Wild and crazy almost Spring projects !

What a way to start February, the weather has been great! Near 40 all week and rain on the day all the kids are coming to visit!

But of course, that's the way it usually works huh? I'm not going to let it get to me, I have many projects I can work on. Cars, trucks, tractors, nearly nothing works more than once in a row. I just got the BobCat engine rebuilt and now the starter is getting weird, No problems before I reinstalled the rebuilt engine, and now it wants to be removed and replaced every ten starts. I did get some cleaning up done, and a large item put back in the garage, then ppfffttt, click click, no turn over. Meanwhile I'm still disassembling the zamboni, more and more use of the gas wrench. I am trying to keep as many useable parts from it as possible but finding it harder and harder to twist a wrench for the rust encrusted bolts I might retrieve. But it is a treasure trove of hydraulic goodies, and a couple intriguing gear boxes as well. I think the drive motors are bigger than the ones on the BobCat, but I haven't seen them for a few years, so I can't be sure, but it gives me ideas. I also may be moving on the VW restoration, as soon as I get a clear shot at the garage. With the concrete apron, it makes things pretty nice. I love concrete! Except when I drop sharp tools, like end mills or drill bits, they always seem to land on the most critical sharpened edge. Oh well.

Here's another little excitement that I had with the Bobcat engine rebuild. Yes, that is an easy out, casting it's shadow on the main timing gear. There were 3 little bolts that hold the shiny plate to the front of the engine. Of course, I twisted one off. Always a joy, to feel the bolt suddenly get very easy to turn. It would have been worse of course, if it had been the tapped hole in the block that stripped, so a twisted off bolt isn't the worst thing that could happen. But it isn't good either. So I was fortunate enough to have a great deal of experience with such issues. I guess it's fortunate, well anyway I do it a lot, remove broken bolts, that is. So on to the next issue.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am going to have help for a day and try to figure out the problem with Ryan's truck, finally. I am unable to twist around into the places required to find the computer on the truck, it is rumored to be under the dash somewhere, but I can't find it. I am hoping, with the apron, I'll be able to get it up in the air enough to find the sensor I believe to be the most likely problem, even though I can't find a reference to it, in the book about the truck. Well that got derailed by weather, so I'm on my own again till next time he has a day off, could be a while.

NEW RULE! If it has hydraulic fluid, it gets drained FIRST! Before it drains itself, man what a mess. It was just an intermittent drip when I left it last night , it was a 100 square foot oil slick when I returned to it, in the morning! About 3 gallons of hydraulic fluid, on my nice concrete apron. And it wasn't just a little stream, no! It was a giant area covered, because, it is so nice and level. AAAARRRRRRGH. Fortunately the tank in the sweeper was half full of the soap solution they used in the factory to clean the floors, and guess what, it cuts grease and oil like butter. Well, I guess butter is a form of grease and oil... but anyway. it was not nearly the mess it could have been. About 30 gallons of water a scrub brush/broom and 15 gallons of detergent and the apron is salvageable. But what a pain in the asphalt. No more leaks! I hate cleaning them up and it's not cheap to replace the leaked fluids. And it turns out it held 8 gallons, most of which I didn't recover. And the clean up looked better in the sunlight than it was. So I also added a half bag of concrete mix , a neat little trick Rusty picked up somewhere, it really cleans oil off the floor, and covers the stain, and can be swept up, and I guess reused? I am going to put the contaminated residue in the holes around the deck posts when I reinstall it this spring. What can it hurt?

Now about spring, what happened? snowed twice since a couple 50 degree days, driving me nuts! One day I can paint outside the next I can't walk up the hill! And then there is the temperature changing so drastically, can have paint out, can't have paint out, things freeze and thaw at the same time, It's madness I tell you, utter madness! So I painted all the handles, on everything wooden, that we use outside, including the wheel barrows. Mostly because the wheelbarrows were giving me splinters every time I touched them. And once the brush is dirty, might as well do them all, I'm going to ruin the brush anyhow. So I found 21 handles that needed to be painted and did them in an afternoon. SPAR VARNISH, best stuff for handles, at least that's what we always used on the FD, and those handles took a beating.

I started this silliness when we moved here, at least the farm pages, and thought it would be fun to see if anyone cared about our little adventure. Chris thinks somehow I should make money from it, of course I never have been about money, just about having enough to be content, and I love junk, so it hasn't taken much to keep me happy. But I found this one guy who really had an idea. Turns out he's a failure at being a theoretical physicist, so he tries farming, which he is just as adept at. NOT! So he goes to some convention, and declares the world is ending, (post industrialization collapse) and people need to be able to make their own way, after it occurs. So he wants to create a civilization tool kit, (from peoples donations) that everyone can just download or have on a disc to create a "fully localized self sufficient industrial island" with a set of 50 do it yourself tools. Now if this guy is sincere, I don't want to rain on his parade, but if not, he is really an enterprising scammer. I'm afraid to pursue finding out. There are some real holes in his program, Chris says I should write and tell him what's wrong with it, but I hate to derail a guy sucking in 1/2 million dollar budget if he is sincere. But what good is a laser disc of instructions when the world is in collapse? First thing to do is make sure you have a power system for your laptop? I'll bet eating will figure in their somewhere, and so far he has nearly nothing about survival, it's all about a tractor (sound familiar) and a machine to pound out dirt bricks to build with. The thing that seems scammy to me is the fact that those are the only items really being well documented. I'm giving him another 6 months before I call Bullshit on him. Or give him the guidance I think he is going to need to be successful. The biggest problem I see, is that everything is based on items that are beyond the capacity of his tool making capabilities. Everything is based on high grade, high precision, hydraulic motors, pumps, cylinders, valves, and hoses, that are not going to be buildable in his little islands of industry. Let alone the required bearings and fuels to power everything. Sustainable agriculture and energy efficient housing are going to be way more important than the need for a truck to deliver excess foods produced HOW? Just don't see it, and can't imagine how he has raised so much money, except for the obvious stupidity currently in the government, (SOLYNDRA ring any alarms?). Anyway maybe I just lack vision. Maybe like L.Ron Hubbard, I should start a religion to draw out the best in people, you know make up a new set of gods and relieve the desperate of their excess money, it is" the root of all evil" after all.

What shall I name my new gods?????

Anyway back to reality. As silly as all this is, I do try to be honest about what is going on, and enjoy with all of you, laughing at the situations that we are faced with. Chris says, "Well I've always heard people say, someday we'll look back at all this and laugh, and I say why wait, so laugh with me now." Sometimes, that's tougher to pull off than it sounds. But we all know that, it's no news. Why bring it up? Well, I have finally gotten to the point of being able to actually do a few things I have wanted to, for nearly 40 years. I know some of you won't believe this, but I have been saving, and moving, and waiting to get some particular things, for over thirty years, and I finally have the parts, and the time, to build some tools I have" worked around having," forever. And they aren't esoteric items, just things that money was never going to be available for that would make things nice, and as I build them, And use them, I'm going to show you how and why, and actually be able to explain why they are important. This is going to be my little OPEN SOURCE show and tell, it will be on pages tied to the Farm Pages that you can visit only if you want to. Like the Malfunction Junktion Pages, they are optional, but they will be more of an instructive nature, because.... I can. So there's the warning, I'm going to do a little online Machine Tool training, I'm not sure where it will lead, I have a couple projects in mind, mostly in the realm of off grid energy production and alternative fuel sources. We'll see, and I may reveal the truth about the 100 MPG carburetor, it can't be that tough it's basic chemistry, right? Is 100% achievable, is over unity possible? The answer is surely NO. BUt then the question may not be correctly asked, Everyone who ever got close to achieving a breakthrough, was finally dealing in frequencies, and just when it started getting spooky, something happened. And the answer is never revealed, fires, explosions, disappearances, It's like there is curse worse than the Mummy's Tomb. So, of course, that's where I'm headed. But only, after dark, in the garage, with a candlestick! And assuming I don't get sucked into FACEBOOK, what an evil, time burning, black hole of death!

Anyway after 5 remove and replaces, which are not convenient to do, I finally got the cheapy starter motor fixed on the Bob Cat. So I'm back in business. And as soon as I get a couple lingering projects caught up for the neighbors, it's off to the races on the real important projects I have been waiting to tackle. A solar heater and a windmill, are two of the things I'd like to play with, now that I am where there is occasionally sun shine. And nearly always wind.

 

"Neither borrower nor lender be" Franklin was credited with this one, but then he was a printer. I suspect much of his incredible Wisdom was just the fact that he had the means to propagate the quaint sayings of his time. You know, the homey stuff you hear around the stove down at the local spit and whittle. Well I'm guessing ol' Ben was just adding little cutesy fillers to his weekly tirades against the king and such. And ended up getting credit for a lot of passing it on, So anyway this is a good one, and I'll tell you why. I've learned over the years that there are limits to the capacity of tools to do certain things and that capacity is directly related to the cost of the tool. A cheap tool will do, if you use it carefully, and only as it's intended. An expensive tool, will nearly always, allow for, and survive a little abuse. I have some cheap tools, because a good one is out of my price range. Or I occasionally buy cheap tools to re purpose, I know I am going to bend, weld, or grind them, into something else, that I can't buy. But when you have cheap tools and you lend them to idiots, they get broken rather quickly. So I hate to lend my tools to people who have no idea what the limit on a tool is. They may even seem to have an idea what a tool can do, but not realize what it can't. Case in point. I lent my porta power, a cheapy version, to a fellow to move some large stones, back into the earth, from whence they had, over time, crawled out. It is a ten ton porta power, basically a hydraulic cylinder with different attachments to push heavy things with. Seems pretty easy to figure it was going to push stones into the dirt and make a wider walkway to a basement door, I even saw him shoveling dirt out of the way, so it would be a reasonable pressure situation, just the weight of the stones to deal with. When I went to get it back, he was eager to put it back in the car for me. Now I loaned a tool, a hydraulic tool, to someone to use in the dirt. I went directly home and got the tool out to clean it up, and it looked pretty good, except, it was noticeably bent. I mean the piston wouldn't retract into the cylinder, now that's a real issue for this tool, as, it's all it does, goes in and out. Well I haven't talked to him about it yet, so I don't know how it happened. Either a large stone rolled and landed on it or he extended it completely out and jumped on it, either way he had to know it happened. And said nothing. I don't appreciate it, and the last guy who did something similar to a tool of mine, (crushed my dump truck by overloading it) I never talked to again, after I explained why. I am uploading a video to show the amount of damage done,TURN YOUR SOUND DOWN! Click here for a (VIDEO) . I hate lending things..... I spend enough time trying to get by with nothing, to have to spend extra time to fix my nothing tools, is just an insult.

Meanwhile back at the ranch.

It's nearly the end of March now and I'm being blessed with great weather, and a few unexpected projects. But I can always say no, so I am only doing what I think is worthwhile or that nobody else might be able to do. And daily I am getting more sorted and shelved to make other things possible. I am going to have to get about a couple wood projects rather quickly or it will become an issue. Right now, I have a little humidity problem to deal with and a need to get a green house up and operating. Yep I'm going to start a simple green house project and see if it works as I expect. We spend a lot of time fooling with plants now, and buying them is expensive, but growing them could be moderately profitable. But, I have to jump on it and get moving, or it will soon be too late, for this season.

April, 2012: I mentioned above that Ryan was coming to work on his truck, and it didn't work out, well he finally came and found the computer and removed it we ordered a new one From AutoZone and it is taking forever for them to take action on it, good thing it is free shipping, or I'd cancel the whole order. Anyway he is going to be here this weekend, and if I can get the parts maybe we can get his truck running again and out of my way. Wel that turned int t a totl FIASCO! Thanks you jackasses at AUTOZONE ONLINE!

Here's the situation. I went to the Auto Zone website to order a new (rebuilt) Computer for the 89 Chevy Tahoe Pickup. Okay, first it's an Engine Control Module. or ECM, second, it has chips in it you have to transfer to the new one, and the old one is to be sent back, in the box you receive the new one in, for a core rebate. And until you have the box in your hands, you can't tell what is what, about this silly little metal box, which I couldn't even find under the dash, as I can't lay upside down and look up anymore, let alone remove it or reinstall it. So I needed help. ANYWAYS! I ordered the rebuilt controller and waited a week wondering when it would be shipped, when I finally sent an inquiring E-Mail about it I was told( in a return email) that the part had to be aquired from another vendor, and they would take up to 5 days to get it, and after that it would be added to m my credit card, and shipped. So I watched and waited and Ryan came to help and I finally got fed up and called and ask the girl to check the status of the order, and after about 15 minutes of looking " to no avail" she told me, "WE DON'T supply that part over the internet," " Well it let me THINK I was buying it!" I said maintaining some semblance of calm, "Sorry sir, we don't sell that over the internet, you have to go to a store," I responded with, "Well when I sent the inquiry EMail I got back a crap response about wait 5 days, NOT, WE don't sell that over the internet, explaination, HOW LONG WAS I GOING TO WAIT?" "I'm sorry sir we don't sell that over the internet." (SEE A PATTERN YET?) Now, i've dealt with Auto Zone before, about ordering things, I have bought parts for 30 vehicles and have at least that many years of experience with them, and if you want to order something, you come in and pre-pay, even when they knew me, by name, in the store in Akron, they claimed the payment had to go in the computer with the order, or they couldn't order it. NO exceptions! So this means I have to drive into Cambridge, 15 miles each way, to pay for something I won't get till tomorrow, 15 miles each way again, to pick it up, and that's if they decide to sell it in the store. (ASSHOLES) So you might sense I am a little peaved at AutoZone, in fact I have been unhappy since they changed their policy of rebates a few years ago. It used to be, that you accumulated $5 of every $100 spent toward a $20 credit that you could spend the next time you were in. then it changed that you had to wait for a while, (computers were getting faster so it took longer????), then the accumulation started falling off after 90 days? So where guys had previously bought all year, and at the end (christmas time) they would go in and get a nice tool or a shiny new car part they wanted it started getting impossible to track what you had coming, and in no way could you count on getting something with the accumulated points, it became more trouble than it was worth to try to keep up with the points, or dollars, and I'm sure they managed to get out of thousands, if not millions, of dollars of store credit, with this little twist to their confidence game. At times I wonder if the "sheer number of lifetime parts" they owe me isn't a reason for getting screwed over on ocassion, trying to drive me away before I get another starter for the old motor home, or another new alternator for the Ford. Well I'm going to go and get an accounting for the lifetime stuff and see what I want to pursue. But however it turns out, I'm going to move my new purchases to ADVANCED AUTO PARTS.

Advanced Auto Parts, is right across the street from Auto Zone, literally, and they order stuff and have it the next day. And they warrantee stuff, lifetime, and they test parts. And, they didn't screw me over on the internet for two weeks on a part they don't sell, that they told me I had purchased. SO they win, I'm going to cash out of Auto Zone and let them feel the loss, because babay, I drive junk, and I always need parts, and whoever gets me as a customer, is going to prosper.

Well that's it for this page, I'm going to be off FaceBook soon because that " timeline" thing is beyond annoying, it takes forever to load, and uses too much of our daily allowance of bandwidth, and I'm really tired of all the crap people put up there, just to be a presence, say something, or don't, but all the" repost for a heart transplant" or" I get free ejfoweu if my dogw ins the beauty contest," is too stupid to deal with, and the endless whining about things, people complaining about dumb crap that happens, like we don't all have something go wrong each day, who cares if you didn't get some crap... you.... thought.... you..... ordered... OH poop. Just never mind.

 

See ya next time.

 

 

The Chores, Fresh Air, Green Acres is for ME.