John Deere 317L – The Tear Down….
Finally got back to the 317. The Cub Cadet 3184 I bought come out to have way to many issues to deal with so I am going to use the Kohler CH18S engine for the 317. I also am going to try to install the power steering setup from the Cub on the 317. It seems it may be easier than using a 318 setup, we shall see in time. Here are a few pictures of my process so far.
Cub Cadet 3184 Project Update
Lots has taken place since my last entry. I have installed the bevel gear and cleaned up the rear-end as well as did a rebuild/inspection on the pump. I have re-installed both into the tractor, and have give it a test run, all the hydraulics work great. The pedals for FWD, REV, and the brake do not work so well, kind of hard to move. So I am in the process of removing those and cleaning them up. I also have fixed my electrical issues and installed a new battery.
Project – Cub Cadet 3184 Restore
I bought a cub cadet 3184 at auction a couple weeks ago. I added a restore/project log to my webpage for anyone that wants to keep track of it.
Workshop Dehumidifier – Frigidaire, 70-Pint Capacity, FAD704TDP
Well I finally got my workshop to the point of needing a dehumidifier to keep the moisture down. It was holding around 70-80% humidity. It is now holding in the mid to low 50’s. So for a $179.99 and free shipping from Amazon.com I am very pleased.
Frigidaire Dehumidifier, 70-Pint Capacity, FAD704TDP
Projects are stacking up…
Well my workshop still is not done enough yet so I can bring my cnc mill into it without the risk of it rusting to death. I have my insulation done, and trying to finish painting and lighting right now. Weather just is not being my friend. After I get that done, and it cleaned up I will be purchasing a dehumidifier and that should make my shop not a huge risk for everything rusting.
Here are a couple picture of projects waiting to be done.
Belt Conversion for a Sieg X3 with Power Drawbar.
Fixture for 4 Parts that I want to produce
My Workshop Build Log #5 – Wiring & Ceiling
All electrical work is complete finally, and ceiling is done. I used 7/16″ OSB to cover the ceiling. I will be insulating the attic with R30-R38 tomorrow.
Priceless Sticker
My Workshop Build Log #4 – Shop Tour & Electrical
Ok, so it has been a while and I have not posted much. Finally finished with the wife’s shop and moving her stuff. Here is a picture of my shop inside, it is a mess right now.
On to my shop….I have completed framing my walls out, and 95% installed R-19 insulation. I have also run 110v electrical outlets all around my shop, every 4′ so I know I have one where I need. 
So over the next week I hope to finish all the 11v outlets as I have ran out of conduit and of course the local Home Depot is out of stock and it is to late in the evening to get any more this weekend. Hopefully Monday I can find some at a electrical supply outlet or some where. If I get the 110v outlets done I am going to install 4 possibly 5. Seems like I have spent a fortune in electrical supplies. Also thinking I may need to install a sub panel as when I am done with circuits I know I am going to install, my box will be full. Suggestions?
Ok, on too a quick tour of my shop and some of my tools.
Chop Saw
Fans – I am in Texas, and it gets HOT!
Rolling Cart – Currently being used for electrical supplies as I install outlets.
Air Compressor – About to die I think and will be replaced with a 60 gallon unit.
New Hobart Handler 210 Mig welder with Spool Gun, seems like a great deal for what you get with this package, $899 and is only $100 more than the Handler 210 without the spool gun.
I picked up this cart from Harbor Freight for $39.99 (With Coupon) and I got the bottles from a buddy for $100, so $150 for this setup, good deal to me. I priced the Oxygen bottle and it was over $300 if I had to buy one.
Got have some music!
10″ Table Saw (And a pile of stuff) – I want to extend the table on it somehow, any suggestions?
Drill Press
Scroll Saw
Heavy Rolling Metal Table
Old Cornwell tool box, never heard of that brand, and a pile of stuff!
My Main Tool Box
Shop Vac
10″ Miter Saw
Old Montgumery Wards Tool Box
Future Work Bench, about 14′ long.
Temporary Heater until I get a Natural Gas Modine Heater.
More to come!
My Workshop Build Log #3 – Wifes Shop
Well I have wanted a nice shop of my own for a long time, always had a cramped garage and no room to really do anything. Well since I got married(Again, don’t ask!) and moved that has started to come true. Started out moving into my new wife’s house, I love where it is compared to my house. It had a old shop that was going to be mine, I was on cloud nine. Well turned out, it had termites bad. I picked up a 4x4x10 oak post, with two fingers it was so eaten up. So I spent like a year tearing it down, due to all the stuff in it(I inherited a bunch of stuff too) it was pain in the _____. As a previous post I got me a 30x40x10 pole barn built for my shop. It got built, but the way they build them here is build the shop, and poor the concrete last. So I not knowing anything about that said fine. Well, all was good then rainy season hit, and I could not get dirt or concrete trucks in where I could poor the slab. It was May 2010 I think before I actually had a slab. So here comes the excitement…move all the stuff from the old shop, and my wife’s stuff to my new one one so I could finish tearing down the old termite infested one. Oh boy, was i amazed, now half of my shop is full of my wife’s shop. So this is what I came up with as a solution.
His and Her Shops!
My Shop view from the house!
My Wife’s Shop view from the house! her shop is 22′ x 37′ x 9′ as we already had a slab from the shop we tore down. It is now FULL of her stuff, and I have a trailer, and lawn equipment in it. So my shop is all for me!
MIT TechTV Machine Shop Instructional Videos
Surfing around the other day I ran across this great videos for anyone new to machining. Take a look, I did and I learned several things. I look back and use them as a reference from time to time.
Machine Shop 1 – Machining Skills for Prototype Development (Length: 40:32)
- Basic tour of the machine shop
- Layout techniques (including transferring hole locations)
- Basic tools: drill press, band saw, belt sander and grinder
- Locating and drilling holes (includes using a center finder and deburring)
- Tapping holes (including using a tap guide)
Machine Shop 2 – Machining Skills for Prototype Development (57:33)
- Drilling holes
- Special drills for plastics and hard or abrasive materials
- Drill press limitations
- Bandsaw
- Suitable speeds, feeds and materials
- Bandsaw setup
- Using the drill press vise
Machine Shop 3 – Machining Skills for Prototype Development (30:02)
- Good practice – clean up
- Small belt sander configurations
- Grinder operations and materials
- Deburring and buffing
- Finishing techniques
Machine Shop 4 – Milling Machine 1 (50:33)
- Parts and controls of a Bridgeport Mill
- Quill feed
- Axis handfeeds & backlash explanation
- Gib locks
- Power feed
- Digital readouts
- Milling machine set-up – squaring/tramming the head square
- Squaring the vise – adjusting the vise so the stationary jaw is parallel to the bed
- Milling machine accessories and work-holding techniques
Machine Shop 5 – Milling Machine 2 (1:03:33)
- Square and hex collet blocks – used to hold/clamp parts to machine features on 4 and 6 sides of a part respectively
- V-blocks
- Hold-down clamps – used to hold large or irregularly shaped parts
- Using angle blocks – used to hold materials to machine features not perpendicular on a part
- Drill press vise – using a vise within a vise
- Lathe chuck with vise – can be used to hold parts in the milling machine
- Double sided tape – can be used to securely hold a part without distortion
- Squaring high aspect ratio parts
- Right angle attachment
- Slitting saws – used to cut slots/slits/features in a part
- Rotary table – used to machine circular parts, grooves, circles, and segments . A dial indicator or Coaxial indicator can be used to square/center the table to the X & Y axes
- 5C collet indexer – used to hold collets and to position parts in up to 24 positions
Machine Shop 6 – Milling Machine 3 (42:36)
- Squaring a part – machining a piece of metal so all of the surfaces are flat, perpendicular and milled to the nominal size . Also covers using a fly-cutter and deburring
- Squaring a plate
- Using the edge finder
- Drilling holes with a mill
Machine Shop 7 – Milling Machine 4 (23:07)
- Reaming holes
- Boring holes with a boring Head – also covers using Plug Gauges to measure hole sizes
- Milling a slot
- Milling a shoulder, conventional and climb milling
- Cleaning the machine
Machine Shop 8 – Lathe 1 (42:37)
- The Lathe components
- Turning tools
- Turning and facing
- Cutting off a part
- Drilling
Machine Shop 9 – Lathe 2 (46:15)
- Tapping
- Boring
- Knurling with a bump knurler
- Cutting tapers with the compound
- Turning shafts – using a live center
- Single point thread turning
Machine Shop 10 – Lathe 3 (29:00)
- Lathe chuck
- Lathe arbors
- Turning between centers
- Face plate irregular shapes
- Face plate thin materials