Topic: The Happy-ish Thread. Share your small wins and mixed blessings.

[Terry in Australia]

I've no idea how that works Don, but well done anyway. My little truck has been overheating lately, so I bought a new water pump and radiator for it. The water pump swap is a big job and I was hoping I wouldn't need to replace it, so I just flushed the cooling system, pulled out the thermostat that I'd installed and tested it in a jug of boiling water (worked fine) and installed the radiator. (easiest job ever) I then took it for a 30 minute drive in city traffic in 82.4 deg F temps, and the needle on the temp gauge didn't waver past the halfway mark, so I'm a happy boy.

[Gurp]

My small win of the day, drilled out a broken case hardened bolt threaded into tooling steel.
Three of them to be precise. The fourth was actually the first one I messed with and it went terribly I ended up getting it out in liquid form with the assistance of two large bottles of I didn't ask you to come out of that hole.

Made for a long night at work.

[Kelly E]

I'm happy that the wife and I made it back from the 80 mile round trip to get my cancer shot in the snow all the way. Man there was some nut jobs out there.

[grcamna2]

I'm happy that the wife and I made it back from the 80 mile round trip to get my cancer shot in the snow all the way. Man there was some nut jobs out there.

I can imagine the snow gets deep there.

[Kelly E]

I'm happy that the wife and I made it back from the 80 mile round trip to get my cancer shot in the snow all the way. Man there was some nut jobs out there.

I can imagine the snow gets deep there.

We have about 8" here at the house and there is 3" to 4" down in Edmonds. We took Barnacle Bill's 2018 Chevy 1/2 ton 4 x 4 down there. It's got traction control and it does really well in the snow and decent in the ice. My 93' F250 diesel 4 x 4 will get me there too but Bill's truck is much easier in town. It's much shorter and more maneuverable.

[RAFster122s]

Hope you are feeling better before Christmas Eve Kelly...

Merry Christmas fellows and any ladies lurking...

[Kelly E]

Hope you are feeling better before Christmas Eve Kelly...

Merry Christmas fellows and any ladies lurking...

Thanks buddy, I'll be over the shot effects by the weekend.

[Terry in Australia]

Good job Kelly, how are you going, OK? That medical cannabis is good stuff, I was "aching all over" yesterday after another day of lots of manual labour so I rolled a cigarette laced with my medical weed and listened to Bob Seger, The Eagles, 10cc, Paul McCartney and Wings and a few others from the era, and found it all very soothing. Might do it again today.

[Kelly E]

Good job Kelly, how are you going, OK? That medical cannabis is good stuff, I was "aching all over" yesterday after another day of lots of manual labour so I rolled a cigarette laced with my medical weed and listened to Bob Seger, The Eagles, 10cc, Paul McCartney and Wings and a few others from the era, and found it all very soothing. Might do it again today.

I'm doing fine, thanks for asking. It helps me a lot so I don't need as much prescription stuff to maintain my quality of life. Otherwise I wouldn't have been able to resurrect 20 bikes in the last 4 years

[Terry in Australia]

Good job Kelly, how are you going, OK? That medical cannabis is good stuff, I was "aching all over" yesterday after another day of lots of manual labour so I rolled a cigarette laced with my medical weed and listened to Bob Seger, The Eagles, 10cc, Paul McCartney and Wings and a few others from the era, and found it all very soothing. Might do it again today.

I'm doing fine, thanks for asking. It helps me a lot so I don't need as much prescription stuff to maintain my quality of life. Otherwise I wouldn't have been able to resurrect 20 bikes in the last 4 years

20 bikes in 4 years is a bloody good effort mate, if I can do more than one new project per year I'm happy. Keep it up!

[Trevor from Warragul]

In my last year of work my eyesight got so bad that I had to get multi-focal glasses for using the computer.  3 1/2 years later and they were really badly scratched (even though I paid extra for an anti-scratch coating).  So I'm thinking, there goes $500 on new glasses.  Anyhow, I'm looking through my bedside drawer and at the back is a new looking glasses case.  Hmmm, I pop it open, and there are the almost new set of normal glasses I got a few months before getting the multi-focals.  I try them on, and the prescription is perfect.  So the multi-focals went into the bin.  Turns out I don't need them as I no longer spend 7 1/2 hours a day at a computer screen.  Yay, more money for bike parts!

[Alan F.]

That's a great find Trevor, putting them where you'd find them later on was a good move. I find myself found doing that a lot these days, I never can tell just when I'll get back to something I was working on earlier.

[Don R]

 I got a 60-75mm cylinder hone with 3 sets of stones from an ebay seller. Made in India, I can almost see the guys making this tool on a dirt floor and tossing it into a bin full of them, just like the videos. 
  The blue vinyl carrying case has crumbled into a stack of shreds and a paper wrapper of stones was split open but it seems to work and is all there. Smells of gun oil and needs a few burrs dressed with a small file. It will be fun trying it out on an old cylinder before I hire a pro to do the job right. L0L!  A pair of ball hones might have been a better investment.
  I was hoping to re-ring a couple of low mile motors that I got in pieces or took apart to inspect. 

[Terry in Australia]

I need to get some new specs Trevor, I wear multifocals because my eyes are fcucked, and every time I go to the optometrist I need a new prescription for stronger specs. I'm entitled to free medical with my DVA gold card but I don't like dealing with them as there's always a handful of forms to fill out. It turns out I don't need to fill out any forms or ask for approval, I just go to OPSM and flash my card, and they'll give me two pairs of new specs every two years. Sweet.

[grcamna2]

I got a 60-75mm cylinder hone with 3 sets of stones from an ebay seller. Made in India, I can almost see the guys making this tool on a dirt floor and tossing it into a bin full of them, just like the videos. 
  The blue vinyl carrying case has crumbled into a stack of shreds and a paper wrapper of stones was split open but it seems to work and is all there. Smells of gun oil and needs a few burrs dressed with a small file. It will be fun trying it out on an old cylinder before I hire a pro to do the job right. L0L!  A pair of ball hones might have been a better investment.
  I was hoping to re-ring a couple of low mile motors that I got in pieces or took apart to inspect.

You have a pic of that hone Don?

[BenelliSEI]

The weather here is horrific. 100 kph winds and lots of snow. Cars stuck everywhere and almost zero visibility. -12C and really nasty. I didn’t even try to get the old truck/plow out of the barn......

To top it off, the power went off at 1:00pm. I dragged out the old generator and kept the furnace running and fridges chilling.

How the Ontario Hydro crews even get out in this weather is beyond me! They cleared a downed tree, 2 kilometres north of our farm entrance, winched up a new stretch of cable, and had the power back on by 6:30pm. Family coming for Christmas, so I will have to clear the driveway Saturday. I hope I spot one of the crews and can thank them personally. Awesome!

[Don R]

You have a pic of that hone Don?
[/quote]
 https://www.ebay.com/itm/225225833754?var=524167054331

 I wonder how many years it sat on a shelf in a warehouse in New Delhi. It came rolled in bubble wrap and tape. I only recognized the case as a case when I saw the snap on the flap.
 I'll get it loaded soon and take a picture of it in use.

[grcamna2]

You have a pic of that hone Don?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/225225833754?var=524167054331

 I wonder how many years it sat on a shelf in a warehouse in New Delhi. It came rolled in bubble wrap and tape. I only recognized the case as a case when I saw the snap on the flap.
 I'll get it loaded soon and take a picture of it in use.
[/quote]

I'm wondering if all 4) stones will extend evenly,to put equal pressure on all of them while they keep the drive chuck fully centered.The listing looks good. 
Do you get all four different grit of stone sets,starting with course all the way up to fine ?

[Don R]

 I did get four sets of stones, One set was broken open, that's the only one I checked. I'm also curious about it opening evenly, there may be a reason they seem to be old. It's worth the price of admission to try it.

[Terry in Australia]

I’ve got a couple of US made (Lisle? Can’t remember) 4 stone hones, one for CB750’s and a bigger set for big bore Kawasaki’s and they work really well, I used one to take 1mm out of a new ZZR1100 sleeve when I rebuilt the engine, and as far as I could see, it did a great job. I don’t think mine are probably any more accurate than your Indian one Don, so give it a try and report back on how well (or otherwise) you think it worked, yours looks awfully like mine, isn’t it amazing how two folks on opposite ends of the earth can have the same idea?

[BenelliSEI]

My +40 year old FORD F350 4X4 is still alive and makes me more than happyish!! The brakes are marginal at best, and one of these days a major component will just pull away, but today it was stellar. Despite the outrageous wind, DEEP snow, drifting, and low temperatures, it ground it’s way out of the barn, cleared 700’ of up hill driveway and never missed a beat.

One of my first jobs with SEARS Canada was in a million sq.ft. warehouse in Scarborough, ONT. Late in 1979, I walked across the street to the FORD dealership and picked it up, NEW. Twenty years later, I coordinated the demolition of the building and sale of the property to WALMRT. Purchased the truck, and a 20’ extension ladder, at the “Employee Sale”, for $1200. Best money I ever spent! Makes me smile every time I climb up into it.

Hard to believe it was the biggest truck available in the day. Dwarfed by today’s models. I think it was about $7K new, including the 8’ Meyers plow.

[BenelliSEI]

Done a lot of different things with that truck! Note the cb750 tail lights on the unsprung trailer. Regular lamp housings shook the bulb filaments to pieces. The rubber mounted bracket, lamp housing, and socket totally solved the issue!

[Terry in Australia]

That’s a great truck John. I’m still daily driving the 1995 Subaru that I bought on FB for $500 7 years ago, it had belonged to a little old lady who went into a nursing home and gave it to one of her carers, who I bought it from. I drove it back and forth from Canberra to Melbourne (400 miles each way) until I decided to lease a new Ford Territory, so I gave it to my then 88 (now 94) year old mother to drive, who gave it back to me last year when she finally hung up her keys. Apart from a windscreen, tyres and an exhaust, I haven’t spent any money on it and have probably put another 100,000 Km on the odometer. Gotta love a #$%*box.

[BenelliSEI]

That’s a great truck John. I’m still daily driving the 1995 Subaru that I bought on FB for $500 7 years ago, it had belonged to a little old lady who went into a nursing home and gave it to one of her carers, who I bought it from. I drove it back and forth from Canberra to Melbourne (400 miles each way) until I decided to lease a new Ford Territory, so I gave it to my then 88 (now 94) year old mother to drive, who gave it back to me last year when she finally hung up her keys. Apart from a windscreen, tyres and an exhaust, I haven’t spent any money on it and have probably put another 100,000 Km on the odometer. Gotta love a #$%*box.

Terry..... It’s getting pretty close to the “end of the road” but it has been a treat! Merry Christmas, and enjoy your weather!

P.S. This afternoon I noticed the underside of the fuel tank is well stained. Mmmmm.

[Terry in Australia]

No worries John, Merry Christmas to you and yours. It’s going to be 32 deg C (90 deg F) today and 100+ for the next couple of days so I’ll be spending more time inside than out. Crazy weather.