Above 1200 Sq/FT 2 Garages and a Shop

[drivesitfar]

Slim: i'm not a FAN OF THE SUPER COLD or even the cold and wet, but i really thank you for spending a few minutes to enlighten me (us) about the challenges of just walking outside or driving when it's that cold.

that round fire pit with the world cut in it are about 3 to 4 feet in diameter and I think they weigh about 400 pounds, but not sure what they are called. i think you might be correct calling them Harbor bouys and if i did find them one of the challenges i would have had was moving them around if the person selling them didn't have a fork lift. i do have a Jet pallet jack lift i can take apart and set in a trailer to set up and move heavy stuff and then take it apart and haul everything home, but sadly i never found any of these old steel buoys cause it would have been nice having one as my fire pit in my back yard if i could have got it back there.

I agree with the Steampunk ideas if the old tools really were headed for the scrap yard, but sadly a lot of people in my area are using tools that could actually be restored or that are working. my bison in my avatar is scraps and wrenches and parts welded together by a very talented welder that grew up in South Dakota.

yep I'm with you the days are starting to get longer now. i'm not sure if your area is on daylight savings time, but i'm not a fan of it where it gets dark before 4pm on December 21st.

take care and you know i like seeing you post here on GJ cause you are usually making us all smile or teaching us something.

cheers and here's to a great 2018!!

 

[JohnnieMo]

Slim - I also enjoyed reading your review of the cold weather. I grew up in Weyburn so it brought back many memories. In Calgary we will usually hit -30 once per winter, but it doesn't last. Sask typically stays about 10 degrees colder than here, plus you get the wind.

I remember working at a full service gas station as a boy. One day it hit -68C with the wind chill. (I think around -46 ambient). I remember only being able to go outside in all my gear for a max of 2 minutes. In typical Canadian fashion, that was our busiest day in the history of the station.

I remember another time when it was around -40 and I needed to empty out a propane cylinder for re-certification. To get the propane out I opened the tank and "poured" the propane on the ground. It slowly boiled off from the frozen pavement. Of course the evaporation point of propane is -43C. Not sure that was the brightest thing I've ever done.

Lastly, regarding cars, I remember running Esso 0W30 oil in my Chevy V6 back then. Pretty much what you needed to get the engine to turn over. I would only plug in when it hit -30 or below. Otherwise I never seemed to need it. My dad used to be a travelling service tech in those days and he drove every single day for 6 to 8 hours, regardless of the weather. Always drove Chevys. I guess that explains me affinity for GM. And for the record, we didn't use cardboard on the grille. It was duct tape or even carpet!

 

[slimpickins]

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[1/2 Cup]

Slim, now that is one contented cat even with the evil stare..

Looking forward to seeing more of your lamps and electronics, luv it..

 

[oldironfarmer]

heating a propane tank with an open flame should not be that big of a deal. You would have to get the metal over 600F to start to weaken it, and you aren't likely to do that.

But do remember to get the steampunk really hot before you brush it. I use a hand wire brush.

 

[rubberrodder]

Slim:yep I'm with you the days are starting to get longer now. i'm not sure if your area is on daylight savings time, but i'm not a fan of it where it gets dark before 4pm on December 21st.

cheers and here's to a great 2018!!

an older native american friend of mine summed up daylight saving time this way
" Leave it to the white man to cut off the bottom of a blanket, sew it back on at the top,and try to tell everybody it's longer now"
--Daniel "old-elk" Johnson

 

[drivesitfar]

Slim: how's the Steampunking patina on the lamp coming along? i have a tortoise shell calico (5 cat here in 30 years of that type that my wife loves) running our house and i have to put on extra thick leather gloves to play with her or she draws blood when i don't cause she's got what i call TORTI-TUDE.

hope you are getting a big warmer and thanks again for letting me know that i don't want to have anything to do with -40 degree weather cause 40 and drizzling rain all day is bad enough for this old guy.

hope you are not getting stuck out in the cold this winter.

RR: yep and the chief you are right we need to ELIMINATE DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME!!

 

[drivesitfar]

Slim: I know you wished me a happy birthday and 30th anniversary at the end of last month, but i haven't seen a post on your thread here in a while and i'm missing the SLIM HAPPY HOUR SHOW.

i know you've maybe been in a DEEP FREEZE, but with that said maybe you've got some stuff going on inside your shop to mention?

cheers

 

[slimpickins]

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[oldironfarmer]

Glad

to

see

you

are

slowly

rejoining

us.

Lamp

looks

great

to!

Glad

you

tried

the

brass

wire

brush!

 

[drivesitfar]

Slim: sorry if i'm forcing you out of a Computer DEEP FREEZE, but we all missed you and somebody has to keep things moving around here so we don't all fall asleep.

I'm very happy your little cat survived the cold and maybe a Coyote scare too.

best of luck with your internet issues and HotFr8 and his NBN in Australia is having maybe a similar or worse issue.

50's and drizzle here in the PNW this week and I'm trying to vacate one of my 20x20 storage units so we'll see if maybe by March 1st that happens.

cheers

 

[1/2 Cup]

Slim, the brushed brass looks great..

 

[drivesitfar]

Slim: it's in the 20's here tonight so hope it's maybe a bit warmer in your part of the world. also hoping you are getting your internet issues resolved.

how are you??

 

[slimpickins]

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[slimpickins]

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[1/2 Cup]

Slim your lamps are a real inspiration.

Fantastic work on your Dads gear. Its great to see the connection preserved..

 

[oldironfarmer]

Glad to see you're back, and the lamp looks great!!

The rail anvil looks like a sheet metal anvil with the long horn. That long horn is very usable to form sheet metal, don't think I'd shorten it much. I think I would grind the horn down slowly on top and both sides to take the pits out and establish the profile you want. Then grind it to eight sided, then sixteen sided and at that point start blending the flats together. You have a better opportunity that way of ending with a smooth curved shape.

 

[Bob Heine]

This is going to take me a while as I need to get some supplies and I might meed to buy a new air sander. The one I have (left behind by a tenant) doesn't work (I sense another restoration project).

Thanks for stopping by...
Cheers all!

Slim, great to see you back! The steam punk light is definitely an outstanding work of art. I do worry a little about the polishing thing -- we may not hear from you for a long time -- it's more of a bear den than a rabbit hole. Nice score on the big lights!

The rail anvil looks great to me. I'm kinda jealous because every five years we hold a Train Party and request token gag gifts only. I've received several spikes but never a chunk of rail. Next party is in 2020 so I may have to start a registry. Any ideas on a store that carries rusty rails?

I quoted your comment on the air sander because depending on the brand, there may be a replaceable cartridge that can restore an expensive sander (Dynabrade comes to mind). If it's a Harbor Freight sander, a new one is the cheapest fix.

 

[slimpickins]

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[oldironfarmer]

Come on down when the snow flies!! my apprenticeships come with a money back guarantee, room and board provided.

 

[drivesitfar]

Slim: WELCOME BACK!!

nice work on the steampunk lamp and I can see more in your future maybe. chandelier for the entry or dining room, scones for hallways and a little sumpin sumpin for the garage?

I have a similar piece of anvil and I agree with Handy that I wouldn't cut off the nose and leave it for some of those jobs you might need to bend something longer. I've also got a tin knockers anvil that is on an old homemade stand that comes in handy now and then.

good to hear your weather has warmed up and hopefully you are healthy and back on the internet so you can inject some of your needed humor into our lives again.

cheers

 

[Bob Heine]

In regard to tool polishing, I'm not sure what you mean by a bear's den? I think if I get the polishing bug too bad I'd end up having a garage where everything is shiny and I won't do any work because I wouldn't want to ruin the shiny tools! Do guys like Don Long have the shiny tools and a set of ugly ones that they actually use?

If I ever get a lead on some old rail, I'll keep you in mind!! Not sure if you'd want to pay the shipping though!

Slim, I meant there are hobby-related things that start small and then you peek down its rabbit hole and you quickly get deeper and deeper into the hole. I found polishing to be worse than most and the hole can swallow you up. You'll know you've fallen in when you are in the middle of a car repair. As you get close to buttoning everything up, you discover the bolts are dirty and the aluminum housing is stained and dull. Before you are aware it is happening, you are standing in front of a buffer putting a shine on the housing and bolts. That's the rabbit hole!

When you find yourself polishing a part that can't be seen, like the aluminum water pump on my '87 Corvette, you have fallen into the bear den.

I don't need a rail and certainly don't want my wife discovering it cost more than a new pair of shoes. I figured I would just take a walk along the railroad tracks to find a cut off piece of rail. Someone mentioned that's a felony so if I don't post for a long time it might be I found some rail.

 

[slimpickins]

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[drivesitfar]

Slim: thanks for the 411 on your life and i've been there with the cleaning up of rentals and tenants even at their best usually don't maintain it. sorry to hear you got some deadbeat. your call on whether to keep them, but as you know when you do get decent tenants the income stream is golden.

maybe your rental market will get like Seattle's soon and you'll get homeowner types renting cause they can't afford to buy anything. good luck with that.

yep if I had Don Long's skills I'd probably have my tin knocker's anvil sandblasted and painted like one of his 57 Chevys.

always like to see you posting on mine or other threads i read so hoping you get your internet issues worked out so you can post more.

cheers

 

[drivesitfar]

Slim: I saw that you had a minute to post on my Organizing thread and maybe you posted on a few others that I didn't see, but hoping to see more of your positive uplifting and often humorous posts if you have some time (and some internet connection).

also I still think if we move i'd love to build that gate at your entrance at my new home (it's probably too big for here) so if you have time to post up a few pictures of it over on my thread the next time you check in I'D LOVE IT.

hope your health (and humor) are doing well.

take care

 

[drivesitfar]

Slim: any progress on your internet issues or your life? do tell?

cheers

 

[1/2 Cup]

Slim how are things?

 

[drivesitfar]

Slim: i'm bumping up your cool thread instead of PMing you and hoping everything is OK up in your world. is it? send some smoke?

 

[oldironfarmer]

Time for the visit?

 

[drivesitfar]

Slim: I (we) are all missing your HUMOR and GOOD POSTS. hope all is well in your world and maybe since it's probably below freezing now maybe you'll have time to enlighten our world with your cheer.

take care

 

[slimpickins]

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[1/2 Cup]

Slim thank you for the update its always great to hear from you

Its not always easy to find QST life can be pretty busy at times.

All the best in slowing down over the next few weeks, enjoy it..

Thank you in regards to the fence, no hassle at all

 

[drivesitfar]

Slim: good to know you are still alive and kicking and still able to poke fun at us.

speaking of poking how is the shoulder?

good to have you back and if you visit my thread you'll find a very tasty recipe for Mexican pizza that might be one of your favorites too.

cheers and welcome back!!

I know you put a ton of work into your gate and just wondering since your weather has pretty extreme temp changes has it settled or needed any adjustments since you built it? post up another picture of it if you would cause I thought it was amazing?

take care

 

[slimpickins]

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[drivesitfar]

Slim: your gate and cement block entrance are still etched in my mind. i'd love to own a decent sized lot where i could build one (and not hurt my shoulders). I went back on your thread a bit to dig up some pictures and i couldn't find any pictures of the entire wall so if you get a minute maybe some of the other members would like to see it too if you have some to post.

I saved these to my BUCKET LIST TO DO LIST cause it's COOL and happy to hear it's still standing as you built it.

I forgot to check and see if you CLOCKED YOUR BOLTS AND SCREWS THOUGH.

cheers

 

[slimpickins]

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[1/2 Cup]

Slim, you didn't clock the bolts

 

[slimpickins]

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[Bob Heine]

Slim, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and yours. It's cool that your cat let you do that -- what kind of tranquilizer did you use?

 

[dchance]

Merry Christmas

That is a cool picture

Dwight