Coffee 9-8-2012

Good morning! Come in, come in, join us for a friendly coffee & we'll see what comes along for breakfast. Fall sure is here....well....at least summer is gone. It hasn't been too chilly, but ever since Isaac it's been rainy & damp. Every year a hurricane brings the end of hot weather & this year was no different. It's amazing how one storm can change the entire weather pattern.

Always something... I can no longer say my 1997 Ford Van has the original exhaust. Yesterday it started an odd exhaust leak. At first it sounded like a connecting rod bearing! A nut had rusted away and was so small the flange slipped by at the donut gasket near the engine. Oddly, the outer part of the bolt still had threads. I put on a spacer and a new nut. Voila, fixed! Way easier than a connecting rod! I did take notice that some of the hangers are about gone. It's weird how the exhaust is stainless steel, but the hangers are not.

OK! Tis a good day to get lot's of things done. I should get some 3/8" steel rod and make exhaust hangers. Or get 3 or 8 beers and just hang out. Hmmmmm

Good Morning, what's going on I'm the first to show I figured Freetown would have been here & gone by now. Don't know if I'll be able to get much done at my place, the wife & I have been going over to the neighbors to help out where we can. Seems the last horse I got out of their barn when it was on fire has developed a bit of a weese from the smoke so the wife has now become a vet tech, kind of hard to listen to the lungs when the house wants to walk so that's my job. Hope everyone has a good safe day, thanks for the coffee Freddy.

Couldn't resist, the coffee smells so good. Hello to Freddie and all at my former favorite hangout. I know fall is hanging in the air in Maine, not yet here in Chattanooga. Although the locals think so because it might get down in the high 70's! I'd go for the beers Freddie, but that has been my achilles heel for years. Have a great weekend.

Kevin

Where'd everyone go?

Yeah you gotta love how they build things today. I replaced a brake line on my buddy's Expedition. The front half of the line was nylon coated, and in perfect shape .... then just past the front drivers door they decided to use plain steel. There was nothing left! He hit the brakes & half the line split wide open. Unreal ... Even the $800+ Corsa stainless exhaust system I put on my truck came with steel clamps and hangers. 5 years later, the clamps are unrecognizable. Don't even know how it's still together.

I highly recommend the 8 beers, Freddy. It'll make working on that Ford much easier. Trust me on that one!

Speaking of which, I've got the oil pan & cylinder head back on the Focus, & all torqued down. The engine is going to look funny - totally rusted block with a nice, fresh plain metal head sandwiched in between that and a corroded valve cover. As long as she runs, I don't much care about that!

Spend most of the day yesterday giving the Blazer a rattle-can paint job. Grabbed the twisted-wire wheel and proceeded to remove rust & bondo, and make a few new holes that I filled with Geocel roofing caulk. She's a winter beater - no sense getting fussy with it. Looks much better than it did, and I might get a few more years before sinking money into replacement body panels. It's amazing how much rust formed in just 2 winters. Solid when I got it in '10 .... now the rockers, doors, fenders, and hood all have holes in them ... well, they did before I went at them with caulk and epoxy.

Weather is BEAUTIFUL today. Never got below 68° and the humidity is 96%, so no chill in the air whatsoever. I love that. Got to enjoy it while I can ... because upper 40's are in the forecast for next Tuesday night. House is going to get pretty chilly at those temps. I will not be happy ... shouldn't be thinking about heat for another 3 months here!

Another week and not the best of weeks either. But we shat struggle through.

Today I have to finish up work on my truck. SMITTY’s ranting and raving must have gotten my poor truck sick all the way from Massachusetts. The rust scale that was serving as a brake line finally had enough. This happened along the firewall just before it goes under the floor. I replace it with a nice piece of Nicopp so hopefully this is a one time fix. The two 3/16” lines going to the front brakes are not far behind, they look terrible so I have to redo them with some Nicopp somewhere down the road. Until then I cross my fingers.
While getting dirty under there I figured I better change the gas filter, it has been about 30,000 miles since the last change. Those old filters in the carburetor way back when could do wonders to expand your vocabulary so I thought doing a simple in line filter would be a cake walk. It would be if the damn nuts were not frozen fast. What a piece of *censored*! The rear nut came off but the front nut will not budge. I put a Snap-On flare nut crows foot on with a breaker bar and it is not going anywhere! The local auto parts store sold me a piece of tubing with the special little fitting on the end to go into the gas filter. The only problem is it has a steel nut like the original. Why can’t they use brass?

I better get busy. Storms on the way this afternoon if you want to believe the weather man.

That copper-nickle alloy is good *censored*. I did the whole front brake system in the Blazer with that, plus part of the rear. It'll turn a little green in the salt, but it doesn't corrode nearly as quick as steel does. Good choice for northeast vehicles. Plus it's a dream to work with. Can bend the lines exactly like factory with just your fingers. Real easy to flare too.

Good Morning! Torrential Downpours seem to be the order of the day! Nothing like an early Fall Drought Breaker to cheer you up ! Maladies Galore,and yet we've got plenty of answers to solve them all.....Stay with it !

Whew has time flown bye! Today is the last day of my 2 week vacation I have saved up for. Glad to honestly say a restoration of a (my) normal schedule is welcomed. Ocean city MD was a blast! After all the seafood I ate I hope the fishing community can catch up. It feels about 25 degrees cooler in northeast pa than yesterday. Coffee and college ball for today. Maybe I'll fire up the grill later and throw on some Ribs, yep thats what the day holds for this fella.

Nobody talking about tasty breakfast items......Sun is out here, and the Radar says freddy is in a huge thunderstorm area.....we still need the rain.....the bears are eating the corn like crazy....the ground needs lots more water....the tomatoes are to die for.....the 800 and 866 calls are a daily annoyance...who do you support...who would you support....who? Not cool enough for the hand fed guys, stoker guys are choked waaay down......clean the piping and chimney.....do something nice for your wife, neighbors and friends......crossover season begins.......Have a nice weekend!

Hot in Ocean City? Nice beaches, crabs and that killer hot sauce......eye candy everywhere!

Coffee!! Just what I need. Ivan got me up at 0400, can't say that boy isn't ambitious. We just picked a pail full of apples of the tree in the backyard, my wife is making a pie. Pot roast is in the crock pot, really making the house smell good.

WINDY here this morning, chance of severe storms this afternoon.

Coal arrived on Wednesday, but no sooner did it get unloaded my dad went to the hospital with chest pains. They sent the camera in through his leg to check things out, found an 85% blockage in his heart and fixed it in the spot. He came home yesterday and feels like a new man.

22.5 tons of bagged buck ready to get split up between our three houses.

Rob R. wrote:Coffee!! Just what I need. Ivan got me up at 0400, can't say that boy isn't ambitious. We just picked a pail full of apples of the tree in the backyard, my wife is making a pie. Pot roast is in the crock pot, really making the house smell good.

WINDY here this morning, chance of severe storms this afternoon.

Coal arrived on Wednesday, but no sooner did it get unloaded my dad went to the hospital with chest pains. They sent the camera in through his leg to check things out, found an 85% blockage in his heart and fixed it in the spot. He came home yesterday and feels like a new man.

22.5 tons of bagged buck ready to get split up between our three houses.

Glad to hear your Dad is doing well Rob! Nice picture too, I am jealous. I see a trailer, lull and backhoe in the distance. My favorite scene. Are you putting on an addition or is that new construction I see.
Coffee would have been great 5 hours ago but the day got started pretty quick and is just now slowing down for a while. I'll be headed back out to the shop to put in some more time on the new kitchen cabinets. My house is 12 years old, of course I need a new kitchen in a whole new location. Builder's wives are GREAT. Sure 2 weeks no problem! Well enjoy the weather everyone whatever it brings you. NWB

My brother is building a log home, it already has an EFM in the basement.

Morning all. First off Rob, so glad that found and fixed that blockage before it did damage. Outstanding!
My two new mousers are settling in to their home here and seem to love it! Out to dinner last night for my little sisters B-day. had a good old time and a nice ribeye. Had a few of those Stella Artois Belgian brews. Pretty tasty sort of light lager that was great with my steak. Today we have the annual Pirates Festival up in Eastport Arrrrrrrrg... so I'l go have a wander around up there and have some fun at the food stalls this afternoon. Have a great weekend everybody!

Maxwell House for me this morning. Good to see everybody doing OK, Anthony, your daughter is cute as a button, she has a great dad!

Glad the loved one got his heart fixed so easy.

Nice to see piles of coal in northern NYS!

No brake line issues for me but the old GMC seemed dead as a doornail, humidity must have made the ignition switch lazy, started up on the 2nd try.

I had a hankering for a chicken cutlet parmesan late last night, made one up, ate it at midnight and fell asleep watching a UFO show. Wonder why I had scarey UFO invasion nightmares all night?

No housepainting today so I cleared all the roofs and gutters here in anticipation of heavy storms coming through. Two oak leaves will clog a 50' foot gutter!Humid as heck and a serious sunshower just came through. Better work weather coming next week.

My customer wanted a cover for her generator in case of emergency, so I suggested a manual roll-down awning, or a garden gazebo tent. She said don't overthink it, just get me a piece of plywood. I got her a piece of 1/2 cdx and she said it's too heavy for her . I took it back and will get her a piece of 1/4". The customer is always wrong is my motto hahahahah.

Caught a pic of a walking stick on the side of the garage, nature's camoflage to the max.

Thanks for the kind words about my dad. He needs to get healed up so he can start slinging coal bags in October.

Anyone else get a storm this afternoon? We got about 45 minutes of very heavy rain, and a blast of wind that scared me. I was in the basement working on a project when I heard a funny noise...it sounded like gravel getting sucked up through a vacuum hose. I walked over near my EFM and figured out what it was. The chimney draft was so strong that the baro was maxed out and pieces of caked flyash were getting knocked off the inside of the pipe and rattling their way up through the stovepipe. I guess the pipe should be clean and ready to go!