1/16/12 Setting Up Shop

I know it's been a while. I've been hesitant to post too much about things that are not that interesting on the face of it, but to myself and Jordan are pretty darn cool. for the past couple of months, we've been preparing our containers to be the workstations we are picturing.

The first thing on the list was creating a table for the lathe to rest on. Jordan and I spent a good afternoon building and bracing this workbench, only to realize that we hadn't made it deep enough  to accommodate the motor, which I had removed from the lathe because it was destroyed by the flood... Oh well, it will make a good table for the computer or 3D printer, if an over built one.

The next thing on the list was designing workbenches that were built into the wall that could be raised and used as required, but could be folded away to free up space when not in use. To create the prototype bench, I welded a heavy duty door hinge straight to the wall of the container so that we could bolt a table top to. We made the prototype top out of two 5/8" peices of plywood glued together. The front legs are sprinker pipe with flanges bolted to the table top and to the floor. This allows for height adjustment by threading the pipe in or out of the flange. The prototype came out very nice, but we decided to make a few modifications for the rest of them.

Rather than permanently weld the hinges to the wall, we figured that it might be more useful to have a flange with bolts in it welded. This way either a hinge or any number of other things could be bolted to the wall in the future. This also allowed for a flush and much stronger weld. We also used 3 plies of 3/8's board with one layer of masonite on top for a nice work surface.

Lather, rinse, repeat and we had setups for a few tables.

Unfortunately, due to a dispute with another tenant in the navy yard, we are going to have to move our containers. Luckily our new location is substantially nicer than our current space and has a better view. This meant, however, that we needed to paint the roof and remaining sides of the containers, as they would be viewable from the opposite direction. Jordan tackled this last weekend and we are scheduled to move in the next week or so. 

W.W.

-BNYSS

11/26/12 Thanksgiving Week Progress

It was nice to finally have a long weekend so I could get some work done at the shop.

On the Friday after Thanksgiving I brought my triple Weber carb setup to the shop so I could do some wok on them. On the way there I spotted a future ideal home: a Manhattan brownstone with a private garage. Swap out the Porsche with a Datsun and you've got a pretty great setup for me.

Anyway, once I got to the shop, I set to cleaning up the last carb of the set. Webers are shockingly simple, but when you have them apart it looks pretty impressive with all of the components laid out for cleaning.

Once finished with that, I also replaced the curiously missing throttle return springs in the two I had built already for a full set of (hopefully) operational webers. I could only get the trumpets cleaned up but so much because they were rusty, so I'll probably have to order new ones eventually.

Afterwards I cleaned up the intake manifold. Starting to come together! Just for comparison, this is how they started out.

On my way home I spotted this 'Mercedes'

Saturday I brought the E31 head and most of my tools to the shop. It will be great to have a place to work again.

I also have some work to do on the G35 in the near future. The driver's side window has been acting up, so the motor either needs replacing or cleaning. I also need to replace a muffler gasket and throw on new rear tires for a possible sale...

Stay tuned.

-W.W.
SBSS/BNYSS

10/25/12 New Shop!

This Tuesday marked the official beginning of my new shop. Jordan and my new home is in the Brooklyn Navy Yard. As I hinted at in a previous post, we are building our shop out of shipping containers. Tuesday morning I drove over to the yard and watched a beautiful sunrise over our new view.

We had our storage POD and our two containers delivered to our space behind this beautiful building right on the water. Unfortunately, our containers came in substantially worse cosmetic shape than we were expecting, so we're going to have to paint them soon.

The first one was positioned with a precision and skill I didn't even know was possible. The second was lined up with a forklift to be parallel to the first.

This shop will be somewhat less automotive oriented than the first, but we should still be able to get a car in there for the odd work. Here is a possible layout, though we may not cut the entire wall between the containers.

Power is being connected today and we will be pressure washing and painting Saturday. Stay tuned for more updates.

I also found a great deal on a leather motorcycle suit. Idly browsing craigslist, I found this awesome Kushitani Dragon 2 piece suit for $100. I was a little worried about it fitting right, but when I went to try it on it was perfect! I've only ridden in it once so far, but it feels great. Kushitani is supposed to be one of the best brands and I can see why. The leather is supple and soft and the finish is great. I may upgrade the back protector to something more substantial, but other than that I am very happy with it.

W.W. SBSS (BNYSS?)