Stuff

Quick update. Saturday after Christmas the sun finally deceided to shine. The shop now has a complete roof and the north wall is complete. It was a good thing I got that much done as New Years Eve and New Years was a blow. A big blow, like 50 mph gusts. I haven't had an inspection in a long while so I am trying to get little framing odds and ends done for that.

I have used the shop for its intended purpose and tried to fix an exhaust leak on the '94 Ford PU. Anybody know what to do? The manifolds have a taper cast into them and the pipe has a bell formed on them. I took both sides loose and gradually tightened them together and applied a little hydraulic jack force here and there to the pipe. I though I had it whupped. It still leaks just the same. I wonder if I need to cut the one side of the pipe loose with the sawzall, get it nicely fit up and tightened, then weld the pipe back together. The Y pipe is really stiff and I think it is the problem.

I have been working on the neighbor's Ford tractor rebuilding the lower end of the engine. I have the front end off the tractor and thought I could change all the bearings. Of course not, I had to pull it the rest of the way. I don't have a hoist to lift the engine in his shop so I bolted some angle iron to the bottom of the block, positioned a HD steel dolly underneath and welded angle between those on the engine and the frame of the dolly. It worked really well. Maybe the easiest engine pull I've done. I had to call around to figure out how to install some new fangled side seals on the rear main bearing cap. You slide the rubber seal strip in then pound in the steel rod, next to the cap, to "energize" the seal. The rods are supposed to have a pointed/rounded end so they don't tear things up too much. I am putting in some hours to get this tractor rebuild behind me.

After the inspection and weather permitting I will put up the other walls. The remaining ones require lots of cutting and fitting. I bought a shear attachment for a drill, off Ebay, to do all the cutting.

We had a great Christmas and a good new years. Both lads had oral surgery over the holidays for various extra teeth and extra gums. Not long in the tooth but long in the gums... DMP