Got a big scare this week - Food related. I take that very seriously.

After buying my wife a new septic system for Christmas (when you need one, it's a very romantic gift), apparently the plumber needed to move my freezer in the basement in order to connect the new waste line. Anyway, the freezer did not survive the move. So, after discovering water running out the bottom of it, I needed to find some borrowed freezer room fast for an entire year's supply of beef, venison and a couple of turkeys. At least it was cold enough outside to box up some of it to store overnight. Glad the yard is fenced to slow down the meat eating varmints.

Fortunately I didn't lose anyuthing.

Spent some time this week working on a cedar strip canoe that I started building about nine years ago for my wife. She no longer believes me when I say that the best things in life are worth waiting for. So I better get it done. Besides I could use the shop space.

I think I will build a temporary spray booth in that shop section to paint the B-67 cab and sheet metal.

We have used booths like this for years at work to finish large cabinets both in the shop and on jobsites. Nothing very revolutionary about this technology.

We simply build four wall frames and a ceiling frame from 2x2 lumber and cover them with clear poly. Usually the room size is about 10 x 10 x 8' high. But it can be any size you need. In this case, I will probably make it 10' high and reuse it for the H-63 (Cherry Picker) cab.

A plastic covered door frame goes in one wall for entry. A 16" x 24" air inlet is framed in one wall with a standard furnace filter cleaning the inbound air, and an exhaust fan drawing the fumes out of the opposite wall. Finally, we duct the fumes out a shop window, if we can. Taped together cardboard boxes can make a pretty good fume duct. We use an explosion proof shop fan unit, but I'm told that almost anything will work, if you filter the outbound air, too.

I just don't like the prospect of a loud boom with me in the middle of it! Already lost enough hair, no need to burn off what's left.

The wall panels are held together with old interior door hinges and hinge pins for easy assembly and disassembly, and we set the booth up around whatever is to be painted. The ceiling framing is strong enough to hang fenders and doors from, which makes painting them a lot easier.

Usually a piece of poly serves as the floor, too.

The booth cuts down on any dust, flies and bugs in the paint, and allows work to continue elsewhere in the shop while the painting is in progress. And the booth provides an ideal drying room, because it is sealed up pretty well. Just close the door and walk away. When the painting project is done, just take the panels apart and find a place to store them until needed again. (We usually hang ours flat from a tall shop ceiling, so they are out of the way)

If you spend $20.00 on the booth, you spent too much. Just don't skimp on the fan.

That's my contribution this week to "How To Restore Your Old Truck on a Shoestring" .