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I’ve hoped to get my boys interested in tools and building projects, so I purchased a child’s tool kit.

I also built a child’s folding workbench.

My three-year-old loves hanging out in the garage and playing with tools, but he is a little young to build a project. My seven-year-old hasn’t shown much interest. A couple of days ago, he asked if he could build a model Titanic out of wood.

I thought up a design and put him to work cutting up some pine. He used the handsaw from the tool kit. A hand plane was included in the kit, but I haven’t sharpened it or tried to use it. I showed him how to use my Stanley 60 1/2 block plane to smooth the saw cuts.

He used the miter box in the kit to cut the stacks. He drilled the holes for the stacks with a bit brace. I helped with a belt sander to even the height of the stacks. He used a sanding block to shape the hull.

The Titanic is a great first wooden boat project (it’s ok if it sinks).

In a previous article, I wrote about an iPhone tripod adapter I made from a plastic clamp…

iPhone Tripod Adapter

The adapter worked, but I decided to make something better.

I made my second version from welded steel. A 1/4″-20 nut is welded to the bottom to fit a standard tripod. The clamp nut is a #10-32.

I designed the adapter to clamp around my rubber iPhone case. Just place the iPhone in the adapter, squeeze it closed, and tighten the clamp lock nut.

I take all the photos for this site with an iPhone 4. I would also like to start including video, and the iPhone is capable of shooting those in HD.

I will need a tripod adapter for the iPhone.

Starting with a plastic Bessey clamp, I removed the pivot screw and took the clamp apart. Next I glued rubber pads to the faces of the jaws. I heated the spring with a torch to release some of the tension. I wanted a firm, but not a crushing grip on the phone. I reassembled the clamp with a 1/4″ x 2″ bolt. I applied thread locker to the end of the bolt and installed a 1/4″-20 coupler. The tripod screw will fit into this coupler.

This gets the job done, but I am already thinking of a better design that will be of welded steel.

Prior to painting, I wipe my steel projects down with a wax and grease remover. This cleans the surface of contaminates that might ruin the paint job. I have always purchased this solvent by the gallon from Wal-mart or one of the local auto parts stores.

Recently, I ran out of solvent and found that Wal-mart and the auto parts stores no longer stocked gallon cans. Only aerosols were available. I thought the aerosols were extremely expensive for the amount of solvent they contained.

Later, I was at a different Wal-mart and noticed a Rust-Oleum brand wax and tar remover. Not to be confused with bug and tar remover, this product is intended for auto body work. It is used to clean a surface prior to sanding and again prior to painting. It was available in a one quart bottle.

When I used this product to clean a project, I found that it appeared to be some form of soapy water. I downloaded the MSDS to check the nature of this solvent. Section 2 of the MSDS, composition/information on ingredients, was blank. The product appeared to perform well and it evaporated quickly. I just lacked confidence in a water based solvent, having used petroleum based products for so many years.

I made a special trip to an auto body supplier to purchase a petroleum based solvent.

My wife wanted an antique warehouse cart to use as a coffee table.

Antique Warehouse Cart

I decided to build a reproduction cart from scratch.

I built the wood structure from 1″ x 6″ pine boards. Pocket holes were used to join everything together. I worked the platform with a file and kicked it around on the street to give it a well used look. For a finish, I chose Minwax mission oak combination stain and polyurethane.

Here is a picture of a vintage warehouse cart side-wheel…

For my reproduction, I cut 14″ diameter wheel centers from 3/16″ plate with my plasma cutter. The smaller holes are 2 1/4″ diameter, cut with a hole saw.

I used parts from 3″ steel casters for the end wheels. The rest of the steel parts were built from scratch. Here are the pieces fresh from the blasting cabinet.

Here is a picture of a vintage axle mount…

I made the axle mount from 2″ angle iron and 1 1/2″ x 1/4″ bar stock. The center is made with 1/2″ i.d. x 1/8″ wall tubing. The axle is 1/2″ and is 24″ wide. The rim on the side wheel is 1 1/4″ x 1/8″ steel. I spot welded one end to the wheel center. Next, I spot welded in several places as I bent the steel around the circumference of the center. Finally, I finish welded all the way around as I turned the wheel on an axle held in a vise.

Here is a picture of a vintage end wheel…

This picture shows a vintage cast iron corner piece…

The vintage corner pieces are designed so that stake sides can be installed. I simplified the design and installed corners made from 2″ angle iron. The end wheel mounts are also made from 2″ angle iron. The lower wheel support is made from 3/4″ pipe. The upper wheel pivot is made from 5/8″ axle stock. I think the end wheels look too much like modern casters. I intend to scratch build new end wheels that will look more like the vintage parts.

My total cost for the project was about $80. Here is the finished warehouse cart.

I have built a second industrial inspired coffee table. You can find it here…

Industrial Look Coffee Table

This project was featured on Toolmonger.

I needed some painted hardware for a project.

First, I blasted the hardware with aluminum oxide in my blast cabinet. This roughed up the zinc coating and gave tooth for the paint to adhere better.

Next, I stuck the pieces through a scrap of cardboard and spray painted them. Nuts can also be easily blasted and painted by screwing them onto a section of threaded rod.