Oh woe is me...

OK I'm really not feeling sorry for myself, actually I was really quite surprised with my reaction today.

I decided to get up early, well early for the weekend...6:30...which didn't quite happen. Well it did happen, then I went to the bathroom, then I looked at the warm bed...then I woke again at 8:30... but come on it was a Saturday!
 None the less, I eventually got out of bed and made my way to the coffee maker... I wonder if the kids realize how much closer they would be to a car at 16 if they just had coffee made for Dad in the morning...yet I digress once again...

 Along the same vein as the pantry(yes it is finished:and a beaut if I may say so myself). Michelle expressed a desire to have drawers in the island of the kitchen, not a surprise really, we've been talking about it for 10 years now, since we built the house.

So I thought I would get up and snap some drawers off before Michelle got out of bed... it would have worked if I had gotten up at 6:30...but by 10:30 I was done, and by 11:30 the drawers were mounted.
 With a little help from my friends....or is that: help from my little friends! Although I am confident I could have measured and mounted the brackets without the drawers in place, it seemed so much easier to do if they were all together and I was just a little smaller  to crawl in and drill the holes! Thanks Jeff!
 

 After a regular trip to the dump, etc etc... it was 3pm and it was looking dark outside...sure enough the forecast is for 6-8" of snow over the next 24 hrs! Thanks be to Fillmore's shelter we were high and dry... and relatively warm!
 

 So the plan was to mount the diff to the leaf springs...easy right?...I mean I measured everything already...(sicker, snicker!!)
Things at first glace looked OK, you can see the reconditioned shock absorber mounted  in place. The U-bolts look great, everything lines up!...but then...

 When I tried to tap the inside U-bolt into place....she stopped...dead...like an ankylosed tooth(sorry dental reference ). The connector arm to the shock was hitting on the mounting plate for the shaft to the brake. CRAP!!! how did this happen????? I measured again and again!

 Looking at a previously unpublished photo...everything works...but Uh Oh... click on the photo above and look where I have the U bolt with the connector arm.

 Now look at the pre-removal photo, the connector arm is on the inside anterior surface in the diff...I had it in the posterior lateral position. Crap, I take numerous photos not only to blog, but to record where we were, and were we are going... but they don't do a dam bit of good if I don't reference them!

I  had about 10 inches of space to take a look at how far out I was, all I could do is take a blind photo and then look at what I had. I panicked when I saw this! But cooler heads prevail...the U-bolt is supposed to be snug against the mounting bracket. Thankfully the head of the connector arm is below the bracket, so I am only about 1/4-3/8" out. I have enough lateral flange on the bracket that I can grind some away, I'll be tight against the head of the bolt but I should be OK.


Nothing is easy, if it was were would be the fun...

Finally!!

Finally...the title says it all. I finished the pantry and thus I took some time this afternoon to work on the bus. First order of business was the rear diff. After some more measurements I figured that some of the extra 'flange' that I decided not to remove...needed to be removed. So for the first few hours I was using big daddy again. After last time with that big brute in my hands it took me close to three days to recover. My hands were sore at work the entire next week. So just like in golf...I had to trust in the weapon in my hand and let it do the work. I am happy to say that my hands are just fine this evening.

After all the flange removal, I had to test fit the new "U-Bolts" I had made up. With a little ingenuity I made a jig to help center the mounting blocks on the diff equidistant from the tires. Worked like a charm.  After everything was fitted and ready....it was time to enlist child labour!

Anna first came out to help...wearing white... I sent her back in.
Then she came out in her ski jacket... I sent her back in.
Thankfully Randy left his work jacket here...she was amenable to that fashion choice...OMG!

How do we get this big hunk of metal out to the bus?....easy peasy!

When Randy and I removed the old diff last fall we didn't worry about this step. I Knew that I wasn't going to be using the old diff and in particular the piggy back brakes so we just simply pulled the old diff out using a come-a-long. But to get the new diff into place....I wanted to be a wee bit more gentle.

 So thanks be to Dr. Rob, after the kids removed the tires we lowered the diff onto Rob' car dollies and rolled it back into place!

 I could have worked for a few more hours on this but this is how we left Fillmore. With the diff in place(relative place mind you) and the tires back on, the next step is put the tires back on the dollies so I can move the diff to it's final resting place.........hmmm that doesn't sound to good.

Deep Freeze

From feast to famine. December was a very prolific month for work and therefor posts on the blog. January is a very different story. DFA commitments, family commitments etc etc. All of a sudden it is Feb and I have got nothing done.

  

The thermometer decided to drop for the last week or so, I know I have nothing to complain about to you Manitoba boys but it does put a wee little hesitation in you when it's -33 with the windchill.Anyway really nothing too exciting has happened on the bus recently.The fridge and  toilet have arrived, researching LED lights, gotten the suspension bolts(grade 8)....so I am slowly working away...kinda.
 

While the weather outside is frightful ( I know you're singing it in your head now-don't deny it) I came true to my promise to Michelle and I am 95% done the new pantry. I look at it as brushing up on my cabinetry making skills for Fillmore.

Back to the grind

Yes, yes...pun fully intended. So the pile keeps getting deeper....and I am not referring to the quality of my stories about the bus. I mean the scrap metal pile at the edge of the driveway. I had better get all this stuff cleaned up before Jed and Luella come by for a drink of moonshine and some banjo pickin' on the porch.

Friday and Saturday were chock-a-block full of 'to-do's'. A presentation in the morning on Saturday then a fundraiser in Edmonton by the dental school with the proceeds going towards DFA had us all hoppin'. An early return to Bragg on Sunday allowed the kids to meet their commitments(dance and birthday party), and allowed me some time with 'Big Daddy'.

I have to say that I am glad I got the heavy duty grinder, it really takes care of the job at hand...but holey Cr#* that thing is heavy. After wielding it around for a few hours I was TIRED! (ya, ya..." suck it up buttercup"...I can hear you Shawn)

As you can see in this pic, this is the bottom of the diff.  I am test fitting the mounting bracket which cradles the diff and sits on the leaf spring.

This again is the bottom, the flange could be removed but I am going to leave it on to see if I can get a practical us out of it...ie: a lateral guide/stabilizer for the springs

I brought out the whole kit and kaboodle.....I'm not sure that is really a word. Anyway, as per usual 95% done. Then I used the last of my cutting disks, I have two more small flanges on the very top of the diff which I want to remove, then I'll wheel it over and place it under the back end!!

Big Daddy

I am sad to say that not much, if anything, has happened with Fillmore or his related and scattered parts here in Bragg.I would love to use the excuse that it has been too cold, it could be argued that -25C with a windchill to -30C makes work more difficult or impossible, but from growing up in the north we all know you can dress for the weather and create a warm(ish) work space with tarps and heat. No the real reason is simply life. Busy at work, busy with kids, tying to have a balance between real and bus life.

After the last fiasco with the Mikita angle grinder, I decided to go back to my mantra..."you get what you pay for". So I decided, after returning the obviously defective blue one, to buck up and pay the extra monies and get the DeWalt heavy duty grinder, this thing feels like a machine gun, it's the Big Daddy!

If nothing else...it was predictable

As luck would have it, not so much for my brother Mike but for me, Mike came to town to be my experimental candidate for some new technology that I have in office at work. We had a good laugh as I put him through the dental ringer...just like old times...16 year ago as I went through dental school we did the same thing, but back then he had to put on a brave face in front of the profs so as I would get a good grade. This time I gave him free reign to say what he wanted. Thanks Mike you were a good sport!
We worked hard and got all the clinical stuff done, soooooooooo.....lets work on FILLMORE!!

Of course the biggest thing on the agenda is getting the rear diff in place. I have machined the mounting brackets, had new U bolts made, had the shock absorbers reconditioned....now to get the rest of the lower frame from the air suspension off the diff.

 So I let Mike loose with the new makita angle grinder, and we did some damage!(wait was that foreshadowing?)

 The temp was close to -20C with a wind so we bundled up well. But Mike tends to run a little hot at the best of times, so when he's swinging a sledge and on a mission there is a wee bit of steam....which unfortunately didn't show up all that well in the photo but it was funny!

 So the good news is we got most of the frame off...

 The bad news is, the brand new angle grinder calved on us(predictable)...shortly after the photo of mike and the steam, the steam around him turned to a thick charcoal color of smoke emanating from the blue housing. Yes we burnt out the motor...considering it was only the third 'cutting' disk, there must have been something not quite right with the tool.

Speaking of tools...

One step at a time

 Well Christmas was great. It was fantastic to have a lot of the family here and from Fillmore's perspective we got a fair bit of work done. But alas all good things must come to an end....New Years came and went, Monday morning brought a new week at the office, and thus work on the bus came to a screeching halt.

So when I got the opportunity I got at the frame on the diff outside, And away we go-start cutting!

I got about this far, and then my trusty angle grinder-a wee little 41/2" DeWalt....

Kicked the bucket. The picture doesn't do things justice but the gears on the bigger wheel are almost flat. I had been noticing the running of the grinder was rougher and rougher over the years but finally it kicked the bucket.

The good news is that Apple Hydraulics finished rebuilding the shocks for Fillmore!!

Here they are before....

Here they are after.....so shiny!

Yin and Yang

There is always good in something, and conversely there is bad lingering there as well.
A hot sunny day is good, for obvious reasons, but the bad is the silent possibility that if you are not careful you will get a sunburn. Consider it natures way to moderate....to promote balance and harmony...a yin to a yang.

So yesterday after a day of x-country skiing and building snow forts in the yard with the kids( an engineering marvel if I do say so myself) Ron and I put up the newly made doors to Fillmore's hut.
As I was standing on the ladder awaiting Ron to bring the tarps from the workshop I got a sinking feeling in my gut.
Now I am not perfect, my wife will vouch for me on this one, but I do like to get things done and try to do them in the very best way I can. Some times things are out of your control and you can't dictate the outcome, so you accept the result and move on. There are other times however where the variables are 100% within your control and mistakes are a result of letting your guard down, a blind trust that things are going to be fine , or simply pure oversight. Standing atop of the ladder I realized, even before seeing the tarps in place, that I had made yet another mistake.
I cut the first tarp....perfect...I then used the first tarp as a template for the second but forgot to flip it over  before tracing and cutting to get mirror images. Thus I had two copies of the same side.......ARRRRRGGGG!!!

Of course I could still put it up, but as you can see I had to flip it around and as such you can SEE my mistake. Each and every day I will have a very large reminder of the boo-boo. The good news though is the doors are on, the space and Fillmore are now protected.
My first instinct was "I will have to buy another tarp and re do the one door." But the more I think of it the more I muse that perhaps this is natures way of a reminder, a reminder to pay attention to detail, to take my time,assume nothing and think things through. Perhaps this is the Yin to the Yang!

Come to think of it it has the color scheme of the Yin/Yang symbol doesn't it?

Oh the weather outside is frightful....

 Our good fortune could only last so long. Temperature of -6 to +6 over the last week were bound to end at some point, and they did. It is funny though how you quickly become accustomed to the mild temperatures. Growing up in northern Manitoba we would have Looooong stretches of -20's and seem to deal with it, life would carry on. Perhaps I romanticize it a little but we would seem to continue to do 'stuff ' despite the weather. I find living here in Southern Alberta you get sucked into the mind set of fair weather working(or playing) If it is too cold just wait a few days and a Chinook will blow through and warm things up! The problem is when you have a few days of prime time to work, I don't want to wait!

 So I continue to work indoors when I can, taking advantage of the heated garage. Here is the rad stand ready for a dry fit. 

'Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!'  The good news is that it was beginning to look a wee bit grungy out and about the garage with all the work that was being done lately, so the snow covers things up and makes it look clean and pretty again!

 But with a change in the weather came with a drop in the mercury. So it is high time to get Fillmore's hut closed in. Something that was always on the books but was a lower priority because of the warm weather. Ron and I hauled a 16'x20' tarp into the garage that I had  already divided into two.
 

 We cut it to size, folded the edge...

 And finally placed grommets, they are small but they will do the job.

All the while the kids took on the lead role in the supper department, so Dad and Grandpa could work!!

Creating!

 So yesterday I mentioned the removal of the 'tower' or 'ram air chute'. I'm sure to some of the purists this makes them a little qweezy but it had to be done. Here is what it looks like. Quite frankly it makes the engine room look HUGE!

The new rad is wider, taller and thicker than the old one so the tower just doesn't work. So out she came.

 When Shawn was here I asked him to look at the issue, as he always does he sees the problem and creates a solution. After some sketching he came back and said..."Ya you need a box and a triangle." Simple? yes,....but I was happy to have the basics laid down, a general concept for me to run with.

 So as the rest of the remaining crew went into the city for a lunch with the kids, I opted to stay put to cut and weld!

 A dry fit says that it's going to work....with a little wiggling.

I just can't let it go...

For some, an object is just that..an object. A car, a bike, a coat. On one hand I can see the logic in that, but on the other I get caught up in some of these things...Fillmore for example. Logic tells me this is an exercise in frustration, a money pit, something that I will find I rarely use compared to the investment I put in. But I love the challenge. I love the work, there is something terrible romantic...in the guy sense.. about getting your hands dirty and banged up and to "stink like bus" as my 10 year old daughter puts it.

 I find beauty in all the strangest places with this old fart. I also find things that I look at and say...that will be OK I can leave that as is...or at least for a while.


Last summer I had completed the body panel replacement....or so I thought. Driver side front. The panel was in good shape...but there was 2 small rust spots that had penetrated. I thought..."bondo!...we're all good" But I just couldn't let it go.

 So on the last day my family was here for the holidays, I had my Dad grinding and drilling rivets so I could remove the panel and replace it.

Then I had Shawn and my Dad tear out the tower, or ram air chute, in the engine compartment. Now before anyone freaks out!,  don't fret! Just like the 6 million dollar man...we can rebuild him. There is a method to the madness...but that is another blog entry.

 My Fam left this morning at 5am. So that left Ron and I to poke away at things.

We cut the panel to size, center punched and drilled all the rivet holes







You see...I see the beauty in this too...

Dry fit was bang on! So back to the shop, err I mean our garage( sorry Honey), the a coat or two of POR-15 and as soon as the weather permits-and the new rivets arrive- we'll put her back together!