Little old city garage

[ToolUsingAnimal]

Well, hippies be dammed, I cut those trees down. Also removed an old stump and some brush and garbage. If I put up a little fence to hide it and chain it to the tree in the back, it'll be the perfect hiding spot for the grill. Pictures later

 

[Pneuking]

This is coming along nicely. Pretty soon you will not recognize the space.

 

[bobbarry]

I'm betting some inspector mandated a previous owner install a fire-barrier wall, or tear down the garage, if it was within a certain distance to the property-line.

Your neighbor may not have angered somebody in the town who called in the inspector.

Nice progress, though!

 

[ToolUsingAnimal]

Boy, it's been a while. Don't let your friends and family know you're handy, they'll keep you busy

First, that picture I promised:

Second, I got that dumpster and cleaned the junk out. Here's where we are now.

Keep the important stuff off the ground:

Picked up an old lathe:

I could mount the little lathe on the carriage

My old grinder, formerly buried in stuff. Still runs like a top:

Built a bench...

...and some feet for it too keep the end grain off the floor

 

[Topcat]

It's starting to take shape

 

[k63crash]

that concrete wall might have been a fire barrier. i had to have a fire wall on the side closest to my neighbors property to meet city code. weird cause its closer to my house than it is to his.

 

[HSpencer]

Curious what that building behind your garage is? WOW, your getting along well with your work. Looks like it will be a great shop when your done.

 

[little d]

Maybe i'ts just me but, I love watching old shops being saved, good job so far.

 

[n2ocamaro]

Maybe i'ts just me but, I love watching old shops being saved, good job so far.

x2! I like to see what people do with old stuff. The new builds are nice but there is a certain level of creativity that goes into fixing up an old place.
ToolUsingAnimal- Keep the updates coming!

 

[Bugsy X]

Good work and way to use what you have. Like n2ocamaro said..I like to see the creativity that goes into the older spaces. LOVE the lathe too!!
Keep it up!!

 

[uncle_scott]

I always like seeing the small garages take shape. Gives me hope that my 9x20 will be useable someday, haha.

 

[ToolUsingAnimal]

Thanks for the words of encouragement, fellas

I realize that most of what you've seen so far has been "here, look at this old thing!", but I hope you'll bear with me. Most of my time these last couple years has been spent on the house; with the garage the way it was, you can imagine how many funky things were done in there.

The end of last summer was spent getting the house sided, pouring a new front walkway, and replacing a rotten section of retaining wall with concrete. The garage became a catch-all for the siding and window guys' tools, lumber, and the like. In winter, without heat or power, I can't do much out there.

A warm winter and our weird daylight savings time will put me back on track!

I had some time yesterday while I changed the oil to do a few things outside.

The new siding on the house means the conduit from the attic to the garage had to come out. That's fine because I want to bury a cable and run a sub-panel out here, but for now the power's out.

There are two ceiling joists in the whole garage, to hold up the door tracks. I know that it's not much bigger than a shed, but I'd like to add some more for storage and support.

I've picked up some more "projects". One of the first will be refinishing the white dresser.

Fixing up this old Stanley plane will be a pleasure. Picked it up for $5 . At some point I'll have to decide between this big unmarked vise and my old Athol vise. I'm leaning toward the Athol vise.

I also picked up a 5th edition Machinery's handbook...

In which I learned of a cutting fluid that also makes great pie crust

This leftover Trex decking may become my new sill plate.

A closeup of the helpful sign:

Thanks again!

 

[ehaines]

Yes, I did pull out my 24th edition Machinery's Handbook to see if Lard oil was still in there....sadly, it is not.

 

[bhalv]

that unmarked vise looks one heck of a lot like an old wilton tradesman vise, might want to hang on to that one.

 

[Jawn]

That gives me an idea... I have some lard that is getting a bit too old to use for cooking.

 

[LoRollinLS]

Never seen this old thread before, but I'll have to say that your little place has some character and I like it. We all understand how life gets in the way of taking care of your hobbies. Good luck with the remainder of the build my friend.

 

[novaboy009]

that unmarked vise looks one heck of a lot like an old wilton tradesman vise, might want to hang on to that one.

x2 - looks like a wilton. Could be worth some $$$$$

 

[ToolUsingAnimal]

Hello again!

Just an incremental update, I finally got the mystery wall down to the ground

There's a course of blocks in the ground that I'm having trouble breaking up with a hammer, but don't worry - I've got a SECRET WEAPON

I've also exposed more of the back. It doesn't look like it, but there's quite a hole there.

I decided to clean up the workbench a little, and mounted the Wilton! Whaddaya think?

Just kidding, just kidding. I could feel the flames coming there . I ran out of daylight and couldn't find good bolts to mount it. Next time!

 

[jimmie jam]

Very interesting! This is great.

 

[gasser1961]

Very cool project. Looking forward to reading more about it.

 

[flybefree]

Nails...nice!

Shaun

 

[ToolUsingAnimal]

Ah, that's better

Friday, I put some hooks in the side shed and put all the outdoor tools in there. That's where my gas mower used to be, but my yard is small enough that I'm ok with using the push mower to keep it trim.

When I eventually replace the siding, I plan on knocking down this little shed and building it a little taller.

I also took out 100% of the old wiring, which isn't as impressive as it sounds.

Spent Saturday sick, then tried a little work Sunday. Remember the SECRET WEAPON ?

It's not the most powerful, but since last summer it's already paid for itself in rental fees. It's taken more abuse than you'd think a HF power tool could survive

I started by knocking out some bricks from the end of the wall. Hey, what's that?

Another bucket of bricks, and it's uncovered.

It looks like a drain? It's lined with steel and full of rocks, but I ran out of steam before I could hammer them out. It also turns out the front corner of the garage sits on a cinder block rather than a footing, which I don't like. There's a seam in the concrete in the garage that makes me think the garage was widened at some point.

Still sick and done with heavy lifting, I took the plane apart for cleaning. All in all, it's in pretty good shape.

Here are the handle and knob, sanded. The knob has a coat of tung oil, the handle is still bare. I like it .

They're both oiled now, and they'll get a coat of polyurethane before reassembly. All the metal parts are either soaking in vinegar or coated with naval jelly, and I'm waiting patiently for the rust to come off.

 

[bobemmerich]

That "drain" is probably some sort of a sistern thast may have been used way back for domestic water. If this is on the side where the block wall was, I would think that the garage was expanded and the wall was built as a "firewall" between the garage and the neighbors. The municipality may have made the owner or builder at the time fill in the cistern as it wasn't needed anymore. They are more common on older homes than one would think...

 

[Shoottx]

I would not use Poly on the handles, even after sanding it never feels quite right. After coating with an oil, let the oil soak in well, apply a coat of wood wax i.e. Johnson, butcher or Briwax and then buff. Don't use a car wax, it contains stuff that will not work well with wood. DAMHIK

Just my 2 cents

 

[ToolUsingAnimal]

Well, I had taken a bunch of pictures for this next update, but then I dropped my phone and bang, they're gone . So you'll have to look at these pictures and try to spot what's changed. I took another picture of one thing I did that I really like, though. If you remember, I had to take out the electrical last year because of work on the house. In the mean time, I've been running an extension cord from the house for my trouble light when I needed light. Since one light is never enough, I added a trouble light tree to the workbench. Now I can have a few lights and the radio going. It really makes a big difference when you've been without for a while.

I was going through Craigslist a few days ago looking at drill presses, and came across an unassuming ad for one.

I hadn't been meaning to get a drill press soon, but I asked the seller for pictures. He didn't have any, but said it was an older Rockwell. I went down to take a look last night, and was I surprised! I imagined a little drill press with a wooden table. This is what I got.

The table is cast iron. When I pulled up to the house, I assumed it was a lawn ornament or a grill. It took two of us to load it, and as I pumped the crane up to unload it, the back of the car rose an inch or two along with it. It's heavier than the drill press

The top of the drill press was painted at some point, but other than that it's in great shape for its age. Everything moves and turns like it should.

The nameplate, made in the U.S. of A

Here it is, set on the table. Before I left, the previous owner said "Clean that table up, paint it green, and it'll look like new". I couldn't deny him that, since he seemed so sad to see it go. I plan on repainting the table Rustoleum hunter green, and maybe the orange part of the drill press, too. The rest will probably get painted light industrial gray. What do you think?

 

[cowboy73]

Wow! That is one stout looking benchtop drill press. The garage is coming around nicely too.

 

[jimmie jam]

sweet!

 

[fergus]

Nice find man!

 

[Shoottx]

Based on the serial number the drill press was built in 1961.

http://wiki.vintagemachinery.org/DeltaSerialNumbers.ashx

And there is a ton of information here http://wiki.vintagemachinery.org/

I believe the table was purchased separately from the drill press.

Oh and that is a great find, clean it up and maybe new bearings and it will run another 50 years.

 

[ToolUsingAnimal]

Thanks for your encouragement, everyone

Lately I've been looking into adjustable feet. I've always intended to make some for the lathe, but the drill press is really going to need some soon. It's really uneven where it sits. So, I drew this up:

For reference, the dock washer is 1/4 inch thick. Total cost for each foot will be about $5, and it should hold plenty of weight. It'll also keep the metal table legs off the damp floor.

 

[jhexide]

Looks like my ac system in my garage!

dig the central air...!!!!

 

[KPSquared]

What did you draw that with? High tech for a table foot built with a hockey puck! Nice!

 

[VWPORSCHEGT3]

i have a Athol vise just like yours, mine is a little older with gouges in it , it spent a hard life in my grandpa's auto shop , then his farm shop, and finally outside on his bench until he passed away in 2008. remarkably it still has a few flecks of red paint which im assuming is original. I love that vise and my Dad keeps trying to steal it

 

[ToolUsingAnimal]

Shoottx: Thanks for the info, and I think you're right about the table. It had plenty of holes in it but none for mounting the drill press. I added some and it reminded me of something from when I used to do this more often; when you're drilling holes with a hand drill in steel or iron, and you ask yourself "I wonder how deep I've drilled?", the answer is always "Not as deep as I was hoping."

KPSquared: Thanks, I'm glad you like it. I used Solidworks to make that at lunch

Before I can get any real use out of the drill press, I've got to take it apart and clean the mouse **** out of the head. The spindle only had an inch or so of travel. I guess I was optimistic before when I said it was in working order

Here's the head mostly taken apart. When everything's together, there are only two holes in the casting that a mouse could get through to get inside. One of them is under the cover and easy to cover up. The other one is on the side here. Is it there for a reason, or can I add a plate over it?

Looking in at the old nest. This is after removing a lot of it already. Every part the mice used as a bathroom is caked in thick rust.

After a lot of banging, cursing, twisting, and oil, everything is apart

Here's our spindle travel problem.

I'm going to rebuild it from the bottom up, starting with the table. The hardware for the feet arrived last night, so I should be building those while the paint dries on the table legs. More soon!

 

[ToolUsingAnimal]

Back in black. Err, green . I skipped pictures of the cleaning and painting because it was pretty tedious and messy. An angle grinder with a cup brush did most of the work.

Here's the first foot. Looking sturdy!

Got the feet on and flipped it upright this morning. Other than some touch up, I'm very happy with it.

Next, I'll start on the drill press

 

[VWPORSCHEGT3]

i love it when people rebuild old equipment to give it new life.. keep it up!!

 

[HSpencer]

Isn't it such a shame that we cannot buy (and produce in factories in the USA) the quality of such as that drill press and table?
Where have you gone, America?

 

[Shoottx]

Isn't it such a shame that we cannot buy (and produce in factories in the USA) the quality of such as that drill press and table?
Where have you gone, America?

We can and we are in lots of cases, and I am referring more to woodwooking tools, look at Lie Nielson, Bridge City tools, and a bunch of others. And if you look at the prices adjusted for inflation, they are of comparable to the price of the vintage tools in their time. They are tools for craftsmen and as such are a good value, they are just not priced for sales at the BORGs.

Sorry, off of the soap box and kicking back to the middle of the room.

 

[Outlander]

Nice thread...fun read.

Source of supply for your machine tool foot shock absorption devices ==> here

 

[Kevin54]

Isn't it such a shame that we cannot buy (and produce in factories in the USA) the quality of such as that drill press and table?
Where have you gone, America?

I worked at the Bellefontaine Rockwell plant for a few years. Drill presses were a huge item then.Bellefontaine was the Power Tool Division. We made the tablesaws, bandsaws, small horizontal mills, small metal lathes, wood lathes, and various drill presses. At that time, on the drill presses, we might run 150 drill press tables per shift, 3 shifts, 2 weeks at a time. Then of course all of the internal components that went with it.

It is a shame that we don't build like that in the U.S.of A. anymore. It was a very busy time. I can see why they shut the doors though. It was a Union shop, and we worked on piece rate. You wouldn't believe how many guys milked the job out to get the piece rate lowered, then they would bust there hump to make rate in four hours, then screw off for four hours. I was a Setup Man and Group Leader. So when I went in, I set up the jobs I had to do, then go around and help my guys make money. When day shift was only showing 100% to 120% rate, my guys were turning in 200% on up. We had a shitload of grievances filed on us.

Toolusinganimal.....Someone above asked what the building was behind the garage. The brick building. I didn't see an answer while reading through. What kind of building / business is it?