Workshop Therapy

[paulwolf350]

I have been spending a lot of time with job and other projects that my shed and workshop always seems to be a complete mess.This usually sees me frustrated at climbing over stuff and having to make do with substandard equipment

So I have set myself some small projects to make life easier in the workshop. I enjoyed them such that I have named them my "workshop therapy".

Some of them, I liked so much I have decided to document them to show my tool geek friends. Let's hope I can see this "therapy" project right through to a really nice workshop.

 

[Jack Olsen]

Re: Worksop Therapy

Welcome to the Journal.

 

[paulwolf350]

Re: Worksop Therapy

I can never find anything suitable as a pump handle for my bottle jack, the original handle is long gone.
In a fit of desperation I grabbed an old axle that I had cut the flange off long ago and turned the end down in my lathe to fit the jack. As I was doing this, an idea formed that this would make a nice handle that I could keep, so I turned the whole thing and this is the result.

 

[paulwolf350]

Re: Worksop Therapy

Welcome to the Journal.

thankyou, been lurking for a while

 

[paulwolf350]

Tired of the hand piece on my mig that i have trouble buying liners for, I decided to give it a little birthday and fitted a Tweco torch to get it welding properly again.

In celebration I decided to knock up a gantry that I have been planning for a while. it is going to have a sliding track anf pivot at the wall. When this is finished I will be able to weld anywhere in the shop just by swinging the gantry out.
Still a bit more to do on it, although this bit is now ready for paint
(trailer is also a job for another day)

 

[ckadams00]

Welcome! Nice work so far - keep posting. I love the garage thereapy idea, could turn into quite a thread!

 

[paulwolf350]

Been a bit busy with the family this weekend but I did manage to get 1/2 a day today in the workshop

managed to fabricate the hinges and installed onto the gantry

Also decided to make something i saw at work, they had a stand for all their grinding discs, mine live in an icecream container and are usually found on the bench, floor, or someother place they shouldnt. I decided to make a double sided grinding disc stand

still not finished yet, but I couldnt resist giving it a little try

I am hoping to get both of these projects finished and painted next weekend ready for installation

Paul

 

[wrongdrum]

good work Paul, are you going to use the unistrut track and trucks on that gantry?

 

[NASTYZEN]

I like your use of recycled materials. I keep everything that is longer than a foot
, you never know.

 

[paulwolf350]

good work Paul, are you going to use the unistrut track and trucks on that gantry?

Cheers, and welcome to the board.
Gantry is 2.4m and I have 2m of stainless unistrut to go on it.
My welder is 53kg with the wire so I was looking to build my own trolley to fit in the unistrut, but not 100% sure how yet

Paul

 

[paulwolf350]

I like your use of recycled materials. I keep everything that is longer than a foot
, you never know.

Thanks, I tend to use them a lot (maybe I'm cheap, maybe I see the value in junk), either way I keep way too much. But the only thing I bought in the photos is the 1.5x 1.5 tube for the gantry.

I have come across some great ideas on GJ for some improvements to my workshop so will start a garage thread soon

Hopefully this leads to more fabrication projects to document

Paul

 

[machine_punk]

Welcome to non-lurker status! Looks like you have some great ideas to contribute to the forum. Looking forward to seeing more pics of your projects and your garage thread (great title for a garage too...Workshop Therapy).

M_P

 

[paulwolf350]

Well, the next installment is my fix for something that has been bugging me for a while, I know these projects are pretty basic, they are not really meant as instructional. They are however what I am using as learning to use my tools properly.

I have one of the chinese trolleys, this is actually my second one, someone borrowed the first one. It (the first one) was my shop trolley for a few years, lifted and carried many things in excess of its rating with no problems at all.

Anyhow after its loss I bought another one which i thought was exactly the same, but after a couple of uses (nothing real heavy) the spot welds in the wheel started to let go and the wheel collapsed, so it sat beside my workshop for about a year, until I decided to fix it. I have had a plan for a few months so last week I got together the materials to fix it

the trolley in question

the original hub is all pressed metal, and as soon as the bolts work loose is liable to split ( like mine did)

this is how I went about fixing it

80mm T6 round bar

couple of cuts with the parting tool, cut a shoulder, bore it to suit the bearings

Viola, tolley with heavy duty hubs

 

[paulwolf350]

Got a bit more done on my gantry today,

started off with an idea for a swivel,

so i machined this 3 piece one with 12mm rod inside

it is welded together on each end

then built a frame to mount onto my welder in place of the carry handle, welded to the swivel and a piese of plate which will mount the trucks for the unistrut

Hot off the welder

welds cleaned up and a bit of gal paint to hold it until final paint job

Paul

 

[NUTTSGT]

Just going out to the garage can be therapy to me.It's a great way to relax, getting something down makes it even better.

 

[paulwolf350]

More done on the welder gantry this weekend,

got the mounting frame finished

forgot to take construction photos so it is finished and painted



gantry all painted and sliding track installed

its mounted to the shed purlin with 8 purlin bolts, plus braced to the top hat to stop it twisting when I swing it

first of my improvements hanging in the workshop

just need to find the rollers for the track now, had a big cleanup in my house garage, but no dice, might have to buy some.


Now that the first of my major "Therapy" projects has been installed I might have to do a writeup on the revamp of my workshop "Speechoz Skunkworx"

I have bought a new toolbox and have some ideas that I am bout to embark on, might even have a lead on some metal lockers to help cleaup my mess!

Paul

 

[racingtadpole]

Unistrut make roller assemblies that will fit inside the strut, asuuming its P1000 size (41mm) or bigger. Without meaning to sound negative, for what you can buy them for, its not worth making them.
This might give you some ideas
http://unistrut.com.au/index.php?M1=6&M2=20&M3=76

Having said that, I have made them in the past when materials were plentiful and funds not so..

A piece of 12mm plate, drilled and tapped in four places for shoulder bolts (offset the holes so the bolt has full thickness of plate to screw into), machine four rollers to fit over the shoulder bolts (including the head). Liberal coating of something slippery in between the bolts and rollers, screw it all together. A bit agricultural, but it works and the only real cost is the bolts.

Hope thats of some help

 

[paulwolf350]

cheers Taddy,

it is the normal P1000 strut. I had some mega duty rollers that will it this strut somewhere, and the swivel mechanism i built to take these, but they are missing at the moment. I have some unistrut trucks, I might use them in place of my contraption until the rollers can be found

 

[sams]

I am most interested to see how this gantry will work out. I am quite entertained by your trolley hub, it's so completely disproportionally nice compared to the original! I know this model and they usually have 4 bolts that are super soft holding the two halves together.