Cyclogenesis

 

I went out to the shop yesterday to finish up the pieces for the dog sled job. It went smooth enough - I was able to clamp the tube so that it was horizontal and then used a magnet to hold the small pieces in place while I brazed them on. I had the ceiling fan on so there was some air moving, the radio was playing and everything was right with the world - until it started raining, that is. It didn't just rain, it was a serious blow. Rain and branches were bouncing off the metal roof and I could barely see the big barn 25 feet away with the way the rain was coming down. The weatherman on the 4:00 news said we got 5" of rain in a matter of about an hour. I really don't care to get trapped in the shop when it's storming like that, or anyplace else as far as that goes.

After it slowed down a bit I made a run for the shack, made a cup of coffee and fired up the computer. Lowbrow Customs is posting things from Bikeexif now in their emails, and this Royal Enfield was featured. If you go to the link there's several more photos that show all the cool custom shiny bits. I really like the taillight. If I was going to make something like that, I could probably design it in about 20 minutes and then have it finished 20 years later. Of course, I would assume all of these really talented fabricators don't spend much time working on dogsled parts or 50+ year old mailboxes, not that I would put myself in the same category as some of these guys, even if I was more single minded in my approach to job completion. I've got a lot of respect for their having the dedication to learning the craft and turning out beautiful creations.                                                        

Corn Sweat

 Still hot and humid around here. One of the contributing factors is the "corn sweat". All green vegetation gives off moisture during the growing season, with corn being one of the worst. I've got corn growing in the front field and south of me, along with other vegetation that surrounds the house and outbuildings. If you follow the above link, you'll see a map of where the prairie grasses used to grow. I live right on the eastern edge of the tall grass area. Below that, you'll see a timeline of when the corn sweat levels are the highest. So, Shop Teacher Bob is surrounded by vegetation sweating at its peak with dew points in the seventies and heat indices of 100 or more. Not at all pleasant working conditions but sitting around the house on my fanny is not all that enjoyable either. 

I have a hard time relaxing knowing I've got plenty of things that both need done, and many that I just want done. One of the reasons I didn't fully retire was I couldn't sit still for very long and my projects require folding money. I'm just happier whether that was working for wages or tinkering on things at the shack, doing some hiking, biking, or spending time in the boxing gym. I enjoy reading but not spending all my free time glued to the recliner, especially for days on end. It's supposed to be cooler in a couple of days, that should help my mental health and increase the output on the projects.

Speaking of which, Surly and the youngest grandson came down Monday afternoon and went home with all the boxes from the SR500 Yamahas. The young-un is going to scope everything out and make a decision if he wants to tackle building one out of two or look at just buying something that's a runner or needs a lot less work for the same kind of money. Whatever he decides is OK with me, but I would like to see those Yamahas get moved out, especially since now that I'm an old man if anything's going to get done, the temperature's going to have to be between 35 and 80. 

I did make it out to the shop yesterday early evening. I bent up the pieces for Jimmy's dog sled - only took a few minutes. I bent the first couple cold and had them on hand to show Jimmy when he came by the other day, but I bent the remaining ones hot. The hole on the left end of the bar in the photo was drilled to the proper depth, so I clamped the torch in the vise, held the pieces in a vise grip, got them hot, stuck the end to be bent in the hole, bent them down and gave them a tap with the hammer to get a little tighter bend, and Bob's your uncle. 

It didn't take much longer to bend them than it just did to describe it which was a good thing. I was getting past the point of being sticky and going into a full-blown sweat when I finished. I'll braze them on the tubes today and put one in the win column. 

Bruised

 

Notification on the side of a box of peaches.

I need a similar warning. I've been on aspirin therapy since my heart attack 13 years ago - full size aspirin, not baby aspirin. I know old people bruise more easily due to the loss of collagen and the thinning of the skin. However, lately the bruising has gotten worse. I called the cardiologist's office the other day and I'm now on the baby aspirin. That should help the bruising situation, hopefully without any detrimental effect on the heart health.

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The youngest grandson came down Friday. He wants to get his motorcycle endorsement and get a motorcycle project. I was going to let him ride the Himalayan around the property to get some practice, but it started raining right after he got here. We did go over to the storage space and looked over the inventory. I've got a pair of Yamaha SR500s that are basically frames as they sit, but I've got boxes of parts where he could make one nice one out of the two. I need to get rid of things and he could build himself something nice without spending a ton of money. Have to see how that works out.

Lots of rain yesterday. The rain would come down hard, stop for a bit, and when I was about ready to head out to the shop, it would start up again. I don't like being out in the shop when it's raining hard, so needless to say, I didn't get much done out there yesterday. 

New Hire

 

Quite the feat of engineering right there - and it couldn't have been done without expert welders. The Missus and I rode to the top of the arch many years ago, probably close to fifty, actually. You sit in little "elevator" cars that change pitch as you go up to keep you vertical. You can see the inside of the structure from the car and as a welder, I could tell when the welders building the arch made the switch from making horizontal welds to vertical. 

And while we're talking welding, the grandson got hired on as a welder. He's starting next week. Sounds like a decent starting job - insurance, paid holidays and vacation, an opportunity to make some overtime, and an opportunity to increase his hourly after he proves himself.

Hot yesterday and will be for a while - great time to be starting a job in a fab shop. He's young and he's been working outside, so he should adjust quickly. He likes welding and everyone has to start somewhere. He should do OK. 

Hot, Hot, Hot

 

Not a bad day yesterday - not too hot but humid. However, tomorrow and Thursday, dangerous heat indices are being forecast, 105-115 degrees. That'll bring most everything around here to a screeching halt during the mid-day hours.

The two tape measures I ordered for the grandsons arrived yesterday. Made in China, but shipped from Ireland. They were a little on the expensive side, but they're cute. They lock automatically when you pull the tape out, retract when you push the button top front. There's a strong magnet built into the bottom. The holes on the side look high speed and allow you to blow out the guts with an air hose, but I'd be careful in the weld shop so you didn't get hot sparks inside of it.

I got a price on the 2x2 tubing yesterday, made a little bending jig for the dog sled pieces and fired up old Allis and worked on the driveway a bit since the paving guys haven't come back. That got most of the piled-up gravel along the edge brought back in where it belongs. The sides look like they were laid out by a drunken sailor, but I'm just going to have to live with that I'm afraid. At least now, after a bit more work with a hand rake, I'll be able to mow the strip between the drive and the corn field.

On the national scene, Congress passed a bill allowing stablecoins. I've read a little about them but from what I've been able to glean, these don't look too promising if you value what's left of your privacy. Personally, if there was going to be an alternative to the fiat money we're currently using, I'd like it to be Goldbacks. I bought a couple of small denomination ones just as a novelty more than anything else, but they contain real 24k gold as opposed to digital money, which it appears the government is going to force upon us one way or the other.

Hello Dolly!

 

I unloaded the Go-Go from the car on Saturday when I got home, but I didn't want to take the carrier off until I prepped the dolly with the pieces I had made up.

It didn't take but a few minutes to bolt the brackets to the dolly. Now it should be a piece of cake installing, removing and storing the carrier. I'm planning on storing it in front of the car up against the wall. It's pretty stable, but I'll put a piece of cardboard or carpet on the carrier to prevent it from damaging the front of the car if it should tip over after getting bumped. 

I've got some clean-up work to do in the shop this morning and then I'll start dragging tools out once again for working on the next project. I need to get a quote on material cost for Coach Jen's project, get busy on the dog sled project and finish the mailbox project. And of course, there's a long list of other projects waiting in the wings 

The grandson is going for an interview/weld test this week for a welding job. He's pretty excited about it. Looks like his education is going to get him started on the path to a career in the welding field. He's almost done with his technical certificate at the community college, but I'd like to see him get his associate degree. It would only take a couple more classes and I think it would be a good investment for him. He's made the Dean's List several times and I'm really proud of the young man. I hope he gets the job and it works out for him. 

A Little Philosophy, Boxing and Entertainment

 

That's an interesting way of looking at things. Sort of like the looking at life events as either a problem or inconvenience. Most of the time things are just inconvenient. Coach Nick from Louisville posted this on Facebook. Good way of looking at life.

He also posted this one as well for a fight he's promoting. Tickets look to be a little expensive but he usually puts on a real good show. If you're interested in purchasing tickets, shoot me a comment and I'll get you the contact info.

The Missus and I took our show on the road Friday to Shipshewana to see Post Modern Jukebox again. The show was a bit different than last time but that's not necessarily a bad thing. All the musicians were nothing short of great, likewise the vocalists, but the tap dancer Jabu Graybeal was absolutely amazing, as he was last time as well.

It was the first time out with the Go-Go on the carrier. It doesn't take too long to load it or unload it, but the cover takes a bit of extra time. Also, the cover flaps around quite a bit when going down the road. I'm going to try and streamline the loading and unloading process and see about wrapping the cover with a couple of bungee cords to tame the flapping. The motel had a portico, so if it was raining, I could have gotten the car under roof to keep us all dry, but I might see about a bracket for an umbrella just in case the OG has to use the scooter while it's raining.

The weather has been good the last few days - it did rain for a little bit yesterday after we got home but much nicer than what we've been experiencing. The kind of weather that I need to get things done. However, it's supposed to heat up again midweek with temps of high eighties and low nineties. No bueno!   

Paint My Mailbox Blue

 

Mine's going to be white and I'm already living in the country, but that's the sentiment anyway.

I got the prime coat on it yesterday. The coverage is a little thin but I didn't want to buy another can of white primer. Maybe start on the bracket to fasten it to the post today. Everything is weather dependent. Yesterday was only 72 degrees, so I took advantage of it and got outside and did some work on the "estate".

I bought myself a cheapy aluminum adjustable wrench to keep in the saddle bag on the touring bike. The moveable jaw is reversible and it opens up wide. Obviously, it's not the kind of tool that you can hammer on or put a cheater bar on. It's fairly obvious where the handle would break if it was abused, It was less than $8.00, so you can't expect great quality, but it might get me out of a jam if I have a breakdown while out on the road.

Busy Day

 

Cuzzin Ricky and I took our show on the road yesterday. First stop was the campground where Rick bought a box scraper a few months ago. It was missing one of the scarifier teeth but the campground owner said he'd let Rick know if he ran across it, and he did. The bike in the photo was parked in front of one of the cabins - big Suzuki with all the proper dragbike stuff, but streetable. It had the name of a shop in North Carolina painted on the front fender that probably built it, but I couldn't imagine riding that bad boy all the way from NC to Indiana. Very cool bike regardless of how it got there.

Next stop was a mower shop where TVI works, that would be my cousin and Rick's brother. Rick was looking for a new mower and I shot the breeze with TVI. He sent the motor out on his Harley project and expects it to get it back soon. When he does, he'll get his oil tank designed so I can weld it up for him.

We ate lunch at a bar just down the street from the mower shop and feasted on pork tenderloins. I had their Italian style - damn fine sandwich! Not your run of the mill tenderloin by any means, but I could do that one again.

Coach Jen took me to another gym after our boxing class to show me a weight rack like she wants for her gym. It's all made from 2x2 tubing - be easy enough to make, all straight cuts, might be worth putting a roll of wire in the MIG machine to make the job go faster, rather than TIG welding everything. 

The temps got up to about 90 again yesterday, but I did manage to paint the flag on the mailbox project. The missus made her decision on what's to be done with the mailbox, so I now need to make a bracket to mount it on the bell post. I'm going to prime the mailbox today, but I won't put the finish coat on it until I get the bracket made and get ready to install it.

What I need to do now is find a Harley mechanic that I could take the Sportster to and just get it finished up, because at the rate I'm going, it won't be ready to ride this year. I need to get back out in the shop, but between the hot weather and the Missus worrying about me being out in the heat, progress is slow, even by my standards. I'll just keep plugging away and what gets done, gets done, at least until it cools down a bit.

... And the Livin' is Easy

 

It's summertime and the livin' is a bit too easy, what with all the damn hot days. If I start livin' any easier, they'll have to put a mirror under my nose to see if I'm breathing. It was cool yesterday morning but 90 by noon. I took a pass on my morning bike ride in order to spray some weeds and do a couple of other outdoor things. I got a haircut later on and then hid in the house for a couple of hours. 

I did make it out to the shop to tinker a bit later in the day. Painted the inside of the mailbox and will prime the outside today. The flag gets painted after that, mask it off, then finish coat the outside of the box.  The Missus hasn't quite decided what she wants to do with it yet. I'm voting to mount it on the post I made for the oxygen bottle bell, in which case, I'll need to make a bracket of some sort to fasten it to the post. 

I made a little progress on the pieces for Jimmy's dog sled. I need him to come by and make sure I'm on the right track so I can finish that job.

While I'm waiting for the paint to dry on the mailbox, I'm going to work on polishing up the fork legs on the trials bike. I need to get that back together.  

House Arrest

 With all this hot weather, I've been staying indoors a lot more than I usually do in the summer - sort of like being under house arrest. I was going to go out on my bike the other morning and there was fog. I took that to mean the humidity was more than 100%. Yesterday it was raining in the morning, which we definitely needed. Afterwards, of course, it was like a steam bath, and then it warmed up to 90 degrees. I went out about 5:30 and finished a little bit of mowing I didn't get done Thursday due to rain. After mowing I did some yard work, and I worked up a proper sweat.

Everything this spring has been growing like crazy. All of the Magnolia trees have seed pods on them - I think that's a first. Growth has slowed down since it's been dry lately, but we got some rain and more is forecast for the first of the week. I just need the temps to cool down a little so I can be more comfortable while working. That, and the Missus worries about me working in the heat, just like she does when I'm shoveling snow, God bless her.

Coach Jen sent me a photo of a weight rack wondering if I could make one like it. I'm sure I can, just need a little more detail - don't need any more work, but what are friends for, right?

Go-Go Light

 

I took the Missus to the hospital yesterday to for her checkup - all the numbers look good, cancer's still in remission. We stopped on the way home to get a sandwich for her and a salad for myself and this song was playing while I was waiting for my order. It's a pip if you want "happy feet" or an ear worm.

I got the headlight bracket made for the Go-Go. Nothing fancy - a little aluminum tube and sheet from the scrap bin welded together with a couple of drilled holes. I should finally be done with everything this job has entailed. We're going away for an overnight to catch a show in a few weeks. Last time we went to this venue I pushed her in a wheelchair from the hotel to the theater. The Go-Go should make things go a little easier.

 

Tripod adapter I made a while back for the old folding cameras. The old cameras had a female 3/8-16 thread built into the camera, but all modern tripod mounts are 1/4-20. I might have been able to buy one, but making things is what I do. The most impressive thing about this job is I was able to find it amongst all my camera junk now that I need it. With these old cameras with their slow lenses and shutter speeds, a tripod is necessary more often than you'd think.

And So It Begins

 

I put a new battery in the bicycle speedometer and then took the bike out for its maiden voyage of the year. Obviously I didn't go all that far, 6.5 miles, but it's a good beginning. It was humid and a little windy, and there are some different muscles involved riding the old Raleigh compared to the commuter. I'll try to get out every day, weather permitting, and increase the mileage, working towards being able to do the 40 miler in about a month. There's a 41 miler at the end of August Coach Jen and I did a couple of years ago. Whether or not I'm able to do the earlier 40 miler, I should be able to do the 41 miler and then a 50 miler in October. Doing a 50 miler or a metric century is my goal for the year.

Since the Rolfix Jr broke, and I like using a folding camera, I drug this one off the shelf. It's in relatively good condition, the lens is clear and the shutter seems to work well. There is one small hole in the bellows but a piece of hockey tape took care of that. It has shutter speeds of 25, 50 and 100th of a second. The lens is slow with the largest aperture being only f 6.3, but it closes down to f 32.  However, those settings are plenty good enough for outdoor daylight photography. It has the 6 x 9 format, giving 8 shots on a roll of 120 film. 

The camera was designed to use 620 roll film rather than 120, but that size is obsolete. The only difference between the two sizes is the length of the reels the film is wound on. 620 is narrower, so some photographers will reroll the 120 onto a 620 reel. I made an arbor for my lathe so I can thin the ends of the reel to match the overall width of the 620 reel. That's the arbor in the foreground of the picture above. 

I "machined" a roll of the 120 yesterday and loaded it into the camera, so I'm ready to start shooting. The roll of film is 2 years out of date, but I don't think that'll matter. Black & white isn't too fussy, unlike color films are. I have some out-of-date color film that may or may not be serviceable, but I don't think there's any place around me that even does color developing any more. All of my color photography is done with my phone anyway. I do have a roll of exposed color film I'd like to know what's on it, however.

There's supposed to be break in the heat this week so I'm hoping to get some work done both outside and in the shop.

Keeping it Real?

 

Beautiful photo. I commented at The Daily Time Waster on how I thought the photo was made - twin lens, medium format camera with Verichrome Pan film. However, shortly after my comment, I was told it was AI. Since I know nothing about AI, might very well be. The first hint should have been the bus window is clean. The real issue for me, though, is I don't want to have to put everything under the microscope to determine if it's real or not. I want to believe the photo was taken by a talented photographer, maybe with some expert darkroom manipulation, but the result of skill that requires devotion to the craft and an artistic eye to capture the image as envisioned. Computers can do wonderful things, but artificial is still artificial. It's going to take me a while to get comfortable with AI, or maybe just ignore it - ignorance is bliss after all. A beautiful photo just the same.

I put the taillight on the Go-Go - easy enough done. However, the head light needs a bracket made so I can mount it off the basket on the front - a piece of tubing with a couple of tabs should do the trick.

I took the "touring" bike down off the hooks last evening and swapped out the tire patching and first aid kits from the "commuting" bike I've been riding since I want to start increasing my mileage on my daily rides. Surprisingly enough, the tires still were holding air - not enough but it didn't take much effort with the hand pump to top them off. The battery is dead on the speedometer, so that needs to be addressed, but other than that, I'm all set to start training for the 40-mile ride coming in about a month. It'd be nice if the heat and humidity would ease up a bit, though. It was 90 degrees again yesterday. That's hard on an old man. 

Happy 4th

 

Surly sent me some info on the Obscura Flex attachment for 4x5 cameras and a couple other models that allow you to use your cell phone with your camera. I have a camera like the one pictured, as well as a Polaroid they make an attachment for, but the holder for the phone is only available for iPhones and I have an Android. The price is a little heavy for me to want to invest in one, but I do want to start shooting some film again. 

The Rolfix Jr that I inherited from my mother finally quit working a couple of years ago. It's a 120 film folder that's just about as old as I am. I've got plenty of other cameras to shoot with, but I like the folding cameras - light weight and easy to carry and use. 

_____________________________ 

I believe the following is a spin-off of something Shakespeare said, but I'm not sure. Likewise, I once again forgot to get the link to credit where I found it. The thing I found most interesting is the last line of the first paragraph, and the second paragraph.

"Philosophy, same thing. The soul ascends and apprehends the forms, the nature of everything, and eventually the very Idea of Good that gives light to everything else. And then the philosopher has to go back to the cave and try to explain it to people who don’t even know what Green is, to say nothing of the Good. But the philosopher didn’t make up the Good, it was always there, and the only way to really make sense of it is to uncover it for yourself. You can’t force knowledge into a dumbass any more than you can force sight into a blind man.”


“So if you want to learn, be prepared for a difficult journey, and be prepared to make some mistakes. That’s okay, it’s all part of the process. True knowledge must be obtained the hard way, and some people just don’t want to see the light.”

I have to agree, you can't force knowledge into a dumbass. And if you don't believe me, ask any shop teacher.

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Happy Independance Day!

After Action Field Day Report

 

Field Day for the ham radio club was kind of a bust. I went Friday evening to help set up but I was the only one there. I called the president of the club and he said they cancelled out due to the heat. An announcement had been sent out over the radio but my radio is in the truck, which is kept in the garage, so no notice there.

 

I went back Saturday morning to help and we got the antenna strung in the trees. One of my former students is a club member and was going to help people make a portable antenna. He furnished all of the materials and guided me through the process. Upon completion, he installed it on his radio and right away made contact with a ham in Utah. Pretty impressive. 

Equally impressive is the knowledge of my former student. Like a lot of guys that ran through the shop over the years, he was kind of a knucklehead when I had him. Other than shop classes, he wasn't too interested in much else the school had to offer him. He later joined the Marines and got interested in radios while deployed. He took his "Extra" license test the same night I took my "General" test. Smart guy. Builds all his own antennas. He got a chuckle out of our teacher-student roles being reversed. Proud of him.

I went back over Sunday morning to help break down everything, but they had most everything done by the time I got there. Other than the antenna and a conversation with one of the hams about some sheet metal work on an old Alfa Romeo he's restoring, I didn't get much out of Field Day this year. I'm guessing the heat had a lot to do with the lack of turn-out. That, and the fact that most of the members are 50 plus, and I would guess, not in the best physical condition. Makes me wonder how much help they would be in the event of a serious emergency. That being said, nice group of people just the same.