Great Day To Be Alive

 

Beautiful day yesterday. The temperature was just about perfect for whatever you wanted to do outside. I delivered the windmill to my sister-in-law and then went to Surly's while I was close by. He showed me a job he was fishing around for me to maybe take care of for him. I need to do a bit of research but I think I could take care of it without too much trouble. 

When I came home I made a blank-off plate for the fuel pump on the slant-six. I've been waiting to order an electric pump because the remote oil filter I want wasn't available and I didn't want to place two orders with two shipping charges. I'm not in need of either of the items right now but I want to have them here for when I do. I need to think about a fuel tank also. Make a tank, buy a fuel cell or go whole hog and buy a old school Moon tank. I'll need to make provision for a battery box as well. I really haven't given any thought to anything behind the cockpit area but I need to do that so I can tap some holes or make inserts when I take the rails apart to make clearance for the distributor. 

1/4" aluminum. I'll get some decent hardware - maybe some stainless button head screws with SAE flat washers. I've got a shopping list for the hardware that I'm adding to as I go. When I finally get around to putting the engine together I'll place the order and hopefully I'll have everything in house I'll need.

Since it was so nice out, I did some mowing and painted the trim I installed recently around the AC unit. Next up will be painting the window trim. Trim painting is a never ending job. I just keep working my way around the house. I'll paint a few windows this year and a few more next year. By the time I finish everything it's time to start the process over again. I need to touch up some spots on the siding as well. I need another gallon of paint but what I've got came from Sears and I don't think that's an option anymore. The can I've got has a sticker on the lid with the recipe on it. I'm hoping ACE can match it. I also need to paint the north side of my shop this year. I'm going to have to get on this before too much longer. It'll be too cold to paint in a couple of months.

Going out on the bike this morning and doing some walking later in the day with a group from the boxing club. My wisdom tooth is coming out on Monday, so I'll be able to rest my legs while nursing the sore jaw. Not looking forward to having the tooth pulled but it's been causing me some discomfort. Definitely time to go.

The weather's supposed to be more in line with normal temps this upcoming week. Between the hot days and the wisdom tooth induced headaches, I haven't been too ambitious. Be nice to get back out in the shop. 

Update

 

The oil tank fits & the customer's happy. And if he's happy, I'm happy. The welds don't look as nice as I would have liked but some days it bees that way. Good project to keep my hand in and to figure out the new welding machine.

Finished up the little windmill for the sister-in-law. Straightened what was bent, replaced a bearing that may or may not have been damaged when the tree came down, greased things, and put it back together with a couple of new cotter keys. Good for a 100,000. 

Had a phone appointment with my family physician yesterday. The office had called the day before to set it up to review my numbers from the blood test and said the doc would call me before 1:00 PM. I hadn't heard from them by 1:30 so I went out to the shop to do a little something. Came in an hour later and the call came through. I had to repeat everything I had told them when I went in last week and then they put me on hold, then they came back on line and gave me the thanks for holding, what can we do for you? You put me on hold, remember? Then the doc came on and asked if he had done blood work, which was the point of the call. Then he said he'd call me back. Finally we got to the crux of the matter and I got the test results. My A1C is a little higher than it should be and my cholesterol is up. Neither number is terrible but reflect the fact I've been sitting on my ass a lot more and eating too much dead animal flesh and Little Debbie Swiss Rolls since the cooties hit. 

I'm back on the bicycle and have started a bit of strength training, so I've got the exercise part of the equation covered. Diet part is just a matter of showing some restraint, especially in the evenings. I'm about a week away from hitting 70 - like to make it a while longer. Not only get older but also be physically able to enjoy what time I have left. I've still got a lot of things left I want to do.

Looks like the hurricanes are playing hell with Gulf coast. Riots are still going strong. I think it's about time somebody throws a flag and calls a penalty for piling on. And you know gas prices are going to go up now also. I've thrown in the towel on 2020 already, so as long as the Missus and I stay healthy and we don't get hit with some natural disaster, I'll just keep my head down, the gas tank topped off and roll with it.

Stay safe and restock. The next six months are going to be real interesting. 

Hot Again

 

Ain't that the truth!

I got the little windmill mostly repaired last evening. I need to fire up the torch to help straighten out a little something and then it'll be fixed. It's going to be hot again today. With the heat index maybe 100 or a bit above. Monday made it up to 95 or a bit above without the heat index. I've been out on the bike early before it heats up too much and rode 10 miles both Sunday and Tuesday. Won't be much else going on until it cools down a bit - mostly keeping up with the chores and doing odds and ends around the shack.

I did swing by work and cleaned out my locker. So it would appear I am actually retired now. I'm pretty sure I can get used to not going to work but I'm going to miss the paycheck. The Missus and I have a yours, mine and ours system for our finances and the side hustle was all mine. I liked having the  freedom to spend that money on whatever I wanted - project parts and materials, travel, etc. I'll just have to watch my pennies a bit closer now but fortunately, I was able to make that decision on my own terms. Lots of people are hurting now and it's only going to get worse in the very near future. If you're not already set on your "preps", I'd be working on that. We all might be "going to the mattresses" real soon. 

Joe Izuzu

 

When I saw this it had the title: He's Channeling His Inner Joe Izuzu. You need to be a certain age to get the reference, but if so, it's pretty funny.

I dropped off the oil tank yesterday and picked up a windmill on the way home. My sister-in-law had a tree come down during a storm recently. It tore the weather head off the house as well as damaging her ornamental windmill. I'll get that fixed this week and deliver it back to her. I'm going to go to my previous side gig and clean out my locker this week. I was planning on quitting Labor Day weekend before the cooties hit anyway. I'll bring my tools home but I might still work on things from here at home, depending. 

I'm going to take a trip north this week and hit the cemeteries. Since I didn't make it on Memorial Day, I need to clean up a few of the graves and pay my respects. I also need to run a few errands and pick up some things I can't get out here in the country. Other than putting in some miles on the bicycle, I'm not planning on working too hard this week - temps are supposed to get back into the 90s again. Stay busy but not too. Like a retired guy

Oil Tank

 

I finished the oil tank for the flat track bike. Top photo is the bottom of the tank. Two bosses for mounting, a bung with pipe threads and a coupling with an odd ball 7/8-20 thread. Top view shows three fittings - two for mounting and another bung with pipe threads. The filler neck looks like it comes almost straight out in the photo but it's actually on a 45 deg angle.

 Lots of welding involved and plenty of chances to warp things. I welded in all the fittings before assembling the sides. I clamped a pipe underneath the fittings to keep the sheet tight to them and minimize the warpage. Likewise, I clamped a heavy piece of aluminum under the sheet when I welded the filler neck to do the same. Worked out pretty well. 

When it came time to weld all the sheet metal together I hooked up my new welding machine and used some new type of tungsten. The new welder doesn't seem to initiate the arc like my old machine. Took a bit to figure that out as well as where to set all the dials. Even though I was using AC, the torch needs to be plugged into the negative terminal for TIG welding. I didn't try using the pulse function. I'll try that on some scrap before I put the machine away. It was hard enough getting all the pieces fit up properly with the curved back and trapezoidal sides - not really conducive to easy clamping. I didn't want to risk blowing a hole in the thing while trying to learn the pulse settings.

Anyway, tanks done and it looks pretty good. I hope to hell it fits. None of the dimensions are larger than the cardboard one he gave me to go off of. The only real concern is the clearance on the filler neck. He had layout lines on the cardboard where the frame tubes go and gave me a dimension on the diameter of the tube. Judging by that, it should clear and fit nice and snug along the frame rail. That's the side where the riders leg will be going when the bike is leaned over in a turn, so you don't want anything sticking out to snag or rub his leg.

I'm going to deliver it to Surly today - he's the middleman on this job. I'll then wait for feedback. Here's hoping!

Grill & Tank

 

I installed the grill on the Himalayan yesterday. Easy install - only took about five minutes with the included spacers and screws. I think I'm pretty well set on accessorizing this thing now. I would like to find a louder horn for it. Like most motorcycles, the horn is a bit on the limp side. I'd prefer something with a bit more authority.

I started on the oil tank for the flat track racer yesterday as well. I got the piece that will make the top, front and bottom made up. There are seven pieces that had to be welded in place with out warping the thing all to hell. I managed to keep the warpage to a minimum but the welds don't look as pretty as I would have expected. I don't know what the alloy is of the bungs, coupling and bolt bosses, but it doesn't weld like 6061, which is what I would have expected. I don't know the alloy of the sheet either but the welds on sheet to sheet look like I would expect them to. I'm going to work on making the other piece of the tank today and see what I can do about the filler neck. 

The design calls for it to come out the side of the tank at a 45 deg angle but it's not long enough to do that. I might be able to use the piece I cut off to splice in and make up the difference or I might have to make a piece to fill in. The other issue will be being able to tack the piece that makes up the two sides and the back to the first piece I made without an extra pair of hands. I've got several magnetic gizmos that would help immensely if the tank was made from steel but no help on aluminum. TIG welding requires two hands - one for the torch and one for the filler rod. Doesn't leave much for holding things in alignment for tack welding. I was planning on making the tank from .080" but the customer supplied .062". Not much difference in thickness but the heavier gauge does make the welding much easier. 

Books & Grill

 

I bought myself a used copy of the Royal Enfield story. Looks like Jamie's dad bought it for him as a Christmas present in 2017. Apparently Jamie doesn't cling to books like I do. Looks like it will make for some good bedtime reading, though.

I'm way behind on my book reading for the year. I just finished up a couple which put me to only nine for the year. While that's roughly one per month, it's no where near the one per week I was doing a few years back. I suppose it's still a lot better than some people. I know there are people out there who are lucky to read one per year. I have a hard time understanding why they would not avail themselves of the pleasure of relaxing with a good book but times have certainly changed. Movies and computers seem to have replaced much of the recreational reading but I'm fortunate to have access to a couple of libraries close to home. I have library cards from two counties so I have an excellent selection of books to choose from. I also have quite the personal library which I need to thin out. I've already gotten rid of several of my welding books and some novels but I definitely need to keep weeding them out. 

The headlight grill came yesterday. All the way from England by way of the Royal Mail. I'll get it installed today. I'm becoming quite the fan of the Enfield marque. I never saw too many of them back in the day. There were both Triumph and BSA dealers locally back then so they were pretty common. There were a few Nortons running around also but it was rare that you saw any other English makes like Enfield, Matchless or Velocette. They made some pretty nice bikes back in the 50s and 60s - shame the whole British motorcycle industry went in the toilet. 

I called the dentist today to set up an appointment to get my wisdom tooth pulled. Not looking forward to that but it definitely needs to come out. Saw the chiropractor on Monday, the family doctor on Tuesday and called the dentist on Wednesday. Figures. Only a couple of weeks from my 70th birthday and everything's falling apart. Get the tooth fixed and then I'll have to see about the cataract surgery. Definitely getting old.