Shock Tower/Headlight Mount

 

Now more than ever!

Ural HQ Statement "Dear Friends, We wish we wouldn’t have to update you under the circumstances we find ourselves in. Questions and concerns inevitably come up about possible sanctions, availability of bikes and parts, support and so on. The short answer is that we are as ready as we can possibly be to address whatever challenges may come our way. Over the years we've learned to navigate ups and downs, to make plans B, C and D both strategically and on the fly. We’ve weathered storms that were very real and dealt with obstacles that were not so publicly known. The history of our brand shows that Ural always finds a way to move forward. Our highest priorities have always been our employees, our partners and our customers. We still hope for people to remain human, value life and stand for living instead of fighting. We pray for peace."

I received the above in an e-mail the other day. Slow Joe is implementing sanctions against Russia that are going to affect a lot of people. This on top of all the other effects that have come our way the last two years. I did find it interesting that he didn't want to sanction Russia's petroleum so our gas prices wouldn't increase anymore. Must be afraid of having his job approval level sink even deeper into the hole. You know it's not because he's concerned about working stiffs or retirees. I do like the way Ural has addressed its customer base, however. Both the fact they put something out and the sentiment enclosed.

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I worked on fitting the shock towers yesterday - would have been a lot easier with another pair of hands. I had to tack a piece onto the tower in order to have something to clamp to. As you can see in the photo, it's leaning outward so I need to adjust the angle to get it plumb. That'll require me to remove the piece for clamping, decide the angle to trim it at, then tack the clamping piece back on, then hold it in place with one hand while clamping with the other, and then hope I got the angle right the first time. And then repeat the process on the other side. Should look good as long as I get the angle right and both sides match.

Life During War Time

 

Seems a fitting selection since once again we're looking at a war. Of course there has been one going on someplace in the world my entire life. Now the question becomes should the US become involved? My response is those in charge should consult with a school superintendent. His response? "I'd like to help you but there's just no money." Simple as that.

Cold day again yesterday. I layed around the shack the better part of the day but since I had to bundle up to check on the chickens and get the mail, I figured I might as well hit the shop for a bit. I finished a little milling job and since I was in the neighborhood, I milled the plate for the idler on the jitney steering. I need a heavy washer to ride in the wider slot and I'll need a spacer bushing between the sprocket and the plate but I'll have to wait on that until I get a chain and can line things up.

I'll try to pull the rag out of my ass today and get some more done.

Dog Days

 Took the dog to the groomer yesterday, did the grocery shopping, picked the dog up from the groomer, and then went on poop patrol. Not the most exciting way to spend the day but the dog looks and smells much better. And if you go out and pick up the poop while it's frozen, fortunately it doesn't smell. 

I bought new tires for the "racing" bike and some new gloves. My running buddy gave up on the marathon she was planning but wants to do a century ride on the bikes. I found a couple of them locally towards the end of the season that look promising. I didn't have any trouble last year with the couple of long rides I did but 100 miles is a serious ride. I pumped up the tire on the trainer and have put in a couple of short sessions. I put a new seat on it a few years ago but I need to get some time on it to break it in to fit my bony ass. I've got the same seat on the racing bike and it's got a couple of dimples about the size of a golf ball from my sitz bones. 

I'll start training in earnest and get my legs, lungs and ass all shaped up enough I can start putting in some serious mileage once the weather breaks. I don't know if the bicycle race that I was training for last year will happen this year or not. I'm going to operate on the assumption that it will and get some speed work into my training. My running buddy mentioned an event in May she's interested in: 5K run, 10 mile bike ride and then stair laps for a total of 1080 stairs. She wants to put together a team but obviously if I'm on the team, it wouldn't be too competitive since I'd walk rather than run the 5K. Could be fun though.

Firewall Brace

 

I made the firewall brace yesterday. The triangle shaped piece pointing downward is to mount the remote oil filter. I might have to move that to get a bit more clearance from the cylinder head and valve cover. I don't know if I want to tackle putting the head on by myself. The chest and back are my weak links, and humping that head around is asking for trouble. I need some help with a few other things as well. I'll draft the next big, strong guy who shows up and help get the head on the engine block and load my propane tank in the back of the truck.

In the meantime, I'll tack the front shock mounts on and get the chain idler finished for the steering.

Tee Shirt Tuesday #17

Souvenir shirt from the high mileage contest at Sonoma Raceway in California. Had a great time with the students and the instructors. I was involved with the state contest for years when I was at the high school but never got involved with the Shell contest. The shirt is made from recycled plastic bottles - not the safest thing for a welder to wear, so it hasn't gone into the rotation. Maybe I'll wear it to the racetrack if that ever happens.

Beautiful day yesterday - what Lauren Bacall called "false spring" in the Shootist. Sunny, calm and temps in the fifties - warm enough to work in the shop with the big doors open.

I finished threading the shaft for the idler sprocket. I had planned to work on the base plate for that job but decided to work on the brake set-up instead. I needed to get the booster and pedal located, as well as where the remote oil filter is going to go. I'm going to make a channel or angle that will run across the front to help support those items. With that stiffener and bolting everything to the firewall as well, should be plenty rigid.

Sideview showing the booster and pedal. The hanger bracket is tacked in place and looks to be plenty strong, especially when I tie it in to the piece behind the firewall. I'm still going to need something to support a Heim joint for the steering shaft next to the U-joint. Maybe try to figure that out today. It's supposed to be in the forties today and raining - warm enough that I'll not have to run the heater other than to take the chill off. Time to get shaking.

Shafted

 

Fairly busy day yesterday. I plowed the drifts from the lane, cut the steering shaft to length and cut the keyway. Went walkies after that. The temperature warmed up nicely and the sun was out, but it was still windy. We were planning on walking the rail trail but it was closed, so we walked around town. Don't know our mileage but best guess was at least three.

When I came home it was still warm and daylight, so I went back out to the shop. I got my layout on the plate for the idler sprocket and then started on the shaft for it. I didn't have a 5/8-18 nut so I'll have to run to the hardware store and pick one up before I can finish threading the shaft. I need a couple other things as well. Glad there's a well equipped hardware store only about ten minutes away. They're not cheap but neither is driving all over Hell's Half Acre.

From Here

And in keeping with the spirit of the times, a reminder to stock up on all your supplies. I read that the police in Canada were firing tear gas and rubber bullets at those nice folks peacefully assembled in the streets of Ottawa. I'm not all that familiar with the system of government up there, but if it's any sort of representative democracy, maybe they should have listened to the truckers and actually represented the people rather than sending in the goon squad. Of course, we don't really have representation at the national level either. If we did, we wouldn't have all the rules and regulations, or having to pay a third of our income in tribute every year. I have a feeling things might change, however. Don't know how much or how soon, but hopefully it'll get better before too much longer. Of course, it might not ever get better, just different.

Oyster Crackers

 

I've been looking for oyster crackers for about a month now. All the local stores have been sold out. The Missus checked Amazon and bingo! We got crackers the very next day. What's even more incredible is the fact that the Amazon driver made it in before I plowed. Most of the lane was clear since the wind was blowing so hard when it was snowing but by the road and the house it was pretty deep. I plowed both of those areas and shoveled the sidewalk and in front of the door where I park my truck, then called it quits. It's supposed to be in the 40's tomorrow - I'll let Mother Nature take care of the rest of it.

Things are getting more and more interesting with our neighbors to the north. Instead of just rethinking the mandate for the truckers, Trudeau has decided to use his emergency powers to intimidate them. That might be a bad idea. Most all of us realize damn near everything moves by truck and there's already a shortage of truck drivers and the products they move. If you start fining them, taking away their licenses and freezing their bank accounts, you damn sure aren't going to win any friends with the drivers or the population at large. Especially when all the store shelves are empty and the gas stations are out of fuel. And from what I've read, people are already figuring out if they can freeze the bank accounts of the truck drivers, they can freeze the accounts of their supporters or anyone else not going along with the program. Good way to get a run on the banks. Might wake people up to the dangers of digital banking. If they can shut your debit or credit card off without so much as a court order, cash and precious metals looks like a much better way to store your wealth, especially since you don't make any interest on a savings account. And you know the mopes in Washington would not think twice about doing something similar to us. In fact, they'll have to do some kind of digital sleight of hand to get out from under the financial corner they painted themselves into.

Stay alert, my friends. Anything can happen at this point.

Bearing Spacer

After doing some laundry and taking a shower, I was all set to head out to the shop yesterday when the power went out. Just briefly but long enough for me to have second thoughts about going out. I waited a bit and decided to give it a go. About the time I went out the rain was switching to little ice pellets. I finished up the bearing spacer and decided to call it quits. I walked down to pick up the mail and it was pretty nasty - snowing hard and blowing. Good day to stay inside. It kept snowing all afternoon and into the evening. We probably got at least 6 inches - hard to tell with the way the wind was blowing. I'll be back on snow removal duty today. Maybe get out to the shop. See how my back holds out.

 

Life is But a Dream, Sweetheart

 

Life's pretty much a dream these days - fortunately it's not a nightmare. Of course, I'll have to see what the weather brings today. The forecast calls for rain, freezing rain and then 8 inches of snow with wind gusts of 40 miles per hour or something. It was warm yesterday, though. Temps in the fifties, warm enough I only ran the heater in the shop for a few minutes just to take the chill off. 

I finished up a machining job and started making parts for the steering on the jitney. The top piece in the photo is a spacer for the shaft bearing that goes up against the firewall. I got it cut out and chucked up in the 4 jaw on the lathe so I can bore the center hole. It was about time to break for supper, and since I had just cleaned the lathe and put all the tools away, I decided to call it a day. The piece underneath it is for the idler sprocket adjuster/tensioner. I think I've got the details worked out. Depending on the weather, I want to finish the spacer job and then start on the parts for the adjuster.

Something's In The Air

 

Something is definitely in the air. I don't know what to make of all of it but it looks like the covid vaccine mandates have been pushed as far as they're going to be tolerated. Of course that doesn't mean those in power are going to give up easily - just look at what's going on in Canada. Here in the states we've got an election coming up, so those in power are going to have to come up with something to make people forget how badly they've handled this "pandemic" along with a host of other things. Maybe everyone will forget if they can scare the pants off the people with some saber-rattling with Russia. 

Here's something I bought recently to feed my paranoia. It's a used copy, only a couple of bucks and it's autographed by the author. That Amazon's somethin', now ain't it?

I'm about three-quarters of the way through the book - interesting and with a lot of useful information. To be thoroughly prepared as the author tells it, you'd have to have some pretty deep pockets. I know I'm not going to buy night-vision goggles or a used hand cranked hospital bed. However, the introduction starts with a scenario of a pandemic hitting the country. The book goes into more details on pandemics later on but I haven't read that yet. I'm sure the plan of action in the book won't be anything like what has transpired in reality. 

I had to take the Missus to the eye doctor yesterday. I always dread leaving the county heading north and yesterday reinforced my concern. First off, the car in front of me decides to turn left and pulls into the oncoming traffic, apparently thinking it was the turn lane. It quick corrected at the same time another car passed me on the right and tried to get into the spot the other car had just vacated. Fortunately, no contact was made but it was close from a couple different directions.

About a mile up the road, we encountered a car in the northbound left turn lane but pointing south. I don't know how she did it but she managed to narrowly escape without anyone bending any sheetmetal. 

I shouldn't have to head up that way again at least for a couple of months, thank goodness.

Tee Shirt Tuesday #16

 

Sprint Week Souvenir tee. Says 2016 on the front of it - hard to believe it's been that long ago. Of course, I didn't get to a single race of any sort the last two years. Cuzzin Ricky and I did good that year, though. We managed to hit five of the seven races. We got lucky at the end of the week. There was a rain out on one of the events. Rick and I went to Haubstadt and the make-up date was at Terre Haute the following night and since it was on the way home, we stayed on the road another night, caught the race at the Vigo County Fairgrounds, had a pork tenderloin and pie on the way back home. Good trip, for sure.

I machined up a guzzinta - as in the one piece guzzinta the other piece. It's a proof of concept part for an idea I've got. I don't want to spend too much time on this thing now - I'll have less than 200 days to meet my goal on the jitney later this week. Plus there's always other things that capture my short  attention span. It was a good job to keep my skill level up. I had to grind a tool bit to bore the flat  bottom in the hole, plus another to do the internal threads. If I was to go into production, definitely need some better tooling. Or farm it out, stay in the recliner and collect my royalties.

Convoy & Car

 

From Here

My buddy Kevin and I did a half marathon a few years back that started in Detroit, ran into Canada over the Ambassador Bridge and then finished up on the 50 yard line at Ford Field after running through the tunnel under the river. I read the other day that due to the back log at the ports in LA and Long Beach, shipping companies started diverting to Canadian ports. At least at the present time, probably not going to help the shipping situation much. Looks like the American truckers have decided to do a couple of strategic blockades as well. Things will be getting real interesting, real quick when that happens. 

Meanwhile back at the ranch, I mounted up the fuse panel on the jitney. I had to add a piece of tubing to the framework for the dash hood and two tabs with tapped holes. The four holes in the panel are countersunk for flat head screws, meaning you don't have much leeway for your alignment. That's not much of an issue when the piece you're mounting is metal - bolt it to the tabs and then tack it in place. It's a little trickier when the part is plastic. Tack one of the tabs in place, bolt up the part, mark the location of the other tab, unbolt the part, put the second tab where it should go, clamp it somehow, tack it, and then hope the bolts line up.

The stud sticking through the tubing is for grounding the panel.

I started seriously thinking about getting the steering hooked up. I need to engineer the adjustable idler gear for the chain drive yet, but everything else should be pretty straight forward.

I bought a pair of reading glasses right after my cataract surgery. I fell asleep with them on and found them broken the next morning. I glued them back together and I've been using them when I weld. They broke again the other day so I reglued the break and added a bridge over the break with a piece of aluminum MIG wire. If that doesn't hold up I'll just have to break down and buy another pair at the Dollar Store. Probably should just go now before they too are no longer in stock.

The weather was warm yesterday but I didn't do much in the shop. Cold weather blew in so I probably won't get much done the next couple of days either. I do want to take the opportunity to do some serious thinking on hooking up the jitney steering and do some more reading. 

Moving Forward

I bought myself a new dial indicator. I probably should have bought two and another Mighty-Mag to go with it. My old indicator hit the floor and bent the stem - not bad but just enough that it can be pushed in but it won't return on its own.

The pin on the far right in the photo is for my little Hossfeld knock-off bender. The original pin that goes in the swinging frame doesn't stick up as high as the other two pins. Sometimes it works better bending something on top of the bender rather than putting the piece inside. Now the center pivot pin and the two moveable pins are all at the same height. I'm not going to make a lifting handle for it - they just get in the way when bending pieces on top.

Surly sent me this a few days ago. That's what I'm looking to do on the jitney. I want mine to be on the inside of the firewall and I want to make the idler adjustable.

I've got all the parts I need other than the 40 series chain. Not pictured is the universal joint. It's a lot heavier than the one in the photo above but I'll never have to worry about it breaking. It requires the end of the shafts to have a flat milled on both sides and a dimple milled in the side of the shaft to allow the pinch bolt to slide through. I got that taken care of after taking the photo.

I unpacked the brake parts and I think I've got that figured out. The pedal assembly will require some modification but nothing too difficult. I'm going to get the steering shaft in place first to avoid any interference with that. 

I've still got a bit over 200 days to get this project to move under its own power. Looks like I've got a good chance of making it.

 

Race Cars, Covid and Computers

 

Since my laptop is dying on me, I've been either transferring or deleting photos from it. I like how the old champ and sprint cars were a reflection on the designer's ingenuity. They were all looking for the best way to skin that cat, some successful, some not so much. Lots of creativity and craftsman ship in those machines. Also check out the white lettering on the tires in the bottom photo. You used to be able to buy most everything from both Montgomery Wards and Sears, Roebuck & Co. My family used to get a lot of merchandise from Wards - order through the catalog and pick it up a few days later at the store in town. Just like Amazon only without the delivery.

 As for replacing the computer, I use it for surfing the web, writing the blog and playing Free Cell. Most of the things stored on the hard drive are photos of trips or work in the shop - of course not much in the way of trips the last couple of years. And not enough work in the shop either, as far as that goes. I'm trying to decide if I should get another laptop or just go back to using the big computer on the desk. If I make it inconvenient to use, I probably wouldn't waste as much time on it. HP has one about like I'm using now on sale. I'll probably pull the trigger on it but only after some of the snow melts off the lane. I wouldn't want the computer ending up in the snowbank like a couple of recent deliveries.

I like to stay abreast of what's happening in the world but much of what I read is just plain upsetting. Maybe if someone could explain to me how Build Back Better is going to work, that would help. When you just passed the $30 trillion debt mark and inflation is well on the way to killing off the middle class, spending more fiat dollars on more government regulation is going to help us how? I watch the local ABC news affiliate every evening in order to get the weather report and every damn day, there's less and less actual news. There's plenty of accidents and shootings. And covid reporting, of course, but no one ever mentions how mismanaged the whole affair has been. Instead we get the number of new cases and the test positivity percentage. The test positivity rate should actually be close to 100 percent. If you're not sick as a dog, why are you even taking the test? Let me guess, government mandate. Now, however, you can sign up for an at-home test - manufactured in the same country as was covid. As a diversion to constant-covid, we can add worry about Russia and Ukraine and what's going to happen when we stick our noses into that mix. Maybe I shouldn't be informed about current events after all. All this political and economic monkey business I can't do anything about just increases my stress level. You would think by now I'd be better at dealing with things I can't control.  

There were a couple of Tom Selleck cowboy films on the other night - Crossfire Trail and Monte Walsh. They were both edited to fit the 2 hour time slot, that way they could squeeze in plenty of commercials. Because of that, they left out some of the good parts but I still got to hear one of my favorite lines from all time. Tom Selleck asks another cowboy how he was doing. His response? "Much better since I gave up hope." That's about where I am today. Just going to have to keep on keepin' on - working the projects, taking care of myself and the Missus, and preparing for whatever comes along. The Cowboy Way.

 

Sidecar

 

I came across some old photos the other day and found this one. Sometime around '78 or '79, I took the parts off the dragbike and made myself a sidecar rig. I never got it completely done. There was supposed  to be some more paint work and a couple of other little things but Surly and I did a trip to Eastern Kentucky with it just the same. The sheet metal work was a bit on the crude side - my aluminum forming skills were not much beyond the embryonic stage at this time. The seat was out of a Jeep and it folded forward to access the storage area. Additional cargo capacity provided with the luggage rack.

In addition to the traditional motorcycle shocks and swingarm on the chair, there was an air shock that could be used to adjust the ride height for the amount of load. Actually worked out rather well. If I were to do it over again, I'd be sure to add a 12 volt on-board air compressor. I'd also use some different front forks - probably leading links. The forks on the bike were the small diameter Cerianis and weren't really stout enough for the job. A good steering dampener would also be a definite. I took my hands off the bars at a toll booth to dig out some change and had a tank slapper. Fortunately, I wasn't going very fast but a little scary, just the same. I'd also put in a drain plug. We got caught in a hellacious storm on the way home and Surly ended up with his feet in a couple inches of water. 

The trip was quite the adventure. We stayed a few nights at the Jenny Wiley State Park on the border of Kentucky where Virginia and West Virginia come together. There was a family reunion going on in the campground by us. A lady had her set-up and people would drop in and visit over the course of a few days. She took pity on Surly and invited us over for breakfast a couple of days. You can make all the jokes you want about the "hillbillies" of Kentucky, but I've always found them to be some of the  friendliest and most generous people on God's green earth.

A guy wanted to buy my dragbike when we got home from the trip, so I put it back together and sold it. He campaigned it for a couple of years. I sold the sidecar to a student of mine - don't know whatever happened to it. It was a lot of work for basically just a one week trip, but it was a great adventure for Surly and I, plus I learned quite a bit about sidecars and sheetmetal fabrication. And we got to see quite a bit of the great Commonwealth of Kentucky. Glad I found the photo. 

Tee Shirt Tuesday #15

This one's from a 5K I did in July of 2019. It was a first-time event and there weren't any medals or any differentiation between the walkers and the runners on the online timing results. I'm relatively sure I was the first walker in but at this stage of the game, it's not all that important.

I would imagine by now, you will have noticed a theme with the shirts. Most of them are from a run/race walk, bicycle, boxing or motorcycle related. While my interests go beyond those, most of the rest don't have tee shirts associated with them - or at least not that I'd be willing to spend $15 - $20 on. 

I currently have nothing that I'm training for. My running buddy had to give up on her plan for running a marathon. Hopefully, she'll be able to do some 5Ks this summer, either running or as my pacer. My 5K I did with Surly was most enjoyable but it wasn't much of an athletic performance. If I had tried to pick up the pace we wouldn't have been able to chat much and we haven't done near enough of that the past two years. So there's the silver lining. However, I got beat by a guy I used to work with. Last time I did that event I passed him at about the 2-1/2 mile mark. In fact, I was the first male walker over the finish line. I'd like to try my hand at actually racing against him this coming Thanksgiving. 

Parts In The Snow

 

The headlights showed up in the mailbox Thursday after the roads opened up. I drilled the shock towers for the mounting stud yesterday. I think the grill covering the lens is going to fit right in with the look I'm going for. 

While I was out in the shop, I ran out of propane for my heater and about the same time the Missus called and told me the neighbor brought me a couple of packages and left them on the porch - seems the UPS driver didn't want to risk coming down the lane to deliver the boxes, so he left them next to the mailbox.

I decided to call it quits as far as working in the shop but decided to shovel out a path to roll the fresh propane tank in place and then get the boxes. When I headed for the shack to get the boxes, I happened to look towards the mailbox and saw a Fed-Ex van. Apparently he wasn't brave enough to run the lane either. I walked down to get the mail and if I hadn't had seen the delivery, I never would have seen the package he left in the snow behind the mailbox.

The UPS boxes were from Speedway. I'm thinking someone in the county might be willing to risk grabbing those. Especially since the lane is almost 1/4 mile long - even if I saw them, not much chance of catching them. And then I'd be without my new taillights. 

Seems the delivery drivers aren't too comfortable taking a chance on a long driveway, even it has been plowed. I don't blame them for not wanting to get stuck, but the visibility was good and you could see the whole length of the lane was clear. This isn't the first time this has happened. I'm going to have to check the five-day forecast before placing orders in the winter, I guess.

Anyway, I've got more parts and propane. I'll be heading back out to the shop later today.

Snow Day

 

Looks like they hit the bullseye with the weather forecast. I went out about 10:00 this morning and we had already gotten about 8" of snow and it was still coming down. I wanted to open up the lane before it got too deep and old Allis wouldn't be able to push it. If you enlarge the photo and look closely slightly lower and to the right of center, you can see the blue garbage can. However, on the first pass down the lane, I lost sight of it due to white-out conditions when I was about half way there. 

Looks pretty out there, though. My little cheapy digital camera always records snowy images with too much blue. I touched this one up a bit but it's definitely a black and white scene out there today. When I looked out there earlier this morning I saw two deer walking along the tracks - tough day out there for the wildlife.

Tough day for a short-legged dog to try and take care of business also, unless Daddy-O does some shoveling first. Larry doesn't mind the snow but he's decided there's no way he's going out in temperatures below zero - which made for a couple of interesting scenarios recently. I bought some puppy training pads and we've now come to terms. 

It's still snowing, so I think I'll wait a little while and then start the snow blower and cut a path out to the shop, the chicken coop and the garage. Maybe run up and down the lane again with the tractor.

Tee Shirt Tuesday #14

 

I picked up my new Bazooka Joe tee shirt last week. The design on the front is the same as the other one I have of his except the color scheme is reversed. The other one is white with black designs. 

Joe's a really nice guy, had kind of a checkered amateur career but he did become Indiana Open Division Champion. Nobody works harder than Joe. He's always in shape and you never have to worry about him making weight. He's fighting pro now but like with a lot of other things these days, it's hard to get fights. There's a guy locally who promotes fights occasionally, but he's not too generous with the purses. Joe's last couple of fights have been in Iowa. I haven't been able to go due to the cooties but I think he's got a fight coming up in April. I might try and make that one.

I've got parts ordered for the jitney that are supposed to be here this week, but we'll have to see what mother nature has to say about that. They're talking rain today turning to snow. Last I saw, the local forecast is still talking about a foot for Wednesday and Thursday, followed by a cold day on Friday.

I worked in the shop a bit yesterday doing some clean-up work and a bit of welding and machining on the hammer for the black powder derringer in the photo. I got this thing from a guy I used to work with many years ago. I've been going through some of my odds and ends and I decided I needed to see about fixing it or tossing it out. I don't know if it started life as a kit or what, but it wouldn't do anything when cocked - lots of parts mis-aligned. I've had to do quite a bit of work on it but I've got it operational now. The trigger guard needs to be screwed down yet. Where the front screw goes, there's something broken off in the stock. It's not very big in diameter - might be a drill bit. Nothing's been done with the back screw yet. When I get the front screw taken care of, I'll then tackle the back one. After modifying the hammer, I'd like to try my hand at color case hardening it or else just file and sand real well where I welded.

When I get the rest of the mechanical stuff taken care of I'll pull the barrel out of the stock, get the rust off of it and then cold blue it or brown it. I don't know what I'll do with it after I get it finished. Maybe get some round balls and shoot it a couple of times. It's been fun working on it - beats sitting around in the evening watching the television.