Carl's Small Farm workshop

[gordyy]

Carl I wouldn't be in too much of a hurry on the snow shovel!
I actually saw snow last week was out with my son as they were planting beans, part of this field had corn last year that was not harvested till this spring. along the north side of the trees where they scraped the snow to form a loading area for the trucks that pile of snow is not all melted yet.. And around here the excavators are still running into frost at the 6 to 7 ft range

 

[Carl_WI]

I started making workbench cabinets. There will be three of them with a 2x4 top. The base of the cabinets are treated 2x4's that sit on the cement.

I set up the shelves so I can put in 20 gal storage containers on the bottom.

I under estimated how long this would take. There are many hours in this cabinet build.

I put the first coat of blue paint on the front frames. The doors will be light gray.

I got an estimate to have the cabinets built. Well I had to sit down on that one. They wanted $4000.00 to build and install. So far I have about $350.00 and the boxes are built. I have left over 2x4's for the top from the shop build. Maybe another $200.00 to finish up.

 

[Carl_WI]

Before I started the bench top I needed a few more saw horses. The legs were cut at 22.5 deg. Made 2 of them in about 1/2 hour out of used lumber.

The top will be 30" wide and 18' long. I used wood biscuits in between the 2x4's. I used around 50 of them.

Once the glue dried I used the belt sander to clean up the bench top.

I used Titebond III glue. This is a waterproof glue and does a great job. The big issue is the 2x4's are rounded at the edges. I plan on installing tempered hard board on top so this wont be an issue.

 

[36truck]

Great build. I LOVE the FORD blue.

 

[Carl_WI]

Great build. I LOVE the FORD blue.

I also like the Ford blue. I park my Ford 4000 tractor in this shop over winter to keep her warm. I could not park her in a Chevy colored shop... would not look right!

 

[1949 caddyman]

You can never have too many clamps! Nice bench top.

 

[Carl_WI]

Finishing the bench top. I built in a low voltage wire raceway in the back of the bench. This will be for coax, RF grounds, data network, and 12v wiring. I wired a radio station a few years ago and we incorporated wire raceways in the furniture and it worked great. This bench will be for multiple uses. One being a farm workshop, Ham radio, and my IT consulting workshop. There are times I need to stage many PC's and servers before I install them.

I clamped a router template to make the rabbet for the cover.

You can see the wire raceway through the hole. Below this part I installed an equipment rack to hold the Coax patch panel and 12v 30A power supply. This section can be removed to access the equipment rack below.

When not needed the cover is installed protecting the wiring.

The next step is to cover the bench with hard board and a backsplash.

Once the hard board is in I will install a vice in the far right corner by the overhead door. I need to cleanup the vice and paint it.

 

[BuickFarmer]

THAT IS A NICE BENCH TOP!!!!! Were those pine or spruce or ? 2x4's?

 

[captain14]

How many clamps were used in the glue up? Did you have to borrow any? If not that is a daze able collection. The cabinets and bench top turned out great.

 

[Carl_WI]

Were those pine or spruce or ? 2x4's?

They were pine 2x4's x12ft. They were left over from the shop build. They sent extra and I could of returned them but I decided it is a good thing to have extra in storage.

[QUOTEHow many clamps were used in the glue up? Did you have to borrow any?][/QUOTE]

I think I used 15 clamps. I did have to borrow 12 of them from a few friends. In total I had 16 of them for the project. This was by far the biggest glue up project I have ever done.

 

[BuickFarmer]

I need to figure out how to do the biscuits you talk about. I have some old yellow pine 2x4's from a 50 year old chicken house that don't have rounded edges. They are hard wood now and not all that straight (probably as straight as new stuff though) and probably aren't going to take to being straightened very well. did you have any problem walking them straight with those clamps.

 

[Carl_WI]

I need to figure out how to do the biscuits you talk about. I have some old yellow pine 2x4's from a 50 year old chicken house that don't have rounded edges. They are hard wood now and not all that straight (probably as straight as new stuff though) and probably aren't going to take to being straightened very well. did you have any problem walking them straight with those clamps.

The biscuits are fairly easy. You have to set the depth of cut on the biscuit cutter and make sure that you always cut from the top of the boards. I made this mistake and cut from the bottom on one board and the hole was not aligned properly so I had to re cut them on that board.
If you have a plainer run the 2x4's through that to true up the edges. The clamps straightened up the warped 2x4's with no problem. I also tried to pick out the best 2x4’s and laid out the boards before I cut the biscuits. I took a T square and ran a pencil line across the top where I wanted the biscuits to go. This also aligns the biscuits so they mate up when they are assembled. Hope this helps.

 

[BuickFarmer]

Thanks Carl, will be some time before I get to the point of building work bench and cabinets, but will give it a try.

 

[el Pedro]

Great build and some really good ideas. I love the bench top and your location is just perfect!

 

[Carl_WI]

Here is my Vise. It's an Eclipse 84-6826. I cleaned it up and repainted it. This was my Fathers Vise and it's been around a very long time. Most of the nicks or character are from me when I was a young lad.

The orginal paint on this Vise was green and I had some Rust-Oleum Hunter Green on the shelf.

Good for another 50 years.

 

[captain14]

Good job on the workbench and vice rehab. I am enjoying your progress on the shop.

Do you have anymore photos of your tractors listed in your signature line? We like tractor photos here too.

Thanks

 

[Carl_WI]

Here is the Allis Chalmers WD45 with a 2 bottom plow. Right now I am rebuilding the carb and installed a rebuilt starter. Need to pick up a new battery.

The Ford 4000 with a 3 bottom plow. This is my work horse and it's night and day plowing between the two tractors.

Raking hay.

I have to take a few shots of the IH 300 Utility tractor. Will post next week.

 

[Carl_WI]

In the news today, Polar vortex arrives for mid-July

I still have my snow shovel on my deck. I am ready.

 

[RodgerB]

great ideas thank you for posting

 

[Carl_WI]

The 1956 International 300 Utility tractor. My youngest Daughter disking in spring.
This tractor needs some work. I just recently lost high range. I am sure the clutch is warn and it will need to be split. Problem with old tractors is where do you stop when you split the tractor. Can become a money pit real fast. The problem is my Father in law gave me this tractor for a birthday present. That complicates things.

 

[Carl_WI]

What a deal on a new Campbell Hausfeld plasma cutter. Paid $399.88 for it was normally $580.00. Menards ran a sale on these last week. It states it will cut to 1/4 inch so I tried it out and it does cut 1/4 inch steel. You just have to go slow.

I was in spending mode last week and found a Craftsman tool box on sale. The bottom box was dented so I returned it and the new one will be here on Thursday. I can now get rid of my old broken, wore out, looks like ****, tool box.

Next on the list is a Mig welder. Maybe this winter.

 

[captain14]

Spending spree = supporting the economy.

The 56 IH 300 utility tractor how long can you operate it with the issue before it requires major work? It does have sentimental value, but where can the money and time best be spent? Do you have someplace to tear down and rebuild the tractor out of the weather this winter? Are parts still commonly available?

The Ford will live in the new shop, so where does the IH live?

 

[Carl_WI]

The Ford will live in the new shop, so where does the IH live?

The IH lives in my 40x90 barn. I talked to the IH dealer parts man and I can get the parts I need. I will probably split the tractor in the shop as it is heated over winter. There is enough room for that and parking the Ford in there. I plan on making a jig so I can roll the front end away from the transmission and that will make splitting easier. The cost issue is important but I do need a second tractor in summer. Since I have minimum cost in this tractor I can spend a few bucks on it. Hopefully the Allis will be running.

 

[captain14]

Good luck on the IH work. It is always one thing or another when you own a house , vehicle or a hobby. Something always needs something done to it.

When you start that project, I would like to follow your progress on your thread if you want to share.

 

[sapcpo]

Very nice build and farm. I love old tractors and farms. Nice work on everything!
It seems I and a lot of people just don't have enough time in a day to do all the projects we have. this working for a living gets in my way.

 

[Carl_WI]

this working for a living gets in my way.

I agree with this statement. It's like a dog chasing its tail. Lots of work but not really getting anything done.

 

[Carl_WI]

Finally my new toolbox. I now have all of my most needed tools in one place. I suffer from having multiple places I work on things. The other day I collected all of my tools and sorted them out.

 

[Carl_WI]

I finally got my hard board on the bench and the vice bolted down. I like the location as I can hang long objects out the door. I think I will do the same on the welding table on the other side of the 10ft garage door.
I have all of the doors cut just need to router them and paint.

I dug out the old military file cabinet from the barn and gave it a paint job to match the bench. It's still green on the inside.

I started to load wood for this winter. The Farmers almanac predicts a very cold winter. I hope they are wrong.

 

[TractorJeff]

JEEZ Carl!
Wish you hadn't posted that comment about the Farmers Almanac stating a COLD Winter!
I figured only cutting 10 to 12 face cord not 16!

 

[leftyz]

JEEZ Carl!
Wish you hadn't posted that comment about the Farmers Almanac stating a COLD Winter!
I figured only cutting 10 to 12 face cord not 16!

Same here, I didn't like that comment one bit either! lol

 

[Carl_WI]

I am really sorry for my comments about the cold. Dang I used a bad word again...

I plan on having a few extra cords this year.

 

[Carl_WI]

I felt the need to post a shot of hauling wood in March. It's a good reminder that I need to have more stocked up. Usually the wife comes along and helps load the wagons. Had to plow out a path to get to the trees. Some places it was 2 1/2 ft. deep. It's a great workout, no need to join the YMCA.

 

[leftyz]

Some of those logs look pretty hefty, do you use a loader or just toss them up by hand?

Hay wagon looks like a decent way to get them back to your yard too, if my woods weren't so overgrown and tight I'd give that a shot. Right now we just use some narrow woods trailers behind our old tractors.

 

[Carl_WI]

Some of those logs look pretty hefty, do you use a loader or just toss them up by hand?

I have a loader on the Ford 4000. I attach a logging chain on the loader. I am looking to install 2 forks on the loader so I can just pick them up and dump. Those logs are very heavy.

 

[Carl_WI]

Shop cabinet doors primed. Hopefully by the end of the week I can hang them. I used MDF board and routed the edges to round them over. I was shopping for hardware for the doors, there is allot of high priced junk out there and not many selections. I did find a contractor pack of 20 hinges for a reasonable price.

 

[magnusk750]

Tell us about the farm. Is it full time, or beside payed work? What are you growing?

 

[Carl_WI]

Tell us about the farm. Is it full time, or beside payed work? What are you growing?

The Farm is run as a business and not just a hobby that you pump money into. We grow hay, oats, apples, and a lot of vegetables. We sell hay, eggs, chicken, vegies, wool products, honey, and apple cider when we have a big enough crop. Our animals are 50 laying hens and a few roosters, 9 llamas and 5 sheep, maybe 100K bees, and the dog. We also have fish in an aquaponics system in the greenhouse. We have been experimenting with this on a small scale to work out the issues. The wife processes the wool from the Llamas and sheep and makes items to sell. We are transitioning the farm as our kids have moved out so it is not getting any easier to get all of the work done. We do hire workers as we need them to get things done like bailing hay, and cleaning the barn. Our future looks good as we are in the process of starting a Christmas tree farm/ farm store. Each year starting 2 years ago we plant 600 trees each spring. We will do this for 10 to 12 years. Should be great timing to start my retirement from the off farm job.
My off farm job, I am an Electronics Tech / Computer Tech/ IT Consultant.
Never a dull moment!

 

[Carl_WI]

Santa has come in September!

Buffalo NY Post drill press No.65

Looks like auto feed leaver. This would make a great wall display. I like to keep all of my fingers.

Blacksmith bench vice, even has part of the last bench still attached.

These will be great additions for the Blacksmith shop. Another winter project to tear down and referb.

 

[Carl_WI]

The workbench is done except for the three drawers. I will be making them this winter.

I put a piece of wood behind the drawer fronts and screwed them to the board through the drawer pull holes.

 

[1/2 Cup]

Your bench's are looking fantastic, well done.

I have just reread your entire thread, well done and thanks for posting.

Regards