Must be the only one reading
or at least posting!
The lurkers will soon emerge when they see how cool this is. I'm thinking of using something like this to roll some 1/4" or 3/8" stainless tubing for a jockey box.
1950s GE Fridge to Kegerator - with some mods
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The lurkers will soon emerge when they see how cool this is. I'm thinking of using something like this to roll some 1/4" or 3/8" stainless tubing for a jockey box.
aggies08brewer
Well-Known Member
LOL - thanks. Rolling the tubing won't be a problem. As cheap and easy as this is - everyone should have one.
I'm certain mdf would work great if you didn't have some expensive hard maple around. I'm still looking for a smaller diameter die to use to make tighter bends. Might buy some plastic blanks this weekend and set up a mini lathe with my drill press and router... Could get interesting.
I'm certain mdf would work great if you didn't have some expensive hard maple around. I'm still looking for a smaller diameter die to use to make tighter bends. Might buy some plastic blanks this weekend and set up a mini lathe with my drill press and router... Could get interesting.
Icomefromthelanddownunder
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You are without a doubt a genius level Mad Scientist, and I mean that in the best possible way !!!!
aggies08brewer
Well-Known Member
Thanks for reading and the compliments! Glad I got your first post
I'm just a big 'ol copycat, anyone can do this stuff with the right tools.
aggies08brewer
Well-Known Member
Made some progress on the tubing bender. Here it is in it's rough form right before making a test bend.
Here are the results:
I'd call that a 180. Not bad for $4 in parts. After a little spit and polish here is what the entire package looks like:
Come on now, you didn't think I could live with those bends? It crushed the tube into some oblong cross section. Can't have that can we? Went to Sears and picked up this bender for $40. Probably worth the time and effort to get great and easy bends.
Can't win them all I guess.
To get started bending I added all of the jewelry to the Christmas tree. That's a nickname in the oil field for the string of gate and ball valves at the head of the well. Think the part that broke on the BP oil spill... With all of the valves, manifolds and regulators I thought it would be appropriate. Here she is all dolled up:
The manifold is just clamped in right now because I'm not quite sure how to attach it. I'm thinking of using a set screw in the back to clamp it against the front piece.
Now, to get to the meat of all of this tool making... Oh yeah, cut me some slack - my first tube bending experience. I'm not thrilled with how it turned out and may swap out the 90 degree fitting for a straight one and just making 2 90* bends. I'll maybe use the 90 in the other valve, make a 180 to go over that first inlet and make a run to the next.
The whole reason I did the 180 was because I could not for the life of me get a Z bend that would drop the tube 3/8". It just looked like crap and the bender wouldn't do it. If there is a tube bending expert reading this - please chime in - I'm open to any suggestions.
Enough talk - here it is:
The gauge face has blue tape on it to protect the plexi. Only took 2 screw up pieces to get this one done... Not bad :beer:
Here are the results:
I'd call that a 180. Not bad for $4 in parts. After a little spit and polish here is what the entire package looks like:
Come on now, you didn't think I could live with those bends? It crushed the tube into some oblong cross section. Can't have that can we? Went to Sears and picked up this bender for $40. Probably worth the time and effort to get great and easy bends.
Can't win them all I guess.
To get started bending I added all of the jewelry to the Christmas tree. That's a nickname in the oil field for the string of gate and ball valves at the head of the well. Think the part that broke on the BP oil spill... With all of the valves, manifolds and regulators I thought it would be appropriate. Here she is all dolled up:
The manifold is just clamped in right now because I'm not quite sure how to attach it. I'm thinking of using a set screw in the back to clamp it against the front piece.
Now, to get to the meat of all of this tool making... Oh yeah, cut me some slack - my first tube bending experience. I'm not thrilled with how it turned out and may swap out the 90 degree fitting for a straight one and just making 2 90* bends. I'll maybe use the 90 in the other valve, make a 180 to go over that first inlet and make a run to the next.
The whole reason I did the 180 was because I could not for the life of me get a Z bend that would drop the tube 3/8". It just looked like crap and the bender wouldn't do it. If there is a tube bending expert reading this - please chime in - I'm open to any suggestions.
Enough talk - here it is:
The gauge face has blue tape on it to protect the plexi. Only took 2 screw up pieces to get this one done... Not bad :beer:
aggies08brewer
Well-Known Member
Don't do it! It's a long and dangerous road!
aggies08brewer
Well-Known Member
Little bit of an update here, sprinkled in with some tool goodies...
Finally kind of figured out this tube bending thing. Still miscalculating my lengths when I make my cuts - so like most guys - I overcompensate and add a few inches..
I'll start with the goodies. Spoiler alert, I'll be reposting this in the tool section too.
Browsing Craigslist while in a training session at work I came across an add for some vintage tools. Couldn't pass up the deal and the guy actually worked a few blocks down from me.
Paid $50 for these two boxes. It's great that they are still in their original boxes.
The one on the left is a set of Wiss-17 snips. Never been used and still in the wax paper with cosmoline on the blades.
And the greatest prize is the one on the left - a Parker Kalon No. OX sheet metal punch. Patented in 1915! I've found a few other sets for sale and have heard that it will punch up to 14 ga. steel!
Onwards and upwards - Had to do some retakes but I'm finding my way with the bender. In a bout of frustration I pulled it all out and decided to finish out the bottom of the tree.
I still cannot get my hole saw to cut true and straight. I'm pretty sure the arbor doesn't let the saw sit square and flush. DeWalt brand if it matters to anyone. This resulted in me cutting the other scallop with the grinder - which sucked. I cut the pipe down to size length-wise first. Then I tacked it in the cutouts making sure that it was flush with both faces. I used the square tubing as a guide to cut off the round tube. Welded it in, ground it flush and then in a stroke of brilliance I squared the bottom in my dry cut saw. Here's the blurry result:
Decided to finally fab up the manifold mount. Started by squaring the cutouts with a file. Always a good time to be filing steel in 90% humidity. I decided to just use some kind of set screw to clamp in the manifold.
I used a 1/4"-20 all-thread coupler as the main piece. Ground it down a little bit to fit and then welded it in with a bolt in place to ensure that it was square.
Of course I don't have a nice allen set screw so I cut down a bolt and then ground a slot in it to create a groove for a flat screwdriver. The trick to it was that I screwed in the short piece (set screw) and from the other side tightened up a longer bolt to keep the short piece from rotating while I cut the groove.
Note the gloves - safety first!
And finally a glamour shot of the empty tree with some of the bent tubing hanging off of it.
Thanks for reading, I hope everyone has enjoyed it as much as I have.
Finally kind of figured out this tube bending thing. Still miscalculating my lengths when I make my cuts - so like most guys - I overcompensate and add a few inches..
I'll start with the goodies. Spoiler alert, I'll be reposting this in the tool section too.
Browsing Craigslist while in a training session at work I came across an add for some vintage tools. Couldn't pass up the deal and the guy actually worked a few blocks down from me.
Paid $50 for these two boxes. It's great that they are still in their original boxes.
The one on the left is a set of Wiss-17 snips. Never been used and still in the wax paper with cosmoline on the blades.
And the greatest prize is the one on the left - a Parker Kalon No. OX sheet metal punch. Patented in 1915! I've found a few other sets for sale and have heard that it will punch up to 14 ga. steel!
Onwards and upwards - Had to do some retakes but I'm finding my way with the bender. In a bout of frustration I pulled it all out and decided to finish out the bottom of the tree.
I still cannot get my hole saw to cut true and straight. I'm pretty sure the arbor doesn't let the saw sit square and flush. DeWalt brand if it matters to anyone. This resulted in me cutting the other scallop with the grinder - which sucked. I cut the pipe down to size length-wise first. Then I tacked it in the cutouts making sure that it was flush with both faces. I used the square tubing as a guide to cut off the round tube. Welded it in, ground it flush and then in a stroke of brilliance I squared the bottom in my dry cut saw. Here's the blurry result:
Decided to finally fab up the manifold mount. Started by squaring the cutouts with a file. Always a good time to be filing steel in 90% humidity. I decided to just use some kind of set screw to clamp in the manifold.
I used a 1/4"-20 all-thread coupler as the main piece. Ground it down a little bit to fit and then welded it in with a bolt in place to ensure that it was square.
Of course I don't have a nice allen set screw so I cut down a bolt and then ground a slot in it to create a groove for a flat screwdriver. The trick to it was that I screwed in the short piece (set screw) and from the other side tightened up a longer bolt to keep the short piece from rotating while I cut the groove.
Note the gloves - safety first!
And finally a glamour shot of the empty tree with some of the bent tubing hanging off of it.
Thanks for reading, I hope everyone has enjoyed it as much as I have.
aggies08brewer
Well-Known Member
Finally back after a hiatus of working on the cube table, building a power supply to make an electrolysis tank, and starting a new job. Fortunately that one left me with a week at the house to get some fab time in on the kegerator.
First things first - I reworked the regulator tree. I didn't like how the tubing outlets from the distribution block were not lining up with the regulator inlets which forced the tubing to have some freaky bends. In the v1.0 configuration I also could not assemble the gas-in line, it just would not physically fit. To summarize, I made the slot wider, slid back the dist. bar, and re-did most of the lines. Little bit cleaner now, I think. I also had to run the left most line really tight to give me as much clearance as possible for the kegs. Despite this, I still ended up adding 10.5" vs. 6" planned.
Now the big decision came - the one I've been dreading this entire build - cutting her in half. I was/am nervous about welding it without oil canning it, and I didn't like my plan for cutting it at the back to avoid forming the sheet would have been a design flop. I bit the bullet, bought a bead roller and a big abrasive blade and went to town.
The worm drive Ridgid is a beast.
I laid out my cut lines with tape, working with the box being out of square as best I could. First attempt at a straight edge involved bar clamps and a wooden guide.. It didn't work. I slept on it and kicked myself the next morning that I didn't think to tack the straightedge to the shell. Duh.
Nice and sweet 1/8" cut.
Repeat 4 times and you get this...
An inner fridge shell bifurcated. Let the fun begin.
Got myself some 18ga. carbon steel at a local sheet metal fab shop. 40' of 10.5" wide strips (4x 10ft pieces) was about $100. Great deal. Perfectly square using their nice big shear.
The gauge is hanging off some test strips I cut up to determine the best welder settings and to test the panel clamps I finally decided to buy. Lot of decisions to make when deciding to weld up long runs of flat sheet, but I decided that the clamps would help me keep it square and both sheets in plane -the longest run will be nearly 5 foot of weld..
Gapped at 0.04in. I put the veniers on them and found them to have a +/- tolerance of 0.003in. Not bad for HF.
Thanks to the guys here (Robert) and at allmetalshaping.com for tips on fitup and hammer planishing the welds.
Here are the shapes that need to be made - an approximate 1/4" radius bend, and the panel inset.
Got lucky and had a router bit and some maple to make a forming buck with.
Test piece tipped over with just a ball peen hammer, Estwing of course :willy_nil.
Shot of the setup I used to keep everything in line while creating the bend. Nothing too fancy here. I started with a 7/8" stickout, which ended up being too much. 1/2" should work fine next time. It's probably worth mentioning here that I decided to build it in 4 pieces and weld the "corners". My plan is to tack each piece to the back shell, tack the corner seams, then tack on the rest of the shell so that I can keep it all square as I go. I anticipate the need to add bracing bars.. One last decision is whether or not to add some stiffening beads - wish I would have thought of it earlier because the filler piece isn't in the exact middle, and I'm not sure I can bead roll over the ceramic/porcelain coating on the existing metal.
Final product.
And the final mockup.
I wasn't sure how to measure and layout the second corner so I just put the wooden buck in the original frame and clamped it to the new piece, pulled it all out and made a wild guess. Worked out perfectly.
Phase II will actually start with me beefing up the bead roller and possibly making some dies so that I get the raised panel bit correct. It's at an odd angle, but I'm new to panel rolling.
Thanks for reading.
First things first - I reworked the regulator tree. I didn't like how the tubing outlets from the distribution block were not lining up with the regulator inlets which forced the tubing to have some freaky bends. In the v1.0 configuration I also could not assemble the gas-in line, it just would not physically fit. To summarize, I made the slot wider, slid back the dist. bar, and re-did most of the lines. Little bit cleaner now, I think. I also had to run the left most line really tight to give me as much clearance as possible for the kegs. Despite this, I still ended up adding 10.5" vs. 6" planned.
Now the big decision came - the one I've been dreading this entire build - cutting her in half. I was/am nervous about welding it without oil canning it, and I didn't like my plan for cutting it at the back to avoid forming the sheet would have been a design flop. I bit the bullet, bought a bead roller and a big abrasive blade and went to town.
The worm drive Ridgid is a beast.
I laid out my cut lines with tape, working with the box being out of square as best I could. First attempt at a straight edge involved bar clamps and a wooden guide.. It didn't work. I slept on it and kicked myself the next morning that I didn't think to tack the straightedge to the shell. Duh.
Nice and sweet 1/8" cut.
Repeat 4 times and you get this...
An inner fridge shell bifurcated. Let the fun begin.
Got myself some 18ga. carbon steel at a local sheet metal fab shop. 40' of 10.5" wide strips (4x 10ft pieces) was about $100. Great deal. Perfectly square using their nice big shear.
The gauge is hanging off some test strips I cut up to determine the best welder settings and to test the panel clamps I finally decided to buy. Lot of decisions to make when deciding to weld up long runs of flat sheet, but I decided that the clamps would help me keep it square and both sheets in plane -the longest run will be nearly 5 foot of weld..
Gapped at 0.04in. I put the veniers on them and found them to have a +/- tolerance of 0.003in. Not bad for HF.
Thanks to the guys here (Robert) and at allmetalshaping.com for tips on fitup and hammer planishing the welds.
Here are the shapes that need to be made - an approximate 1/4" radius bend, and the panel inset.
Got lucky and had a router bit and some maple to make a forming buck with.
Test piece tipped over with just a ball peen hammer, Estwing of course :willy_nil.
Shot of the setup I used to keep everything in line while creating the bend. Nothing too fancy here. I started with a 7/8" stickout, which ended up being too much. 1/2" should work fine next time. It's probably worth mentioning here that I decided to build it in 4 pieces and weld the "corners". My plan is to tack each piece to the back shell, tack the corner seams, then tack on the rest of the shell so that I can keep it all square as I go. I anticipate the need to add bracing bars.. One last decision is whether or not to add some stiffening beads - wish I would have thought of it earlier because the filler piece isn't in the exact middle, and I'm not sure I can bead roll over the ceramic/porcelain coating on the existing metal.
Final product.
And the final mockup.
I wasn't sure how to measure and layout the second corner so I just put the wooden buck in the original frame and clamped it to the new piece, pulled it all out and made a wild guess. Worked out perfectly.
Phase II will actually start with me beefing up the bead roller and possibly making some dies so that I get the raised panel bit correct. It's at an odd angle, but I'm new to panel rolling.
Thanks for reading.
MrFoodScientist
Well-Known Member
So maybe I missed it somewhere, but now that you have expanded the inner cabinet, what's your plan for the outer cabinet? Will that be expanded as well? I have a similar fridge and the space between the cabinets all around is about 3".
Stealthcruiser
Well-Known Member
Sub'd !
aggies08brewer
Well-Known Member
You are correct, there is only about 3" of dead space in mine as well. I plan to stretch the outer shell by the same amount, 10.5". I will build an adjustable "floor" support for the inner shell to accommodate for the increased depth and weight. I wish I could have gotten away with only stretching the inner panel, but, c'est la vie!
Not mentioned yet, but the bottom trim panel will be converted to a full extension drawer with a cutout for the compressor. The support structure for that drawer will also house castors and the previously mentioned support arm.
Thanks for asking, happy to explain anything.
aggies08brewer
Well-Known Member
Small update today:
Finally back in town after a 3 week hiatus saving the world in California. Gave me some time to track down and buy these from Summit Racing:
Oh yeah, hammer was about $25 and the dolly was around $40 I think.
Many thanks to the guys at allmetalshaping.com for recommending them for planishing. Proves you can still learn something every day. Hammer feels a little lighter than I'm used to, and I wish the handle were a tad longer, but the fit and finish are great. The dolly could use a minor buff and polish with a DA, but it's pretty nice overall.
I got the cheap-o HF bead roller to roll out the 18ga. quite nicely. I had to weld some square tubing on the side to clamp it to the table, but I got a nice test piece done that actually matches the contours I need. I was really worried this wouldn't work out. I ended up using the 1/4" panel raising die and offsetting them a bit to get a nice "Z" bend to match.
Here's the test piece beside the fridge inner shell. It's hard to tell what you're looking at, but it all lined up after three adjustments to the machine. I'm going to roll the big piece when I can convince the wife to crank the wheel for me...
Lastly, here's the progress so far, tacked up and with a 3/8" square rod to hold it all together. I've got a concern that the panels aren't square and parallel, but it will be tough to determine until I get the other side mocked up. The metal wants to bow and sag under its own weight, so having the other shell on there will allow me to figure it all out.
I've thought about rolling a bead in the new panels, but just can't bring myself to do it because I know I'll roll them crooked. I'll probably just tack on some straps on the back to make it a bit more rigid.
Thanks for reading. More to come this week.
Finally back in town after a 3 week hiatus saving the world in California. Gave me some time to track down and buy these from Summit Racing:
Oh yeah, hammer was about $25 and the dolly was around $40 I think.
Many thanks to the guys at allmetalshaping.com for recommending them for planishing. Proves you can still learn something every day. Hammer feels a little lighter than I'm used to, and I wish the handle were a tad longer, but the fit and finish are great. The dolly could use a minor buff and polish with a DA, but it's pretty nice overall.
I got the cheap-o HF bead roller to roll out the 18ga. quite nicely. I had to weld some square tubing on the side to clamp it to the table, but I got a nice test piece done that actually matches the contours I need. I was really worried this wouldn't work out. I ended up using the 1/4" panel raising die and offsetting them a bit to get a nice "Z" bend to match.
Here's the test piece beside the fridge inner shell. It's hard to tell what you're looking at, but it all lined up after three adjustments to the machine. I'm going to roll the big piece when I can convince the wife to crank the wheel for me...
Lastly, here's the progress so far, tacked up and with a 3/8" square rod to hold it all together. I've got a concern that the panels aren't square and parallel, but it will be tough to determine until I get the other side mocked up. The metal wants to bow and sag under its own weight, so having the other shell on there will allow me to figure it all out.
I've thought about rolling a bead in the new panels, but just can't bring myself to do it because I know I'll roll them crooked. I'll probably just tack on some straps on the back to make it a bit more rigid.
Thanks for reading. More to come this week.
aggies08brewer
Well-Known Member
I got the wife to crank on my handle (bead roller handle gutter brains) and got the raised panels made for the top piece. Wasn't too hard, there's a slight wobble in it that I can blend out easily with the high build primer.
The panel heights are not quite perfect, but all of the contours were coaxed a little with my new body hammer. Anyways, here's how I laid out the "beads."
Roll the first one while leaving enough overhang to trim it all up later. You want some extra meat to cut of because of the shrinking/stretching happening when you roll the panel into it. That's a tip I learned from some old experts. Then I just worked my way down the panel, marking the bends from the "template" onto the blank piece. Once all four were rolled, square up the pieces and clamp everything down.
Scribe/mark the backside for cutting and get to work. On the pic below, notice the overhang on the left and right.
Once it's cut out, clamp it all back down and start tacking. I ended up busting some old tacks and closing up the gap a tad. Once the box was cut apart it let go of its internal stresses and bowed back a little. I used some F clamps to bring it all back into alignment. Also had to massage the corners a bit and radius the inner "panel" to get better fitment.
Closeup.
Below is a shot of the entire box turned upside down and from the inside (the panel is the top from which the freezer box is hung). I think you can better see the contours of the raised panels and what I was trying to do.
Originally wanted to just section it behind the panel, but I'm happy I went this route and bought/learned how to use a bead roller.
Thanks for reading, hope you are getting as big a kick out of this as I am. Everything I've done is with inexpensive tools and more or less my first time at it all. Anyone can tackle a project like this with some patience and YouTube!
The panel heights are not quite perfect, but all of the contours were coaxed a little with my new body hammer. Anyways, here's how I laid out the "beads."
Roll the first one while leaving enough overhang to trim it all up later. You want some extra meat to cut of because of the shrinking/stretching happening when you roll the panel into it. That's a tip I learned from some old experts. Then I just worked my way down the panel, marking the bends from the "template" onto the blank piece. Once all four were rolled, square up the pieces and clamp everything down.
Scribe/mark the backside for cutting and get to work. On the pic below, notice the overhang on the left and right.
Once it's cut out, clamp it all back down and start tacking. I ended up busting some old tacks and closing up the gap a tad. Once the box was cut apart it let go of its internal stresses and bowed back a little. I used some F clamps to bring it all back into alignment. Also had to massage the corners a bit and radius the inner "panel" to get better fitment.
Closeup.
Below is a shot of the entire box turned upside down and from the inside (the panel is the top from which the freezer box is hung). I think you can better see the contours of the raised panels and what I was trying to do.
Originally wanted to just section it behind the panel, but I'm happy I went this route and bought/learned how to use a bead roller.
Thanks for reading, hope you are getting as big a kick out of this as I am. Everything I've done is with inexpensive tools and more or less my first time at it all. Anyone can tackle a project like this with some patience and YouTube!
aggies08brewer
Well-Known Member
I guess this Bud's update's for you, Stealthcruiser.
Howdy all,
Little bit of work today - after all, you don't want to over-do it.
Got the bottom panel made and fitted. Same procedure as before, but with only one panel to "raise". I had trouble getting this one square. I wobbled on my cuts, so I tried the hand shears, they bowed the crap out of the flange, so I had to dolly it all back as straight as I could. Moral of this story is that I need to get a shear.
This is actually the bottom - it's just flipped over.
Below is the "new" inner shell. The white box in the background is the original fridge box as a reference for how much this thing grew. It's more the size of a modern fridge now. You can just reach the back of it without straining. I don't see this being fun welding up and even less fun planishing.
So now I didn't have a plan except to start at the top, flip it over, and tack together to bottom, leaving the sides for last because there are no features to line up. Again, the clamps were a huge asset, along with some magnets and the new body hammer.
And done. I haven't planished anything, and there is a bit of shrink on one of the sides that is trying to oil-can. My main concern is the panels being welded together perfectly in plane. On such a long flat surface it would be easy to have them butted up at an ever so slight angle. Luckily only one side is visible and I can massage any imperfections out.
The whole deal. Not that exciting but a major project milestone for me.
Thanks for checking it out.
Howdy all,
Little bit of work today - after all, you don't want to over-do it.
Got the bottom panel made and fitted. Same procedure as before, but with only one panel to "raise". I had trouble getting this one square. I wobbled on my cuts, so I tried the hand shears, they bowed the crap out of the flange, so I had to dolly it all back as straight as I could. Moral of this story is that I need to get a shear.
This is actually the bottom - it's just flipped over.
Below is the "new" inner shell. The white box in the background is the original fridge box as a reference for how much this thing grew. It's more the size of a modern fridge now. You can just reach the back of it without straining. I don't see this being fun welding up and even less fun planishing.
So now I didn't have a plan except to start at the top, flip it over, and tack together to bottom, leaving the sides for last because there are no features to line up. Again, the clamps were a huge asset, along with some magnets and the new body hammer.
And done. I haven't planished anything, and there is a bit of shrink on one of the sides that is trying to oil-can. My main concern is the panels being welded together perfectly in plane. On such a long flat surface it would be easy to have them butted up at an ever so slight angle. Luckily only one side is visible and I can massage any imperfections out.
The whole deal. Not that exciting but a major project milestone for me.
Thanks for checking it out.
Stealthcruiser
Well-Known Member
I'm diggin' it!
Have a LARGE weekend!
Have a LARGE weekend!
aggies08brewer
Well-Known Member
aggies08brewer
Well-Known Member
I would hardly call it skill - mostly luck and patience. Thanks for the kind words.
Aggie, you are a true stud. I've been watching your build along with Kerber's and am just blown away. You've taken this thing so much further than I thought possible.
I am restoring a nearly identical model that has a TON of rust. It's a slow going process. While I'm waiting to connect with someone who can weld for me I had some questions for you.
Can you tell me a bit more about the process involved in fitting and wiring up the STC-1000? I was just going to spend the $75 and get a Johnson but my engineering major buddy told me he'd help me get it set. Just wondering if you could offer a guide or overview of your process regarding that to help.
Thanks so much and keep up the amazing work!
I am restoring a nearly identical model that has a TON of rust. It's a slow going process. While I'm waiting to connect with someone who can weld for me I had some questions for you.
Can you tell me a bit more about the process involved in fitting and wiring up the STC-1000? I was just going to spend the $75 and get a Johnson but my engineering major buddy told me he'd help me get it set. Just wondering if you could offer a guide or overview of your process regarding that to help.
Thanks so much and keep up the amazing work!
jerome_roe13
Member
- Joined
- Feb 11, 2013
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- Reaction score
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I've put these up before, but I love showing it off so here it is again. nothing fancy, only two taps, but it is a '49 Frigidaire. It has worked betters than I ever expected.
aggies08brewer
Well-Known Member
You're making me blush, thanks for the kind words. I'll gladly help you out with the STC once I get there
I couldn't pass up how well the STC fit in that freezer box area and reallllly didn't want a controller on the side/back/underneath the fridge that was hard to get to. Sorry it took me so long to get back to you, I don't check this often and the site usually emails me...
aggies08brewer
Well-Known Member
Looks great, did you have the jewelry rechromed? That fridge was in rough shape!
And lastly:
Most unexciting update post ever, but another big hurdle overcome... I got the oil canning out of the bad side of the box. If you are unfamiliar with this term, it's when a flat (rarely curved) piece of sheet metal will "pop" in and out if you push on it in a certain spot. It is your worst nightmare. I tried to fix it by planishing the welds, but went a step too far and made it worse. I was just pushing it around, then stopped before I got frustrated and re-read some literature on fixing the problem.
I needed to shrink an area, but don't have a torch.... So I burned some metal with the MIG and the thing popped back into position perfectly. :dunno: Beginner's luck. Here's a tip: find the center of the oil-can. Pop it up and down with one hand and using the thumb of your other hand push around the perimeter of the affected area. When it stops moving, you've found the "real" problem spot.
Welded, 90% ground, and planished about 36" of weld... only another 16 feet to go.
Getting some "undercutting" on the ceramic side. The stuff is nearly impossible to grind and really dirties up the welds. If anyone knows of a way to remove baked on porcelain/ceramic "coatings" I'd love to know.
Thanks for reading.
jerome_roe13
Member
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aggies08brewer said:Looks great, did you have the jewelry rechromed? That fridge was in rough shape!
Thought about getting it rechromed, but tried a polish by Eagle One I got at an auto parts store first. Did a great job at a fraction of the price. Was hard taping it off to avoid getting paint on it. Wish I had the time/ equipment/know how to do a complete rebuild like you. Inside is beat up, but looks good from the outside, And it serves cold homebrew. So I guess the essentials are covered.
aggies08brewer
Well-Known Member
Having kegged beer again is starting to be my biggest motivator. Almostttt regret going down this road.
Almost.
Ok Aggies & hopefully Kerber as well -
I just acquired a 25# CO2 tank for my nearly identical-yet-still-in-shambles 50's GE Fridge. I can fit 2 five gallon corny kegs in the fridge with the tank OR 3 five gallon corny kegs AND 1 two gallon keg if I pipe in the CO2. My question is.. where would you do this? Would you drill a hole in the bottom or top rear corner and pipe it in that way? If you did do this what would you do to insulate/protect the transition? I'm not a super handy man but I can dream.
I'd love anyone's thoughts on this. I'm so ready to get this thing put back together so I can finally have beer on tap as well!
I just acquired a 25# CO2 tank for my nearly identical-yet-still-in-shambles 50's GE Fridge. I can fit 2 five gallon corny kegs in the fridge with the tank OR 3 five gallon corny kegs AND 1 two gallon keg if I pipe in the CO2. My question is.. where would you do this? Would you drill a hole in the bottom or top rear corner and pipe it in that way? If you did do this what would you do to insulate/protect the transition? I'm not a super handy man but I can dream.
I'd love anyone's thoughts on this. I'm so ready to get this thing put back together so I can finally have beer on tap as well!
I just finished refurbishing a fridge exactly like this one. I got it for free and plugged it in and let it run for a day and it worked well. So I tore it all apart, cleaned and painted it. I just got it back together last night and plugged it in. After 45 minutes it was down to 37*. When I went to check on in this morning, it was 55* and not running. No amount of fiddling with the wires or unplugging would do anything. <sigh> I'm so bummed. Oh well.
I hope you have better luck than me!
Casey
ps: I don't want to seem like a downer, I just needed to vent.
I hope you have better luck than me!
Casey
ps: I don't want to seem like a downer, I just needed to vent.
MrFoodScientist
Well-Known Member
I just finished refurbishing a fridge exactly like this one. I got it for free and plugged it in and let it run for a day and it worked well. So I tore it all apart, cleaned and painted it. I just got it back together last night and plugged it in. After 45 minutes it was down to 37*. When I went to check on in this morning, it was 55* and not running. No amount of fiddling with the wires or unplugging would do anything. <sigh> I'm so bummed. Oh well.
I hope you have better luck than me!
Casey
ps: I don't want to seem like a downer, I just needed to vent.
I had a similar experience with a 1949 GE fridge. It's currently the largest paperweight in the house. Mine ended up being a freon issue. You have to be REALLY careful pulling out the evaporator. I thought I was careful, but apparently not as careful as I could have/should have been.
If yours isn't running, it sounds like a compressor issue or a thermostat issue. I was able to diagnose the same problem on a mini fridge by shorting the thermostat and the compressor kicked on. I'm not sure off hand how to do this with the older GE fridges, but the principle should be the same. If shorting the thermostat does not kick on the compressor, then it's either the start relay or the compressor is dead. Unfortunately, I'm not qualified to help you in either of those cases.
aggies08brewer
Well-Known Member
Ok Aggies & hopefully Kerber as well -
I just acquired a 25# CO2 tank for my nearly identical-yet-still-in-shambles 50's GE Fridge. I can fit 2 five gallon corny kegs in the fridge with the tank OR 3 five gallon corny kegs AND 1 two gallon keg if I pipe in the CO2. My question is.. where would you do this? Would you drill a hole in the bottom or top rear corner and pipe it in that way? If you did do this what would you do to insulate/protect the transition? I'm not a super handy man but I can dream.
I'd love anyone's thoughts on this. I'm so ready to get this thing put back together so I can finally have beer on tap as well!
You can do it almost anywhere, there's about 4" of insulation on all the sides. To do this you'd use a bulkhead fitting that's rated for your intended pressure. Look them up, it's essentially what the tail of a beer faucet is. I'd do the hole right below the wire shelf to help hide it visually, however you'd have to take the back off, if you haven't already.
I can't think of much that would insulate it, except maybe thick rubber gaskets. The better solution is to add a 10.5" stretch and fit 4 kegs in there....
aggies08brewer
Well-Known Member
Do this and then let us know the results. The rheostat on these is a mechanical marvel with lots of potential for breakages too.
ZackN
Well-Known Member
Just found this thread and read the whole thing.
I have a very similar fridge waiting for me to take it home form work.
Boss was going to throw it away and i asked if i could have it, now its mine!
Have to sell my motorcycles to fit it in the garage though, and a little clean up will be mandatory.
Thanks for the inspiration, ill post some pictures of mine once i get it!
Keep on building, its exciting!
I have a very similar fridge waiting for me to take it home form work.
Boss was going to throw it away and i asked if i could have it, now its mine!
Have to sell my motorcycles to fit it in the garage though, and a little clean up will be mandatory.
Thanks for the inspiration, ill post some pictures of mine once i get it!
Keep on building, its exciting!
how did you remove the badge/emblem? ive only got to look at it for a few minutes due to my restoration of the fridge is going to be a supprise from me to my mom. i kind of only have a week to complete i know i can do it if i plan it out right.
The emblem has several pegs that extend through holes into the interior of the door. I'm not sure what the kind of fastener is called, but each peg is retained by a small flat square of metal with a slit in it. After removing that sealant glue, I was able to just work them off with a needle nose pliers.
aggies08brewer
Well-Known Member
Use a heat gun and paper towel to knock that wax off. Won't be a problem at all. Those are friction nuts, I believe, and like kerber said, they just pry off. You can kind of "unthread" them.
