• roll a little more on turns
• bottom out on bumps
• Dive when braking
• Squat when accelerating
• Bounce or slide sideways on a winding or rough road

I was seeing some of these symptom on my 2000 Ford F-150 and decided it was time to change the shocks. In addition to that there are about 75,000 miles on the odometer.

According the the Motorist Assurance Program (MAP) original stock shocks and struts probable should be replaced at 50,000. Need more help understanding the function of your shocks? There are some links at the end of the article to help you.

I purchased some Rancho RS5000 shocks, RS5236 for the rears and RS5235 for the front. No matter what brand of shocks you’re purchasing, always use their website to find out what to purchase.

Rancho RS5000 Series Shock

Front Shock Replacement

Safety

Time for a bit of safety. By the way this doesn’t apply to people that think a car falling on them won’t hurt. Just make sure you get some video so you can be famous

Get yourself some jacks stands and use them! Don’t just count on that jack to hold the vehicle up. It takes an extra minute to set jack stands up. If you’re like me and working on a truck and Jeep, then purchasing jack stands made for SUVs and trucks makes sense.

Jack Stands for SUVs and Trucks

When using jack stands put them on the frame of the vehicle. You don’t see the second set of jack stands yet, but I use two. Better to be paranoid.

Jack Stands in Place

Old Shock Removal

Jack and remove the tire from one side of the front of the vehicle.

Old Shock Exposed

The shock is held in place in the front by two bolts on the lower control arm.

Lower Bracket Holding Old Shock

As well as one bolt on top.

Top Bolt for Old Shock

On the upper bolt of the old shock is a plastic tube guide that can be removed by pulling up on it. I ended up using a flat head screwdriver to pry it up.

Removing Clip from Upper Shock Bolt

To make things a little easy, spray some WD-40 or some other lubricant on all of the bolts and nuts.

Lubricating Old Shock Nuts

There are two sets of nuts, one on top and one below near the spring. Put a wrench on the nut near the spring to keep it in place while you remove the top one.

Removing Top Nut First

Remove the two nuts holding the lower section of the shock in place.

Removing Lower Nuts from Old Shock

The shock should drop down through the bottom if you’re lucky.

I was lucky with one shock. The other one expanded 100% once the bottom bolts were take off. I had a good time compressing the shock and trying to yank it through the bottom before it expanded again. It was an easy 10 minutes of cursing getting the old one out.

Tip: Need a little more room? Use the jack to slowly raise the control arm up some.

New Shock Installation

The new shock boot slips on and is zip tied in place.

Tip: Make sure all the rubber bushings are the correct ones when your shocks come. They will probably look like small tires. I waited about 6 months after purchasing to check mine. The wrong rubber bushing was shipped with one of my shocks.

Install Replacement Shock Boot

Slip the new shock through the bottom of the lower control arm.

Tighten the nuts on the lower half of the shock first.

Tightening Lower Nuts

Using a wrench to hold the second lower nut in place, tighten the nut on the top of the shock. This will compress the rubber bushing that is on the top and underneath the shock tower.

Tightening Upper Nut on New Shock

Go back over all the nuts and make sure they are tight.

Put the wheel back on the front and lower the vehicle.

Rear Shock Replacement

Old Shock Removal

Jack stands were used to support the frame and the one side of the rear axle that’s being worked on.

Supporting Frame and Axle

Lubricate all the bolts you are going to remove.

Similar to removing the front shock, start by removing the bolt on top of the rear shock.

Note: There is no room to maneuver your hands in this tight spot. It would make it easier if you have a deep socket and stubby ratchet. At least you wouldn’t be like me only moving the wrench 2 inches at a time

Removing Old Shock Upper Nut

Not So Deep Socket Tip: I didn’t have a deep socket for my ratchet, but after wrenching the nut a little I popped the socket a little from the ratchet and was able to rig a not so deep socket.

Ratcheting Nut the Rest of the Way

If your lucky enough you’ll have an impact wrench to remove the lower bolts. If not then make sure to use the longest wrenches you have to give you the most mechanical advantage.

Removing Lower Bolt from Old Shock

New Shock Installation

The dust boot goes on just like the front one and is secured with a zip tie.

When the rear shock goes in there will be a rubber bushing will go on top of the bracket and one will sit below.

New Shock Rubber Bushing Orientation

Start by putting the top part of the rear shock in place and putting the bolt in the lower bracket just to hold it in place. Don’t forget to put the rubber bushing on that sits below the upper bracket.

Tighten the top nut first. If you’re like me you’ll hand tighten it first, then finish off tightening it with an open ended or crescent wrench.

Note: I found that a wrench under the upper mounting bracket wasn’t necessary.

Hand Tightening New Shock Upper Nut

If you’re wondering how much you need to compress the rubber bushing, look at the old one that you just took off for reference.

Tightening Upper Nut

Finish off the new rear shock install by tightening the lower portion using two wrenches.

So, Hows the Ride?

The ride is much more even now. If I forget to slow down a bit for the dip or bump I don’t bottom out. I would suggest the Rancho RS5000 series if you are looking to replace your stock shocks. The ride is probably not as “soft” as the original shocks, but still provides a smooth ride and can take more of that Urban Off-Roading you probably do.

Additional Information:

• How to tell when your shocks need to be replaced – CNN article
• Shock Absorber and Strut Diagnosis
• Rancho’s Website

If you’re like me, you have a few old mice laying around. If you don’t have any old mice and you have an IT department at work, I’m sure they would love to give you their old wired mice.

Nest of Old Computer Mice

Getting the Mouse Ready to Paint

In order to hang the mouse, you need to make a loop with the cord. To save money a large paperclip is heavy enough gauge wire to crimp on the mouse cord.

Paperclip for Mouse Cord

Taking some pliers and wrapping the paperclip wire around it will help form it into a circle. Then just cut the wire.

Bending Wire for Crimping

Loop the wire so there is a 1 ½ – 2 inches loop of wire. This will be what you can hang the mouse with.

Looping Mouse Cord

Use pliers to crimp the mouse cord with the paperclip section.

Crimping Mouse Cord with Pliers

Crimped Mouse Cord

Once you’ve confirmed the cord is held tight by the crimped wire, cut the extra.

Trimming the Extra Cord

Preparing the Painting Area

Using a zip tie, the extra wire from the mouse can be strung across some poles to make painting easier.

Attach Connector End with Zip Tie

Tie Other End

Priming the Mouse

Use a plastic primer, like the Rustoleum Plastic Primer.

Follow the primer directions for preparation. For me this meant cleaning the mouse with mineral spirits to remove dirt and oils from the surface.

Mice Ready for Priming

Painting the Mouse

If you are using the old mouse cord to hang the mice to paint them there are two ways to do this

1. String the cord through the looped cord on the mouse, as seen in the picture below.
2. Another method is to use some extra paperclips to make hangers. I found this to be the best method.

When painting use multiple light coats.

Painting Mouse Silver

The picture below is why preparing the mice before priming is important. If the primer doesn’t have good adhesion to the plastic, when you paint it will crinkle like below while drying.

Bad Prep Work = Bad Finish

Optional Finishing and Fun

Something fun to do is hand paint the mice with raised glitter pens.

Elmer’s Raised Glitter Pens

I made about 10 of these mice for our holiday party, and had people decorate them. It was a nice way for people to interact before eating.

Hand Painted Mice

• How to read a tape measure
• How to use a speed square to mark the cut
• How to use a hand saw to make the cut

How to Read a Tape Measure

Getting the correct length for the cut is extremely important. Part of that is understanding how to read a tape measure.

When marking the length to cut just remember the old saying,

“Measure Twice, Cut Once”

How to Use a Speed Square to Mark the Cut

After you have the correct distance marked with pencil, it is important to have a straight and square line to use as a reference when cutting the board.

The following video will show you how to use a speed square to quickly get that straight reference line.

How to Use a Hand Saw

Now that you have a good reference line to make your cut on it is time to actually cut the lumber.

Remember, when you cut the board to cut on the waste side of the board and not exactly on the line. You do this because

• The line represents the length you want the board to be
• It is easy to lose your reference line and not cut straight if you’re cutting the reference line

Cut Board on Waste Side of Line

The video below shows how to use a common toolbox saw to cut a 2×4 to length.

The biggest problem I had when I started using a hand saw to cut boards was keeping the saw straight up and down.

Correct Hand Saw Blade Angle

There are tool guides to help with this, but I found that just being conscious of technique and practice is the best way to overcome this.

Hopefully you feel more confident in being able to properly cut boards to length and generally use a hand saw. When I do projects I love using my great grandfather’s hand saws as much as I can, like when I built some pet steps for my dog. Besides giving me a sense of hand crafting something, it gives me a connection to my families past.

Lastly, it is a lot harder to cut off a digit with a hand saw

• DIY Stories
• Energy saving techniques and articles
• Projects that our friends are working on
• Better home insulation
• Painting Tips

DIY Resources and Stories Newspaper

Please take a look at our Daily Newspaper about DIY Resources and Stories and let us know what you think.

North Dakota State University Agricultural Department

These building and facility plans were developed over many years by engineers at Land Grant Universities. They provide conceptual information that is excellent for planning purposes.

A lot of the plans are mid 1900. This is great if you are looking for inspiration from the past. I was thinking of printing some of the really old plans out and using them as art.

Some cool plans I ran across in the Miscellaneous section are

• Make An Adjustable ½ HP Tablesaw (ND 72-4-1)
• Drawing Table Design from 1937 (ND 72-6-1)
• How to Build a Brick Incinerator (5198)

LSU Biological and Agricultural Center

• Barbecue Section
• Looking for Free House Plans? Residential Section has free construction plans for 2 – 4 bedroom homes.

The University of Tennessee Extension

It maintains a collection of over 300 building and equipment plans, and all are now available in electronic format for download.

• Free Greenhouse Plans
• The Fruit and Vegetable Plans include a smoke house, solar fruit dryer and an electric forced air fruit dryer.

Lowe’s Creative Ideas

Indoor Spaces

• Herringbone Headboard
• Luggage Rack For Guests

Outdoor Spaces

• Tomato Cage Light Display
• Build a Deck Top Pond

Woodworking

• Make a Fold Down Table
• Make a Wine Rack

Power Tower Review

I had the following criteria when shopping for a power tower.

• Sturdy construction
• Be able to handle side to side movement
• Have the functionality to do pull ups in a variety of position
• Comfort when doing the pull ups

Notice I’m more interested in the pull up functionality than the dips and Roman chair part.

After reading reviews online and going to 3 different sports stores and trying all the power towers they had, yes I am that guy on the equipment, I purchased the Gold’s Gym Platinum Assisted Power Tower. It is made by the same company that makes most consumer fitness equipment, ICON Health and Fitness.

The reference for comparison of the Gold’s Gym Power Tower is what I use in the gym. This is a welded heavy gauge steel construction power tower that takes the abuse of at least 50 – 75 people per day.

Sturdy construction – (4 / 5) The ‘A’ frame design, wide base and bent tube steel makes this power tower really sturdy. The score isn’t a 5 because it is bolted construction and not welded like a gym one.

‘A’ Frame For Strength

Be able to handle side to side movement – (3 / 5) This is where the Gold’s Gym Power Tower excelled compared to other power towers I tried. When testing this I rotated and changed grip on the pull up bar causing my body to shift around. This movement is within the normal range of use. What I didn’t do was play jungle gym and see if I could launch my body sideways from the power towers. Other power tower pull up bars flexed up to ⅜ – ½ inch, but the Gold’s Gym Platinum stayed pretty solid.

Have the functionality to do pull ups in a variety of position – (4 / 5) Most power towers I tested only had straight bars and could only allow for a close grip and wide grip pull up. This is the case with gym power towers too. I like the way the bar turns to a 90 degrees on the inside allowing you to do pull ups with your thumbs facing you. Switching grips to this 90 degree position is part of the Asylum training and was important in my decision. There were only two positions I had a hard time doing, a close grip chin up and alternating hands pull up. This is because of the distance between the separate pull up bars and the angle of the grip.

Pull Up Handle Configuration

Comfort when doing the pull ups – (4 / 5) I consider myself average height, 5 ft 10 in. (Not really sure, haven’t measured how tall I am. Maybe I’m shorter and am wishing I’m 5 – 10), with an average arm span. All regular pull up positions felt natural without strain on my wrist except when I tried to do chin ups, which is possible by facing away from the power tower.

Other Features:

• Like most consumer power towers the maximum user weight is 300 lbs (136 kg).
• The assisted chair portion works pretty good and folds away easily, once you figure out the up and out motion. It uses a 4 band system that helps offset the person’s weight.
• The dip arm moves up and out of the way. This is really nice when doing pull ups.

Power Tower Setup and Assembly Notes

I’m not going to recreate the User’s Manual, download the Gold’s Gym Platinum Assisted Power Tower Instructions in PDF form. What I am going to do is hopefully clarify some things so that when someone else puts this together it will be easier.

It took about 3 1/2 hours to assemble this power tower. Of course I was taking pictures along the way.

Tools Used

• 2 Adjustable Wrenches (I used a 17mm socket, an extension and ratchet for one of the wrenches)
• 1 rubber mallet (all out of those so I just used a hammer. Gently of course)
• 1 standard screwdriver
• 1 Philips screwdriver
• Step ladder (some of the final bolts are really out of reach)

When unpacking, separate the plastic from the cardboard so the cardboard can be recycled. I didn’t see any recycle symbols on the plastic. Too bad.

One more thing..You are not crazy. There are some steps like #1, ‘Attach two Base Pads’, where part of the has been completed by the factory.

OK, now that some ramblings are out of the way spread out all the parts to make it easier to find everything.

Gold’s Gym Power Tower Parts Spread Out

Do not tighten any locknuts until step 8 is done.

There are numbers on the bolt and small accessory package only. Don’t waste time looking for numbers on larger pieces.

Power Tower Bolts

If you see any LEFT or RIGHT indicators on the pieces, the reference is if as if you are looking towards the widest portion of the legs, at least it was with mine. See the image below and the one for Step 5.

Identifying Left And Right Side

In step 1 and 2, I used some Scotch Blue Painter’s Tape to hold the bolts in place.

Blue Painter’s Tape Holding Bolt In Place

The feet on the front will most likely not sit flat on the floor. Gently tap them so they sit flat. I cheated by tightening the locknuts a little and the loosening them after I finished tapping the feet. It is a lot easier to straighten these no when the other 100 lbs of the power tower isn’t on them.

Feet Not Flat From Factory

Adjusting Power Tower Feet With Hammer

Just Tap It In..Place

I couldn’t help the Happy Gilmore reference.

Step 5 is where the Left and Right reference orientation became clear. It only makes sense that the bars angle inward.

Step 5: Support Bars Angle Inward

Power Tower Support Left and Right

Step 8 is where you put the pull up frame on the top frame. I had to pull out the step ladder on this one to make it easier to tighten those top bolts.

Step 8: Inserting Pull Up Frame

Time to tighten all those M10 locknuts from the previous steps. Since I was putting this together by myself, I used some small pieces of wood to lift up the front legs one at a time to get to the locknuts.

Shimming Legs To Tighten Locknuts

The biggest pain in step 9 was aligning the pull up handle cap. I tried two methods when attaching the pull up handles to the pull up frame.

First method was to align the pull up handle in place and slide the pull up handle cap in place from the side.

Attaching Pull Up Handle: Side Method
Positioning Cap

Attaching Pull Up Handle: Side Method
Sliding Cap In Place

The second method was to put the pull up handle cap on the handle and bring it in place from the top.

Attaching Pull Up Handle: Top Method
Positioning Handle Above

Attaching Pull Up Handle: Top Method
Moving Handle With Cap In Place

The tether in step 12 was already attached to the back support. All I had to do was push the adjustment pin in place.

Already Attached Tether

Inserting Adjustment Pin Into Tether

In step 11, 17 and 18 the upholstery pieces, knee pad, armrest covers and backrest, are bolted in place. Make sure these go in straight. If it even feels like the bolts are going in crooked, take them out and try again. One of the bolts didn’t seem like it was going in as smooth as the other one on the knee pad. I swapped the bolts and it seemed OK.

Attaching Knee Rest Pad

Attaching Arm Rest Pad

Backrest Attached

Lastly go back over all the bolts to make sure they are tightened.

Power Tower Final Thoughts

The hard thing about shopping for a power tower is

• finding one that fits the exercises you want to do now
• also is design in a way that it will not be restrictive expanding your routines with new exercises

For me the Gold’s Gym Platinum Assisted Power Tower does a good job of balancing price with functionality and good construction.

Gold’s Gym Power Tower

During my research I’ve only heard a couple complaints

• The cost to replace the 4 assist bands is around $80. I will have to make sure I use some automotive rubber rejuvenation product to see if I can make these last longer.
• The dip arms are a little wide for some people. They are a little wide, but this focuses on working the chest more than tricep isolation.

Some of the features I really love are

• The Roman Chair folds out of the way
• There is little side to side movement
• Assisted pull ups and dips
• Comfortable pull up position
• Sturdy tubular construction

If you found this article helpful please share it with others. Also, the Amazon links in this article help me maintain this site. Please use them to purchase the power tower if you do decide to purchase one. Thank you.

I am by no means a pro when it comes to concrete, but I love being inspired by the vendor displays and getting a chance to use tools from manufacturers like Bosch, Dewalt, Hilti and many others.

Thanks to the Tilt-Up Concrete Association, you can register for the Exhibit pass for free.

Pour In Place Concrete Counter Display

Being able to go to shows like the World of Concrete is one of the best perks to living in Las Vegas. Maybe I’ll get another rebar star.

Hope to see you there in January!

World of Concrete Exhibit Hall

Show Information:
World of Concrete 2011
January 24 – January 27
Las Vegas Convention Center
Free Exhibit Pass

That’s One Huge Concrete Saw

All the trim was cut to 1 ½ inches and was made from the same sheet of 1/2 inch mdf as the toe kick. It was all glued and tacked in place with small brads.

Side Trim Installed

The steps were put in place before the small trim on the toe kicks was installed. This was to ensure the trim was above the steps.

Test Fitting the Steps

The toe kick trim was made by

• Splitting the left over ½ inch mdf trim pieces used above
• Making those split pieces 1 inch in width

At this point I was really running out of that sheet of scrap mdf.

Small Trim Cut

When installing this trim, the step was kept in place while the piece on top of it was being glued and nailed in place.

Test Fitting Trim With Step In Place

With all the trim installed it was time to get ready to prime and paint the carcass.

Small Trim Installed On Toe Kicks

One of the last steps was to fill in any gaps and nail holes with wood filler.

Trim Holes and Gaps Filled

Everything was given a quick sanding to level any wood filler from the previous step. I used 120 grit sandpaper because it was aggressive enough to smooth out the filler but didn’t leave a lot of scratches the paint couldn’t fill.

Trim Sanded

A primer was used on the raw wood before painting.

This step wasn’t really necessary since the Behr Premium Plus Ultra paint used for the final coats has a primer mixed in it, but I had it lying around.

Two coats of Ultra Pure White semi-gloss were applied. I really like the that white from Behr. It is really clean looking and makes anything next to it really pop.

The walnut was so beautiful it would be a shame to hide that natural beauty with a stain. A danish oil and eventually furniture wax was used to finish the steps.

Dog Stairs Primed and Painted

To install the step, the carcass was flipped upside down while the top step was maneuvered into position. When possible a storage container was used to help hold up the carcass.

Positioning Top Step For Installation

Once everything was in position a drill was used to drill 6 holes for screws that would hold the step in place.

This was really overkill but you never know if your furniture pieces will be used by the circus and have an elephant step on it.

Pilot holes are necessary so the step wouldn’t split.

Screwing Top Step In Place Through Pilot Holes

Installing the other steps was similar to the first one except the steps were held in place with clamps instead of resting on the floor.

Installing Second Dog Step

Finally a coat of furniture wax was applied to add a little bit of protection.

Applying Wax on Dog Steps

It might seem that the steps on the dog stairs would be slick, but the natural grain of the walnut seems to be enough grip for my dog to walk up them.

For more anti-slip factor I would use stair tread installation kit along with some custom cut ruminant carpet.

Funny thing is after a month or two of finishing these stairs she got better and was able to jump on things again. At least we have something nice to sit on while getting ready.

If you’ve enjoyed seeing how I’ve made some fancy dog steps for my “Little Helper” please share these post with people on your social network.

I chose 3 not so pretty pieces of walnut for this project. The irregular shapes meant that I would have to cut them into smaller strips and glue them up.

Reclaimed Walnut for Steps

I really didn’t feel like hauling out a circular saw so I used a Japanese saw to cut the boards into manageable widths.

There were certain pieces with cracks that only part of the cut board could be used.

Cutting Boards to Width

Some parts of the boards had cupping. To get around this, I ripped the boards as close to the center of the cupped area, jointed the pieces with a jointer and planed all the boards to a consistent thickness.

Warped Boards

Using most of the strips of walnut I was able to put together three steps. I was looking for 19 ¼ inches in width for each step.

I knew the overhang wasn’t going to be exact, I was making this off of a 10 minute sketch , I just wanted it to be between ½ and ¾ inches. More importantly to me was to make the top step a little bigger of a landing so the dog could turn if necessary.

Figuring The Right Step Depth From Walnut Strips

I was originally going to use my Ryobi biscuit jointer, but I was out of the larger biscuits.

The glue up was done on a piece of melamine board to make glue clean up easier.

Gluing Up Dog Steps

Only thing left after the steps dry was to trim the sides to the necessary width of 19 ¼ inches, scrape the glue joints and sand them down.

Dog Steps Drying In Clamps

Now that the steps are made it’s time to pretty up the dog stair carcass that was made in the previous post.

This is the first of three posts on making a fancy dog / pet step.

Planning and Design

When sketching some quick plans for building the dog step I kept the following in mind.

• Maximum rise and runs for the steps – did a quick post earlier that went into some standard code details on this.
• How heavy the person / dog would be. This thing is sure handy to sit on
• Height of the bed

Pet Step Rough Plan Sketch

The idea for this project was to use up some the scrap and reclaimed wood I already had laying around, and use some of my Great Grandfather’s tools.

Making the Sides

The sides are made from some 1/2 inch thick plywood because that is what I had left over from making a cabinet.

I lucked out that there was enough on that one piece of plywood to just cut it in half.

Measuring Plywood For Stair Sides

Marking The Sides For Cuts

The saw in the picture was my Great Grandfather’s cross cut saw. When cutting with a handsaw, just take your time and blow the sawdust away as it build from the cut. That way the cut line is still visible.

Cutting The Step Sides

The two dog step sides are sandwiched together and clamped in place for the layout marks. This is so both pieces are cut exactly the same. Even if the cut is a little off, it will be the same for both pieces.

Rise And Run Marked

Good thing I measured twice because I messed up the first time.

X Out Section To Cut

When getting closer to the corner cut, remember to shift the handsaw so the cutting portion of the blade is perpendicular.

First Cut Section

Cuts For Stair Sides Completed

Interior Supports

For the interior support structure for the pet / dog steps,

• 2 x 4s were resized to 1.5 inch x 1.5 inch.
• This yielded two pieces from one 2 x 4.

I did this because I had some 2 x 4s laying around. The sizes I cut these to can be picked up as stock lumber from most places.

Resizing 2×4 Lumber For Interior Supports

This is where I started to work backwards. Normally the support structure is built first then the sides attached to it.

To keep the lengths consistent I used a block of wood and rip fence on the table saw and cut all the width pieces the same.

Gluing And Nailing Bottom Supports

Everything was attached with glue and brad nails.

Top Support Attached

With the opposite plywood side attached it was time to start working on the other interior support pieces.

Opposite Dog Stair Side Attached

Installing Back Piece and Toe Kicks

Once everything was framed out a back piece of scrap plywood was cut to cover the back. In retrospect, this would have been a good time to put a hidden compartment in.

Supports Completed And Back Attached

The pet step carcass was finished off with some scrap 1/2 inch mdf for the front of the steps.

Pet Step Carcass Finished

Next will be making the step portion of the dog steps.