Category: Welding

Catching up and writing more

/ Matt Talley / Leave a comment

I have not been writing as much in the last few months as I should.  I have lots of excuses:

  1. House Remodel
  2. Hectic Work Schedule
  3. Jeep Rebuild
  4. A focus on film making and growing my YouTube presence
  5. Lawn and Garden care – seriously, this takes up a lot of my time.
  6. Too much TV and interwebs…
  7. Blah, Blah, Blah…

When you get to the base of it all though, the answer is that I have made time for all the other things that keep me sane/make me crazy except for writing.  I am renewing my focus and will be posting more words to go along with all of the pictures and video.

Let’s start with an update of current stuff:

The Attic

We are so close to being done with the attic conversion.  I have to put a couple of coats on the closet door and one on the stair railing and paint the 4 walls with a couple coats of the almond eggshell that my wife picked out.  The new hardwood flooring is being delivered today and it will be installed on Friday.  I will spend the weekend installing the stair treads and kickers/risers.  The receptacles, switches and lights are the last serious items that will go in before I touch-up a little paint here & there and I will be done and can focus on the basement.

Basement

We are 75% there.  All tiled laid, grout done and a functioning toilet!!  I need to finish the trim install, hang two doors and then paint EVERYTHING!  I am having a custom shower rod TIG welded together and will be building the double sink vanity.  I have to tack together & paint the medicine cabinet door and mirror frames as well.  After all is in, we will have a plumber come out for the sink install and shower hook up.  I don’t plumb.  I am afraid of flooding my house with water or sewage.  I leave that job to the professionals.

Main Level Bath

The tube tile surround is being replaced in two weeks with 6” subway and small hex tile.  The new bathroom mirror will be going in this week, and I have to have the exhaust fan switch rewired.

Jeep

I had a solid weekend working on the Jeep.  The taillights are installed, the winch is re-wired, mirrors installed, windshield back on with new gasket and PLENTY on extra silicone.  The upper KC spotlights are re-installed, and an issue with the front speakers if fixed.  I still need to paint and install the spare tire rack, as well as the CB, megaphone speaker, 2nd battery, air compressor, lower KC spot lights, passenger headlight, rub rails, whip antenna, headlight trim rings, and polish the rear tube bumper.

The current plan is to leave the top COMPLETELY off until fall when I re-install the soft top.  I need to finish the Hi-Lift Jack rebuild project, have the speedometer serviced, and replace my tube pads as well before the cold winter wind blows.

Garage

The shop of me dreams is packed full of everyone else’s crap right now.  It is all leaving by the last weekend in July if I have to put it all out on the road.  I need to finish wiring in my 40K lumens of LED lighting, a 50AMP plug, a couple of 220/30amp plugs and have an electrician connect all into my service panel.

House Exterior

  1. Downspout in back needs attention
  2. A section of soffit need looking at and possibly repaired
  3. I need to weld together the Juliet Balcony outside the dining room
  4. Weld railing for rear steps
  5. The new front windows need a little trim and paint
  6. Dining room window needs trim and paint
  7. The rear steps need to be painted
  8. The chimney needs to be repointed before fall/winter
  9. Basement railing needs to be installed
  10. Both front railings need to be sanded and repainted.
  11. External security alarm siren need to be installed
  12. A tiny bit of concrete need to be pouted
  13. Two security cameras need to be swapped out for the lower profile ones

The yard

Man, the front yard is good, a little weeding and bush trimming maybe.  The back yard though…  It is still a disaster, or at least ½ a disaster.  I want to fill 3-4 gabion baskets with all the rocks left over from a previous owner’s attempt at pond-scaping and make benches around out fire pit.  We will be adding a steel arbor from the garage to the patio this fall that I am welding up on-site.  The patio table and chairs will get a proper sanding and oiling this weekend and we need/want an umbrella of it this year.  I want to add a tool shed and additional firewood racks to the side yard.   And finally, the small yard next to the garage is my makeshift apiary and I would like to make that both permanent and presentable with some additional hives, gravel and flower plants in narrow garden boxes.

Health

Stamps-With-Foot, my mom, and the kids are good.  I am feeling all of my 40+ years lately though.  My hip is still painful a full year after reconstruction.  I may have torn the meniscus in my left knee, AND I have Fucking Tennis elbow from chopping firewood!!  Not being able to run and bike, coupled with my love of cookies, has left me with a classic “Dad-bod” and even my fat pants are tight right now.  Eating better now.  Trying to get between 7 and 10K steps in a day, having the knee looked at, and working on the elbow.  We are going to Hawaii in February and I need at least a 2-pac as there will be MANY shirtless days in and under the water, for my arm to feel better, and my knee and hip to be like 70%.

Other

Work is work, but I have really traveled at all this year and that is awesome!  Still wish I was building cabinets for a living, covered in man-glitter, smiling but that will have to wait.  I will be traveling to Arkansas this fall to see my daughter and her family.  My son will be here in Seattle for a couple of weeks this summer.  I hope to tour a couple of colleges with him.  My wife and I have a couple of road trips planned and I want to get out on my bike, kayak, and skate board a little (don’t tell my wife or knee Dr. about the board…) I have started recording for a monthly Podcast.  A friend conned me into it after a few years of asking.  I am going to just sit and tell stories without naming names or implicating myself in any illegal activities that are not past the statute of limitations.  As a reward for losing weight I will go ahead and finish out both of my tattooed arm sleeves and my wife and I are planning matching bee tattoos for our anniversary.  I still have not bought a boat or a motorcycle, so she will keep me for a while longer

The Jeep Rebuild After Paint

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As you know, I got the Jeep back from paint about a month ago and it has been sitting on the lift in the garage – letting the paint cure. I am not 100% happy with the paint… It took 4 tries for them to get the hood and fenders right and there are little spots and dings on the tailgate. There is also some mess just above the nerf bars and a run on the rear fender that makes me twitch, but they will be covered by some trim and the fender flairs, so… I included the Jeep’s homecoming in a video here, but skip to 5:09 as I spent way too much time blabbing about other non-Jeep related crap in the 1st part of the Video.

Anyway, I have been collecting small cardboard boxes full of goodies since last October for the after-paint re-fit. That installation process begins this coming weekend. I am giddy with anticipation.

The part additions and changes from Morris, Amazon, ARB, and Northridge4X4 include:

Duel Battery tray
Halogen headlight Lamp Conversion Kit (wanted LEDs, but don’t want to pay $600+ for headlight!!)
Black Rugged Ridge Fender Flare Kit
Stainless Fender Flair Hardware
Front Side Amber Marker Lights
New Wiper Blades
New thick rubber floor mats
BestTop Bikini Top (uses existing soft top channel) for the 2 months of sun in Seattle this summer
Rugged Ridge LED Tail Lights
Front Parking Lamp/Lens
Black Factor 55 FlatLink Winch Cable Shackle
Burnt Orange Jeep Fender Decals
New Frame to Cowl Weather Seal
Black Powder Coated Stainless Steel Side Mirrors
New Winch Cover
Warn Winch bumper with D-Rings
Black Vinyl Spare Tire Cover
New Aviation-Style Light Switches for front spots and reverse lights
Stainless Steel License Plate Holder (I had it powder coated black)
Second set of D-rings (Powder Coated Burnt Orange to match Jeep Logo)
Hi-Lift Jack Rebuild Kit (sandblasting and repainting origional)
Bronze Door Hinge Bushings (sourced at McMaster-Carr)
Warrior Pipe ½ doors (because I can)
ARB Recovery Tools Bag to organize my off-road gear
ARB Compact Onboard Air Compressor (Got a SMOKING Deal at the ARB booth at a recent Jeep Swap Meet!!)

Getting new bar covers made as well

Film Friday – Offering Candle Stand Build

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As the weather has cooled down, there are some welding and fabrication projects that I need/want to take care of during the short, cold, dark days of winter. This short video details the fabrication of a steel votive candle or offering candle stand that I am built for my wife/our house. It is made to fit on top of the Prie-dieu that we brought back from France. The stand is made from 1/8″ steel channel and plate, though looking back at the video the plate might have been more like 5/16″ ish…

Film Friday – Another Hammer Re-Work/Repair

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I had a tired, old, home-made, second-hand chipping hammer that was broken and had been so for years.  So, I MIG-welded the busted joint, ground the transition, and added a reclaimed hickory handle, which came from a hatchet rebuild shown in a previous video that I posted on YouTube. With the re-weld and addition of copper handle rivets, it should last a few decades now.

Film Friday – Blacksmithing and Forging

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I am a novice smith and that is being generous. I do like to forge though and it is awesome when I get a little time to make things for myself. This short film details a couple of the different type of hold fasts (metal work and word work) that I recently made at the Pratt Center for Fine Arts forge in Seattle. If you live in Seattle, have a single maker bone in your body, and haven’t checked them out – do so immediately and sign up for a class or two.

The F-Bomb Garage completion is getting closer!

/ Matt Talley / 2 Comments

I was out of town this past week on a work trip to merry ol’ England. I came home to a sweet surprise: I have a new 10,000lb two-post lift installed in the F-Bomb Garage. I got a decent deal on a . Went with the Rotary Revolution RPT10 because there is a local dealer, local support, I got a decent deal on the lift+install, and some experience that some friends and colleagues have had with this and other lifts.

We are getting closer to finally building some stuff inside/voiding warranties/modifying the jeep.  My contractor had a foreman out last week to deal with the framing punch-list items: a couple of anchor bolts, some trim, loose siding, a funky corner, and I had him re-install my three windows with the proper flashing tape – I could see light in all the corners.  A leaky window after I have stressed the importance of proper installation and showed them what I needed twice would throw me into fits.  He also swapped the door trim, but not everything on the list got done and now there is more stuff that needs attention.  I have the contractor stopping by to go over it all tonight.  Very frustrating to spend this sort of cash and to deal with all the little things over and over.

The electrician is 3 weeks out – everyone is building and remodeling in Seattle and contractors are super swamped, so I am going to concentrate on the outside in the mean time: Paint and gutters as soon as the siding issues are dealt with.

Matt Talley_Lift_2

Matt Talley_Garage_build_2016_78

Matt Talley_Garage_build_2016_77

Matt Talley_Garage_build_2016_75

Getting a new garage in 2016!!!

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Woohoo!!  It looks like we are a go for a new garage and some needed updates to our heat, plumbing, and wiring at the house.  I am meeting our builder this weekend and passing him a check (two checks actually, one is for the City of Seattle permit office…) and I will have a real garage and wood-shop by spring.  I will have room for a big lathe, cabinet saws, wood storage , my joiners workbench, room to assemble projects/furniture, a real dust collection system, and all my planes/saws/chisels/hand tools on one side.  On the other side of the shop will be a mini-machine/fabrication shop with a two post lift, lathe, end mill, welder, mobile paint booth, and work table…

I cannot tell you how stoked I am!  Seriously, I am all giddy about it.  I plan to make cool stuff, descend into super-nerdy, and will be voiding the shit out of warranties!

Here are the prelim drawings that are being submitted and a lay out of the shop floor.

Garage floor 3 Garage Floor 1 copy Garage floor 2 copy

Update:

Drawings sent to the city. Cross your fingers and pray with me that Planning is having a good day/week/month and these babies get a stamp.

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Old iron is the best

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I am too stupid to own a motorcycle. Really. I have been on one bike or another since I was 5 , when i first sat on a 50cc Honda dirt bike and my last one was a beautiful 900cc rocket. I have all sorts of stories about crashes and near misses, a few scars, a broken wrist and foot from my early riding years. I decided that most of my injuries and near-death experiences on a bike were completely my fault and that unless I wanted to be an early organ donor I had to give them up, so after the birth of my daughter, I sold my last bike and other than a dalliance with rebuilding a duel-sport on my balcony in 2004, I have been able to resist the pull of two wheels. Then, minding my own business, I walk into something like the pair shown below:

Matt Talley _ French Moto _ 2015 (1)

Matt Talley _ French Moto _ 2015 (2)

Matt Talley _ French Moto _ 2015 (3)

Matt Talley _ French Moto _ 2015 (4)

Matt Talley _ French Moto _ 2015 (5)

Matt Talley _ French Moto _ 2015 (6)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Went to local pizza shop for dinner last week and what is sitting outside? Two vintage bikes, both old single cylinder French Motobecanes – the single-seater with the white helmet is a 1950 and the double-seater with the gas can on front is a 1952. Talked to the two guys riding them and the bikes are barn finds bike that they pulled out and got running this morning. Super jealous!!!! There were cobwebs and barn dust still on them. Take gander at the old plates! These babies make me want an old bike to tinker with, ride, rebuild, ride, cuss, work on, ride, love, ect… Now, I need another project/hobby like I need a hole in my head, but the pull of the Dark Side is SO strong!

Kitchen Update – September 2013

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We are in the home stretch in getting the kitchen done! Holy crap, it has been a long road. I am so close that I can FEEL the end coming. My hope is that I do not get penalty points from the wife for finishing it just before we move away for a couple of years…

The recycling/trash pullout is 95% done – it just needs paint. The two above-fridge pullouts are in work and should be ready to go in by next Monday-ish – I just need the good weather to hold a little longer. There are 2 toe-kick drawers to paint and install. The new cookbook shelf and the little 6-bottle wine rack (Made block top) that I popped together are complete (wife loves!) and the shelf really marries the two halves of the kitchen together. We have spent 4 years moving a cheap paper towel holder around the kitchen and it is constantly in the way. I decided to build a new one and mount it to the lower spice cabinet door and spent an hour with the lathe, jigsaw, and router to make a holder that matched the rest of the kitchen. Stamps-With-Foot will prime and paint it tomorrow.

I will install the majority of cabinet pulls tomorrow night, but we need 12 more red glass handles for the remaining cabinets so that they match. There is still painter’s caulk and 1/4 round to go on in one spot and I have finally sourced 40 feet of matching cove molding for the tops of the new cabinets – by sourced, I mean I am making it on the table saw. So close….

I do love me a Japanese 4X4

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Some friends of ours are downsizing their lives and are planning to quit their jobs and take an extended around the world trip.  We were helping them move some of their stuff to a smaller place and I asked the Man-Friend in the relationship what he was going to do the what I assumed was a non-running older 4X4 truck in front of the house.  He said I could have it.  Ughhhh….  I tried to let him off the hook telling him to think about it and when he kept on saying I could “Have” it, I offered to pay him what he had in it or what he paid for it.  Nope.  He gave me the truck.  I couldn’t say no.  I just couldn’t.  I love the design and construction of Japanese 4-wheel drives.  They are super tough and if maintained, extra dependable.  There was no way I was going to just let a free one scoot past me.

Turns out that the truck both runs and has a clear title.  It is a blue 1989 Dodge Ram 50, single cab – that is what the title says anyways.  In reality it is a Mitsubishi MightyMax that Dodge imported, did not touch, and slapped their name on.  the ’89 model was the 1st year of the 2nd generation of the truck and had a 2.6 liter, I4 forklift engine in it.  If serviced, they will run for 400K+ miles.  Our new steed has 183K on it and needs a ring and valve job – smokes on start up and won’t pass smog.  It needs some tires, shocks, tranny service, hub locks, and some electrical work, but it was FREE!

I need another project in my life like I need a meteor hole in my roof, but I think after a little work it will make both a commuter for my mom and a dependable truck to troop over to the grocery store, Home Depot, drive into the mountains, or to haul the occasional thrift store treasure. 

I haven’t thought of a name just yet – we haven’t had enough time together:  No share hardships endured.  We haven’t moved together in the pouring rain. Zero late night beer runs through a dry-county.  No women have been wooed. No mountains climbed…. A name will come in time.

Hand Crafted Friday

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I have decided to add a weekly (or semi-monthly/quarterly/yearly…) post to my site showcasing both the hands and tools that bring functional art to life.   I have a whole horde of videos and podcasts that make me want to put my tools away and take up needle point that I will share.  Here you will find weavers, shoe makers, knife smiths, cabinet makers, tool builders, farmers, bike builders, glass blowers, tradesman, luthiers, book binders, leather craftsman, instrument makers, timber frame builders, carvers, shipwrights, potters, blacksmiths, cigar rollers, and others practicing old-world, hands-on, crafts.  There will be videos of them at work, shop tours, profiles, interviews, and various bits of my own commentary.  It is my hope that videos will increase awareness for the artistry of traditionally crafted tools, art, objects, machines, and transportation.

The inaugural post is from the Made by Hand website and is a profile of a knife smith that makes custom kitchen knives for the chefs of New York City.

Made by Hand / No 2 The Knife Maker from Made by Hand on Vimeo.