The Stovebolt Site Forums Project Journals Project Journals 1952 Chevrolet 3100 Project

7/12/19: We went out to yard and estate sales today, something that my wife and I share a common interest in. Over the years I have picked up some pretty good bargains. A couple of years ago, I bought my Craftsman 12” lathe (made by Atlas) for a $150. The only issue with the lathe was it needed to be cleaned, lubricated and adjusted. It came with a three jaw and four jaw chuck along with a milling attachment. After working on South Bends and other quality lathes during my career as a machinist, the Craftsman is not in the same ball park by any means but it works really well in my home shop, and allows me to do things I could not otherwise accomplish without it.

After pounding out the bumper apron on the concrete floor yesterday, I told my wife that I really needed an anvil or at least a 1/2” steel plate mounted on my workbench that I could beat on, something solid and heavy. Today, at an estate sale, I ran across a 18” length of railroad track that I was able to pick up for five dollars. I plan on forming a anvil horn on the one end and squaring the other end. At least I can now throw it on my workbench and have something heavy (over sixty lbs.) and solid to beat on and I’m not bending over on the floor, a big plus.

I received a couple of firewall to fender rod supports from a fellow “Bolter” today, which I was missing. The hood to fender alignment is terrible. The hood is currently touching the drivers side with a 1/2” gap at the front on the passenger side. While I bolted the radiator support down, I pushed the support over to the drivers side as much as the bolts would allow and it was still not enough. I’m hoping the support rods will correct the problem. I was able to blast all the parts including the rods, give them a coat of primer and paint. Ready for installation tomorrow, I hope!