geekhouse23's "LIFE'S WAITING TO BEGIN" Overland & Home build and all the Adventures in between!

Lunch break progress:

Found a deal on M18 batteries and they have been bouncing in and out of stock all day. Received word they were available again and jumped on the deal:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Milwauk...-0-Ah-Battery-48-11-1812-48-11-1850/330612699

I have been wanting to complete the weekly yard work on 1 battery; weed whacking and leaf blowing. Looks like they're out of stock again. I signed up to be notified and snagged them.

I ordered a right handed circular saw, too.

The kreg track saw in combination with the insulation under the plywood has made things a million times better than without them, however, I just think the ultimate circular saw for right handed people is a right bladed saw. I hold the board with my left hand and cut with my right.

We have more house projects planned where it will be used.

Lunch time progress:

- Spacers for the on-board charger are done.



- got the male plug chopped off and put the male inlet bulkhead on.



- last up was 2 coats of paint on the D-shaped charger fill piece.



I'll likely make a template of this before installing in case I decide to go with an aluminum plate.

 

Ordered this afternoon, arrived about 5 hours later from the local store..not bad.

 

Lunch time projects:

Lots of packages were delivered today.



New steering column with all the bushings and gaskets:



Blacked out the headlight hardware:



Tons of parts accumulating for the golf cart..just waiting on my lift kit to ship.

 

I was going to cut the grass after work today, however, rain said, "fuck you".

So, I got the on-board charger wrapped up:

 

Figured I would up-cycle the previous shelf to help organize the 24" cabinet. The vision for the 24" cabinet is for things that I use most; it is right near the door to the house and is easily accessible. All the batteries are there as well.

Now, I have some PVC left over from being shipped a few fishing rods in the last year. The should be perfect for at least the M12 1/4" drive impact, however, the PVC makes a mess and would be made for just that tool. I have long term plans to do something with PVC to keep all the cordless tools together; eventually.

This project was also as excuse to test my new right handed circular saw. Which I absolutely LOVE.

Before:



Now:

 

Also received my M18 HD12.0 and another XC5.0. The 12 is a big bitch..

 

Few little items done around the garage and golf cart this weekend:

Installed the "trim piece" to the front of the shelf between the cabinets. 2 coats of polyurethane cured overnight.



Got the rest of my batteries hung up:



Didn't realize that I had 17gal totes from Home Depot. When I bought new ones a few weeks back, I grabbed the 27gal. Picked up 2 more 17gal to finish out the shelf in the garage and one was used to store my scraps (wood and metal) in under the workbench.



Need some real estate in the drawers for the eventual, complete drawer overhaul of the triple bank. Saw this idea in a YouTube video; simple wood block spacers and some flat stock:



Bigger wood clamps storage is still TBD.

The golf cart is one step closer to being street legal with full seat belts installed:



More cleanup of the hack that owned this thing previously...

Bent the passenger side rear seat support bracket straight again to line up with the holes.



Swapped out the bolts that were too long thanks to the idiot installing not fully threaded bolts for the rear seats. Every time you hit a bump, the bolts that were tightened all the way but still loose rattled. I added some bolts to the rear seat support brackets as they were missing on both sides.



Lastly, was filling the hole where the LED light bar switch used to be.



Have some more goodies on their way for this thing while sitting around waiting for the lift kit to be shipped.

 

Aforementioned "goodies":



Was hoping the rockers would pop right on and they did, however, for whatever reason, they wouldn't allow the switch to turn on the accessory. You almost had to force it to the point of breaking.

Luckily, I had two spare switch bodies that I swapped out that were laying around for the truck. Worked flawlessly. Just have to get the back lighting worked out.

Gator lights will be for an underglow kit.



Wittle offwoad hitch:



More garage organization humor..



Need more less fire..

 

Heard word that the lift kit for the golf cart is set to ship from the warehouse on 9/26. Pretty ridiculous considering I placed the order 8/6. Complete bullshit, frankly.

The amount of parts sitting around waiting for this lift kit is absurd. But, it doesn't make any sense to tear it apart twice when it can be done once, all together.

Got the jumper wire done for LED bar switch to be illuminated when the accessory is turned on.



The glue for the bottom mounts that hold the windshield in place when it is down melted so the thing flaps around. Might work on mounting those securely at least until a new, DOT approved windshield is ordered with a wiper blade (needed for street legal-ability.

 

Weekend projects:


BEFORE:



DURING:



Finished product:



Garage organization project:

I was sick and tired of having my track saw and level and other longer items stored in a corner or on the wall where the truck is parked in the garage.

I gave this a go Saturday, however, I didn't like the hinges or having to have to use spacers on the top.



Today, I was able to work this better using wood blocks to keep everything aligned properly. Much happier with version 2 of this project:





I mounted my vise hitch receiver and I have some sleeved spacers coming tomorrow to make up the gap. I'll throw a block of wood under the vise to take up the weight of the vise and not the spacers:



I filled the holes where the vise was mounted using a 3/8" dowel rod.

Lastly, I got the "less fire" taken care of..just need to see where I want to mount it:

 

Bouncing around between too many projects strike again.

The spacers arrived and they are too long. The bench top hits the back of the bottom of the vise and where one of the bolt mounts. Sown in red below:



They are 1.5" and I need an inch. So I reordered 5 - 1" spacers. They're supposed to arrive Thursday but I'm hoping for Wednesday.

I have no power tool, currently, that can accurately cut a cylinder squarely. I wish I had the Milwaukee portable band saw with the swag off road bench top mount. Even a hack saw probably wouldn't run true. If I didn't work, and was retired, I'm sure I could whip up a jig that could be used with an angle grinder or something.

Re-ordering them from Amazon, is the fastest route and cheapest (money and time).

I received a few other items, too:

New workbench wheels. Since this workbench lives against the wall 95% of the time, it needs to be sturdy. It's also, for now, my only workbench. The portable workstands help, but I rarely move it out of the corner unless there is a big, big project happening. Saw these in a YouTube video and they seem right for what I want.



Wheel spacers for the rear of the golf cart. Purchased these to help keep the golf cart planted after the lift kit. Not as worried about the front and I can always add them later. These are 1.5" as that's the common, recommended size based on research.



I also picked up a uniquely keyed ignition switch with 2 keys for the golf cart. Figured it best to have a spare key as well a non-typical, one size fits all key.

 

FINALLY.

I finally was fed up with having to use the truck as an air compressor. I found the wallair from an obsessed garage video a while back and liked the idea. I have limited floor space and the wallair was a great option for keeping the garage floor clean. But, the obsessed garage compressor was almost $400. I watched the video on it from the website and the guy started talking about upgrading to his air fittings kit that's another $300 or something insane. In the video, he also says that the regular hardware store fittings wouldn't work with his kit because his are "EURO" fittings (?) Whatever the fuck that is.

Still liked the idea and almost bit the "artistic" (in lieu of another word) bullet and went with the OG system which was almost $800. Insane. Might as well get a giant tank system and run remote chucks around the entire garage.

A quick Google search led me to a much more cost effective option:



Pretty sure this is the same one at the PG one just double the price. Still comes in red and black, under $200 and comes with all the air compressor tools. And all the standard hardware store fittings work with this one.

Can't beat it.

 

Just for tires? Or tools too?

I have been thinking about a pancake compressor from HF, but havent committed. I was browsing in HD the other day, and came across some smaller air compressors, conveniently named hotdog compressors. (Whats with the food names?!)

Anyways, it's likely what I will get. The tank is 1-2 gallons, removable handle, and faster than a portable air compressor that i bought to use for moto trips. Looks like they run about $130, and will need a hose kit too. My use will only be for tires and blowing dust out of the garage (which that portable one cant do).

 

Tires and dust blowing are my only intended uses. I don't think I have any air tools anymore. Brushless has come a long way. If I need a non-battery tool, I'd go electric before going air.

If my needs ever change, I'll go back to a tank. But, when I had one, it was more of a pain than it was worth. I rather have used the ARB on the truck. This solution pumps air if the switch is on and doesn't pump air if it is off.

 

Done.

Will probably take a look at rearranging the vacuum to a better location once the RTT is mounted to the ceiling, the mountain bikes are mounted where the RTT is and once a garage fridge is acquired.

Those shelves will probably go away once the windows are replaced and the hurricane shutters go away and get replaced with something else to store longer items plus the paddle boards.



Time and money..

 

Check out Giraffe Tools vacuum. It seems pretty good - if you have more money than time

https://giraffetools.com/products/r...3EvO09MWeYuyMjA1TTMdYc2-EBFFgnHBoClOMQAvD_BwE

 

Oh I also want to wall mount my pressure washer, too.

 

I don't have enough central wall space. Or just space in general

 

I can't wait for the extra wall space from the hurricane shutters. That and once a shed is acquired and yard tools move into the shed.

 

Vise mount is finally finished:



Might trim the bolts a bit, but it's done. It works. Pretty happy with the workbench and the garage over all..so far...

Even had a minute to swap the Velcro tape for this 3D printed scan gauge steering column mount:



Might order some of the bike wall mounts and start getting ready for moving the RTT to the ceiling.