Between 485 & 705 SQ/FT Welcome......To Odd Acres

[C_F]

My driveway gravel (Locally called #8's) constantly click on the floor at work while wearing my boots.
I collect them in my desk until I have a pocketful and take them back home!

Haha!

 

[Finallygotit]

From all of us here at Odd Acres, we would like to wish you a very Merry Christmas and a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year!

 

[1/2 Cup]

I luv it Dan.

Merry Christmas and a great New Year to you and yours.

 

[C_F]

That's great, I love it!

Merry Christmas to you and your family, and I hope 2019 is the best year yet!

 

[bj383ss]

Merry Christmas Dan to you, your family, and your pointy friend there.

Bret

 

[Finallygotit]

I luv it Dan.

Merry Christmas and a great New Year to you and yours.

That's great, I love it!

Merry Christmas to you and your family, and I hope 2019 is the best year yet!

Merry Christmas Dan to you, your family, and your pointy friend there.

Bret

Steve, C_F and Bret, thank you very much!

 

[Bob Heine]

Dan, I like the landscaping and Prickly Santa is perfect. In Florida many second homes have your style of landscaping so they don't have to pay someone to cut the grass when they are up north.

Wishing you and yours a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

 

[Duker]

Dan have a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year! Oh.... and if the rocks are mixed up .... it was a bad elf.... just saying....!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

 

[Finallygotit]

Dan have a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year! Oh.... and if the rocks are mixed up .... it was a bad elf.... just saying....!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

Merry Christmas to you and your family as well.



You crack me up!

 

[Finallygotit]

Well..... decided to buy myself a Christmas present....

A new DRO

Compared to the old Bridgeport DRO the scales are about 1/8 the size.

The new scales are magnetic and are also dust, chip and coolant proof. The old scales were glass and prone to skipping if they encountered any dust or debris.

I was also able to locate the X scale on the back of the table and out of the way.

The new head unit has so many neat functions that the old unit did not have. Happy happy!


More to come.

 

[zmotorsports]

Nice Dan. I love my DRO on my mill. I was planning on buying a DRO setup for my lathe this winter but opted for a V8 in my Jeep instead so the lathe DRO got pushed off for a while, probably until next winter.

 

[1/2 Cup]

I luv it Dan..

 

[Finallygotit]

Nice Dan. I love my DRO on my mill. I was planning on buying a DRO setup for my lathe this winter but opted for a V8 in my Jeep instead so the lathe DRO got pushed off for a while, probably until next winter.

Thanks Mike! I'm patiently following you on the heart transplant in the Jeep.

I luv it Dan..

Thanks Steve!

 

[Finallygotit]

As I was reassembling the Bridgeport, I put the Kurt mill vice back on the table and noticed that the moveable jaw wasn't moving so well, actually it bound up.

Oh well, might just as well pull this apart and fix it up. I've never had this apart since I acquired the mill.

Pulling it apart was pretty much straightforward. I pulled two socket head cap screws that held the rear stationary jaw in place. Holy sweet mother of.... The stench that was released from that gunked up crypt would rival, if not surpass, the smell when I pull the inspection covers off my septic tank. I couldn't wait to get those parts in the parts washer. I still have that vile odour in my sinuses.

The pictures below are right after the wash in the tank. This thing was loaded with chips, grease and gunk. I was extremely glad I wore some nitrile gloves when I did this.







I'm not planning on a full restoration as I want to keep some of the patina. It will definitely be getting a paint job but I'm going to just clean up what is supposed to be bare metal and oil it to keep from rusting. I thought about putting all of the parts on a surface grinder to clean it up but knowing me, I wouldn't be happy unless all six sides were flat, square and parallel within 0.0002". I really don't want to spend that much time on this.


More to come!

 

[bj383ss]

Dan looking forward to this one. Interesting there was vial smell.

You think it was old coolant used for cutting?

Bret

 

[Finallygotit]

Dan looking forward to this one. Interesting there was vial smell.

You think it was old coolant used for cutting?

Bret

Hi Bret. I'm pretty sure it was old coolant. It was the consistency of maple syrup but black as coal. I used to work in machine shops many years ago and cleaned out many a coolant tank, but I have never smelled anything this potent EVER. YUCK!

 

[bj383ss]

Hi Bret. I'm pretty sure it was old coolant. It was the consistency of maple syrup but black as coal. I used to work in machine shops many years ago and cleaned out many a coolant tank, but I have never smelled anything this potent EVER. YUCK!

One of my first jobs at my Grandpa's machine shop was cleaning the chips from all the machines and from underneath them. They were all dry except the Vertical milling machine. I hated cleaning that thing. I think the coolant stunk when it was new.

Bret

 

[Finallygotit]

I decided to go back out last night and do some cleanup, masking and painting. I filed and stoned off the high spots, and removed the rust and gunk. This is the moving and stationary jaw and the key for retaining the stationary jaw. (That thing was ugly.) The round piece is the retaining nut for the screw. I also chased all of the threads.

I decided to clean up the underside of the vice, mask it off and paint it. It was mostly just rust under there.

I also did the same for this drive nut. I already pulled the masking tape off of this.

Today I went out and finished cleaning and masked off the top of the vice and the drive screw.

That's where I had to stop today. Believe it or not, it's too cold to paint outside here. It got cold enough to snow here yesterday and last nights low was 27°F (-2.7°C). Right now it's only 40°F (4.4°C) which is a bit too cold for spray painting, not to mention the wind is blowing pretty good.


Oh well, more to come.

 

[Finallygotit]

Since it's cold and blustery outside, I'll probably sit down with the new reading material I received yesterday; all 800 pages. Planning on a purchase from these folks in the not-too-distant future.

 

[zmotorsports]

Nice work on the vise Dan.

And I don't want to hear you whining about the 27-degree temps there, it is only supposed to be a high of 22 here today with a low of 3* Fahrenheit. I'm ready for spring.

 

[C_F]

Regarding the nasty smell, I have a similar story. Back around 1990, I bought a '72 Chrysler Imperial that had been sitting in a guy's field for 14 years...I bought it for the 440 engine & 727 trans & a few other tidbits.
Once I had the ****** out, I proceeded to drop the oil pan...GOOD GOD, what came out was not your normal ATF! It was dark brown, and smelled like absolute ***! It was easily one of the worst smells I have ever smelled, and this is coming from a guy who was born on a farm. It was kinda gelled in the pan, it actually stuck up about 2" above the edge of the pan, and the valve body was molded into it. As it sat there, it started turning back into a liquid, oozing everywhere, so I had to hurry up & get that nastiness into a bucket.

I did this in my attached garage BTW...it stunk up my whole house for days...the wife was about to shoot me.

I decided to take it to my favorite machine shop the next day, so they could run it through the hot tank & clean it. I guess when it got nice-n-hot up, it reeked out the entire shop, they threatened to bill me extra because of the stink!

 

[Finallygotit]

So the temps creeped up high enough yesterday for me to finish painting the mill vice. This morning, I went out and removed the masking tape.

Then reassembly commenced. Everything has been cleaned, given a coat of carnauba wax and greased. This vice moves sooooo smoothly now. I am really happy with how it turned out. I have decided to take the vice jaws and bring them to work to grind them so that they are identical, flat, square and parallel.

This is about the best picture I have showing the condition of how I received the mill vice. (As I look at it now, this machine has come a long way)

Yesterday while I was waiting between paint coats, I took the handles, dials and brackets off the ends of the feed-screws to give them a little attention. They where basically brown when I started.

Next project, I need to fab some brackets for the trunk of the Cobra.


More to come.

 

[Finallygotit]

Nice work on the vise Dan.

And I don't want to hear you whining about the 27-degree temps there, it is only supposed to be a high of 22 here today with a low of 3* Fahrenheit. I'm ready for spring.

Mike, I can whine if I want to. Preferably a Merlot. So just think of how many more weeks you have of those fine temps and white stuff. We're suppose to get a few inches of the white stuff tonight. This should be interesting.

Thanks for following along sir.

Regarding the nasty smell, I have a similar story. Back around 1990, I bought a '72 Chrysler Imperial that had been sitting in a guy's field for 14 years...I bought it for the 440 engine & 727 trans & a few other tidbits.
Once I had the ****** out, I proceeded to drop the oil pan...GOOD GOD, what came out was not your normal ATF! It was dark brown, and smelled like absolute ***! It was easily one of the worst smells I have ever smelled, and this is coming from a guy who was born on a farm. It was kinda gelled in the pan, it actually stuck up about 2" above the edge of the pan, and the valve body was molded into it. As it sat there, it started turning back into a liquid, oozing everywhere, so I had to hurry up & get that nastiness into a bucket.

I did this in my attached garage BTW...it stunk up my whole house for days...the wife was about to shoot me.

I decided to take it to my favorite machine shop the next day, so they could run it through the hot tank & clean it. I guess when it got nice-n-hot up, it reeked out the entire shop, they threatened to bill me extra because of the stink!

Hi C-F, that's hilarious! I wonder what caused the ATF to do that?

 

[Finallygotit]

It looks like the weather guessers got it right last night.








Happy New Year everyone!

 

[zmotorsports]

Wow Dan, you actually had more snow there than we got yesterday. I like it and you can keep it.

 

[sawduststeve]

Wait,what, snow, that can’t be right. We’re having the warmest Christmas for donkeys years. ****** global warming Ggrrrrr.

Dan, a happy and prosperous new year to you and your family.
Steve

 

[Finallygotit]

Wow Dan, you actually had more snow there than we got yesterday. I like it and you can keep it.

Mike I'm happy to report that it was all gone by 2:00 PM. No snow shovels were employed. Not that I even own one to use.

Wait,what, snow, that can’t be right. We’re having the warmest Christmas for donkeys years. ****** global warming Ggrrrrr.

Dan, a happy and prosperous new year to you and your family.
Steve

Thank you Steve. Right back atchya my friend!

 

[StormcrowAz]

Dan,

That Bridgeport is a thing of beauty, nice work!

No white stuff up here, but I did notice I could see my breath in the shop the other day. I’ve had to resort to wearing an old button-up long sleeve shirt over my tee-shirt the past week or so. Brrr…!

 

[Finallygotit]

Tucson Weather Report


In trying to leave for work this morning, I was greeted to 6"+ on my Explorer and it was still coming down quite well. Had to break out the broom to clear off the vehicle before I was able to drive to work. I doubt this will melt off before I get home tonght.



Crazy stuff!

 

[Finallygotit]

Dan,

That Bridgeport is a thing of beauty, nice work!

No white stuff up here, but I did notice I could see my breath in the shop the other day. I’ve had to resort to wearing an old button-up long sleeve shirt over my tee-shirt the past week or so. Brrr…!

Hi Todd and thanks for stopping by.


I have had the mini-split running for the past few days to keep the shop above freezing. Don't want to come out to frozen pipes. It's supposed to get in the 20's tonight.

 

[welder57]

I hope you took plenty of pictures, would look good on your wall as a do you remember when moment. We saw on the news last night it almost never snow there.

 

[C_F]

With all that white **** on your ground, did they shut down the city?

Hi C-F, that's hilarious! I wonder what caused the ATF to do that?

The only thing I can figure is that maybe the previous owner put some sort of additive in the ****** while he was still driving it, which led to a funky reaction after it was parked in the field.

 

[Finallygotit]

With all that white **** on your ground, did they shut down the city?

You would think, huh. But by the time I got to work about 20 miles away.......NUTHIN'!! You wouldn't think an 800' change in elevation would do that but it did.

 

[Glaffer]

Happy New Year to you guys at Odd Acres!
I enjoy following your post and think you have done a great job with the place.
Keep up the great work and yeah... you can keep the snow too. We haven't had any yet and I don't miss it.

 

[Finallygotit]

I hope you took plenty of pictures, would look good on your wall as a do you remember when moment. We saw on the news last night it almost never snow there.

I'm sorry, I somehow missed your post welder57. Thank you for stopping by. Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures. It was 0-dark thirty when I left for work and I was running behind. I should have though. We have been here about 11 years now and it has snowed about five or six times in that span. It all depends on where in Tucson you live. Because of all the elevation changes and the mountains, the weather can be really unpredictable.

Happy New Year to you guys at Odd Acres!
I enjoy following your post and think you have done a great job with the place.
Keep up the great work and yeah... you can keep the snow too. We haven't had any yet and I don't miss it.

Hello Glaffer and thanks for stopping by and the kind words. Wow, no snow in Michigan yet?

 

[Finallygotit]

As I was rummaging around for a pic of the mill vice when I received it, the only picture I could find was the one I posted above recently. The received condition, for some reason as I look back now, really surprised me. So I thought I would post a before and after shot.


Before (when the machinery movers dropped it off)



After....




Thanks for stopping by.

 

[-Brent-]

I love before and afters! It cleaned up well.

 

[Brian R]

Finally - love the Bridgeport!

I own a Vincent motorcycle (which took many, many years of searching and saving to acquire) and the guy I bought it from provided this advice:


Anyone owning a Vincent should by law:
1) own a Bridgeport milling machine or know a skilled mate with same;
2) have a basket case in progress so friends can borrow emergency parts;
3) keep a well-stocked refrig in the shop for drop-in visitors;
4) when asked to compare Vincents to other motorcycles discusses pilot input and the rewards of a WWII Spitfire and the dullness of throwaway Chinese toaster ovens; and
5) live in a major city with an active VOC section.


I'm only missing the Bridgeport.

Well done on refurbishing and Happy New Year!

BR

 

[Finallygotit]

I love before and afters! It cleaned up well.

Thanks Brent!

Finally - love the Bridgeport!

I own a Vincent motorcycle (which took many, many years of searching and saving to acquire) and the guy I bought it from provided this advice:


Anyone owning a Vincent should by law:
1) own a Bridgeport milling machine or know a skilled mate with same;
2) have a basket case in progress so friends can borrow emergency parts;
3) keep a well-stocked refrig in the shop for drop-in visitors;
4) when asked to compare Vincents to other motorcycles discusses pilot input and the rewards of a WWII Spitfire and the dullness of throwaway Chinese toaster ovens; and
5) live in a major city with an active VOC section.


I'm only missing the Bridgeport.

Well done on refurbishing and Happy New Year!

BR

Hello Brian and welcome back. Been thinking about you as well lately.

1) own a Bridgeport milling machine or know a skilled mate with same;

Well, you do have the latter part of that covered.

 

[1/2 Cup]

Dan Congratulations on a top job.