What did you do today?

[twistsol]

After a week of high temps in the 30’s and 40’s I broke down and turned on the furnace.

[twistsol]

Finished setting tile on the dog wash last night and headed back after work to grout it and then finish sanding and drywall. Very close to finishing up the dog grooming salon.

[Jim Frye]

Sat around all day watching the tile guy install the stone backsplash in our kitchen. His attention to detail on cutting the mats to fit and aligning things with a laser made me really appreciate the job and to realize I could not have done it. I have none of the tools and gadgets he used (except for the dual axis laser) including the diamond wet saw.

[dbhost]

The new benchtop drill press came in today but it came in so late I don't I've had time to do was pull it into the house the shop is a disaster well so is the house but that's a different story I'm going to spend some time cleaning up cleaning up after I get some of the touch up work on the camper conversion cabinets cabinets done basically applying the sides to the skeleton. I'm not sure how soon I will get to it but I will be building another Flip-top stand for the drill press the drill press and mortissing machine.

[dbhost]

I might have done something stupid, but the chuck on my floor model drill press periodically especially with big bits comes loose, and as everyone here knows, I wanted a benchtop press with throw equal to or greater than this old floor model. I wanted the Ryobi DP121L or similar.

Well, Amazon did it to me. Somehow the universe conspired against, or in favor of me, not sure which, but various video reviews of the Bilt Hard 12" digital variable speed bench top drill press have come up on my Youtube feed and it actually looks like, more or less the same drill press as the Wen in a different color and with a slightly different table (Which I will move my woodworking drill press table over to anyway...).

And then Amazon, oh Amazon. I have been putting off buying the Wen because I am being cheap. I know the Wen is far from an expensive unit, but I just couldn't bring myself to pay over $250.00 for a benchtop drill press. Well Amazon went and put this thing on sale for $169.99, So $80.00 basically, cheaper than the Wen... https://amzn.to/3TkvBeT

They hit the price point I was willing to pay for the features I wanted.

This will allow, or require me depending on your perspective, to build another flip top stand, and give myself a doubled up stand for the drill press and mortising machine.

Mind you, the truck will never fit in the garage, I could barely squeeze my standard bed standard cab Ranger in there when I first bought the house. I am considering getting rid of our Saturn and Chevy Malibu, and getting a compact SUV, something with a tall enough roof I don't have to twist or stoop to get in. I.E. Chevy Equinox, Ford Escape, Toyota RAV4 etc...

So I guess plan still is get a 10x20 shed / portable building out back for a shop, and keep lumber storage in the garage, and park the SUV in the garage. So yes I am still going to work on maximizing space efficiency in the shop.

The other option is finish fixing hte house, sell off and buy a house with more land / outbuilding.

[dbhost]

I massively redid my pnuematic system after Christmas which was 5 weeks after that post. So not much is relevant here. The salvaged rubber hoses were jettisoned as potential failure points again. There are quick disconnects at points where I want to be able to connect and remove items, either inputs, or outputs from the system. Been migrating slowly to the Type V high flow sets though.

[capncarl]

Look into Parker Push-Lock hose fittings. I keep a small supply of 1/4 & 3/8 in straight and 90s flairs in the shop. I think they couple to 37degree flair fittings. Combined with male flair fitting you can rig about anything. These push lock hose ends push into the hose and are quite forgiving of hose size. A dab of dish detergent always helps and if the hose is still stubborn you can heat it a bit with a heat gun, I’ve never failed to have a fitting that wouldn’t go in. In question there is no shame putting a hose clamp on a questionable hose fitting,

[capncarl]

I’m not sure that quick disconnects were ever intended or designed to be completely air tite. I can’t ever recall not having a number of them leaking a small hiss of air when connected.

[capncarl]

Quick disconnects are not intended as swivels in fixed hose applications. 2 fixed ends on a hose creates a real problem with tightening the hose unless you can spin one fixture. There are hose fittings with a swivel feature that should be considered here. They are not designed for a continuous swivel but for installation purposes only.

The usual application would be one hose end with threads screwed into device 1 and one hose end with a female flair fitting and a male flare pipe fitting screwed into device 2.

[dbhost]

So here goes latest updates.

Test fitted the Aqua Tainers water carriers in the back seat footwells and they are a perfect fit. The also will keep the dog from slipping down there as he mindlessly moves about in the back seat. Did I mention he won't get near the passenger seat? He is a little weird...

So with that knowledge, more research and my own measurements showing installing the Bedrug and rat fur carpeting as a means of softening up and civilizing inside of the truck bed and cap will encroach approximately 3/8" of an inch total. The wheel wells are 9" tall from bottom of the rib valley to the top of the wheel well, so probably 8-3/8 at the top of the rib. I can cut down 2.5" on the uprights and still have plenty of space to clear the wheel well. And will gain me approximately 2-/18" headroom which is needed. All of the gear needed to make for a comfortable trip will fit under the bed platform lid, or between the electrical compartment and the side of the truck bed EXCEPT for my chemical toilet. That will have to ride, Doubled up in heavy duty trash bags in case of leakage, just on the floor on the bed of the truck...

I have had to make some reductions to make this all work and provide plenty of space for the dog. Those are.

1. Not use the EZ Up canopy. Makes setup a little tiny bit harder, or a LOT harder if we are talking about beach, but I am using a 12x12 Ozark Trail camping tarp with poles.This installs partially over the truck shell to offer shade and rain protection to the open windows.
2. Use as much as I despise them, 1lb propane bottles instead of my 20lb bottle, OR use the hitch hauler to carry fuel and fuel hoses. If it weren't for the hot shower, I would go with simple Gasoline appliances anyway, cheaper to run and no hazardous cylinders to dispose of.
3. Use a small folding table instead of a large one. I am just me now, not us, so no need for a bigger table.
4. Only bring 2 camp chairs. My chair, and a spare just in case...

Mind you, unless the weather calls for a heater, none of my appliances go through gas at a crazy rate, even the propane hot shower. I have refillable 1lb bottles, just getting them refilled on the road is impossible... You have to do it at home off of a 20lb bottle. Kind of stupid if you ask me...

[dbhost]

Took the bed platform apart, again... Have a decision to make. I can cut down a maximum of 2.5" before I get to the point that the part that is supposed to straddle the wheel well is IN the wheel well... If I cut down that far, I KNOW I will have more than enough headroom with the carpeted bedliner that allegedly adds 3/4" to the floor, AND the "Rat Fur carpet" headliner which adds something like 1/8" max. Not much for insulation but keeps condensation down...

If I go with 1.5" I know I will clear the added height, and buy myself another 1/2" which means my hair will no longer be fluffing the roof as I move about. PLUS my water jugs will more than happily stow under the bed platform.

I am also wondering, that 3/4" spec on the bedrug, may be measuring from the bottom of the valley between the truck bed "ribs" if that is the case, then the total height added on TOP of the ribs is only slightly less than 1/4" which is more along the lines of what I would expect. Which means honestly, if we are talking from bottom of ribs and headliner, I will probably be adding 3/8"...

I am VERY tempted to wait until I get the truck back from the mechanic as it is being towed over very soon for the engine work, THEN I can install the bedrug, and then figure out my height issue. IF I can get away with it, AND sufficient headroom, I would prefer to only cut down 1.5" from the uprights and still be able to carry water under the bed...

Tomorrow is going to be an interesting day, it went ahead and got hot here again. I need to climb under the front bumper, pull the winch back off, remove the hawse fairlead and install the license plate flip up bracket, and then reassemble the fairlead, and winch. Kind of needs to be done prior to wrecker coming to get the truck as once the mechanic gets the truck running he needs to road test it and it needs both plates.

[dbhost]

Home Depot screwed up. I ordered an 18V impact wrench WITH the 4.0 amp hour battery. They shipped tool only. NOT Happy, been on the phone for the last hour trying to get them to straighten it out. They have some sort of promotion going on and are sold out of that kit... so they just sent me the wrong one... More specifically they sent me the tool only and getting them to send out the battery turned out to be an impossible task. HOWEVER getting them to send out a new impact wrench with battery AND a charger I don't need for $5.00 less than the same tool and battery apparently is no big deal. I really want that impact for doing off road tire changes, and I REALLY don't want to be spinning a manual lug nut wrench...

[dbhost]

You know the old adage measure twice and cut once?

My bed platform for the truck camper is actually still too tall.

I forgot to factor in the thickness of the Bedrug bedliner, and the headliner carpeting / insulation I am going to to to the roof.

I have 1.5" more I can cut down. I go 1.6 and I will run into the water tanks. They are just 7 gallon water jugs, not really installed tanks, so if worse comes to worse, I can always just move them to the cab of the truck. They are there to provide water for daily showers should a water source not be available.

I replaced the winch hook strap that came factory with my winch, with one I sewed up myself that has MUCH stronger stitching, Boxed and diagonal stitched instead of just one line of stitching. And instead of just a tag end strap, it is a looped handle.

Need to make 2 more looped handles. One for the tailgate to pull it up from inside the truck, and one for the hatch to pull it down from inside the truck. Might actually just let those be just plain straps. Don't really need the hoop so much as I do for the winch hook.

[twistsol]

Drywall and first tape coat done.

[twistsol]

I've spent the last few weekends building a dog grooming salon at my daughter's house. Last night I broke the only bit I had with me on the drywall cutout tool on the second to last outlet so ran to the hardware store to get some more. On the next cut it made about a 3" cut and the battery died and I didn't have another. An hour round trip home wasn't in the cards so I ordered Indian food and picked it up on the way home. I'll finish up the last of the drywall and get the first tape coat done tonight.

On a happy note, the pressure test on the plumbing passed which is surprising since I'm usually really bad at plumbing.