The Hodgepodge Garage

[JeremyBurke]

That's really cool that you guys can do that. I have a few around here and its always nice to finally meet ppl you see on the GJ.

I met Drives through the Big Vise Thread looking for a good vise. He brought my Hollands 15 into my life and we have been exchanging favors and lunches ever since. He's a great guy and been a huge help to my learning about older tools and getting my little Hodgepodge Garage up and running. Becoming a part of this community has been great in no small part because of guys like drives and the advice I have gotten on this thread and so many others.

wow I must say you are a great craftsman judging by that work bench, it looks great. Keep up the great work.

Thanks so much CodeRedZ, I am an engineer by trade so my training makes me look for and find problems that need solving. For this reason all too often I see what's wrong before I appreciate the good, including what I would do different about this bench. That being said my Dad taught me how to work with my hands and just try new things. So while it isn't perfect I made it myself and I really like the bench. I hope my little thread can encourage others to try their own project. For most of the stuff on here you are seeing the results of my first attempts at something new.

 

[drivesitfar]

Jeremy: great to see the original motor you found now working on your big Walker Turner. I think you are close now to having an all original Walker Turner full size Drill press that also has the rare extra pulley for metal drilling. very nice and does it have a permanent spot in Hodgepodge or are you going to put it on wheels and pull it out from a corner when you need it?

the bench is looking great and i like the rubber pad you cut to size to protect that awesome finish you put on that old wood.

what's next on the list? did you make a shim for Holly yet? Holland's are great vises and they are so simple to work on too compared to some of the other old brands.

Keep up the good work

 

[JeremyBurke]

Drives: Most of my projects are on hold. I have money ******* right now in one of my other Hobbies (electronics). When that is complete I really have some work to do on Christmas presents. I am hoping to make my dad a new workbench for his new shop, and maybe a few other things. Then I need to get some lighting figured out for the shop. I have been doing a lot of research of different types of fluorescent lights and hope to have some posts up soon about my research and get some advice about my final option.

I am mainly looking at these options.

Link here.

Link Here

The T-8 fixture and lights make it cheaper to get up and running with great light.

The T5 option costs a bit more but the light you get is surface of the sun bright so it is a hard choice.

 

[bheck89]

Your garage is coming together really nicely. Definitely giving me inspiration for my attached garage. What colors did you use for the vises?

Subscribed

 

[JeremyBurke]

bheck89 Thanks for the kind words. I used Rustoluem hammered black for both of my vises. The Hollands 15 and Reed 204R







and I used Rustoleum Navy Blue enamel on my dad's Craftsman 5186. It was the closest to the original blue that I found at my local hardware store options.



By the way thanks for asking I love posting pictures of those at any possible excuse.

 

[aps63]

Drives: Most of my projects are on hold. I have money ******* right now in one of my other Hobbies (electronics). When that is complete I really have some work to do on Christmas presents. I am hoping to make my dad a new workbench for his new shop, and maybe a few other things. Then I need to get some lighting figured out for the shop. I have been doing a lot of research of different types of fluorescent lights and hope to have some posts up soon about my research and get some advice about my final option.

I am mainly looking at these options.

Link here.

The T-8 fixture and lights make it cheaper to get up and running with great light.

The T5 option costs a bit more but the light you get is surface of the sun bright so it is a hard choice.

I have those same light fixtures in my garage with the T8's and they are awesome. A ton of daylight like light. The lighting alone makes me enjoy the time in the garage even more. You will just have to replace the chain with something heavier.

 

[JeremyBurke]

Thanks for your thoughts Paul. I continue to look for the best option but obviously money plays a big part. If anyone else has thoughts on the subject please share.

Cheers,
Jeremy

 

[taumac]

I havnt even thought of newer fixtures. I have all the old ones but heard the new bulbs can be used in old fixtures.

Have a good one, Gerard

 

[drivesitfar]

Jeremy: Merry Christmas and here's to a great 2015. looking forward to seeing more progress on Hodgepodge next year and you did great on your time and budget this year. Cheers

 

[drivesitfar]

Jeremy: so i was going to head out in my garage today and do a little organizing on my wood bench and i was thinking of one of the nicest wood benches on GJ. anything new to report in Hodgepodge? is your bride's car back in the garage for the spring's rainy days?

cheers

 

[JeremyBurke]

Drives: I have been working in the Hodgepodge garage a lot but most of the projects are not as interesting to share and a few of them I just plain forgot to take pictures. My wife is back in the garage, which makes her life much easier in the down pour season.



I have been working on one fun project for my youngest son who is still in a crib and needs to move up to a big boy bed. So I have embarked on this ambitious project. I stole the idea from this thread on the HAMB.







So I scavenged up the bed for a 1948 Ford F2.







The bed was an 8' footer I needed to cut it down the 79" for a standard twin mattress. I got out my DeWalt Track saw with a metal cutting blade.









I got this from Amazon here.





I started cutting things to the right length and width while trying to maintain the original lines of the truck bed.















This is some of the fall off and pieces to be welded back on.











and this is my test fit of the head board on my temporary welding bench. After this project is over I will need to make a more permanent solution for my welding needs. I still have some grinding to do before welding it all up.







I should have some time to get back after it this weekend and hopefully have a bunch of progress to show next week.

 

[toddjb]

Jeremy, this is the first time I've seen your thread. I've spent my down time at work today reading through it. Tremendous job, Sir. We have much in common with taste in old tools, reused lumber, and creative re-purposing.

A few highlights for me:

Your welding cart from the craftsman toolbox is so rad. I love it. I'm friends with RedLeader and have drooled on his set up more than once.

As others have stated, your bench is awesome and beefy. Good job. I used that Varathane on our dinning table that is made of old timbers and it's holding up great 5 years later.

It's been in many pics, but not highlighted, but I would be lost without my Cosco Leprechaun Ladder Stool. It fits the bill perfectly for reaching those things that are juuuust out of reach.

Vices are awesome. WT DP is great.

And this new truck bed is going to be super rad. I just emailed my wife your inspiration pic stating I wanted to something like that for our son.

Thanks for taking the time to document this. As a father of two young ones I understand that time is nonexistent, and with a stay at home mom, when you get home she needs a break. So I applaud your efforts. You'll note that I don't have anything really documented on the site, and it's because of the above comment. So good work.

Lastly, I don't know if you have got new lights or not, but I would highly discourage Daylight bulbs. I put daylights in my shop and I hate them. They shallow out all colors and give off a pale light. I MUCH prefer soft light, and with your theme I think it would look better. I'm stuck with mine cause I bought a huge box that will last a life time

I just subscribed too, so you better keep up the good work!

 

[JeremyBurke]

ToddJB: Thanks so much for dropping by and all your kind words. You highlighted one of my favorite projects, I love that welding cart and have been getting a lot of use out of it on this newest project.

As for the lights, my local Costco started stocking these again.



So guess what this guy got for Christmas. I got 3 of them and I will add to that number as time permits. I will snap a few pictures of them in the shop when I am out there this weekend and show how they light in the space. I love them no heat, they come on quick to full brightness and don't flicker or buzz. It has only been a few weeks but so far I am very happy. I just hope they last as well as advertised but since they came from costco and their return policy is so great I am a little less worried about that.

Cheers and thanks again for stopping in.

 

[drivesitfar]

Jeremy: now i need a track saw because i remember liking it when you cut the bench tops out of it. hopefully the sharp edges on the truck's tailgate don't cut your boy's legs off, but i'm sure you've figured out that.

sure i'll be watching to see what your lights look like because I didn't want to have to install another 4 foot metal florescent one that usually cut me.

good luck with the bed project and happy to here your wife's car is in the garage with all this rain.

 

[taumac]

Really Jeremy, hiding a project like that isn't cool. That's a awesome project..... Looking foward to seeing more of that.

Have a good one Gerard

 

[JeremyBurke]

Gentlemen here is the promised picture of the first Costco led shop light hung over my house wall bench.



Sorry for the mess the wife and I are in the middle of a craft project for my youngest son's preschool fund raiser.

 

[JeremyBurke]

Jeremy: now i need a track saw because i remember liking it when you cut the bench tops out of it. hopefully the sharp edges on the truck's tailgate don't cut your boy's legs off, but i'm sure you've figured out that.....

Drives: I love my track saw and would recommend it to anyone. It is usually always in my top five list of tools in my shop. In case you are wondering.

1. Cordless drills (mostly DeWalt from a previous job)
2. Track saw (DeWalt again previous job)
3. Jig saw (Bosch another previous job)
4. Measuring tools (various)
5. Drill press (sweet old walker Turner)
5.b my vises (various and I know I just cheated).

6. Duel bevel sliding miter saw. ( also DeWalt 12" in the summer during deck or tree fort projects this replaces the jig saw on the list.

At least right now. These are most used and useful not necessarily my favorites.

 

[bonecrrusher]

Can those LED lights be screwed into studs on the ceiling?

 

[JeremyBurke]

BoneCrusher: the lights have keyholes in the top. They come with short cables that also fit in the holes to suspend the lights as well. So yes you can hang the lights from studs if you don't mind trying to align the screw blind you can hang the directly from the ceiling.

 

[JeremyBurke]

Truck Bed Head Board

I didn't get a lot of time in the Hodgepodge Garage this weekend as most of my family was pretty sick, including me. I did get enough time to break out the little Hobart welder and work on the headboard.



The first thing I needed to do was prep the edges to line up well.





I then welded the headboard up by tacking all the high transition points and then skipping around filling the in the gaps.



and then did a little smoothing.





Thanks for following along.

 

[aps63]

thread[/URL] on the HAMB.

That is GREAT!!!! What kid would not want that for a bed.
Hell, I want that for a bed!!!

 

[metalhead140]

That is GREAT!!!! What kid would not want that for a bed.
Hell, I want that for a bed!!!

Yeh, me too!

 

[JeremyBurke]

Aps63: and Metalhead140: thanks for the kind words. Just to be clear as much as I wish it was it wasn't my original idea and the picture you have there is from the guy I stole it from. I encourage you all to see this thread and the room build out he did around it. Here on the H.A.M.B.

Thanks for following along and adding your thoughts here.

Cheers,
Jeremy

 

[JeremyBurke]

Lighting

So you may remember a while back I bought a few new lights for the Hodgepodge Garage. This weekend I finally got the wiring changes made to install them.

I got these lights at my local Costco and I will be adding more if they ever get them back in stock.



Please excuse the messy bench I am mid way through about 10 projects right now. But you can see from the two pictures below I have a lot more light by just adding these 2 lights and plenty more room to add more later on.



For comparison this is what the area looked like before the new lights where added.

 

[taumac]

Nice.... Man you got a lot of them.

 

[JeremyBurke]

Truck Bed Progress

I also got a little time to break out the welder and piece my chopped 1948 Ford F2 bed sides back together after removing roughly 16" from the length.

I first clamped and tacked it together.


Then went back and stitched the full length of the sections.


My wife and I are trying to save as much of the original paint and patina as we can so I am trying to avoid stripping the paint. This leads to some burnt paint spots you can see.



I'm hoping to get out to the shop on Tuesday night to bolt the sides to the head board and set up for making the frame that will support the mattress.

 

[JeremyBurke]

Nice.... Man you got Amoy of them.

That picture of the lights in the box was a stock photo. I only bought 3 my first trip and I hope to add another 3-5 later on. I wish I could have bought a pallet load of them

 

[drivesitfar]

Jeremy: your shop just keeps getting better. let there be light and does Costco still carry those or do you (I) need to wait until the longshoreman strike unloads a few more off the ships?

great job on your son's truck bed. best of luck finishing it up.

 

[JeremyBurke]

1948 Ford F2 Truck Bed

So this Past Tuesday I got a little time in the Garage and got the pieces bolted together so I can measure and prep to cut the tailgate.

Here are few shots of the setup.


Sorry about my thumb in this shot I was in a hurry.





Then this past weekend I was able to start building the frame to place the bed on.

I used plywood and the head and foot so pillows and stuffed animals won't drop in the gaps in front or behind the wheel wells and disappear under the bed.



I used standard Carriage bolts to hold everything together.



This Step drill bit made quick work of the extra holes I had to add to the bed frame.

 

[drivesitfar]

Jeremy: nice work on your son's truck bed bed. is the tailgate going to challenge all your skills or is it fairly easy and you just need the time to do it. do tell?

also with the lights way up on the ceiling how is the lighting for you workbench? Have you thought of putting a loft in above your bench and maybe mounting the lights to the bottom of the loft?

looking forward to more updates.

 

[JeremyBurke]

Drives: the tailgate isn't any harder than the other pieces really. It's just fussier and so am I. I saved it for last to be sure I could make it fit what I ended up with and so I would have plenty of practice prior to modifying what will be the most visible piece. I'll be sure to thoroughly document the process for this thread.

As for the lights they work great. I haven't used the bench a ton since putting them in because I have been working on the bed but the lighting is way better. I do think I will eventually add a shelf or 2 between the cabinets and then mount another of the LED lights under that to more directly light the bench.

 

[toddjb]

Super rad. Great job. As for step bits - I've been using the Harbor Freight ones that come in the 3 pack, and they're great. Haven't slowed down yet, and I use them for everything that I don't need dead nuts accuracy.

 

[JeremyBurke]

Todd, Thanks for checking and a your kind words. I tried Harbor Freight straight bits a while back and was very very very disappointed to I have steered clear since. But I am really glad they work for you. I bet you get all 3 for less than I paid for the one.

Cheers,
Jeremy

 

[drivesitfar]

Jeremy: i'm thinking of building a bench top with 4 x 4 white oak I rescued a couple years ago. any tips to give me (us) about putting a thick wood bench top together?

I'm guessing i'll have mine 30 to 32 inches wide so after planing it maybe 10 boards that need to be glued and screws together. i have a 6 inch Jet planer, a 13 inch dewalt planer and a 3.5 inch hand power planers. I also have a few hand planers like you used on yours.

i do have some 8 inch wood screws to screw them together or do you think just screwing the 4 x 4's down to the wood frame i'm building will work well enough?

cheers and you are doing a great job with your son's bed and Hodgepodge.

 

[JeremyBurke]

Drives I would always recommend Oak for a bench top over the douglas fir I used. It is way stronger and harder than doug fir. As for putting it together, I would avoid using screw at all except to mount it down. All you need to do is use a jointer to get 3 sides square to each other and then use your planner with the unjointed side towards the cutter and run all the sticks through at the same depth to get them all equal thickness and straight. Then glue and clamp them together. Modern wood glues are very strong and would hold it forever. I recommend this stuff


If offers a long working time holds great and is water proof. One last tip would be glue it all up and then find a local cabinet shop that lets you rent time on their wide belt sander. Some shops will charge you about $50-$100 for 1 hour of time on there 42" belt sander. This is a way way way quicker and better way to end up with a flat bench top. Only issue you will have is moving around a 32"x96"x4" slab of white oak. With a density of 47 lbs/ft^3 the bench top would way almost 350 lbs. Good luck and start a thread when you are making it. So we can all comment and enjoy the show.

 

[JeremyBurke]

Truck Bed

Sorry for the post so late in the week. It has been crazy at the office so posting during the week has been hard. I got enough time to get the tailgate cut down.



I took this shot to illustrate the quality of cut I got from the Little track saw with the Freud Steel Demon blade.


My engineers OCD required that I cut the two sides equally so that the thing would be symmetrical. My case is so severe that even right not I can't even think of how one would do this without it being symmetrical.



I also build some feet for it to make sure it actually sits level.



Thanks for following along and offering encouragement.

 

[JeremyBurke]

"L" Bench Organization

I also had just enough time to install my drawer liners and get one set of my "L" Bench drawers organized. There isn't a lot to say about this other than show pictures, Enjoy.

















And that is the whole stack from top to bottom. If you have any suggestions or advice about how to do it better feel free to share. One note I don't have a lot of screw drivers here mainly because I keep them in my Edsal wall cabinet over the other bench for easier access.

 

[taumac]

That project is coming out great. Only problem I see is you need to find more tools to fill those drawers. There is still space between tools. LOL. Looking good there sir

 

[Smokeshow69]

Hey man! Great to talk to you on the phone the other day! We should get together soon to compare garages soon! I really like all the truck beds and would like to come over sometime soon to see yours in real life!

 

[JeremyBurke]

Thanks smoke it was great to talk to you too. My progress has slowed dramatically as my extended family has needed lots of help due to health issues some severe some less so but all very urgent. I hope to return to the shop soon. When I can I'll give you a shout.