Moderators Psychorugby Posted September 18, 2015 Author Moderators Report Share Posted September 18, 2015 you could always drill holes in the bottom and put adjustable feet so that if it is tweaked a hair, you can level it. I'll see when I get it inside; it could be the garage floor that's uneven. It's really not that bad at all. I might throw some rubber feet on it just to keep it from scratching the floors though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedTwilight Posted September 19, 2015 Report Share Posted September 19, 2015 You need to send the frames out to be powdercoated now! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Psychorugby Posted September 19, 2015 Author Moderators Report Share Posted September 19, 2015 You need to send the frames out to be powdercoated now!They're not getting powder coated. I'm patina-ing them and spraying satin clear coat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedTwilight Posted September 19, 2015 Report Share Posted September 19, 2015 They're not getting powder coated. I'm patina-ing them and spraying satin clear coat.OK satin clear power coat then! LOL Looking forward to seeing the finished product. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Psychorugby Posted September 19, 2015 Author Moderators Report Share Posted September 19, 2015 OK satin clear power coat then! LOL Looking forward to seeing the finished product.Can't powder coat the patina. And we all know I love powder coat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted September 19, 2015 Report Share Posted September 19, 2015 anxious to see this man should look cool. interested in how you will be patina-ing these lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Psychorugby Posted September 19, 2015 Author Moderators Report Share Posted September 19, 2015 anxious to see this man should look cool. interested in how you will be patina-ing these lol.Recalling my days in AP chemistry, I did a test patch of patina (after sanding down the steel to bare metal) using vinegar and salt... Looks pretty cool, but takes a long time and if you wipe too soon it all goes away. Using hydrogen peroxide gives a really nice rust color, but doesn't seem to stick. Bigger test patch just because:Linda wants it to be more slate black colored so I had to dig deep on my chemistry knowledge and will be ordering some chemicals online so I can play Mr. Wizard soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Psychorugby Posted September 19, 2015 Author Moderators Report Share Posted September 19, 2015 Dude you live close to the beach!!!! Just go drag that shit out in the ocean and bring it back in!!! Clear it and call it a day!!!! LolThis message courtesy of crapatalk!You supplying the boat?? The acid acts quicker than salt water would. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Psychorugby Posted September 28, 2015 Author Moderators Report Share Posted September 28, 2015 One down, two to go! At least those two will be slightly easier. The patina went slightly better this time around, but still wasn't the right color. The initial reaction created a lot of green/brown hues like a really old penny. The longer it sat the more copper and orange colors came out, eventually turning everything bright orange... Exactly the color Linda didn't want (no pictures of this as I was starting to get extremely messy and didn't want to screw up my phone). I noticed if I wiped the solution off, the orange color went away but left the darker coloration. Score! So I started wiping the reaction off and dabbing new solution on until I no longer saw shiny spots. My brother-in-law described the mottled coloration at this point perfectly - live lobster shell. Unfortunately, the patina still wasn't dark enough. I also couldn't get the reaction to stop, so if I walked away for a few minutes, I came back to an orange table. At this point I kinda resigned myself to having to use paint to get the color that Linda wanted. So I grabbed a can of satin black Rustoleum and started "dusting" the bottom of the table to see what it looked like... It looked like someone spray painted it. The easy solution I found as I tried to get rid of the spray paint was to wipe the paint when it was still wet. In essence, I was rubbing the paint into the metal. That did the trick perfectly - dark enough for her preference, but could still see the patina which was my preference (since I've got hours into this project), and it stopped the reaction.Here it is in its final resting place. I'm going to add some hooks to the bottom to tuck the lamp cords up out of the way. I might also make some wooden wine crates or something for her to decorate underneath. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GTTRacing91PGT Posted September 28, 2015 Report Share Posted September 28, 2015 Looks awesome! Really turned out nice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedTwilight Posted September 28, 2015 Report Share Posted September 28, 2015 Looks great! Now I see what the final look was going to match. It looks right at home with the flooring! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Psychorugby Posted September 28, 2015 Author Moderators Report Share Posted September 28, 2015 Looks awesome! Really turned out nice Looks great! Now I see what the final look was going to match. It looks right at home with the flooring! Thanks guys! The idea was to make it look reclaimed as we're both big into reclaimed or re-purposed stuff, me more so than her lol. I'm hoping the other two tables don't take much more than a weekend to complete. They're going to look even more awesome juxtaposed against the contemporary couches in the living room. I've got a few other projects to complete or start, but I am getting closer to being done with the main living area downstairs. The only major project left would be the bathroom, but she's not even mentioned it so I am keeping my mouth shut for a while... even though I have a ton of ideas for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tabres Posted September 28, 2015 Report Share Posted September 28, 2015 That's freakin awesome! Super nice work! My wife would love something like this! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Psychorugby Posted September 28, 2015 Author Moderators Report Share Posted September 28, 2015 That's freakin awesome! Super nice work! My wife would love something like this! It's easy enough to make. I have ZERO welding skills and managed. It's just time consuming as all hell to cut all the pieces (the mill wouldn't miter them for me), square everything up, grind it down, fix your screwed up welds, grind it down, sand it, patina it, sand down the patina and rust because your wife didn't like it, sand down whole thing again because it is rusting in place, apply new patina, then spend 3-4 hours trying to get it right in the 90° heat lol. I've probably got 40-50 hours into this one sadly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
95riosnake Posted September 28, 2015 Report Share Posted September 28, 2015 Looks great Chris! Plus even with financial savings aside, you have to admit it feels great walking past that table thinking, "Yep, I built that mother fucker." lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Psychorugby Posted September 28, 2015 Author Moderators Report Share Posted September 28, 2015 Looks great Chris! Plus even with financial savings aside, you have to admit it feels great walking past that table thinking, "Yep, I built that mother fucker." lol The best feeling. I was leaning over the pony wall upstairs looking at it from 16ft in the air thinking, "Damn, it even looks good up here!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Psychorugby Posted September 28, 2015 Author Moderators Report Share Posted September 28, 2015 For reference, since I am still reveling in my glory, this is what I copied: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SublimeRT Posted September 28, 2015 Report Share Posted September 28, 2015 Came out awesome man! You should be proud. The next tables will go faster and smoother I'm sure. I spied some nice tools when I thumbed back a few pages as well. I really like the design of that old Wilton. Those old tools are always so stylish in addition to being well built. It's refreshing to see compared to today's tools. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Psychorugby Posted September 28, 2015 Author Moderators Report Share Posted September 28, 2015 Came out awesome man! You should be proud. The next tables will go faster and smoother I'm sure. I spied some nice tools when I thumbed back a few pages as well. I really like the design of that old Wilton. Those old tools are always so stylish in addition to being well built. It's refreshing to see compared to today's tools. Thank you sir! I can't wait to start on the other tables, even though yesterday evening I wanted to not hear a grinder, see sparks, or smell patina again for a LONG time. That poor Wilton is still sitting on my bench half assembled as I cannot find a spacer the right size to get the worm gear operational again. Granted I haven't looked very hard either. I, like Dan, love old stuff. However, living in Florida makes it difficult to locate any good old stuff. Everyone that had those kind of tools left them up north when they moved here. Anything I can find is in such a state of disrepair it's not worth it, or godawful expensive. I'm getting to the point of having Dan buy stuff, then figuring out how to get it to my parents' place in NoVA for them to move here next year lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SublimeRT Posted September 28, 2015 Report Share Posted September 28, 2015 I know what you mean about having your fill of enough sparks and smells and metal dust, even though I really like making things out of metal. The dust is the worst in my opinion. The stuff gets everywhere. I bet with something like a spacer, if you can't find one, it could probably be machined. Especially if you have an old one to use for reference. I'm sure you'll figure it out when you really get around to it. I can relate with the difficulty in finding nice old machinery. It seems like Dan finds cool old stuff left and right, and at good prices. I look and don't find much here. Granted, I only look on Craigslist. Perhaps there's some other good source. Maybe Dan needs to start a side business of buying and selling cool old tools, ha. Though, it probably wouldn't be very practical to ship most of that stuff from PA to FL, or TX. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prokiller Posted September 28, 2015 Report Share Posted September 28, 2015 I know what you mean about having your fill of enough sparks and smells and metal dust, even though I really like making things out of metal. The dust is the worst in my opinion. The stuff gets everywhere. I bet with something like a spacer, if you can't find one, it could probably be machined. Especially if you have an old one to use for reference. I'm sure you'll figure it out when you really get around to it. I can relate with the difficulty in finding nice old machinery. It seems like Dan finds cool old stuff left and right, and at good prices. I look and don't find much here. Granted, I only look on Craigslist. Perhaps there's some other good source. Maybe Dan needs to start a side business of buying and selling cool old tools, ha. Though, it probably wouldn't be very practical to ship most of that stuff from PA to FL, or TX. don't give him any more projects. you know Dan, he'd have to restore each one first and then the profit would go out the window. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SublimeRT Posted September 28, 2015 Report Share Posted September 28, 2015 Haha, yeah, and then the OCD Machine might get put on the back burner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Psychorugby Posted September 28, 2015 Author Moderators Report Share Posted September 28, 2015 Haha, yeah, and then the OCD Machine might get put on the back burner. I think it's on the back burner for a while anyway with the new house and more awesome-ness in the garage and basement. I am totally jealous of the drawers he just put in there. don't give him any more projects. you know Dan, he'd have to restore each one first and then the profit would go out the window. That's why he's hooking me up with one of his contacts. I'll buy the stuff, send it to Dan, then figure out how to get it to my parents so they can move it down here with their stuff next year. It's like an underground railroad for vintage tools for Heavy Horse Garage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SublimeRT Posted September 28, 2015 Report Share Posted September 28, 2015 I just mean after he gets the new shop up and running and the house comfortably set up, and could be working on the Mustang. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Psychorugby Posted October 12, 2015 Author Moderators Report Share Posted October 12, 2015 Got some more work done last week and this weekend, but not near as much as I wanted. I've got some distractions around the house keeping me from working efficiently. All four legs welded up for the small tables, and managed to keep them all pretty square: Was welding the mounting tabs on them yesterday when I ran out of shielding gas.... pssss psssss psssss FAAARRRRRRT... "guess it's out." So I decided to patina the two legs that were completely done and get one table knocked out. Another lesson learned on this one (after arguing with my wife) - patina the shit at the same time. I did one leg, let it start drying while I was finishing up the grinding on the other. By the time they were both done they were two completely different colors. Both of which were not to Linda's liking, which resulted in an argument because apparently I somehow supposed to control a chemical reaction and make steel turn anything other than orange. Even after I hit them with black wax, they weren't dark enough. I had to give them a pretty heavy dusting of satin black to get them "dark enough." I swear I should have just painted them solid black and been done with it. Patina in process: After drying and a coat of black wax, but before paint: And table all assembled in the house, one more to go: Saturday morning my friend came over and we made some shelves to go over my garage doors. Problem is that I did not notice the 2x8s that are used to mount the garage door tracks extended up past the door into the space I wanted to mount the shelves. So I get to spend a lot of time with a back saw this week cutting them down. Awesome. Highlight of the day was having a Garage Journal member come over to my house to help me get started on restoring my 1956 (I think) Craftsman drill press. He spent about an hour showing me how to do the machine turning that was originally on the headband as well as giving the actual press a once over. I'm missing a few parts, and might actually just look for a donor machine to fix mine. Here's the beginning of me learning to machine turn aluminum; starting to think this might look cool on the dash of the 95: Oh, forgot I picked up peg board for over my work bench too, but am NOT keen on drilling 75 holes in the wall to secure the firring strips with Tapcons... although it beats the hell out of spending $300-3500 on a Hilti gun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
95riosnake Posted October 12, 2015 Report Share Posted October 12, 2015 Good to see you got to hang out with that dude from GJ. You should post a couple pics of his restoration so people here know the level of OCD that guy has... It's staggering in the best of ways. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Psychorugby Posted October 12, 2015 Author Moderators Report Share Posted October 12, 2015 Good to see you got to hang out with that dude from GJ. You should post a couple pics of his restoration so people here know the level of OCD that guy has... It's staggering in the best of ways. Oh definitely! I just need to find his thread again and hijack a few pictures. The most awesome part of that is he said he uses the hell out of it and it no longer looks as good as it did. He also said it's not as well made as his 1940s model that goes from 100-10,1000RPM! EDIT: Even Dan doesn't have this level of OCD. It surprised me that this was a younger guy (early 40s I'm guessing). He did all of this in his garage: Before: After: Here's a link to his thread at Garage Journal - http://garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=146523&showall=1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
95riosnake Posted October 12, 2015 Report Share Posted October 12, 2015 Yep, mirror polishing a drill press column is beyond my patience level for sure lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackmage Posted October 12, 2015 Report Share Posted October 12, 2015 Got this looks like its almost floating haha. God does it look awesome tho!thoughts on putting any type of feet on them, or just leaving the square tubing rest on the floor? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Psychorugby Posted October 12, 2015 Author Moderators Report Share Posted October 12, 2015 this looks like its almost floating haha. God does it look awesome tho!thoughts on putting any type of feet on them, or just leaving the square tubing rest on the floor? Just gonna leave it like it is. The legs already have a hard enough time sitting square since the wood isn't square (another lesson learned... plane the mounting surface). I could fix it by boxing the whole thing in, but then it wouldn't look like the Pottery Barn tables I'm copying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Psychorugby Posted October 12, 2015 Author Moderators Report Share Posted October 12, 2015 Looking good.Now I see the real reason you couldn't come hang with me and the Donald/Mickey/Goofey!!! LolThis message courtesy of crapatalk! If you'd stayed through the weekend... kinda a pain in the ass to drive out there after work only to have to drive home lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Psychorugby Posted October 12, 2015 Author Moderators Report Share Posted October 12, 2015 Dude we closed every park down each night. Honestly would have had a hard time to get free myself.Coming back next year around same time. Plus I'll be at mustang week.......hint hint!!! LolThis message courtesy of crapatalk! I can say with 100% certainty that even if my car was ready for Mustang Week, I would not be able to go next year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Psychorugby Posted October 12, 2015 Author Moderators Report Share Posted October 12, 2015 Excuses.........,.... Linda put her foot and said no?!?! LolThis message courtesy of crapatalk! There were slightly more words than "no," and Mustangs were not mentioned at all... yet somehow, I know I will not be coming to MW. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Psychorugby Posted October 12, 2015 Author Moderators Report Share Posted October 12, 2015 Ouch.................This message courtesy of crapatalk! Nah. It'll make more sense when I can get some details cleared up. Things are happening at HHG. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SublimeRT Posted October 12, 2015 Report Share Posted October 12, 2015 The end tables are looking real good. I'm really digging this furniture you're making. Your friends resto on that drill press is very impressive. I still can't get over just how nicely styled those old machines are. What are you using for the engine turning? I've been meaning to try it since I got my drill press, but haven't gotten around to it yet. I was looking into picking up something called Cratex. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Psychorugby Posted October 12, 2015 Author Moderators Report Share Posted October 12, 2015 The end tables are looking real good. I'm really digging this furniture you're making.Your friends resto on that drill press is very impressive. I still can't get over just how nicely styled those old machines are.What are you using for the engine turning? I've been meaning to try it since I got my drill press, but haven't gotten around to it yet. I was looking into picking up something called Cratex. Cratex is what we used... as well as some valve grinding compound. It's definitely more art than science to get it right. I'm still trying to figure out the right rhythm. I love the tables too, even though I don't necessarily agree on the color of the legs lol. I'm looking for more stuff to build in a similar fashion, but I think she might be done with it after these three pieces; don't want too much of the same in the house. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SublimeRT Posted October 12, 2015 Report Share Posted October 12, 2015 Cool, thanks. The valve grinding compound is a good idea, too. It sounds like I'll just have to get some and experiment. That drill press table with the small grid on it is a good idea to get the spacing of the turning even. I've seen some people put a grid on the work piece itself, but the table seems like a more accurate method to me. Yeah, I suppose you wouldn't want too much furniture with that style. Things might start looking a bit more industrial than wanted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Psychorugby Posted October 12, 2015 Author Moderators Report Share Posted October 12, 2015 Cool, thanks. The valve grinding compound is a good idea, too. It sounds like I'll just have to get some and experiment. That drill press table with the small grid on it is a good idea to get the spacing of the turning even. I've seen some people put a grid on the work piece itself, but the table seems like a more accurate method to me.Yeah, I suppose you wouldn't want too much furniture with that style. Things might start looking a bit more industrial than wanted. If I can remember for the next 90 minutes or so, I will get the measurements of the grid for you. He made them so four squares was the size of the Cratex circle. That way you indexed the piece on one square then move the piece one square; in the end you get one-quarter of your circle showing. As for industrial, that's not so much the problem it would be just boring lol. I do plan to use a lot more reclaimed wood in other projects, as well as I can see black pipe being used in an upcoming lighting project (pending spousal approval). We're going for that reclaimed industrial, craftsman, hand-made kinda look... basically all the things that made this country awesome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Psychorugby Posted October 19, 2015 Author Moderators Report Share Posted October 19, 2015 Think I'm starting to get the hang of this welding shit... Just in time to be done with the project:And the last table is done and in the house:Guess it's on to the stairs and/or guest bedroom floors next weekend. Yay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Psychorugby Posted October 19, 2015 Author Moderators Report Share Posted October 19, 2015 ...........better start getting that baby suite done!!!!!! Lol We don't even find out the sex until January sometime... so meh. I've got plenty of other shit to worry about before that time comes - flooring the stairs, flooring the guest bedroom (and struggling with my OCD), mounting overhead shelving in garage, installing a big ass chandelier in the foyer, painting the foyer, cleaning up the garage after all this is done, and whatever else happens to be on my list... oh and most of that needs to be done by Thanksgiving, with me gone one weekend to my parents' house and Rich coming over to crack the whip on the 95. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
