The Oily Shop Project

[john k]

Makes me feel a little better that its secure.  The segmented belt you question marked, is just that.  An early after market V belt for tractors, truck, and equipment, could be snapped apart and reattached to make any length needed.   I doubt if it was marketed much after 1950, but have seen very old tractors still running with them.   What I see too are islands, where a big heavy whatever was sat, too much to move, then something gets stacked on top, beside, leaned on, and pretty soon there is an island growing!   Happens alot, shops, farms, even plants.   The Onan I doubt is military as its not green, back when that was new, nearly everything on military contract was OD green.   I can seen lots of progress, and congrats on getting that blue Ford tractor going, is nice to have a prime mover handy.  Now maybe a winch truck, for the real heavy stuff.   

[rusty]

>I doubt if it was marketed much after 1950, but have seen very old tractors still running with them.

You can still buy them from Napa, they are still used for some pecular applications...

> I think I will probably bring the miller home.

Good pick, the Thunderbolt's aren't regulated, but they are heavier machines than the little buzz boxes, and the TC-150 sitting next to it is a rectifier designed for that machine so you can weld DC if you want to....

[OilyRascal]

Now maybe a winch truck, for the real heavy stuff.

YES - for that pumping unit base in the middle of the shop the sheet of ply is laying across :)   I'm nearly confident I could get one of them going again fairly quickly, and I know just which one to pick although you'd think I'm nuts looking at cab where it was rolled at one point..............but I don't need any encouragement with getting thrown off track here.  Truth is that base is the heaviest thing in the shop and I can drag it out across the concrete with the backhoe.....guessing I can pick it up after I clear the doors, and if I can't I know how to put outriggers down and gently persuade from there.

I'm really hoping my dad and uncle will get involved at some point and see the fun and that they again have a place to work to tackle such things (winch trucks and tractors).  I suspect, although not discussed, emotion may keep them away at this point.  I've gained very little of their combined presence since starting the project, and only then because of insisting they look at specific things for some specific decisions.  I've been very taken back by the lack of involvement but I have a lot less, and no negative, emotion involved so this project I'm afraid is easiest handled by me.  If they don't come around, I may go it alone on some things but my pockets aren't deep enough for winch trucks I'm afraid.

[OilyRascal]

>I doubt if it was marketed much after 1950, but have seen very old tractors still running with them.

You can still buy them from Napa, they are still used for some pecular applications...

> I think I will probably bring the miller home.

Good pick, the Thunderbolt's aren't regulated, but they are heavier machines than the little buzz boxes, and the TC-150 sitting next to it is a rectifier designed for that machine so you can weld DC if you want to....

Thanks, Rusty!  A Rectifier - I said to myself it was for DC welding conversion but called it a phase converter in my mind.  There are also two rather large (abt. size of the Wakashu previously pictured in shop) gasoline burner lincoln welders I'd like to hear your comment on.  I suspect they are DC only based on grinder I saw laying around one.  I will try to grab a few pictures and any details I can find on them early next week.

[gibsontool]

I not 100% sure but I have owned and worked with lots of Lincoln welders over the years ( gas and diesel) and all of them were DC machines. Years ago during a long  power outage I plugged in our fridge  and some light circuits to a 200 amp Lincoln I had in the yard and promptly fried the fridge with no damage to the lighting circuits When the machine is not being used as a welder and the high idle switch is in the on position the machine will produce 110 volts but it is DC power and will not run a lot of appliances without serious damage.Miller portable welding machines are (as far as I know) all AC power and will safely run most appliances. I would think that all machines originally had a tag stating what type of power the produced.Good luck on your project. I have a pretty good idea what your going thru, I recently retired after 40 plus years in heavy industrial construction and cleaning out my building (6000 Square Feet) to prepare it for rental was a major project. I am such a pac rat it took a long long time to get it done. Good luck

[rusty]

The old Lincoln machines, and most of the other guys machines for that matter, are really generators, and produce DC , light bulbs don't care, but lots of other stuff does....

Many of the newer (20 years here -P) machines can produce AC suitable for plugging in small electrical devices and such tho.....

(One of the reasons things like small electric grinders and drills continued to be available with 'universal' motors for so long was so you could plug them into DC when necessary....)

On an almost related note, navy ships used to use still a different kind of power, high frequency AC. A fellow I worked with serves several years, and used to recount the joys of watching the fresh out of boot camp recruits first time plugging in their electric razors......
(When plugged into 400 cycle power , they let out an ear piercing shreak, for about 20 seconds before going up in a cloud of smoke...)

[OilyRascal]

Day 5 - I said I was to work around the house exclusively today and catch up on a few things.  I quickly changed that plan this morning when I got up.  I didn't plan to "hurt myself" today, rather wanted a day at the place to walk around and look and think and dream.

I walked around and took more pictures of interesting things laying around the property.  I found two older road graders.  I knew there was one and remember well it's use.  The other was from left field.  I know I was much younger when I was last around all these things, but you'd think something that large on the property I'd remember.

Inside the shop I spent most of my day either moving the scrap pile onto the trailer to haul off tomorrow, or moving big things out or around with the tractor.  I was able to get the onan generator out of the shop, a scrap engine out, and two freshly overhauled engines in an area out of the way.  There was a huge metal frame built for a couch (you've probably already seen in the pictures) that I hauled out as well.  So - I got some big things out of the shop being lazy sitting on the tractor.

Tomorrow I hope will be scrap day, and find usable trailers day.  I'd like to find at least two big trailers I can put stuff on that I know needs to go back inside at some point, but that I want out of the way daily (e.g. tools).  My idea being leave trailer inside at night and hookup each morning and wholesale move out of my way.

Link to today's pictures http://www.photobucket.com/oilyshopday5

[john k]

Man, you gotta rest some time!   Interesting stuff poking out of the weeds there, those Gravelys, bits of iron.   Never seen an old pull road grader put on rubber before.  In picture six the load of scrap, is that a long tool box on top?  In pic 11, those wooden cultivator handles,  and a walking plow, would like to get some for an old garden cultivator I have.  But it looks like they're already attached to one.  That 70s Chevy C-70 looks like you will need a chain saw to get it out.   Progress, you're making good progress. 

[OilyRascal]

Day 6 - The early part of my day was consumed with getting scrap metal out of my way...things I had already sorted through twice and made a decision to recycle.  I started to worry the trailer my be getting a little to heavy so I decided to haul it off to the recycle center.  The trailer load was just under the 7k trailer rating at 6800 pounds.  I wasn't expecting that much weight.

I was able to make some progress on the tool room by getting several things out of the doorway.  I brought out a couple of truck seats, several tires, a hand made tool box, and three spools of cable you'll see in the pictures.....before I could step foot in the doorway.

I was also able to get the area on the north west side clean under the workbench.  I had to move around 10 wheel barrow loads of pipe fittings out of the shop and into the moving van (see pics).

We'll see what tomorrow brings as my back is tiring and my grass growing.

Pictures taken today  http://www.photobucket.com/oilyshopday6

[Neals]

I'm still trying to figure out which is my bigger fantasy. That much shop and land or that many goodies.

[Papaw]

I'm still trying to figure out which is my bigger fantasy. That much shop and land or that many goodies.

All of the above!

[fflintstone]

I looked thru a good amount of your pics.
If you loan them old welding helmets to a grade school science teacher during a solar eclipse you will be a hero.

[OilyRascal]

Day 7 - My back is bothering me a good bit today and I had a funeral to attend this morning so only about three hours in the shop today.  I decided it was in my best interest to find some less strenuous work in the shop for a few days.  Today I was committed to finding all that I could of the 3/4" drive proto pro set I'd heard of.  I had already found the ratchet and breakover, and suspected a few of the sockets.  Appreciate I had to travel well outside the shop to various "gang" trucks in order to find much of the set.  I was working off information another of my dad's brothers had given me in finding them.  As you'll see in the pictures I nearly resurrected the 3/4" set from 15/16" - 2-1/4".  I believe I may have even found the orginal metal case, but uncertain at this point (they do fit nicely).  I'm already in love with having a nice anvil around (I don't at home).  It and a few of those body tools I'd found made straightening that toolbox where somebody walked on it a breeze.  I believe I've also found the better part of a Williams 3/4 set as well, but not the ratty as of yet.  I also ran across several "hornet" sockets in my search for things proto - maybe my existing Hornet ratchet will have some new friends.

I did some sorting, drooling, and picture taking on the various hammer heads, axe heads, body tools, hand drills, and oil cans I'd found.

I was proud to have found a couple of things today just walking around looking.  The first is the basket that was made to go inside the parts washing vat outside.  I was starting to think I'd need to make another.  With the volume of tools there is no question that basket, a block and tackle, and some rope are in order.  The second item found was an old scale (see pictures).  I'm not certain that I've found all of it, but I'm proud to have found what I have.

Pictures taken today:  http://www.photobucket.com/oilyshopday7

If you loan them old welding helmets to a grade school science teacher during a solar eclipse you will be a hero.

Great Idea, and there is a very rural K-12 school just up the hill I attended as a child.

[rusty]

>If you loan them old welding helmets to a grade school science teacher during a solar eclipse you will be a hero.

Nice thought, but...

Be aware that you need at least a #14 shade to safely look at the sun, and welding shades are usually a #12 or less.....

No, you can not stack together 2 #7's , it doesn't work that way...

Also, very old shades may not have enough UV protection, at some point the way the shdes are made changed from tinted glass, to coated tinted glass with a much better UV & IR protection...

[OilyRascal]

>If you loan them old welding helmets to a grade school science teacher during a solar eclipse you will be a hero.

Nice thought, but...

Be aware that you need at least a #14 shade to safely look at the sun, and welding shades are usually a #12 or less.....

No, you can not stack together 2 #7's , it doesn't work that way...

Also, very old shades may not have enough UV protection, at some point the way the shdes are made changed from tinted glass, to coated tinted glass with a much better UV & IR protection...

Oh my!  They'll make great decor.