OldIHC

What I did in the shop today was listen to the welcome sound of rain a tin roof. The first real rain since winter ended. Its a life saver. I actually had to take a picture of it.

Down this way rain can be pretty scarce at times. Last year we were in a terrible drought. No snow all winter and then the summer was tinder dry through July when the seasonal rains finally kicked in. Up until that point I thought I was going to lose my house to a forest fire for sure. People around here don't take the rain for granted and are very thankful for each and every storm. This year we had near record snow and a very wet spring so we are in good shape.

Very nice picture BTW!

I've had a 2 cyl Craftsman air compressor for going on 20 years or more. I never expected it to last as long as it has, it is all aluminum crankcase and head. Long and short of it is: its wearing out, pumps a fair bit of oil with the air, all to be expected as I use it hard.
I've been thinking about building a shop compressor, something in the 10-14 hp range with a 2 stage compressor and 80 gal tank. It doesn't look like that is going to happen anytime soon.
I have an really old Craftsman from the early '70's 3/4hp V twin that I have used for tires, and will pump up my air start tanks if need be and I'm not in a hurry.
The Motor on my bigger Craftsman is fine so can re-use.
I came across this:
https://www.surpluscenter.com/Air-Pneum ... 1935-A.axd

Which you really can't beat for the price. It will bolt in place of what I have now, and I can even re use the belt and pulley. All cast iron lower with aluminum head. It was made for gas driven compressors, so is designed for contiious running, with a float switch in the sump for low oil shutdown. Should outlast my needs and for the price, you can't beat it. Only thing I have to change is the unloader, the head I have now has an un loader port in the head, I will change the tank check to one that has an unloader port in the check, and then plump the unloader line there. WIth continious running compressors, they use a discharge line unloader when the set pressure is reached, so no on loader port on the head.

I have not gone outside to the shop today. I am suffering from a bad cold. After coughing all night, I have a base voice like JD Sumner, today. The best I could do, today, was have a shower and do the laundry while my wife was out. I took a two hour nap and I still feel like shyte.
When I get back out to the shop I have a few pending Albatrosses hanging around.

I have been looking for a set of fender protectors that will fit the round shape of my 1940 Ford fenders. I have SnapOn fender protectors and they work really well on fenders that are closer to square or flat. I want something that is soft on the back side and soil resistant on the front. I went to TANDY LEATHER and bought a full cow hide. For $181 I got enough leather to make two fender protectors and a tool-roll for the trunk.(boot) There will be material left over.
I will likely stitch a couple of 3M DUAL-LOCK pads on the leather and put a couple matching pads on the inner fender aprons.
The staff at Tandy Leather were polite and very helpful. I appreciate this more now than ever before.
Pictures later.

THE PICTURES:
I am trying to place the leather in the best position for the minimum waste.
I asked for some help. I was reminded that this is my project and I should figure it out. I will.

Nice! If I had a decent paint job on my 39 I might need something like that too.

Yesterday, I bought a LISTA six drawer cabinet. The seller offered it to me for free. I insisted on paying $100 because there is that much or more value in the cabinet. These LISTA cabinets can be as high as $2000+.
It is a little rough. I did some straightening of the dents yesterday. The drawers all work as well as they should. The shipping weight of the cabinet is over 600 pounds. Some of that will be the crate. This LISTA cabinet lists the drawers at 440 pounds capacity, each.
Because I like to keep everything mobile, in my shop, my daughter and I put a set of ALL-GOOD casters under the cabinet this afternoon.
I used my hydraulic lift table to raise and hold the cabinet at a good working height.The cabinet moves easily on the new casters.
The cabinet will take up the same foot-print as one shelf space. The lower drawer will be CUMMINS bits and pieces. Another drawer will be dedicated to Ruston Hornsby Canadian Elevator engine parts and spares. That is two of six drawers and four to go. I a confident they will fill soon enough.

That was a good acquisition. I would keep my shop in Middleton, if I could park next to it for periods of time, it would only take around $30,000-$40,000 to pave and change its zoning to do that, but coming up with that kind of money without borrowing is a bit hard. A 30x30 shop with ground would be nice. Hope to make it up your way again to see how your shop has changed since the last time.

Not much has changed since your last visit. There is more machinery, some of it interesting, some, not so much. The occupant is older and less mellow. I think the Craigslist dummies are getting to me.