So I had the the yard guy from my parts yard come a-calling last week 'cause he was in desparate need of a TH350 and guess who just happened to have the only around immediately available? He's got an X-frame Chebbie project going in his garage and the 2-speed powerglide he has for it doesn't fit the frame for some reason????
Only problem for me was that the t-box was entombed in a crate that I had built on a wooden roller chassis as a support bench for the saw deck for my vintage Craftsman miter saw. To get the t-box out meant that I had to more or less disassemble the whole bench down to the 4x4's and then drag the box out.
So, okay, old contents gone, box remaining, light bulb goes on and I go over to the transmission trolley to access the Corporate 400 sitting on it and get a measurement or two; ii's longer byn 3-4 inches, +/-. Can't stretch plywood very easily so.................after work Friday, make a stop at Home Devo and score a 4x8x 3/8ths plywood panel that they cut in half for me; first two cuts are free, the third ya gotta pay.
Monday was warm, sort of, so out came the portable saw horses and the 7.5 Circ saw and the big panels became smaller and more in number. Grabbed a 2x4 stud from the wall and changed it into corner posts and ribs and screwed the whole mess back into a bigger box using #8 deck screws and my drill in screw gun mode. I had already sleezed the 400 out off its trolley and onto the box chassis so just built the new box around it. Back in business by Tuesday at Supper time. Even laid a temporary top on the box at one point to put the miter saw back into temporary service so I could cut some short stud pieces to use as pickup points for the screws that would secure the top panel. It and the actuall saw deck which is inch thick plywood from ?? have been screwed together as one unit and then set in position and more screws added to make the whole thing a monolithic structure. Has handles on the one end to push and pull it around.
Only thing left to do with all this is to disassemble the miter saw and send the pivoting deck out for repair; at some point it cracked around the saw arm mounting screw location and it can be welded from the bottom but it is aluminum and that means TIG so out it goes 'cause TIG is kryptonite when you have a pacemaker in you.
The TH350 and the yard guy?? Well he now owes me a big fat one so instead of cash I gave him a list of rare stuff that I want, any one of which will make us square. Be interesting to see how quick he can come up with any of those items. Nearest place I know for most of them is Desert Valley in Arizona. Hee, hee, hee.
Nick