Shep has his hair cut for summer. It costs $55 so I hope he likes it.
Friday, August 12, 2011
Quick Fix for Van Window
The van came home today with the 
electric window stuck down. Oh no, I thought. Here goes $46 for a new motor, I thought. So I started taking the door apart, with a vague recollection of doing the same to get the power lock to work on the left side. I got the panel and insulator off, and there was one nut exposed for the motor. I took the nut off, but the motor didn't come out.
The only other option were rivets. So before drilling those out, I went to the internet.
I found some good advice: check the fuses. But before doing so, I kept reading. Next advice: drill out all the rivets. I was afraid of that. I kept reading. Next advice: drill two 1/2 inch holes where the centre punch dents are, and you will expose the other two nuts for the motor. No need to drill out the rivets and no problem if you don't need to replace the regulator too. I kept reading. Next advice: slam the door a couple of times. If that doesn't work, hit the motor with a hammer.
The last solution worked! And I didn't have to drill!
electric window stuck down. Oh no, I thought. Here goes $46 for a new motor, I thought. So I started taking the door apart, with a vague recollection of doing the same to get the power lock to work on the left side. I got the panel and insulator off, and there was one nut exposed for the motor. I took the nut off, but the motor didn't come out.
The only other option were rivets. So before drilling those out, I went to the internet.
I found some good advice: check the fuses. But before doing so, I kept reading. Next advice: drill out all the rivets. I was afraid of that. I kept reading. Next advice: drill two 1/2 inch holes where the centre punch dents are, and you will expose the other two nuts for the motor. No need to drill out the rivets and no problem if you don't need to replace the regulator too. I kept reading. Next advice: slam the door a couple of times. If that doesn't work, hit the motor with a hammer.
The last solution worked! And I didn't have to drill!
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Welding the Lawn Tractor Axle Rod
I b
acked over the wheel of the lawn tractor while driving the van. The axle rod snapped off. I picked up an old Craftsman hoping to get some parts...but the diameter was different (could make some bushings if necessary). $90 for a new part.
So I tried to forge weld the part, thinking that I would arc
weld arou
nd it also. That was a disaster. I have only forge welded two things and they were much simpler. I ended up burning one end of the broken part. So I made some braces to weld on after arc welding.
Today I welded it all together. I should have taken some scrap to practice on. I don't think I have done any arc welding for 20 years (make that 30!). Oh, I did use a mig welder in 1998, but that was a disaster.
After a bit of a warm up, I got used to it again. It was a difficult part to weld with wide gaps. The result is not pretty, but it will hold!
acked over the wheel of the lawn tractor while driving the van. The axle rod snapped off. I picked up an old Craftsman hoping to get some parts...but the diameter was different (could make some bushings if necessary). $90 for a new part.
So I tried to forge weld the part, thinking that I would arc
weld arou
nd it also. That was a disaster. I have only forge welded two things and they were much simpler. I ended up burning one end of the broken part. So I made some braces to weld on after arc welding.
Today I welded it all together. I should have taken some scrap to practice on. I don't think I have done any arc welding for 20 years (make that 30!). Oh, I did use a mig welder in 1998, but that was a disaster.
After a bit of a warm up, I got used to it again. It was a difficult part to weld with wide gaps. The result is not pretty, but it will hold!
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
How to remove a car tyre without tyre irons
So, if I were smart I would use the tyre irons that Ryan and I made, but he took them to Tennessee. So now that I need to get some tyres off a couple of junk rims, I will have to improvise. 
To take out the valve, I put two nails into vice grips and screwed it out.
For breaking the bead, we used a fence post rammer with a piece of steel cut from an old railing. It would have been nice to shape the steel for more efficiency, but it worked just as it was.
A jemmy and wonder bar got the tyre off the rim.
The alloy rim weighs 18 pounds so if we get aluminium rates for that, it will fetch about 50 cents/pound.
To take out the valve, I put two nails into vice grips and screwed it out.
For breaking the bead, we used a fence post rammer with a piece of steel cut from an old railing. It would have been nice to shape the steel for more efficiency, but it worked just as it was.
A jemmy and wonder bar got the tyre off the rim.
The alloy rim weighs 18 pounds so if we get aluminium rates for that, it will fetch about 50 cents/pound.
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