Mailbox

 I steer clear of any religious topics on the blog, but Ole Johnny Cash might be onto something here. The way things are going not only in our country, but worldwide, The Man might be coming around before long.

I pulled the garbage can carrier out of the hitch on the truck the other day so I could load up the Go-Go carrier. As long as I had it out of the hitch, I decided to give it a fresh coat of paint, oil the mechanism and grease up the tube and pin so it'll come out of the hitch easily. I've been called upon to help get ball mounts out of receiver hitches that have rusted in. Removing them once in a while and giving them a coating of grease can eliminate a problem when you need to remove it.

The appliance dolly fix is going as planned - maybe even a little better. I was just finishing up the first side when the Missus summoned me. 

I'm not sure what prompted it, but she wanted me to go get the mailbox that was in front of her grandparents' house. The house suffered from neglect after her grandparents passed away to the point it was finally condemned. We went to take a look at it after the previous owner moved thinking we might buy the place and move there. Small house, but there's just the two of us. Not a huge lot, but out in the country and there was a nice place to build a shop in back. Unfortunately, we were too late and it was scheduled for demolition.  

To make a long story longer, the house had a partial basement under it that Grandpa dug by hand. When the Missus and I started dating she was living with her grandparents. Grandpa and I hit it off right away. The old man was born in 1896 and the Missus to be and I started dating in 1967, so he was up in the years by then and had emphysema. He couldn't do much of anything physical, so I cut his grass for him and afterwards we'd sit and he'd tell me stories about what used to be. He was a tough old bird in his younger days - you'd have to be to dig your own basement by hand after the house was already built.

Anyway, back to the mailbox. The Missus got a hold of the current owner who told her to come get the mailbox. She told me I need a saw and a shovel, but having pulled a few posts in my time, I loaded up a "C" clamp, a long bar and some blocking as well. The box was leaning back at about a 30-degree angle and didn't seem like it would take much to get it out of the ground. I wiggled it around a bit but it didn't give any when I tried to pull it out, so I put the "C' clamp on the post, used the blocking as a fulcrum and put some weight on the 4' pinch bar and it started moving. I had to change my blocking a couple of times, but it came out with little difficulty. 

I put my girdle on before going to work to protect my chest and I already had a sore muscle on my side from working on the Go-Go carrier and using the lop shears the other day, but at my age I could have hurt myself sleeping. Regardless, pretty sore when I got done going two out of three falls with the mailbox.

I'm going to a boxing match today. One of the guys Coach Jen and I have been working with has a bout. Let's hope all the coaching pays off. 

Goin' to a Go-Go

 

Theme music!

I assembled the carrier for the Go-Go mobility scooter yesterday - pretty straight forward. It looks like I'll have to modify the tongue to get the carrier up in the air a bit more but nothing I can't handle. I'll see what it looks like once the hitch is installed on the car.

I bought an appliance dolly from Harbor Freight a few years back. After using it only a few times, the belts on the stair risers broke and it seems they don't sell replacement belts. I had some strips left over from making the skis on the sled for Coach Jen's gym that just happened to be the right width to fit, so the wheels started turning and I wondered if I could get them bent to fit the radius on the metal piece where the belt used to go.

I cut a piece to go halfway around, clamped it in the vise, put the heat gun to it, pulled it around the radius, and then clamped it in place until it cooled down. As you can see from the left side of the photo, it retained the proper shape after cooling, so I bent the other end as well. I'll do the same for the other side of the dolly then drill and countersink some holes and screw the nylon pieces down to keep them in place. If it all goes as planned, I'll look like a genius with this one. If not, nothing ventured, nothing gained, as the old saying goes.

Memorial Day

 

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The grandson came down yesterday to give me hand with getting some grass growing where the trees used to be. He's currently working for a landscaping outfit and has some skills. It's up to me now to keep the areas watered. I've got plenty of other yard work in addition to trying to get some grass growing. Mother Nature abhors a vacuum.

The strawberries I planted last year are doing well. I should get a few berries, unless the birds and rabbits get them first. Lots of gooseberries on the plants as well.

The Missus bought a mobility scooter, which means a trailer hitch and a cargo carrier. The cargo carrier came the other day. I opened up the box yesterday to get the instruction book out. Doesn't look too complicated. I'll see later today when I assemble it.

I was going to have a trailer outfit put the trailer hitch on the car but after looking into it, I can buy the hitch and install it myself. I watched a video on the installation, and it looks pretty straight forward. I'll need another pair of hands to lift the hitch into position after getting the bolts in place in the frame rails, but I can have Surly or the grandson give me a hand. Should be a considerable savings for a couple hours of work. I'm going to order the hitch this week.

What's Going On

 

This is the full album - 9 songs in all. It'd make good background noise when puttering around the house or shop.

Cuzzin Ricky and I did the Dead Relatives Tour yesterday. We put flowers on all the graves of our kin, our adopted airman from WWII, my old neighbors, and my friend that passed away recently. The list keeps getting longer. I don't know who'll take over for Rick and I when we can no longer do it, but we should probably start breaking in a new man one of these days or at least draw up a map we can leave behind.

I planted some flowers around the shack when I got home and primed the bottle bell and the anvil. The grandson is coming down today to give me a hand planting some grass where the trees used to be and give me a little muscle moving a couple of things.

Gotta keep on keepin' on.

Anvil

 

I cut myself a little bench anvil from the piece of rail I've been kicking around for a while. I've still got a bit of grinding and clean-up, but not a problem. I left the other end square in case I need to bend a tight corner on something. I've got a small actual bench anvil close to the same size that has pointed end on the horn and a hardy hole. One of these days I'll make up a hardy and a couple of other tools to use with it. 

I've got a good collection of blacksmithing tools, but I don't have a large anvil. I had one that belonged to me at the high school but I left it behind when I retired. I was on light duty due to the heart attack and I had plenty of other heavy things to get out of there. I would like to get another one, but I doubt I'd do much with it. I do have a forge set up in the back of the shop, though. What I really need is a bigger shop. Someplace where I could let the sparks fly off the anvil and not have to worry about burning the place to the ground.

Bit O' Boxing

 

Something a little different than my normal musical selections - actually, most all of them are a little different. Man does not live by classic rock alone, after all.

 

Teofilo Stevenson. One of the greatest amateur boxers of all time. Three-time Olympic gold medalist. A right hand that could stop a speeding locomotive. I've been working with a couple of young guys one night a week. Both of them show a lot of potential. They work hard, listen to Coach Jen and myself, and are progressing nicely. If they continue along that line, I think both of them could become state Golden Gloves champions. We need to get them some quality sparring for that to happen, though.

My working with the boxers has helped me get back into shape. I've still got a ways to go but with the boxing, the Tai-Chi, cycling, and a bit of strength training, I should be at a respectable level of fitness in a couple of months. 

Not much going on with the projects the past few days. Typical Indiana weather partly responsible. It went from record breaking heat in the nineties to temps 20 degrees below normal in the fifties. Three days of rain as well. I've been spending the majority of my time in the shack catching up on my reading and working my way through the pile of mail. Cuzzin Ricky and I are doing the Dead Relatives tour this weekend and the grandson is coming down to help me with some yard work. Steady by jerks as my old pal Joey used to say. 

Tubular Bell

I finished up all the work on the bell project yesterday except paint. Finished up the block work on the gun range as well. Did some piddly things around the yard but I've got quite a bit of work to do still - brush clearing, planting flowers and vegetables, patch the grass where the trees used to be, spray some weeds, and all the rest that goes along with "estate" management.

I've got an appointment at the massage parlor today and my regular Monday household chores, but I won't be going to work anymore, so that's a good thing. Just need to get into a regular daily routine now - exercise, chores and projects.