Above 1200 Sq/FT Blue Bomber's Garages

[smalltown]

You won't regret installing the heater. I finally put one in a few years ago and love it.

 

[BlueBomber]

More than a month since my last post doesn't mean no garage activities.
Its been a busy winter out there.

I spent one particularly cold winter Saturday in the heated garage rebuilding an Indestro 6672 1/4" ratchet.


This one was pretty easy to disassemble, and there were no sneaky springs that went sproinging out across the workbench.



The parts were not worn out, just gummed up with old grease, so I just cleaned and re-lubed everything.



After re-assembly, it definitely worked better, but still not as smoothly as others I have.

Another long-time goal of mine has been to install a powder coating oven in one of my garages. Over the years, I have saved two different kitchen stoves from rental properties, but never got around to putting them in. However, while home over Christmas, my Dad let me bring back the vintage GE double wall oven he had bought with the same purpose in mind and with the same lack of completion. It has been cluttering up a corner of his shop for several years and now that Parkinson's has deprived him of his shop time, he was happy to see it put to use.

I decided to tuck it into the far end of the storage mezzanine, opposite the entry door.



Just like behind the workbench, I insulated and sheetrocked the wall, but not before adding a junction box to the 240V circuit running to the welder outlet. I wanted to keep the floor below clear, so I made a partially hanging box from scrap 3/4" plywood to enclose the built-in wall oven.



Here's the oven after final install. Note the 2x trim piece on the front--it serves several purposes: 1) my scrap plywood wasn't wide enough to allow the oven to slide all the way in, so I needed to cover the remaining 2 inches, 2) the screw holes on the front face of the oven (that prevent the oven from falling forward out of the hole) were too far in to allow screws to bite into the vertical plywood. So, I spent some time on the table saw shaping a 2x4 to the dimensions needed to fill the gap.



The space to the right of the oven will eventually get turned into a powder coating station. I'll probably use some of the remaining oak boards I have to assemble another butcherblock work surface.



But, being the impatient person I am, I couldn't wait to try out my new equipment. I disassembled this 1978 Wilton bullet vise that will eventually be mounted on the new garage butcherblock bench.



After some bead blasting in the blast cabinet, it was ready to go. I cracked open the yard-sale-found Eastwood powder coating kit I've had for a few years. All of the original receipts were in the box--this kit was bought back in 2006 and never used.



I wrapped the oven grate in aluminum foil and selected Mirror Red from the powders that came with the kit. I sprayed down the parts with degreaser and after letting them dry, hit 'em with the powder gun. It worked okay, but despite Youtube video warnings about the difficulties in getting into tight spaces, I still managed to miss a few key areas under the static portion of the vise. I also had a few areas where the powder didn't stick, probably due to contamination. A recommended technique that I skipped is to bake the part before putting the powder on to drive out any trapped oils. Maybe next time.



Finally, since I put my lift into service, I've been wanting a tool cart to set wrenches and parts on as I work under the car. After haunting Craigslist and looking at carts on Harbor Freight, I recalled that--duh, I already own a Hazet-imitation cart that was tucked under a bench in the other building gathering dust. I pulled it out...and remembered why I had tucked it under there in the first place: one of the latches was broken. Nevertheless, since I had it out, I decided to repair it.

Here's the corner where the cart will live. Of course, the first step was to clean out the junk already there. Oh and no, the toilet is not functional--it was salvaged from another renovation and will eventually go upstairs in old garage as part of an efficiency apartment upgrade.



The problem with the latch is that the cheap sheet metal finger grip had pulled off of the locking pin. That fix was easy: I tapped the sheet metal back onto the pin and swedged the pin metal to re-grip and capture the sheetmetal. I then needed to take the entire bracket off of the shelf to get the clearance to reinstall the repaired part. That task involved drilling out the blind rivets, punching them through, installing the part, re-installing the blind rivets, and the swedging what was left of the ends to capture the bracket again. I was doubtful the repair would work, but so far it is holding.




I have more projects underway, to include helping Life Scout finish up his Eagle project that currently occupies a bay in the heated garage. That's part of today's fun.

 

[realvc]

I was going to ask why you installed a double oven in your shop but by the end of the pictures I figured it out. Way cool post.
I've got a Wilton similar to yours on one of my work benches.

Vince

 

[Fisherguy]

How wide is your mezzanine and how high is the ceiling above it?
Trying to decide how wide mine will be and how high to put it, my ceiling is 12'9". Thinking 8 feet to the bottom of the 2x6's, that would give me just over 4' up top.
Max width I can do is 5'6".

 

[BlueBomber]

How wide is your mezzanine and how high is the ceiling above it?
Trying to decide how wide mine will be and how high to put it, my ceiling is 12'9". Thinking 8 feet to the bottom of the 2x6's, that would give me just over 4' up top.
Max width I can do is 5'6".

My mezzanine sticks out from the wall 5-ft, 8-in. The central beam (a triple 2x6) supports the 2x6 floor joists of the mezzanine 2-ft out from the wall, so the beam caries the weight of the shelving and the balcony in front of the shelving cantelevers outs 3-ft, 8-in. The bottoms of 2x6 mezzanine joists are about 6-ft, 8-in above the floor, giving me just under 6-ft of head room on the mezzanine balcony. My overall garage ceiling is 13-ft, 4-in above the slab.

When I built the mezzanine, I wanted to maximize headroom on the balcony, but not at the expense of banging my head down below, where I'd spend way more time. I basically set the 2x6 beam at a height just above my noggin (6-ft, 3-in in workboots) when standing at my work bench, and started stacking from there. I have to duck my head a bit on the balcony, but its not bad.

If you just build shelving into the top four feet of your garage (no balcony) then you don't have to worry about banging your head.

Good luck!

 

[Fisherguy]

Thanks.
Mine will span 24 feet without posts, 3 - 12" LVL for the beam. Access will be by ladder only so not going to be putting engine blocks or anything super heavy up there but hopefully it will mean less clutter in the shop.
Thanks for the input.
Will

 

[BlueBomber]

One of the Life Scouts in our troop asked if he could build his Eagle Scout project in one of my garages. I said yes, in part because it forced me to clean up for company! He built a cedar composting bin for the church that sponsors our troop, and it turned out really nice. We had about 30-plus people come by over two weekends, and it was fun to share my spaces and collections with my scouting friends.

Yesterday, I worked on making a workbench next to the powder coating ovens. I added an LED shop light, insulation and drywall.



Next, I turned to the work surface. I've been wanting a stainless steel bench for a while, and I finally spotted an affordable utility table on Facebook market place. Here's the 6-ft table surface upside down on the saw horses. I was impressed at how substantial the structure was underneath.



I cut the underside braces first, and then flipped it over and cut the top.



After some trimming, here it is installed. The vises in the pics had just come out of the oven. My learning curve continues...



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[BlueBomber]

Eight inches of snow on the ground, schools and work are closed....time to start clearing the driveway!

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[BlueBomber]

Aaaaaaand Done! The plow makes for quick work of it.

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[wrenchguy]

Ever since my daughter moved to plymouth south of u 18 years ago, u guys get the best snow storms. I visit there once/twice a year working on her colonial revival home and everytime theres some great dynamic weather going on.

 

[BlueBomber]

Ever since my daughter moved to plymouth south of u 18 years ago, u guys get the best snow storms. I visit there once/twice a year working on her colonial revival home and everytime theres some great dynamic weather going on.

I grew up in Virginia, where we rarely got snow. I love it but a lot of folks up here (those who don't make money plowing it) consider snow a 'four-letter word'. Those that get paid to plow it refer to it by another name: white gold!

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[drivesitfar]

BB: how do you like the finish of the powder coating except for the few flaws you mentioned?

i've always wanted a dedicated shop oven and I actually bought one to use as one before my landlord got a divorce and needed to sell the shop I was leasing. since we won't be moving now for maybe 10 years I sold my vintage oven to a couple that remodeled their new kitchen around it. I never thought about putting a cabinet type oven in a garage and good to see you made yours work ok.

looks like the snow hasn't slowed you down and you are keeping busy with a lot of stuff so keep up the good work.

 

[BlueBomber]

Drives: the finish is not bad, but I've only coated cast surfaces so far. When I get some more jobs with smooth metal, I will post some close ups.

Your stove looks like it had a huge oven space, a significant limfac in my installation. I only have a roughly 18 inch cube to work with. I've seen some tricks online where you can leave the door down and fab a cover that effectively doubles the volume of the heated space. If I come up with anything that big that I want to coat, I'll give it a try.
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[BlueBomber]

Both kids were home this weekend, so we had a family day yesterday, hanging out and going to see the new Captain Marvel movie (a good flick).

Today, I culminated two different project, one about a year older than the other. First up was the restoration of this Wilton 9300 bullet vise.



I bought it a little over a year ago at an estate sale only a few miles from my home. It sat for a long time, as I wanted to strip it, powder coat it in an oven I had yet to set up, and bolt it to a workbench I had yet to build in the new garage. Well, now that I have powder coating oven installed and the bench done, the Wilton's time had come.

I used my homemade blasting cabinet to bead blast the Wilton and then powder coated the exterior parts, which I showed in an earlier post. I sanded out some flaws in the first coating and re-coated the vise, along with another vise I had stripped long ago and which was cluttering up a workbench. The second coating on the Wilton was not perfect, but better, and since this would be a working vise, not a show queen, I decided "good enough" had been reached. Today, I put it back together.

First, I used an orbital disc sander to smooth the shiny flat surfaces. Yes, I know the clear area on the tail piece is not meant to be used as an anvil. I left it bare for the inevitable "minor" percussive persuasion activities.



Next, I lubed and remounted the main screw and end cap, and then drove the pins back in.



I found this nifty can of Lubriko Grease previously at a sale and put a big plug of it in to lube the screw.



After assembling, lubing and mating the movable jaw to the base, I did the same to main screw, retaining plate and the swivel plate. The jaws of the swivel plate lock the vise positively to the base, and mine were relatively unworn.



Here she is, completely reassembled!



I dug into my stash and found exactly four fine thread 1/2-inch bolts of the right lengths, with nuts and washers. I had to run a 1/2 drill bit through the mounting ears of the swivel plate to knock out a few thousandths to make room for the bolts. Finally, I carried the vise over to the new garage, and after carefully centering the vise, I drilled the holes and mounted it.



The other project I finished this weekend was the restoration of a Greene & Tweed No. 4 Defense Hammer. I picked this up late last year, rusty and missing the rawhide inserts. I recently found some replacements and they arrived last week. Here's the original hammer:




And here it is after a bead blast treatment:



I masked off the handle and the top and treated it to three coats of Rustoleum Hammered Copper. After drying for an hour or so, I smacked in the new rawhide inserts.



Here are the two weekend projects together!

 

[bj383ss]

The vise and the hammer came out a treat. I have a 9400 I need to do the same too.

Bret

 

[BlueBomber]

Thanks! I like how the hammer is so heavy, it "stands" on it's face like the hammer of Thor!

 

[Arclitgold]

That looks fantastic!


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[CudaChick1968]

Cool Bullet! Just an observation from the cheap seats here, but I'd bet the little defects you have could have been eliminated if it had been outgassed for a few hours first before you blasted and coated it. It probably had some old grease or oil on it that soaked in over the years.



Keep up the fine work!

 

[Jeff Ivers]

Really nice job on that wilton and hammer!

 

[BlueBomber]

Thanks, guys! I definitely should have cooked it before stripping it and will from now on.

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[BlueBomber]

So after finishing the Green & Tweed No 4 Defense Hammer a few weeks ago, I felt a compulsion to own the other two sizes, the No 1 and No 3. Ebay enabled my impulse and I soon had two rusty examples delivered to my door.

I gave them both the glass bead blast treatment to remove the crust. Here's the No 3 after exfoliation.



Next I masked the handle on both sides...



...and gave them the Hammered Copper treatment.



Here are all three. I have rawhide inserts from Garland on order for the two smaller hammers that should arrive in another week or so.



As far as I can tell, there was no No 2 Defense Hammer by Green and Tweed. They did make a split head No 2 but that's a different hammer. So, I consider this a complete set!

 

[smalltown]

BlueBomber those hammers look quite nice. What are those types of hammers actually used for ?

 

[BlueBomber]

They were made to be non-marking hammers for aircraft and body manufacturing and repair.

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[smalltown]

Thanks BlueBomber

 

[BlueBomber]

My latest addition to the garage was a Craftsman power hacksaw. I scored it as the diamond in a big estate sale auction lot of mostly junk.



Also in the lot was the butcher block topped angle iron work bench in the above picture. Unfortunately, the bench is too big to fit in either of my garages, so I decided to make my own mobile platform from other stuff I had around the shops.

I had saved the mobile base from a scrapped Craftsman radial arm saw, but it was also a bit big, so I decided to narrow it by 3 inches.



First, I unscrewed the top from the old bench. Then. I unbolted the Craftsman base on its narrowest sides and trimmed all four pieces of metal. The beauty of these universal bases is that the holes were already aligned, even after my trim.



Next, I cut the butcher block down so that I would have an equal 4 inch overhang on all four sides. This allows the angled legs to mostly stay under the table top.



I marked and drilled mounting holes for the hacksaw and found hardware from my stash to bolt it down. I intend to drive it with a motor under the table, so I cut a slot in to top so the belt could drop down below.



More work to follow, but that's all I had time for today!

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[realvc]

Great find of the Craftsman saw and very nice custom movable table.

 

[Bears Fan]

Those hammers are cool

 

[BlueBomber]

Today I depart on a business trip. This one has a twist from my usual travel: I'll be driving back in a classic car!

As some of you have noticed, I have a white 1960 Impala 2-door hardtop, seen in background pics on this thread. Here it is on the day I brought it home:




She's complete, but a total rust bucket. I've stared at her for two years, putting off starting on metal repair knowing that I'll have years of it ahead of me before I can drive it. Well, SWMBO told me a few weeks ago that she'd much rather I have a car I can drive than one I need years to finish. I think that's her way of saying she'd rather spend time with me, and not in the garage with me! So, after looking around, I found a finished car that is in my price range.



The plan is to fly into Des Moine, Iowa on Friday and check her out. I had the dealership send me pictures of the undercarriage and floor boards, and they all look good. If the car is everything I think it is, I'll sign the papers and start driving her home via Dayton, Ohio (another business meeting) and Culpeper, Virginia (my parents).

Now, I realize driving a 59-year old car I've never seen 1700 miles has an element of risk. Okay, several elements. This car has been sitting a while, so there's a big risk of systems failing along the way. So, I planned my trip east to end on the first day at Thomas & Chris Payne's garage in Philo, IL. For those of you who don't know the Payne's, check out THE most popular garage on Garage Journal. I PM'd Thomas asking if I could stop in and get a brief tour of his garage, and being the friendly midwestern guy he is, he offered the USE of his garage if my jalopy needs any work!

Meanwhile, I packed a bunch of tools to hopefully help me avoid getting stuck on the side of the road somewhere. Here are the pics of the equipment I layed out for packing.



I also plan to buy a bunch of stuff in Des Moines (fluids, fire extinguisher, other supplies, etc) to help address any problems I might have.

Wish me luck, folks! I'll chronicle my purchase and journey in this thread as I go.

 

[captain14]

Good luck on the trip. I hope you have good weather.

Be sure to take photos of the Philo, IL. garage stop.

 

[Arclitgold]

Wahooo! Can’t wait to live the trip with you through pictures!


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[jakemac]

Ha !
TSA and baggage handling are real going to hate you !
Hope things go well for you. Enjoy the ride.


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[BlueBomber]

Ha !
TSA and baggage handling are real going to hate you !
Hope things go well for you. Enjoy the ride.


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Heaviest bag was 78 lbs.

The first test of my gear transport plan will be getting it back from the airline. I missed my connection in Dallas and had to drive to my destination. Hopefully, they'll put it on a plane tomorrow and get it here before Thursday afternoon!

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[wrenchguy]

good luck with ur trip!

 

[BlueBomber]

Woot! My airline transportable tool kit made it here, along with my t-shirts and underwear! Hopefully, American has no issues with my luggage on Thursday's two-hop to Des Moines.

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[BlueBomber]

My target Impala has no seat belts installed (they were optional equipment in 1960), so I found a pair on Amazon that I hope are long enough. I had them delivered to my hotel on the road, and I picked up the hardware for them tonight. The dealer in Des Moines has agreed to install them for me Friday after I sign the paperwork.


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[BlueBomber]

I am proud the report that the Impala lived up to its advertising, and we shook hands on it an hour ago. I'm now at lunch, waiting on the wire transfer to complete.

The car is far from perfect, but it's not priced like a perfect car, either. The windshield has some wiper scratches, and the rubber gaskets holding the glass in are cracked and rigid, but otherwise, it's pretty clear. The 20-yr old paint is glossy, but has some pocks, bubbles and scratches. Electrically, everything works (although the left turn signal took a while to report for duty). I could only find one small spot on the rockers under the car where some rust repair was done.

Mechanically, it starts right up and idles with 22 psi of oil pressure. It ran at 180-deg F for the drive around town and stops as well as a 59-yr old manual drum brake car can. There's a slight noise and twitch in the speedo needle, but again, not unexpected in a car this old. The front bushings are worn and the ball joint boots are shot, but they'll do to get me home.

My experience with the American Dream Machine team has been superb. They are located in an old Packard dealership in downtown Des Moines and have been here for 16 years. Owner Doug, his wife Lynn and sales manager Tom have been great to work with. They teamed me up with Matt, the mechanic who went through my Impala when it first arrived. We put it up on a lift and he and I went over everything he had done or knew about on the car. Example: the Powerglide ****** has a slight leak from both ends, but Matt said it has been doing that since the car arrived and hasn't gotten worse.

Matt also walked me around the dealership to look for the newest set of radials that fit my car. When they turned out to be on the Cragars that were on the car, Tom offered to give me a set of Rally wheels, which is the style I really wanted anyway. They also swapped out the ancient bias ply spare in the trunk for a good radial and wheel from their extras pile.

Finally, the seat belts I went through all that trouble to get turned out to be too short. No problem--Lynn said they could get a set from O'Reilly's and would just even trade them for me.

The belts should be installed by the time I get back from lunch. I'll post some more pics outside before I drive away. Meanwhile, here are some shots of the Impala and a bunch of other eye candy from around their facility.

Woot!

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[jakemac]

I like that blue over the all white on the one you have at home.
Enjoy you’re new ride.


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[BlueBomber]

Thanks, Jake! Here's the hero shot before I left the dealer.

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[realvc]

What cool way to buy a car and drive home. Good luck on your travels with your new ride.

I'll looking forward to see how you do with rest of your adventure.

Vince

 

[BlueBomber]

First two and a half hours have rolled by without a hitch--so far, so good. Mileage is 12 mpg--I think the Holley double pumper on this 283 is a tad large, but she's happy at 70 mph.


EDIT: Whoops, meant first 2 -1/2 HOURS, not miles. I fixed it.
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