Rubberband Man

I've been working out a bit with the rubber band. Starting slow with only 20 reps on three different exercises to keep the arms from losing any more strength while in quarantine. Maybe I should try to match The Spinners step for step and get a little cardio as well. This video was made in 1976, the same year I started my teaching career. It was at an inner city school and about half the guys in school would have fit right in with The Spinners - big 'fros, bell bottoms and platform shoes. There were some rough dudes that came through the doors of the school but for the most part they were respectful if you treated them the with respect. Good times back then.

I got out on the bike yesterday, or should I say my wheel. I've been reading Women On The Move by Roger Gilles about the cycliennes from back in the mid to late 1800s. Back then your bicycle was described as your wheel. I might adopt that description with bike being used to describe my motorcycle. Of course, motorcycles were often described in the past as just motors. I really was born about 75 years too late. Anyway, what I discovered in this time of refraining from touching your face is that if you're riding your wheel when it's only 40 degrees out, it's hard to deal with your runny nose without touching your face. I'm fairly adept with "the farmer blow" while riding. Tough to pull that off, however, without touching your face. Maybe some type of thumb on a stick I can sanitize and carry with me when I ride. Just a thought.

My steel order came in yesterday morning. I put it in quarantine for 24 hrs, so I'll unpack it and try to get a little more done on the track racer project today. The piece I'm going to make will be the frame for the dashboard. I'm planning on making the dash out of a sheet of aluminum and I'd really like to have it engine turned.

I made this one for the little midget racer several years ago. Engine turning, or jeweling as it is sometimes referred to, is a classic way of dressing up an automotive dash. My '62 Impala had this on the dash and much of the trim - classy. The only problem with me doing it is that it's extremely time consuming. I did the one in the photo on the mill so I could make all the swirls with the same offsets. Lots of cranking on the dials. However, I would imagine if a guy had access to a CNC, you could write a simple program to accomplish this and you could knock a dash out in no time at all. I'm going to consult with Surly and get his input. His old neighbor has a machine at home that might be capable of that. The professor in the college lab might be agreeable to something like this. The dash will start out from a rectangle 8 x 22, so I don't want to do it by hand. We'll see.

My neighbor passed away Monday night. I didn't know him well but we'd chat when we saw each other while out mowing or getting the mail. He was about my age and went rather suddenly. It wasn't the corona virus but he's dead just the same. Nice guy, good neighbor. Rest in peace, Clarence.