Fixing what the body shop set back to factory, and some perspective on the new fender flares...

So as you may recall, my truck had to spend some quailty time in the body shop due to an attempted theft / vandalism that caused some extensive damage to the drivers front fender, wheel, studs, and windshield. I finally get the truck back from the body shop that fixed what the first body shop royally messed up on, and I want to take the time here, since I knocked Cook Ford for the poor quality work, I want to credit Frede Chevrolet for exactly the opposite, although it took them a bit to get the parts in, more on that in a bit... they did first rate work. Everything was aligned properly, and fitted the way I would expect to see it..

Only problem is, they put it back to Factory, excluding the fender flares... They replaced the Damaged Pacer Performance flares, with EGR OEM Look flares. I am not going to complain, those were the flares I wanted in the first place, but couldn't ever seem to locate...

However, as I said, the body shop put the fender back to stock, meaning the plastic trim, and the steel lower / inner edge of the fender were put back where they were from Ford, and the 35x12.50/17s rubbed when I turned / hit a bump. I HAD to fix that again...

So now having some experience with this, I started the truck up, set the parking brake, made sure it was in park, and rolled the window doen...

I then got out of the truck, rolled the window down, and turned the wheel to the left (it is the back outer edge of the tire that hits), and watched where it came closest, and marked off about 1/2" past each way...


Turn the wheel to the lock the other way, and turned the truck off, and went to the shop...

Out came the air hose off of my hose reel, an air hammer, an air chisel hammer, and a pair of tin snips.

I trimmed the plastic, just outside of the marked lines, so that there was no longer any protruding plastic. Next I used the tin snips to re-cut the fold that the body shop tack welded back, and then the air hammer / chisel hammer bit came out and folded the sheet metal back well away from tire interference...

There is now more than enough space for the suspension to flex.

The new flares offer close to full coverage of the tires.

Not fully covered, but close enough.

Road tested, and the tire rub is now completely gone over all surfaces I have been willing to try it on. Turning, large bumps etc... Still need to test it offroad, but that will be a bit...

IF the Rancho Quick Lift Loadeds had a strong enough spring, I am certain there would have been no interference problem, as I was running this same brand, model, and size tire with the stock struts and Auto Spring 2.5" leveling spacers. 

But, with all the headache it has been getting to this point, there it is, done for now. 2004 F150 4x4 with 35x12.50/17 mud tires, Only suspension lift is a 2.5" Rancho coil spring / strut lift, 9K lb winch and heavy duty brush guard / winch mount, nerf bar steps to help my wife and I get into the truck easier. I do need to swap the Rancho coils for Moogs, but aside from that, and some minor cosmetic stuff, this truck has seen enough attention from me for a while. On to the Saturn!

Prepping for a show, and Ye Olde Heavy Metal...

The workshop is set up and staged for several projects, most notably my lovely bride and I are going to try to reproduce a Talavera-ish look on some large plain tera cotta flower pots. Considering the size she wants in real Talavera runs around $80 - $100 per flower pot, and our lawn service has been known to break flower pots when edging around them, I figured we can replicate the general look pretty easily with some $13.00 Home Depot pots and some Ceramics paint, finished off with full gloss brush on lacquer.

We picked the pots up from Home Depot yesterday, and as they had been rained on in the outdoor garden department, they needed to thoroughly dry before I attempted to paint them. So in the shop they went, unfortunately that takes up a LOT of room...

Another project I had, and this one was more time pressing, was to size up some replacement steel rods for my E-Z Up 13 x 13 Pagoda Gazebo Canopy.

The Auto Show is coming up, and my brother in laws body shop is setting up a booth, and he was going to borrow up the Pagoda to use in the booth, which is great, but unfortunately the last time my wife and I took it to the beach, we got run off the beach by some fast severe weather, and I forgot the extension rods that hold the what would be the eaves if this were a normal structure, out away from the verticals.

So I sized up the bores for the rods, and found that they are 1/2", I used some 1/2" hardwood dowel from the craft store to size up how long the rods should be. I talked with the support folks at EZ-Up, they would be more than happy to sell me replacements for $25.00 + S&H by the way... but they couldn't tell me for sure the length, apparently there are 2 different sizes, mine happened to be the 28", so...

Once the lengths were measured, the angle grinder with the HF metal cutoff wheel was brought out, and the rods were cut, the rough edges were dressed off by hand with a file, and the rods were thoroughly cleaned...

For the Auto Show. I won't bother with paint on the rod yet... But once I get done with that, I get the rods back to the shop, they will get thoroughly cleaned, roughed up with some sandpaper, and then primed, and painted. Mostly to keep rust away from the canopy fabric... The end that goes into the fabric pockets are going to be dipped in Plasti-Dip to finish the job up...

Now as promised in the title... I managed to stumble across a Youtube Channel courtesy of none other than Wil Wheaton, yes, I am that geeky that I follow Wil's blog, and have him in my Google+ circles, and controversial or not, I actually LIKED the Wesley Crusher character in Star Trek The Next Generation! but I digress...

Being a child of the 1980s, heavy metal was a staple of the music scene when I was a teen, and of course, as I ripen, uh I mean mature into the graceful (yeah right) age I am now... I find my musical taste varies quiet a bit more, and I appreciate the finer points of true art that I simply wasn't open to at a younger age. Combine that with far too many years with my fall seasons spent at the Renaissance Faire, and yes... I think I have acquired a fondness for the more obscure musical genres...

So without further Adieu, I present to you 2 classically trained harpists Camille and Kennerly with their cover of Iron Maidens "Fear Of The Dark"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPb20fK0R94

Fixing The Flexy Flares...

In an attempt to keep rocks, mud, sand, and whatnot from being flung up at the paint on the truck quite so much by the 12.5" wide mud tires I needed a wider than typical fender flare for my 2004 Ford F150. And while I know there are plenty of folks that like them, but I personally don't care for the looks of the big chunky flares like the Bushwackers. After more than a little research I went seriously old school and opted for a set of cut to fit Pacer Performance Flexy Flares. Basically a 2.5" rubber fender flare that attaches to the inside lip of the fender opening.

Now these are really, painfully simple fender flares, akin to what you see on school busses, ambulances, and fender chopped 4x4s world wide... These have been available and in use literally for decades. I remember a guy in high school that had a set of the universal fit (you cut them to match your application) on a 1965 Corvair. Well anyway I digress...

Due to some vandalism damage my truck had to spend some quality time in the body shop at Cook Ford in Texas City Texas, and I should mention here and now,  and mind you, I am a very forgiving customer knowing full well people make mistakes, and I don't take making this recommendation lightly in the slightest, but I have to say, in the strongest terms, DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH COOK FORD! I took my truck there as they were the closest Ford dealer that was in my insurance companies preferred repair facility program. If I have anything to say about it, they won't be for much longer. But don't take my word for it, take a look at their BBB rating. I dropped the truck off on Thursday before Memorial Day weekend, and was told that they would not be able to even take a look at it until the following Tuesday, so I went ahead and left the truck there. I left with a leery feeling of this shop, and started digging into the reviews and BBB complaints, and by Friday morning I got up early and got to the body shop just after opening time. Unfortunately the insurance company had already notified them that I wanted to get my truck out of there, and they had already started pulling the truck apart, and had sanded the fender down and had bondo on it. So I was kind of stuck... End result?They botched the repair job badly, took it in to straighten some fender damage caused by vandalism, they delivered it with the fender STILL bent, proud of the door by no less than 3mm and distinctly bowed out at the wheel opening like it was a wide body kit, fender bottom edge trim wouldn't fit door trim they took off for painting they bent in the process, and the windshield glass I specifically asked  the body shop manager, Sonia I think her name was, some blonde woman is all I am sure of, if they were going to use the OEM glass with the F150 logo, ended up being a generic aftermarket piece, so she flat out LIED to my wife and myself.

Anyway, among the other things that were done wrong such as the fender that was supposed to be straightened, wasn't delivered straight, I also found the fender flare on the other side of the truck had several of the screws removed. This was causing the flare to curl in, and contact the tire during turns.

I opted for a more permanent fix than a replacement screw however, and broke out the Harbor Freight rivet gun. The hole was already in the flare, and in the fender, all I had to do was run the rivet through both holes, put the riveter on the stud and pull the handle.

The end result is that the fender flare trailing edge is now tight up against the fender, MUCH tighter than was possible with the screw. I am actually considering pulling the existing screws, one at a time, making any width adjustments needed, and running rivets in instead of screws.

Tire to fender flare rub now gone, I can now go to a Chevrolet dealer (that just seems existentially wrong) to get the proper repair done. They had an '09 FX4 F150 in black that they were prepping for delivery that just came out of the shop with similar damage, and not a hint of the problems I had... Hopefully they get the job done smoothly, and this can be the end of my fender mash nightmare...

Likewise, not with any of my rigs, but a friend of ours, who happens to do housekeeping work for us (she helps us catch up every other week with stuff we can't finish off), needed help with her little truck. The bracket that holds the gas strut for the camper shell hatch lost the rivets that hold it on, so I re-riveted that, and double checked the other side...

Overall, the HF riveter that I picked up specifically for this purpose, I used to have a Stanley years ago but it grew feet and left me years ago, anyway, the HF riveter seems fairly well made, it does what it is supposed to, how it is supposed to, and doesn't seem like it should have any failure due to skimped materials or construction methods, however it was supposed to come with a spanner to help change the tips, mine did not, I considered taking it back, but I have more than enough wrenches and don't really need it... Oh for what it's worth, the units in the store have yellow handles, not red, and the metal frame black part is smooth either painted or powder coated, not sure, but it isn't the hammered finish shown in the HF pics...

How to deal with a jointer that is too narrow.

I am doing some stock preparation of some pretty rough walnut that I picked up off of Craigslist a few years ago. Much of the stock is 8" or wider, and just under 4/4.

Now if you have been paying attention to my blog, and have gone through the shop tour page, you will remember that I have and use a 6-1/8" bench top jointer. Nice, space saving contraption, that is all but useless for face jointing wider stock. I pretty much MUST keep my stock under 6" wide or it's a no go for this little guy...

To solve the problem I resort to the time tested method of all sorts of woodworkers. I built a jig. Well built might be an overstatement...

Simply put, I used a planer jointing sled.

Now for those unfamiliar with what a planer jointing sled is, it is a piece of dead flat stock, in this case 3/4" plywood, that is 8' long, and just barely narrower than the max capacity of the planer. In my case I have a 13" planer, so the jointing sled is 12-7/8". Thus my stock handling limitation here is 8' x 12.75". You need just enough space around the workpiece to be able to secure it to the sled...

The work piece itself, is secured to the sled via a hot glue gun and glue. Using the same techniques as you would with a jointer to determine which face to start with, secure your work piece to the sled, building up the hot glue to make up gaps between sled and work piece at the edge. The idea here is to solidly hold the work piece, and keep it flat as you plane away at it... In my case, I had approx 1/16" twist over 6' of stock, so I had a corner that was proud of the rest of the stock..

Run your stock, with the sled through as you would normal stock, until you have the exposed surface dead flat. If your planer snipes, it will be a bit exaggerated on a sled, BUT depending on how much material you are taking off, that can be dealt with...

Once the exposed side is flat, just cut the hot glue free, and remove the work piece from the sled. Clean up the sled and set it aside, then process the other side until you get to your final thickness...

With your stock flat, and at your desired width, edge joint it, just like with face jointing, you have multiple options, but in general, unless you are jointing monster sized stock, even a tiny 4" bench top jointer should suffice... I have read on most forums guys trying to say that a bench top jointer can't get a straight edge on anything longer than about 36", I have found that to be pure bovine fertilizer.

I have seen time and again forum members advising newbies to spend the money and buy a jointer first before a planer, the process I just described above to you, along with a similar, and similarly simple table saw edge jointing sled, make me seriously question the wisdom of that advise. If you don't have the budget, or space for a jointer, AND a planer, you are FAR better off with just a planer, and alternative planing methods.

If you would like more detailed information about alternative jointing methods, take a look at Marc Spagnulo A.K.A. "The Wood Whisperer"s video called "The Jointers Jumpin'" http://youtu.be/M-ZZ0dhbJYY . He covers areas that many folks simply don't think about, and unlike certain TV personalities, he takes time to SHOW you how it's done!

Follow up update... Dealing with the pressure!

Good morning all, just a quick post between Sunday morning activities...

Upon waking up and prior to heading out this morning, I popped out to the shop to take a quick peek at the pressure gauges. Sure enough the system is holding steady.

I have some long term durability concerns for using the rubber hoses, however I realize that I am pretty much going to require hoses to connect the compressors to the manifolds at least as the compressors vibrate and I need the flexible connection to keep from transferring the vibration to the rest of the plumbing, and in turn to the wall studs, and the rest of the house...

My options as I see them are...
#1. accept the fact that the rubber hoses will eventually spring leaks and fail (they all do) and replace them on an as needed basis.
#2. Upgrade the output side of the system between the filtration system and the hose reel adding possibly a hard drop at the front of the shop using a snap together system such as Rapidair.
#3. Run a system similarly laid out to the rapidair mentioned above, but with sweat fit / soldered copper pipe.
#4. Same as the 2 above, but using black iron...

I know I am overthinking this at this point, as it is all set up and working so well, but I want to have my head around any future possibilities.

Clearing the air

With the compressed air system fully sealed and holding pressure I am turning my attention to insure the air supplied particularly to spray guns is uncontaminated... The primary filter does a decent job but I wanted to insure dryer air and no oil passing through.

So I have gone ahead, bit the bullet as it were, and coughed up the bucks to get the Desiccant Dryer / Oil Removal Filter unit, and an FRL (Filter / Regulator / Lubricator) connector bracket from Harbor Freight. While they are still in the packaging, I am starting to wonder if Harbor Freight is trying to position themselves up a step or two on the tool quality ladder...

I am going to say this loud and proud, and will probably catch a ton of flack for it, but after my experiences with the wide variety of tools I have used, At this point I would happily cough out funds for HF tools long before I give Black and Decker or Skil a penny... I am noticing the tools I get from HF are higher quality than those better known name brands which has me wondering if Harbor Freight is going to follow by climbing the price tag ladder soon too...

So I started out with the regulator / filter already installed... That needed to be disconnected, bled down and removed from the wall. I have removed the L bracket from the regulator body as well. The FRL bracket I will talk about in a minute gives me great solid mounting options.

Add to that the Desiccant Dryer / Oil Removal Filter that I have on hand...

And the FRL connector bracket... Mind you, I could have just as easily gone with a 3/8" close nipple and connected them together, but I wanted even, consistent mounting brackets across the devices, so I spent the extra $2.00 and got this thing... It will give me a nice clean install and should actually look like the manufacturer intended for all of this to be together...

While I was ready to go, documentation on configuration is kind of lacking, so I needed to make a decision on to mount the dryer / filter before, or after the regulator. I am opting for after so that the flow goes from compressors --> manifold --> regulator / filter --> desiccant dryer / oil removal filter assembly --> output manifold --> hose reel...

The steps I used to install and test were....

1. Depressurize and bleed off existing system.
2. Remove the existing regulator / filter from the wall.
3. Prep wall mount board (already cut to desired size, simply pre drill counter sunk mounting holes and mount to wall).
4. Remove the nipple and manifold from the outlet side of the regulator.
5. Thoroughly clean all mating surfaces of outlet including female threads.
6. Prep the dryer by installing desiccant beads.
7. Assemble the bracket to the regulator and the dryer / oil removal filter.
8. Reapply pipe thread compound to the male threads on the nipple / manifold assembly and assemble that into the outlet of the dryer / oil removal filter.
9. Mount assembly onto mount board and reconnect inlet and outlet hoses.
10. Pressurize and test for leaks.

I do feel I need to address those that are pooh poohing this rig for lack of lubricant in the air stream. Well that is the whole point! I have for literally decades, used lubricated air tools on pnuematic systems without lubricators, and with filters. You simply need to add some air tool oil to the inlet at the outset of each days work and periodically through the day...

The installation, particularly of the FRL connector was not documented at all and wasn't completely obvious and not everything was machined to fit nicely. Specifically the regulator / filter body niche for the bracket wasn't milled out entirely far enough, and I had to finesse with a fine file. I opted to file a shave off of the ear of the connector bracket though, easier to get to cleanly...

Of course I also addressed swapping out the flaky Husky regulator on my HF 8 gallon compressor. I sourced up a replacement regulator for the HF from HF... Go figure right? Although the gauge ranges higher than the stocker, this regulator appears otherwise identical to the unit the small compressor was outfitted with from the factory. Should be a good clean install. When assembled and pressurized, the gauge still didn't go up to 125 PSI, and shockingly, I had been making a mistake. My small compressor is the 115 PSI not 125 PSI model! No harm no foul on the Husky regulator though, It wouldn't show anything over 100PSI, and the gauge would swing from 80 to 100 all day long... It HAD to go...The Central Pnuematic piece build quality wise is yet another example of HF beating the competition quality and cost wise! 

Once all of these were assembled, pressurized, and adjusted, I ran bubble tests against the joints, addressed any and all leaks, and there were a few, most notably the clear cap for the filter fail indicator on the oil removal filter, and I had to fiddle with the bracket to stop the leaks there, and then ran a leak down test. Keeping them pressurized but off overnight, and both compressors are holding pressure with no drop. Looking good!

***UPDATE***

I should have posted these earlier, but here is the photo of the completed rig... The regulator / filter has a clean factory assembled look when joined to the dryer / oil removal filter.

In order from left to right, in to out. couplers, check valves, reducer nipples, tee, nipple, regulator / filter, FRL coupler, oil removal filter, FRL coupler, desiccant dryer, nipple, tee, reducer nipples, couplers.  The plastic bulb thing on top where the filter replacement indicator on the oil removal filter is where my leak was when I assembled this. I loosened it up and straightened the O ring, then ran it back in carefully using a 19 MM deep well socket.

The mount board is a simple piece of scrap 3/4" ply screwed directly to the studs, and then the FRL couplers screwed to it using 1-5/8" drywall screws.

And after 26 hours turned off but kept pressurized, the in tank pressure is exactly where it was when I threw the switch to the off position. On the 29 gallon unit mind you, I didn't check the 8 gallon...

Yeah, I am LOVING that picture... 

Keeping up the pressure, and adding on for more flow!

As I mentioned previously, I haven't had the 8 gallon hooked up to the system while I was hunting gremlins down. Well I went and hooked it up, and the port it connected to leaked, BADLY... I bubble tested it last night, and it produced so many bubbles it was actually hard to determine exactly where it was coming from!

Instead of trying to reseal the existing 1/4" NPT male x male quick connect plug I simply replaced it, doped the replacement with plenty of pipe thread compound, and installed it tight, but not ham fisted.

The results were thus far good. However I have questionable readout from my gauge on the compressor. It is reading 100 PSI, and hasn't budged...  My compressor is supposed to produce 125 PSI... Either the compressor is failing to produce that pressure, or the regulator isn't reading / regulating correctly... I have a spare 1/4" regulator on hand, it's a simple matter to swap it over and test...

I should mention before any HF haters out there blame Harbor Freight for the funky regulator. The regulator on the 8 gallon is a Husky from Home Depot. I did something stupid and dropped the nail gun right on the original and smashed it to bits. Just about any modern regulator would come flying apart like that. I didn't wait to wait to get a HF regulator. They now carry them in store so no biggie to just grab one, but back then it was a problem...

FWIW, if you have a small compressor with 1/4" fittings on the outfeed and need a good cheap replacement regulator, look at the Central Pneumatic #68223 which is the unit I should have gone with in the first place.

Given this fix, if it all holds, I will then have in / out all sealed up and holding. My flow rating far exceeding any of my tools, and even a good loss factor given to run my tools... I should be a happy camper.

I still want to install the Desiccant Dryer with Oil Removal Filter to insure that my spray guns aren't contaminating sprayed material from the inlet air. Not worried about lubricated tools as I manually lube them... God, and my wife willing, I will be able to have my air system completely done by this weekend so I can move on to other projects...

As promised... Detail on how I secured the fire extinguisher to the door safety center.

I had to solve the issue of the fire extinguisher flapping around every time I opened and closed the door. It was making an awful noise, and transferring a lot of red paint to the door... It HAD to stop.

The top was secure enough, but the bottom would simply flop around willy nilly.

My first thoughts were for an over-engineered bracket to cradle the thing with a quick release metal band / buckle arrangement, but let's face it, that makes for some serious overkill. I just needed to hold it steady...

On a trip through Walmart's craft aisle with my wife the perfect solution almost literally smacked me in the face as overtstuffed products on pegs came spilling out as I was trying to fetch some black velcro for another project...

"Safety Red" hook and loop tape (not velcro brand, sorry...) and of course a couple of screws I already had on hand...

I simply made sure the 2 pieces met securely enough in the middle, and measured out enough so that I could double up the end, then run 2 screws into each end close to the extinguisher body. Then simply strap the 2 together...

The results may not win me any awards, but they sure are functional, and it doesn't look too shabby... Best of all, no more extinguisher knocking on the door!

When safe is not so safe, and keeping up the pressure. A tale of failure, and success!

Over the weekend, I whipped up a quick holder for the box holding my respiartors, the idea was to keep all of my PPE in a small area, out of the way of everyone else.

Sounds like a good idea right?

It sticks out from the door approximately 4", and obviously, most folks don't expect to find things mounted to doors. , and it appears that my wife of all people, failed to look before proceeding through the doorway, and caught herself on it. No serious damage, but realizing this, and the fact that my brother in law, who is very uh... vision impaired, goes through this door to get to the freezer, this holder HAD to go... Dang...

Now I need to rethink how to store my safety equipment and supplies... For now, the box of respirators are housed on the lower shelf of the workbench.

Now on to the success!

As you may recall, mid week last week, I had to redo the FTP x Male I/M coupler plug on the hose that feeds the hose reel as it was a persistent leak point no matter the sealant used...

Well I can gladly say that after a weekend of temp highs and lows, the pressure is holding steady.

The next test is in progress now. I have fired up the 8 gallon compressor, tested the fittings between it, and the regulator / check valve. It is presently holding at 125 PSI... Will check on it over the next few days...  I have messed around with the regulator on the 29 gallon compressor so that it will kick on prior to the 8 gallon compressor under hard load...

The errant FPT x Male disconnect plug will be repurposed to the rubber / PVC blend hose. I don't much like that hose, and chances are better than good that it will see VERY brief use, if any at all, and so if it leaks, who cares?

My compressed air plumbing system is so painfully close to done... Like I mentioned previously, I still want to add a secondary / finer filter / dessicant dryer that also filters out oil from the air stream to provide clean, dry air to spray guns. I will likely make those upgrades this coming weekend. I will have to make a quick and dirty mount board, so that I have a solid surface to mount the components to. I would like to paint the mount board before installing it to insure a good clean install. Once it is done, I will move on to the next projects.

My next project that if my wife allows me time to work on it this weekend, will be to replace the 30 year old Masonite siding on the back of our house by the master bedroom, with Hardie Panel. The panels are cut already, and have been painted and are waiting in the shop. Sadly keeping me from getting to my lathe, I think she made sure I would be motivated to get this done... Of course with the install of this stuff, I will be using my nail guns, which means compressed air. This one will take the portable 8 gallon unit to the back yard for use...

****UPDATE 6/3/3014***

I set up the test on the 8 gallon, and found a leak, similar to the one I just fixed, but at the MPT x Male quick connect fitting at the check valve. I have not narrowed it down exactly where, but I think it may be that coupler plug. I have tons of those, and no hesitation to re-seal the joint... For now the compressor is disconnected. I am somewhat concerned though. Fully pressurized I am getting a reading of 100 PSI at the on compressor regulator turned all the way up. Either the compressor is not developing the 125 PSI it should, or the regulator is giving me a bad reading...

Sometimes threads just don't want to seal. Period... And colleague success with a recommended tool.

Again with the air system. I had previously been fighting multiple leak failures, and thought I had it solved with the PTFE paste thread sealant. However there was one joint, the male connection for the hose that connects the air filter / regulator to the hose reel, that simply, no matter what, kept after about 6 hours, would blow the pipe thread sealant out of the joint and leak like crazy.

Last night, before I fixed the Blue Point air ratchet, I had finally had enough of the bleeding down this dumb joint caused, and opened one of my spare Harbor Freight I/M Quick Disconnect sets. If anyone is even vaguely interested, I am using Harbor Freight Item #68237 5 Piece Brass Industrial / Milton Quick Connect Starter Set. Sadly though, they only come with one female threaded male plug for hose end use...

So I carefully disassembled the original female thread, male quick connect fitting from the hose, and cleaned the male thread ends on the hose and the female thread ends on the fitting. Both appeared to be in good shape, nothing visibly malformed, but the recurrent leak is coming from this point, so something in the way these two mesh was causing it...

I carefully applied the PTFE pipe thread compound on the male threads, and proceeded to install the new fitting on to the existing male hose end. With my combination wrenches, I simply snugged the fitting down. Not super tight, but not so lose that it will work its way loose.

I should mention that I sourced my Pipe Thread Compound from my local Ace Hardware store. It needs to be mixed up after sitting for a while as it separates, but once mixed, it applies reasonably easily, and is easy to clean up the excess.

Once the hose end connector was installed, I cleaned up any excess pipe compound, reconnected the hose, and then pressurized the entire system...

After this I figured I would give in an hour or so, which was about as long as it took for the old fitting to start the leaking. So I fixed the air ratchet, tested it out, did the work on the truck, and came back to test the air fitting. Soapy water test showed no leaks, on any of the joints, period.

Testing is very simple, just put some dish soap, and water in a glass, toss in a paper towel and mix it up getting the towel saturated. Squeeze out any excess that would run off, but leave the towel wet enough to transfer some of the solution when you get to the joint in question. They simply dab the solution where you want to test. (Sorry the pics of that process I tried to take I can't manage the camera AND applying the solution at the same time, maybe I can con my wife into shooting the pic for me?). Check for bubbles. And I don't mean bubbles just sitting there induced by the process of putting the solution on, but new bubbles. You will KNOW if you see them, they are REALLY obvious... In this case, there was no obvious leak.

At that time I put my tools to bed, powered off the compressor, but left the system pressurized, noted the pressures on the gauges, 150 psi tank pressure, 125 PSI from the compressor regulator to the filter, and 90 PSI at the regulator / filter, then finally closed up shop for the day.

This morning, 12 hours later, I went out and looked to find that the gauges hadn't moved a hair, pressures are still exactly where I left them yesterday, and the soapy water test still showed no leaks...

This evening, a full 13 hours after leaving for work this morning, I double checked the pressures. Somewhat foolishly AFTER testing out some air tools so the pressure in the tank dropped 10 psi... It DID read 10 over this reading...

The 140 PSI tank reading was due to me running the air ratchet

before I thought to take this pic. It really was holding steady at 150.

Regulated to keep my air tools happy.

What I find most irritating about this whole ordeal is the original fitting LOOKS good, and there are no immediate leaks in the system, but slowly, over a 6 hour time period it usually became a big leak.

Was there foreign debris in the pipe dope that was used with the old fitting? Highly doubtful. I clean my threads before connecting them, and the bottle of pipe dope was bought new, and ONLY ever used on this project. There has been very little opportunity for contamination.

Now the tool snobs, and Harbor Freight haters are going to instantly be thinking "you get what you pay for", and partially they are right, you get Marketing, TV and Radio ad time, and a very well compensated, bloated executive ranks with brand name companies. Branding costs big bucks. I have had similar failures with "Brand name" fittings and tools. Remember, it was a Snap On / Blue Point air ratchet that got me working on pnuematics last night in the first place! And in the Auto Repair tools world, there simply is no better tool brand than Snap On. And they KNOW it, and charge accordingly...

A note to my woodworking readers that may not know about Snap On Tools. Think greasy Festool and you get the idea...

I am now short 2 of these 1/4" FPT x I/M male quick connect plugs from my set of spares. I should re stock from Harbor Freight as soon as I can. Yeah I can use FxF couplers, but that would induce yet another joint that is a potential source for leaks...

I have one more phase of the build out to go through I would like to add a 3/8" Dessicant dryer with oil removal fitler to the compressed air system in order to insure that nothing other than clean, dry air makes it past all the filtration to spray guns. I manually lubricate my pnuematic lubricated tools anyway. So no problem there. I guess I could use an inline lubricator, but I don't want to contaminate my air hoses...   I checked and the flow direction is right, so I will need at least a 3/8" short nipple to make the connection between this and existing. Most likely I will use Harbor Freight Central Pnuematic item #68234 FRL coupler for a cleaner more solid install. I will also need to slide back the feeder hose for the reel to accomodate the extra distance this will take up.

The dessicant dryer / oil removal filter assembly

The 3/8" FRL (Filter / Regulator / Lubricator) coupler

The photo is wrong. The actual item has a mounting tab

that would be on the right side of the picture partially

overlapping the O ring that matches the left side of the 

photo. The connection looks simple enough.

It IS possible I may not go that route though, and try to find a good dessicant dryer / filter that works with 1/2" pipe thread and go with a full out 1/2" sweat copper system. And plenty of folks keep telling me to go with 1/2 or 3/4" plumbing for my pneumatic system, however I have a grand total of 2 drops, and will only ever run ONE tool at a time, and in my experience working as a mechanic when I was younger, the shops were all plumbed with 1/2" cast iron. However a hard line plumbing system would greatly improve durability, but the only hose I am truly worried about is the one in the reel. I don't suspect it will live more than about 3 or 4 years before I have to replace it with a new one.  However several reviewers say they are getting 7 to 8 years out of a hose... I might get lucky. But I won't plan on it! I could reduce 1/2" pipe to 3/8" and keep the hardware that works. 3/8" iron pipe is impossible to find in Houston.

A recommended tool is working great for a colleague of mine that is a big car nut had asked for input on impact wrenches a while back, and I pointed him to the Central Pnuematic Earthquake 1/2" drive impact. He has a DeWalt 15 gallon air compressor, and is finding that it is sufficient to drive the gun And that has made his maintenance on his wife's Dodge Caravan easy as pie... (He had a strut job to do). Mind you. I did the decent thing and offered to loan him mine, but he wanted to buy his own...

So there you go. More success with the HF Earthquake impact wrenches... So far so good!

20+ year old Blue Point air ratchet repair.

For what it's worth, I may have mentioned previously that I had picked up a Central Pnuematic Professional 3/8" air ratchet because my old Blue Point ratchet died... I went ahead and ordered the repair parts when I had Snap On support on the phone getting a replacement for a busted deep well flank drive socket while I was on the phone I ordered the one part that went funky on it...

I did some Googleing to find the cause of an air ratchet that won't shut off and has no resistance to the trigger.  From my research including looking at the parts diagram there is a rubber "valve" stopper on the end of a spring between the pushrod and the screw on black plastic cap. Sure enough when I opened it up the stopper was crumbling and had failed.

I got the replacement and installed it last night.
.

The new piece is no longer rubber, but appears to be clear urethane,

The clear urethane valve replaces the rubber part. It should hold up longer

than the old rubber part.

Use a flat screw driver and turn the black plastic cap counter clockwise.

Once free CAREFULLY remove the cap insuring nothing falls free from the cavity.

I foolishly forgot to snap a pic of the crumbled rubber piece.

I cleaned it outand cleaned the cavity. You should have the cap

and spring out, the rest of the parts should stay internal.

Assemble the new "Valve" urethane piece onto 

the spring and insert valve first into the bore.

Reassemble the cap and tighten  CAREFULLY

so as to not crack the cap or bind the spring.

Once installed, I fired up the compressor and tested it out. It did not disappoint. I had to remove the winch from the truck, to move the license plate out from behind it, to a relocation bracket that goes in front of the roller fairlead. Using the air ratchet made quick work of the job, good thing too. It's been raining, a lot around here lately, and it is HUMID and HOT right now... Speeding this miserable job up was a God send for sure!

So if you are like me, and have old pnuematic tools that have failed, please do yourself a favor, and try to find troubleshooting information and repair parts for them... I REALLY didn't want to replace this ratchet, and honestly, it is kind of nice having 2... Now I can have different sockets on each and swap between quickly!

Another thing to mention is pnuematic tool seals dry out over time. Periodically crank up that compressor, oil the tool and run it a couple of cycles. Drive some brads, nails, run some bolts etc... Just put them to use or they WILL go bad...

Air Raid M.I.T. cold air intake tube 2004 F150 5.4L 3V V8

Okay this is a review sort of, and an answer to multiple requests. Folks have expressed an interest in this on several of the forums I am involved in, so I figure I would put up a post here about it...

The AirRAID 400-940 M.I.T. (Modular Intake Tube) is a direct fit replacement for the restrictive stock intake tube and silencer assembly with a smooth flowing, clean fitting intake tube  that feeds air directly into the OEM filter box. All sensors and other critical intake components stay in their stock locations. Rumors of early models of this tube causing early 5.4 3V engines to run lean have been reported, but honestly that makes no sense. The computer should autoatically adjust for any / all extra air coming in past the sensors.  I have noted no problems whatsoever with mine.

I am a little old school on this and run a K&N filter, yeah I know the oil from the K&N can, and indeed has fouled the MAF, it is easy to clean and everything beyond it is fine...

Since installing the tube, I have only had city miles on my truck, but in that time, I have noticed approximately a 2 mpg mileage gain from 10 to 12 mpg city. I know that sounds awful, but considering I am driving a lifted 4x4 truck with 35" rubber a winch etc... that is actually quite good. As long as I keep my foot out of it, I expect highway mileage to improve similiarly.

There was a notable, but not obnoxious change in engine sound with this tube. The truck now actually SOUNDS like a V8. In particular under hard acceleration, it sounds like a 4 barrel carburetor equipped V8, a much nicer tone than the overly quiet whoosh it used to have. Not obnixiously loud though.

Throttle response seems to be a bit improved, but again, this is a big truck, not a dragster...

And lastly, the looks, it just LOOKS better than stock, by a LONG shot... I never liked that oversized behemoth of an intake arrangement that was used from the factory.

I took the following photos the night I installed it. Sorry, I don't have any of the engine bay cleaned up and can't get any for a few days. My truck is in the body shop right now... You may want to boomkark this page though, I will try to post updated photos once I get my truck back from the body shop.

The Air RAID 400-940 installed on my 2004 5.4L 3V

The kit comes complete with a C.A.R.B. exemption 

sticker for those unfortunates that have to put up

with that.

Overall I feel this was a good purchase, however I would HIGHLY recommend you pair it up with a quality high flow air filter, AND a tuner... 

Investigating my options. I may have to move my shop...

First things first, I want EVERYONE reading this to understand this is not a complaint, in many ways this is actually preferable to the attached garage situation. So if I can beg your indulgence, let me lay it out here.

Without going into too much detail, we have an extended family member living with us that is on permanent disability. Long story, but this family member WAS married, and his wife decided when he got sick to bail out on him... She still has his stuff, and we need to put it someplace...

Combine that with the fact that our Saturn is getting OLD, and honestly, we want to eventually replace it with a car that would be worth keeping in a garage.

With that said, and with an offer from within the family to help fund a shed, assuming the HOA is agreeable to a variance from my C&R to get the size shed I need, I am giving serious consideration to what I will need to do in order to lay out my shop in a 12x16 shed.

I am giving serious consideration to an Alpine Portable Buildings 12x16x13 Gambrel Roof building with 6' sidwalls. The size is just about right, I need to determine the window layout, figure out if they would side it with Hardie siding trim it with Hardie Trim, and use Hurricane rated windows etc... that best works for me, but this looks about right.

I am already in contact with my Homeowners Association working on what I have to do in order to get a waiver from the C&A to get this built, I have plenty of precedent however I am unsure if those builds were off the books and I am stirring up a hornets nest for about a dozen of my neighbors or not...

I know several things that MUST change if I go with this...

#1. The wide table kit for the BT3100 has to go. I need space enough to walk around it. I need to remove about a foot of table saw to make this work.
#2. The current workbench would need to lose 12" of overall length, same thing as the saw.
#3. The current, cheap, but very, very functional Chicago Electric 12" sliding miter saw has got to go. It takes up too much space. I am not sure if I am going to want to go with a slider with forward facing rails like a Hitachi, or even a *gasp* Festool Kapex. Now long time readers of my online writings know, that unless I win one in a tool giveaway, a Kapex isn't going to happen. For one thing I have WAY better things to do with my money than buy a Festool. Sure they are nice but dang they are spendy! Chances are better than good I will likely go with a Hitachi C12RSH, keeping my Diablo blade thank you very much!

Other space utilization considerations need to be taken into account.

#1. The walls, since this isn't "living space" or attached to it, can be covered in plywood / OSB or similar material, No more worrying about where a stud is to mount something to a wall
#2. The loft ceiling voids will be empty. Chances are I will make my clamp storage happen there and recycle the materials used for my current rolling clamp cart.
#3. My need for the over the base drill press storage cabinet will be MUCH more pressing.
#4. An honest review of what I need to do to design and build a full on proper table saw workstation, taking the sliding miter table, routing, work holding, and storage functions into consideration, along with providing proper ducting for dust collection.
#5. To free up floor space, 29 gallon air compressor, and dust collector / separator need to be housed in the loft, along with materials storage.

Sheet goods are going to remain a problem, and will likely be housed in the garage and broken down before they come to the shop.

This move, IF it actually comes to light, will allow me the following advantages.

#1. Dedicated shop space, no need to worry about LOML putting her potting stuff on my jointer ever again.
#2. It's large enough to get all my tools (mostly) in and work the projects I want to work, while being small enough to fit on my lot easily, and be affordable to insulate with expanding foam insulation which provides superior insulation properties.
#3. Allows me to separate my automotive tools from the woodworking tools, and allows me to bring the car into the garage to work on it.
#4. Discourages the casual "whatcha doin?" drop in visits that stop work in progress all too often...
#5. Huge increase in available storage space, not in the shop itself, but overall...
#6. Ability to have vehicle in the garage without having to move everything.

There are several distinct deal killers that I need to overcome and they are...

#1. Written variance from the HOA.
#2. Permits from the city. The spot in the lot that I want to put this in will also require.
#3. Moving existing POTS line from a diagonal run across the back yard, to a straight through easement through the yard. I would happily pay to have it moved, but that leads to the next problems...
#4. Finances to pay to make a big shed appropriate for a shop, insulattion, HVAC, electrical etc...

I am not sure which way this will go, but with any luck, and some fenagling, I might just end up in a 12x16x13 gambreal roof shed with loft storage!

More safety updates. Securing the Fire Extinguisher to the shop door... And how to ruin a perfectly bad blade...

First things first, I owe y'all a picture of this (can you tell I've lived in Texas a long time now?). I was in a hurry to get this done, and forgot to snap a couple of pics for your enjoyment...

I had initially intended to create a cradle of sorts to hold the extinguisher, and Velcro it in place. But honestly, I messed it up, and then came up with an idea...

Why not just attach the velcro, directly to the door? 

Okay maybe not "Velcro" (tm) brand hook and loop strip, because I couldn't find that particular brand in the color I wanted, but rather some generic $.97 at Walmart 18" long strip of bright red hook and loop strip. I simply sized it up, cut it to length, doubled up the ends the screws go in, and just screwed through it to the door on either side of the extinguisher. 

Once the strapping is run around and tightly attached, all the noisy, paint transferring slopping around and banging the extinguisher used to do is gone...

I know, a stupid "project" but it is actually a very nice addition that I should have thought of initially. The bright "Safety" red color really stands out, and looks top notch...

Now I may have mentioned this previously, but I am doing siding work on my house, removing 30 year old Masonite siding and replacing it with Hardie Panel, and Hardie Trim.

Now due to HOA restrictions, and product availability, I have to go "off label" as it were, and rip my Hardie Trim to 1.5" to mimic my original rough milled Cedar 1x2 trim. I probably could have gone back with Cedar again, but wanted to do Hardie. I did that on the garage, and loved it...

Problem is, the Hardie blade on my circular saw. I started out with an Irwin Marathon fiber cement blade, and in total bluntness, well it is blunt... And it tended to wander, a LOT... I am not sure if it is the saw that needs to be retired, or the Hardie blade, but one of these things has GOT to go. I have since swapped in a Freud Diablo PCD Hardie Blade. 

FWIW, the circ saw is a made in USA Skil 5150 with an edge guide / fence.

I did manage to get my sheet of Hardie Panel cut nicely though, so it may be operator error. I need to triple check my setup / method and verify I am not off my rocker here. For all I know I have the fence on the wrong side... 

Work sounds...

History is an interesting thing. Reaching back in time from current shop radios and MP3 players, back to the Ancient Romans with the drum beat cadence of their rowing ships, and most likely far before the Romans, human kind has long make work more pleasant, and efficient by mixing in music, or other background sounds into their wok environment to set a tone, a pace.

I realized this recently as I was working on some shop clean up after rearranging things for the recycling man, and I had left my phone in the house and simply didn't have anything but the sound of my own thoughts to set a tone for the work day. Things went very poorly productivity wise, and it just wasn't all that enjoyable...

This got me thinking about how I enjoy music, talk, and even movies when I am in the shop... And how much I manage to get done to the cadence of even the flow of good story telling.

For example, I have it well documented the progress I made once I got the help I desperately needed shoving the big drywall panels in place, how fast the rest of the work setting my shop back up went. This was all courtesy of my DNLA server and my Galaxy S4 phone. You see I own several Steven King novel based movies / TV miniseries on DVD that I have converted to mp4 on my DNLA server, and have been playing them in the shop.

Most notably the 2 series / movies I have been enjoying while I work have been the 1994 adaptation of Steven King's "The Stand". I guess it comes from being in that same age group as Molly Ringwald and Gary Sinise. The other one I have been enjoying is Langoliers.

My setup is pretty simple, and effective enough for what I am doing. Just my Samsung Galaxy S4 phone, using Bubble upnp as the DNLA client, and a "Music Bullet" external speaker. It gets plenty loud for listening while I work when hearing protection isn't needed. (Not listening when hearing protection is needed anyway, so no biggie...)

I do tend to listen to music the shop as well. For that I use my Pandora Radio app and tune in the Prog Rock station... Been known to listen to country in there as well...

So what keeps you moving in the shop, or out under the car, in the yard, or wherever you are doing your work?