After much searching in my shop, I think I found an excellent solution for my cabinet door handles. I found a 20mm Beta socket wrench buried in one of my cabinets. I was lucky to find it's twin on Amazon for only $5. When installed this should make a unique door handle.

I will epoxy a M20 x 80mm bolt to the upper part of the wrench and install using fender washers to distribute the weight across the door.

My first design for shop cabinet door handles didn't come out so well. The heat from the weld discolored the chrome handles. I tried in vain to remove the marks. No luck.

My friends at the Garage Journal forum had many ideas of how to correct the heat marks. Some suggested covering the wrench with tape, still others mentioned powder coating, re-chroming, or even simple painting. The natural look of the wrench is important for my design idea. While I like the shiny chrome, it doesn't hold up when welded.

The best idea given to me was from member CAOS who suggested:

"Instead of welding bolts to the back for attaching to the door, why not epoxy two bolts into the box ends of the wrench. Then drill holes in the door to correspond with those bolts?"

What a great idea! The handles will not be subjected to any stress so this just might work.

Recently I scored a 1978 Snap-On Roller Chest. The problem is where to put the darn thing. After restoration of the chest, I am planning to build a shop cabinet around the Roller Chest.

Here's my shop cabinet design finished just a few moments ago. The framing will be standard 2x4 lumber, with 3/4" BC Plywood for the shelves, sides, top, and bottom.

I wanted doors but I didn't want cheesy looking plywood doors, even with edge trim. Standard sized kitchen cabinet doors wouldn't be right either. Luckily my good friend Dave come up with a nifty door solution.

An interior wood door I asked? "Yes", Dave said, "think outside the box." A design concept was born.

The 28" doors will be framed within the 2x4 cabinet frame. The doors will be flush mounted and feature 17mm-19mm S-Curve chrome wrenches as door handles. Clear LED rope lighting will run fore and aft of the shelf corners and operate through a door pressure switch.

Above the roller chest will be two 12" deep bookshelves with lighting. The flat top surface of the roller chest will be covered with a handmade oak table top, sans legs.

Stay tuned, this is gonna be fun!

What better way to practice macro photography, than with Lego mini figurines? They're the ideal size and quite detailed. If memory serves me correctly these are all made with robotics.

Enjoy

Dragonfly vs Tacoma

For your viewing pleasure...

I started on the Snap-On Rolla box today. The first process will be grinding off the multi-layered paint on the exterior surfaces.

After a humbling experience with my air grinder, I switched over to a nifty Bosch 1380 SLIM. At 7.5 amps it has the power I need for grinding and stripping.

My area has been besieged by wild fires. High temps, low humidity, and virtually zero rain have wrecked havoc throughout Florida. Officials say we have 333 fires burning in the state.

We are constantly vigilant, and have our EVAC plans in place. Sadly, if we don't get rain, and soon, the worst is yet to come. The girls are well and chipper as ever, although they sense our tension.


Finally, after a few weeks, the governor, who shall remain nameless on this site, declared a state of emergency. This will provide the resources of the National Guard and, if needed, Florida will ask additional states and FEMA for more help.

Special thanks to all the firefighters and support units out there working like mad to keep us all safe. There is a special place in heaven for you.

Godspeed to my friends, family, and neighbors.