It's never too late: 38 and starting to wrench
Discussion
"Hej" from rural Västerbotten, Sweden.
Last year we emigrated from England to 63° N. This year we bought our dream, a little house in the countryside.
(More accurately: we bought a large rambling barn, with a small house next to it.)
Part of the barn was previously occupied by a part-time mechanic, so the garage is equipped with a car-lift and compressor. This is the photograph from the sales brochure.
For many reasons, I am not mechanically minded, but I want to change this. I want to use this opportunity to learn about cars and to become less dependent on mechanics for doing routine maintenance.
Right now, our daily driver is a 2019 Subaru Levorg. It goes well in the summertime (we are 15km down a gravel road) and in the wintertime it provides me with a bit of reassurance given my lack of winter driving experience. The next car will probably be a beater, something with good ground clearance for getting into the forests. My wife has had an intriguing idea for a "classic" winter car... but that will have to wait for the moment.
First up: in the next few months I need to be prepared to change from summer to winter wheels. We survived the first winter living the city on non-studded Nokian tyres, but now we are out here I need to change the rubber to studded. I plan to take the wheels to a shop to have this done, and then bring the wheels back to change them myself when the time is right.
(According to Swedish law, you can start using winter tyres from 1 October and you must be using them by 1 December).
If I ask you to assume that I have the IQ of a below-average avocado-toast-eating-millenial, can I ask for tips and recommendations on building the garage into a useful workshop for day to day maintenance of the Levorg and whatever "skogbil" (forest car) comes next? Changing the wheels is the first task. So in the next month I will start shopping around for the first tools (torque wrench, wheel wrench, etc) for wheel changing. Then I want to see if the compressor can easily be fitted with an attachment to accurately inflate tyres.
All tips and recommendations appreciated.
Last year we emigrated from England to 63° N. This year we bought our dream, a little house in the countryside.
(More accurately: we bought a large rambling barn, with a small house next to it.)
Part of the barn was previously occupied by a part-time mechanic, so the garage is equipped with a car-lift and compressor. This is the photograph from the sales brochure.
For many reasons, I am not mechanically minded, but I want to change this. I want to use this opportunity to learn about cars and to become less dependent on mechanics for doing routine maintenance.
Right now, our daily driver is a 2019 Subaru Levorg. It goes well in the summertime (we are 15km down a gravel road) and in the wintertime it provides me with a bit of reassurance given my lack of winter driving experience. The next car will probably be a beater, something with good ground clearance for getting into the forests. My wife has had an intriguing idea for a "classic" winter car... but that will have to wait for the moment.
First up: in the next few months I need to be prepared to change from summer to winter wheels. We survived the first winter living the city on non-studded Nokian tyres, but now we are out here I need to change the rubber to studded. I plan to take the wheels to a shop to have this done, and then bring the wheels back to change them myself when the time is right.
(According to Swedish law, you can start using winter tyres from 1 October and you must be using them by 1 December).
If I ask you to assume that I have the IQ of a below-average avocado-toast-eating-millenial, can I ask for tips and recommendations on building the garage into a useful workshop for day to day maintenance of the Levorg and whatever "skogbil" (forest car) comes next? Changing the wheels is the first task. So in the next month I will start shopping around for the first tools (torque wrench, wheel wrench, etc) for wheel changing. Then I want to see if the compressor can easily be fitted with an attachment to accurately inflate tyres.
All tips and recommendations appreciated.
Hej, James!
When we lived in Sweden it was in a big flats block in Stockholm, but even there the ground floor garages were A/ heated and B/ had hot and cold running water in a corner sink. I was told this was not a luxury, but a necessity - you can't work in a unheated garage/worksop in a Swedish winter! You will know that and the previous occupant must have too, so probably that's taken care of. The second was for the same reason, leaving the warm workshop with wet hands risked rapid frostbite! You had to be able to wash and dry before going out!
Your picture shows a well equipped workshop, but have all those roller cabinets (chest of tool drawers) been taken away by your seller? And the sanding/polishing machine in the middle. the welder on the left, etc.etc? Is the compressor piped to outlets around the workshop, or does it have a hose reel? Like this: https://www.machinemart.co.uk/p/clarke-9-metre-ret...
Either way, I'd get a 'curlywhirly' extension, like this: https://www.toolbayuk.com/products/sealey-sa305-pe... and a tyre inflation tool, like this: https://www.toolbayuk.com/products/sealey-sa332-ty...
(I've no connection with any of those delaers)
But also a tyre pressure gauge, as the gauges on the inflation tools aren't very accurate or reliable.
If you're gong to be changing wheels a lot, then an air powered impact wrench ("Windy gun") is nioce to have, but again a torque wrench as the guns can't be relied on to be accurate. A Beam torque wrench is a lot cheaper tha a click-type.
And, of course a jack to lift the vehicle. They all come with an emergency scissor jack, but you be better off with a trolley jack. I never did any country driving in Sweden in winter - ask advice from locals about how to use an emergency jack on snow! A large base plate would seem the first thing to add to the boot. But in the garage, to work on the car you should have a pair of axle stands to supplement the jack, and NEVER get under the car unless it's on those!
For the jack, and the stand and the set of tools you will want, I would send you straight to Halfords in the UK, for quality with economy, but no idea about Sweden. Again, ask locals and shop around. I've seen Blocket, Micro and Mekonomen mentioned as equivalents.
My answer is too long already! Heydå, James!
John
When we lived in Sweden it was in a big flats block in Stockholm, but even there the ground floor garages were A/ heated and B/ had hot and cold running water in a corner sink. I was told this was not a luxury, but a necessity - you can't work in a unheated garage/worksop in a Swedish winter! You will know that and the previous occupant must have too, so probably that's taken care of. The second was for the same reason, leaving the warm workshop with wet hands risked rapid frostbite! You had to be able to wash and dry before going out!
Your picture shows a well equipped workshop, but have all those roller cabinets (chest of tool drawers) been taken away by your seller? And the sanding/polishing machine in the middle. the welder on the left, etc.etc? Is the compressor piped to outlets around the workshop, or does it have a hose reel? Like this: https://www.machinemart.co.uk/p/clarke-9-metre-ret...
Either way, I'd get a 'curlywhirly' extension, like this: https://www.toolbayuk.com/products/sealey-sa305-pe... and a tyre inflation tool, like this: https://www.toolbayuk.com/products/sealey-sa332-ty...
(I've no connection with any of those delaers)
But also a tyre pressure gauge, as the gauges on the inflation tools aren't very accurate or reliable.
If you're gong to be changing wheels a lot, then an air powered impact wrench ("Windy gun") is nioce to have, but again a torque wrench as the guns can't be relied on to be accurate. A Beam torque wrench is a lot cheaper tha a click-type.
And, of course a jack to lift the vehicle. They all come with an emergency scissor jack, but you be better off with a trolley jack. I never did any country driving in Sweden in winter - ask advice from locals about how to use an emergency jack on snow! A large base plate would seem the first thing to add to the boot. But in the garage, to work on the car you should have a pair of axle stands to supplement the jack, and NEVER get under the car unless it's on those!
For the jack, and the stand and the set of tools you will want, I would send you straight to Halfords in the UK, for quality with economy, but no idea about Sweden. Again, ask locals and shop around. I've seen Blocket, Micro and Mekonomen mentioned as equivalents.
My answer is too long already! Heydå, James!
John
Edited by tapkaJohnD on Sunday 20th September 11:51
Edited by tapkaJohnD on Sunday 20th September 11:53
tapkaJohnD said:
When we lived in Sweden it was in a big flats block in Stockholm, but even there the ground floor garages were A/ heated and B/ had hot and cold running water in a corner sink. I was told this was not a luxury, but a necessity - you can't work in a unheated garage/worksop in a Swedish winter! You will know that and the previous occupant must have too, so probably that's taken care of. The second was for the same reason, leaving the warm workshop with wet hands risked rapid frostbite! You had to be able to wash and dry before going out!
Good tips! The previous owner of this property was quite the handy-man, and undertook a lot of projects himself. He installed this wood-pellet-burner which feeds the hot water heating system in the barn. There is (apparently) underfloor heating in the concrete floor of the garage. I need to fire this up soon to test it and to check that it's ok. It also appears to pump water into this industrial fan heater.
I don't need the workshop to be as toasty as the house, but I do need to keep it above freezing. The water in the heating system has antifreeze in it, but I don't want to leave the system off all winter.
tapkaJohnD said:
Your picture shows a well equipped workshop, but have all those roller cabinets (chest of tool drawers) been taken away by your seller? And the sanding/polishing machine in the middle. the welder on the left, etc.etc?
Yes, everything that wasn't bolted into the building has gone. So we have a 4000kg car lift and the compressor. 
So, yes... it has a hose reel which functions well enough. I have already used it a bit with a consumer-grade sandblaster to renovate some garden furniture.
Your suggestion of a tyre inflator is a good one. Sealey don't ship to Sweden but I can hunt around here or on Amazon.de
tapkaJohnD said:
For the jack, and the stand and the set of tools you will want, I would send you straight to Halfords in the UK, for quality with economy, but no idea about Sweden. Again, ask locals and shop around. I've seen Blocket, Micro and Mekonomen mentioned as equivalents.
Blocket is superb for second hand car browsing, and the local Mekonomen franchisee installed a towbar for me, so they are my go-to for local mechanics. There is a famous Swedish big box retailer called Biltema which sells only own-brand products. They sell EVERYTHING for home and car, from nuts, bolts, screws up to snow blowers and wheel alignment machines.. Although the quality does vary a bit, they have a couple of decent looking torque wrenches, one of which I'll probably be treating myself to after pay day.Regarding winter driving, we are a long way north so our winters are serious. I've had one successful winter, but without any major commuting. Corona-times dictate working from home, so luckily I have another year before I need to contemplate 6AM starts in -20°. The car has a block heater and cabin heater, of course, so it will be fine if plugged in outside or kept indoors.
At some point I will likely follow the northern Swedish tradition of adding supplementary rally-style lights. With sunrise at 09:30 and sunset at 13:00 and with a very sparse rural population, it's safe and easy to drive with a big wide full-beam which helps you spot moose etc in the verges and trees. The choice is either for old-style round lamps (it is a Subaru, after all) or newer low profile LED light bars, which come with mounting plates to go above or below the license plate. There seem to be a lot of no-name imports which don't inspire much confidence, so I might pony up a few more kronor and get something from Hella.
All to come... I am certain to ask for help here, and if there is interest I will share progress. Thanks!
And I have to say - again no offence! - that your previous owner's pipe work looks a bit,well, freehand?
All those unsupported lengths, that contrast with a heavy electric motor supported - by a length of chain!
I got one of those diode bars when I was due to be in a 'night race' (more a dusk race, but still exciting!) as it was easier than trying to beef up the headlights of my classic, and they are phenominal!
Good luck!
Watch out for those moose!
John
All those unsupported lengths, that contrast with a heavy electric motor supported - by a length of chain!
I got one of those diode bars when I was due to be in a 'night race' (more a dusk race, but still exciting!) as it was easier than trying to beef up the headlights of my classic, and they are phenominal!
Good luck!
Watch out for those moose!
John
Penelope Stopit said:
No offence meant
It looks like the ramp was installed to hold the roof up
It looks like the ramp was installed to hold the roof up
tapkaJohnD said:
And I have to say - again no offence! - that your previous owner's pipe work looks a bit,well, freehand?
You are not wrong. I am not going to show you inside the house - we have our work cut out making some of the plumbing and electrics more - how shall we say - safe. He did a lot of jobs himself and didn't always do them by the book. However, we have a nearby neighbour who is retraining as a sparky and we have a good relationship with a local VVS (värme, ventilation och sanitet... heating, ventilation and sanitation) contractor. This is a multi-year project so we have to start with the big problems and work down the list.One thing I do want to do is a deep clean of the garage, and then patch up and repaint the walls. I naively presumed that you can hook a compressor up to a paint gun that can handle wall paint?
The critical point on compressrs is their capacity in cubic feet per minute (maybe litres in Sweden, but I doubt it).
If the compressor can't match the demand by the tool, whatever it is, then you will run down the pressure in the tank, the tool will stop or in this case dribble, and you will have to wait for the pump to catch up. Very frustrating, and potentially messy! Find the capacity of the compressor and see that that is more than the spray tool you buy. By a good margin, say 25%!
John
If the compressor can't match the demand by the tool, whatever it is, then you will run down the pressure in the tank, the tool will stop or in this case dribble, and you will have to wait for the pump to catch up. Very frustrating, and potentially messy! Find the capacity of the compressor and see that that is more than the spray tool you buy. By a good margin, say 25%!
John
From what I've seen, painting contractors usually use a hydraulic paint sprayer rather than a pneumatic one. The hydraulic sprayer may sometimes be air powered but it pressurises the paint itself. This isn't like a car body sprayer where the paint is pulled out through a venturi IYSWIM.
jamesinsweden said:
Penelope Stopit said:
No offence meant
It looks like the ramp was installed to hold the roof up
It looks like the ramp was installed to hold the roof up
tapkaJohnD said:
And I have to say - again no offence! - that your previous owner's pipe work looks a bit,well, freehand?
You are not wrong. I am not going to show you inside the house - we have our work cut out making some of the plumbing and electrics more - how shall we say - safe. He did a lot of jobs himself and didn't always do them by the book. However, we have a nearby neighbour who is retraining as a sparky and we have a good relationship with a local VVS (värme, ventilation och sanitet... heating, ventilation and sanitation) contractor. This is a multi-year project so we have to start with the big problems and work down the list.One thing I do want to do is a deep clean of the garage, and then patch up and repaint the walls. I naively presumed that you can hook a compressor up to a paint gun that can handle wall paint?
Was in a very similar situation several years ago and still haven't finished all the work, second time around as well
The grass is greener on the other side though
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