I took the day off from shop work yesterday - caught up on some reading, walked the dog, and went to the advisory meeting at the college - pretty small turnout this time. They only have two meetings per year, so it's not like they ask people to give up a lot to attend. And they feed you.
Tuesday, I did get some work done. I got all of the pieces cut out for the trailer ladder rack and machined up the two round bars for the seat mount in the jitney. After getting the seat and the steering wheel in place, I decided I needed to modify the seat mount a bit. The fore and aft placement wasn't bad, but it needs to be higher. This should do it.
Going to a funeral this morning for a friend of mine from way back. We went to high school together, he was in my wedding, and we worked together for a time. One of his younger brothers had four boys, three of which I had as students at the high school, and I used to box with his other brother. Hate to see him go, but as John Wayne said in Hondo: "Everybody gets dead, it was just his turn."
I got a postcard from Janus Motorcycles the other day. I was rather surprised since I hadn't had any dealings with them since my test ride back in June of 2017. The price on the 450 models seems to be rather high. Especially since a new Royal Enfield Himalayan 450 can be had for $6,000.
I read a review on the new Himalayan and everything seems to be new and improved from the 2018 model I have. The engine makes 15 more horses than my 411. That would make a huge difference in acceleration and top speed. I don't know what kind of trade-in I could get on mine, but if I could get $3k for mine, that would be a helluva upgrade for only an additional $3K. However, as little as I ride, I should just concentrate on getting the BSA and Sportster roadworthy.
I made a new arbor for the drill chuck yesterday, cut a couple of pieces for the jitney project, and picked up the material for the brackets for the ladder rack on the trailer. I'll see about drilling and tapping the two rounds for the jitney and cutting out the parts and start welding the brackets.
Another piece for the lab tech's positioner. I ran a tap through the nuts and a hone through the bore. Whenever you weld a nut on, the weld causes the threads to tighten up. Chasing the threads with a tap takes care of that. Likewise, welding the nuts and the plates will cause some distortion on the pipe, the hone took care of that.
After cleaning up the piece for the positioner yesterday, I started making two more brackets for mounting the quick-change under the jitney. I got about halfway through the piece with the hole saw and then the arbor for the drill chuck broke. As you can see from the photo, the broken end is down in the chuck about 1/4" - deep enough I didn't want to risk screwing up the threads welding something on to the stub stuck down in there. I drilled a hole in it with a left-hand bit as the first step, hoping it would catch and back the stub out. Tried an Eazy-Out next. No luck there either. I finally put it back on the mill and very carefully opened up the hole with a milling cutter until there was just a paper-thin wall on the stub left in the hole and then ran a tap down in there and cleaned up the threads. So the chuck is OK, but I need to make another arbor. Not much to that, just another minor setback on the project list.
Surly found a horn for the jitney project. It would look pretty cool with the parts in the back painted up nicely and the trumpets brass or chrome. Still a long way to go before I need a horn but that thing is definitely unique.
I think my idea for the ladder rack on the trailer will work out just ducky. I can utilize the existing screws that fasten the sides to the radius piece that joins the sides to the roof, and then I can fasten the other part of the bracket to the top of the radius piece. I'm going to drill a hole through one of the holes in that part and see what's under there. There's a row of screws in line with the holes I drilled in the plate, so I'm hoping there's something solid there. If not, I can use some closed end blind rivets to fasten it down. I can then bolt the cross piece onto the plate. Not sure yet what I'm going to use for the cross piece - I need to see what the local steel supply has in stock. There won't be much weight up there - maybe four aluminum antennas. I'll run over there Monday morning and see what he's got and pick up some more of the 1/8" sheet to finish making the brackets.
My chest has been sore again. I ran a 7" hand grinder at work prepping a test plate and I've been sore for a couple of days. I thought I was over all of that but apparently that's not the case. I'm going to have to take it easy for a few days and hope I heal up. Time to get my girdle out again.
Proof of concept for the trailer antenna rack. Making it one piece at a time until I know it's going to work, then seven more and the four cross pieces. Pain in the ass - not only trying to figure it all out but having to work on it outside while dealing with the April weather.
Things are starting to pile up now. Finish the trailer and trials bike, yardwork, household chores, school, gym, and start training for a bike ride coming up in about a month. The ride isn't too far off, and they have a 16, 32, and 63-mile ride. I'd like to be able to do the 32 miler. It wouldn't make much sense to drive there to just do the 16 mile ride. I'm going to start hitting the trainer down the basement and see just how out of shape I am and then decide if the 32 miler is feasible. If it doesn't work out, at least I'll be getting my legs and my cardio tuned up.
I got the rear wheel under the trials bike yesterday after polishing up the rear fender. The skid plate came in handy to keep the bike stabilized while working on it. When I finish up with the fork legs I can put the front end back on and I'll be ready to drop the engine in, hook up the shift linkage, install the wiring, and put some fuel in the tank. Should run after that.
I went to the ham radio club meeting last night and talked to the big boss man about the trailer project he wants done. I looked at the trailer the other day and I think I've got it figured out what I need to do. He's looking for a "ladder rack" on top to haul antennas when they're operating remotely. The tricky part will be mounting it securely. We'll see. I've got a month to figure it out before he's taking it on the road.
I went "walkies" with Coach Jen and a couple others yesterday. We put in almost 5 miles - Jen and I are planning on getting out on Sundays on a regular basis, as well as putting in some miles on the bicycles. I came home and worked on the bike a bit. I found some Ceriani stickers for the fork legs on Ebay so those are on order.
I'll do a little more work on the fork legs today, maybe put the back wheel under it.
I was behind this old rust bucket GMC the other day with a cute little blond behind the wheel and had to smile. With the Hoosier Tire sticker in the back window, the truck could be hers, but she's probably some lucky young man's sweetie. Lawn mower and more in the back, gettin' it done on a nice spring day. My kind of woman.
Beautiful day yesterday. Worked in the shop for a bit and had the big door open. Hopefully I won't be running the heater again until late fall. I knocked out a couple things on the mill. The plate on the left will be two pieces used to mount the quick-change in the jitney. The one on the right is another piece for the lab tech at the college. This should be the last piece needing any machine work. Assembly should be straight forward welding. I'll give him a hand with whatever help he needs with that as well.
I started putting the trials bike back together and didn't get very far before running into a snag. When I finish welded the frame the side plates with the bosses for the swing arm pivots warped quite a bit. The alignment for the pivot bolt was off a little, but the real problem was the distance between them closed up to the point the swingarm no longer fit in the opening. After a little head scratching I decided the easiest fix was to knock the bushings out of the swing arm and face them off in the lathe. Worked,
but it took a little more persuasion to drive the pivot bolt in than I would have liked.
Mowed the front yard after that. The yard's a mess. Between the bare spots that were under the trees I had taken down last year and the mole infestation I'm going to have some work to do.
National Pet Day today. I celebrated by taking Larry to the groomer - he showed his appreciation by shaking all the way there and then refusing to look at me on the ride home.
It's National Welding Month - I celebrated by getting a flash burn on my eyes at work the other night. One of the occupational hazards of working with a bunch of rookies.
And speaking of rookies, many of the students I encounter at the college are stone cold rookies when it comes to being able to do math and/or read at anything close to grade level. I'm placing much of the blame for this on the schools. I taught 36 years at the high school level, 8 years at the community college level and I haven't seen any improvement in the student's abilities to read or do math problems typical of what is required for the trades since I started way back in 1976, but still they graduate from high school.
In Indiana, in order to graduate with the Core 40 diploma, you must take Algebra I & II and Geometry. Integrative Math I, II, and III can be substituted. I'm not familiar with Integrative Math, so I can't speak to that, but requiring two years of Algebra is pointless for the majority of people entering into the trades. It's bad enough they can't do simple math problems associated with a trade, but they don't seem to think it's an issue. And unfortunately, their reading skills aren't any better. However, there is hope for a solution, and it comes from Mississippi of all places. The Magnolia State has shown tremendous growth in their reading and math scores. Let's hope other states do something similar.
The TIG Finger showed up the other day - could've used it when welding the bike frame, especially since my depth perception still isn't at its best. The screwdriver bits are JIS bits - Japanese Industrial Standard. They look like Phillips bits but are made for the screws that hold Japanese motorbikes together. I got some JIS screwdrivers for Christmas a few years back but the bits will be useful in the drill motor, impact driver and Tee handle. I don't currently need them but I've got a couple of Jap bikes in the shed that if I live long enough may get moved into the shop.
Easing back into the training program. Brunch today was a fried egg sandwich on dark rye with a slice of cheese, and a couple of vegan sausage patties. I've been starting with some Tai-Chi exercises and dumbbell curls along with doing some work at the boxing gym once a week. I'm starting to feel some improvement but I've got a long way to go before I get the job as the circus strongman.
I think I might give up the race walking this year. I haven't put much effort into it the last couple of years, but I do want to do a couple of long bike rides - maybe a 50 miler or a metric century (61 miles). Time to get on a regular schedule: exercise first thing in the morning, breakfast, then put in at least four hours daily working on the projects.
The sixties pumped out some good music. The Seekers also did Georgie Girl, neither one are normally played on the classic rock station I listen to. If I had my own radio station they'd get some air play.
Busy day of doing nothing yesterday. A trip to the massage parlor in the late morning, doctor's office after that, a bit of household chores, and then out to the shop to top off the day.
Pattern for the floorboard - simple enough design. Two bends on a 45-deg. angle and a hole for the shifter. The pattern I made for the boot and riser is 6" but it looks like 3" would be all I need. Instead of the square to round transition, I'm thinking maybe make the front part round and then half-way back make the sides straight but taper from the 3" height down to nothing on a 45-deg angle. That would give me a flat surface to mount my ignition switch - engine turn that surface, of course. As the dash is laid out currently the tach is mounted in the middle, but if I move the switch, I could move the tach over so it would be easier to read.
I need to make at least one more support under the floorboard and I'll put some reinforcing beads in it.
I'm going to try to continue working back and forth between the bike and the car. As soon as I get the forks cleaned up it won't take long to finish the bike. Then move it out and the BSA in.
This one's for Rich in Kentucky. It's a good day for a little more Bossa Nova, as are most days in my book, and it's a good day for Goodby Sadness since I finally got paint on the vintage trials bike.
It warmed up to 50 yesterday with little humidity, so I cranked up the heater, wiped down the frame with some thinner and set to work. I got a couple of small runs in the primer, but nothing too noticeable. The green looks good - probably would look better with a better background, but up close and personal it's pretty sexy. I'm going to let it hang for a few days to make sure the paint's fully cured before beginning the re-assembly. It was almost 80 degrees in the shop when I finished painting, so it had a good start. I'll get some help putting the engine back in so I don't throw my back out or scratch the paint too much. I started this project something like 16 years ago - way past time it should be done.
While waiting for the primer to set up, I drilled the holes in the two pieces of pipe for the lab tech at the school. Also, a former student dropped off the trailer from the ham radio club. I need to figure out how to make a ladder rack sort of thing so they can carry antennas on top when they set up remotely. They're talking snow showers today, so that'll have to wait a bit since I'll have to work on it outside. Meanwhile, I'll work on getting the forks shined up and getting the new seals installed, work on the jitney a bit, and whatever else comes to mind.
I looked up the AHRMA website to see about their vintage trials events since that was the original plan. There's an event in August that's not too far away. Be fun to give that a whirl. I should probably concentrate on finishing projects rather than risking injuring myself again, though.
The seals for the fork tubes on the trials bike arrived yesterday. The layout on the plate underneath them is for the quick-change axle mount on the jitney project. Behind the plate are two pipes I need to drill a hole for a 3/4" bolt to go into. These are for the lab tech at work. He's making a welding positioner for his welding bench at home. Since he does all kinds of work for me cutting material, I told him I'd help him with his project. The weld shop doesn't have a drill press. The machine shop does but I don't know what the situation is like there now. I used to be the lab tech there and was an instructor in the weld shop at the same time, so I was always doing something in one shop or the other.
The shifter boot came Friday - came with a polished stainless ring and hardware to bolt it down. I made a pattern for the riser mount but I might need to modify things a bit. The bottom is 6" square and the top is 5" in diameter and about 6" high. I might just roll up a 5" dia. cylinder and see how that would look. I'll make the floor pattern before deciding on what to do on the boot.
The book in the photo is the 1947 revised edition - the first edition came out in 1941. The author was a professor at Purdue. It's an excellent book that I refer to occasionally. In this case I couldn't remember how to revolve things to get my true length lines for my layout. I took an engineering graphics course at Purdue a long time ago and I've still got that textbook and several other books for helping do layouts and solving the odd-ball problems I come across in my project work. If you don't have a similar book in your library, you should keep your eyes peeled at estate sales or yard sales for one. If you can find one, it'll probably be cheap enough to take home and keep on the shelf. You never know when you might need to make a truncated cone or a square to round transition piece like the one above.
I got the trials bike frame ready for paint. Depending on the weather today, I'm hoping to get it painted. The primer can be recoated after about an hour. If not, you need to wait 48 hours. I'd rather not do that, so I'm planning on firing up the heater and getting the shop good and warm and low in humidity. If I can accomplish that, I'll get some paint on it. While the shop's warming up, see to the other parts above and get those taken care of. Maybe get a little walk in as well.
I finished welding the bike frame yesterday with the exception of the stubs for the footpeg mounts. The weatherman on the radio sent out a bad weather warning and I didn't want to get caught out in the shop, so I went to the house - glad I did, too. A big blow-up came through shortly thereafter and I definitely would have had to ride out the storm in the shop.
The footpeg mounts get welded in today and then I'll do a bit of grinding, sanding and cleaning to get it ready for paint. While doing that I should be able to find any spots I may have overlooked that need welding.
Still waiting on the fork seals but I haven't got the fork legs cleaned and polished yet anyway. The shifter boot for the jitney should be here today or tomorrow. I picked up some poster board the other day to make a couple of patterns for the floorboard. When I went to pick up my fresh argon bottle on Monday, he was out of my size, so he gave me a smaller one. The delivery truck won't be there for another week yet, so I'm going to weld most everything I can in the meantime. That way I'll empty the small one and pick up my regular one, pay him for both and everyone will be happy. Plus, I'll have a lot done on my projects.
I talked to the travel agent the other day about a trip to Hawaii. It's not going to be cheap but it'll allow me to finish my quest to see all 50 states. Actually, it's more like pee, rather than see. By my rules, the only way you can claim to have been in a state is to mark your territory by "taking a leak" there. So when you see the old Johnny Cash song I've Been Everywhere show up on the blog, you'll know I made it. Meanwhile, back to work.
Pretty much the same thing I've been dealing with lately. The fact that they don't know the basic things that everyone entering college should know is one thing, but the fact they don't seem too concerned about it is what bothers me. I know what a good welder should know and the conditions of the industry now. You try and tell them that it's a jungle out there but they don't seem capable of cranking it up and doing their best to prepare for a career. Oh well, 12 more days and they're on their own as far as I'm concerned.
I ordered one of these the other day - probably should have done it quite a while ago. It protects your pinky finger, or two fingers with the large one, while TIG welding. You need a pretty steady hand to hold the torch while welding and it's a lot easier if you can put a finger down on the material. I was welding on the bike frame yesterday and I was spending way too much time grinding the tungsten after dipping it into the puddle. I'm thinking the TIG finger would be a great help to steady my hand while trying to wrap a weld around round tubes, especially since my depth perception ain't what it used to be. At least I'm getting the bike frame welded up.
I did a little work on the jitney yesterday as well. I'm working on figuring out the floorboard. I made a pattern and I ordered a shifter boot. I figured out what to do about raising the seat up a little, so I can get on that and get the trials bike finished up. Things are moving along nicely now, but lots of yard work in the coming days.
The Magnolias are looking good even though we had a hellacious storm come through over the weekend and freezing temperatures last night. They lost some petals and buds in the storm and tinged the edges of some of the blossoms brown, but that seems to happen most years. No damage on the fruit trees, though.
The man who pretty much started rockabilly music. Great entertainer but, man, he had what had to be the worst hairpiece ever at the end of his career.
I bought myself some Bossa Nova for my commute to the college. More like music to soothe the savage beast for the ride home.
The Magnolia trees are starting to bloom. I've got several different types, so I usually end up with blossoms on one or the other of them for about a month. They always look lovely and smell nice unless we get a late frost. I'm hoping we're done with the freezing temperatures until the fall, but you never know around here - we had snow on the first day of spring.
I started cleaning up the fork legs- lots of paint on them. Looks to be a really good primer, silver, clear, and then the bronze. It'll take me a bit, but I'll get them to shine like a diamond in a pig's ass, as the old saying goes.
I did a bit of "think time" on the Jitney yesterday. I need to raise the seat up some and make a pattern for the floorboard. Before I put the seat back in I'll make the protective shield that goes under it to keep the driveshaft hitting me in the naughty bits if a U-joint fails and a driveshaft loop to prevent the shaft from digging into the road and creating a giant pogo stick.
I'll pick up the argon bottle tomorrow, and hopefully the fork seals will be here soon. Things are moving along.
2:23 of a dance tune - you'd just make your way out to the dance floor and the tune would be over before you got warmed up. It's a catchy little ditty, though.
The new trailer tires and wheels came in the other day. After doing the cost analysis on the back of the bar napkin, I figured it would be better to buy two new tires mounted on rims and be done with it. The old tires had a lot of sidewall cracks and to buy two new tires and have someone mount them wasn't going to save much. And if I had the Sportster or a big twin in the trailer and a tire blew out, I'd be up the creek without a paddle since I didn't have a spare tire. Now, I've got new rubber and I can use one of the old tires for a spare. And at my age, probably a lifetime fix.
I gave the trials bike levers the low dollar "gold" plated treatment. They look pretty nice - have to wait and see how they'll look once they're on the machine, though. If I don't like the look, it'll be easy enough to change.
I'm going out for breakfast this morning with my old running buddy and fellow tech teacher. Looking forward to catching up with him. It'll be back out in the shop later working on the front end of the bike cleaning and polishing the fork legs.
I went over to the steel supplier yesterday morning to swap out my argon bottle only to find a note on the door they will be closed all week. Apparently, they went on spring break.
However, Surly and one of the grandsons came down with a welding job and some stuff to clutter up my place rather than theirs. The grandson is taking care of the welding job. The kid's going to make a good craftsman one of these days.
Big vise Surly picked up at an estate sale. You can spin the jaws around and it becomes a pipe vise. He got it for a steal. He didn't need it but the price was right and it'll go in the grandson's hope chest.
I did a little work on the trials bike, even though I couldn't do any welding. I got the piece made for the back mount of the skid plate. As soon as I get the argon I'll get it tacked on.
Repurposed street sign for the skid plate. When I moved in here there was quite the collection of signs that I believe were liberated by the young man who lived here prior to my arrival. Interesting that a former student was involved in an accident at an intersection that was missing the stop sign, and there was one of those in the collection that was in the soon to be shop. When I was leveling the sand floor in the building prior to pouring concrete, I also dug up a cardboard box that had a brassiere and a few other things in it. Too bad I didn't come across a "pirates' chest" with some gold doubloons or something of real value.
I ordered some fork seals yesterday. I'll get the fork seals installed and the legs polished up while I'm waiting on the argon. It'll all be together fairly soon.
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Looks like the Department of Education is done for and the power will return to the states, as it and most everything else should be as per the 10th amendment. There's been a steady downward trend in our rankings compared to other countries ever since it became a stand-alone cabinet in 1980. I'm not sure how well the states will do if you look at the condition of many of them, however. I've only got 14 days left in the system now. After that, I won't have to worry if college students can tell time or work with fractions. I'll just stay home and work on my projects.
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I came across something very interesting on a couple of spots I browse. On last Thursday's post at The LoneStar Parson, he reports on what has been found underneath the pyramids of Egypt. It's wild what they found and only adds to the mystery of why they were built and by whom. And I'll bet you a dollar to a donut, those guys could do some serious math.
Change in the music, but variety is the spice of life after all.
Worked on the trials bike a little bit yesterday. I ran out of argon but I warmed up the shop so I could paint the swingarm. I'm liking the color - should go well with all the shiny aluminum that's going to be on the bike. The Rust-Oleum has variable spray patterns. I used setting number 3 which is low flow. It worked well painting the tubing on the swingarm.
I'll pick up an argon bottle Monday and get back on the welding. I should have finished welding it before I had the eye trouble. My depth perception is off a bit, which creates a problem when welding thin material with the TIG. I had to grind the tungsten more than times than I would have liked after "sticking it in the soup".
I've still got a couple of things to do on the frame in addition to the welding - drill some holes, mount the skid plate and some additional cleaning. I'm planning on doing some of that today.
I got the vintage trials bike stripped down. The frame's pretty rusty from being neglected for all these years but it'll clean up well enough. I took the cup wheel on a small grinder and polished up the swingarm and it looks good. I'll use some emery cloth on it to finish the job and then see about some paint. I'm going to paint the swingarm and see how I like it. If I like it, I'll paint the frame. If I don't, I'll sandblast the paint off the swingarm and get everything powder coated.
Hoping to have the frame welded up by the first of the week.
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.
