Good morning!!!!

[wngsprd]

Rainy 48 going to a rainy 60.

Randy, nice looking car.

RNG, don't have a Chapman set, but looks like I could have really used one over the years. Van is looking nice.

rip, you did a great job on those windows.

Just about got flown into by a dive bombing, turbo-jet sharp-shinned hawk flying through the bird feeding zone about an hour ago. Watched it yesterday as it sat on a limb above the driveway eyeing a squirrel stealing bird food...but it never struck...squirrel likely a bit too big, and not as tasty as dove (unless cooked into a Brunswick stew).

Stayed out until 9:30pm splitting and stacking wood and moving pallets...wanted to get all complete before the rain rolled in. My fault for finishing so late...I took off 2.5 hours in the afternoon to watch an Orioles game on tv.

 

[RedNeckGeek]

Decided to wait until after commuter traffic, usually around 8:30am when the school is open and everyone has to be in, including the late
speeders and tailgaters. Yeah, well it's your problem and back off my bumper please. Mumbled that a few times, or ten.
I'm not doing more than 38 in a 35 school zone and too bad if you want to go faster.
Cause an accident or worse hit a kid or a bus and you are legal toast if speeding.

Thirty-Five in a school zone would get you a ticket out here, Drew. Most are marked at 25, and some at 20. And they're magnets for radar cops that do a brisk business with all the speeders, as you've found out. The soccer moms are the worst offenders; must be something in their coffee.:laughing:

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

Good Morning!!!! 53F @ 4:30AM. Rain early...then remaining cloudy with showers in the afternoon. High near 60F. Winds SE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch.

It was supposed to rain yesterday afternoon, so I got my outside work done before lunch. The new u-joint took some of the play out of the drive line on the side-by-side, but it's far from what it was the day it left the factory. It'll have to do for now, though. Changed the position of the shift lever on the van and now it's not such a reach to 3rd. I'll take it.

View attachment 598930 View attachment 598931
By 2PM there was still no sign of rain, not even on the radar map, and the weatherman had changed his mind. So I picked up where I left off on the poptop tent, a job I'd read was somewhat arduous. A Youtube video wasn't quite so negative, and once I'd located the correct screwdriver, it wasn't really that bad. The real challenge was the confined space at the back, made even worse by the need to only raise the roof a foot or two to make enough slack in the cloth to get it around the strip of aluminum molding that held it to the metal van roof. Things were going fine until the screwdriver tip dropped out of the driver and I had to spend almost an hour looking for it. It was in plain sight, but the color was close enough on the floor where it landed I couldn't see it until I crawled around on my hands and knees with a headlamp on. I also made the mistake of using stainless steel screws, and their soft heads meant some stripped out the Phillips slot before they made it all the way to tight. Sixty some screws later the task was done; I if I never have to do that again I won't be disappointed.

How many of you have a Chapman screwdriver set? This job, and many others over the years, would have been impossible without one. It not only fit into the low overhead space at the back of the van, it provided the leverage needed to turn the screws as they cut new threads in the metal. Only problem was I didn't have a gen-u-wine Chapman bit, which uses a pair of burrs to keep it in place, which is why I kept dropping the only bit I did have. I think I'll be doing some shopping today to correct that...:laughing:

Supposed to be more rain on the way for this morning, so I'll try to get the carb rebuild done. If it clears up enough by this afternoon I'll get the saws back out and torture my back some more.

TGIF folks!:drink:

What a PIA....I've been known to "raise the roof".

 

[cat fever]

Good morning all,

Hard to believe but it's 37 degrees this morning and overcast. No wind right now but I think a storm is on it's way.

Sad to hear about the barn fire BEF, hopefully no people were hurt.

The roads coming into my place are almost snow free. (the banks of snow) I'd like to start getting them topped with road base or something similar. That means I need to buy a land plane so I'll be looking.:thumbsup:

Prayers for all and best wishes too.

 

[RedNeckGeek]

RNG, don't have a Chapman set, but looks like I could have really used one over the years. Van is looking nice.

I may have spoken too soon on the Chapman, Wng. I've had mine at least 20 years, but time marches on and I think there are better designs out there now. When I looked for replacement bits for the Chapman at Amazon, there weren't any; you had to buy a set just to get one bit, even if you already had the ratchet handle. And as I mentioned, you really need the Chapman bits, because a plain old hex bit keeps falling out of the ratchet.

I found this one, which appears to be a quality tool, and it had a closed end holder for the bit so any quarter inch hex bit will work in it. I've already got a ton of those, so the next order will have one of these on it.

And Drew is right about keeping the screwdriver exactly on axis to avoid stripping the head. But that's exactly the challenge in those close quarters. Just to make things interesting, the screws were tiny, M2.9 x 13 mm long, and the molding was a U shaped channel, so most of the time I couldn't even see the screw head once it got close to tight. I did find a stubby hex bit handle and used that to get the screws started, but in the darker areas I found I had a choice of wearing magnifiers so I could see the screws or a headlamp so I could see the screws, but not both. I got lucky and toward the end of the job the sun was setting and some breaks in the clouds let it shine right into the open side door, really helping things out.

 

[RedNeckGeek]

Oh, and did I mention that I knocked over the little tin can I was using to hold the screws? Right on top of the empty passenger seat base, so the screws fell into the perforated rails? And since they're non-magnetic, it took tweezers to get 'em out! Now that right there is a PITA, Kyle!:laughing: Funny now, but I don't think I was laughing at the time...:confused2:

 

[txdon]

Good morning! 64 ˚F cloudy.
Every out door activity for tomorrow in the neighborhood has been canceled. Golf Tournament, Semi annual garage sale, hikes, etc . . . I guess they really believe it is going to storm all day tomorrow. The Veg-fest in Austin is still on so if it's not raining I'll check that out.

The good news is I have completed the first safety training session in the Woodworking Club and have been assigned a mentor to do one on one training till I master each machine. I'm sorry, but once I start the training I'll make y'all take it with me with lots of pics. As we were shown the machines yesterday he had a few safety stories on what not to do that drew blood from other residents. The good news is that only the experienced woodworkers are getting hurt no newbies to wood working have had accidents. Overconfidence jeopardizes digits. I like their attitude, "This is your woodshed, these are your machines - use them."

Even though there are over 500 people in the club there is never a waiting line to use the machines according to our instructor. I have never seen more than 6 people in there working at any one time. Every hand tool along with the machines are there so I'll never have to take my own stuff there. Last year they expanded and added an extra 8 tables to assemble or glue you project. All glue and screws and nails are included in the $45 a year membership to the club. They have a little store with 8 types of wood for sale at their wholesale cost. They repair wood furniture for the residents for a nominal donation. They really make some neat toys for their toys for tots program. I could definitely spend many hours in the shop even if I do not have one of my own projects to work on.

On the car looking front, the Mazda CX-5 is still on top. I agree with Drew about Toyota. If you don't buy one before it hits the port they will add thousands of $ more accessories that you might not want. On the one I looked at: door sill protectors $199, Premium carpet mats $265, paint sealer fabric guard - $549, cross bars for roof rack $315 and also that panoramic hot sun roof, that 80% come with and we do not want in Texas, is $200 more.

Buckeye, if you find out how the fire started, please share.

 

[RedNeckGeek]

I finished all new windows last week for that building. I lost count over 22. The packing material alone was a three day job to the dump. We had been searching for replacements for years. Finally found a company that made custom sizes. Very impressed.

Sounds like a pretty big job, Rip, one I bet you're glad is finished. Looks like the windows came out nice, and I bet that barn is a lot warmer now as a result, too. And maybe cooler in the summer, if you can open it up overnight and then close it again before it gets hot?

 

[RedNeckGeek]

The good news is that only the experienced woodworkers are getting hurt no newbies to wood working have had accidents. Overconfidence jeopardizes digits.

Yep, usta be an older machinist in the shop at work that had missing fingers on each hand. He was "experienced", too.

Never let your fingers get close to a blade, Don. Never push your hand or fingers toward a blade, either. If something slips, the blade'll make no distinction between wood and meat. Use a push stick or block instead. And always keep your eye on the blade or cutter, and never let your hands, fingers, or other body part get close. That works for nails and hammers, too, BTW...:laughing:

$45/year, including all the fasteners you need? I could break even on one project, and I have a feeling they'll lose money on you, too.:thumbsup:

 

[LS Tractor Owner]

Good morning to all! Low of 38, going up to 68 and sunny. No precip in the forecast until Sunday, a mere 10%.

Drew, nice radishes. How long ago did you put them in the ground?

RNG, nice project progress! I like that color blue. Is the cloud mural an overlay or is it hand painted?

Kyle, hope your daughter and son get over their illness soon and w/o any issues. Prayers sent. Good luck with the meeting.

BEF, that looked like a big barn, always sad to hear of fires like that.

Yesterday I decided it would be a good day to drive to a New Holland dealer to get all the filters for my tractor. The dealer is about 30 miles south of the big city, I'm 30 miles to the NE of the city. I have always just ordered my filters from my LS dealer up in Colorado.
I don't know how the short circuit in my brain occurred, making me think that it would be better to go pick them up in order to SAVE the $16-17 shipping costs. Took me an hour and twenty minutes to get there. Then another 45 minutes waiting for 3 people to try and find them. Then drive back to the city, where I needed to go to the Kubota dealer to get some SUDT2 fluid (another story for some other time). Drivers were absolutely idiotic, crazy and careless. Accidents all over...
Won't do this again.... Spent over 3 hours driving plus 2 hours dealing with people that had no clue about their business.... I could have picked up the phone (like I was initially going to do) and had it at my door for a whole lot cheaper and less frustrating... AM I BECOMING A "SHUT-IN??

On top of all of that, while I was driving into town, the dealer called....said they had to order a 'harness' for the trailer brake control that they were installing in the new truck. They wouldn't get the truck done on time (supposed to pick it up at 10 yesterday). He said just use the loaner car until the truck was done. Then he said it would cost $139 for the harness.... I said no, it won't.... Part of the deal...install hitch and plugs. He said OK. Just trying to get more bucks.

So that little voice inside said "call the dealer" as I was driving through the area they were located. I thought: "Nope, they told me it would be done tomorrow"... " don't be a pest".... About 15 minutes later, I'm about 1/2 way between home and the dealer, and they call... Truck is done. Turned around at the next exit and went back.

They did a fantastic job on the bedliner, hitch and contoller installed. All good.
WHAT A DAY.... Finally got home.... I was exhausted....

Everyone have a great Friday and start to the weekend! Prayers sent.