arse_sidewards
Red Skull Member
- Joined
- May 19, 2020
- Member Number
- 71
- Messages
- 8,568
The folding steps idea is genius. I need to copy that on all sorts of shit.
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Personal Workshop | In Town on a Quarter Acre
- Thread starter PAToyota
- Start date
PAToyota
Red Skull Member
I scored and upgraded my parts washer. I’ve been using one of the standard basin ones with a lid like this:
It always did the job, but I’ve spent a lot of time standing there scrubbing at things and wishing there was a better way. Well, actually, I knew there was a better way from some of the shops I’ve worked in, but they’ve always been priced well above my pay grade.
So I happened to see this on that guy’s list:
It’s a CUDA 2530 front load automatic parts washer. If you want more details, this is the brochure: http://www.wet-inc.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Cuda_FrontLoad.pdf
This one presented itself at a price that I just couldn’t refuse - practically pennies on the dollar sort of price.
I spent a weekend playing a combination of the missing tile game and tetris, but managed to get the parts washer into the workshop.
One issue is that the casters on it are fixed - so it will only move forward and back. With how I have it set up, I need to move it side to side to pull it out from behind the blasting cabinet when it is in use (or when I need to load something into the blasting cabinet). The tray on the left side folds down and I can use that separately for light cleaning without moving anything.
Then I just have to clean it all up, replace some seals, and go over it to check everything else out before filling it up.
I also have to find a new home for the 40’ extension ladder that is currently behind it and also finish insulating the ceiling and put up the metal panels like I did over the pallet rack.
It always did the job, but I’ve spent a lot of time standing there scrubbing at things and wishing there was a better way. Well, actually, I knew there was a better way from some of the shops I’ve worked in, but they’ve always been priced well above my pay grade.
So I happened to see this on that guy’s list:
It’s a CUDA 2530 front load automatic parts washer. If you want more details, this is the brochure: http://www.wet-inc.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Cuda_FrontLoad.pdf
This one presented itself at a price that I just couldn’t refuse - practically pennies on the dollar sort of price.
I spent a weekend playing a combination of the missing tile game and tetris, but managed to get the parts washer into the workshop.
One issue is that the casters on it are fixed - so it will only move forward and back. With how I have it set up, I need to move it side to side to pull it out from behind the blasting cabinet when it is in use (or when I need to load something into the blasting cabinet). The tray on the left side folds down and I can use that separately for light cleaning without moving anything.
Then I just have to clean it all up, replace some seals, and go over it to check everything else out before filling it up.
I also have to find a new home for the 40’ extension ladder that is currently behind it and also finish insulating the ceiling and put up the metal panels like I did over the pallet rack.
Firstram
Well-known member
Jelly
PAToyota
Red Skull Member
I spent an afternoon organizing the hardware store. For all the time and money spent running out for a few of these and a few of those, I think this will really save me money (and time) in the long run. This is about half of it.
I picked it up at auction - mom & pop hardware store going out of business. I got a good deal because most people were likely thinking of the effort to get it home and where to set it up. It was two fullsize pickup loads and the cases are a bit on the flimsy side - ok for sitting there loaded up, but not something that you can pick up a full case and carry it around. So I had to pull out all the boxes and trays, stack them up, and carry them out separate from the case.
The store obviously wasn’t taking care of hardware for awhile. Some of the bins were empty, others had miscellaneous crap in them, but for the most part I have at least a small stock of things. I know another local store that carries Midwest Fasteners stock and I know the owner pretty well so I've been getting some different assortments from them. I've also been perusing the clearance items in Fastenal's stock and filling up where my stock is thin. For other items, we have a local discount fastener distributor with pretty good prices.
I picked it up at auction - mom & pop hardware store going out of business. I got a good deal because most people were likely thinking of the effort to get it home and where to set it up. It was two fullsize pickup loads and the cases are a bit on the flimsy side - ok for sitting there loaded up, but not something that you can pick up a full case and carry it around. So I had to pull out all the boxes and trays, stack them up, and carry them out separate from the case.
The store obviously wasn’t taking care of hardware for awhile. Some of the bins were empty, others had miscellaneous crap in them, but for the most part I have at least a small stock of things. I know another local store that carries Midwest Fasteners stock and I know the owner pretty well so I've been getting some different assortments from them. I've also been perusing the clearance items in Fastenal's stock and filling up where my stock is thin. For other items, we have a local discount fastener distributor with pretty good prices.
PAToyota
Red Skull Member
We put some cabinets up in the woodshop to continue the work on getting things organized. A guy had bought dozens of these at a government auction and then was selling the excess. I like how the doors slide into the cabinet so they aren’t sticking out to hit your head on when they’re open. They also have fluorescent lights under them to add some more task lighting to the workbench. I have some similar ones downstairs as well.
Now I just have to get the stuff INTO them and organized so that I have more room to work.
Now I just have to get the stuff INTO them and organized so that I have more room to work.
PAToyota
Red Skull Member
Lately there have been house and yard projects as well as all the other things of daily life that have been keeping us busy as well, but I've been getting the downstairs workshop ceiling in place. I really wish I had done that BEFORE I filled things up with equipment, supplies, and other things…
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PAToyota
Red Skull Member
Similar to the wall cabinets, I picked up a set of metal barrister bookcases at a surplus auction and got them set up in the woodshop. Nice to be able to close the doors and keep the sawdust off of everything inside. Bottom shelf is my collection of Fine Woodworking magazines - #1 to #140.
PAToyota
Red Skull Member
Putting in the pallet racking, I had to jury-rig the compressor piping from the compressor to the air dryer and then out to the shop. A bit of work got that all straightened out.
PAToyota
Red Skull Member
Globe Wernicke patented the barrister bookcase (which they called the elastic bookcase). During WWII, about 90% of their production was converted to military equipment. These metal bookcases are (were?) pretty common in government offices - along with those battleship grey desks, other shelves, file cabinets, and such. My father worked at the local Navy depot and I remember them from visiting him at work. The wood ones are great for the house, but the metal ones seemed more appropriate out in the shop. As I said, the glass doors do a great job of keeping the dust out of them while letting you see the contents.
Unfortunately, the hipsters have discovered them too and are cleaning them up and powdercoating them, so you're starting to get the "I know what I have" type of prices.
Unfortunately, the hipsters have discovered them too and are cleaning them up and powdercoating them, so you're starting to get the "I know what I have" type of prices.
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PAToyota
Red Skull Member
Lately I'd been having some issues with the fluorescent lights I installed over twenty years ago. Not only were bulbs burning out, but the ballasts were starting to go as well. At the time they were installed, the F96T12HO fixtures with 110W Cool White 6500K T12 bulbs were a pretty decent deal - providing bright light and not affected by winter temperatures in an unheated garage. Since then T8s and T5s have replaced a lot of the T12 applications and LED lighting is becoming cost effective.
I looked at a number of options. There are quite a few options if I wanted to replace the whole fixture - ranging from about $40 (in most cases, the cost of two 4' fixtures to replace one 8' fixture) to $120 or more. To me, it seemed like a lot of extra work including possible rewiring to accommodate a new configuration. With that in mind, I looked at options to use the existing fixtures. New "plug-n-play" LED bulbs would require ballasts to be replaced, so the cost was about $37 for bulbs and ballast per fixture. New T12 bulbs and ballasts would be about $32-$35 per fixture. And "ballast bypass" LED bulbs was about right in the middle at $35. So there wasn't a clear cost savings with any of the options.
In the end, I decided to go with the ballast bypass option in a 90W Cool White 6500K LED bulb. Even non-PCB ballasts need to be properly disposed of, so there would be an eventual cost to dispose of the replacements and I figured it was better to not need them. I ended up spending a bit more because I added a circuit breaker to each fixture as the bulbs were using much less than the ballasts and concerns were raised about the tombstones not being able to handle the full 15A 120V line voltage if something went wrong.
Having a metal ceiling helped when you can't have the ceiling lights on because you're working on the ceiling lights. A couple HF Braun magnetic work lights worked nicely for the task. 😉
Here you can see the circuit breaker wired into the incoming line.
And with everything back in place you can see how much more yellow the fluorescent fixture to the left is compared to the new LED on the right despite both being 6500K. I will admit that after twenty years, the fluorescents obviously aren't as bright as they once were.
A lot of reviews were saying how these were so much brighter than the fluorescents that people were only putting one LED bulb in a fixture to replace two bulb fluorescents. Despite it being brighter, it is not so bright that I'd consider removing a bulb.
Then I just had to go through and do all the other fixtures.
I looked at a number of options. There are quite a few options if I wanted to replace the whole fixture - ranging from about $40 (in most cases, the cost of two 4' fixtures to replace one 8' fixture) to $120 or more. To me, it seemed like a lot of extra work including possible rewiring to accommodate a new configuration. With that in mind, I looked at options to use the existing fixtures. New "plug-n-play" LED bulbs would require ballasts to be replaced, so the cost was about $37 for bulbs and ballast per fixture. New T12 bulbs and ballasts would be about $32-$35 per fixture. And "ballast bypass" LED bulbs was about right in the middle at $35. So there wasn't a clear cost savings with any of the options.
In the end, I decided to go with the ballast bypass option in a 90W Cool White 6500K LED bulb. Even non-PCB ballasts need to be properly disposed of, so there would be an eventual cost to dispose of the replacements and I figured it was better to not need them. I ended up spending a bit more because I added a circuit breaker to each fixture as the bulbs were using much less than the ballasts and concerns were raised about the tombstones not being able to handle the full 15A 120V line voltage if something went wrong.
Having a metal ceiling helped when you can't have the ceiling lights on because you're working on the ceiling lights. A couple HF Braun magnetic work lights worked nicely for the task. 😉
Here you can see the circuit breaker wired into the incoming line.
And with everything back in place you can see how much more yellow the fluorescent fixture to the left is compared to the new LED on the right despite both being 6500K. I will admit that after twenty years, the fluorescents obviously aren't as bright as they once were.
A lot of reviews were saying how these were so much brighter than the fluorescents that people were only putting one LED bulb in a fixture to replace two bulb fluorescents. Despite it being brighter, it is not so bright that I'd consider removing a bulb.
Then I just had to go through and do all the other fixtures.
PAToyota
Red Skull Member
Half the battle is having places to put things so that they don't end up on the floor, the workbench, or every other available horizontal surface...
This old metal kitchen cabinet showed up at the curb one morning as I was driving to work on trash day and quickly found itself in the back of my truck.
First order of business was cleaning fifty-plus years of grease and grime off of it.
A little degreaser, scrubbing, and the garden hose had that taken care of quickly.
Then some light sanding to take care of some rust spots and peeling finish.
A coat of primer for the case and shelves. The doors weren't in too bad of shape, so I decided to leave the enameled finish there.
After the primer, I coated it with Rustoleum Hammered spray paint and got it mounted above the entrance door to the shop.
I added a light under it as it blocked the ceiling light and created a dark area right at the door. I have three of these ceiling lights so I can have just enough light to see to get around without turning on the main LED lights.
It didn't take long to get it all filled up, but at least I can close it up and get things out of sight.
This old metal kitchen cabinet showed up at the curb one morning as I was driving to work on trash day and quickly found itself in the back of my truck.
First order of business was cleaning fifty-plus years of grease and grime off of it.
A little degreaser, scrubbing, and the garden hose had that taken care of quickly.
Then some light sanding to take care of some rust spots and peeling finish.
A coat of primer for the case and shelves. The doors weren't in too bad of shape, so I decided to leave the enameled finish there.
After the primer, I coated it with Rustoleum Hammered spray paint and got it mounted above the entrance door to the shop.
I added a light under it as it blocked the ceiling light and created a dark area right at the door. I have three of these ceiling lights so I can have just enough light to see to get around without turning on the main LED lights.
It didn't take long to get it all filled up, but at least I can close it up and get things out of sight.
The Freeak
Pro-Crastinator
Sub -scribed!
PAToyota
Red Skull Member
We had painted the siding and trim, but we still had to finish painting the actual window sashes and screens. The windows are aluminum clad, so I've found that Rustoleum works well for color changes. We masked off the glass and just sprayed the cladding. We used the same on the frames of the screens so that they blend in with the window sashes. For the screens we just used a piece of cardboard as a mask as it didn't matter as much if a bit got on the edges of the screen fabric. The Lovely Lady helped with the project.
westracing01
TBD
- Joined
- Jun 3, 2020
- Member Number
- 1800
- Messages
- 195
Nice work!
I'm just glad I'm not the only asshole on here who put (actually putting, slab is currently curing) a garage on a small lot in town.
I'm just glad I'm not the only asshole on here who put (actually putting, slab is currently curing) a garage on a small lot in town.
PAToyota
Red Skull Member
Man, it's been awhile here... Last fall was spent working on getting my CDL along with the usual household and career stuff. Then the year ended with the lovely lady deciding that there were greener pastures elsewhere... That took the wind out of my sails... 
But the new year brought a new tool purchase, so I've been working on putting together a stand for it:
But the new year brought a new tool purchase, so I've been working on putting together a stand for it:
- Took a truck brake drum and welded a VW rotor to it. Then turned down a second VW rotor for the lug holes to line up.
- Welded an upright to the second VW rotor and bolted the two rotors together.
- Turned a fitting that would fit in the upright and welded it to the tube clamp.
- Painted the drum and rotor and powdercoated the rotor and upright. Drilled through the upright and fitting so that a hitch pin would lock things in place.
- Provides a nice solid base for a Tinman's Garage Planishing Hammer.
- I put a disconnect on the airline at the hammer so that I could easily swap things out.
- And, finally, a closeup on the tube clamp assembly.
Johann
Red Skull Member
Looks like a neat planisher. Is the round "frame" tube or bar stock? Any thickness rating on the material it can planish?
PAToyota
Red Skull Member
The hoops are tube. You're probably not going to have much effect on more than 16ga sheet - more than that and you're going to want a power hammer.
AKnate
Icehole
- Joined
- Mar 5, 2022
- Member Number
- 4908
- Messages
- 1,270
Interesting that you were able to get someone to make drawings.
I'm looking at expanding a 16x20 shed and a 24x26 garage. I've called easily 25-30 contractors. I've gotten 2 to actually answer or call back and neither could help, they'd only build from scratch.
Garage I want to add a 2nd bay, around 14 tall, 18x38, so a pretty decent project.
I'm looking at expanding a 16x20 shed and a 24x26 garage. I've called easily 25-30 contractors. I've gotten 2 to actually answer or call back and neither could help, they'd only build from scratch.
Garage I want to add a 2nd bay, around 14 tall, 18x38, so a pretty decent project.
CarterKraft
Red Skull Member
Awesome 
AdrianD
Well-known member
- Joined
- May 26, 2021
- Member Number
- 3967
- Messages
- 114
I spent an afternoon organizing the hardware store. For all the time and money spent running out for a few of these and a few of those, I think this will really save me money (and time) in the long run. This is about half of it.
I picked it up at auction - mom & pop hardware store going out of business. I got a good deal because most people were likely thinking of the effort to get it home and where to set it up. It was two fullsize pickup loads and the cases are a bit on the flimsy side - ok for sitting there loaded up, but not something that you can pick up a full case and carry it around. So I had to pull out all the boxes and trays, stack them up, and carry them out separate from the case.
The store obviously wasn’t taking care of hardware for awhile. Some of the bins were empty, others had miscellaneous crap in them, but for the most part I have at least a small stock of things. I know another local store that carries Midwest Fasteners stock and I know the owner pretty well so I've been getting some different assortments from them. I've also been perusing the clearance items in Fastenal's stock and filling up where my stock is thin. For other items, we have a local discount fastener distributor with pretty good prices.
This is a huge time saver. Every time I go out to buy bolts I buy way more than I need so that I'm always stocked up.
Dad used to hold on to any extra nuts, bolts, tools or pieces of metal (communism is a bitch, you couldn't just go out and buy stuff) so I grew up knowing my hardware store is in the garage more or less.