Post Recession Shop Rehabilitation Project

[NedNorton]

Flu Season… I should have gotten a flu shot, hindsight is always 20/20.

Progress has been slow on anything resembling work, professionally or in the shop, due to a nasty case of the flu that has had me down for about a week. In-between shots of NyQuil, I did sneak into the shop to make a little headway on cleaning up the “new” Hobart Tigwave. After giving it a good cleaning, both inside and out, it was apparent that the sheet metal had grown some surface rust and needed a little attention.

Here is what I found once I pulled the sides…


After a little elbow grease (and a lot of rags)…


The base…

Cleaned…


Wire wheeled the rusty areas and primed…


Painted and the base back together…


I cleaned-up the front and rebuilt the gas valve while I was at it. Hobart doesn’t support this welder anymore but the company that made the valve is still going and the rebuild kit number was on the valve!


The rust on the panels wasn’t deep but there was a lot of it. After looking around on the Net for the gold color code I decided to go with stuff I already had on hand. The plan had been to build a cart for the Mig with drawers. For that build I had bought some Valspar Tractor Paint in white and orange plus a can of primer. I had a sign company make up two Hobart stencils (one was for the drawer and the other was a back-up). Since the Tig holds 2 full sized bottles and to save on shop space, I am now going to put the Mig set-up on top and don't need to build the cart leaving all these materials without a purpose. Why not use them up?

Stencil…


Orange patch on the primed side panel…


Stencil on…


On with the white… (It's hard to see the stencil after the white. I'm hoping once I pull the letters the orange looks good)


I’ll pull the stencil after the white has had time to dry a little. The enamel drys really slow, even with the added hardener so it may be a day or two before I can pull the letters and get it buttoned back up.

I’m hoping that I have time in the shop this weekend but my wife’s sister and boyfriend are coming into town so that may be a pipe dream. Oh well, it will be great to see Jen's sister. Last time she was here Jen was in the hospital and this is the first time we have met her boyfriend. Plus, more time for this stuff to cure.

Also, I found the Valspar primer shoots and sands really well so I think I will be using it moving forward on the mill.

Thanks for checking in. As always, I appreciate it. Have a great weekend everyone!

Cheers,
Chris

OK. I got anxious to see how it looked and pulled the stencil before making dinner.

 

[1/2 Cup]

Fantastic work and nicely detailed Chris, your welder looks a treat..

Regards

 

[Grumblebum]

Nice clean up Chris. Do you have a rubber mat to stick under the bottles to stop scratching up the fresh paint job on the tray?

GB

 

[Farmall450]

Phenomenal job. The welder looks good; a lot has changed since I last stopped in this thread!

 

[oldironfarmer]

Great work, especially being sick!

 

[Huxley]

You are a sick individual.

 

[NedNorton]

Fantastic work and nicely detailed Chris, your welder looks a treat..

Regards

Thanks, Steve. I hope that my welds can do it justice.

Nice clean up Chris. Do you have a rubber mat to stick under the bottles to stop scratching up the fresh paint job on the tray?

GB

GB - Now that you mention it. ****. Didn't even think of it. I guess I'll be stopping by McGuckin's (our hardware store) and picking up some. Thanks for the idea. You just saved me a bit of future refinish work.

Phenomenal job. The welder looks good; a lot has changed since I last stopped in this thread!

Farmall450 - Thanks for stopping in! Progress has been a little disjointed but even with my normal two steps forward and one step back, I'm making headway.

Great work, especially being sick!

Andy - I appreciate it. Like most folks here, I have a hard time sitting still. Even when I'm sick. I was hoping to just to give the welder a good clean-up and put it into service but after seeing the rust, that plan went out the window. I figure now that it is all taken care of, I won't have to worry about it in the future. Just have to run the new circuit and she will be good-to-go.

You are a sick individual.

Thanks, Huxley. (I think )

Here she is all bolted back together.





Thanks folks for checking in. The mill is next on the to do list. I need to get that thing wrapped up. Back to the salt mines!

Cheers,
Chris

 

[Crown]

Where did you find that brand new Hobart tigwave 250? Oh wait...
You did a fantastic job (again)!

 

[Lyndon]

Chris

That welder looks fantastic.

Well done!

Looking forward to seeing the mill come back together.

Hoping Jen is getting better now.

Lyndon
Hiding in my corner of the office....

 

[1/2 Cup]

Chris

That welder looks fantastic.

Well done!

Looking forward to seeing the mill come back together.

Hoping Jen is getting better now.

Lyndon
Hiding in my corner of the office....

Lyndon has said it all.

Well done Chris.

 

[oldironfarmer]

Chris

That welder looks fantastic.

Well done!

Looking forward to seeing the mill come back together.

Hoping Jen is getting better now.

Lyndon
Hiding in my corner of the office....

Well put Lyndon, but if you have enough time to post like this surely you have enough time to reveal a few secrets.

 

[dhubbard422]

My oh my... that looks like a brand new welder! Nice work. Again!

 

[jbmatth]

The welder came out great, you do such fantastic work and to such a high level of detail even for a quick spit and polish job. I'm sure the mill will be a sight to behold once finished. Just be sure you don't get caught up clear coating, buffing, and polishing it to a showroom shine that would fit in with AMBR cars.
JB

 

[rmack898]

Chris, great job on the welder. I hate to be a stick in the mud but I can't help noticing that you didn't clean and paint the wheels. Maybe you can come up with some kind of wheel wiper brush that keeps the wheels clean as you roll it across the floor.

 

[GLTHFJ60]

Damn man. Makes me want to fix up my Hobart Ironman.

 

[Guster]

Nice job cleaning up the Hobart. Probably justifies a nice cover to keep it clean now.

What does it weld like?

 

[shortykorte]

I don't know if I should be depressed or feel motivated. You have the flu and paint your welder. Welder looks great. I guess I didn't get my mom's energy because holding down the recliner is enjoyable for me a lot of times.

 

[NedNorton]

Crown - Thanks for the kind words. I hope that it has a long life in the shop.

Lyndon - Jen is feeling better and went back to work this week on a very limited schedule. Her recovery is moving a long but it looks like we will have to delay any trip plans until she is better able to handle things. I'll keep you updated via PM.

Steve (1/2 Cup) - Thanks. Little by little the projects are getting done. Who knows, I may actually get to build something here in the not so distant future!

Andy (oldironfarmer) - I'm with you... What is going on Lyndon?

Don (dhubbard422) - Thanks. Still no where near as cool as your new Miller! I'm envious of your inverter's lack of needing a 100amp circuit to run. I already have a 50amp welding circuit in the shop. But, the Hobart fit the budget plus it came with a 330cf bottle. It's all a trade-off.

JB (jbmatth) - Appreciate it. Lucky for me the rust was hanging out only where the panels came together. It took a little time with some 320 to get it taken care of then paint. No buffing or wax.

Mac (rmack989) - Great to hear from you! I hope your kidding on the wheel brushes! No paint but everything was torn down, cleaned and regreased. None of the wheels actually turned easily at first. They were all caked in mud and old grease. I spared you guys the, "Here is me digging the mud out of the casters" post.

GLTHFJ60 - I've been reading your thread on IH8MUD (all 10 million pages)! Whoa! If you ever have time between the garage and the 60, I'm sure the welder will get some attention. Also, I'm sure that it is much happier doing cool projects than getting a beauty treatment. (Like the axle rebuild supports off the welding table!)

Guster - Thanks. I'll have to think about a cover. It may just get the fancy moving blanket cover for a while.

Shorty (shortykorte) - Don't feel depressed, at all. Jen and I are both terrible at the sick thing. I am more than happy to sit and read GJ or the like but don't like doing while it I'm sick for some reason. Not sure where that comes from.

Thanks folks for tuning in. I appreciate it.

Cheers,
Chris

 

[NedNorton]

It’s not all paint, spit and polish…

A buddy runs a plowing business up here in the mountains, among other things. Well, one of his guys trashed a clutch in one of the Dodge trucks. He had it towed over last night and we started pulling it apart.

My ceiling in the garage is only 9.5 feet so once we got the rig on the lift, and up 2 feet, it was apparent that it was easier to just do it the old fashioned way and busted out the creeper.

Love all the water from the melting snow… NOT! Makes me wish that Race Deck would have a blowout sale on Free-Flow for GJ members. (If you guys are listening; How about $1 a square? )


NV4500… This is the same box that I am going to use in the FJ60 (mine will be the GM version) . It was nice to see the sucker up close and personal and as a bonus, not nearly as heavy as I was expecting. Plus, just 6 well placed bolts to separate it from the transfer case and 4 for the bell housing. Awesome and easy.


Clutch kit should be here from Rock Auto today and then a couple of hours (4 ish) tonight and I’ll have it buttoned back up.

Thanks folks for checking in.

Cheers,
Chris

 

[oldironfarmer]

Looking good on the clutch replacement!

That wet floor looks like no fun at all.

 

[Huxley]

No buffing or wax.

Cheers,
Chris

I am just repeating this here in case you really lose it & try to cover your tracks later.

 

[jbmatth]

Having a lift and not really being able to use it is no fun sometimes. Last week mine was in use when my car came due for an oil change. Of course it was raining so I was covered in water and mud, but it is done and I now have 2,300 more miles to get the lift cleared off again. Enjoy the clutch replacement tonight.
JB

 

[GLTHFJ60]

GLTHFJ60 - I've been reading your thread on IH8MUD (all 10 million pages)! Whoa! If you ever have time between the garage and the 60, I'm sure the welder will get some attention. Also, I'm sure that it is much happier doing cool projects than getting a beauty treatment. (Like the axle rebuild supports off the welding table!)

Thanks Chris!! I'm always trying to get something done


I don't envy you working on the floor around melting snow. That's not fun at all, but it looks like you've got a good process!

 

[Mr. Roboto]

.

Mr. Roboto -


1) The pipes are filled completely with the beads and there is no noticeable drop in pressure. The psi coming out of the receiver is 145 - 175 +/- and then I am down regulating to 90 psi so there isn't any issue.

Service of the dryers will be relatively straight forward. I added unions on the top and bottom of each so they could be pulled from the system easily and removing the desiccant is just a matter of unscrewing the sight glass and dumping it out. The beads can be renewed several times by just baking them in the oven at 200 to remove the moister.

2) The grand plan for the shop and garage air system is a 3/4 main trunk line with 1/2 branches. Ideally each branch will have a regulator. Right now since I am running hoses off the main line I'm controlling the pressure at the main regulator/filter after the dryers, mostly set at 95psi. That will change when the rest of the system is in.

Hope that helps. Let me know if there is anything that I didn't explain well.



Cheers,
Chris

Sorry it took me so long, been out of town on business, but thanks for replying. I missed the unions when I looked at the pictures. And thanks for filling me in on the plan for the rest of the shop. It's going to be awesome when it's all done. The Pex-Al-Pex seems like a great option for distribution, I've just read it's really hard to work with. I may try to make a straightener like I have seen others do if I do go that route.

 

[NedNorton]

Andy (oldironfarmer) - Thanks for the vote of confidence. And yes, melting snow stinks to work in. Every winter I keep thinking it's time to put down race deck free flow. It's always more on my mind while rolling around in the snow melt.

Huxley - Just a quick note... Call me old school, I prefer Mother's over zymol.

JB (jbmatth) - Yah. Every time I was in the mud those unused towers were just laughing. To top it off, the transmission oil drained from the back while getting it out so I was covered in snow melt and gear oil. Does anyone else really dislike the smell of gear oil?

floor around melting snow. That's not fun at all, but it looks like you've got a good process!

Not even close! But, it did go back together without too much trouble.

Mr Roboto - Great to hear from you. Hope that the wife is doing well! Let me know how things go with the rapid-air. Always up for standing on the shoulders of giants and not having to reinvent the wheel.

Thanks folks for stopping in.

Cheers,
Chris

 

[NedNorton]

Dodge 2500 clutch work and moving the MIG welder around…

The new clutch kit came in from Rock Auto. Can you see what was wrong with the old friction disk? I'm not sure why there was smoke coming from the clutch?


I was looking through the “Show us your service cart” thread. There are some great, organized, and supper functional examples.

Mine, not so much… I thought I was doing ok when I added the socket organizer.


The truck went back together without any heartache, pain, or discomfort and my buddy picked it up on Friday night. I'll be rebuilding the plow hydraulics in the next few days but I'll report on that later once I get closer to finishing it up.

Today was clean the shop day. While I was at it I moved the MIG over on top of the TIG and got the tanks secured. This should work out just fine. Side note...I really like owning my own tanks. 250cf CO2/Argon and 330cf Argon. It should keep the trips to the LWS to a minimum.





I still need to get a new grounding lead and run the 100amp circuit before any real TIG action will be going on. (I did test it on the 50amp) But tomorrow, I’ll do a few small things and take care of adding a hook, or 5, for the torches and cables. Time to drill into that nice, freshly painted, shinny sheetmetal and bring the old Hobart one step closer to the workhorse it was born to be.

Thanks everyone for checking in, I appreciate it.

Cheers,
Chris

 

[1/2 Cup]

Chris, mmmm I have to concur with your clutch pate assessment, not good..

The Hobart looks right at home, well done..

Regards

 

[oldironfarmer]

Are you really going to be TIG welding anything which requires 100 amp primary?

 

[AZpilot]

Everything is looking great. The service cart will look like that when actual work is being done. The Hobart Handler cover is cool. where did you get it? I need one for my 140 Mig.

Stay warm up in the tundra!

 

[AZpilot]

Are you really going to be TIG welding anything which requires 100 amp primary?

Yes he will. One of those 3/4" steel bases need welding to a two inch piece of plate steel!

 

[NedNorton]

Steve (1/2 Cup)) - Yep. The drivers who work for my buddy put a lot of pressure on the equipment.

Andy (oldironfarmer) - These old transformer machines eat a lot of juice. The welder did fire up on the old 50 amp circuit. The plan is to use the TIG for aluminum and that will require the added amps. The good news is that I can downsize the wire to 6ga for the pull according to code due to duty cycle. The plan is to run the circuit into the shop to a fused disconnect and then another 50' of cable so I can move the welder anywhere I need, within reason. That should cover my welding needs for the forceable future. Always great to hear from you, Andy.

AZ Pilot - Here is the cover.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0002PS7QM/?tag=atomicindus08-20

Weather looks to be warm for the remainder of the week. I hope I can get outside and blast the frame.

Thanks for checking in folks.

Cheers,
Chris

 

[AZpilot]

But, yours says Handler and the one on Amazon does not. You get all the cool stuff. LOL.

 

[BBChevro]

Dodge 2500 clutch work and moving the MIG welder around…

The new clutch kit came in from Rock Auto. Can you see what was wrong with the old friction disk? I'm not sure why there was smoke coming from the clutch?

...

That clutch plate is what Andy would refer to as "fully used". ...

...

Pads are fully used...

...

Very nice work on the welder Chris.

I hope you have recovered from the flu.

.

 

[NedNorton]

But, yours says Handler and the one on Amazon does not. You get all the cool stuff. LOL.

I just lucked out, I guess. It came that way! All the cool stuff? I'm working on it! How is your vehicle project progressing?

That clutch plate is what Andy would refer to as "fully used". ...

.

That is awesome! Andy brings a practical, no BS, view to things.

Thanks for checking in guys.

Cheers,
Chris

 

[NedNorton]

Only a few hooks…

In the continuing quest to get the welder into the “Done for Now” category, I got the cable hooks mounted and it is one step closer. It sounds like a small thing ,adding hooks, but they really are necessary to make this thing usable. I found some good quality hooks at HD of all places, so I took to laying them out and drilling into the freshly painted sheet metal.

Some layout… (Short one hook at this point for the ground cable)


All mounted (after getting the last hook) and loaded…


TIG Pedal and MIG power cord hooks…


Done…


Really happy with how the pedal hooks worked out. It keeps it nice and secure.


Next up for the welder is a small toolbox for consumables and a few DIY filler rod storage tubes. I have the new ground cable ordered and that should be here next week. The weather looks nice so maybe I will take the opportunity to run the wire in the relative warmth and sunshine.


New Project (Addition to the Honey Do List) …
The third bay of our garage is now empty. A friend was storing stuff there after his divorce. It was supposed to be only for a little while but, a little while turned into a long while (several years). Jen would like to start seeds for her community garden plot and my Mom would like to start annuals for the rock walls here at the house so, I think taking a little bit of time and finishing the drywall and getting it painted before that begins may be in order.

Better to keep the Ladies happy! Although, that means more sanding of drywall in my future. I love drywall, It's my favorite.



Thanks for reading along, folks. It means a bunch that people take the time to check–in.

Cheers,
Chris

 

[Finallygotit]

I have welder envy.

 

[beautifulchaos]

Thanks for reading along, folks. It means a bunch that people take the time to check–in.

Cheers,
Chris

Check in?! I practically live for this thread.

It's a great circle, this one. You chronicle your garage and mechanical life because you know we appreciate it. And we kick some appreciation back your way simply by following along and dropping bits of gratitude here and there. One doesn't happen without the other, so thanks for putting in the effort.

Rick

P.S. - I've blatantly ripped off so many parts of your build that putting up my own build (plans) would be akin to cliff-noting only the elemental concepts of something magnificent, like joining a solitary nut with a bolt on the Eiffel Tower and trying to ignore all of the actual engineering that went into such a thing. Maybe that doesn't make sense, just know you've set the bar high enough to actually improve lives with your inspiring projects.

 

[1/2 Cup]

Chris, your welder set up is a one stop shop so to speak, well done..

Regards

 

[oldironfarmer]

Careful around all the electrical stuff, you may wind up getting a spark before long

 

[AZpilot]

Keeping the lady happy is also a full time job.