Thursday, July 14, 2011

First Custom made tool in: Sputnik Stem Jig!

Super stoked to finally receive my Stem Jig from Sputnik tools:

It's SUPER solid and very well constructed. Just have to mess with it and get used to how everything works. Also need to make some sort of attachment so I can mount it on a bike stand or something..

I've also acquired a TON of other shit. I've found that it's a slow process gathering up all the right stuff to suit my needs...and my needs are many!

The one thing that was eluding me for the longest time was finding a proper surface plate. Granite surface plates are a dime a dozen compared to straight up steel ones. Whatever steel ones I could find were either too small or WAY too big and pricey. BUT.. Luckily I stumbled across Moses B. Glick of Fleetwood Pennsylvania and they had a TON of metal surface plates:

Unbelievably enough they had one in the EXACT size I was looking for: 3'x4' (indicated by the :-D face) Tho after walking around for 5 min I could see why- the place is HUGE and has the SICKEST assortment of random shit I have ever seen. I'm dying to go back just to take photos!

The other great thing is that they determin price by weight. At .60 cents a pound my new 750lb surface plate came out to $450! SUPER STOKED!! I was thinking I would have to spend a FUCKLOAD more. While there was a base to it, I opted out to make something myself. I got these super heavy duty caster wheels and priced out some raw steel yesterday at this kick ass steel place in Newark's Ironbound district.. 

The gnarly thing about the plate is how I managed to finagle it into the shop BY MYSELF. Yeah, my arms are wicked sore- from all the double back patting I've been doing! Seriously tho- that shit was a BEAST to move. When I got it they used a fork lift to dump it in the van I was using. I swear the back end dropped like a foot once the plate's weight was on it..

Basically it was a two step process. The first thing I had to do was get it out of the van to return it. I had put a bunch of wood under it so while there was no way in shit it could be lifted without like 8 dudes, it could be dragged out. So I took a nice rope and tied it to a solid spot in my garage and then hooked it on the plate in the back of the van. Then I basically drove the van out from under it while inserting cinder blocks underneath it as I went. Yeah, it was pretty ghetto, hence the lack of documentation.

The next and much more difficult step was to get it into the narrow hallway leading to the shop. My shop  doesn't have garage doors which is why it makes shit like this a HUGE hassle. Fortunately since our brains are our strongest muscle, getting creative on this one was a cake walk for me :-P Anyways, I took the caster wheels and made myself a nice sturdy H shaped frame out of some 2x8" pieces of wood. Then took my handy dandy car jack and slowly dropped one end of the plate onto it. Now here's where it gets hairy. The plate's top is 3x4' and 7" thick. I had a max of like 30" to squeeze through to get to the shop. Which meant that the plate had to be brought in on a steep angle. So with one end on my little ghetto cart, I proceeded to jack the shit out of the other side way up. Two cinder blocks and a few bricks later I had it up to like 60 degrees, all the while being VERY conscious of where my feet were at all times. The last thing I need is that thing falling on me! Once I got it loaded up on the cart and blocks I took a couple of ratcheting straps and strapped it down to the cart to keep it extra steady. Then I just rolled the fucker in no sweat- AMAZING!

While I had no doubt my plan would work, it did seem crazy moving a chunk of steel that big by myself. Even when things seemed to being going perfectly smooth I was reminded of the reality of the situation every time I heard that unmistakeable sound of steel grinding on stone if I put too much force on and awkward side angle while pushing it in..

Next on my to do list is fabbing up the base and caster wheels along with wire wheeling the rust off the top. Once that's all done I just have to drill some holes for the Brigheli frame alignment tools I ordered :-)


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