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OCDFabworks Shop Projects: Anything Worth Doing is Worth Overdoing

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So when does your A&E show start lol?

 

Honestly, that would be a show I'd love to watch. Like American Pickers but without all the stupid old junk they buy that I don't care about. Just a guy hunting down badass old machinery, cabinets, tools... sign me up.

 

I feel like my garage is lagging behind every time I see pictures of how neatly tucked away you have everything.  Love the "new" drill press too!

 

I appreciate that! I have been putting a TON of effort into getting things organized to a point where I like being there. Before, every time I was working on the car, the fun was ruined by not having room, not having proper tools, not being able to find the tools I did have, etc. Once I get done with what I'm working on here recently I should have a nice shop to finish up the car in this winter.

 

you do realize dan that you're going to have to move all that heavy ass equipment when you get a new house right?  i've been looking for drill presses too lately on the ole CL but i can't find anything on this side of PA.

 

Ugh, don't remind me. I think about that every time I unload something new into the garage... That's why I'm thinking that a truck might have to be bought before that happens. So at least I could move the stuff to the new place myself, at my leisure rather than in a rented or borrowed truck. I've seen a few nice drill presses not too far of a drive from you. Next time I see one I'll text you a link :2thumb:

 

I can't find 1% of the cool shit in FL that Dan finds in PA.  You shouldn't have too much of a problem!

 

That's because when factories shut down in the past here, the old guys who bought the machinery from them at the time left it all behind when they moved to Florida for retirement ;)

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Ugh, don't remind me. I think about that every time I unload something new into the garage... That's why I'm thinking that a truck might have to be bought before that happens. So at least I could move the stuff to the new place myself, at my leisure rather than in a rented or borrowed truck. I've seen a few nice drill presses not too far of a drive from you. Next time I see one I'll text you a link :2thumb:

 

 

That's because when factories shut down in the past here, the old guys who bought the machinery from them at the time left it all behind when they moved to Florida for retirement ;)

cool thanks

 

and you know that's probably more accurate than you know.  Pittsburgh has always been a big manufacturing hub.  That's probably why you have so much more stuff around you that fits the bill than other areas. 

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cool thanks

 

and you know that's probably more accurate than you know.  Pittsburgh has always been a big manufacturing hub.  That's probably why you have so much more stuff around you that fits the bill than other areas. 

 

Oh it definitely is. Pittsburgh wasn't always the pretty urban city it is today. Back in the day, it was a dirty, polluted factory/steel town. A lot has changed over the years and that has led to many factories closing down (especially since a lot of manufacturing jobs are now overseas). These three photos of the iconic "Golden Triangle" at the intersection of the three rivers illustrates this point perfectly.

 

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It's kind of a shame that most of the factories are long gone (I sometimes think I was meant to be an adult in the 50's-60's lol) but at least some of the badass machinery that they left behind is still up for grabs around here from time to time.

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Oh it definitely is. Pittsburgh wasn't always the pretty urban city it is today. Back in the day, it was a dirty, polluted factory/steel town. A lot has changed over the years and that has led to many factories closing down (especially since a lot of manufacturing jobs are now overseas). These three photos of the iconic "Golden Triangle" at the intersection of the three rivers illustrates this point perfectly.

 

It's kind of a shame that most of the factories are long gone (I sometimes think I was meant to be an adult in the 50's-60's lol) but at least some of the badass machinery that they left behind is still up for grabs around here from time to time.

 

The problem with this line of logic, and I fall victim to it regularly, is that if we were adults in the 50s-60s we would be working on that shit and wouldn't think it was cool at all.

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The problem with this line of logic, and I fall victim to it regularly, is that if we were adults in the 50s-60s we would be working on that shit and wouldn't think it was cool at all.

 

Yea that's what always brings me back to reality. It wasn't just eating at diners and hanging out at the local service station sipping from glass coke bottles lol.

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I'm convinced you're going to run out of room in the garage to work on the mustang before it's finished because you keep on bringing in more badass tools!

 

Believe it or not, I actually have tons more room than I did a couple months back. I wish I would have taken a before picture. The shelves were a mess, The entire area behind the mustang was packed with stuff. It took about 5 minutes of moving stuff out of the way to get to the welder/band saw each time. Getting to the shelves was something you only did if you absolutely needed something. I've been purging the garage of junk, old stuff that had been sitting in totes since we moved in, scrap pieces of stuff, and stock parts that weren't worth much and would never go back on the car (dumpster at work). Tons of reorganizing, and the new cabinets have really organized a ton of stuff and freed up floor space. I'll have even more room soon, been working on another project that should be pretty badass when I'm finished. Stay tuned :2thumb:

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Your work never ceases to amaze me

 

Well thanks I appreciate that, I often get about half way through a project, stand back and look at it and think "Why did I get myself into this?" But when it's finished I take the same step back and think "Oh that's why." lol. It's tough to keep working on things as tedious as the cabinet was, but I just kept thinking of the vision I had in my head of how it would look finished to keep me motivated.

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Not forgotten at all Will, just was so sick and tired of waiting on parts to come in, decided I'm not touching the damn thing until I have parts. I was burnt out and disgusted with the whole ordeal, its supposed to be enjoyable, not stressful. There's only so much waiting a person can take. So I've been making the garage a nice place to work in the meantime. I seriously can't wrap my head around how these companies overshoot release dates by almost 2 years, if I ignored time frames like that at my job I'd be in the unemployment line. @Blackmage

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Here's a little project I did for my father in law for Christmas this past year. As some of you may have heard me say in the past, he has an 87 Porsche 944S that he's transplanting a nasty built LS1 into (Still in the process of buttoning up the motor, transplant should begin shortly).

 

I have a hard time buying things for people when I could instead make something totally custom for them, granted this route is always more work, but the smile on their face always makes it worth every minute. I sat down to think what I could make for him, and it dawned on me he had mentioned a few times that he wished there was some sort of subtle emblem he could put on his car when it is finished to hint that there's more than meets the eye.

 

So here is the stock hatch emblem on an 87 944 (not his car, but a dead ringer for it):

 

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I got to work hashing out some ideas to work an LS1 into it, but still keep the factory vibe of the original.

 

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Then after I picked a winner I did two versions of it, one a single row and one with the LS1 in a lower row.

 

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I ended up sticking with the single row, the badge would be satin black powder coat with a red paint filled 1. I sent the file over to Steve at Billet Badges to do the CNC work on it.

 

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It would be about a month and a half wait, but they assured me I'd have it in hand by Christmas Eve. Got these pictures from Steve at BB about 2 weeks out.

 

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Fast forward to Dec 20, I came home to a package. I thought it was a bit odd they would ship it in a padded envelope given the bending/breaking-prone stems that connect the letters, and once I opened it the face palm followed. The whole badge was bent, and the 9 was broken off. I shot an email with pictures over to Steve, who immediately responded very apologetically. Someone in their shipping department ignored protocol for the type of badge it was. They said they'd make me a replacement free of charge and I could keep the first one, no harm no foul but this meant the Dec. 25th deadline wasn't going to happen.

 

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Since I had the damaged badge in hand, the wheels started turning in my head and before I knew it I was making a gift box for it. Started out by drawing up a laser cut file for an acrylic insert to hold the badge.

 

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Grabbed some 1/2" hardwood ply, and put together a nice box. The bottom inside is lined with leather and the two acrylic cuts lay on top of it. I also laser etched a Porsche crest on the top of the box to give a hint of what's inside.

 

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Added several coats of polyurethane

 

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Then you guessed it, sanded and buffed the outside of the box, lol.

 

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Then the replacement came in from BB, packaged correctly this time. Decided I'd include the damaged one (I flattened it) for him to do as he pleases with, possibly a very cool toolbox ornament.

 

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End result: He loved it :2thumb: He took pictures with his phone and sent them to pretty much everyone he knew. I can't wait to see it on his car when it's finished!

 

 

 

 

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cool as usual man.  You have or have access to a laser etcher?  If so I have a project I have been considering...

 

Our laser cutter at work has a raster engraving function, it will etch a black/white line art image. It won't do metals though, only wood and plastic.

 

Dan, I officially hate you. Literally do some of the coolest shit!!!! Very awesome man, cheers to you again!

Sent from Space

 

Thanks Steve!

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the box alone would have been something to give as a cool present but of course that was just the overkill for your typical project. 

 

Overkill is the name of the game, lol.

 

very cool i cant wait to hear that baby cam you helped him pick out for it

 

Yea it's a little guy, should barely even sound modded at all ;)

 

231/239 & .617/.624

 

This car has the same cam, not sure totally what exhaust but the Porsche will be running mid length headers, off road X and Borla Stingers.

 

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A couple weeks or so ago, I was perusing Craigslist and found something I just had to have. Unfortunately, it would mean that I would have to make room which would mean selling off the Canedy-Otto drill press. All of your positive comments about it since I posted it had me second guessing the decision, but in the end I'm still happy with the decision. I listed the Canedy-Otto on eBay and found a local buyer for it, I will be dropping it off this Friday and even made a $50 profit :)

So, back to the reason for it hitting the road. I stumbled across this Walker Turner DDP500 bench top drill press for sale near Cleveland, OH. What made this so irresistible is that the DDP 500 is the little brother of the Walker Turner 1100 20" drill press I began this thread restoring...literally it's a half scale version of the 1100. Having a matching pair once I finish the 20" will be extremely cool IMO, this one is also of 1950-52'ish vintage. Here's the pictures from the seller's ad.

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So I set up a time with the seller and headed out early on a Friday morning to make the 2 1/2 hour trip. The seller was a super nice guy, and oddly enough he was from Australia, living in northern Ohio lol. He seemed very happy that I knew all about the press and would give it a good home. Talked him down a little and 200 bones later I was on my way back to Pittsburgh with a little piece of history.

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The column, table and base surfaces had some rust so I immediately got to work with a wire wheel on them. I'll probably give the handles a little more shining up at some point but for now it's good to go.

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It also has a PERFECT table, not even one mark! Most older drill presses have what they call the "arc of shame" from reckless past owners drilling through the table in various places, but not this one. There's a bit of discoloration in a couple spots from the rust it had, but nothing too bad. I'll probably hit it with more wire wheeling eventually and see if I can get rid of the discoloration more.

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One bummer is that someone removed the Walker Turner badge/plate from the head casting :( so I'll be on the hunt for one. I know the serial number won't match but it's sad seeing the plate missing, it really adds to the look on these machines.

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It has by far the most mint condition Cutler Hammer switch I've seen. These art deco style switches are highly sought after in vintage machine circles, as many got damaged or broken over the years, often replaced with generic toggle switches.

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The data plate on the motor looks like it came out of a time capsule

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The seller also threw in a nice old Columbian drill press vise, I'm always happy to get my hands on more classic American iron.

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I'm really excited to have this to poke some holes with until I get my 1100 finished up, I've used it a handful of times already and love it.

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Next up was getting wheels/tires off the floor. I picked up this Tire Loft at Home Depot to take care of things. Unfortunately the RideTech banner had to come down to make room but it will find a home elsewhere in the shop.

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You might also notice mounted to the cabinet, the vintage work lamp I scored for $10. It's dripping with old school character. I'll eventually give it a refinishing but for now I kinda dig the patina.

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And a cool angle shot.

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Once the HRE's go back on the cobra, there will be a spare set of 18's stored in the rack. I need to have a less expensive setup for alignments, paint work, etc. I used to have 17" 94/95 Cobra wheels (sold them last week) for such things but 17's won't clear the Wilwoods.

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Dan normally I would tell someone to invest in a larger car/hatch something! But that little scion is a work horse haha. Next week were gonna see 12' 2x4's strapped to the roof with a trailer behind it.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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I'd be lying if I said I never looked into options for a trailer hitch lol. Turns out they do make hitches for them but nobody endorses hauling any sort of trailer with a tc. The chassis just isn't strong at all where the hitch would mount. I don't think I would have actually done it anyway lol. I've been looking into trucks for a while now, one will be in my future before too long :)

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Looking into a full size work truck style? Or newer that you would DD? The audi is rated for 5000 lbs, which is insane lol I need a hitch bad! But they're $600 used!!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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Looking into a full size work truck style? Or newer that you would DD? The audi is rated for 5000 lbs, which is insane lol I need a hitch bad! But they're $600 used!!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Looking into a full size crew cab short bed 4x4, it'll need to be my daily but I only have a 15 min commute. Probably going to end up being a Chevy or GMC with a 4.8 or 5.3 V8, then it's gonna get a 4/6 drop ;) My dad has a 2013 GMC 1500 CCSB with a 4.8 and he likes it, says he gets high teens pretty regularly which I can live with. Not a powerhouse I know, but he also has a 7.3L Powerstroke when he needs power lol. I don't need a shit load of power in a truck, just something decent that can carry big shit. I've considered smaller trucks like Frontiers, Colorados, Tacomas, etc. but they're just not for me. I guess my West Virginian roots tell me a truck needs to have a V8 lol.

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Looking into a full size crew cab short bed 4x4, it'll need to be my daily but I only have a 15 min commute. Probably going to end up being a Chevy or GMC with a 4.8 or 5.3 V8, then it's gonna get a 4/6 drop ;) My dad has a 2013 GMC 1500 CCSB with a 4.8 and he likes it, says he gets high teens pretty regularly which I can live with. Not a powerhouse I know, but he also has a 7.3L Powerstroke when he needs power lol. I don't need a shit load of power in a truck, just something decent that can carry big shit. I've considered smaller trucks like Frontiers, Colorados, Tacomas, etc. but they're just not for me. I guess my West Virginian roots tell me a truck needs to have a V8 lol.

You can get a crew cab short bed f150 with the ecobeast and pull in the upper teens all day long!
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You can get a crew cab short bed f150 with the ecobeast and pull in the upper teens all day long!

 

An ecoboost would be nice, but I'm not trying to have a car payment, I've been enjoying not having one for the past 4 years. I'll be buying the truck cash, $40k+ cash isn't gonna be something I can swing lol.

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 Probably going to end up being a Chevy or GMC with a 4.8 or 5.3 V8,

 

 

May I suggest the 5.3 as it seems to have just enough power to be a good tow vehicle.  :2thumb:

I read the update last night and it was a great bedtime read!  You'll have a fully functioning machine shop in no time!

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Surprised me with the lamp!  I need one of those, but will have to wait until I have actual shop space like you.  You're definitely going to have to let me in on your photo taking secrets; your garage pictures are always some of my favorite.

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Surprised me with the lamp!  I need one of those, but will have to wait until I have actual shop space like you.  You're definitely going to have to let me in on your photo taking secrets; your garage pictures are always some of my favorite.

Surprised me with the lamp!  I need one of those, but will have to wait until I have actual shop space like you.  You're definitely going to have to let me in on your photo taking secrets; your garage pictures are always some of my favorite.

 

 

Double post FOR THE LOOOOOSSSSEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!  Loser!!!!

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May I suggest the 5.3 as it seems to have just enough power to be a good tow vehicle.  :2thumb:

I read the update last night and it was a great bedtime read!  You'll have a fully functioning machine shop in no time!

 

Yea I'll probably end up with a 5.3, I don't even see many trucks with 4.8's anyway. The option to tow a car would be nice, I wouldn't need to do it often but it's easier to borrow someone's trailer than to borrow their trailer AND their truck lol.

 

i actually enjoy my pops 05 ram with the 5.7 hemi.  that thing actually pulls reaaallllyyy nice.   

 

I definitely like the way the Rams look, my only thing is I don't have much faith in Chrysler products. I see rams around here that aren't more than 2 years old with rust already starting on the bedsides... I mean come on. My dad drives a couple rams at work doing surface maintenance at the mine, he said one is a really nice truck that runs great and the other is a piece of shit that is always going back into the shop. Both trucks are the same year and model with the same options, bought at the same time from the same dealer lol.

 

Surprised me with the lamp!  I need one of those, but will have to wait until I have actual shop space like you.  You're definitely going to have to let me in on your photo taking secrets; your garage pictures are always some of my favorite.

 

Yea the lamp is cool, I needed a bit of extra light there because the tire loft was causing a shadow, and once again Craigslist came to the rescue with a cool old lamp for a dirt cheap price :2thumb:

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Yea the lamp is cool, I needed a bit of extra light there because the tire loft was causing a shadow, and once again Craigslist came to the rescue with a cool old lamp for a dirt cheap price :2thumb:

 

I swear you need to run your searches, then change the Pittsburgh prefix to Tampa and find me some stuff like that!  

 

I found one of those Cutler-Hammer switches on eBay for $45. I'd really like to replace the toggle switch on the side of my drill press with one... wire it up to the wall like in an old shop.

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