Post Recession Shop Rehabilitation Project

[jbmatth]

Great score on the tig and funny you mention looking for 50 amp plugs during the holiday break because I was doing the exact same thing. I'm trying to come up with a cool way to control both of my compressors from the surge tank I'm installing and the possibilities are endless right now.
JB

 

[oldironfarmer]

Great score on the tig and funny you mention looking for 50 amp plugs during the holiday break because I was doing the exact same thing. I'm trying to come up with a cool way to control both of my compressors from the surge tank I'm installing and the possibilities are endless right now.
JB

Hijack! You know the proper way is to have logic (PLC?) that alternates the primary unit to start then starts the second unit if the primary fails to keep up. Typical pump station control. If you're on this thread then you'll need a control panel with pressures, discharge temperatures, set points, ready lights, unit designated "next to start" lights, and, of course, hour meters for each unit and a digital counter to keep track of the number of starts for each unit would be mighty fine. Green salsa color panel would be OK. If you had a little PLC you could also limit run times and discharge temperatures assuming you want to leave the system pressured up full time. Air pump RPM would be a nice touch and let you detect belt slippage or breakage.

Just some ideas to keep you from getting bored.

 

[shortykorte]

Tool for Christmas

Looking forward to the current shop pics

 

[Strouty]

As always you are inspiring me to get out in my shop and do something. I do like the 50 amp plug, it is much nicer than the regular ones, I still use those, but who knows, maybe I will randomly search for a 50 amp plug??

 

[NedNorton]

JB (jbmatth) - Nice work on the compressors. I've been following along. Andy (oldironfarmer) is right, a PLC would do it. I'm a little more stone-age and would probably opt for relays and pressure switches. Either way, its a great project. Come to think of it... Get working on the PLC route so you can teach the rest of us!

Andy (oldironfarmer) - Never a hijack! My guess is folks get more out of the knowledge brought to this thread from you guys than from me!
More importantly, thanks for keeping Jen and I in your thoughts. It means a lot.

Shorty (shortykorte) - I cleaned the shop tonight. You know you all are killing me right? I chose to clean-up instead of building the air delivery.

Shouty - If any of this inspires anyone, I'm humbled. Not that the old plugs were bad, but the new one is so much better.

Thanks folks for chiming in. As always, I appreciate it.

Cheers,
Chris

 

[1/2 Cup]

Chris, the sky is the limit in terms of a control system for your compressor let you imagination run wild now a days as Andy has said.

All that said even though I work in the PLC and logic world there is still room for simplicity IMHO.

All the best with it..

Regards

 

[NedNorton]

Steve (1/2 Cup) - Always quick on the draw! Thanks for stopping in!

A little midweek QST… Ain’t life grand!

The good news, all the fittings for the desiccant dryers and piping to the filter regulator showed up and I am ready to get the compressor plumbed. The bad news, the shop is a mess and I have been getting this nagging feeling, call it a much needed reminder from certain members that I hold in high regard (Brent, Andy, and Shorty), that my continued use of close-ups to hide my mess has now been noticed. Looking back at the thread... I did manage to get away with it, if inadvertently, for quite a while.

So… Against my better judgment instead of building the air supply, I cleaned my room. (Andy, what does a guy need to do to order up a new broom?)

I’ve been rehabbing the shop for a year and a half, give or take. Things are filling-up and I am running out of usable wall space. Now comes one of the parts I enjoy, in a sick I need help kind of a way: How do I store stuff more efficiently so I can, you guessed it, pack in more stuff while still having room to work.

This is how the Post Recession Shop Rehabilitation Project sits tonight.

From the shop door…



Back wall… (Just incase you were wondering, those are my desiccant dryers half done on the bench. I blame and credit the three members mentioned above. )



From the sheet goods cabinet…


From the Snap-On boxes…


To be honest, the shop has three areas that see most of the work. First is here by the boxes and in front of the door.

You can see the “table of woe” (mill part sanding area) just past the out-feed table.


The lathe area is next. When I get time I need to build a rolling cart/worktop so I don’t use the jointer as a table. (The radial arm/ chop saw station will be left of the lathe)



Here is the third area by the back wall. It sees a lot of use and having the Taco cart on wheels makes the space that much more versatile. (You can also see where on the WOS the chop saw/ radial arm / maybe metal band saw station will go)


Well, that’s it. Oh, I almost forgot. I moved the mill parts to a temporary shelving unit so I could clear off the Table Saw. Getting the mill back together has been eating at me. But, I really hate all the sanding!


Just for kicks...

Here is where we started...


What a ride...


Anyway… The shop has come a long way since I started the rehab back in June of 2015. I owe a big thanks to all that have taken the time to read along, comment, and to those that I borrowed ideas and took inspiration. It is a great space to work in, for sure. I am truly a lucky SOB, in more ways than just having a shop to spend my time in.


Thanks, as always, for reading the ramblings.

Cheers,
Chris

 

[bj383ss]

Thanks for the updated photos Chris. Your shop has come a long ways in a very short time.

As far as space concerns I still see lots of floor space to build more workbenches with cabinets under them. Could also build some more suspended shelving from the ceiling. Our build you another storage building to store more stuff in.

Anyways looking good as always.

Bret

 

[turbowoodworker]

Great thread, great shop. Thanks for posting.

 

[Strouty]

I bought a 50 amp plug, I am also amazed at how much stuff you can get in that shop and still be organized and functional. Sadly I am not yet to that point and I have more space and much less organization/functionality.

 

[jbmatth]

As Bret mentioned you have plenty of space still available. For starters you could build more cabinets on the wall by the man door near the table saw. There is room next to the lathe you could built a little cart to house some of the lathe tooling with a foldable top extension like on some tables. I see a lot more space between machines and under some of them. There are lots of ways to take advantage of the space if you use your imagination. Maybe read through The Salt Life Hideout, or Shopnut's The Asylum. They both have great storage solutions for little spots here and there. I know there are other threads I'm missing but can't think of them right now.
JB

 

[oldironfarmer]

Looking great! Excellent update! Are we to assume the pictures were "before cleaning"? I kind of got lost in the text...

If you really want a broom the routine is to send me your name and address and a check for $35 to

Andy Martin
366851 Old Terlton Road
Terlton, OK 74081

And then wait because I'm slow.

 

[Grumblebum]

Well it's looking pretty good to me Chris.

"my continued use of close-ups to hide my mess has now been noticed."

I think we all do this so I wouldn't worry too much...

Seems the boys have already thought of a few things, all I though is maybe a "Steevo" inspired island with the snap on chests, but as they look to be too tall for bench space perhaps build the frame taller and integrate shelving or cupboard space above...

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=126086

Following your air setup, I'm just getting the fittings together to do mine although the I am using copper without a dryer.

Cheers GB.

 

[-Brent-]

Wow, man! It looks so good. I see the dryers in a couple pics, too. I'm interested to see your take on them.

Everything looks well placed and the shop looks easy to use. What, if anything else would you like to bring into the shop? You're pretty much at the tipping point as far as border space goes, unless you utilize that wall with the cabinetry and the engine stand finds a new home.

Thanks for the step-back pics. I'm not ready for those, yet. Haha.

 

[dlcwent]

Chris, again another thread I have visited many times and yet failed to comment on. I'm in awe. Really nice shop and glad to hear things are better for you now.

 

[Boosted1]

Great transformation from beginning

 

[Huxley]

Did I miss a post / thread about these dessicant dryers? Sounds cool.

 

[Lyndon]

Chris

You know I'm taking all this down for my next place - don't you....

Lyndon
Just checking.....

 

[Guster]

Happy new year Chris!

Great score on that TIG unit. I love my inverter but some days I miss the smoothness of welding with a transformer unit. I agree that it can do with opening up and blowing out all the dust and critters. Good time to find the service manual and do service check on it while it is open - just the rudimentary stuff at least.

 

[NedNorton]

Brent (bj383ss) - Storage has always been a challenge. There will be more on the chop-saw station cabinet and under the table saw, for sure. I need to find a home for the 3d router that just made it onto the project list! Thanks for stopping in. Always great to hear from you.

turbowoodworker - Thanks for the kind words and for taking the time to comment. It's been fun.

Strouty - I wish I had your space to work with. Your Quincy is something my shop hopes to be able to use when it grows up.

JB (jbmatth) - The threads you cited are some of my favorites. I'll be rereading a lot for more ideas as things progressively get tighter. Nice job on the compressor stuff!

Andy (oldironfarmer) -

Looking great! Excellent update! Are we to assume the pictures were "before cleaning"? I kind of got lost in the text...

Before? I'm in trouble. Those were the clean shots!

GB (Grumblebum) - Appreciate you stopping in. The air set-up is done for now. I'll have it all detailed in the next post.

Brent (-Brent-) -

Everything looks well placed and the shop looks easy to use. What, if anything else would you like to bring into the shop? You're pretty much at the tipping point as far as border space goes, unless you utilize that wall with the cabinetry and the engine stand finds a new home.

Well... The more I get into working with metal, the more I see the need for things like a brake, shear and tube bender with dies. When I built the shop, the projects were mostly wood based with some light fab work and I had part of the garage for my auto stuff. I got married and now it all needs to fit into the shop. I'm hoping that I can do a little rearranging and get the cherry picker and engine stand out of the shop and back into the garage. It would help a lot.

dicwent - I appreciate you taking the time to stop in. Things are moving in the right direction, if only slowly. But, slow and steady wins this race!

Boosted1 - Thanks! Couldn't have done it without this forum.

Huxley - Working on the desiccant dryers based on Brent's. I'll be doing that post next. If you haven't already, you should check out his thread. Cool stuff.
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=344305

Lyndon - Thanks, my friend. Side note, I'll try to get the AK plate packed up for you this week.

Guster - Happy New Year to you as well. I have already taken that advise and gone through it, even rebuilt the gas valve because it was sticking. There was a good 10-20 mm of dirt in the bottom. I should have it up and running by the end of the month. We got hammered by 2' of snow so I have been hesitant to go out and run the new circuit. I'm getting soft.

Thanks everyone for stopping in. I really appreciate it.

Cheers,
Chris

 

[NedNorton]

Coming up for air...

We have been getting hit with a little Colorado winter weather. 2’ of snow fell in 24 hours, followed-up by temps in the single digits though last night and then in the high 30’s today with rain. Crazy stuff. We never get rain in January. Anyway… all the weather gave me some much-needed QST. More specifically, time to get back and finish up the compressor plumbing.

My first plan was to run a few horizontal tubes then a regulator/filter and call it done. Just as I was finishing up the spreadsheet for the parts I stumbled on this…

Well, I can’t just run a few vertical tubes now, can I? Damn it!

Seriously, if you haven’t checked out Brent’s thread, you should put it on your list of threads to read. It’s a good one.

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=344305

My approach was based on available space and available dollars. Both of which are in short supply these days. Here is what I came up with. It should help deliver clean, dry air for blasting, painting and hopefully a plasma cutter in the future.



2” x 12” threaded sections with a 2-2-1.25 T, reducing bells on the ends from 2” to ¾” and finished with couplings at each end. I JB welded some screen in the ends to keep the silicone in place. The rough math said that I could buy one gallon of desiccant and it would fill both. I was hoping to use a 2” sight glass but the 1 ¼ was much cheaper and does the job. I purchased all the fittings for the entire system at supplyhouse.com. The prices were way better than my local supply place and they had free shipping over $100.

A little paint I had left over from a past project and sight glass test fit.


Ready to fill…


I don’t own a 1¾ socket so I clamped it in the vise and spun the cylinder. It worked great.


Done…


Pipe verticals done and ready for paint…


Again, I had all the paint from other things so I figured, why not?


Uni-Srut up, and everything is attached and pressurized. After chasing down and fixing a few prerequisite leaks, here is the end result.


I’m still deciding where I want air in the shop and garage and how best to get it there. I’m leaning towards the Rapid air PEX-AL-PEX, but for now I built this manifold. The quick disconnect on top is ¼ and the bottom is 3/8 so I can run air for both my woodworking tools and the pot blaster (for the FJ frame if the weather cooperates).


With the system now up and running, I'm calling this done for now.


Thanks, as always, for reading the ramblings.

Cheers,
Chris

 

[TMcCay]

Looking great Chris. I have been thinking about building one or the dessicant drier. It's just further down the list. Keep up the great work!

 

[bj383ss]

Wow. Now I have to add that to my build list so I guess we are even! Ha.

Bret

 

[dlcwent]

Awesome setup Chris. It looks fantastic. I won't be showing my setup off.('cause it's not even close to yours)

 

[jbmatth]

Dangit, you all keep showing me your air driers and stuff and you are going to force me to spend more money and time and build one too. Okay fine I'll see what I can dig up.

Great job on the drier setup though, I look forward to hearing how it works for you.
JB

 

[Strouty]

Looking great, I ran black iron for my runs, but I will eventually be moving the compressor so I may end up swapping to something else. I guess it all depends on how much modification it needs, getting things just right took some serious time.


Where did you get the sight glasses?

 

[Guster]

I should have it up and running by the end of the month. We got hammered by 2' of snow so I have been hesitant to go out and run the new circuit. I'm getting soft.

Yeah nah... digging snow before you can dig soil doesn't sound like fun. Once spent a dark rainy winter evening digging up a leaky water main to save a little. While it was nowhere near snowing cold it was miserable enough without having to deal with all the extra cold gear.

Looks like you are keeping busy with the other bits either way. Dryers and plumbing looks great. Wish I could find desiccant by the jug like that. The stuff is super expensive here. BTW, you know you can bake out the moisture and re-use it and will even return to its 'dry colour' when you do?

 

[-Brent-]

Wow. And there I was all happy that my stuff was plumb and level and then I see what the stuff looks like painted. Dang, Chris! That looks stellar. What's the plan for your two dryers?

Some really smart work. Nice job.

 

[NedNorton]

TMcCay - Thanks for stopping in. To be honest the dryers were easy and relatively cheap so, if moister is an issue, they can be a quick diversion project.

Bret (bj383ss) - Glad i could give you one back. Any progress on the Router?

dlcwent - Come on man! You need to show the rest of us what you come up with. My guess is that it will be far better.

JB (jbmatth) - Get after it! If your blast cabinet is any indication, your dryer will be made out off storm drain pipe and 3-feet in diameter!

Strouty - As I figure out the air runs I'll have to do the math and see what the costs are for both the Rapid Air and black pipe. The pipe takes a bit more energy to install but considering the few runs that I need to do may be cheaper than buying the RA 3/4 kit.

Guster - I think the desiccant was around $30 shipped for the gallon jug. The company makes both the blue and the orange. I guess the orange doesn't contain cobalt but some other indicating material. It turns green when saturated. If you were to ask me the benefits, or drawbacks, to each I would have no idea. Google turned up very little on the subject. Thanks for stopping in!

Brent (-Brent-) - The FJ60 rebuild is what the air system was designed to help with primarily along with the air tools for auto repair in general. Until I read your thread, I had been only kicking around the idea of adding a dryer since there hadn't been a ton of moister in the air supply up until that point. Knowing how I like to do things means that there will be a lot of blasting and painting during the LC build. All the parts will need a good going over before things go back together so I figured it was cheap insurance and better to head off problems before they show up. Plus, your's looked so good!

Thanks for stopping in folks. I appreciate it.

Cheers,
Chris

 

[Colin Len]

Very nice looking setup there for the compressor. Reminds me that I really need to get something setup for mine eventually. I have a much smaller system but have seen moisture at my air tools before (when using them for an extended time). The cheap HF separator I have clearly wasn't doing jack ****.

 

[jbmatth]

What? You think my blast cabinet is too big??? Just because I can only actually use 1/8 of its volume... Okay well maybe, I can find 4" threaded pipe, but it takes a little more effort and time, not to mention I've never seen a 60" pipe wrench. Hmmmm.

I have had a few problems with moisture in the past, but with your setup I don't think you will have anything to worry about. Having lots of dry air is a blast. (Pun intended)
JB

 

[oldironfarmer]

Interesting you mentioned 4" pipe. The largest I've ever screwed was 3" (3-1/2"OD) line pipe. I was working for Texaco as a summer job in college. I was a swamper on a gin pole truck. (helper: pull the winch line coming off and back on (it had better be straight on the drum), rig or tie down loads, etc.) One day the boss says we're going to screw 3" pipe. Truck driver told me to go get two sets of pipe tongs. Guys inside showed them to me. Pipe tongs are pipe wrenches for one size pipe. These had a swivel jaw with three single teeth, two fixed and one on the swivel. Each tooth was just a blade. 3" pipe tong is about five feet long and weighs 80 pounds. I could not carry two. The tool was the job. We get out on the job and they were stringing a half mile of 30 ft joints. The truck driver insisted he and I do all the screwing as he was trying to prove to me he at age 60 could out work me at age 18. Usually they would trade off positions. No contest I could win and I did not want to compete but had no choice. Third guy would put the far end of the pipe on a sledge hammer head/handle to keep it from rolling and fourth guy would pound on the collar hard and fast as we screwed the pipe. Until it was tight. Tight. You can't go back and tighten an intermediate joint and you can't test it as you go. Alternate strokes, get your wrench back pulling before the other guy finishes his stroke and of course the old man made us go fast. The pipe never stopped turning until it was tight. Occasionally one of us would miss getting the tongs to bite and we would both wind up falling on the ground, that would make the old man laugh. Glad I survived and have the memory but didn't want to do it again and still don't. 1/2 mile one day, all day, old man finally says "you did OK". Rest of the summer was easier.

 

[1/2 Cup]

Chris,your air lines have form and function plus

Regards

 

[dhubbard422]

Chris,

Nice work on the air compressor! Kudos for truing the crank, if that had been my project I think that task might have stopped me in my tracks... I had planned to build a "radiator" from piping, as you have done, to pull off the moisture, but your desiccant dryer looks to be a simple and effective improvement that I should add to that plan!

I really like that your left over paint for the desiccant tubes matches the color of the desiccant when it is "good" or "fresh", maybe it was coincidence, but I kinda' doubt it...

It may be pure overkill and not worth the effort or $... but your solution prompted me to research desiccant dryers and there's one additional improvement that I read about. Per the article I read, adding a water/oil filter upstream of the desiccant is supposed to help extend the life of the desiccant. Heck, maybe you have such a filter installed, but the only one I saw was downstream.

http://www.cagi.org/pdfs/cagiairdryingselectionguide.pdf

Thanks for sharing!
Don

 

[-Brent-]

Dhubbard, I think he addressed that in a similar fashion to what I did and that's run a water trap section prior to the dryers.

 

[NedNorton]

Colin Len - Thanks! Here in Colorado RH is pretty low so moister wasn't a huge issue but I have a bunch of blasting and painting coming up and after running the numbers the dryers looked like cheap insurance.

JB (jbmatth) - I'm just having blast cabinet envy! The FJ60 frame is sitting out in 6 new inches of snow (on top of the 18 already there). That along with the flu is slowing any forward progress to a crawl. I'm looking forward to seeing the condiment center up to full speed!

Andy (oldironfarmer) - We're glad you survived it too! If you still have the wrench, and odds are you may, can you loan it to JB so he can turn the monster pipes for his soon to be desiccant dryer? (I hope you can hear the sarcasm. )

Steve (1/2 Cup) - Thank you, sir. I'm hoping to get to use some of that nice dry air when I paint the TIG welder sheetmetal (there was surface rust under the dirt). Should be good, I hope.

Don (dhubbard422) - Not overkill, for sure. My initial plan was just to run 2-3/4 pipes where the dryers are now, until I read Brent's thread and started to think I was slacking on the delivery system. Funny how the old shop did fine with just a generic filter/regulator only? In all honesty, I did have a few fish eyes come up on a few projects. So the dryers were the cheap and easy solution to a "kinda" problem. I am hoping that the first 3 pipes have a chance to cool the air and catch the majority of the water leaving the DD to scrub the rest. I stayed home sick today, and between fever chills, read the article you linked. I may in the future add a filter before the desiccant to catch any oil. Maybe, if I have time.
Always great to hear from you, Don!

Brent - Thanks for stopping it!


Cheers,
Chris

 

[oldironfarmer]

Sadly it was a company wrench, and my tool box was just too small.

 

[Hawk136439]

Mister Norton, I have read through your entire thread and have been blown away at every step. I long for the day when I can have a dedicated shop to work on similar projects to yours and if all the things you have accomplished on your shop (HOME MADE LEVELING FEET!!!!) are any indication of your skills I can not wait to see how that FJ60 turns out! Looking forward to your next update and hoping you fell better soon!

 

[Mr. Roboto]

Chris - love the black pipe you've put up so far. Their in my shop is my next project for sure. I have 2 questions, if you don't mind.

1) This may seem like a silly question, as I've never seen this used before, but the desiccant portion is just made up of sections of 2" pipe that are completely filled with the silica beads? Does this reduce air flow at all? What is the expected life span of the beads? It doesn't look like they are easily serviceable if they ever need to be replaced, but maybe they're a one time deal.

2) Once you decide on a material to route the rest of the lines throughout the shop, are you going to run those upstream of the regulator now, and have a separate regulator at each service drop? Or will it be downstream of the current regulator, and all the drops will be the same pressure?

Thanks in advance!

 

[NedNorton]

Andy (oldironfarmer) - Bummer. Would have liked to have seen it!

Hawk136439 - Thanks for making through and I appreciate the kind words. It has been a great time so far and I'm looking forward to diving into the FJ60. If the snow ever takes a break this winter I can blast the frame and then really get going. I've been reading along on your garage thread, it's looking great. Thanks for posting.

Mr. Roboto -

Chris - love the black pipe you've put up so far. Their in my shop is my next project for sure. I have 2 questions, if you don't mind.

1) This may seem like a silly question, as I've never seen this used before, but the desiccant portion is just made up of sections of 2" pipe that are completely filled with the silica beads? Does this reduce air flow at all? What is the expected life span of the beads? It doesn't look like they are easily serviceable if they ever need to be replaced, but maybe they're a one time deal.

2) Once you decide on a material to route the rest of the lines throughout the shop, are you going to run those upstream of the regulator now, and have a separate regulator at each service drop? Or will it be downstream of the current regulator, and all the drops will be the same pressure?

Thanks in advance!

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.

Thanks for stopping in folks.

Cheers,
Chris