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. 

Red Dot on the Can

 

I've mostly given up on Facebook due to a difference of opinion over a post I put up celebrating my anniversary a couple of years back, but I still like looking at some of the "reels" on there. One of the outfits that posts interesting auto repair reels is Royalty Auto Service. The majority of the reels are not anything I'll ever use, simply because the newer vehicles are way too complicated for the average guy to work on. Royalty has all the required tools and equipment, including being able to pull the cabs off pickup trucks in order to be able to service the engines. 

However, on one of the reels the other day the owner, Sherwood, was talking to a distributer of PB Blaster and during the conversation I learned what the little red dot on the top rim was for. That indicates the location of the feed tube inside the can. Depending on the position of the can when spraying, position the dot so the juice will be picked up in the tube, then rotate the nozzle to spray where you want it to go. Rather clever. I'm just surprised it took me 75 years before I learned the secret of the red dot.

I was embarrassed by my buddy Kevin when he showed me his reading list for 2025. Since his life has settled down a bit with work and domestic life, he's reading like he used to. Me on the other hand, only managed to read 10 books last year. However, since most of the magazines I was subscribed to have given up the print versions or just called it quits completely, I'm planning on spending more time reading books again. 

The Swiss Family Robinson one above I bought from Dover several years ago. I started on it at the beginning of the week and finished it this morning. I took it with me to the urgent care and the emergency room visits the other day and knocked out about 100 pages. The book's been around a long time and there was a movie made on the story back in the sixties. I think it was a Disney film that was shown on Sunday nights. I read the book sometime after the movie came out, meaning roughly 60 years ago. The story was a little more believable when I was a young man, but it does show the value of having skills if you ever find yourself marooned on a tropical island. 

The other two books in the photo came from Thriftbooks. The Aircraft Welding book is a Lindsay reprint. I had an original that I inherited at my first teaching gig. The previous instructor taught welders during WWII and the book was his copy. The book came up missing over the years but it's a real good reference, especially if you're planning on welding chrome-moly tubing with a gas torch. I miss Lindsay but I understand him wanting to retire.  

The Indy book likewise is a dandy. It covers the development of Indy cars from the very beginning up to 1980. I've also got a couple of books on machining coming. Shipping cost was very reasonable for the four-book order. The two in the photo came separately, not sure if the other two will come together or individually, but no extra shipping cost regardless. I'm sure I'll be ordering more in the future.  

 

Welding, Leather Work & Medical Care

 

I went to the rec center Monday to do my walkies and the man in charge flagged me down to see if I could do a little welding job for him. He tried it with his MIG but he was running the voltage way too low for fear of burning a hole in the thin round tube. I can understand his concern - the tube is thin. I TIG welded it without too much difficulty, though. Got to keep the pickle-ballers happy!

I had talked to Surly recently about getting a new belt. Either recommending a vendor or making me one. He said he could knock one out for me. I gave him the specs and he sent me the above photo of the tongue of the finished product. I wasn't looking for anything fancy, but he personalized it for me with a welding hood. Not only is that boy a cracker jack machinist, he's turning into quite the accomplished leather worker. This one should keep my britches up for the rest of my life.

Yesterday was a day spent with medical people. I had an appointment in the morning for a medical screening. This was with an outfit that does non-invasive testing to make sure the blood's flowing like it should. After my recent cardiac event, it was mostly to just satisfy my own curiosity. If they see something life threatening, they send you to the emergency room. If not, they mail you the results in 10 to 14 days. Must not have found anything too bad since they let me walk out of there.

Later I took the missus to urgent care for her back issue. After spending a couple hours there, they recommended going to the hospital emergency room. So off we went and spent a few more hours there. We left the house about noon and finally got home about 7:00 PM. Long day but she finally got a bit of relief. Long term isn't looking so good, though. I think both of us are just wearing out.

I got the bill for my recent hospital visit the other day - just a tick over $100 K. However, my part after the Medicare and supplement insurance is next to nothing. I'm always bitching about the Feds wasting my tax dollars, but I do appreciate Medicare. Before I qualified for Medicare, I was paying $1,800 per month healthcare insurance premiums. That'll blow a big hole in your beer budget. 

Movie Day

 The weather's still too cold for me to venture out to the shop, so I've been feeding logs to the fireplace and ridin' the recliner. Yesterday the day started with Noir Alley on TCM and then it was cowboy movies (photo above is the Duke and Charlene Holt from Eldorado) until I switched back to TCM when Cooley High came on.

Cooley High came out in 1975 and I started at ECW in 1976. Lots of similarity between Cooley High and Washington High. Cooley High takes place in Chicago, Washington High was in East Chicago. Both inner-city schools. Student population not much different. 

I'd never taught before and my first day was after the students had three weeks of substitutes because the school hadn't been able to hire a full-time instructor. I didn't have a degree yet, nor had I had any student teaching. Back then you could get your teaching license based on your work experience, but you had to take some "clock hour" classes. I had one the evening of my first day - left the house at 6:00 and got home after 11:00. I was fortunate in that I'd had college classes with most of the other instructors in my department, so I had some help getting settled in. It was a great place to learn the ropes. Excellent faculty and in spite of the setting, there was a whole lot of learning that went on. Lots of good memories from that job.

 It looks like there might be a couple of warm days in the not-too-distant future. I'll see about bundling up and get out to the shop when it does. 

Pickin' & Grinnin'

 

Cold day again yesterday. I checked my little Chinese thermometer about 7:30 in the morning and there was not a single degree to be found anywhere. However, since I've lived most all my life here in northwest Indiana, I can deal with it. I try to get out every day to get a little sunshine and to get my body acclimated to the cold while dressed in layers. Warm hat, gloves and boots, and now a balaclava for sure. Since I had my cataract surgery a couple of years ago, I don't need my glasses for distance vision so I can cover my nose with the balaclava or a scarf and I can see without fogging up my glasses. That came in plenty handy when I was running old Allis down the lane the other day. She started right up, but it took a bit of warming up before I could get her moving, but move we did.

I saw this one at The Daily Timewaster the other day. The guy with the FFA jacket looks a lot like my older brother when he was a young man. I don't remember him with a cowboy hat but he would have fit right in with the rest of the cowboys. 

He and I were both in FFA back when it was Future Farmers of America. They dropped the Future Farmers from the name in 1988 and it became The National FFA Organization. When I was working at the high school I judged a few contests for them. When I was in high school I participated in several contests - I was the number one chicken judge in the whole county. I never had an opportunity to put that on a resume, but I'll be able to include it in my obituary. I still have my FFA jacket, by the way. No way I could squeeze into it now. I'd outgrown it before I graduated.

This one came from The Daily Timewaster also. Looks to be a '48. I had one of these babies way back when. I learned a few things about wrenching from ownership. I did my first engine swap on mine. I learned about torque-tube driveshafts, knee action shock absorbers and vacuum assist shifters. I also managed it get it up on two wheels on a regular basis. The only vehicle I've ever done that with. Cuzzin Ricky might disagree with that if you were to ask him about our turning into the welding supply a couple of years ago.

Cold temps still in the forecast for a few more days along with some more snow on the horizon. I'm getting the itch to get back in the shop but with daytime temps in the teens I'll just wait it out.

Winter for Real

 

House rocker for a snow day! I had this album as an 8-track tape way, way back when. Every cut's a dandy. As a side note, Jesus might actually have left Chicago from what I see on the Chicago news. Pretty rough there these days - not as bad as Minneapolis, mind you, but not good. I worked up there as a millwright a couple of summers. It was a pretty rough neighborhood back then, even at 5:45 in the morning when I rolled into the plant. The money was good, though. It helped out quite a bit while I was working my way up the pay schedule at the high school.

Shot taken looking south about 4:30 in the afternoon yesterday. If you look closely, you can see a few snowflakes in the air. It was snowing most of the day - maybe 4-5 inches of light fluffy snow. There's still daylight, so the days are getting longer. That always is a mood booster for me. 

Surly showed up about 6:00 with one of the grandsons to check on the Missus and I, bring some firewood in and shovel a path from the front and back door out to the garage. He had sent me a message earlier in the day checking on us but I think he was concerned more than usual due to my recent heart attack, bless his heart.

I got a message from my brother in Ohio and my brother's widow in southern Indiana and both of them had gotten around 8 inches of snow by mid-day. 

It's supposed to be cold again today, but I'd like to get the tractor out and run it up and down the lane. The real cold weather seems to make it hard for me to breathe since the grabber. I need to keep my face covered when I'm out and take it real easy on the snow shovel until I get a better idea of what's going on.

As for the rest of you out there, take care. I hope you were prepared for the cold, snow, ice and power outages. 

Tire Pump

 

Zefal tire pump as seen on my "touring" bike. It works on both Presta and Schrader valves. With the long length it pushes a lot of air with each pump so it doesn't take too long to inflate a skinny tire to 90 psi. 

Since it's so cold now, temperatures in negative numbers this morning, I decided to get the bike on the trainer in the basement useable. I have another identical pump down there just for that purpose. However, it's missing the little plunger that depresses the valve stem on the tube. My first thought was I'd pull the one out of the working pump and duplicate it, but I decided to check and see what a new pump would cost. I checked online and I didn't see one like it listed. I brought the good one in and pumped up the tire on the trainer so I'm in business there now, but I need to decide if I want to fart around fixing the other pump, bring my air tank in, bring the good pump in when I need it, or just buy some other type of pump. 

This shouldn't require all this thinking. I just want to use the trainer a couple days per week until the weather warms up and I can ride outside. It just pains me to toss something I'm capable of repairing. 

Stay warm. It looks like the ice storm down south is going to be a rough one.

 

Editorial Report

 

Not exactly seasonal, since summer's somewhere roughly five months distant, but since it was 3 degrees this morning with a windchill of -27, I figured this one was better than North to Alaska.

A couple of interesting editorials in the current issue of The Epoch Times. First up was an article by Jeffrey Tucker addressing childhood vaccines.

In 1980, American children following the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention immunization schedule received 23 vaccine doses in seven shots against seven different diseases, plus four polio vaccine drops.

1n 2024, the recommended number had risen to at least 84 vaccine doses in at least 57 shots for 17 diseases, plus the RSV monoclonal antibody immunization for a total of 18 diseases.

And all the drug manufactures have been indemnified, so no way anyone can file a claim against them if something goes haywire.

Article number two was by Mollie Engelhart entitled "If 77 Percent of Young Men Are Unfit to Serve, Who will Work the Land?" She relates several reasons why young men are unfit to serve - the usual suspects of drug use, obesity, poor physical and mental health - which also keeps them from doing the demanding work a farm requires. However. what really hit home with me was this: "So if we no longer have men who can farm or fight, a final question must be asked, one we've been avoiding: Who protects the women and children?"

There's something to think about. And since things aren't looking all that rosie in the future, you might want to check out Auguson Farms and stock up on some shelf stable emergency food. They've got a good sale going on but you'll need to hurry. Now would also be a good time to take a look around you to see who's going to take care of your women and children.

Couple O' Tunes

This ain't me. I'm doing fine in spite of the recent cardiac event. The new hardware I ordered for the trials bike should be here tomorrow, meaning I'll be able to drop the motor in it as soon as I get an extra set of hands. Currently working as a domestic, so I'm not sitting on my keister the whole time. No way I'm working outside in single digit weather anyway unless it's an absolute emergency.

I ran across this tune recently while looking for something else. In light of the recent mayoral election, things sure as hell ain't what they use to be in the Big Apple. 

Working on the basement shop a little and trying to decide what to do with some of my books. I rarely read a book twice and I've run out of shelf space, so time to thin the herd - same goes for a lot of my other stuff as well.

Just Milling About

 

Milwaukee horizontal milling machine by Kearney & Trecker. Once upon a time long, time ago, I had a similar machine. It was way too large for my operation in my two-car garage, so I sent it down the road and got myself a Bridgeport. However, I kept the milling attachment that mounts on one of the large round bars thinking I could use it somehow at a later date. 

Some 40 years later, Surly asked what I was planning on doing with it, so it became his just seconds later. Anyway, I think he's going to send it on a little trip and it needs to be crated up for shipment. He came down yesterday to see if the thing actually worked and to see what it would take to prepare a shipping crate. Since the temperature was only about 20 and the wind was blowing about the same, we didn't spend much time out there. We did discuss a few things I'm going to need some help with in the future. As much as I dislike asking for help, I'm going to have to face the fact I just can't do everything by myself like I use to. 

Coach Jen filled in for a friend of hers yesterday at the rec center teaching a ladies fitness class. I met up with her after the class was over and we walked for a bit, then did breakfast. We talked a bit of boxing stuff, but right now there's nothing lined up for the two of us together, nor anything in the foreseeable future. Not a problem - lots of other things to do and I don't care to travel too much when you never know what the weather's going to be around here.

Speaking of which, forecast is calling for single digits tomorrow.

Indiana Winter

 Snow day yesterday. I got a weather warning on the phone about the time I was ready to head out to the rec center. I bailed out and I'm glad I did. Even though it's just a short hop to the rec center, they weren't kidding about the snow and white-out conditions. I had to go uptown to the family doctor later. The roads were kind of hit or miss - some clear spots, some icy spots and some next to the open fields that were drifting. Nothing unusual for winter in northwest Indiana. Lots of pileups on the interstates in the morning according to the radio reports and I received a notice that the college would be operating virtually after 2:00. 

Now that the old Allis is operational again, I'm pretty well set for the winter weather. It was warm on Tuesday, so I fired up the log splitter to add to the firewood pile. The propane supply is good for both the house and the shop. The pantry and the freezer are loaded up. However, it's not possible to foresee everything that could go wrong. We had a huge rainstorm last week. Lots of rain, 50 mph gusts and some lightning. Don't know exactly what happened but one of the garage door openers quit working after the storm went through. Still need to troubleshoot that one.

I was going to put the motor in the trials bike but decided it was a little too heavy for me to tackle on my own. I need to arrange a workday with the grandsons to tackle that, getting the hydraulic cylinder under the dump trailer and a few other items I need some extra muscle for. Plenty of other things to work on in the meantime. 

Carl Perkins

I've always been a fan of Rock-a-Billy music, which means I have to include "The King of Rockabilly", Carl Perkins. However, I didn't know until recently that when he first started it was Carl and his two brothers who performed together. I knew he was a very accomplished songwriter, but from what I understand, he was also very generous supporting causes dealing with young people. The Wikipedia entry will tell you most everything you'd want to know about the man. However, if you'd like to know more, he wrote an autobiography.

 

This one was written by Perkins and was sung by him in the movie Little Faus and Big Halsey. I didn't remember that until reading the Wikipedia article even though I've seen the movie a few times. It has been a while, though.  Not even a hint of Rockabilly in it, especially in the Arlene Harden version here.

I always liked this one. Never as popular as Matchbox or Blue Suede Shoes, but a solid toe-tapper.

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Things pretty quiet on the home front the last couple of days still. I went to the boxing gym Saturday morning - shot the breeze with Jimmy for a bit and then did a light bag workout. I've been missing the boxing workouts. Once it it's in your blood and all that. I renewed my coaching license for the year - might start going back to the boxing club on Saturday mornings and work the bags and hold the mitts every once in a while. That'll be a good supplement to my walkies at the rec center, at least until the weather warms up and I can get out on my bicycle. 

 I made up a list of jobs to do the other evening - it's a long list and I'm sure it's not complete, but I just put down the first things that came to mind. The trials bike is the first thing on the list, mostly because it's almost done and I need to move it in order to work on the mill. 

I think the grandson is going to adopt one of the SR500 Yamahas in the storage space. I've got parts from two bikes, and he picked up parts from another the other day. He should be able to build something real nice from what we have. After all, his dad's a Cracker Jack machinist and his grandfather's a pretty fair welder. I don't know how far his bank account will carry him, but I'd like to see him build a bike and get all the Yamaha parts out of the storage space.

Hello Dolly

 

I made the majority of this while my welding student was doing his thing Thursday and finished it up yesterday. I couldn't complete it while he was here due to my only being able to plug one welder in at a time. I still need to polish up the near end. And what is it you say? A small dolly for sheet metal work. 

I started with a hollow bar 1-1/2" OD with a 1/2" ID. I welded a piece of leaf spring on one end and welded a 5/16 nut sunk into the other end. The piece on the far end is a soft hammer tip that has a 5/16 stud on it. This is a spare for my old Williams soft face hammer. The hammer came with two tips, the one pictured and a softer one as well. With the threaded end on the dolly, I can swap out the tips, or if needed, I can make a lead tip or a steel piece to work with a shape my other dollies don't match. 

I still need to polish up the solid end, maybe today on that.

Architecture

I saw this at The Daily Timewaster. My Google-foo is weak, so I don't know where this is for sure or the architect, but if I was to hazard a guess, I'd say it was in France and the architect was Hector Guimard. I'm a big fan of the Art Nouveau style in all its forms - it beats the hell out of Brutalism, that's for sure. Just imagine trying to get something like this built in this day and age. Beautiful design and execution. Probably couldn't get it approved by the building commission, though.
 

Not much happening on the home front. Getting caught up on some chores, paperwork and getting a good start on the exercise program. Also trying to limit my exposure to world and national news - too much of that's not good for a cardiac patient. 

Since it's warm this week, my welding student is coming this afternoon to finish his MIG section on his paddle wheel. I've got a little lathe job I can work on while he's welding. He's a big strappin' young guy. Maybe have him give me a hand putting the motor in the trials bike while he's here.

Got to Give it Up

 

I don't have any idea what in the hell is going to happen this year but it's starting off with some pretty serious fireworks. Shooting some drug boats out of the water is one thing, but "kidnapping" the top dog of a foreign country and his wife is something on a whole other level. But our president says we'll run the country for a while until we can figure out what to do with it. I'm assuming that means until we can take control of the oil - but what do I know. I'm just a welder.

And a welder with a cardiac condition at that. However, I haven't completely lost my sense of humor yet. I thought the above was humorous and rather timely. Actually, I can think of several scenarios worse than a game of charades, but not too many places to have one better than I've done.

I'm going to the rec center this morning to do some walking and a few light exercises. It's time to get back on a regular program of exercise and diet. Also, it's supposed to be unseasonably warm this week, so I'll be getting back in the shop. Maybe fire up the log splitter as well. I've got some catching up to do but I need to use a little common sense. I haven't done anything in a month, so even if I hadn't had the grabber, I still would need to ease back into things.

During my month of riding the recliner, it would have been a good time to put together the plan for the year but the best I could come up with was do something productive every day and don't start any new projects. Actually, for a guy with some sort of attention deficit, probably as good a plan as any.  

Felice Anno Nuovo

 

Happy New Year!

We all need to keep on punchin' in '26. I'm thinking it's going to be a tough year for all of us.