Tools – Hohenfels.com

Small(er) drawer cabinet

wanted a a tool cabinet with smaller drawers to hold tools. I got tired of looking in a drawer that was over full with junk or wasting space with only one small item.

Started by making a standard box out of ¾ ply:

Then I gave it the seal and sand, nothing fancy, just a couple coats to keep the Kool-Aid stains off it.

I cut up the wood for 5 drawers:

Glued them together, ignore the ugly ones….

Mounted them up with full extension drawer slides. Shout out to habitat re-stores!

Put the faces on and finished it up with some pulls I had.

Here is an action shot before the face plates made it on:

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Drill Press Table

I made a new DIY Drill Press table to replace the very small one that came with it.

First thing I did was cut a piece of ¾ inch plywood 24 x 18 inches, cut a notch in the back for the support tube and drop in 4 carriage bolts spaced to fit through the existing table. I used the wing nuts and washers to temporary hold them in place.

Counter sunk and glued in place

Cut and glued the top plate to it.

Also notched and cut out a square area for a sacrificial block.

Sanded and added the T-Track

Sealed it up:

Created a base plate and added some knobs I had laying around

Added the fence, and she is done!

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Temperature control with PID

I watched these 3 great videos from Johnny’s Reloading Bench and decided to make one.

MYPIN PID Temperature Controller – Demo and Parts List

MYPIN PID Temperature Controller – Building and Wiring the Controller

MYPIN PID Temperature Controller – Initial Programming, Testing, Auto-Tuning

There are more great videos, but for this I am only concerned with the above.

I used a panel mount outlet in mine instead of piping the cord out the back. Everything else is the same. All parts he lists fit.

Front with lid and high speed test light:

Back and Side shots:

As always, If you want me to print you one let me know in the comments.

You can download it from Thingiverse

Questions? Reach out on the Contact page

Parts Washer

Got me a Harbor Freight parts washer and moving thing to put it on. There are a ton of videos on modifications and how to put it together on the internet. Not going to put you through all that. Just going to show what I did.

I will not be using this for heavily soiled auto parts or farm equipment. Mostly weapons and parts, and to ‘finish’ clean other items.

I purchased the Oriflo With Hose (OR101H) Flow-Thru Parts Washer Brush and Immersion Water Heater from Amazon. The rest of the items I had laying around.

I did not realize the heater came with a timer, the price was the same as the ones with the timer. I removed it and put a standard plug in it place.

Before I put the plug back on, I drilled a hole above the full line for the cord and put a grommet in.

Ran the cable and put the plug on:

I dont want the big metal sprayer thing. I took it off and put a fitting in its place:

I cut the end off the brush hose. It was designed to fit over the end of the metal sprayer. I then slid it over the fitting and clamped:

I had to order the drain plug as it is metric:

I built a PID for casting and I have an extra temperature sensor. I drilled a hole in the wash shelf and ran the cable through the grommet.

The only other modification I made for now is putting a block of wood on top of the power switch to stop some of the wobble.

Next up is testing.

Sweet success! I used plain water for the the just in case. It took a long time for the flow to start. So long that I removed the brush and blew air through the tube to make sure it was clear. That must have primed it, started flowing after that.

No leaks at the drain after 24 hrs….

The PID worked as well. Set it at 100 degrees for now. Can adjust as needed.

Questions? Reach out on the Contact page

Staying on track!

I wanted to add some T-Track to the end of the counter in the office. I could then do some medium and light work in the Better cooled Office area.

I started by making a couple passes with the router, going a bit deeper each pass until I got to the right depth. ½ inch.

Then I tapped it in and made sure it was flush:

Got it screwed and and tested with the Present Arms setup.

Works great!

Questions? Reach out on the Contact page

Keeping it Cool!

Installed portable Air Conditioners not only to keep things cool but to drop the humidity as well.

First I cut a 4 inch hole in the wall for the exhaust, hit a 2×6 on my first attempt…

Put a vent cover on, sealed and painted it up:

The exhaust pipes on these 2 units gets VERY hot. They might heat the room more than the unit cools it. I bought some insulated ducting and ran the exhaust pipe through it:

It worked! It is not cold, but it is probably 75% cooler.

Curing Oven on the cheap!

I finally got a curing oven for powder coating and Cerakote. WalMart had this baby on sale for $99.00:

And the inside:

Set it up on wheels so I can move it around by my self:

Went from here:

To here in about 10 Minutes:

Hope to cure something up soon!

Portable Air Regulator/Dryer

I wanted to make a portable air dryer/regulator for use with my paint booth, air brush or any other system that could and would move around my shop. Here is what I came up with:

Made a tee with scrap pine 1×6, glued and screwed.

Then added Harbor Freight Dryer/Regulator and coil line. Quick and easy, gets the job done.

Sandpaper Storage Box

Wanted to make a box to hold my sandpaper. Nothing fancy, just quick

Using ½ ply I ran rabbits along the top and bottom and and ¼ inch slots every inch. Glued and tacked it all together. I am using the ratchet clamp for the first time:

Worked pretty good!

Sealed it up:

Cut and slid in some ¼ inch hard board I had:

Marked and ready to go:

Band Saw Mill Sled

Started clearing the property and we have some logs smaller logs I want to try to mill up myself.

Started by cutting a ¾” sheet of plywood to 24” x 36” and adding in 2, 18” T-Tracks

Measured the distance from the blade side of the miter slot to the blade and used that distance to screwed on the miter bar. Sanded it down and good coat of wax.