Underground Lair of the Squankum

Squankum · Oct 9, 2011

All we have is legends and grainy photographs...

It's my first garage, but the house is a rental. Still a huge step up after two decades of parking lot wrenching in the hot sun, cold rain, etc.

One garage door, three cars nose to tail. I could go kooky and fit another short car in there too, if I ever have a relapse of racing fever. But that would be cramped and silly.

There's a nice-sized shop area down at the end, to the right.

Three old German cars: a sedan, a hatchback, a wagon.

More later. Just thought I'd finally get the ball rolling.

930dreamer · Oct 9, 2011

Tell us more.

luvit · Oct 9, 2011

that' grun! ..i mean, great! ..& fun..
fun as in "shhh.. i own a chop shop" kind of fun.
.

browntown · Oct 9, 2011

That's pretty cool. All the old places I rented when I was younger never had anything nearly as interesting.

Squankum · Nov 4, 2011

Okay, a little late, here's what I made for the yard for the trick-or-treating yute: a yardsquatch.

(All we have is grainy photos, old Indian legends, and 4 x 8 sheets of plywood.)

Tools used that I didn't have a year ago:
* El cheapo Chinese Skil jigsaw, coarse blade
* Norseman drill bits (thank you, GJ!)
* El cheapo Vermont American spade bits

Wal-Marty supplies used:
* Big tent pegs
* Camo rope
* El cheapo Rayovac incandescent flashlights with red taillight tape on the lenses
* El cheapo steel 90 degree brackets

Also involved:
* Two old German hose clamps
* Quart of brown paint
* One zip tie

Next year, it needs a fog machine and better backlighting.

NEW - click on thumbnail for decent big version of picture.

And maybe some sound effects.

www.bfro.net/avevid/sierrasounds/911.asp

Say, do cheap jigsaws have thermal circuit breakers or something? I was racing the sunset when I started sawing this in the driveway, and sometimes it would just stop working until I gave it a few seconds' rest. Not a binding issue. Then it would start right back up and I went right back into my Beavis-like frenzy.

It's 8 feet tall. Kinda intimidating when you're looking up at it.
:scared:

Omphaloskeptic · Nov 5, 2011

Looks like garage security to me! lol

NUTTSGT · Nov 5, 2011

Love the yardsquatch, that would be great to have at Halloween.

Squankum · Nov 8, 2011

Another very serious project in the shop this weekend: repairing a matchbox slipcover. Glue seam came undone. Figured I’d just live with it, but after two or three spills of the matches (and no Rainman nearby to count them), I figured, that’s it, it’s time for Elmer’s Glue vengeance.

Got to use my new El Cheapo HF bar clamps, too! (See also: Olsen, Jack,
You Can Never Have Enough Clamps. Green Paint Press, Redondo Beach, CA, 2010.)

More serious projects coming in the future, I swear. :thumbup:

Background of pic is the top of my new Enco shop stool. More on that someday.

horizontallyopposed · Nov 9, 2011

Squankum, that picture of bar clamps holding the glue on a matchbox slip cover may be the ultimate expression of the mentality on the Garage Journal.
"Throw it away? But it can be fixed!!!"

Thanks for the laugh.
-Keith

Squankum · Nov 11, 2011

Recently ordered a Mayhew Dominator, 10" overall length. Everybody was oohing and aahing over the value and quality of the Sears Craftsman Pro set, but since I already had big and medium Mayhew prybars from ten years ago, I figured I really just needed a small one, and being a compact size it would come in handy for all sorts of little projects. Also, DieselResearch endorsed the shorties as being terribly handy, go-to tools.

$20ish delivered from some amazon seller. My first prybar with a striking end cap.

Before I had even received it, my inner Beavis was giggling. "I have a ten-inch Dominator! It's got a soft grip where you grab it and you can beat on the end as hard as you want... heh heh... heh heh heh... it's mine... it's for me to use... Dominator..."

Here's a pic of the tool:

And here's the packaging that I found amusing:

Heh heh... Dominator...

blue dog · Nov 12, 2011

You funny, make me giggle. Please speak more.

NUTTSGT · Nov 12, 2011

HF bar clamps holding a matchbox, yep that seems about their capability level.

Squankum · Nov 17, 2011

Not really a proper review, so I'll post it here. Just got it, used it a little, am very pleased with it.

Sears Craftsman Easy Fire Stapler. Takes T50-type staples.

(The T50 you see on it the pic, I wrote that with a Sharpie. Did Sears really think I'd go back to buy Sears staples? Geez.)

$23.99 at Ace Hardware, which seems to mirror the nearby Sears exactly on pricing, minus $5.00 Ace rewards card. Comes with a decent number of staples (1,500), and a little stick of brads that it can shoot, too.

The staples fly out where the blue arrow is. So you push on the end of the handle where you want to push the stapler against the work, unlike the old-timey kind of T50 staplers that challenged me as a boy. Maybe this isn't news, but I'm a bit of a Rip VanWinkle and it's all news to me. Long travel, light action, then, at the last moment, the spring is released and POW! the staple is driven.

Bought this in preparation for a yard sale. Put three signs on furring strip poles, put all the other signs on telephone poles. This thing put corrugated cardboard onto telephone poles with .540" staples with good penetration.

That little finger guide is a nice thing, too. Does it do anything, really? I don't know, but it feels good between index and middle finger, so there.

By the end of the weekend, I was using it to shoot brads to fix a frooty little piece of furniture for the missus.

Made in USA. Very plasticky chassis overall, but I guess I'll live. Selector switch you see in the picture is so you can extend a little metal guide out of the nose and around electrical wiring and be sure to shoot your staple on either side of the wire.

Squankum · Jul 17, 2013

I'm back! Changes in the world of computers had me dense about uploading photos. I have stories to tell, so I'll just start back in 2011, bit by bit.

Old: gray Craftsman toolbox, late 60's, early 70's, inherited from my father.

Long term: red Craftsman three drawer, bought in late 80's, lived a lot of my mechanical life out of this for 25 years, amazing how much you can organize in one of these! After I got a roller tool chest I hemmed and hawed for months about moving my tools out of this -- I always knew where to reach! I almost tried to sell off the top chest and just put this on top of the bottom chest.

Passing through: stray kitten, scrawny. So adorable we found her a home within a week.

New: Snap On roto head ratchet, ebay, new. Not a Dual 80, but you coulda fooled me, it's so smooth. Very long handle, though, and because of that I haven't used it as much as I thought I would.

Also, this is all on a workbench. And it has a vise on it. Fantastic deal on Craigslist, two workbenches, delivered by two dudes within an hour, $100ish, plus a vise. Fantastic way to start off the shop, after being a caveman in a parking lot for so long.

Mag-Lite: wrapped in white cotton athletic tape. I first did this because I was using them in the woods in cold weather, bare handed, while I was tracking. Prevents the heat being sucked out of your hand by the aluminum. Turns out it's a great grippy texture! Looks dirty fast, but who cares? Very easy to put another layer on.

Audicon · Jul 17, 2013

How about more on the garage?

davo727 · Jul 17, 2013

Want more pics of cat

Squankum · Jul 17, 2013

Just a little bit at a time, it's going to take me a while to catch up!

Shelving unit, it was here when I moved in, thank gawd. 34.5" deep, to the ceiling, 10 1/2 feet wide. It could use some help, but I haven't filled it up yet, don't need to start customizing it quite yet.

This was as I was moving in.

Squankum · Jul 17, 2013

Okay, one more of that cat.

Squankum · Jul 17, 2013

Redneck air filter. I invented this myself, later found out I wasn't the first. Lots of dust got kicked up as I moved in/cleaned up. I've since just kept this running to fight dust in general (it works) and to keep air moving to help fight mildew.

Duct tape and a 20" x 20" furnace filter, that's all it takes. I change it about once a year. Sure gets gray and gross!

Oh, and another customization I do for my box fans: Why stop and think? I put a big arrow on the top for airflow direction (made more sense before the filter made things ****** obvious) and I've used a Sharpie to fill in and darken the arrow/numbers on rotary knob. (Something the factory might have done 30 years ago, but they're trying to sell them for $11 at Wal-Mart, so, that corner gets cut.)

Someday I'm going to build better plywood feet for my box fans, but not a pressing matter for now. Hate those plastic feet falling out or breaking.

luvit · Jul 17, 2013

i think of a lot of things on my own.. but why couldn't i have thought of that box fan/filter. i'm going to do that one.

Haveblue · Jul 18, 2013

Im glad Im not the only crazy MF here, makes me feel less alone! Im enjoying this thread! "Everyone, carefully light your lamp,dont break away from the group, and we will proceed deeper into the Underground Lair of the Squankum."

Squankum · Jul 18, 2013

Ah, this one brings back memories. This is the shop corner; this workbench came with the house. It's low at 29.5", but unlike a certain other Scandinavian-American on GJ, I don't like having all my benches at the same height. I'm up there in size, yet I've come to appreciate the lowness of this one. And it's a few inches over 8 feet long.

This pic reminds me of how much stuff I've since moved into the shop, and how much **** I have cluttering up this bench right now. Even if the work area that's left exposed is now, er, 2 x 3 feet, well... I'm still way ahead of the game, compared to my parking lot years.

Lighting is pathetic in this 1950's-ish garage. I've added a bunch of lights since.

Squankum · Jul 18, 2013

Another pic from two years ago. Bought a compressor off of Craigslist. Appeared to be a year or two old and merely dusty, hardly used, perhaps never used.

I had no idea what I was doing, for all I knew, this aluminum tube was broken when I bought it. My first compressor, and I'm learning. After tussling with it some, I realized, odds are 50/50 I just broke it grabbing that tube like it was a handle. Not that I'd do that on purpose, but these things get awkward and roly poly real quick. And I brought it home in the back of my hatchback. Later tussling with it during repairs/upgrades reminded me just how much these top heavy things want to get away from you.

Felt silly at first, spending big and getting fairly big capacity (30g) for my first compressor, have since not regretted it in the slightest! Having a compressor is AWESOME!

Squankum · Jul 18, 2013

For those of you who've never tussled with tubing with ferrule-type fittings, here's what I removed to fix that broken aluminum tube. It's a compression fitting, it flares the soft aluminum tube as you tighten it, airtight seal is made.

Replacement nut/ferrule part are found in the plumbing section of your hardware store, mundane stuff, apparently, cheap, too.

I did have to cut off about 5/8" of the end of the tubing where it met the air pump; I used a small tubing cutter wheel for that. The aluminum tubing is soft enough, and there's enough bend in that curved piece to just bend it all over and make it touch at the tip.

Old hat for the old salts here, I'm sure, but it was news to me, thought I'd help out folks who haven't had the pleasure.

It was yet another project that I put off, dreaded, procrastinated on, and when it was done, kicked myself in the *** for not having done it sooner. Easy!

There's a stick in this picture. Kept the ferrule from rolling away.

Squankum · Jul 18, 2013

My first drill press. Harbor Freight, $30ish, used off of Craigslist. It may be complete ****, I'm not sure yet. It so tiny that I keep it under the workbench right now.

The price was right! As soon as the right vintage Atlas or Craftsman shows up down the street, I'm throwing this thing in a lake. :lol_hitti

Just kidding. I'll take it to the metal scrap yard and send it back to China so it can come back as an even sh****r HF drill press!

Bull · Jul 18, 2013

Squankum said:
Redneck air filter. I invented this myself, later found out I wasn't the first. Lots of dust got kicked up as I moved in/cleaned up. I've since just kept this running to fight dust in general (it works) and to keep air moving to help fight mildew.

Duct tape and a 20" x 20" furnace filter, that's all it takes. I change it about once a year. Sure gets gray and gross!

Oh, and another customization I do for my box fans: Why stop and think? I put a big arrow on the top for airflow direction (made more sense before the filter made things ****** obvious) and I've used a Sharpie to fill in the darken arrow/numbers on rotary knob. (Something the factory might have done 30 years ago, but they're trying to sell them for $11 at Wal-Mart, so, that corner gets cut.)

Someday I'm going to build better plywood feet for my box fans, but not a pressing matter for now. Hate those plastic feet falling out or breaking.

Holy ****! That's a wicked good idea; a cheap little air filter. I wonder if it would help pick up cat hair from my mouse killer who lives in my barn? And during/after a sanding project it's got to be handy, too.

I'm making one!

Squankum · Jul 18, 2013

Air filter:
Buddy of mine who is sometimes a paint & body guy in his home shop says he sets up two of these to pump filtered air into his sealed off shop, to create positive pressure, with no dust, before painting, keep out the bad dusty air, just like real body shops do now.

He was the one who informed me that my idea wasn't original, but there's another application for ya.

I don't know about cat hair. Kitties are not allowed down below. The slim chance that they'll lick antifreeze makes the missus flip out, and she has lost a cat that way, so I agree with the policy.

Squankum · Jul 18, 2013

Er, I wish I could add this to post #24, but not sure how to do it from thissy here tablet.

This is a better picture of the aluminum tube's break.

Squankum · Jul 19, 2013

An accesory for my li'l drill press: an old Stanley drill press vise that I got on ebay. It's quite nice.

Eventually I noticed, hey, this thing rocks. As in, back and forth. I looked more closely, er, this thing must have been dropped before I got it. Dangit! Why didn't I ever notice it before?

Anybody with a milling machine who wants to take pity on (or a small fee) from me, let me know! I assume that's the fix for the twist in what should be a flat bottom.

Squankum · Jul 19, 2013

Another trip down memory lane: when my bins were new and empty! This thing is getting close to full.

Akro-Mills Model 10-136. Hard clear plastic drawers, gray plastic frame, but all well done.

Thanks to GJ, I found out that there is **** sold at stores ("Stack On"? Anybody who tries to fool people into mistaking them for a great brand is suspect right off the bat!) and then there is the good stuff, like Akro-Mills. Found this one on ebay.

And now I'm telling you the model number. And myself, because I just spent two minutes trying to read it. It's on the bottom. :headscrat

So now I have the number stored here for when I need to order the next.

Yet another thing I don't know how I lived without it before.

Squankum · Jul 19, 2013

And now for a wee project. What can Squankum build out of furring strip? Part One of a continuing series.

Ford van gas pedal height extension for short driver. Some wood, two bolts, washers, nylock nuts, black spray paint.

Squankum · Jul 19, 2013

Another pic of the pedal project.

This was something you could almost do slapdash with your head in the footwell, but a) controls are an important safety issue b) the pedal structure is plastic, hollow, and ther was some webbing that didn't want to let a washer reside cleanly back in there, so out the gas pedal assembly came -- very easy! And I clearanced a little of the plastic webbing with a Dremel.

The short driver likes it. Van ergonomics aren't always the greatest on long trips, that lesson I've learned myself.

I swear, this thread will get less picayune someday.

pepi · Jul 19, 2013

Squankum said:
Okay, one more of that cat.

happen cat they are great friends

Squankum · Jul 24, 2013

Another old pic.

WARNING: The Mechanic General has determined that Knipex pliers kick total *** and can be addictive. Never pay retail. Always shop for a bargain. Cobras, pictured here, are a gateway drug. Teeth so sharp & tough. Indispensible on junkyard runs.

Squankum · Jul 24, 2013

Old pic.

Years in a parking lot, perching a cardboard office paper box top on a light wooden chair.... then, a house, and then, this. HOW do ya live without a roller cart? Wow, these are awesome. A handy flat surface, wherever you need it.

My quick review: Sears costs much more than HF, do not pay retail, shop hard. I got mine off ebay, new in box, from a Juggalo, actually, and at a fairer price than retail.

Metal isn't flimsy or flexy like I've heard about with the HF carts. Paint job is very nice, maybe too nice, nice enough to get you upset the day it gets battle scarred. Depending on how **** you are. Somedays I am, somedays I'm slobby. Bought it to use it, I'm going to say for this one.

I don't remember why I assembled it upstairs, heh heh. I don't know about wheel quality (these are good) but I'm guessing paint quality and metal thickness are what make this a class above HF. But if you're on a budget, hell, any flat surface on wheels that you can drag around the shop is oodles better than not having one!

Squankum · Jul 24, 2013

Old pic.

Quick little project: Dingy old hub center caps for an E-150. My first bench grinder.

Used Simichrome, because in my little Eurofoofoo world, that is The Polish.

Made a pretty good dent in the situation, this is an "after" pic.

These are more of a polished stainless than a chrome, I think. In the year since, they got dingy again. Am I supposed to wax something like this or what? (I have lived forever in Eurofoofoo land, a world without chrome.)

Haveblue · Jul 24, 2013

Ive got an old Clarke cart similar to that,that I use as a "utillity cart" I dont use it for tools, usually,but its great for dropping transfer cases,or storing parts on a big job! Ive even put a few trannies on it. That craftsman looks a little more solid than mine.

pepi · Jul 24, 2013

Locktite the hardware .

Squankum · Jul 24, 2013

How I label drawers.

When I moved into the roller tool chest, I wasn't sure where I wanted things. I wanted labels I could move someday if I changed my organization method. I used a DYMO label maker and flexible magnetic sheet, at first. Fiddling about with magnetic sheet and a razor knife got tedious. Then I figured out a better way.

Here's how it turned out. If you see an uneven edge, that was an early label.

Squankum · Jul 24, 2013

The DYMO. And 1/2" wide magnetic strip, found at a big box craft supply store called Michael's. Just the right width for DYMO label.

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