Sunday, May 1, 2011
Except for a trip to town to buy celery, I spent the day in the shop. I worked on the roadster a little, painting the sediment bulb, but mostly I worked on sorting and cleaning to make room for the new shelves. I made good progress, and got a place ready for one set of shelves. If I can get the other place ready tomorrow, I'll move the shelves in sometime Tuesday. Another job awaits. I need to mow soon. The grass is getting pretty shaggy in some places.
Monday, May 2, 2011
On my first day of actual retirement I never went off the place. I spent the whole day in the shop, sorting and cleaning. I made good progress and accomplished the main objective, clearing the way to move in the new shelves. Once those are in, the stage will be set for real organizing. Mark is going to help me with the moving tomorrow, and after the shelves are moved inside and away from the threat of weather, I can move on to mowing and working on the roof.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Mission accomplished. I burned trash, then spent the morning getting the shelves ready to move inside. At noon I went to town for my "retirement dinner", which was lunch at La Fiesta with Shannon, quality manager at the company, and Bob Tyler, the boss. Along with the traditional watch, Bob gave me an antique oil can, which I think is from the twenties, from a local Arkansas City refinery. It's a pretty neat old relic. After lunch I got back to work on the shelves, and was just putting in the final screws when Mark arrived. He helped me move a radial arm saw and an old TV set to the barn, then we moved the shelves into the shop. I got one set of shelves positioned and leveled. I'll do the same with the other set tomorrow, then the shop will be ready for some serious organizing. I won't start that right away, though. Some other, more urgent, chores will come first.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
I finished putting the second set of shelves together and getting them in place, then went to town for grocery shopping, banking, and a couple of other errands. When I got home it was time to get busy on the mowing. Ooops! Not so fast. Deceased battery. Back to town for a new one. Install battery and start......ooops! Not so fast. Flat tire. Back to town for tire repair. So when I got home this time I gathered branches and other debris off the lawn and finally got started mowing with the tractor about 3:30. I got in a couple of hours of mowing before calling it day, and got quite a bit done. I should be able to finish in the morning, then I'll get back to work on the roof.
Jueves, 5 de Mayo, 2011
Life is all the stuff that happens to you while you're making other plans. To finish the mowing, I needed more fuel. To go fill all the cans, I needed my truck. To use my truck, I needed to not have one wheel locked up. So I spent most of the day working on truck brakes. I was able to order a new hose at a local parts store, but I'll have to take the brake shoes to Wichita to have them relined. Is this aggravating? Yes, it is.
Friday May 6, 2011
The day began with a drive to The Brake Shop in Wichita, where I bought new brake shoes for the truck. Next I stopped and picked up a new brake hose. I was home by noon and had the new brakes installed and the wheel back on the truck in an hour. But instead of using it, I spent most of the afternoon with my cousin Pete, helping her move furniture and a new water heater. I should get around to finishing the mowing tomorrow.
Saturday, May 7, 2011
After doing laundry I went to an auction and bought an air hose, a tube flaring kit, and a small hardware cabinet, all for $12. I was home by noon, and spent the afternoon installing a new toilet valve and cleaning the bathroom. I never got around to finishing the mowing, so that chore still awaits. Decisions, decisions. Do I mow first, or do more house cleaning? I'll think about that tomorrow.
Sunday, May 8, 2011
House cleaning won out. Except for a brief afternoon nap, I spent the whole day at it. I got the downstairs mostly done, and will finish it up in the morning. I hope to finish the mowing tomorrow, then I'll get back to work on the roof.
Monday, May 9, 2011
I spent the morning finishing up the house cleaning. The afternoon question was whether to mow in the heat of the day or wait for the cool of tomorrow morning. I decided to spend the afternoon putting a new fuel line in the roadster. I took some time off from that for an enjoyable visit by old friend Thad, who lives in Colorado and was in town for a couple of days.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Another mission accomplished, at least for now. Today I did the rest of the mowing. I also removed some of the face grabbers, those low hanging branches that make mowing more of an adventure than it should be. While I was mowing, Phillip, who farms the place, was planting the west field. It was perfect timing for the mowing and planting, because the evening brought much-needed rain. It was a nice storm, heavy enough to soak the ground and not heavy enough to leak into the house. The forecast calls for more rain Wednesday evening, so I'll wait until Thursday to take off the roof tarps and get back to work on that project.
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
It was a rainy day, and I spent most of it in the shop working on the roadster. I set the timing and made sure all the plugs were sparking nicely, all to no avail. Still no start. So I started up the touring to make sure it was OK. It started normally, so I took the carburetor off the touring and put it on the roadster. I choked it a couple of pulls, turned on the ignition, and it started on the first pull of the crank. Starting problem solved. So now one of my projects will be rebuilding another carburetor for the roadster. The rain continued off and on for most of the day, never a downpour, but a good soaking.
Thursday, May 12, 2011
The morning still looked potentially moist, despite the lack of rain in the forecast, so I stayed inside working on the roadster some more. I took off the rear wheels and pulled out the axle bearings and sleeves to see what needs to be replaced. By noon I had my parts shopping list made up, and the weather was clearing. I went to the roof and pulled back the tarps, and cut some aluminum flashing to fit around the chimney. Tomorrow I should get the edging on and get started putting on shingles.
Friday, May 13, 2011
By the time I had breakfast, prepared a few car parts for painting, ordered more parts, went to renew my driver's license, and bought groceries, most of the morning was gone. In the afternoon I did get the aluminum flashing installed around the chimney, and roof cement slathered under the edges to seal it. I would have achieved a lot more after that if I hadn't spent so much time looking for tools. The break between November and May was more than enough opportunity for my faulty memory to forget where a lot of things are. But I did get some work done, fitting and cutting and nailing on some edge boards. To be continued.
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Being unwilling to work up on the roof in a strong wind with the temperature in the forties, I went and checked out an auction at the fairgrounds. There was absolutely nothing of the slightest interest to me, so I went to a farm auction. This one had lots of junk nobody wanted, and the auctioneers were making eclectic piles of stuff containing one or two good items just to keep things moving. I stayed for a couple of hours and bought an antique oil can, an Allis Chalmers snap-coupler hitch, an unused (like new) spade handle, and a five gallon gas can. For all that I spent $3.50. In the afternoon I worked on the roof, and after awhile was even able to take off my winter clothes. I finished putting on boards and got a start on the metal edging.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
I thought I was through wearing extra layers of clothing until next fall, but yesterday morning and today I've had on my winter gear. Both days have started out in the forties, with the afternoons warming up only to the mid-sixties. But I did get some work done on the roof. Today I finished putting on the metal edging, and got a good start on the thirty pound felt. I should finish that in the morning and get started nailing on shingles.
Monday, May 16, 2011
FAfter taking the Camry to town for service I walked home and got to work on the roof. I spent the day at it, and got a good start on the shingles. I should get the shingles done or nearly done tomorrow. Soon I'll be ready to call the roofers to apply Duro-last to the upper roof.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Everything takes longer than you think it will. Except for a trip to town to buy another can of roof cement, I spent the day cutting and nailing on shingles. Usually I quit work at five, but today I kept going another hour. By the time I finished putting away tools and arranging tarps in case of rain, it was almost seven. At this point the east side is about half done.
Wednesday,
May 18, 2011
The day was cloudy and looked like rain, but the forecast showed only a ten percent chance, so I spent another day on the roof. Now the east side is mostly done except for a top row of shingles. That will be slower going, because all of them will have to be cut to fit, but I should finish it tomorrow if the weather cooperates. That will leave one more row to do along the top of the west side, then I can call the roofers to put Duro-Last on the top roof.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Nice! I finished the east side and got started on the last two rows of shingles on the west side. I'll get that done sometime in the next couple of days, depending on the weather. The forecast calls for rain tonight and tomorrow, so the roof may have to wait until the weekend. I did call the roofer to schedule a day for doing the top roof, and he'll call back to let me know what day he's available to do the job.
Friday, May 20, 2011
A good soaking rain for much of the day kept me off the roof and inside, working on the roadster. I have most of the parts I need to get it going, but cleaning and painting some items makes it slow going.
Saturday, May 21, 2011
After doing laundry I took in an auction and spent $18 for a tool cabinet, a socket set, a box of assorted tools, and several wrenches. My aftrnoon project was more shingles on the west roof. I'm on the last row, and should finish it up in he morning.
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Variety is the spice of life, says the old saying. So this was a spicy day. I started with painting some small Model T parts and hangng them out to dry. Then I took a walk down the road picking up trash so I cold mow. I mowed along the road, then got some of the lawn done. About noon I drove over to Oxford for the Patterson auction, where I bought what I went for: forty-eight piano rolls. Some of them have familiar titles like Alexander's Ragtime Band, Smiles, My Wild Irish Rose, and Pretty Baby. Most are unfamiliar, and I expect some will turn out to be long lost gems and a few others will be songs that have deservedly been forgotten. I returned home and spent the last of the afternoon finishing the last row of shingles on the west roof. With the east and west slopes shingled, now I'm ready for the roofers to put the Duro-Last on the top flat roof. After that it will be time to take the old roofing off the front slope and reshingle that. I expect I'll have to do some rebuilding along with the reroofing.
Monday, May 23, 2011
Last night I saw the first lightning bug of the season. I hope the one lonely little critter will soon be joined my many more. Today I spent the morning finishing up the mowing, and the afternoon working on the roadster. I got the new rear axle sleeve and bearing installed on the left side, and will do the right side tomorrow.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Today I installed the right rear axle sleeve and bearing in the roadster, did some other minor repairs and adjustments, then spent a large part of of the day making a new parking brake rod.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
In another day of work on the roadster, I finished and painted the brake rod, installed the brakes, and performed other repair and maintenance chores. Sometime during the next week I may have the car ready to actually go for a drive.
Thursday, May 26, 2011
I started the day with about four hours of cleaning off my desk, sorting and filing papers and receipts that have piled up. There's more of that to do, but I didn't want to spend all day on it, so I moved on to cleaning and painting some parts, and sorting and putting away things in the shop. This afternoon I went to check out an auction east of Winfield. There was nothing worth staying for, so I went to town, did my grocery shopping and came home.
Friday, May 27, 2011
Another day for paperwork. I spent most of my time recording and filing receipts until two, then spent the rest of the afternoon workng on the roadster. It came with a poorly executed home made floorboard, so I'm making a better one.
Saturday, May 28, 2011
More car work. I painted some small parts and put them in the oven to cook, then I made a new floorboard. With the floorboard done and one side of it painted, I moved on to the job of putting new bushings in the steering column bracket. The arm attached to the end of the column is a stubborn little devil. I broke a puller trying to get it off, then took to pounding it with a hammer. No luck. I squirted some penetrant on it and left it to soak in overnight. Tomorrow I'll set an anvil or a piece of rail against the end of the shaft and apply the hammer to the arm again. Some of the T guys say it will come of with a few hits of the hammer. We shall see.
Sunday, May 29, 2011
A weight against the end of the steering shaft did the job. A few bangs of the hammer with the weight in place got the arm off. With that out of the way I easily removed the steering bracket, then drove out its worn bushing and pressed in a new one. I finshed painting the new floorboard and set it out in the sun to dry, then moved on to address the non-fitting seat. No amount of pushing and squeezing has made the seat fit into its frame. It's always extended forward at least a couple of inches past where it should sit in the frame. I figured out that this is because of springs in the backrest pushing it forward. When businesses are open again on Tuesday I'll call the outfit that makes new seat springs and ask them what size the backrest springs are supposed to be. I suspect the wrong ones may have been installed.
Monday, May 30, 2011
Took a holiday off from playing with cars. I went for my morning three mile run, then recorded and filed receipts, then composed and sent an email to the relatives about the family reunion this month. That used up the morning. I spent the afternoon at my cousin Pete's, having burgers and hot dogs with the family, and helping install a new window in her house.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
More work on the roadster today included painting the upper floorboards, ordering backrest springs and other parts, and starting repair of the tack strip where the unholstery and the top are attached. The wood strip has a lot of splits to repair and tack holes to fill, so I'll have to do a little of it each day. It has to be clamped after gluing, and I have just three suitable clamps, which limits how much I can do at one time. After a nice afteroon nap, my non-car peoject for the day was to start cleaning out the drawers of a cabinet I bought at an auction last week. There's a jumble of miscellaneous hardware mixed with trash and dirt, so I'm separating the hardware from the debris and putting it into cans to sort later.