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

[Finallygotit]

Hi Rian and thanks for stopping by.



Around here they mostly make alcoholic beverages, syrup or jelly from them. Personally, I don't want to get within arms reach of those things. They have very fine little needles that embed themselves in your skin if you handle them. I have spent many an hour with duct tape trying to pull those suckers off my skin.

 

[Grizz1963]

Hi Rian and thanks for stopping by.



Around here they mostly make alcoholic beverages, syrup or jelly from them. Personally, I don't want to get within arms reach of those things. They have very fine little needles that embed themselves in your skin if you handle them. I have spent many an hour with duct tape trying to pull those suckers off my skin.

Totally get the thorns.

I rarely got them over the years.

They make for very good eating. Especially refrigerated after cleaning and peeling them.

 

[jbmatth]

Hi JB

Next up is to repair the door lock mechanism. I tried to drive it to work the other day and kinda got stuck inside; the door wouldn't open. I had to get out "Dukes of Hazard" style.

Then make brackets for the hidden hinges for the trunk so I can install some gas lift supports. My head hurts from holding it up.

Then oil and filter change and re-torque the header bolts. I just put a new style gasket on there that's not supposed to ever blow out. I have had issues with that in the past. So far, so good.


Thanks for stopping by!

Luckily I haven't had any issues with the exhaust gaskets on mine since replacing them 8 years ago. I don't know what I used though, something from AutoZone I'm sure.

I should install gas struts on my hood and trunk, the hood just rests in place after going over center but wind and hills can easily change that. The trunk has a fancy 1" wood dowel that seems to do the trick but is a little unfitting for the car.

JB

 

[Growlertdi]

Volkswagen coolant is like that stuff you drained out of the Chrysler.

From VW it is rated lifetime and the only time I have ever replaced any is when a major service like a timing belt job is done which includes a waterpump replacement.

if you swap the pumps out fast enough, you only loose about 1.5L of coolant. old stuff and new stuff look identical. trick is to only mix with distilled water. if it gets mixed with any other types of coolant it likes to turn into a brown sludge and is a nightmare to flush out.

good job.

 

[Unruh]

Dan, it’s been awhile since I’ve read through this thread. I really enjoyed every minute of it! Thank you for sharing.

 

[Finallygotit]

Dan, it’s been awhile since I’ve read through this thread. I really enjoyed every minute of it! Thank you for sharing.

Hello Unruh and thanks for stopping by and those kind words. I'm very glad you enjoyed the read.

 

[Duker]

So when are we going to see the battle of the Bra’s.... little cobra on cobra action! Great reason to get a bunch on GJ’ers together!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

 

[Finallygotit]

So when are we going to see the battle of the Bra’s.... little cobra on cobra action! Great reason to get a bunch on GJ’ers together!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

At first I saw "Bras" and thought, why would Duker want to see brassieres battle it out? I'm slow......


Getting together with JB would be great but I have a hard enough time just driving to Phoenix in the little car. At 6' 2", that ride gets a bit uncomfortable.


Was at cars and coffee this morning. The last time I was there, there were about 25-30 cars. This morning, there had to be close to 200. Nice selection of vehicles and a gorgeous morning. I parked next to a Tesla. I had to try to balance out the universe. Tesla; anti-Tesla.


Thanks for stopping by Duker!

 

[sawduststeve]

Hi Dan, wow 200 hundred cars at a breakfast meet, sounds like fun.
Good work parking next to the Tesla I would have one though, but only if it had the Ludicrous button.
Enjoy your weekend.

Steve

Some good colours on those plants, looks nice.

 

[Finallygotit]

Hi Steve! Thanks for stopping by! The guy who had the Tesla had his front trunk lid open. Where normally a car would have an engine, he has a front trunk. In his front trunk, he had a 9 volt battery proudly displayed. Good sense of humor there.

 

[jbmatth]

At first I saw "Bras" and thought, why would Duker want to see brassieres battle it out? I'm slow......


Getting together with JB would be great but I have a hard enough time just driving to Phoenix in the little car. At 6' 2", that ride gets a bit uncomfortable.


Was at cars and coffee this morning. The last time I was there, there were about 25-30 cars. This morning, there had to be close to 200. Nice selection of vehicles and a gorgeous morning. I parked next to a Tesla. I had to try to balance out the universe. Tesla; anti-Tesla.


Thanks for stopping by Duker!

That would be fun, but at a little over 1,000 miles it would be tough on either of us. Plus he would win.

JB

 

[Finallygotit]

 

[HOTFR8]

I simply love that. I know some one else that would have loved that as well.

 

[bj383ss]

Fantastic Dan!


Bret

 

[Vieux]

That's cool!

 

[rixtrix1]

Excellent! And yes, I have, but now I'm mowing the lawn in 100F heat.

 

[Finallygotit]

I simply love that. I know some one else that would have loved that as well.

Thanks Simon, he did indeed. (check out post #5406) I retrieved this from his thread. I just felt it fitting to re-display it in light of his unfortunate passing. I have never met Steve but felt a bond none the less. I have had too many people I know pass away lately and it is affecting me a bit.


Thank you all for dropping by. It really means a lot.



Take care,


Dan

 

[HOTFR8]

WOW, all that time ago. What a great mark of respect to a great man and to know he has seen it means so much more.

 

[Finallygotit]

Well, just got back from a MUCH needed vacation. It was our annual "guys" fishing trip to Canada.

We could not have asked for better weather; 55°F (13°C) at night and 73°F (23°C) during the day. Partly cloudy to full sunshine for all 7 days.

We caught everything from this cute little guy (he went back)

To this 35" finger chopper (he too went back)

Finally some shop updates to come shortly.

 

[Finallygotit]

Back on the ranch......


It finally bothered me enough that I decided to work on the Cobra to install gas springs for the trunk lid.


This is not the most elegant solution when needing to prop open the trunk lid. Well it's either that piece of lumber or the back of my head.


And since I'm losing quite a bit of the padding I used to have on the top of my head, it was beginning to hurt. Although I've been told that the entertainment of watching me rifle through the trunk while holding the lid in position was YouTube worthy. Thankfully, no videos were ever taken.

Time to fab some parts!

First we start with some 2" x 2" aluminum bar stock....



Which was sliced and diced and squared up on the mill.







The first two blocks need to be machined to attach to that 3/4" square tube running horizontally.



So, I milled a slot in each one, drilled and tapped for set screws and drilled and tapped for the ball ends for the gas springs.











Here are the new brackets installed. (I installed these upside down but later turned them right side up)



More to come!

 

[Bob Heine]

Dan, that's a very elegant solution.

 

[Finallygotit]

Dan, that's a very elegant solution.

Thanks Bob!

 

[Finallygotit]

WTH!?!?!?!?


I uploaded, at least I thought I did, a follow-on post and it's nowhere to be seen.


Stand by while I fume and reconstruct. Dang it!!!!

 

[Finallygotit]

Back on the ranch part deux.....


Here are those brackets with the gas springs installed.



Now it was time to make the brackets that mounted to the trunk lid arms.


Here they are all drilled, tapped and counterbored for 8-32 socket head cap screws.



Now since my turntable is out of commission, it was time to try a feature on the DRO.


Note this little button.



It allows the user to cut an arc using stepped cuts. Think of it like a bolt hole circle. Only in this case, it was a 4" bolt circle with drilled holes every 0.015". Was it tedious, yes. Is it cheaper than a new turntable, you bet.


Once set up, one moves to the start position and plunge cuts, hit the advance key, move X and Y, plunge cut, rinse and repeat. It took me about an hour to machine one block.


Here is one block mid-cut with a 5/8" ball end mill.



And here it is finish cut



The finish is not the smoothest (the picture makes it look worse than it actually is) but it will be more than fine for this application.


Well lookie there, it fits!



Here are the blocks complete with the ball studs installed.




And here is the whole shebang completely assembled.



There is one little hitch in this set-up. I undersized the force required for the gas springs. I ordered 20 pound units. I think I need 60 pound units.


Soooooooo close.


Thanks for stopping by.

 

[zmotorsports]

Dan, awesome work on the mounting blocks. Those turned out fantastic.

 

[Finallygotit]

Dan, awesome work on the mounting blocks. Those turned out fantastic.

Thanks Mike and thanks for stopping by!

 

[HOTFR8]

That did finish up nicely. Those Gas struts do not make it easy to work out if you have the correct unit. Now I also have to ask what is the plug in the middle of the picture?

 

[Finallygotit]

That did finish up nicely. Those Gas struts do not make it easy to work out if you have the correct unit. Now I also have to ask what is the plug in the middle of the picture?

Hello Simon and thanks for stopping by.

That plug in the middle is my battery tender. The battery is in a hatch just below the lid that the socket is plugged into.

Better picture of that here

 

[HOTFR8]

Now Dan that is a clever way to connect it.

Mine have a fitting like this >

or I use the aligator clips with jumper posts like this >

 

[DynoDave]

Nice work on the decklid! Very slick.

 

[Finallygotit]

Now Dan that is a clever way to connect it.

Mine have a fitting like this >

or I use the alligator clips with jumper posts like this >

Thanks Simon! I wanted something that was easily plugged in while not protruding into the trunk and not dangling on some wire.



Those connectors you are using will definitely do the job, especially the post type.


Thanks for stopping by.

 

[Finallygotit]

Nice work on the decklid! Very slick.

Thanks Dave, much appreciated and thanks for stopping by.

 

[jbmatth]

Very clever, and even better execution, I have the same trunk support as you previously. I need to install some on the hood as well.

JB

 

[Finallygotit]

Very clever, and even better execution, I have the same trunk support as you previously. I need to install some on the hood as well.

JB

Thanks JB!


I already have the gas springs installed on my hood. It winds up that the size gas springs for the hood are perfect size for the trunk. I just need a little more oomph.

 

[my58]

Dan,

I have know idea how I missed this before, but I stopped everything and read from page 1 to this point (Time just slipped away) I enjoyed every moment of your adventures. I loved the house projects, tool rebuilding and car stuff thrown in for good measure. I look forward to lots more reading so thank you for documenting all your adventures.

 

[Finallygotit]

Dan,

I have know idea how I missed this before, but I stopped everything and read from page 1 to this point (Time just slipped away) I enjoyed every moment of your adventures. I loved the house projects, tool rebuilding and car stuff thrown in for good measure. I look forward to lots more reading so thank you for documenting all your adventures.

Hello my58 and thanks for stopping by.

I should be thanking you for visiting my little corner of the world. I'm surprised you made it through without nodding off.

I see you're in Ventura County. I used to live there as well before moving here. Nice area.

Thank you all for stopping by!

 

[japacejr]

Dan,

I am new to GJ and have enjoyed taking a deep dive thru some of the garage threads. I have half of a 3 car garage filled with my woodworking equipment & other tools and this forum really motivates me to get it organized and get those machines up and running.

I just finished reading thru yours and like My58 I enjoyed the mix of shop, house, car & tool posts. I am truly envious of your ability with the lathe & mill. It is something I have always wanted to learn.

There are a couple of forums that I think you might find interesting if you are not already aware of them.

They are sister sites and many members are active on both sites.

(Being new here I guess I can't post links yet but if you google "Old Woodworking Machines" the first two results that came up for me are the sites.)

Old Woodworking Machines (OWWM dot org) is a forum that focuses on repairing, restoring and using old woodworking machines. It now has forums for old metal working machines as well.

Vintage Machinery (VintageMachinery dot org) is more of a repository for pictures, user manuals, catalogs and general information on vintage machinery. It used to be called owwm dot com but changed its name a while back to allow for non-woodworking related machines.

Just thought I would pass them on in case you were not familiar with them. I think somebody with your interests and skills would enjoy them.

Thanks again for sharing the Odd Acres journey. I am subscribed to your thread and will be checking back for updates from time to time.

-Chip

 

[Finallygotit]

Hello Chip and thank you for stopping by! I am very honored that you chose my thread to make your first post.

Thank you very much for the information regarding those other sites; I was unaware of them. Guess that's going to be another rabbit hole(s) I go down.

 

[Finallygotit]

......There are a couple of forums that I think you might find interesting if you are not already aware of them............

Oh, OK, now I see. You're one of "those", aren't you? You're an enabler!

I just got done glossing over those sites.

You are evil!

 

[japacejr]

Oh, OK, now I see. You're one of "those", aren't you? You're an enabler!

I just got done glossing over those sites.

You are evil!

As the OWWM guys say, it is a slippery slope.

I have a half dozen woodworking machines all older than me waiting to be refurbished and used. That is one of the reasons I need to get my shop organized.