Container Weld Shop build -

[BukitCase]

What you did obviously worked fine; I seem to wanna do stuff that shouldn't be possible, a LOT of the time :laughing: - that's where my "tinker toy" set got started; every time I can't think of a way to do something with what I already made, the tinker toy set gets expanded - after a while it gets easier to "mix and match" pieces to get where I wanna go, haven't needed to fab more pieces lately...

Here's more "eye candy", several pics of pieces and some of in-use - pieces -

First, fab stuff -



Next, some usage pics... Steve

 

[BukitCase]

Here's a volunteer prune tree that committed suicide in my neighbor's yard (high winds) while taking down the fence - medium length bars are used like a "bale spear", 45* adapters put 'em parallel to the bucket bottom - longer bars and strap for holding the trunk centered - picked the whole thing up and drove it to my burn pile, left a couple TWIGS in his yard; chainsaw sorted out "burn now, burn later" stuff...



Ready to fly a subassembly up for the roof over the 20' container -



And moving some pre-cut tubes for the outer half of same roof (built in 3 modules, each 8'x12') - weight woulda been too much without that chain/binder from the UPPER receiver -



Almost forgot your question - yeah, with all those adapters I can go high, low, straight out to the side, straight up, at 45* or 90* any direction, and (so far) with 3 different length choices; 30", 48" and 72". As you can see, I have grab hooks, slip hooks, shackles, clevis, pin hitch, trailer hitch for 1-7/8", 2", 2-5/16" (not shown here) - also got a couple of these

Hitch Cargo Carrier - 5 lb. Capacity

- got em when on sale for $39 - work pretty good for throwin' a bunch of stuff in a big cooler and pluggin' 'em into the bucket with a couple 45* adapters (so they sit level with the bottom of the bucket)

Then there's always the combo of the brush bucket AND 1 or 2 carriers - brush bucket needs 2 lower outside receivers/big hooks, which leaves 5 OTHER choices for carriers, hooks, etc -

Oh, the tinker toys ALSO let me pick up the entire "porta-shed" (12'x12', 11' tall, steel frame) and move it anywhere I have more than a 12' wide path - haven't done THAT yet, but it's comin' eventually...

In short (I know, too late fer that ) if I can't do it with that stuff I probably SHOULDN'T ...Steve

 

[Oldpath05]

("Almost forgot your question - yeah, with all those adapters I can go high, low, straight out to the side, straight up, at 45* or 90* any direction, and (so far) with 3 different length choices; 30", 48" and 72". As you can see, I have grab hooks, slip hooks, shackles, clevis, pin hitch, trailer hitch for 1-7/8", 2", 2-5/16")"

Thought I had ya fo a minute and I was getting all set for some zingers. I think if you had all your jingle jangles on that tractor, probably fit right in a Mad Max movie and yet for all those add ons for brush gathering, tree pruning, material handling, I see noooooo platform/scaffolding for to standing on so you put siding on those shipping containers and or paint them. PS nice set of pics.

 

[BukitCase]

Awww, shucks; ya GOT me.....

Except for these -



3/4 A/C ply/2x4 frame, all joints glued and screwed, 3 coats machine grey enamel, carry holes both ends, optional detachable "wheel barrow wheel",(not shown) and mucho non-skid tape; dim's are 3' x 10'. Metal pieces shown are a SMALL part of a Unistrut stash off CL - about $1200 worth for $100, most was NEW (moving sale)

In use as a work bench -



Sitting on the tinker toys -



Locked in place -



Needed a sun hat and some tools -



Pic limit, stay tuned...

 

[BukitCase]

Using the "super plank" withOUT a rail let me stand between frame members and put my full weight on the self-drilling screws (going into .120" wall steel tube), WITHOUT the irritating side effect of my ARMS falling off



And the temporary rail (NOT in the way for the LAST piece of roofing) -



Container roof done -



And the "wobble fix", for when you don't have a 10' long piece of 2" tube handy (but DO have a 12' piece of 1-1/2"



Oops, sorry; guess ya DIDN'T get me after all (but keep tryin'; when ya DO, it's BOUND to be somethin' I SHOULDA done :thumbsup ...Steve

 

[Oldpath05]

That's a nice bucket plank, you must get up there about 12' or more that way... If theres one thing I use my FEL for alot it's the old plank on the bucket trick, really comes in handy for them out of reach areas, I think they're 10 Xs safer than a 10'-14' step ladder<<<those things are dangerous and I'm not even a big fan of those ext. ladders, but a lot of this is coming from not being 25 anymore.

("Using the "super plank" withOUT a rail let me stand between frame members and put my full weight on the self-drilling screws (going into .120" wall steel tube), WITHOUT the irritating side effect of my ARMS falling off ")<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

I found a cheap cure for all you highly educated people who just love saying .120" instead of the easy understanding 1/8", you know like the those lines on the average tape measure>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Convert mm, cm to fraction or decimal inches (in=mm=cm) There I fixed your wagon, I used that chart several times lately, couple months ago I used it on buying tire studs for my front tractor tires, the studs are all listed in metric, and the only metric number I have figured out is 13mm and 14mm, everything else is WHAT.

 

[BukitCase]

Yeah, I use that plank quite a bit too - eventually I'll probly put stake pockets (brackets) on both ends and one long side - I wanna keep ONE long side smooth so it'll sit on edge without tipping over (easier storage) - so that "smooth" side will still get a rail, it'll just pin to both END rails - in the pics that part's all just jury-rigged; OK for a 1-time shot, but takes too long if you're gonna do it a LOT...

Soooo, you found a chart - cool; and cheaper than that wiz-bang digital caliper I linked to...

Education? I graduated High School, everything ELSE I've learned in the years afterward was mostly a condition of getting/keeping my job - didn't wanna slog thru rice paddies gettin' shot at, so ENLISTED for 4 years with a guaranteed electronics school (instead of 2 years draft) - figured if I didn't do well in electronics school they'd have me in the rice paddies for FOUR years, so studied a LOT - ended up bein' kept back as an INSTRUCTOR, and from there (military AND after) things just kept gettin' more complex and better pay (that "carrot and stick" thang sure works :laughing: -

Hey - now you know 1/8 inch is .125", it gets easier the more you use it - so's the metric system, it's all just multiples of 10. It's a little trickier converting mm to inches, I made up my OWN charts for sockets and end wrenches, keep one in each drawer. They go from small to large, 3 columns - first row is decimal (like .375") second row would be 3/8", third row would be 9.52mm (1 mm = .03937", so (calculator) divide .375 by .03937, and you get 9.52.

This tells me that a 3/8 wrench is TOO SMALL for a 10mm bolt... Also, it's easy to get those decimals if you know the fraction; you just (calculator again) divide 3 by 8, and .375 pops up. Again, the more you mess with math the better you'll get at it...

Sorry 'bout that, several of my jobs (AFTER the military) found out I'd been an instructor, so they kinda "re-wrote" the job description, now it's just a HABIT ...Steve

 

[BukitCase]

Added a small winch to Tinker Toy pile...

I've had one of HF's 120 volt/1500 lb. rated winches for a while now, got it for a "universal little stuff mover" - but it was usually a PITA to jury-rig a way to HOLD it without resorting to MORE tinker toys, weld clamps, etc, so I ended up doin' more than I should WITHOUT it...

The winch - 15 lb. Capacity 12 Volt AC Electric Winch

Note that it does NOT come with a base, so the marginal, NON-roller "fairlead" has no place to mount HF must've discontinued the base I bought at the time, now they only offer an "ATV" version, smaller than mine but same mounting holes...

I wasn't impressed with a non-roller "slot" for the cable to rub on every time you used it, so I found a ROLLER version @ Amazon
Amazon.com: Champion Wire Rope Roller Fairlead for 35-lb. or Less ATV/UTV Winches: Automotive I couldn't possibly cobble one up for less than $9, ain't gonna TRY

Yesterday I finally came up with a decent "tinker toy" for the winch - 2 pieces of 1/2"x3" FB (3/8" woulda been enough, didn't HAVE any wider than 2", needed 3" minimum) and a 10" piece of 2x2x1/4" wall tubing - The pieces -



Note the big hole in ONE of the pieces of FB - it's for double-line operation. HF wanted almost as much for a snatch block with a 2" diameter pulley as Amazon wanted for a 3" one, and I don't like small radius pulleys (too much "stress reversal" will cause ropes/cables to fail prematurely) so ordered this
Industrial Grade 5RRV4 Snatch Block, Swivel Hook, 3/8 in, 2 lb: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific

Which should be here in a couple days...

So I glued the pieces together -



Slathered some paint on it -



Stuck a fork in it (oops, I meant stuck a PIN in it ) - sure 'nuf, it's done...



Now anywhere I have a 2" receiver (like the 7 on the 580B's loader bucket or the one on the back of my van) or anywhere I can CLAMP or WELD one, I can have up to 3000# (double line) to move stuff. Pretty sure this'll be a useful addition to the Tinker Toy Set... Steve

Oh, forgot to mention - my little 2kW euro style genny runs the winch AND the 2 electric chain saws just fine, and comfortably fits in the 2' hoe bucket - I keep a 25' #12 extension cord cable tied to the hydraulic hoses, so I have power at the loader bucket just by setting the genny in the hoe bucket, plugging it into the cord and starting it - on hot days I put the brush bucket on and add a 20" fan, it's nice to bring your OWN cool breeze to the party :thumbsup::thumbsup:

 

[Oldpath05]

Why do AC winches cost almost double then the DC winches with half the pulling power and where did you get that super duper mounting plate? That AC winch is what I'd like to have on my jib crane, I'm already sick of chain falls when I go up down up down up down..........just to move some small bundles of firewood from A point to point B. I might of showed you this pic before, but I know you mind taking another glance.


"(it's nice to bring your OWN cool breeze to the party)" <<<<<<Right now I'd prefer bringing heat to the party when I'm getting firewood out, a good blowing heater on my open cab tractor sounds great to me.

 

[BukitCase]

Good question on the cost; it shouldn't cost THAT much more just to add a few components so an AC motor can be reversed...

I got that mounting plate when I bought the winch, can't find it on their site anymore; only a bigger version that fits their 9000 and 12000# winches, and a little "ATV" version that fits the 120 volt winch bolt pattern, and has 2 holes to mount a fairlead like the Amazon one I linked -

Yeah, I remember your firewood jib - know whatcha mean about chain falls, I have a couple like yours - only thing I like (other than not havin' to lift stuff myself) is they're portable, don't need power, and are MUCH easier to hook up to a trolley than ANY of the powered winches/hoists - but that chain is a pain fer sure - When I'm using mine, I keep it in one of those 5 gallon buckets with a lid - easy to carry, nuthin' draggin' the ground, and you can set the bucket on top of what you're lifting (if it's flat, that is) and let the "power" chain just circulate inside the bucket instead of draggin' on the ground...

From your pic it doesn't look like you need ANYWHERE NEAR a ton on that jib; maybe one of the 880 # hoists would be enough
Search results for: 'electric hoist'

Not quite as expensive - just remember that ALL the HF hoists (NOT the winches) are rated DOUBLE LINE - they at least include the little snatch block so they can't be called liars (quite as easy, that is )

Speaking of snatch blocks (notice that super-clever seque ?? :laughing: ) the one I ordered for the newest Tinker toy showed up today -



But I was already up by 7am (after gettin' to bed around 1am) 'cause THESE showed up about the time they were supposed to LEAVE PORTLAND (Oregon, that is, I know Maine has one too) - Our Portland's about a 2 hour drive...



They're not quite level yet



And they WON'T be, til about June when it's dry enough to move 'em HERE -



One will go down at the base of that slope (where all those "projects" are sitting now), even with (and parallel to) the weld shop container (that's the one at the right side of the first pic) - the SECOND container will go even with (and parallel to) the FIRST one, but 40 feet away - then, as funds allow, a 40x40x 5 inch slab over 6" of compacted crushed rock will go BETWEEN the containers, and a 60x60 "arena" around the whole thing - that'll give me enough room to work on (and hopefully SURVIVE) all those "projects" you see in the pics, such as -

The orange dump truck runs but needs a bunch of little stuff done, the 50 foot boom lift needs a little work on the Wisconsin V4 and a couple cylinders rebuilt and a couple tires (ouch), the 25 foot scissor lift needs batteries (ouch again, might try a "rejuve kit" first), the 580B needs about 7 more cylinders rebuilt + some new bushings, torque converter, brakes, etc, both other tractors need odds and ends, and "Mrs. Bukit" has been VERY patiently waiting for a complete house remodel - THAT can at least get STARTED once I get enough "clutter" (I call it "inventory" ) out of the garage, bedrooms, front porch, etc, so there's enough elbow room in our 1000 SF house to MOVE...

BTW, yes- there IS a good reason for gettin' those containers NOW, even tho they won't get moved/used for a few months - ones in that good a shape are gettin' hard to find and/or near new price - got these hi-cubes for $3k each, and they're still better than sea-worthy; doors and seals are perfect -



Oh, another Tinker Toy setup -



Notice the 45* adapters - those let the "safety cage" sit parallel to the bottom of the bucket so I'm completely surrounded by 1/4" wall 2" tubing, when all I need is HEIGHT enough to change bulbs on one of three 15' tall light poles, such as the one that's just above the umbrella in this pic -



Seems like the slimeball neighbors on my west side prefer DARKNESS, therefore I do NOT

'Sposed to rain a bit next couple days, time to get back onto the HF crane mods/assembly; I DID manage to finally get the I beam painted, next comes beefed up "hoist friendly" braces between uprights and I beam... Steve