blog512.html

Birds apparently have a short term memory problem. At least once every year one of the swifts comes down the chimney and into the house and can't remember the way out. I was coming down the stairs this morning and heard an odd sound I couldn't identify. When I got to the living room I found it was a swift flapping at the window. Fortunately, swifts aren't too difficult to catch and I soon had this one outside and on his way. My first job of the day was weed pulling. I spent a little over an hour on that and eliminated the patch I was after. I adjusted the brakes on the touring car and drove it to town to get a quart of Tordon for killing trees. So I spent the afternoon cutting off seedlings in the yard and dosing the stumps with Tordon, then I mowed the area. The place is starting to look slightly less redneck.

Friday, May 11, 2012

I spent most of the day driving to Saint Clair MO for an auction tomorrow. I arrived early enough to take a look at some of the goods being sold, including most of the cars.

Saturday, May 12, 2012

The auction included a lot of good stuff, but I didn't buy much of it. Dealers were on hand and willing to spend more than I was, and a couple of times I dropped out of the bidding when I saw that one of my forum friends wanted the item. I did get some good transmission drums and other parts, a miscellaneous box that included several timers, and a box of old nuts and bolts. But the big item that made my day was an engine hoist, almost new, for $150. I've been wanting one for quite awhile. That will come in handy.

Sunday, May 13, 2012

After turning in well after midnight, I got a late start today. When I finally did get around to doing something, I spent most of the day unloading my auction haul, assembling the engine hoist I had to dismantle to bring home, and cleaning up in the shop. This will be the week for a lot of cleaning up and putting things away, getting ready for the Model T tour that's coming next Saturday.

Monday, May 14, 2012

One job used up the day. I built a set of shelves for the shop, 32" wide and 6' high. A lot of it will be storage for oil, brake fluid, antifreeze, and other fluids. It will be a help in getting the place organized.

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Another day in the shop organizing, sorting, cleaning, putting away. While I was at it I solved the problem of wind unwinding paper towels and turning them into streamers flapping halfway across the room.

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

And yet another day cleaning up. I was at it all day. Except for my morning run, I never went off the place. I got quite a bit done. I should finish in the workshop tomorrow and get started on the house. I try to clean house at least once a year, whether it needs it or not.

Thursday, May 17, 2012

The rule is still in full effect. Everything takes longer than you think it will. I spent the whole day in the shop again, cleaning and putting things away. I did take an hour or so to make a box for storing gear pullers. Maybe I can keep them all in one place so I don't have to conduct a major search every time I need one. I think I really will finish in the morning, then I can get going on the house.

Friday, May 11, 2012

This morning I pretty much finished my workshop cleanup. A little before ten I headed for town in the touring to do some errands and some shopping. I was in town for a little over an hour, and was on my way home when I heard a loud bang. The car suddenly pulled to the left and I saw my tire pass me on the left. After I got the car stopped I walked back to find the tire. I found the tube, which was out in plain sight, but apparently the tire rolled into the Johnson grass or the wheat, and I never did find it. I hitched a ride home, took a wheel off the runabout, returned in the Camry, and changed wheels. I brought a stepladder, thinking that if I looked from a higher angle I might spot the missing tire. No such luck. I drove the Camry home, then walked back and got the touring. By the time I finally got it home, it was after four in the afternoon. I did the rest of my shop vacuuming, and that was my day. This evening I measured some rear axle bearings to see if any of them are usable. A couple of them are, so the three dollars I spent for the box of twenty was a great deal.

Saturday, May 19, 2012

I was up early to get ready for the day. After my morning run, shower, and breakfast, I washed the touring and gave it a dose of polish. With yesterday's adventure fresh in my mind, I aired up all the tires. Then I was off to join the tour. Here's a link to a report on the day's activities.

http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/257047/290461.html?1337526958

Sunday, May 20, 2012

No big activities or accomplishments today. I went to an auction in Winfield and bought an old kerosene can for $2.50 and a box with a variety of screwdrivers for $2. Tomorrow I'll get back to work.

Monday, May 21, 2012

The morning was still, with very little air movement, and the forecast predicts several dry, hot days, perfect weather for herbicide to work. So this was a good day to assassinate Johnson grass. I spent all morning slaying undesirable vegetation along the road by the west field. While I was spraying I received a phone call about my absent canine. I neglected to mention that when I was dealing with the tire adventure last Friday, Daisy followed me down to Chestnut Avenue where the incident happened, and she never made it home. She was gone Saturday and Sunday, and this morning the animal control officer brought her into the pound. So this afternoon I went to fetch her. Somehow during her disappearance she lost her collar, so I had to stop and get a new one. The next stop was at the vet's for her shots. The final interruption in my day was grocery shopping, then I got back to spraying Johnson grass. There's a lot of it along the lane down to my woodlot. I got most of that sprayed this afternoon, but there's more to do. I should get the rest of it done in the morning.

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

The morning began with more plant slaughter. I finished spraying Johnson grass along the lane to the woodlot and along the road east of the house, poison ivy along the road to the dump pile east of the barn, and a big patch of Johnson grass in the back yard. The first Johnson grass I sprayed yesterday is already starting to wither. I'll wait a few days for the poison to work, then go back and get whatever I missed. I was done with spraying by noon, and this afternoon I started installing a new timing gear in the Fordor. I got just a little done on that job, so I'll continue on it tomorrow.

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Work on the Fordor continued. I encountered a fastener shortage. Not enough of the right bolts. So I went to town and bought a dozen each of five lengths of 3/8-24 bolts. These are very common sizes used on Model T's. I'll grind off the modern markings, drill them for cotter pins, and paint them to have ready whenever I need one for a T. I already have some 3/8" castle nuts in a drawer, painted and ready to use.

Thursday, May 24, 2012

I started the day with more work on the Fordor, then took the rest of the day off. I had a visit from Bill Dugger, a Model T guy from Redding CA who is touring several central states visiting relatives and friends. I showed him some of my collection of old stuff, and looked at the scrapbook of his depot hack while we exchanged blather. We went to town in the touring for lunch, then came back and looked at the rest of my collection. Then Bill was off to his next stop in Oklahoma. This was my second Model T visit in less than a week. I guess I'm becoming a tourist attraction. The unaccustomed midday intake of food led to drowsiness, so I enjoyed a nice afternoon nap.

Thursday, May 24, 2012

I drove the touring to town for my usual Friday morning shopping. When I got home I started on a new project that will feed some other projects, converting those new bolts I bought Wednesday to look like Model T era bolts.

Saturday, May 26, 2012

This morning I drove the touring car to Winfield, about ten miles north, to do laundry. On the way home I stopped for a visit with old friends Sharon and Kent, who I hadn't seen in ages. While I was there, their son and his wife brought the grandkids over to see the T. I got to blather about the Model T, and showed how to hand start it. We had a nice visit, and before I left they invited me back for dinner. The car ran fine on this trip, but the speedometer started giving erratic readings, and then quit working altogether. When I got home I investigated and found that the sensor wire had a break in it. About an inch of the wire looked like it had been chewed by some critter. I cut out the bad inch, spliced the wire, and the problem was solved. This evening I went back to the dinner gathering, which turned out to include a crowd of about fifteen or twenty interesting people. I know they were interesting, because some of them listened while I talked about myself. The day was warm bordering on hot, but the evening was perfect, with swifts doing aerobatics overhead and lightning bugs glowing in the yard.

Sunday, May 27, 2012 This morning I lubed the touring and headed for Winfield. The occasion was wheat binding. Before combines were invented, the practice was to cut wheat, bind it in bundles, and haul it to a thresher. In this case, we filled three wagons with wheat bundles that will be stored until August. Then at the tractor show at the county fairgrounds, the wheat will be used in demonstrations of the thresher, powered by a big steam traction engine, just the way it was done a hundred years ago. In the last couple of days I've driven the touring almost eighty miles, and I'm delighted to find that after all the cooling system cleaning and flushing the car has operated fine, with no overheating or boiling. I like that. It's nice when you do something to a vehicle and it works.

Monday, May 28, 2012

The day began with more plant killing. The spraying I did last week has had time to work, so I could see what I missed and take care of that today. Spraying done, I spent a good part of the day going to the cemetery to take Memorial Day pictures of family veterans' stones, then looking up pictures of those vets to post online for the relatives.

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

This morning I drove over to Sumner county to help a friend work on a tractor. I came home to get an engine hoist, and by the time I got it broken down and loaded in the Suburban it was pretty late in the afternoon. So in the morning I'll be going back for more tractor work.

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

I spent another day with Miles working on the tractor. We found out what's wrong with it, and I think we can fix it. One more session, planned for Sunday, should see most of the job done.

Thursday, May 31, 2012

Inspired by frighteningly rapid tire wear, I spent most of the day working on my touring car, trying to get the front end alignment adjusted correctly. It was a remarkably cool day for the end of May, with a high about seventy