Back ta work
Enough with the whining about peeps and things so far outta control that no one I know can see a solution shy of complete implosion.
Heres a little sumpin different.
I finished this project a couple weeks back but hadnt shared because I really didnt want to open the blog back up. Now, what the hell, I dont have to post daily, and likely won’t, but I still occasionally have sumpin to share.
I had a few instances at the beginning of the year, where a shop press would have made life oh so simple. Got ta lookin’round for one and even cheepy HF stuff was out of my range. (Its been Reeeaaaaaalllllllyyyyyyy slow up to recent weeks. Money has been lean and shy when it comes to visit.) But, I has a brain, and welder and surprisingly, a danged good source for metals, even if most of it is galvanized heavily.
Well, the uprights are from KYDOT, they pull the piles when replacing guard rail, and will not re-use the old stuff, so contractors end up collecting the stuff. My cost: “take what ya want and then some “. I took a few ‘extras’, you never know,,,,
The table piece is from an old truck frame; a fire victim. The bars that support the table are from the sway bar of the same truck. Even the cutoff wheel bitched about that stuff and I was using a 1hp motor with a 14″ dewalt blade. Still took 5+ minutes per cut. That shit is HARD! (I kept the rest to grind into tools later down the road. Ain’t gonna be cutting that with the lathe tools but I can make lathe tools from it.😆)
And the coup de grace, the jack. Found in a pile of junk that some one had tossed out at the cemetery. I have no idea why people do that, but we do try to keep em cleaned up. This jack was in with a bunch of other ‘junk tools’ and only needed fluid. It does have a small leak, and later will get fixed, but for now, it suffices. Twenty ton jack, a few dollars for the oil, and that was that. The return springs are from a trampoline that were quite popular the last few years. People just toss stuff out,,,
I was able to build a thoroughly functional press from literally others scrap. End value is exponentially higher than the initial value.
Actual costs are around $6. Figuring argon, wire, and juice to run the welder as well as the hydraulic fluid. (Had that on hand. You do as well, right?) Looking around at similar built units (comparing steel quality particularly) and the equivalent would run me right around $1000, and that number varies wildly by name…
I do like being the frugal rat bastard at times 😈
(Note, a neighbor has called my dad and I “scroungers”. I took offense at first, until I rewatched “The Great Escape” . James Garner was ‘The scrounger’ and was one of the key person in making the escape possible. I now take a small amount of pride in the moniker because the scroungers will always “come up with something”.)
Dio's Workshop 
It works…all that matters.
LikeLike
April 29, 2018 at 2:37 pm
Lol indeed, thats the final test.
LikeLike
April 29, 2018 at 2:39 pm
Been trying to comment on last several posts, but WP wouldn’t let me. Finally got new password.
From your last post, is that two face from Texas Big Thicket showing up again…what a POS.
LikeLike
April 29, 2018 at 2:43 pm
Yup. He has been back . Funny though, while I was just deleting comments, he would play. Now that I said I’m going to turn the lights on,,nada. Kinda like a cockroach.
Not the first i have heard about issues with WP and logons. Its working though, disnt have to approve your profile.
LikeLike
April 29, 2018 at 3:04 pm
Took multi trys over a few weeks….my patience for this techie shit never was high and at 70+ ain’t improved,lol…how about his suckup from Tx coast…
LikeLike
April 29, 2018 at 3:55 pm
Haven’t heard from him since I tried to mend the breach. Not one word in 4 years now. I think CC got burned in his dealing w/ the still and all.
LikeLike
April 29, 2018 at 4:17 pm
Good job on the press son ! America was built by scrounging ! Your neighbor is just jealous he cain’t live as you .
Just as well with the Still maker, considering he was trying to use low temp solder until I corrected that error. Dude might poisoned or xploded someone using that stuff ha ha.
He probably got washed out into the gulf during the cane eh ?
LikeLike
April 30, 2018 at 5:44 am
I don’t know what happened there, to be honest,,just extrapolating from known evidence. There could be any number of things that happened, like getting washed out to sea, or getting burned by a turncoat tyrant; who knows.
I’d forgotten about the lead solder issue, but do remember his struggle learning to use oxy torches.
One of my beefs with the world today is our disposable mentality. Even most current manufacturers have it. Thats why I like the old tools, built to last at least two lifetimes. But, that mentality makes scrounging simple, just gotta keep your eyes open.
LikeLike
April 30, 2018 at 6:22 am
Especially down here in throw away Floriduh. I swear you see almost anything sitting out on the curb
LikeLike
April 30, 2018 at 2:37 pm
Wasn’t for scrounging, lots of stuff I’ve enjoyed over the years I’d never enjoyed having. Sometimes, simple loose, wire or just a good cleaning, maybe a little paint and use for years. Afterwards, end up selling after I no longer need for clear profit….
If you making payments on everything, then you are a slave. Only slave I’m being, is to frigging property tax. Haven’t figgered way around that one yet, but fortunately, in one of lowest property taxed states.
LikeLike
April 30, 2018 at 3:24 pm
Hear hear to your “slave” statement.
LikeLike
April 30, 2018 at 3:27 pm