Dukers Garage Projects

[Duker]

It was a beautiful weekend in East Texas around 72 for the high .... it’s days like these that make up for the 98-102 degree days!

Did a little unloading of some items I had purchased at auction, picked up some other equipment from storage and worked on a project to help organize the next few projects. Awhile back I had bought some Burr King belt grinders and when I went to pick them up I found out it came with some other items in the lot. Two of those items were metal frame tables with 3/16 steel tops.

The paint on the bases was flaked but the steel was in good shape.. This is what the tables looked like....



The tops on the other hand were a little rough



It had some kind of glue as if they had a rubber or maybe even carpet on them. I don’t know what glue it was but it was some tough stuff to get off.



After some sanding with 36 grit flap wheels I threw in the towel and broke out the wire wheels and almost wore one of them out getting the stuff off. My hands were numb from the grinder by the time I was done so I grabbed the white vinegar and a spray bottle let it work on the rust while I took a break. I think one more wound with some muriatic acid to get rid of the remaining mill scale and these tables will be good to go.



I painted the bases and added some leveling feet and brought them back into the shop. This is where I am glad I have the tractor and the gantry beam to help get things in and out of the shop.





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[zmotorsports]

Nice Duke. I don't know which was the better score, the Burr King grinders or the tables. I'd take either.

 

[Duker]

Nice Duke. I don't know which was the better score, the Burr King grinders or the tables. I'd take either.

Thanks Mike, the tables were a nice surprise and will be helpful in working on projects. Right now the only flat horizontal surface I have in the metal shop is my welding table which is stacked up partial projects. I need to clear it off to weld up the brackets for the mantel... I am cheating and using that as my Christmas gift to my wife this year!


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[Duker]

Spending Christmas at my parents so,the first thing we do is head to the shop to BS and figure out what we are going to fix, build etc while I am there. My Dad found a Multi Prod farrier anvil for my son. Our best guess is that it’s an early ‘70’s model and has a decent bounce to it. These anvils were made in Japan and the steel is considered good.

Here is the anvil....



It needs some serious de-rusting and cleaning.

While a farrier anvil it is not ideal for blacksmithing a free anvil beats no anvil so we thought we had better knock out a quick base to test the height before we built a steel base.



It’s a simple pine base but it will help to get the right fit for my son.

I will be knocking out some cutting and cheese boards tomorrow for friends as I need to get rid of some scrap I had from my last furniture project.


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[Duker]

Back in the workshop after a few morning errands for my dad including a run to get more Titebond glue which I needed to finish the glue up of some cutting boards I am making for gifts.

I got tired of waiting for my son to get up so I decided to square up the ends of the blank we glued up last night. It makes life easier when you have a big Bandsaw like my dad’s and a nice Timber Wolf 1” carbide tipped blade.



I clamped a straight edge to the blank and made a pass on each end. Now I am no Mike Z when it comes to cars but I can get myself around a woodshop. Here is the cut from one end...



Here is the profile of the cut...



I am going to call this square for a rough pine blank....



I cut up a scrap piece of Ash to use as a base as I thought with the anvil it might be too top heavy. Even though this is a temporary base I couldn’t leave it so plain looking so i gave it a little profile with the router.



Sleeping beauty can do the rest when he wakes up...


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[Bears Fan]

Nice anvil and stand! I'm thinking the same kind of build as soon I can pick up a anvil for a good price


Glad you liked your GJSS gifts! I put them together at the last minute and threw in some company swag

 

[Duker]

Nice anvil and stand! I'm thinking the same kind of build as soon I can pick up a anvil for a good price





Glad you liked your GJSS gifts! I put them together at the last minute and threw in some company swag

Thank you again for the gifts. I already used one of the bit driver sets today!


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[Duker]

Well.... I was making real progress on some projects when my back decided it had enough and decided to throw itself out of whack.... so now I am catching up on some threads and posting what little I have to show for being off for a week.

First, if you follow my Barndominium build you may have seen where I bought a 36” D-8 Mount face plate that I was going to use in building a rotary welding table.

This is the face plate.....



Just about the time I had figured out in my mind how I was going to build the table I happen to get a call from a guy I met at an auction (where we BS’ed for about an hour about our shops and all the things we were looking for etc... ) saying there is a machine shop closing and he has some things I might like. I have never been able to say no to a good tool hunt so off I go....

I would like to present “Plan B” of the rotary table build....



It is a Ransome Positioner with a 500lb capacity in the vertical position. Do I need something this big... oh hell no..... did I want something this big.... oh hell yes! I will mount the face plate where the square plate is now making it much more suitable for horizontal welding. The positioner already has a foot pedal to control speed so other than the new top and maybe a little clean up and paint she is ready to go!

The shop also adapted a 9” three jaw Chuck to the pivot arm that rotates...



As a bonus.... I also picked up this Victor horizontal band saw which was made by Cosen who is a decent Taiwanese maker of saws.



It needs a little clean up and a few small things fixed but other than that works fine. I don’t need another saw but I figured I might be able to make a few bucks to use to buy some otter stuff I need for the shop.




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[zmotorsports]

Holy **** Duke! Now THAT'S a rotary table.

 

[Finallygotit]

Hey! Duker!! Slacker!!! Why didn't you tell me you had this thread. I just found it.


Subscribed!

 

[Duker]

Holy **** Duke! Now THAT'S a rotary table.

LOL. Yes it is... It is seriously overkill for what I need but knowing myself I will find a project that will be able to use it... I am going to play with it today as I bought a Christmas present for myself that came in yesterday which is a new Tig water cooler and torch!


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[Duker]

Hey! Duker!! Slacker!!! Why didn't you tell me you had this thread. I just found it.


Subscribed!

I am a slacker what can I say! LOL I am just trying to keep up with you guys but am doing a damn poor job of it! As for the thread hopefully I can actually post some completed projects soon!


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[LXCam]

Daaaaang bud, I've never seen this thread till now. That rotary table is just killer! And have I got the perfect project for you. I just happened upon this yesterday and was blown away. Let me know when you want to make some and I'll be out to help

 

[Finallygotit]

Thanks for another rabbit hole I didn't need to go down.....

 

[cbacres]

Neat stuff Duker, great finds there.

I'll be watching this thread too.

Happy New year

 

[Duker]

Daaaaang bud, I've never seen this thread till now. That rotary table is just killer! And have I got the perfect project for you. I just happened upon this yesterday and was blown away. Let me know when you want to make some and I'll be out to help

I would have loved to work on that project! That was very cool! I have outboard turned some 36” platters on my lathe and that was scary enough!

As of Monday my NDA expired so any furniture Commissions I get from the designers I did work for I can now post pictures of on the board. Posting stuff on the internet wasn’t on my mind when I did it back in ‘08 it was more if the market goes to sh#% I have something to fall back on....lol


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[Duker]

Thanks for another rabbit hole I didn't need to go down.....

Hey... it’s only fair since you dragged me into yours! Welcome to your worst nightmare!.. insert evil laugh here!


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[Duker]

Neat stuff Duker, great finds there.



I'll be watching this thread too.



Happy New year

Thanks Craig, welcome to the the motley crew!


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[Bears Fan]

Dang Duker you going to start working on bulldozers now with that table

Over kill NO WAY!!!

 

[Finallygotit]

Hey... it’s only fair since you dragged me into yours! Welcome to your worst nightmare!.. insert evil laugh here!


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OK, that's it, gloves are off!

 

[LXCam]

I would have loved to work on that project! That was very cool! I have outboard turned some 36” platters on my lathe and that was scary enough!

I can't imagine turning that size diameter. Heck I had enough problems making a salad bowl in jr high wood shop

Posting stuff on the internet wasn’t on my mind when I did it back in ‘08 it was more if the market goes to sh#% I have something to fall back on....lol


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Ya 08, that's exactly what prompted my performance business when contracting was getting sketchy

 

[casmurbax]

Duke another great thread. Did you document that engine lift conversion to an air/hydraulic ram in another of your threads?

 

[Duker]

Duke another great thread. Did you document that engine lift conversion to an air/hydraulic ram in another of your threads?

Thanks John, unfortunately on the lift mod I didn’t take any pictures but it was a pretty simple project. The old ram had a flat bottom bolted to a 1/4” plate. I just had to grind a couple spot welds to remove the plate as my lift already had the holes drilled in the support plates to accept the new ram.


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[Duker]

It was my sons birthday this last week and he wanted to come out to the shop and work on his forge so that is what we did. I thought I had some pictures but I guess my CRS has gotten so bad that I couldn’t find them on my phone. The only pics I had were of the little I did on the metal shop which was to hang an electric cord wheel and an air reel on the lift.





I have to say, I am not all that impressed with the HF Diablo air reel. I don’t think it is any better than the normal $59 dollar black version that you can get on sale with a coupon under $50. Other than the color which I like, I don’t think it was worth spending the extra $30 bucks. Just my 2 cents worth. I have a Tekton that I bought off of AWD that seems to be a better version for about the same as the black HF reel. Will see which one holds up better over time.


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[Duker]

It seems like forever since I have accomplished anything even noteworthy as most of my projects lately have been items like underground drainage for the gutters or putting in waterlines for my wife’s garden. I did manage to get my truck on the lift to change the oil and fuel filters..... (learned a valuable lesson about the order in which the fuel filters need to be done....those who have a Ford diesel know what I referring too...). I also replaced the shocks as I noticed a thud earlier in the week and didn’t have a chance to look at until this weekend. As it turned out, I had broken a shock...



I don’t know what the hell I did to bust that apart but on went some new Rancho shocks.

The best part of my weekend was today as I was off of work and I picked up my birthday present to myself that was waiting at the freight terminal....



A new HE&M 260 BSA dual miter saw. I have been agonizing for a few months about the type of saw I wanted. My first choice was a used FMB but it sold before I could make up my mind. After researching what seemed like forever, the final two candidates were this saw and the Hyd-Mech DM 10. After seeing both saws in person I went with the HEM. Nothing wrong with the Hyd-Mech but I just liked the pivot mechanism and a few other features on this saw better for the way I work.

Hoping to get it setup and running next weekend.


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[casmurbax]

Hey Duke,

That is some saw. Congratulations on your gift and Happy Belated birthday.....

Nice Job on the shock.

Underground drainage for the gutters was one of the first and best things I did when I moved into our current house.

 

[LXCam]

Well happy birthday ole man. I guess you plan on spending the day cutting up a little bit.

 

[zmotorsports]

Happy Birthday Duke and that's a nice looking bandsaw there.

 

[Finallygotit]

Happy birthday!!

 

[Duker]

Hey Duke,

That is some saw. Congratulations on your gift and Happy Belated birthday.....

Nice Job on the shock.

Underground drainage for the gutters was one of the first and best things I did when I moved into our current house.

Happy Birthday Duke and that's a nice looking bandsaw there.

Happy birthday!!

Well happy birthday ole man. I guess you plan on spending the day cutting up a little bit.

Thanks guys! I have decided I am going to tell everyone I look good for 70!

I went a little (ok... a lot) overboard on my gift to myself this year... but I figured what the heck you only go around once so might as well enjoy the journey!

The saw will come in very handy as there are a bunch of projects that need to be built and/or finished over the next couple of months and that metal saw is going to get a workout....


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[Duker]

Finally had nice weather this weekend with no rain so was able to finish up most of the drainage projects. The barn is done and metal shop is about 70% done.


My son came out for the weekend so I guided him as he finished up his forge. There is a lot of grinding and finishing left but the basic forge is done. Here is the forge being fired up....



I will post some more photos of it when he completes the base and mounts the forge.

I didn’t get much done for my projects in the shop other than mounting a fire extinguisher cabinet that I got off a AWD.



The other small project was moving the new saw to the middle bay of the shop and making some legs for the saw. The trolley beam is the best thing I could have added to the metal shop!






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[LXCam]

A forge?, too cool bud. My dad never let me play with fire again after I lit the front lawn on fire.

who knew 5 gallons of gas would spread out that far?


Hopefully you guys can get some great shop time in soon.

 

[casmurbax]

When I first saw the forge, my first thought was to ask where the extinguisher was, scrolled a little more, there was my answer.

That's great you got to spend time in the shop with your son.

I bet that trolley helped.

No pictures of your drainage work?

Hope all is well with you and your family.

 

[Bears Fan]

That is one serious saw! Happy Birthday

 

[Duker]

A forge?, too cool bud. My dad never let me play with fire again after I lit the front lawn on fire.

who knew 5 gallons of gas would spread out that far?


Hopefully you guys can get some great shop time in soon.

Cam, why am I not surprised that you set your lawn on fire!

Perhaps it is because I did the same thing as a kid.... thought I would help out by burning a brush pile. I poured gas on it and went to light it and it almost took off my eyebrows!

That is one serious saw! Happy Birthday

Thanks BF!

When I first saw the forge, my first thought was to ask where the extinguisher was, scrolled a little more, there was my answer.



That's great you got to spend time in the shop with your son.



I bet that trolley helped.



No pictures of your drainage work?



Hope all is well with you and your family.

Thanks John. No pics of the drainage. I kept forgetting to stop and shoot as I just wanted to get it done!

It was nice having my son in the shop. His energy level is very low so he has to stop and rest quite often but he is a trooper.



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[Grumblebum]

You picked a fine present for yourself there duker. Happy belated birthday.

GB

 

[Duker]

Thanks GB, I appreciate you stopping by! I have been cutting up a bunch of steel and the saw has been a real timesaver.


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[cbacres]

Nice saw Duker, nothing like a saw that cuts true and fast.

Happy Birthday

 

[Duker]

Nice saw Duker, nothing like a saw that cuts true and fast.



Happy Birthday

Thanks Craig! The best thing about the saw is it takes about 30 seconds to change to a miter cut where as my old Wellsaw was a much longer ordeal. The old saw cuts great but from a productivity stand point the new saw runs circles around it!


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[Duker]

My son finished the base for his forge. It is a little tall but it makes seeing into the forge a breeze.





I was afraid it was going to be too top heavy but it rolls great and after doing a little stress testing of trying to tip it over it is much more solid than I would have guessed. The forge weight helps as it was heavy enough I needed the engine lift to set it on the base. This was another example of where I was glad I did the air hydraulic upgrade to the lift.

At this point I have exhausted any knowledge I have about forges as it seems to work well in that it took about a minute thirty to heat up a piece of 3/16 - 2” x 3” tube to glowing red with one burner but I have no idea how to adjust the flames etc for the best results.

My son and I will have to go and take some classes to learn how to use this thing!



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