Cut and paste

We very soon ran into our next "issue" There were places where the supports between vertical members was......bulky folded over thick sheet metal. The biggest problem was it was sitting proud by at least an inch. So I decided to modify.....again!

Just like computer work really, cut and paste

A little running in and out, cutting-fitting, fitting-cutting.

 I decided to take advantage of our mild Alberta weather and work outside in the +5C weather

 All said and done things turned out the way we had hoped.

In the evening we had friends pop over to celebrate the season....and Randy's birthday. What better way than a little spin in Fillmore!

Putting up walls

Usually putting up walls is a bad thing, meaning your shutting someone or everyone out,but in this case it's a good thing. It means I get to see the beginnings of what is to come. I have put the interior window skins in place and with the help of Ron, we got a healthy start on the wall boards.

First order of business was tracing the wheel wells. Taking a page from log home building(thank you McIvors) I created a make shift scribe.

Apply the kiss rule and don't get too serious.

Turned out well. We created a template to modify the boards on both the driver and passenger sides and then started to work our way back.

 For one, the smell of fresh cut wood in the air as opposed to metal shavings makes Michelle happy.

Charlie Brown Christmas

Living on an acreage there are plenty of pros and cons. A con? when you run out of 5/16 coarse thread bolts late on a Sunday evening....your day is done. Although the Moose Mountain Hardware store never ceases to amaze me in what they have on hand, it is not Home Depot and thus they do close their doors at a reasonable time. A pro to living where we do? Well the kids and I went Christmas tree hunting...in our own back yard. It was an exhaustive search that lasted about 15 min. I know it's not the Christmas tree lot tree but frankly it's what we prefer. We are always a root for the underdog kinda family so getting a Charlie Brown Christmas tree seems only right!

It is time to prep the interior window skins, first a sandblast, then modifications to allow for the insulation and wall board.

Using a sandable primer I painted the remaining bare metal, a couple of coats for good measure. 













Then with a 220 grit sandpaper spent some time getting to know the window skins.

Having CBC radio in the shop is a true god send.

Anna was having a quiet day, lounging on the couch after getting all her school work done. I conscripted her into service, helping me install all the skins on the passenger side.

Wee little steps

 It's almost not worth posting but on the other hand, progress is progress. After getting a couple sizes of angle iron and playing around with different possibilities for modifying the interior window skin, I finally came up with a solution. Apply the KISS rule and move on.

 So I trimmed the bottom flange, leaving some excess that I could bend to my liking and use as backing for the 3/8" (~10mm)wall board. I know some guys use metal wall boards but being up in Canada, insulation is insulation, and the R factor of even a piece of 3/8" plywood is more than sheet metal....soooooooo, wood wins today!

This is obviously not the wall board but rather a scrap piece of 3/8" plywood just to see what the finish line looks like. And it works!

Seriously?

Where am I, Thompson again?

Insulation from or for reality?

Finally I get a job done. The gas covers are finished and in place, which then means that I can finish the wall insulation-or at least try...

Riveted on and body sealed up the yin-yang

Some of this stuff was finicky hand cutting. But when it's all done such a sense of accomplishment!

As I was working away I decided that perhaps I should get the interior window wells in place, or at the least figure out which one goes to which window.

But....as I paired the interior window skins I came across an "issue"

My plan was always that I was to place a backing board into what appeared to be a preset recess for this very purpose. What I didn't remember or realize was the position of the board relative to the space.

As you can see the slot sites well within the insulation space in the wall. The space that would be available behind the board would only be ...1/2"? Being that I want 1 1/2" EPV foam board... this just will not work. I have to come up with another solution.

When opportunity knocks...

 Well it's been an eventful week, my mom (bless her heart) is back home at her condo after a scare at the hospital. Heart troubles are nothing to sneeze at and there are some lifestyle changes are going to be the new norm, but some changes are good....like a new ipad! (Man talk about teaching an old dog new tricks....but she's taking to to it like a duck to water). It all depends how you view the challenges you are faced with, instead of being road blocks, sometimes they can be opportunities for a new beginning!!

 Not that long ago my loving wife came home with a new sign, now some guys would think that the message was one of "He's just a lot of work" I on the other hand look at this and get a wee tear in my eye, because I know what she's saying is " When he's wearing overalls, it means he's working on Fillmore and I have the opportunity for peace and quiet!!"

 As my week progressed I managed to squeak out a few minutes here and there. One of my projects was sealing up the access to the fuel tanks.

 

 Nothing so lovely as sheet metal work, it soothes the soul.....and cuts the fingers.

I figures I'd let the contour of the fuel door determine the contour of the inside top piece of the fuel door housing.This was as far as I got prior to Thursday last week. Then everything came to a screeching halt as I underwent yet another eye surgery. I was quite reluctant about this one. The last year had been a struggle for me, relearning my visual ques for spacial relation, and now just when I was at a point where my daily stress was starting to subside, I have to undergo the knife yet again, and who knows if it would be better or worse when it was all said and done.

 I forged ahead, and the procedure was a success, my eye hurts like the dickens but the vision is better already and I feel there has been a weight lifted off my shoulders, as cliche as that sounds. Anyway recovery has been slow, and it definitely has hampered my activities- not being able to bend over or lift anything over 5-10lbs. I did mange to push the envelope(although still staying between the lines) and did some more sheet metal work on Sunday.

ahhhhhh beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Mayday-Mayday- we've been Hijacked!!

 Time is a funny thing, when you are looking forward to something-anticipating it's arrival time stands still but when you want it to stand still it rips past you faster than a cold beer on a hot day. Friday was a day like that, the destination sign had arrived earlier in the week and I had some renewed excitement about getting some Fillmore time. On top of it Michelle had specifically asked if I was going to be sticking around home as we had the cable guy coming on one of those "somewhere between 8 and 4" service calls. Perfect, a day at home working on the bus and I'm REQUIRED to be there.

Randy came out and we started to work. Prepping the side walls for the plywood, insulating with the first stage of EPV Foam

Now I am starting to map out the electrical plan in my head. But that is about as far as I got. The cable guy came but it was a train wreck....the previous dish with all the cables in place is on the roof. Apparently the company does not allow the guys on the roof any longer...they have to put the dish on the facia board. Which means new cables running all over the place...holes in the walls furniture to be moved bookcases unloaded....and THEN...."oh sorry I can't get a signal. I'll have to come back next week"......AAAARRRRRRGGG!

Nothing helps calm the frazzled nerves  like fresh coffee brewing on board!

The next morning I thought....I'll just get to the bus....only to have my workshop hijacked by my wife and daughter...painting a chest of drawers!!
Foiled again!

Destination in sight

 My UPS guy John was feeling lonely, it's been a while since I had a Fillmore package sent to my office. But today!! Oh what a treat! John was smiling when he came into the office saying " Well it's about bloody time you got workin' on this thing! I thought you gave up!"

"Au Contraire mon ami"

One of the 'details' that has been on my mind for years is replacing the destination sign. Numerous times I would do a google search looking for something. About a month ago I came across someone selling a destination sign mechanism on ebay. The set up wasn't quite what I wanted but in the pictures there was the manufacturer label visible. Within minutes I had located the company Transign in Waterford MI, very shortly after that I was exchanging emails with the extremely helpful Jan !

After we worked out the style and size of sign that I wanted ,and the names for the destination curtain it was an incredibly short time before the product was in my hands. Luckily for me Jeff was there for the reveal.

I found it very fitting that 'Winnipeg' was the destination visible in it's shipping state

 

Lots of smiles for both Jeff and I

Oh the horror....

I am a dentist, not a politician, not a actuarial scientist, not an astronaut. So I blush with the memory of my attempt at a rum fueled poke at poetry. It was bad, there is no way around it. I tried, I played the "spoken word" card with my brother, my sister in law (god bless her) was quick to shelter my pride with an understanding and sympathetic smile....but alas poetry it was not.

I'll stick to creation of something more tangible and perhaps palatable.

The snow has fallen, winter is here, my thoughts turn to keeping warm. It's time to insulate. I have a triple layer approach. Reflective film, then extruded polystyrene foam board, and then finally the aspen aerogel.

The first layer the reflectix film was put in place some time back by Randy. Next is the EPS boards for the ceiling and the walls. I got moving on the  ceiling and then stumbled on the walls. I had to back up and move a step or two back, completing other jobs to allow me to carry on with insulation. First was the replacement of all the SS bolts holding the fluted  SS siding on. Removal was tough enough.(love those 60+ year old nuts and bolts)

As my age gets higher, my eyes get dimmer, and my work lights get better!!

 

Then I wanted to clean up the metal under the screw heads

Finally getting the panels in place, sealed and ready to move on.

Ceiling was done, walls are started....

Over the wintry
forest, winds howl in  rage
with no leaves to blow.

Natsume Soseki  1867 - 1916

Yes, best left to the pros(e)