the beat garage & projects & stuff

[beatcad]

ok, gang i'll show y'all whats goin on in my digs.
i've been trying so hard for the last few months to make my garage more organized and functional.
years ago i had a craftsman box and a snap-on on top. than i put together a blackhawk stack.
also about 10 years ago i bought a workbench from sears that was on clearance.
it worked fine but after years i wasnt satisfied.
i have no good pix of the old layout, but this is close...last summer.

i found a nice workbench on local CL a month & 1/2 ago and i've made a deal w/ twertsy and instead of 2 stacks i now have 1 large tool box.
i'm still working on cleaning it.
pix will be soon.

 

[zkling]

Where's your plethora of wooden boxes?

 

[twertsy]

Where's your plethora of wooden boxes?

They're all "up" out of reach in nice little cubbys on the wall, or, most of them are at least

And they look great!

 

[beatcad]

most of my gerstners & wooden chests are on this shelf.

new/old tool box has 25 drawers and they were all dirty & sticky.
i've disassembled and all but 3. now smooth drawers & new liner.
while i was doing this my tool that emptied out of my main boxes were all over the place.
box is almost done and i got a little more room to move around

 

[beatcad]

mostly done bringing this box back to life.

 

[beatcad]

worked in the garage most of he day yesterday.
this cart and bin was full of motorcycle parts. ive been wanting to organize them all and fit 'em into this cabinet. done...kinda..cabinet is full.

while i was transfering tools ofer to my new/old toolbox that cabinet was full on my tool waiting for a new home.
i got this nice workbench about a month & 1/2 ago. it a mess only because i'm still working on stuff around it and trying to figure what to put on top of it and find a cool light.

and i've been cleaning this tool box for a month now. just about done.

 

[Dr.phil]

looks great

 

[beatcad]

ok. things are still a mess 'cause i'm trying to set up the workbench.
i couldnt decide wether to put some gerstners on the shelf or my radio.
i've been looking for a cool old industrial articulating lamp for months. i got this sunday.
oh, and i got 2 more chopper projects in the last 2 weeks, so i've been messing w/ them

 

[zkling]

I really like that Mac box.

 

[taumac]

most of my gerstners & wooden chests are on this shelf.

new/old tool box has 25 drawers and they were all dirty & sticky.
i've disassembled and all but 3. now smooth drawers & new liner.
while i was doing this my tool that emptied out of my main boxes were all over the place.
box is almost done and i got a little more room to move around

I like the way you stored them all up out of way but you can see them.

 

[beatcad]

i've been cleaning out and throwing out stuff all weekend because the weather was really nice. spring cleaning
hopefully in the next week or 2 i can unload 3 or 4 toolboxes and make some room.
and than i'll concider selling some bikes.
4 bikes/projects and a truck in a 2 car garage is tight.

 

[beatcad]

not very exciting but heres what i did yesterday.
this hammer head has been knocking around my tool box for maybe 10 years.
i've often looked for a handle for it, but no luck. ive also thought about making my own, but i really aint got that kinda free time.
the other day i found a mallet that had a loose handle, so i yanked the head off. and thought i could use it. i was 1/2 way thru running the head thru the wire wheel before i decided to take a pic.

my orig idea was to paint it, but i didnt want to wait a day for it to dry so i just took it to the buffer.

i cut down the handle and cut a slot for the wedge.

scruffed the handle and applied a couple of coats of wood conditioner.
maybe not the best job ever, but the 1st hammer ive done(ive fixed a few).

 

[beatcad]

soon after i finished the hammer my buddy dropped by w/ a cool old lamp and asked me if i could fix it for him.

of course i can fix it! i could go to the hardware store and get a new plug/wire kit, but i remembered an old project in the attic that went bad but it had a new old style cloth wires & plug. dont get much better.

dont try this at home. i'm a professional
not kidding. when i was a young man about 20 or 21 i worked at a lamp shop and did all the repairs/restores.

i had to swipe a bulb from my grinder lamp. it works and it was only a 2 beer job

 

[RivennHewn]

Great lamp.

Any idea where it came from?

 

[nine4gmc]

: a project thread from Beat!!

 

[StillTooManyHobbies]

Beatcad, the hammer and lamp projects turned out great! Tell us more about the Econoline p/u in the background. I had a 64 Econoline van back in the early 80's that was great fun!

 

[1982fxr]

you're garage isn't complete until you have a shop press shoved into the corner that requires the near demolition of the building to get to.

At least on a farm that is the rule. national law or something, i think

 

[Atalford]

Well here is my next project... After fixing the kids car... expanding the garage a little bit. ... putting the new shower door in...

 

[beatcad]

you're garage isn't complete until you have a shop press shoved into the corner that requires the near demolition of the building to get to.

At least on a farm that is the rule. national law or something, i think

yeah, i've been fighting the urge to get a press for years. as much as i want one its not a neccesity. i have one at work i use and my next door neighbor has one so i can walk 20 feet to use it if i want.

 

[beatcad]

yesterday i was moving some stuff around and found this cool old(60s?) stool i've been meaning to redo for years. it was 1/2 apart before i decided to grab a camera.
missing screws, bent bolts, stuck bolts.
all the chrome was rusty.
my orig idea was to reupholster it, but after i started rubbing it w/ chrome polish/rust remover i deciced id just clean it up and reassemble it w/ new fasteners. i did put all the chrome to the buffer and it looks ok.
i went to the hardware store this morning and will reassemble it soon.

 

[drivesitfar]

Beat: i was wondering where you were putting all those old Gertsner wood boxes. nice way to display them and are they empty or do you have them still full of some of the machinist tools?

the Mac box turned out great so did you just clean with soap and water or do tell?

i'd say you have a couple project bikes, but if that makes you happy or makes you money when you finish them you have to have something in your garage for all those tools to do some work on.

nice work on the light and hammer. also what did you use for a wedge in the hammer's new handle because it looks great?

cheers

 

[drivesitfar]

Beat: i was only asking for the hammer's new handle wedge pictures and descriptions because the only handles I've replaced so far are from kits. since i have about 200 hammers and a bucket full of handles without the wedges i was just wondering how big you made the slot and what you used for the wedge to pin it in. yours looks great BTW.


cheers

 

[sasquatch12]

Great photos, enjoyable viewing!!

 

[beatcad]

drivesitfar- i gut lucky an saved the metal wedge from the loose malet.
i just cut the slot for the wedge w/ a fine hacksaw blade.

i finished the stool last night. it aint perfect but it is ready for another 40 years of service

thanks for the kind words and support gang. so far i'm just showing little jobs and trying to get my garage workable and cool.
i'm working on stuff in here most every day but i aint documtenting any year long projects(like motorcycles) but i will one day

 

[drivesitfar]

Beat: thanks for the information and looks like i'll be grinding a ton of wedges some day which isn't all bad because i do have a few grinders.

best wishes and good looking chair to put you **** in and have a beer or work on something else.

 

[beatcad]

oh,yeah. and cleaning the MAC box was mostly spray-9 and wax&grease remover.

 

[beatcad]

i decided for no good reason to freshen up my vise. i got it 10 or 11 years ago at a yard sale for maybe 20 clams and it's been great. cleaning it up is kinda dumb 'cause it's a perfectly functional vise. just 'cause i can, i guess.

took it apart last night and doused it w/ paint stripper and took it to the wire wheel.
than painted the bottom of the base.

still some cleaning up to do. i'll do that and paint it this weekend(weather permitting). and reassemble it early to mid next week.

 

[twertsy]

Let's see that Columbian! I know you're done by now........

 

[beatcad]

i finished it up last night. i skiped the rest of the steps in pix 'cause i figure you guys know how its done.
ready to start beating on it again

 

[countryroad82]

I really need to get back at straightening my shop back out. Looks like you're on the road for having yours looking good!

 

[drivesitfar]

Beat: nice job restoring or cleaning up your little Columbian. Just an FYI i don't use any paint stripper and just wire wheel the paint off. since you are wire wheeling anyway i thought i'd mention it. some of the guys say when they use their electrolysis tanks the paint can sometimes come off in the tank especially if you get the grease off the vise before setting it in the tank. it's just not quite as much of a mess with those two options.

i think i saw you have a bigger old vise to clean up so good luck with that because sometimes those older ones are a bit tougher to take apart.

cheers

 

[beatcad]

drives- yeah i got an older wilton bullet recently and thought id do a practice resto on the columbian before i tackle the more complicated wilton

 

[Drake9]

Beat,

The vise turned out good. Cant wait to see the Wilton, I need to get mine done too.

 

[beatcad]

friday i found this little anvil at a show/swap.
perfect match for my columbian vise.
it was orig red(of course) but it was also spray painted blue and brush painted grey w/ some kind of house latex paint. i took drives advice and skipped the paint stripper step and took it straight to the wire wheel. the paint was thick and took awhile but i got it to almost bare metal in about an hour.
i really wanted to paint this a different color like copper, but the orig red was in there deep. i had an extra can(unopened) of red from when i did my vise last month. i bought 2 'cause i didnt know how much i might need.
painted yesterday. i'll let it sit for another day or 2 and than sand the striking surface again and paint the raised letters.

 

[Tarnished]

Beat,
I have the same cool little Columbian anvil like yours, although yours has the pritchel hole and mine does not. I believe mine is the original red you speak of. Not great for pounding, but cool none the less.

 

[beatcad]

tarnished- thats a cool vise ya got.

yeah, i wont pound on it. the times i need and anvil is just to straighten sheet metal and small stuff. if i need to whale on something bigger/thicker i have a good section of railroad track for that.

 

[Drake9]

Looking good Beat!

 

[drivesitfar]

Beat: even though the Columbian anvil is more like a chunk of RR track it is awesome and a great find.

keep finding that cool stuff that you and Twertsy seem to have no end to.

 

[beatcad]

heres a side gig i kinda got right now.
a coworker got these late 50s/early 60s JC Higgens his & hers bicycles last fall and asked me to "fix" them for her 'cause she knows i build bikes.

these wont be a quick build. it'll be when i get around to it.
she doesnt work w/ me any longer and last time i spoke to her she forgot about the bikes, and she hasent given me a dime yet, so i really havent spent much time & money on these.
so far all i've done is remove the trashed pedals and chains and the lock and baskets that were attached to the duo.

i have a funny feeling i'll end up owning these

 

[beatcad]

well, the delay on the anvil...
i painted it and the paint wrinkled up.
id never had this happen to me. i figured it was either cheap paint or the fact that it was really humid when i did it.
i asked one of the painters at work and he said bring it to me and i'll do it right.
i wire wheeled it back to bare metal and gave it to him. it sat on his tool box for weeks, but i cant complain, it was free
got it back last weekend and lettered it earlier this week.
not my best lettering job, but this aint a showpiece.