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Finishing my Buick Shop


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This 4-post lift (by Ben Pearson) is at least 25 years old but a wire wheel and sanding pad on an angle grinder cleaned it up much better than I thought it would.  I sprayed it with Rustoleum Rusty Metal primer and have been really impressed with how well it adheres to the old steel.  I top coated it with Rustoleum blue and yellow , both colors very close to original.

 

There’s a small handful of parts I’m waiting on but i’ll soon have this project behind me.  

 

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Edited by JoelsBuicks (see edit history)
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Boy that will be nice to have.  I'm going to have to have you come over for a few days so we can make some progress on mine. 

I actually have made some progress,  it's just so late when i finish that I can't get a picture as it's well after dark and all outside work.  The weather has been ridiculously cold here early and wet. so it's really been hampering progress.  Keep us updated,  it gives me some drive to get work done on mine.

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Hey Randy, thanks for checking in.  We got slammed with some bitter cold this week and I just wasn’t ready for it.  I have in my mind these thoughts that I’ll have plenty of work to do in the comfort of a heated area.  But, I rarely follow through with those thoughts because I’m in the middle of some project and want to see it through, regardless of the weather. 

 

Today I got a little further down the road on the lift project.  There’s probably a few good days left on this.  It has taken longer than I wanted, but what hasn’t?

 

 

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1 hour ago, JoelsBuicks said:

Today I got a little further down the road on the lift project.  There’s probably a few good days left on this.  It has taken longer than I wanted, but what hasn’t?

I'm starting to figure out how to estimate time.  Double whatever you have in mind,  then multiple it by 2.  If it involves alot of tools or materials,  add two more hours to find them all and a trip to the hardware or lumber yard for the one thing you ran short of.  

I finally have some progress I'll be posting on mine tonight.  

I know what you mean about the outside projects.  I just want to see stuff finished myself,  instead of a bunch of half done projects. Keep up the good work.

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18 hours ago, auburnseeker said:

I'm starting to figure out how to estimate time.  Double whatever you have in mind,  then multiple it by 2.

That calculation just about covers it and you’re right about the trips to the hardware store - you always forget something. 

 

Today I got a little closer with the lift.  

 

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I got everything picked up outside and got my plow on the tractor in anticipation of the 4 to 8 inch storm coming tomorrow.  Next week they are calling for a high of 25.  Now it's starting to get ridiculous. Like you mentioned as well,  the days are so short with overnight lows of single digits and daytime highs of not even freezing really makes it tough to get much done especially since the warm part of the day is about 2 to 3 PM. 

That lift is looking good. 

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  • 3 weeks later...

After rebuilding a leaking hydraulic cylinder I finally got this lift in shape.  But, I wasn’t confident enough to try it out on a Buick so the old pickup went up first.  

 

It all all went well but I was far from comfortable walking under it.  I can easily see that it latches on all four corners - I suppose you just have to learn to trust it.    Like everything else,  this took way too long.

 

Now it’s on to the paint booth. 

 

 

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Oh, almost forgot, when you get a good look at the underside of your pickup, there’s no telling what you’ll see. 😩

 

 

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Edited by JoelsBuicks (see edit history)
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The down flow in the paint booth will be accomplished with this 5 HP centrifugal blower turning about 3000 rpm.  The 8” suction line tees into a “drain” line below grade.  I’ve documented this design previously in this thread.

 

 My rough calculations estimate the downward velocity inside the booth will be about 6 inches per second.  However, the velocity at the blower exit will be about 110 mph.  

 

Lots of work left to do on this but this is a pretty good start. 

 

 

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Looks good.  Doesn't everything always take longer than it should?

Nice spare on the Chevy. ;) 

Amazed how rust free it looks compared to the crap around here with all the salt they use. 

Looks like you'll be done before me.  I could use some help over here when you are done.  My wife will tell you I don't pay real well though. 

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Thanks Randy.  Being done is probably never going to happen for me.  There’s always something else that I will want to do.  Things like adequate shelving, trim, handrails, tool organizers and then repairing things that go bad will ensure I never get done.

 

But today, the blower is now working!  

 

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Edited by JoelsBuicks (see edit history)
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I've decided for all my light duty shelving,  to buy all rollable shelving.  You can even get the smaller units full of plastic bins for around 150 on Amazon.   I bought larger open ones for everything else.  As long as you aren't storing Cylinder heads and engine blocks on them,  they work great and i won't tell you how nice being mobile is. They are still pretty rugged though and never in the wrong place. 

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  • 1 month later...

I need to go look at this Sam’s club shelves but I learned that our membership expired.  I guess we weren’t getting much out of Sam’s.  I still haven’t made any progress with shelving.

 

I did get my compressor moved outside and I have been working to pipe up air to both the woodshop and my new shop.  I have two compressors that now can be connected together through buried piping between shops.   Once completed there will be 22 “air drops” with quick connect fittings.  Figure about $10 worth of fittings for each drop and this gets expensive. 

 

I was was concerned about water freezing in the compressor tank drain line so I built an automated drain using a solenoid valve and a time controller. I hooked up the time controller to the pressure switch and so the valve is actuated each time the compressor cycles.  I set the controller to  open the solenoid valve for one second.  

 

Got a break in the weather but wet and cold is on it’s way.

 

 

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21 minutes ago, EmTee said:

That installation would never work where I'm located!  I'd be shoveling snow off it this morning...  :(

I know the feeling.  I'm starting to wonder why I didn't move further south when I bought the new house 4 years ago.  Hard to get much work done outside with a high in the teens. 

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19 minutes ago, auburnseeker said:

I know the feeling.  

 

Ha -- I was thinking of you while I was typing my response!  ;)  Between the cold & the taxes I'm thinking of moving down to Asheville with my son!

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If it wasn't for family in the area,  It would have been an easy decision to move I think.  If we hadn't found the set up we did,  I might have looked further south and just made the plunge. 

I ask myself every day in the winter,  exactly why did we decide to stay here and deal with 1/2 the year I hate.  Rust, freezing cold,  can't use our old cars, High taxes(enough so, you could buy a new truck with the savings in another state). 

I better stop thinking there or I will be calling the realtor. ;) 

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Eventually I’ll fashion a piece of tin to shed the water away from the compressor.  Snow concerns here are no concern at all but ice is.  

 

I would not not want to be any further north because of the cold.  Maybe it would be different if I had a strictly indoor hobby but I am getting to be less of a cold person every year.  I’m less of a hot person as well.  

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 1/11/2019 at 3:43 PM, JoelsBuicks said:

Eventually I’ll fashion a piece of tin to shed the water away from the compressor.  Snow concerns here are no concern at all but ice is.  

 

I would not not want to be any further north because of the cold.  Maybe it would be different if I had a strictly indoor hobby but I am getting to be less of a cold person every year.  I’m less of a hot person as well.  

 

 

I live north of you in the KC area.  Terribly hot and humid summers and cold, rainy, snowy winters.  Worst of both worlds.  Can't put on enough clothes in the winter and get any work done and can't take enough off in the summer without the neighbors calling the cops.

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  • 2 weeks later...

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