Back to Work

I was finally able to pull the rag out and get back to work on a few project things. The shiny brass gizmo is a balance weight for an old clock the Media Guy at school bought. It was missing one so I turned this one out on the lathe at school. I still need to figure out the gearing problem on the lathe and something's a little hinky with the thread chasing dial as well but having a lathe in the shop is pretty sweet.

The aluminum box is going to be a live well for a boat. The kid laid it all out, bent and TIG welded it all on his own. He was proud as a peacock when it was leakproof the first time out, plus he managed to pick up the aluminum sheet at a yard sale for only five bucks.

The grill is for a Ford Ranger. This one was done by the same kid who made the bicycle I posted some photos of awhile back. This boy's got some talent. He's signed up to attend WyoTech to learn how to make hot rods and customs. If he stays on the straight and narrow, he'll be a great one. He's got tremendous artistic skills and the ideas just flow out of him. The only problem here at school is, he just wants to work on what he finds interesting. We're all a little bit that way but it's hard to build your skills up unless you tackle a variety of projects.

I started machining up the piece I need for the Rickati swingarm on the lathe at home. I got the heavy wall tubing from another job I scrapped out, so I needed to turn the OD to clean it up and thin it out a little. I've got lathe jobs working in not one but two locations now! I'm going to be pretty busy this weekend but I want to get this piece done. If I can get the swingarm finished up, the frame is pretty well complete. I need to order some tubing for the swingarm "legs" and machine up the plates with the axle slots but that's no big deal. I can then get a back wheel underneath it and hook up the rear brake. Even if it doesn't run, I can always find a hill to ride it down.

I'm "running" the Hub Run on Sunday. I haven't been training at all but I can always limp through a 5K. I've been trying to get miles on the bike in any free time I have but the weather has been crap. I don't mind getting a little wet but getting soaked on the way to work is no good. I did put some time in on the trainer the other night, so you know I'm getting desperate. My legs held up pretty well to a half hour of fairly strenuous work. I was sweating like a pig but the heart rate was staying nice and low. I should be able to start putting in some longer rides in the next couple of weeks. I need to get a few 20-25 milers in and I need to hook the trailer up to make sure that it's ready to go as well. I've got a little better rear wheel for it that was left over from one of the high mileage cars. I'm going to throw that one on there and I might to have to do a little modifying on the hook up part to compensate for the wider rear wheel I put on the bike. I also need to order up some food and in a couple of weeks start sleeping on the floor. It makes it easier to sleep on the ground if you condition yourself by laying on a self-inflating mattress on the floor instead of a nice cushy bed for a few days. The Missus always thinks I'm crazy but I can't take the Lay-Z-Boy with me, which is fast becoming my primary sleeping arrangement here at the shack.