What did you do today?

[zannej]

Mom woke me up around 2am wanting food. So I fed her and went back to bed. Got up and made her something to eat again this morning and decided to use up some rotisserie chicken meat that smelled & tasted a little stale. Got my new little blender, put some chicken in, added water, and it turned into baby food consistency. At one point I was trying to push the chicken on the top down and accidentally hit the on button. Stuff sprayed everywhere. LOL. But I cleaned it up. Used up all the stale chicken and Rupert was ecstatic. He ate a lot of it. I put the rest in a container and will probably freeze it. Might put it in silicone molds and freeze it so it won't go bad. Fippy and Princess ate some that spilled.

Cats and doggies still haven't figured out the pet door.

 

[highup]

$5.60 whole cooked chicken at Fred Meyers...
Way to fix dinner. RIP open the bag and rip off a chunk.

 

[highup]

Getting both the pickup wheels off the ground requires homebuilt tools.
Looooove my HF Daytona
I used up my good 5' 4x4 and $30 in 5/8 plywood. It's all glued and screwed, plus it's sealed, nearly waterproofed with a slathering of UZIN surface hardener. The stuff makes things hard and waterproof as you can get. This box regardless will live indoors since I won't use it often. It's HEAVY, so it needed the handle. This box now puts my jack just 1 1/2 inches from the center support as a starting point..I got my upper A-arm installed Sunday. What a pita. Glad that's over with.

 

[highup]

Here's how bad it was after 299,982 miles.

 

[highup]

Highup, I hate when people just pull in front of you or do stupid **** so you have to slam on your brakes. I actually had to back up today because i was pulling out of a parking lot to get on the street when a car changed lanes to move from left lane to the lane I was pulling into and the ***** didn't slow down and almost hit me. I don't know what is wrong with people. I was already halfway in the road when the derp decided to change lanes. Fixing vehicles can be so expensive. The tools are expensive too but it's nice to get new tools. My best friend ninjad most of my tools for vehicle repair but then he's the one who uses them.

Ordered my friend some of the goggles like the ones I have that I let him use when he was demoing the old door frame and stuff. Woke up around 10:30am feeling like garbage. Whole body is sore. Charlie horse in both legs. Had to move pillows around to support Rupert when I got up. Made breakfast for Mom and then later went to post office and Walmart. Fed Rupert and he tried to eat my hand because he loves the food so much. Just changed Mom's canula again.

The door is pretty-- I need to fill gaps around brickmould-- old trim was MUCH wider. Also need to cover the sill because it has flashing tape. Friend put sill in before he let me put tape on (I was getting something for Mom when he put it on). I'm pleased with the new header. Old one was two 2x4s with Great Stuff sprayed between them. New one is two 2x6s with 1/2" foam board in the middle. House slopes but the door is level so it comes up a bit on one side. I'm going to have to figure out how to level that out (without tearing the floor up) before I do vinyl plank. I'm thinking some leveling mix might work. Mess on the floor is from the demo. Sample of the flooring is down in front of the threshold. It's about 6.5mm thick. I'm going to put backer rod and door & window great stuff in the cavities. I may use the foam board between the cripples and then use another type of insulation over that.
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Outside-- yeah, I know the cinderblocks are a hazard. Ground to the right is eroding and some of the blocks fell.
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I'm thinking of either removing the brickmould and replacing it with something wider or adding other trim in between. I also need to add some z-flashing under the top J-trim and get the gap under the sill covered better-- it looks wonky since the door is level but the house is not. Eventually we'll get an awning to go up above the light-- hoping it will fit.

Since the flashing tape went over the sill I want to add some sort of tread tape over that or do something to cover it since I know flashing tape can't be exposed indefinitely and its super slippery and I want something anti-slip there.

Get the area under the door super flat then reset those cinder blocks, alternating the layers 1/4 turn for stability. You might check to see if they have cinderblock material in 2 inch thick square pads. If they do it might make a stable base to start with.

 

[C.J.]

Got a trailer that had some cheapo LVP installed in it. You can guess how hot it gets inside a closed up unused trailer baking in the sun in Phoenix. That floor buckled. lol.

My mission, should I choose to accept, was to replace the buckled LVP with a floating laminate floor that won’t buckle in the heat like LVP does. To up the challenge everything in the trailer was built on top of the LVP. You gotta get that all outta there while leaving a clean enough edge to bump up the new laminate floor to while leaving a clean look cus they don’t want any trim, it’s gotta be clean. I know, right. 10 years ago me is cussing you out and packing up his tools. Today me says I got this.

So yesterday I did the removal. I got a couple scrap pieces of countertop Formica to use as protectors so I could multi tool along every toe kick and wall that was on top of the LVP. Took me a bit but it actually worked out pretty darn nice. It kept me from juicing up the toe kicks and I was actually able to get right up to the cabinets n such. Then this morning I went back again with the multi tool and undercut a few key places where I knew I was going to have to deal with a peak a boo if I didn’t make some space for my flooring to slip under. Vacuumed that all up and sipped some coffee while I ponder my plan of attack for the install. Do I pattern the whole damn trailer or do I just wing it. Which way will give me a better finished product?

After consulting the rings in my coffee cup I decided to just wing it like I always do. First thing is you gotta establish a straight run down the middle of the trailer. Even this takes time because nothing is square and that toe kick lighting will point out any ****** cuts that don’t bump the cabinets clean enough for no trim. All but a few of the butt cuts were 0.5•. Some this way and some that way, just depends. I also made a ton of long cuts with my track saw. I set it at a 10• back bevel to make dropping the planks in tight up to the cabinets a little easier. I kinda impressed myself a little. I wanted to have clean cuts up to damn near everything in that trailer. I’ll take a look tomorrow with a set of fresh eyes but I took my time and scribed every damn thing in that trailer.

It took me a full day to do the install (100 sq ft) and I was cussin a little towards the end. The AC in the trailer can’t keep up when it’s 107 so it was starting to get a bit warm in the trailer. That and I was getting down to the nitty gritty aka the last plank. I think I toasted 2 planks during the install so I was already sweating it a little because I knew it was gonna be tight.

Now that that’s over with and I’m feeling pretty good about it, I could really use a beer. Went home, picked up the wife n the dog and went to our local watering hole. Didn’t have but two sips of my beer when I dumped my bag of chichironis on the floor. I said F it, closed my tab and went back home because clearly I wasn’t meant to have fun today. I even ate one of the dog’s beef jerkys because if I can’t have a good time ain’t nobody having a good time.

I didn’t see any of this when I was reading my coffee rings this morning. The floor did come out pretty damn good though.

 

[highup]

Hey guys, it's storytime with CJ. I love your writing style
The customer is gonna be real impressed with that. Very nice. Looks like about 8 planks that didn't have to be cut? You must be a contortionist.

 

[C.J.]

Hey guys, it's storytime with CJ. I love your writing style
The customer is gonna be real impressed with that. Very nice. Looks like about 8 planks that didn't have to be cut? You must be a contortionist.

Contortionist, magicians, fool… I’m something alright. I kinda got a lot of **** going on in my life right now so that trailer was actually a bit of a relief to do. It required thinking skills which occupied my mind instead of the other **** that’s been milling around in there lately.

 

[highup]

For what it's worth, we're thinkin' about you.

 

[highup]

Well, I'm gittin' there.
...and before you ask, I'm not in Lebanon.

 

[highup]

Ok, here's the culprit. A few well placed M-80's will get you to where you need to be.
A guy on the S-10 forum asked why they couldn't just put the heater core inside the bell housing so that it would be easier to replace. He's definitely got a point.

 

[highup]

With it torn down this was the time to replace a few burnt out lights in the gauge cluster.
I like blue, but whoever at GM ok'd this color scheme needed a tall tree with a short rope. In bright daylight it's hard to read the dash. At night, with a couple of burnt bulbs, it's a nightmare.
Hated this from day one....
.....to be continued.

 

[highup]

I'm not singin' the blues..... anymore. Had paint, and I enjoy pain.... obviously.
At one AM, a miracle rose from the darkness.

 

[C.J.]

And people think I’m crazy for not working on my own vehicles.

So I got down and took a pic of my laminate floor bumping the toe kick. Nothing a bead of caulk couldn’t hide.

Speaking of caulking, I had a tube blow up in my gun the other day. After cleaning it up as best as it was going to get, the rod will start to rust if you don’t oil it. There’s just a dribble left in my gallon jug but it’s enough to lube the rod and action parts before I toss it. It’s smooth squeezin now. Good to go until the next blowout.

Anybody got a secret to prevent blowouts?? Or is that just how tubes are made these days. When I was buying cove base adhesive I would always flip the tubes over and look at the plastic or metal cap inside the tube. Kinda like opening up a carton of eggs and checking them out. Any little ding, from dropping the tube, will ruin it because it’s gonna blow out the back at the ding as soon as you start using it.

 

[highup]

You are crazy. That's why we like you.
You're looking at $1000+, plus parts markup, + add in removing the cluster and installing new bulbs.
When I don't have work going on I'm saving big bucks doing this.
I'd bet this plus the A-arm installation would approach $2000 by the time the dust settled.
I ain'ts got that.
Besides that, I don't trust other people working on my rig. I don't care if they have clean coveralls with badges and certificates on em. Nobody touches my junk.
....no, no I didn't mean it like that!
The girls on the electric scooter can.

 

[highup]

And people think I’m crazy for not working on my own vehicles.

So I got down and took a pic of my laminate floor bumping the toe kick. Nothing a bead of caulk couldn’t hide.

Speaking of caulking, I had a tube blow up in my gun the other day. After cleaning it up as best as it was going to get, the rod will start to rust if you don’t oil it. There’s just a dribble left in my gallon jug but it’s enough to lube the rod and action parts before I toss it. It’s smooth squeezin now. Good to go until the next blowout.

Anybody got a secret to prevent blowouts?? Or is that just how tubes are made these days. When I was buying cove base adhesive I would always flip the tubes over and look at the plastic or metal cap inside the tube. Kinda like opening up a carton of eggs and checking them out. Any little ding, from dropping the tube, will ruin it because it’s gonna blow out the back at the ding as soon as you start using it.


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If a customer had the balls to complain about the fit you did.....
....I'd fire em. Yup, no clear your desk by Friday, no severance, no nothin' YOU'RE FIRED! ...that's all they'd hear.
...and they might feel the doorknob.

 

[highup]

Here's what 4 hours got me today.
And 3 hours yesterday. Dimensions on the core was smaller in width, height, and thickness. The tubes were 3/8" off from the original. That offset the core so that only one of the retaining straps work. A couple showers pondering, staring, swearing, not me knowhere.
I borrowed my neighbor's car and went to NAPA with my old core to compare it with the one they carried. It was also smaller like the one I bought at O'Reilly's. It's design was slightly different, but the size was the same as the one from O'Reilly's. The tube location was the same as O'Reilly's. It too was 3/8" off from my original.
I kept the O'Reilly core overnight to ponder how to make it fit, or if, I could make it fit.
I decided to enlarge the oval hole where the tubes pass through the firewall. This would allow me to shift the core to the left, to allow both mounting, or retaining straps to work properly. .
This was all afternoon, cutting and test fitting, cutting and test fitting.......

Well, the core is in, the cover is back on, the dash it bolted in and the steering column bolted back in place. It was dark as a cleaned up tools.
If you're told that replacing your heater core will cost you $1200 to $2500, don't be shocked. .....and mine is a lowly '93 S10. Yeah, your dash will have to come out too. That's how cars are made now.
Tomorrow is going to be most of the day too putting everything back together. The hardest parts are done.

 

[zannej]

Oh wow CJ, that is an amazing job! I don't even think the toekicks need caulking because you got those cuts so smooth. Customer better not complain. LOL about you consulting the rings in your coffee mug!

When we were using construction adhesive to secure the new door sill, the tube blew out. I think because my friend tapped a nail with a hammer to bust the seal and maybe it messed up the whole front end of the tube but I'm not sure. I think they make them weaker now or with weaker plastic. I've got some mineral spirits so will need to clean up my electric caulk gun a bit.

Highup, I wish I knew more about fixing up cars. I could probably show those pics to my friend and he'd know what everything is. LOL. He nearly died in an S10 because the tire shop didn't secure the tie rod after working on it and it ended up having the front end drop and the thing tumbled about 7 times. He bought another S10 after that but the tie rod came loose on that one. He got out of it, took his stuff out, walked away and never touched it again. Sold it to someone else without looking back.

He's supposed to come out today to do some yard work and help me clean stuff up on the exterior.

Two of my 12 cats have now figured out that the pet door goes both ways so they can come back in through it. Another two have figured out how to go out but then sit and holler to be let back in. The rest either haven't figured it out or haven't really tried. So, Boo and Senator Snugglebum go in and out as they please. Bethesda and Aminatu will go out and then holler. Lady Sylvanas sits and stares at the pet door and wags her tail because she is afraid to try to go through it.

I haven't seen the dogs use the pet door yet-- they've been having me open the front door to let them in and out. I'm surprised that Fippy hasn't figured it out given that he knows how to push the living room door open to get in (not even a pet door, an actual door with a spring to make it close).

I was sick this morning- bad tummy ache and had me curled in a ball. Felt like I was going to throw up but kept it down. Took some Pepto for it and it finally kicked in but I generally feel like garbage.

 

[highup]

While I had my instrument cluster apart, I cleaned the contacts for the lights. I put baking soda in the cap of some contact cleaner, then sprayed the cleaner into the cap and made it into an abrasive slurry. HF has cheap packs or swabs and those worked great to scrub with.
Lights are much better now. I can read my dashboard at night.

 

[highup]

My PRNDL has never worked.
Since the cluster was out, it was time to see how they work and try to fix it .
The little unit has a strong spring attached to the pointer and a doubled length of stainless wire. When you move the shift lever, it pulls on the cable and moves the pointer to the gear you put it in.
Well, the stainless wire was broken, in part because of the friction of rubbing on a plastic fulcrum point.... dumb design. The steel wire over time becomes a chain saw digging into the plastic.
Well, if fixed the fulcrum area. I cut some stainless steel to fit the curve and crimped it into place. I even lubed the wire with red lithium grease for smooth and silent operation.
Ok, .....now, how to splice the stainless wire ends together.
I cut a little piece of brass tubing as a ferrule to crimp the wire ends inside of. I put a drop of super glue inside the ferrule then pounded it flatter than Twiggy.
Now I know what gear I'm in..... For 10 years, I've just been wingin' it.
Nice improvements.