School Revolution

I just finished reading The School Revolution: A New Answer for Our Broken Education System by Ron Paul. His answer is really quite simple, just abandon it. That's right, don't use public education, homeschool your children instead. It wasn't exactly the answer I was expecting, but he makes a good case here. If you wish to educate your children or grandchildren in an environment free from bullying and in one that respects your own personal values, there's no place better than home.

Obviously, there are some problems with the homeschooling approach and he addresses most of them fairly well. He mentions shop class specifically and the fine arts as requiring more than the average homeschooling parent would be able to work with. (I did like the fact that because he's an older gentleman, it was shop class, not Tech Ed or STEM.) One problem that he didn't address in depth was the single parent - kind of hard to work a job and be a stay-at-home educator for your children.

As a retired public school teacher, I'm not so sure I agree with everything in the book, but since my politics lean toward the Libertarian direction, much of what he says about public education today I'm in complete agreement with, particularly the one size fits all approach. One size may fit all, but none well. With the new technologies and the abundance of curricula available today, it really does make sense to personalize a student's education.

Mr. Paul has his own homeschooling curriculum available. Normally when I see something like that I just figure here comes the sales pitch and walk away. However, he gives away the K thru 5 years - can't get rich if you're giving it away - and he shows you how a well motivated student just might be able to earn a Bachelor's degree at the same time he's finishing his high school work.

It's a short book, but an interesting one. I don't know if I'm ready to throw in the towel on public education just yet, but there does need to be some major fixing.

More info on the Ron Paul curriculum can be found here: http://www.ronpaulcurriculum.com/

More Wrenchin'

Photo From Here

Been making progress - the mower place had the pulley and belt in stock. The pulley was only twenty bucks and it only took about 30 minutes to get it and the new belt installed with nary a cuss word uttered. 

I've got the engine cases and the transmission put together on the Sportster. According to the manual, it says when reassembling the engine to put the heads and barrels on after the engine is installed in the frame. Even if that's not the most efficient way to handle it, it's probably the best for an old guy with a bad back working solo. I need to get the oil pump sorted and bolted up first and then I should be ready to drop the engine in the frame. I've only been able to find one wrist pin in the boxes, so I need to do another search and if still no luck, call the previous owner and see if he might have it some place. I'm heading to the local Harley dealer today to see about a couple of little things and I ordered a bolt kit for the case covers - polished stainless no less. The kit should be here by the end of the week. I've got company coming into town over the weekend, so there won't be much done for a few days but with a little luck I might be able to have the engine sitting in the frame by then.

Wrenchin'

It's mowing season again and I had my first issue with the Bad Boy mower Saturday. As you can see from the photo, there isn't much in the way of a bearing in the hole on the idler pulley. It broke right after the dealer had closed so I don't know if they'll have a part in stock. There's actually two of these pulleys on the deck, so I figure I should probably get both of them replaced or see if I can press a new bearing into the other one. Since this one is missing a big chunk of the flange, it definitely needs to be replaced and I'll put a new belt on as long as I'm replacing pulleys. With my old mower, I was changing the drive belt at least three times per season. Since this is the third year for the Bad Boy, I'm ahead of the game here. Hopefully, the parts will be in stock.

I've been making a little headway on the Sportster - steady by jerks as my old Pal Joey B. used to say. I've got the crank pressed into the case, after having to machine up a little driver, and I'm sorting all the hardware. I went to one of the many auto parts stores and picked up some SAE flat washers. For those of you not too into hardware, a SAE washer has a smaller outside diameter than your run of the mill flat washer. 

Even though I live in a small community, there are five auto parts stores within bicycling distance of my house. Four of them are located on the same street. I don't know how they all stay in business, but I know that the one place is run by a couple of guys about my age, they have a full service machine shop and because they've been around, they know what's up. I walked in, grabbed some gasket sealer and threadlocker, went to the counter and asked if they carried SAE washers. The old dude said yes, I told him the size and the quantity and it was a done deal.  There's a lot to be said for doing business with guys that have been around. No explanation required, no shopping through the blister packs on the wall, just a simple transaction. Like it should be. 

I don't know how many things I've fixed over the years due to the use of the wrong hardware. English bolts stuck in a metric hole, bolts snapped off because they were a little too long and bottomed out in the hole before drawing up tight or, conversely, the hole is stripped because they used a bolt too short and there wasn't enough thread engagement - like a short reach plug in an aluminum head on Jr's dirt bike. I've welded up more than a few of those over the years. And let's not forget the ever popular coarse thread nut on the fine thread bolt or some other combination there of. It's nice that there are still places that not only speak hardware but stock it as well. Here's to the wisdom that comes with age and experience. 

Rockin' The Cradle

Built myself an El-Cheapo assembly stand. 16-1/2" long x 12" wide. If I was to do it over I wouldn't cut the miters on the corners quite so large but other than that, it's just the ticket. Since it was made from scrap on hand, price was nothing, as in zip, nada, zilch. After I screwed it together it dawned on me that if I flip it up-side down, it will be handy to hold one side of the cases while I install the crank and tranny. That's why I wouldn't trim the corners back quite so much - a little more stability when the cradle's on it's back. That's also why there are two holes on the near side bottom board. Those are to clear the dowel pins on the case so it will lay flat. After the case halves are assembled, I'll put a couple of clip angles on the front 2 x 4 if needed to keep the lower end steady while I'm assembling the top end.

I cleaned off the bench top, even going so far as to drag the Shop Vac out there, so I'm about ready to start assembling the engine. All of the parts have been de-greased by the previous owner so not much left to do besides trying to figure out what goes where.  

Sportster Parts With a Side of TIG

What looks like the beginning of a moving sale is actually boxes of the remaining parts for the Sportster. The previous owner was kind enough to sort out the engine stuff for me so I actually stand a chance of getting things all back together properly. Since I've never had one of these apart before, and I wasn't the one who took it apart, might be a little head scratching trying to put it back together. 

I think the first order of business is to spend some time reviewing the shop manual. The Harley manuals are usually pretty thorough, so with the manual and some patience, I should be able to handle it. The other thing I've been thinking that would make the job easier is an engine stand. I've got a couple of engine stands with different heads but I doubt if anything that I've got will work with the Sportster. It might be worth the time spent making a head up rather than trying to chase the engine around the bench top once the cases are assembled. J&P has one listed for $150.00. It looks simple enough to make one similar but the Harley factory manual shows the engine being worked on in what appears to be nothing more than a wooden cradle made from a couple of 2x4's. Since I'm hoping this is a one time deal, a couple of short pieces of 2x4 and about 15 minutes of labor seems like the direction I should be headed in.

After I brought the bike parts home the other day, I welded up the lid to Surly's grill. The grill had blown over in a storm and both hinges had snapped off. The cast aluminum contained a lot of zinc so it didn't weld the easiest but as Uncle Pete used to say: "It ain't much for looks but it's hell for strong". The most notable thing about this job is that I welded it with my old Miller Goldstar. The post-flow timer on the shielding gas quit working and even though I could get a new part it was going to be about $400.00 - lots of money to invest in a 50 year old welding machine that's seen a lot of service. I bought a new torch head instead that has a gas shut off valve built into it. Now it's turn on the gas, weld, turn off the gas. Not as convenient but serviceable. At least I'm getting things ship shape around here so I can actually do little jobs like this without it being a big production. Hallelujah and can I have an Amen? 

I also caught the Professors on WYCC television from Chicago. It's a 30 minute program focusing on education issues. I don't make it a habit of watching it but I really should. The exchange of diverse ideas and philosophies on important issues is both stimulating and pretty even handed. If you can catch the program where you are at, I recommend you do so. 

Blast Cabinet

Looky here! I finished another project after only about a year and a half. Actually, I could have used it shortly after bringing it home if need be but I wanted to have a vacuum connected to the thing in addition to having good lighting. The blue bucket to the left of the blast cabinet is a water filter. There's a baffle inside the bucket that extends down to within a couple of inches of the bottom that divides the bucket in two. you add water to the bucket and when the thing is in operation, the dust from the cabinet gets pulled into the water and is trapped there. The air entering the vacuum is then relatively clean so you don't have to clean the vacuum near as often, just change the water as needed. Haven't tried it yet but it's supposed to work. 

Scratch another one off the list.

What's All The Hub-Bub, Bub?

Made a piece for the VW while I was incommunicado. It's a hub to support the steering shaft. I started with a piece of 2" aluminum bar and bored out one end to slip over the column, the other end to accept a bronze bushing. 

I also had to mill a slot in it to allow it to slip over the tab on the column and drilled a hole so I can oil the bushing from time to time. 

After putting the steering wheel back on, I dug out the turn signal control and got that fit up as well. I'm planning on wiring the car from scratch so it won't be any extra work to wire in the turn signal switch. I need to start figuring out the dashboard for this rig. The speedometer has most of the instrumentation in it, so I won't need much else on the dash other than an ignition switch, starter button, horn button, lights and heater fan. I don't know that I need a parking light setting on the lights, but I will need something for high and low beams. Maybe a dimmer switch mounted on the floor or something on the shifter where it would be handy.

I also fixed the fan blades on the ceiling fan out in my shop. As you can tell from the photo, the fan blades had developed a serious case of the droops over the years. Those of us in the "Heavy Metal Set" can relate to that. I put a new fan in the kitchen a year or so ago and saved the blades from the old one. Of course it wasn't a straight swap, it's never that easy, but I cut them down a little, drilled some new mounting holes and I'm back in business.

The new blades are about three inches longer than the old ones so it actually works better than new. 

And for the uninformed, the Heavy Metal Set is those of us with silver in our hair, gold in our teeth and lead in our ass.