Projecting, tinkering, fiddle-farting around: whatcha building? (3 Viewers)

[65swb45]

My son has become quite the connesouir of whiskey, not that he can afford to do so on a teacher’s salary. He has taken a liking to accessorizing his living space with whiskey themed paraphernalia.

He came down for winter break last week with a whiskey cask and a vision of making it into a double-door cabinet. Yesterday we drilled the metal bands and pinned them to stabilize them for the project and cut the cask open.

After getting over the immediately hangover headache I got from the emanating fumes!!! I measured the inside of the cask. A few years ago I had rescued an interesting piece of one inch thick laminated oak that had split before it was finished being made into something and stashed it in a dark corner of the garage (as if my wife doesn’t know I’m a hoarder!) I had brought my table saw home from the shop even though I am not done with my porch project yet, because I had a hunch we might need it. My son got to watch dad, with 40 years of experience on the saw, turn the plank from square to round, slowly rotating and cutting out wedges, then using the blade tip like a router. The shelf turned out almost as rustic as the barrel.

He still needs to find the hinges he wants to reattach the cutouts as doors. But he’s stoked.

 

[65swb45]

And my almost-finished porch project (details in my warehouse fire thread)

 

[Hack]

So the addiction continues...

Picked up another Craftsman 'stack'. This one is a 1976 vintage that also included the intermediate (2-drawer) box. 10 drawer top, 9 drawer lower. No pics of it before tearing into it, I'm bad about that....

This stack isn't in the greatest of conditions. It had a hard life before it came to me. One of the previous owners was a mechanic (his license was still glued to the inner lid). Then it got shuffled around after his death.

Lots of heavy rust in a few spots, there's at least one bad caster, the upper has been 'previous owner modified' so that three of the smaller drawer can be opened with the lid closed. Lots of little dings, dents, etc. to pound out. I don't know how far I'll go with this one. I really only wanted the intermediate box (which are somewhat rare), but I ended up having to purchase the entire stack. And yeah, I paid too much for it. But I drove over two hours to get it, so I wasn't leaving without it. Negotiated the price down $100, but still a bit more than I really wanted to pay. However, I may just clean the upper/lower up, and put them for sale. I've already got a 10 drawer upper/9 drawer lower combo. Probably get all my money (and travel expense) back, and still keep the intermediate box. But heck... I might also keep them. Who doesn't need another tool box?? Or boxes???

Gallon an half of Super Clean, 2+ days of work, and all the drawer and slides are cleaned:

Upper box slides:

Lower box slides and intermediate box slides have been 'cleaned/bagged/tagged'.

It's been in the 20's for the past several days, so I'm waiting for a bit warmer temps to get out in the driveway and pressure wash the three cabinets.

 

[Land Shark]

So the addiction continues...

Picked up another Craftsman 'stack'. This one is a 1976 vintage that also included the intermediate (2-drawer) box. 10 drawer top, 9 drawer lower. No pics of it before tearing into it, I'm bad about that....

View attachment 2536250

View attachment 2536251

This stack isn't in the greatest of conditions. It had a hard life before it came to me. One of the previous owners was a mechanic (his license was still glued to the inner lid). Then it got shuffled around after his death.

Lots of heavy rust in a few spots, there's at least one bad caster, the upper has been 'previous owner modified' so that three of the smaller drawer can be opened with the lid closed. Lots of little dings, dents, etc. to pound out. I don't know how far I'll go with this one. I really only wanted the intermediate box (which are somewhat rare), but I ended up having to purchase the entire stack. And yeah, I paid too much for it. But I drove over two hours to get it, so I wasn't leaving without it. Negotiated the price down $100, but still a bit more than I really wanted to pay. However, I may just clean the upper/lower up, and put them for sale. I've already got a 10 drawer upper/9 drawer lower combo. Probably get all my money (and travel expense) back, and still keep the intermediate box. But heck... I might also keep them. Who doesn't need another tool box?? Or boxes???

Gallon an half of Super Clean, 2+ days of work, and all the drawer and slides are cleaned:

View attachment 2536252 View attachment 2536253

Upper box slides:

View attachment 2536254

Lower box slides and intermediate box slides have been 'cleaned/bagged/tagged'.

It's been in the 20's for the past several days, so I'm waiting for a bit warmer temps to get out in the driveway and pressure wash the three cabinets.

Love these old boxes

 

[fjbj40]

Getting there!

 

[mmajsw]

I have a couple contributions to make to the project building ideas.
I am always forgetting my Dewalt batteries in the charger. The lucky ones only stay in for a couple hours. The unlucky ones will be there for days and days.
I finally figured out that he ones that were in for days, usually died an early death, so I decided to stop that scenario.
I added a timer to my charging outlet and came up with this.

I can now dial in the 40 or 50 minute charge, walk away and know that the battery will get a safe charge time. Works for both the NiCAD and lithium batteries.

The second item was a magnetic vise for drilling, grinding or milling metal. I had collected a bunch of microwave transformers over the years and decided it was time to make one.
Lots of instructions on the internet. Easy to make and very useful. Still have a final layer of epoxy to pour, leveling the top, milling everything flush and paint. But the main part is done.

 

[Hack]

The addiction gets worse.... An estate sale popped up less than 10 miles from me. There was two gray/red Craftsman boxes: 10 drawer top, 5 + Bay lower. They looked good, and even though I already have those, I wanted them...

But, alas, they had sold earlier in the morning. Dang the luck! Somebody got a sweet deal for $135 on both boxes. But not to be totally disheartened, I started sniffing around and located a 2 drawer. 1973 vintage. It even had a few sockets/extension in it. And it was in very good condition. But.... I already have two of these. Do I need another? No. Do I want another? Hell Yes! $35 and it was mine.

Brought it home, cleaned it up, cut some new drawer liners, and it's ready for use:

Does anybody think I need a twelve step program?

 

[65swb45]

The addiction gets worse.... An estate sale popped up less than 10 miles from me. There was two gray/red Craftsman boxes: 10 drawer top, 5 + Bay lower. They looked good, and even though I already have those, I wanted them...

But, alas, they had sold earlier in the morning. Dang the luck! Somebody got a sweet deal for $135 on both boxes. But not to be totally disheartened, I started sniffing around and located a 2 drawer. 1973 vintage. It even had a few sockets/extension in it. And it was in very good condition. But.... I already have two of these. Do I need another? No. Do I want another? Hell Yes! $35 and it was mine.

Brought it home, cleaned it up, cut some new drawer liners, and it's ready for use:

View attachment 2540532 View attachment 2540533

Does anybody think I need a twelve step program?

It’s got to be a cheaper addiction than Landcruisers!

 

[Hack]

It’s got to be a cheaper addiction than Landcruisers!

Oh, yeah.... I fully know the price of dealing with old junk. I love old stuff, but it is an expensive habit..

 

[65swb45]

Barrel with hinges installed

 

[Prairie Swamp]

Barrel with hinges installed
View attachment 2540780View attachment 2540781

Nice! Thanks for posting that. The girlfriend wants me to do exactly that for a corner cabinet in the backyard cabin. There's a coupe guys around here that set up and sell used whiskey barrels out of shipping containers on Sundays. Sometimes you get lucky.

 

[Hack]

Sometimes you get lucky.

View attachment 2541001

Taste Test????

 

[Prairie Swamp]

It's good whiskey. Not bourbon I don't believe. 90 proof . One of the (empty) barrels I bought had marks indicating it was Canadian. I'm not a Canadian whiskey fan but it tastes like it s in that ballpark. Especially considering my proximity to Windsor.


There's a guy that goes there on Sundays to pick thru barrels just for the residual. Claims to find barrels 1/3 to 1/2 full.

 

[DRANGED]

I have a couple contributions to make to the project building ideas.
I am always forgetting my Dewalt batteries in the charger. The lucky ones only stay in for a couple hours. The unlucky ones will be there for days and days.
I finally figured out that he ones that were in for days, usually died an early death, so I decided to stop that scenario.
I added a timer to my charging outlet and came up with this.

View attachment 2540505

I can now dial in the 40 or 50 minute charge, walk away and know that the battery will get a safe charge time. Works for both the NiCAD and lithium batteries.

The second item was a magnetic vise for drilling, grinding or milling metal. I had collected a bunch of microwave transformers over the years and decided it was time to make one.
Lots of instructions on the internet. Easy to make and very useful. Still have a final layer of epoxy to pour, leveling the top, milling everything flush and paint. But the main part is done.

View attachment 2540512

I thought those had overcharge protection built in? No?

 

[fjbj40]

Started stove install today with wife and pup

 

[Hack]

So, I found a pic of the last Craftsman stack I bought:

Like I posted above, it had led a really hard life before I got it. Going to be a challenge to get this one back in service.

 

[fjbj40]

Officially a capable camp, other than having to build a s***ter

 

[TYM4FUN]

My daughters share what is like a second master bedroom. In it are two smaller rooms and my oldest (9) wanted some kind of a separation. So she came up with the idea of ivy with little LED's. I stapled them to a scrap peice of redwood, then nailed it on her side of the wall. She loves it. No pic with the lights because they were defective and getting replaced.

 

[mmajsw]

I thought those had overcharge protection built in? No?

At least not in the NiCADs. I have my batteries numbered and the ones that are stuck in the charger for days always dies quickly. I am more very careful with the lithium batteries .
The other issue might be the charger I am using. I buy my tools one at a time, hence tend to use whatever charger is currently in use. I just took a look a t NiCAD one I am using and it was from 2010. There should have been improvements made to them since then.

 

[Hack]

So after spending 2 hours (38 degrees) in my driveway de-greasing/pressure washing the cabinets, I found an ugly previous owner repair. I'm assuming it was by the original owner, as the person I bought it from probably doesn't have the equipment (oxy-acetylene setup) to do a funky braze on some screwed up inner slide supports. Definitely made the decision to just re-assemble (I did put new casters on the lower) both boxes. They're going up for sale on FB Marketplace tonight.

All the drawers work good on the upper. On the lower, the smaller drawers slide, but it takes a bit more force to open/close, than if 'new'.

If I don't get close to the asking price, they may still end up in my basement. Or if my son wants them, he can put them in his enclosed trailer.

I'm keeping the middle box. Just spent an hour of so wrestling with it inside my sand blast cabinet to remove some of the heavy rust. I did get the two drawers painted along with the cover piece:

I only painted the fronts. Masked off the aluminum 'pulls' before spraying a coat of self etching primer, followed by some sand-able primer. A light touch with some 400 grit, then blew on the Rustoleum Sunrise Red. They turned out okay. Not 'showroom', but it's not a Ferrari, it's a tool box...