Between 265 & 485 SQ/FT The "Glendora Garage"

[Dan in Pasadena]

In the past I've had garages that people probably thought I was trying for "art" lol.

I'll get this figured out. I bought some plywood and hinges today for covering the under sink area and then I'll cover it with the same tiles. Hopefully it comes out REASONABLY well. If it does it'll push me to do something with the upper cabinet.....because making under the sink look better will make the cabinet look worse!

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

Today's work was finishing off the garage under-sink area:

Closed off the area w/plywood and scraps then, covered with same tiles as backsplash. Don't look closely or you'll see the glitches. Overall looks much better but getting up and down all day has left me sore. I guess that's how you know you've gotten older, huh?

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

No matter how experienced you are you can never forget safety!

Today's "Injury du Jour" happened due to idiocy on my part. I was grinding a couple screws I'd shortened for the door handle and dropped one onto the shelf below my grinder. VERY fortunately I had turned off the grinder and it was coasting to a stop when it grabbed my loose long hair and pulled me downward til my head hit the grinder yanking out a clump.

No bleeding or bald spot but it hurt like hell and of course scared me for a second - I've seen the safety videos of guys ripping out hunks of their scalp. Be careful you guys - yeah, NOT like me!

 

[lieutenant]

I'm glad that you are ok. Be careful.

 

[PugetDude]

 

[kaymccampbell]

The dollar store sells hair claws. Or ask the missus for one of hers. If she's anything like us, she's got about 29 assorted ones.

 

[jon72vega]

Today's work was finishing off the garage under-sink area:

Closed off the area w/plywood and scraps then, covered with same tiles as backsplash. Don't look closely or you'll see the glitches. Overall looks much better but getting up and down all day has left me sore. I guess that's how you know you've gotten older, huh?

Good job!
That looks nice!

 

[captain14]

Dan,

you believe we have a GJ thread for your latest mishap?

Ever do something so stupid you wonder if you should be left unsupervised?

I know I shouldn't, but I'm gonna go ahead and share my stupidity of the day in hopes that it will brighten someone else's day. If others decide to share their moments of cranial absence then all the better. So I'm out in the shop a few minutes ago doing some TIG welding on a project for a...

www.garagejournal.com

The cabinet project looks good as it’s coming along.

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

I actually DID get a haircut recently after 18 months without one. I'd gotten a short haircut in Feb, 2020 right before the quarantine and thought that'd be "over" in a couple months - yeah, right! It was short pony tail long in October 2020 - something my parents would have had a fit about when I was in high school: '68-'72. My girlfriend said she had liked it long so I let it go until a couple weeks ago. It was a pretty long pony tail and was a PITA so I just cut the "tail" off. Bad decision - obviously. Now? She wants it back again, oh well. Saves me haircut money.

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

I was just going to install a couple Dollar store trays under the sink enclosure today for dish soap, brushes, etc. They have tapered sides so I had to make small blocks to put behind them so they'd mount level.

Then, I got to looking around: A year ago I posted about a "Van Dorn" bench grinder from the 1940's. An ex-employee gave it to me and it ran/runs smooth as glass but the old fashioned On/Off push button switch didn't work. Long story short I repetitively sprayed the switch internally with WD40 and blew it out w/compressed air. Works perfectly fine now!!

Then I decided to clean it up. It's in process now. Appears it might have been originally gold. Someone over the years painted the stone enclosures black. I also encountered some purple(!) while sanding it. It's a superficial cosmetics job but it works totally fine after 70+ years so I don't want to take it apart further. Below is a Before pic and an In-Process pic. It's missing the side covers and one tool rest. I have an idea for replacement covers and I probably don't need one tool rest if I run a wire wheel that side.

 

[53PontiacSD]

But the tool rest doesn't look reversible. So you might have to switch brush and stone.

 

[kaymccampbell]

That rest would not be hard to replicate out of bar stock.

 

[PugetDude]

That rest would not be hard to replicate out of bar stock.

Or modify a generic modern tool rest to fit.

What's your plan for the missing side covers, Dan?

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

Thanks ladies and germs^^^ for even paying attention to my little .... "project" is too big a word to describe them.Lol

Interestingly, I have another bench grinder that is maxi-cheapo but it's lasted for probably 35 years. Since it is cheap the tool rest is just some bent heavy sheet metal. No bueno but it probably COULD be adapted.

On the subject of sides: I came inside for lunch today while working on this and noticed one of the pot lids on our stove looked just the right size! It was off by 1/4" but it got me thinking about 2nd hand stores or even a Dollar store for lids I could use or adapt. I'd paint them of course.

 

[PugetDude]

Dan, I always suspected you were long-haired hippie, but trying to score a lid of pot confirms it.

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

Yup, busted.... though I cut off my COVID pony tail a few weeks ago and then attempted to scalp myself just the other day!

 

[PugetDude]

Dan, if you wanted to send me the right tool rest I could fab a matching left side out of bar stock.
Looks like a pretty easy weld project.

 

[Bob Heine]

Dan, I'm with Kay (and Scott). I broke the tool rest on my much newer Ryobi bench grinder and made a reasonable facsimile welding the remains of a cheap sheet metal rest and scrap pieces of strap and angle.

Original

Half-Heiney Copy

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

Dan, if you wanted to send me the right tool rest I could fab a matching left side out of bar stock.
Looks like a pretty easy weld project.

A very generous offer, thank you!

Dan, I'm with Kay (and Scott). I broke the tool rest on my much newer Ryobi bench grinder and made a reasonable facsimile welding the remains of a cheap sheet metal rest and scrap pieces of strap and angle.

Original

Half-Heiney Copy

That came out pretty decent. I’ve got a Hobart 140 MIG welder I bought from Jack. I’m a fairly lousy welder - mostly tacks when I was doing sheet metal repairs on my ‘55 but I’ll probably give this a shot myself. I have enough grinding discs to make it SEEM like I did a decent job, ha ha.

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

A surprisingly TOTAL pain in the **** job today:

Usually re-screening a door is pretty easy. How hard can it be, right? The packaging didn't say it's the pet resistant type screen but it must be because it's much more stiff than any I've ever used. Getting the welt fully into the channel was a major league effort.

And to make the job worse, getting the screen door off was indescribably a P.I.T.A. I don't know what brand this door/screen door is but its made to be installed new and then never taken apart. I'll spare the details but numerous F-bombs were dropped today. I bought an in-screen doggie door too and that had its own share of challenges, mostly due to the Chinese "instructions" which were indecipherable.

 

[PugetDude]

The problem is there is no beer in any of your pictures.
It would have made deciphering the Chinglish instructions a lot easier.

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

The problem is there is no beer in any of your pictures.
It would have made deciphering the Chinglish instructions a lot easier.

A little beer makes it easier to read. A lot and you don't care what it says! But seriously, I'm not much of a drinker. I like beer when it's hotter than hell in the summer and I'm sweating like a pig. Then I'll chug a Corona - yes, not a true beer drinker's beer - and jump in the pool. Mostly water & soda in the small garage fridge. Beer is in the backyard undercounted fridge.

A bit more progress on the Van Dorn bench grinder today. Reattached the wheel enclosures, detailed (poorly!) the On/Off labels, soaked the rusty wire wheel in phosphoric acid. Yeah, it'd work just as well with rust but it bugged me.

Then we elongated the slotted holes in the cheap HF grinder stand I've been using for years. Tomorrow I'll buzz it and paint it gray to match. I'm considering whether I should enclose the shelf below it to keep
"grindings" from getting in there. Also thinking about putting casters on it.

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

Before and After Pics just to remember how neglected it looked before:

 

[captain14]

Dust and grindings will get everywhere. I vote to enclose the stand.

The grinder looks good after the cleanup process.

Now for the missing tool rest…..

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

I'm gonna do w/o the tool rest because I'm going to leave the wire wheel on that side.

I've had the wire wheel on my other cheapo bench grinder for years so I left the rest off. But now I'm going to put polishing buffers on it so I'll put the 2 tool rests back on it.

On the old grinder I could actually slow it to a stop - it was never an issue - but it won't happen with the Van Dorn, it seems very strong. I don't THINK polishing on buffing wheels will require me to press much.

 

[Spacep0d]

Love the garage sink and red pegboard! ***** about the hair incident. OUCH! Glad you're okay.

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

Love the garage sink and red pegboard! ***** about the hair incident. OUCH! Glad you're okay.

Thanks so much! The hair thing reminded me of a valuable lesson and cheaply compared to what COULD have happened.

Sanded & painted the bench grinder stand this morning. Mounted it this afternoon. It looks better all one color. Now I'll start looking for some kind of side covers and ready made face guards are available on eBay though I'll be using a full face shield from now on - easier keep loose hair enclosed!

Mounted a towel bar that matches the cabinet handles. I need to fill/paint the little holes.

 

[PugetDude]

Looks good, Dan.
Doesn't the missing tool rest trigger your OCD, though?

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

Thanks! Actually the missing side covers & eye shields bug me more. Not so much the tool rest cause I don’t use that on the wire wheel side. I kinda think it would limit using that side.

I THINK the hole above the On/Off panel & set screw are for mounting a water tray but I’ve not been able to find a catalog picture to verify.

 

[xtremek]

I would think making a side shield would be easy for a wood working guy like you. Making a form to bend the sheet metal is the hard part. And with your talent, that should be a snap. The rest is just beating on some 22ga. steel with a hammer.

 

[captain14]

Dan

Make sure you mount that fire extinguisher to the wall that’s easily accessible. If it falls over and drops on your foot, you will know about it real soon. Plus you don’t want the discharged powder all over if the safety pin pulls out on the way to the floor.

 

[Jayman17]

Dan, nice job touching up the VanDorn grinder. It does look good with the stand being the same color and I like the push button on/off switch.

Jay

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

I would think making a side shield would be easy for a wood working guy like you. Making a form to bend the sheet metal is the hard part. And with your talent, that should be a snap. The rest is just beating on some 22ga. steel with a hammer.

You talking to me? Ha ha, I’m definitely NO “wood worker”. I can barely make a square cut but thanks for the compliment. I’m actually thinking about making a form by “carving” a concave indention into a 2x with my Skil saw and beating some sheet metal as you described into it for side covers. BUT, I know the dented finish will ping my OCD so I also took a look at cheap pans at Marshall’s but they’re all 8” and I need a little smaller diameter. I’ll figure out something eventually.

Dan

Make sure you mount that fire extinguisher to the wall that’s easily accessible. If it falls over and drops on your foot, you will know about it real soon….

Will do but I just don’t want to drill holes in the metal “tiles”.

Dan, nice job touching up the VanDorn grinder. It does look good with the stand being the same color and I like the push button on/off switch.

Jay

Thanks Jay. I’m still thinking about enclosing the shelf on the stand w/door in front. Low priority but I have some 1/4” ply that would work well for it.

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

Worked on the older Chinese bench grinder today. Tore it down to sand and paint. I'll reassemble today and use it for polishing. I'll mount it on a 2x6, put it in the vise for the few times I polish.

A small job: Finally got more clear tape and put some more labels on the Costco boxes in my cabinets.

 

[Bob Heine]

Dan, I'm no expert but I understand the safest use of a buffing wheel is to press the work into the the lower front quadrant. If you are going to use that motor for buffing wheels, you don't want those guards in the way. I have a wimpy Harbor Freight buffer, mounted on a hitch plate so the buffing wheels are clear of obstructions. I know it would be faster if I had a real 1-horse Baldor but I've launched a few too many small parts with the wimpy one. I'm on my third window glass replacement now.

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

Hi Bob, Yeah I don't need a tool rest on the wire wheel side of what will now be my main bench grinder and I'm going to put buffing wheels on both sides of the older one. Thanks for the head's up! How are things on your end of the country? Spring is springing fast here. Still some rain (we hope) but not much before true summer comes and we can heat/use the pool, grass grows faster, ordinarily RV trips - but not as long as we are a hospice, etc. Take care.

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

Disassembled, painted & re-assembled my old Chinese bench grinder and re-fitted with buffing wheels. As stated before, I'm bolting it to a 2x which will be held in my vise when in use. As you can see from the pic's I NEED to enclose the shelf or everything will be very dirty, very fast.

 

[PugetDude]

Looks good, Dan- except for the missing tool rest...

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

Ha ha, ball buster! Lol

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

Mostly cleaned up and put stuff away today. Also mowed & edged the front lawn. Fed everything MiracleGro.

Decided to finish off the bench grinder work by cutting this 2x6, sanded/cleared & glued/screwed a small piece to it so
it'll chuck into my vice when I polish.