What did you do to your shop today?

Attempted to do some organizing this weeked while do things for both Montes. Dug into the abyss that is the stack of containers full of paint cans & discover certain brands of primers don't have a good shelf life as new/unused cans. Never relized one could have as much black paint in different finishes. Surpised to find out I have 2 quarts of PPG semi-gloss interior paint for the '81 along with a pint each of low & semi-gloss lacquer & a spray can of SXA 1050. Ended up filling half of a 42 gallon bag with bad cans. Found more extra stuff from my stash to take care of a few needed things for Jr. Ended up making more of a mess than cleaning up things.

Since my infamous Bay One is temporarily empty again, I took the opportunity to put a ladder up against the bench and pay a visit to the third shelf. For the followers of my various excursions, that is mostly where duplicate or spare HD parts go/went when I built my work bench. The thinking was that moving them upstairs to a high shelf would leave the bench clear to work on; Uh-Uh, nebba happened. Nothing up there is junk or unuseable, just not being used right now. Amazing how the dust can accumulate. Did actually find the mounting plate that I was looking for and mated that to the bracket that I had scored the day before out at the dealer's OLD shop, so that moves yet another project an inch or two ahead. Additional parts are on the way or been found but no trigger pulled on their acquisition yet. Like most of my projects, this too is a zero budget exercise.

Also took the opportunity to uncover that slab of granite/marble that I picked up from a stair renovation at a local church. The plan for that is to score it using a chisel and hammer and see if I can split it cleanly into two segments. The bigger one is to be the basis for my headstone out at the boneyard once I get off at that final exit from the interstate that is life. Not exactly an upbeat topic but "Have you seen the price of tombstones these days?" 😀



Nick

Been trying to organize the work space and found some things-- I didn't realize I had so many distributors.



I also forgot I had the Gasser headers, and cleaned up those and a pair for an S10 using my employer's equipment since they need a little work before getting used. I'm going to use a stud gun to try pull the crushed tubes back into a position that allows them to flow. Some day.



Harbor Freight is having yet another sale and I decided to buy some more 6 ton jack stands so I can eliminate the remaining wheels and tires supporting the front of the El Camino- it's just plain unsafe. I already removed 4 wheels/tires and a stack of lumber that held up the rear. That junk occupies a lot of space that could be otherwise utilized, and a cluttered workspace = a cluttered mind.

All of this wood


Was stacked atop these wheels and tires to prop up my car.


I now have this instead:


Here's the front. Don't judge, I know it's terribly unsafe and I put it this way when I was in a blackout years ago. See why I needed more jack stands?



The current H.F. sale offers 40% all Chief air tools & accessories so I nabbed a couple 1/4" die grinders for ~ $20 a piece. I also picked up a ball joint service kit at 40% off so I can pop the taller Pro Forged joints into the Speedway arms without borrowing a hydraulic press.

That ball joint service kit also works for removing and installing the rear upper control arm bushings. I stuck the new ones in the freezer for a couple of years before retrieving them and pushing them into place.


Nick

CopperNick said:

That ball joint service kit also works for removing and installing the rear upper control arm bushings. I stuck the new ones in the freezer for a couple of years before retrieving them and pushing them into place.


Nick

Click to expand...

Good to know, thanks!

I guess it counts here...

Finished the demo and cleanup on the small shop at the house, was a 16x20. All that's left is a dirt patch on the ground, a monte ss rear end I didn't move far and just put back, and a roof shaped hole in the hedgerow where the ceiling had blown back into.

It was decently built, had 4" steel framing.

And doubled up plywood decking with steel frame under:


Now it looks like this:



Depending how the insurance values it, something bigger and better is likely to take it's place. Question is, what.

Surplussed Sea Can? Light, portable. come in various lengths, basically a metal shell that you can add any kind of interior framing and insulation that you want. Spray foam the inner walls and rock on. E-Bay is your friend??


Nick

CopperNick said:

Surplussed Sea Can? Light, portable. come in various lengths, basically a metal shell that you can add any kind of interior framing and insulation that you want. Spray foam the inner walls and rock on. E-Bay is your friend??


Nick

Click to expand...

Probably won't happen at this place Nick, although, I've always been amused by the idea of placing two cans separated by about 20 feet in the middle then laying a couple salvaged i-beams across the span to hang chain hoists from and tossing some cheap trusses to cover it all.

Logistics of stuff in the ground (septic, leach, etc) and drainage ditches kind of prevent getting the cans in and it's really not cost effective to have a crane brought out to swing them across.

Odds are split between a stick frame or prefab metal unit.

For those completely disinterested in the fate of that slab of granite, the old school way of hammer and chisel did not work so well. Yeah, it did score the face of the slab, creating a fairly straight groove in the process but that was about all. So on to plan B. I do think at this point that I may have recounted the consequences of plan B elsewhere but summarily, I was able to find two concrete wheels for my 4.5 and proceeded to wail away at that slab until the groove got to be about a 1/2 inch deep. At that point I went back to the hammer and chisel, once I had re-edged the chisel point, and set about smacking on it with a large hammer once more. Only this time.....................................

About a dozen or so blows and the sound of the stone went from solid to muted, and a shot or two later the two parts parted company. So now they are both back on the modified double dolly that I made for the slab from two single furniture dollies and there they will sit until needed.

I still have to write up some instructions for the funeral people to let them know that it exists and where to find it, along with what I want for an inscription but, hey, for that there is winter.




Nick

Got my first big boy tool box. All I had was the dinky thing on the end for years and I've always hated it. Lowes leasing program let me pay a dollar and seven cents for it out the door.

Now I need more tools. 😉