Above 1200 Sq/FT Restored 1930's Auto Shop

[jbmatth]

Chris,
It very well may be 208, I tried to clean it off a little last night and I'm still not sure which one it say. It looks slightly more than a 3 but doesn't have a full 8 stamped into it. I guess I'll just have to get the scale out and weigh it. Hopefully the bathroom scale will measure 375 pounds total.

I also thought ya'll might like to see my new addition. I think it is a Blackhawk S4, from what I've been able to find it seems to be the most likely size, but there isn't a data plate as far as I have been able to find. The release trigger isn't connected any longer so I have some work to do. Nice find for $25 though.

 

[Sweet Old Bill]

Great find on the Blackhawk, it does look like a 4-ton model.

The switch/body for the light is extraordinarily rare to find. You can use a cheap Harbor Freight flashlight to restore the light, it conveniently fits in the handle, run a wire down to the existing light on the lifting arm & you will be back in business.

 

[Cypherian]

Ok ,

So far I am only at page 168 so if folks could be kind and not post so much or save them for another 3 to 4 days I would appreciate it ... LOL Thomas and Chris just have to say awesome on all parts and phases of this Garage/Car/Tool journal I guess is the best way to put it.

Cypher


"Sheet Metal You Bend It We Mend It!"

 

[BB767]

Tool Shed Begone, Part I

Here's last weeks activities...



All the framing for the Lean-To was removed leaving just the posts. The metal siding on that building was all recycled. The corrugated metal siding on the Tool Shed however, was being reused in another building, so care had to be taken with its removal.



Since the siding on the Tool Shed is overlapped I started on one end...









..and just moved around the building taking it apart in the reverse order it was built, back in the 1940's.

The roof had a center ridge cap that I had to remove from the outside on top of the roof. I used a flat bar to expose the nail heads enough so that I could then use a crowbar to pull all the nails. That ridge cap removal was the most difficult part of the project. With that ridge cap gone, I set up...



...scaffolding inside...



...that allowed me to pry the roof panels up from the rafter stringers...



..so I could then reach above and pull all the nails. I wore hearing defenders to preserve my hearing. All that banging around and nail pulling in a metal building was pretty loud. With the panel loose, I squared it up...





...and then slide the panels to edge of the roof and let them drop to the ground.



As the panels were removed they were all stacked in order so when they are re-installed they can put back in the proper sequence.



Here one of the sliding doors has had it's metal "skin" removed and if you look closely you'll see the frame has been removed from it's overhead track.



At this point only 1 of the 3 sliding doors remained. The roof on the west side is nearly done.



Remember the old mariner saying, "one hand for the ship and one hand for yourself" when you'er doing high work.



A man and his crowbar, it's a beautiful thing!

Stay tune for the next chapter in this long awaited urban renewal project. Thanks everyone.

Thomas

 

[BB767]

Chris.....

I also thought ya'll might like to see my new addition. I think it is a Blackhawk S4, from what I've been able to find it seems to be the most likely size, but there isn't a data plate as far as I have been able to find. The release trigger isn't connected any longer so I have some work to do. Nice find for $25 though.

Very nice find there JB. That's a larger version of...





...this BlackHawk a friend of mine owns. It operates like a champ, even the light works, and has no issues except it desperately needs some cleaning. I've been trying to convince him for a long time that it's way too big for his shop and would be much better suited out in my old shop. I'm not gaining much ground with that unfortunately. It belonged to his dad so I understand completely, but still.......

When you start the restoration of yours, post a link here to your thread would you?

Thomas

 

[HOTFR8]

You are pulling it down This forum is supposed to be about building the Garage and what you keep in it.

You know you can never have to much storage space. You will have to tell me why you are pulling it down . I guess you have a good reason.

 

[markviii]

There's always a good reason, HOTFR8! (and it wasn't really a garage - just a storage shed) The area definitely needed to be cleared - it was kind of unsightly, especially with the upgrading of the surrounding area. Someone in Indiana is re-purposing the corrugated metal. Several items have been rescued from the tool shed and lean-to. The unusable stuff has gone to recycling. The neighbors and town (and we) are happy with the progress.

Chris

 

[HOTFR8]

I guess when you say it is being reused and recycled in some way that covers it very well. Will be interesting to see what happens in the space once occupied by the building. You do realise much of that post was in jest.

 

[markviii]

I know. Just had to try and smooth it over with joe. I'm sure he's going through withdrawal right now and others are kicking themselves for not actually making a road trip to save some of the "artifacts" from the scrap heap. Thank goodness he and others can review the extensive photo documentation of this historical site.

Chris

 

[eokie1]

I am thinking that the space formerly occupied by the storage shed AND the 2-car garage, will be part of the DRIVE-WAY into the still-to-be-built HOME, and then, past that to the grand and large shop in the back....??

James Jensen
St. Augustine, FL
(oldest (european) city in N. America)
---gotta be pc-----

looking forward to MANY more updates !!! lurker / admirer here, for a while.....!!

 

[xtremek]

It's good to hear that the shed is being repurposed. Conservation is always a good thing. Well done sir.

 

[jbmatth]

Thomas, I love that jack your friend has, is there any chance you could get some pictures of the light area and the light switch?

I'll stop posting non-Restored 1930's Auto Shop stuff on here as to not detract from the thread but wanted to give a little update. I filled the jack with fluid this morning before work and it works great, both the fast (low force) lift and the slow (high force) lift work great and when put under my cobra it clears the gas tank by about half an inch! The Blackhawk restoration along with all of my other projects will be covered in my thread titled Warthog Hidey Hole linked in my signature.

I was able to clean the anvil some also and it does in fact say 208 and the bathroom scale says it is 207.6 lbs. I'll clean it a little more before I give it a warm oil massage er I mean oil my anvil before we move in two weeks. As always great work going on there Thomas and Chris, I look forward to more!

 

[Speedy2222]

Had a great time last saturday visiting the shop! Thanks again for the hospitality. Can't wait to make another trip out there next year!

 

[BB767]

I am thinking that the space formerly occupied by the storage shed AND the 2-car garage, will be part of the DRIVE-WAY into the still-to-be-built HOME, and then, past that to the grand and large shop in the back....??

James Jensen
St. Augustine, FL
(oldest (european) city in N. America)
---gotta be pc-----

looking forward to MANY more updates !!! lurker / admirer here, for a while.....!!

Correct James, the Tool Shed was (note past tense) located in the wrong spot. It's going to have a Drive-Way going right through that area. Additionally it had served its purpose but by todays standards wasn't much use as a building. There's a time for everything and it was well past it's prime time.

More updates are coming!

Thomas

It's good to hear that the shed is being repurposed. Conservation is always a good thing. Well done sir.

Thank you for that xtremek. As anyone who knows me well, I've been a long time supporter of recycle/reuse/conservation efforts. Everyone, everywhere needs to do their part, small that it might be. As you will see I not only saved the siding but pulled hundreds of nails in order to recycle that metal and lumber as well.

Thomas

Thomas, I love that jack your friend has, is there any chance you could get some pictures of the light area and the light switch?.......

jb I'll see what I can do about those pictures for you.



I'm over at his shop several days a weeks. Since I retired we're working together on a car restoration project of his. (Have I ever mentioned how much I enjoy being retired?!)

Thomas

 

[BB767]

Had a great time last saturday visiting the shop! Thanks again for the hospitality. Can't wait to make another trip out there next year!

Mitchell and Robin (did I get those right?) were in the area last week and were kind enough to take time to visit to the shop. This is one of Mitchell's pictures during that visit. I feel badly that I was in the middle of removing the Tool Shed while they were here so I wasn't able to spent nearly as much time with them as I would have liked. I was bumping up against a weather deadline and wanted to get the TS done and the site clean up finished before some forecast heavy rains came in. I did open up the shop and barn and told them to make themselves at home while I thrashed away outside. Hope you weren't too disappointed. Nice picture BTW.

The welcome mat is out anytime you'er back this way and with luck I'll be a better host next time. Thanks for understanding.

Thomas

 

[BB767]

Like It Never Happened

I've made some terrific friends here on the Journal and one of them is Craig (Amitygravel)...



...seen here with Chris. He lives in the local area and is in Philo every so often and stops by the shop when he can. He was kind enough to volunteer and help out with the last day of the siding removal off the Tool Shed.



This is all the corrugated siding metal from the walls and roof stacked up ...



...and this is the metal off the 3 sliding doors, the gable ends and misc filler panels. Not much to it when it's piled up like that is it? When Craig left, all that remained of the Tool Shed was...








...the wood frame skeleton. Many thanks Craig!

The next step was removal of the framing material. The easiest way to do that was...



...bring in a backhoe to get everything on the ground. We wrapped a chain around all the posts that were set in the ground to pull them out.



That's Don, the same operator that has worked with me on this property since day one, 9 years ago. Don is now in his mid 80's and still going strong.



With Don's work done...



...next up was site cleanup.



I borrowed a trailer for material that couldn't be reclaimed.






Part of the site clean up involved removal of nails from select lumber. Doing so allowed me to began turning this...



...into this. This is some of the framing material that once the nails were pulled, was clean enough to reuse. I'll run a "Free Stuff" Craig's List ad to give it away. It consists of 2X4's, 2X6's, 2X8's and some treated 4X4's. I found the fastest to clean the lumber up was to...





...prop up several boards together on 2X4's.



With the boards upside down I hammered the nails back so the heads were exposed, turned them over...



...and then using a long crow bar for leverage, pulled the old nails out. Having them set side by side like this made it go pretty quickly.



Overall I got several buckets full of nails that were turned into recycled scrap metal.



Framing material that had too much metal that could not be easily removed was loaded on the trailer and taken to our local waste transfer station. This is the sum total of what was left from the Lean-To and Tool Shed after all the reclaimed material was separated out. 2,520 lbs (1,143 kg) of material that I hand loaded and unloaded.



With the site cleared of visible material...



...the area was "raked" numerous times with this magnetic rake. I was mainly trying to pick up nails that had fallen onto the ground, trying to keep them out of my tractor and mower tires.



It's a very powerful magnet on wheels that when it's rolled over a surface, any and all ferrous metal will...



...stick to the magnet underneath as you can see. What looks like dirt is really fine metal particles. When a release handle is pulled, all that metal falls off.



This is just some of the metal picked up from the site with the magnetic rake.



I was too late in the year to sow any grass seed, that will have to wait until next spring. For now, 9 years after I bought the property, with all the debris cleaned up the site of the former Lean-to and Tool Shed looks...



"like it never happened."

Thomas

 

[Amitygravel]

Hello Thomas ! Hi Chris !

Its a beautiful sight it is ! (Not me , holy cow I'll never make the cover of GQ !)

Just think next year , more grass to mow !

It was my pleasure to lend a hand. I enjoyed working with you and seeing Chris again.
Its a new era for the property and several more to come I'm sure.
Virgil probably looks at the property and thinks, "man I'm glad that finally got cleaned up".

Look forward to coming over again and as always very willing to help out.

When I get a chance I will get the last couple of treasure photographed of before and after clean up so everyone can see them.

Again , thank you for all of your generosity and hospitality !

Craig

 

[HOTFR8]

A little grass at a later date and it will be like it never happened.

 

[markviii]

Sorry I missed Mitchell and Robin on their visit. I drove up the road as they were driving away. If I'd been earlier, they would have gotten a more proper tour. Next time! And it's always nice to see Craig when he drops by. Thanks for all the help on the shed de-construct! I only made it for the cameo shots, no actual work done by me on this project.

Chris

 

[mrob12]

Congratulations on the de-construction. That is the way it should be done. Not the "everything goes in the dumpster" method used on most of the television renovation shows.

 

[markviii]

Those shows are on time schedule where fast, dramatic results are required. No time for sorting, re-purposing and preparing for sale or donation. Time is of the essence for tv.

Also, many people don't have vision to see possibilities for re-use/recycle.

Chris

 

[BB767]

Congratulations on the de-construction. That is the way it should be done. Not the "everything goes in the dumpster" method used on most of the television renovation shows.

Right you are mrob12. If you start the project knowing it will be recycled, you won't grudge the time it takes to do so. Recycling and all that is involved with doing so is just part of the process.

If you look in the background...



...you can see the fellows showing up with a fancy trailer bright and early to pick up the corrugated siding.



Because of the way I had it stacked, I was able to use the forks on the John Deere to load everything.



There was virtually no hand work involved which was a nice surprise to them. I had saved every piece of metal including the roof vent cap. Never know what you might need.



They are from the Indianapolis area and just happen to be Corvette guys as well, that's how they heard about it. The plan is one of them has constructed a new building and is going to line part of the inside of it with the old siding. He has in mind replicating an old gas station. All the metal has now been gently pressure washed. He claims Illinois is now spider free after seeing all the spiders and webs on the metal. Part of the agreement of giving the metal to him was he has to keep us informed as it's being reused and will take plenty of pictures. He's a quality kind of fellow so I have no doubt the end result will be something Mr Johnson would approve of when finished. The Tool Shed will live on!

Thomas

 

[Vernmotor]

We need a "Like button" for all this stuff !

 

[markviii]

Just you, Vernmotor, and everyone else viewing this thread and/or posting in is a "Like" button in itself! 3.26+million views and 8k+ replies over the 412 pages shows that. Thanks for the return visit.

Chris

 

[Cypherian]

Whew ... Finally through reading all the posts and drooling ahem viewing the pictures etc. Since your now retired .. Well retired from the HAVE to go to work crowd to the I WANT to go to work on this or that it has to be great. I have enjoyed and envied alot of your finds. Though, I have a few old pieces of equipment nothing compares to your hmm where to start lift, jacks, anvil... and so forth. Keep up the resto of .. well everything as you know it will never truly end. I will keep my eyes on this thread ( with the bifocals on ) and liberally steal ideas if you don't mind. Well off to redesign my shop ..at least in my head since I am ahem working... :}

Cypher

 

[Lyndon]

Thomas & Chris

Well, I've reached the ATP.... after 3 long weeks of reading, and admiring... It took me long enough to get through Jack Olsen's thread, but this one, strewth! (you may need to Google that bit of Australiana). What a read, and what an inspiration.

I am in awe of some of your undertakings; the SPOUSE, the SPOSE, the BB, the whole Auto Shop restore. And your method of delivering a story is brilliant Thomas, with mediating comment from Chris when appropriate, and when an ATP occurs (such as now, which is why I'm hoping my post will bump you up from page 4...). I have none of the time, assets, ability or health to be able to complete what you do, but it does push me in the right direction, and I try(?) to use what I have to improve my own environment (especially in the garage and shed stakes).

Looking forward to many more informative and fun posts. Keep up the good work. Am looking forward to the "retirement house" build (you should be able to out do "Sakurama" on this project (though his was very good too).

Lyndon

 

[Vernmotor]

Chris I stop by at lease 2-3 times a week. But don't have a lot to say. Just wanted to let you two know. I was still here after all these years

 

[PureSilver]

Quick question - looks to me like the Tool Shed had a compacted dirt floor. Will grass take root readily in such hard-packed soil? Or will you need to break it up first?

 

[Spareparts]

Thomas, Powder-Coat it green

 

[BB767]

Whew ... Finally through reading all the posts ........
......... I will keep my eyes on this thread ( with the bifocals on ) and liberally steal ideas if you don't mind. Well off to redesign my shop ..at least in my head since I am ahem working... :}

Cypher

Good job Cypher and welcome. I'm not sure if I'd launch into reading a 412 page thread but I'm glad you're not timid. As for using any ideas seen here that's one of the reason's why I started the whole thing, sharing ideas. That and I secretly wanted to deprive untold folks of sleep, staying up late to read about my misadventures.

Take a well deserved break and please check back. Among some of the upcoming posts I've got a TR4 that need explaining, a restored Corvette top that took some truly aggravating twists and turns before it was done correctly, more shop projects and bees, we had thousands come for a visit that I'll also post about. I never even knew such a thing as a Bee Vacuum existed but it does and I got to use it as you'll see.

Thomas & Chris

Well, I've reached the ATP.... after 3 long weeks of reading, and admiring...

.....Looking forward to many more informative and fun posts. Keep up the good work. Am looking forward to the "retirement house" build....
Lyndon

And welcome to you Lyndon as well. I admit it, I had to look up strewth, that's a new one to me but very appropriate I'd say. I trust reading about what a crazy Yank in the Center Of the Universe was doing sustained you for the last 3 weeks. There were plenty of warnings about getting sucked into the vortex but I guess we snagged another one. Crikey!

Many thanks for your way too generous comments. It's interesting my simple life has resonated with so many folks all over the world. Who knew? With the racing season over I'll be able to catch up on my backlog so stick around, more is on the way for better or worse.

Just remember, if you're not having fun, what's the point?

Thomas

 

[ZRX61]

I'd be tempted to hit that old carpenters bench with a pressure washer just to see what's under the clag.

 

[shedbilt49]

Gee, I do not get on the site often, but how I missed this, has me wondering!!.Thomas what a marathon effort and what a result!! I have bookmarked this after spending the last 7 hours skipping through your work. To see someone use their wealth and talent to do what you have done as a family and in doing so, not being condescending, or blase to anyone is amazing!! I am gobsmacked with this from start to finish and having done my apprenticeship in an outback garage in the north east of South Australia in 1964, with the late Albert Sherriff, these pages brought a lump to my throat. Alby Sherriff was the equivalent to your Mr Johnson.. and our workshop was a vintage joy as well.. I have just been transported back 51 years in the space of the last 7 or so hours (lots more to follow!!). I will never ever be able to achieve what you have done, but my hands work in the same manner as Mr. Johnson's and I love the legacy of people like that

 

[zzflattop]

That is one awesome shop! I respect the hell out of that.

 

[sean Buick 76]

Very cool, I have an old barn I need to take apart... You have gave me some ideas to help make it easier...

 

[BB767]

Quick question - looks to me like the Tool Shed had a compacted dirt floor. Will grass take root readily in such hard-packed soil? Or will you need to break it up first?

That's a good question PureSilver. Yesterday it was so nice out I was doing some grade work using my grade box...



...seen here on the back of the tractor. (That grade box really looks shabby doesn't it? That's a winter Powder-Coat project for sure.) I thought I'd do some preliminary leveling of the site so it can weather in all winter. As I was grading there the soil texture was like a fine powder, not really compacted at all. For at least a few decades there has been almost no foot traffic out there and the ground was covered by the building so it didn't get wet except around the edges. Like you, I thought it would be really hard from all that material stored on top of it but that's not the case.

Next spring I still plan on tilling the soil...



...using either this tiller that I borrowed from a friend to till the hedge row a couple of years ago or a smaller walk behind tiller. The soil here is so rich you can grow anything without much difficulty. As you've seen in the past, I may not be able to install a switch plate cover very square, but by golly I can grow grass.



This is what it looked like...



...after i spent a little time grading it. By this time next year this should all be grass...unless I use Spareparts suggestion and Powder-Coat it green of course!

Thomas

 

[BB767]

I'd be tempted to hit that old carpenters bench with a pressure washer just to see what's under the clag.

Clag and Strewth, that's two new words I've learned this week thanks to this thread. Thank you Rick and thank you Lyndon.

Thomas

 

[Lyndon]

Clag and Strewth, that's two new words I've learned this week thanks to this thread. Thank you Rick and thank you Lyndon.

Thomas

Well just think of the situations you can now use the word..... clutch breaks on the start line - STREWTH!. You notice the condition of a piece of equipment that desperately needs powder coating - STREWTH! And many more.

A word of many uses, which is how we use it. (Though probably not too many youngsters do ).

Glad I could contribute to the thread in a small way.

 

[HOTFR8]

Thomas, Strewth is a typical Aussie word and slang.

Something like the Kiwis when they say ******.

 

[kidcampbell71]

Three. Three and one half. Three and a half days to start from page one, and read through......enh....some skimming, but I did slow down in some areas to lick a picture or twelve...I dunno'....I may have lost count there too. No test needed or wanted....I know enough.

You guys have made an entertaining odyssey of sorts for the other side of your computer screen. Amazing that I got sucked in, watching you guys, and gals run thru the gamut of agony, and defeat....along with spills, and thrills.....some sadness and a lot of happiness
What an awesome, awesome piece of property you have.....both made, and still to be made.

Thanks for the read. Does a car guy good, but a family story as well. Hard work, and love spent.....did well then....and surely now. The odyssey continues. There is a powerful energy in that piece of soil you are living on. Just forging away....as if...time never changed its tone. Ping ! Ping ! Ping !

GOOD JOB !! Take care, and thanks again !!

Jamie Campbell
Dallas, Texas

 

[AZStang]

but I did slow down in some areas to lick a picture or twelve

You shouldn't lick the pictures. It's not good for your monitor or your tongue!