3.24.2019

Jim flipped over the ends of the workbench today and painted the front side...

He also painted the angle piece for the front of the wood rack...

Then while the paint started to dry, he headed down to the metal shop to work on the side pieces of the work bench.  He has to do a lot of pre-planning so that he can drill all the holes he will need now while it's easier - so he is measuring and marking holes for fastening the top of the bench eventually, as well as all of the button weld holes and other fasteners.

Drilling...

Making good progress on drilling all the holes...

High 49/Low 22

3.23.2019

Jim finished the 3-step cleaning and prep process for the ends of the workbench this morning and then started painting!

Back sections are all painted!

Then it was back in the metal shop to make more pieces for the long sides of the table...

He also cut and drilled this piece of angle - he's going to use it for a front support for the wood rack just to keep things square and stable.

In order to drill the holes in the long pieces, he had to open up the Control Room door and extend the piece into that room!

He got 16 of the 24 holes that need to be drilled in this piece all finished...

Off to church!

High 38/Low 22

3.22.2019

We woke up to not-quite spring weather today - about 2" of snow along with freezing rain.  Of course, I had an early morning doctor appointment, so Jim drove me to Saratoga.  He didn't even mind that I had some grocery errands to run!  (Best husband ever). The snow turned to rain in the afternoon but we are supposed to get more snow tonight.

Once we got back home, Jim got back to work on the parts for the workbench.  He drilled all the holes for button welds for the end tie pieces...

Starting to lay things out and get every squared up and clamped.  Plus he had a lot of work to do grinding all the surfaces that are to be welded.

Both tie pieces all welded onto the legs...

The inside view of the bench end piece...

With a close-up look at all the welding...

 The pretty front view!

Then it was time to start all over again and do the same for the other end piece...

Both ends are now done and up in the workshop!  This is how big the bench will be - it will be so great for Jim to have a big area to work on.  He started doing the cleaning process before hopefully painting tomorrow.

High 39/Low 26 - winter weather advisory; 2" of snow so far

3.21.2019

Jim continued doing steel work today on his workbench.  He got all the attachment holes drilled in the legs.

Then had to tap each hole so that they would be threaded...

Next he welded these clip angles on to each leg...

Jim was showing me how it would go together - he cut these connecting pieces and they will be welded to the back of the clip angles...

High 43/Low 33

3.20.2019

Happy Spring!  We're having a slow warmup which is great for thawing out the ground without causing huge runoffs.

Jim started his day off meeting the semi truck from Albany Steel with his order of steel to complete his workbench.

Getting ready to unload...

All unloaded from the delivery truck...

and loaded into the back of Jim's truck...

Since getting a new thermal breaker wasn't in the cards to fix the old air compressor, Jim worked on a plan to bypass the breaker.  He did pick up a small spring yesterday at the engine shop that he hoped would work to replace one that broke.  He was able to get it all working again!  It just makes it easier at the moment to use this compressor since the hose line to the big compressor isn't complete yet.  On that note, some of his parts for that came in today, so it will start taking shape soon.

Now that Jim has his steel, the rest of the day was spent making pieces for the workbench.  Here he's drilling holes in a fastener plate...

These plates will be welded to the legs of the table to add strength when Jim bolts pieces together.

He got all 4 fastener plates drilled and welded on to the table legs!

High 48/Low 28

3.19.2019

While there is still a lot of snow cover on the ground, this picture is a reminder of how much was there.  Back a month or so ago when Jim checked the gauge on the propane tank, he had to break through the ice and the top of the tank cover was well over a foot below that.  Now you can see the top peeking out a bit!  But it's important to note that the top of this cap is probably 18" above the ground!

Plus, the ice on the driveway is just about gone - definitely good news.  It's very soft in places up near the pole barn where the plan was to get more gravel, but as soon as the ground thaws that will dry up.  Of course, even though spring starts tomorrow, we're not done with winter weather - the forecast for Friday is 2-4" of snow!

Jim got the quote back for the steel order he needs to build the work bench, so he got that ordered and it will hopefully come in tomorrow morning.

He did some organizing in the wood shop this morning and put the first pieces of wood on the rack!  I like how the cavity of the support arms will be able to hold shims and other small pieces.

 After lunch, Jim headed out on some errands.  He picked up the wire he needs to wire in the Tig welder in the metal shop, along with conduit for taking the air hose through the wall.  He also stopped at a small motor shop he had gone to previously to see if they had the thermal breaker he needs for the old air compressor.  With a shop that looks like this, how would you ever know?  But the guy didn't have what he needed - he could order it but it would be very pricey.

High 38/Low 18

3.18.2019

Jim did some desk work this morning, putting in his quote for the next steel order for the workbench, as well as ordering his regulator for the compressor and parts for the air hose run and connections.

Down in the wood shop, he fastened the air hose to the wall...

The rest of the day was spent working on assembling the wood rack.  First post tie piece on the post/base assembly...

Connecting the first two sections...

Bottom post ties are on...

All the post ties are on.  You can see how big it is in relation to his drill press...

Cross braces on...

Support arms on - it's all assembled!  Jim is going to wait a couple days before loading it down because the paint is still a bit soft.

But it's definitely strong - Jim is testing it out!

He has a few "accessories" he wants to make along the way but for now, this project is done and will be ready to load up with wood in a couple of days!  Plus it looks so good in the shop!

We are headed out to a Lenten program at church, so a little shorter end to the day.

High 37/Low 16