Wednesday, September 5, 2012 My main activities today were tool making in the morning and school in the afternoon. The tool I made is a squeezer for removing valve springs. I tried it out squeezing by hand and found that it worked, but I think it will be even better if I add a bolt to pull it together. I spent the afternoon in my machine shop class using the lathe. Eventually I hope to have one myself so I can make some of my own parts. Thursday, September 6, 2012 I improved the squeezer by adding a spring, a bolt, and a wing nut. I think my investment in materials for the thing may be approaching 50¢. The forecast is calling for cool and dry weather on Saturday, with a high only in the low eighties. I'm ready for that. I've been taking a break from the roof for a few days due to the chance of rain. With dry weather forecast for next week, I'll get back to it then. |
Friday, September 7, 2012 I set out to do some sandblasting this morning, but it was a waste of time. Even with two moisture traps in the line, the high humidity kept gumming up the works. That job will have to wait for drier weather. As usual I went to my afternoon class, then when I got home I did a little chore on my touring car. The guys who did the cosmetic "restoration" were mighty careless in their choice of fasteners. They used screws like this for the steering column support. Today I filed the holes square and installed black carriage bolts instead, and while I was at it I replaced the Phillips screws holding the instrument panel with proper slotted screws. To Model T guys who appreciate authenticity, modern stuff like Phillips screws and wiring with plastic insulation looks embarrassingly tacky on a T. |
1922 Reo
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1914 Ford
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1929 Essex
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1936 Buick
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Thursday, September 27, 1012 More rain overnight confirmed my decision to leave the tarps up for a few days. The predicted hundred percent chance of rain around noon never showed up, but the day stayed mostly cloudy and seemed on the verge of rain that never came. A couple of years ago when I rebuilt the northwest roof I installed some fascia boards that were too narrow to match the others on the house. So today I replaced them with new ones of the proper width. Inside, I did some cleaning to remove debris that fell into the upstairs rooms when I was dismantling things Tuesday. The latest forecast is for almost a week with zero percent chance of rain, starting Sunday, so that's when the covers come off and I get some rebuilding done. Friday, September 28, 2012 My three mile time this morning was within a few seconds of Sunday's time, under 31 minutes, so I guess Sunday wasn't a fluke. I spent a lazy morning before going to my afternoon class, but after class I actually accomplished something. I removed a lot of the old lumber that's been lying on the front porch roof. Saturday, September 29, 2012 This morning I drove up to Rose Hill for an auction and spent the day there. I bought a shop vac for $7 and an electric chain saw for $5. There were a few bargains like that, but there were too many big spenders present to allow for very many good deals. Somebody did get a good deal on a 1930 Model A Ford. It was a very nice amateur restoration, and sold for $6200. Sunday, September 30, 2012 I spent the last day of the month removing roof and upper wall boards. A lot of them were rotten and termite eaten and will have to be replaced. In a lot of places I'm using treated lumber that will survive getting wet without getting rotten. |