Projects from THE COMPOUND!

[izzo]

Well that turned out pretty damn nice so far. I want a vise! Have been meaning to get one and make a stand.

[510freak]

Sure did, I expect nothing less when it comes out of the compound,Props Jess

[DRIVEN]

Thanks, guys.



Friday is Cornwell day at work. I was telling him about the pile-o-tools from a couple weeks ago and he asked if he could see the old Cornwell pieces. After looking at the long handle, thin profile, open end set and the offset open end set (both sets on the left side of photo), he said they were from the late '20s or '30s. A couple other tools he dated to the '30s and early '40s. I asked him what the thin set was for and he told me they were for adjusting tappets on flatheads. Pretty cool. Older than I thought.

[DRIVEN]

Did some more work on the anvil stand. Welded on a receptacle (pipe) for a handle along with a receiver for a vice pedestal. The jam bolt is to keep the pedestal from wiggling around.

Vice pedestal with a coat of silver Hammerite.

Cut a section of old mudflap to attach to the bottom using some leftover roofing tar.


Added an axle to the back and gave it a couple coats of paint.


Painted the anvil with the last of a can of paint that might be older than me. Then dressed the striking surfaces before treating them with Froglube to deter rust. Note the preheating on the radiator style heater -- Turns the Froglube from solid to liquid. Cool stuff.

Added the wheels and set the anvil on the base. The wheels just barely touch the floor and add some stability.

A view with the vice in place...

Showing the height leaving room to swivel 360 degrees...

[yello620]

Nice work, I like the vise attachment and the wheels for mobility. I am betting that it will have a vise mounted in it about 95% of the time though.

I need to make myself something like this to get my vise in a better location.

[DRIVEN]

You're probably right about the 95%. I spent a couple hours grinding brackets yesterday and I have to say, it was really nice having it out in the middle of the floor where I could move all around it and direct the sparks where I wanted them to go. Couldn't do that where it was mounted to my workbench. My eventual plan is to build a toolbox/workbench similar to some of the builds here: http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/show ... p?t=126086 . I'll add a receiver for the vise stand to it also.

[DRIVEN]

Picked up a nice little torch set. Old Victor set with full tanks and rebuilt regulators. Same previous owner as the sand blaster.



Hunnadollabill.

[izzo]

Dude!

Thats a steal. Jelly of your score.

[DRIVEN]

Couldn't pass it up. Not something I use often but nice to have around. I actually have my dad's setup here which has larger tanks and a super burly cart along with his old Victor set. He should be in town for Thanksgiving so we'll talk about whether he wants to take his set to Idaho or just take this smaller rig. Honestly, I'd rather keep this little guy.

[DRIVEN]

My dad bought me a HF solvent tank probably 10 or 12 years ago along with a couple gallons of that water based solvent that they recommend for it. I used it a couple times and came to the conclusion that water based solvent sucks. It sat there for a couple years, unused, until I finally drained it. Then it sat for many more years. I finally bought 15 gallons of REAL solvent and set it up. 'Bout time. While I was at it I moved some of the equipment around. The drill press, belt sander, grinder and anvil/vise now live by the rollup door. The solvent tank got moved to the front of the bay next to the oil tank.




Aaaaand, we are getting ready for a "voluntary" OSHA inspection at work. That means I got free shit. So far, a gallon of carb dip and a SnapOn light that needed the ends of the chord taped up.

[draker]

Oh fuck yes... free shit!

[DRIVEN]

I totally forgot to mention...

Drum roll please...


































I got the waste oil heater fired up! Heat, muddavuggahs!

[510freak]

Sweet Jess
How well does it heat?

[DRIVEN]

Well, there's a learning curve. It took took a couple hours to to get the oil supply system bled. Then I found the fan stayed on all the time which I discovered was from a hidden (not really hidden, just not obvious) switch that had gotten bumped during installation. Once I got that figured out it was trying to burn out the residue from the firebox. The result there was small explosions and some smoke. But it ran and made pretty good heat. I ran it for about 10 minutes on Monday night then shut it down so I could roll the doors open and air it out. Last night I went out and found that it didn't want to stay fired. Not sure what the deal is. There's a check valve in the oil pickup inside the tank that's supposed to keep the oil from running back when the pump isn't running. I'm wondering if that might be the problem. Maybe I'll play with it this weekend -- maybe not. I have a bunch of house related shit I need to handle.

[Laecaon]

If you need oil donations...

[DRIVEN]

Not quite ready for that yet. I want to get this thing in reliable shape first. I'll let you know.

[izzo]

Alqways wanted a parts cleaner. Guessing that one works pretty good with the correct solvent eh?

[DRIVEN]

So far, so good. Tanks are cheap but the solvent isn't. It's on sale right now for $90. Solvent cost about $175. Keep an eye on CL and they pop up frequently. Like I said, mine was a gift but if I were shopping for my own I'd get the style that sits on a drum. Those have a shallowish sump that allows you to fill the bottom of the drum with water. That acts as a filler so you don't need so much solvent. Plus, the grease/dirt settle out of the solvent into the water and lets the solvent stay cleaner for longer.

[DRIVEN]

Posted this pic in Insomniacs last week. Been collecting these Explorer rearends for the swap meet in April. May try to sell them on CL earlier just so I don't have to move them anymore. All the rotors and rear covers are at work for my buddy to clean up.



Spent a few hours today stripping down the rearends to clean them up a bit. Took about 3X longer than I anticipated. Just hope this extra work is worth it. Shiny always sells better than greasy/rusty but I'm already tired of hefting the heavy bastards around. I think I'll focus on T5's in the future. Smaller, lighter, easier to pull and transport, and about the same profit margin.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

In other Compound related news; I finally ran through the oil that I got with the furnace. It was 50 gallons but since the pickup is actually 6-8 inches from the bottom of the tank, I actually only had 20-30 usable gallons. When I asked my boss if I could buy some, the dude said NO. I guess it is technically his oil and he doesn't have to sell me any, but he's sitting on at least 1000 gallons -- and we generate more every day. So I talked to my Napa rep who hooked me up with a shop around the corner. They were happy to let me take their waste oil away -- for free. Hopefully I can keep that arrangement working.

[izzo]

What's the deal on the rear ends? I never did catch that.

The t5's do sell for a few bucks. buddy has one in that mustang i was gonna get. It's the only thing worth a shit in that whole car