Container Weld Shop build -

[dragoneggs]

Dang it Mark, now I'm REALLY gonna hafta HURT ya

Your comment on the plasma cranked up my twisted brain (like it NEEDS any help wid dat )

So I went out and measured my PM45 vs. the "dead air space" ABOVE the MM211 - it's do-able, but do I WANNA "do-able" it??!? NFW, but Hmmmmmm.... - Pm45 is NARROW enough it'd fit above the welder WITHOUT interfering with either bottle in/out OR fully opening the mm211's side door; it's "un-tall" enough to NOT stick above the "roll cage", SHORT enough front-to-back to NOT hit the rear vertical OR stick out past the front handle on the MM211 - AND, there's room on the other side for another lead hanger.....

Just WALK AWAY Steve, go look at the purty I beam that actually NEEDS your attention - big heavy grinders and wire cup brushes can be FUN; FUN, I tell ya

It's working; MAYBE... Steve

Here is my simple rack I built to fit on top of the HF welder cart. It allows the 211 door to open fully and I have a view of the tank gauges. It's a great space saver but it scares me a bit because of its height. I am considering putting a thick steel plate on the bottom to lower the C of G and some better casters.

 

[BukitCase]

"I am considering putting a thick steel plate on the bottom to lower the C of G and some better casters."

Those would be my first choices also - and LARGER too - casters that small tend to STOP when they hit a BB, not to mention anything larger - and the combo of sudden stops AND top-heavy is a perfect recipe for disaster...

These 4" Caster, Double Locking, Swiveling with 4 Hole Mounting Plate
Are my favorite REAL casters, got 'em on several tools - they come in 3-4-5" wheel, 4" is usually the smallest I'll use (BB effect) - they lock in BOTH axes. Not cheap, I typically "stock" a couple sets, Woodcraft has 'em on sale a couple times a year.

IF I were doing your cabinet (and did NOT need "offroad" capability), I'd build an angle frame, go "outboard" with HF's 10" solid rubber rear wheels (so I could do a "dropped axle" to keep things low (same with front casters) - the angle frame would leave room for a plate (lower CG) and if the angle frame interfered with bottom drawer operation, just cut that side down a bit - This one's for a Bridgeport, but it's what I meant by "dropped axle"



Doing it that way would keep tank swaps no more difficult than they are now, keep the CG as low as possible, make it easier to roll, AND those casters will make you wish you'd tossed the OEM's a LONG time ago

And this is my bandsaw, rear wheels are 13" no-flats - in that particular case I WANTED more height, so no dropped axle :thumbsup: Also, the rear setback is to keep the saw from "doing a wheelie" when it's in vertical position...



To keep your cart low, the "drop axle" would be a "Z" bracket outside the angle frame with a 5/8" hole thru the vertical part - then a 5/8 bolt (axle) thru the larger tire, and 2 nuts locking the bolt to the Z bracket (kind of the reverse of my bandsaw version)

The bigger better wheels would lessen the "bb" effect, the frame and plate would help lower the CG, and if you use the casters I linked you wouldn't have to scratch your head to figure out which way is "locked"; it's MUCH more obvious

If my description wasn't clear enough, holler and I'll do a sketch... Steve

 

[dragoneggs]

No, I got it... thanks for the pic however, might just steal that design. I like the idea of a dropped axle and outriggers for a bigger footprint. Not sure I want to give up the shop real estate but probably is the prudent thing to do... one tip over and I might be crying for a long time. I might just sketch up a couple designs and see what the weight would be and how much it would lower the CG, with and w/o the outriggers. I think I have enough scrap material to do this without much, if any additional $$$.

On casters, I have been pretty happy with the HF ones. Much of my larger equipment, air compressor, sand blaster, drill press are rolling on these.

 

[BukitCase]

Glad you've had better luck with HF casters than me, the ones I linked get fairly $pendy even on sale

Once I get more "supplies" out of shop space and into containers I'll need to build one of those "tank transporter" bases for my 12" helical head jointer



It doesn't look like it, but if I can keep the base low enough to NOT raise the beds more than about 5/8", I can put that 1000 pound "aircraft carrier" on the far side of the small planer and band saw, and still maintain my goal of a minimum 10' in AND outfeed on each machine (bandsaw fires OVER the 6" jointer, DeWalt planer fires OVER the "aircraft carrier" outfeed table, etc)



Oh, and if you do your outriggers like the heavy gray base (Bridgeport but lighter) only the SWIVEL casters would stick out a bit further than your leads ALREADY do... Steve

 

[dragoneggs]

Glad you've had better luck with HF casters than me, the ones I linked get fairly $pendy even on sale

Oh, and if you do your outriggers like the heavy gray base (Bridgeport but lighter) only the SWIVEL casters would stick out a bit further than your leads ALREADY do... Steve

I don't have any super heavy loads on them so that is probably why... and very good point on the width of the base with outriggers not sticking out past the leads. :duh:

Now I am sold on your design... in fact it might protect my leads by reducing the chance of scraping/pinching them while trying fit/park in tight spaces! :dance1:

 

[BukitCase]

Man, I LOVE it when I can bully people into doin' things MY way - JK, I just try to present any and all pro's/cons as I see 'em so people can make decisions that work for THEM - I've found that very few (if any) of my "mad scientist" creations stay at V1.0 til they're finished, so I try to pass those "un-intentional omissions" (AKA freakin' big-azz mistakes :laughing along...

" it might protect my leads by reducing the chance of scraping/pinching them while trying fit/park in tight spaces"

Yup, my mm252 is close to having that problem - I added a second lead hanger on the other side of its dual running gear, got tired of having to separate 30 feet of spool gun lead from ground, power and 15' torch - downside is that area is now the widest part when I'm trying to shoehorn it in the garage along with the TIG, other MIG, Stick, plasma, etc...

Got about 35% of my HF crane's "I beam upgrade" de-rusto'd this afternoon, actually went pretty well so far - large cup brush on the 9" grinder, finally got smart enough to set the beam up on horses tall enough to stand STRAIGHT for a change, back's thankin' me a LOT - by the time I quit, that cup brush had maybe a dozen wires left - rest were helpin' me pass as a porcupine Sooo, bein' the Misguided ********* I am, I went and bought two MORE of those brushes (jist cain't git enuf a that there pain )

It'll be nice when that beam's primed and painted and the crane's ready... Steve

 

[Oldpath05]

(02-16-2018, 07:45 PM "It'll be nice when that beam's primed and painted and the crane's ready"... Steve) Humm, yeah wont it be nice, someday, anyday, a diffenite maybe.

 

[BukitCase]

Yeah, thanks fer noticin' - teensy bit of "side-track-itis" lately, gettin' the other two 40' hi-cube containers locked in while they're still available that nice - got 24 yards of 1-1/2- rock delivered on time last Monday, spread about half of it Tuesday, drove around on it with the 580 til it looked like crap (but SOLID crap), then back-drug (a LOT) til it looked driveable (but not really, this time of year) - then the weather couldn't decide whether it'd snow, rain, sleet, freeze, etc, so it did ALL of 'em in varying amounts, just enough to keep old wussy retirees thinkin' good things about wood stoves....

Finally went out today to do some more "drivin' around the new parking lot", and the old 580 had finally used up enough hydraulic oil to insist on "another round", too cold so forget it -

I DID get the I beam primed on the ONE day it got warm enough to paint - think I'll work on INSIDE stuff that still needs done til it warms up a little - for the HF crane "upgrade" I'm gonna add something like this



Except my version will CLAMP onto the beam and post, since I wanna keep the option of variable post spacing like I did with the I beam clamps.

Talked to my "container guy" this afternoon, the containers are a go - but won't get delivered til mid next week. By then I should have things packed down more so the truck(s) can get back outa my place

Hopefully the next "episode" will be more about "I did" instead of "I'm gonna" ... Steve

 

[BukitCase]

Yesterday I realized that the small bundle of 2" tubing I had hanging in the small work area next to the 20' container (with a 24x24 roof over it) was mostly in my way til I got a few things more under control ("control" part is mostly a fantasy of mine ) - Among other things, the increased winds have shown me that I need more areas blocked, including the area on TOP of the container, which presently is open; kinda hard to get to it with all the stuff in the way -

That bundle has a piece or two that're still 24' long, so not a lot of "wiggle room" under a 24' roof



Decided it wuz time to test part of my "container weld shop fantasy system" :laughing:

So here's the "Tinker toy" setup for long bundles -



Picked up, ready to go -



A wider view -



Almost there -



Done, resting on the HF 1000 lb. hydraulic cart so it's still semi-mobile -



All in all, the TinkerToys ruled again :thumbsup: - once the bridge crane's built inside the container, this type of move should be even easier - and all those pieces will get cut to size (max. under 10 feet) for the afore-mentioned "porch roof" frame, so they can be just tossed into the brush bucket (their temporary "build site") after getting cut in the weld shop container (cuz the Jet saw lives there now) -

If all this gets too confusing (I'm good at that ) you might wanna go back a few pages, it's all there (Notice I did NOT say that I wuz all there :laughing ... Steve

 

[Oldpath05]

And when your done getting stuff under control, maybe sweep the floor it looks dirty. I like that tinker toy, that's some excellent brain work right there, can that be switched up so stuff can be lifted higher?

I made a temp set up similar to your side bucket lifter upper, sometimes a tractor just cant get from point A to point B, I had two heavy 16' beam to lift up on 3 post couple years ago and with no sky available I clamped some 2x4s to my forks and easy does it.............

 

[BukitCase]

What you did obviously worked fine; I seem to wanna do stuff that shouldn't be possible, a LOT of the time :laughing: - that's where my "tinker toy" set got started; every time I can't think of a way to do something with what I already made, the tinker toy set gets expanded - after a while it gets easier to "mix and match" pieces to get where I wanna go, haven't needed to fab more pieces lately...

Here's more "eye candy", several pics of pieces and some of in-use - pieces -

First, fab stuff -



Next, some usage pics... Steve

 

[BukitCase]

Here's a volunteer prune tree that committed suicide in my neighbor's yard (high winds) while taking down the fence - medium length bars are used like a "bale spear", 45* adapters put 'em parallel to the bucket bottom - longer bars and strap for holding the trunk centered - picked the whole thing up and drove it to my burn pile, left a couple TWIGS in his yard; chainsaw sorted out "burn now, burn later" stuff...



Ready to fly a subassembly up for the roof over the 20' container -



And moving some pre-cut tubes for the outer half of same roof (built in 3 modules, each 8'x12') - weight woulda been too much without that chain/binder from the UPPER receiver -



Almost forgot your question - yeah, with all those adapters I can go high, low, straight out to the side, straight up, at 45* or 90* any direction, and (so far) with 3 different length choices; 30", 48" and 72". As you can see, I have grab hooks, slip hooks, shackles, clevis, pin hitch, trailer hitch for 1-7/8", 2", 2-5/16" (not shown here) - also got a couple of these

Hitch Cargo Carrier - 5 lb. Capacity

- got em when on sale for $39 - work pretty good for throwin' a bunch of stuff in a big cooler and pluggin' 'em into the bucket with a couple 45* adapters (so they sit level with the bottom of the bucket)

Then there's always the combo of the brush bucket AND 1 or 2 carriers - brush bucket needs 2 lower outside receivers/big hooks, which leaves 5 OTHER choices for carriers, hooks, etc -

Oh, the tinker toys ALSO let me pick up the entire "porta-shed" (12'x12', 11' tall, steel frame) and move it anywhere I have more than a 12' wide path - haven't done THAT yet, but it's comin' eventually...

In short (I know, too late fer that ) if I can't do it with that stuff I probably SHOULDN'T ...Steve

 

[Oldpath05]

("Almost forgot your question - yeah, with all those adapters I can go high, low, straight out to the side, straight up, at 45* or 90* any direction, and (so far) with 3 different length choices; 30", 48" and 72". As you can see, I have grab hooks, slip hooks, shackles, clevis, pin hitch, trailer hitch for 1-7/8", 2", 2-5/16")"

Thought I had ya fo a minute and I was getting all set for some zingers. I think if you had all your jingle jangles on that tractor, probably fit right in a Mad Max movie and yet for all those add ons for brush gathering, tree pruning, material handling, I see noooooo platform/scaffolding for to standing on so you put siding on those shipping containers and or paint them. PS nice set of pics.

 

[BukitCase]

Awww, shucks; ya GOT me.....

Except for these -



3/4 A/C ply/2x4 frame, all joints glued and screwed, 3 coats machine grey enamel, carry holes both ends, optional detachable "wheel barrow wheel",(not shown) and mucho non-skid tape; dim's are 3' x 10'. Metal pieces shown are a SMALL part of a Unistrut stash off CL - about $1200 worth for $100, most was NEW (moving sale)

In use as a work bench -



Sitting on the tinker toys -



Locked in place -



Needed a sun hat and some tools -



Pic limit, stay tuned...

 

[BukitCase]

Using the "super plank" withOUT a rail let me stand between frame members and put my full weight on the self-drilling screws (going into .120" wall steel tube), WITHOUT the irritating side effect of my ARMS falling off



And the temporary rail (NOT in the way for the LAST piece of roofing) -



Container roof done -



And the "wobble fix", for when you don't have a 10' long piece of 2" tube handy (but DO have a 12' piece of 1-1/2"



Oops, sorry; guess ya DIDN'T get me after all (but keep tryin'; when ya DO, it's BOUND to be somethin' I SHOULDA done :thumbsup ...Steve

 

[Oldpath05]

That's a nice bucket plank, you must get up there about 12' or more that way... If theres one thing I use my FEL for alot it's the old plank on the bucket trick, really comes in handy for them out of reach areas, I think they're 10 Xs safer than a 10'-14' step ladder<<<those things are dangerous and I'm not even a big fan of those ext. ladders, but a lot of this is coming from not being 25 anymore.

("Using the "super plank" withOUT a rail let me stand between frame members and put my full weight on the self-drilling screws (going into .120" wall steel tube), WITHOUT the irritating side effect of my ARMS falling off ")<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

I found a cheap cure for all you highly educated people who just love saying .120" instead of the easy understanding 1/8", you know like the those lines on the average tape measure>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Convert mm, cm to fraction or decimal inches (in=mm=cm) There I fixed your wagon, I used that chart several times lately, couple months ago I used it on buying tire studs for my front tractor tires, the studs are all listed in metric, and the only metric number I have figured out is 13mm and 14mm, everything else is WHAT.

 

[BukitCase]

Yeah, I use that plank quite a bit too - eventually I'll probly put stake pockets (brackets) on both ends and one long side - I wanna keep ONE long side smooth so it'll sit on edge without tipping over (easier storage) - so that "smooth" side will still get a rail, it'll just pin to both END rails - in the pics that part's all just jury-rigged; OK for a 1-time shot, but takes too long if you're gonna do it a LOT...

Soooo, you found a chart - cool; and cheaper than that wiz-bang digital caliper I linked to...

Education? I graduated High School, everything ELSE I've learned in the years afterward was mostly a condition of getting/keeping my job - didn't wanna slog thru rice paddies gettin' shot at, so ENLISTED for 4 years with a guaranteed electronics school (instead of 2 years draft) - figured if I didn't do well in electronics school they'd have me in the rice paddies for FOUR years, so studied a LOT - ended up bein' kept back as an INSTRUCTOR, and from there (military AND after) things just kept gettin' more complex and better pay (that "carrot and stick" thang sure works :laughing: -

Hey - now you know 1/8 inch is .125", it gets easier the more you use it - so's the metric system, it's all just multiples of 10. It's a little trickier converting mm to inches, I made up my OWN charts for sockets and end wrenches, keep one in each drawer. They go from small to large, 3 columns - first row is decimal (like .375") second row would be 3/8", third row would be 9.52mm (1 mm = .03937", so (calculator) divide .375 by .03937, and you get 9.52.

This tells me that a 3/8 wrench is TOO SMALL for a 10mm bolt... Also, it's easy to get those decimals if you know the fraction; you just (calculator again) divide 3 by 8, and .375 pops up. Again, the more you mess with math the better you'll get at it...

Sorry 'bout that, several of my jobs (AFTER the military) found out I'd been an instructor, so they kinda "re-wrote" the job description, now it's just a HABIT ...Steve

 

[BukitCase]

Added a small winch to Tinker Toy pile...

I've had one of HF's 120 volt/1500 lb. rated winches for a while now, got it for a "universal little stuff mover" - but it was usually a PITA to jury-rig a way to HOLD it without resorting to MORE tinker toys, weld clamps, etc, so I ended up doin' more than I should WITHOUT it...

The winch - 15 lb. Capacity 12 Volt AC Electric Winch

Note that it does NOT come with a base, so the marginal, NON-roller "fairlead" has no place to mount HF must've discontinued the base I bought at the time, now they only offer an "ATV" version, smaller than mine but same mounting holes...

I wasn't impressed with a non-roller "slot" for the cable to rub on every time you used it, so I found a ROLLER version @ Amazon
Amazon.com: Champion Wire Rope Roller Fairlead for 35-lb. or Less ATV/UTV Winches: Automotive I couldn't possibly cobble one up for less than $9, ain't gonna TRY

Yesterday I finally came up with a decent "tinker toy" for the winch - 2 pieces of 1/2"x3" FB (3/8" woulda been enough, didn't HAVE any wider than 2", needed 3" minimum) and a 10" piece of 2x2x1/4" wall tubing - The pieces -



Note the big hole in ONE of the pieces of FB - it's for double-line operation. HF wanted almost as much for a snatch block with a 2" diameter pulley as Amazon wanted for a 3" one, and I don't like small radius pulleys (too much "stress reversal" will cause ropes/cables to fail prematurely) so ordered this
Industrial Grade 5RRV4 Snatch Block, Swivel Hook, 3/8 in, 2 lb: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific

Which should be here in a couple days...

So I glued the pieces together -



Slathered some paint on it -



Stuck a fork in it (oops, I meant stuck a PIN in it ) - sure 'nuf, it's done...



Now anywhere I have a 2" receiver (like the 7 on the 580B's loader bucket or the one on the back of my van) or anywhere I can CLAMP or WELD one, I can have up to 3000# (double line) to move stuff. Pretty sure this'll be a useful addition to the Tinker Toy Set... Steve

Oh, forgot to mention - my little 2kW euro style genny runs the winch AND the 2 electric chain saws just fine, and comfortably fits in the 2' hoe bucket - I keep a 25' #12 extension cord cable tied to the hydraulic hoses, so I have power at the loader bucket just by setting the genny in the hoe bucket, plugging it into the cord and starting it - on hot days I put the brush bucket on and add a 20" fan, it's nice to bring your OWN cool breeze to the party :thumbsup::thumbsup:

 

[Oldpath05]

Why do AC winches cost almost double then the DC winches with half the pulling power and where did you get that super duper mounting plate? That AC winch is what I'd like to have on my jib crane, I'm already sick of chain falls when I go up down up down up down..........just to move some small bundles of firewood from A point to point B. I might of showed you this pic before, but I know you mind taking another glance.


"(it's nice to bring your OWN cool breeze to the party)" <<<<<<Right now I'd prefer bringing heat to the party when I'm getting firewood out, a good blowing heater on my open cab tractor sounds great to me.

 

[BukitCase]

Good question on the cost; it shouldn't cost THAT much more just to add a few components so an AC motor can be reversed...

I got that mounting plate when I bought the winch, can't find it on their site anymore; only a bigger version that fits their 9000 and 12000# winches, and a little "ATV" version that fits the 120 volt winch bolt pattern, and has 2 holes to mount a fairlead like the Amazon one I linked -

Yeah, I remember your firewood jib - know whatcha mean about chain falls, I have a couple like yours - only thing I like (other than not havin' to lift stuff myself) is they're portable, don't need power, and are MUCH easier to hook up to a trolley than ANY of the powered winches/hoists - but that chain is a pain fer sure - When I'm using mine, I keep it in one of those 5 gallon buckets with a lid - easy to carry, nuthin' draggin' the ground, and you can set the bucket on top of what you're lifting (if it's flat, that is) and let the "power" chain just circulate inside the bucket instead of draggin' on the ground...

From your pic it doesn't look like you need ANYWHERE NEAR a ton on that jib; maybe one of the 880 # hoists would be enough
Search results for: 'electric hoist'

Not quite as expensive - just remember that ALL the HF hoists (NOT the winches) are rated DOUBLE LINE - they at least include the little snatch block so they can't be called liars (quite as easy, that is )

Speaking of snatch blocks (notice that super-clever seque ?? :laughing: ) the one I ordered for the newest Tinker toy showed up today -



But I was already up by 7am (after gettin' to bed around 1am) 'cause THESE showed up about the time they were supposed to LEAVE PORTLAND (Oregon, that is, I know Maine has one too) - Our Portland's about a 2 hour drive...



They're not quite level yet



And they WON'T be, til about June when it's dry enough to move 'em HERE -



One will go down at the base of that slope (where all those "projects" are sitting now), even with (and parallel to) the weld shop container (that's the one at the right side of the first pic) - the SECOND container will go even with (and parallel to) the FIRST one, but 40 feet away - then, as funds allow, a 40x40x 5 inch slab over 6" of compacted crushed rock will go BETWEEN the containers, and a 60x60 "arena" around the whole thing - that'll give me enough room to work on (and hopefully SURVIVE) all those "projects" you see in the pics, such as -

The orange dump truck runs but needs a bunch of little stuff done, the 50 foot boom lift needs a little work on the Wisconsin V4 and a couple cylinders rebuilt and a couple tires (ouch), the 25 foot scissor lift needs batteries (ouch again, might try a "rejuve kit" first), the 580B needs about 7 more cylinders rebuilt + some new bushings, torque converter, brakes, etc, both other tractors need odds and ends, and "Mrs. Bukit" has been VERY patiently waiting for a complete house remodel - THAT can at least get STARTED once I get enough "clutter" (I call it "inventory" ) out of the garage, bedrooms, front porch, etc, so there's enough elbow room in our 1000 SF house to MOVE...

BTW, yes- there IS a good reason for gettin' those containers NOW, even tho they won't get moved/used for a few months - ones in that good a shape are gettin' hard to find and/or near new price - got these hi-cubes for $3k each, and they're still better than sea-worthy; doors and seals are perfect -



Oh, another Tinker Toy setup -



Notice the 45* adapters - those let the "safety cage" sit parallel to the bottom of the bucket so I'm completely surrounded by 1/4" wall 2" tubing, when all I need is HEIGHT enough to change bulbs on one of three 15' tall light poles, such as the one that's just above the umbrella in this pic -



Seems like the slimeball neighbors on my west side prefer DARKNESS, therefore I do NOT

'Sposed to rain a bit next couple days, time to get back onto the HF crane mods/assembly; I DID manage to finally get the I beam painted, next comes beefed up "hoist friendly" braces between uprights and I beam... Steve