Jeepster Update - but mostly distractions - June 8, 2020
This one is not really much about the Jeepster. Well, it's about the Jeepster, because I didn't work on the Jeepster because I was doing this other stuff.
Yard Interruption:
Since the last update, yard work interrupted my Jeepster progress - this was the first of 3 trips to Lowes. I ended up getting more mulch and a lot more grass.
Shop Interruption:
Over the past few months, I purchased a nice set of body work tools, and literally had no where to store them. They were sitting on the tires in my garage, which wasn't ideal. I've had a pretty nice 26" Craftsman setup for a while, but I had maxed it out. And I've been thinking about a larger Harbor Freight box for probably 6 months. I know many people hate on HF, but their toolboxes get really good reviews.
Old Craftsman:
On Friday, I pulled the trigger on a 44" Lower chest. I'm going from 26" to 44" on the length, and from 18" to 22" on the depth, so it was a massive storage increase. Because of the way I had my garage configured (inefficiently!), I can fit the larger box in the same amount of space.
My son helped me unload it and setup the lower box. My original plan was to just drop the two existing Craftsman top boxes onto the Harbor Freight.
I changed the plan...
Yes, I went back to HF on Saturday and bought the matching top box. :-) It was a big expense, but it will be offset by selling my old toolbox. This new setup has been pretty nice, as I was able to consolidate tools from 2 or 3 different areas. The large upper bay works really well to store all my suspension tools. The single, long drawer at the top is also perfect for my torque wrenches, long pry bars, etc.
YJ Interruption:
When my tire carrier broke, I also lost my center brake light. My YJ registration is coming up this summer, so I need to get an inspection...so I need a 3rd brake light. I bought a motorcycle brake light from eBay and made a bracket. I used my Swag Milwaukee vertical bandsaw setup to cut it out and a Greenlee punch for the large center hole (0.75").
The bracket was primed (shown) and painted white (not shown) to match the tailgate. I'll install it tonight.
Sander:
This is directly Jeepster-related. I bought a sander to help smooth out some welds in recessed areas of the fender. I haven't used it yet, so we'll see how it goes.
I was in Harbor Freight 3 times last week, which is probably a new record for me. I used to really hate Harbor Freight on Parmer - the entire shopping experience was poor. Long lines, poor employees, questionable product quality, etc. I used to go to Northern Tool or Tractor Supply instead of HF because it was a nicer experience, and they have name brand stuff there too. It was worth it to pay a little more. I also use Amazon for flap discs, cutting discs and other supplies.
Lately though, HF has been pretty good. Their new store in Cedar Park is pretty nice - much, much nicer than the Parmer store. The management and employees at the Parmer store seem to be much better than a few years ago.
Minor achievement...center brake light is installed and working:
