Have you thought about getting tool box liner for the bottoms of the drawers?
I have those socket trays in my tool box. They NEVER move.
Martin
I have those socket trays in my tool box. They NEVER move.
Martin
CK5
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71K5 - BP71K5's Just for fun build
- Thread starter bp71k5
- Start date
bp71k5
3/4 ton status
Been looking at a few options. Including liner and the thick foam you can cut out the tool shapes from and have them fit right inside it. I’m going to wait and see what tools I can actually fit in there then decide. Some plastic bins for roloc discs and small supplies might be in there too.
bp71k5
3/4 ton status
03/13/2020:
Seems the panic has driven up plywood prices here almost 50% so I’m going to wait a bit before buying any more. I did finish a second drawer cabinet. I left a little more of the dark mill scale on the steel. Not sure which one I prefer more. Obviously lots less work not removing scale.
And hung a few things up that always seem to be on the floor. It’s nice to know where things are since they have a dedicated spot.
Also finally got a spot to put my torch. This thing has plagued me for years, always tipping over cause I just left it on my workbench. No more!
Seems the panic has driven up plywood prices here almost 50% so I’m going to wait a bit before buying any more. I did finish a second drawer cabinet. I left a little more of the dark mill scale on the steel. Not sure which one I prefer more. Obviously lots less work not removing scale.
And hung a few things up that always seem to be on the floor. It’s nice to know where things are since they have a dedicated spot.
Also finally got a spot to put my torch. This thing has plagued me for years, always tipping over cause I just left it on my workbench. No more!
Looking good!
You new handle design looks way better than the rebar.
You new handle design looks way better than the rebar.
bp71k5
3/4 ton status
Thanks for the compliments. Fun fact. There’s a metal supermarket just down the street from me a mile or two away. Back in CA, that was the most expensive place to buy steel. I used to think their 10% off online orders made it a bit more tolerable until I started driving to Hayward for steel that was cheaper than that even with the 10% off.
I ordered my first order from this place in TN online and got the same 10% off. Then the next time I figured I’d just go in and order directly and see if they’d match the 10% off. Turns out $120 worth of steel ordered online is only $79 without any kind of discount when ordered at the desk. Still looking for cheaper options but glad to find that difference. I guess the franchise takes a cut of the stores order when ordering online.
I ordered my first order from this place in TN online and got the same 10% off. Then the next time I figured I’d just go in and order directly and see if they’d match the 10% off. Turns out $120 worth of steel ordered online is only $79 without any kind of discount when ordered at the desk. Still looking for cheaper options but glad to find that difference. I guess the franchise takes a cut of the stores order when ordering online.
bp71k5
3/4 ton status
03/26/2020
Now that all three cabinet frames are done, I’m still deciding whether to use drawers in the third cabinet or shelves behind a door. So I got to work on a storage rack for my parts bin carriers. I really wish I bought more of these Milwaukee bins when they were on sale.
First step was building a cross cut jig for my table saw.
I needed that to cut some dado groove in some plywood sides that hold the bins.
To get all the dados at the same distance, I created this little index jig. Once I cut the first dado, the board moves over 2.25” and the little plywood leg nests in the dado I just cut and lines it up for the next cut. Then just cut again and shift over until done.
Cut a second board out and they match perfectly.
The rest isn’t so interesting. I glued some 1-1/8” strips of plywood into those dado grooves and created a box with a back on it. So this one should give you an idea of how it works.
they are all packed in pretty close but each one is easy to remove and replace. The plan is to stain and seal it and then hang it on one of the walls. Maybe add some welded steel corner reinforcements too to match the cabinets. These have been on the floor for months so anxious to get more stuff off the floor.
Now that all three cabinet frames are done, I’m still deciding whether to use drawers in the third cabinet or shelves behind a door. So I got to work on a storage rack for my parts bin carriers. I really wish I bought more of these Milwaukee bins when they were on sale.
First step was building a cross cut jig for my table saw.
I needed that to cut some dado groove in some plywood sides that hold the bins.
To get all the dados at the same distance, I created this little index jig. Once I cut the first dado, the board moves over 2.25” and the little plywood leg nests in the dado I just cut and lines it up for the next cut. Then just cut again and shift over until done.
Cut a second board out and they match perfectly.
The rest isn’t so interesting. I glued some 1-1/8” strips of plywood into those dado grooves and created a box with a back on it. So this one should give you an idea of how it works.
they are all packed in pretty close but each one is easy to remove and replace. The plan is to stain and seal it and then hang it on one of the walls. Maybe add some welded steel corner reinforcements too to match the cabinets. These have been on the floor for months so anxious to get more stuff off the floor.
Slick work Brian!
-G
-G
bp71k5
3/4 ton status
7/3/2020
Been a while since I updated. I reinstalled the air compressor and lines to the ARB, got my CB reinstalled, gassed up for a trail ride with a local first gen club and then they canceled the ride. But at least I’m ready for the next one.
I ended up finishing up a third cabinet and got started on designing a work surface to go on top of them. It’s amazing how many people locally are selling really cool wood from small time backyard saw mills. I got two ~10ft x 2” hickory slabs for $80. I forgot the pictures of the slabs but I cut them down into 3” sections and laid them over the tool drawers to figure out how to arrange them in a nice butcher block type table.
Since I don’t have a jointer or a planar, I spent a bunch of time with the tablesaw and a special fixture I made to cut the pieces straight so they would all nest together well.
Then lots of glue and clamps. “You can never have too many clamps” -Norm Abrams
once the glue was dry it was time to mill the surface flat. I found some designs on the interwebz for this router jig fixture. It rides on the two steel channels down the length of the table and the router slides across the short side. I made a lot of 1/16” passes to get the overall thickness down to ~1.75”.
closeup. The surface came out pretty flat and smooth. I had to do a fair bit of sanding to remove the router marks though.
I trimmed it to final size, welded up the steel channel to form a frame. And then test fitted on the cabinets. Pretty happy so far. I learned a lot and got a nice 10ft long table for about $150 in materials. The hickory matches my drawer fronts and it is really hard so it should hold up well as a work surface. I have some clear epoxy coming that I plan to use to seal the top with. Still need to figure out if I want to just leave the one side hanging over like that or add a couple legs to support it. It looks like I may not need to. Plan is to get a stool that can roll under that side.
Been a while since I updated. I reinstalled the air compressor and lines to the ARB, got my CB reinstalled, gassed up for a trail ride with a local first gen club and then they canceled the ride. But at least I’m ready for the next one.
I ended up finishing up a third cabinet and got started on designing a work surface to go on top of them. It’s amazing how many people locally are selling really cool wood from small time backyard saw mills. I got two ~10ft x 2” hickory slabs for $80. I forgot the pictures of the slabs but I cut them down into 3” sections and laid them over the tool drawers to figure out how to arrange them in a nice butcher block type table.
Since I don’t have a jointer or a planar, I spent a bunch of time with the tablesaw and a special fixture I made to cut the pieces straight so they would all nest together well.
Then lots of glue and clamps. “You can never have too many clamps” -Norm Abrams
once the glue was dry it was time to mill the surface flat. I found some designs on the interwebz for this router jig fixture. It rides on the two steel channels down the length of the table and the router slides across the short side. I made a lot of 1/16” passes to get the overall thickness down to ~1.75”.
closeup. The surface came out pretty flat and smooth. I had to do a fair bit of sanding to remove the router marks though.
I trimmed it to final size, welded up the steel channel to form a frame. And then test fitted on the cabinets. Pretty happy so far. I learned a lot and got a nice 10ft long table for about $150 in materials. The hickory matches my drawer fronts and it is really hard so it should hold up well as a work surface. I have some clear epoxy coming that I plan to use to seal the top with. Still need to figure out if I want to just leave the one side hanging over like that or add a couple legs to support it. It looks like I may not need to. Plan is to get a stool that can roll under that side.
Awesome work!
bp71k5
3/4 ton status
Finished up the work surface 99%. It’s sealed with 1.5 gallons of “tabletop” epoxy and looks too shiny to be in the garage. I’ll have to scuff up the finish a bit which will happen over time anyway. My wife wants something like it for in the house.
The one thing I realized I forgot about is that I’ve been saving a broken tape- measure tape to embed under the epoxy to be a handy aid in measuring stuff. Oh well. I did find it kinda fun to add my signature and date in silver pen before pouring the finish.
The one thing I realized I forgot about is that I’ve been saving a broken tape- measure tape to embed under the epoxy to be a handy aid in measuring stuff. Oh well. I did find it kinda fun to add my signature and date in silver pen before pouring the finish.
bp71k5
3/4 ton status
05/29/2021
It’s almost been a year since I touched the K5 other than driving it or the garage. I’ve been looking at some of the other CK5 paint jobs going on and every time I walk by mine, I keep thinking how nice it would be to finish it, at least get it into primer.
First step was grinding off the bedliner that went over the top of the bed rails. I never liked the way that looked and would rather have solid paint all the way over the rail.
After that it seemed like the tailgate might be a good next item. It’s been bent ever since I got it, probably from too much weight on it at one point. It’s also warped a bit o
It’
So here comes the review of the harbor freight stud welder/dent puller kit. Spolier Alert...save your money. The studs weld onto the panel ok, but they break loose when using the slide hammer way too easily. Maybe with new import car steel fenders it might work, but not good ol ‘merican steel from the 70’s.
My plan was to pull it up in a few spots where there was an obvious dent, but even running the welder twice on each stud for the maximum length, they’d break loose after two or three light hits with the slide hammer
So, decided on some supplemental help with the MIG, which fixed the problem of studs breaking loose, but the 2lb slide hammer just isn’t big enough to move as much metal as I needed.
It’s almost been a year since I touched the K5 other than driving it or the garage. I’ve been looking at some of the other CK5 paint jobs going on and every time I walk by mine, I keep thinking how nice it would be to finish it, at least get it into primer.
First step was grinding off the bedliner that went over the top of the bed rails. I never liked the way that looked and would rather have solid paint all the way over the rail.
After that it seemed like the tailgate might be a good next item. It’s been bent ever since I got it, probably from too much weight on it at one point. It’s also warped a bit o
It’
So here comes the review of the harbor freight stud welder/dent puller kit. Spolier Alert...save your money. The studs weld onto the panel ok, but they break loose when using the slide hammer way too easily. Maybe with new import car steel fenders it might work, but not good ol ‘merican steel from the 70’s.
My plan was to pull it up in a few spots where there was an obvious dent, but even running the welder twice on each stud for the maximum length, they’d break loose after two or three light hits with the slide hammer
So, decided on some supplemental help with the MIG, which fixed the problem of studs breaking loose, but the 2lb slide hammer just isn’t big enough to move as much metal as I needed.
bp71k5
3/4 ton status
So now the tail gate is off and I’m looking at peeling back the outer skin. It kinda looks like it’s one piece wrapped around and welded at the bottom. Anyone actually tried anything like that? My plan right now might be to drill out the spot welds on the ends and then peel it back enough to hammer and dolly both sides, or cut it off at the top of the tailgate and do the hammer work separate. Would be nice not to have to weld up such a long seam but not out of the question.
bp71k5
3/4 ton status
So I just dove in and have made some decent progress.
drilled out a lot of spot welds along the bottom and up
Two under the latch
A bunch along the center rib
Once those were cut, the bottom layer can be peeled back.
Some 2x4’s jammed in there to allow me to get some hammers and clamps in there.
Can see here how warped this side of the panel is. Ultimately straightening this took a bunch of rubber mallet work, heating up some spots with a torch, and prying with different things.
Starting to get there. There’s a spot near the handle that’s really hard to access. That’s probably my next spot to attack.
drilled out a lot of spot welds along the bottom and up
Two under the latch
A bunch along the center rib
Once those were cut, the bottom layer can be peeled back.
Some 2x4’s jammed in there to allow me to get some hammers and clamps in there.
Can see here how warped this side of the panel is. Ultimately straightening this took a bunch of rubber mallet work, heating up some spots with a torch, and prying with different things.
Starting to get there. There’s a spot near the handle that’s really hard to access. That’s probably my next spot to attack.
bp71k5
3/4 ton status
I also need a new door latch on the passenger side. Where’s the latest place to get good parts? It’s been a while since I had to order any.
Ecklers and Classic Industries are 2 I use. Plus the old LMC standby for some items.
bp71k5
3/4 ton status
5/1/2021
I was able to get all but a few minor dents out.
Rather than just welding it back up, I decided to help keep the inner side of the shell straight (and keep it from bending again) I added a 2-1/8” flat steel brace between the hinge points and tacked in place a few spots along the length.
And test fitting it, the gap is all closed up.
Once I was sure it was straight, welded up all the spot welds I cut. Next up is finding a media blasting outfit to remove all the old paint to really figure out what body work needs to be done on the other parts.
I was able to get all but a few minor dents out.
Rather than just welding it back up, I decided to help keep the inner side of the shell straight (and keep it from bending again) I added a 2-1/8” flat steel brace between the hinge points and tacked in place a few spots along the length.
And test fitting it, the gap is all closed up.
Once I was sure it was straight, welded up all the spot welds I cut. Next up is finding a media blasting outfit to remove all the old paint to really figure out what body work needs to be done on the other parts.
Pretty legit tailgate repair.
Always wondered what it looked like inside a tailgate... and if there was any way to dampen the rattles from the tailgate handle and rods.... The extra bracing along the bottom was definitely smart....Imma steal that.
-G
-G
