Puget Dude’s creations and fabrications (Random project thread.)

[PugetDude]

Have three sets of stairs to build this summer, we're re-doing the deck off the master to match the big deck we did last summer. I spaced the log posts on that one with space for these stairs. Using Trex this time around, makes for a lot of stringers with ~9" spacing. Trimmed the deck joists and the stairs out with Trex as well- should help with the high altitude UV wreaking havoc on exposed wood.

 

[PugetDude]

Need to get back on the steel rail sections for the stairs, dog run and the master bedroom deck. Brought 300' of 1-1/4" square tube up with me the last time I was down in Phoenix. Instead of dragging my Miller 211 back and forth this time around , I bought a little 60cfm bottle from the local welding supply and fabbed up a quick cart for my old Lincoln that has been running flux core for the last 20 years. Had quite a few 1-1/4" square tube shorts left over from the rail project last summer so that is what I used. Then dug the regulators that came with it out of a box and fired it up- works great.
And it fits under the bench in the background so it isn't part of the advanced Tetris equation every time I am in the garage. (The compound miter saw on DeWalt rails sitting on a piece of OSB scrap on top of my shop stool is a perfect example of this...) I have been trying to get everything on casters as time permits.

 

[Toolfool]

I always add a 2x4 the full length along the bottom of every stair stringer for added strength. Just a suggestion.

 

[PugetDude]

I have done that before too, John. In fact I added them to the stringers when I rebuilt the stairs from the garage into the house.
Here in snow country I am finding rot just about everywhere two pieces of wood were tied together and exposed to the elements- Including the two big structural log posts holding up the front porch roof. (Those were fun to replace- had to buy grade-stamped 8" tip diameter hand peeled SPF logs.)
The stairs pictured I only needed 8' 2x12's for the stringers so I was able to buy PT lumber. The longer set I am working on now aren't treated- NO 10' or longer PT 2x12's available at Agent Orange, Big Blue or the local lumber yard; part of the charm of mountain living. So, I am just finished rolling on the third coat of Jasco Copper Brown Wood preservative on the KD Doug Fir Stringers. (Also used it on the PT stringers for added protection)
The original untreated stairs lasted 15 years,this new set should last my lifetime. Or I will be an 80 year old curmudgeon who tells the next owner IDGAF.

On the longer set of stairs I may install a set of intermediate posts with a transverse crossmember to cut the effective span in half. It's 79" now, just over the 6' code maximum) Something decorative and structural. Got any ideas?

 

[Finallygotit]

Scott, after reading about your new side table, I thought I would offer this up. If you ever do any more painting with Rustoleum (not with their spray cans) you might want to check this stuff out. We repainted our wheelbarrow as a little project and it worked great.

Accelerator/hardener

YMMV

 

[PugetDude]

Dan,
I have a couple of cans of that TSC Harderner. Used it on the gas pump lockers and the rolling shop crane. It does significantly improve dry times and makes the paint a lot more durable. Used foam rollers on both of those projects.
I'm not set up to spray; my garage shares a door with the house. Don't want to get that into the hoiuse HVAC. We're in a valley between a small mountain and the Superstition Mountains, seems there is always a breeze funneling through here that makes painting outside problematic.
My truck has already been to the detail shop due to overspray... twice.
Scott

 

[Finallygotit]

Scott, our wheelbarrow project was a roller and brush job. But I'm glad you know of this stuff. I'm really impressed with it.

Carry on!

 

[drivesitfar]

Pd: I need to follow along cause dang you’re handy. Nice log posts for one. Did you really frame your deck supports at 9 inch on center for trex? Treated 2x8’s or maybe you don’t need treated now in the dryer climate?

 

[PugetDude]

Pd: I need to follow along cause dang you’re handy. Nice log posts for one. Did you really frame your deck supports at 9 inch on center for trex? Treated 2x8’s or maybe you don’t need treated now in the dryer climate?

Thanks, Drives.
PT 2x12's at 9" OC... for the stairs.
Deck joists are 2x10's at 16" OC

This deck is at our summer place at 6500' Elevation in the White Mountains of AZ. Not as dry as PHX, climate here is fairly comparable to Spokane. (trade the latitude for the altitude) As a matter of fact we've had thunderstorms with rain and pea sized hail for the last several days.

 

[PugetDude]

Scott, after reading about your new side table, I thought I would offer this up. If you ever do any more painting with Rustoleum (not with their spray cans) you might want to check this stuff out. We repainted our wheelbarrow as a little project and it worked great.

Accelerator/hardener

YMMV

Scott, our wheelbarrow project was a roller and brush job. But I'm glad you know of this stuff. I'm really impressed with it.

Carry on!

I also add a splash of Penetrol when I'm rolling or brushing enamel- it really helps the paint to flow out and eliminate brush marks.

 

[Finallygotit]

Never knew about Penetrol. Just ordered a can. Thanks!

 

[PugetDude]

They also make Floetrol for Latex Paint.
Haven't tried it.

 

[readhead]

Works great, especially when it gets warmer.

 

[shortykorte]

New to Penetrol and Majic. I want to paint a couple of Lista cabinets. Several years ago, I painted one with some DTM paint and a roller. Took a month to get hard and has an orange peel finish. A durable finish now but would like faster dry time and more of a factory finish.

 

[PugetDude]

Got the second set of stairs framed up, also covered the exposed stringers with Trex.
Used Simpson stair hangers on the top and hold-down angles on the base.
Ready for treads and risers.
All the new steel sections are welded up and off to powder coat. The old log railings are literally crumbling apart.
Will post pics when I get everything installed.

 

[readhead]

I love log rails. They are a constant source of income. It's as if they designed them to self destruct. They do have their challenges to replace with steel.

 

[PugetDude]

I'm using 7" diameter PT log corral posts (largest size they carry) from CalRanch this time around- hit them with the power planer and a 4.5" 80 grit sanding disc to remove the lathe marks and replicate the hand- peeled log look. My wife brushed on a couple of coats of Australian log oil; we'll see how well they hold up. Welded steel panels are replacing the log railings.
The summer sun and winter snow at 6500' is really brutal on exposed wood.

 

[readhead]

Especially when they drill a bunch of blind holes in the bottom rail that can't drain.

 

[PugetDude]

Exactly what we found when we started tearing out our rotted rails. All the rails that were not covered and exposed to the weather were rotten, the ones on the covered porches were in great shape.

 

[PugetDude]

When we bought this cabin in 2018 the two big structural posts on the front porch were both completely rotted on the bottom, would have been a deal breaker if we had been trying to get a mortgage. I asked for a $5K credit to offset repair costs on the posts and railings, seller quickly agreed. It was caused by a stupid flashing detail, apparently the roofers thought directing the porch roof runoff onto the log columns was a good idea...

I ordered 10' long 8" minimum tip diameter grade stamped hand- peeled Doug Fir logs to replace the rotted columns.

Installation was easy- used a 4x4 kicker to temporarily support the porch roof while I removed and replaced the log columns.

Decided that (4) modified decorative Simpson straps with 1/2" lag bolts would be better than their toenailed 16d Sinkers.

1/2"x 8" lag bolts up from underneath the decking keeps the bottom of the posts in place.

Took longer to re-cut and fit the railings than it did to install the log columns. Ordered the new posts 1 inch larger diameter than the ones they replaced so I had just enough to trim the railings back to solid material.

 

[shortykorte]

Looking at the top of the stairs, will this be the MIL stairs when she visits.

 

[RivennHewn]

Nice work!

 

[rattle_snake]

Nice. You're hired to come fix my stuff too.

 

[drivesitfar]

I love these kind of projects with details and pics. Keep up the great work!!

 

[PugetDude]

Been too busy working to update this thread. Officially retired July 31, spent the month of August finishing up the decks and dog run. Found a local powder coater, the steel panels turned out great. I used over 300' of 1-1/4" square tubing and (8) 5' x 16' welded cattle panels. 17 log posts. Took most of the summer with all the company we had this year.

Still have to demo the old stair landing and bring in some more color gravel. Good project for next Spring.


Did spend some time in the shop today. Working on motor mounts for the '32 Roadster. Started over, wasn't happy with the direction I was going on the build. More details on that later.

Got the frame side motor mounts designed and roughed out on the Portaband table. I am always amazed at how well this thing cuts. This is 2" x6" x 1/4" rectangular tubing. It went right through it with the same 14/18 tooth Starrett blade that's been on it for months. The notch sits over the top of the frame rails. Semi-plagiarizing a design I found online.

Of course, I had to add speed holes...drilled 1/4" through holes for the hole saw. A 2x6 block was a tight fit and made a perfect support for drilling the pilot holes in the drill press and the larger holes in the mill.

Did have a minor setback when my trusty old Lenox 1-3/8" hole saw suddenly disemboweled itself. It was cutting great until it caught, lurched, belched out a puff of black smoke. Shed all the teeth ! Definitely cut better before this happened...

Ordered a replacement, (Amazon had a good price on a Klein electricians set with overnight delivery) will work on the engine side mounts until it arrives tomorrow.

 

[readhead]

If I still had my shop I’d offer you a job that I am pretty sure you wouldn’t want. Nice work on the fence and rails and the mounts. I’m guessing that you are using the round Ford motor mounts.

 

[PugetDude]

Doing this for a paycheck would take all the fun out of it- and with my level of productivity I would be competing for wages with the 10 year old Indonesian kid sewing sneakers.

Actually, I cut the round Ford mounts off yesterday.

 

[driftpin]

Took quite a while to get all the paint off the traffic light, using a selection of brass brushes in my M12 drill and die grinders but when I got there I thought it ended up looking pretty good in brushed aluminum. So, it’s going to stay that way for the time being. I have plenty of yellow paint if I change my mind later.



Built the mounting brackets out of 1”, 1-1/4”, and 1-1/2” pipe and. 1” Kee fittings. Used the 1” pipe inside the 1-1/4” to fit the larger diameter to the smaller galvanized Kee elbows- I have a bunch of 1” elbows and tees left over from another project, been trying to use them up whenever I can.



Bought a little controller on Amazon, currently have it running: Red@20 seconds, Yellow@10 seconds, and Green@30 seconds. Had some leftover sheet cork so I shot it with 3M spray adhesive and put it behind the controller; didn’t have enough room for the little plastic standoffs that shipped with the controller.



Got it mounted above the Texaco display cabinets since I had power up there already and I could hide the cord.



I’m calling this one done; I got tired of moving it from one side of the shop to the other over the last year; at least it’s finally functional and off the workbenches.

That came out well, I like the varying signals set for the illumination. Do you have to hurry-up and move across the shop when it hits yellow?

I hope that you don't have this gal standing around doing pedestrian traffic enforcement!



I have an unusual traffic light, it has a big bell on the top above the lamps. No pic right now, I'll try to take one, it's at a remote storage location. My poor 2-car is so-stuffed I don't have a decent place for it. The top of the light column bell is pretty-cool. Setting it up as a doorbell would be something, but I think it would startle me too-much. "Now if I can finish this 1/16" hole in the steel piece... BRIINNGGG!"

On our son's and our car project we had a pro welder come-in to do the 'bought' motor mounts. He was a real help, and I had all the tools he needed to do the job. Call him the 'Visiting Angel of Welding and Fabrication.' Certainly much-better than 'The Deadly Doll and her Denial of Life.'

Now that I was able to get the multi-process Harbor Freight welder (Vulcan Omnipro 220) set-up for MIG, I'm gonna go play with it today. There are some sheetmetal panels for the project I'll practice on, ones which were actually replaced with re-pops, but perhaps I can improve my welding skills. 'Improving' is a misnomer, as I'm a neophyte, anything halfway-operational and decent is an 'improvement!'

An example of his work, not mine.



We had two different mount kits for weld-on installation, and I suggested the one with the larger poly bushings and wider pieces. They were a bit thicker steel too.

 

[Finallygotit]

Scott, a hearty congratulations on your retirement! Welcome to the club.

 

[PugetDude]

Here's where I am heading with these. End cap welded and blended on one of the frame side mounts. Will drop them into an evaporust bath to get the rust off the inside before I mount them .

 

[PugetDude]

Gotta say I am loving this 2" x 72" belt grinder...

Took less than a minute to flush out the welds on the sides of this part.

 

[Finallygotit]

That's a pretty gnarly grit belt too. Don't slip and put a finger in there.

 

[PugetDude]

24 grit ceramic... really cuts fast.

 

[PugetDude]

Worked on the front mounts today; they are smaller because the '32 frame narrows considerably between the firewall and the front spreader bar. Same basic design, but just small enough that I was able to cut them out of some 2"x3" x1/4" wall rectangular tube drops I had in the scrap bucket.
I know I sound like a Portaband fan boy, but I did all of the cutting and shaping of the mounts on the same Starrett blade that's been on it for months. The picture speaks for itself.
Since I already had the basic design sorted out these two front mounts only took a couple of hours to complete... including the time it took to weld in a plug and re-drill the first speed hole. (1-3/8" was too big for these smaller mounts, had to scale it down to a single 1" hole to look right). Doh....

Welded on 1/8" end caps to close up the frame perches. Used up some of the miracle 1/8" x 4" wide diamond plate strip that never seems to get any smaller. I think I dragged it home a couple of years ago and use it to cap tubing, etc.


Here are the finished right side frame mounts, hope to get them installed sometime tomorrow; still have to fab up the mounts on the motor side.


Knocked off early for dinner; waiting on the Brown truck to bring me what I need to finish this up. Good day in the shop.

 

[zmotorsports]

Excellent job on the motor mounts and a huge congratulations on retirement Scott. That's awesome.

 

[Bob Heine]

I know I sound like a Portaband fan boy

Scott, I'm a member of the Portaband fan club as well. Mine was well used when I bought it and I did replace the guides. The blade on mine has been on it so long I don't remember the brand and whatever name was one it is long gone. My new problem is remembering to buy Starrett blades when I use up the blades I have.

I'm also a fan boy of that Wen band file. It's rare a tool at that price works so well. It made me buy several other Wen tools. I bought a couple of their Dremel knockoffs when I decided to turn a real Dremel into a Tungsten sharpener. Did I mention their track saw?

 

[PugetDude]

Bob, agree with you on Wen. I also bought a couple of their rotary tools. I am done with overpriced junk from Dremel, now have three with broken collet locks and one with a bad switch. Paid about $12 each for the Wens, haven't killed the first one yet, the second one is still in the box.

I am really a fan of the Milwaukee M12 die grinders, especially the right angle version. It's important to note that when you weld like I do you own every type of grinder and sander ever made. I have been watching for a M12 bandfile to go on sale, finally pulled the trigger on one at $223 last night.

 

[shortykorte]

Congrats on earning 6 Saturdays a week. Time to get to work…..having fun…with family and QST.

 

[Bigblue&Goldie]

I'm all about the portaband also! I can't cut straight with mine, but it's been one of my best tool purchases. My dream tool is a legit upright metal bandsaw, but I need a legit shop first.

Give us a review on the Milwaukee bandfile.

 

[PugetDude]

I'm all about the portaband also! I can't cut straight with mine, but it's been one of my best tool purchases. My dream tool is a legit upright metal bandsaw, but I need a legit shop first.

Give us a review on the Milwaukee bandfile.

My friend Ron in Mesa has a big Roll-In Industrial Metal bandsaw( 110/1/60) he wants to sell. Buy it and stick it in storage...