Tom’s brother, Jim, purchased a new Kubota LA 854 tractor last spring. He brought it down to the shop so Tom could build and weld on a few accessories before using it. Tom fabricated a hook and chain holder for the front end loader. The holder is made out of half inch hot rolled steel that was cut using a plasma cutter. Tom then ground down the edges and drilled a hole using a drill bin in a milling machine.
Jim chose a 4740 Kubota tractor. It has 49 horse power. It came with an LA 854 front end loader. Jim also added the backhoe attachment, snowplow attachment and a set of fork lift forks.
There are a few things you should keep in mind when shopping around for a new tractor. First of all, look for a brand name. There are some off brands out there, but you will want to make sure and insure your investment by choosing a reliable company that will stay in business for years to come. I is also good to purchase your new tractor from a local dealer. This makes servicing and maintenance a lot easier. If you are in doubt about what size of tractor to buy, go with a little bit larger machine than you think you’ll need. It is better to have a tractor that does the work, rather than trying to push a smaller one. Most high altitude owners usually go for a turbo engine. It gives the extra power needed, although they will be pricier than a non-turbo. If you live closer to sea level it might be good to purchase a tractor with a bigger engine without the turbo. Tractors also come with a gas or diesel option. A diesel will typically last longer. They tend to be harder to start in cold climates though. They are also better on fuel mileage, but tend to be more expensive to rebuild.
Finally, never rule out purchasing a used tractor. Pay attention to the mileage on the machine, who the previous owners were and how they used the tractor. Also, ask to look at the service records.

Here is a common tire question I received from Dave in Colorado:

“The guy at the tire place said he can’t plug this tire because the
bolt is too close to the side. Is that true?”

It looks like he should be able to plug the tire it is not that close to the sidewall… The tire should be plugged to keep rocks/sand from getting into the tread, but after plugging, to fix correctly, a patch should be used on the inside of the tire to keep tread from delaminating from casing. Before patching the plug will need to be sanded off, inside the tire. If only a plug is used it is possible that the plug seals the tire at the tread, not in the casing, then air pressure is allowed to work between casing and the tread forming a bubble rendering the tire trash. This is not as big of a problem with radial tires (such as yours), as it is with older bias-ply and re-capped tires. Wow TMI. Hope this helps!
Tom

One great way to save money and boost the look of your home in any kind of economy is to replace carpet yourself. Tom usually replaces living room carpet about every 3-5 years. The living room is heavy used in the Gabriel household and it is directly adjacent to Tom’s busy shop area. It is an agreement that Tom keeps with his wife (me) faithfully. We thought we’d show everyone how easy and inexpensive it really is to give any room a fresh new look.
Home improvement stores, like Home Depot or Lowes, carry large rolls of various types of flooring. The first step in selecting a new carpet is to find one with the style and feel you like. It is important to take note of the weight of carpet on the small tags that label each roll, the higher the weight, the better. It is also a good idea to visit the store before a trip to actually purchase the carpet and pick up small samples to bring home and place in the area you are re-carpeting to see if it matches existing trim, paint, furniture, etc. Measure out the entire area to establish square footage needed. Most carpet rolls come in either twelve foot or fourteen foot lengths.
We selected a thirty-five weight carpet from Home Depot call “Sand Dollar”. It has a light base with various shades of brown speckled through out. It came on a twelve foot roll.
The first step in replacing carpet is to remove the existing carpet. If the carpet pad underneath is still good, you can simply vacuum the pad using the one of the higher setting on your vacuum cleaner. You can also take the hose attachment and clean around existing baseboard and tile. There should already be tack strip placed around the perimeter of your carpeted area. If not, tack strip can be picked up from Home Depot as well. The only other tools you may need are a chisel shaped tool used to tuck in the carpet edges, a carpet knife which looks like a box cutter but has a blade on each side, and a carpet knee kicker.
After cleaning off your area and gathering the needed tools, you can roll out the entire roll making sure to match up at least one corner and along one wall. Use the chisel tool to tuck the new carpet by wedging it under the baseboard and tile or other bordering flooring. Make sure to stretch out the carpet as you go using a carpet knee kicker. Carefully use a carpet blade knife to trim any carpet that does not fit the area. If your area is wider than the roll you purchased, then seaming your carpet will be necessary. Seaming carpet will be covered in another article.
Once again, purchasing and laying carpet yourself is a great way to save money and can be done in relatively little time.

Piston on Milling Machine

A piston from a turbo charged engine came into the machine shop that needed the compression ratio lowered. The customer could no longer find pistons that were dished with a lower compression ratio. The turbo pistons brought in needed to be dished 10 CC’s.
The first step was to do the math to find out how much material Tom should remove from the piston using a radius end mill and rotary table. Tom knew he would want to take out about 3 inches in diameter from the metal piston. He then converted 3 inches into centimeters. Then he did the reverse of “Pie R Squared” equals the area. Then he was left with the diameter. The end result was fifty thousandths that would need to be removed from the center of the turbo piston.
After milling out the center, Tom wanted to double check the results.
Tom used a CC Kit to measure the milled out space. A CC Kit includes a small piece of plexiglass, with a tiny hole in it, and a measuring beaker.
The first step is to seal the piston with grease and set the plexiglass on top. Next, fill the beaker to the top measuring line. Then carefully release water into the area that has been milled while holding plexiglass in place.
The beaker measurements told Tom how much volume was milled out of the piston dish.
A CC Kit can be used on pistons and heads to establish an accurate measurement.

A ring roller is a great tool for metal shops. A ring roller works by forcing steel material through three rollers also called dies. The three rollers are set in the machine in a triangular fashion. The two bottom rollers can be adjusted up into the top roller or drive roller to achieve various degrees of arches. The metal is wheeled through a ring roller until the desired radius is formed.
The drive roller pushes and pulls steel through simultaneously so that the steel has no where to go and thus forms a metal arch. If the ring roller operator moves the two bottom rollers or dies up, it changes the size of the ring. The rollers or dies are moved using a small hydraulic jack and lock screw on the ring roller. The operator unhooks the lock screw and pumps up the hydraulic jack and then tightens the lock screw once the desired span is achieved.
Standard dies that come with a ring roller usually handle flat strap metal. The roller Tom uses is the Shop Outfitters #238 Ring Roller. This is the discontinued Shop Outfitters Ring Roller and has been replaced by their newer and improved model, the 338 Pedestal Ring Roller. Shop Outfitters newest ring roller is able to accept wider steel, 3″ X 3/8″ steel rather then 2″ X 3/8″ of the previous model. The 338 Pedestal Ring Roller also has an aluminum handle and a heavier hydraulic jack. The 338 Pedestal Ring Roller also is able to roll square tubing. The square tubing dies are purchased separately. Special recesses in the dies allow for either tubing, round stock or square tubing.
A Ring Roller is an essential tool for many metal shops. Tom has used his ring roller to build items such as custom spinning pot holders, decorative metal tables and large wood racks.

In this video Tom explains how to wire lights on a snowplow attached to the front of a pickup truck.  Tom is transfering a Bosch plow from a 1991 pickup to a 2004 pickup.  Tom finds himself fighting the wiring harness from the plow.  Tom has to trase the wire using a multimeter so he knows which wires are right and left turn connections.  He also is looking for headlights and plow light connections as well.

A multimeter comes in handy for this project because it measures things like resistance, voltage and current.  Sometimes a multimeter is called a volt-meter.

Tom uses a small hand held device for this project.  A multimeter is a basic shop tool and is a must have for any type of electrical job.

This video shows how Tom built his dream shop/house.  The shell of the building was ordered through Fast Trac Buildings, Inc. in Colorado.  Much of the interior of the shop and home was purchased as was needed through local building supply houses and stores like Builders Square, Lowes, and Home Depot.

The two and a half year project was a life long dream of Tom.  How did he talk his wife into it?  Well, she got her new home for their growing family.

The building is a 60 X 100 structure.  The house sits on the west end and was built three feet lower than the shop to allow for the second story.

The living room has a twenty five foot opening that gives the home a dramatic entrance.   There is an open kitchen with hickory cabinetry, a large eat in bar and a unique spinning pot rack.  The first floor has a large mudroom/full bath, guestroom with private bath and a den/office.  Upstairs there is another open family room as well as three kids rooms along with a kids bath.   The master bedroom and bath is also upstairs.

Tom’s shop is an all service machine shop and houses his tools and machinery.

There really are many possibilities for anyone wanting to design their own metal building house.  It is a great way to incorporate your lifestyle with your livelihood.  For questions or comments, please contact Tom at tom@toolsbytom.com.

Metal Building Patio

This is a lightweight pancake style tank version with an oilless compressor.  An oilless compressor means that there is no oil to lubricate the compressor.  Bostitch makes this low maintenance air compressor.  It is a 2 horsepower peak and 1.5 horsepower running, 135 psi maximum.  One thing to look at when purchasing an air compressor is it’s cubic feet per minute.  They are normally rated at two different pressures.  This particular model will put out 2.1 cfm, that’s 2.1 cubic feet per minute at 90 psi.  That isn’t a whole lot and is usually used to blow up air mattresses, filling up car tires and the like.

This air compressor took a while to reach up to 135 psi.  Tom and Dave tested the new compressor on an ordinary camping air mattress.  It took several minutes to get the queen size mattress to fill with air.  They decided an ordinary hair dryer might do the trick a little better.  A simple reason for that is that a hair dryer moves air at a high volume with low pressure and moves much more air at a lower pressure.  The air compressor moves less air at at a higher pressure.

The compressor works much better at a task like filling a car tire.  Interestingly enough the tire gauge that came with the air compressor kit work just as well as a more expensive model Dave had in his garage.

Tom built a custom welding table for his shop.  His old welding table was built out of 1/2 inch steel plate.  After three or so years of use it began to warp slightly.  He used it primarily to weld a lot of jigs.   He ran across a guy in Nebraska who cut apart a press break.  It was a 200 ton machine and he had some scrap plate.  He sold it to Tom for roughly the same price that new 1 inch steel would cost.  The plate was actually 3 1/4 inch thick plate.  The steel plate is certainly overkill for a welding table, but it should never warp.  Tom picked up the plate after the guy in Nebraska cut it apart with a torch, leaving the sides fairly rough.  Tom brought it home to Wyoming and then used a track torch to square the plate.  It is important to have square edges on a welding table to aid in laying out projects like handrails.

Tom then built a stand for the large plate.  He used his forklift to lift the 5 foot by 9 foot 3 1/4 inch slab on to a 6 inch by 6 inch by 1/4 inch wall square tube stand he built.  The square tube is actually old guardrail tubing that is galvanized.  It was a bit difficult to weld, but Tom ground off all the hot dipped galvanize first.  Tom threaded adjustment legs on to the stand so that the table would be level even if the concrete floor beneath it was not.

High points when building a welding table?  Make sure you have a good heavy steel top that won’t warp .  The table needs to be square with a good base underneath.

The advent of concrete trucks has revolutionized the use of concrete.  Concrete is an old building material used since ancient times.