Above 1200 Sq/FT Ernie's Place

[StormcrowAz]

Finished up the TIG cart last night, just need a few PVC caps for the filler rod tubes.
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[zmotorsports]

TIG cart turned out very nice. Great job.

 

[j p smith]

Great job Todd. Annual Hit& Miss Engine workshop is dec 2nd. 8:30am till 1:30pm. You are welcome to stop by if you have time

 

[StormcrowAz]

TIG cart turned out very nice. Great job.

Thanks! I have an aluminum project coming up here soon, so hopefully I can get some practice in so the welds don’t look too horrible.

Great job Todd. Annual Hit& Miss Engine workshop is dec 2nd. 8:30am till 1:30pm. You are welcome to stop by if you have time

Thanks Jeff! And thank you as well for the invite! I actually have free time that day, so would definitely like to stop by to check out the workshop.


So I work at a foundry and they used this gantry to tilt the melters for pouring molten steel. We added another melter and went to a fixed-post set-up for pouring, so this crane sat outside for several months before they agreed to sell it to me. Our maintenance guy was nice enough to disassemble it (forklift and man-lift) and help load it into my cargo trailer. It’s missing one of the I-beam clamps and one of the caster position locks is broke, so I’m reaching out to Vestil to see about parts availability before putting it back together.
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Some surface rust on the clamps and bolts from sitting outside during monsoon season. Wire wheeled and painted. Probably didn’t need to as It’s staying indoors, but it makes me feel better.
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It was also missing 6 of those spacers with the off-set hole, but I’ll just make those. The beam length is 15 feet long. The shop is 30 feet wide, so not sure taking up half the width up there is going to work out. May need to chop a couple feet off one end for clearance and ease of moving around the shop.

 

[StormcrowAz]

Finished up another project last night. This is a “doggy gate” for the basement stairs. It lets us keep the critters either upstairs or down, depending on the situation. We were using one of those cheap wooden expandable versions, but thought this would be nicer all around. I guess it would be helpful for keeping kids from falling down the stairs, too. If someone were to bring some over.

Made out of ½” square tube and what I think is some sort of shelf grating found on the side of the road. Had to put the obligatory dog paws and bones on there for the Mrs.
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Welded a spring latch to it and made a little striker plate of sorts that attaches to the wall.
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Re-purposed this computer hard drive magnet to keep it in the open position. It even had three nice holes in it to toggle-bolt it to the wall.
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Didn’t turn out too bad.
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[GRN96WS6]

Those computer HD magnets are no joke.. We have to run front plates in my state and I've half considered epoxying one on the inside of the bumper cover and tossing it on.

 

[StormcrowAz]

Those computer HD magnets are no joke.. We have to run front plates in my state and I've half considered epoxying one on the inside of the bumper cover and tossing it on.

You aren't kidding! I am thinking about putting a little bit of foam on either magnet or gate to soften the blow some. When it closes, it does so with enthusiasm!


With the help of the Mrs., we managed to get the gantry upright. It definitely was not a one-person job. It was a little nerve-wracking, but turned out good in the end.
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Here’s where I plan on keeping it. Lined up with the outside of the post columns, still enough room to get in/out of the vehicles. Hopefully doesn’t get in the way too much, but it does have wheels so can re-locate if necessary.
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Still need to figure out attaching the electric hoist and think I’ll get one of those manual chain-falls as there are two trolley’s available. Nice to have a back-up plan in case the electric one goes out. Also plan on taking apart the wooden set-up and re-purposing the materials for use in making her a work-bench of sorts for her gardening activities.


And, on an unrelated note, it’s December. 3 of my favorite things – girls, guns, and HMMWV’s…
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[slik560]

That gantry - yikes! I would have needed more than one person to help me. That's massive.

 

[StormcrowAz]

2018 already. Time seems to go by more quickly the older one gets.

Anyways…new year means a new calendar.
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January’s contribution:
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My repeater was acting up and considering it is a few years old I figured it was time for an upgrade. This Almond range extender has pretty good reviews and seems to be working great so far. Mounted it up out of the way.
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The in-laws got us Visa gift cards so I ventured over to Harbor Freight and picked this up:
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Between the gift cards and the 25% coupon, my total was $12.15 out the door. I know it’s not exactly quality equipment, but the nice hydraulic feed 7x12 I would really like to have comes in around at the $1500 range, so this will do for now.

Assembled it, and the user manual states: “With assistance and an adequate lifting device, carefully set the Band Saw on top of the Stand assembly.“ So I think the new gantry qualifies for that device.
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And what most people said I also found to be true…the stand is pretty flimsy. That will be my next project and first use of the new saw.

 

[StormcrowAz]

And then this is where things get entertaining. My buddy has been watching that TV show Forged in Fire lately and wanted to try some of the blade tests out for himself. We all have a bit of gear that claims to be “heavy duty” and “hard-use” and thought it would be fun to see what some of this can actually stand up to. Here’s just a sample of what was brought out:
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A variety of things were used as testing material, for example:
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First up was this “railroad knife” he bought from a guy on-line, supposedly made out of railroad track. Custom job and it was a beefy chopper. Edge retention? Not so much.
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This Gerber LMF II on the other hand help up amazingly well through all “testing”. Typically it’s six hard swings against the object.
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The surprising discovery of the day was the Harbor Freight $7 machete. It survived all the tests (bone chop, coconut, pork ribs, strap slicing, etc) with flying colors. It picked up a very slight bow to the blade but the edge was in great shape at the end of the day. The handle was the only issue as the screws loosened up a bit part way through the testing. Tightened them back up and was able to continue safely testing, but it still wasn’t 100%.
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RMJ Tomahawk versus pork ribs
20180101_123922 by TODD W, on Flickr

Another custom Damascus blade from somewhere overseas, didn’t do too bad
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Not really super-scientific or definitive testing, but we did learn some things and had fun hanging out in the shop. Amazingly enough, no blood was spilled around so many sharp and pointy things being swung about.

 

[StormcrowAz]

Back to normal activities.

It took quite a bit of head-scratching, forum research, shims/spacers, and fiddling with adjustments to get the blade tracking squared away. Kind of frustrating, especially for a brand new tool, but I knew going in it would require some patience to get it working correctly.

Starting on a solid base for the new saw. More or less copied the concept from a guy off the Welding Web. Might eventually add a coolant set-up and this design will facilitate that.
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Playing with the toys
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Doing an initial test fit
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Mounting tabs
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I also cut and drilled some 2” angle iron for the casters. Hopefully they arrive today so I can do the final fit-up and welding. Still want to add a couple items to it - like a measuring tape mount and maybe a hook or two for hanging adjustment wrenches. Also think I’m going to get some nesting tubing and make a good stock stop.

So far the saw has been working great, although I do plan on adding a couple extra modifications to help things a bit easier and more functional. From what I’ve experienced so far, this is starting to fall under the “why didn’t I do this a long time ago” category. Might have to start saving up for a good quality saw now, for when this one gives up the ghost.

 

[rattle_snake]

I suggest replacing the band saw blade immediately with a bimetal and keep the original as a backup.

 

[StormcrowAz]

I suggest replacing the band saw blade immediately with a bimetal and keep the original as a backup.

While I was there, I picked up one of the "Super Cut" brand bi-metal blades at Harbor Freight. I had read mixed reviews, but wanted something right away.
It's working for now and the Lenox 10-14 is also scheduled for delivery today. I didn't even try the blade that came with the saw.

 

[StormcrowAz]

Welded the caster feet to the cart
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Mounted the saw, didn’t turn out too bad.
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I do think I’m going to add a coolant set-up. I’ve read where a lot of guys have run these dry for many years without an issue, buy maybe I’ve worked in/around machine shops for so long that it just doesn’t sit right with me.

Before I started on this project I figured a 34” table height would be good, and somehow I actually took everything into consideration and did the math right. That doesn’t seem to happen often enough.
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Still have several additions and modifications before I put paint on it, but it works as-is for now.

I took a break and went to Mexico for a little R&R
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Got back and my buddy scored these Baldor motors for a future 2” x 72” belt sander project. Going to build them based on Jeremy Schmidt’s design. Slowly gathering materials as budget allows
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[StormcrowAz]

I guess it’s been a while since I’ve checked the mail (typically part of the wife’s routine) because when I did, I found my next priority project.
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There’s a nice solid metal post anchored in the ground, but the mailbox is only attached by a few screws into plywood. At this point I think a good wind will carry it away.
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My cousin had given me this mailbox a couple years ago, it’s pretty heavy-duty. Not sure what was up with the extra holes, I guess something was mounted to it. Not part of my plan, though.
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Holes welded up. Also on the table is the new base for the mailbox.
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Used a piece of 2” x 3” x .188” square tube left over from the trailer tongue repair. This will weld in and connect the base to the new post
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[StormcrowAz]

Here’s the new post
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I cut the tops off four carriage bolts and welded these from underneath to fill the holes in the flange
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Shaft welded to the tube/base
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Less than an inch of welding left for the day and that’s when the spool goes empty. Go figure.
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Fortunately I had another spool so was able to finish it up. Primer and paint. Ran out of black so will put the finishing coat on tonight and hopefully there will be time this week to cut off the old post and weld this assembly on.
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[Finallygotit]

I like that!

 

[StormcrowAz]

Thought I’d try out the 30 amp outlet on the generator for use with the welder. Got the Harbor Freight 25’ generator cord and wired in a 50amp receptacle.
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It’s functional, but still not shop-current good, of course.
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Carted everything out, surprisingly enough only had one neighbor ask “what are you doing out there?”. I guess it was early on Sunday morning.
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Dug a hole for some clearance and to see how well they buried the post. Even with this much exposed it wasn’t budging at all.
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Turns out they even filled the post up with concrete
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Action shot
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Turned out pretty good, I think.
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Next major project is to replace those fence panels in the front yard there. Previous owners ripped them out and sold them before they were foreclosed on.

 

[slik560]

Nicely done!!!

 

[Finallygotit]

Next major project is to replace those fence panels in the front yard there. Previous owners ripped them out and sold them before they were foreclosed on.

Nice job on the mailbox!

I'm still having a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that the PO sold the fencing.

 

[StormcrowAz]

Nicely done!!!

Thank you!

Nice job on the mailbox!

I'm still having a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that the PO sold the fencing.

Thanks! I’m guessing the PO either put them in and felt entitled to take them with him (in the form of cash) or was just scrounging for as many quick-sell items as he could. They also took four sets of dual-swing gates, a side-yard gate, kitchen appliances, and light fixtures. Heck, they even took one of the house toilets with them.

 

[StormcrowAz]

Back to the band saw cart…

Cut out some material for the bottom shelf
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Welded in
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Added a receiver tube for the work-stop, welded on a bunch of do-dads for cord management, the roller stand, and such. Also made up an electrical box with a switched outlet for the coolant pump. Primer and paint. Next up is to add the coolant tray, and re-install the saw.
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Figured I’d put some magnets under the coolant tray to try and help pick up at least some of the swarf. I picked up one of those free Harbor Freight tool holder magnets, but was a bit long for my application. Thought I’d try to cut/break it down to size. Took it to the porta-band and found out it’s just a bunch of 2” magnets glued together in the track. Good to know for future reference and source of inexpensive magnets. 20180204_150701

 

[StormcrowAz]

pla·gia·rism – What I’m doing here. Hopefully imitation truly is the highest form of flattery. If I havent’ said it before…thank you “wquiles” from the Welding Web forum.

Anywho…cut up some galvanized sheet (my mom found a large sheet at a yard sale for a few bucks so picked it up for me, I knew it would come in handy) for the coolant tray and with copious amounts of silicone and a few clamps, hopefully there won’t be any leaks.
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Let that dry and put the saw back on the stand. Ran the cords and hoses and zip-tied in place. Also installed the drain and siliconed that in place as well.
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I talked to the machine shop manager here at work about coolant and he had a couple good suggestions. Mainly to mix the coolant a little thin to combat evaporation so it doesn’t get too thick and gummy. He also said to put a small fish bubbler in the bucket when not in use to keep some circulation going. Evidently if it sits for a while a layer of film develops on the top and that’s what promotes fungal growth beneath that layer. So the little blue box on top of the bucket not plugged in is that air pump.
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The drain extension can be loosened and dropped down for easy bucket removal.
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Also made a small bracket for the coolant line on the saw itself. In retrospect, I should have payed a little closer attention on Amazon before I added the Loc-Line to the cart. I had 1/4” line in mind and was surprised when the ½” stuff arrived. Grossly overkill I suppose, but it’s here now and we’ll see how it works.
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Maybe today I’ll get a chance to cut some stuff and work out any bugs in the system. Hopefully it won’t be too messy.

 

[rattle_snake]

Nice setup. I suppose a hydraulic downfeed is next?

 

[StormcrowAz]

Nice setup. I suppose a hydraulic downfeed is next?

Thanks! Most of the downfeed mods that I read about involved custom-machining the hydraulics portion of the set-up, so I didn't really pursue that further. A bit out of my wheel-house. If there's something readily available that can be used/modified to suit the purpose it would certainly be a nice addition!

 

[Finallygotit]

Maybe an inexpensive air cylinder with a bleed valve to slow the descent?

I looked them up on McMaster so you can see what I had in mind.

Click here

HTH

 

[StormcrowAz]

Maybe an inexpensive air cylinder with a bleed valve to slow the descent?

I looked them up on McMaster so you can see what I had in mind.

Click here

HTH

Hmmm…that does look interesting and affordable. I’ll have to do some more reading up on how those work. Thanks for the link, it does help!



Made a little progress, but not a whole lot. Forgot I had a side project for one of my neighbor’s. Her father made things like this all the time and had one of these at one point, so it is something that reminders her of him and brings back fond memories. Well worth a morning/afternoon of my time.

Horseshoe boot rack:
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So back to the bandsaw…I did a couple test cuts with the coolant running and it is splashing out the front quite a bit, more than is acceptable.
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So I guess a splash shield is in order. Start with some bracketry. Cut off one side of the square tube same size as the receiver, bend up some 1” strap, and weld it in place.
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[StormcrowAz]

Added a hard drive magnet to the top
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Bent up another piece of galvanized sheet
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So this pretty much takes care of errant splashing out the front:
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My original test cuts were done with smaller pieces. This one happened to be a longer piece of tubing, extending out the back side of the tray. If you notice, coolant still runs down the tube and out the back. Considering I’ll be cutting a substantial amount of long-length tubing in the near future, this still poses a problem. Not sure how to address this, will need to think on it some more.

Oh, also attached the stopper. Hopefully this will help with evaporation some. You can also see the tool holder magnet I put beneath the tray is working, collecting at least some of the swarf.
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[Finallygotit]

Todd, regarding the coolant in the tube, what we normally do on our saws is just run a slow trickle on the blade itself just before the work piece. This is enough to lubricate the blade, keep the work piece cool and flush out the chips. We found that having a coolant flood like you have there just makes for a bigger mess.

Now, will it cure the coolant coming out of the back of the work piece, no, but it will make it much less. We occasionally stuff a rag in the end of the piece of steel to stem the flow.

YMMV

HTH

 

[slodat]

I use a light trickle flow on the coolant, too. And, I add water to the coolant like once a year. You might already be good to go.

 

[StormcrowAz]

Dan and Slodat – thanks for your input! I’ll be putting it to use here shortly.


I was down and out with the flu for 7 days and yesterday I finally felt like a human being again. Drove down and picked up a half ton of steel tubing from the metal yard. Thus starts the Fence Panels project:
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Raised the lift arms up to tailgate height and slid the stock on there. Maybe just me being lazy, but it was easier to unload that way. Plus figured it would save me some back strain from having to bend over to pick up every piece. Also, I can line the band saw up and start feeding it straight from there when ready to start cutting.
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February is almost over and looks like I forgot this month’s calendar pin-up
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[Finallygotit]

....Raised the lift arms up to tailgate height and slid the stock on there. Maybe just me being lazy, but it was easier to unload that way. Plus figured it would save me some back strain from having to bend over to pick up every piece. Also, I can line the band saw up and start feeding it straight from there when ready to start cutting....

That's definitely not being lazy. That's called being efficient and not taxing your back. You do no want back issues my friend.

 

[StormcrowAz]

That's definitely not being lazy. That's called being efficient and not taxing your back. You do no want back issues my friend.

Yes, this getting old is not for the weak. Always trying to work smarter, not harder.


Made some progress on the gate panels this weekend. First I got all the bracketry cutting out of the way. 20 panels x 4 attachment points = 80 brackets. Thought about buying them, but everything seemed so expensive, so figured I’d make them. I also cut 80 squares to cap the open tube ends, don’t want moisture collecting in there and rusting from the inside-out.
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The band saw is definitely the right tool for this job
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The next thing was to fab up some fixtures. Needed a better adjustable stop for the vertical panel tubes. The one that came with the saw is only good for a few inches in length. Some quick cutting and welding yielded this
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Considering I have 20 of these sections to build, I thought a jig to consistently assemble them would be a good idea. Two 10’ sections of 1” angle iron, measured out the bar spacing and scribed. Marked a half inch up the line and drilled half inch holes. Used a cutting wheel to cut out the open end of the hole and squared the bottom. So when the half inch tube is placed in the slot, it is centered on the 1” top and bottom tubes.
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Had the girl out de-burring, drilling holes, and operating the saw. Extra help sure is nice and helps things go quicker.
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[StormcrowAz]

Vertical tubes dropped in for a test-fit after all the notching has been done
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Welded in some supports to keep everything square and smaller pieces to evenly space the top and bottom tubes.
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Everything clamped up (need more of these long clamps)
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Tacked the one side while it was on the ground then pulled it out of the jig and suspended for tacking the other side.
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Walked it out front and did a test fit and it looks really good. Of course almost all of the sections between the posts are slightly different widths, so all I have to do now is measure how long the top/bottom tubes need to be and then center it on the jig. Here’s another shot of the whole thing
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From this point it should be assembly-line work to put the rest together. More cutting and welding…

Anyone in the Phoenix area know a good powder coat place, other than Glendale Powder Coating? The cost of getting these coated is almost double what I’ll have into making the panels themselves, including what I have into the saw.

 

[StormcrowAz]

Here’s this month’s calendar page
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Also, sneak peek for the next big project after the panels are finished:
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Over the past several months I’ve been a regular at Harbor Freight, purchasing a couple of these at a time. This will be my own version of fastener storage based off of “soj’s” build.
https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=289281

Still only have a third of the slides needed. Spreading the costs out over a long period of time to lessen the pain.

As a side effect, I now have a large collection of “freebie” junk. This doesn’t even take into consideration the tape measures, lights, tool trays, etc. that I’ve already deployed throughout the shop.
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I know it’s not that bad, but I kind of feel like Norm from Cheers when I walk in there now. Like I might have a problem that warrants counseling.

 

[Finallygotit]

.......I know it’s not that bad, but I kind of feel like Norm from Cheers when I walk in there now. Like I might have a problem that warrants counseling.

Great progress on the fencing! That should look great when it's done.

 

[StormcrowAz]

Got a few hours of shop time in over the weekend, working on the fence panels.

Cut up the ½” tube to size
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After doing a few, realized the work stop was just a bit too small, so replaced it with a larger piece of plate. The pile grows bigger…
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The end result
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Moving the coolant stream off the work piece and just onto the blade worked great. I was still getting a good amount of splashing going on and realized it was from the streams hitting the bottom of the pan.
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Wedged a small piece of sheet metal under the saw to form a ramp of sorts, so when the stream hits it flows down smoother. You can also see the magnets picking up a good amount of swarf. I’m sure a percentage is still getting into the bucket, but haven’t checked yet to see how much. Not sure if this is even helping any. Might just be easier to clean it all out of the bucket?
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Drilled all the holes in the bracket pieces and you can see the pile of drops below, just waiting to be used on another project.
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It took a bit of fiddling to get it squared away, but 550 plus cuts on the cheap saw (on this project alone, not even counting making the cart or miscellaneous other cuts here and there) and I’d say it was definitely worth it. The right tool for the job and all…

 

[Finallygotit]

It took a bit of fiddling to get it squared away, but 550 plus cuts on the cheap saw (on this project alone, not even counting making the cart or miscellaneous other cuts here and there) and I’d say it was definitely worth it. The right tool for the job and all…

Todd, I was just going to mention this.

Good job! Let the welding begin.

 

[StormcrowAz]

Todd, I was just going to mention this.

Good job! Let the welding begin.

Thanks!

Yes, let the assembly line production begin.

And speaking of welding…after I finished putting the work-stop bracket together I went to cool it off in my quench bucket and forgot to take into consideration the welding hood was still on my head. Leaning over I smacked it pretty hard on the drill press vise handle, which is right above the bucket. Hit it hard enough to push in the plastic splatter shield and give the lens a little love tap. Looked like it caused a fuzzy crack (like fine metal powder was stuck to just the crack) diagonally across the lens and only half of the screen was working, the other half went dark. Took it apart to investigate and the crack somehow disappeared. Put it back together and seems like it works fine, but there’ still a dark spot, or chip, on the lower edge of the lens. Not really comfortable with the potential impact (hah) of what may be happening to my eyes if it’s not working properly, so I ordered a new hood. Hopefully it will be waiting for me when I get home today.

Thinking I’ll MIG the panels for expediency, and TIG the brackets to get more practice in and practical experience on. The smaller parts will be easier to handle on the table while the panels are a bit more awkward.

 

[E55 Bulldog]

My kind of man..... great garage and owns an HMC4 !!!

I have a 97 HMC4 !! And looking for an XLC2 if you know of anyone.