T-post un-installer

They’re relatively cheap to buy, not very complicated…but I already had the steel. And I need the welding practice for an upcoming project.

IT'S NOT A TOOMAH!!

It may not have been a toomah in Arnold’s case, but in my case, it definitely is.

Now GET TO DA CHOPPA!!!

In honor of one of the finest cinematic masterpieces ever: Predator, I even painted it camouflage.
Or as my kid used to say “camelclaws”.

Bonus pic of sketchy CNC tube cutter ground clamp that shot lots of sparks out.

Lathe DRO

This lathe is what I’d call “minimum viable”…as are my lathe skills, but you can still make some neat stuff on it, and the DROs simply speed things up a bit.

Riveted Shelf, File Rack

I have seen a million rivets installed and wanted to try my hands at it. Needed a shelf and file rack, so went and made some stuff.
Should have gotten a countersink cage before this project. The drill press depth stop is okay, but everything is so flexible the c-sinks sucked. So now I have a c-sink cage.

Installing rivets = super easy. Doing it well = tricky and takes lots of practice, just like most things.

New and improved weld table

When 3/8 mild steel plate stress relieves itself it’s cool to watch, but I hope you like potato chips.
And when you’re handling the final weldment, make sure to do it all by yourself with a sketchy engine hoist at full extension. You pretty quickly come to terms with your own mortality after hundreds of pounds of steel tries to kill you.

Sandblast cabinet

A big-ol-sandblast-cabinet!  I can fit an entire bicycle frame (sans wheels/tires) in there!  It's huge man, huge! If I told you how much a "real" cabinet this big costs vs how much I spent on mine...it would probably hurt your feelings.

Router Table

No way, no how, was I going to pay that kind of money for a garbage router table from Home Cheapo.  So I made my own.  Strong like bull, last long time.

Bad Ass Bender

I've since upgraded to a real box/pan brake, but this did its job.  Simple but bends some pretty thick steel if you clamped things down correctly.

Tum-bling Machine!

Okay, the 'bling' aspect leaves a bit to be desired.  But she works great!  Throw a wad of rusty metal in there, and ~30min later, all clean!

Lathe Table

Prior to the lathe being added to the top, a little run, jump on top, and you could belly-surf this thing across the shop!  Right up until one of the casters hits a rock...