New tools you've bought recently?

[lil_Blue_Ford]

My driveway wasn't a driveway until I started parking there when I moved back here from TN in 2007. Down here in the front part of our place it's pure black dirt, if it's wet stay off it unless you want to tear up the grass, or get stuck, or just downright muddy.
I began building it up soon after moving and at first it was hard to come by anything gravel, but soon a company got this building up by the highway and started running 18 wheeler gravel and rock trucks. I stopped there and asked about a pile of gravel in their parking lot and he'd sell me a big scoop of gravel for $25, it would fill my 4.5 X 10 X 2 FT trailer bed and enough left to fill my 1/2 Ton truck bed, thankfully it was as close to home as one could hope for where I live, about 5 miles open country highway and a dirt road.
I filled the ruts in my drive 3 or 4 times over the years, it would all sink in and I'd fill it again, just plain grey highway gravel.
It made a good driveway, and I trust jack stands on it, always with a small plywood pad ( all are Ground Contact Treated )
Not long ago I was doing some checking or something and had the front up on stands at least on one side where I was working, raised on the other side too but might have been only a jack there. I had my little milk crate stool there to sit on, and I cannot re-create it but suddenly as hell that left front rotor bit the dirt, fast and hard!
I sat there looking and wondering what if my foot or arm had been underneath, sometimes nobody comes by here more than once a day.
Apparently the jack or jack stand had been in a softer spot on the edge of my drive, it all grows over with grass rather rapidly.
I noticed the photo on your pad didn't seem to be entirely filled in with gravel either, and it must be, even if you want to put a slab on it, it must be full coverage

So, the dirt here is ridiculous. There was like 10” of black topsoil all over the property. Below that is clay. We are in a valley next to a creek and there’s natural springs all over the property. Most of them dry up in the summer. I got a skid steer loader stuck a couple times when we were building driveways. Even my choptop when it was on 33’s and locked both axles couldn’t do the mud here.

The driveway section the Green Ranger is on has about a foot of shale on top of the clay and varying thickness of mostly crushed limestone on top. Water running along the edge has choked it up with dirt, so it looks like not so much stone on the edge, and the edge is thinner with stone. But I always level up where any stands or jacks will be sitting with crushed limestone. We have about a 10-ton pile left over from when we put the driveway in, so I don’t have to go far to get some (in fact the pile is right next to the Ranger on the drivers side).

I’m not permitted to pour a slab where the Ranger is or anywhere on my parents property because dad is worried it will end up in the way of something. So my slab and my garage will go next door on my property. I’m going to have to do a good bit of filling to level things up there and my intention is to get crushed concrete for fill since it will pack in good, then top it with limestone and pour on that. I did concrete work for a living for about 10-11 years followed by being a self-employed contractor for another 12-ish. So I have a pretty good idea of what works and what doesn’t around here, lol

 

[sgtsandman]

I keep intending to get one of those tools. I bought the O2 sensor chaser years ago and it usually works well as long as you don’t leave ALL of the threads from the sensor in the bung.

Have you seen the car ramps with a jack and stand built in? I’ve considered getting a set before to be able to get more height out of ramps.

I have not. That thing sits so low to the ground, even low profile ramps need ramp extensions to keep the bumper valence from getting damaged.

The car is in the garage. So, I’m probably going to just put on jack stands. It needs front and rear brakes anyway. So, I’d have to do it sooner later.

The rear brakes may be a bit of an adventure. The hub is built into the drum and the bearing are press fit. I have a press. So I should be good there. The ABS tone ring that is pressed in after the bearing might be where the adventure is. Time will tell. Then it’s up to her to get the tires.

 

[ericbphoto]

So, when I bought that $20 work bench, I was watching another work bench ad on marketplace. The lady finally took that ad down. Bummer. It was a really good table for welding and fabricating. But another ad that had caught my eye got a price reduction to $75. That seemed worth the drive. Turns out it was a bolted together metal frame with wood top. 99" long x 42" wide. Nice size. So I went to look at it. The top turned out to be 1 1/4" thick particle board with mdf glued to top and bottom. The seller had taken the top pieces off to make thevtable easier to move and, though she covered everything with a tarp, the particle board soaked up moisture from the ground.

I decided the frame was still worth $75 and brought it home. The particle board stayed in the truck until I went to the dump the next morning on my way to Home Depot for plywood. I tightened all the bolts on the frame, straightened and squared it best I could, welded all the joints, added shelf framing and extra support for the top. And now I have a very useful table. So this won't be my metal fab table. The cheap one will pull that duty.

Here are the 2 tables in my garage. Not shown is a heavy duty extension cord I have hanging from the ceiling right over the center of all this.

I built a rack on one end to hold draw bars for towing. I didn't like having them on the floor stuffed under another work bench.

My floor jack and motorcycle lift tuck up under the end. Then the welder and my portable vice slide in close. I can still walk between them and the closed garage door.

 

[Josh B]

That's a nice setup there Eric Those green looking benches remind me of the old factory and fabrication shop benches

 

[ericbphoto]

That's a nice setup there Eric Those green looking benches remind me of the old factory and fabrication shop benches

That's what they are.

 

[pjtoledo]

2 taps & 2 die, 14mm x 1mm in both right and left thread.
unless I find some real oddball application that completes my metric sets.

 

[ericbphoto]

2 taps & 2 die, 14mm x 1mm in both right and left thread.
unless I find some real oddball application that completes my metric sets.

In many circles, M14x1 LH or RH are oddball. Plan on making your own metric turnbuckles?

 

[pjtoledo]

the Unimat lathe has 14 x 1 rh thread on the spindle. if I make a specialized mounting plate those will come in handy.
while looking for that I saw mention of 14 x 1 LH for a suppressor mounting, so ahwhatdahell, I bought a set.

now that you mentioned a turnbuckle, I'm getting ideas about custom tie rod adjusting sleeves.

 

[scotts90ranger]

Eric, might steal that idea for the hitch storage... I have those things scattered EVERYWHERE

I still have 3 tables/benches that I haven't made room in the shop for, two similar to what you have and one table that had a MDF top that I burned... a bit ago I finally started putting the lift kit on my welding cart top so my bottles will fit, step one was putting the 14" long pieces of angle on, next step is some sheet metal behind the bench part, then cutting out some of the metal out of the bottom so bigger bottles will fit then boxing in the bottom part for consumables and winging the rest

 

[ericbphoto]

now that you mentioned a turnbuckle, I'm getting ideas about custom tie rod adjusting sleeves.

M14 is too small for that.

 

[pjtoledo]

M14 is too small for that.

for sure the thread depth of 1mm pitch would be inadequate, any corrosion would compromise it.
I would have to measure them, but the inner tie rods on a 98+ are not very big.

 

[Roert42]

A cheap solid core door can make a pretty decent workbench top.

 

[Josh B]

A cheap solid core door can make a pretty decent workbench top.

Very true, try a used building materials place for solid core door, rough finish no problem

 

[ericbphoto]

Very true, try a used building materials place for solid core door, rough finish no problem

Habitat For Humanity Restore is a good resource for used doors.

 

[oldgeek]

I had a pleasant find. Opened a toolbox I brought home that was my dads. In it was a Ryobi cordless reciprocating saw. Same battery as my 1/2" impact wrench.

Although inheriting is a real sucky way to get tools, even if I know he'd be glad I have it.