2 Sluggo's Garage

[rmalkow2]

In between other chores today I was able to continue the progress a little on the DP restore project.

Today's task was to pull the head apart so first off was the motor plate. It's clearly not original and is a fabricated part maybe to replace a broken original at some point? But it's constructed well enough and I know it fits so it will get re-painted and used. Mixed in with some black paint was a lot of heavy surface rust so when the cup wire brush was not enough, out came the grinder and I have one side rough cleaned. Finish it up tomorrow.

Next up was a learning process to blow apart the head unit. Some things were easy and obvious. A couple areas needed a quick bit of internet research to understand how it is assembled. I found the pulley assy quite interesting with 3 little screws holding the v pulleys to a plate that also captures the gear assembly that attaches to the main shaft. Interesting design.

 

[Alexbn921]

Dp is coming along nice. Can't wait to see it all back together and running.

 

[rmalkow2]

Not much to update lately but I've felt guilty about not making progress on various projects. Work and life in general has just been kicking my **** for awhile now so that there is no extra time or energy to work in the garage.
The drill press head is still blown apart awaiting my attention. I'm looking forward to two weeks off at Christmas and New Years time. Maybe in between all the holiday events I can get some project time going again.
This past weekend required a bit of garage tetris again to eek out a few more inches of walk around space and to get my Harley back in the garage. I had toyed with the idea of storing it in a portable garage I set up next to the house but, in the end if was just not a good idea and too far from power for the battery tender. So some tools and other items went to the portable garage and that made room to fit the Harley back inside and close to a wall outlet.

It's tight but the HD has a secure winter home and so does the Mustang and there's just enough room by the door for the snow blower if and when we need it this winter.

As of tonight there's another new addition to the garage fleet but I'll have to show that tomorrow when I can take pics in the daylight. Found a pretty good deal off CL tonight.

 

[taumac]

I believe that no one is getting much done lately. For me it's the time change just really affecting me this year more than pass. If I do get the time I don't have the motivation to do anything. Good job getting everything in garage. I envy your 2weeks off at this time of year. Hopefully get some good quality time with the family and enjoy the holidays.

 

[1/2 Cup]

Looking forward to seeing your new addition rmalkow.

I can relate to your work life balance, all the best with your two weeks off. I have just applied for the two weeks myself.

Regards

 

[rmalkow2]

Trailer Upgrade

Something I've wanted for a long time is a car hauler but had decided that it was too costly right now and would have to wait. Even decent used ones around here are $1200 - $1500 and new ones are $1700 to $2000.
So when this one pops up on CL this week for $1000 my interest is peaked. I make a time to look it over last night and during the discussion the owner says he is not firm on the price and just wants it gone. BINGO! Since it does need some work I offer him $700 and he accepts and even tows it home for me since I was not really prepared to do so at the time.

It got a bit of a tan colored paint job because of recent rains and my muddy road but it really is painted black. Twin 6000 lb axles on a pretty sturdy built steel frame and deck with the dove tail back half design to make loading/unloading easier. It does need permanent lights added and some fenders and then some personalization adders like tie down points etc. But the basic utility is there for bargain pricing so I'm happy and will improve it over time.

 

[marbil]

I love the pic in post 243 because it looks like my garage, LOL! we definitely have what I call working garage's.

 

[rmalkow2]

Ha,ha,
Most of the time it's called start day, move car out, move HD out, re-position tool cart and tool box, clean off work bench and then start the first project of the day. When done, put everything back for the night and repeat process next day.
But you are right. Many of us have these "working garages" and still get things done some how.

 

[taumac]

LMAO, that's too funny but very very true. I love seeing "Normal" garages where it's your everyday Joe getting it done. Sometimes when on a weekend project wife's says before you come in for the night just make a path. LOL. Our garage is main way we get in house. I can't remember last time I actually used my keys to unlock the front door. Oh yeah I do, when the battery died in keypad for the garage door. LOL

Nice score on the trailer. So how many trailers you got now. Thinking 3?

 

[1/2 Cup]

Great score rmalkow try and buy a trailer like that out here for that price.

 

[Grumblebum]

Nice trailer score RM. A bit of TLC will make that a nice addition to your shop. If you get a chance cap off all those open ends on the tube to stop all the **** getting in there and rusting it out on you.

Cheers GB

 

[rmalkow2]

LMAO, that's too funny but very very true. I love seeing "Normal" garages where it's your everyday Joe getting it done. Sometimes when on a weekend project wife's says before you come in for the night just make a path. LOL. Our garage is main way we get in house. I can't remember last time I actually used my keys to unlock the front door. Oh yeah I do, when the battery died in keypad for the garage door. LOL

Nice score on the trailer. So how many trailers you got now. Thinking 3?

I hear you regarding house access, I never use the front door either.

Evidently I have too many trailers because I had to actually stop, think and count when I read your question.
The current total is 5. One for the small fishing boat, small flat bed, 6 x 12' covered, new car hauler and the tow dolly if you call that a trailer. The tow dolly is no longer needed and will be sold to further offset the cost of the car hauler. Good thing I have lots of back yard property.

 

[rmalkow2]

Nice trailer score RM. A bit of TLC will make that a nice addition to your shop. If you get a chance cap off all those open ends on the tube to stop all the **** getting in there and rusting it out on you.

Cheers GB

Thanks, that's a great idea closing off the open ends. I will add that to the future upgrade list and something I can do for almost no cost using scrap bits of steel and the welder.

 

[madoc1]

good work on the dp so far. I finished mine this summer. a dp220 like yours. the head and base were almost solidly rusted to the post, so it took lots of kroil am blaster to get then loose. as you said, good info on the net and also here in the tool section. also there are original manuals to help that not expensive. good luck.

jim

 

[HSpencer]

I understand busy. I am not getting any time to work in the garage lately either. But, I want to wish you and yours a great holiday season!!

Best Regards
Herb

 

[rmalkow2]

good work on the dp so far. I finished mine this summer. a dp220 like yours. the head and base were almost solidly rusted to the post, so it took lots of kroil am blaster to get then loose. as you said, good info on the net and also here in the tool section. also there are original manuals to help that not expensive. good luck.

jim

Jim,
That DP turned out really nice. I hope mine looks near that good when finished. My table and base won't be matching but close enough and functional. Great job there saving one more old tool.

 

[rmalkow2]

I understand busy. I am not getting any time to work in the garage lately either. But, I want to wish you and yours a great holiday season!!

Best Regards
Herb

Thanks Herb, Sounds like you've been busy serving a very worthy need. I am always thankful to all that have served to keep this country safe and free.
Merry Christmas to you and your family.

 

[rmalkow2]

A very Merry GJ Christmas to all!!

 

[rmalkow2]

Trailer Pulling Upgrade

That new car hauler trailer shown back in post 246 is a pretty heavy beast so over the Christmas break from work I had been looking at vehicles for sale in the mind of replacing my current 2006 Freetar van. The van has a fairly good big V6 and came with all the factory tow package cooler, wiring etc. But, it's got 198k miles and would not be the best choice for towing heavy loads very far. I might be tempted to pull with this across town but not cross country.
I got extremely lucky on CL one day and caught an ad right after it was posted which meant my response was first in line.
I had to snap this up before anyone else did. A 2007 Ford F150, 5.4L V8 with 4x4 and towing package. Very excited and got it at a great price. This will be more than capable of pulling things to and from the garage/home.

Previous owner used this very little and kept in immaculate and garaged since 2009 when he purchased as 2nd owner. Only has 106k miles so there should be a lot of life left in it for me.

 

[taumac]

Nice looking truck there. Should give you years of good use.

 

[HSpencer]

Yes a great looking truck indeed. No visible hurt showing on that one. As said, that should serve you well for a long time. Good buy on it, and I would have been all over it if I were looking for one. That is one cool truck and I am sure the owner kept it top shape in all areas.

Congratulations on a good find!

Best Regards
Herb

 

[1/2 Cup]

That truck looks sweet.

 

[Grumblebum]

Cool truck RM, the modern F trucks are very expensive here as they have to be imported and converted to RH drive.

There are a few companies that import and do conversions of Tundra's, F-trucks and Ram's etc like these guys http://www.performax.com.au

" 2007 Ford F150, 5.4L V8" is it gas or diesel ?

Cheers GB.

 

[rmalkow2]

Not much going on in the garage itself as it has just been too cold here and the garage is in full winter storage mode right now so I would not have the room to turn around for a project anyway. Just doing winter maintenance things like keeping batteries charged etc.
So I decided the inside workshop area down in my basement has needed some well deserved attention. To be honest I've let it slide for a long time and just got in the habit of piling up things on work surfaces and basically eliminating any usable bench top space. I confess to being a slob at times but I feel some motivation coming on so it started with just putting things away and cleaning up a little.
I won't bore anyone with the cluttered before picture as I'm sure you are all familiar with a messy bench. Maybe a very small gain but my mitre saw station was just piled up with stuff and there was no chance of cutting a piece of wood. So everything got sorted and put away properly and at least this table is cleared and usable again. And it was put to use today.

I have plans swimming around in my head to re-layout the space and make it much more organized. One small project at a time.

 

[1/2 Cup]

You are doing well rmalkow

Little at a time wins it every day. Focus on one area at a time I find that if I don't and just look at the bigger picture it gets all too hard some times.

Regards

 

[rmalkow2]

Todays project in the basement workshop was improved lighting over my main work bench. For years I've had the typical cheap 4ft fluorescent fixture with two bulbs. I bought these years ago because they were cheap and usually worked and give off less heat than incandescent in close quarters. This one over my main bench has had issues for a long time. One bulb burned out and the other one flickers like Frankensteins Lab for awhile every time you turn it on.

I could just go out and buy new bulbs and hope that was the only issue but I've wanted to finally get into the world of LED home lighting. So this project would be to improve overhead lighting, use LED bulbs and otherwise use all parts I have on hand from recent garage sale or auction purchases.
I've had this brand new in the box track light fixture for awhile that I purchased for $5 at an auction and have all the other electrical items in stock.

I dug out a spare electrical box and hardware to use and decided to make this something I could plug and unplug if I ever wanted to move it. So, an old power cord was sacrificed to make a nice long power cord with grounded plug.

Since the mitre saw station is clear I could actually use it to cut a couple cross pieces from some scrap 2x2 and use them to mount the track up above the work bench. If it ever needs to move or be replaced its a simple unplug and remove two screws.

So far I'm liking the cool soft white light of the Par 30 LED flood lights and the ability to aim them is helpful as I can cover the work bench below as well as the drill press to my right and also the band saw (not shown) off to the left of the bench area. Need more light in one area it's simple to re-aim one of the fixtures.

 

[rmalkow2]

You are doing well rmalkow

Little at a time wins it every day. Focus on one area at a time I find that if I don't and just look at the bigger picture it gets all too hard some times.

Regards

Totally agree 1/2 cup. Hard to do for me sometimes though. I tend to look at the big picture and then give up when the total task seems overwhelming. But the process hopefully will be one task at a time and enjoy the small improvements. Sometimes its just 15 minutes with the shop vac cleaning up but it all helps.

 

[taumac]

I like the track lighting. I glad to see you using it cause it's really functional depending on fixture. They now make led replacements for the halogen bulbs that where in mine. I can't wait for them cause those halogens get super hot.

 

[rmalkow2]

I like the track lighting. I glad to see you using it cause it's really functional depending on fixture. They now make led replacements for the halogen bulbs that where in mine. I can't wait for them cause those halogens get super hot.

I hear ya about the halogens, they put out a lot of heat and its hard to use them when the fixtures are mounted close to you. I think the LED's will work out great but time will tell.

 

[1/2 Cup]

I hear ya about the halogens, they put out a lot of heat and its hard to use them when the fixtures are mounted close to you. I think the LED's will work out great but time will tell.

Just on Halogens our State Government is offering FREE replacement of the globes with LEDs and since we have about 24 here I am going to take them up.

Regards

 

[rmalkow2]

Free replacements! Wow, 1/2 cup I guess that is your tax dollars at work for you. But a good deal none the less. LED's are still quite expensive over here. To change that many out at one time would cost a pretty penny. As I use up my stockpile of incandescent bulbs around the house I'll start changing slowly over to LED's I think. Never been a fan of the CFL's as they still have toxic materials in them and to me they never were really that much better.

 

[1/2 Cup]

Free replacements! Wow, 1/2 cup I guess that is your tax dollars at work for you. But a good deal none the less. LED's are still quite expensive over here. To change that many out at one time would cost a pretty penny. As I use up my stockpile of incandescent bulbs around the house I'll start changing slowly over to LED's I think. Never been a fan of the CFL's as they still have toxic materials in them and to me they never were really that much better.

I have replaced all our CFLs with LEDs and they are no cheaper out this neck of the woods I can assure you. So when there is an Energy saving incentive like that I am in on it for sure.

Here is a link.

http://switchon.vic.gov.au/more-ways-to-save/energy-saver-incentive


Regards

 

[rmalkow2]

Basement Shop Cleanup Cont'd

This week I'm back in my basement shop area to continue cleanup and organization. Outside temps here only in the teens so inside jobs are the order of the day.
Entering the shop area and past my first work bench is a corner area that I have storage cabinets and my main band saw located and has become the easy place to pile up spare wood, project pieces and just junk. The storage cabinets were never arranged wisely and I have always had another older band saw sitting there gathering dust and becoming a place to pile stuff on. This was a saw made by my father from a kit he bought many years ago before he could afford to buy a better machine. I never should have kept it when he passed but it just had too many memories for me. So it got moved to a back corner out of the way and then the storage cabinets were located side by side. Then after vacuuming up a lot of dust it has cleaned up that corner considerably and made room for a couple of small tool cabinets I use in there. Now to keep it this way and move onto the rest of the shop area maybe next weekend.

Before.

After.

 

[1/2 Cup]

Looking great rmalkow what a difference.

Now that you have gone this far it makes the task of keeping things in order that much easier.

The added bonus I find is that it gives a shop a nice feel about it.

Regards

 

[taumac]

You got a basement shop and the garage. OH boy YOU ****!!! I wish I had a basement SOOOOOOO BAD. I'm so jealous. Basement shop looks great. Did I mention YOU ****! LOL

 

[rmalkow2]

Looking great rmalkow what a difference.

Now that you have gone this far it makes the task of keeping things in order that much easier.

The added bonus I find is that it gives a shop a nice feel about it.

Regards

Thanks 1/2 cup and I agree it will make it easier if I keep it that way. This has been a long time coming and I've let this shop go admittedly but feeling some motivation lately to finally get it better organized and usable.

You got a basement shop and the garage. OH boy YOU ****!!! I wish I had a basement SOOOOOOO BAD. I'm so jealous. Basement shop looks great. Did I mention YOU ****! LOL

Actually have a full basement under the house which is pretty common up here in the frozen north where we have to dig pretty deep (below frost line) for a foundation anyway. It just makes sense to put in a basement for most homes. This area I claimed as a bit of a wood shop and general home project use. Band saw, table saw, router etc are in there. It is also the area that contains the house furnace and hot water heater so I wanted it closed off anyway. I still got lots more to do to get the whole area usable. Lumber storage to build, more shelves are likely and sorting and tossing things I don't need. Already made one trip to recycling and am working up another load.

Thanks for the encouragements.

 

[taumac]

Thanks 1/2 cup and I agree it will make it easier if I keep it that way. This has been a long time coming and I've let this shop go admittedly but feeling some motivation lately to finally get it better organized and usable.







Actually have a full basement under the house which is pretty common up here in the frozen north where we have to dig pretty deep (below frost line) for a foundation anyway. It just makes sense to put in a basement for most homes. This area I claimed as a bit of a wood shop and general home project use. Band saw, table saw, router etc are in there. It is also the area that contains the house furnace and hot water heater so I wanted it closed off anyway. I still got lots more to do to get the whole area usable. Lumber storage to build, more shelves are likely and sorting and tossing things I don't need. Already made one trip to recycling and am working up another load.



Thanks for the encouragements.

Well, I had one as a child when I lived in NY but moved from there when I was real young. I visit people in NY when there where remodeling there home. They lived in the basement until first floor and the second story was added. It was iirc first time as a adult I seen the potential of a basement. As you seen my mine and others thread the house without a basement is a huge disadvantage when trying to find places to put junk. I'm fighting to find new places to put my stuff and if I used same ideas I used in my garage in a basement. HOLY ****!!! I could empty my attic and real good part of my garage and have tons of room to spare.

 

[rmalkow2]

I have a taste of both sides of the space/storage situations. Being born and raised in Michigan I've always had a basement space in houses but then moving and living 10 years in Georgia (south of Atlanta) I came to learn the southern building method where typically there was no basement built unless you were on a steep hill maybe. So I too was using any possible storage in the limited attic space above my garage and house. And then only for things that could survive the heat up there in summer.
Having the basement is both a blessing and curse if you tend to be a collector. We've used it a lot over the years for storage and recreation purposes over the years but it definitely fits the old rule that"Stuff accumulates to fill the available space." So I end up having more stuff than I need just because I have the space there. Every so often I go on a purge rant and get rid of lots of stuff. Kinda getting there now and giving, recycling, selling or, throwing away things I can look at and say, I have not used that item for a year or two. It must go away.
Then there's storing the kids things that they don't have room for. A whole different tale of woe I won't get into here.

 

[metalhead140]

Good work on the lighting, that trailer looks like a score too!

 

[xtremek]

......Every so often I go on a purge rant and get rid of lots of stuff....

I love the feeling you get after a purge phase. Kind of like walking outside after a good rain. Everything feels clean and fresh. Good work, keep it up.