Quirks

 I have a weird quirk.  If you tell me you need something.  The request goes into an alarm system in my head.  When I see it, I'll usually remember, "hey, who wanted that?"  If it's in my 20% cost of new bracket, I'll get it and hold on to it till I remember who wanted it.

Glen was figuring on needing a steam powered moped.  I piped up about a gasifier.  Did you know there are sho'nuf government documents showing how to make one?

 

Here's the pdf

They're all over.  Check them out.

Then I remembered the Stanley Steamer.  My old physics professor told me a story.  Seems Dr. Sanders' dad made a bet back in the late 20's.  If he could hold the throttle open on a Stanley for I think 90 seconds and not chicken out, he could have the car.  At 60 seconds, he hit some ungodly speed and watched the hard, solid rubber tires slinging proud of the tops of the rims.  He pulled it back and lost the bet.  Stanley held the land speed record of 126 mph in 1906!! Same guy almost hit 140 in 1907!!

The bore and stroke of the Stanley steam engine was small.  It was direct coupled to the axle so no transmission losses.  It's double acting so a two cylinder has the same energy pulse as a V8, 4 per rev. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Okay, then, while I'm waiting on my jeans to finish washing, I read about the Tesla steam turbine.  There is even a model of one you can make.  Popular Mechanics, Sept 1965, pp188-192.   You did know that archive.org has Popular Mechanics magazine right?

200 HP for a two foot square turbine at 125 psi steam pressure.  Impressive.  To dial down the 16000 RPM, I wonder if a cyclo speed reduction could work?  Man that is fast on the input side......  So, a 4 pole generator runs at 1800 rpm....   16000/1800=1:8.8  To low for a cyclo.... hmmmm.......

I have no ideer

 I have been worn out for days.  I can get a little done in the AM, but by 1300, I'm spent.  I have no idea what it is.  Maybe the 4 months of 100+ degree days?  Too much to do?  I have no clue.  Doctor checkup said no issues found.  I can't find my OBDII port to plug in the reader.  Maybe a change of scenery?  Dunno....

It is getting irritating...

Storage Ideas

Over on OldAfSarge's blog, I mentioned to Captain Courageous how I managed some of my small parts storage issues in the shop.  He is contemplating his new shop.  

Here is what I've used in the past, and I still like them.  These little black box organizers.

They are take out boxes from AceMart Restaurant Supply in San Antonio.  You can probably find them anywhere. Now you have to buy the tops separately. 

I said Costco, but I didn't see them on their website anymore. 

I use silver or gold Sharpie markers to label  the innards.  Stands out pretty well on the black plastic.  The yellow paint markers didn't work very well. With the lids, they stack fine. When they blow out due to overuse, or overload, replacement is cheap.  21 dollars for 50 tops and bottoms, that is 40 cents per container??  Not too bad.

I don't really like peg board anymore.  The pegs give me conniption fits.  They never stay, don't hold much, and reach out and grab me when I'm any where near them.

The green shelving was a rescue from the junk bin.  That was really a great score.  Thanks Hawk!  I wish I had more of the verticals as I have plenty of shelves.  They hold my supplies perfectly: not too deep, not too weak.

The Beginning...

Plumbing Update:

Still have a no start on the plumbing project.  We used all the little crimp rings getting my sister in law's house up and running.  I reordered over a week ago and still no new rings.  Asked the 'Zon where and why, but got no answer.  They just moved the arrival date to Tuesday.  I canceled the order on Thursday and reordered from a different vendor.  Still no rings.  Hmmm......  supply chain issues, I reckon.

Still have water under the house, and found out my son's trailer is pouring water.  Way worse than my house.  I wonder if all this stuff is melting due to the heat??  Ha, I'm making myself laugh....  

F150 Truck Update:

The F150 started to clunk on the front end.  I couldn't figure it, so kept listening....  Usually when there was some reversing or pulling under load.  I found an empty parking lot, cut the wheels hard left and went to see what I could under the passenger side....  Well there is a bushing that split.  "Wonder what that thing there is called?"

Radius Arm (aka number 15)....

Number 15 goes into hole in number 16 and kit 17 keeps the threaded portion centered in the hole.  You may have to disconnect the axle at bushing 12 to get the radius arm 15 to move forward enough to disengage from hole in 16.  Be sure to remove number 4 and the top nut on the shock absorber to allow the pile of iron that holds on the disk brake and hub (seen in gray) to move lower, facilitating the removal of threaded stub on radius arm 15 from hole in 16.....  Adult erector set, no doubt.

So I ordered a pair of the number 17 - bushing set, radius arm

And I ordered a pair of number 12 - bushing, axle pivot

And I ordered new front pads and parts for the rear brakes as well.  Might as well....

Waiting on one number 12, and two number 17.  All ordered at the same time, from a company that USED to be able to get things to you in two days or so.  Supply chain issues, I reckon.

Times.... they be a-changing....

CPO delivery:

No change in status on the CPO.  Seems that family developed ANOTHER Koof infection.  Job jab for a loss of yardage....  I'll get it delivered when they are up and around.

Mentor Visit!

I met my mentor via a post at Practical Machinist many moons ago.  I went to his town regularly to support our office there.  I'm big on feeding while visiting people, learned that at home.  So I offered to buy lunch and talk.  That turned into a long friendship.  I've gone over there loads of times, met for lunch, met the family, seen his shop, etc.  Great guy.  Since I've been laid up, we met a few times.  Once last month about halfway at a decent burger joint.  He came to my house yesterday.  And he bore a gift!

Thank you Spartan-C!!

 Not sure why, but Cletus at CEE always measures things with bananas.  I guess it's something about being "down under".  So, I decided to use my reference banana to give him a sense of scale if he ever looks at the blog.  I didn't have any farthings or pence or pounds to balance the handle on, so I used a penny.  They used to have those too, I think.  I've read that feral Aussies are very skitish around unknown objects.  I tried hard to make this "inclusive" and "familiar" so if he did see it, he wouldn't bolt for Ayers Rock.  Which I found out this week is the bottom side of the Arizona Meteor Crater.  It's been an eventful week.

Here, the reference banana is used to quantify capacity.  It appears that the cup will hold an imperial or short banana, but not the metric or long banana.  I had no idea that bananas were valid standards for length, width, height AND capacity.  But maybe that is why it is the standard unit of measure in Australia.  Quite the versatile UOM.

I also included the calibration sticker for the banana.  It fell off while I was manipulating the Johansson Banana (they can also be called Jo-Bans or Gage Bans).  You will have to trust me on this.  Usually the chain of custody is broken when the sticker falls off, but it fell on the green mat, and I just skidded it around to where it was visible.  Honest.

I hope to quell the leaks as soon as the rings show up.  I've got another date with a shovel (NOT pronounced Shove-ELLE no matter what Pete the Yankee said).  Gotta dig out a little so I can get under the kitchen sink.  It's a pier and beam house on the original cedar posts... and assorted other devices used to level it over the last 100 plus years. 

No rest for the weary, wicked or me.  Thanks for stopping by the shop.  (It'll be nice to use it sometime)

CPO

Well, the CPO is done.  Needed cleaning.  The old capacitor in the circuit causes it to drift and chirp a bit.  Exactly like it should.  Rewired it a bit and added new feet.  It had two old felt feet.  I always kept the feet they included in our rack mount devices, so I had plenty to choose from.  I think it will work as designed.  Honest wear and tarnish is a bonus in my book.  It ain't new, and if it looked new, I'd be suspicious. 

House work:

I helped my sister replumb her house.  She had a single month bill of nearly a grand.  Major leak due to really old, brittle pvc.  I studied up a bit and I learned something new about PEX.  My son had some in his mobile home.  It was garbage.  Leaked everywhere there was a push on fitting.  I found out they make crimp type connectors, so we went with that.

She is a huge volunteer at her church.  When she asked for some help fixing her house, there were crickets.  Not good, Bob, not good.  In the middle of the project, she got a text asking her to help with the ice cream social they were putting on.  Wow.  Unspeakably tone deaf.  The Wheezing Geezer (me) and the son of someone she knows and her were the crew.  We got it done over the course of a few days.  We have a couple more gigs and all the leaks will be done.  

I looked at my water bill, and it's up $30 bucks this month...  What the actual heck....

You may have won the Grand Prize!!!!

Rotted galvanized pipe in the ground.  Oh joy.  Thank God I bought a long roll of that PEX, and bulk amounts of fittings.  I think I can work this with minimal belly crawling.  But if it's in one spot, it's everywhere... you just know it is.

I guess my prayers for cooler weather will lead me into the dark realm of spiders, mud and God knows what else.  

Thanks for stopping by.