OK, this is it for the Bossa Nova music for a while. No telling what I'll come up with in the future, though. Probably should have put some Irish music up yesterday.
I started on finishing up the trials bike. It won't take long to strip it down the rest of the way - pull the motor and put it on the stand, the front end will come off in one piece. Pull the shocks, rear wheel and swing arm and that'll be that.
I need to weld in the piece for the chain rubbing block on the swingarm, drill some holes for safety wire, then finish weld everything. That shouldn't take too long. Hopefully I'll get that done this week. However, I start back to work this week, and I've got a few other things cooking, but welding up the frame needs to be job one - get it done before somebody shows up on my doorstep needing something.
After posting The Girl From Ipanema the other day, my curiosity got the better of me and I went looking to see what else I could find by Astrud Gilberto. There's actually quite a bit and there's also quite a bit by the group here. This young lady sounds like Astrud, and I wish there was a radio station that I could pick up that played some Bossa Nova music.
Surly commented that I could have purchased the hose barb for $8.00 at Auto Zone but it probably would have been imported and not near as sexy as mine . To be honest, I never even considered asking about that item when I was at the auto parts store picking up the heater hose. There are four auto parts stores within bicycling distance of me, however, it seems every time I go looking for something out of the ordinary the young person working the counter has no idea of what I'm talking about - just like what I ran into trying to buy a rough service light bulb at Menards the other day. The two auto parts places that were run by the old guys who had been in business for years both closed down. Both of those guys were hard to stump. It's not fair to blame the young ones, though. We all had to start somewhere, and they're gainfully employed, so no offense to them.
As for making a part that could be bought for eight bucks, granted, it's not the most productive use of my time. However, for those of you wondering why, besides my not wanting to deal with the parts counter folks, I like doing that type of work. I've collected tools and machinery for years, as well as worked on a variety of jobs and had enough formal education to do most any and everything I need or want to do. Some guys collect stamps, some guys make $8.00 parts. Surly knows all of this. I imagine when he retires and has the luxury to do whatever the hell he feels like doing, he'll be out in the shop tinkering on something, same as I do. If you don't use it, you lose it and all that.
Beautiful song. The young lady singing passed away not too long ago, I believe. I don't recall hearing her on any other recordings but with a voice like that, there surely must have been.
Another beautiful day again yesterday and a busy one. I dropped the taxes off at the tax lady's house, then stopped at the hardware and auto parts stores on the way home. When I got home I started on the hose fitting. It was probably more trouble to make it than it would have been to buy one but I'm sure the local Chrysler dealer or a junkyard wouldn't have turned up anything. First of all, there aren't junkyards around like there used to be, and I'm sure talking to the parts man at the dealership would only end in frustration, so might as well make it.
The part started out in life as a 3/8" black pipe nipple. I drilled out two 5/8" nuts to slip over the pipe, as well as thinning them down in the lathe. The one on the outer end was welded on, then turned to shape and the OD of the pipe thinned down to 5/8". The second nut was welded on after that. I ran a tap into the hole in the head to clean up the threads, and bingo! There we have it. I'll put a little of the engine enamel on it so it looks "factory".
While waiting for the hose fitting to cool between the welding and machine steps, I finished the electrical outlet on the bandsaw. I tacked a piece onto the outlet box the other day, drilled and tapped a hole in the "beam" of the saw to mount it, and yesterday I put on a new plug for the saw motor. I should have installed another wall out nearby when I wired the shop but having the extension cord as a semi-permanent installation will work just fine.
I loaded up the trailer with the second helping of firewood to take to the splitter. It was a serious load but the trailer is hell for strong. The springs didn't compress much at all, the tires, however, were definitely over loaded. It looks like the valve stem blew out from the pressure. The tires have a bunch of cracks in the sidewalls, so I'm going to get a couple of new ones and install heavy-duty valve stems while I'm at it. That should be a lifetime fix for me.
I've got a nice pile of firewood for next year's heating season now. I need to move it under cover but it'll have to be with the wheelbarrow since the trailer's out of commission for a while. Sure glad I followed the advice (order) of the Missus and bought myself a splitter. That Hawthorne would have been a killer-diller to try and split by hand.
The nice weather is gone now for a few days. Windy today with gusts forecast greater than 60 mph. Colder temperatures on tap tomorrow. Standard operating procedure around here. I'll be back in the shop today again working on something.
Test photo: 2" hitch ball with really lousy threads. It looks like it has a stud threaded into the ball but I couldn't get it out without a lot of monkey business. Of course, the threaded part might have been machined on the ball to begin with. I think I'm going to cut the threaded part off and then chuck it up in the lathe and see if I can drill and tap the ball. The logical thing to do would have been to toss it in the load of scrap the other day since I've got a couple of spares already. However, the photo came through like it was supposed to, so there's that.
Beautiful day yesterday again, so I did some lumberjacking. Loaded up my little trailer with wood from the Hawthorn tree and pulled it out to the splitter with the zero turn. Without thinking about it, I just yanked back on the control levers and managed to pull quite the righteous wheelstand. Seems smooth application of power is called for when pulling a heavy load. Anyway, I got quite a bit of wood split. I've got another pile from the other tree yet to go and I need to cut some of the pieces to a smaller size. The fireplace insert has a pretty small firebox, so the pieces work best if they are 16" or shorter.
I took a look at the jitney while I was out there yesterday. I need to fix up the heater hoses, not that I'm going to have a heater in that rig, but I need to connect the water pump to the block. Someone has replaced the top hose fitting with a short piece of brass pipe. There's no "bump" on the end of it like most all heater hose fittings have, so I'm going to make a little something with the bump and with a hex so I can put an open-end wrench on it instead of using a pipe wrench. Not a big thing but I'm trying to get back on that project a little now that I've finally got the rear end.
Starting next week back to college two nights a week, one night a week boxing, finish the vintage trials bike, get the BSA going, same with the Sportster, and try to get caught up with all the rest of things that come around. It's going to be a busy spring but I better move forward while I'm in the mood for it.
Busy day yesterday. I had the truck loaded with some steel scrap from the clean-up operation - made $22.10 at the scrapyard when I dropped it off. Left there and headed to the courthouse to get a property tax statement so I can finish my taxes, Had lunch with Coach Jen and discussed some boxing stuff.
I've got everything I need to file my taxes now, and since the tax lady files them electronically, maybe she could attach this little ditty from Sonny Boy Williamson so they'll know what I think about all of my money that's been squandered over the years.
I headed out to shop later on and finished up a little project for the bandsaw, then did a little tune-up on the lathe. The headstock had more than a little play in it, so I pulled the last pair of shims out. It's still a little loose but that's all I can do without changing the big bushing the spindle rides in. I don't know if one would be available, and even if one is, the old dog needs more than just that. It's about time to start shopping in earnest for a new lathe.
This one's dedicated to the Missus. 54th anniversary today. Don't know how many more years we've got, but however it goes, we'll be together until the end.
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I've got a problem with my phone. According to my computer, the photos I try to download are infected. I'll be going to the backup plan in the near future until I figure out what's what. Might be a couple days on that.
Old Albert hit that nail square on the head. A former neighbor of ours from way back when, stopped at a gas station last week, made a purchase and had 29 cents coming back in change. The young lady working the counter couldn't figure out how to make the change. She called the manager over to show her the difference between a nickel and a dime - not that she needed either of those to make the 29 cents, but who knows how she was trying to get there.
Nice day yesterday, so I decided to tackle a couple of jobs on the to-do list. I fixed the work light on the Bridgeport. I tried buying a rough service bulb like I normally do at Menard's but the young ladies helping me had never heard of a bulb with a rubber type coating. I prefer those because if they break, the rubber coating keeps the glass from flying and the coating keeps a spark from burning through the glass. However, since it will be on the mill, it shouldn't be subjected to too much rough treatment. They did have rough service LED bulbs in a two pack, so I'll see how they hold up.
I also installed a replacement light under the kitchen cabinet. I did one a while back but I was waiting until my eye got better before tackling the second one. They're LED lights that are dimmable, and you can select the color temperature. They're both wired together off a common switch, so I replaced the old switch with a dimmer that also has an on/off switch. Much nicer lighting now.
I got on the scale the other day and I've put on some weight due to a combination of sore chest, eye surgery, winter weather, and gluttony, mostly gluttony. I'm still under the light-heavyweight weight break of 178, but I need to get back to a middleweight, which is 165 in the amateur ranks. I was down there last year and I need to get there again to get rid of the belly. I've started doing some Tai-Chi exercises and I think they're going to help a lot. Maybe not so much on the belly fat, but they should help keeping everything loose. I can do these at home and couple them with the boxing club workouts and some cycling, I should be on the right path. I have absolutely no desire to become a frail old man. I've got to be in good enough shape to take care of the Missus, the grounds and the projects. It's going to take some dedication, but I enjoy training and no better time than spring.
The Quick-Change for the jitney project came in yesterday morning. I didn't know what the deal was going to be as far as how it was going to be delivered but I got a phone call on Wednesday from the shipping company - straight truck with a lift gate some time between 8:00 and noon. All I needed to hear. The driver put it on the gate with a pallet jack and then rolled it into the garage for me. Nice guy, great service. Thank you, Dayton Freight. I did get a chuckle out of the fragile sticker on the carton. This thing is supposed to be good for 600 horsepower. Not what I'd consider fragile, but it made it here safe and sound and that's all that matters.
Page from the 1972 Motorcycle Repair Manual that I've had since 1972. There's a wealth of knowledge in the book. While much of the stuff for individual bikes is outdated, unless you happen to be restoring one of those particular models, like a BSA 650, the math in the back is most helpful. And math never goes out of date. So it's time to do some cipherin', Jethro.
The ring and pinion in the differential is 4:33. The transmission is 1:1 in high gear and the rear tire is a tick under 32" tall. According to the formula MPH = rpm x effective rear wheel radius / overall drive ratio x 168. That gives me 5000rpm x 15.75 /4:33 x 168 = 108 MPH. The effective rear wheel radius I figured for a tire 31.5" tall to account for it getting a little shorter with the car weight on it. So if I put quick change gears in the differential with a 1:1 ration, that's what I'd be looking at.
23/25 gears would give 117 mph on the high side, 100 mph on the low side
22/25 gears would give 123 mph on the high side, 95 mph on the low side.
All of these numbers are figured at 5000 rpm and make no allowance for horsepower numbers. The car is going to be pretty light, so the Slant Six should be able to pull to a 5000 rpm redline in high gear. When I looked into going to Bonneville, as long as you stay under 125, a regular operator's license is adequate, so the 22/25 change gears would be right in the ballpark.
Even though the diff is tagged as having a 4.33 ring and pinion, I'm going to double check that. The catalog listing says3.78. When I'm sure of what I've got I'll order the change gears, a couple of gaskets and some oil. I've already got the brake parts and axle studs, so I don't need much more to get it under the car.
I watched the State of the Union address last night. I don't normally sit through them, but I figured in light of what's been going on, it should be interesting. And it was. Say what you will about President Trump, the man can work a room.
I liked that he addressed the need for building ships for the Navy. I've read quite a bit about that situation and commented on it a couple of times here. It's good that there will be action forthcoming and it will put a lot of craftspeople to work. It'll be interesting to see if they can find enough qualified people in the various trades to get the job accomplished, however. They just might have to start paying the welders a better wage.
No word yet on the delivery date for the quick-change. I'm not in any hurry, just want to know when the delivery is scheduled so I can plan to be here.
A photo of pipe weld a former student of mine sent me recently. I'm not sure when he graduated but it was probably something like 25 years ago. Always nice to hear from him. Teachers and coaches often wonder how much impact we've had on our students. In his case, there it is. One fine looking multi-pass MIG weld. Makes me proud.
David Johanssen, aka Buster Poindexter, passed away a few days back. He was just a few months older than I am. I'm looking for at least another 5 good years. If I make it to 80, I'll reset the clock and shoot for another five. RIP Mr. Johanssen.
The photo is from the Rivendell bike email I received. It has a very much 1940s look to it, other than the electric fan. I especially like the welding hood with the riveted leather flaps top and bottom. The photo was taken at the Nitto factory recently and Rivendell is selling a series of 5x7 prints at a bike show in Philly currently and if they don't sell out of them at the show, they'll be on their website.
They are also selling Ilford black and white film in 35mm and 120 now in addition to complete bicycles, parts and accessories. Theirs is a different business model than most bike manufacturers but their website is worth a look. We all should be a cyclist of some stripe - good, low impact form of exercise and cheap transportation for short hops. A Rivendell bike is not necessarily cheap, but my touring bike that has taken me on several long-distance tours cost me only eight dollars from the local church rummage sale. I spent some money on a couple of upgrades, but there are lots of cheap bikes out there.
Frankie Flood at Handverker has some interesting stuff up on his blog. You need to scroll down and see the '36 Ford. The car was built at Rad Rides by Troy. Surly and I took a class from Ron Covell that was held there several years ago. They do great work, but I don't think this one can be topped. Check it out here.
I worked on the trials bike yesterday and finished the linkage. The only thing left to finish the frame is the piece to hold the rubbing block for the drive chain. Actually, I already have a piece made, just need to fiddle with it a bit then tack it on. I get that done, I'll weld everything finish and either paint it or powder coat it. It's getting close to being done.
Looks like it'll work - just needs some tidying up. Surly's coming down today to discuss a few things. The BSA project will definitely be one of them. The quick-change for the jitney, hence the Chuck Berry song, will be here this week. I need to get that to the stage where I can roll it in and out of the shop. I did a little think time on a way to turn the drum on the bike wheels if need be. I made a sketch, but I'll hold off on machining any parts until I need it, if I do. There's plenty of other projects on the list as well.
I got a call from the boss man at the college. I'll be teaching MIG 2, instead of Stick 2. And the nights will change, which will work in my favor. I'll be able to go to the boxing gym and the ham radio club meetings now. Don't know if I'll want to be busy four nights a week, but I do enjoy going to the gym and I definitely need the exercise.
I went to the massage parlor yesterday morning. In addition to working on my back, she tried getting the leg muscle to relax some. She did some cupping, so now I've got big hickies on the side of my legs. Not a problem since I won't be going to the beach anytime soon. In fact, I put my long underwear back on as soon as I got home - and I'll keep wearing it at least another three weeks, maybe even until April 1st.
It was fairly warm yesterday but the wind was gusting above 30 miles an hour, making it pretty chilly in the shade. I turned the heater on in the shop and made the piece to hold the dial indicator for checking the run-out on brake drums. Works really well on the junk wheel in the photo - should work equally well on the BSA and the Sportster.
Next up is finishing the shift linkage on the vintage trials bike.
This tune seems to be pretty popular with Japanese artists. It's just a good thing her English is good, I can't speak a word of Japanese.
Fuzzy photo of the completed 1st stage of the wheel truing device.
It works as designed. The cones are good for bearings 15 to 25 mm. The individual pieces all have setscrews so I can adjust the center rod up and down depending on the wheel width. I'll thread a nut down on the top cone to snug it up good. The next step is to make a piece to attach the dial indicator to test runout on the drum. The nice thing about this set-up is if you are going to re-lace a wheel with a new rim, before you take the old one apart, you can take a measurement from the plate to the rim to get the offset and then make a block of the correct distance and slide it under the rim while truing the wheel.
I did a similar thing when I relaced the wheels on the Sprint road racer years ago. As long as you're patient, it's not too tough to lace a wheel. A bonus with this set-up, it won't take up much room like a traditional wheel truing stand would.
I was on the phone yesterday morning for about an hour, between the credit card company and Speedway Motors, but the Winters quick-change rear has been purchased and should be here next week. I already purchased the drum brake kit for it last year. Need to knock out a couple of bike projects so I can move the jitney to center stage and make it a roller.
Other than cutting it to length, I finished the first piece of the wheel truing device and started on the second piece. It's supposed to be warm again today like yesterday - temps in the fifties - so I might tackle a couple of outdoor chores as well as working in the shop again. Now that the extreme cold should be over, I want to get out in the shop at least a couple of hours every day.
I also need to work on my cardio. I was at the gym last night and tried skipping rope and ran out of wind rather quickly. There won't be much Be-Boppin' around here if I don't improve my cardio.
It was still cold yesterday - not frigid like it has been, but still below freezing. I went over to the storage space to measure the diameter of the BSA fork tubes. Neither my nor Surly's clip-ons will work. Also, the top couple of inches are tapered. Not insurmountable but Surly says he's not boring a taper for clip-ons. Doesn't seem like that big of a deal to me. If we need clip-ons, I'll take care of them.
I finished fitting the angles on the platen and then I put in a little "think time" on what I'm planning to make for the wheel truing and drum checking gizmo. I've got it pretty well mapped out. Since the BSA and the Sportster both need the drums checked, I want to make it pretty much universal. I'm going to give a it little more thought and then make a sketch or two. If it looks good on paper, I'll start machining some parts.
Surly's hoping to be free next weekend, so we can start making some definite plans. In the meantime, I'll keep myself busy with the trials bike and odds and ends.
Don't believe I've ever put any James Brown on here before but I'm ready to get on the good foot and start building "motorsickles".
Parts for the BSA came yesterday, so that's the start. If Surly jumps in with both feet, that'll be the kick in the ass I need to see regular progress. When I was at the high school he used to come once a week for my open shop night and we got quite a bit of stuff done. Now, between the two of us, we've got the equipment and the know-how to build most anything. And, I'm going back to work, so I'll have a steady stream of money coming in to pay for whatever we need, at least for 8 weeks. That should be plenty unless we opt for new aluminum rims and stainless spokes. If so, not a problem - in for a penny, in for a pound and all that.
The clip-on bar in the photo got bent at Daytona. If it's the right size for the BSA I can weld on a new tube and get them plated. Surly says he has a pair also - just have to see what the final design calls for and if they'll fit.
Even though it was still cold yesterday, I went out to the shop and drilled a couple of holes in the platen for the new hold-down clamp. I also drilled and tapped a hole for the piece I'm going to make to lace up a wheel and check the run-out on the brake drum.
Anyway, my chest is feeling good and I'm tired of spending a lot of time in the house due to the cold weather. Time to build things.
This is one Brother Johnny had posted on his blog. At this point in time, he was looking for ideas for the BSA like Surly and I are now. We might be a little ahead of that curve, since the side covers and air cleaners will be here in a couple of days. I'm diggin' this one like Johnny was. Checks all the cafe racer boxes - flat bar, rearsets and upswept pipes.
And what's not to like about high pipes? This a little more than a cafe bike. Looks more like a real vintage road racer. Not liking the looks of the muffler, though. Must of had a sound restriction at the track.
This would have been the one I would have bought my senior year of high school except I wanted a Sportster. I couldn't afford one, though, so I settled on a Sprint. A couple years later after my Sprint got stolen, BSA was about done for and I had my eyes on a Triumph Daytona. My dad wouldn't sign for a loan and he was tired of me driving his vehicles, so I bought a car. But the BSA has always been a sentimental favorite, and Johnny's as well. And speaking of my dad, the old boy would have been 105 today if he was still kickin'. You can't choose your parents, but I drew a pretty good hand.
Stay tuned, this is going to be the year for motorcycle progress.
Surly decided, and I'm in complete agreement by the way, that it's time boogie, oogie, oogie on the BSA. I ordered some side covers and air cleaners for the project. We need to discuss some other details yet, but I'm going to defer to Surly on the design. Eventually the bike will be his, might as well make it like he wants. He'll come up with something that's a classic design that will honor my brother's memory.
Surly sent me this photo with the side covers and air cleaners I ordered installed on an Oil in Frame bike like ours. Not sure what the rest of the bike will end up looking like at this time, but the handlebars will definitely be lower - probably something in the neighborhood of a 2" rise.
I'm thinking something like this would be pretty cool. Again, whatever Surly says is what we're going to do.
The goal for the year now is completion of the BSA, Sportster and the vintage trials bike. Reasonable goal, especially since my chest has stopped hurting. I'm feeling more like my old self, which actually means, more like my younger self. I doubt if I'll ever be a human dynamo, but no reason Surly and I can't get some projects taken care of this year.
Colder than a well digger's ass in the Klondike once again. It was 10 degrees when I went to the gym last evening, only 7 on the way home, and down to 0 or a little below during the early morning hours. It's going to be cold the next couple of days as well. I'm staying indoors, other than chores, until it warms up a bit.
I started on the taxes yesterday. That usually causes me much anguish but this year at least some of the waste has been revealed. Now it's been confirmed what I've suspected all along - the feds take our hard earned money and piss it away, not just in the gold ole USA, but all over the world. I suppose after looking at what I make and what they take, I should be even angrier this year than what I usually am at tax time, but I'm hoping that things will improve in the future. It probably won't make much of a difference in my lifetime, after all the country is still 36 trillion in the red.
Anyway, it's still cold out and I've got more tax work to do. Now that I completed my upgrade on the ham license, I've got a couple of books I want to read. I've got a good start on one already. My book count has been rather weak the last couple of years. Need to work on that.
I shoveled some more snow yesterday and swapped out the propane tank for the shop heater. The tank is a 100 pounder and it's not easy to roll it around on a bed of oak leaves covered with snow. Fortunately, no damage done to the chest with the snow shoveling or tank swapping.
The job for the day was the cast iron platen. I pulled the stud out of the one end, removed a broken bolt out of one of the threaded holes and then chased all the threads. I sanded and oiled up the platen and drilled the angle iron to bolt it down. The angle on the right side needs some attention, but it'll get cleaned up and then bolted down using the holes I threaded where the studs used to be. Probably get that done today before it gets cold again.
I need to split a couple of more pieces of the oak log I cut up a while ago. I split a couple the other day by hand - not worth the aggravation of moving the splitter or the wood through the snow and taking a chance on screwing up the chest pulling on the starter rope on the splitter. Plus, it's a good way to start getting my strength back. A little workout with a sledge and wedges will shape up the upper body. The grandson was supposed to come down and help me for a day or two with the lumberjacking and a couple of other chores, but he's been ill. We'll schedule a day when he and the weather are better.
Happy Valentine's Day to all you lovers out there. My mother and father were married on Valentine's Day by Reverend Valentine close to 80 years ago. My anniversary's coming up in about a month, just a few days before I go back to work again. It'll be 54 years this time around.
I shoveled snow yesterday for about an hour in the morning. My chest was sore later in the day but I think some of that was brought about by the back muscles tightening up and sitting bent over reading or farting around on the laptop. The bottom fell out on the temperatures later in the day. It was about 8 degrees at about 8:00, and it continued to fall. I lit the fireplace and kept it fed until I went to bed and stoked it up again first thing this morning. I'm planning on another day of hibernation today - going to catch up on some reading and do a little work down in the basement. I haven't worked on my winter project at all this year. Good time to get a little progress made.
I was planning on going to Indy tomorrow for the motorcycle show but they're forecasting snow once again. I-65 is risky enough in good weather, don't need to chance it when it's slick. If it's not too cold, I'll crank up the heat in the shop and putter around out there for a bit.
For some reason I get an error message every time I try to respond to a comment or post one on a blog somewhere else. I'm not ignoring you Marshall, it just isn't working.
I made a quick run to the hardware store yesterday before the snow started coming down and stopped at the grocery store while I was out. This one played over the intercom while I was in the corn bread aisle and I almost got a case of boogie feet.
And if one's good, two's got to be better. I would have liked to have seen this group back in the day. I never went to a lot of shows, but no ones fault but my own.
The snow kept falling all day and into the night - I'm not sure what the final tally was, but probably 4" anyway. I went out again in the afternoon to check on the birds, etc. and once again eyeballed the trailer wheel that's in the barn.
It's like this one - won't fit anything I've got but it's brand new, in the since it's never been on anything in the last 30 years. Not that I need another project, but I've been trying to think of a use for it. I'd gladly give it away if I knew anyone who wanted it. If I'm going to get the place cleaned up, gotta get rid of stuff.
Cold weather's on us again for a few days. Don't know if I'll be spending anytime in the shop, but I've got plenty to do in the shack to keep me busy.
Happy Days Are Here Again - indeed! I passed my ham radio upgrade test last night. Not by much but a win is a win. I read two prep books and must have taken at least 50 practice exams but there were at least five questions on the test I had never seen before. That, and I missed a couple others. But I've got my General license. Now I need to get an antenna hooked up so I can get on the air.
Going along with the happy days theme, my chest is still doing okay, so I started in on a fitness program. I'm starting slow and easy with no pushups or bench presses. I gained about 8 pounds with the latest chest injury and the eye surgery, which isn't as bad as I thought. I need to lose a few, get the stomach tightened back up and get the cardio back where it should be. I found a couple of bike rides I'm going to train for. If I can ride a 50 miler or a metric century at my age I'll be real happy.
I ordered some clamps from Fireball Tools that showed up yesterday. Fortunately, I saw the Fed Ex truck when it pulled up outside. Once again, rather than dropping the box off on the porch, he set it in front of the garage door where I could back over it like I did with the box of Christmas presents. And since it was precipitating some combination of rain and sleet, the box wasn't going to stay dry very long. Anyway, in this case no harm was done because I went out and brought the box in right away.
The box contained a set of Vise Grip style clamps and a hold-down clamp. The set of clamps was a very reasonably priced $54.00 for two 8" clamps and two 11" clamps. While I've got lots of clamps of all different sizes and descriptions, these have one of the jaws that come out almost straight allowing you to stick that jaw inside a piece of tubing and still be able to clamp something to the tube, for example. The grandson has a birthday coming up in about a week, so he'll get one of each of the sizes and I'll keep the other two.
The hold-down clamp is going to be used with the cast iron platen it's laying on in the photo. It's made to be used with a welding table that has 3/4" holes on a grid pattern to hold things in place for tack welding, etc. I'm going to drill a few holes with the mag drill in the platen to facilitate clamping parts down. I could have used it when I was making the gym sled recently, along with who knows how many other jobs over the years.
The platen has a stud that appears to be pressed in you can see in the lower right hand of the photo. I'm going to pull that out of there, thread that hole and the one on the top right-hand corner. I'll get a piece of angle and drill a couple of holes in it that I can bolt down to the platen to facilitate clamping things. The platen has holes that are drilled and tapped along the long edges, maybe get another piece of angle drilled for those holes as well. The two angles bolted down will give me a right angle that I can clamp parts to if I need weld up a square corner. I should have done something like this years ago, but that's how I normally roll - always limping along instead of stopping and taking the time to make things go easier in the future. But now, I'll probably have everything just like I want it about the time I die. I imagine I'll still have a backlog of projects just the same, though.
I've been diligently studying for my ham radio license upgrade. The test is tomorrow and I've been a little concerned with my progress judging by my results on the practice exams I've been taking. However, things have started to click and I think I stand a decent chance of passing it now. I'm going to spend a couple of hours both today and tomorrow studying. I'd like to know more about the material the test covers rather than just memorizing a bunch of the correct answers. The one study guide I read explains the material well, but just reading the book much of the information didn't sink in for me. I should look for some type of on-line class in the future and see if I can't learn a little more about what makes the radios and antennas actually work like they do. If I fail the test, that might just be the very next thing I do.
The Last Waltz was on the television the other evening - quite the hootenanny. A lot of great musicians who appeared to be having the time of their lives. The band The Band goes right along with my studying for the ham test - I've been seeing lots of band questions on the practice exams.
Ice storm Wednesday night - even had a couple of big claps of thunder. I went out yesterday morning and salted the walk and the garage aprons, but every step was an adventure. Even the gravel and the grass were treacherous. Not only was there a thin coating of ice on everything, there were ice pellets all over the ground as well.
TVI came by and picked up his parts and we discussed some more of his action plan on his HD. I'm going to have to give him some welding lessons, it seems. He can do some stick welding but he's not much on thin gauge with a MIG.
After he left, I welded in the Dutchman for my prototype I'm working on. I machined up a piece to slip inside the tubes to ensure the parts were in alignment when tack welding them. While running the lathe I pretty much convinced myself it's time to retire the old South Bend and get something new.
I'm going into the college today to administer a make-up exam for the last class I taught. I'm taking my ham radio prep book with me to study while the student is welding. My results on the practice exams are not going as well as I figured they would by this time. I've still have a few days to study but I'm not feeling real confident. I can always bail out and take the test next month, however.
I still have a couple of little things to do on the vintage trials bike. I think that's going to be the high priority out in the shop next - or it will be until something or someone else comes along. I'll get back on that after I take the ham radio test. Or before, if I decide to bail.
I went to see TVI yesterday. We had a nice bull session before we got down to motorcycle business. The two blocks in the photo are for mounting the coil on the HD frame. The bike is a collection of parts, not all of them from the same year or model. These get welded onto the seat tube. I machined up the relief to the same radius as the tube. I still need to drill and tap them - I'll get to that later today or tomorrow.
He also needs a little piece made for the steering damper. His frame never had one and he's planning on running a sidecar, so a steering damper is a good idea.
In addition, he's looking for a custom oil tank. He's putting an electric starter on the bike that mounts above the tranny. Because of that, there's no longer enough clearance for the stock tank. He showed me a cardboard mockup of what he's looking for and he gave me the chance to bail out if I didn't have the time to make it, but it's a pretty straightforward job. He's going to collect up the bungs and the sheet metal and then I'll take over.
The weather was beautiful yesterday until about 3:30. I had the big doors open out in the shop and it was about 58 degrees with the sun shining. Then in a matter of about 15 minutes the wind started blowing and the temperature dropped 20 degrees. It's cold again today with a high right around the freezing mark.
I went to the gym in the evening and worked with a few guys holding mitts and throwing punches for about 45 minutes - I got a good workout but no chest soreness this morning. Since things seem to be working well, I'm going to start a workout routine, no pushups though. I was in a photo of the group of us at the fights the other night and my stomach seemed to be pushing the front of my sweater outward. I haven't gotten on the scale recently, but pictures don't lie. I want to find a couple of medium distance cycle rides to train for - something on the order of 50 to 62 miles. 62 miles is a metric century and are fairly common.
Been taking practice exams for the ham radio test and I finally got a decent result this morning - 30 out of 36, and I need 26 correct to pass. I'll keep studying until I can get a passing score every time and start working on my taxes in between my study sessions. It'll be really nice if the Prez can convince Congress not to tax my Social Security, since that's where a big chunk of my tax obligation comes from. Be nice to have my own money returned to me without having to watch it go all over the world for war or just plain craziness.
Surly came down Saturday morning to return my truck and to get a little help removing the bearings from a dirt bike wheel. We were going to put a little heat on the hub, so I fired up the air acetylene torch that I finally was able to open the valve on. The only problem was there was no air, just acetylene with the yellow flame and black soot. I don't know what's going on with it. The torch is about as simple as they come - just one knob to turn it on and off. One more thing to work on, I guess.
Later in the day I finished up the bracket for the combination square. I rolled up a ring to fit the little container with the thumb screws and plates. I painted it up and then installed it yesterday.
After I finished the installation of the combination square, I machined a "Dutchman" for a prototype of a gizmo I'm working on. A tube needs to be stretched by about an inch. Since I've already done some machining and welding on it, I took the easy way out. I'll cut the tube and then slip this in there and weld it in place. Instead of making this out of a piece of solid or a heavy wall pipe, I made it out of two pieces of tube I had in the scrap bin. Now I'll plug weld the inner tube to the outer and then insert it into the other tube to stretch it. If everything else works as designed, when I get all done I might go into production.
Going to see TVI this morning. He's working on his Harley and needs a consult on something. Don't know what he needs. Regardless, I haven't talked to him in a while so it'll be good to catch up a bit.
Quite a few years back when I was at the high school, I took a day off. The nice lady who usually got the call to sub when one of us in the tech hallway called off, wrote in her report when I came back the next day that she would never sub in my class again. Seems the boys decided to have a fart fest while she was in charge. I got a chuckle out of it, but she was a great sub - always followed the lesson plan and nothing was torn up when I got back. Hated to see her go.
I went to Coach Jen's place Wednesday and worked with a young guy and then did some bag work. While doing the bag work I felt a click in my chest. I figured I was in big trouble once again but I woke up the next morning feeling fine. In fact, like the chest was completely normal. I don't know what the deal was but it sure felt good. Now a few days later there seems to be some residual discomfort but nothing serious, just enough to remind me not to do anything dumb. You would think if something clicked back into place it would have been seen on one of the several tests I had. Regardless, I'll take it.
A bunch of us went to the fights last night. All the winners were out of the red corner and the fighters out of the blue corner, for the most part, were tomato cans as they used to say. Worst fight card I've ever seen. The only redeeming thing about the night was I was able to spend time with some of my favorite people and talk boxing.
I finished the second prep book for the ham radio license upgrade and took a couple of practice quizzes. Time to get serious now on the quizzes. I'm planning on a couple of hours every day - a little in the morning, and again in the afternoon. It wouldn't be all that bad if I didn't pass, other than the embarrassment factor. If you've taught high school for 36 years and you've been an adjunct faculty at the community college for 8, you should know how to study and pass an exam. We'll see.
Nice day yesterday - sunny and about 45 degrees. Rather windy but a good day to be out in the shop.
I welded and painted the boot scraper, machined a slot in the angle for the combination square bracket and then tackled the cable repair on the TIG welder. It took a little fooling around but I got it working again. I didn't try putting the cover back on the hose and power fitting. Instead, I just wrapped it with electrical tape. Now that I know it's repaired, I'll see if I can get it back on over the clamp I used.
I checked the Everlast website and priced out the 25 foot torch. - the one I want is $159.00. Not cheap, but probably worth the investment.
The weather warmed up a bit so I spent a little time in the shop over the weekend. When I went out there Saturday morning I noticed a coffee can of fittings had been knocked off the shelf, meaning once again a raccoon was in there. I caught one about two months ago, which was kind of a surprise. In the past, they always showed up late spring. Anyway, I set the trap Saturday and there was a raccoon in it on Sunday. I'll set the trap again today. I still can't figure out how they're getting in, however.
I had a little job I wanted to use my air-acetylene torch for but once again, I couldn't get the bottle turned on. I don't know what they use to tighten the valves at the plant when they refill them, but the last one I tried to open up, the stem broke when I tightened up the vise grips on it. Not wanting to do that again, I drilled a hole in a piece of flat stock and filed it square with a nice snug fit so I wouldn't round it off. It worked, but that valve was tight.
Once upon a time, in a land far away, I made a couple of pieces that were the start of a boot scraper. They've been gathering dust with my smithing tools for quite a while, but if I'm ever going to get things organized around here, need to get rid of the half-finished projects - either finish them or scrap them. I know someone who could use this, so as soon as I get it welded and painted, down the road it goes.
However, while trying to tack the thing together with the TIG, I once again had trouble with the gas flow on the welder. I decided not to go any further until I finally figured out what the hell the problem is. Come to find out, there's a break in the hose allowing the gas to escape before it makes it to the torch. The power cable has a braided covering over the power cable which runs inside the gas hose. I found the spot where the hose had ruptured but it was hidden by the braided covering. Since it's close to the fitting that goes into the machine, I might be able to shorten the hose up and get it fixed. If not, I'll buy a new torch lead. I should have bought the longer one when I bought the machine anyway.
Gypsy Jazz is still alive and well, as it should be. Django Reinhardt is the originator of much of this sound. His unique method of playing was a result of having been severely burned and losing the use of two fingers on his left hand. One of these days I'm going to make a CD of Gypsy Jazz. Either that or buy another MP3 player and record a bunch of it.
My new combination square from Fireball Tools showed up yesterday. It wasn't cheap and I don't know how much use I'll get out of it at this point in my life, but I'm sure the grandson will be able to get a lot of use out of it when I move on to the big fab shop in the sky. The square is 2" wide and offers a lot of room to clamp it down during use. It also is tapped along the edges to fasten small plates to hold parts in alignment. I could have used something like this 100s of times over the years. If you're a young guy, stop spending your money on cigarettes and beer and invest in good tools that will last you a lifetime. This would be a good place to start.
I went to Coach Jen's place Wednesday evening to help out. I worked mitts with the boxers - worked on form, footwork, combinations and speed. No chest pain afterwards, just a little arm weary. I really enjoy my time in the gym - good for both my physical and mental health.
