Do it yourself

June 1st, 2015 at 6:33:00 PM permalink
Face
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 61
Posts: 3941
Quote: Evenbob
I have a big vice and a grinder. They
look nice, I never use them. Band
saw, table saw, belt sander, finish
sander, pro air compressor, spray
painting equipment, 2 circular
saws, Sawzall, on and on. Never
use any of it anymore.


It's almost as if you're purposely trying to tempt me into wheeling and dealing ;)

On the channel lock, totally agree.
Be bold and risk defeat, or be cautious and encourage it.
June 1st, 2015 at 7:05:24 PM permalink
Evenbob
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 146
Posts: 25010
Quote: Face
It's almost as if you're purposely trying to tempt me into wheeling and dealing ;)
.


Oh, I would never give any of it up, I
might need them someday. That's
the whole point of having them.
And I did use them a lot up until
I was about 50. I still have all the
wood working stuff, clamps and
wood vices and collapsible work
bench that's just one big clamp.
If you take a risk, you may lose. If you never take a risk, you will always lose.
June 4th, 2015 at 4:56:46 PM permalink
Evenbob
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 146
Posts: 25010
Spent the whole afternoon sanding down the
rail boards on the deck, staining them, and
putting on 5 coats of brush on lacquer. I
use Deft because it's like glass when I'm
done.

If you take a risk, you may lose. If you never take a risk, you will always lose.
June 4th, 2015 at 5:21:24 PM permalink
terapined
Member since: Aug 6, 2014
Threads: 73
Posts: 11786
Quote: Evenbob
Spent the whole afternoon sanding down the
rail boards on the deck, staining them, and
putting on 5 coats of brush on lacquer. I
use Deft because it's like glass when I'm
done.



Impressive
I pressured washed mine
1 coat of Thompsons water seal
Sometimes we live no particular way but our own - Grateful Dead "Eyes of the World"
June 4th, 2015 at 5:25:55 PM permalink
Face
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 61
Posts: 3941
Quote: Evenbob
Spent the whole afternoon sanding down the
rail boards on the deck, staining them, and
putting on 5 coats of brush on lacquer. I
use Deft because it's like glass when I'm
done.


I'm more interested in how you win the mental battle than what you use. Sanding is just the pits. I have a hundred things that need sanding and painting and I just can't bring myself to get them done. I spent two days pulling a tree out of the ground because it was more palatable than sanding lol
Be bold and risk defeat, or be cautious and encourage it.
June 4th, 2015 at 5:32:51 PM permalink
AZDuffman
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 135
Posts: 18136
Quote: terapined

Impressive
I pressured washed mine
1 coat of Thompsons water seal


I need to pressure wash mine, but no Thompsons. It is basically wax.
The President is a fink.
June 7th, 2015 at 12:52:08 AM permalink
Evenbob
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 146
Posts: 25010
Quote: Face
I'm more interested in how you win the mental battle than what you use. Sanding is just the pits.


I did so much furniture sanding, I don't
think about it. 100 grit is my all around
paper, then 150 if it's furniture. Sanding
makes all the difference. I always use
a rag for stain, and a rubber glove. You
don't want that stuff on your bare hands.
At a dollar store grab a handful of pairs,
the kitchen type. They always come in
handy. Don't be afraid to brush on shellac
or lacquer, it dries real fast. By the 4th and
5th coat the brush strokes disappear.
If you take a risk, you may lose. If you never take a risk, you will always lose.
July 7th, 2015 at 2:44:14 PM permalink
Face
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 61
Posts: 3941
Someone wants a bottle tree, and I'm just the man for the job.

A bottle tree is kind of hokey, but easy enough to make. You know what a bottle tree is. It's just a tree shaped frame you plop bottles onto, letting all passersby know that you're down to party.



For this, you'll need little more than a bit of plate steel and a mess of rebar. I got about 3 sections of 6', plus a bit of scrap laying around the garage. I think I may need more, but this is a good start.

First step is the base. I dunno if my customer is going to want to set it on a porch or actually plant the thing, so I'm making a base that can do both. So I got out the cutting wheel and cut four pieces each of 9" rebar and 9" plate. These will be the legs and feet. I figure they're wide and flat enough to rest on a deck or concrete pad, or they'll serve as good anchors if they're buried and planted. Win-win. Simple enough to do, just overlap them enough to run a good bead, clamp them together, and burn them in place.





I can feel AZD cringing from PA, so for the uninitiated, I'll confirm that nylon shorts and sleeveless tees is NOT the proper attire for welding. But here in the Good Enough Garage, we do what we do. I got a sheet down to catch the slag. When a drop of molten metal falls off and hits the cold concrete, it rolls and skips all over the damn place. Got a nice burn scar on my thigh from welding on the floor in nylon shorts, so now I use a sheet. Pain is a wonderful teacher ;) But sheet or no, it's not smart. Flux splatters, and when it hits skin it's like melted plastic. It's just on ya, and it ain't coming off til it cools. The radiation is pretty intense, too. I won't say I'm burned to a crisp, but even having a good base tan, I feel as if I was on the boat from 1000 to 1600. I'm a little toasty. So don't do this. But if you do, weld is so hot that it'll burn so bad the nerves will die, so it only hurts for about a second and then you're fine =p

Anyways, a bunch of cutting and burning later and you'll have your feet. Pretty simple both in thought and action, it just takes a while to cut, grind smooth, and run a good bead. I think it was about 2hrs to get to this point.





Not a bad bead for a self-taught hack =)

Now to connect them. I cut a 3" x 3" piece of plate that will serve to connect all the feet together, and drilled a hole in the middle of it to accept the "trunk". At that time, cutting sent something into my eye and I had to take a break. Nothing major (so far), but I could tell an interesting story of my last eye and metal issue, if anyone wants to be creeped out =p After I addressed my eye, I got back to finishing the base. Simple enough, just set it on the flat floor, arrange the legs just so, and burn it all together.



Now, to get the trunk on there good, I didn't want to just set the rebar on top and hope the weld held. So I drilled a hole just a tick smaller than the rebar, then beveled the end so it would pass entirely through, like so.



Test fitting showed the rebar passed all the way through and stuck out maybe 2mm on the other side, and that was perfect. I could get good penetration, and then just grind it smooth so it doesn't wobble. So, frame up on blocks so the rebar could sit tight, I burned the trunk onto the base.







Good enough bead up top, and plenty of space on the underside to make those two pieces become one. Once I filled in the bottom, 2 minutes of the grinding wheel had it back to dead smooth. All finished.



Now the only question is what kind of tree to make. Pine shaped? Open trunk with a "bush" on top? Shrub shaped? I dunno. I'm gonna let the idea marinate and see where it takes me.
Be bold and risk defeat, or be cautious and encourage it.
July 8th, 2015 at 3:59:25 AM permalink
Fleastiff
Member since: Oct 27, 2012
Threads: 62
Posts: 7831
Cheap plastic bottles are a great way to provide support for an earthen ceiling as well as transmissible light to your subterranean greenhouse
July 8th, 2015 at 1:36:10 PM permalink
Ayecarumba
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 89
Posts: 1744
Quote: Face
...Now the only question is what kind of tree to make. Pine shaped? Open trunk with a "bush" on top? Shrub shaped? I dunno. I'm gonna let the idea marinate and see where it takes me.


Here's an idea:

image from acartoonchristmas.com

You could wire it so that the red ball on the end lights up.