POTD- PROJECT OF THE DAY: What Did You Make In Your Shop Today?

[francist]

Another one of those “how to spend three hours making something that costs three dollars” afternoons today….

I needed a couple of picture hooks to hang some artwork in my bedroom. For those unfamiliar, picture hooks, or “picture rail hooks” were a very common way to hang pictures or paintings in houses with lath and plaster walls. They hang from a “picture rail” that runs around the room a foot or two from the ceiling and saves driving nails into the fragile lath and plaster or, perhaps more importantly, poking holes in your expensive wallpaper. They’re really common around here and were used well into the 1930’s. My house is 1912 so I still have them in some of the rooms.

Anyway, I needed a couple new ones. I like the looks and shape of the old ones but you can’t always find them and where’s the fun in that anyway. I’ve made them before, it’s not a big deal. I decided to use some bronze that is left over from a cymbal resizing I did for a friend a while back. Nice material — rings clear like a bell even in small pieces — and it was about the right thickness.



I traced a pattern from one old hook that I have and then cut two pieces from the cymbal material using the jewellers saw. Then filed and sanded to shape and finish.



To make the large bend I clamped the blank alongside a piece of stainless bar I had lying around. The smaller “hook” part I just freehanded with a pair of flat-jaw vise grips. The first one I did not anneal prior to bending and it was pretty stiff. The second blank I did anneal though, and it bent a lot cleaner. Annealing red metal is easy — heat to red, quench in water, good to go. It’ll work harden again as you hammer or bend it but you just keep annealing it again as many times as you need.




I also didn’t feel like having a highly polished surface on these (plus I didn’t feel like sanding anymore…) so I took them to 320 then gave them a light flame treatment to put a bit of oxide colour on. I finished up with a quick wipe of Boeshield T9 and called them good.




Thanks for looking!

 

[silverhawk]

My wood planer gave up the ghost (cooling fan on the armature had a corner split off and carve up the shroud).



So, I used the old machinist trick of "scraping" modified heavily to calculate board thickness and manually sand it down until it was acceptable.



Now I can keep working on the tool chests.

 

[wachuko]

Made a base/stand for my wife’s laser engraver. She needed to place a glass jar/canister and it was too big to place between the base…

Now she can have the roller base under the laser and engrave through the bottom of the base






I still need to make it pretty…. But at least it is functional…

 

[dkemppai]

I tried to paint something. I failed miserably. Seems like I'm always failing at paint now. This wasn't always the case. Back when, long ago, before rattle can spray paint hadn't become become a liberal-tree-hugging-save-the-planet-useless product it is now, I could paint.

We were at walmart, so I snagged a few cans of yellow krylon, fusion, all-in-one, direct to metal paint. How bad can it be? (Well, nothing prepared me for how bad it can be!) This doesn't need to be perfect, just a layer of paint to put some color on it and make it easier to wipe down once in a while. It's inside, so will never see weather. Wire wheeled it, and wiped it down with thinner (soaked it down, wiped it off, spent the time prepping the parts). Left the heat on in the garage for 24 hours to let it dry, spent 5 minutes shaking the can and...

This isn't paint. It's old dishwater with mustard stains in it. The carp can't even spray on cardboard without looking like I spooned yellow cottage cheese on it. The dye clumps, the solvent/base runs, it doesn't spray evenly. Nothing I did with this whole can would even act like paint.


I did get some color on my part. I mean, it wasn't supposed to be perfect. But two coats in this is what it looked like. This is direct to metal paint! I've never used anything so horrible in my life.


I proceeded to scream profanity AT THE TOP OF MY LUNGS, chuck this can as far in the field as I could muster, and drove to town. Bought a can of brush on metal primer, and safety yellow brush on paint. I'll probably have to wire wheel all this carp off, wipe it down again, and start over. But at least this paint should work. Unfortunately, the 'good' paint I just bought is obsolete. It's the last of what's on the shelves, and cannot be replaced.

 

[455dan]

I tried to paint something. I failed miserably. Seems like I'm always failing at paint now. This wasn't always the case. Back when, long ago, before rattle can spray paint hadn't become become a liberal-tree-hugging-save-the-planet-useless product it is now, I could paint.

We were at walmart, so I snagged a few cans of yellow krylon, fusion, all-in-one, direct to metal paint. How bad can it be? (Well, nothing prepared me for how bad it can be!) This doesn't need to be perfect, just a layer of paint to put some color on it and make it easier to wipe down once in a while. It's inside, so will never see weather. Wire wheeled it, and wiped it down with thinner (soaked it down, wiped it off, spent the time prepping the parts). Left the heat on in the garage for 24 hours to let it dry, spent 5 minutes shaking the can and...

This isn't paint. It's old dishwater with mustard stains in it. The carp can't even spray on cardboard without looking like I spooned yellow cottage cheese on it. The dye clumps, the solvent/base runs, it doesn't spray evenly. Nothing I did with this whole can would even act like paint.
View attachment 476938View attachment 476937

I did get some color on my part. I mean, it wasn't supposed to be perfect. But two coats in this is what it looked like. This is direct to metal paint! I've never used anything so horrible in my life.
View attachment 476936

I proceeded to scream profanity AT THE TOP OF MY LUNGS, chuck this can as far in the field as I could muster, and drove to town. Bought a can of brush on metal primer, and safety yellow brush on paint. I'll probably have to wire wheel all this carp off, wipe it down again, and start over. But at least this paint should work. Unfortunately, the 'good' paint I just bought is obsolete. It's the last of what's on the shelves, and cannot be replaced.

You are Not alone.
Was all excited to put some Hammered metallic Gray on my new to me Arboga gear head drill press.
Bought 2 cans of Rustoleums $11.99 a can paint.
Hammered yeah right.

I used this paint before in charcoal and it came out great. Not going back now but after all of the sanding wire brushing . Disappointed.

 

[woodchucker]

You are Not alone.
Was all excited to put some Hammered metallic Gray on my new to me Arboga gear head drill press.
Bought 2 cans of Rustoleums $11.99 a can paint.
Hammered yeah right.

I used this paint before in charcoal and it came out great. Not going back now but after all of the sanding wire brushing . Disappointed.

Hammered paint needs to be sprayed on heavier than a light dusting. If you dust it on, you won't get the effect. Put it on heavier, and keep moving.

 

[dkemppai]

Hammered paint needs to be sprayed on heavier than a light dusting. If you dust it on, you won't get the effect. Put it on heavier, and keep moving.

It must be thicker than this krylon garbage then! You literally cannot spray it on a vertical surface. It's impossible to get the surface wet without it running.

Thinking I'm going to have to invest in spray gun and start using better paint.

The custom rattle can stuff the auto parts store mixed for the old fusion sprayed nice. So it can be done. Apparently the other companies aren't allowed to, or just don't want to make a quality product any more.

 

[Firstram]

It must be thicker than this krylon garbage then! You literally cannot spray it on a vertical surface. It's impossible to get the surface wet without it running.

Thinking I'm going to have to invest in spray gun and start using better paint.

The custom rattle can stuff the auto parts store mixed for the old fusion sprayed nice. So it can be done. Apparently the other companies aren't allowed to, or just don't want to make a quality product any more.

The $20 purple spray gun from HF is fantastic for use around the shop!

 

[woodchucker]

The $20 purple spray gun from HF is fantastic for use around the shop!

I have both the $9 hvlp and the more expensive with the regulator. I like the $9 at times better than the more expensive one . With heavier paints I like the $9 better. With finishes that I can really thin out, I like the more expensive. I find that the air cap on the finer has finer holes and will not atomize the heavier paints enough .
I also have a turbine (single stage) and gun. I find it difficult to get the atomization I like.
I gave my son all my old High Pressure stuff. Binks / Devilbiss ... I much prefer gravity feed over siphon/suction. the main advantage is when you are becoming empty, the gravity feed doesn't spit... it just stops. The siphon will ruin your finish while spitting.
Just my opinion. Your mileage may vary. That's why they make different tools.

 

[extropic]

I say don't give up on rattle can paint. That yellow was incredible. So bad it must have been a defective batch. I don't have a lot of recent experience but have not been disappointed, that I can remember. Within the last month I've used Rust-Oleum Professional Cold Galvanize Compound. Covered very well, didn't run and flashed pretty quickly (I was surprised it is sold in CA).

Better luck next time.