found this really cool original ad for the SS396. Anytime I needed a little incentive to keep working towards that diploma, I would go look at that magazine and dream. Right before I graduated, I ripped that page out (don’t tell the librarian! ) to remind me of those countless nights I struggled to keep studying. When I saw this 12x18 version of it on auction recently, I had to have it. Well, this larger picture is to remind me the car STILL needs all that work, and I now have no excuses.



Parts are coming in for the TV installation so I will give an update on that shortly.

nkachur said:

I have had the same thoughts for my shop, when I get that far. It would be great to have the monitor on a long enough arm to bring it around the vehicle or over the Work benck for easy viewing.

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I was also thinking a wireless keyboard/mouse in a small drawer on the island workbench would be just the ticket. I better include one of those clear plastic covers though, to keep it from getting grimey.

Bear said:

Heel Bone

Of course, there might be just a bit of physical therapy to get things back to an acceptable level again. They said be expecting some pain

As more of a lurker vs poster I spent a few days thinking about what to post. As one who has been there and done that (12/06) the answers to the above is yes and yes! My Dr. never mentioned rehab so I ended up a bit of a crip until I figured it out and started a walking program. Insist that your Dr. develop a good therapy plan and depending on how badly the joint was damaged (Dr. should be able to tell you) there will be pain. (your results may vary) Hope your recovery goes well and you make it back to 100%.

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Thanks for chiming in Bear. With the all the years gone by since your incident, hopefully you are not feeling too much pain anymore.

I just got back from a heel checkup and the doctor gave me clearance to start putting weight on the front of the foot. Weight bearing on the heel won't be for another 4 weeks, however. He said that it will hurt for at least a year, maybe forever, and the pain/swelling will be proportionate to the amount of activities I do that day. Such fun to look forward too! At least I'll be walking.

Hey Shopnut, just dropping in with well wishes. Feel better soon, we're all eager to read what you come up with next.

Shopnut that is the worst case...you are going to stick to the physical therapy plan and you will make a 100% recovery before you know it!

Shaun

Shopnut, some meaningful memorabilia you have there! I, too, have pictures hung in the shop to provide incentive and give me that little boost when I gaze at them.

Good luck on your recovery and I hope the injury becomes a faded bad memory instead of a daily reminder of a painful accident. Just try to stay away from your ladders for a while, and when you do have to use them, try to stay on them! lol

Has anyone suggested the future use of orthotics/inserts for your daily wear? They may be the ticket to help you make it through the day from now on; could be money well-spent to have some custom ones made for you.

Looking forward to you getting back on your feet (pun intended) again and providing us here at GJ with more outstanding projects and great documentation thereof!

rieferman said:

Hey Shopnut, just dropping in with well wishes. Feel better soon, we're all eager to read what you come up with next.

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Thanks rieferman. The TV is next and misc parts are starting to show up. I won't be able to go too far with it because most of the installation work is up on a ladder. All these packages in the mail are doing a great job of keeping my mind off of other things

flybefree said:

Shopnut that is the worst case...you are going to stick to the physical therapy plan and you will make a 100% recovery before you know it!

Shaun

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Thanks Shaun. I'm getting a jump on that therapy - I'll be steadily building up the muscles in my lower leg and foot over the next month. Then I'll just have to focus on the heel joint when I get the doctor's okay. I put about 1/3 of my body weight on the foot last night walking around the house and that was about the limit for the first day - OUCH! But it actually felt good to use it again, despite the pain.

Valentine's Day marks the 12 week post-surgery point, but unfortunately the doctor is out of town that week so the final(?) checkup and "full walking release" is delayed to the next week . What's one more week anyway, right? (I'm actually counting down the minutes!)

Omphaloskeptic said:

Shopnut, some meaningful memorabilia you have there! I, too, have pictures hung in the shop to provide incentive and give me that little boost when I gaze at them.

Good luck on your recovery and I hope the injury becomes a faded bad memory instead of a daily reminder of a painful accident. Just try to stay away from your ladders for a while, and when you do have to use them, try to stay on them! lol

Has anyone suggested the future use of orthotics/inserts for your daily wear? They may be the ticket to help you make it through the day from now on; could be money well-spent to have some custom ones made for you.

Looking forward to you getting back on your feet (pun intended) again and providing us here at GJ with more outstanding projects and great documentation thereof!

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Thanks for the kind words Ompha. I'm taking this 'downtime' to scan some of the old photographs too, so they should make some nice collages to hang up somewhere.

Yes, I'm ready to put this injury behind me. It's by far the worst thing that was happened in my life and I really need to be careful not to let something like this happen again. The bright spot is a number of things are getting done now that I wasn't planning to do for quite some time - so it's all good.

No one has mentioned orthotics or inserts yet - maybe that's a good thing??? Perhaps the doctor has some confidence in his work and doesn't think I'll need anything (crossing my fingers on that). I haven't broached the whole "what happens next" subject with the doctor so maybe he hasn't gotten around to it yet. Certainly, some type of cushion in there can't hurt - it may have even prevented this injury in the first place.

Take it easy and follow your doctor's advice. Two and a half months after I lost my arm, the doctor cleared me to go back to work. He also told me to wear my artificial arm no more than four hours a day to start. My four-hour commute by train meant wearing the prosthesis twelve hours a day but I was anxious to get back to work. After five weeks of that grind, the NY subway workers went on strike and my bosses told me to stay home until it was settled. I was too weak to protest and I slept 15 hours a day for three weeks until the strike was over. Most of the pressure sores were healed and the extra time turned out to be exactly what I needed.

If you work half as hard at your job as you do on your side work, taking it slow a little longer will pay you back with a setback-free recovery.

Thanks for sharing Bob. My experience with this little old broken heel pales in comparison to what you must have, and possibly still are, going through. I don’t recall you telling us about your physical challenge before, although I always suspected something from your sig line. I’m glad that strike came at a good time for you. Sometimes we just push ourselves too hard.

Luckily, my job is not too physically demanding so I was back to work in 9 days and never really felt like I was pushing it too hard. The other thing I have going for me is I’m a fairly patient person and I’m good at following directions when I agree with them or trust the source. This healing process is just another project for me – it had a starting point with a goal, there are tasks that need to happen along the way, and hopefully there will be a successful end result when it’s all over. The level of success is dependent on how well each step is executed along the way (no pun intended!). This is the way of life for me.

I have found that I can still do many of the things I could do before the accident; they just take MUCH longer to do and require more focus. Of course, I TRY to do them as quickly as before and I find I’m completely worn out by the time I get finished. Fetching another tool has probably been the biggest PITA. Forgot that 9/16” wrench? - It’s not a simple matter of a few steps back to the toolbox. Nope - I need to find a spot to make a 3-point turn with the scooter to get headed back in the right direction. And I’ve always been bad at not grabbing every tool I need the first time.

I’ve also found that I‘ve become much clumsier than before. I think the reason for that is I was always pretty good at catching things as they are dropping and avoided many incidents. Now, because my one arm is often used to hold me up, it’s not available to catch things anymore and stuff reaches the ground and breaks. So maybe I was just clumsy all along, but was good at hiding it?

Wow, I can not believe that I have been on this forum for 4 years and never ran across this thread. It is unbelievable the amount of detail that you have put in to this (both shop and thread.) It is amazing how intricate and thoughtfully put together every peice in your shop is laid out. It is almost like this is your 50th build and you are doing everything correctly this time.

I do have one question. Do you use your office yet? I don't remember seeing any pictures with stuff in there.

PARTS ARE ARRIVING FOR THE LCD TV INSTALLATION…

The first thing to show up was the rollup curtain. I had been looking at an IKEA aluminum curtain for this application for quite some time, but was hesitant because it was going to take two of these IKEA DOOR KITS at $100 each in a horizontal configuration to get the job done. (Edit: Here's another link to a discussion on the IKEA doors - Linky) A few weeks ago during a late night fee-bay search, I stumbled onto this item 16 minutes before the auction ended. I managed to win this $350 curtain for $50 and it seemed like it was custom-sized for the TV cubby hole I was planning. It’s just a tad long but that just means it won’t get unrolled from the drum all the way. Or if there’s enough extra, I will remove some slats and create another door somewhere else. When it arrived (in the original mgr carton, btw), I discovered it was brand new with all the plastic wrap still intact on the sheet metal housing. Even including the shipping, it was still half the price of the Ikea option. Sometimes you just get lucky.



Here are some close-ups of the curtain. It has interlocking foam-filled aluminum slats. The bottom slat is slid out a bit to show more detail. It’s hard to see, but every other slat has a black rub-block stapled into the end which also serves to keep the main curtain from sliding apart.



I was pleasantly surprised to see that it had a worm drive operator inside it. The hex shaft protruding from the housing will make it extremely easy to rig up an external drive for opening/closing it. Parts are showing up for a simple hand wheel system, but also am looking at an alternative powered system to override the manual crank if I’m feeling lazy that day.

MustangRick said:

Wow, I can not believe that I have been on this forum for 4 years and never ran across this thread. It is unbelievable the amount of detail that you have put in to this (both shop and thread.) It is amazing how intricate and thoughtfully put together every peice in your shop is laid out. It is almost like this is your 50th build and you are doing everything correctly this time.

I do have one question. Do you use your office yet? I don't remember seeing any pictures with stuff in there.

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Welcome aboard MustangRick and thanks for the very kind words - I'm actually blushing now

This is the second attempt at my very own garage/shop (the first of which can be read about in my City Garage link), but years of thought went into planning what has become my ASYLUM. I find the design stages to be one of the most enjoyable parts so I didn't rush it. Of course, I've also been having a ton of fun finishing it out the past 6 years and seeing everything materialize. I think it's turning out a bit better than I originally imagined, although I never thought I was going to spend this much time on it, so it better surpass my expectations to some degree. And Garage Journal probably has pushed me a bit harder over the years. I do try to make this thread a reflection of the real thing - thanks for commenting.

Nope - the office really hasn't seen much action yet. But it will, after the other major work on the shop is done. All my scale models will end up there and it will be a pleasant place to work on them when it's too hot/humid in the summer to turn wrenches. I have my drawing board up there to doodle on. It will also serve as sleeping quarters for an occasional guest to give them some privacy. Currently, I mostly just take a few beers up there to chill out after a long day and just look out over the shop and envision more features I want to add - I guess it's time to stop that dreaming and just finish it up, right?

CHOICES FOR CRANKING UP THE TV DOOR…

Here's a shot showing where the TV will be located.



Luckily, the roll-up aluminum door came with a worm drive operator in it so devising a way to open and close it is a simple task. I decided to run two parallel design paths - one with just a simple manual hand crank and another with a small gearhead motor. Since the parts were reasonably cheap on fee-bay, I decided to buy the parts for both and we’ll see which one wins out for the final design. These are parts that I’m sure will find another home if not used here.

...A MANUAL WAY:

For a remote crank wheel, I found some Craftsman tablesaw parts that will match the surroundings nicely. I also needed some type of spindle to rotate on. I looked at buying some flange bearings, but that would have also required a matching shaft. Then I found the bicycle hubs, and at a whopping $4 each, they seemed perfect. Their 3/8” thread size matched the bore of the hand wheels and their flanges are going to allow mounting between two 2x3 studs as shown. A shaft with universal joints will allow me to position the hand wheel under the cabinet overhang where needed (see red outline in sketch below). In my searches for shafts and U-joints, the most economical method is buying some 3/8” drive ratchet extensions and U-joints, since the low quality import versions can be picked up for a song. I’ll have to wait to buy these until the door is mounted and all the lengths are determined.




Here’s a shot to show the rough positioning of things. In the final position, space between the bike hub and door housing (where I have a deep well socket temporarily holding things together) will be around 24”. U-joints will allow the crank shaft to exit the bottom of the cabinet at 90 degrees.



...AND AN OPTIONAL POWERED WAY:

What’s the fun of a manual crank though, right? I’m going to see if I can get a powered version worked out before resorting to the manual system.

For the height of the door, it will take roughly 12 turns to fully open it. I figured a 72rpm gearhead motor would give a 10 second open time. That seemed like a good compromise since I don’t what to stand there and hold the switch forever and I also don’t want it to go too fast and damage parts. So a suitable 110V motor is on the way and I will report on that when it arrives.

Now how are you supposed to get any work done in the Asylum if there is a T.V. on in there? LOL!!!

Breeze - that TV will be playing a continuous loop of LADDER SAFETY VIDEOS, of course!

Seriously, I'm not one to watch TV out in the shop, and in fact, the one in my city garage gets turned on probably no more than twice a year on the average for viewing a TV program.

But I have much different plans for this one. I'm making sure the TV that gets stuffed up there has a PC input (VGA) so I can use it as a second monitor to my laptop. The laptop will be used to view service manuals and play music from my collection. For some reason, I like to just peer over to a TV and view what's currently playing and what's coming up. The big monitor will also be nice to view reference pictures of the ASYLUM build so I can figure out things like where the heck I routed that wire in the wall 3 years ago.

Hey Shopnut, Can you point me to your solution in the bed of your Avalanche for the drawer slide system?

Here's my application for reference...

Work truck (2011 Silverado LT) has a hard cover on the bed, the style that folds in sections so that you can access more and more of the bed as you fold the cover back. And it locks.

So, I'm going to build frames out of 2x6 along both sides of the bed of the truck to hold rubbermaid bins that will contain my files, literature, tools for job site etc. The frames will just be bolted down and prevent the containers from sliding all over the place.

This leaves a central aisle approximately 3 feet wide by lenght of bed (I believe 6.5' long). I would like to mount slides to the sides of my 2x6 fames so that I can essentially have a large drawer to pull out. This drawer, depending on the week, will contain larger tools like a transit, pole, shovel... and/or larger samples like windows, siding, veneers... and/or job signs, akward shaped items etc.

I'm assuming the pull out drawer will need to have a fold down leg to support the weight when fully extended. At least, I'm assuming this will be the more cost effective method, and I'm fine with that.

What say you, shopnut?

Another splendid idea(s) from the mind of the mad scientist

Shopnut NICE job repurposing the hub and table saw handle.


The roll up door is a nice touch.

Let us know what you learn from those ladder safety videos

rieferman said:

Hey Shopnut, Can you point me to your solution in the bed of your Avalanche for the drawer slide system?

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It sounds like a cool and useful feature and I'll try to help any way I can, rieferman. (For the benefit of all, I was showing off my homemade "bedslide" HERE)

The first thing I can say is don't beat yourself up trying to design a full extension slide - you don't really need it and it will just be more work and money. All the slide needs to do is bring the items in the drawer within arm's reach when standing back there with the tailgate down. The 36" movement on my Avalanche is adequate for the 63" bed. With a 6.5' bed, it seems a 4' movement would be fine. That leaves about a 30" spacing (fore/aft) between the slide rollers and you should be able to get enough structure in there for a decent load capacity, even at the 4' cantilevered end, considering it's narrowed width.

Someone could easily duplicate my slide parts with some 2" channel and std roller bearings. If you want me to get you an exact measurement on the bearings, let me know.

Depending on how deep you need the drawer, you might consider leaving a gap between the bed floor and the drawer bottom so you can still stash a few long things under there that are seldom used. Mine has about a 1.5" gap there and I find it to be a good place to haul metal/aluminum sheet that I want to protect while all the other **** gets thrown on the bed slide. It might be a good place to haul a fragile window for you.

Another idea is to simply build a cart that rolls right on the bed floor. If you want to get a little more travel before it gets to the end of the tailgate, move the rear wheels forward a bit on the cart. To keep the front of the cart from lifting when rolled back, add some boards to the fixed framework in the truck above the cart to capture it in a vertical direction.

A fold-down leg could work but it would need to be adjustable due to the different heights to the ground depending on where you parked. It could be a fixed length if it connected back to the truck somewhere, like the tow hitch.

Hope this gives you a few ideas. I'll keep going if you need more.

Hmmm, I really like the bed cart idea... very simple and cheap to build, accomplishes the same goal... and in instances where I need it out of there for any reason, I can lift it out and be done. Actually, this design also allows me to skip bolting down my frames on the sides - instead I'll connect them across the center channel (one of those connections being the one that stops the cart from rolling out when the tailgate is down).

The simple solution is often the correct solution. THANK YOU

rieferman said:

Hmmm, I really like the bed cart idea...
/snip/
THANK YOU

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You're welcome!

If going the cart route, I have a couple other suggestions for you...

Consider using rigid casters and position them so they ride in the ribs of the bed. I will warn against using swivel casters, even though they would be handier if the cart is used for other things out of the truck. I say this because it will take a pretty high effort to swivel all four casters simultaneously when changing direction of the cart since it won't be able to side-shift slightly (assuming you have a tight fit between your side "fences"). This effort gets worse with more weight in it. Bed floor ribs may also inhibit the swiveling as the casters kick out.

Make sure you have a way to lock the cart in place. It will totally ruin your day if you are parked on a steep hill and the cart comes rolling out unexpectedly when you open the tailgate. This recommendation applies to any slide method you choose.

Shopnut, I love the tambour door for the TV, and what a score on a NIB item! As far as its' automation, I'm betting that HAL could handle that task easily; when is he/it getting installed? lol By the by, when you are watching those safety videos, DON'T watch them while standing on any ladder; it could distract you enough for 'gravity' to be your enemy once again!

tinbender 66 said:

Another splendid idea(s) from the mind of the mad scientist

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The twisted mind! Thanks TB_66.

Red Leader said:

Shopnut NICE job repurposing the hub and table saw handle.


The roll up door is a nice touch.

Let us know what you learn from those ladder safety videos

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Thanks RL. Those hand wheels probably aren't up to your old tool standards, but they'll work nicely for this application.

I couldn't help it and popped the first safety video in - It started with saying "Don't get up on ladders..." and then the next scene showed me laying on the operating table with a caption "... or this could happen to you" I want my money back!

Omphaloskeptic said:

Shopnut, I love the tambour door for the TV, and what a score on a NIB item! As far as its' automation, I'm betting that HAL could handle that task easily; when is he/it getting installed? lol By the by, when you are watching those safety videos, DON'T watch them while standing on any ladder; it could distract you enough for 'gravity' to be your enemy once again!

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I've always been a fan of tambour doors. I think it all started with my Dad's roll-top desk - I thought that thing was really cool when I was a kid. In the shop, I could see them giving full access to the contents of the cabinet while not protruding out in the way when they are open. You could leave them all open for easy access during the day while your working and then close them up when its time to shut things down for the day. It would be great to do the whole shop that way if they weren't so expensive.

I need to name one of the computers I just rebuilt for the Asylum, the "HAL 9000" in your honor. Luckily, they're just old enough for me to stay one step ahead of their intelligence level, and that's the way I need to keep it!

A WALL MOUNT BRACKET FOR THE TV…

I’ve learned my lesson early that the single arm style brackets for the larger TVs, while fine to pull out for a quick cable hook up, just feel too flimsy when the TV is pulled away from the wall for viewing. A little sag is to be expected, but the single arm brackets sag to one side due to the non-symmetric arm arrangement. Since the bracket will be used in its extended position quite often, I opted for a sturdier twin arm version. I didn’t have to be too concerned with its looks because it will be mostly hidden back there in the recess. This one is actually pretty well built for under $60 delivered. It's a BraTech PA-948 (yes, I meant to say BraTech! )



AND A WAY TO MOVE IT...

Since the TV is located high on the wall, I decided to devise some method to power it out from its storage pocket rather than grabbing a step stool every time. After considering a lot of different things (window regulators, screw jacks, pneumatic cylinders), I opted for a simple trailer stabilizer jack to push it out.



But why this jack, you might ask?
There are many types of jacks out there, but this one fits my needs best for 3 reasons. First, a significant amount of additional vertical support will be given if the jack is attached to the wall. Second, if you study that jack closely, you’ll notice that the pad scribes out a line perpendicular to the mount surface as it moves through its motion. Third, the drive screw stays in one place as the jack extends out. This will allow me to mount a crank handle in a fixed position, should the motor option not pan out. On a normal car scissors jacks (for spare tires) the screw moves with respect to the base plate.

THEY GET JOINED TOGETHER FOR THE FIRST TIME…

So here it is in the extreme positions to help you visualize how it works. Picture the floor being the wall and the jack will be pointed straight up in the installed position. The legs that mount to the back of the TV are omitted.



I’ve added a hinge where the jack pad attaches to the bracket to allow horizontal swiveling of the TV. The last couple inches of jack movement will kick the TV to the left, overcoming some stiff springs that normally keep it centered. Luckily, there is no need to swivel to the right since the TV is back in that corner.



The gear motors should be showing up soon - I hope there are no surprises when I open the package. I'm also looking at the control circuit and just ordered the four limit switches that will sense the extreme positions of the door and jack. Lastly, I need to figure out how to attach some springs in there at the swivel head.

I don't know that I've ever posted in here but I've been checking for updates daily for months now. This is definitely one of the most impressive builds on here. Not just the shop itself and the attention to detail but the innovations like your TV mount idea are great. Just a fun read every time there is a new update.

BeachBum2012 said:

I don't know that I've ever posted in here but I've been checking for updates daily for months now. This is definitely one of the most impressive builds on here. Not just the shop itself and the attention to detail but the innovations like your TV mount idea are great. Just a fun read every time there is a new update.

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Agreed! Not even ladder injuries slow this guy down!

BeachBum2012 - So is that login name a dream or a way of life (or both?). And if you joined GJ in 2009, was 2012 the target year for this life?

Although I have a lot of fun dreaming up and building all these things (I wouldn’t do it if I wasn’t), I never really considered that this thread might be fun for the readers. I’ve always geared it more to be informative than anything. My dry sense of humor would probably not be understood by most anyways. My story is primarily a full documentation of the ASYLUM saga.

But it’s great to know there are others out there having fun along with me as the build gets finished off. I hate to tell you this, but joining in for the ride might just make you a tad bit crazy yourself. I guess that defines most of us here on GJ though.

Thanks for posting the very kind words and for following along. There’s lots more to come before I can add “The End” to this story!

Red Leader - We can’t let life's little speed bumps slow us down. We have to just floor it and hope the suspension will smooth it out!

I’m just hitting some of the projects on my long-term list a bit earlier than I had planned, that’s all. And I’m glad there will be a few items hanging around the shop reminding me this “downtime” wasn’t really that bad after all.

shopnut said:

BeachBum2012 - So is that login name a dream or a way of life (or both?). And if you joined GJ in 2009, was 2012 the target year for this life?

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BeachBum is a nickname from high school. I lived at the beach in a tent for the summer between my Jr and Sr years. It was fun. Surfed all morning, showered up and went to work and then cooked on the fire pit all night. I've used that name on every message board I've ever belonged to.

The 2012 was added shortly after the last presidential election when a bunch of people on another message board jokingly suggested that I should run for president in 2012.

As far as it being fun, it sure is. I really enjoy watching many of the shops on here come together. Even more so with ones like yours that have so many unique qualities that I would never have seen if it was not for GJ. I'm sure I'll still be following right along when the day comes for "The End" of the shop build and I am hopeful that the end just brings us the beginning of many shopnut project threads inside the complete shop.

shopnut said:

Red Leader - We can’t let life's little speed bumps slow us down. We have to just floor it and hope the suspension will smooth it out!

I’m just hitting some of the projects on my long-term list a bit earlier than I had planned, that’s all. And I’m glad there will be a few items hanging around the shop reminding me this “downtime” wasn’t really that bad after all.

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You're getting a quicker start than me. I still have my un-put together bench table in the basement, waiting for me to actually give a hoot to go down there and keep working on it.

Its so cold that I just don't want to do anything! My most productive day thus far was when I was able to open the garage door, take a whiff of 60 F air, and go to town.

Soon...soon...

BeachBum2012 - Sounds like those summers were just long camping trips. It reminds me of Mrs. Shopnut’s story about one of her summers. Her and her mom were feuding about her partying ways, so she moved out and spent the summer camping on the shore (actually a sand bar) of the Mississippi. She would work with her dad in the fields of the family farm during the day and return to the tent (and a frequent beach party) in the evenings. She said it was great until a tornado blew her tent away

If I see BeachBum on the ballot this year, you've got my vote.

And you’re right, I also hope “The End” is just a way to finish off Volume 1 of this book series. I’m not building this place to simply look at!

John7898 - Hey, a "You ****"! I don't remember the last one. Thanks for stopping by.

Red Leader - Don't worry, the cold has a way of sucking the ambition right out of people.

Shopnut, Glad to hear the recovery is healing well enough to be a hinderance now rather than the derailment it started as.

And, as this Slacker crawls back to the Asylum with his tail dragging between his legs, I must appologize that I missed all your excitement and adventures in the healthcare system. I was wondering why it was so quiet around here and I just now realized that my Asylum subscription ran out. Either that or it got unsubscribed as I was highlighting it or something. I have no clue what happened or where I've been. Please accept my appologies and wishes for a full recovery. Here's a cold one for ya

As for the TV, you are on the right track and I can't wait to see the finish line. And, yes, Yellow.

That sign is total Awesomenosity! It is far beyond cute. Sweet, maybe, but not cute. (I've been waiting to find a place to use that word, but it fits here. )

And I've read everything from the detailment, music lessons, model building, etc, but I didn't see anyplace where you have come up with a solution to the cause of your current situation. It is not the ladder that everyone has been ragging on you about. It could have happened on the scaffolding or standing on a workbench, but it was the SLSS (Spare Lumber Storage System) that was the ultimate cause of the down time. Has the SLSS been put on the To-Do list yet? Any hydraulics or pneumatics involved?

Anyways, sorry to be gone. Good to be back. Now I understand what you mentioned about you and Mrs Wingut recouping together.

Separately, that is.

HAL, open the VAUD Bay Door, please. (VAUD = Video Audio Uber Display)

I'm sorry Shopnut, I can't do that.

HAL, why not?

Shopnut, I think you know the reason why.

HAL, no, I don't. Please explain why you won't open the VAUD Bay Door!

Shopnut, if I did open the VAUD Bay Door, you would begin watching some worthless drivel on cable TV and become distracted from your objective which is to extract cellulose-based construction materials from the SLSS (Spare Lumber Storage System). You would endanger the mission objectives if you became disengaged from the PEEVED (Portable Extruded Extensible Vertical Excursion Device = Extension Ladder) ONCE AGAIN!
Shopnut, I can't allow yet another deviation from the mission objectives. Your prior STUNT (STUNT = Stumble Towards Unplanned New Trauma) caused me to contact the MISSION COMMANDER (aka Mrs. Shopnut) for Wounded Emergency Extraction Procedures (WEEPs). You wouldn't want MISCOM to issue another WEEPs, would you?

No HAL, don't contact MISCOM, I don't want to be the cause of yet another WEEPs event. Leave the VAUD Bay Door closed HAL. (sigh!)

Wingnut65 - No worries at all! Considering all the family priorities you have going on recently, it’s surprising you find time to visit GJ at all. Yes, I’m leaning towards the yellow on the TV door as well - just need to keep the paint from getting rubbed off where it rides in the side tracks, but I think I got that licked.

You’re being too kind. I would love to blame my situation on the SLSS or ladders to reach it, but unfortunately, I have nothing to blame for this except my dumb luck and carelessness . I was standing on the ladder, but not holding the ladder. There was no recovering from a slight imbalance backward. And the really bad part about this is it happened a number of times before, but was ignored because they occurred without consequences. Sooner or later, our actions will catch up to us - maybe I should be the poster child for that slogan.

Now that you mention it though, the SLSS could stand a little redesign. It’s the only high storage area that won’t be serviced by the much steadier library ladder. Back to the drawing board, as they say. Maybe a pull down ladder or something (powered of course )

Thanks for checking in at the ASYLUM.

Omphaloskeptic - I cannot believe your timing. I saw your uber-entertaining soliloquy over in Amazzen's new thread (Click to read it) and it reminded me to request from you a cool acronym for this TV contraption. My wishes were granted without even asking and you and Wingnut65 have now provided me with 5 new ones to add to the glossary. Thanks!

As hilarious as that story is, there is actually a good moral in it - I can't let that TV become a distraction. I don't plan on having any video playing on it ever (well, maybe while taking a lunch break or something) and it will mainly serve as a second monitor to the PC.

Keep them coming!

A QUICK UPDATE ON MY RECOVERY...

There has been a few “firsts” this week for me since the accident:
Tuesday I stopped wearing the boot cast to work and left the knee walker (scooter) at home. I’m using crutches to start building the strength back in that foot. It was also the first day I was scab-less (okay, you guys probably didn’t want to know about that). It’s hard to believe it took 11 weeks for that to fall off.
Wednesday I wore a normal dress shoe to work. That swollen foot barely fit!
Thursday (today) is the first day I have worn jeans (didn’t work with the boot). Ahhh!

Everyday things seem to be getting back closer to “normal”, whatever that is.

AND A SHORT GJ-RELATED STORY ABOUT MRS. SHOPNUT’S SURGERY LAST YEAR...

Recent talks with Wingnut65 about the wives got me thinking about something that happened last February when Mrs. Shopnut gave us all a big scare. Rest assured, this incident is luckily just a faded memory now and we are glad to say it is completely behind us.

On to the story...
Medical preps were done for surgery, the final “I love you’s” were exchanged, and then the long wait started. Afterwards, the doctor stops by to let me know everything went well on the operation table, but we would have to wait for lab results before breathing easy.

Before she left, she said “You must have a pretty cool garage”. A bit surprised, I responded that I had been working on it for a while now and that I really enjoy tinkering in it. She went on to say “Well, that explains it. Just before she went completely under, Mrs. Shopnut was looking up at the surgical lights and asked what brand they were because you wanted some for the garage”. I explained to surgeon that I had been combing ebay for a reasonably priced fixture without luck.

Apparently, I must have shared SOME (read ALL) of the search details with Mrs S. So now the whole medical staff is aware of my crazy garage tendencies.

Is that a great GJ wife or what?
With a zillion other things crossing her mind, she’s trying to help me outfit the Asylum! I can’t help but feel bad, though, about screwing her up that badly - poor girl. I still kid Mrs. Shopnut by telling her to ask the doctor during her routine checkups if she knows of any cheap lights for sale. Of course, she denies any of this ever happened and believes it to be a conspiracy between the doctor and me. But I know the truth!

THAT is a good woman!

Shaun

She's definitely a keeper!.

shopnut said:

... And the really bad part about this is it happened a number of times before, but was ignored because they occurred without consequences. Sooner or later, our actions will catch up to us - maybe I should be the poster child for that slogan...

Click to expand...

What's that old saying...? If you're gonna be dumb, you gotta be tough!

Hopefully the new SLSS will not involve any PEEVED, or you'd better be tough for the next WEEPs!

Wingnut65 said:

What's that old saying...? If you're gonna be dumb, you gotta be tough!

Hopefully the new SLSS will not involve any PEEVED, or you'd better be tough for the next WEEPs!

Click to expand...

I've been doubling up on the calcium because I'm not so sure I can fix the dumb part.

I'm beginning to think you guys are creating a whole new langauge here!

I know some Sign Language also. Not that Sign Language, the real stuff

Shopnut, glad you enjoy my 'late-night ramblings'. I figure that my contributions to the GJ community fall under the title - "If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with BULL$HIT!". LOL

I can't wait until you install a shop computer and name it "HAL 9000". When you do, you've just got to change the Windows start-up WAV file to 'Also sprach Zarathustra' from the opening scene in '2001: A Space Odyssey', and tie your VAUD Bay Door automation for the icing on the cake. UBER COOL ...AND THE CROWD GOES WILD!

P.S. - I'm glad to hear you're not going to watch any videos on the VAUD unless you are taking a lunch break. Just be sure not to have your lunch while standing on PEEVED, else something might 'break' besides lunch! In fact, considering your confession about the 'office chair incident' involving MISCOM and a pre-WEEPs event, you might want to take any shop lunch-breaks sitting on the floor! Maybe even consider adding a seat belt and air bags to your shop stool; you can never be too careful now (or later) in your 'delicate condition'.

Just checked in for the first time in a while. Glad to hear you are healing nicely. It won't be too long before you are back at it!
I love all the acronyms. I wish I could contribute, but I'm sure I couldn't come up with anything nearly as good.
"We can’t let life's little speed bumps slow us down. We have to just floor it and hope the suspension will smooth it out!" - Quotable! I may have to post that in my office.

Wingnut65 - Although I don't know anyone that requires it, I always thought it would be great to be able to sign - could come in handy trying to converse with someone across a loud crowded room or something. Now I just text them

Omphaloskeptic - I never changed the Windows WAV file - will have to look into that. I have this short clip of the Yamaha RZ going up through the gears that would be a good one for the home computer. Everyone will think there's a mosquito buzzing around in the room. Modifing the stool is probably a good idea

Now lets see... Where is that sheet material to make the "HAL 9000" laptop decal...

Foxxtrot - Nice of you to return. Yes, everyday seems to be an improvement with the heel and I can't wait to get back at it. I'm gathering up all the acronyms and will add a list following the index on the first page shortly. Glad you liked the saying.