Thread: We Have Skills Too !!

Originally Posted by MikeB52

You have a mean sense of humour Roy ole bean..

What are friends for if you can't have a bit of fun? If I was in your situation my buddy Ski would have made it and brought it over and given it to me!

Save the recipe and give it a go once you get a more permanent solution to the tooth problem. It's absolutely delicious!

Tooth or consequences!

Mike, your family may never forgive me for this, but... here's some inspiration for you.

Now I gotta find me some Fuji 9!!!
Thanks.

Originally Posted by MikeB52

Now I gotta find me some Fuji 9!!!
Thanks.

https://www.amazon.com/GC-Fuji-IX-EX.../dp/B0074DGFFK

Going on 13 years ago and due to a difficult divorce I moved into what I call 'The Boars Nest' (BN).

Now a boars nest was what my father used to call any home where a bachelor resided as they were usually at least a bit untidy to say the least. I don't think I've let my father down.

Upon being forced to move to the BN I was in need of a washer and dryer but was very low on funds. It happened that not long before my need to move, my oldest daughter had found the man who would become not only my Son in Law but the father of two of my grand children and would be moving in with him.

However they both had washers and dryers and my daughter decided to store her nearly new set at my mom and dad's. Long story short--I bought the pair for $300 and moved them to the BN. They have performed wonderfully. About 8 or so years ago the coupler that allows the washer's drum to spin broke and it was about $100 parts and labor to replace, but the repairman told me that the replacement had been re-designed and might last longer than I'll live.

Well the other day my washing machine started leaking just a little bit, but it was leaking. I had a suspicion that it was the pump so I found the Model Number and Serial Number and went looking for a new part.

I seems that there are at least two and both are pricey. Long story made short. I figured that 'IF' I got the wrong part and by the time I returned it (paying shipping back) and then having the other one sent, I was out more than I cared to.

So I called the outfit that had worked on it before and sure as hell, my washer took a rare part/seems that my pump had a check valve and other pumps won't work (don't ask me why)-----

Anyway parts and labor were right at $250. Yes 'IF' I'd bought the correct part the FIRST TIME and installed it myself I could have saved a lot of money. However the part and labor come with a bit of warranty.

I figure that by combining the first repair and the second repair costs then dividing by the 13 years I've had the units that's only about $27 per year for wear and tear which is a hell of a lot less than going to the Laundry Mat for all those years---

It seems something had gotten in to the pump and melted a ring through the cover. 'IF' I'd have found the problem I 'MIGHT' have have been able to us a sealant to close things up and wait til bushings/bearings etc went out OR whatever was in there to burn through the sealer but by then the new part might not be available.



Saving Money Is in the Eyes and Mind of the Beholder

Well I actually worked on and completed a project but not a razor project.

I had many of my auto body tools stolen. Not out of my garage or shop but from a friend whom I'd loaded the tools to. His name was Nick.

Nick was the father of a friend I grew up with, we used to ride and work on motorcycles with and was in their home many a time his name was Craig.

Long story made short. On Christmas Day 1971, Craig along with two other good friends were killed in a car wreck. I was in the service and couldn't attend their services.

5 years, 3 hours later Craig's only brother Tracy died at the age of 14 from leukemia. I was a Pall Bearer for Tracy.

Nick had asked to borrow some of my tools and I gladly loaned them to him. Since I wasn't working in the trade anymore I forgot about the loan.

Unbeknownst to me Nick passed away and for some reason no one let me know. By the time I found out, one of Nick's son in laws had sold all of his tools/including mine!

I don't know what pissed me off more--not being told of the loss of a friend or having the tools with my name engraved on all of them sold out from under me.

When I confronted the son in law he said he assumed that I'd sold Nick the tools--

I haven't done much auto body since then but on occasion I have been asked for help. I had duplicate or 'similar' hammers so I could get by. While they aren't used a lot, I didn't have a 'square/round' and I found one for $20 delivered at FleaBay.

Here's a couple of seller pics.



The red arrow shows where the poor thing had made impact with a fender more than once--



I used a flap wheel on my drill press to clean the faces, edges and around then some sandpaper and then the buffer to shine things up a bit.

The dings weren't going to go totally away so I used water and heat to steam the fibers up and I like the look. I would then use some Redwood Stain and several coats of Linseed Oil.





While the head didn't retain all of the factory black it wasn't bad--



But I did give it a light coat of fresh paint--



While this pic doesn't do it justice, the hammer faces came out much nicer than I believe that they left the factory with



Thanks for looking

Roy, I am always inspired by your thrift and resourcefulness-very refreshing to see in this throwaway plastic world we now live in.

Originally Posted by ScoutHikerDad

Roy, I am always inspired by your thrift and resourcefulness-very refreshing to see in this throwaway plastic world we now live in.

+1 to this! Also, at a time when lighting the forge is a mild form of torture for folks like me not built for heat, this has given a great idea for a project...

I have a rack full of different hammers I use mostly for forging. A few of them get used regularly and so are in pretty good shape, as I keep the faces clean, they don't get a chance to rust, etc. But there's a bunch down there at the end that I've been collecting from junk sales, flea markets, etc., that really need some love. The time has come to do some cleaning up - thank you for the inspiration!

Good for you! I don't know what it is about having a tool look nice. They really don't work any better.

While I haven't purchased a lathe, Jerry and Aaron aren't the only ones 'turning handles'----------

Awhile back I picked up a lot of body dollies and included was a vintage body file. I wouldn't call it 'ancient' but it's definitely vintage. The nuts in the knobs are square--that's going back a ways.

No picture of the complete unit before I started on it this morning but here's one of the knobs/the red arrow points to where the nut is;



I used a long machine screw, some washers and a nut to make a mandrel;



Both of the handles came out nice;



I cleaned up the screws, the base and the non tooth edge of the file, I found it was a name brand tool--



The factory paint had stained parts of the wood so I gave them a bit of sandable primer a little sanding then paint and after drying in the shop in this 100+ deg heat it's all back together.