rattle_snake's random shop projects v0.1

[Ohmthis]

Reading this:

Reminded me of this picture that I took earlier this Fall:

This is awesome to read and kinda funny at the same time. I’m a career electrician and taught electrical theory for awhile. We take electricity for granted anymore. Imagine what it was like in its infancy. I never really thought that people feared it couldn’t turn a corner!

 

[ntsqd]

My MS-EE co-worker was amused by that sign as well.

For those who are curious, location of that sign:

Google Maps

Find local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in Google Maps.

www.google.com

And the location of the mill that the power was sent to:

Google Maps

Find local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in Google Maps.

www.google.com

 

[rattle_snake]

Interesting read. Given electrons can't be seen, they posed problem understanding their behavior.

 

[ntsqd]

Given that the dynamo considerably pre-dates this I can understand their concern.

 

[rattle_snake]

Concrete countertop came out alright. I left it covered in plastic but made it only 4 days before I had to see result. Expectation was medium-low, as this is an outdoor/shop application and not the kitchen were it would be scrutinized constantly by the Mrs.

I failed to pay enough attention when building form to do mirror image, as it is cast upside-down, but caught it before rebar/pour. After testing cabinet placement I confirmed I could put sink on right (as any normal left handed person would do) so I modified form by moving the sink cutout slightly. This left some holes in the wrong place, I filled but knew they would appear in result. Oh well.
Should have hand compacted edges, as they didn't turn out as nice as bottom. I attempted to fill all the pin holes and void with a slurry. While attempting to get dye ratio consistent a large blob fell into slurry so I just went with it figuring it should have a interesting look. Can see the darker material on the edges and it is less boring.


Trying to be patient and let concrete cure before applying sealer. So far it has not pushed out any salts like I would expect. Still need to glue the top down to the base cabinet, plan to use construction adhesive. At least the sink fits at all, was very tight in the base cabinet so little room for error in the countertop.

 

[rattle_snake]

Justin, the sink base looks great- how is it going to be protected from the weather?

I put a few coats of oil based sealer (deck sealer) all over including inside and underneath. But it is old weathered wood anyhow, and grand scheme is to put a roof over it. Some day.

 

[OutlawDrifter]

That looks great Justin, I've always wanted to do a cement top like that for a permanent outdoor shooting table.

 

[rattle_snake]

That looks great Justin, I've always wanted to do a cement top like that for a permanent outdoor shooting table.

Sounds like a great reason to make one. Only $10 in concrete, and under $100 for the whole thing.

 

[ntsqd]

The whole assembly looks great! One of race team's home kitchen has poured concrete counters tops. I'd heard of it being done, but theirs was the first that I'd ever seen in person. I imagine that keeping it sealed is an absolute necessity? Use a product like what we used on our pavers?

All of the 24 benches are our local range were made that way. Poured concrete tops flipped over and set on cinder block pedestals. 10 are set at 30" high and the rest are set at 36" high. For as old as the range is (WWII SeaBee's origin, no idea when the 200M line was built but it wasn't new when I first saw it in the mid 80's) all of the benches have seats for us folks in our right minds, as well as for them others. Has always semed unusual to me that LH-edness was accommodated that long ago. When/If I ever am able to build something like that on my own property I want to build it that way, probably at the low height. Our range has sections of carpet to roll out on top of the benches. Some of which are quite shagadelic.

 

[rattle_snake]

Yes sealer is needed given porosity of concrete. Can get food grade sealers for kitchens.

For large countertops, some are poured in place. Can buy edge moldings, but need to have good concrete finishing skills to make top flat at all, to make it look decent.
I'm a hack, couldn't make the bottom flat or smooth. Need to go to trowel school.

 

[rattle_snake]

One lesson learned was support of the form. I bought some saw horses and used them to support 50" long piece of 3/4 Mel. unloaded it was fine, but with 100# of concrete in it the base material deflected. Should have run 2x4s on edge long way. Could have just used longer 2x4 in saw horses and put them at 90*.
To mitigate while wet, I used 2 more roller stand to support edges. Came out flat enough disaster averted.

 

[rattle_snake]

Slowly puttering away on 72 Ford paint job. I usually try to have a plan before I start, but as I disassemble I find more things that will take time and need attention. So scope has blown out completely and I'm just bouncing around on random tasks. Some are not even related to paint.
Going to take a few months to get it done, but I'm supposed to enjoy this right?

There is some rust where the seam sealer has failed on drip rail. I was hoping to limit scope of job to just one color and not paint roof at this time, however considering doing repair to both sides/colors. But then I should remove the back glass and windshield, where does it stop?

For example, during door disassembly I am reminded of the past speaker hackery that I can't quite ignore any more. So I welded all the holes shut for a fresh start.


Doors had several types of mirrors over the decades so lots of holes to fill. I think right side mirror got hit, some damage to door skin on that side.


A battery exploded so wanting to address rust spots on the underside of hood. Gave it a scuff with scotchbrite pad and ground out the rusty spots. Too much time spent here but I want the paint to stick and look decent next to the new motor.


So truck is back in 100 pieces, but still drivable. I have accepted that I enjoy the build aspect more than the end product, even though I want it done right away. I have removed every nut and bolt at this point. Glad I didn't try to paint when I did main build as it would have taken a lot longer and I was getting burned out. As far as I have to go on paint I can look at the rest of the finished product and it puts things into perspective.

 

[OutlawDrifter]

I'm the same way Justin...when you're done "building" them, they are boring.

This project definitely has some serious creep induced!

 

[ntsqd]

Reminds me of sitting around the Trukhaven Hills campfire for New Year's (I *think* it was '97 about to be '98) when one of the guys asked the guy who had just recently gotten his J$$P on the cover of 4WD & Sport Utility "So Danny, Is your J$$P done yet?"
To which Danny replied "Hell, if it's done, it's For Sale!!"

That lesson learned on supporting the form is priceless. Thank you.

 

[rattle_snake]

I spent some more time learning about primer types, use cases and have come to conclusion that a few more steps and specific products are the way to go. I don't have that much area that needed to go to bare metal, so going to use etch and high build over repairs. Given the level of color difference in the two tone plus repairs a sealer is probably a good idea. Don't want to have to go back and re-coat with expensive top color to fix.

But the goal is still a half-assed paint job. Not going to fill every little ding and perfect everything. As I closely inspect all the body panels I see how crude a 1972 ford pickup left the factory. Also the panel alignment will never be perfect, and so on. So having to pick my battles, sometimes OCD wins.

 

[ntsqd]

I think that the high level of finish that it takes to be even be noticed at a hot rod show or a concours has warped our perception of how vehicles of this era and earlier were actually delivered to the dealer show rooms. I've seen a fair number of "over-restored" vintage cars and my old friend and employer used to rail against them all of the time. Look at a 250 GT Lusso SWB at any show these days and the door gaps are all a perfect 3mm or whatever. They weren't made that way originally! They might have been nice and they might have been consistent, but they weren't the perfect fit that you see today.

Put the truck together honestly and you're doing it, and we all, a greater service because that is how it was actually made and sold.

 

[rattle_snake]

Bouncing around on various metal and body work tasks but list is getting longer as I go. I seem to prefer welding, sanding not so much.
Got some new DeWalt cordless tools for Christmas, another angle grinder and a palm sander. The new grinder is much lighter tand the old 18v NiMH, but tools both plow through batteries. I have five, 2 Ah batteries and three chargers. They seem to be enough to do whatever task I need to do.
One item is in-cab fuel filler hole. Body line from door ends in this spot.


Cut a rough shape and fit. Got curve in one plane OK both not the other so will need some filler.


Got the drip rail mouldings off and found that the 50 year old seam sealer has dried and failed. This allowed seams to rust all the way around the cab. So need to deal with it all, common sense would indicate painting roof now would be a good idea. Just time and money.

 

[rattle_snake]

Just the bed itself has had 122 holes drilled in it over the years. A few tantrums with a drill and probably excessive whiskey consumption. So slowly hammering them flat, filling them, and doing others repairs. The bed sheet metal is quite thick so they are easy to fill compared to the doors. About 50 in each bed rail and some large ones in the bed floor from 5th wheel setup. Don't plan to paint inside of bed at this time.
The right bed rail had some very heavy dropped on it and smashed it in. Got the rail decent-ish with dolly and hammer, then used jack to press larger bend out. Made a block of wood with a grove to work around lip.
Didn't get it perfect, 90/10 like the rest of the job. Goal is minimal filler anywhere, especially bed rails that will get abused.


Right bed end cap had 3 bad dents right a stake pocket. So I made a slide hammer out of remnants. Tapped business end 8/32 to use a screw through a hole in the sheet metal. Got 90% out so happy enough.


Filled reflector holes and finished hackery to the lower bed corners. The guy who made the bumper makes all of them way to tight fitting and it hit the sheet metal on one side. So back them just cut a pie slice out and hammered in clearance. Welded the seam shut and prettied it up even though it cannot be seem with bumper on.


As I learn better techniques and get more experience, I can't seem to leave my old work alone. Each fender section got a bit better, so going back over them all to bring it up to my current level of hackery. Also the bed fuel fill, I found large dent below it after I painted, so going back over and working with hammer to minimize filler.

 

[OutlawDrifter]

Since you're there, and we all love spending each other's money...why not get some tintable Raptor Liner and do the bed in one of the chosen body colors, over the rail for protection?

Compound curve on that cab filler would be tough to duplicate without a lot of hammering!

 

[rattle_snake]

Since you're there, and we all love spending each other's money...why not get some tintable Raptor Liner and do the bed in one of the chosen body colors, over the rail for protection?

Compound curve on that cab filler would be tough to duplicate without a lot of hammering!

I guess I should consider it. I kinda like the beat up look. The floor itself has some damage with a few areas smashed in. I don't have enough paint to do it, but once outside is painted I can asses how it goes with rest of paint job.
But have to do something with the upper, inner bed sides after hole repair on outside.

I knew compound was outside my skills and tools to get decent in just bare metal. I have complete most of the big repairs which is good, but a long way to go!

 

[OutlawDrifter]

Well, progress looks good from here!

 

[larry4406]

I think you are well along the "slippery slope" and soon will be doing a rotisserie frame off restoration.

Nice truck. My dad bought new a '79 F250 SuperCab long box 351(W?) 4x4 auto. I loved that truck.

 

[ntsqd]

The tintable bed liner idea sounds like a winner to me. Just prep it for adhesion, don't fix the dents etc.

I have some long sections of seat track waiting for me to get to that point on the Bronc-up. Plan is to mock up the install, remove for bed liner, and then final install after the bedliner. I want a section way outboard fore and aft of each fenderwell, and a long section on the inner flange of the bed rail itself.

 

[PugetDude]

I guess I should consider it. I kinda like the beat up look. The floor itself has some damage with a few areas smashed in. I don't have enough paint to do it, but once outside is painted I can asses how it goes with rest of paint job.
But have to do something with the upper, inner bed sides after hole repair on outside.

I knew compound was outside my skills and tools to get decent in just bare metal. I have complete most of the big repairs which is good, but a long way to go!

Justin, I have a little benchtop English wheel that might be just the ticket for those compound patches. PM me if you'd like to borrow it.

 

[zmotorsports]

Lookin' good Justin.

I'm with larry4406, within a few days we'll be seeing body off and frame being blasted. Slippery slope indeed, scope creep at it's finest.

 

[rattle_snake]

I think you are well along the "slippery slope" and soon will be doing a rotisserie frame off restoration.

Nice truck. My dad bought new a '79 F250 SuperCab long box 351(W?) 4x4 auto. I loved that truck.

Well I would like to laugh at your prediction Larry, but perhaps it's a little to close to reality.

I guess I kinda of already fell down the hole.
from 2 years ago now...

Justin, I have a little benchtop English wheel that might be just the ticket for those compound patches. PM me if you'd like to borrow it.

Thanks Scott. I'll keep that in mind. Appreciate the offer.

Lookin' good Justin.

I'm with larry4406, within a few days we'll be seeing body off and frame being blasted. Slippery slope indeed, scope creep at it's finest.

Thanks mike. Guess you have me figured out. But, it's not my fault.....

 

[rattle_snake]

Contemplating how to get bed off. It's not that hard and I think it will save time in the end trying to prep and paint the back of the cab decently. With tool box that corner is an issue when using 2 post to lift from below. Not sure lift goes high enough to lift from above. But want to rattle can the rest of the bottom of bed like the cab.
Maybe paint bed while it is off. Thinking I can set it on my smaller fab table to roll it around. But for now going to get as far as I can on bed metal and body work while it's on chassis. Found more holes in tailgate so number is up to 129.
A rotisserie would be nice...

 

[harley jim]

Dang Justin, I go away for a couple days and WOW.
That in my unsolicited opinion is the right way to go.

 

[rattle_snake]

Ran out of patience trying to get Mickey Thomson ET S/S drag radials. Pushed out another 10 weeks. Stretched out use of the old tire with tread separation for a whole year. Vibrations were bad over 55 so no highway driving that whole time, didn't want it to come apart at speed. They had only 1800 miles then, put on another 2k during 2021 for a total of 3800. They were smooth all the way across below wear bar, but no cords showing, and still hooked amazing!
So I got my money out of them. I typically don't do burnouts, but given this set was already trashed I did many, and still got equal or more total miles. They wear quickly from aggressive street driving at traction limit not really occasional burnouts. Once new rubber arrived I took my gear head neighbor out for one last joy ride and did some 2nd gear burnouts off the line lock. Top of 2nd is 75 MPH and car puts down a long set of patches! Too much fun.

Nitto make 2 drag radials the NT05R and NT555RII. The 555RII was first available, and I have regular 555 IIs on the front, so went with them. I had tried the regular NT05 in 315/35-17 long ago and they had no hope of traction in 1st or 2nd, so use if a drag radial is mandatory.

Meaty looking.


10.5 wheel, 0.400" spacer and rolled fender lip to get 315 to tuck all the way up without interference.
How do they work? Not as good as the MTs. At 20 psi and cool winter temps they don't quite hold 1st gear. Going to try 18 or a bit less and see how they work. I think they need more heat than the MTs.
Finally got to drive at speed. Had not gone triple digits for a long time. More smiles.
Reminds me of the song "I can't drive 55". Can't get my car out of 2nd gear...

 

[OutlawDrifter]

Hopefully they do the job!

It will be interesting to see how they wear compared to the MT's.

 

[rattle_snake]

A friend gave me this Massey Harris tractor grill for some wall art. Story is the tractor burned in a wild fire.
I cut the back flush and welded on a hanger to mount.




Not really the best match to the theme but still a cool piece.
Would make a really cool subwoofer project with grill and whatnot.

 

[rattle_snake]

Spent a fair amount of time this Saturday working on bed bodywork. Metal work is done. I went back over fender mods and did a better job blending seams. Got primer on it so bodywork is mostly complete. Still have work on cab rust and preping the rest of cab, jams and so on. I think bed is about ready to come off. Break down tailgate, toolbox ect.

Drove it around like this for some fun. Much more scooty with 600 pounds removed! Reminds me a bit of my 77 bronco, as I usually had no top and/or doors on it. But now I'm old and soft, and want a comfortable ride, AC, quiet.


Body work is not my favorite. Dirty, dusty and paint boogers even with mask.

 

[OutlawDrifter]

They need to do some reverse engineering with sanding dust...find some way to adapt that to oil and grease.

 

[ntsqd]

Cool grill! Used as a Sub would be awesome.

Body shop a friend used to work in carefully gathered all of the dust from each car and mixed it into the undercoating that got applied to the car. Getting rid of it otherwise was difficult in L.A. City. It's hazardous waste, don't ya know!

 

[rattle_snake]

Getting deeper into rabbit hole in several aspects. Decided I needed to go ahead a paint cab/roof to properly deal with rust. I went through the scenario in my feeble mind and it seemed more work to try and half *** now and half *** later. Windshield gasket and trim is in the way to properly address rust on drip rail. Gasket is shot. Windshield glass is is rough shape. And I don't really like the wintergreen color in relation to the lime.

So went back to local auto paint store to spend more money. Picked up a quart of single stage Wimbledon white with 50% duller added. Given severe schedule slip, I was concerned with temp/speed of hardener/reducer I had, so swapped out fast for medium on the gallon of green.
I also decided to do a sealer, given that most panels are 3+. Sealer is a 1/5th of the cost of top color and I was afraid I would go heavy with top color to cover... I was going to reduce a high build 2k but ended up going with a gallon of a 1k product for cost and ease of use. Also got a rattle can of some high build for the few areas that need it, like weld seams in troughs that are hard sand the filler. So full circle using 3 type of primers.

So although I feels like I'm going backwards and doesn't help get any green paint on anything, I went ahead and sanded roof. Found a few dents, not bad, and worked the rust seam above the rear window. Then went on to dig out all the failed seam sealer, no fun how it is wedged into the tapered groove.


Couldn't access rust on bottom of drip rail so pulled out the windshield. Just cut off inside lip as gasket was beyond done. Terrible mess of butyl goo, so got to work cleaning it up so mask tape will stick properly when painting.


Also removed back glass as gasket is dried out, and need to prep properly. Should be easier to paint the roof first, less masking. But first bed need to come off after cab is about ready for sealer.

 

[OutlawDrifter]

1st and 3rd pic aren't showing in post #1595 Justin.

 

[rattle_snake]

'bout now?

I bet those of you from wet soggy and/or salty places feel so bad for all the rust I'm dealing with in this 50 yr old truck.

 

[OutlawDrifter]

'bout now?

I bet those of you from wet soggy and/or salty places feel so bad for all the rust I'm dealing with in this 50 yr old truck.

good to go.

And as to the rust you're dealing with...you ain't seen nothin'!

 

[rattle_snake]

Still slowly putting on sink project. Tried to be patient and let concrete cure a month before sealer. Maybe not needed but balls deep in truck paint job so the time flew by. Used a matte finish sealer, 4 coats, water based. Applied with spray bottle and back rolled with foam roller.
Also got the top secured down to base. Decided to keep it simple and just use construction adhesive. It's not removable, due to design from sink fitment mostly. I made some locator jigs and clamped to front corners so it would drop right in place with trying to align by eye.
So it is done except for plumbing. Kid sports are in full swing so an open weekend to tear into wall is hard to get.


Edges came out looking cool. Better than boring had I compacted properly I guess. Sealer adds some depth and character.

 

[OutlawDrifter]

Countertop looks pretty cool Justin!