The Floundering Foundry and Thelmas Addictions

As seems the case with other Bloggers (you know who you all are!), I haven't made an entry in quite a while. After a piss poor start to the year my health has improved and I feel strong, well comparatively speaking, of course.



Bi-lateral lumbar radiography (they stick needles in your back and zap the nerves!) has been great for me and a brace made by Matt Hebert of Precision Orthotics has been fantastic. Stacey actually told to slow down while I was walking down the stairs at Dianne and Roland's after a meeting!



As some of you know I decided to fabricate a wood stove out of 1/8" steel plate from a set of discarded cellar bulkhead doors. The result was a fascinatingly grotesque device that resembles a part that has fallen off a steam locomotive. The idea of a "free' wood stove sounded too good to pass up. It was a lot of fun and great for building my fabrication skills but wasn't quite free. The seemingly nominal cost of nuts and bolts kept growing with each added seam. The worn drill bits and cutting disks added to the bill. When my little 5 gallon compressor died a sudden death from overuse powering my air drill everything came to a screeching halt. "What shall I do, I thought?"



While retrieving the mail that day the answer came in booming giant red letters on a flyer in the box.



HARBOR FREIGHT TOOLS



My desired compressor was on SALE! The 21 gallon 3 horsepower model was 40 bucks off! I could save 40 bucks. Somehow the fact that I was spending more than 160 bucks never entered my mind.



Eventually the wood stove was nearly complete. I tried to fabricate a stove pipe from big coffee cans. Don't throw stones at me, it only took a few hours and cut fingers before I realized that a coffee can stove pipe was not a good idea. Off to Home Depot.



You gotta love a gimongous warehouse that has a whole row of motion activated lights set to "test." It's hard not to look like an idiot dancing around trying to make them replicate the laser light show at a Pink Floyd concert. Next time I think I'll put a 4" band aid on my forehead while I jump around in their lighting aisle. People wondering what went wrong in my life will see the big band aid and not point. They'll just shrug their shoulders and drag off their confused kids warning them not to jump off roofs.



I found my stove pipes and a real flue and even some hi temp caulking good to 2000 degrees. I haven't tested it yet, but it's on the to do list.



So the stove is in the shed heating nicely. People either love it or cringe at it. I gotta move the bag of charcoal stored next to it.



During the stove project I happened upon an interesting project. Building a metal turning lathe from scrap. I always wanted one of those! Since I have a unused electric motor from the old compressor it must have been an idea sent from the Gods "Craftsman" and '"Black Decker"!



I promptly ordered the first second and fourth books from the 7 book series, "Building Your Own Metal Working Shop From Scrap". It would be unlike me to read all the directions in order, and not much of a challenge to boot! Actually the 3rd book is a metal shaper which seems duplicitous of a milling machine, but it turns out it may be necessary. Time will tell.



Book one is "The Charcoal Foundry" and is fairly simple. Build a hollow tube with a bottom out of clay. "Hey, I made ashtrays in 1st grade! I can do this." (I skipped Kindergarten. They said I was advanced enough for 1st grade. I wonder if they were disturbed by my Tinkertoy skills?)



I began scrounging materials. After many phone calls I sourced a supply of red clay from a ceramics supply in Braintree. Sure it's a long way to get $30 worth of clay but it's near Ikea. Since I have finally got REAL bed I decided I might find something useful there. By the way, I burned the crumbling old futon frame I had been sleeping on. It heated up quite nicely in the wood stove.



I didn't follow the arrows at Ikea (the awesome smells emanating from the cafeteria got me confused. Sweedish meatballs! ohhhhhh!) and wandered back and forth , hopping through shortcuts. I found some biggg black and white pictures, cowhides and a really cool man cave made from a loft bed and sofa. Another guy and I stood in front of it like Ralphie Parker lusted after his Red Ryder BB Gun (they have Red Ryders at Harbor Freight Tools! And for a hoot check this! http://www.bettysattic.com/website/store/product_detail.asp?UID=&item_no=56147&keyword=BBOB&cat_keyword=BBOB&search_page_no=1&WT.svl=56147 ) )

But nothing for my bed. Too much sensory overload. To balance my chi I headed off to HF Tools.



As I am wont to do, I mixed construction techniques and clay formulas and they were incompatible. Hmrmph. Mixing recipes works in baking. After forming the clay, sand and water mix you need to fire it by starting a wood fire then after it stops steaming you add charcoal to the top and put on the lid to let it burn and cool all night. The entire foundry crumbled after when I checked it in the morning. On to Foundry 2.0.



I pounded all the pieces of the failed foundry and remixed it with more clay, reformed it and refired it. Only 2 small cracks this time. It eventually failed when the 2 small cracks migrated to form 2 pieces of foundry. It split right in half, well maybe 1/3 and 2/3's. So...more pounding of clay into grog and then I will remix the fire clay and start all over. I believe I have remedied the problem by removing the inner wall car board tube form. The clay seems to shrink during firing but the tube remains the same size.

While all this fun stuff I have, of course been spending much time in the Shop. The shop that has a wood stove, stereo and cable tv with a neat little converter box all non HD cable connected tv's will require soon. So I'm ahead of that already. The shop needs a recliner. I perusing Craigslist. And wondering how the hell I can fit one more item in that shed.

It's bad enough the rats, you know, Thelma and Louise, seem to knock things over at night looking for who knows what. They subside on a diet mainly of Cheerios and corn flakes and they lovvve peanuts in the shell. And what are peanuts without beer, right. Well rats are no different and they get a couple of bottle caps full of beer now and then. But the blackberry brandy and cigars have got to stop! I can't leave a shot glass around without them tipping it over and having a party! Once they get liquored up on beer and brandy they have stolen my cigars. Both stubs and lit ones. I can't figure out why they want cigars, I don't let them play with matches. I have switched to a pipe.

In all seriousness they are wonderful pets. They expect a greeting, being scratched behind the ears or picked up and rummage through my pockets for peanuts. Louise got stuck in the lining of my jacket searching for her legumes. My coat was pulsing and throbbing like some kind of Hollywood special effect until I could get her out. I am amazed that they are not disturbed by the noise of the compressor or me banging on things and I actually have to be careful when sawing or hammering because they are so curious they will go right to the most dangerous point, the blade or point of impact.

I hope everyon had a great Thanksgiving. I ate a plate of leftovers as I typed this out. Time for a piece of fudge, some brandy and a smoke.

And I ain't sharing.