Garage Time Thread

Couple of new to me toys this month to putz around with. A 1998 VFR800fi and 2001 C5 Corvette. I'm currently re soldering every cold solder joint in every effin up module on the Vett. General maintenance and my usual obsession with perfection on the VFR. Both are just awesome to have.
Retirement works

 

You really need to get a Roadstercycle SH847 Kit for your VFR. Like many bikes of the era, their R/R is suspect. With Honda no longer offering the 5th Gen stator, you want to preserve the one in the bike.

 

Worked on the daily/Golf R since it has to be used in the winter

• Changed out Pendulum mount
• Sprayed rust inhibitor...stuff is also like a magic eraser for rust that may be on there already
  
• Did a compression test (numbers all looked ok)
• Changed spark plugs
• Changed oil
• Adjusted exhaust again...will order a Vibrant clamp to see if it holds in place
• Waterless washed the car including rims, and did the inside of the wheels when it was on the QuickJack
• Cleaned up all my tools that were scattered all over the garage

Great having all these streaming things. Was able to stream Red Zone on the phone while I had to work on the car, made it feel like I wasn't missing out

 

I’ve got assorted tasks to keep my various road bikes running next year, but I am basically turning sideways to get in the garage and then tiptoeing around one humongous mess once I’m in there. It’s a contortionist joke getting over to the lathe and 30 minutes to pull the welder out. Every time I finish a project I push stuff aside, stack the next project on top. It’s time to clean up, box stuff up, sell stuff. Job #1 is, get it cleaned up. THEN work on bikes. Whatever happened to the simple purity I used to enjoy of one race bike sitting on the stand alone in the center of the garage? Now it looks like a wreck on the freeway. Sheesh.

 

Almost got my shop heater put up on the weekend. Can't wait, it's been a long time coming and the projects list is a mile long.

While not IN the garage, I did manage to get a start on building my bandsawmill last weekend.
I went from this

To this

To this

Over the course of a few days. Of course I had some help along the way though.


Can't wait to have a nice heated workspace in the winter so I can finish the rest of it. Right now the shop is a complete mess as I had to move a bunch of stuff to gain access for the heater install. By next weekend I'll be out there toasty warm, and cranking out parts on the mill. I hope.

 

great that he's even out there.

saved yourself a bunch of money making that yourself. good on you!

 

He didn't last much longer out there.... If I added up all the money I have in tools and equipment I'm not sure if I'm really saving any money at all lol. We're (I'm) having fun though.

 

Having fun is the name of the game! I have a ton of tools and equipment I use only once in a while. Some might consider that wasteful, but the feeling I get when I need some oddball something or another, and low and behold I have "just the thing!", is only exceeded by the feeling I get using good tools to accomplish whatever "over my head" task I'm trying to perform. Character flaw I guess, but it helps me put up with a lot of buffoonery.

 

Glad to see your teaching your helper a trade and wearing safety glasses ... but hand near trigger and blade of Porta Band near leg is kinda giving me the willy’s

 

I just like building stuff. Coming up with ideas and problem solving my way through the build process.

I set goals of things I want to build and it becomes a flow chart of things I need to make, to make the things I want to make *. And the skills I need to learn to get there. I find that becoming a much more enjoyable way to spend my time as the years go by. Teaching the kids how to problem solve and work with their hands is a nice benefit too. Stuff they don't learn in school.... I've managed to build up a pretty capable home shop over the years as well. It's a snowball effect as the more stuff I build the more equipment I get, and the easier it is to build more stuff. Gone are the days of strictly angle grinder and buzzbox fabrication. Hacksaws....pfffft. Jr there is holding one of the best purchases I've ever made. He'll never know the struggle. Kids have it so easy these days.

So far just for the fun and enjoyment of it, and I've not yet tried to earn anything from it yet although I've taken a few paying jobs over the years (that go right back into the shop). I'll try and hold that off as long as possible as it tends to suck the fun out of it pretty fast. Although self employment is a goal in the near future.

*The Bandsaw mill is because we want to build a timber frame cottage in the next 10-15 years. I'm going to mill all the wood from trees on my property, and build it myself in the backyard. Then disassemble and transport to the property (yet to be purchased. Damn land got expensive in the last couple years......).

It's unplugged. He was struggling with the weight of it near the end of the cut so I helped him a bit, then unplugged it for the proud dad photo op. Wife works at a children's hospital so I hear all the crazy ways kids get hurt, and am pretty safety conscious about that stuff. Probably a bit more so than I should be..... I was holding the cord with my foot on the extension cord the whole time he was cutting too.

 

Some projects I knocked out lately
















@pastironworks and @rockabillydad on Instagram

 

That license plate grow light is sick.

For those of us who don't have instagram and mat happen to live in Pennsylvania - how do we purchase some of this stuff?

 

I'm getting a welder soon and once I get some skillz, it'll be fun to make cool shit like you do.

 

There is a brick and mortar store in Hanover that sells my stuff. You can always just give me a call and come over, drink some beers and we can create whatever you want together. PM me for my number if you want to.

 

If you ever want some mig gas tips, just hit me up.

 

Working on my Ninja 250 for next riding season.

-installed my magnets in the front rotor bolts to trigger the aftermarket speedo that's on it.

-installed my frame sliders and swingarm spools

-need to install my new rear sets



Next have to tear down and go through my GSXR 600 after going down at my last trackday back in Sept.

Dont think anything structural is damaged.

Need to:
-paint new tail section and install.

-Pull forks and check forks and upper/lower triples for straightness

-install Bazzaz fuel controller

-install new Metzeler TD slicks and replace front wheel that has been bent since I bought the bike

-Install new chain and gear change from stock, going -1F, +2R

-Flush coolant and brake systems

-oil change

 

Appreciate that. Starting flux core to see if I can figure it out/really want do it at a lower entry cost. I look at it like motos, starting on a 250 until it's time to buy a liter bike

 

Don't get discouraged while using flux. It's messy and often times the penetration is garbage. Use it as a stepping stone. I started with a garbage Chinese 110v flux core welder and learned a lot from it.

 

I know spatter, fumes and slag are common complaints about flux welding, but not lack of penetration unless it's the machine. Same as stick welding for all intents and purposes, right?