Puget Dude’s creations and fabrications (Random project thread.)
- Thread starter PugetDude
- Start date
Bigblue&Goldie
Well-known member
Screw the AC, get us some pics of the old Ford.
jarhead
Well-known member
yes please more pix of the 32. And well done on all the projects, Just went all the way though all your posts in this thread.
HVAC- my wife got tired of me bitching about it being too hot in the garage to work in the summer so for my birthday last year she suggested we get AC installed. She had already contacted a couple of contractors and had rough estimates.
Went with a 3-ton Mitsubishi mini split for the compressor and a conventional Trane air handler. This allowed us to put up a 14” diameter trunk line all the way across the garage, with 5 vents on alternating sides of the trunk. Since it’s a garage I opted for the diamond plate pattern on the exposed galvanized ductwork, matches the wall of metal pegboard perfectly. Pretty pricey option, but I am probably only going to do this once.
Really like it; doesn’t take very long to cool off the garage in the summer or warm it up in the winter. It’s only used intermittently, probably adds about $50/ month to our electrical bill.
I’ll get some additional photos of the completed installation, I’ve since upgraded the lighting as well.
Feel free to PM me if you have any questions re cost or the contractor I used.
Went with a 3-ton Mitsubishi mini split for the compressor and a conventional Trane air handler. This allowed us to put up a 14” diameter trunk line all the way across the garage, with 5 vents on alternating sides of the trunk. Since it’s a garage I opted for the diamond plate pattern on the exposed galvanized ductwork, matches the wall of metal pegboard perfectly. Pretty pricey option, but I am probably only going to do this once.
Really like it; doesn’t take very long to cool off the garage in the summer or warm it up in the winter. It’s only used intermittently, probably adds about $50/ month to our electrical bill.
I’ll get some additional photos of the completed installation, I’ve since upgraded the lighting as well.
Feel free to PM me if you have any questions re cost or the contractor I used.
shortykorte
Well-known member
I like it. 
RivennHewn
Well-known member
Going to be a great place to hang out and drink a beer on a hot day!
Monza Harry
Well-known member
That there will cost you some diamonds and gold [or her Kryptonite] for sure! Well worth the investment in a "Keeper" like that! Turned out pretty "COOL" (pun intended I LOVE puns BTW) Congrats on the BIG WIN! Harry
rattle_snake
Well-known member
Nice! Good timing on getting A/C in before summer.
Taking a short break from making stuff to try to organize my tools and supplies. Pulled out the label maker and started on the gym lockers. I had purchased a case of magnetic vinyl labels for this on Amazon Warehouse a couple of years ago; the idea being that it would be easy to re-arrange as needed in the future- like the undertaker who swapped heads in the caskets instead of bodies in cases of mistaken identity.
These are 3/4” white Brother labels; the combination with the magnetic backing worked out better than I thought, easy to install and they don’t creep or sag. Here’s one of the finished sections
Moving on to the immovable movable island, I changed out my temporary masking tape labels with 1/2” printed labels. These went right on the HF organizers.
Looks a lot better!
Also had the four Husky bench cabinets to do.
Used the bigger labels for these.
Really happy how these turned out, I should have done it a lot earlier; would have saved hours of frustration opening and closing multiple drawers to find what I was looking for.
These are 3/4” white Brother labels; the combination with the magnetic backing worked out better than I thought, easy to install and they don’t creep or sag. Here’s one of the finished sections
Moving on to the immovable movable island, I changed out my temporary masking tape labels with 1/2” printed labels. These went right on the HF organizers.
Looks a lot better!
Also had the four Husky bench cabinets to do.
Used the bigger labels for these.
Really happy how these turned out, I should have done it a lot earlier; would have saved hours of frustration opening and closing multiple drawers to find what I was looking for.
The four 46” Husky benches and two 4’ wide banks of wall lockers are sitting on a pressure treated 2x6 plinth that I cut to fit the slope of the garage floor. Fills the 24’ space really well and gives me a metric ****-ton of storage. Bought the cabinets a couple of years ago for $199 each plus 10% off with a moving coupon; the lockers were $5/door on Phoenix Craigslist. Not thrilled with the blue color but it’s too much work to repaint them- and they do match my Miller welders.
Filled the space above the benches with galvanized diamond plate pegboard (don’t hate me for it ) for my most used tools, with a black 4’ HF plug strip mounted vertically on each end. Happywith the way it turned out.
Amazing how fast I filled up 76 doors and drawers, emptied a lot of boxes and totes that were taking up floor and shelf space.
Filled the space above the benches with galvanized diamond plate pegboard (don’t hate me for it ) for my most used tools, with a black 4’ HF plug strip mounted vertically on each end. Happywith the way it turned out.
Amazing how fast I filled up 76 doors and drawers, emptied a lot of boxes and totes that were taking up floor and shelf space.
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RivennHewn
Well-known member
Damn! Showing off some organizational skills!
Maybe I need a consult
Maybe I need a consult
Brother PTD400 Bought it factory refurbished on Amazon. Uses 6AA batteries or you can buy a plug-in power supply.
It works really well, it's like a mini-typewriter; I like the larger QWERTY keyboard better than a handheld unit. Doesn't have a spel czech feature, but you can scroll and review before printing.
One tip- when you print labels, enter as many of them as possible before printing- if you print them one-off the blank heads and tails will waste a lot of label tape. I use one space between labels, gives me plenty of room to cut the individual labels from a long strip with scissors instead of using the built-in cutter on each one.
It works really well, it's like a mini-typewriter; I like the larger QWERTY keyboard better than a handheld unit. Doesn't have a spel czech feature, but you can scroll and review before printing.
One tip- when you print labels, enter as many of them as possible before printing- if you print them one-off the blank heads and tails will waste a lot of label tape. I use one space between labels, gives me plenty of room to cut the individual labels from a long strip with scissors instead of using the built-in cutter on each one.
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Bigblue&Goldie
Well-known member
I'm jealous of those tooling indexes!
Monza Harry
Well-known member
Yep that looks like a lot of "Hout" right there!
I've got six of them (so far); bought every one of them on Amazon Warehouse Deals-~ $40-50. Haven't paid full pop for one yet.
I wish they made a individually configurable version, would be great for driver bits, spade bits, punches, chisels, etc.
I can label them myself.
Toolfool
Well-known member
I'm interested.
rattle_snake
Well-known member
Nice organization and identification going on in your shop Sir!
Bob Heine
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Scott, I have four Brother P-touch label makers. Bought the first one, a PT-1280 and liked it a lot. Unfortunately it produced 1/2" (12mm) labels so any two-line labels were hard to read. Bought the PT-1280 because it produced 3/4" (18mm) labels as well as the smaller ones. When the new one stopped working, I bought a PT-2030 to replace it but discovered the brick I used to power it was loose (it wasn't an official Brother brick), I set up the two 3/4" machines to print White on Clear and Black on Clear tape. Bought the PT-D600 because it produces 1" (24mm) labels as well as all the smaller sizes, connects to the computer and has software to help create and store the labels before printing.
~~~~~~~~~PT-D600~~~~~~~~~~~~~PT-1890~~~~~~~~~~~~~PT-2030~~~~~~~~~~~~~~PT-1280~~~~~~~
As you mentioned, those first three machines wasted a lot of tape when I printed one label at a time. I also had a problem remembering what settings I used to make a particular style label and wasted a lot of tape running tests. I was making more and more labels and I felt like the standalone printers handled everything just fine. Then I found a $99 P-touch label printer that connects to my PC and lets me use my full-size keyboard. The Brother software also lets me save the labels, which is a big help. Now I can look through the files and find the label file with the right font, size, spacing and style to use as a starting point.
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Bob Heine
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Price on the refurbished Brother PT-D600 is $55.99 at Staples.
Started another project this week. We bought a 2010 Jeep Wrangler to tow behind the motorhome. 48,000 miles on the clock, no rust TX/AZ history, not beat to death off-road.
Has aftermarket bumpers, running boards/ sliders, tires and wheels. It’s quite a bit taller than stock.
First item of business was to replace the aftermarket grille; not a fan of the “ angry birds” look. Found a stock grille at a wrecking yard in Kendalville IN that was already painted Patriot Silver, $200 and it was here in three days. 5-minute job to replace the black grille with the stock Jeep unit.
I think it looks a lot better.
With the additional height and the tube sliders sticking out so far my wife was struggling to get in and out of it and asked if I could “put some kind of steps on it”
So, it was time for some CAD/FEA design work.. removed the driver side and got out the cardboard…
I notched the side pieces to show me where to cut the tubes. Objective was to give her a step that is 6” lower without dropping below the existing rails. It had to be inset rather than an add—on. 
Cut the rails with a 4.5” angle grinder and a hackzall. These were compound cuts since I wanted angled sides to emulate the bumpers.
The cardboard mock-up slid right in; noticed it’s sporting red and green paint from a Christmas project.
Now it’s time to move from cardboard to steel.
Has aftermarket bumpers, running boards/ sliders, tires and wheels. It’s quite a bit taller than stock.
First item of business was to replace the aftermarket grille; not a fan of the “ angry birds” look. Found a stock grille at a wrecking yard in Kendalville IN that was already painted Patriot Silver, $200 and it was here in three days. 5-minute job to replace the black grille with the stock Jeep unit.
I think it looks a lot better. With the additional height and the tube sliders sticking out so far my wife was struggling to get in and out of it and asked if I could “put some kind of steps on it”
So, it was time for some CAD/FEA design work.. removed the driver side and got out the cardboard…
I notched the side pieces to show me where to cut the tubes. Objective was to give her a step that is 6” lower without dropping below the existing rails. It had to be inset rather than an add—on. Cut the rails with a 4.5” angle grinder and a hackzall. These were compound cuts since I wanted angled sides to emulate the bumpers.
The cardboard mock-up slid right in; noticed it’s sporting red and green paint from a Christmas project.
Now it’s time to move from cardboard to steel.
XJSuperman
Well-known member
Bless you for removing the angry grille. Man I hate those things.
Looking forward to the steps transferring to metal.
Looking forward to the steps transferring to metal.
Bigblue&Goldie
Well-known member
Definitely doing the Lord's work by removing that grille!
Scott, I have some dimple dies if you want to incorporate dimples into your steps.
Scott, I have some dimple dies if you want to incorporate dimples into your steps.
rattle_snake
Well-known member
yes you have made the world a better place by removing the grumpy grill! I cringed there for a moment until I scrolled to 2nd pic..
readhead
Well-known member
CAD (cardboard aided design) has been a proven tool for ages. Lower cost of entry than those weeny push button machines.
RivennHewn
Well-known member
Stock = Just as god intended.Ya man I’m glad that grill is gone too, ole angry face is a bit played out.
But stock.......come’on maaan
You need to step up your game and go
Nothing more, nothing less.
Got started on the steel this afternoon. Made the step and riser out of ~1/8” steel diamond plate, the sides out of 1/4” plate…(because I had it)
The portaband table made quick work out of the 1/4” plate
Had to roll the top edge of the diamond plate to get it to conform to the top tube. Clamped it to the edge of the little welding table and hammered it down until I got a decent fit.
Parts went together nicely. The diamond plate was scored on the back side, bent to ~90 degrees and then tacked. Used a t-bevel to ensure the angles were the same from side to side.
Ready to weld
Got everything welded up with the wire feed, then moved on to stiffening the outside edge of the step. Didn’t want the stiffener hanging way down below the step (which is flush with the existing tube rails) so I used a piece of 1/2” S80 pipe I had left over from another project. Plugged the ends with a little piece of 1/2” rebar then welded and blended it to the front of the step.
Getting close to finishing this side
Ground and blended the welds with 60/120 grit flap discs and the hit it with a 120 grit pad with the OMT.
Gave it a couple of coats of textured satin black, it blended really well with the original finish. Had to go to three different places to find a single can of the textured paint. This supply chain nonsense is really getting old.
Re-Installation was really quick; I didn’t alter the full length tube that had the brackets on it so it just slid back into place. Tightened the four nuts and the driver side is done.
On to the passenger side…
The portaband table made quick work out of the 1/4” plate
Had to roll the top edge of the diamond plate to get it to conform to the top tube. Clamped it to the edge of the little welding table and hammered it down until I got a decent fit.
Parts went together nicely. The diamond plate was scored on the back side, bent to ~90 degrees and then tacked. Used a t-bevel to ensure the angles were the same from side to side.
Ready to weld
Got everything welded up with the wire feed, then moved on to stiffening the outside edge of the step. Didn’t want the stiffener hanging way down below the step (which is flush with the existing tube rails) so I used a piece of 1/2” S80 pipe I had left over from another project. Plugged the ends with a little piece of 1/2” rebar then welded and blended it to the front of the step.
Getting close to finishing this side
Ground and blended the welds with 60/120 grit flap discs and the hit it with a 120 grit pad with the OMT.
Gave it a couple of coats of textured satin black, it blended really well with the original finish. Had to go to three different places to find a single can of the textured paint. This supply chain nonsense is really getting old.
Re-Installation was really quick; I didn’t alter the full length tube that had the brackets on it so it just slid back into place. Tightened the four nuts and the driver side is done.
On to the passenger side…
Step turned out a bit out of level (I leveled it to the top tubes, turns out they bolt up at a slight angle) so I drilled a couple of 3/16” drain holes in the corners to prevent water from pooling against the back of the step.
My wife is thrilled with the step height; she can get in and out easily, it was really a struggle with the original rails at 21+” high. We’re right at 15” high now, just an inch or so over the running boards on my Ram 1500 which she has no problem getting in and out of.
My wife is thrilled with the step height; she can get in and out easily, it was really a struggle with the original rails at 21+” high. We’re right at 15” high now, just an inch or so over the running boards on my Ram 1500 which she has no problem getting in and out of.
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RivennHewn
Well-known member
Looks like it’s time to post up the pics of her driving it over some ragged desert boulders!
shortykorte
Well-known member
I know CAD but unfamiliar with FEA?
What blade do you use in the cordless sawzall? I have one and wasn’t impressed with cutting metal.
What bender is in the yellow locker?
Step looks great.
What blade do you use in the cordless sawzall? I have one and wasn’t impressed with cutting metal.
What bender is in the yellow locker?
Step looks great.
Finite Element Analysis? Nope!
I prefer F*ckup Expectational Avoidance; it’s really just highly advanced cardboard aided design.
CAD=Designing with cardboard and scissors .
FEA=using tape to mock it all up to make sure it fits before committing to cutting anything permanent.
Milwaukee bi-metal blades work best for me with the Hackzall.
HF bender is a Hossfeld knock off that my friend Ron dropped off one day when he was trying to open up space in his garage and fill up the open space in mine…he had purchased it 10+ years ago but never used it. I took it off the stand and put it on a receiver tube. Doesn’t take up any floor space.
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rattle_snake
Well-known member
Now that wife is happy with lower step access you could put more lift/bigger tires on the jeep.
Nice job modifying those steps, came out great.
Nice job modifying those steps, came out great.