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Projects Setting up a nice shop and making your own tools

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by ekimneirbo, Apr 15, 2019.

  1. ekimneirbo
    Joined: Apr 29, 2017
    Posts: 4,216

    ekimneirbo

    Last week I saw a really nice Mig cart on the HAMB but couldn't find it again to add mine to it. His cart inspired me to build one because his was so well done. It was made with one of the toolbox side cabinets from Harbor Freight. My compliments to him. Anyway, I didn't want to spend the $200 for one of those boxes, so I used a cabinet that I bought either from Craigs list or an auction and had been
    sitting under a workbench for years. The point here is that if you watch Craigslist and search for "cabinets", you can find some nice industrial ones for about $50, and they make nice additions to your shop. I consider myself to be a "tool-a-holic", and I continually search for tools that are better than what I have. Buy the better tool, sell my old one. Sometimes at a profit or just break even. I'm going to post a series of pictures of my shop and tools. I don't have one of those spotless agrandized garages
    full of expensive cars where you can eat off the floor. Eat something off my floor, and you better get a tetnus shot. The point is that with a little ingenuity you can make a workable shop for reasonable money.It just takes time and hard work. My pole barn was built over a couple of years with almost no real help...just hard work. I do admit to paying someone to pour the concrete floor. You can do it if you plan ahead.
    In my shop, my pride and joy is an overhead crane that was cobbled up with some H-beams bought cheaply at an auction. I beams would have been better for the trolleys, but the price was right. I use it constantly and it is the single best tool I have. Anyone who just runs even a single overhead beam will quickly find out how valuable it can be.
    Now on to the cart I started this thread about. I had some 4" Harbor Freight casters and tacked them to a small angle iron frame because that was what I had onhand. Then I put a 1/16 inch steel plate in the bottom to hold the bottle and the cabinet. I welded some bracing and made a "nest" for the bottle.
    Since it was an ESAB with some handles on it, I made a tab at the back that it slides under, and a bracket at the front to hold the welder in place when moved about.
     

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  2. Blue One
    Joined: Feb 6, 2010
    Posts: 11,459

    Blue One
    ALLIANCE MEMBER
    from Alberta

    Very nice cart for the welder. The drawers will be handy.
    Any idea on the original purpose of the cabinet ? Or who it's made by ?
     
  3. ekimneirbo
    Joined: Apr 29, 2017
    Posts: 4,216

    ekimneirbo

    As I said, I'm going to post some other pictures of my shop and projects. Wasn't sure how many attachments you can add to a post. First is a cart for a plasma cutter. Its simply a cheap HF weld cart that I made a new top shelf for. I added a pressure regulator and water separator right to the cart with a drain out the bottom. If you have a plasma cutter, be aware that water/moisture is the enemy of your plasma tip. This provides a way to insure water gets separated just before entering the machine and is preset for the pressure you want.
     

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  4. ekimneirbo
    Joined: Apr 29, 2017
    Posts: 4,216

    ekimneirbo

    Thanks! No I don't know who made it originally, but you can see that every drawer had a lock in it. The locks were all missing tumblers so I removed them. May get some of those little inserts like they use to fill holes in electrical panels to plug them up. Industrial Auctions are a good place to find old used cabinets cheaply....and a lot of other things that are adaptable for your shop. I like the size of these drawers as they are deep enough but not too deep.
     

  5. ekimneirbo
    Joined: Apr 29, 2017
    Posts: 4,216

    ekimneirbo

    Here is an old medical cart that I adapted to hold all the stuff for working on air conditioning. Just roll it up next to the vehicle and when done, roll it back in the corner with everything still where it needs to be. Think I gave about $20 for this cart at a School auction. Forgot to mention school auctions. Things "usually" go very cheaply at school auctions but some can be pricy. They also sell a lot of "video carts" that TVs and Monitors sit on. Usually $10 or less. They make great project carts. Set them next to the vehicle and put everything you unbolt on the cart. Then when its time to reinstall everything....its all right there.
     

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  6. treb11
    Joined: Jan 21, 2006
    Posts: 3,948

    treb11
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    I nade mine out of a mangled shopping cart I found on the side of the road.

    Sent from my SM-G965U using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
     
  7. ekimneirbo
    Joined: Apr 29, 2017
    Posts: 4,216

    ekimneirbo

    Here are some old microfilm cabinets that I bought off Craigslist for $60 each. Top quality cabinets. They had little
    dividers in the bottom of each drawer that I had to bend back and forth till the rivets broke..then I had some nice drawers to put stuff in. If you look at the one on the left, it has some vertical sliding drawers. Haven't figured what to use them for yet except maybe electrical tape in one of them. Couldn't figure out how to get it off the bottom cabinet without making a mess.
     

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  8. ekimneirbo
    Joined: Apr 29, 2017
    Posts: 4,216

    ekimneirbo

    As for cobbling up a crane, it takes some planning but when done, you will love it. . The first crane is a simple I beam that I put in my attached garage when that was the only place I had to work on things. I had a pit that I dug in the floor, and quickly learned that every tool I needed was always up in the toolbox and not in the pit. Filled that in and concreted over it. If you notice the two red bands around the post on the right, they were for a home made engine stand that swiveled around the post out of the way. The large heavy piece of machinery being hoisted is an old old
    sheet metal shear I bought at an auction. Decided it was too big for my needs and resold it.
     

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  9. ekimneirbo
    Joined: Apr 29, 2017
    Posts: 4,216

    ekimneirbo

    While the simple crane above still resides in my garage, I built a pole barn as I got more money to put into another building. I have a "lightweight" crane thats hooked to some pallet racking , a couple of uprights and then some little
    threaded rods extended up into the ceiling to give a little support to the short part of the beams after they were attached to the main uprights. I can lift about a thousand pounds out at the ends and somewhat more closer to the uprights and racking. Let me say right now, that if you don't have pallet racking in your shop, you are wasting space. Makes a hell-of-a-workbench and stores things in the free space above it. Anyway, this crane will lift an engine and transmission with no problem.
     

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  10. ekimneirbo
    Joined: Apr 29, 2017
    Posts: 4,216

    ekimneirbo

    This last crane is the most capable one. It has two trollies that roll and I can pick up complete truck/car frames or remove a cab by myself and set it on a cart or table in just a few minutes. It has a couple of I beams laid across the top which give me the ability to pick up something that needs a little more lifting at a distance to keep it level. Hard to get a good picture of the whole crane........
     

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  11. ekimneirbo
    Joined: Apr 29, 2017
    Posts: 4,216

    ekimneirbo

    Here are a few more things that some may get ideas from. First is an old wood workbench I built eons ago. I moved it to the back leanto and incorporated an engine stand into it. The stand can be removed quickly and stored, but its much handier than the roll around stands.
    Second is my oxy/acy cart. The axle is an old pinto rear with the center cut out and just the housing ends used. The bearings roll easy and Harbor Freight tires work well and bolt on. There is a tee fitting for each tank and sual gages mounted. One goes to a small welding torch requiring low pressure. The other goes to a large torch with either a cutting torch or a rosebud installed. Need high oxy presure for a rosebud to work. So I don't have to try to remember what settings or change torches. Bigger wheels roll more easily accross rough ground.
    Third pic is the King of all bead rollers. Don't know who built it but they did a nice job. Good for heavier gage metal like for a floorpan or something. Not great for small stuff.
    Next are some drafting cabinets that I bought 20 years ago for about $10 each. Removed the "wings" and threw them away and made me a bank of drawers for about a $100. No roller drawers, but I'm satisfied with them.
    The next cabinet is the one I reccommend that everyone try to find a couple of them on Craigslist for about $50 each. Heavy duty with just the right size drawers on rollers. Might have to keep checking for a while, but they do turn up.
    Then the next cabinets with fold out/up panels are great for storing all your spray cans,oil,filters,etc. Again, you can find them too for about $50 while I'm sure you will also see perfect ones for a lot more.
     

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  12. ekimneirbo
    Joined: Apr 29, 2017
    Posts: 4,216

    ekimneirbo

    OK, I'm winding down now, and I hope from looking at these pictures you'll get some ideas on how to make your shop more efficient. One of the best things you can do is get pallet racking and build a workbench with storage above. Then a couple more sections to get all the junk....err: treasures up off the floor and out of your way. Again, auctions and Craigslists will turn some up for a reasonable price if you keep looking.

    Now, everyone should show what tools they built or how they made their shop better!
     
    Last edited: Apr 15, 2019
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  13. Nice garage and equip.
     
  14. catdad49
    Joined: Sep 25, 2005
    Posts: 6,399

    catdad49
    Member

    Wow, a lot of great ideas for holding all you Stuff! Thanks
     
  15. L7
    Joined: Apr 22, 2009
    Posts: 131

    L7
    Member

  16. lostone
    Joined: Oct 13, 2013
    Posts: 2,820

    lostone
    Member
    from kansas

    I've built a few tools in my shop and have ideas for other ones but I've found that some of the needed items end up costing more by buying each separately vs. Just buying the tool itself.

    Example: buying a cheap ebay English wheel vs building and buying anvils, metal tube etc. It seems to be cheaper to buy the English wheel and add some reinforcing to it.

    Like most things separate component costs have risen where it's hard to build vs buy.
     
  17. Mr48chev
    Joined: Dec 28, 2007
    Posts: 33,861

    Mr48chev
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    I've picked up heavy duty file cabinets off the Government surplus auction These were in a Social Security office and work pretty good to store parts for projects in to keep the parts together. I got a stainless topped work table that TSA had and still does use when they swapped most of them over to different tables. That is a nice work bench. https://gsaauctions.gov/gsaauctions/gsaauctions/ You have to be careful though as the cost of gas can negate a bargain price of you have to drive too far to get what you bought.
    I hit the local Habit For Humanity store at least once a week and they often have nice cabinets that have been donated.
     
  18. treb11
    Joined: Jan 21, 2006
    Posts: 3,948

    treb11
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    Ya'll root for my wife and I. Not asking for prayers, that's too selfish. We're trying to close on a house that has a separate garage/shop that will be all mine. Insulated, a/c, cabinets galore. Looks like a car guy had it by the stickers still on the cabinet doors.
     
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  19. 41rodderz
    Joined: Sep 27, 2010
    Posts: 6,540

    41rodderz
    Member
    from Oregon

    I will send good thoughts your way on the house/shop. Nice with a/c. You must be living right. :D
     
  20. 41rodderz
    Joined: Sep 27, 2010
    Posts: 6,540

    41rodderz
    Member
    from Oregon

    I appreciate you taking the time to show everyone how you do the business end of things. Yours is the Taj Mahal compared to mine. With that being said, you should list your location so we can all come over and work out of yours. :D. Being a collector of fine treasures myself , more cabinets won't help when the treasures out number the floor,walls and rafters leaving little space for extra cabinets. I like to say it is a controlled chaos :p but I lost that war.
     
  21. ekimneirbo
    Joined: Apr 29, 2017
    Posts: 4,216

    ekimneirbo


    Thanks for all the compliments, but I hope I can share my ideas and others can adapt them to their situation. I agree with "Lostone" that try to build tools from scratch will often prove more expensive and time consuming than its worth. HF has made tools like English Wheels and Bead Rollers so cheap that its hard to build one from scrap and save money. That being said, if you look on U Tube you can find people who modified these tools and made them much better and stronger.
    There are many people out there who don't want anything lying around in their shop that they don't have a use for.
    Then there are the people like myself who buy stuff when they can and squirrel it away for some future unknown project. I want to say something here. The things I talk about and show, are not being done to brag, although I am
    proud of them. My whole idea is to encourage others to realize that if they are willing to work hard, they can have a very nice workshop. Yes it takes time and money no matter how you do it, but a willingness to work instead of just dream will get you there. As for building something like a sheet metal brake, its a waste of time and money because when you are done it has very little resale value.
    Here are my thoughts on acquiring good tools for your shop. If you buy a quality tool such as a Mig Welder, there are lots of "off brand" names available. Everlast has made a name lately and I was in the market to buy a secondary mig to run 023 wire for sheetmetal. Hate doing all the switching back and forth from 030 wire. I looked at Everlast since it wasn't going to be my primary welder. Everything looked pretty good till I found there were apparently no dealers or repair stations in my area and any problems would have required me to ship to California. Shipping isn't cheap. Personally I prefer Miller welders, and was ready to plunk down the money to buy a 211 on sale. The picture of my welding cart shows an ESAB which has also been around forever. Ran accross a deal where someone had used one 1 time and wanted a bigger one. So I bought the ESAB because I know they will be around if I need help.
    Seems to be a decent unit and has the auto set just like the Miller. Set the wire size. Set metal thickness. Then weld.
    Anyway, my other welder is a Miller 350P. I started out eons ago with a Miller Dial Arc. Sold it and moved up to a Miller 250. Someone stole it and with help from the insurance co I replaced it with a new 252. Used it a few years and sold it for about 80% of new and got a smokin deal on a 350P. The point here is that quality welders maintain their value if you keep them looking nice. If you have a problem they can be repaired. Cheap off brands are usually discarded when they fail, or don't perform well. Certain tools are "lifetime" buys and you should get good ones.
    Used tools like old sheetmetal brakes, slip rolls, and stomp shears have already depreciated. If you buy one it will always be worth what you gave for it...and maybe more. You have to continually look for them on Craigslist and at old industrial auctions. A friend was looking for a brake. I explained to him that at auctions a general rule of thumb (not always)is that people pick a max price in their mind, and its usually a round number.....50,100,300 etc.
    They will not spend .01 cent more than that. So either be the one who bids the round number or be willing to bid one or two bids above the round number, and you will often get what you want. The first brake came up for sale, a very heavy duty 4' finger brake. It got to $500, and he just stood there as it slipped away. A little later a 10' leaf brake came up for sale. It got to $500 and bidding waned. He had not bid. I kept looking at him and he wouldn't raise his hand.....so I did. A couple of bids later I bought it for $800. Still cheap for such a brake. Later he came over to me and offered me a $100 profit to let him have it. I declined and its been in my shop ever since. I could easily sell it for $2000/2500 any time I want...it just doesn't depreciate.
    Went to another auction and got a great deal on a 48" slip roll, 50" Niagra shear, and a12 gage heavy duty Asian finger brake. Paid less than a thousand dollars for all of them. I already had a Jet sheetmetal shear and decided to keep it and resell the Niagra....got $1500 for it. Had a nice lighter duty finger brake...sold it for $700 and kept the heavy duty Asian brake. Sold the slip roll for $500 as I had a smaller one that suited me better. Later I ran on to a deal on Ebay where a guy had a brand new Enco 12 gage finger brake for $2000. Bought it and sold the old Asian
    brake for $1500. Now after all the buying and selling I have tools which required me to invest some money but they will always be worth as much or more than I have in them. My welders will always be worth most of their original costs. Bought my son a Miller 212 about 6 years ago and paid $1700. Today, a new one is $2200...
    I buy lots of things at auctions just to get the high dollar casters they sit on. Buy something for $20/30 and get $200 worth of casters. Most everything I have is on wheels. Here is where making tools comes into play. You can adapt a lot of things to other uses if you are creative...and I love doing just that. Here are some pics to prove I don't make things up.
     

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  22. ekimneirbo
    Joined: Apr 29, 2017
    Posts: 4,216

    ekimneirbo

    follow on 1 :
     

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  23. ekimneirbo
    Joined: Apr 29, 2017
    Posts: 4,216

    ekimneirbo

    Follow on 2: First is the new Enco Finger brake. Have to go somewhere right now. But my point here is that if you work at it, you can outfit your shop reasonably cheaply. You have to save some money to get started, but as you go along you can find good deals and offset your costs. Hope this gets the ole gears a spinnin.......
     

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  24. Hollywood-East
    Joined: Mar 13, 2008
    Posts: 1,993

    Hollywood-East
    Member

    Kool Stuff!!!! Buddy ended up with a bunch of these medical Cart's, Absolutely Awesome for me, One has everything I need while doing body work tools on one side, Paper an supply's on the other, Constantly being used... Good thread! KIMG4554.JPG KIMG4555.JPG
     
  25. ekimneirbo
    Joined: Apr 29, 2017
    Posts: 4,216

    ekimneirbo

    Yep, thats what I'm talking about, seeing things for what they can be rather than what they are.
    My next picture is a nice table cart. I went to a large industrial auction and was trying to buy a certain kind of table/cart they had. Didn't have any luck at first, but as the day wore on, people began to leave and there weren't many bidders left. They had another one of the table/carts (16 ft long box tube). They decided to group a bunch of fabbed steel items and put them with the table. I got the table and all the other stuff for $125. Friend came over and wanted to buy the group of fabbed items. They were worth a lot but I didn't want to fool with hauling all that stuff. I told him I wanted the steel frame with the casters but would sell him the rest of the stuff. He offered me my $125 and we agreed. Now, he got a hell of a deal for $125, and I got what I wanted and the wheeled frame for nothing. I bought a steel plate that was part of something else at another auction for $75. I took the steel plate and welded it on the free
    cart and made a nice rolling table. Then I took the box tubing frame from the steel plate and cut it down to make a body dolley and added some large casters from yet another cheap auction purchase. So here are the pictures of the table and the body dolley. Total investment less than $200. You just have to watch for good buys at auctions and be a little creative.....
    Now that being said, I do admit to buying some things and later wishing that I hadn't. Everything is not always a win/win......but usually you can just resell them of Craigs list to someone else. But its fun once you get the hang of it.
     

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    Last edited: Apr 23, 2019

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