Starting to move again

 Hello everyone,

Had a telephone meeting with the surgeon today and all is full steam ahead! Whew, glad that’s behind us.

Picked up the new stereo last weekend and got it all hooked up and functioning again, tunes and surround sound for movies, woohoo, living high on the hog!!

The last few days we went over to Shipshewana and saw Steve Miller, he was very good. I had forgotten how many songs he had that we knew. 

Even bought me a cool tshirt! We spent an extra day farting around by the big flea market over there and then came home today.

The old grind pretty much starts tomorrow, I have to mow the grass and start spraying the weeds and stuff. Next week I’ll go back to my little job and then start back on the gator project as well.

I did order a new high definition tv antennae. We switched over to Star Link for internet and got rid of Dish for our tv provider and I need something so we can watch football. The antenna should be here in the next few days, I’ll get my son to go up the ladder for me and that should be that, hopefully.

Well, I think that’s all for now, talk to you soon,

TVI

Made it through

 Hello everyone,

Well, I managed to get through stent surgery with flying colors! Had to spend one night in the hospital ( not so fun!). Came home yesterday with instructions to change my diet and start exercising. So, that pretty much starts today.

The surround sound stereo I had out in the shop gave up the ghost a couple of months ago. I had bought it a few years ago from one of my youngest sons buddies for I think $100. It worked pretty well for a shop. So this time I purchased or, am going to purchase, a much newer model by the same manufacturer. It’s a little more powerful, still a 7.1 surround , but has Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity. I’m supposed to meet the guy who has it this morning at 9, in a town a few minutes north of me.

After that maybe I’ll start walking a little bit and start to get my sea legs back under me. I’ve never been an excercise guy so this will be a new kind of experience. I’ve always worked hard just not excercised. 

Hopefully that’ll speed up the recovery and get my life back to normal, or at least to some semblance of normal. The last few weeks have been pretty eye opening and a little scary. I had no idea I was that plugged up! Just a few weeks ago we were putting up that swimming pool!

Well, I think that’s all for now, talk to you soon,

TVI

Still kind of sucks

 Hello everyone,

I’m still not allowed to do much yet. I’m scheduled to have stents put in on Friday. Hopefully that will help my mental heath as well. I’m not really sure how far I can go doing a few things, so I’ve been very cautious, and I’m getting quite bored! Never thought I’d say that, but, there it is!!

Well, I think that’s all for now.

Talk to you soon,

TVI 

Well, this kind of sucks

 Hello everyone,

The last couple of weeks I had some medical tests ran and they’ve shown I have some blockage around my heart. Apparently quite a bit. I’m going to the doctor tomorrow to discuss the options and see where I go from there.

I’ve been told I have no damage in the heart muscle so I have a good chance of recovery whether it’s stents or bypass surgery. 

My wife and I are not real “medical “ field followers so we’re into uncharted territory. We’ve been natural practitioners for most of the 40 years we’ve been married. I guess we’ll see where this part of our journey leads us.

As far as my projects go, they’ve ground to a halt as I’m not supposed to do anything for the time being including going to concerts. That really sucks!

I’ll keep you as informed as I am as this thing progresses.

Talk to you soon,

TVI 

Getting started

 Hello everyone,

Finally pretty done with the pool project, so I started on the old Gator project. Got the old engine out and the new one just setting in the frame.

I also have the pump and cylinder set in the approximate locations.

Progress will be slow, but hopefully steady.

Well, I think that’s all for now.

Talk to you soon,

TVI

Getting there

 Hello everyone,

Got all the railing up on the deck by the pool, and got the solar lighting up as well. Did a clean up around the pool, got rid of most of the construction debris. Still trying to figure out the sidewalk and I still have a small amount of electrical work to finish. 

I have a doctor’s appointment today so I’ll have a little time this afternoon to do the electrical work. 

The music events this past weekend were both very good, but the wife and I discovered we’re getting a might old for back to back events! Had a little trouble making it through Saturday night!

I’ve been pondering the gator engine swap situation for awhile and I think I have a basic plan of attack when I get it ready. It won’t be straightforward but I don’t think it’ll be to frustrating either. 

I’m going out with my brother and “Shop Teacher Bob” for breakfast this week and I need to ask Bob about some sheet metal prices. Also this week we’re going to go see Foreigner down in Indy, plus spend a day at some friends house. Should be fun!

Well, I think that’s all for now.

Talk to you soon,

TVI

Almost finished

 Hello everyone,

The pool project has gone relatively smoothly. It’s been 11 days and it’s almost finished. Just railings, landscaping, put in a walkway, etc., etc. So, still another week or so! Here’s some pics:

I managed to make some new holdowns for the Moon Shade for the van:

The legs will go in the pipes and the tie down cords will go on the hooks, should work well.

I also picked up the new engine for the gator, hopefully get started on that when the pool is finished.

Got some shows coming up this weekend, Heartsfield on Friday and a band we haven’t seen before, Marakesh Express, that’s a CSN and Y cover band. Should be fun.

Well, I think that’s all for now, talk to you soon,

TVI

What a week for me

 Hello everyone,

Finished the races in Bowling Green on Saturday, spent Sunday with my youngest son, Monday when I left to come home I finally managed to go on a tour of the Corvette factory in Bowling Green! Been trying to do that for 20 years! Then we left on Friday morning and drove to Milwaukee to see James Taylor in concert tonight and just now I got to go to the Harley Davidson museum!

Here are some pics for the week: 

Theses are from the Corvette factory, no cameras allowed inside.

You can tell where this is in Milwaukee! They had a bike show the morning and here’s a few pics from that:

You can sort of tell which ones I was interested in(LOL), but there were a lot of bikes in the show, mostly knuckleheads and panheads. A few flatheads and a few shovels.

James Taylor was really good, I have a couple of movies from the show but they’re too long to post and I’m not good at editing.

Well, I’m back at it, working the little job and the wife wanted to put in a small pool, sunk 18” in the ground. We haven’t had rain here in about a month and the ground is like concrete! So, I borrowed a mini excavator from work and got the hole dug, they’re supposed to deliver the sand tomorrow..

Got this far and now it’s supposed to rain for the next few days! LOL!!

That’s ok we really need it. Well, I think that’s all for now when this project is finished, I think I’m going to start on the old gator. A new engine and hopefully a hydraulic dump bed, actually could have used on the pool project!

Talk to you soon,

TVI

Back in touch

 Hello everyone, 

Got most of the spring stuff finished up. Still have a pretty good mulch pile to spread on the trails in the woods. Got most of it finished in time for the party last weekend. We had a blast, about 70 people showed up and the band was excellent!

This week I’m at the Hot Rod Reunion in Bowling Green Kentucky. Got here a little bit ago and am all set up.

I don’t remember what year this thing is on but I’ve only missed two of them. This thing is a huge flashback for me, when I was younger everybody went to U.S.30 drag away, I really miss that place. This place really reminds me very much of 30. Even the cars they’re racing remind me of back then.

If I have good enough internet I’ll try to post some pictures throughout the week.

I’m also going to try and make a factory tour at the Corvette plant here in Bowling Green. I’ve been trying to ever since I’ve been coming down here and have never had it work out, wish me luck!

When I get home next weekend we’re going to see James Taylor in concert in Milwaukee, my life has been very good since I retired!

I’m still picking up parts for the bike and I’m trying to save the money I’m making at the side job to make the bike come true this winter, once again wish me luck!

Well, I think that’s all for now.

Talk to you soon, 

TVI

Just pretty much spring stuff

 Hello everyone,

Once again it’s been awhile. No real exciting stuff going on, just spring cleaning and repairing.

I did get myself a little job, working on lawn mowers. A friend of mine has been asking me for a few years to come work for him at his shop, and I’ve pretty much always turned him down. Well, this last time I said yes. I didn’t really realize what I was signing up for! The guy sells more lawnmowers than any body in the state of Indiana! We live in a small town of about 5,000 people and I work three days a week and I am busy all day, all three days, either fixing, servicing, or assembling lawnmowers! It’s the damndest thing I’ve ever seen! 

We’re going to have another party here at” the venue”!( LOL) We’ve got the band lined up and we’ve been cleaning, weeding, mowing, repairing, and painting to get the place ready. Oh, and I forgot planting, mulching and spraying! 

I’ve got several projects on hold because of the party, and I also have some more repairs to the place that need to be addressed as well. The bike is on hold until after wood cutting for now. The little job money is being set aside for that project ( I hope!). I’m eventually going to have to put an engine in my old gator thing, and when I do that’s going to be a pretty big project. I’ve got a setup to add a lift cylinder to the bed that will have to be engineered to fit and work correctly. I think this is coming sooner rather than later.

Well, I think that’s all for now.

Talk to you soon,

TVI

Things have been a little slow

 Hello everyone,

Not much has been going on around here. We had a nice trip to Kentucky and Tennessee. Did some clean up work at the Shaker Village we go to, as volunteers. Saw our youngest son for a few days. All in all, pretty enjoyable time. The pics are of one of the places we visited in Tennessee.

I finally ran out of time with my old grill. The inside frame work rusted away and the cooking grates started falling into the grill. So, the new one arrived yesterday and I put it all together. My wife decided, after spending time in Bourbon country that we needed a bourbon barrel to use as a table in the outdoor kitchen. So last week we picked up a barrel, and while I was doing the grill, we removed the furniture that was there and put the barrel in its place. We have some stools coming for it and we’ve been looking for a glass top.

I’m hoping to load up all the scrap I have and take it in today. The old grill is on the list of things to part ways with. I’m a little down in the back so I’m not sure I’ll get that done today.

We’ve been watching a friend’s dog for a few day because her mother passed away. The dog has been really good and no problems until Wednesday. Not really sure what brought it on, we’re thinking maybe thunder but, he about ruined one of my shop doors!

An awful lot of damage and if he’d worked at it a little longer he would’ve made it to the other side! I took the door off and put some screws in the frame and then bent the metal back and put some more screws in it to hold it on. Glad it was just an old used shop door!

Well, I think that’s all for now.

Talk to you soon,

TVI

It’s been awhile

 Hello everyone,

Yeah, I kind of slipped up on posting for awhile, but hopefully back at it again.

I finished up the golf cart, with the new micro switch and took it for a test ride and it still had the same problem, 20 minutes of run time and it stops, wait a few minutes and it will go again. So I decided to try a continuous duty solenoid. Now, it would seem like that’s what I was buying but I bought a specifically designed continuous duty one. It came and I installed it on the cart. Charged the batteries to full capacity, ran it almost 40 minutes and never stopped once! So, I think it’s finally fixed.

I took that little job a couple of weeks ago, and so far it’s working out pretty well. I’ve worked 3 days a week the last couple of weeks. They keep saying they’ll get really busy at the end of March. I guess the owners sell more Toro lawnmowers than anybody in the state of Indiana. It’s not a very big place but that do have a lot of mowers.

We’re taking a little mini vacation this week. The wife’s office is closed so we’re going to Kentucky for a few days and then to see our son down in Tennessee.

Well, I think that’s all for now.

Talk to you soon,

TVI 

Little bits at a time

 Hello everyone,

Well, I got the chimney for the wood burner fixed and I think I found out why it had the creosote problem in the first place. It has a rain cap on it and during the summers the birds would build nests in it and I would have to clean it out every year, so, I decided to put a type of wire fencing around it to keep them out. That was probably 10 or 12 years ago, haven’t been up there since. When we took it down that fencing was almost plugged by creosote! Don’t really know why, but it damn sure was. Cleaned it all out and sandblasted it and vacuumed it and put it all back together and in the roof again. All cozy again!

Still working on the golf cart, trying to come up with a way to mount the new micro switch that’s easy to remove the switch if it goes bad. Haven’t completed that task just yet.

Our youngest son came up to Lafayette to see his girlfriend and we drove down and went out to lunch, it was nice. We’ll be going to Nashville in a few weeks to visit and get the stink blowed of us as our first trip this year.

Went to our spot last night and saw the Jaywalkers play music, what a fun good band.

Back to the grind this week, I’ve got to get the golf cart going this week or else my wife is going to kick my butt!

Well, I think that’s all for now.

Talk to you soon,

TVI 

Catching up and do overs

 Hello everyone,

I passed on the gator engine swap for a little bit and did some small other projects that needed catching up.

I was running my wood burner and noticed creosote running down the pipe, that hasn’t happened ever in twenty plus years. So, I let the fire die down over night and went to take the pipe off to inspect it and the pass through adapter for the ceiling broke off! I couldn’t repair it so I ordered parts. I also ordered new seal for the door and did some sanding and painting on the stove body and door. At least it’s a little more presentable and should be a little more efficient.

The original problem with the golf cart reared its ugly head again. I ordered a new solenoid and installed it, it ran a little longer, then it appeared again. After a little while of running it just stops, no solenoid engagement. Let it sit a few minutes and it’ll go again. It seems like something is getting hot and breaking down. The only thing left I can think of is a micro switch on the throttle. I ordered some new ones and will run new wires for it. I took the resistors out of it and cleaned all the contacts up and tightened all the pass through bolts up. Now I’m just doing some painting to a few things. I found the original battery hold down s for it I sandblasted and am painting them to install.

The black cover goes over the resistors, like a heat shield. I also had to repair my little portable air tank. It’s probably 35 years old and the little filler valve just broke off the top, so I ordered a whole new assembly and got it all plumbed up.

Well, the parts just arrived for the chimney, and my middle son said he go up on the roof and pull it out so I can change the adapter piece. Maybe today, maybe tomorrow.

Well, I think that’s all for now.

Talk to you soon,

TVI 

Maybe the next project

 Hello everyone,

I finished up the golf cart, got both speakers put in and tied all the wiring for everything tucked safely away. 

Right before I retired I grabbed a 22 horse, vtwin Briggs engine out of a Miller welder they were scrapping out. I wrapped it up and brought it home and stuck it in my barn. I’ve been pondering putting it in my old Gator.

The biggest problem I face is having to turn down the output side of the crankshaft so the old torque converter will fit. The shaft is 1 1/2” and I’ll probably have to go down to an inch. I contacted “Shop Teacher Bob” and he thinks he might be able to turn it down. It means I’d have to tear the engine down but, I think I’m capable of that. We’ll see still pondering.

I also think I might have picked myself up a part time gig working at a place here in town that sells lawnmowers. Maybe 2-3 days a week. That might put a little jingle in my pocket to support some of my other projects(ie: the old motorcycle!).

We’ll see, I think that’s all for now.

Talk to you soon,

TVI 

Almost done

 Hello everyone,

Got all the wiring done on the golf cart. Light, horn amplifier, speaker wiring run, USB port is in and working, accessory port is working. All that’s left is mount the speakers!

I changed my mind where I was going to put the switches on decided to put them in the dash board. The little amplifier I bought came with a headphone jack and a volume control, I thought they looked better over the drink holder. I haven’t quite decided where I’m going to mount the speakers but, I’ll figure that out tomorrow.

Well, I think that’s all for now.

Talk to you soon, TVI

A quick golf cart update

 Hello everyone,

Just like it says, and what I wanted it to look like 4 years ago.

The battery meter is on the left of the steering column and next to the cup holders are a usb double charging port and a 12 volt power outlet for a hand held spotlight. In the space above the cup holders will be where the switches will go and I’m trying to figure out where the fuse block will mount. I’d like it some place convenient.

That’s all for now I think.

Talk to you soon, 

TVI

P.S. Switches, etc. will be here tomorrow, hopefully be done with it the first part of next week.

Getting caught up

 Hello everyone,

After much checking and talking with as many auto mechanics as I could talk to, I finally figured out what was wrong with the car. It’s a long winded reason but basically it was out of time. There’s a mechanism on the cams that change the cam timing by computer control and when the timing belt broke the mechanism couldn’t reset, so I had to pull the cams back out and reset it by hand. All good now and runs like a dream. So, it’s finally out of my shop and up for sale.

I brought my old Gator in and did some much needed maintenance on it, and now I have the golf cart in the shop and finally have time to complete it. I never really finished it after I got it working, and that’s been probably three years ago! I’ve gotten the glovebox sandblasted and the new dashboard housing that “Shop Teacher Bob” made me back then finally fitted and a new aluminum dash fitted. The dash need a few more holes drilled in it but, at least it’s progress.

I also have a very bright light to put on the front so we can go out in the woods at night, plus a horn and some speakers so we can have some tunes!

Oh, and some cup holders for our beverages of choice!

I also had to repair my tamper, I accidentally ran over it with the tractor! I’m not a great welder by any stretch but I’ll do in a pinch.

I had to cut all the gussets off so I could remove the broken piece and then cut off the handle and reweld everything back in place. I also had a couple of small plumbing projects to do, so I’ve been pretty busy the last couple of weeks.

I need to order up some switches and the little amplifier for the tunes and then hopefully get the golf cart project finished.

Well, I think that’s all for now. 

Talk to you soon,

TVI