What did you do today?

[Von]

Added a second stage onto my shop vac based on the plans in this video. Yes, my color coordination leaves much to be desired. The hardest part was the posts wanting to flop around making the whole thing similar to wrestling spaghetti until I got the platform attached. I see now in the video comments others used weather stripping between the couplers and the feet to improve that, which I'll do once I find some as the whole thing is still a little loose. BTW, if you do this: the front feet on my vac are lower than the rear and and I got lucky in that I bought 2 10' pieces, so I had just enough extra to correct course once I noticed that (note the two too short pieces in background).

Results from post-construction clean up were satisfying:

[Jfitz]

I put together a clamp rack for my new shop space.  Floor space is at a premium, so having them scattered all over the floor was a real problem.  This is a small utility/electric room just off my shop so I made use of the wall.

 

 

[Tom King]

Von, I like that a lot.  The main thing I didn't like about most of the others was the extra space they take up.

[Von]

Been very happy with my sanding station and it got a good workout today. I noticed the dust collection was missing quite a bit of dust at the end of the belt.

So I added a splitter to my hose and installed some secondary collection (hard to see but its connected to the same bolt holding in the 90 degree stop). Gets almost all the dust at the left end of the belt, which was the worst. As you can see, I still see a little build up of dust at the right end of the belt, but not nearly as much as was collecting at the left end. Pretty sure I got this idea from one of the reviews I watched for the station.

 

 

[Mark J]

Good idea.  I'm curious about the yellow intake bell and where you got it?  Might be useful at the lathe.

[Von]

On 4/26/2023 at 5:09 PM, Mark J said:

Good idea.  I'm curious about the yellow intake bell and where you got it?  Might be useful at the lathe.

It's part of a Loc-Line kit from Amazon. I think you can also get it separately, but I think it will work best with the other Loc-Line pieces.

[Tom King]

Loving this Bronco Rough Terrain scaffolding more all the time.   I still have part of the ditch open for some heavy wire that hasn't been run yet, but wanted to redo these old windows.  Some of the legs are down in the ditch, and it was a comfortable platform to work off of today.

I have the window stripped, primed, and sliding again, but didn't take a picture after I primed it.

 

[BillyJack]

Got my two new flower boxes made, painted and hung. I'll take the third and rebuild it to match.

 

[Coop]

@BillyJack, are window boxes actually used for planting and if so, are they maintained from the inside, thru the window? They are not something we see here along the Gulf Coast. And if they are used for planting, do they not contribute to rot of the siding due to watering? 

[BillyJack]

Inserts. I remove in fall. I had cedar window boxes in the 90’s that were filled with dirt. They were a hassle. I wanted window boxes on my new house, but didn’t want the hassle. So it was eit(er fake flowers or inserts.There are a few holes drilled in tye middlecof the boxes , so I can water and release the extra. I’ll usually get up on a ladder once a week. During July, twice a week. 

 

 

[Von]

I started my day finishing some sample of cherry for my wife. I put them outside to keep them away form further dust creation, only to later hear thunder when I took off my ear protection. Long story short, Old Master's poly holds up amazingly well in the rain while still drying. Minwax and Carbot fare about as poorly as you'd expect. New samples sanded and finished....

Meanwhile, thanks to this article, I found a way to tighten the PVC couplers on my shop vac cart: cut a bunch of kerfs (I cut 12 instead of the 4 shown) with the bandsaw and then use a hose clamp.

I also attached a power strip, remote control switch, and accessory turn-on to the cart to make it more self-contained. The plywood has the extra benefit of stiffening up the cart nicely. I plan to add two more pieces to stiffen the sides. One will have a holder for the electrical cord.

[BillyJack]

Almost messed up. Adding the 3/4 top with dentil almost made it impossible to get tye inserts in once under the lip of the window. Got lucky..

[BillyJack]

Adding top and dentil to last box from last group. Prime today caulk then paint…I feel I will have a good spring if ai get the fence and the flower boxes done..

 

 

[Tom King]

Finally caught a chance to finish that first window, and set up for another one.  Title I gave the picture of the next setup was "sinceslicedbread".  The windows on that side of the house are much more protected, so this one didn't take much time to strip what needed to be and prime it today.

The rest of the windows in this house will be much easier and faster to redo than these divided light single pane windows in the garage.  A number of the insulated glass lights in the other windows will need to be replaced, but this scaffolding will make pretty easy work of it.  This piece of junk house is going to be in good shape whenever I get finished with it.

I probably won't work on the other windows until next Fall, after the Summer rental season is past.  I redid that first window before we put a window AC in it for this Summer.  I plan to put a mini-split in the garage next Fall, but we already had this AC, so it will do for this season.  After I redid that window for the AC, I figured I had enough time for the other two windows.  The garage is used as a game room.

 

[Mark J]

Signed a contract with a builder for a new house.  It's still in the metro area, but at the fringe.  We expect to break ground next week and complete in December.  So we're definitely moving, now. 

(Bit terrifying, really).

[JohnG]

Let’s hear about the shop space!

[Mark J]

1 hour ago, JohnG said:

Let’s hear about the shop space!

After all, "it's all about the shop, the shop, the shop, no kitchen" .

I'll definitely start a "new shop" thread, but maybe not for a month or two.  I'm sure I could use some advice. 

In quick broad strokes, I'm in the basement, again, but because of the slope of the lot we're going to have look out windows on the east side.  The basement is what they call a deep pour, so taller ceiling, I think about 8 1/2 feet.  Should be about 840 sq ft which is 200 more than the present shop.  It'll have a utility sink.  Presently, the contract calls for stud walls with insulation and drywall, and drywalled ceiling.  

[Coop]

Congrats Mark! When in doubt on the layout, you certainly have several enviable shops on here to guide you. 

[BillyJack]

Taking a break and cooking some catfish and hush puppies… waiting on the  fish to thaw , watching hummingbirds on the back porch feed at the feeder.They don’t run cause I’m in gravy mode today…Even the  Sloths  are telling me to hurry up..

 

[Tom King]

BIL and I built a new firepit with stones too big for two people to move.  He did the directing while I moved them with the tractor loader.  I had set these aside on the point the other week when I was moving rocks from the quarry to the end of the point.  They're bigger than they look in the picture with no other reference than footprints.

 

[curlyoak]

Those stones hurt my back just looking at them...A fire pit is desirable. You might needs a bench sit near the fire...

[Tom King]

They were no strain on anyone's back.  100% of movement and placement was done with the tractor.  That's why the dirt is disturbed around them.  I had to do some turning and sliding with the tractor bucket.

We had a fire pit made from much smaller stones, that could be handled by a person, but we're starting to rent that place, so I was worried the movable stones were not safe enough.

Here's a couple of pictures of the first generation with the smaller stones.  The heaviest stone then probably weighed 75 pounds.  I was worried about some drunk leaning on one, it moving, and someone falling in a fire.  The lightest stone in the new circle probably weighs 300 pounds.  The smaller ones that you see towards the lake are big enough to sit on.

For now, we're getting by with cheap seats.  They have to be light enough to move to cut the grass.  These are really pretty comfortable, and very easy to move and stack.

[Coop]

Those are enviable pics! 

[Tom King]

Here's a picture with a chair next to the new fire pit for size perspective.  Some stones are a little bigger than ideal, but I think it will be a lot safer.

 

[JohnG]

And less likely that the fire pit rocks will get thrown into the lake!