Something just clicked…..

[Dirk Thelen]

Just finished reading through your thread, took me a little while though.

Nice collection you have there, or better yet had there. You've really turned it around quick! I like your plans for the shop and the improvements you're planning on. I'm sure that if you keep doing what you have been doing so far you can get it done the way you want it to be done and keep it that way.

And regarding Mike, rising above like you did is probably the best choice but indeed everyone has a breaking point. I just hope it won't end up costing you.

 

[Dirk Thelen]

Just thought I'd add this.
I can kind off relate to your situation and if I had the space I would probably be looking at the same thing you have been looking at.

I've always had more tools and stuff than I had space for but I never really had a proper shop to begin with. At first I had a 10' x 10' garden shed that I had to share with 4 bicycles and garden stuff and now I'm down to a 9' x 9' basement that I have to share with 2 bicycles and other stuff. About 1/3 of my tools are in my office now the other 2/3 is stored in my old bedroom at my parents' house.

It wasn't until recently when my wife and I decided to paint our appartement that I realized I might have a "problem". My wife had me clear out my office, which is no bigger than 7' x 8'. I had to put all my boxes off tools and other stuff on the living room floor and to my surprise or shock really it took up half of the floor space (the living room is a 172 sq ft).

I've bought a lot of the stuff I have today because I've missed having them in jobs in the past and wasted a lot of time and money on renting them. Or stuff I bought because it was cheap and I thought I could resell for more but never got around to and the occasional freebee of course.

I'm looking forward to finding some proper shop space so I can organize my tools and really use them for what they were intended to. Then I finally have no more excuse not to finish all of my project that are now somewhere between start and finish. I'm always very ambitious on starting them but always having to pull everything out and put everything back into place again to even be able to do anything, that really kills my motivation.

I'm really impressed by your progress, I hope to be able to do the same one of these days.

 

[Strouty]

Dirk, Thanks for taking the time and I appreciate the advice. I really think that some of my stuff is being used as a shield from people like Mike that I have issues with, but don't really know how to handle them. My first space was my utility truck, everything had to fit in that, then I got a couple of gang boxes to hold overflow. Then I bought a 24' truck box and soon filled that, then it was another 24' truck box, then a 16' truck box. I finally found my shop, but soon filled it and had to add more storage. My goal is to keep weeding things down and make the shop so it is usable. I know I have been through all of this before somewhere in this thread, but it helps me to type it again.

All I can say is make sure the "good deals" and "freebies" are really something you will use. If not they are just using you, they **** up your time, energy, and money to keep them. I would never even think to say I am perfect, but this endeavor has taught me a lot and I think this is a long term project for me. I know it took a few years to get this way, so it will probably take as much or more to get things unwound.

 

[Strouty]

Strouty: I'm not sure this is the best place to vent and get out all your frustrations, but if it makes you feel a bit better vent away. i see Mike as a guy that knows maybe a bit more than you about this business you do and maybe even more than you Dad with maybe zero financial ability to survive on his own or run his own business. maybe he had an expensive divorce, parents are still alive or don't have anything to give him if they do pass or several reasons. he's a big kid with some skills.

I still think you getting together with your Dad every week or two and maybe not at his house if Mike lives next door so the two of you can just hang. i'm sure you'll talk some business, but eventually maybe you'll talk about other things.

not that we have that much, but my wife wanted us to get a will recorded so our 5 kids would know our wishes if we died in a plane crash, car wreck or some other quick demise. it only cost $750 and can be done cheaper if cost is an issue which it doesn't sound like it is. of course getting somebody to get a will done isn't easy if they are busy and don't want to spend the time on it. i probably would still be just thinking about it if my wife hadn't found the attorney and had everything written up with a little input from me.

maybe start by just having a beer or cup of coffee with Dad at a place you both like that has good food too if you don't do this already. my 83 year old Dad can't hear much and is usually rude to the waitress or waiter if he doesn't have ice and a full glass of water, but he won't be around much longer because Mom does everything for him. i still take both him and Mom to dinner or lunch every month or two and he's getting better with the water issues because i did yell at him outside the restaurant one time and told him he was an ***#$#@%.

cheers

Drives, Mike knows more about different things. I know much more than he does about the tower business and I think that ticks him off. Most of his experience comes on someone else's dime. He will take a $100 inverter and tear it apart, put $25 worth of parts into it and when it doesn't work, he will tear it apart and put $50 worth of parts into it and get it to work. The problem is, it is not his money he spends and someone else has always paid him to do it. I look out for my Dad and I question these things sometimes, but Mike never seems to understand that his labor costs money, it is always "well it only cost $25 to fix this." Yet it took 4 or 5 hours to do it, that costs my Dad well over $100 and Mike just doesn't seem to get it and sometimes I think my Dad just doesn't care.

 

[drivesitfar]

Strouty: having a guy at the ready when something goes wrong is valuable especially if you have a lot of things going on. i bet since you were not able or willing to be "ON CALL" 24/7 that your Dad appreciates that Mike is. like I said you are a threat to Mike because he knows you will either replace him or get Dad's business some day so it's a tough spot for you when you need a favor or to borrow something Dad owns that Mike has any say in.

i'm sure you'll figure it out.

Funny you should mention the FREE items sucking up your space and money and time because i'm still learning that. it's really true isn't it? or even if something is a great deal if you are not going to put it to use soon or sell it for a little profit space it sits in becomes very expensive.

hope you have had a decent weekend and it was close to 100 degrees here today so a bit hot for us in the Northwest.

cheers

 

[Strouty]

We did have a warm one, but only mid eighties. Free and cheap stuff can **** you dry. Even expensive stuff can beat you up if you don't have a use for it. I am still trying to balance the amount of storage to work space. I hope someday to have the workshop be only that and then have storage in a completely separate area rather than the current jumbled mix.

I agree Mike fills a niche and that is fine, I spent enough time being a slave to my Dad and his unrealistic projects. Mike can have that. I just wish he would work with me, rather than against me, if I was in his position I would make myself indispensable to the possible heir so that I would have a long term future. Apparently he is thinking small, not that I am really interested in Dad's business, I would just manage the tower sites and that has nothing to do with Mike's responsibilities.

 

[86turbodsl]

I'm still just drooling over your snap on boxes...

 

[Strouty]

I'm still just drooling over your snap on boxes...

Thanks!


I spent some time moving tools from the old box to the new box and I found that some of the drawers in the new box that appear to be the same size are actually smaller. I had to trim my pliers racks and one of the snap on plastic cases doesn't fit like it did in the old box. I also discovered that the new 2" drawers are shorter by a bit than the old 2" drawers. So a few things do not fit like I had planned, then the fact that I am missing the 7 drawer liners is slowing me down as well. I still have 10 empty drawers and only one drawer to unload from the old box, so I am overall happy, especially since I have not put anything into the cart yet. Here are a few pictures to show what I have done, it will get some tweaking for sure, but for now I just wanted to get the tools into it.


































The empty drawers.





The stuff left in the other box, some of it is going into the stock room because it hardly ever gets used.








Then there are a bunch of tools that I am not sure where to put them, frankly I may be selling some.

 

[dlcwent]

Nice organization Strouty. I knew you had it in you. All you needed was the right impetus to motivate you.

 

[Strouty]

It is far from over! I figure sometime in 2016 I should have it the way I want.

I am still not 100% convinced that I want the drawers the way they are. I may end up switching things up a bit.

 

[Strouty]

It is really humid (for Maine anyways) and I had to go mark some trees at a job site this morning. I think I got used to the AC, because I don't like this sticky air.

I have to unload the tools from last weeks job and try and get a few more things done tonight. Snap On man is coming tonight, hopefully he will be able to take the old box, two big boxes is definitely one too many.

 

[Dirk Thelen]

Dirk, Thanks for taking the time and I appreciate the advice. I really think that some of my stuff is being used as a shield from people like Mike that I have issues with, but don't really know how to handle them. My first space was my utility truck, everything had to fit in that, then I got a couple of gang boxes to hold overflow. Then I bought a 24' truck box and soon filled that, then it was another 24' truck box, then a 16' truck box. I finally found my shop, but soon filled it and had to add more storage. My goal is to keep weeding things down and make the shop so it is usable. I know I have been through all of this before somewhere in this thread, but it helps me to type it again.

All I can say is make sure the "good deals" and "freebies" are really something you will use. If not they are just using you, they **** up your time, energy, and money to keep them. I would never even think to say I am perfect, but this endeavor has taught me a lot and I think this is a long term project for me. I know it took a few years to get this way, so it will probably take as much or more to get things unwound.

You're welcome, my pleasure really. Your thread has in a way made me realize I need to pay a lot more attention to what I take home and what I buy. I sometimes buy things just to have them and would later find a use for them but all that those things would do is indeed eat up space, time and money.

So far most of the good deals and freebies have been things I really use. However not when it comes to the materials I dragged home. It's mainly wood and sheet goods, if it's in good shape and it's a decent size I'll take it. I guess the nice thing about all that wood is that if I need to get rid of it it'll be gone fast. I just call a couple of guys that always on the lookout for firewood and it's done.

I'd love to own a shop like you have, that would be a great help into getting my business started. I'm working for a big company in refrigeration equipment for now it pays the bills and I'll probably keep at it for a while longer until I've got things sorted and a good shop to work out of. By then I'll cut down on the hours in the office and see where it goes from there.

Nice job on organizing the new boxes. It looks like you and I have the same idea when it comes to tools, I too like to have more than one of the same tool.

 

[drivesitfar]

Strouty: best thing I've done for humid muggy hot conditions is to dunk my hat and towel in cold water and put the hat one the towel around my neck. then repeat as necessary.

nice looking boxes and happy to see you are getting them filled up. i might have waited until the Snap on guy made his deal, but i bet he'll be fair if you will about the dent and the trade in.

cheers and best of luck

 

[Strouty]

Thanks guys, I almost think I got too many drawers, then I remember that I have sooooo many more tools that are scattered about. I am going to have a tool hunt sometime this week. I also need to decide what to keep and what can go. I still have a ton of CMan sockets to sell. Most of the stuff is miscellaneous and will most likely have to be broken up into small lots otherwise I will never get it gone. The Snap On dealer may also offer something for it, at this point I would rather get the stuff out of the way than sit on it to make maximum profit.

Drives, I may just use the hat trick, sounds like a good idea. I trust the snap on guy, he will be here shortly and if we decide to get a new top versus some credit, then it is easy to take off without emptying the box. I just how he gets my drawer liners quickly, he said he is going to key the boxes the same for me as well. I am having lunch (apparently a late one) now, then I still need to unload the truck and get some stuff done. I have at least an entire day of paperwork to do, maybe more. I figure before I start that, I am going to finally install my little AC unit in the office so at least that will be comfortable.

Stay cool guys!

 

[1/2 Cup]

You will not take too long to fill those draws up Strouty, you have done well thus far.

You should come out here its -2 C this morning..

 

[drivesitfar]

Strouty: hope your late lunch with your Snap On buddy works out. another hot weather option i have because we usually don't have humidity is dunking my T shirts in ice water and putting it back on. works really well if you have a little wind to cool you off.

1/2: speaking of cool i feel your pain, but not yesterday because it was 100 here in Seattle and no wind that i noticed. maybe if i wish a little of our heat your direction it might warm you up without causing other issues.

 

[Strouty]

I wish it was a little cooler, but not that cool.

We got the contract all signed and done, we got the old box all loaded, and Tim (Snap On man) took me out to dinner!

As far as the dent, I took the $550 tool truck credit. When he was doing all the paperwork, there was something he was having an issue with and he kept saying that is too much, that is too much. Well in the end, he changed the price a bit, so the cart ended up being free. I am not going to complain about that at all.

I have to put a few things into the shop, then I can head home for the night. I will be happy to have this hot humid day over. I am going to try and get here early and get the AC unit installed, then I can at least have a cool office.

 

[nine4gmc]

Glad that worked out for you!

 

[Strouty]

I am happy with the outcome, I guess that is all that really matters. At this point I am no just hoping the drawer liners come in by next week. I do not want to put some make shift liner in and then have to take everything back out to put the new liner in.

 

[Strouty]

My Father is coming over to my shop today, he needs the boat trailer under the boat, we are going to switch it out with another one. He says he will give me a hand after that with anything I need help with. So who knows what the day will bring.

 

[drivesitfar]

Strouty: hope you have a good day with your Dad. also hoping Mike doesn't dominate the conversation. Was your Dad ever a climber on these towers or maybe he still is?

I like your new Snappys so congrats and hope you get the drawer liners soon and installed.

have a great weekend

 

[Strouty]

Drives, we did talk about Mike a bit over lunch, but not the main topic.

I will say that I got downright miserable as we transferred the boat from one trailer to another. I just wanted to have the entire thing gone and Dad still sees some usefulness in the boat. I need to get rid of that thing, it is going to drive me insane if I have it come snow season. At this point I don't care about it at all, I am sure I can find someone that wants the thing and I need to get an ad up on craigslist.

 

[drivesitfar]

Strouty: you know the happiest 2 days for a boat owner are the day he buys one and then the day he sells it (or gives it away).

not sure if it has value more than the space it's sitting in but I've used the FREE section on Craigslist and had several emails with willing takers quickly for items that still had value and just not to me.

glad to hear you and Dad had a good few hours together.

cheers

 

[Strouty]

After having a totally demotivating morning with that boat, Dad got me to move the air compressor tank out. He likes to just get things done, but I like to do it right, once. After some discussion about what materials to use, we dug out some steel from my rack and started fabrication.

To refresh everyone's memory (it has been over a year) I need to make a way to pick the compressor from the bottom with my forklift. The compressor is top heavy, so it needed to be captured and I did not want to weld anything to the tank.

Last year I flipped the tank upside down to figure things out, in that process I heard rust falling like sleet to the other side of the tank. The tank is from 1984, so I wanted to investigate further. I used my new trusty cook sledgehammer to beat the bottom of the tank and get anything loose off of it. Then I took my ultrasonic thickness gauge and checked all over the bottom of the tank. The tank is supposed to be 0.228" thick and with the paint I was getting about .230 in some areas. I found a few spots that were as thin as 0.198" But most was 0.220" to 0.230". The two abbreviations are for shell thickness and head thickness, basically the ends of the tank are the head and the shell is the main body.

 

[Strouty]

Strouty: you know the happiest 2 days for a boat owner are the day he buys one and then the day he sells it (or gives it away).

not sure if it has value more than the space it's sitting in but I've used the FREE section on Craigslist and had several emails with willing takers quickly for items that still had value and just not to me.

glad to hear you and Dad had a good few hours together.

cheers

That is so true, I even told him that if I ever say I want a boat again, to talk me out of it by reminding me of the last four that I have owned. I had to pay to get rid of two of them. I think I will stick with a canoe.

 

[Strouty]

Back to the compressor, so I am not too concerned that the tank is 0.03 thinner than it was in 1984, but maybe I should be?

I started making the parts for the fork brackets and then welded them in. I also got all the large plugs out of the tank for access. I am going to clean it up and vacuum it out to get as much of the rust and residue out. I think I may hang the tank up on it's long end so I can tap all sides with the dead blow hammer, then vacuum all the stuff out at the lowest point (also the smallest area).

 

[1/2 Cup]

Those plugs can take some getting out Stoutylooks like you have won the battle with a little heat.

 

[Strouty]

A lot of heat for sure! I bet those have not been out since 1984.

 

[Strouty]

I need to figure out how I am going to hang the tank vertically so I can clean things out. I may actually be able to get some pictures inside it today, yesterday it was steaming from all the heat and moisture in the tank, so you could not see much. Once I get that done, I need to finish welding the other sides of my fork slots, then I can clean up and paint it. I am going to see if I can find a good match to the Quincy blue paint.

 

[drivesitfar]

Strouty: i'm not sure if this will work, but maybe the fork lift forks can get it up in the air if you can figure out how to put a strap or chain on the tank to hang from the forks. just a thought and not sure what all equipment you own. also if it will help to temporarily weld a hook to the tank that you can grind off after you finish the task maybe that might work.

good luck

 

[Strouty]

Strouty: i'm not sure if this will work, but maybe the fork lift forks can get it up in the air if you can figure out how to put a strap or chain on the tank to hang from the forks. just a thought and not sure what all equipment you own. also if it will help to temporarily weld a hook to the tank that you can grind off after you finish the task maybe that might work.

good luck

Drives, I am going to be using the forklift, but so you know you should never weld anything to a pressure tank unless you are the one making the tank and understand what you are doing. Pressure tanks are bombs if things go wrong. That is why I have been doing the testing to check the thickness of the wall. I am still not convinced that this one is safe and I may have to try and hydro test it, I have no water at my shop, so it means I need to take it to my Dad's place to do it. There is a bit more rust than I like on the inside of the tank. Another member that deals with this stuff may have more to say, but at this point I just don't know enough.

 

[mdbeck1]

I need to figure out how I am going to hang the tank vertically so I can clean things out. I may actually be able to get some pictures inside it today, yesterday it was steaming from all the heat and moisture in the tank, so you could not see much. Once I get that done, I need to finish welding the other sides of my fork slots, then I can clean up and paint it. I am going to see if I can find a good match to the Quincy blue paint.

Instead of hanging it you might use the forklift to stand it on end. Then you could chain it to something solid (maybe a wall beam?) so that you could work on it. That way you wouldn't have to worry about something bad happening (weld breaking?)

 

[Strouty]

MB, the reason I am hanging it is so I can clean the rust and scale from the inside of the tank. There is a large amount of it, between tipping it upside down and me banging on it, anything that was loose is now floating around. I wish I knew what the minimum and maximum wall thickness was, it would make my day less stressful.

 

[drivesitfar]

Strouty: since your old tank is a 1984 and looks like it needs to be rebuilt is it out of the question to ask why you are not looking at a new compressor or a maybe a scratch and dent special? since i don't weld yet I'm sucking up information so thanks for giving me a little more with the warning about welding tanks.

 

[Strouty]

Drives, The tank may or may not be an issue. I managed to get it flipped over, but when standing it up, it did not really help to get the rust out. I am working on the rust removal now.

Replacement of this compressor would most likely be $10k so I am going to work with this one for a bit. A new air tank would most likely be $2k and that may be the way I go. I do not need the ASME cert, it just makes me feel a little warmer and fuzzier.

A_PMech thinks I should just derate it to 150 PSI, the original working pressure is 200 PSI, so that would be a considerable safety factor.

 

[Strouty]

Still working on cleaning the compressor tank, I pulled a lot of rust out, about a gallon and a half worth, probably 10 pounds. I wish it had bigger ports to access the inside, but I have been finding things to make cleaning it easier. I am trying to find some tube to extend my blow gun now. I still have not decided if I am going to wash the inside of it or not. I can see some pitted spots and I am going to go back over those with the ultrasonic tester now that I have cleaned the major loose particles up. I figure it will either work for me as an air tank or make someone a really nice smoker.

 

[nine4gmc]

Strouty, what about doing a hydrostatic test on that tank? I didn't read all the replies so sorry if has been mentioned. People do them at home with a zirk fitting and grease gun I read about on here somewhere.

 

[1/2 Cup]

Strouty, what about doing a hydrostatic test on that tank? I didn't read all the replies so sorry if has been mentioned. People do them at home with a zirk fitting and grease gun I read about on here somewhere.

I agree nines, hydro testing is by far the safest.

 

[drivesitfar]

Strouty: not sure if you have 3 phase or if you need one, but I've been sort of shopping for a nice 5 or 7.5 HP compressor off and on and $3,000 seemed to be the top end that would make me plenty happy. running a Skat Blast and some air tools might be small compared to what you plan though.

when you say $10,000 to replace what are the specs of a compressor you need? i'm sure your time is valuable and working to make this one like new won't be cheap especially if you count your labor.

 

[Strouty]

Nine and ½ cup, I spoke to A_Pmech about that and it is not truly a hydro test. In order to know the tank is safe you must completely submerge it in order to make sure that the expansion is linear based on the internal pressure applied. Doing the backyard hydro test is more about seeing if it has a weak spot, plus you may damage the tank and never know it. I am looking at the possibility of a new tank, but I just want to get these compressor heads tested out. I don't think that the tank is going to explode, I do think it is near end of life and I am trying to plan accordingly.

Drives, this compressor is pretty big. It has two pumps and two motors. Both pumps can run up to 15 HP motors. I plan on running a 10 HP and a 7.5 at a minimum. All single phase, if I had three phase I would have used the 25 HP rotary screw I traded for this one. I have a large blast cabinet that I would like to use as well as 1" impacts and other tools. The blast cabinet will be the biggest issue. My other compressor was 23 CFM and could barely keep up with my big impact. Ideally I would need 100 CFM, but I can deal with 60 or so CFM to start me out. I am leaning towards using this for the little stuff, then buying a larger diesel powered 180 CFM compressor to use for sandblasting.

It is essentially like this, except 10 HP on one pump, I have also thought about 15 HP, but not sure how well that will work on my 200 Amp service.

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200444276_200444276