Tooling (Re)Organization

[lilscorpion]

I used to have all my pictures on photo bucket, then they tried to hold them hostage, in the process of trying to negotiate their release about 10,000 were lost. I gave up on my original thread due to dead links and lost pictures, so I understand.

Yeah it *****. I didn’t have confidence in Tapatalk initially and figured I could do it better. Worked great until my provider had their own hosting issue and I didn’t have a sufficient backup. I actually thought I fixed it but clearly there are images I missed. I know I have them but it’s nearly impossible to figure out which ones without the minimal context I have. Guess my documentation wasn’t all that great.

 

[niget2002]

Yeah it *****. I didn’t have confidence in Tapatalk initially and figured I could do it better. Worked great until my provider had their own hosting issue and I didn’t have a sufficient backup. I actually thought I fixed it but clearly there are images I missed. I know I have them but it’s nearly impossible to figure out which ones without the minimal context I have. Guess my documentation wasn’t all that great.

Could you just dump them to an online album and share a link to it? Even without the text, a photo is worth a thousand words.

Sent from my LM-G820 using Tapatalk

 

[lilscorpion]

Could you just dump them to an online album and share a link to it? Even without the text, a photo is worth a thousand words.

Sent from my LM-G820 using Tapatalk

Might be able to. Never occurred to me. That’s a good idea.

 

[HWgeek]

Wow! Great thread, really enjoyed your engineering approach to fitting everything in and keeping it accessible and useable. Thanks for sharing! Off to start organizing my stuff now, lots of great ideas I can incorporate from both of your threads!
my wallet and wife don’t thank you, but I do!

 

[jake28]

@lilscorpion however many months or years after I first found your thread, I’m happy to be able to circle back and thank you for the inspiration and ideas.

 

[lilscorpion]

Wow! Great thread, really enjoyed your engineering approach to fitting everything in and keeping it accessible and useable. Thanks for sharing! Off to start organizing my stuff now, lots of great ideas I can incorporate from both of your threads!
my wallet and wife don’t thank you, but I do!

Thanks for the compliments. Somewhere buried in my original organization thread I shared how I justified this entire process with my wife and oddly enough she became not only an supporter, but also encouraged the evolution. The key is to use your time and experience gained organizing the shop to do things inside the house too and to “take turns” between the two. Can’t help with the wallet part tho.

@lilscorpion however many months or years after I first found your thread, I’m happy to be able to circle back and thank you for the inspiration and ideas.

You’re welcome! Thanks for taking the time to do so.

 

[lilscorpion]

What’s the next organization going on in the shop?

 

[cycle61]

 

[nicholam77]

been waiting for this thread to get updated

 

[loganb]

been waiting for this thread to get updated

I just think he's having way too much fun with the Jeeps on the trails and he shall return when the snow falls

 

[BoilermakerFan]

You still around @lilscorpion?

 

[purplezr2]

You still around @lilscorpion?

Last seen July 18th.....

 

[zmotorsports]

Hopefully Matt is out enjoying his and his son's Jeeps after doing all of that work on them.

 

[kf4zht]

He's been posting some updates on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/matt.3amcook/. Don't blame him, uploading to insta is far easier and quicker than forums and when your busy getting stuff done

 

[86turbodsl]

Instagram ***** IMHO. Hard to tell a story on it unless you can do it with just pictures. the platform was made for people to share selfies.

 

[zmotorsports]

Instagram ***** IMHO. Hard to tell a story on it unless you can do it with just pictures. the platform was made for people to share selfies.

Agreed. I use it a little to display some work and trips but overall I prefer reading forums and blogs. I much prefer to see the thought process and decisions that go into various projects rather than merely pictures. Although pictures are important.

 

[kf4zht]

Instagram ***** IMHO. Hard to tell a story on it unless you can do it with just pictures. the platform was made for people to share selfies.

It ***** for those trying to learn. But it's much easier for those sharing to toss a quick picture up. Would you rather get nothing or half of something?

Kind of like how FB has killed many tech forums but it isnt a replacement with a crappy search and limited ability to write. Its the modern age, people care more about seeing what they could do than doing it.

 

[86turbodsl]

I hear you, but reality is reality. FB is just a crappy place to do that kind of work. And frankly, i'd rather not see something if there's nothing but a picture. At that point it's just noise.

 

[lilscorpion]

Where was I?!?…

oh yeah, I dropped a teaser pic and never came back. I blame the state of things in the world.

7 months ago I dropped this pic as a hint -



what was it? Heard if Westling socket racks? I ended up having plenty of shop time during Covid so I made my own. Disclaimer: Westling’s
are much cheaper. Only build if you want customized spacing and your time isn’t a factor.



some layout and measuring and then a little machine time.



occasionally I’d be a little off so the plate would turn into a “test piece” which to me means I screwed up and the justification of throwing it away was



After I got the hang of it I was able to make them fairly quickly.



it’s gonna take a while.

 

[slodat]

Awesome!

 

[lilscorpion]

It ***** for those trying to learn. But it's much easier for those sharing to toss a quick picture up. Would you rather get nothing or half of something?

Kind of like how FB has killed many tech forums but it isnt a replacement with a crappy search and limited ability to write. Its the modern age, people care more about seeing what they could do than doing it.

I don’t post on FB. I’m actually pondering eradicating my account forever. I only like some of the hobby groups I’ve joined. Some have a wealth of info. The rest I leave.

instagram is where I throw up pics when I want easy. I’ve been pondering however if it really makes sense for fab stuff. It’s like throwing ideas into a black hole.

 

[loganb]

Looking forward to seeing what else you've cooked up in the garage and on the Jeeps(or other new projects) over the last several months!

 

[lilscorpion]

Looking forward to seeing what else you've cooked up in the garage and on the Jeeps(or other new projects) over the last several months!

Lots of projects. My wife had me color change all of the hinges, door knobs, and door/drawer pulls in the house to a satin black. Some were the ****** brass yellow, some were like a brushed steel, and some were nickel. That’s a weekend I’ll never get back. I also did some cooler projects too.

 

[Strouty]

So you post pictures of the kitchen hardware and then say you did cooler projects? Do we have to wait several more months for that update?

 

[86turbodsl]

I'm glad i wasn't the one that said it!!! Haha!

 

[lilscorpion]

So you post pictures of the kitchen hardware and then say you did cooler projects? Do we have to wait several more months for that update?

What, you’re saying that powder coated hardware isn’t enough to get you by until my next update in June?!? Geeze…

 

[lilscorpion]

FIL was in town for Thanksgiving this year and we spent Saturday in the shop. He had two things he needed help with building for his Kabota tractor. He needed me to fabricate some mounts for a back drag system and weld it up. The back drag utilizes a 3-pin connection which he wanted to make out if some 2 1/2 x 3/8 bar stock. I could have used the CNC but instead thought I’d give annular cutters a go in the mill since I’ve never tried it before and I have a need to be able to cut holes faster on a project I have planned for 2022



Cuts a perfect hole like butter.



I did end up using the mill to put nice little radius on the edges of the plates but that was more showing off than necessary.



From there welding was just fixturing and welding it home.



Doug (FIL) had brought out the original pins and had planned on using them for the lower (new) mounts however they lacked heads so I welded the nuts on and turned a shoulder on them so they’d be easier to use that way. Not fancy but functional.



Second project was to fixture and weld up a Chute block for the mower deck. He’s cut the parts out of 3/16” hot rolled plate using a jig saw. I was impressed. All I had to do was drill the mounting holes for the cross plate and weld it up. We also chose to powder coat it to help it keep from rusting.



all in all, the longest part of the process was actually the sand blasting before powder coating. It took me more than an hour to remove all of the scale from the hot rolled plate. After having experienced that, I’ll never use hot rolled again for larger parts. I think it turned out sweet…and proof I don’t only build $hit for Jeeps.

 

[zmotorsports]

Awesome work Matt. I love using annular cutters as they make such clean and perfectly round holes.

The mower deck block off turned out great as well.

 

[tricksel]

What, you’re saying that powder coated hardware isn’t enough to get you by until my next update in June?!? Geeze…

The fact that you, as our dealer of tool organization, don’t want to supply us more often, is quite astonishing.
But, on a slightly more humane level (yes, only slightly), perfectly understandable. But still, you know… Give. Us. The. Stuff.

 

[lilscorpion]

Awesome work Matt. I love using annular cutters as they make such clean and perfectly round holes.

The mower deck block off turned out great as well.

Thanks Mike. You’re right, those annular
cutters are sweet at perfectly round holes. I’m contemplating getting a full set. If memory serves you got one a ways back…did you? What brand?

my father in law was very pleased with the mower deck block off. Way nicer than he was thinking it would be. Don’t think he’s had a chance to get it dirty yet..

The fact that you, as our dealer of tool organization, don’t want to supply us more often, is quite astonishing.
But, on a slightly more humane level (yes, only slightly), perfectly understandable. But still, you know… Give. Us. The. Stuff.

Here’s the reality (or so I’m realizing) - over the years I’ve begun to implement more complicated organizational strategies in my shop. Used to be on a budget w/ pre-laminated wood, glue, and nails. Now they’re much less budget focused - plastics, metal, CNC’d, and powder coated. I’ve noticed that as I’ve drifted away from budget I get less and less feedback. I’ve kinda wondered if maybe it’s because my projects have become less and less relatable to the masses and that’s why.

I don’t need feedback but it does creat the inertia to take pics.

 

[slodat]

I love seeing what you’re up to. I need to come up with some lathe tooling storage and organization.

 

[lilscorpion]

I love seeing what you’re up to. I need to come up with some lathe tooling storage and organization.

With your mills you could easily whip up some tool post posts like I made a few years back…

 

[Cruzan80]

I think several of us are interested. I know some of what you have done on the mill, I would be 3D printing, but same concepts. More for me, it is getting the rest of the junk in the way out.

 

[lilscorpion]

I think several of us are interested. I know some of what you have done on the mill, I would be 3D printing, but same concepts. More for me, it is getting the rest of the junk in the way out.

I don’t see why they couldn’t be 3D printed as long as the weight of the tool isn’t suspended on the printed piece. Mine are CA holders and heavy as piss. Maybe the CXA’s are light enough. I do t have a printer but someone should try. They’d probably much cheaper and less time consuming to print

 

[Strouty]

I understand what you mean about feedback, honestly I think people are just too lazy to post, I try and keep active, almost like a journal (garage "JOURNAL"). I have way more lurkers in my thread than posters, I know I entertain people, in a different way than you do. I imagine it drives people nuts when I buy another suburban when I already have a dozen, or like last week when I bought 20k pounds of racking and it is being stored outside for the winter, that got a few people riled up.

 

[Trapps]

Any chance your older pics are online somewhere? They wouldn't have to in order, labeled or organized in anyway to be very valuable.

Happy to see you posting again.

 

[lilscorpion]

I understand what you mean about feedback, honestly I think people are just too lazy to post, I try and keep active, almost like a journal (garage "JOURNAL"). I have way more lurkers in my thread than posters, I know I entertain people, in a different way than you do. I imagine it drives people nuts when I buy another suburban when I already have a dozen, or like last week when I bought 20k pounds of racking and it is being stored outside for the winter, that got a few people riled up.

Valid points: People are too lazy, there probably are an S-ton of lurkers, and it’s hilarious when you buy another ‘burban. Like seriously dude, how many do you actually need?

 

[lilscorpion]

Any chance your older pics are online somewhere? They wouldn't have to in order, labeled or organized in anyway to be very valuable.

Happy to see you posting again.

Do you want to browse them or are looking for something in particular? I have maybe a 50 albums in my iCloud. I could either find a place to host them or revive targeted pics if you know what you’re looking for.

 

[slodat]

Here’s the reality (or so I’m realizing) - over the years I’ve begun to implement more complicated organizational strategies in my shop. Used to be on a budget w/ pre-laminated wood, glue, and nails. Now they’re much less budget focused - plastics, metal, CNC’d, and powder coated. I’ve noticed that as I’ve drifted away from budget I get less and less feedback. I’ve kinda wondered if maybe it’s because my projects have become less and less relatable to the masses and that’s why.

I don’t need feedback but it does creat the inertia to take pics.

I get where you're coming from. I experience some of the same. When I get feedback, it drives me to take more photos and more elaborate posts. I enjoy seeing what you are up to. Would be so cool to do a shop day at each others shop.

 

[lilscorpion]

I get where you're coming from. I experience some of the same. When I get feedback, it drives me to take more photos and more elaborate posts. I enjoy seeing what you are up to. Would be so cool to do a shop day at each others shop.

Man, I’be actually thought about trying to do that. It would be so cool to see some of the projects I’m person. I’m guessing if I set foot in your shop I’d probably be fine staying on permanently to collaborate. And I mean that.