door project

is about half done

or better than half done

driver's side door is giving me fits

reconnecting exterior opener has me vexed

any movement at all causes the rod to fall out of place

what you see above is a far cry better than what we had

I wouldn't even have bothered w/ all this if those got am doors worked the way they should

hopefully tomorrow they will

since I'm talking about my truck

I love my truck

people like to make fun of it

I don't wash or wax it

maybe every other year I'll hose it down

it  looks like shit

*pics tomorrow*

well, fuck that there are pics of the truck below

but I've never hit anything with it

I got tapped hindside one time in the snow in flag

by an asshole grandfather w/ his grandchild(?) beside him
and he drove off
go figure

people in the know love it

it's a '91  toyota pickup

hell you know that if you've been reading here

it looks like shit but runs like a top?

I wanted to say champ 'cept there's just one thing 

that needs to be addressed and that's the exhaust leak

that's not my forte

though I think I can deal with it

in time

no ac no music

it's a truck and a tool

a car or truck is a tool used to get from here to there and back

nothing more nothing less

plus I can carry things in it

and people with much nicer cars want to use it

so it's a hunnert years old and other people want to use it

I find that ironic

my truck has relatively little mileage on it

people leave notes nearly weekly asking if I want to sell it

I don't wanna sell it

ever

I like the fact that I've bought two vehicles in my life

and I'd like to see it end that way

I do have plans for another vehicle

but I can wait 

forever if I must

my brother told me that no one drives trucks like mine

I like that

and it's one reason I love my truck

I'm thinking of a paint job

we used to paint trucks way back when I was in the army

redo the camo cuz there was nothing else to do

I camouflaged a fta atop my army rig

and no one realized it until I pointed it out to them

I'm considering the same thing w/ afa

agua fria angling - get it?

and a slick sideband along the bedside

like that'll happen

I'd also like ac and a sound system

BUT...

I've gone so long without

that it ain't gonna happen
hey just use the ipod dipshit

there is about 104,000 miles on it

and it's likely good for that again

that's comforting

I paid about 7 grand for it back in the day

'92 to be exact and how much have you spent since than for your rides?

that's why it's a keeper

I have so much more to say

perhaps for another day

door panels con't

making good progress on this

digital cameras are great fucking tools

after tweaking the working template

we have the finish template

clamped to masonite piece

trace and cut

flip template over and repeat

make cuts and we have the panel foundation

fit and tweak as necessary

I used a rasp to fit the cutouts

cut weather barrier plastic piece

this will need to be sealed prior to installing the panel

as per jeepster's suggestion we'll use duct tape

undercut a piece of batting for each panel

I stuck it to the panel w/ spray adhesive

carefully fit fabric finish layer

somehow or another I picked up the wrong panel when I did this

everything else I did was done off of the passenger door

I picked up the driver door panel

not that it matters...

I screwed it to the door w/ the pull grasp 

the fit is nearly perfect

I could tweak things a bit yet 

again we'll see about that

I'd have shot a pic but it was dark and I don't like to use flash

it looks a far sight better than the ones I replaced

even when they were new

I'm totally winging this

having never tried to do such a thing before

I'm pretty pleased

state of the craftsmanshit address #10 - early '12

usually clearing the bench meant something different than it currently does

that doesn't make much sense, but I will try to clarify

what I mean by clearing the bench is getting all the rods in production 

off the bench and indoors for wrapping and finish work

this takes place in april normally as soaring temperatures

make it impractical and uncomfortable to work outside in the garage

well, this year I had to clear the bench in january

over the course of building 35 rods I've been using borrowed planing forms

for which I'm eternally grateful as it saved me a considerable chunk of money

well, the owner asked for them back 

and I was obliged to return them

thanks matt - I appreciate all your help over the years

and I bit the bullet and dumped nearly a grand into some new forms

and a "back-up" set I don't necessarily need

but the price was right and I wanted to help out a buddy

and I'll be able to pay it forward

again as I feel obligated to

should I get the opportunity to teach someone how to do this

should they be inclined to learn how

I like that

anyways,  it's been two weeks now since I ordered

and I'm still awaiting delivery

and anticipating it every week day

perhaps today's the day

which explains why there is no rodbuilding going on around here lately

there are two rods awaiting components

those are ferrules and reel seat hardware

for those of you who do not know that

I guess they'll be included w/ the planing forms

I will not be building anymore rods for myself

at least for a while

and by rods I mean finished rods

I will continue to do what I call the prep work

aka grunt work

to experiment w/ new of different tapers

but when it comes to finishing the rod

it ain't gonna happen

until I can justify spending $200 to finish the rod

for something I simply do not need

I've got two rods to finish for other guys

two unferruled blanks for myself

which won't be finished until who knows when

and a clear bench

get wrecked and wrock on w/ yer badassselves

about a hundred years ago (piease forgive my tendency for hyperbole)

I became involved w/ an email mailing list 

that revolved around a favorite band

and for a good long time that thing fuggin' wrocked

I met (in person) a couple handfuls at least of really cool people

smart and opinionated and willing to talk about anything and everything

and generally speaking agreeing to disagree

w/out scorn or chastisement

new members were always welcomed and encouraged to contribute

though not without a few pokes in the ribs

it was dynamic and thought provoking even intoxicating in a way

lately though it has been dying

I guess as a result of a mass migration to facebook

and perhaps the fact that we all grew up a little bit over time

and have real lives to pursue

nevertheless I miss it and the interaction dearly

most of all I miss all those people

anyways,  around Christmas every year we'd make a comp cd for a random member

upon completion, people would offer up they comps to whoever asked for it

I usually asked

and received

in spades

I think that's about 3/4 of them

the rest are in portable cd carrriers

I like to think that the people who put these things together put their hearts and souls into it

and that's why I treasure them and my memories of all the shit we yammered on and on and on about

when you try to explain to others what was so special about this place

you can not do it

if you were there for it you understand

working weekend?

what I'm working on...

it ain't fishin' tyin' or rod buildin'

it's fixing the doors on my truck

opening/unlocking my doors finally became too much a pain in the ass

so I ripped the old door panels out

fixed the latching/locking mechanisms

 now we need to make new panels

kept the old pieces for templates for the new

first template underway

this is gonna take a while

sheesh - good thing I don't have anything else to do

I've been watching the carp mouthing scum  from the backyard pond

for the last two daze

working template installed
now we have something to work with

these things

nearly had a hand in killing me

that was quite a while back...