Jake's Projects ...... or, .... How I waste my time

[msgtsmithret]

Nice hammer and great work. I know some would balk at re-finishing but I think its the way to go. Restore to original specifications (or close anyway) then use the tool. Nothing better than repairing a modern car with an old tool. I suppose hammers do the same job no matter what year your car is though.

 

[jakemac]

This morning, I was able to finish cleaning up a pair of 3/4dr breaker bars that I picked up over the weekend.

The first is an early 1960's Craftsman =V= code that is the last driver that I needed for the 3/4dr set I'm building (only 4 more sockets to go). This one looked worse than it was. The cleanup started with a Simple Green bath to degrease it. Then about and hour or two in a CLR soak (I use CLR for rust on chrome or nickel instead of EvapoRust because it isn't as harsh on the finish). Then it was off to a light wire wheeling and some time on the buffer to bring back the shine.

The second is a Berylco 3/4dr breaker bar that I grabbed simply because I've never seen one before, especially out in the wild. The metal is BE-CU (beryllium copper). This can be nasty stuff if you breath the dust. It's a non-sparking metal that is almost as strong as steel. Tools like this would have been used in a high hazard work area where the risk of sparks would need to be minimized. I started with a 48 hour soak in Simple Green, periodically scrubbing with a nylon brush to avoid raising dust. Then, it was a trip out to the back yard where I had set up the wire wheel. I wore a dust mask, gloves, and apron to keep the dust from getting on or IN me. I also made sure I was facing with my back to the wind to blow any dust away from me.

Both were finished with a light coat of PB Blaster to keep the rust/oxidation away.

The before pic is from the GS thread.

 

[Outlawmws]

Jake, you were fine on the BeCu breaker til you hit the wire wheel.

That and grinding is EXACTLY how the stuff gets airborne and dangerous. Just because the wind was at your back, does not mean it didn't get on the wheel itself, as well as on your clothes in the "back splash" (if you can get loose wires in your shirt, then you can get dust...)

The stuff is extremely dangerous. People worry about lead, lead is completely benign in comparison...

What about the down wind area? kids or pets going to be there?

IMO all the clothing/gear you wore needs to be cleaned or tossed (if cleaned, by itself, and then cycle/clean the washer empty) Toss the dust mask. The wire wheel needs cleaned or tossed, the grinder needs cleaned, the bench you had it on needs cleaned...

Am I missing anything you used? You get the idea... you have a Haz mat cleanup to do...

If you insist on having it shinny, go at it with something like Mothers and paper towels and then get rid of the paper towels safely. Wash up thoroughly or wear latex gloves that can be tossed. Then clean the area you did the polishing in well.

 

[jakemac]

The down wind side was facing the woods and poison ivy patch, so we're good there. The clothes are already in the wash (double cycle), and I showered as soon as I was done. The breaker bar was wiped down afterwards outside the shop so that it wouldn't contaminate the bench. The wire wheel I used was an old one that needed to be tossed anyway, but you're right, I need to clean the motor.
I won't shy away from risk, but I try not to invite disaster either.

It's all good. Thanks for your concern.

 

[nine4gmc]

Looks good Jake!

 

[jakemac]

So - either my tool OCD has kicked in, or I'm really REALLY bored. I'm hoping its the latter.

I picked up some wrench rolls w/wrenches last week that were covered in grime. They came from a working garage, so it was to be expected.

I thought I'd just clean them up a little bit so that I didn't have to wash my hands everytime I touched them. BUT NO - I had to obsess over the dirt inside the pockets. Damn you clear vinyl.

So, out came the bottle brushes, simple green, and paper towels. 2 hours later, I no longer have to worry about spreading the old grease and oil all over everything the rolls touch.

To get into the bottom of the pockets I rolled a 1/4 sheet of paper towel around a thin bottle brush to swab with.

Now I only need to find a way to get over the fact that the SAE rolls don't match the Metric wrenches that came with them.

Before, After - Before, During

 

[drivesitfar]

Jake: the wrench rolls look great now. all you have to do is pull the SAE set as you find the metric ones. simple solution.

happy to hear you survived the BE-CU incident and if Outlaw is correct (which he usually is) i won't be wire wheeling or grinding on anything made of that material anytime soon.

there was a set of Ping golf clubs made out of that stuff that were awesome to use and still sell for big dollars. i wonder if they quit making them soon after they started even with the demand because of the health issues?

keep on keeping on and if you don't like lobster tail dipped in melted butter and lemon juice i don't know if you have any taste buds left. i haven't had Moose yet though so maybe i'm missing something there. (transferred this chat from Fretter's thread in case others are wondering)

 

[David99]

So - either my tool OCD has kicked in, or I'm really REALLY bored. I'm hoping its the latter.

I picked up some wrench rolls w/wrenches last week that were covered in grime. They came from a working garage, so it was to be expected.

I thought I'd just clean them up a little bit so that I didn't have to wash my hands everytime I touched them. BUT NO - I had to obsess over the dirt inside the pockets. Damn you clear vinyl.

So, out came the bottle brushes, simple green, and paper towels. 2 hours later, I no longer have to worry about spreading the old grease and oil all over everything the rolls touch.

To get into the bottom of the pockets I rolled a 1/4 sheet of paper towel around a thin bottle brush to swab with.

Now I only need to find a way to get over the fact that the SAE rolls don't match the Metric wrenches that came with them.

Before, After - Before, During

Jake, you are not alone - a while back I picked up a set of screw extractors from a yard sale and their little pouch was dirty, I had to clean it!

 

[drivesitfar]

Jake: it's been almost a month so anything new? or just mowing grass at both places and enjoying the heat after that miserable winter you had?

i had a member email me some PDF's that he (and I) would like to post on June Buggey's blacksmith thread. if i email them to you can you post them to this thread? pm me with your email and i'll give them all to you and Bob and i will be thankful. i'm guessing Bob could have written a book or maybe he did.

here's the thread in case you haven't seen JB's amazing knives.

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=286785&highlight=blacksmith

cheers bud and keep the humorous and sometimes factual posts coming because i haven't belly laughed for a few days.

 

[jakemac]

Drives -
Not much going on in my shop for a while now. I'm still sleeping in the basement while I wait for a contractor who can do real plaster to rebuild the inside of the house. Combine that with family health issues (mother, grandparents) that I have to deal with and I just don't have much time for myself during daylight hours. An hour or two to go to a sale on the weekend is all I can squeeze out. I still haven't been able to get up to Maine to mow the lawn this year. In fact, I haven't been able get the leech field at this house mowed since last october.

The only trip north I'll get this year will happen next week. I made my sister take a week off from work so I can finally get some time to myself. She gets 3 weeks paid vacation from her work, and since I don't get weekends off all year (my contract says I'm supposed to get every other weekend), I put my foot down and demanded that one of those weeks belongs to me so I can get away. She and my Lump-in-Law can take three vacations a year, instead of two, after I'm dead.

Other than mowing the lawn and a few minor repairs up there, all I have planed is Sleeping and Drinking. In that order ! Full stop.

As for converting the files to PDF, I have no idea when I would have the time to do it right now. All I have time for are little puttering projects, like in my next post.

 

[drivesitfar]

Jake: i think you mis understood or i wrote it wrong. i have all the PDF's from Bob and no idea how to post or change them to word docs and copy and paste.

if i email them to you can you do your magic and figure out how to post a PDF or tell me how?

thanks and sorry to hear family members are not doing well. i know my time is coming because all our parents are still alive and in their early 80's now.

cheers buddy

 

[jakemac]

So, last night I had 20 minutes to play on the computer. I just bought a used Speedaire compressor (that needs work, of course) and I noticed that the decal on the pump was missing.

I found a picture of the one I needed on the internet and quickly whipped out a replacement. It's a little rough. The first version I did was nearly perfect, but a misplaced tap on the keyboard wiped it out and I had to start over. This version was the quick and dirty version.

I printed it on printable silver paper and gave it a light coat of clearcoat to set the ink.

There may be more posts about the compressor in the following weeks. It has some minor, but stubborn issues. The drain **** was buggered and it won't come out. I'm waiting for a left handed drill set from Northern Tool to arrive, and then I need to pick up a cheap pipe tap set from HF (others cost too much for onetime use) to clean up the plug for the new drain. I still need to wire the box for 220v to run it.

 

[jakemac]

Drives -
Posting a PDF on GJ is the same as posting a picture on the site. However, the size limit is so small that most files won't upload. It's better to find a remote site to host the file and post a link to it.

 

[Fretters]

What are the files about DIF?

 

[drivesitfar]

Fretters: some awesome blacksmithing and knife making PDF's as far as i know, but i haven't had time to read them yet. i just emailed them to you. did you get them?

let me know if you are able and if you are can you post them or the link on JB's blacksmithing thread?

Jake: thanks for the heads up and maybe we'll get this done. i bet there might be something in Bob's notes that you might find interesting too.

 

[Fretters]

It's not appeared as yet DIF. Any chance you could resend that e-mail?

 

[drivesitfar]

Fretters: There were quite a few PDF's so i'm sending again and from another email. if you still don't get them let me know and i'll save the files to my laptop and then send a couple at a time.

thanks for all your help

 

[jakemac]

A few weeks ago, I picked up a 2hp 30gal horizontal air compressor at an estate sale. Then I went on vacation for a week.
Originally, I was thinking that the hardest part of setting it up would be wiring up a 220v line for it. I haven't gotten that far yet.

After cleaning it up and replacing the belt, I decided that I wanted to "tweak" it a little bit. I started with some rubber feet to get it off the floor (I get water from time to time) and to absorb some of the vibration.

Another GJ member had used some boat trailer roller endcaps, so I decided to follow his example. The 2-1/4" dia. ones he used were discontinued, so I used 2" dia. ones. Here's a link to the ones I bought off Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/Yates-Straight-Trailer-Roller-0500557/dp/B00CV4DF5K/ref=sr_1_16?ie=UTF8&qid=1438113953&sr=8-16&keywords=Rubber+Roller+End+Cap

If you're going to used them on a vertical tank, I'd worry about stability and the center of gravity, so you might want to use shorter ones like these :

http://www.amazon.com/AMRC-29570-CE-Smith-Trailer-Rubber/dp/B00MQBQHTO/ref=sr_1_50?ie=UTF8&qid=1438114382&sr=8-50&keywords=Rubber+Roller+End+Cap

I then used carriage bolts and hammered them into the end caps to install them. A fender washer on top of the cap ensures that the compressor foot doesn't bite into the rubber.

 

[jakemac]

The next task was dealing with the buggered up drain ****.

I started by draining the oil and tipping the compressor up so I could work underneath.
I used left handed drill bits to open up the drain, then used an easy-out to remove the old drain ****. At first the easy-out wouldn't bite, but it did continue to drill out the brass until the brass finally broke away from the steel threads of the tank.

Next I cleaned up the threads with a 1/4" NPT Tap from a $15 pipe thread set from HF. The set worked better than I was expecting, and will likely last for more jobs if needed. A peasant surprise.

Once the tank was fully drained of residual water and dried out, I charged the tank from my small compressor to blow out any water and brass chips from the drilling. (the last picture is the debris that came out of the tank)

Continued in the next post .............

 

[jakemac]

Now that the drain hole was good to go, I added a Campbell Hausfeld drain extension kit so I could reach the drain without having to crawl under the compressor. For the first elbow at the tank, I used thread seal (like plumber's putty, but doesn't dry out) instead of teflon tape to make sure the threads wouldn't leak. Usually when making air fittings, I use Liquid Electricians Tape on the threads instead of Teflon, but went with the tape this time instead.

I added another street elbow so the drain would be under the tank instead of in the corner of the shop when the compressor was in place. The extra elbow allowed me to angle the pipe slightly down to promote draining.

Once everything was done, I recharged the tank to 100psi to check for leaks. I found 2 small leaks, no big deal. Right now I loose about 10lbs of pressure in an hour, or 1lb for every 6min. That's about the same as my old set-up, I can live with that. I may even be able to improve on that later once I get everything in it's final configuration.




Now I just need to figure out how I want to set up the 220v wiring to the box. I'll do the rough-in work myself, and then have an electrician check my work and do the final hook-up. I'll make another post when that happens. It may be another few weeks though.

 

[jakemac]

Weeeell .................... S#!T !!!

I blew the motor on my riding mower this afternoon. Big metallic bang in the case and the motor is seized. There goes $500 bucks from my future tool budget out the window. (I can swap a motor, but rebuilding that far inside it is beyond me)
The mower was only 7yrs old. 19hp B&S INTEK POS.

Guess I'm going to be crawling around on the garage floor once I can get a replacement shipped in.

Time for a beer .......................... or three before I go internet shopping.

 

[nine4gmc]

You can fix it Jake, I have faith in you. It should be pretty basic inside there and if you have any questions, I bet a dozen people would help you out if you start a thread. Think of the tool money you'd save!

 

[jakemac]

There's some areas of the swamp that even I'm not dumb enough to swim in.

 

[nine4gmc]

At least give it a shot when you pull it, it won't hurt to crack it open and see if you can get it back running then.

 

[jakemac]

Knowing my hoarding qualities, the blown motor will probably end up in the corner of one of my storage tents for parts. Someday I may have the time to play with it, but not for a while. By the time I can get to it, there'll likely be a few more in the pile by then.

The area that I was mowing when it blew hadn't been mowed since last october. My To-Do list can get quite long at times.

 

[bonneyman]

There's some areas of the swamp that even I'm not dumb enough to swim in.

I'm going to have to appropriate that phrase for myself!

 

[jakemac]

I had just enough time today, while my nephew took his nap, to cleanup a Plvmb WF-8 9/32dr ratchet that I picked up from Bobcat753 this morning.

Before and After pics (oops, gotta go, IT just woke up ! )

 

[Bobcat753]

Wow! That came out really nice looking!

 

[jakemac]

It was fairly smooth with the old oil in it. It's as smooth as a baby's bottom now that it's running on superlube (the ratchet, not the baby's bottom - I had the opportunity to compare the two just this afternoon. ).

Too bad I don't have any 9/32dr sockets to go with it ........................Yet.

 

[jakemac]

Another quick ratchet clean-up today. The way things are going around here, small projects like this are the only ones I have time for. I still haven't put the new motor on the riding mower yet.

I forgot to take a before picture, so I cropped the pic I posted on the garage sale thread. This was the good side.

A Craftsman 1/2dr 1950's =V= boxhead ratchet. It was in worse condition than the before pic shows.

 

[Bennylava]

This thread has converted me to Simple Green. Also, could you detail the steps on the anvil a bit more? Did you throw down any primer before the Rustoleum hammer green paint?

 

[jakemac]

No primer on the anvil. Just a good cleaning and a wipe down with acetone before spraying. If I remember, I did 2 light coats with the hammered green to give a base for the paint to bond and then one or two heavier coats to get the hammered effect.

The polish on the work surface was done with different grits of scotchbrite type rotolocs on an angled die grinder and then some time on the buffer. I did the polish before painting.

 

[drivesitfar]

Jake: i know you found Gramp's Williams tool pouch full of his wrenches and wondering if you are going to clean it up like i've seen you clean others? you also mentioned that you have the missing wrenches so how about posting them here and on the Williams thread?

i saw you picked up quite a few gems in the garage sale thread so if you are busy i'll understand. if you post the full pouch i'll make an effort to start pulling out my Williams socket set in it's metal box and posting a few pictures of it. it has the 32nd sizings on the sockets too.

cheers buddy and again sorry to hear Gramps is no longer here to see in person, but i bet he talks to you all the time.

 

[jakemac]

Thanks Drives.
The wrenches are already posted in the Williams thread. And yes, my Grandfather talks to me everytime I pick up a tool and use it. He alway has, and always will.



Well, after several months, I finally had a little time for myself to work on swapping the motor on the riding mower today. I used my Workmate 400 as a motor stand. It allowed me to drop the spindle through the worktop so I could stand up while swapping out parts so the new motor would work with my mower.

I ran out of daylight, so I'll need to find another day to finish up and run it, but at least I got it almost done. It was too dark to get a picture of the new motor mounted. I just need to get the pulley back on, fill it with oil, charge the dead battery, get it running, and put the hood back on to finish up. I just hope I can use it to pick up leaves before the snow flies.

 

[G20-Budo]

Subscribed for updates from a cool thread!

 

[Jcrapola]

Hey Jake, didja ever find the bits to complete your Reed 204 1/2? I just completed my Frankenvise project before x-mas. It was made from a pair of Reed 204 1/2 vises that i stumbled onto in consecutive weeks. I have a few pieces left over.... Im not sure what you still need to complete (i am sure i do not have a "four footed base"). But if i have anything of use to you, you are welcome to it.

 

[jakemac]

Not yet.
I started to try to fit a 204 base to it, but got sidetracked. I stalled when it came time to make new locking bolts. It's still sitting on the back of my bench looking abandoned.
(just like many of my projects )

You may not have a four footed base, but if you have a spare base for a 204-1/2, the center bolt, and the locking bolt(s), I would be very interested in working something out. PM me and we'll see what can be done.

 

[Fretters]

It's still sitting on the back of my bench looking abandoned.
(just like many of my projects )

Always good to know one's not alone in that regard.

 

[nine4gmc]

I have an entire bay full of projects waiting and somehow more keep showing up....

Sent from my SM-T230NU using Tapatalk

 

[Jcrapola]

Not yet.
I started to try to fit a 204 base to it, but got sidetracked. I stalled when it came time to make new locking bolts. It's still sitting on the back of my bench looking abandoned.
(just like many of my projects )

You may not have a four footed base, but if you have a spare base for a 204-1/2, the center bolt, and the locking bolt(s), I would be very interested in working something out. PM me and we'll see what can be done.

ill check and see this evening. I think I have the center bolt...