Thread: A tale of two Woodfast combination machines

The base was riddled with holes as a result the attachment of switch gear and conduit. Twenty one 1/8" self tapper holes and four 1/4" bolt holes. I asked for suggestions as to how to neatly fill the holes over in the Metalworking forum and most suggested MIG welding the holes closed. Not owning a MIG welder, I thought a reasonable result might be achieved using Devcon Steel Epoxy or JB Weld's equivalent. I ended up using JB Weld.

The underside of the base was also heavily rusted so I used my 'Air-Boy' sandblaster to clean up the base and all the fixing holes. The photo below is of the Universal in the back of Bob's van when we collected it from the shipping container.

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After blasting the underside I painted the steel with Balchan Zinc Rich Cold Galvanising paint in a rattle can.

The screw holes all had a thread cut by the screw so I thought the thread and the sandblasting would provide a key for the epoxy. I backed the holes with four layers of masking tape and overfilled the holes. Once cured. they were sanded flush and swiped over with body filler, sanded again and overcoated with Balchan Etch Primer, also rattle canned.

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I was going the fill the 1/4" holes with an epoxied in place, stepped steel plug but instead I ran a tap through the holes and filled them as per the others.

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I'm happy so far with the results but there is a lot more work to do before I haul out the spray gun.

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BT

Looks good, but hot day to be doing this in the shed - looks like you might have even been outside?

Originally Posted by BobL

Looks good, but hot day to be doing this in teh shed - looks like you might have even been outside?

Outside the shed with the sun beaming off the Zincalume!!! The epoxy and the filler sure cured quickly !

Hi AB. Where did you purchase you sand blaster? That looks pretty handy.

Originally Posted by Mountain Ash

Hi AB. Where did you purchase you sand blaster? That looks pretty handy.

Hello MA,

I purchased it at least 15 years ago from Toolmart in Victoria Park for $59.95. They are still available and haven't gone up that much since then - AIR BOY Sandblasting Gun | Total Tools

Handy for small stuff. Removing the rust from the underside of the Universal's base was a time consuming task. Three hours worth!

Bob.

Thanks Bob. I guess the sand has to be pretty dry too.

Originally Posted by Mountain Ash

Thanks Bob. I guess the sand has to be pretty dry too.

I used garnet I purchased from Fiora Machinery at the time of the Air-Boy purchase so I reckon it would have been dry enough !

After priming the bare metal with etch primer and the painted surfaces with grey primer along with some primer filler, I painted the base using spraying enamel colour matched by and purchased from Global Autocoat located over here in Bentley.

Initially I used gloss enamel but the combination of a hot day, nearly 34C, and the paint's swift drying lead to problems with overspray and orange peeling, so I repainted the base on a cooler day using a mixture of three parts gloss to one of matt and the addition of mineral turps to the enamel thinners to retard the drying. Worked OK.

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Primed and gloss painted.

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And with the gloss knocked off.

BT

A little MIG welder is an excellent tool to have.

Perfect for these jobs.

No machines involved, just took a while.

The large 'Woodfast' badge fixed to the motor access panel was in a sorry state so I thought I would have a go at improving it. If the badge was flat it could probably have been airbrushed and sanded back but its slight doming prevented that. My daughter suggested masking the raised letters using a paint on mask and I asked the fellow at MAS Hobbies, where I purchased the paint, if masking was an option. He asked if I had a steady hand instead!!!

The Revell No.31 'Fiery Red' gloss paint I used is close to a perfect match to RAL 3000 'Flame Red', the colour in the RAL fandeck closest to that used by Woodfast on the smaller, better condition badges.

I thinned the enamel about 6:1 with enamel thinners and used a tiny brush to cut in. Thinned because I didn't want a thick build up of paint around the letters. The paint in some cases ran along the little recessed gully formed at the edges of the letters.

I used a wider sable brush to apply unthinned paint to the open expanses. I found it impossible to avoid brush marks so I opted for a stippled finish, dabbing the paint on. The black ring has some deep scratches which I left as is, some things can't be turned into silk purses.

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BT

I might have been inclined to simply spray clear enamel over that badge and left it manky and wabi-sabi..... everything else perfect other than the badge

Magnificent!