Make light work of the task at hand

As the kids are embarking on the next stage of life, we realize that we need to 'bone up' on some life skills to help ensure survival really. What I'm talking about is cooking.....and Jeff. Anna is a good cook and has proven herself to be very proficient in the kitchen with respect to cooking and baking. Jeff on the other hand....although admittedly a crack pot Mac&Cheese maker, is perhaps a little light on the classic culinary skills. Being that he will be living in a shared accommodation setting next year and responsible for his own meals....we figured he needs to know how to do more than Kraft dinner and skip the dishes. Tonight we made tacos , with pulled chicken and fresh made tortillas. But as grown up as they are....they still get bored and need to challenge each other from time to time.    

Speaking of challenge, now that step one is complete with the rear bumper....it's time to make things more complicated...

Deconstruction of the front......I mean what could go wrong?

While Jeff tore apart the trucks front end....I kept plugging away on the design and fabrication of the rear ladder mounts.

Dedicated tubes with the same inner diameter as the bolts, with a recess for the bolt head. This is after welding.

Still need some fine tuning but once cleaned up and put in place.....they are looking pretty good!
 

Happiness is happiness

I will prewarn those of you who want bus and bus only...this is thin on bus but thick on love. 

As a young, newly married, man I remember doing some work with my Dad at my parents  place in Manitoba. I cant remember the specifics of it all but, suffice it to say, that I was the beneficiary of his time and generosity. I specifically remember  feeling a little sheepish that I was  an independent married man and yet I needed help to get where I needed to go. Turning to him, I humbly said, 'thank you Dad, I couldn't have done this with out your help, and I will pay you back!' My Dad, being my Dad a man who chose his words wisely, said 'You're welcome, being able to spend time with you is what makes me happy, I'm just glad that you still want my help. And if you want to pay me back, then offering the same opportunity to your kids is all the payment I will ever need.'

    I think of that moment all the time, especially now as my kids are growing up and becoming more and more independent. But whenever they call me up (snap me is more likely) and say "hey Dad! can you help me with...." I've already dropped my personal project and mentally said 'Sure!' before they can finish their question.

Anna called me up the other day and said in her gentle way, "if you want to come see our new place (moving in with two other Bragg Creek girls in Calgary) we are getting the keys after work." I wouldn't miss it for the world.

Seeing the excitement of the girls gave me joy.....and the energy to move their stuff into the new pad!

 

Jeff was not far behind, his request actually happened months ago. He asked me if I would help him build custom bumpers for his truck. The following months of talking about it, planning it, and researching design ideas is what got Jeff through some of the burn out times in first year engineering! Being that I can weld, but not a 'welder', and because I don't have all the equipment, experience or know how to do any of this..... I said "Sure!". I can buy tools, but I can't buy time with the kids.

The last number of days Jeff and I have been making noise in the garage as we design our way through the project......and I know Poppi is smiling down on us right now watching it all happen.

Special kudos to my buddy Doug, who was very generous to lend us his BRAND NEW, STILL IN THE BOX plasma cutter for the project....let me tell you kids, this sucker is a game changer. If you do metal work and never used one its equivalent to the difference between seeing a picture of a car vs driving the car.  This is fast and clean and easy to make shaped cuts.....really....I think I'm in love.

And now for a touch of bus. Further on the ladder inner support saga, by turning my horizontal support 90 degrees(now running parallel to the path of the door hinge mechanism) and making one per side, I was able to unobtrusively achieve what I set out to do! Now just the bottom supports........(cue the theme from the 1907's movie Jaws) 

Happy Michelle Weekend!

May never disappoints, spring has sprung the birds are chirping the grass is growing.......and then Michelle's birthday rolls around.

The general rule of thumb is we will have snow at somepoint on or before may long weekend....which is a fair statement...but in our house we always count on snow for Michelle's birthday.

So there was no surprises when our birthday hike for Michelle was in the snow. Luckily it was very mild.....but snow none the less. No short shorts and sun tanning! 

After celebrating the birthday girl.....and mothers day, I was let loose in the shop with the intent on making progress on the rear ladder. Specifically the inner mount supports

Thanks to the purchase of a tube notcher at my brother Shawns suggestion(insistence really) for Jeffs truck project, it was easy peasy to get a nice apposition of the two supports into one mount.

Things seemed to be going along smoothly(foreshadowing: que low level uneasy music). I was able to simply create a horizontal support running off the air chute  frame. However....in my enthusiasm....I had happy blinders on and was focused in on the cross member and how it matched up with the inner ladder mounts that I totally overlooked a key design component.

The picture on the left is the dry fit of the cross member. Just to the right of the inner ladder mount framework you can see a hinged round piece of metal. That my friends, as you can see in the right photo.....is the "D shaped" door hinges for the rear engine door. I'll give you a minute to visualize the mechanics of how that moves. To cut to the chase, it swings back when you close the door......straight back.....right into the cross member support for the inner ladder mounts.

Well.......THATS not going to work! Back to the drawing board!