Workstands

[63markB]

If you’re not going to use that 55 gallon drum I could sure use it.

[mtblah]

Mark , what do you think the freight bill would be from Minnisota to north Texas for a free 55 gallon drum ?

[hwy8]

WHOA, now let's slow down a minute on that oil drum! "FREE"? Maybe "TRADE" might be more like it...(but I'd still have to think long and hard about getting rid of something good that could be made into something else that's real handy (if I'd ever get around to it)

The reason I haven't posted that picture before now is that I don't want guys looking my treasure pile over and then wanting to "CHERRY-PICK" all of the good stuff, but I guess that horse is already out of the barn!

[63markB]

[Smax]

Last photo looks like my shop have little pathways to get around in have to go outside to work lol

[DennisT]

I'd like to see this thread revived with more photos of home-built or easily obtainable stands. I need to make/get 2. One of our boys said he'd build something for me but he works so much I doubt I'll ever see it. And I don't weld. Need them for 2 10-foot heads. I can work with wood and I have good HD casters.
Ideas??

[hwy8]

I would hate to see the amount of hours that I have spent thinking about and making work-stands! I can tell you, the better they are, the more they seem to become "display stands" and the longer it takes to finish my work. My Grandpa was a blacksmith and I'm sure he is watching me from beyond and laughing. If you walk into just about any blacksmith shop, there's an assortment of tool bases made of truck wheels, some with tires on them, some with concrete poured into the wheel or tire, and on and on...and, most of them work great. The advantage of any kind of wheel shape is that it can be rolled around the shop even if it's pretty heavy. If it's for a windmill or a grinder, just figure out where the center of gravity is going to be and then figure out if you want to add weight or size to the base. I've seen great stands made of 4 x 4's but tripping on them is a problem. Using a washtub and filling it with concrete/sand/gravel/bricks and using a pipe or 4" x 4 would work too. There's a collector down the road from me that uses a sledge hammer to pound 4 lengths of tower leg into the ground and then bolts a stub tower right onto them: No prep, no concrete, and it's plenty strong for rebuilding purposes (use caution, of course). Lately, I use table bases or garage sale items and they are surprisingly good. My anvil base is from a cafeteria table. I bought the table for $10, threw the top away, and attached the steel plate on top of the pipe that came with the table. Another way of doing things is to have a stand with a vertical pipe and just use it like an umbrella stand. The two windmills are just sitting in pipes that are set-screwed into 1950's Sears-Roebuck table saw and grinder stands. A really handy thing is the cast-iron sign stand. Because I can cut the vertical pipe any length, I can set it on my floor or on my workbench. (They also make great work-light stands) I've seen them for sale at Habitat for Humanity, salvage yards, etc. These were headed to the scrap yard and I bought them for $5.00 each....those kind of bargains are around more than you might think...
See what I mean? Look at how much time I could be spending working on my windmills instead of just THINKING about working on them! They look good just sitting there and then I just sit there and look at them!
Burt

[mtblah]

Burt , your completed work looks great ! and the floors are still clean . But , in the last photo what is that white stuff peeking around the corner ?
We dont have that in South Texas .

[hwy8]

All over the radio right now: "WINTER STORM ARRIVES TODAY BRINGING HEAVY WET SNOW AND STRONG
WINDS" With all of that sunlight in the daytime and stars and moonlight at night, how do you guys in South Texas get anything done in the workshop? At least I can rely upon getting weather-stranded often enough to get a bunch of projects STARTED....(to get anything DONE around here, I think I'd have to move a little closer to the North Pole!)

[mtblah]

Burt , you are right on all accounts .......