Finallygotit
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Todd, hey I would be more than happy to take that 2" thick table from ya if you're no longer interested in it. You know, to help alleviate the clutter.
Above 1200 Sq/FT Ernie's Place
- Thread starter StormcrowAz
- Start date
Wokspaces above 1200 squarefeet.
PugetDude
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Proof that most GJ'ers are compassionate individuals who care deeply about helping their fellow man in times of need.Todd, hey I would be more than happy to take that 2" thick table from ya if you're no longer interested in it. You know, to help alleviate the clutter.
Bob Heine
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Todd, I find myself complaining about little things but realize they are first-world problems. Having to choose between a two-inch thick steel tabletop and a one-inch is an interplanetary problem! 
fartymarty
Well-known member
fyi: I'm a bit late here, but I was rereading a few pages back just to assess how much you **** for getting all of this great stuff, when I noticed that your card catalogue file cabinets appear to be 50s-70s era IBM punch card file cabinets. If they have drawers that can be lifted out and carried away and the sliding drawer mechanisms stay with the cabinet then that pretty much confirms it. They were designed to hold huge decks of punch cards for computer jobs that were run over and over again for different tasks and the cards had to stay in perfect order for proper completion of the job. The computer operator would remove the drawer and carry it over to the card reader to avoid dropping the card decks and the ensuing tedious reordering process.
I'm a thread skimmer so somebody might have mentioned this already and I missed it, but regardless you still ****.
https://www.garagejournal.com/forum...wer-ibm-card-cabinet-for-tool-storage.190969/
https://bluenotes.anz.com/posts/2018/03/punch-cards-and-when-big-data-meant-a-full-filing-cabinet
I'm a thread skimmer so somebody might have mentioned this already and I missed it, but regardless you still ****.
https://www.garagejournal.com/forum...wer-ibm-card-cabinet-for-tool-storage.190969/
https://bluenotes.anz.com/posts/2018/03/punch-cards-and-when-big-data-meant-a-full-filing-cabinet
Last edited:
OP
StormcrowAz
Well-known member
Dan – A gentleman and a scholar. Your generosity and kindness is much appreciated! I’ll keep you posted…
Scott - Agreed. Especially when it comes to free garage paraphernalia.
Bob – No kidding! Definitely a matter of perspective and I’m fortunate to have these problems!
Fartymarty – I went out and checked…and it sure looks like that’s what these are. It appears the slides are kind of a two-stage deal where you pull it out part-way until it stops, then you can lift it up a little bit and then it pulls all the way out for complete access to the drawer. You can then easily lift the drawer out entirely if needed. Thanks for the education and corresponding links!
Trying to get out and for a little Quality Shop Time in after work can be challenging this time of year. I find that the “If it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing right” mantra quickly devolves into “It’s good enough” and my quality of work suffers when it reaches these temps in the shop.
So, not much progress but did add some stiffeners to the VFD bracket for the bandsaw. Pulled these plasma cut half-rings out of the drop pile. Can’t remember what project these were left over from, but should help keep things from flexing and thought it would neat to have something other than a plain ole straight gusset here. Not that it really matters, this is another case of it being out of sight, and hidden behind the saw.
More free stuff. One of the guys had his name on these, but decided he didn’t want to come back and pick them up after he left. I graciously offered to dispose of them in the back of my truck. First is one of those cheap rolling carts from Harbor Freight. A little worse for wear, but still works just fine.
And another fire cabinet, little-buddy sized. These things are crazy-expensive new, even for the small ones.
Scott - Agreed. Especially when it comes to free garage paraphernalia.
Bob – No kidding! Definitely a matter of perspective and I’m fortunate to have these problems!
Fartymarty – I went out and checked…and it sure looks like that’s what these are. It appears the slides are kind of a two-stage deal where you pull it out part-way until it stops, then you can lift it up a little bit and then it pulls all the way out for complete access to the drawer. You can then easily lift the drawer out entirely if needed. Thanks for the education and corresponding links!
Trying to get out and for a little Quality Shop Time in after work can be challenging this time of year. I find that the “If it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing right” mantra quickly devolves into “It’s good enough” and my quality of work suffers when it reaches these temps in the shop.
So, not much progress but did add some stiffeners to the VFD bracket for the bandsaw. Pulled these plasma cut half-rings out of the drop pile. Can’t remember what project these were left over from, but should help keep things from flexing and thought it would neat to have something other than a plain ole straight gusset here. Not that it really matters, this is another case of it being out of sight, and hidden behind the saw.
More free stuff. One of the guys had his name on these, but decided he didn’t want to come back and pick them up after he left. I graciously offered to dispose of them in the back of my truck. First is one of those cheap rolling carts from Harbor Freight. A little worse for wear, but still works just fine.
And another fire cabinet, little-buddy sized. These things are crazy-expensive new, even for the small ones.
OP
StormcrowAz
Well-known member
Made some more progress on the Davis and Wells bandsaw. Painted the VFD bracket and bolted in place.
Installed the VFD
From the business end it’s hardly noticeable, just an inch or two of stick-out past the saw profile and within easy reach to turn it on/off.
Wired it up and tested. There were already drilled and tapped ¼-20 holes along the side, so took advantage for cable management.
Replaced the drive belt and installed new tires on both wheels and glued them per the tire manufacturer’s recommendation. Kind of a pain. It looks like our maintenance guy ran this saw with no tires at all, bare steel wheel to bandsaw blade. From what I've read crowned tires helps with tracking and keeping the blade teeth from rubbing and dulling on the wheel.
Still need to clean the excess cement off, crown the tires, and source a new blade. The blade size is hand-written on one of the wheels at 11’6” but the cover has 11’8” cast into it. I’m guessing without any tires it makes for a decent size difference, but didn’t figure on 2”. Thinking I should stick with what’s stamped on the casting and hope there’s enough travel on the adjuster for proper fitment.
Finished cleaning up and painting this sign for a buddy of mine.
One of the more odd-ball take-homes from work – a set of Harley M8 cylinder jugs. The only reason I know that’s what these are is that a guy came in several years ago looking to start manufacturing his own. He gave us this set for reverse engineering and to generate the 3D models needed for new tooling. After we gave him the quote we never heard back from him. There’s gotta be a Harley guy out there somewhere that needs a set of these, right? NOS, ran when last parked…
Installed the VFD
From the business end it’s hardly noticeable, just an inch or two of stick-out past the saw profile and within easy reach to turn it on/off.
Wired it up and tested. There were already drilled and tapped ¼-20 holes along the side, so took advantage for cable management.
Replaced the drive belt and installed new tires on both wheels and glued them per the tire manufacturer’s recommendation. Kind of a pain. It looks like our maintenance guy ran this saw with no tires at all, bare steel wheel to bandsaw blade. From what I've read crowned tires helps with tracking and keeping the blade teeth from rubbing and dulling on the wheel.
Still need to clean the excess cement off, crown the tires, and source a new blade. The blade size is hand-written on one of the wheels at 11’6” but the cover has 11’8” cast into it. I’m guessing without any tires it makes for a decent size difference, but didn’t figure on 2”. Thinking I should stick with what’s stamped on the casting and hope there’s enough travel on the adjuster for proper fitment.
Finished cleaning up and painting this sign for a buddy of mine.
One of the more odd-ball take-homes from work – a set of Harley M8 cylinder jugs. The only reason I know that’s what these are is that a guy came in several years ago looking to start manufacturing his own. He gave us this set for reverse engineering and to generate the 3D models needed for new tooling. After we gave him the quote we never heard back from him. There’s gotta be a Harley guy out there somewhere that needs a set of these, right? NOS, ran when last parked…
j p smith
Well-known member
Dang Todd you are clearly getting some good stuff!!!
Finallygotit
ALLIANCE MEMBER
OP
StormcrowAz
Well-known member
Zanyad – Thanks! Hopefully I can get the Davis and Wells finished up here shortly and maybe let me re-arrange and organize the shop a bit better.
Jeff – Yep, not too bad. Just need time to play with the new toys.
DennisK59 – That’s a fantastic idea and I’ll definitely give it a try. Thank you!
Been a couple weeks with absolutely no progress around the shop, if nothing else there’s more to do. Mainly because we went on vacation. Feels like a weird time to do this, considering I probably only have a couple weeks left until I’m unemployed, but this was planned a long time ago.
Literally the day before we left I drug home another trailer-full of stuff from work. Tarped it down just in case of rain and it’s still sitting there. Hopefully I can get to it this weekend.
At the risk of boring you with vacation pictures, here’s a Reader’s Digest version of it anyways. Not really GJ relevant I suppose, other than it took away time otherwise spent in the shop. Well worth the experience, though. Anyways, we spent one week in Ireland and one week in Scotland. Flew into Dublin and rented a car. Driving on the wrong side of the road, from the wrong side of the car, was an interesting experience. While I do enjoy driving a stick (manual transmission) I didn't want to add shifting with the wrong hand to the equation so opted for automatics.
Some familiar brands with entirely unfamiliar models. The thing I recognized the most were Ford Ranger pick-ups, and I saw a bunch of them. Other trucks were few and far between but included an occasional Mitsubishi and even saw a Volkswagen pick-up of some sort. Quite a few makes and models of cars I’ve never seen or heard of.
I’m not much of a drinker, and especially not dark beers, but we did take a tour of the Guinness facility. Really neat to see how it is made and the history behind it.
Stopped by the Tullamore Distillery, took the tour, and learned about Irish whiskey.
One of the neat things about having your own car and not relying on tour guides and such is adventuring and exploring at your own pace. The unplanned things. On our way to Galway we stopped in this town because we saw a bunch of tents and people milling around. The town was Athlone and they had some sort of local festival/market event going on. Had some fantastic ice cream, made by this lady with farm-fresh ingredients. Think it might have been from goats milk. Whatever it was, it was delicious.
All of this was at the base of Athlone Castle.
So of course we took a quick tour of that. Neat history and full of cool castlely-type things.
Jeff – Yep, not too bad. Just need time to play with the new toys.
DennisK59 – That’s a fantastic idea and I’ll definitely give it a try. Thank you!
Been a couple weeks with absolutely no progress around the shop, if nothing else there’s more to do. Mainly because we went on vacation. Feels like a weird time to do this, considering I probably only have a couple weeks left until I’m unemployed, but this was planned a long time ago.
Literally the day before we left I drug home another trailer-full of stuff from work. Tarped it down just in case of rain and it’s still sitting there. Hopefully I can get to it this weekend.
At the risk of boring you with vacation pictures, here’s a Reader’s Digest version of it anyways. Not really GJ relevant I suppose, other than it took away time otherwise spent in the shop. Well worth the experience, though. Anyways, we spent one week in Ireland and one week in Scotland. Flew into Dublin and rented a car. Driving on the wrong side of the road, from the wrong side of the car, was an interesting experience. While I do enjoy driving a stick (manual transmission) I didn't want to add shifting with the wrong hand to the equation so opted for automatics.
Some familiar brands with entirely unfamiliar models. The thing I recognized the most were Ford Ranger pick-ups, and I saw a bunch of them. Other trucks were few and far between but included an occasional Mitsubishi and even saw a Volkswagen pick-up of some sort. Quite a few makes and models of cars I’ve never seen or heard of.
I’m not much of a drinker, and especially not dark beers, but we did take a tour of the Guinness facility. Really neat to see how it is made and the history behind it.
Stopped by the Tullamore Distillery, took the tour, and learned about Irish whiskey.
One of the neat things about having your own car and not relying on tour guides and such is adventuring and exploring at your own pace. The unplanned things. On our way to Galway we stopped in this town because we saw a bunch of tents and people milling around. The town was Athlone and they had some sort of local festival/market event going on. Had some fantastic ice cream, made by this lady with farm-fresh ingredients. Think it might have been from goats milk. Whatever it was, it was delicious.
All of this was at the base of Athlone Castle.
So of course we took a quick tour of that. Neat history and full of cool castlely-type things.
OP
StormcrowAz
Well-known member
Drove down to Cork and visited the Blarney Castle.
Of course had to stand in line to kiss the Blarney Stone.
The house (still occupied) on castle grounds was pretty neat.
Drove a bit further north for this really cool place
Headed over to the coast and stopped by the Cliffs of Moher. Saw this little guy in the field by the parking lot.
The cliffs were impressive, too.
Of course had to stand in line to kiss the Blarney Stone.
The house (still occupied) on castle grounds was pretty neat.
Drove a bit further north for this really cool place
Headed over to the coast and stopped by the Cliffs of Moher. Saw this little guy in the field by the parking lot.
The cliffs were impressive, too.
OP
StormcrowAz
Well-known member
Spent some time in Galway
Stayed in a number of nice places, this one was actually inside of an old Castle. Clontarf Castle hotel in Dublin.
Flew out of Dublin to Edinburg, rented a car and drove up to Aberdeen. You can’t visit an island without spending a little time at the beach, right?
Drove through the highlands, visiting various place of interest.
Found ourselves in some nice off-the-main road places. Roads were all narrow. Their double lanes seem like a single one of our American lanes in comparison.
Went to the Wallace national monument and learned a little bit more about William Wallace than I had from Braveheart.
On the way back to Edinburhg we saw these sculpture from the highway and had to stop to check them out. The Kelpies. While I suppose it’s super cool for those who love horses, the metal work and sheer scale of it is pretty awesome, too.
Stayed in a number of nice places, this one was actually inside of an old Castle. Clontarf Castle hotel in Dublin.
Flew out of Dublin to Edinburg, rented a car and drove up to Aberdeen. You can’t visit an island without spending a little time at the beach, right?
Drove through the highlands, visiting various place of interest.
Found ourselves in some nice off-the-main road places. Roads were all narrow. Their double lanes seem like a single one of our American lanes in comparison.
Went to the Wallace national monument and learned a little bit more about William Wallace than I had from Braveheart.
On the way back to Edinburhg we saw these sculpture from the highway and had to stop to check them out. The Kelpies. While I suppose it’s super cool for those who love horses, the metal work and sheer scale of it is pretty awesome, too.
OP
StormcrowAz
Well-known member
Back in Edinburgh we turned in the rental car, and I was not upset about it at all. After a week and a half of driving I was happy to not worry over round-abouts and following GPS directions in a foreign land. With all the available things to do within walking distance, the lack of parking, and such tiny streets, I was happy to ditch the car.
Since I ran the gambit of Irish drinking, figured we might as well take The Scotch Whiskey Experience tour. Unless you enjoy the taste of camp fire mixed with rocket fuel, I would not recommend that Bowmore 12 on the far right…
Tired of castles? We weren’t. Toured Edinburgh Castle and it didn’t disappoint. Full of people, though. Speaking just about every language you can think of.
And of course the castle was full of those things you would expect to find there.
The Royal Edinburgh Military puts on this show once a year called The Tattoo and we decided to go check it out. They assembled these stadium seats just outside the castle grounds for the event and we happened to catch the very last show of the year.
This show was performed by the military bands. The Scottish came out with a veritable army of choreographed bagpipers and it sounded and looked awesome. Other countries represented and even the good ole US Navy was there to put on a fantastic show which received great applause.
Edinburgh itself is a pretty neat place. Full of history and amazing architecture. A lot of amazing stone work at every turn, it seems.
That’s it for now, I better get back to work. I’ve got some more stuff to throw in the back of my truck…
Since I ran the gambit of Irish drinking, figured we might as well take The Scotch Whiskey Experience tour. Unless you enjoy the taste of camp fire mixed with rocket fuel, I would not recommend that Bowmore 12 on the far right…
Tired of castles? We weren’t. Toured Edinburgh Castle and it didn’t disappoint. Full of people, though. Speaking just about every language you can think of.
And of course the castle was full of those things you would expect to find there.
The Royal Edinburgh Military puts on this show once a year called The Tattoo and we decided to go check it out. They assembled these stadium seats just outside the castle grounds for the event and we happened to catch the very last show of the year.
This show was performed by the military bands. The Scottish came out with a veritable army of choreographed bagpipers and it sounded and looked awesome. Other countries represented and even the good ole US Navy was there to put on a fantastic show which received great applause.
Edinburgh itself is a pretty neat place. Full of history and amazing architecture. A lot of amazing stone work at every turn, it seems.
That’s it for now, I better get back to work. I’ve got some more stuff to throw in the back of my truck…
Finallygotit
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Nice vacation Todd! Thanks for sharing.
BTW, I'm going to use this when I get together with my scotch drinking friends.
BTW, I'm going to use this when I get together with my scotch drinking friends.
OP
StormcrowAz
Well-known member
Dan – Thanks! And for the record, and what I can recall, that particular brand was distilled in a region of Scotland that didn’t have much in the way of forest materials available, so they had to burn peat moss instead as part of the distillery process. That in turn lends to the smoky flavor. They said they saved that particular brand for last as if they started out with it, most people would swear off Scotch whiskey right then without giving the rest a chance. Probably true. The first two bottles on the left weren’t bad at all, and personally felt the Jura 12 was the best of the bunch.
Managed to unload the trailer, here’s the haul.
This is the last of the drill presses (there were about a half-dozen of them) we had. I think everyone passed on this one due to the missing quill feed handles and exposed wires with no power switch. If it still works it shouldn’t take much to get it going again. If not, it’s not like I’m out anything other than the time it took to load/unload it.
Got this little hydraulic scissor cart rated to 660lbs. Thinking maybe I can modify the handle to lay flat as well as upright so I can use it for transmission and transfer case installation/removals. Not sure how well it would work for that, but I don’t have transmission jack and this was free.
And I couldn’t help it. This was the horizontal bandsaw from our maintenance shop. Actually spent money on this, $100. Our maintenance guy said he just replaced the motor not too long ago. Will need to convert it to single phase and see if I can squeeze it in somewhere. My little 4” 6” Harbor Freight saw has served me well, but this is an 8” x 11” and probably a more robust unit all around. Significant footprint difference, though…
Managed to unload the trailer, here’s the haul.
This is the last of the drill presses (there were about a half-dozen of them) we had. I think everyone passed on this one due to the missing quill feed handles and exposed wires with no power switch. If it still works it shouldn’t take much to get it going again. If not, it’s not like I’m out anything other than the time it took to load/unload it.
Got this little hydraulic scissor cart rated to 660lbs. Thinking maybe I can modify the handle to lay flat as well as upright so I can use it for transmission and transfer case installation/removals. Not sure how well it would work for that, but I don’t have transmission jack and this was free.
And I couldn’t help it. This was the horizontal bandsaw from our maintenance shop. Actually spent money on this, $100. Our maintenance guy said he just replaced the motor not too long ago. Will need to convert it to single phase and see if I can squeeze it in somewhere. My little 4” 6” Harbor Freight saw has served me well, but this is an 8” x 11” and probably a more robust unit all around. Significant footprint difference, though…
zmotorsports
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Nice score on equipment Todd.
That drill press looks very, very similar to my old Jet 20" floor standing drill press. I really like the larger throw and table compared to the 14" (or maybe 15") that I previously had. I have had my current drill press for nearly 20 years now and it's a tank. Keeps taking everything I throw at it.
I did modify it slightly upon first purchasing it though. Both my son and I are over 6' tall so I machined/fabricated a 6" riser and added it between the base and column mount. I only used it a time or two after initial purchase, but it was way too short for my liking.
If all yours needs is to connect a switch and come up with sone quill handles, that's a pretty nice piece of shop equipment.
That drill press looks very, very similar to my old Jet 20" floor standing drill press. I really like the larger throw and table compared to the 14" (or maybe 15") that I previously had. I have had my current drill press for nearly 20 years now and it's a tank. Keeps taking everything I throw at it.
I did modify it slightly upon first purchasing it though. Both my son and I are over 6' tall so I machined/fabricated a 6" riser and added it between the base and column mount. I only used it a time or two after initial purchase, but it was way too short for my liking.
If all yours needs is to connect a switch and come up with sone quill handles, that's a pretty nice piece of shop equipment.
PugetDude
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Todd, if you are out of room with all your free/almost free stuff, I would take that drill press off your hands to save you the hassle of fixing it... 
PM me with a price if you're interested in letting it go; been looking for a bigger drill press for a while.
PM me with a price if you're interested in letting it go; been looking for a bigger drill press for a while.
OP
StormcrowAz
Well-known member
Mike - Thanks! Yes, that drill press is probably the Harbor Freight version of the same 20” Jet model. Seems pretty robust, even for Harbor Freight. I had to go back through the archives and it’s been 10 years now (!!!) since I got my vintage Craftsman drill press. It’s still going strong. The 20” seems like it would be a slight upgrade from size, power, and durability standpoint, but with the acquisition of the Bridgeport I’m not sure it would be needed or used as much.
Scott – PM sent!
Getting down to not being much left at work. Took home another one of those roller carts, this one in slightly better shape, and yet another fire cabinet someone neglected to take with them when they left.
Still able to park the truck in the shop, but at this point in order to get from one side to the other…it feels like I’m following game trails through a forest of cabinetry, tooling, and equipment.
Scott – PM sent!
Getting down to not being much left at work. Took home another one of those roller carts, this one in slightly better shape, and yet another fire cabinet someone neglected to take with them when they left.
Still able to park the truck in the shop, but at this point in order to get from one side to the other…it feels like I’m following game trails through a forest of cabinetry, tooling, and equipment.
SilverJimmy
Well-known member
My current shop has what my friends call “RabbitTrails”! I’m hoping my new shop will not devolve into the same!
OP
StormcrowAz
Well-known member
Silver Jimmy – It’s a slippery slope. I like some breathing room and space to work on things. Everything being crammed in there stresses me out a little, but I know it’s only temporary and will be putting effort into re-organization.
But I still can’t help it when opportunity knocks.
With all the machinery being sold off and moved out, there’s quite a few hanging cords around the shop that are ripe for picking. Had the maintenance guy disconnect and pull a few down for me. Can always use some heavy-duty extension cords and power cables.
Was cleaning out one of the offices and went to move this filing cabinet.
One would think a simple two-drawer cabinet would be no big deal, but nope. Turns out this one is fire proof. According to their website it weighs in at 483lbs! Don’t really need it, but nobody else wanted it…
I did manage to get some actual work done in the shop, too. Plasma cut a couple things for a friend of mine and that new scissor cart came in real handy for the bigger piece of sheet he provided. I love it when new tools become immediately useful. Kind of feels like justification for a new acquisition.
This willow tree took a while to program but think it turned out nice.
Finished up the Davis and Wells vertical bandsaw. Cleaned the glue of the tires, crowned them, and installed a new blade.
After a bit of adjustment, got it cutting.
Assuming it keeps on running good, I’m thinking this should put the little Swag porta-band set-up into retirement. I will also put the Rockwell up for sale, too.
That being done, I am able to do some re-configuration of tool boxes, old and new. I love having everything on wheels, allowing me to pull everything out and re-organize.
The big box o' bits and end mills should probably go somewhere near the Bridgeport. My tentative set-up for now. One of these days I need to pull things out and re-organize what’s in all my boxes. That way I’ll have the joy of not being able to find anything for the next year or two.
And last, but certainly not least...one of the shop supervisors on the job.
But I still can’t help it when opportunity knocks.
With all the machinery being sold off and moved out, there’s quite a few hanging cords around the shop that are ripe for picking. Had the maintenance guy disconnect and pull a few down for me. Can always use some heavy-duty extension cords and power cables.
Was cleaning out one of the offices and went to move this filing cabinet.
One would think a simple two-drawer cabinet would be no big deal, but nope. Turns out this one is fire proof. According to their website it weighs in at 483lbs! Don’t really need it, but nobody else wanted it…
I did manage to get some actual work done in the shop, too. Plasma cut a couple things for a friend of mine and that new scissor cart came in real handy for the bigger piece of sheet he provided. I love it when new tools become immediately useful. Kind of feels like justification for a new acquisition.
This willow tree took a while to program but think it turned out nice.
Finished up the Davis and Wells vertical bandsaw. Cleaned the glue of the tires, crowned them, and installed a new blade.
After a bit of adjustment, got it cutting.
Assuming it keeps on running good, I’m thinking this should put the little Swag porta-band set-up into retirement. I will also put the Rockwell up for sale, too.
That being done, I am able to do some re-configuration of tool boxes, old and new. I love having everything on wheels, allowing me to pull everything out and re-organize.
The big box o' bits and end mills should probably go somewhere near the Bridgeport. My tentative set-up for now. One of these days I need to pull things out and re-organize what’s in all my boxes. That way I’ll have the joy of not being able to find anything for the next year or two.
And last, but certainly not least...one of the shop supervisors on the job.
Finallygotit
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Todd, the shop is coming along nicely! Really nice job on the willow tree metal art! 
OP
StormcrowAz
Well-known member
Dan – Thanks! And while the shop is progressing, I’m looking forward to doing more work in it than on it. I’m trying to focus on that all of the added equipment and capacity is an investment in the future, but still can’t help but feel bad about neglecting the poor ole Scout.
OK, just one more thing from work. And it’s small enough to fit in the back of the car.
Two is one, and one is none. Right? Will need to clean the new one up, too.
OK, just one more thing from work. And it’s small enough to fit in the back of the car.
Two is one, and one is none. Right? Will need to clean the new one up, too.
zmotorsports
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Nice score on the Kurt vise, or vises Todd.
I have a Kurt D688 that I picked up at an estate sale years ago that resides on my mill. I also have a 5" Glucern that I really like but usually stays in the storage drawer and doesn't get used much.
Out of curiosity, what size table does your Bridgeport have? Looks like maybe the 9"x36" or is it the 9"x42"?
I have a Kurt D688 that I picked up at an estate sale years ago that resides on my mill. I also have a 5" Glucern that I really like but usually stays in the storage drawer and doesn't get used much.
Out of curiosity, what size table does your Bridgeport have? Looks like maybe the 9"x36" or is it the 9"x42"?
OP
StormcrowAz
Well-known member
Mike – My Bridgeport table is the 42” version. More room for activities!
Ok, one last thing from work. This is the cradle out of the big fire cabinet. They were still using the citrus cleaner, so I nabbed both the cradle and remaining cleaner when they were done with it.
And speaking of the Bridgeport…I took advantage of the long weekend and started tearing into it. Cleaning the lower end down to, but not including, the knee removal (Thanks again Dan, for the link to H&W. Good how-to videos and parts support!) I’m pretty sure this thing hasn’t had a thorough cleaning in decades, so I want to take care of that before I start making my own messes on it. That hydraulic tooling cart is really coming in handy. The milling table is not light and having the ability to raise and lower a surface to easily slide it off to was nice.
So many chips!
The oil build-up has been going on long enough to turn it gummy and into a grease of sorts.
I thought I would try putting the new-to-me parts washer to use. Considering I had some of that left-over Citrus King cleaner, also thought I would give that a go. Turned out to be a mistake, as it left behind a tacky residue of sorts. Smelled real nice, though. There wasn’t much left, a couple quarts and bottom of the barrel as it were, so not sure if that had anything to do with it. Cutting it with water didn’t seem to help. Ended up dumping it and just using the cabinet to catch the gunk while using WD-40 and brake cleaner. Need to invest in some decent solvent.
My work station. I was going to cut up this table last week to harvest the sheet metal and wheels off it but didn’t get to it. Glad to have it now. Once I clear out some of this stuff from the shop I’ll have to work on a new work table.
Ok, one last thing from work. This is the cradle out of the big fire cabinet. They were still using the citrus cleaner, so I nabbed both the cradle and remaining cleaner when they were done with it.
And speaking of the Bridgeport…I took advantage of the long weekend and started tearing into it. Cleaning the lower end down to, but not including, the knee removal (Thanks again Dan, for the link to H&W. Good how-to videos and parts support!) I’m pretty sure this thing hasn’t had a thorough cleaning in decades, so I want to take care of that before I start making my own messes on it. That hydraulic tooling cart is really coming in handy. The milling table is not light and having the ability to raise and lower a surface to easily slide it off to was nice.
So many chips!
The oil build-up has been going on long enough to turn it gummy and into a grease of sorts.
I thought I would try putting the new-to-me parts washer to use. Considering I had some of that left-over Citrus King cleaner, also thought I would give that a go. Turned out to be a mistake, as it left behind a tacky residue of sorts. Smelled real nice, though. There wasn’t much left, a couple quarts and bottom of the barrel as it were, so not sure if that had anything to do with it. Cutting it with water didn’t seem to help. Ended up dumping it and just using the cabinet to catch the gunk while using WD-40 and brake cleaner. Need to invest in some decent solvent.
My work station. I was going to cut up this table last week to harvest the sheet metal and wheels off it but didn’t get to it. Glad to have it now. Once I clear out some of this stuff from the shop I’ll have to work on a new work table.
OP
StormcrowAz
Well-known member
Got everything cleaned up.
This Bridgeport also came with the Bijur One-Shot oiler system. I’m a big fan of lube. Proper lubrication of moving parts is good and makes everything happy. Like the rest of the mill, this unit was in pretty poor shape. I got the refurbish kit which included a new tank, filters, and o-ring.
Cleaned up and re-assembled.
I also got new tubing, no sense in putting the old gunked-up plastic lines back in there. This is the manifold that’s bolted to the underside of the saddle, super nasty.
One thing I didn’t count on was having to replace these metering valves. All but a couple are completely plugged up and I wasn’t able to get them cleared out.
Also one of the wiper plates was broke (wasn’t me!), so ordered a replacement for that as well.
So until I get parts in, that’s about as far as I can go.
This Bridgeport also came with the Bijur One-Shot oiler system. I’m a big fan of lube. Proper lubrication of moving parts is good and makes everything happy. Like the rest of the mill, this unit was in pretty poor shape. I got the refurbish kit which included a new tank, filters, and o-ring.
Cleaned up and re-assembled.
I also got new tubing, no sense in putting the old gunked-up plastic lines back in there. This is the manifold that’s bolted to the underside of the saddle, super nasty.
One thing I didn’t count on was having to replace these metering valves. All but a couple are completely plugged up and I wasn’t able to get them cleared out.
Also one of the wiper plates was broke (wasn’t me!), so ordered a replacement for that as well.
So until I get parts in, that’s about as far as I can go.
fartymarty
Well-known member
Literally the day before we left I drug home another trailer-full of stuff from work. Tarped it down just in case of rain and it’s still sitting there. Hopefully I can get to it this weekend.
This is where the straw was placed that broke the camel's back, I mean c'mon. You can't get to all your free stuff because you have to go on vacation? Really?
Ok, one last thing from work. This is the cradle out of the big fire cabinet. They were still using the citrus cleaner, so I nabbed both the cradle and remaining cleaner when they were done with it.
This is latest acquisition is the straw that broke the barrier that was keeping me from posting this (below) earlier.
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zmotorsports
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Mike – My Bridgeport table is the 42” version. More room for activities!
Thanks Todd. When I purchased mine space was much more of an issue than it is now so I bought the smallest table I could find that still had the 3HP Bridgeport variable speed head. If I were buying now I think I would spring for the 9x49 table as I have a little more space in the new shop.
That being said though, in the ten years I've had my mill, I have not run into any issues with table size, at least within the work envelope of the projects that I do.
Finallygotit
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Nice work on the Bridgeport Todd!
I need to get that Bijur rebuild kit for my machine. It's pretty nasty.
I need to get that Bijur rebuild kit for my machine. It's pretty nasty.
SilverJimmy
Well-known member
With my Ex-Cell-O mill I had the best results for cleaning off the 50 year old dried on lube and crud using mineral spirits. For the really gunked up areas I’d soak a shop rag with mineral spirits and then lay it over that area and let it soak overnight.
Before:
After:
The mineral spirits did not seem to attack the OEM finish and I’m glad because I like the story it tells!
I need to pull my table because when I raise or lower the knee I hear a clicking sound, like the driven gear nut has come loose. I’m wondering if my mill is similar enough to your Bridgeport that that tutorial you mentioned would be helpful. You have the link? Thanks in advance.
Before:
After:
The mineral spirits did not seem to attack the OEM finish and I’m glad because I like the story it tells!
I need to pull my table because when I raise or lower the knee I hear a clicking sound, like the driven gear nut has come loose. I’m wondering if my mill is similar enough to your Bridgeport that that tutorial you mentioned would be helpful. You have the link? Thanks in advance.
OP
StormcrowAz
Well-known member
Fartymarty – Don’t hate me because I’m beautiful! Or, errr…because I got some free stuff. If it makes you feel any better it does come at some cost, mainly that I’ll be unemployed in a couple weeks. Hopefully I won’t need to sell everything in order to keep a roof overhead.
Mike – Better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it. That being said, out of the four we had -three Bridgeports and one Lagun (which was significantly larger overall) I grabbed the one that ran the best that wasn’t still in use. For what I plan on doing (or think I’ll probably be doing?) any size table will probably be good.
Dan – Thanks! The tank part wasn’t hard to do at all. Proper lubrication is a good thing!
SilverJimmy – Wow, that is an impressive before and after difference. I’ll definitely file that away for future use. Maybe for the horizontal band saw clean-up.
H&W Machine, all their instructional videos are here: https://machinerypartsdepot.com/technical-support/instructional-videos/
The base tear-down video specifically is here:
I’ll be needing to watch a few more before/while putting it back together!
Or, errr…because I got some free stuff. If it makes you feel any better it does come at some cost, mainly that I’ll be unemployed in a couple weeks. Hopefully I won’t need to sell everything in order to keep a roof overhead.Mike – Better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it. That being said, out of the four we had -three Bridgeports and one Lagun (which was significantly larger overall) I grabbed the one that ran the best that wasn’t still in use. For what I plan on doing (or think I’ll probably be doing?) any size table will probably be good.
Dan – Thanks! The tank part wasn’t hard to do at all. Proper lubrication is a good thing!
SilverJimmy – Wow, that is an impressive before and after difference. I’ll definitely file that away for future use. Maybe for the horizontal band saw clean-up.
H&W Machine, all their instructional videos are here: https://machinerypartsdepot.com/technical-support/instructional-videos/
The base tear-down video specifically is here:
I’ll be needing to watch a few more before/while putting it back together!
SilverJimmy
Well-known member
Thanks! Now I have stuff to watch too.
OP
StormcrowAz
Well-known member
Busy weekend but was able to squeeze in a little shop time.
Put the oiler tank back on the mill.
Got the new valves and installed those and new tubing to the metering block
Ran the new lines to their perspective oiling points and tested. Seems to work good.
Installed the Y axis cross feed screw and hardware and put the table back on before it got too hot in the shop.
My cousin got me this sign and it’s definitely going up on the wall.
Oh, and forgot to post this earlier, but got a license plate (they call them “number plates”) from Ireland while there. Really need to finish up the 50 state collection.
Put the oiler tank back on the mill.
Got the new valves and installed those and new tubing to the metering block
Ran the new lines to their perspective oiling points and tested. Seems to work good.
Installed the Y axis cross feed screw and hardware and put the table back on before it got too hot in the shop.
My cousin got me this sign and it’s definitely going up on the wall.
Oh, and forgot to post this earlier, but got a license plate (they call them “number plates”) from Ireland while there. Really need to finish up the 50 state collection.
zmotorsports
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Love the warning sign. I may have to get one of those or something similar.
j p smith
Well-known member
Todd, very nice work and cleaning and repairing the mill. I have switched from mineral spirits to PSC 1000 from Tractor supply for cleaning. cleans as good or better and lower price. I have 5 gallons on hand, if you want to try using it, I will bring you a gallon.
OP
StormcrowAz
Well-known member
Just one last thing from work…
This drill press modified to do spot face operations. Works just fine. Maybe good for spare parts?
Powered through this little KBAC unit. Figured it was worth grabbing for this alone.
This drill press modified to do spot face operations. Works just fine. Maybe good for spare parts?
Powered through this little KBAC unit. Figured it was worth grabbing for this alone.
OP
StormcrowAz
Well-known member
Ok, just one last thing from work.
They scrapped the slurry tanks. A little to niche of an item for anyone to want I suppose. Still had good motors and this one had another of the small VFD controllers hooked up to it.
Nabbed the paddles, too. Not sure the impeller parts will be handy, but the shafts are stainless steel. More bar stock for future lathe projects.
Had some time to work on the Bridgeport this weekend. Cleaned up the DRO parts.
Chip guard for the x-axis
Installed the Y-axis
The X-axis is held onto the front of the table, utilizing the t-slots with these fasteners. One of the threads was broken off and missing the corresponding t-nut.
Ground the remaining threads flush, drilled, tapped, and lock-tighted a bolt in place. Cut the head off the bolt and ground it to size. Not perfectly centered, but should be good enough to hold the bar in place. Looking forward to using the mill (and lathe) to start making some more precision parts.
Checked my bucket o’ hold-down stuff and surprisingly don’t have many t-nuts, and the ones I do have are for the bigger slots on the top of the table. Think making new ones will be one of my first milling projects. So for now, I made a poor-man t-nut out of a nut and a couple washers.
Good enough for now.
The shim stock needed to shim the gibs came in late in the day and I ran out of steam to start that project.
The next day wasn’t shop related, but shop-adjacent. When we moved into the house, the back yard sprinklers were these impact-style Rainbirds. They work marginally well, but I got tired of replacing them when wore out, or the toggle jumping over the stops, or the stops moving and constantly needing readjustment. Not being well versed in lawn care (sorry Mike) I did some Google searching and appears that these went out of style sometime in the 90’s and were replaced by the newer rotor-style technology. So spent the better part of Sunday digging up old impact housings and replacing them with the Rainbird 5004 sprinkler heads. Adjustments and nozzle selection seem decent and pretty straightforward. Hopefully they work as well as advertised.
They scrapped the slurry tanks. A little to niche of an item for anyone to want I suppose. Still had good motors and this one had another of the small VFD controllers hooked up to it.
Nabbed the paddles, too. Not sure the impeller parts will be handy, but the shafts are stainless steel. More bar stock for future lathe projects.
Had some time to work on the Bridgeport this weekend. Cleaned up the DRO parts.
Chip guard for the x-axis
Installed the Y-axis
The X-axis is held onto the front of the table, utilizing the t-slots with these fasteners. One of the threads was broken off and missing the corresponding t-nut.
Ground the remaining threads flush, drilled, tapped, and lock-tighted a bolt in place. Cut the head off the bolt and ground it to size. Not perfectly centered, but should be good enough to hold the bar in place. Looking forward to using the mill (and lathe) to start making some more precision parts.
Checked my bucket o’ hold-down stuff and surprisingly don’t have many t-nuts, and the ones I do have are for the bigger slots on the top of the table. Think making new ones will be one of my first milling projects. So for now, I made a poor-man t-nut out of a nut and a couple washers.
Good enough for now.
The shim stock needed to shim the gibs came in late in the day and I ran out of steam to start that project.
The next day wasn’t shop related, but shop-adjacent. When we moved into the house, the back yard sprinklers were these impact-style Rainbirds. They work marginally well, but I got tired of replacing them when wore out, or the toggle jumping over the stops, or the stops moving and constantly needing readjustment. Not being well versed in lawn care (sorry Mike) I did some Google searching and appears that these went out of style sometime in the 90’s and were replaced by the newer rotor-style technology. So spent the better part of Sunday digging up old impact housings and replacing them with the Rainbird 5004 sprinkler heads. Adjustments and nozzle selection seem decent and pretty straightforward. Hopefully they work as well as advertised.
OP
StormcrowAz
Well-known member
Ok, one last thing from work…
Half-inch piece of steel plate that used to have a pump and motor attached to it. Thinking of welding up the holes, adding some legs and casters, cleaning it up, and selling it off as a welding/work table.
Worked on the Bridgeport and finished shimming the gibs.
Is there some unwritten rule/law which states that no matter how simple a project you must drag at least a dozen tools (more than you thought you’d need) out in order to finish it?
That done, I trammed the head and I think it’s good to use. I feel much better about having it cleaned up and learned a lot about how it all works. Bonus that the DRO still seems to be working just fine, too.
Threw a vise on there and made some poor-man table covers out of a couple piece of kydex I had. Should help keep the chips out of the slots and prevent further nicks and dings to the table for the inevitable tools that I will throw around on that flat surface. Thinking about making some DIY accordion way covers as well.
Doing a little preliminary work for the new-to-me horizontal bandsaw, starting with the switch plate. Considering I’m converting this to a VFD and half of these buttons/switches are either missing or disconnected, figured I’d start from scratch on an entirely new switch plate.
The Plan:
The big square will hold the same VFD I used in the Rockwell vertical saw. Main power cut-off, coolant, lights, and fan switches. Since this stuff will be in what is currently an enclosed compartment, I’m going to add a small computer fan and vent both sides of the compartment for airflow. This should hopefully keep the VFD at a happy temperature when in use.
So here’s how it ended up cutting.
They can’t all be home runs, I guess. I didn’t take the kerf width into consideration on the light bulb and it turned out terrible. Back to the computer and will probably need to compromise a little on the design for it to come out half-way decent.
Had a bit of excitement, and not the good kind, Saturday night. Got a call from our neighbor-friend (she does rescue work and where we got two of our pups from) down the street: “Get over here, Kevin’s house is on fire”. Kevin being the guy next door to her and also one of our friends we hang out with. Evidently the dogs went crazy and woke him up, which was quickly followed by a big boom or two. We pulled up and the attached garage is going full tilt. We did a quick run through the house to make sure he and his animals were out (He’s got three dogs, plus five alpacas, a few mules, and horses out back) and the smoke was getting real thick inside the house. The Fire Department showed up a couple minutes later and went into action. This from the neighbors yard right after the FD showed up and started throwing water on it. She was getting nervous as embers were floating over towards her house.
Fortunately everyone and all animals were safe and unharmed. Lots of FD personnel and they got it under control quickly.
40 years worth of collecting tools gone.
Still not sure what the cause was. One of the other neighbors on the street actually has an unoccupied investment property/house in the area that he will be staying at while everything is cleaned up, repairs are made, and he’s able to move back in. So there’s that at least.
In retrospect, I think I’m going to go out tonight and make a video documenting all my tools and equipment for insurance purposes.
Half-inch piece of steel plate that used to have a pump and motor attached to it. Thinking of welding up the holes, adding some legs and casters, cleaning it up, and selling it off as a welding/work table.
Worked on the Bridgeport and finished shimming the gibs.
Is there some unwritten rule/law which states that no matter how simple a project you must drag at least a dozen tools (more than you thought you’d need) out in order to finish it?
That done, I trammed the head and I think it’s good to use. I feel much better about having it cleaned up and learned a lot about how it all works. Bonus that the DRO still seems to be working just fine, too.
Threw a vise on there and made some poor-man table covers out of a couple piece of kydex I had. Should help keep the chips out of the slots and prevent further nicks and dings to the table for the inevitable tools that I will throw around on that flat surface. Thinking about making some DIY accordion way covers as well.
Doing a little preliminary work for the new-to-me horizontal bandsaw, starting with the switch plate. Considering I’m converting this to a VFD and half of these buttons/switches are either missing or disconnected, figured I’d start from scratch on an entirely new switch plate.
The Plan:
The big square will hold the same VFD I used in the Rockwell vertical saw. Main power cut-off, coolant, lights, and fan switches. Since this stuff will be in what is currently an enclosed compartment, I’m going to add a small computer fan and vent both sides of the compartment for airflow. This should hopefully keep the VFD at a happy temperature when in use.
So here’s how it ended up cutting.
They can’t all be home runs, I guess. I didn’t take the kerf width into consideration on the light bulb and it turned out terrible. Back to the computer and will probably need to compromise a little on the design for it to come out half-way decent.
Had a bit of excitement, and not the good kind, Saturday night. Got a call from our neighbor-friend (she does rescue work and where we got two of our pups from) down the street: “Get over here, Kevin’s house is on fire”. Kevin being the guy next door to her and also one of our friends we hang out with. Evidently the dogs went crazy and woke him up, which was quickly followed by a big boom or two. We pulled up and the attached garage is going full tilt. We did a quick run through the house to make sure he and his animals were out (He’s got three dogs, plus five alpacas, a few mules, and horses out back) and the smoke was getting real thick inside the house. The Fire Department showed up a couple minutes later and went into action. This from the neighbors yard right after the FD showed up and started throwing water on it. She was getting nervous as embers were floating over towards her house.
Fortunately everyone and all animals were safe and unharmed. Lots of FD personnel and they got it under control quickly.
40 years worth of collecting tools gone.
Still not sure what the cause was. One of the other neighbors on the street actually has an unoccupied investment property/house in the area that he will be staying at while everything is cleaned up, repairs are made, and he’s able to move back in. So there’s that at least.
In retrospect, I think I’m going to go out tonight and make a video documenting all my tools and equipment for insurance purposes.
Finallygotit
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Todd, I had a laugh when you said, "OK, one last thing from work."
Nice job on the mill and I'm sure you will get the new faceplate for the saw sorted out.
I'm sorry to see your neighbor didn't have the best of luck. Man that really has to ****. I'm glad there was no loss of life.
I'm going to go out and take pictures in my shop too.
Nice job on the mill and I'm sure you will get the new faceplate for the saw sorted out.
I'm sorry to see your neighbor didn't have the best of luck. Man that really has to ****. I'm glad there was no loss of life.
I'm going to go out and take pictures in my shop too.
zmotorsports
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Nice job on getting the mill up and running. You'll like the protection those table covers offer. That was one of the first things I added to my mill table and I have dropped a tool here and there or part and I know they have saved my table of more than a few dings and nicks.