Building a work shop

[GearNut]

Spent coffee grounds liberally applied around the pilings of your foundation will keep the ants out too.
Don't worry 'bout the leaves turning. That's what heaters are for. Speaking of that, didn't you make a beer can-tube heater for that doghouse?

 

[Dan]

Gonna try the coffee grounds thing. Thanks GNut.

Just found this, http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Build-a-Soda-Can-Heater/?ALLSTEPS Purty cool.

 

[GearNut]

There are alot of DIY utube vids on the can heaters too. Some of them are quite impressive with their heat output.

 

[Dan]

Really like the funky, junk yard built, utility look of em.

Got me thinking of doing a semi-circular one so as to be at near peak performance throughout the day.

 

[GearNut]

With a solar powered fan you'll have plenty of free heat so long as there is sunlight. Even works on a cloudy day. I wonder if it would work with that underground heat/ cool storage you were thunking about a while ago.

 

[tooljunkie]

i fiddled a bit with the can thing,in direct sunlight the temp rise from bottom of can to top was 14 degrees.too much work for the trouble.

i made two stacks of 12 cans,one painted olive drab,other flat black,i dont think paint made any difference.
i saw one made in something the size of a coke machine,with a curved front,and was insulated and sealed,it worked well.

have a set of horizontal blinds,goint to paint one side a dark color and in winter the sun will hit them and radiate enough to make a little increase.

i made a fire in the shop,one block split into four,was enough to take the chill out in the morning.its near freezing here every night.

 

[2door]

Slow night on the forum. Not much to read so I went back to the first page of this thread and started reading. Laughed so much I started coughing and couldn't stop. Char asked if she should call 9-11. Finally got a hold of myself and settled down.
Some great stuff here. Funny thread and all thanks to Dan.

Tom

 

[Dan]

Went to post an up date to this and ended up on the bat poop section. LOL Tom! your right. 2 dang funny.

Been lurking on a couple of forums elsewhere to work on the machinist stuff and mechanical clutch. Was kinda shocked. Goofing around and just BS'n would not be allowed.

Really kinda bothered me. Even with a focal point, ain't the point to enjoy and share it with others? Maybe I just have not seen enough but think I will just stay here and annoy you all. lol


Sorry. End rant.

Got some great work done today. Built most of the shelf for the mill/lathe. Not sure if it is over or under built but will easily hold the 400 LBS. The building has settled unevenly and tips just barely. (lol, half a bubble off plumb like the builder) but built the shelf so as to be dead on. Trust me on this. Never go to machinist school. Makes you anal about level and plumb. Before school, I was happy with "close" Now 1/1000 off and I am all upset.

 

[Greg58]

Hey Dan I grew up carrying lumber for my dad, we framed and dried in houses and apartments. One of his favorite saying when something wasn't quite level or square was "the heck with it that's close enough we're framers, making it look good is the finishers job ".

 

[Dan]

LOL Greg, I had to cut the doors at angles, none of which were 90* because, well the door ways wer'nt either.

Really is my first project with wood but man is it easy to hide the "ut'ohs"

What continues to surprise me is how warped and oddly cut store bought wood is.

 

[Dan]

I wish I could post pictures of the shelf. Would make you laugh. Looks like a 1943 tank factory in Leningrad.

 

[tooljunkie]

Dan,you gotta read in the machinist forums before you join.homeshopmachinist is one i recall,step outta line and you get the boot.
i joined practical machinist forum,very knowledgeable peoples there,as i own a southbend lathe so i found a place to fit in and learn.
managed some pretty fine threadin a few weeks back.didnt think it would work,but to my suprise it did.

with building,try adding on to an old shed,i didint figure it was that crooked til i stood up a square framed wall.1-1/2 gap at top of wall.
wouldnt know it today.hid it pretty well.

two kinds of lumber-bananna wood and propeller wood.neither one is easy to fix.
glad you getting your shed /shop moving along.
careful plunking the machine on the bench,one poorly placed finger can take forever to grow back.

 

[Dan]

Threading is kinda fun. Can't do it on my lathe. I will have to upgrade some day.

The machining forums are great just so, so exact. Really amazing though. The internet thing. Can build, learn or watch any thing. We live in a great time.

 

[Dan]

Time to hardwire the shop. Still running an extension cord. Works fine but moving the mill/lathe in, in 2 days and doubt it could work.

3 yrs and $20,000. And I still have not made the $2 bushing. Now I need a work table for the mill. Never seems to end.
hehe, I should get help but is a fun ride.

 

[Greg58]

Dan are you running out of your house with power or adding a meter for it? I run mine from the house, I didn't want two bills. When I built our house I put in a piece of PVC conduit in the bottom of the panel down under the house and put plugs on both ends, when the inspector saw it he said "good idea". I have the power to my shop and den ran through it now. When I rewire my first house I live in I pulled two circuits each in the attic and crawl space and put them in a box for future use, its a lot easier before sheet rock is hung.

 

[fasteddy]

Dan,

That's like my friend who went to buy a shovel to dig a trench, drove passed the heavy equipment dealer and is so busy with his new excavating business that he still hasn't dug his trench.

And then there is the old guy who started building motor bikes and now has a garage full of tools, two welders and two tool boxes full of tools that he never uses. He does visit them a couple of times a week though as well as the half built bike.

Steve.

 

[Greg58]

Steve I didn't know you've been watching me! Its funny how we all live all over North America and all sound so alike.

 

[Dan]

From the house, Greg.

We have outlets out side the house. Always a bad idea but "just for now" hire a professional electrician to update the outlet and use an extension cord rated for a run that long? Is 200 feet.

My mentor in life was Capt. Foss. Great guy and one of his things or as Carol and I refer to as, "Fossisums", one was;

"There is nothing so permanent as that which is done "just for today""

 

[Dan]

Dan,

That's like my friend who went to buy a shovel to dig a trench, drove passed the heavy equipment dealer and is so busy with his new excavating business that he still hasn't dug his trench.

And then there is the old guy who started building motor bikes and now has a garage full of tools, two welders and two tool boxes full of tools that he never uses. He does visit them a couple of times a week though as well as the half built bike.

Steve.

LOL, Steve. That could be me, but I have 4 bikes and several halfs. (kinda lost count)

 

[Greg58]

Dang Dan 200 feet on a cord is pushing it if anything uses more than 10 maybe 12 amps, loss will be a problem. I don't have a ugly's guide here but you can Google amperage loss.