Santa's Heavy Hauler #4

Here's where the REAL fun begins. Hydraulic rams? Sure, why not.












For the next step I had to break out the wife's sewing machine.



Gotta have a sack for all those toys!



That pretty much finishes this build up.

















And just for fun, here's a short vid of the dump bed in action!



All in all, this was a very fun build. Didn't get to participate fully in the voting- apparently I had too many votes from people that are not in the Hot Wheels community. Meaning people thought I was pulling for votes. I guess I can understand their concern but for me this was really upsetting- I'd like to think I'm not that kind of person. As the French say, C'est la vie. It was lots of fun and I got to try out some new ideas. Live and learn!

Alphatig 200x Tig Welder #2- Setup and testing.

Well I hauled it in to school and set it up. Right off the bat I noticed this...



Plastic grating was cracked on the back. This is sort of in the location of the dent in the box. Figured it was still superficial, so I hooked it up to test it out.

Random info on the side of the welder:



Only took about 25 minutes to get everything out and hooked up, but I did already have an argon tank with regulator for my old TIG welder. The new one is sitting on top of it...



Yeah, I know, it's a disaster. Temporary just to test the thing out.

Business end of the welder:



Dislike #1- This is the power switch. Its a breaker, and it's located on the very BACK of the machine. ???



Dislike #2- the torch spins in the handle where I'm pointing at it. Very annoying when trying to weld, kept tipping and dabbing the tungsten. Not sure what to do about that yet.



Otherwise it does some pretty cool stuff! I have watched dozens of videos and read from several different sources, coupled with my previous "experience" with the other welder. Here are the first couple of (pretty sucky) welds off of the machine.





Best one so far is the last pic, second from the bottom. Basically just trying to figure out what all of the different knobs do. I *love* having the pedal- even though I don't yet quite have the coordination yet to hold the torch, apply the rod, and keep the pedal at the right spot all at the same time. It's fun to be able to dial back the heat but just keep welding. My other welder I could only do ONE of those beads at a time, then I would have to cool the metal, and re-start. All of these I pretty much did one after the other.

Now I just need practice practice practice...

For reference- here's the regulator that came with the welder-



and the one that cost my $60 through airgas.



Several reviews mentioned the regulator as being "cheesy" although it seems to compare just fine to the one I already had.

Only have about 45 minutes of weld time on it so far, lots more to follow I'm sure!

Santa's Heavy Hauler #3

Time for some body work!

Test fitted everything.



Slapped some green paint on there,



and just double checked to make sure everything still fit...





Tried something new here. I've always been intrigued with gilding, and I found a pack at Hobby Lobby so I figured why not give it a go?





I'm not very good at it...

Time for more details. Needs a pinstripe!



Some engine detailing,



and I think we are getting somewhere.

February Riding.

So with the Presidents Day long weekend and the SUPER nice weather we had, I was able to get out and do some yard work, till up the flower bed, AND!!! Dig the bike out of its winter cocoon. Got the plates renewed on Tuesday, and rode it to school Weds, Thurs, and Fri. Weds was super cold but doable. Thurs and Fri were great- but of course I look out my window Friday afternoon and see this...


d
Didn't last long or stick, but sheesh.  60 degree temps in February?!  Then it drops back down to the mid teens.  Dang tulips don't know what to do- noticed today that they are poking up already.

Side note- Son 1 is now playing the trombone and rides home with me after school... So I'm sure that makes for an interesting sight as we go through town with the 'Bone strapped on the rack and us with our backpacks and coats on, in February.  Did I mention its only February and we are RIDING!?  ;)

Random post for the day.

Go big or go home?



Sorry Slinky, I think that bird is a little out of your league.

Santa's Heavy Hauler #2

New bed attempts, 1, 2 and 3.



Fenders, attempts 1 through 4.




I wanted to build a complete suspension for this but ran out of time. I did try something new though and made axles and a custom driveline.









Frame attempt number 1.



Attempts 2, 3, and 4...



How #4 started out:





With the driveline.

Pipe dreams: The future dorkpunch Garage.

Alright guys, looking for a little organizational feedback. In a couple of months, if all goes according to plan, this will be the new dorkpunch garage:







Lets assume we are starting with a clean slate- it's sheetrocked / insulated and has a wood stove and thats pretty much it.

Here's what I'm thinking for layout.





The "island" will be on wheels so it can be rolled around. Would like the lift table to be able to stow under the island or workbench so its out of the way when not in use.

Primary use will be fixing small engines in the summer, but I've got my fingers in about a dozen different pots so I'd like to be able to have a welding corner and / or a "paint booth". For the welding corner I'm thinking of building some portable walls / curtains that can be set up where I want them. The "paint booth" will most likely just be a section of wall with a hefty exhaust fan that I could set the welding booth walls up around too.

Any suggestions as to placement of tools? Air compressor would likely live in the back corner, with hard line run along that wall with several air jacks and a drain at the end. My "big" power tools are all pretty portable- drill press, scroll saw, table saw, and sliding compound miter saw would probably all live under the workbench until needed.

What am I forgetting!?

A lift would be awesome but definitely not in the cards anytime soon. I would probably get more use out of a gantry style crane...

As to the placement of the truck- I have a few "project" vehicles- they don't get moved around much. I was thinking I would put two of them back in that corner, and I would still have enough room to park a mobile vehicle at the roll up door that I could pull out when I wanted space to work.

The house also comes with this attached 2 car carport:



and this old chicken coop that I plan on converting for motorcycle / John Deere overflow storage.



In all reality, it will probably look something more like this, but not as clean...