Question of the week

I know how it is to get frustrated with a project. Many times it is better to walk away from it for a while. If I had to guess, your viewers will come up with something to help you out and get the lift running. Tips are always good my friend, I have learned a lot from watching your videos.

Resurrecting old stuff is sometimes a major pain and a challenge. Once your done it will last another 60 years though.

Thank you for the tips, Tony! You’re the man!

35 years ago, while building my shop, I came across an old X-Y overhead crane. It was trash but it used those same type “cam” followers for the chain fall trolley. They wanted a fortune for them. I was broke and could not afford anything near that money. I eventually replaced everyone of those followers with a regular bearing riding on a hardened bolt spaced with washers to center it. My over head crane has worked flawlessly for over thirty years. Just what worked for me.

Really enjoy the Q & A sessions. I switched out to .023 wire after you said that's what you use. Total game changer, I don't struggle with blow through like I did before trying to use .030. Thanks

I know first hand how frustrating projects can get and looking for parts sometimes is even more frustrating but you can do it good luck with it thumbs up 👍

I used the ol' Cut&Butt today and doing some more tomorrow. Thanks for all the instructions !

One thought for the ramp - if it's not going up and down very often could you use a trolley jack or farm jack on one end, put the pins in or whatever to hold it at that level, then go do the other end? Some years back I thought I needed a ramp when what I actually needed was a high lift jack and some tall axle stands. So much depends on "use case" - up and down twice a month or up and down twice an hour? (I loved that your bead roller stand was the engine stand you already owned). My use case turned out to be lift, watch the kids grow up, then down again, but they've left home now and I'm back in the garage again.

Get a hold of McMaster-Carr like you had on that piece of paper with your rollers and see if they will supply them to you in return for advertising and mention on your Channel over and over until the project is done mention it once or twice every episode on your Channel they will probably go for that you never know unless you ask

I enjoy your weekly Q&A sessions. Walking away to rethink things works for me too. Good luck with finding those rollers, last comment someone wrote that in the UK he can find any size, but prices and shipping are the hard and expensive part. Hope you find them missing pieces. 👍💪✌️

I hear ya Tony. Some of those big iron projects can get really frustrating.

It's winter time and time to take a winter mental break. Stop stressing. You will get a clearer image of what you need. 😉 😮😮 bless you brother Love your channel

I like your Q&A because you actually listen to your audience. Good tip on the Co and Co mix. It seems to weld better for me with the Co mix, but you brought up a good point, you end up grinding it away many times, and its price keeps just going up. You mentioned one time before that you use the smaller wire and I finally went to the .023-.025 and it is so much better than .032 for sheet metal. I have less burn through and so much more control now. Christmas is coming. You never know what Santa will deliver, maybe rollers for your ramp. You just have to beleave. Have a Merry Christmas and a healthy New Year to you and your family.

Ah Tony I knows ya will gets her done to that I have no doubt . I can almost invision Crusty sitting atop that there lift. God Bless Ya Brother and i wish You and The Misses A very Merry Christmas . Kel

Rome wasn't built in a day. Got to have coffee brakes in there too. Stay safe Tony, later.😊

Hello Fitzee Those bearings are only needle bearings inside the roller... Surely a good engineering shop or a bloke with a lathe and a bit of time could remanufacture or adapt them. They don't need to be the same just the same size and able to take the weight! Maybe I'm just over simplifying things😂😊

I like your channel you do good work.

Greetings Fitzee, sorry to hear about all the problems with the lift. Good things will come. Take care my friend and stay positive. 👍👍

Thanks for going into the question of CO2/Argon vs CO2.. You've given me something to think on..I really like the idea of saving some cash on gas, but my next big welding challenge is going to be my roll cage, and cleaning up welds on a cage tends to upset tech guys at the track. I just filled up on CO2/Argon anyway, so I'll have a few weeks to think it over before the next refill.. Thanks Tony!

Hi Tony. It's unfortunate that you can't use the lift just as it is but if you price what a new lift would cost, you should be way ahead by fixing the one you have. I don't know if this will work for you but I will buy parts a little at a time in order to not have a huge bill at the end of any one month. Once I have everything, then I can tackle the project. That rusted pump part looked like it might be a sort of junction box. You might be able to get a local machine shop to make that for you if you can't find one already made.

Good luck Tony, I sometimes have to get away from a project only to work on another. I don't know how many times I wanted to sell my Mustang because of frustration but I stuck with it. I took it for one last rip today before I start some big work on it over the winter. I really like this question of the week series.

Those bearings sure are expensive. There's always the option of going with sealed roller bearings and smaller diameter bolts if it doesn't work out. The way you manage to work around sticky situations, I'm sure you'll get this lift working in the end. Like you said, time is the biggest issue. I have a lot of projects to get done myself and I always seem to never have enough hours in the day and the days fly like nothing.

Automotive rear axle bearings maybe? Or maybe it was pinion bearings. If those bearing don't roll inside a "C" Channel then the OD won't matter. I remember my old boss back in the mid seventies repaired the shop lift like that one using 65 Ford Mustang rear axle bearing or maybe it was pinion bearings. He made shaft's and used the bearing as the roller. I just remember because he had us use motor oil from one of those metal oil dispensers that make that little pop when you push the bottom in and release it. He told me they roll better then the original rollers because the diameter is larger and only had to shim something to make it level so the alignment machine was accurate. The bearing were open on the sides, not sealed but I don't know if he pulled the black covers out so we can lube it or not. If I were you I would go to the local Auto Parts store and look for the lowest price axle type bearing and maybe the worst part would be finding a shaft the size of the ID of the bearing. Maybe someone local with a lathe could help. EDIT: If you're repairing it for someone else then you might get the original design but you don't really need the exact rollers if it's your lift. You just need them to roll along the bottom and not skid, or, you could make them skid if you make a "Puck" holder and use a DELRON puck or square.

GOOD VIDEO THANK YOU..

I think you are right to just leave the ramps until you can get all the parts first. It is going to be an ongoing affair to repair it as you are using it. As long as the steel on it is ok it will work out.

Hey Fitz I think your over thinking the lift table, Just put it back together and run new Hydraulic lines and test it out, the rollers can slide on some grease, your not using it as it was built for, you may run it up and lock it in place maybe 20 times a year, so maybe just get it working and test it out make sure it's safe but don't over think it, it's a lift not a Swiss Watch! Lol Just my suggestion Abby

McMaster is quite expensive. See if you can find the bearings from another source....if not, you are still ahead of the game...

You probably have answered this question in the past, and I haven’t been able to find it. Where do you get your metal? I know you use old shelving, but what kind of shelving is it, and where would you recommend getting metal from?

I have no doubt you will get it done

If you have a good farm equipment dealer close to you. Pick up headers for bailers,hay cutters use that style of bearing in the reels. Maybe? Not sure if it “needs” to be 2” od. Just an idea, probably don’t have what is needed

There is a company on the Island called Avalon Automotive Equipment. The website shows lifts & such. Maybe they can help with parts.

You’ll figure it out, sucks about shipping to NL

On that one, paint right over 40 grit, cuts the time down. lol

Hopefully someone with new old stock can come through for you👍

find a forklift and you may find some of the hydraulics you need if they have side shift they have some bearings

Have you seen the lift dd speed shop has? It's a sizzor lift he bought from princess auto or Harbor freight. Takes up less room. Not 100 percent sure about the vendor. Valves lines rebuild parts for cylinders may start to run up there. Have fun Tony.

I'm surprised that none of the 5 bearing places near you have anything close. 2 of my local places probably have them, but Ontario would be closer to you and then again shipping to NF. The valve body you should be able to get from princessauto. It would be slightly different, but it's just a proportioning and lock valve in one.

Hi Fitzee, QQ for you? what do you do regarding oiling the air grinder? do you jut put a few drops in daily or do you have an oiling system in the airline. If so do you have separate lines/feeds for the spray gun?

Hi! My name is Art and I live in Port Union NFL and I would like to know if you live in NFL? I would like to meet you and see some of the work you do. I do some of that work to!

Are those rollers so complex that you can't replicate them, provided you could find suitable bearings? It's hard to tell just from the video.

Back burner it is😉😉

I think we all have a project that was stalled out by money, my 47 is at that point now and it seems like everything is just waiting on income to move forward, good luck with it Tony and hopefully you can find an alternative to the high costs replacement parts

What brand of lift is it ? I’m in upstate New York USA there are some lifts made locally here

McMaster-Carr is a good source, inexpensive compared to most and good quality. Well with thousands of comments I'm sure you got it from someone else, but I did recommend getting a track cam follower and convert to inches if possible... At least I was right, but this is what I do. I buy parts and I'm tasked with buying parts that are not available, sometimes they are not exact, especially metric. If you lived in EU you could find the exact part though. Probably have to speak German or Italian though...

It's good to see you get frustrated about some thing. You seem to always have the answer to everything, or a plan B if you don't, and, it makes you seem a little superhuman and a little bit like your advice isn't something we can always follow, because we can't do what you can. It's nice to see how relatable you are. As to the expensive rollers... why not just use cheap $2 ball bearings, doubled-up for extra width? Maybe junkyard wheel hubs if the design allows them to be oversized. It's just a roller, can't be rocket science. For the hydraulics, do you have a mom 'n pop forklift servicing place there on the Rock? The corporate shops shook their head but my local one here let me take whatever I wanted off of their old wrecks in their boneyard. Hydraulic stuff almost never fails so they have no value in holding it. Power palletjacks might be another source of suitable scale components, probably same place has those.

I would just buy heavy duty steel bolts. Cut the head off the bolt weld a big thick washer on there . Then all your left with is 12 dollars each on the bearings . Put back in screw nylon nut on job done

I have 2 of the cam followers that size - 2nd hand. They were used on a wheelchair lift I had built. Have a small video to send - if you would like.

I've been trying to post to this channel but my posts are not appearing. Tony, have you tried contacting BDI in Donovans to match the roller bearings you need?

🥓

Sounds like a plan

I have commented on the last 2 videos, they haven't posted for some reason.

You could make those rollers for about $15 American each.😊

Little by little Fitzee 😬

I weld all day every day & never buy any gas - I use flux core. Yes, you have to brush off the slag - I use a brush in a cordless drill - yes there is spatter - I grind everything so who cares? Gas used cost me a fortune every month. Now it doesn't -which I count as a win.

Whilst you'd ideally use cam track rollers as original, because you're not going to be lifting cars up and down all day, ordinary sealed ball races will do the job. Stack two or three together. Some cheap lifts come that way.

Are pipe welding procedures call for CO2

You might just want to cut your losses and and replace that lift with a QuickJack. I bought mine from Costco online with free delivery for $2000 cad taxes in. Lifts 7000lbs

Tony, I think i can help you out on some hydraulic parts, give me hose sizes/length's and fitting type I can make them and ship them to you. No cost to you.

The higher the CO2 concentration in the welding gas the greater the penetration and the narrower the bead profile, for really thin material 5% CO2 95% argon or 5% CO2 94%argon 1% oxygen gives the best and fastest welds. CO2is not an inert gas as it breaks down in the arc to carbon and oxygen, the oxygen acts as a wetting agent and the carbon then either is absorbed into the steel or goes into the atmosphere as carbon monoxide.

Make your own cam followers out of tapered bearings

Id rather watch you work on the lead sled these fire side chats are mind numbingly boring sorry dont want to see you sitting there yacking