MP&C Shop Projects

[Ohmthis]

Robert, I’m not sure the size of the fiber or the method for terminating/splicing that will be done. Has lighting been addressed? I always needed extra lighting to see the fiber strand and to also terminate (ST and SC connectors). With todays LED lights you can make it bright enough for surgery

 

[MP&C]

We have two 48 in fixtures on either side of the ECU above bench. 4K LED, and a 24” over the tool box. They had less spec’d and I “interfered” with the order. As someone who has btdt, I appreciate your input, thanks!!

 

[MP&C]

More trailer progress.


Spare tire was relocated to under work bench, the best out of the way spot we could find.





Installing the electrical.. lighting is wired up to a cheater cord so we could see what we're doing.








Testing out the heat, they will be needing this shortly..





A slight modification to our table.. As we are going to have a raised edge on the table top, any hinge between the two would have to sit up a good 1/4" or better to allow the leaf to fold completely over. So we backed up and punted, this is the stop for the leaf and the hinge will be against the wall.








Action shot...

Our wire edge dies for the Lennox were used to add the raised edge to prevent things from rolling off. Or fiber strands from landing in your lap.








Table tops mocked up





Action shot...

Left to do, rivet table tops in place, add anchors for tie downs, linoleum and cove base..

 

[xtremek]

I know you put a lot of thought into this, so what is your reasoning for not making the table shorter and the leaf longer?

 

[MP&C]

Thought it would provide a more "stable" platform for a work surface. The leaf was made big enough to pass around the table to get to the rear of the trailer, nothing more.. JR was the biggest guy on the crew so we made the opening one JR wide.

 

[Ohmthis]

Robert, looks good as usual! Thanks for bringing us along.

 

[MP&C]

Flooring and cove base installed. The 3-1/2" pipe (1/2" wall) covered in purple tape is our roller to smooth things out..





Tool box attached to the wall with 5/16 rivnuts into the studs and standoffs to keep the lid from dragging the wall.






table re-installed






Chair securing method





D-rings added for genset stowage





Simple but effective storage bracket for jack handle, easily accessible from outside of the door, attached to table leg.









Stick a fork in it, we delivered it back to work this morning and then spent about 3 hours or so cleaning up the shop

 

[MadeByMiller]

Expertly done! Thank you for sharing!

 

[Ohmthis]

Robert, that’s almost too nice to use! I would have loved to use something so nice. The main problem we saw is that most of the guys cared about as much for the company tools as they did gum on the sidewalk. We kept our own gangbox so we actually had usable tools. Unfortunately the locks were all the same. Great job on the trailer. You put a lot of workmanship and detail in.

 

[xtremek]

I love everything but the chair strap. It seems cumbersome. What about some kind of eye bolt to the inside of each table leg, then 2 bungee cords to each seat back. Then a long bungee cord through the hole at the each chair, across the table. Amazing work as always, just beautiful.

 

[Rockable]

Great job, Robert! I am sure your team will appreciate it even more once they start using it.

 

[MP&C]

Thanks for the comments guys, working on “tiny trailers” isn’t something we normally do but really enjoyed the challenge…

I love everything but the chair strap. It seems cumbersome. What about some kind of eye bolt to the inside of each table leg, then 2 bungee cords to each seat back. Then a long bungee cord through the hole at the each chair, across the table. Amazing work as always, just beautiful.

We were trying to keep anchors to a minimum to help eliminate any trip hazard, which is why the ones in the back were tucked in the corner. We looked at a few different things for the chairs, the small ratchet strap just seemed less intrusive but still functional for a less is more kind of thing. (with the tire there to keep things off the wall and the table leg to keep it contained otherwise) We can revisit this after we get feedback from the users, but the chairs used don’t wander much, I only see that strap being used for long transports and not the short trips between the termination stops on post. We did shorten the straps, but the chair pic does not show that. Thanks for the suggestion!

 

[txvwnut]

Very nice build.

At the day job all of our mobile command post's use bungee cords to hold the chairs in place during travel. We have one unit that has the chairs mounted on tracks but they are kind of a nuisance to get in and out of and the locks didn't last very long.

 

[stinkity stoink]

That is a great transformation!! Makes me ashamed of my work trailer..lol

 

[zmotorsports]

Excellent work as always Robert.

 

[gasgas17]

Out fitting trailers and vans is fun. Especially when it's your own. Some pics of our new work van back in 2017. Still going strong and not an issue with the built-ins. Obviously I work in a different medium than Robert.

 

[GLTHFJ60]

Suggestion for the spare tire. A spare tire jack from a nissan pathfinder mounted underneath is a really convenient place to store it. Check this out:

Trailer Tips, Tricks and things you would change.

Brake wiring. In a day or two I'm going to rewire the brakes on my trailer, add a new 7-pin plug, and a new brake controller. I'm going to run new wire for the trailer brakes for peace of mind. Do the folks of irate4x4 have a preference for the gauge of THHN to run from the controller out to...

irate4x4.com

 

[MP&C]

I had some fabrications to do for the day job that require a bit more precision than I'd seen out of my Pexto shear. I don't have a back gauge so typically we'd position the panel in the center so we could measure along both sides. Positioning against the squaring guide would block this measurement ability for panels that are larger than the scale on the shear. Additionally, the shear tends to pull slightly that we'd always be about 1/32 or so off on one side.

Given the table has T-slots, let's make some clamps so we can have more accurate cuts. Some sacrificial C-clamps were used, along with some 1/2" hardware, and then TIG'd together.








The next part of the equation, we needed a radius bend that we didn't have tooling for. Our Diacro Rol-form die was too large a radius, so with round stock in hand, let's make some new dies..








Our new, smaller die is not too small while nested in the acute female die to cause interfere with the 90* bend, this may just work.








And for a test bend... Note the lack of tooling marks on the aluminum sample.

This shows a glimpse into the lower die's parts to show how it works.

Here's our completed panels

 

[xtremek]

Always a pleasure to see your work.

 

[zmotorsports]

I wish you and your family a Merry Christmas Robert. Looking forward to seeing what you teach us in the new year.

 

[xtremek]

Happy Christmas, Sir.

 

[MP&C]

Thanks guys! Hope everyone enjoyed a good Christmas surrounded by family/friends.

Some fabrications from last week, now that the cat can be let out of the bag. My daughter has my saddle bags from my Harley I owned 25 plus years ago to install on her Yamaha. So, while she was at work last week, her bike made its way into the shop for some fabrication work on bag brackets. We had ordered some stainless round stock for making the spacers, stainless rod for bending the hoops, and longer bolts for attachment to the fender struts. We had to contend with the rear turn signals being in the way as this bike is a bit shorter than the Softail Custom the bags were on before, so the spacers were made about two inches long to provide space for the lights.











The brackets for sandwiching the bag strap (these were originally an across the fender bag but never used in that fashion) used to be straight across straps on the Harley, but the Yamaha strut bolts drop down on the front set of bolts. So, we designed a drop-down tab that would still keep the bags parallel to the exhaust.








Mocked up with the bag:











In order to keep our bag brackets looking consistent, all four were clamped together and lightly touched against the disc sander for minimal heat in order to keep the disc from loading up too bad. Then finished up with 320 on the DA.








The brackets were dropped off at The Shop at Shorty's for some matte finish powder coat, and the hoops were polished up on the pedestal buffer, all ready for Christmas morning.





The other fabrication we did, the wife's beater vehicle had a rear hub bearing that was getting a bit sloppy so we purchased a replacement. I didn't have a puller for removing, and since everyone was now closed for the holidays, I resorted to modifying a top link bracket I had saved from a donor finish mower (item 3 in the picture)





A bit of heat applied and a large crescent wrench for rotational force, and this thing is taking shape.





Then a couple cuts on the band saw, three holes using the drill press, and we are in business. So, reminder/flashback, everything is a tool.











We didn't want to sacrifice another c-clamp so a simple 3/4-10 bolt and a nut held on the inside did the trick.. May have to upgrade later to acme thread if I can find a suitable donor, and then we can make this cobbled up mess a more permanent fixture in the tool box..

 

[xtremek]

Sounds like the days have been very busy. Nice job on the press.

 

[jimkinney]

Good use of resources on hand Robert.
I still have an emergency made speedometer gear puller for a Muncie transmission, made from some scrap 1/4" steel plate and 1/4" all thread.
I haven't owned anything with that trans in it for 40 years, but still have the puller.

 

[Ohmthis]

“Everything is a tool” right Robert? Excellent work, I learn so much from you!

 

[MP&C]

Thanks to all for following along with our adventures, whether commenting, asking questions, offering suggestion, or just reading the updates. May everyone have a healthy and blessed New Year!!

 

[xtremek]

Merry New Year, Robert.

 

[klhansen]

JR was the biggest guy on the crew so we made the opening one JR wide.

LOL
Reminds me of the story about how large the Space Shuttle Booster Rockets were made. Something about the width of two horses a$$es.

As always, nice work, Robert.

BTW, I still haven't finished my oil canning issue. Other stuff has gotten in the way. I'll get on it again soon.

Hope you had a good holiday.

 

[MP&C]

The wife and I travelled down to SC last week, and I stopped and visited John Glenn at Anderson Auto Glass to see the pickup he is restoring. I was early, so went back to the Antique store I had passed and picked up this adjustable vixen file. Glad to get it off the shelf and back into use.




For anyone that wants to see some real nice work on a 66 F100, check out John’s build thread here:

1966 F100 Short Bed Styleside Metal/Body/Paint Work

I started another '66 F100 short bed project at the shop back around April, I'll post the progress here to catch up to where I'm at now. I'll only be doing the metal, body, and paint work instead of a full build like the last one ('66 F100 Stock Restoration). I'll be fixing the rust...

www.spiuserforum.com

 

[MP&C]

We've all seen the rusted out floor pans in old cars with a sign screwed or pop riveted in place to keep your feet from falling through. As a first for me, now I've repaired one of those signs. We needed to make some dies for the Lennox to produce the "picture frame" border...

The owner plans on using panel adhesive to attach, in order to save as much of the original paint as possible. We made some splice plates for the back side to use with the panel adhesive. He has an artist lined up to re-create the bottom portion.

 

[larry4406]

Very cool on the sign!

What happened to the original bottom section? I assume it’s under your overly patch panel?

 

[MP&C]

It was gone, someone had cut it off for who knows what.

 

[MP&C]

The hinge covers for the wagon is one of the many loose ends we have left to address, quite a bit of rust...





A quick test fit before we go off fabricating anything shows these factory original parts are no better than many of the reproduction parts you get today.. I had planned on fabrication work, didn't know we needed a redesign.











We ordered a piece of round stock to match the radius to use on the Magnetic brake, that should arrive Tuesday.

Next, we need to fold a hem for our stainless edge trim we plan on using for the ribbed stainless dash insert. The magnetic brake leaves a bit to be desired in having balls enough to hem a short return flange, so we packed up our sheet metal strips we had cut to size and went to another local metalshaper's shop to make use of his apron brake.








A piece of .030 aluminum acted as a spacer to maintain our hem gap. The brake worked well but the parts needed a bit more flatness to provide nice crisp details. Since he also had a powered Mittler Bros. bead roller, we used some flat dies and ran through all the bent pieces.

test fit of the ribbed stainless....








And for a teaser of how it will look after polishing....

 

[xtremek]

Always nice to see your work.

 

[stinkity stoink]

Back on the car , woo hoo !!

 

[ng8264723]

Robert is this your car? I just looked at the start date 10 years ago!

 

[MP&C]

I've found it cheaper to work on other people's cars.

No, customer car. That's the hazards of having a day job that sends me on too much travel.

 

[MP&C]

In looking through some pictures it seems I missed showing a project we did last year. A customer brought in a "Patent Idea Display". This had a battery pack inside that powered the headlights (headlight bezels not shown) and featured a rod down the bottom that would oscillate the left headlight, and I believe would flash that headlight as well (based on linkage tied to a relay inside). The control switch is actually the left half of a Model T instrument cluster.















It has obviously had parts (hood) that went missing over the years and an aluminum flashing replacement had been added. He wanted a hood fabricated that looked more period correct, so we offered to do louvers and a faux hinge at the top.


For the hood we used 19 gauge AKDQ, and for the louvers we are using the Diacro press brake. The louver dies weren't tall enough for the Diacro, so an adapter was used at the top to make up the difference.





Our practice punches worked fine, but the machine did not have enough depth to the vertical supports of the press brake for the size of our hood. We would need to get sketchy. Real sketchy.

With only about half of each die in the machine, and two set screws holding on for dear life....

With louvers punched, we used the highly technical argon bottle radius brake to add our hoop. next on the list was to make our hinge using a piece of 1/4" stainless tubing.











Next, our hood needs the beltline bead to match cars of the era, and to simulate the hidden hinges for the hood sides.

Our "hinge" was plug welded in place...








Media blasted for better paint adhesion, and ready for delivery..

 

[PugetDude]

Incredible craftmanship and attention to period-correct detail, Robert.
Well done.

 

[xtremek]

Cool little project. How long did it take you do that one?