quadrcr87's garage projects

[jhn9840]

Excellent job on the ashtray. Going to look good with the dark stain. I was concerned at one point that the insert wasn’t going to go well for you.

jhn9840
John

 

[quadrcr87]

Excellent job on the ashtray. Going to look good with the dark stain. I was concerned at one point that the insert wasn’t going to go well for you.

jhn9840
John

Thanks

I am here to show both my successes and failures. Sounds like I may have saved this one from the latter.

 

[Bodj Built]

Turned out great! Glad my tip could help. Keep up the good work!

 

[bugnut]

lLooking very good! Nice work!

put the magnet in from the bottom!

then felt feet!

 

[quadrcr87]

I appreciate the comments Bodj Built and bugnut. I have decided to skip the magnets and finish it up.

I stained it with semi transparent Ebony from Minwax. Obviously pine is not the prettiest wood but it almost looks like barn wood with this finish.


I finished the metal with 2 coats of high heat satin black. Hopefully it holds up well to hot ash with a 1200* rating. If not, I am going to recommend getting it powder coated.


A little late in the process to verify, but the tray does serve it’s intended purpose. It held both the larger and smaller cigars very stable.


Next was the first coat of satin poly. With the multiple angles it was hard to prevent pooling and drips. I decided not to use wipe on poly as I believe this will be more durable.


This morning I gave it a light sand with 220 and another coat of poly. I will miss my goal of shipping today because I think it’s important to wait 24 hrs before packaging it. Can you imaging the disappointment if it arrived with paper glued to it?



Thanks for following along!


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[quadrcr87]

Some final glamour shots of the cigar tray before I ship it off in the AM. Celebrating the completion of the week long project with an Old Fashioned.








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[quadrcr87]

I took a small break from the garage after the cigar tray, but I’m getting back out there now. I have a bunch of small projects to take care of before I take on another build.

I made a small change to the garage decor. I’ve had this Harley clock for about 7 years and the neon tube started to flicker. It never did a great job of keeping time either.


I replaced it with a much cleaner looking clock from IKEA. I’ll be putting the old clock up on eBay soon. I still have some changes to make as I feel like it’s a little too busy. I guess my tastes are maturing with age?


My wife has been busy crafting as well. I cut out a few 1/4” pine squares for her latest mosaic. She made a nice set of coaster with a beach/water/dunes/sunset design. After grouting the glass I finished it with some wipe on poly.




This past week I have been busy with some maintenance on my Subaru. At 112K miles, I could tell the ride quality was getting worse. I also developed a horrific brake sound on the way back from Chicago last week.

Looks like I found the brake sound...oops! 3/4 pads had plenty of life but one had just hit metal to metal. Something was binding and preventing the passenger caliper from retracting.

You can see how uneven the wear is.


The culprit was a little surprising. One slide pin was binding because of the rubber disintegrating and sticking. There was still grease on all 4 pins from my last brake job.


Next up is replacing the struts at all 4 corners.


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[quadrcr87]

I had a productive day in the garage today and got my commuter car all wrapped up. No time to watch the Daytona 500 but I can assume they all turned left for about 5 hrs.

The front struts came out with ease. I was glad to find that I didn’t have to disconnect any additional suspension parts.

I rented a basic strut compressor from Advance Auto. I don’t do these enough to justify buying one.

Disassembly was straight forward but unfortunately the spring compressor was about 1/2” short of working on reassembly. The coil spacing and spring cups prevented it from having enough travel. I had the local shop install the springs for $50. I figured it was smarter than risking a broken jaw with ratchet straps.


After I got the front struts torqued to spec, I reassembled the brakes with new pads and rotors.


The compressor worked great for the rear springs. As you can see, the old struts were in rough shape from 8 years of road salt.


KYB must have made a design change because the end diameter was too small to hold the ID of the bumper and dust boot. I didn’t want them bouncing around loose so I came up with a solution. I was able to press the bushing off of the original strut and drill it out to 5/8” and slip fit it on.

I filed it down a little after this photo to ensure the original bushing would make full contact with the upper strut mount.

The rear was a bit of a pain as I had remove a bolt on the lower link for clearance. The rear brakes are still in good shape as I did them about 30k miles ago.


While I had the car on jacks I changed the engine oil and rear diff fluid. I have to give Subaru credit on this one. This was about the easiest diff fluid change I have done. Easy access and an actual drain port!

No need to change the front transaxle fluid as I had it replaced under warranty when the transmission failed around 80k miles. I am not too confident in the longevity of the rubber band in these CVTs.


Time to get the car out of the garage so I can start on something a little more interesting. I’ve got an 8’ piece of walnut that wants to become a computer monitor stand and a condiment tray.


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[quadrcr87]

I spent the weekend cleaning up and getting a little more organized.

First off, I needed more shelf space. I had some pre finished ply left over so I cut two 14x48” pieces. I added a couple pocket screws to the ends to tie it into the existing shelves. This extra step prevents them from warping and maintains a smooth transition between sections for smooth sliding of boxes.

I hit the bottoms and sides with 220 to prep for paint. I also ran around all the edges with an 1/8” round over bit. I just like the way it consistently breaks the edge. These sections are much nicer than the rough cut shelves I installed last year.


I mounted them up after a couple coats of latex exterior left over from the house.

This additional 84” of shelf will really help clear out some cabinet and floor space. It is a pain lifting a tote full ip a ladder but it’s doable.


I started going through my large cabinets but still have a lot more to do. I think making a rack to hold my HF bins is the next logical step. Then it’s just organizing and purging. I’m sure there is some junk in there that I have been too stubborn to throw out.

One goal is to make some room for more tools, including my router.





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[quadrcr87]

I know many people in the southern US are having a very tough winter. It must be hard to handle when you are not setup for it. It has been pretty cold in Indiana too, but I have been enjoying the snow.

The ole Ariens has cleared about 24” in the past couple of weeks. Other than some sparks and fire coming out of the exhaust on start up, it’s running great. It even cleared a couple of neighbors.




We have been snow shoeing everyday. Both around our neighborhood and at the local trails.


His and hers

Today it warmed up to 30*F and it felt like spring!


Working in the train industry I had to get a picture as Canadian National went by.



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[quadrcr87]

Over the past couple of days I have been working on a little project for the BOSS. She asked for a small condiments tray that fit on the small bar height table in our kitchen. I decided to build it out of Walnut that gave me the chance to practice with the same wood I will be using for my monitor stand.

To improve the cut quality of my Evolution saw I picked up and 80T blade from BA.


It left a very clean edge that was easily finished with 150 and then 220 grit paper. I also picked up this truck of using pencil lines as a sanding guide from Katz-Moses on YouTube. It works great.


I applied a coat of wipe on poly after running an 1/8” round over bit around the edges and finish sanding. Compared to the pine I have been using, the walnut machines and sands beautifully.


That was the end of night one.


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[quadrcr87]

I picked up some stainless cabinet pulls to use as side rails after measuring the space needed for the condiments we like to have on the table.

After careful layout of the holes, I drilled them with the help of a drill guide. It does a pretty good job in the absence of a drill press.



I ended up with nice even spacing and a balanced look.


I countersunk the screws and added some cork pads to protect the table.

Finally, here it is in its new home. I made it Narrow enough that is can fit between the placemats as a centerpiece or off to the side.


I have several projects stacking up on my to do list, including a monitor stand and hardware bin rack. Unfortunately the most pressing item is replacing our water softener. But it should give me a chance to make some garage improvements since that’s where it’s located.

Thanks for following along!


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[mfg0772]

Great little project. The small ones are important for me to make me feel like I am still moving forward.

 

[racer-john]

Nice work.

 

[quadrcr87]

Great little project. The small ones are important for me to make me feel like I am still moving forward.

I feel the same way. Its a good feeling to get it done and clean up the garage in the same day.

Nice work.

Thank you!

 

[Trapps]

Well done!

 

[quadrcr87]

Well done!

Thanks Trapps! I have been enjoying following your thread as well. I really like how your workbench is setup with a wall for quick access items. I dream of a space I can have woodwork and automotive/ metal work separated. I could build a wood bench and French cleat wall that is oil and dirt free!

 

[quadrcr87]

My progress on the water softener has been halted. I ordered the system online to save $1500 off the quotes from local treatment companies and it bit me. Instead of sending me the black Fleck system I ordered, I received an almond color that had an undersized brine tank.

The company is working with me and will get it corrected. It is just a bummer that it pushed it out at least a week.




The good news is that the free flow race deck I ordered arrived. I also picked up a gallon of flat white to repaint the wall behind the softener.


You can see how dirty it has become on this back wall. After I repaint, I may even install some FRP panel.


I ordered 16 sq ft of flooring. The plan is to rearrange the softener to allow for a Eley hose reel mounted above the spigot and a parking spot for my power washer on the free flow tile. The new tanks are a few inches shorter so they should be able to tuck under my car wash shelf. Finally, I will move the welder to the far right corner by my material storage.


What do you guys recommend for the system plumbing? I can easily use PVC like the existing or change to copper. I don’t have the crimp tools for PEX but I’m not opposed to getting more tools.


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[quadrcr87]

While I’m waiting for the correct water softener, I am continuing my efforts to get more organized.

I made a quick stop into Northern Tool for more bins.


Before


After

I especially like the blue bin that stores all of my shop vac hoses and attachments. It’s going to be really nice opening the cabinet without a hose falling out.


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[larry4406]

You have CPVC Flowguard Gold plumbing piping at the water softener, not PVC. The CPVC is very easy to work with and I recommend you stay with it.

All of our production homes went CPVC easily 20 years ago.

 

[quadrcr87]

Thanks Larry4406. I just looked it up to learn more about it. It looks like HD has it in stock. I like that it insulates better than copper so it wont sweat as much in the summer heat. I didn't really consider that until I read up on it. I just wish I could get it in black.

 

[quadrcr87]

This weekend I made some progress on a project that I’ve been thinking about for a couple of months.

With the shift to working from home 90% of the time, I wanted to step up my desk setup. As you can see it was pretty unorganized and the monitor was too low.


I found a couple stands I really liked online but I decided it would be more fun to build it myself. I started with a sketch once I determined the dimensions.


Any money I thought I would save building it myself was quickly absorbed by purchasing more tools. This Dowl-It jig will serve me well for many projects in the future.


I bought a nice piece of walnut to build the stand but I didn’t want to mess it up as I learned how to accurately install dowels. I decided to build a prototype out of poplar to test my design and skills.

I set up a guide to rip it down to 10” with a circular saw. The t-track clamps worked perfect for this.



I cut the top to 32” and the 3 legs to 3-3/4” with the evolution chop saw. Overall height is 4.5”.


I beveled the underside of all 4 edges to 45* to add some detail.


Once the edges were beveled, I measured and confirmed the legs would fit at 8” wide.


I evenly spaced three 3/8” dowels. This jig worked great and self centered perfectly. I used the center hole to index the outside holes.

1-1/2” dowels drilled to 1” depth.

For my first time using dowels I decided to start with one of the hardest joints. I’m sure installing them in the face is much harder than joining an end. The locator pins worked really well but it did take a lot of time confirming measurements and alignment.

After the outer holes were drilled, I was able to use the dowels to align the piece and mark the center.

I used a drill guide to assist drilling at 90*.


Everything fit well on the dry fit. I’m still missing the 1/8” dado for the shelf but I think I’ll save that for the final stand build. It would be too hard to do with the router on these small pieces. I may need to cut the dado before I cut the legs to height. That would provide more material to clamp.


I set the stand up temporarily so I can test it out at the start of the work week tomorrow. The BOSS also got me a leather desk mat and a new lamp for Valentine’s Day. They really classed up the home office.

The drawing above the desk was done by my Grandpa while working at GM. It is a proposed trim design completed on 10/28/1946 for the “B” Body Buick. Our family has about 30 of these framed from many years of his work. I was fortunate enough to get this one when he passed away a few years ago.


Much cleaner organization.



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[soloz2]

Looks good. I too just did some work on the work from home office, most rearranging... And I'm back in the office most of the time now. [emoji2371]

 

[mfg0772]

Monitor stand was on my list but keeps moving down now that I am no longer going to the office. Love your grandpa's drawing. It's cool to have something sentimental like that but it's also just cool.

 

[quadrcr87]

Looks good. I too just did some work on the work from home office, most rearranging... And I'm back in the office most of the time now. [emoji2371]

Thank you. I think the home office has become more important to people around the world in this past year.

 

[soloz2]

Thank you. I think the home office has become more important to people around the world in this past year.

For sure! I have a 3 bedroom house and now use two of them as home offices. [emoji23]

 

[quadrcr87]

I haven’t really done anything picture worthy to share recently but I have been spending a lot of time in the garage and driveway enjoying these 60*F days. I have washed and vacuumed all 3 vehicles and cleaned the garage. I also spent a couple hours cleaning up the wood lathe my dad bought. There was years of sawdust and dry grease build up. I am going to see him in a few weeks and am looking forward to delivering it ready to setup and use.

I have also started planning a little project for the BOSS. Our kitchen drawers are a bit of a mess. The only organizer is a small silverware trey. The rest is just loosely sliding around.
We saw a project in Mar 2021 issue of family handyman that caught our attention. I am now on the hook to build some custom inserts from baltic birch ply.

I threw together some quick drawings to determine the basic layout and estimate materials. It will be a combination of 1/2” and 1/4” ply glued pin nailed. Let me know what you think. I am open to any suggestions from those that have built organizers themselves.




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[quadrcr87]

I spent my Sunday getting the new water softener hooked up. It felt good to get this part of the garage cleaned up!
Before disconnecting the old system, I needed to do some prep to minimize downtime.I washed all of the walls and baseboard I could reach. I then caulked the baseboard and patched a few holes.

As you can see the walls were pretty bad. As the system sweats it creates a lot of moisture on the walls in the summer. Then the dirt sticks to it and creates this mess. I am hoping my neoprene tank covers and pipe insulation will help minimize this.

I was able to match the paint color very well as I only painted about 5’ up.


I started the install by setting the resin tanks in place. With the race deck it is easy to add the tiles as I go.


After shutting off the water and removing the old system, I was able to access the last bit of wall to clean and paint. I also labeled the supply line so I wouldn’t plumb it backwards!


By tucking the new system under my washing supplies, the whole area is more efficient. I’ll still have plenty of room for a hose reel and have improved access to the hose bib.




I plumbed it in with the same 3/4” CPVC as the old system. I’m ashamed to say this took me a couple of hours. But I got it right on the first try. This photo was before the lines were secured to the wall.


Transferring the salt from old brine tank to the new one was a bit of a pain. I enlisted the help of the BOSS.


To be continued... I know the suspense must be killing you.


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[quadrcr87]

Last night I wrapped up the final details on the water softener. I am pretty happy how it turned out as it really cleaned up this corner of the garage. I am hopeful that the extra steps I took to insulate prevent the damp mildew mess on the walls and floor in the summer humidity.

This is how I ended day 1 as the system was turned back on and functioning.


This layout provided access to 2 wall studs that were in a perfect location to mount an Eley hose reel. This is my first time using an Eley and the quality is outstanding. Also notice that I located the water filter above the brine tank so that I can fit a bucket underneath while changing the filter. It was always awkward accessing this filter before with water running down my arms and the wall.


I spaced all of the lines off the wall using 1/2” ply spacers. This provided the gap needed to fit pipe insulation.

The way they design the corner pieces makes installing this foam insulation extremely easy. It was also pretty satisfying how quick it it went on.

When I relocated the filter I also spaced it off the wall with 3/4” ply and added a block to support the filter housing below the metal bracket. This added some much needed rigidity and stopped my filter wrench from hitting the wall as the bracket flexed.


I also installed the neoprene resin tank covers to match the brine tank. I can’t believe these covers cost over $50 each. Fortunately the company sent them free when they screwed up and sent almond color tanks.

It’s nice having all of the water and washing related equipment consolidated in one area. It never really made sense storing the welder with the car wash stuff.


My next project is cleaning up this mess!


Thanks for following along!


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[jh87]

Nice clean install! I don’t know what it is with water softeners, but so often I see them just slapped in all willy-nilly with no thought or care. I’m glad you took the time to do it proper!

 

[quadrcr87]

Nice clean install! I don’t know what it is with water softeners, but so often I see them just slapped in all willy-nilly with no thought or care. I’m glad you took the time to do it proper!

I appreciate the feedback and I agree. I have definitely seen some rough installs. If this was in a mechanical room I may not have taken so much time but is in the garage and I have to look at if every day.

 

[rattle_snake]

Nice work on softener install. I had a very rough job to fix, several times.

 

[quadrcr87]

Nice work on softener install. I had a very rough job to fix, several times.

Thanks, I’m just trying to get to your level!


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[quadrcr87]

After a full work week with the monitor stand I decided to put some finish on it. I applied Minway ebony for the top and black for the legs. I think the two stains complemented each other really well.



The ebony hid the green tones of the poplar pretty well.


I put some tape on the top before stain to leave a clean surface for the glue up. I picked up a couple 24” bar clamps that worked much better than the quick clamps. Unfortunately I only have 2 so it was a glue and wait process over a few hours.

After the glue up I applied some wipe on satin poly. I really like how this turned out but it is too dark for the office in my opinion. This will make a great stand for my garage stereo though. I’m really glad I built this because now I am confident I can make it even better out of walnut.


On an unrelated topic, I have been collecting knives for several years and I just picked up this beauty. It’s a Benchmade Bugout with carbon fiber scales. At 2.02 oz it’s so light I forget it’s in my pocket. It is now the nicest in the collection and will become my new EDC. I’ll have to lay them out for a group photo soon.



It’s my first S90V blade and I expect it to hold an edge extremely well.


I am visiting my parents this week so I have access to my dad’s Delta cabinet saw, joiner and planer. When I get home I will be ready to start building the walnut stand and custom cabinet organizers!

Thanks for following along!


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[quadrcr87]

I had a very nice visit with my parents and really enjoyed spending some time with my dad in his shop. I was able to help him setup his wood lathe and finish up a couple small projects. After ripping a pile of plywood with his table saw, we even ran his joiner to clean up the walnut for my monitor stand.

I came home with a pretty decent pile of material cut to size. The speed and accuracy of a table saw is wonderful.


I also had the opportunity to learn how to run his Porter Cable dovetail jig. We made a small drawer with 1/2 blind dovetails in his shop. The 1/2” Baltic birch didn’t machine very well with lots of chip outs but it was passable for a drawer. (Sorry no pics)

He let me borrow the jig for a while for some things I’m working on. After reading through the manual I picked up some tips to refine the setup and reduce chip out. The real key was a backup board on the face. Ultimately I decided I like the box joint the most for this plywood using a 1/2" bit.

The jig clamped to my table like it was made for it.


After a successful test joint I was ready to start my project.


A couple weeks ago our 9 year old border collie Ash got rushed to the vet with a back injury. When he went to jump on the couch he collapsed onto his ****. Turns out he had arthritis in his back and some signs of acute injuries. After 3 weeks of restriction he will be ready to get back to his normal routine. To help his recovery, the BOSS asked for some platforms to ease the transition to the couches. I said no problem...I just need some more tools!

I drew up some designs for her approval and then sent her to the craft store for some fabric.



I decided not to spend the time to sketch the corner joints but you get the idea.


The BOSS was very detailed in choosing the stain color. I had her pick out a few stains for testing. Ultimately she ended up with 2 parts Minwax Golden Oak and 1 part Driftwood. Works for me.




To be continued....


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[quadrcr87]

With the design, testing and color choices complete it was time to start building. I continue to be impressed with how useful this cart and table have become. I do need to find a better way to setup the dust collection hose and maybe a a place to set the router. I may add a removable shelf?


The way the jig sets up, you cut half the joint of the left side and the other half on the right side after adjusting the stops. This worked well and was repeatable for all 8 box sides.

The raised bench cookies provided clearance for my Kreg clamp while drilling the pocket screws. In the past I did this between saw horses.

Dry fit of box #1. I numbered the corners to keep alignment during the glue up.

I bought two more 24” clamps for this project but I really could use 4 more. I ended up moving them around a couple times to make sure both top and bottom were tight.


As the glue was setting, I laid out and cut the templates for the leg details using a jig saw. The templates allowed me to have a clean and consistent profile on all 8 sides.


I then placed my table top on the ground with 4 bench dogs below it. This put it at a perfect height for running the router from my rolling chair. I clamped the box and the template in place and used an 1/8” carbide router bit with a guide bushing. I made the template 5/16” larger than the final cut profile.




After some final sanding of 150 and 220 grit I handed them off to the BOSS for staining. It was her first time and she did great.



For the tops, I wrapped a piece of 1/2” ply with poly fill and fabric. We went with two different fabrics to match the couches. This one is tan with a burlap look.


Almost ready for my buddy Ash to test it out. I have the first two coats of poly on but still need to sand and wipe on one more before I can secure the tops



Thanks for following along.


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[XJSuperman]

Very slick.

 

[racer-john]

Nice work.

 

[stinkity stoink]

Nicely done. I like the grain on the corners that makes the joint stand out more.

 

[quadrcr87]

Thanks guys I appreciate the comments. I finished up the steps and put them in place this morning. It didn’t take long for Ash to start using them.







He is quite happy being allowed back on the couch.


I also spent some time finishing up the shelf for V1 of the monitor stand. This was the last step before moving on to building this thing out of walnut.

I started with a scrap piece of .125” aluminum and cut it to size with a jig saw. I have always struggled with the blade gumming up cutting aluminum. I picked up some aluminum cutting fluid and some Bosch aluminum blades for the jig saw and it was a huge improvement! It cut clean and there was no stopping to clear the teeth out.


I cleaned up the edges with 220 grit on my orbital sander followed by steel wool and mothers polish. To finish it off I adhered some felt using 3M spray adhesive. The felt cut pretty well with an exacto knife.





The shelf fit into the slots snug enough that there was no need to glue.


Thanks for following along!


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