blog319

Saturday, March 2, 2019

With the forecast threatening three to five inches of snow overnight, followed by several days of really cold weather, today's main job was firewood. I cut and split a bunch, and brought in some. I ran out of time before I could bring it all in, so I put a tarp over it to keep the snow off until I can haul it into the garage. I quit about three so I could get to Wichita and buy a couple of gallons of kimchi and have dinner before seeing Green Book. I get kimchi by the gallon for the best price.

Sunday, March 3, 2019

Snow arrived about as scheduled, in the wee hours of the morning while I was asleep, but it turned out to be less than advertised. A couple of days ahead it was forecast to be three to five inches, but it turned out to be less than an inch. Even without the temperature crawling above freezing most of it was gone by the end of the day. It was a typical lazy Sunday. Except for a trip to the grocery store, I spent most of the day online, playing on Facebook and the Model T forum, catching up on email, etc.

Monday, March 4, 2019

Surprise snow came in the night, but didn't amount to much. It was well under an inch. That didn't keep 25º from feeling a lot colder with the wind blowing. Happily the forecast has us warming up to 36º tomorrow and 47º on Wednesday, followed by a lot of fifties or high forties. More importantly, the lows are supposed to be mostly above freezing. My main project of the day was getting started bringing some order to my office. I did some vacuuming and got a a start on sorting papers to file or toss. Maybe I'll even get rid of the pile of stuff that's collected on my desk.

Tuesday, March 5, 2019

With time out for grocery shopping, the job for today was more sorting and organizing in my office. I want to get it all done before open-window weather arrives so I won't have wind blowing the papers around. We're supposed to get up above 40º tomorrow, so I'll get out and do the firewood thing again. Spring is just fifteen days away, but that won't put an end to the evening fires. I believe last year my wood burning season went to the last week of april. Of course there will be warmer days when I won't need a fire, more and more often, but you can still have a chilly day any time in April.

Wednesday, March 6, 2019

Morning: more cleaning up and organizing in the office.
Break: run to town for port (first Wednesday geezer discount of 15% at the liquor store), packing tape, Shopper's Advantage auction paper.
Afternoon: cutting and bringing in firewood.
Nothing exciting or particularly interesting, just stuff that needs to be done.

Thursday, March 7, 2019

Today I took a break from office work and did a little more on the 1923 touring. The other day I noticed that the steering wheel was kind of floppy, so today I hunted up a pinion and cover with a closer fit. Happily the gears aren't worn very much. The steering wheel free play is only ¾" to ⁷⁄₈". My other work on the car was more replacement of those modern bolts. The more correct old carriage bolts don't quite fit in the holes, so I have to do some filing on the holes to get them in. With adding some thread to the bolts, derusting, and painting before I install them, this is more than a one day job.

Friday, March 8, 2019

A sidetrack into the world of modern technology ate up part of my day. But before I got to that a power outage sent me outside. When the juice went off it was too dark in the shop to get anything done there, and I couldn't use the computer, so I went outside and got back to the firewood I didn't finish Tuesday. By the time I finished splitting wood and getting it under cover the power was back on and I could tackle the other job of the day. That was setting up an external hard drive to back up my desktop computer. It took three calls to Toshiba support and several attempts, but evenutally I was able to cleanse the thing of the Windows junk that infested it, then get it started downloading files. It has to handle 449,009 items that add up to 440.62 GB. After about six hours it's up to only 24.92 GB, so I guess it will take about four and a half days to get through everything.

Saturday, March 9, 2019

Absolutely nothing at the auction in Winfield tempted me to stay, so I came home and got some work done. First was wire brushing the rust off some carriage bolts and painting them. Then I started collecting and pricing stuff I want to sell at Chickasha. I need to get everything ready and loaded before I leave Thursday morning. I hope to sell enough to pay for my space. If I'm really lucky I'll sell enough to pay for fuel and meals too.

Sunday, March 10, 2019

A couple of years ago I came across an online forum for folks who were in the military stationed in Korea. On the page devoted to the place where I was stationed, I posted some pictures of Camp Jonathan Williams and some of the guys who were there with me. The camp was eventually deactivated, and the question arose on the forum exactly where it was located. So this morning and part of the afternoon I played detective and figured out the location of the place. The page is here. In the afternoon I did more collecting and pricing of stuff to take to Chickasha this week.

Monday, March 11, 2019

More Chickasha preparation was the main job of the day, loading up more of the stuff I aim to take. I also hunted up some one inch square tubing I'll use to make a rolling engine stand for transporting a Model T engine in the Suburban. There's not much vertical space, so I need a low stand that will keep the top of the engine low enough to fit inside. The wooden stand I've been using fits, but doesn't roll. It has to slide in and out, which is mighty inconvenient.

Tuesday, March 12, 2019

Rain all day kept me inside. I did a little more on the touring car, installing a correct bolt, stripping the cad plating off another with muriatic acid and painting it, and touching up some scratches on the left windshield stanchion. Then I got started measuring and cutting parts for my engine transport stand. That's a project that will take several days to finish. With time out for a trip to Chickasha, I might not even finish the thing for a couple of weeks.

Wednesday, March 13, 2019

I got a start on cutting pieces for my new engine stand, but mostly I finished loading up stuff I'm taking to Chickasha. I'll be ready to hit the road in the morning.

Thursday, March 14, 2019

And I did hit the road. I went by way of Ponca City and stopped there to make my annual March purchase of two new sets of Round House overalls. I have to buy them in Okieland because for some reason they don't seem to be imported into Kansas. Driving down the interstate was more interesting than usual. Strong crosswinds made driving the Suburban feel more like a little beetle. I arrived at the fairgrounds a little before three and the gate opened soon after. I had my goods unloaded and set up by four, and actually sold a few things before the meet opens. In fact the stuff I sold came within $2 of paying for my space.

Friday, March 15, 2019

I sold enough to pay for my space, my meals, and my transportation, and made some extra on top of that, so I am a happy camper. In my little bit of shopping I bought two Holley G carburetor bodies for $15, a Holley G bowl for $5, and fourteen magneto headlight bulbs for $20. I also had nice visits with several of the folks I see online. Pictures of the meet are here.

Saturday, March 16, 2019

I expected there would be some shoppers this morning who had to work during the week and could only come on Saturday. Nope. I didn't sell a thing, and I didn't see anybody else sell anything either. I started loading a little before noon and left the fairgrounds about 12:20. I was slowed a little by the detour caused by the bridge out west of town, but not much, and arrived home about 3:50. It was announced at the meet that next year's Chickasha prewar meet will be the last, so I'll be setting aside more stuff to take and see if I can sell it.

Sunday, March 17, 2019

On a typical lazy Sunday morning I was a computer addict, but it wasn't all play this time. I thought it would be a good idea to put all my passwords in a file on a flash drive I could take with me on trips. But in Chickasha when I needed a password a notice appeared on the screen informing me that the file couldn't be opened because it was an alias. Fortunately it was a short trip and not having the password for a couple of days was no big deal. But if the same thing happened on a trip where I needed a password for something important and wouldn't be home soon, it could be a big problem. So today I made another file, this time generating it on the laptop so it would be original to that computer. I installed it ln the flash drive and tried it out, and it works.

Monday, March 18, 2019

Today I got back to work on that new engine stand, cutting, grinding, and welding pieces for the base. Doing it takes a lot more time than telling it, but I did get the base finished. Next will be adding the uprights to support the engine, then adding casters so the thing will roll, and finally a way to make it stay put and not roll once it's in place. I had a visit today from my cousin Wally, who brought a big sack of wood scraps for the stove. The evenings are still chilly enough for a fire, but not so cold that I have to keep stoking it. I can start up the stove as usual and let it heat up the room, but the weather isn't cold enbough to require keeping the fire going. Soon we'll be having occasional no-fire evenings, then more and more of them, then no more fires until fall. From May to October the windows will be open except when I have to shut them to keep out rain.

Tuesday, March 19, 2019

Today's first job was laundry. I finished hanging the wash on the line a little before noon, laid the evening fires in the kitchen stove and the living room fireplace, and spent the afternoon working on my new engine stand. The frame is about finished now, and next will come making the hardware to mount the casters. That will have some moving parts and is likely to take longer than it took to make the frame.

Wednesday, March 20, 2019

Spring has sprung, and the forecast shows a couple of days above 70º next week, and no more freezes. Good. I am not a fan of cold weather. So what did I do today? More cutting, drilling, welding, grinding, etc. on the engine stand. I would like to finish it up tomorrow, but in the real world I know it will take longer. And there are so many other things I need to do.

Thursday, March 21, 2019

Today's work on the engine stand included time out for a drive to Winfield to buy materials. That stand used up my day, and there's still more to do on it. I hope to finish it up this weekend. I noticed today that some of the plants are starting to leaf out and some of the grass is starting to grow. In a few days the forsythias will be blooming.

Friday, March 22, 2019

Work on the engine stand continued, with time out this afternoon to drive over to Dieter Mitchell's and see the 1924 TT he just finished. This is the first TT I've ever driven. It has a Ruckstell rear axle, and took the steep hills with no trouble at all.

Saturday, March 23, 2019

Checking out an auction in Winfield I didn't find enough to keep me there, so I came home and worked on the engine stand some more. I quit early and headed for Wichita because I wanted to see a movie that will never play here. Apollo 11 consists entirely of original footage. There are no talking heads discussing what they remember. Everything is contemporary, including Walter Cronkite's commentary. Interesting details are things that have changed in daily life, like a row of pay phones with reporters calling in their stories. Seeing launch day on the big screen is awe-inspiring. This picture is a great piece of you-are-there history.

Sunday, March 24, 2019

No more welding, at least until tomorrtow. I'm out of oxygen, and with no welding supply open on weekends I'm taking an enforced break from work on the engine stand. Instead I did a little on the touring car. We're coming to weather decent enough for driving an open car, so I need to get it ready to drive. Today's work on it was touching up paint on the left windshield stanchion. I'm using lacquer, which has the advantage of fast drying. You can spray on a coat, let it dry, sand it, and spray on another coat, all on the same day. I should have the car ready to drive when we're having highs in the seventies later this week.

Monday, March 25, 2019

My only trip off the place today was to the welding supply for a new tank of oxygen. I did a little more work on the engine stand, but also took time for that paint job on the touring. It looks like the last coat I sprayed on may be the actual last coat. I'll hit it with the polishing compound, and if it looks OK I'll declare the painting finished, install the bolts, and get the interior panels tacked back in place. I should have the car ready for a little Model T driving when the weather warms up into the seventies later in the week.

Tuesday, March 26, 2019

Another day of the same stuff. I made more parts for the engine stand, and I declared my painting on the touring good enough and installed the new old bolts. Again I lit an evening fire in the kitchen stove, but didn't have to keep stoking it after it warmed up the room. Soon there will be evenings with no fire needed.

Wednesday, March 27, 2019

Sooner than I thought. I didn't need a fire this evening, and probably won't tomorrow either. But the chilly nights will be back. Today I continued work on the engine stand, and I'm heading down the home stretch. There's just a little more to do, and I should finish it up in the morning. Maybe I'll even be ambitious enough to sandblast and paint it.

Thursday, March 28, 2019

After years of semi-faithful service (I've had to replace the clear plastic a few times) my home-made sandblasting hood is toast. Before I do any more blasting I'll need to make a new one. I expect I'll spend just as much on it as I did on the first one, which was nothing. I finished the engine stand about 11:30, set up the sandblasting equipment, and started blasting at noon. I finished the last piece at 3:00 and finished putting away the equipment at 3:33. I had all the pieces hung and painted by a few minutes before five. I'll let the paint dry while I finish my work on the touring car and get it ready to drive. We're starting to get some occasional days nice enough for drivng an open car. While I was spending the day on my new engine stand, the tree service guy was taking down one of the two big dead trees behind the shop. He plans to do the other one tomorrow. Those will provide a lot of firewood for next winter.

That lift will get you way up there.	Friday, March 29, 2019 While I reassembled the touring car interior, Roy continued taking down dead trees. Sometime next week he will bring in a crane and take down the big trunks. My next project will be an under-car extension for the fuel shut-off valve in the touring car. That will allow me to control the valve without having to crawl under the car. Bombs away!
Look out below!	Lots of firewood for next winter.

Saturday, March 30, 2019

All day I worked on my new accessory fuel shutoff. The first part of that was a trip to town to buy some ½" steel tubing. Next was using a short piece of the tubing to make the collar that will attach the control rod to the valve handle. The first attempt didn't turn out well enough to suit me, so I declared it the practice run and tried again. The second one turned out much better, and I'm calling it good enough. It could be prettier, but it will be under the car where nobody sees it. As long as it works, it's good enough. I estimate that the project is about one-third done, so two more days should be enougth to finish it up.

Sunday, March 31, 2019

Well, I didn't get much done in the shop. After grocery shopping I split and hauled in firewood. Warmer evenings when I don't need any wood will be here soon, but they're not here yet. Maybe I'll get back to work on that valve extension tomorrow.