Rhubarb Bread

 

I made a couple of loaves of rhubarb bread yesterday morning. Not the most attractive photo, but I can assure you they tasted better than they looked. Bad lighting, and the dark color makes the bread look burnt, but such is not the case. The Missus gave me a new recipe and it called for sprinkling a mixture of butter, brown sugar and cinnamon over the top of the batter prior to baking. Didn't help with the appearance but did enhance the taste. One loaf for eating, one loaf for freezing.

Afterward cleaning up the kitchen, took the dog to the vet, weed whacked his poop park, and then mowed the back yard. Fairly productive day. Haircut and mowing the front yard on tap this morning. Nothing definite planned for later.  

Fine Day at the Shack

 

Surly came down yesterday to give me a hand turning the garden over. By giving me a hand I mean doing all the work. I'll need to finish up some things but the strip on the left was sod, so the help was greatly appreciated. The lower right spot has some strawberries. I'm going to put some type of edging around them. The green spot in the middle has asparagus plants there. I'll clean that up with a hand trowel and get the edge next to the rhubarb cleaned up as well.

While Surly was here I had him help me load my "T" argon cylinder in my pickup. In this case I actually did my share. A full tank weighs about 130 lbs. I used to hump those things around solo, but as Clint said, a man has to know his limitations. The big cylinder holds twice the gas as the "S" cylinder I just refilled. Since my torch is no longer leaking, I just might have a lifetime supply now.

It was cold Sunday night. The water in the birdbath was frozen yesterday morning. I gave a quick glance at the fruit trees, and they didn't seem to be hurt but I'll know more in a couple of days. Lots of work to do, both inside and out, but I'm looking forward to knocking out a few jobs on the "honey-do" list. 

Corvettes

I was looking through Market Place the other day, primarily to find a used rototiller cheap and close to home, and a couple of early eighties Corvettes popped up. I'm not in the market for any automobile presently but I was surprised at the prices - $5,000 or $6,000. I always thought a Corvette would be a good investment and would appreciate in value. I knew they were slugs as far as performance went. They were no longer "the only American sportscar" as they were once marketed but became cars old men with deep pockets bought. 

I looked up the specs on these dogs and it's pretty easy to understand why they're selling so cheap on the used market. A 350 CID engine making 200 horsepower with an automatic trans behind it. If you were to compare the specs of a 1962 Corvette, you could get a 327 with the solid lifter cam that was making 340 horses and a 4-speed trans.

I had a '62 Impala like this one. It also had a 327 and a 4-speed. There were several engine options, including the 327 in two different states of tune - 250 hp or a 300 hp version. The straight six with the 3-speed had about the same performance as the '82 'Vette.

So going forward twenty years, it appears the Corvette went backwards in performance, rather than forwards. I realize much of this was due to federal smog requirements, but it seems like GM decided the answer was to shave the lumps off the camshafts, lean out the engines and make sure you couldn't adjust the carburetors. 

Fortunately, Corvette went back to its roots and decided to build real sportscars again. The bottom of the current line will run you about $70,000 but you can go up to over 1,000 horsepower if you're willing to part with $200,000. Personally, if I was going to consider buying a sportscar that would be fun to drive and wouldn't break the bank with selling price, sales tax and insurance, I'd look hard at a Honda Civic Type R.  315 horsepower, 6-speed transmission and less than $50,000. I'm thinking the fun factor would be right in my wheelhouse.

Too Old for Late Nights

 

I went to the Golden Gloves in Indy Thursday night again - late night. There were 30 fights on the card, but several walkovers, we left with a couple of fights left but it was still after 1:00 by the time I got home. Being retired, I took advantage of the opportunity to sleep in and finally rolled out of the sack about 9:00 yesterday morning.

It was a nice day to be out yesterday - sunny and warm. I installed the newly sharpened blades on the mower and cut the front yard. Did a bit of puttering outside and mostly just kept my feet moving the rest of the day. Got some errands to run today. Just what gets done will depend on the weather. Big storm rolled through again last night. They're calling for frost coming up. I hope it's not bad enough to harm the fruit trees. Mother Nature seems to be a little cranky this spring.

Finished Fenders

 

I picked up a fresh argon bottle yesterday and finished the fenders without any further drama. I picked up an "S" bottle which is just about the limit as far as me manhandling a tank into the back of my truck. I have a "T" cylinder I should drag out, get some help loading and get it refilled. It's a big-un and now that I have no more torch leaks, between the two bottles that'll probably be a lifetime supply for me.

I was staring to work on the weed-whacker the other day and thought it might be helpful to find a parts diagram to see how everything goes together. I found one but it seems the site was infected and passed it along to my laptop. However, I tried the computer again last evening and it told me to reload Edge and that should take care of the problem. Low and behold, it did. So, I'm hoping it's a lasting fix. I did talk to a computer wizard at the ham radio meeting the other night who said he'd take a look, but I don't want to put anyone on the spot. Anyway, I got the weed-whacker apart. I'll see if the tank's the leaking part or the rubber piece feeding the carb. The rubber piece is in stock uptown for $17.00. That'll be cheap enough.

It's supposed to rain the next couple of days, so I'll get the mower in the shop and get the blades swapped out, change oil and filters. The grass is really growing now. It'll be fun putting that $4.00 per gallon in the tank.  

Surly & Rube Goldberg

 

Surly sent me a pic of his latest leather working job. Besides being a good craftsman, he's got a good eye. Must have got that from his mother, because I don't have the eye of an artist.

However, I am pretty good at problem solving and cobbling things together. The torch on my TIG machine developed another leak while trying to weld the aluminum fenders. Actually, I think it started while welding the bike radiators. Since this is the second time the hose sprung a leak and it's not really made to be repaired, I pondered the situation for a bit to come up with a permanent and expedient solution. A new 25' torch and hose is $159.00 from Everlast. I wouldn't mind spending the money, but I'd want some assurance the rubber hose inside the braided outer cover wasn't going to give up the ghost like the other one did. I got to looking at the torch set-up from my old welder and decided I could make that work.

The new machine is set for the Dinse plugs, rather than studs like on my old machine. I did purchase a pair of adapters to hook up my long leads with male Jackson plugs right after purchasing the new machine. Using the Dinse to Jackson adapter on the machine, I tapped the inside of a male Jackson plug for a 5/8" bolt where the cable usually goes and bolted the end piece of the old torch to the machine. I shortened up a hose barb and hooked up the gas line. Voila! Done deal and easy to remove from the machine with just a quick twist if I want to change over to stick welding. 

No expense, no trip to the hardware store and it literally should last me a lifetime. Just need to get another bottle of argon and I'll be able to finish the fenders. 

Insurance Thoughts

 

I had to go to the hospital the other day to pick up some medical records for the Missus and they were making a lift on the new addition while I was there. That telescoping boom is pretty impressive and the cab appeared to tilt to enable the operator a better view when setting the lift up on the roof. I don't have any idea what it would cost to rent that crane, but added in with the rest of the expenses, it would help explain the cost of a hospital visit. My recent emergency room visit and overnight stay was a tick over $100,000. The ambulance ride was $2,400. I don't have any idea what the rehab program cost but as much as I bitch about the government and the wasteful spending of my tax dollars, Medicare does a fine job of picking up the tab. The doctors take a beating, but old farts like me with Medicare and a supplement insurance policy, don't have to worry about medical expenses in our retirement. 

I had to go to the dentist yesterday. That's a different story. I've got dental insurance but it's pretty limited. Likewise, my eye insurance. So even though Medicare takes care of the majority of the bills, when you add up all of the costs for insurance policies, you better have a source of income besides Social Security if you want to retire comfortably or hope you never have a catastrophic event, whether medical or with property damage like the folks around here who were hit recently with tornado damage.  

I bought motorcycle insurance the other day. The outfit I had the Himalayan insured with, along with car, truck, trailers and property, didn't offer a discount if I added the Sportster in. Four vehicles insured, with only two operators, and only one of us riding motorcycles, they could have thrown in the Sportster for free as far as I'm concerned. After all, I can only operate one of the vehicles at a time and the book value of a '77 Sportster isn't much. I switched to Geico and the premium for both bikes is next to nothing. My coverage is at a minimum, but I don't ride much anymore, nor do I ride like I did when I was a young man.

Insurance is a racket, no doubt about it, but you need to protect yourself. The combined premiums on all of my policies is my biggest monthly expense. I never gave that much thought when I was doing my retirement planning. Something to think about, though.  

Radio Remembrances

 

Very much under-rated singer. I think like a lot of blues/soul artists, she just didn't get a lot of airtime on mainstream radio back in the sixties. There were a couple of AM stations I used to listen to back then that played a lot of black artists, but radio was moving to all mainstream rock and roll, and album cuts on FM, as I recall. WLS was the big AM station in Chicago with Clark Weber when I was in high school and for a few years thereafter. I think they were still broadcasting the Breakfast Club and The National Barn Dance at that time as well. One of my alternative stations featured Daddy-O's Jazz Patio. That's where you could hear Carla Thomas and other Jazz, Blues and Soul artists back then.

 They just don't make 'em like this one anymore. And if they do, I don't know where I would go to listen to them. The public radio stations I used to listen to went to a talk radio format. Shame really. If I wanted to listen to people yapping for hours on end I'd sit on a barstool.

I was on the road yesterday and got a call about fixing some aluminum fenders. The photo doesn't reveal the extent of the damage, but lots of cracks to be fixed. I'm guessing some of the cracking was from vibration but judging by the way they are bent, someone was standing on them. I wasn't looking for any work, but he came to me by way of a friend of mine. I still find it odd a small city where he lives doesn't have a weld shop. That's how I ended up welding the helicopter tanks.

Picked up the air and oil filters for the mower and got the first mowing of the season done. I'll get the filters changed and swap the blades out in the next couple of days. My weed-whacker leaked a puddle of gas on the garage floor, so I need to see about fixing that. I got the pickup in for service yesterday, picked up some medical records for the Missus at the hospital, and did some grocery shopping. Doing some household chores and driving the Missus to an appointment today. No rest for the wicked.

Looking Back & Ahead

 

I've done a pretty fair job of mixing it up over the years - aren't too many things left on the bucket list.

Cuzzin Ricky and I had beignets at the Cafe Du Monde in New Orleans after riding the City of New Orleans down there and a more recent trip to the Grand Canyon by train. 

I've been to Europe several times but I'm done with international travel. There's a couple of places I'd like to visit but I'm not getting back on an airplane again. While air travel is still probably the safest form of travel, there have been some recent incidents that have given me pause, as well as the whole experience at the airports both coming and going.

I've got a couple of places in the US I'd still like to visit, but I don't know when or if that will ever happen. I no longer feel comfortable leaving the Missus on her own and she doesn't travel well. I do feel fairly comfortable with my own health again. I finished up the cardiac rehab on Monday and both the surgeon who replaced the plugged stent and my own cardiologist said no damage to the heart, and I should be good for another 100,000. 

Now that the weather has turned warm at least a couple days per week, I'll be tending to some outside chores and doing some inside things on the rainy days.

 

I've been working on my family history once again. Ancestry has more resources available and other members have posted more information that ties into to my bloodline, such as the above photo. The lady on the right is my great, grand aunt, born 1869. I used to attend an annual family reunion of the descendants of her and her sister for years. These were relatives on my dad's side. Unfortunately, as the older generations passed away, so too did the reunions. Surly hosted a revival several years back, which was well attended and great to see us all together again along with the younger generation.

I've been concentrating my recent efforts on the paternal side but I'm going to start working on the maternal side soon. I've been adding all the new information to my family tree on Ancestry and once I gather all that is easily available, I'll see about getting it all typed up to make an addendum to the book I published a few years back. I think I will have to take a road trip to Tennessee before I go to press on that, however. 

----------------------------------------- 

 April is National Welding Month. Welding has progressed dramatically since the days of the blacksmith working at his forge. The recent launch of the spaceship that's going to circle the moon wouldn't have been possible without welding. Likewise, your automobiles, bicycles, household appliances, and most everything else in your daily life, either directly or in their manufacture. 

If you know someone looking to go into the trade but needs some financial help for a trade school, don't forget the MikeRoweWorks scholarship program. AI won't build the submarines, the pipelines, the skyscrapers, or repair the broken school desk or garbage truck. Only skilled craftspeople can do that and there are lots of jobs available now, so get some skills and get to work.

Weekend Update

 

I finished chopping the stump out over the weekend. I whacked on it a bit Saturday after coming home from the gym and then finished it up yesterday. I still need to clean up the wood chips and get some black dirt to level up the hole and then plant some grass seed. I'll get that done this week.

Gas prices haven't hit $12.99 yet but they have shot up around here recently. After working on the stump, I got the Himalayan out and rode over to the filling station to top off the tank. $5.049 for premium unleaded which is exactly $1.00 more than regular. However, I'm finishing up cardiac rehab this morning, so I won't have to be driving much in the future. The motorcycle gets about twice the mileage my truck does and the bicycle, of course, only uses the energy I put into it. Short hops around here I can use a two-wheeler for most things. The Himalayan has saddle bags, and I have a small trailer for the bicycle, so trips to the grocery and hardware can be accomplished on two wheels.

Changing direction, I saw a couple interesting things on Facebook recently. I no longer post anything or comment since they censored my anniversary post a couple of years back, but I do enjoy some of the "Reels". Unfortunately, I didn't get the links for two of the most interesting ones. 

First up was one from Steve Morris Racing Engines. He took an aluminum block and cylinder heads to a welder that has to be one of the best in the business. He welded up water jacket holes in the block with no preheat or cleaning using a very small, water-cooled torch. Rather than pure argon shielding gas, he used some secret-squirrel blended gas containing helium, lots of amperage and the frequency control way up there. I really wished I would have bookmarked it; I'd like to watch it again - lots to learn there. The reel is about 30 minutes long but if you're a welder and run across it, it's definitely worth watching.

I've been following The Tool and Die Guy also. He posted a written test a few days ago that was given to want-to-be machinists to find out what they knew prior to being hired in and investing a lot of time and money in them. I took the test and I'm sure I got them all correct but I've been around for a long time now. I don't know how I would have done straight out of high school, but probably better than many of the mopes that showed up in my college classes.

And last but not least, MachinistX. There are MachinistX reels and a website. The focus seems to be addressing the issues of recruiting new blood into the trade and passing along the knowledge of the old timers before they retire. 

I'm not a machinist per se, but as a long-time educator and a concerned citizen, I like to hear what others are doing to recruit people into the trades along with what's being done to bring manufacturing and craftsmanship back - somebody has to weld those submarines after all.

On the Road

The ham radio group was meeting for lunch yesterday, so I went in early for rehab. The sessions run an hour long and Wednesdays they have a 15-minute session on topics of interest to cardiac patients. By going in early I had plenty of time to get to lunch as well as stopping to see my brother from a different mother for a short visit. It was about a 45-minute drive to the restaurant from his house and a beautiful day for it. Lunch was good, both the food and the company. Afterwards, I took a short spin around town. 

The church in the photo is a whopper. Unfortunately, the town no longer is. The main street is not quite vacant but not too far from it. It's a shame what has happened to so many of these small towns. I'm sure you could buy a lot of real estate cheap, both commercial and residential, but what would you do with it once you owned it? Hard to bring it back when there's nothing to keep the young people there. Especially after taking a hit from the covid shutdowns and the recent inflation. 

And what's worse than that? Tornado damage. On the way home I went through the small town that was hit recently by the tornado. Lots of damage - a couple of businesses destroyed along with many houses. However, like most small towns, the people all unite and come together to help each other out, but it's going to be really rough dealing with the loss in the long term. There are a lot of people just trying to get by with a roof over their head these days. Think how tough it would be when you've lost everything.  

Chopping Wood

 

       Had this one playing while I was chopping on the stump.

Not much left of the stump but I was getting gassed out, so I figured it was time to quit. I don't have much stamina yet but I can swing the axe - not like Paul Bunyon, but well enough to get some work done. I had cut some slots in the top of it the other day with the chainsaw, and I was able to break some pieces off with a big pinch bar, but I didn't get my angle cuts deep enough to connect. I didn't want to get the bar in the dirt. Another hour or so I should have the stump low enough to throw some dirt over it, rake it smooth, and throw some grass seed on top of it.

You can tell spring is here when the Magnolia trees start to bloom. The grass will be ready for mowing soon also. When the tractor was down, a friend of mine plowed the lane and threw some gravel into the grass. I need to rake some of it back in and the rest I imagine will get thrown into the fields by the mower. Not the best for the blades and the deck, but I don't have a rock magnet, so what will be will be.

And ain't that the truth. It's all about priorities.

Pickle Ball Repair Again

 

Coach Jen and I went to the Golden Gloves prelims Thursday evening. I haven't been there too much these last few years due to working or the Covid cancellations. I had a good time both at the fights and having the opportunity to catch up on a few things with Jen. I'm trying to decide if I want to be involved with amateur boxing in the future and we kicked a few ideas around on the drive down.

While I was at the fights I received a text about fixing another piece for the pickle ball courts at the rec center - no rest for the wicked. I picked the pieces up Friday after rehab, welded it up and sprayed a little paint on it, giving the paint time to dry, so I can deliver it today. I certainly don't mind repairing these things, but it's not all that easy. Originally, the round tube is fastened by soldering or brazing it to the rectangular tube. In order to TIG weld the two parts together, the solder must be removed, as well as the paint. Since the round tube is only about .020" thick, you can't get wild with the sander and take much stock off. It went fairly smooth until I burned a hole in it. Patching the hole was a pain but I got it, it's done and will be gone later today.

The weather is supposed to be warm again today, so I'm going to do a little outside stuff and then work on the trials bike or maybe put the electronic ignition in the Sportster. Just looking forward to being out there with the big doors open and the sunshine coming in.  

Bock is Back

 

Things have been pretty slow around here lately. Not with the weather though - storms, snow and temperature swings. It's supposed to warm up this weekend, however. The Missus has pert near won her battle with the shingles, so I'll be able to spend a little less time in the kitchen and a little more time in the shop. I ordered a new cut-off switch for the trials bike, but I didn't get around to working on finishing up the wiring like I had planned. That'll happen soon, however. 

The cardiac rehab is progressing nicely. Upper body strength is noticeably better and I've lost a few pounds. I've been working out a little at home on the off days as well.

Once a week there's a brief session with a topic relating to cardiac patients, as you would suspect. This week's session was on diet. I expected the cholesterol talk but that was never mentioned. Instead, the topic was sodium. I didn't get much out of the talk, but I got a couple of handouts that should be helpful. The one is a collection of healthy recipes, the 3 Bean Chili recipe in the photo being one I'm going to try. While there was no gumbo recipe in the handout, I'm planning on making a batch next week.

Alex Dreier

This is the time of year of Mardi Gras and the time when I was a young man Alex Dreier used to come on the television and tell the viewing audience that Bock is Back while promoting Meister Brau bock beer. I ran into the lady who used to sign my checks while in the grocery store the other day. It just so happened we were at the end of the beer aisle. While we were chatting, I could see a display of Shiner Bock out of the corner of my eye. After we parted company, I got to thinking about my train trip to New Orleans with Cuzzin Ricky a few years back - Cajun cooking and a good beer sounded pretty good, so I succumbed to the siren call of the Shiner Bock and next week I'll fix myself a batch of gumbo and wash it down with an ice cold Shiner. I wouldn't mind getting back on the City of New Orleans again and sample some more of that cuisine down there, though. Hard to beat the real thing.   

Mace

 

Photo shows the completed mace. Initially, I won't have the weights on the end of it. Hell, I might never get to that point as far as that goes, but I think I can work with this thing, improve my shoulder and arm strength without aggravating my chest too much.

Going along with this, I've got a 4x4 that I believe is cherry. I picked it up several years ago and I want to make a pair of Indian clubs out of it. I'm not much of a woodturner but I've got a small pair that I can use for a pattern, I just have to scale them up. Making one will probably be easy enough, but making the second one to match might be tricky. If I make a pattern to follow I should be OK. Not a pressing job by any means, but one of the many things that has been on the back burner for years. Once again, having a heart attack brings things into focus and I need to get some things finished or get them gone. Making a pair of Indian clubs should be fun and someone will be able to use them if I don't or after I pass.

 

Tornado

 

It's going to be tough to smile for a lot of people in my neck of the woods for a while after the storms and tornados that went through the area on Tuesday night.

West of me is the little town where I go for my ham radio club meetings. Lots of tornado damage to houses, the gas station and the Dollar General. Two people lost their lives.

East of me are solar farms. They took a big hit as did several houses and farms. I was lucky in that the tornados didn't touch down by me. We did have lots of thunder and lightning, small hail and a loss of power for a couple of hours.

 The generator kept the lights on, I pulled my little transistor radio out of the Faraday bag and I was able to pick up the repeater the radio club was using for the emergency with my little handheld. Pretty nice being equipped for emergency communications.

My heart goes out to all those affected by the storm. I can guarantee you the communities will pull together to get people shelter and help rebuild. I went through the big storm that took my almost finished barn down a few years ago but that's nothing liking losing your house and all your possessions.

Anniversary today - 55 years with the old girl. No big plans since she's still recovering from the shingles, but just real happy we're both still kicking and together.   

Shop Work

 

We had a couple of real foggy mornings last week and when I went into the shop Saturday, everything was dripping wet. There's always a lot of condensation in there every spring when the frost comes out of the ground, but this year it seems to have been worse than normal. I fired up the heaters and fans to help dry it up some but yesterday it was warm, sunny and breezy and that did the trick. I spent a little time wiping things down, oiling them and then dragging more tools out again.

The 1" threaded rod in the photo is the beginning of an adjustable mace. I don't see me adding much weight to the top of this thing, but I think using this will help with my upper body strength and flexibility without hurting my mysterious chest affliction.

I started wiring the trials bike - not much to it. However, the wires coming off the kill switch are tiny. I went ahead and soldered them in but I'm not so sure they'll carry enough juice to do the job. While the tank is off I'll finish welding the mounting tabs. There's a few other little things that need finishing. but it'll get done soon.

Since I'm retired, the time change doesn't bother me too much. I pretty much operate off my own daylight time anyway. But here in Indiana, it would be nice if the whole state was on the same time at least half the year like it used to be - thanks again Mitch!

Welding Ships

 I received my new issue of the Welding Journal yesterday and there was a blurb in the News of the Industry section that Marine Group Boat Works received from the Navy a grant to certify welders for the ship building industry. The graduates from the program will be certified to NAVSEA standards, which I was not at all familiar with. I did a search for the standards and the whole package is 137 pages long. As a former Certified Welding Inspector, I'm somewhat familiar with the certification process, at least as far as the American Welding Society Structural Steel D1.1 code goes. The American Bureau of Shipping code is quite similar in its requirements as is the Canadian Structural code. The Canadians offer reciprocity to American welders with the D1.1 certification. Also, when taking the CWI exam, you can use the AWS code book or the API book. So regardless of the code you would be certified to, there are a lot of similarities.

Keeping our discussion here to just stick welding, more properly known as Shielded Metal Arc Welding, the process has to be certified first thing. This starts with the electrode grouping and material grouping. E6010 and E7018 electrodes are in the same group, so they can be used either individually or together on the same weld test. Likewise, a material such as 1020 or A36 can be used. The code book specifies material thickness, edge prep and weld position. After the weld is completed, the parameters are recorded and the test plate has "coupons" cut and bent. If all goes well, the test is then used to certify individual welders.

The NAVSEA test is basically the same for mild steel but the plates are all subject to ultrasonic or radiographic testing. The welders must retest every three years or after a three-month layoff. Because ships use a lot more material types than just mild steel, the code lists most every other material and welding process that is required in shipbuilding, as well as requirements for groove welds and fillet welds, pipe welds, inspection and record keeping requirements.

Obviously there's a lot required for an individual and their employer to maintain NAVSEA certification. The article mentions Marine Group Boat Works has a 92% retention rate, so I would think the working conditions, wages and fringe package are good. I went to their website but didn't come across anything as far as employment. 

It is good to see the Navy is addressing the issue of bringing more qualified people into the welding trade in order to build and maintain their fleet. $633,005 seems like just a drop in the bucket if they are really serious about remedying the situation. However, things might be changing.

John C. Phelan
Secretary of the Navy

The Honorable John Phelan was sworn in as the 79th Secretary of the Navy on March 25, 2025. Secretary Phelan oversees the well-being, readiness and development of nearly one million Sailors, Marines, reservists and civilian personnel in the Department of the Navy and manages an annual budget of $263.5 billion and balance sheet assets totaling $922 billion. His departmental priorities focus on strengthening shipbuilding and the maritime industrial base; fostering an adaptive, accountable and warfighting culture; and improving the health, welfare and training of our people.

 I wish the Honorable John Phelan all the best. It's not going to be easy to erase that thirty-year backlog on fulfilling the contracts for new submarines. 

Long Neck

 I finished the bike radiator job Sunday afternoon. A little tricky but not near as bad as I thought it would be, especially after struggling with the radiator itself. The piece I machined up to make the transition worked as designed. I did get a little melt thru on the inside of the top piece, so I chucked it up in the lathe to clean it up before welding the completed part onto the pipe. Hopefully everything works, because I'd just as soon not have to fiddle with it again. However, I'm pretty happy that I'm still capable of doing this type of work.

Where Have All the Flowers Gone?

 

More death and destruction started yesterday - when will they ever learn? If this is going to be the start of WWIII, I don't want to play. 

A shot of the bike radiator with the heat sink putty applied. I had to work some water into it first, but it did the job.

Not the prettiest job ever but it should work. There's a couple of spots that look a little iffy. The one on the bottom is a crater, not a hole. The other spot by the outlet might actually be a leak. I had one hell of a time getting things clean enough to weld. I sanded off the radiator tank with a flap wheel, hit it with some emery cloth, wire brushed it, and rinsed it off with some aluminum cleaner. Once the heat sink putty was on there I couldn't wire brush it any longer. Being able to brush it would have been a great help. The aluminum tank has been anodized, and I thought I had all of that removed but most of the trouble might have been coming from residual anti-freeze inside the tank or grit embedded from the abrasives. Anyway, it's done. I'm going to check it over real well today when I attempt to weld the filler pieces together. Hopefully, I'll be able to get that done with a minimum of struggle, but I doubt it. 

Aluminum Work

 

It's nice having a decent collection of CDs to play in the truck, especially for someone like me who enjoys a wide variety of music. I had this one going yesterday morning and then rehab had oldies playing as well. Hard to beat "The King" on a beautiful late winter morning.

I postponed machining up the parts for the bike radiator project due to the weather. When I saw there was a 60-degree day in the forecast, I decided to wait for it and work on my taxes instead - good trade-off. I finished up the taxes and machined the parts when I could have the big doors open in the shop.

Next up is the welding. I'm not too worried about welding the plugs in the radiator, but welding the filler neck is liable to be a stretch. Wish me luck on that one.

Brain Health

 I received an email from the Michigan Brain Study group of which I'm a member the other day. Nothing much exciting in it, mostly just an update for those of us involved. However, it mentioned there was an article in Welder magazine about the study with a link. The study itself is looking for commonalities between the environmental factors in welding, fabricating and metalworking occupations and brain issues such as dementia and ALS. The study is still looking for volunteers, by the way. Read the article if you get a few minutes. It just might spur you to volunteer, which in turn may help all of us metal workers with a better future as far as our brain health goes.

Pluggin' Away

 

Harley Shovelhead with a real "peanut" tank. I'm no fan of that tank, but otherwise I like the bike. If I was going to be real nit-picky, I'd change the seat - lower it down into the angle of the frame so the fender would stop your butt from sliding back under acceleration. Beautiful bike just the same. Probably can't tell from the photo, but the frame and fender are a nice color of green. 

I put the kill switch on the trials bike yesterday. If the pigtail that came with it was just a couple of inches longer, it would have eliminated a splice. No biggie, not going to be much wiring anyway - just an ignition circuit and a couple of wires keeping the battery charged up. I'll get the coil swapped out from the tractor in the next couple of days. 

I started on the motorcycle radiator job yesterday as well. I got the two fittings cut off and took some measurements for making the two plugs as well as what it's going to take to hook up the filler neck. All of the pieces will be easy enough to make but keeping everything else cool enough while welding is going to be the challenge.

Production has slowed down lately due to the cold weather, cardiac rehab and the fact the Missus has shingles. She's been dealing with that for a couple of weeks now, leaving me as chief cook and bottle washer. She's over the worst of it, thank goodness. The old girl's been miserable.

I've got a couple of other projects I need to add to the list. One's pretty easy, just a bit of lathe work. The other will require a shovel and concrete, in addition to some fab work. No hurry on either of them, just tidying up a couple of loose ends. 

Update

 It seems the video about the safe deposit boxes was bogus. I did a bit of searching and came up with nothing in the way of confirmation. I talked to my financial advisor on another matter and then asked him about it. He hadn't heard anything. Surly sent me an email and called BS on the thing saying it was AI generated fearmongering. 

So, sorry if I sent anyone down the wrong track. However, at this point, nothing would surprise me with the banking industry.

The Time Has Come

If you have a safety deposit box at the bank, the time has come for you to watch this here, and do it before March 1st.

The video is about 25 minutes in length but definitely worth watching the whole thing. I didn't look for anything else to verify it, but I've watched a couple other videos by the author and he seems to be very well informed and legitimate. And if you're as paranoid as I am, this will take it up another notch. I try to avoid much in the way of politics, but once again I say, follow the Constitution and keep your hand out of my pocket. Simple enough.

Parts

 

My shipment came in with the trials bike parts and the heat sink putty. The kill switch is supposed to be waterproof. I don't know if that'll ever be a necessity, but for the bargain basement price of $7.00, why not? I ordered a new coil with a resistor because I'm going to put it on the tractor. The one I swapped out a couple years ago is chrome plated and a little larger in diameter. I already have the bracket made for the bike to fit the larger OD, and the chrome is a little out of place on the old Allis.

The heat sink putty isn't really putty at the present time. I took the cap off and it's not quite hard as a rock, but it's going to take a little work to get it useable. I put some water in the jar and "stirred" it up. If I can't get it pliable, I'll send it back and try something else. Regardless, I'll work on cutting off the two pieces of the radiator and make the patches and the transition piece for the filler neck.

This & That

I finished my first full week of rehab yesterday. It's run well, the people are friendly and I'm getting stronger, especially my upper body. And, since all of us clients are old farts, they play classic rock while we are working the machines. I heard this one and thought to myself it's rare that I hear a Beach Boys tune on any of the music I listen to, and I don't think I've ever posted a Beach Boys tune here on the blog. One of my favorites.

I would imagine that's a photo taken at the end of the trip after responding to a rough one. The locals came to the shack a while back after my wife fell and broke her wrist. Easy one for them - they put a temporary splint on her and helped me get her into the car and I took her to the hospital. And my recent trip from the dentist to the hospital was pretty easy for those guys also. They started a couple of IVs and took my vitals. No blood or guts involved in either trip. The crews were probably thankful that they were nothing like what the guy in the photo had just gone through. That's nothing I'd want to do for a living. I'm real thankful there are people willing to do it, however. God bless each and every one of you.

Not that it's going to make any difference, but since it's tax season, might as well vent a little. I wouldn't mind paying federal tax on wages, but on interest income and Social Security? No way. If I would have been allowed to invest mine and my employer's contributions to my Social Security account, I think I could have been a lot better off. Plus, any chunk of money left over after I died would have been able to go to my heirs. If I go first now, the Missus will get my check but will have to forfeit hers. Just one of several reasons why the Libertarian Party is looking better all the time. Follow the Constitution and keep your hand out of my pocket - simple enough. 

Yesterday would have been my Dad's 106th birthday. He only made it to 74, so he's been gone awhile now. You don't get to pick your parents, but I was lucky with who I got. Also, speaking of birthdays, the grandson turned 21 this week - gainfully employed, completed his technical certificate at the community college and is now working on getting his Associate degree. The Missus and I are very proud of him.

 

False Spring

 

Yesterday we had a "false spring" here abouts as well. Sun was shining and the temps were in the sixties. It was rather breezy, but no complaints from me. I did my stint at rehab, came home and cut some firewood and then split it. I've still got some more to split but the chunks were heavier than I wanted to try loading up on the splitter by myself. I figured my chest was going to be sore after pulling on the starter ropes on the chain saw and splitter, especially after doing some of the rehab exercises, so I'll wait until I get a little help for those.

It's looking like the weather will be more seasonable, so I'm planning on a little shop work and getting started on my taxes. I'm curious as to how much of a break I'll get this year since the Big Beautiful Bill is supposed to give those of us receiving Social Security a break. With a decent refund I'll be able to invest in more car and motorcycle parts. Progress on the Projects - needs to be the mantra for the year.

Trials & Tribulations

 

After posting the Little Feat cut the other day, I figured another one off the Waiting for Columbus album wouldn't hurt. And, of course, most anything by the Band is always good, especially if the second shooter on the grassy knoll is doing the vocals - you had to see the movie to get the reference.

I went on a search mission yesterday for a couple of items. First up was the heat absorbing paste for the motorcycle radiator job. They put up a plumbing supply within walking distance of me over the summer, so I was hoping to get lucky there. However, not only did they not have it, the counterman had never heard of it. 

Next up was the hardware store for a couple of clevis pins for the shift linkage on the trials bike. I needed two 1/4" dia. x 1" long. They didn't have any short ones, but they did have a couple 2" long that had a series of holes for the cotter keys so they could be cut to fit. That works but the little darlings were $2.99 each - ACE = Always Costs Extra.

After fitting up the shift linkage I started looking for the coil and plug wire. I couldn't find either one of them. The coil that was on the bike I put on the tractor when I was having trouble with the spark a few years back. The coil wasn't the issue, so I just left the bike coil on the tractor and put the other one heaven only knows where. Likewise, the plug wire. I'm going to take another look around for them but if the coil doesn't show up soon, I'll just order another one. I bought new plug wires for the Sportster, so I can use one of the old ones for the trials bike. It'll all come together one of these days. 

Bike Stuff

It was a beautiful day yesterday. The sun was shining and the temperature got up close to 60. Surly came down to work on a project but before he got started on his I had him give me a hand installing the motor in the vintage trials bike. While I was getting it bolted up, one of his buddies came by with a aluminum job for me to weld up. It's an aluminum dirt bike radiator that needs some remodeling. The welding should be easy enough, but I'm concerned about getting the tank so hot that it'll melt any sealer that might be between the tank and the core. Need to look into that before I screw the job up.

I scroll through Marketplace on a somewhat regular basis and came across this rag-tag Moto Guzzi. I've always had a hankerin' for one but not this one. The asking price is $1,500 but I'm thinking that's about $1,000 more than it's worth. I've enjoyed working on the two Sportsters and I'm sure I'd enjoy working on this one, but I would need to finish another 10 projects before I would consider dragging something like this one home. However, the guy with the radiator job said he's got a couple of VW fenders that I can have. Actually, it wouldn't take all that much to finish the bug.

Now that I'm enrolled in rehab three days per week, I need to pull the rag out of my ass and get myself a decent schedule. Since the rehab is in the morning, just set the afternoons aside for project work and follow through. Open weekdays and weekends for chores - dishes, laundry, outside things. Once again, the heart attack has brought things more into focus for me. Times running out if I actually want to see a few of these bikes and cars move under their own power.

Music, Medicare & Motorbikes

I haven't heard any Little Feat in a while. I had some loaded up on my MP3 player but it died a couple of years back. I've got a turntable that I can use to load up the vinyl onto my computer and then load up the MP3 player. I've got several Little Feat albums, along with lots of jazz and blues. Might be time to see about getting another MP3 player I can load up and listen to my kind of music without any commercial interruptions.

The hospital called the other day about doing cardiac rehab. Seems odd that they would wait two months to get a hold of me, but I'm going to see about it this morning. With my Medicare and my supplement policy, I should get enough sessions without cost to take me up to spring.

450 Royal Enfield Cafe bike. That's one fine looking custom. You still don't see many Enfields on the streets, but the company is doing a fine job of promoting their products and capturing market share.

I saw this one at BIKEEXIF - custom framed BSA look alike. The engine is a new production of an updated Gold Star. There are a lot of really talented builders out there these days and that's a good thing.

And that right there is a bike I would have bought back in the day if my dad would have signed for me: 500 Triumph Daytona. After my Sprint got stolen, this is the one I wanted to get to replace it. They had one on the floor of the local Triumph dealer and I wanted it bad. My dad said he'd help me out with a car but no go on the motorcycle. I definitely don't need another motorcycle, but when I saw this one my heart went pitter-pat. Of course, with my cardiac history I should probably be careful with the pitter-pats. 

A Day in the Life

 

Beautiful day yesterday - the sun was out and it was mid to high forties. 

Started the day off with a haircut and ran the truck through the carwash while I was out.

Next up, a late breakfast. then cleaned out the cab of the truck.

The wife's car had a low tire light show up last week. I had aired up that one but yesterday I went around all four and got them up to spec. Put some air in the rear tire of the Himalayan while I was in the neighborhood.

Straightened out a few things in the garage and swept the floor. 

Took the garbage can down and got the mail.

The fourth book of my order from Thriftbooks showed up. It too is a reprint from Lindsay. The title says Modern Machinist but since the original was published in 1895, don't be looking for the latest in CNC methods. However, it's interesting reading from a historical perspective, and if you don't have any truly modern equipment, there's a wealth of knowledge that I might be able to use someday for some oddball job I run across.

After checking out the mail I went out to the woodpile to load up some of the nice splits for the fireplace. While I was out there by the shop, I went in and I could smell raccoon. Sure enough, I had my first catch of the season in the live trap up topside. I still have no idea how they are getting in. I worked on making the building a bit more secure last summer, but apparently there is still someplace that's allowing them entrance. 

After dealing with the coon, I put some fresh straw in the nesting boxes for the chickens and called it quits. After doing my walkies at the rec center today, I'll pick up dog poop now that the snow has melted and see about getting something done in the shop.