Between 265 & 485 SQ/FT The Scooter Workshop

[Modern Jess]

More remedial repair for the bandsaw. Honestly, that machine shop should be ashamed. These are all repairs that would have been squarely in their wheelhouse. I guess they just didn't care.

The upper set of guide rollers was jammed with swarf and junk, to the point where one of the rollers wouldn't turn. I hit it with some WD-40, and eventually got it turning mostly freely, but it was clear the bearing was a bit, errr.... crunchy. So fix it I must.

Of course, it's a blind bearing, with no way to push it out from behind. For that matter, the roller itself doesn't have much to hold on to. That's okay, because I've got these awesome titanium wedgy-thingies that a friend of mine gave me!

Just insert one on each side and give it a few taps with a small hammer:

Making progress:

A bit more:

And out:

Okay, now for the bearing itself. As I said, this is a blind bearing, so no way to push. And that's why I own a bridge puller set! I haven't used it many times, but when I need it, it's a joy to use.

This end goes in and grips the bearing from behind:

Then a screw goes in the back to expand the end:

Then we erect a bridge to push back on the housing:

And as we start turning the forcing screw, out comes the bearing. Like butter:

Voila! The whole job was maybe 20 minutes.

 

[E12-535iTurbo]

Shouldn't there be some kind of protection guard parallel with the guide bar?

Awesome job you're doing with the shop/saw.

 

[Modern Jess]

Shouldn't there be some kind of protection guard parallel with the guide bar?

Yep. It was missing when I bought it. I'll probably fabricate something to fit there. The original is just a thin piece of sheet steel, bent at 90°, with a short rod welded on the end.

Awesome job you're doing with the shop/saw.

Thanks! I think it's going to be a great addition to the shop. Cutting metal has been somewhat of a challenge for me with the tools I had a year ago. Using the jigsaw with a metal cutting blade works for some small items. The metal cutting circular saw made cutting unistrut a bit easier. But this saw will really cut just about anything. And that's kind of a liberating feeling.

 

[Andrew S]

Jess,
Would you mind share the details on your bridge puller set? I have seen that puller style used with a slide hammer, but the bridge looks to be much more useful.

 

[Modern Jess]

Would you mind share the details on your bridge puller set? I have seen that puller style used with a slide hammer, but the bridge looks to be much more useful.

Sure thing. This particular one is officially called a Motorcycle Blind Bearing & Bridge Puller. I probably bought it at Amazon (which is where that link leads). It has a slide hammer, of course, but the bridge part (which has an adjustable width) is, as you say, more useful.

If I can answer any other specific questions about it, let me know.

 

[Modern Jess]

This will probably not be a very exciting post, but it marks a bit of a milestone for me.

I've had the big trashcan on the left since the beginning of the remodel project on our house:

My contractor bought it to aid with general debris management, and since it was on my dime, he left it when the project was over. I've used it extensively since then, as it fits the giant 55 gallon super-heavy-duty contractor bags rather well. The downside is that those bags won't fit in our curbside trash bin, and any extra trash not in a bin has to be put in a 32 gallon bag, with a paid sticker attached. So that has meant I've taken many, many of these bags to the dump. And that's been a workable solution, since the construction of the shop and organization of all my **** has meant lots of other reasons to go to the dump.

With construction winding down, though, the opportunities to take a load to the dump have been dwindling. I made a run yesterday, and it was actually a bit of a challenge to fill up the truck.

Time to transition to a new model. The can on the right in the picture above is a 20 gallon model, which fits the 32 gallon trash bag pretty much perfectly. I should be able to fit those bags into our trash bin, once we upgrade our service to the next size (we have a very small bin at the moment).

So I'll have to empty it more regularly, but that won't mean a trip to the dump.

Of course, I couldn't leave well enough alone. I've said all along that everything in the shop has to be on casters, and this is no exception:

The rolling base was originally meant for large potted plants, but I think it will work just as well for a fully loaded garbage can.

 

[Lu-Max]

I use the same bucket with the detachable Brute rollers. I have a spare set actually, but probably too late for you.

 

[Modern Jess]

I use the same bucket with the detachable Brute rollers. I have a spare set actually, but probably too late for you.

Hah! I didn't even know that existed. Had I known, I would have hunted one down.

Nice setup.

 

[Modern Jess]

I decided to go ahead and pull the second bearing out of the guide housing, since the first one was full of rusty liquid. Sure enough, the second one had some muck trapped behind the bearing. Not nearly as much as the first, but enough to be problematic.

Pressing the new bearings in:

And here's the finished part, mounted back on the machine:

Note that one of the guide rollers is a different color than the other one, as I replaced it. The one that was stuck had become faceted from the blade dragging against it. It wasn't much, but enough to think maybe I should replace it while I had it off. Fortunately, the guy that got me into the Roll-In saw to begin with had some extras squirreled away and gifted me one. Good timing!

 

[itb76]

Shop looks really good Jess!

 

[Getho]

Its not often I'm impressed with a bin!

Out of curiosity, do you have any details on that press? I'll need to press in some sprocket dampeners soon and was considering buying a press instead of hammering them in.

 

[Modern Jess]

Its not often I'm impressed with a bin!

Heh. It was more symbolic than anything, though I've found in the last two days that being able to easily wheel it over to wherever I'm making a mess tends to keep the mess down.

Out of curiosity, do you have any details on that press? I'll need to press in some sprocket dampeners soon and was considering buying a press instead of hammering them in.

I do. It's a Torin Big Red 20-ton press. I specifically wanted one with a gauge, and specifically did not want a bottle jack. It's a pretty good press -- better than I thought it was going to be for what I paid for it. It's primary use for me was pressing in (and out) Vespa final drive gears. One of them (the axle) takes a tremendous amount of force to press. If there's a mismatch in the tolerances of the parts, they sometimes take well in excess of 40 tons to separate, though generally it's between 5 and 15 tons. It's a little big for my needs (Vespa gears are small) and barring the occasional need for 40 tons (which is obviously out of reach of this one) I could probably stand to have a smaller press taking up less space.

What I really want is a bench top 20-ton press, but I haven't found any of those.

 

[Modern Jess]

Shop looks really good Jess!

Sorry, missed this response somehow. Thanks!

 

[Modern Jess]

Time to revisit the automated ventilation system. It's been very temperate here for the last 3 months or so, and I've had the automatic system turned off. In mild weather, the shop stays comfortable all by itself.

Yesterday was pretty hot, though -- well into the 90s. And it's going to get hotter, though it will come and go. Seemed like a perfect time to see how the ventilation system works in cooling mode. Indeed, the night-time temperature dipped sharply, which is perfect for the design of this particular system.

Below is the graph from last night. I'm still running in a 45 minute on / 45 minute off pattern.

What I see in this graph is that when the fan is on, the temperature in the shop does in fact cool off. When the fan goes off, though, the heat being held in the structure itself warms the ambient air, and the cycle repeats. Clearly, I'm making some modest gains in cooling the place off. But as of 6 this morning, the temperature in the shop was still above 70. If it gets hot today, the shop isn't quite cool enough to resist the substantial heat gains of mid-day.

Running the fan for longer periods of time would probably help. But I'm reaching the inescapable conclusion that what I really need here is a bigger fan.

 

[Huxley]

Very nice!! I forgot to subscribe back in 2012 and binged on the rest of your thread over the last few days. Your participation in Gregor's thread brought me back here.

Just a wild a** guess but I suspect you need some mass in your air handling system to get more substantial "automated ventilation" results. I know some people have used crawlspace areas with sand channels or dedicated basement rooms filled with rock. The tortuous path for the air combined with the large mass helps to retain the desired temp. I know you don't have the space for either of the above in your garages but I hope it provides food for thought - perhaps for the house project. If they made a double wall duct that you could fill with sand or water or ??, you might be in business.

Thank you for all the documentation efforts over the years. Believe it or not, this pic combined with your results have given me some motivation...

 

[Huxley]

In case you missed this video on the GJ homepage, the guy talks about thermal mass about 5 min. into it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=357&v=XmDAInbnPYQ

 

[sakurama]

In case you missed this video on the GJ homepage, the guy talks about thermal mass about 5 min. into it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=357&v=XmDAInbnPYQ

That guys cool. I just lost an hour (or two) watching his videos.

Gregor

 

[Modern Jess]

Very nice!! I forgot to subscribe back in 2012 and binged on the rest of your thread over the last few days.

Thanks much, and glad I could provide some entertainment.

Just a wild a** guess but I suspect you need some mass in your air handling system to get more substantial "automated ventilation" results. I know some people have used crawlspace areas with sand channels or dedicated basement rooms filled with rock. The tortuous path for the air combined with the large mass helps to retain the desired temp. I know you don't have the space for either of the above in your garages but I hope it provides food for thought - perhaps for the house project. If they made a double wall duct that you could fill with sand or water or ??, you might be in business.

It's an interesting idea, and one that I've heard of before in other contexts. Some passive house designs rely on thermal mass not in the air handling system, but somewhere in the house itself (say, a massive hearth) in order to stabilize the temperature. I'll have to do some more research to understand it in this context, though you're right -- I don't really have the space for it. Does 5/8" drywall count as thermal mass?

Thank you for all the documentation efforts over the years. Believe it or not, this pic combined with your results have given me some motivation...

I never would have thought that the very worst picture I posted would be an inspiration, but so be it.

 

[Modern Jess]

That guys cool. I just lost an hour (or two) watching his videos.

Me too. I've been watching his videos for a couple years now, and they are endlessly fascinating. There's something about the pacing that is really relaxing.

 

[dreesemonkey]

Love the thread, I devoured the whole thing a week or two ago. I don't think you have space remaining, but I did see this on facebook a few months ago and it might sort your tool storage issues.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Multi-Tool-Flip-Top-Table/?ALLSTEPS

 

[Modern Jess]

Love the thread, I devoured the whole thing a week or two ago. I don't think you have space remaining, but I did see this on facebook a few months ago and it might sort your tool storage issues.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Multi-Tool-Flip-Top-Table/?ALLSTEPS

Love it! And I really do love working with wood. Given the space constraints in my shop, though, I've had to make the tough choice to favor metal work and mechanical work over wood, with most of the wood tools relegated to the closet.

I tried telling my wife that my workshop wasn't big enough, and that we would have to move again. That didn't go so well, so I guess I'll have to make do.

 

[Strouty]

Now I have to buy a bridge puller set, thanks a lot.

Those brute dollies are awesome, it is a shame they don't showcase them with the trash cans. The stores that carry them usually have them on a higher shelf where you can't see them. They are also about the same price as the trash cans.

 

[Modern Jess]

Now I have to buy a bridge puller set, thanks a lot.

I'm sure it will see good use. They are quite handy when you need them.

Those brute dollies are awesome, it is a shame they don't showcase them with the trash cans. The stores that carry them usually have them on a higher shelf where you can't see them. They are also about the same price as the trash cans.

Yeah, still kind of bummed that I didn't manage to find them when I bought the trash can. Still, my screwed-down plant dolly seems to be working well enough.

 

[Strouty]

I'm sure it will see good use. They are quite handy when you need them.

Do you have a brand name, I see so many that look identical, but I like the blue case better than red ones. That is how you are supposed to buy tools, by the color of the case, right?

Yeah, still kind of bummed that I didn't manage to find them when I bought the trash can. Still, my screwed-down plant dolly seems to be working well enough.

We have a local guy that sells used barrels, I have bought 55 gallon drums from him for years. He had another full time job and I would meet him after work. A couple of years ago he retired from the full time job and now does just barrels. I ended up going to where he stores them and found out he has so much more than just barrels. I now buy all kinds of things from him. The point of this story (sorry about dragging it out) is that he sells rubbermaid trashcans with the dollies for $10 each. They are the big square ones and they are awesome. I can pick them up by the handles with my forklift when the barrels are full of scrap steel. They also roll around easily when full of steel or even water (I had a big leak).

 

[Modern Jess]

Time for an update. I'm at the point in the project where I'm doing trim / finish stuff, so I have to actually be careful. So many sins are hidden by finish work, but when you get to the finish work, where are you going to hide those sins?

I've been putting off finishing the back storage loft for a while now. I really didn't want to climb up there and stuff myself into the tiny space so I could mud / sand / tape / paint. I wasn't wrong. When I finally did, it was a giant pain for such a small space. Many times I thought about just starting to pile stuff in there, since I'll never see the wall again, but I resisted that (very strong) temptation. I finally completed that part a week or two ago (sorry, no pictures -- kind of boring) and now it's time for the final detail.

I need to finish the transition between the plywood shelf and the drywall facing. It's just kind of painted over at the moment, there are a few gaps, and in person you can see the transition between them:

This is what I'll be using as trim:

My new band saw made quick work of cutting through the angle aluminum:

And left a nice clean edge:

I did some math to figure out hole spacing, and set up a simple pin jig on the drill press:

This gave me a piece of trim with nice consistent holes:

I then used some big fat SS #12 round head sheet metal screws for a kind of bygone industrial look, and attached the pieces to the loft. Voila!

 

[Strouty]

I like it, very industrial, but still refined.

 

[Modern Jess]

For my next bit of finish work, I'd like to draw your attention to the ceiling. I started work on the ceiling in late 2012, and it's now early 2015. I've been putting off the little details (mainly around the peak) because... well, it was hard. There's fiddly bits to cut around, it's hard to get the tongue-and-groove pieces into the peak, and there was still a gap running right down the center.

Time to stop whining.

I spent a day getting the odd pieces to fit around the obstructions, which involved heavy experimentation with some very extreme angles on my compound miter saw. And yes, I did end up cutting off another piece of the aluminum fence by mistake. Also, a lot of hand cutting with a pull saw, and a fair amount of whittling with a utility knife. Eventually, I got those pieces to fit.

The final detail was a piece of trim to run down the center of the peak and hide the gap. I've been looking around for a suitable piece of trim stock, to no avail.

So I made my own. I've got a table saw. And I've got a bunch of leftover bamboo TnG flooring. What more do I need?

Here's the finished piece of trim. It involved ripping down pieces of flooring into two-inch strips, and then making blind angle cuts into those strips. My table saw was pretty unhappy by the end of the process -- I think I dulled the blade pretty badly. But I made enough of these to finish the ceiling:

Stella, inspecting my work:

And the finished ceiling:

 

[Strouty]

That looks like what I want my floors to look like!

 

[Modern Jess]

That looks like what I want my floors to look like!

Then all you need is a big pile of bamboo flooring.

This stuff came from HD, and it was not cheap, but not expensive either. Somewhere in between, though at this point I can't remember specific prices. I chose it because it was TnG on all four sides, solid bamboo (three layers, actually) and finished / sealed on all six sides.

And bamboo has excellent dimensional stability. All the better.

 

[Strouty]

We were looking at some from (OH NO!) Lumber Liquidators. My GF fell in love with one that has an antiqued style. It is click together, but I will have to glue it rather than float it. I have a room that has a crawlspace below and access is a hatch, so I need the floor to stay on the hatch.

 

[Modern Jess]

I will have to glue it rather than float it. I have a room that has a crawlspace below and access is a hatch, so I need the floor to stay on the hatch.

Is the hatch out in the open, or hidden somewhere? I'm thinking you could probably glue the flooring on the hatch and float the rest.

 

[Strouty]

Is the hatch out in the open, or hidden somewhere? I'm thinking you could probably glue the flooring on the hatch and float the rest.

It is right out in the open. The way they want the floor floated is with an underlayment pad, so I don't know how it would look. I am not afraid to glue it down, the bamboo will be less apt to move anyways. My dad had to glue down oak flooring because he did concrete floor with radian heat, that was a nightmare, more than one contractor left after starting to put flooring down.

 

[Modern Jess]

My dad had to glue down oak flooring because he did concrete floor with radian heat, that was a nightmare, more than one contractor left after starting to put flooring down.

Yikes!

 

[Strouty]

Yikes!

They are holding down very well, but it was not easy. I have installed some tongue and groove pine for ceilings before, but it didn't look nearly as good as the bamboo you installed!

 

[Modern Jess]

I have installed some tongue and groove pine for ceilings before, but it didn't look nearly as good as the bamboo you installed!

Thanks! I'm quite pleased with the way it turned out. I genuinely spent a lot of time before I started, fretting as to whether or not using flooring on the ceiling was a good idea or not. In retrospect, I'm not sure what all the worry was about. It was awesome and there are no downsides, except maybe cost.

 

[1/2 Cup]

Looking fantastic Jess, awesome attention to detail and great outcome.

Regards

 

[Modern Jess]

Looking fantastic Jess, awesome attention to detail and great outcome.

Thanks. Almost there!

 

[Modern Jess]

This showed up recently as well. I am perhaps abnormally excited about it. It even comes in its own specially-built wooden crate.

It just goes on forever...

This should be sufficient for ripping a full sheet of plywood.

 

[Denwood]

Jess, looking forward to your thoughts on the track saw. It's next on my list of tool acqusitions. The ceiling looks really rich and warm.

 

[Rockcam]

Jess:

102" track will be great for breaking down sheet goods. If memory serves, you are a Festool fan as well - what made the DeWalt a better choice for you?