Remodeling

[R. J.]

Awhile back someone asked me what brand make & model LED shop lights that I put in my garage/sheds. They are made by LIGHTS OF AMERICA. Made in the USA. They are 4 ft. long, Have a 5 ft. cord. 240 LEDS in each, 40 watt & 4,500 lumens each. They are Certified Energy STAR rated. They cost $36.49 each from B Js whole sale club. Also they are made out of aluminium & not tin.

 

[WillyD]

Started a new quick (hopefully) project. Currently when I gig I have 13 separate pieces to carry in. I am building custom boxes to transport them. There will be 3 boxes. Largest on bottom with casters and each one getting smaller as I stack them. Get to the gig and pull three boxes out and roll it in as one assembly. I will have one more trip with my cart to bring in my cymbal case and kick drum case.

I bought a mini track saw without the track and made my own track. This is the first and largest box..

 

[R. J.]

Nice. It will also help protect them A. Are you going to line the inside with padding.

 

[WillyD]

Thanks RJ.

My drums have always been cased. As I get older I am trying to work smarter. We play a lot so I am trying to cut down the amount of trips in/out and the set up and break down time. I am going to pad the inside of the two cases that hold the drums. The hardware case probably won't get padded. Here is what I have been bringing in and out the last year:

Bass drum in a case
Snare drum in a case
Rack tom in a case
Rack tom in a case
Floor tom in a case
Cymbals in a case
Hardware in a case
In ear monitor mixer in a case
Bass drum pedals in a case
Small stand to set mixer on
Floor fan (squirrel cage Stanley)
Stick bag
Top of my drum seat (won't fit in any case I have)

After I build the boxes it will be this:

Bass drum in a case
Cymbals in a case
Box 1...Floor tom, snare drum, seat top
Box 2...Rack tom, Rack tom, Bass drum pedals, In-ear mixer
Box 3...Stands and hardware, Small stand, fan, sticks

The 3 boxes will stack and roll in as one assembly. Bass drum and cymbals will roll in on my mini cart. Two trips.
Time saved as the hardware won't have to be broken down as far to fit in case. No longer 5 individual drum cases to bring in, open then stack them all inside of each other during the gig then after the gig unstack them and lay them out so the drums can be put in then lids on and strapped shut.

Bill

 

[markus56]

Yep, I'd say that's working smarter for sure. Great idea and nice work Bill.

 

[WillyD]

Thanks...I been playing for 40 years and playing gigs for 35...At 2 am I just want to get my stuff loaded and get home to bed. 4 hours of pounding the drums takes a lot of energy as I do not sit still when I play...I am old...and fat....and I sweat lol

 

[R. J.]

Whats the name of your band & what kind of music do you all play. Do you have any videos on U TUBE.

 

[WillyD]

Here are a few..

Mandy is almost 80 lba lighter than these videos..

 

[WillyD]

Here is one from 2009. This was the original line up. I got in the band in 2007 so I have been with Mandy for 10 years.

We opened for survivor at this gig.

 

[WillyD]

We play a little bit of everything..

 

[WillyD]

 

[R. J.]

She has a great voice. Some Woman when singing songs from groups such as AC/DC don't sound right but Mandy does a great job.

 

[WillyD]

We just play everything. We do some godsmack, Alice in Chains, Rage Against the Machine and then turn around and do a Patsy Cline song. We do some Motown, Disco, etc. She just sings as herself. We never try to sound like anyone but ourselves. We have a blast and make some decent money too.

 

[R. J.]

I hope you don't play any queer Green Day crap. .

 

[ssbn610g]

The band sounds good. I would definitely sit and enjoy the music you choose for your selections. Most are right in my wheel house. Well done.

Al

 

[R. J.]

I thought I'd share this with you all. This morning I mounted/installed 5 new LED dusk to dawn street lights $36 each & 4 new LED dusk to dawn porch lights $28 each. I got them from AMAZON. Free shipping. They are made by TORCHSTAR. They use 20% of the power than the lights that I took down. These are on every night so I'm hoping that my electric bill comes down. I started at 6:30 AM. . It's already too hot out. 82*.

 

[R. J.]

I'd say that these LED out door lights are 1 1/2 times brighter than the ones I took down. The old ones used fluorescent bulbs. I like the fact that they are sealed units. I won't have to take the lens off for cleaning. . I need to touch up the paint around some of the lights.

 

[markus56]

You can never have too much light around your house at night. A man needs to see what he's shooting at when the dog starts barking.

 

[R. J.]

I know what you are saying. My dogs been long past on. We had her for almost 18 years.

 

[WillyD]

Making progress on the garage workshop. Built a corner closet for the compressor. It's about 45" square and 8' tall. Put two bulkhead fittings on the outer wall to feed air to hose reel. Insulating soon and venting piping soon. The outside I did 1/2" plywood. Two workbenches framed up and drawer slides in. Drawers almost ready to install. Used all roller bearing full extension slides. Drawers 22" deep and about 34" wide. Built 20 drawers. Miter saw will be between the benches. Compressor closet will have a charging station for all my battery tools. 30" pre hung solid core door. Bought upper cabinets and painted them.