OCDFabworks Shop Projects: Anything Worth Doing is Worth Overdoing

[95riosnake]

dam, what size are your rear tires man? wheels look so sexy sitting up on that shelf 

 

Thanks Tony! They're 295/30/19, I have a pair of 305/30/19 Toyo R888's that will go on those wheels soon. I was going to put the R888's on the rack next to the two HRE's but they were too wide to fit next to two 295's lol.

[Zach]

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 every look into the Toyota Tundra has a big v8 gets good gas Milage has plenty of room and is just as reliable as the tacoma.

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[95riosnake]

you every look into the Toyota Tundra has a big v8 gets good gas Milage has plenty of room and is just as reliable as the tacoma.

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I'd consider a Tundra, I'm guessing the price tag will climb with a Tundra over a domestic truck. We'll see, I'm gonna be in the market for one in the spring probably.

[Prokiller]

awesome work Dan.  It's funny that you got that tire loft.  I was seriously look at getting two of them last week.  then decided i don't need the space just yet and the place where i was going to put them might be in the way of the lift when i get it.  i'm sure you're neighbors loved you drilling into the wall for the mounts

[GearGambler]

so much win in this thread.  

 

and I agree, you need your own show.  or maybe a blog or something.  Great work man!

[95riosnake]

awesome work Dan.  It's funny that you got that tire loft.  I was seriously look at getting two of them last week.  then decided i don't need the space just yet and the place where i was going to put them might be in the way of the lift when i get it.  i'm sure you're neighbors loved you drilling into the wall for the mounts

 

It's a really nice setup for the price, if/when you get one or two of them you'll be happy with them. I just had to get the wheels/tires off the floor, that's been one of the big goals recently... getting the floor visible again lol. I wish it would go just a little bit wider, then I could keep the R888's up there but any normal 9" and 10-11" staggered setup will fit just fine. The neighbors to my immediate left and right are actually really cool, they don't mind noise at all. Pretty much all the houses on the other side of the street are the problem, a bunch of dipshits with nothing better to do than worry about what everyone else is doing.

 

so much win in this thread.  

 

and I agree, you need your own show.  or maybe a blog or something.  Great work man!

 

Thanks! And I kind of do have a blog, this thread!

[Tony]

the show would be fn awesome. plus with a name like Dan...you can rhyme so many things with it....like Dan the man can...or some shit idk but the DIY network would love ya. go do it...

[Blackmage]

You just need a shed dedicated to tires!  im not proud of it, but this is mine :-/ lol

 

 

[Tony]

@Blackmage you don't play basketball you poser 

[Blackmage]

@tony im more of a gardener myself.    

[95riosnake]

Been under the weather pretty bad this weekend, big shout out to the coworker who was too pigheaded to call off work this week...I'm sure I'm not the only one who's enjoying feeling like shit. But, I did drag my ass down to the garage to make some progress.

 

Started moving things into the Hobart cabinet, and labeled the drawers I filled so far. Only using about half the drawers currently, and really loving being so organized. I've spent too many years wasting time looking for things rather than getting work done with said things. 

 

 

 

This is probably my favorite drawer so far, lol (and no the label isn't crooked, the card just moved in the holder lol...)

 

 

 

I've been really happy with the drop leaf base cabinet under the drill press, but one of the two drawers had welded in lateral dividers that weren't going to work for what I wanted to store in the cabinet.

 

 

So I got to work drilling out the spot welds, bending, prying, hammering, etc...

 

 

About a half hour later, I had all the dividers out

 

 

A bit of rust where they previously lived, but honestly not bad for a 62+ year old cabinet

 

 

Ground down the rusty spots with a flap wheel and hit the bottom and sides with some sanding

 

 

Masked the drawer and shot it with some gray primer to prevent rust. Decided to leave the spot weld holes as-is, they will never be seen anyway.

 

 

 

Pulled the masking and cut a drawer liner to fit

 

 

 

Now both drawers are fully usable. The top houses all my drilling stuff and the bottom is for sanding and grinding stuff.

 

 

 

And in the process I realized I need to restock my supply of flap wheels and cutoff wheels...lol

[Det_Riot]

This is so awesome!

[Tony]

gosh i really want to go buy a buncha tools and cabinets really bad now!!! or maybe restore something...idk but i want to do some shit! same thing happens when i look at your build thread lol. 

[Blackmage]

ahhh organization is sooooo nice. all my shit is everywhere right now.  Makes moving easier too, everything is already stored away!

[Psychorugby]

gosh i really want to go buy a buncha tools and cabinets really bad now!!! or maybe restore something...idk but i want to do some shit! same thing happens when i look at your build thread lol. 

 

This is how I ended up with a drill press I haven't used.

[Prokiller]

How many razor knives and tape measures does one man need?!?? Lol

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i was thinking the same thing.  an entire drawer devoted to tape measures?  And three of them are the same thing.  perhaps Dan does really have more people working on his projects.  Like little garage gnomes

[95riosnake]

How many razor knives and tape measures does one man need?!?? Lol

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How many vises does one man need? I currently have 4 lol

 

gosh i really want to go buy a buncha tools and cabinets really bad now!!! or maybe restore something...idk but i want to do some shit! same thing happens when i look at your build thread lol. 

 

Haha thanks Tony! It's a good feeling giving old stuff a new lease on life, especially when they're all built 100x better than the new stuff.

 

ahhh organization is sooooo nice. all my shit is everywhere right now.  Makes moving easier too, everything is already stored away!

 

Yea when the time comes, I can just slide the drawers out and stack them in the car/truck, move the cabinet to the new place, and put the drawers back in!

 

This is how I ended up with a drill press I haven't used.

 

I'm glad I could spread the sickness

 

i was thinking the same thing.  an entire drawer devoted to tape measures?  And three of them are the same thing.  perhaps Dan does really have more people working on his projects.  Like little garage gnomes

 

One tape measure is a super old one my dad gave me when I was a kid, the other 3, which are not the same thing, are 12', 16' and 25'. The 12' is good for small stuff and easy to carry around, the 16' is good for most projects, and the 25' is for big shit like when I built our deck. They make different sizes for a reason. Try measuring something inside your dash with a 25' tape, lol. Other than that, there's one of those old school reel-style tapes, which work well for measuring circumference around things, a couple rulers, a square, chalk line reel and a protractor.

 

Why does one man need so many tape measures and knives? Why does one man need more than one screwdriver, more than one hammer, more than one kind of tape? Because each different kind is better suited to a certain task. A box cutter works well for some tasks, others you want an x-acto... etc. Almost any hammer can pound a nail, but I wouldn't want to frame a house with a sledge or beat suspension parts apart with a tack hammer lol.

[Psychorugby]

I'm glad I could spread the sickness

 

Danbola Virus.  Thanks...

[Blackmage]

Or because it's inevitable you're gonna lose half of em at one point lol

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[Steve-Oh]

One tape measure is a super old one my dad gave me when I was a kid, the other 3, which are not the same thing, are 12', 16' and 25'. The 12' is good for small stuff and easy to carry around, the 16' is good for most projects, and the 25' is for big shit like when I built our deck. They make different sizes for a reason. Try measuring something inside your dash with a 25' tape, lol. Other than that, there's one of those old school reel-style tapes, which work well for measuring circumference around things, a couple rulers, a square, chalk line reel and a protractor.

Why does one man need so many tape measures and knives? Why does one man need more than one screwdriver, more than one hammer, more than one kind of tape? Because each different kind is better suited to a certain task. A box cutter works well for some tasks, others you want an x-acto... etc. Almost any hammer can pound a nail, but I wouldn't want to frame a house with a sledge or beat suspension parts apart with a tack hammer lol.

Quoted for effect! Couldn't agree more. Dan all you need now is a 30' tape.

Sent from Space

[95riosnake]

Quoted for effect! Couldn't agree more. Dan all you need now is a 30' tape.

Sent from Space

 

I'll see your 30' and raise you:

 

 

lol

[Blackmage]

Do you have a left handed and right handed tape measure in there too  

[Lazer_Red]

Need updates please.

Kris

[95riosnake]

Working on it guys, getting close to finishing a couple projects, but got set back by badly spraining my right ankle while running on Tuesday night. I'm on crutches currently but I'm hoping it'll improve enough to get down in the garage and do some work at some point this weekend.

[Steve-Oh]

Working on it guys, getting close to finishing a couple projects, but got set back by badly spraining my right ankle while running on Tuesday night. I'm on crutches currently but I'm hoping it'll improve enough to get down in the garage and do some work at some point this weekend.

Sorry to hear Dan! Get well soon dude!

[95riosnake]

Haha, I know I want to get back to work more than you know lol.

 

I took it easy today but I'm planning to get down to the garage tomorrow, should have some updates for you fellas soon

[Lazer_Red]

What does being on crutches with a bum ankle got to do with the work you can do with your hands?!?!!! Next time change your manpon before you run and you won't have to worry about a leaky mangina dripping and causing you to slip!!

.........and you should know I'm totally screwing with ya!!!!! Lmao

Now get better so we can get some updates!!!! [emoji39]

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LMAO!!!!!! ^^^^^^^^^^^^

Get well soon buddy.

Kris

[Yeahloh95]

hope your ankle gets better quick bud

[95riosnake]

I hobbled my ass down to the garage today, progress was made and I have a ton of photos to drop in here tomorrow. Stay tuned folks!

[ttocs]

years ago I sprained the hell out of my ankle, could not even tie my shoe the next day because of swelling.  Worst part of it all was for the next few years I would be walking down a perfectly flat stretch and suddenly it would turn on me as though I stepped on a rock or something. 

[95riosnake]

years ago I sprained the hell out of my ankle, could not even tie my shoe the next day because of swelling.  Worst part of it all was for the next few years I would be walking down a perfectly flat stretch and suddenly it would turn on me as though I stepped on a rock or something. 

 

Yea I actually rolled this ankle a couple months ago coming down the stairs into the garage, I had finally gotten mostly back to normal and was back to running again... that didn't last long lol.

[95riosnake]

Until I get a chance to post the latest project, I figured I might as well share what I occupied myself with the past few days while I was laid up. I'm not one to sit around doing nothing, so I grabbed my sketch book. Started out by doing a sketch of the "new" bench top Walker Turner drill press.

 

 

Next up is my most recent vintage tool acquisition, an old school 1958 Craftsman 7" industrial grinder. This model is referred to as a "Pre-Block" which is a predecessor to the block grinder like @Psychorugby has. This one has a rare cast iron base with cooling tray, and all in all it weighs in at 83 pounds! It's going to get a full resto with new shaft bearings. Currently it's disassembled while I finish up other projects and decide on a color scheme for it. Here's a few photos of it.

 

 

 

 

In my boredom, I sketched it, lol.

 

 

As well as my plans for a mobile base. I scored an I-beam with a 3/8" thick steel base off Craigslist, so I'll be modding that and building the base in the sketch below.

 

 

Lastly, I did a little pipe dreaming and drew up my ideal shop truck; a bagged dually 1959 International Harvester Metro. I worked up a vintage version of the OCD Fabworks logo also, which I may use on future garage projects

 

 

Later today I'll be dropping all the photos and text of the most recent shop project that I've been itching to share with you guys!

[Psychorugby]

God damn I wish I could draw like that.  I mean I can draw, but not like that.  I can only draw something if I have a picture in front of me to replicate; I can't come up with it on the fly.  Love it all!

 

P.S.  come with with a HHG logo lol!

[Blackmage]

"Yea, i just got bored and threw together some sketches this afternoon"  @95riosnake

 

 

*sigh* 

 

 

Nice work man  

[Prokiller]

i take it this was you're inspiration

[95riosnake]

i take it this was you're inspiration

 

Sure was! That thing is beyond awesome. I had a couple photos of that up on my phone for reference when I was sketching it up. If you want to see something else off the beaten path and badass, check out the Ring Brothers Happy Camper build... VERY cool.

[Blackmage]

Rutledge Wood has a new build he just completed as well.  errr, had someone else complete for him

 

[95riosnake]

So onto the most recently completed project. I've mentioned how much respect I have for my old man on here a few times, I spent my childhood attached to his hip, learning as much as possible. I started this project back in November last year, originally intending it as a Christmas present, but fell on some difficulty trying to lock down someone to do some water jetting for me. With me finding a stand in gift, Christmas came and went, and the project hit the back burner. But let's rewind to the start first.

My dad has always called his garage his sanctuary, and the man honestly never fails to amaze me with his knowledge and ability. I helped him build his dream garage with high ceilings, big doors, tons of outlets, lights, etc. before I moved to Pittsburgh almost 8 years ago. Late last year I was racking my brain what to get a man who literally has every tool and machine on the planet, and a light bulb flickered in my head. A vintage sign to remind him of his glory days driving his 71 big block Chevelle to his first job at the service station (now unfortunately long gone) a few miles from my grandma's house is just what the garage needed. Never one to buy what I can build much better and far more custom, I got started quickly mocking up something in Corel Draw.



When I was a kid, my dad would always jokingly say things he built were "Barrybuilt" which translates to overkill in every way possible (as you can probably guess, that rubbed off on me while I was growing up, lol). So I added the slogan at the bottom.



Moved into Autocad and started refining things to get them ready for water jetting. The top layer would be 1/8" steel and the bottom layer would be 1/4" 6061 aluminum.







Worked up a 3D rendering to get a feel for it and I was pretty happy with the look.



I bought a 4' x 4' piece of 1/8" steel and a 4' x 4' piece of 1/4" 6061, still hoping to have it done for Christmas. I then promptly hit a road block in having one hell of a rough time lining up a water jet for a price a non-NFL player could afford. Most places told me no by giving me an astronomical price, they were set up for runs of many pieces and it wasn't worth their time to mess with small potatoes like my project. Fast forward to August, my dad told me he's going to be retiring a few days after Christmas, so I decided it was time to make the sign finally happen. I got introduced to a freelancer who has access to a water jet through a friend of mine. I got in touch and we settled on a reasonable amount, I dropped the materials off and emailed him the .dxf files. About 2 weeks later I had the parts in hand at long last.



The first step was to get all the pieces laying exactly where they needed to be, then trace an outline to mark their location.





Next up, the steel pieces were drilled, I'll show why later. Side note, the "new" Walker Turner drill press was simply a pleasure to use for this, there's just something so nice about a heavy old machine working flawlessly after all these years.







Then the hole locations were transferred to the aluminum layer.
 








The holes allow threaded rods to pass through that are welded to the steel layer. I set up everything with 1" long pieces of all thread held in the holes just below the surface of the steel layer using some wood blocks, then welded them in.










 
Then I got to work prepping the metal. Lots and lots of filing, sanding and dremeling in this step. The aluminum was sanded down to 320 grit and the welds were ground down on the steel parts. Since I was planning to powder coat them, the gouges were filled with JB Weld and sanded smooth. JB weld is a powder coat-friendly alternative to bondo, FYI
 

 

 

 

 

 

 
I then came to the realization that I needed to have some strong provisions for hanging the sign. This thing is pretty heavy, so I cut the heads off two grade 8 7/16" bolts and welded them onto the back of the steel layer to protrude through the back layer. My dad can then hang it however he wants; steel cable, chain, make a steel bracket, etc. Since I don't know how he'll hang it, this works best to give him some options.
 

 
Drilled and countersunk the aluminum layer a bit to clear the bevel of the weld.
 

 
With that complete, the parts were ready to drop off at the powder coater.
 

 
But first, I had to decide on a color scheme. I worked up half a dozen mock ups, trying to capture the old gas/service station feel.
 

 

 
The last one was the ticket, I grabbed some paint swatches from Sherwin Williams to show the powder coater and dropped the parts off to him.
 

 

This past Friday I drove out and picked up the coated parts, and holy crap did they look good. The red turned out a little brighter than I intended, and the green had a little more blue tint than I wanted but the colors still looked killer.

 

 

 

 

Then it was time to finally bolt them all together, something I had done in my head a hundred times already lol.

 

 

 

 

And the big moment:

 

 

 

 

 

The big payoff hasn't yet happened. I was originally going to wait until Christmas, but I can't wait that long so my wife and I are going to head to my parents' house in a couple weeks. I really can't wait to give this to him, I'll be sure to snap a few photos of the man himself with the sign and post them here!

[Steve-Oh]

Oh, my, fawking, god. Job well done.

[SublimeRT]

Holy shit Dan!!  You are the man.  Your Dad is lucky to have a son like you and should be blown away.  The drawings are something else too.  I'm always amazed by people that can just whip up drawings like that.