Beverly Hillbillies

[SturmTyger380]

Oh boy! Your HO gauge train post stuck a nerve.

Before military vehicles came into my life, I was a Model Train nerd. Our family had two large HO scale layouts completed before I entered University. Then no time for trains, (Time for girls though – funny how that works!) After school was over, I started my first career job and had completed one HO track module of what the plan was to be many more. I was into detail and my young eyes were up to the task of taking fine hair sized wires and creating pipes and handles on my Round House Shay engines I had built from kits. I didn’t like how the store-bought plastic track looked so I hand laid Code 70 rail down on to wooden cross ties, (Sleepers), with small spikes. (Code 100 track is what you buy pre-made in the store. Size wise Code 100 is like real life train rail that would be over two feet tall.) I even created my own hand made turnouts to switch trains from one track to another.

Then I got to reading about the new trend of Operating Railroads. That’s where you have a grand layout of track and set up operation sessions with friends and during the evening everyone would run their own trains around the setup, dropping and picking up cars until they got back to the yards.

So, at that point HO gauge means you need a huge space to create an Operating layout. So, off into the smaller scale N gauge I went. Down the rabbit hole buying, engines and cars, planning a layout on paper using a template. So now I was laying Code 40 track for N scale cars and locos.

Then came kids into my life, I love’m but they can suck all your time up. Career ramped up and there was no time for much of anything. So, all the train stuff got stored. I still have it all, just don’t know what to do with it.

Then I got bitten by the OD vehicle bug hard! I can actually work on cool stuff I can really ride in instead of looking down on a miniature loco climbing a hill.

Kid’os are now older and starting families of their own. I have been looking at the HOn3 gauge locos and cars. That stuff is just cute as a button!

Then again, my eyes are not as sharp close up without some assistance. And cruising along in an MV I just got running is really a fun thing!

[m3a1]

Yeah, this always comes to some point of diminishing returns...but that's the fundamental undercurrent of the MV hobby. If you only count pennies, and ignore the fun, you quickly find MV ownership is almost always run at a deficit.

I wouldn't even begin to consider anything smaller than HO. Sadly, that Niagra 4-8-4 that I bought will probably never be run...at least not on any basic track I construct. Darned thing requires not less than a 22" radius turn because of all those wheels.

For those of you who are curious as to why I said that, imagine a traditional sausage-shaped track layout on plywood. You can squeeze a track layout with 18" radius turns onto a sheet of plywood that is 4' wide. Go larger than that and there is no possibility of portability, such as being able to stand the whole thing on end to be stored when not in use...unless I pull a TJ and come up with yet another nefarious plan to have my cake and eat it too...

The simple fact is, anything I construct will have to be able to be taken up and stored on end. Do I have something in mind? Yes. Yes I do. God help me.

You might ask, why then, did I buy that big Niagra? Well, all you have to do is learn a bit about the Niagra Locomotives to appreciate what they mean to the advancement of railroading in our history and if you have any appreciation for quality of mechanical design, you'll REALLY love the Niagra class. I really just wanted to have one to keep my Allegheny 2-6-6-6 company....(all shrunk down, of course).

And just as I began thinking that maybe I really ought to put the brakes on this, before it's too late.....there came a sign.

I lucked into this little gem, built in 1884. A 137 year old wrench, in tolerably good condition. My Dad used to call them "a railroader's wrench". $4.50 at the rummage store. I know what you're going to say but I was actually there for a drop-off... I swear that before my maker.

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Time for a vinegar bath...

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When new, this cost $13.75...... back in 1884. That's $365.12 dollars in today's money, after adjusting for inflation. Bloody HELL!

Yeah, you know what I'm gonna say next....

There's always something goin' on at the Beverly Hillbillies...

Cheers,
TJ

[Mark]

Monkey wrench is another name

[m3a1]

Yup. I sometimes wonder how that name came about. From 'Grease Monkey' perhaps? Ours being a railroading community, I think most of us didn't use the term 'monkey wrench'. Those railroaders could get mighty testy after drinking their pay away and nobody wants to be called a monkey.

Anyway, bath time is over for this little wrench so out she came. After a rinse and dry, out came the Dremel tool.

This wrench has a lot of honest wear on it and also some abuse so she wouldn't close down quite as nicely as I wanted. I've never seen something of this vintage that still closed to the point where the jaws were neatly fitted to one another but the gap on this one was created by some peening on the side beneath the manufacturer's marking. Someone had used the side as a hammer, rather than the back end and, as a result, some metal had deflected into the space required to make a tight fit.

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So, that had to be removed and in doing so, I managed to close the gap between the jaws to probably about 1/32". Not too shabby for such an old tool. The remaining 1/32" is as a result of wrenching.... Lots and LOTS of wrenching. The inner face of those jaws must be harder than woodpecker lips!

Got the nooks and crannies cleaned out with a small wire wheel and followed up with a good, hearty buffing with my weapon of choice, Dremel's 511E Finishing Abrasive Buff combo pack. It took every bit of one pack to do this tool. They don't go very far for big jobs, such as Mutt manifold mating surfaces but, in this case, one pack was perfect to complete the job at hand.

Oh boy, did I want to blue this thing but they were produced in bright finish so....rather than oil it, I finished the metal off in metal prep (silicone) which will probably only last for a while so we shall see how well it holds up. I'll keep an eye on it.

The wooden handle, which had been repaired at some point in the past, was still holding up well so I finished it in Danish Wood Oil and threw the whole thing back together to let the oil dry while the handle was on the tool. The oil will dry to a dull finish. The handle could use some bedding if it were going to be put back to work but I think this old girl is ready for retirement after her makeover so enough is enough. For a tool made in September 1884, I think she sure looks good.

I believe the real trick to these little restorations is to keep the tiny bits of evidence of the tool's history intact so that the next guy might have some appreciation for it and now, she's ready for the next 137 years!

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Cheers,
TJ

[m3a1]

Today is one of THOSE days. Today, I woke up to ice all over everything, more ice coming down.....and it's trying to snow. So, I did what any sensible person would do and went right back to bed. But, lucky you, I up now and rarin' to go and begin my day of toe-picking.

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I'm sure there's something I should be doing today but I was pretty productive yesterday; ran the vacuum, did some dishes, put on a new shower head and went to Bussey's Flea Market and did some pickin'. All of that productivity leaves very little for me to do today besides sort through a small mountain of assorted nuts and bolts and washers (which, I assure you, I will definitely NOT do.)

Also, I will definitely NOT sally forth today because most folks in Texas cannot drive well on anything other than pure, untarnished pavement. Not because they are wholly incapable mind you, but because they are completely out of practice. I was born and raised in Ohio so I know two things...how to drive when the roads are hinky and when not to drive because other drivers are busily conducting a demolition derby. Just best to stay home and keep out of it altogether.

I love Bussey's and I had high hopes for a big score yesterday but, alas, some days are diamonds....and some days are stones. Yesterday, pickins were thin. Mighty thin. I did bring home with a small 2 1/2" vise (made in Taiwan) for use with my second drill press. It needed a makeover because no one had loved it for a long time; rusty, filthy, but all there. I grabbed it chiefly because I'm lazy and hate moving tool accessories back and forth between tools....and it was $10 (which is half the price Harbor Freight would ask for a new one) and it was in desperate need of some attention to bring it back from the brink of being binned.

Meanwhile, at the other end of the country, my little brother was showing his kids a pretty good time. They went on a road trip and visited Asseteague State Park and saw the ponies. Most of us associate them with Chincoteague. All of which begs the obvious question... WHY is it called Asseteague. There are no asses there (that I know of) but rather, ponies. America is a very strange place because we say what we actually mean only half the time....but I digress. There were no asses there but, surprise SURPRISE!....there was a Sherman there, located at the American Legion in Berlin, Maryland.

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Look at the size of that kid! All the boys in our families are giants. When we all get together it's like standing at the bottom of a bloody well which is VERY disconcerting...and I'm 6'!

Annnnnnd, it's snowing now. Welcome to Texas. In ten minutes it may be 70 degrees and sunny.

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Now, back to the matter of the vise. I know what you're going to say. $10 isn't much of a bargain for a $20 vice and I agree...but, when you consider I was not only getting a tool I wanted (and it has been said I have too many vices, which is a different subject altogether) but, I was also getting a little project to do. I enjoy these little afternoon and evening projects that don't take up a lot of space and they produce small victories. I'll sit there and watch my favorite youtube channels all day long and sip coffee and tinker away if nothing more important comes up. I tell the wife it keeps me out of the bars at night which never fails to produce an eye roll from her. Not sure what to make of that! She says I can't "go to the bars at night" during the day. Well, DUH....if one wants to be that literal about it! Language is such a tricky business...

Actually, I think of my being a Notorious Layabout as something of a public service...especially when you consider how much medical attention I conserve for other folks. I could be going outside in the ice; slipping and falling and needing to go to the hospital and then therapy, of course. No, I am rather sure that safely camping out, INSIDE, is the best course of action...especially on Ice Days.

Where were we. Oh yeah...the vise project. My only regret was I painted this thing with the first can of spray paint that came to hand...which was flat black and so ugly it's almost painful to look at. Somewhere I have a perfectly good can of paint that leaves that weird 'hammered' finish that I might have used to good effect..

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Well, maybe I just take it apart again, mask it off and prep it for a second coat that looks a little better. There's always something goin' on at the Beverly Hillbillies.

Cheers,
TJ

[csmith]

Yup. I sometimes wonder how that name came about. From 'Grease Monkey' perhaps? Ours being a railroading community, I think most of us didn't use the term 'monkey wrench'.

Long before Grease Monkey! I'm 63 and that is the term my Pop taught me for any kind of wrench similar to that.

Then there is "someone threw a monkey wrench into it" like when a job goes sideways, any kind of job..... where did that come from

[Mark]

The monkey wrench was invented by a guy named moncky, grease monkey came from when kids greased machinery in industry companies,(1928), they were called that.

[rickf]

I'll bet local people use your house as a reference point when giving direction to out of towners. Go down two streets and turn left, go down about a quarter mile and look for a house with a yellow fire hydrant on the front porch, you can't miss it. Next block after that nuts house.................

[m3a1]

Some things find me.

Take yesterday as an example. I pull up to Home Depot in my ratty old 2005 suburban, get out, and a guy drives up and asks if I have a moment. I'm expecting to be asked for directions but, Surprise Surprise, he asks if I would like a free third row seat for a Suburban. Momentarily perplexed, I told him, no...my truck has all its seats and, why do you ask? He tells me his suburban was stolen when the seat was out and still sitting in his garage when the vehicle got written off by the insurance company. He was tired of the seat claiming valuable space and, after getting no bites for it on Craigslist, he decided to give it away.

Well, heck! I'll be your Huckleberry!

So, I said, "While I don't need it myself, I know someone who would be very pleased to have it" and..."Would you like me to pick it up or would you rather drop it at my house?" End result of that was not only did he deliver a perfect seat in all its rich, Corinthian leather splendor (Ricardo Montalban would certainly have been proud of it's condition) but he also brought along a privacy curtain that my particular suburban did NOT have one of. Naturally, I kept the privacy curtain and less than an hour later, the seat was sent off to its new home.

That was yesterday.....

Today I'm presenting y'all with OUR FIND OF THE DAY.....and before 10AM I might add (which is something of a record for me because I'm usually just barely finishing my morning coffee by 10AM). This lovely Global Industrial Screw Jack fell into my lap for a song.

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To be perfectly honest, I suspect global industrial means 'Made In China' but nothing on the thing makes that claim...or denies it, for that matter. It is built for stabilizing stuff like semi trailers. Rated for 40,000# lifting weight and 100,000# static weight, it has a generous-sized base and head and it has big wheels to help the user move it around (it's very heavy). Eventually, it will come in quite handy in case I need to raise the Titanic...or lift a house off a witch, or something. With the windlass arrangement on the top it would be easy to lift things...especially if I had several British Tars working it (or one Conan The Barbarian). Unfortunately British Tars and barbarians are in short supply around here. Maybe that's why I got it at such a good price?

Since my own semi trailer has been busily burrowing into the ground over the course of the last few years this new addition to my tools, when coupled with my big hydraulic jacks and my Simplex jacks will be mighty useful for bringing things back up above AGL. Very sweet.

There's always something going on at the Beverly Hillbillies!

Cheers,
TJ

[m3a1]

Let's take a little drive in Texas and see what we can find.

I was on a mission today. Got up at O'dark:thirty and ended up on a narrow, twisting, and undulating Farm-To-Market road going generally Eastbound with the sun just coming up and burning holes into my skull where my eyes should have been. With the ups and downs, there was absolutely no getting the sun visor right...not that it mattered because the inside of my windshield was so dirty, it picked up the glare and there were times I had to drive by braille. Good Lord, I have GOT to clean that windshield!

By the time I got over to US Hwy 281 to go north and get some relief from my retinas sizzling from being fried like roadside diner eggs, the sun was up where it belonged and was no longer a problem. Now this little jaunt is one of my favorite drives, locally. For you fellas up north, 'locally' probably means maybe 30 miles or so in any one direction from home base, whereas in Texas, 'locally' is generally defined as not having to refuel before getting back home, assuming you are starting out with a full tank of fuel.

This trip was 1hr 46mins outbound according to my virtual navigator and that drive took me through The HIll Country and some very archetypical Texas countryside consisting of wide open spaces cluttered with sedimentary hills dotted with Live Oak, Cottonwood and Cedar (an invasive species, exceptionally prolific and the source of many a sneeze, sniffle and watery eye when fully in bloom when the wind is blowing it your way).

Unlike some other places, Texas is usually not very neatly kept. Here, we like rust on our junk and we enjoy having a lot of it around, especially when it's lining our fence lines. Here, even a rusty bucket with no bottom in it has value (and you'll usually find it for sale). But, if old tractors and old cars and old farm implements are your thing, the stretch of US Hwy 281 between Bulverde and Wichita Falls might just be the exact center of your universe. It's a corridor that folks with good manners would refer to as 'cluttered'...

So, with all of you on my mind, and while I was traveling on retiree time (I'll git there when I git there, dang it!) I took the time to photograph some of the better roadside attractions along the way.

Enjoy!

This butt-ugly fella almost directly across from my destination! One careful owner. Only tapped the guardrail once..



The Good Lord emptied his sweepings here...and there....and over there too!



Why are the windshields always missing?



Ya can't swing a cat without hitting a brewery or distillery or vineyard in this neighborhood!



Every good BBQ place needs a rust-bucket on wheels. This one is currently registered! Off the charts for 'COOL'!



Hillbillyz Road House...(yes, it's spelled that way) specializing in some of the best danged food you'll find anywhere, cold beer and occasionally, live music. They just put this stuff out front so as to be able to say HELL NO! to all offers to buy.



Somebody was convinced Ford stood for First On Race Day....and then apparently gave that idea up.



These are all signs that this is a good, stable neighborhood.



I have an extra set of eyeballs for this old girl. Maybe I should donat..... NAH. It's better without 'em.



But the winner is.......

[m3a1]

This grand lady is waiting for someone to take her to the ball, fellas. She was born in 1956 (if you like courtin' older wimmin) and waits for you just on the north end of Blanco, Texas. $3500 buys you a ticket to ride!















She has a back seat big enough to hold a barn dance. Are you ready to do-si-do?











Why, you may ask, am I making this drive? Well, treasure awaits, of course!......

[m3a1]

I found this clean little 36V cream puff on Craigslist for 'a right price'. Nothing to fix, but she needs batteries. Cha-ching!

Even with that expense, I'll still own this for a lot less than most others.





The cab enclosure vinyl is a little crispy...







The Bat Trailer comes in handy once again!





Home in one piece. Nobody died.



Even Gigantor fits in it.



Yep, there's always something going on at the Beverly Hillbillies!

Cheers,
TJ

[m3a1]

Wow, it must be old car week. If it actually was old car week, I'm pretty sure someone would have told me.

Today, I wheeled into a parking space right next to this little goody. The fella that owns it was there. It's a 66 T-bird (I guessed 65). He claimed it was the only one ever built with a standard shift. The clutch pedal looked bone stock but I really have no idea if that claim holds any water or not.

Nice looking car. I'd half expect to see Miss Jane Hathaway roll up in it.

Enjoy.

[rickf]

66 was getting pretty late for the T-bird with the standard shift but I doubt it was "The only one". I know of three 64's with factory four speeds and 390's. That one should have had a 390 with the four speed. I have seen them with a 428 in them but not often. Here are the specs for the 66, 64-66 were the model run. Check out the optional engines! I seriously doubt you could get the NASCAR 427 OHC engine in there. They only came from the factory in one car, The Galaxy lightweight, A factory drag race only car. I had a 64 Galaxy with the 427 "R" engine in it with two holley four barrels. I sold that car for 4,000.00 in 78!!!! I saw one at Barret last year sell for 2.6 million!!!!
Forgot the specs!

https://www.conceptcarz.com/s1651/ford-thunderbird.aspx

[m3a1]

Yeah, I looked online and all the writers are obviously parroting one or two sources. Could it be true? Don't think it matters. It has a slush box now!