blog1112

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

After breakfast I walked over to City Hall and voted. For Congress my vote went to the Libertarian candidate so I can say I voted for Thomas Jefferson. He'll finish a distant third behind the Republican and the Democrat, but he had the best name on the ballot. I was home and working on the roof by nine, putting on more shingles. I was at it all day excpet for a fifty minute visit to town for more roof cement and some groceries. I ended the day with between a quarter and a third of the job done. At the current pace I should finish before the fifty percent chance of rain that's predicted for Saturday night into Sunday. I won't mind the chilly weather that's coming with it as long as I have that roof finished.

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

More of the same (shingles), three hours in town for class, and more of the same. To be continued.

Thursday, November 8, 2012

And more. I shingled until two, slowed slightly because of the wind. The forecast showed the wind diminishing later in the afternoon, so I took an hour to go to town for another can of roof cement and some celery. I got back about three and tackled the chore of laying on another row of felt. There was still enough wind to keep it a bit too interesating to suit me, but I managed to get it on and fastened down, then nailed on more shingles until quitting time. So my race with the weather continues. It's going to be close, but I think I can finish before the Saturday night change of weather.

Friday, November 9, 2012

Knowing I'd miss three hours on the roof for my class this afternoon, I brought out a shop light and started before sunup. The work was slowed by wind blowing in gusts over 30 mph. I've been laying a bead of roof cement on the backs of four shingles at a time, putting them up on the upper eaves, then going up and nailing all of them on the roof. But when the wind started picking them up and blowing them around, I had to carry each one up and nail it on as soon as it was ready. Doing them one at a time like that takes a little longer, but with the wind blowing like crazy I have to do it that way. I don't think I'm going to finish before tomorrow night. I'll come close, but I think I'm going to have to put tarps over the peak of the roof and try to finish Sunday.

Saturday, November 10, 2012

Close, but not quite. I got all the shingles on except the top row and the ridge. I took four hours off to drive down to Ponca City for an auction. I went because of an old iron bed that was advertised, and I bought it for $33.96. It will sand blast and paint up very nicely. While I was at it I bought a Model T side lamp for $5.23. Fortunately, this auction was backwards. They started with the good stuff, and I didn't have to wait through all the junk you'd have to pay me to haul off. I was home by one and got the roof done as far as I could by four. Then I fought the crazy wind trying to get tarps and plastic sheeting in place for tonight's storm. The wind that's been blowing from the south for the past couple of days is supposed to turn around and come from the north, so that should keep the rain from blowing in against that unfinished south wall. If it was from the south I wouldn't trust the plastic sheeting to keep all the rain out.

Sunday, November 11, 2012

Success! There was enough rain to leave puddles in the driveway, but no leaks except for the front porch and a couple of drips in the living room. Those roofs are next on the roof list. Then will come the outbuildings. But first, I'll finish this one and enclose that unfinished south wall. I hope this winter I can do a new interior in a room or two. After a high of 70º at midnight, the temps took a plunge and the day never got any warmer than the low fifties. At one point I even saw a few snow flakes blowing in the chilly north breeze. I stayed inside mostly and did a couple of chores. One was putting away some files, drill bits, and other small tools that were in a box of miscellaneous auction plunder. The other job took me outside to take screens down from the front and back doors and put up the storm windows in their place. I aim to finish up the roof this week, and will probably also get started on the fall/winter chore of cutting and hauling firewood.

Monday, November 12, 2012

Not a thing happened on the roof today. I spent the first part of the morning in my workshop doing more cleanup and organizing. I had a doctor's appointment at 10:30 for a checkup, and from there I went directly to my afternoon class. After class I had shopping to do, so I didn't get home until a little after four. By the time I put the groceries away and brought in firewood, the day was shot. Tomorrow I'll get back to the roof.

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Waiting for the outdoors to warm up to 40º, I didn't start on the roof until almost ten. While waiting I fixed a door in the front hall. It was getting stuck so it wouldn't shut, so I used a belt sander and took a little off the top. Now it shuts with no trouble.When I got to the roof I spent the day putting the last rows of shingles on the front and back slopes. Tomorrow I'll start putting on the ridge cap, and should have the whole thing done sometime Thursday. Then I'll have to decide what job comes next.

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

A warmer morning brought the temperature up to 40º an hour earlier, and I got started on the roof about nine. Except for my afternoon class from noon to three, I spent the day cutting, cementing, and nailing on ridge cap shingles. I had about a third of the job done by four when the snot fountain produced by a cold south wind inspired me to quit for the day. I expect that tomorrow, with no class, I'll finish the job and be ready to start the next one, whatever I decide that should be.

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Sometimes I do something smart. Last night I turned on the heat in my workshop and put all my ridge cap shingles and roof cement in there to keep warm. This morning I went out there and cut and trimmed enough shingles to finish all or most of the ridge. As it turned out, I cut exactly the right number. I installed the last shingles before three this afternoon. I spent the rest of the afternoon putting away tools and taking all the bags of old roofing down. I was using them on the upper roof as weights to keep tarps in place whenever there was a threat of rain. With all the new shingles on, I won't have to fight tarps into place and try to fasten them down, with or without the wind blowing.

Friday, November 16, 2012

This morning I nailed some new boards on the upstairs south wall until I ran out of lumber. I bought more when I went to town for my afternoon class. Maybe I can get more done on that job this weekend. After class I got out the chain saw and went to cut firewood, but couldn't get the saw started. I investigated and found that the air filter was clogged and going to pieces. By the time I went to town and bought a new filter and got back home, it was time to bring in wood for the evening and quit for the day.

Saturday, November 17, 2012

This was laundry day. After the clothes were done, I dropped in at the fairgrounds to check out an auction. There were a couple of interesting items, but not interesting enough to make me wait for all the preceding clutter to be sold. I came home and put the laundry away, then put the new air filter in the chain saw and headed for the woods. I sawed enough wood to last a few days, piled it in the truck, and hauled it up to the splitter. That was the end of my firewood harvest for the day. When I pulled the starter rope on the splitter, I found the engine stuck. I pulled the engine off the splitter and took it into my workshop, and tomorrow I'll open it up and see what's broken.

Sunday, November 18, 2012

When I opened up that engine all I could find that might have been catching inside was a little bump in the casting mold seam on the crank shaft counterweight. Apparently it was catching on the back of the cam gear. I couldn't find anything else to account for the engine getting stuck.

Monday, November 19, 2012

With the upper roof finished I can take a little time for other things, so this morning I went for my first three-mile morning run in almost a month. I think 32:20 is a pretty good time considering the layoff. I spent the rest of the morning working on the splitter engine, grinding that bump off the crank shaft and cleaning carbon off the valves and out of the combustion chamber. After my class this afternoon one of my stops was at the farm supply to pick up a head gasket. Looks like I'll need to buy it online.

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

The splitter engine was my job of the day. I really didn't want to have the project drag on for several days, so rather than order a new head gasket online and wait for it to arrive, I slathered Copper Coat on the old one and bolted the head back on. I'll finish up in the morning and see if I can get the thing running.

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

It's nice when you put an engine back together and it works. I put the reassembled engine back on the splitter, cleaned the hydraulic oil screen and filled the tank, and got the thing running. I split all the wood I cut Saturday and stacked it in the truck. Here's the video: SPLITTING WOOD 11-21-12.

Thursday, November 22, 2012

The forecast said this would be the last warm day for awhile, so I worked on my pickup's brakes. The pedal wouldn't go down, so I took out the master cylinder to find out why the pressure wouldn't release. I found all the inside parts in good condition, but plenty of rust on the outside. So I have the body, the lid, and the rusty bolts and washers soaking in rust remover overnight. I'll shoot on some paint before I put the thing back in the truck. I figured out from looking at a diagram in the shop manual that the likely reason the pressure wouldn't go down is improper adjustment of the linkage. I'll find out if I'm right when I reinstall the works and readjust the pedal. With the cylinder and parts soaking, I put the tools away and moved on to working on the house. I finished cutting and nailing new boards on the center section of the south wall. I think the next job on the house will be clearing all the old lumber and wood scraps off the front porch roof and getting it ready for new roofing. This evening I went and saw Lincoln. I don't often go back and see a movie a second time, but I'll definitely return to this one. Excellent. On the way home I stopped at Wal-Mart to buy a can of paint. The parking lot was full and the place was a madhouse. I didn't want to wait all night to check out, so I'll get my paint tomorrow.

Monday, November 26, 2012

Well, the mystery continues. I worked on that silly brake thing before and after class, and still haven't made it work. Part of the problem is that it contains a valve that's different from the one in the shop manual, and I'm not sure how that's supposed to go together. I'll try a net search and see if I can find any information on it.

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Last night's low was about 20º, but with with the electric blanket and the big comforter on my bed it was no problem. The dog and the cat like to sleep on the bed too, with that warm electric blanket under them. This morning I went back to work on the master cylinder. I did some online research and got a couple of helpful hints on the Model T forum, of all places. By afternoon I had the thing back on the truck and working properly. I didn't even have to bleed the lines. I went for a short test drive down to the corner and back, and the brakes worked normally. So I'm back in business and ready to haul firewood up to the house.

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

My morning run lasted less than three minutes. Before I had gone a quarter of a mile the freezing temperature had my nose running like a snot fountain again and I gave it up. I figured I'd go later in the day when it got warmer. After breakfast I sharpened my saw and drove the truck down to the wood lot to cut some firewood and haul it up to the house. That used up the morning. I decided to put some empty cans in the truck and go get gasoline for the saw, the splitter, and the mowers after my afternoon class. I was driving the truck to town for said class when I heard a thump, then the truck wouldn't move. The engine ran, and the transmission turned the drive shaft, but it didn't make the wheels go around. So I left the truck beside the road and hitched a ride to town for my class. The exercise I didn't get this morning turned out to be this afternoon's walk most of the way home from town. I got a ride for about the last mile. I'll go and tow the truck home tomorrow and find out what's broken. I hope it's an axle shaft, as that would be the easiest thing to replace.

Thursday, November 29, 2012

My cousin Wally helped me get the truck home this morning, then I spent the rest of the day on miscellaneous little chores. I paid bills, drove to the county seat to pay property taxes and buy kimchi, made a couple of other shopping stops, and brought in firewood. I also started looking for truck parts online. If it turns out that I need an axle shaft, things don't look good.

Friday, November 30, 2012

Another day of variety, including an unplanned job. I was going to get started on finding out what's wrong with the truck. I wanted to jack up the rear end, so I put a sheet of plywood under the truck to support a jack. I was going to use the Suburban to pull the truck onto the plywood, but the battery was down and I couldn't get it started. So I put a charger on it and moved on to something else. That something else was fixing a set of metal shelves. I straightened some bent parts and replaced the missing nuts and bolts, and tightened all the loose ones. After fixing the shelves I fired up the splitter and split all the wood I cut Wednesday.