quadrcr87's garage projects

[quadrcr87]

"quadrcr87's garage projects

Thanks Mike. It was a bummer but I do feel fortunate that it was minor. I wear a full Leatt chest protector and neck brace every time I ride. It give me some peace of mind as I get older and heal slower.

With most of our vacations cancelled this year I decided to take a week of vacation to focus on some projects around the house before the snow flies. Anyone who lives in a temperate climate knows the late fall keeps you pretty busy with leaf pickup, winterizing everything and completing any outside projects. Once my chores were done I had plenty of time for some quality garage time.

High on my priority list was replacing my wobbly and failing Husky work bench. Being my main work bench this was a big deal. I covered the details of this in a separate build thread (link in signature) but I’ll share the before and after here. I also just started a new oil change cart that will nest under the bench.

Before:


After:




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[Bigblue&Goldie]

Re: "quadrcr87's garage projects

I try to avoid your thread because it reminds me of how much I miss ATV racing, but I really like your work! The house looks beautiful.

 

[zmotorsports]

Re: "quadrcr87's garage projects

I try to avoid your thread because it reminds me of how much I miss ATV racing, but I really like your work! The house looks beautiful.

^^Agreed.

 

[quadrcr87]

Re: "quadrcr87's garage projects

Thanks guys. I won’t be getting into prepping the quad for the next race for a couple months so you are safe for a while.

The first project on the new stable workbench was some light for my mower. I thought to myself, who doesn’t want a pair of Rigid’s on their mower? With leaf season in full swing and the days getting shorter I have been caught in the dark a lot.



Here is what I was replacing


The plan was to mount the lights far enough back to light up the front wheels and high enough to project good light


I have been getting pretty good with my cardboard aided design so I cut and folded up a rapid prototype. Then transferred onto some left over plate steel. I didn’t get photos of the fab but picture a vice and pair of knipex plier wrench combined with a hammer to create the bend

I tapped 2 existing holes on each side just in front of the control levers



I used a step drill and mounted the switch into an open space on the control panel

I ran them for a few hours before painting the brackets just to make sure I liked the location. They worked great right up to the point that one of the lights burned out and let the smoke out. Here you can see the cloudy lens. I have never had an issue with Rigid but they were quick to ship a replacement.

While waiting for the replacement I got the brackets painted and made a small bracket to mount a tiny 2” pod from tractor supply on the rear. They came in a 2 pack for $20 so I even have a spare. This thing works great for lighting up the leaf sweeper.


A couple final photos out in the Scag’s natural environment





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[rattle_snake]

Re: "quadrcr87's garage projects

Good that you are using your camper and getting out. Bummer on the injuries.

Dune season just getting starting here...

 

[quadrcr87]

Re: "quadrcr87's garage projects

rattle_snake, I think what we all want to see is some photos and videos of your truck on the sand. Once you get those limiting straps and bump stops sorted out of course!

Thanks for checking in.


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[rattle_snake]

Re: "quadrcr87's garage projects

Yes me too. long way to go, have to be next season. 200 mile drive to get there, motorcycles in the bed.

It's not really a good fit for the sand as heavy as it is, but it has enough power to get out of it's own hole.

Local motorsports park has a sand drag course so start there and get nitrous system installed.

 

[Bigblue&Goldie]

Re: "quadrcr87's garage projects

Local motorsports park has a sand drag course so start there and get nitrous system installed.

I may or may not be banned from the local Filiberto's due to a night at the drags.....

Really though, you gotta let me know if you go out there. I always say it's Apache Junction High vs Queen Creek High in their daddy's diesels. I'll bring out my 7.3L with tuner on full bore and represent the 90's.

 

[quadrcr87]

Re: "quadrcr87's garage projects

I finally got around to something that was on my wish/ to do list for way too long. I picked up a rapid air 1/2” kit from the local Northern Tool that just opened. This is the first time I have had airlines ran in a garage other than the retractable reel mounted above the compressor. Although the 50” reel could reach all corners of my 3 car garage it was often times inconvenient to drag it across multiple vehicles and project. This new system puts a drop right at my main workbench. I still have plenty of line left to add another drop on the opposite wall if I decide I need it.

The new manifold setup with a 1/2” IR filter/regulator


The drop added at the bench


The old manifold that was replaced



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[quadrcr87]

Re: "quadrcr87's garage projects

Taking advantage of my my extra free time with multiple events cancelled I was able to circle back to a couple previous projects and get a coat of paint on them. I built this welding table and tool rack about 2 years ago and put them right to work without finishing. Now they fit right in with the new table. I really like the rustoleum hammertone grey that zmotorsports recommended.


The cleaning and prep on the table was a major PITA

Self etching primer


While remounting the tool rack I decided to add some rivnuts to make it easier to remove and mount to the welding table


All loaded up


The finished table


I’ve been busy on a couple new projects that I need to catch you guys up on when I get the time to post. I just finished a really nice fire wood rack for my wife and started on an oil change cart. Stay tuned...


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[zmotorsports]

Re: "quadrcr87's garage projects

Air lines turned out great as did the welding table and accessories.

 

[Bodj Built]

Re: "quadrcr87's garage projects

Looks good! Be careful with the vice that far towards the edge of the table. My table is a 3/16" top and has a 3 or 4" overhang from the table base and the ends have been bowing down after 4 years of use

 

[quadrcr87]

Re: "quadrcr87's garage projects

I’ll keep an eye on the vise. It is very small so not very heavy. I really limit the amount of weight I use with it. Unfortunately the welding table is not very flat as it is. I warped it pretty good when I installed it because I really welded too much on the bottom side instead of small tack welds.

 

[quadrcr87]

"quadrcr87's garage projects

I’ve had some welding successes and failures over the past week in the garage in the pursuit to build square. Let’s start with the success.

We don’t use firewood as a heat source as our fireplace is natural gas but we do always have a pile for bonfires and camping. In the past I have just piled it in the gravel by the fence. I have had several ideas in my head of what I wanted to build so I sketched a couple options up that would fit on our patio.

After a review with the boss we agreed on version 2. A simple 5’x2’ bench that would go by the back patio door and fit under the window.


Picked up some 2”x1” .065 tube from Steelcraft. I try to consolidate trips to the shop as much as possible so I picked up the material for the next project as well.


I have said it before and I will say it again, the evolution miter saw is impressive.


The controls and adjustments are not all that precise but a little nudging and checking with a square and you can get some great miter joints. Makes an amateur like me look like a pro.


Rather than clamping directly to my warped bench top I tried the 3 points method recommended by Fireball Tool and it worked pretty well for me. It got a little more complicated as the project got too big for the bench but it was an improvement. This material shape was perfect for miter joints.


I feel like I really got the welder dialed in after a few passes. It was unfortunate that most of these were ground flush

Attaching the the cross supports on the floor was not ideal. I really wished I had something other than welding magnets.

After multiple measurements and adjustments I got pretty close to square and the whole assembly rests on the concrete floor without a wobble. I was not planning on adding feet so this was important.


Something I missed in the design planning was the need to notch the center uprights in order to keep their orientation correct to match the sides. Not a big deal but something I didn’t catch on paper. I just picked up this little Kreg multi mark and it’s very handy for this type of layout.



The main frame welded up.


I cut and drilled 6 pieces of angle iron to secure the wood top. I used a scrap of the wood and a piece of sheet metal as a spacer. The added thickness of the spacers helped get a tight fit when the screw pulled it down.


I cut and test fit the 1x4 cedar boards for the top using the evolution saw after swapping in a wood blade.


I think I have been watching too much DIY Network because I have been dying to try my hand at Shou Sugi Ban.


I torched each board on all surfaces including the cross supports. I then lightly brushed them off with a brass brush before wiping on a coat of boiled linseed oil.

I cut the cross braces to fit the inside width of the frame and spaced them to align with the 6 brackets added earlier.


A quick coat of primer and 2 coats of satin black.


I was concerned that I had overbuilt this thing but the weight wasn’t too bad. It was easily carried around the house by a guy with a broken rib and his patient wife.


I think with a re coat of linseed oil ever 3-5 years this wood rack will serve us well for many years


Thanks for following along. Stay tuned as we cover my failures on the next project and how I overcame them.


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[Monza Harry]

Re: "quadrcr87's garage projects

I’ve had some welding successes and failures over the past week in the garage in the pursuit to build square. Let’s start with the success.
Picked up some 1”x2” .065 tube from Steelcraft. I try to consolidate trips to the shop as much as possible so I picked up the material for the next project as well.

Good use of time and resources right there!

I have said it before and I will say it again, the evolution miter saw is impressive.


I am starting to think I need one of those now! Thanks A Lot!


The controls and adjustments are not all that precise but a little nudging and checking with a square and you can get some great miter joints. Makes an amateur like me look like a pro.


That is the difference between a Competent Craftsman and a hack, you have clearly been moving [Quickly I might add] to the CC end of the spectrum! Pro and ameteur have both extremes and lots in between!

Rather than clamping directly to my warped bench top I tried the 3 points method recommended by Fireball Tool and it worked pretty well for me. It got a little more complicated as the project got too big for the bench but it was an improvement. This material shape was perfect for miter joints.

We should address that, I have some DIY idea's, [we can tackle this later if you are interested] Or I can suggest getting the top "Stress Relieved" and that should fix the problem with money$]

I feel like I really got the welder dialed in after a few passes. It was unfortunate that most of these were ground flush


Back in my early welding days I laid one of my best looking beads 1/2" over from the joint I was trying to weld I have no idea what I was seeing through the helmet. All part of the learning curve I guess, that did turn out looking purdy though!

Attaching the the cross supports on the floor was not ideal. I really wished I had something other than welding magnets.


Those Magnets are a Godsend! But they aren't ever strong enough alone, next time try a piece of everybody's favourite metal "Bed Frame" as a triangular member with some "C Clamps" to add some strength while getting it tacked up.

After multiple measurements and adjustments I got pretty close to square and the whole assembly rests on the concrete floor without a wobble. I was not planning on adding feet so this was important.


I Love and use my Tie Down straps often very useful but beware of the heat build up, they don't take to heat very well! Don't ask how I know As for the feet I would suggest that you could add a couple of washers in the corners to keep the tubing off of the ground to create sacrificial contact points and reduce any wobble and inevitable rust issues and then it would be easy to add an extra if you had been less successful with the lack of wobble

Something I missed in the design planning was the need to notch the center uprights in order to keep their orientation correct to match the sides. Not a big deal but something I didn’t catch on paper. I just picked up this little Kreg multi mark and it’s very handy for this type of layout.

It happens to the best laid out plans I wouldn't sweat it! if only that was my biggest/most embarrassing mistake!

The main frame welded up.

I cut and drilled 6 pieces of angle iron to secure the wood top. I used a scrap of the wood and a piece of sheet metal as a spacer. The added thickness of the spaces helped get a tight fit when the screw pulled it down.

I cut and test fit the 1x4 cedar boards for the top using the evolution saw after swapping in a wood blade.

I think I have been watching too much DIY Network because I have been dying to try my hand at Shou Sugi Ban.

I torched each board on all surfaces including the cross supports. I then lightly brushed them off with a brass brush before wiping on a coat of boiled linseed oil.

I cut the cross braces to fit the inside width of the frame and spaced them to align with the 6 brackets added earlier.

A quick coat of primer and 2 coats of satin black.

I was concerned that I had overbuilt this thing but the weight wasn’t too bad. It was easily carried around the house by a guy with a broken rib and his patient wife.

Did she need medical attention to her tongue? Mine ends up biting hers to mask her true feelings in these endeavours LOL!

I think with a re coat of linseed oil ever 3-5 years this wood rack will serve us well for many years


Thanks for following along. Stay tuned as we cover my failures on the next project and how I overcame them.

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Quad Racer That turned out quite favourable I trust you will parlay that into more garage time/tools? With the "Bosses" Blessing. We're counting on You Here!
I'd like to comment on your Mothers B'Day gift, that too turned out very nice! I do not have that artistic vision I wish those idea's/visions came to me. I do have many but that kind of work and pinstriping are just 2 of them that just doesn't come to me, I'll see things I know would benefit from say, pin stripes I just haven't the foggiest idea what they should look like. Please keep sharing these "Quests" with us I for one am following along, sometimes not often but I do try and catch up. Harry

 

[quadrcr87]

"quadrcr87's garage projects

Quad Racer That turned out quite favourable I trust you will parlay that into more garage time/tools? With the "Bosses" Blessing. We're counting on You Here!

I'd like to comment on your Mothers B'Day gift, that too turned out very nice! I do not have that artistic vision I wish those idea's/visions came to me. I do have many but that kind of work and pinstriping are just 2 of them that just doesn't come to me, I'll see things I know would benefit from say, pin stripes I just haven't the foggiest idea what they should look like. Please keep sharing these "Quests" with us I for one am following along, sometimes not often but I do try and catch up. Harry

Wow Monza Harry that was quite the response, thank you! It has been a very rewarding process learning new things and constantly trying to improve my skills.

For the welding table top, I have considered cutting the welds off and using some bolts and nuts to add some adjustment to get it flat. I just don’t know how well it would work with a 3/16 top and I don’t want to add much weight.

When I make metal art I tend to steal a lot of ideas from Etsy and walking through art fairs. If I see something that I like I go home and try to build it. I myself am not that artistic or creative but I can replicate!

The “Boss” is pretty easy going as long as I maintain a good balance between the garage and spending quality time with her. Honestly I can’t argue with that.


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[quadrcr87]

Re: "quadrcr87's garage projects

Part of the design of the new workbench frame included plans to build a new cart to store all of my oil change supplies. The time to build the cart has arrived! This cart will solve multiple issues.
Number one is that it will fit flush with the face of the workbench preventing me from hanging up on it when I am standing at my bench vise.
Number two is that it will house all of my funnels, drip pans and oil change accessories.
Third it will be enclosed to prevent all of the metal shavings and sawdust from gluing itself to the oil residue. I always wipe down and clean my drain pans after each use so I look forward to them staying clean.
And lastly this cart will provide some hardware storage right at the workbench for frequently used sizes as well as the ability to store & organize fasteners for the current project I am working on. When I tear apart a quad or dirt bike all nuts and bolts go into a bin and it takes up precious real estate on the bench until the project is done.

The rough plan. I have found that drawing out a project really helps me determine the materials I need to get at the steel shop. With limited space I don’t really want to store a ton of stock so this really helps limit that.




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[quadrcr87]

"quadrcr87's garage projects

We will now dive into the failures I had getting started on the frame.

I wrote up a cut list and started by getting the main frame pieces each cut to length, mill scale removed and a slight bevel on the ends. I was very careful to make sure each piece was the correct length and even clamped them together to verify they were flush and square. I really didn’t want to accept 1/16” variation on this one.


With some struggles keeping pieces square and flat in the past I thought I would make life easier with a corner clamp from Northern Tool. I checked it for square and it seemed pretty good but not perfect. The surface finish wasn’t impressive as I could just barely feel a ridge on some of the grind paths.

I was double checking with a machinist square and it was close so continued on and tacked up both end frames. I only finish welded on side so that I could grind the welds flush before attaching to the cross bars.

Once I had the first two cross bars tacked to the end frames I started to realize I had some issues. No matter what direction I orientated on the floor it had a pretty bad wobble. I started taking some measurements and checking square and realized the problem.

As I was tightening the corner clamp it was allowing/ causing the 1” tube to roll slightly. This caused the corners to be square but the tubes to be out of line. Any cross pieces I tried to put in would fit tight on one side and loose on the other. Another factor was this steel that has the profile of a four leaf clover for some unknown reason. The weld seam side also has a grove on the surface. I didn’t even notice it until I ran a grinder over it and it didn’t hit in the middle. Poor quality steel? It is marked made in Canada so I’m not sure what happened there. I wasn’t expecting DOM quality but I have never had 1” tube this bad.

This is how far off the pieces were. This wasn’t going to work.


It was at this point I decided to call it a night and re evaluate the plan.

That night I decided the solution was a pair of Fireball tools minion squares. They were already on my wish list so it was the motivation I needed to pull the trigger.


The Klutch corner clamp will go back because the fit and finish wasn’t working for me.



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[quadrcr87]

"quadrcr87's garage projects

When my order showed up in 2 days I started checking my work and confirmed what I had feared..... It was time to cut all the pieces apart and start over. Frustrating but it was actually a relief and pretty calming once all the parts were re dressed and ready to fixture again.

Turns out an adjustable wrench works pretty well to break apart 1” tubing without having to fully cut through the tacks.

The worse part was the 8 seams that I had fully welded and grounded flush earlier. I marked a sharpie line as a guide and then cut in just enough to allow the joint to break free. Surprisingly the damage was minimal.

Back to square one (some pun intended) I clamped up the first corner. Building on 3 points as recommended by Fireball Tools worked great. I used a few pieces of 1” tube scraps The little alignment tabs on the squares were extremely useful keeping it flat. A perfect tool for the job.



Once I had 1/2 the frame tacked I attached them together clamping opposite corners at the same time.


The minions also worked really well attaching the cross bars to the end frame. With the 1” tube and the 1-1/2” wide squares I was able to overlap them in the corners and get a solid 90* fixture in both directions on all 4 bars.



I continued verifying everything with a machinist square but to be honest these minions worked so well it felt redundant.



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[quadrcr87]

"quadrcr87's garage projects

To get the middle cross bars positioned I clamped my minions together to set the 9.5” spacing perfectly square. This also allowed me to clamp the first piece in and confirm my spacing for the storage bins. I absolutely had this in mind when I ordered these squares.

I’ll have a few inches of dead space behind the bins and I am undecided if I’ll leave it open for access or not. Any clever storage ideas? Maybe a good spot to hide new tools from the BOSS.

After cutting 6 pieces of 1/8 angle iron I realized that I really need a spacer to tighten up the fitment of the bins.

Thinking my chop saw was invincible I clamped down a piece of 3/16 plate. Turns out that this particular arrangement is a little too much for it to eat. It was getting hot and making little progress.

A quick job for the grinder.

I chopped the strip down into 8 spacers and it was just barely wide enough for the bin to clear the frame.

First I welded the spacer to the angle iron and then tacked to the frame as I spaced it out



One last test fit to make sure my trays and funnels will fit in the cabinet below. I have and idea for an adjustable shelf by drilling and tapping some holes in the sides of the frame and use socket head cap screws for the shelf to sit on. Nothing crazy but a few inches of adjustment would be nice if my needs change.


Last step for the day setting the cart under the workbench to make sure everything fits with the added wheel height. Looks good to me.



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[stinkity stoink]

Re: "quadrcr87's garage projects

Great job . Thanks for documenting

 

[rattle_snake]

Re: "quadrcr87's garage projects

Nice work on all the recent projects, you've been busy. Why don't you have a bunch of broken stuff to fix instead, like me?

 

[quadrcr87]

"quadrcr87's garage projects

Taking a quick break from welding I want to catch you guys up on a couple other things I have been up to.

I am always striving to be more organized. Especially in my tool boxes. I recently started taking photos of drawers that are a little bit of a mess and using them as a reference to buy organizers that I find around town. Here is a great example.

Before


After

It’s simple but effective. This also helps prevent my files from banging around and grinding up my cutting tools.

About a year ago my father in law was cleaning up his garage and offered me a complete Eastwood tumbler. Never one to say no to a new quality tool I enthusiastically said yes. Unfortunately it has sat in a cabinet unused since then. While my FIL was visiting this weekend I decided to pull it out and have him help me set it up for a test. He use to use it to restore hardware on the Mopar project cars he was restoring about 15 years ago.

Looking at the manual that came with it this is the heavy duty model that came with two bowls. One for rust removal and another for polish. It also had the two medias I needed included.



I have been doing a lot of bolt sorting lately and this easy sorter funnel tray works amazing and is so simple. No more pouring bins onto the bench for sorting.


As I sort bolts I have been setting the rusty or dirty ones aside that I just wasn’t ready to part with but we’re not quite good enough for the bins. These were the perfect candidates for the tumbler. So I threw these rusty bolts/ screws, a scrap piece of aluminum and a welded piece of scrap steel to see how it does.

I then added the abrasive cones and a little water to the bowl, dumped in my parts and plugged it in.

At the 6 hr point I had a nice grey slurry forming

So far it’s doing a good job. The aluminum is much smoother and the rust on the steel is almost gone. I’ll give it a few more hours before cleaning the parts and running them in the dry polish media.

The way the cones stick to the side of the bowl is interesting. They line up to form a wall of abrasives ready to go to work.


Also worth noting that this thing is pretty loud and oddly it does not have a power switch. As soon as you plug it in it takes off.



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[quadrcr87]

Re: "quadrcr87's garage projects

After 12 hrs in the abrasive I cleaned out the tumbler and was pretty impressed with the results. Feels like I’m ready to head to Alaska and try my hand at gold mining now that I have some experience cleaning out a sluice box.






After rinsing and drying the parts I loaded them into the dry polish media and started it up for another 12 hr cycle.


I added a few random rocks to see how they turn out. And some spare zinc coated hardware to see how well it polishes them while retaining the coating.



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[XJSuperman]

Re: "quadrcr87's garage projects

When I ran a large tumbler at a previous job, it was large enough that we had a pump setup to flush it with water constantly, but it was kept full enough that we never had that slurry, just dirty water that was much easier to clean out. I don't know if your setup will handle that extra weight though. Something to think about.

 

[quadrcr87]

Re: "quadrcr87's garage projects

XJSuperman
That is interesting, a continuous rinse setup would be awesome. If anything I was worried that I had added too much water. The manual from Eastwood said enough water to keep the abrasive wet but there should be no visible water pooling. I will continue to experiment. I envision only using this a couple times a year when I have enough parts to be worth the setup.


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[quadrcr87]

Re: "quadrcr87's garage projects

After 12hrs we have some shiny hardware! It turned out as well as I had hoped. The rocks still just look like rocks but the hardware and metal scraps have a nice smooth shinny surface. The aluminum will obviously need a real polish but it really smoothed the edges.

Much easier to clean out

The plated bolts shined up without removing the coating


The media packed in tightly anywhere it would fit including the Phillips screw heads

Smooth but dull aluminum finish

And lastly a comparison between some metric zinc coated hardware. The left was as removed from the dirt bike and the right was after 12hrs in the polishing media. This will likely be my main use of this tumbler going forward. I’ll toss my projects hardware in as I do my repairs to shine it up for reassembly.


Thanks for following along as I fail at polishing rocks!



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[zmotorsports]

Re: "quadrcr87's garage projects

That does a nice job. I've looked at those several times but can't justify one, yet...

 

[DeeDubz]

Re: "quadrcr87's garage projects

Nice thread op. I like that evolution miter saw. Where did you get it?

 

[quadrcr87]

"quadrcr87's garage projects

That does a nice job. I've looked at those several times but can't justify one, yet...

I agree Mike. I don't think I would have ordered one myself if it was not for my FIL gifting it to me. I was more interested in eventually getting a vapor blaster and that continues to be my long term plan when I get a bigger shop. The vapor blasters ability to clean parts amazes me. Especially on aluminum engine cases, cylinders and heads.

Nice thread op. I like that evolution miter saw. Where did you get it?

Thanks Dee Dubz. I got the saw from Home Depot a few years ago. I believe they have updated the design some since. I have really been looking at the Evolution metal circular saw. It would be pretty awesome to be able to buy a 4x8 sheet and rip it down quickly.

 

[quadrcr87]

Re: "quadrcr87's garage projects

Progress on the oil change cart has been slow because it has just been a lot of finish welding here and there when I get some time in the garage. Not very interesting to show you guys. Plus we had family visiting for the weekend. I did spend some time tonight adding a center brace for the top and the bottom as they are going to see the most weight.
I like projects where I am welding a lot of the same material because I can see my progress as I dial in both myself and the mig.



My minions were a big help again today. Their personalities are pretty flat as far as co-workers go but they don’t complain much.


I also cut, drilled and threaded some 3/16 plate for the casters.


I should ask Santa for a drill press this year.

I really need your help in determine if the casters should be inset 1” from the edge or if the bases need to be close to flush. I wanted to inset them so the locking mechanism doesn’t stick out too far but I am concerned with both reducing stability and limiting access to the locks. The amount they stick out when flush may hit the workbench legs as they swivel. I am sure you guys have experience with this exact situation. The plates are designed so that I can go either way at this point. Another option is to upgrade to better castors but I would rather avoid another $80-100 in cost for this.

Inset 1”



Flush






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[bigsteve2011]

Re: "quadrcr87's garage projects

My minions were a big help again today. Their personalities are pretty flat as far as co-workers go but they don’t complain much.

I see what you did there and I like it.
Looking good.
As far as casters I'd put them flush with bottom of frame. Only so it's easier to hit brakes and stuff.

 

[quadrcr87]

Re: "quadrcr87's garage projects

Took a little break from the cart and changed over to the wood blade.

With a Benchmark Abrasives blade this saw does a pretty decent job.


I am making a cover to keep snow and leaves out of our Solo Stove.

After I cut the cedar boards for the top I cut and rounded the first backer to fit the inside of the ring.

Once the boards were secure together I came up with a method to make my 20” circle. Not sure that the drill guide was necessary but it did keep my pencil vertical and consistent.

After a quick cut with the jig saw I checked fit with the ring and measured for the additional backers.


Added a simple stainless handle that matches the stove construction.

The 4 outer edges needed a little extra support so I added some pocket screws


Cleaned up the edge with 80 grit on an orbital

Ready for finish.

I made a few mistakes so I decided to light the whole thing on fire

Cleaned it off with a fine brass brush.


A coat of linseed oil and it’s done!



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[quadrcr87]

Re: "quadrcr87's garage projects

While I had the wood tools out I decided to throw together a cover for my AC unit. This was not in the plans for the day but I already had some good pine scraps from a shed ramp the previous home owner built. I tore it apart last week when I cleaned out the shed. A couple of them were about 1” short so I had to adjust the design a bit.


I gave the cover the same Shou Sugi ban and linseed oil treatment. I also added some blocks to the bottom with a snug fit to prevent wind from blowing it off.

Finished just in time for the snow tomorrow. Winter is coming!



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[quadrcr87]

"quadrcr87's garage projects

I was quite busy around the house over the four day Thanksgiving weekend. It was just the wife and I and no guests (COVID) so we spent the time getting the last outdoor work done. Final leaf pickup of the weekend, cleared and burned our brush pile, sealed the camper roof, moved it to the yard and covered it and put up some Christmas lights. No pictures of all this, but I will say you didn’t miss much.


Despite all of that I did manage a few hours of quality garage time working on the cart.

While I was still deciding on the mounting location of the casters I shifted the focus onto the shelf for the lower cabinet. The first step was to decide on the height. I lined up all of the most likely inhabitants and decided to make the self adjustable to accommodate them all as I finalize the layout.

Some quick math to confirm I liked the use the available space considering the shelf width and cabinet bottom.

I knew the spacing of the holes was critical to prevent a wobble in the shelf so I came up with a jig. Drilling 1/8” holes in a scrap of wood was perfect to fit my Fastcap layout marker. I was even able to grind the edge a little to clear the weld bead.

This resulted in 12 perfectly spaced 7/16” holes for 5/16” rivet nuts. I just didn’t think the 1/8” tubing wall was thick enough and I do enjoy using my Astro Pneumatic tool. I ended up a few nuts short so I’ll wait a few days to finish them up.

While I was drilling holes I decided to make some clearance holes on the bottom of the frame for the caster bolts since the plates were already drilled and tapped.

Then I was able to tack the plates on and bolt up the casters. We finally have a rolling cart! It is very balanced and there is no wobble thanks to the Minions.

I made sure it still fit into its home and the casters cleared the bench frame without issue.



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[quadrcr87]

Re: "quadrcr87's garage projects

For the removable shelf I build a perimeter frame out of 1/2” 16 ga. tubing. I am not planning on loading up too much weight on this so I kept it relatively light.

It has a slight rock when I set it on the mounting bolts. I was able to correct that with a small tweak in the vice.


I cut a skin for the shelf from a sheet of 14 ga. sheet. I wanted to go aluminum for all of the sheet on this cart but it was cost prohibitive. It would have nearly doubled the cost of the cart that is currently around $225 in materials. Until I get a metal saw or plasma I’m stuck with a cut off disk on the angle grinder. Not looking forward to cutting the rest of the plate out as it makes a terrible mess of dust. I did see a big improvement when I switched to .040” disks from Benchmark Abrasives though. Thank you ZMotorsports for the recommendation to check out their abrasives. I have been impressed with everything I have tried from them including carbide burrs, saw blades and sanding disks.


I will need to come up with some type of stops to prevent the shelf from sliding off of the bolts. Maybe as simple as some pieces of 1/2” tubing tacked on the inside on all 4 corners. I just want it to be easily removable to clean and adjust height.


And here is where I ask for help from the collective knowledge of the GJ members! I am really worried about hear distortion and warping when I weld all of this sheet metal to the shelf frame and the rest of the carts frame....

What should the welding sequence be?
How long should the weld beads be?
Should I weld on the outside or inside?
How and where to place clamps?

I just want this thing to turn out right as I have spent a lot of hours focusing on the details.

Thanks for following along,
Andrew

 

[quadrcr87]

Re: "quadrcr87's garage projects

Last night I got caught up shaving a yak. I know eventually I will be riveting the aluminum top onto the cart and I have even considered riveting the side and back panels on. I could just use my standard 1/8 pop rivets but I decided to make it complicated. I really wanted the rivets flush so I started testing out various ways to countersink them with my existing bits. Although eventually I got some flush the fit and consistency was bad. With a flat bottom rivet and a tapered hole they were moving around a lot as they set.


After my failure I began researching and ended up on several aviation sites going way deeper on riveting then I ever expected to go. Next thing I know I have a Marson HP-2 rivet gun, Marson countersink bit, no.11 and no.30 drill bits and 500 countersunk rivets ordered. I considered going with a rivet shaver but I’ll save that for another day.

I figured now was as good a time as any to organize my rivet kit. I am sure as soon as I get a couple more rivet types I will hate myself for removing bins to kaizen foam the rivet gun.

Dreading the day that I drop this off a table and it spills.


I am still waiting on the countersink that cuts a very specific 118* angle before I can test these out.




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[quadrcr87]

Re: "quadrcr87's garage projects

Made some progress on the shelf. I was really worried about warping so I took my time and read up on some weld sequence suggestions online. I ended up clamping the plate to the frame On the flattest thing in my garage which I am glad to say is the cart I’m building.

I made small tacks on opposing sides starting at the center and worked my way out. I even took the time to layout the locations to keep me on track.

After the first set of tacks I followed the same sequence with a larger tack and called it good.

Happy to report that is is solid and did not warp. It rests on the shelf pins with zero wobble. I feel better about tackling the rest of the sheet metal now.
If you have any suggestions, I am all ears.





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[quadrcr87]

"quadrcr87's garage projects

Still making slow and steady progress on the cart. At this pace I’ll be able to gift it to myself for Christmas.

To help keep the shelf located I decided adding a 1/4-20 socket head on the inside of each corner would be just enough to catch the locator pins.



With the shelf completed I moved on to the sheet metal to close in the top of the cabinet. No pictures of the layout or cutting but I am getting pretty good with a 4-1/2 cut off wheel. Certainly getting a lot of practice with no other ways to cut sheet.

Then I deployed every clamp in my fleet to keep this thing from warping.


Similar to the shelf I made a series of tack welds on opposing sides working from the center out. The went around the second time placing them closer together.

I was tempted to fully weld the panel but it’s not really necessary here and I would likely distort the panel. So instead I will just caulk the seam before paint and you will never see it on the backside.


Really starting to take shape now. Just need to add the bottom of the cabinet, skin the back and sides, weld on some doors, clean, prime, paint and rivet on the top. When I list it all out it seems further from complete then I thought. That’s ok because I am enjoying focusing on the details and ending up with a better finished product. It is my Christmas gift to my self after all.


PSA- If the BOSS asks you to cut her hair in Covid times, just say no. There is very little up side and a ton of potential down side. Unlike my welder, my scissors are not very good at reattaching material!


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[quadrcr87]

"quadrcr87's garage projects

Since I was successful with the the shelf and top I used the same material and technique to build a bottom for the cart.



I cut out the 4 corners to fit the frame and had to do a little extra grinding to clearance the welds. Turned out flat and solid.



With limited access to the inside I am still trying to decide how I want to attach the sides and back. I also plan to inset the sides at the top to maintain a 1” lip for clamping.

Next up doors!


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