How about starting a tool tech thread or sticky.............

[SuperBuickGuy]

and it bends metal and whistles Doug and Bob MacKenzie tunes while doing it

[Beagle]

so you put rats in a beer bottle with it?

[SuperBuickGuy]

so you put rats in a beer bottle with it?

I thought that was Laverne and Shirley

[Beagle]

..

[SuperBuickGuy]

I could use it to put rats in beer bottles....
I can't believe how giddy I was when I got this thing going.... it was a lot of work

[BangShiftChad]

Am I the only one that is a complete nerd and thinks this is one of the best threads on our forum?

[383S-10]

for fathers day got the craftsman impact set with the lithium batteries 19.2 volt....... This thing is so sweet

[SuperBuickGuy]

time to make the press brake work
you can see the bed and the ram - the upper part, the ram, is easy enough to change back to one that can accept dies, simply loosen the bolts and the clamps open up to put a die in.


the steel rods need to fit in the center of the bed - it's not a tight fit, you can adjust how it centers in the bed with screws


the bottom, on the other hand, collected moisture and is not cooperating

first heat

nope
now soak


tomorrow, I'll continue with the soaking but also wire the motor

and there is method to my madness. I can buy an operating machine for ~5-6k, so far, I've got $1250 in this and I don't believe I'm going to need to spend more money other than equipment paint - there will also be an offset because I have about 1000 lbs of tool-steel that came off this press that I can scrap; so figure I'll get 300-500 back in scrap.

this is coming back to the forefront... as Loren well knows, dies are the expensive part of any press brake. I found some, hopefully we can make a deal, but the seller is becoming an irritant....

[SuperBuickGuy]

the best tools are free tools
Laser welder


failure press


cooling machine


yes, a frickin laser... I have absolutely no idea what I'm going to do with the laser, but the press has strain gauge sensors in them for up to 30 tons - and I've always wanted a vehicle weighing system....
the cooler goes back to the idea I have about air conditioning the dog space. This machine produces -30 degree temps while only draining 6 amps at 115v or 2 amps at 230v.... I'm thinking of literally freezing the pad under the dog's space and using that resulting large block of ice to keep her cool.

[MP&C]

I recently sold my Dinosaur Mig, after owning since '91 I thought it was time for a new one..



Sold it on CL, time now to consolidate. My shop space is limited, and I need to incorporate the Miller 211, the Hypertherm Tig, and the Snap On dent puller, and two bottles:







Starting with the base, some 1-1/2 square tubing makes up the frame. This stuff was free, and as with most free stuff, it isn't. Kyle spent quite a bit of time media blasting rusty square tubing that has been sitting outdoors for a number of years.



The Tig will go on the bottom, and it has some mounting holes on the bottom side...



So some 3/4 square stock was used to make some rails for the Tig, along with some holes to tie in the front end..



adding the front casters.....



A cross brace was added under the center line of the 2 bottles...



12 gauge will be used to form a tray under the bottles...



Support bracket added for Mig welder:






the rear axle was made from a piece of angle and two 3/4-10 bolts..





Rear bottle tray made from some 12 gauge, and welded on using about 3/8 diameter plug welds..





Top shelf added along with some gussets made of 12 gauge..



Bottle relief and pull handle added....








these studs are added to make use of the bottle bracket that came off the old welder. My brother in law had borrowed it at one time, and it came back with the fancy bracket. He retired the ratchet strap I had around the two bottles. This worked pretty well, so rather than reinvent the wheel.... Reminds me, I have some other things needing finishing I should lend him...







Then a bracket for the clip is added to hold the Mig torch..







Holders for the various cables....











.....and a test fit before we throw some paint on it...





Looks like I have some room left, may have to add one more....













Now to disassemble and paint it... It was a toss up between some bright red (HD color) which was acrylic lacquer, or a bright yellow (H/K Lemon Yellow basecoat). As I didn't have any lacquer thinner in stock for the red, yellow it is...followed by clearcoat





This should help to brighten up the shop!

[TheSilverBuick]

So.Much.Awesome.

[STINEY]

Supercool cart. Nice.

[silver_bullet]

Do You Ever Sleep!?!?
Inspiring project!

[Casper]

This is where I'd normally say "There's plenty of time to sleep when you're dead" but now days that might cause a conflict of interest within myself and awaken the Locke-Less monster.

You see, I used to live on Locke Dr. & naturally it was lakefront property.

[MP&C]

Okay, got things together today. Here's the total conglomeration...



Welded rings to hold the Tig rod tubes......



Retaining clip so the Mig torch doesn't have to lay on the floor...





As you can see, not much for wasted space. Here's the outlet box for the Mig....



and Tig.....



Bottle bracket.....



I did give it a good shove to see how top heavy it was, and with the two bottles directly over the rear wheels it's very stable. Don't think I'll need worry about any accidental turnovers...