10 votes

Timasomo 2020 Thread #3: Update Thread 2

It was AMAZING to see everyone's progress from last week! I didn't get to respond to everyone but I am so excited to see everything that's shaping up.

Weekly Task

We're at the halfway point! Update us on your progress so far. What did/didn't you get done this week? Anything go according to plan? Anything go off the rails? Any successes or struggles to share?

Next Steps

Continue creating! Two weeks left!


Timasomo FAQ

What is Timasomo?

Timasomo is "Tildes' Make Something Month": a creative community challenge that takes place in the month of November. It was inspired by NaNoWriMo, the National Novel Writing Month. The first ever Timasomo took place last year. You can see the threads for the previous Timasomo using the timasomo tag, and you can see the final showcase thread of creations here.

What are the rules?Timasomo is self-driven and its goals are self-selected. On November 1st, participants will commit to a creative project (or projects) that they plan to complete within the month of November. There is no restriction on the methods/products of creativity: writing, painting, code, food, photos, crafts, songs -- if it's creative expression for you, it works for Timasomo!

Though most will be participating individually, collaborations are welcome too!

What is the schedule?

Timasomo begins November 1st and ends November 30th. All creative output towards your goal(s) should be confined to this time. This week prior to the start of November is for planning, and there will be a few days at the beginning of December given to "finishing touches" before we have our final thread, which will be a showcase of all the completed works. Below are the dates that I will be posting weekly threads:

Sunday, October 18, 2020: Announcement Thread
Sunday, October 25, 2020: Planning Thread
Sunday, November 1, 2020: Roll Call Thread
Sunday, November 8, 2020: Update Thread #1
Sunday, November 15, 2020: Update Thread #2
Sunday, November 22, 2020: Update Thread #3
Sunday, November 29, 2020: Final Update Thread
Sunday, December 6, 2020: Timasomo Showcase Thread

This announcement will be posted in ~tildes. All Timasomo process threads will be hosted in ~creative. The final Timasomo Showcase thread will be posted in ~talk.

Can I participate?

Yes! Timasomo is open to anyone on Tildes! The greater Tildes community is also encouraged to participate in discussion threads even if you are not actively working towards a creative goal. This is meant to be an inclusive community event -- all are welcome! If you are interested in participating but do not have a Tildes login, please e-mail the invite request address here for an invite to the community.

Participants will formally announce their plans to enter into Timasomo on Sunday, November 1st, in the Roll Call thread. If you are planning to participate or just want to follow the event, please make sure you are subscribed to ~creative where all of the update threads will be posted.

What if I have ideas for how to run the event?

Please share them here! I am facilitating the event, but I am completely open to feedback and suggestions to make this the best event possible. I want this to be Tildes' event, not kfwyre's!

37 comments

  1. [8]
    mat
    (edited )
    Link
    Last week I'd shaped my knife and it was just about ready for heat treating. I have had a few other things getting in my way this week including some broken tech and a roof repair, so I didn't get...

    Last week I'd shaped my knife and it was just about ready for heat treating. I have had a few other things getting in my way this week including some broken tech and a roof repair, so I didn't get as much done as I hoped but still, did achieve some bits. Here we go..

    Pre heat-treat, I shall give the blade a quick coat of satanite which is a clay-ish substance that helps prevent oxygen getting to the steel and oxidising it, then fire up the forge - nice and hot, this is stainless so it wants to be over 1000C in there.

    Get it up to temperature, let it soak a while then it's into my somewhat bodged together plate quench, two bits of aluminium that will suck heat out of the blade while holding it straight. Stainless is OK with a slow quench, carbon steels prefer the faster and showier oil or even water quench. Just as an aside, this level of forge heat is approaching if not actually exceeding my personal safety threshold. My workshop is, as you can see, made of wood. That's a little too much inside fire for my tastes. But everything was OK in the end.

    Now the blade is cool, and clearly the satanite wasn't on thick enough because there is some nasty scale on there - a lot more grinding happens. Which I didn't photograph. But a few grinding belts later (the metal definitely hardened!) the blade is flat, shiny and about 90% sharp (I'll finish it on a wetstone once the rest of the knife is done). Which means it's time to glue the handle on, using JB Weld epoxy glue. This is a simple recycled plastic handle material, later I'll try some pieces in wood with some nice brass pins. Anyway, that glue will take a while to cure, time to get on with something else, modding a hammer.

    Let's angle grind that to shape, I want a long, flat edge, which I can use to put trough shaped marks into metal. Aww yeah that boi got hot. When you use a hammer to add texture, any marks on the striking face get transferred to the metal you hit so the face is nicely polished. This level of finish is almost certainly overkill but my metalworking background is jewellerymaking so I tend to work to ridiculous levels of detail. This is also why it takes me forever to polish my steelwork, steel is a LOT harder than silver/gold/copper. Because I have time, I've added some paint and cut the handle down before finishing it with some shou sugi ban (aka fire).

    Right, glue is dry and I'm going to start shaping the handle, this plastic grinds ok but it does tend to clog up the grinding belt.. I have even less experience of shaping knife handles than I do knife blades, but I think this is coming together alright. UNTIL, this happens - I have since discovered that you're not supposed to clean surfaces for JB Weld with alcohol, as it can cause the bond to weaken. Guess what I was cleaning with?

    So, it's in pieces again and this is the worst time because I'd just ground the plastic down to the metal, now I have zero error margin when re-glueing it. Ho hum, here we go..

    Knife is currently clamped for at least 24 hours to let the glue cure, hopefully it'll hold this time. The hammer is for the next blade, which will be carbon steel not stainless, and will involve some actual forging, which is the really fun bit.

    12 votes
    1. [7]
      acdw
      Link Parent
      I don't know if I mentioned this to you already, but I've been watching that Forged in Fire show on Netflix and it's so much fun -- about knife makers & swordsmiths. So I know, like, 20% of your...

      I don't know if I mentioned this to you already, but I've been watching that Forged in Fire show on Netflix and it's so much fun -- about knife makers & swordsmiths. So I know, like, 20% of your words :)

      Actually you've done a good job of explaining the 80%.. so I'm up to 99% (rounding error)!

      4 votes
      1. [6]
        mat
        Link Parent
        I'm really on the fence about Forged In Fire. It's fun, but it's also really rushed. I watched a few but ultimately I didn't get on with it much. It's not offensively competitive like the US...

        I'm really on the fence about Forged In Fire. It's fun, but it's also really rushed. I watched a few but ultimately I didn't get on with it much. It's not offensively competitive like the US version of Masterchef is, so there's that at least.

        My youtube blacksmith crush, Ilya Alekseyev, was on FiF once and just killed it. He has since said he thinks it's a terrible show and nobody should watch it. But he's kind of a dick, albeit an incredibly skilled one. Here he is making a katana the right way. That hamon line (the dark/light transition running lengthways along the blade). Just. Hnnnng.

        I'd also recommend, if you're interested in the topic, spending some time with Alec Steele who isn't quite the master-level smith that Ilya is, but is far, far more personable and has some superb long-form (multipart) videos in which he makes some beautiful knives, swords and more. One of my small claims to fame is that I met Alec a couple of times before he got famous, because we're both from the same city, and he's actually even more charming than he appears on video. Both Alec and Will have been offered the chance to appear on Forged In Fire and both turned it down.

        If you want any words explaining please do ask! I'm glad I've been fairly clear so far but I'm always happy to explain further because it helps me learn. :)

        3 votes
        1. [5]
          acdw
          Link Parent
          That Ilya Alekseyev video is great! I really like the history he goes into while making the blade; it's a good way to keep the viewer's interest. I also see what you mean re: Forged in Fire. I'd...

          That Ilya Alekseyev video is great! I really like the history he goes into while making the blade; it's a good way to keep the viewer's interest.

          I also see what you mean re: Forged in Fire. I'd prefer a season-long competition between the same competitors, possibly even with longer episodes. I think Netflix could do a lot of interesting innovation in this space -- maybe we could have a slower-paced competition show. One I'd love to see, which would be similarly rushed in a "traditional" format, would be fiber arts -- crochet, knitting, cross stitch, etc. I think a show that got close, but was still a little rushed, was the glass-blowing competition show they had, I forget the name.

          Thanks so much for the videos -- I'll have to check out Alec and maybe send him on to my dad, who was a blacksmith for a while and now that he's retired, is making knives out of sawblades and stuff.

          2 votes
          1. [4]
            mat
            Link Parent
            You might want to seek out The Great British Sewing Bee, although that was only sewing, it's still very enjoyable. Blown Away was the glass one. I quite enjoyed that, I think it helped that they...

            You might want to seek out The Great British Sewing Bee, although that was only sewing, it's still very enjoyable.

            Blown Away was the glass one. I quite enjoyed that, I think it helped that they gave them more time to work with and only did a couple of things each week. There's also The Great Pottery Thrown Down which is the same format as the Great British Bake Off but for ceramics. I'm currently watching Glow Up, which is the same thing but for make-up. I do, as might be clear at this point, quite enjoy that style of TV but Forged In Fire didn't quite hit the mark for some reason. It's a bit shouty. I like my competitions rather less... well, competitive. At least overtly so. The UK ones tend to be more fun I think, they are a bit slower and the competitors seem to be friendlier with each other.

            My sister works in TV development, I'll mention a fibre arts variant to her, that's a pretty good idea - loads of people knit and crochet and stuff, so that could have legs. TV commissioning is a bit of a mess at the moment but who knows.

            3 votes
            1. [3]
              acdw
              Link Parent
              I agree with you on all these points. I felt the same about the American production of the shrubbery show -- it was too fast and loud, honestly. Maybe it wasn't American. I don't know. I like the...

              [Forged in Fire is] a bit shouty. I like my competitions rather less... well, competitive. At least overtly so. The UK ones tend to be more fun I think, they are a bit slower and the competitors seem to be friendlier with each other.

              I agree with you on all these points. I felt the same about the American production of the shrubbery show -- it was too fast and loud, honestly. Maybe it wasn't American. I don't know. I like the friendly competition shows.

              I will definitely check out the other shows you mention, thank you! I think my wife watched Glow Up and liked it.

              Also thanks for the mention! Of course, I have a $1,000,000 idea that I have to share now ... :P
              I'd like to see a show where 12 would-be producers/show-runners of reality TV pitch and produce the Next Big Reality Show. It'd be so meta and unwieldy, I'd love it.

              1 vote
              1. [2]
                mat
                Link Parent
                Hah, nice idea. Message from my sister: "I’ve pitched that. We called it The Producers. Apparently “nobody wants to watch tv inside jokes”"

                I'd like to see a show where 12 would-be producers/show-runners of reality TV pitch and produce the Next Big Reality Show. It'd be so meta and unwieldy, I'd love it.

                Hah, nice idea. Message from my sister: "I’ve pitched that. We called it The Producers. Apparently “nobody wants to watch tv inside jokes”"

                1 vote
                1. acdw
                  Link Parent
                  Lolol tell her I'D watch it! Audience of one right there. Also apparently I need to go into TV development. Though I might not be too successful.

                  Lolol tell her I'D watch it! Audience of one right there.

                  Also apparently I need to go into TV development. Though I might not be too successful.

                  1 vote
  2. [4]
    Comment deleted by author
    Link
    1. [2]
      eve
      Link Parent
      ohmygod the honk!! That's hilarious, I love it. Having a comfortable workspace is important to getting good work done. I hope you're able to break through your block!

      ohmygod the honk!! That's hilarious, I love it. Having a comfortable workspace is important to getting good work done. I hope you're able to break through your block!

      4 votes
      1. [2]
        Comment deleted by author
        Link Parent
        1. eve
          Link Parent
          That is so amazing, thank you, I love the honk.

          That is so amazing, thank you, I love the honk.

          3 votes
  3. [3]
    Grendel
    Link
    I hit two major snags this week. Firstly I discovered that I'm allergic to the darkroom chemicals! My hands broke out in a rash that spread to hives on my chest. It took a week for it to finally...

    I hit two major snags this week.
    Firstly I discovered that I'm allergic to the darkroom chemicals! My hands broke out in a rash that spread to hives on my chest. It took a week for it to finally go away. I'm going to have to get gloves and be very careful until I can find an alternative developer.

    Secondly, I'm having some camera issues with my light seal. A replacement part has finally come in, so hopefully this week will be better. I do have one print to add to the collection.

    See Here

    9 votes
    1. [2]
      kfwyre
      Link Parent
      As someone who's allergic to pretty much everything, I know your pain (and itchiness!). Sorry to hear about the reaction and I hope you can find a way to develop your photos safely. Also, I am...

      As someone who's allergic to pretty much everything, I know your pain (and itchiness!). Sorry to hear about the reaction and I hope you can find a way to develop your photos safely.

      Also, I am LOVING your photo series, by the way.

      2 votes
      1. Grendel
        Link Parent
        Thanks for the encouragement! Yeah hopefully gloves will cut it until I can buy some developer that doesn't have Metol in it.

        Thanks for the encouragement! Yeah hopefully gloves will cut it until I can buy some developer that doesn't have Metol in it.

        1 vote
  4. [2]
    eve
    Link
    I feel like this week I got more done, in part because I wrote more than the first week and I also got past the damned cuff of the sock and am working on the body. Hurray for progress! Knitting:...

    I feel like this week I got more done, in part because I wrote more than the first week and I also got past the damned cuff of the sock and am working on the body. Hurray for progress!

    Knitting: Here's a wip! I've gotten a few stripes down (1/5 of the way there before I have to do the heel lol) and I'm mostly happy with how it's turning out! After doing two stripes, I had a lot of loose ends from switching between colors and it's a mess to have to work with. I tried one weave in as you go method, and while I like mostly how it works, it messed with the stitches on the outside of the work. The stitches look SUPER tiny, so it looks like there's a weird zigzag here. The little Vs look staggered instead of straight across. I'll be trying another method I saw and hope that goes a little better, or I'll modify the one I used already. Either way, it's the far preferable option than to have to weave everything in at the end since there'll be like 20 something stripes I have to work through. No thank you, I have weaving in the ends.

    Writing: Slow and steady wins the race here. I've gotten through a few more of the writing exercises, and one I particularly struggled with. It was to write a story with the start at 3 different moments (when the race begins, when the character finds out about the race, and the start of the race or competition). I had a doozy of a day with that one, but I still managed to push through it and I feel all the better for it.

    I think overall I'm proud of what I've done, but I need to kick it up a notch and get MORE done, with both the knitting and writing. I'm hoping to spend the day doing both and half catching up, half getting somewhere I'm more comfortable being given that the month is half over (I perish!).

    8 votes
    1. [2]
      Comment deleted by author
      Link Parent
      1. eve
        Link Parent
        Thank you so much!!! I'm currently experimenting so we'll see how the next couple of rows turn out, but I'm hopeful lol!

        Thank you so much!!! I'm currently experimenting so we'll see how the next couple of rows turn out, but I'm hopeful lol!

        3 votes
  5. archevel
    Link
    I didn't really sign-up at the start of Timasomo, but wanted to share what I'm working on anyway. I've started building a VR voice chat app using Unity+Google Cardboard+WebRTC. The idea is to get...

    I didn't really sign-up at the start of Timasomo, but wanted to share what I'm working on anyway. I've started building a VR voice chat app using Unity+Google Cardboard+WebRTC. The idea is to get a simple multi-peer voice chat working with 3D sounds so peers can hear "where" the participants are and possibly also move away into subgroups later. So far I've gotten moving around to work as well as the 3d sound part. Next step is to slap together a naive signaling server to facilitate the initial connections between peers and then figure out how frequently to send position updates and interpolate between positions. Anyway, it is a fun project to think about!

    7 votes
  6. [3]
    acdw
    Link
    I kind of ... fell off the wagon last week. I got a smidgen of the Sad so I lost a lot of steam with that. I'm thinking of just trying to finish my crochet blanket by the end of November. I'm...

    I kind of ... fell off the wagon last week. I got a smidgen of the Sad so I lost a lot of steam with that. I'm thinking of just trying to finish my crochet blanket by the end of November.

    I'm trying to be gracious with myself and forgiving, you know?

    7 votes
    1. [2]
      kfwyre
      Link Parent
      Be gracious and forgiving to everyone, but most of all be gracious and forgiving to yourself! :) I'm actually in the same boat as you. I'm pretty embarrassed that I'm running this event and I...

      Be gracious and forgiving to everyone, but most of all be gracious and forgiving to yourself! :)

      I'm actually in the same boat as you. I'm pretty embarrassed that I'm running this event and I haven't even started my work yet! I've planned out a couple of different things to write but as of yet have achieved a word count of exactly zero.

      I've got a smidgen of the COVID-anxiety at present, and it's remarkably debilitating.

      6 votes
      1. acdw
        Link Parent
        Thanks for the reminder -- you're absolutely right about forgiving yourself. And I've definitely been there, with running something and falling behind! As far as COVID goes, yes. Oh my goodness....

        Thanks for the reminder -- you're absolutely right about forgiving yourself. And I've definitely been there, with running something and falling behind!

        As far as COVID goes, yes. Oh my goodness. It's insane and scary and getting worse and .. yeah. Stay safe out there.

        2 votes
  7. [4]
    Icarus
    Link
    This week has been okay, I'm trying to wrap up a cohesive set for my last class tomorrow. I basically just have stories and jokes regarding where I grew up and have specifically focused on that....

    This week has been okay, I'm trying to wrap up a cohesive set for my last class tomorrow. I basically just have stories and jokes regarding where I grew up and have specifically focused on that. I'm looking forward to branching out to new subjects.

    What I thought was a good set with a lot of laughs didn't go over well at all at my latest open mic (it didn't go well last week either at this same event). I seem to do much better at open mics that are 100% comedy only. The only people who seem to do well telling jokes in the other events, are telling a hodge podge of jokes that they didn't come up with, but rather stole from another site online.

    But, back to the drawing board I suppose. I think I might work on putting together my own open mic comedy event in AltSpace so that there are more venues for practicing.

    6 votes
    1. [2]
      AugustusFerdinand
      Link Parent
      I don't understand what you mean here. Are some of the open mic events a mix of things like poetry, singing, etc?

      What I thought was a good set with a lot of laughs didn't go over well at all at my latest open mic (it didn't go well last week either at this same event). I seem to do much better at open mics that are 100% comedy only. The only people who seem to do well telling jokes in the other events, are telling a hodge podge of jokes that they didn't come up with, but rather stole from another site online.

      I don't understand what you mean here. Are some of the open mic events a mix of things like poetry, singing, etc?

      1 vote
      1. Icarus
        Link Parent
        Yes, for the most part, open mics lean more towards users singing/playing an instrument/reading poetry. I went to an open mic last week and I was the only comedian performing, so they didn't...

        Yes, for the most part, open mics lean more towards users singing/playing an instrument/reading poetry. I went to an open mic last week and I was the only comedian performing, so they didn't bother with unmuting the audience.

        But it seems my intuition was right as I made an event space in Unity last night and put together a comedy-only open mic that seemed to resonate with the audience.

        5 votes
    2. Icarus
      Link Parent
      Class reception of my routine went extremely well yesterday. I will be performing in AltSpace this Thursday 11/19, starting at 9:00 PM CST. VR headset not required to watch, but if you have one...

      Class reception of my routine went extremely well yesterday. I will be performing in AltSpace this Thursday 11/19, starting at 9:00 PM CST.

      VR headset not required to watch, but if you have one please visit and check the show out! All of my classmates should be performing and the show will close out with a professional stand-up comedian who got their start from this class in real life.

      https://account.altvr.com/events/1605522168156782952

      If you have any questions, let me know!

      1 vote
  8. meerific
    (edited )
    Link
    I talked to more people about their experience with community this week. One lived in a commune for a few years, another has lived in five countries over the past eight years, and a third has...

    I talked to more people about their experience with community this week. One lived in a commune for a few years, another has lived in five countries over the past eight years, and a third has lived in San Francisco since the 80s and watched it change. Their perspectives were all very interesting.

    I wrote a first draft for my post, which I always scrap. The second draft is usually the one I publish, and I'll try to get that done early next week. I didn't expect removing my wisdom teeth and breaking my phone this past week would affect me as much as it did. Oh well, I'm feeling better now. No excuses this week!

    EDIT: I finished it up last night and published it this morning! Let me know what you think: Humane Communities: how we can live and grow together

    6 votes
  9. kyotja
    Link
    I continue to work on an android gemini browser. I found out that someone else beat me to the punch here, which was a tad bit disappointing but has provided some pointers, which is nice. I got...

    I continue to work on an android gemini browser. I found out that someone else beat me to the punch here, which was a tad bit disappointing but has provided some pointers, which is nice.

    I got android studio all set up and had a lot of fun plugging in my phone and playing around with different layouts on there. It's nice to see immediate results on a device I carry around all day, it makes everything feel much more applicable.

    I'm currently working on a java cli to make gemini requests, and learning a lot about SSL in the process. One problem I didn't foresee is that since gemini is still pretty new, it's very difficult to search for answers to gemini specific problems :( just gotta keep keeping on, I guess.

    6 votes
  10. 0d_billie
    Link
    Clipping along nicely. Experienced a bit of burnout last week from the constant churn of writing, but I'm more or less back into the groove now. Will see how being at work affects it though. I...

    Clipping along nicely. Experienced a bit of burnout last week from the constant churn of writing, but I'm more or less back into the groove now. Will see how being at work affects it though.
    I challenged myself to learn 30 songs in 30 days earlier this year, and I feel like that prepared me for daily writing in a good way. That said, learning something that already exists is much easier than bringing a new creation into the world.

    5 votes
  11. Liru
    Link
    Got nothing done on the text-based game. Work was exhausting (I've got a whole rant about American coworkers not understanding English), I procrastinated with some worldbuilding for an ongoing...

    Got nothing done on the text-based game. Work was exhausting (I've got a whole rant about American coworkers not understanding English), I procrastinated with some worldbuilding for an ongoing setting when a bolt of inspiration struck me, and my desire to code over the weekend was flushed when I thought an acquaintance of mine was in a hostage situation.

    On the plus side, someone commissioned art of one of my characters from the previously-mentioned setting from an artist, so I'm technically counting that as fanart to cheer myself up. Hooray.

    5 votes
  12. [3]
    AugustusFerdinand
    (edited )
    Link
    Work continues on the Toyota Big Block Build even if it wasn't as much work as I'd like it to have been... Previous update is here. Didn't get as much as done this weekend as I only worked on it...

    Work continues on the Toyota Big Block Build even if it wasn't as much work as I'd like it to have been... Previous update is here.

    Didn't get as much as done this weekend as I only worked on it Saturday (and even then didn't get as much as done as I should have), Sunday was a day spent dealing with personal issues. Saturday involved poor time management by first doing things out of order and secondly spending too much time on things that didn't need that much attention. What should have started with degreasing the remaining cam cover, cams, and associated hardware was instead spent with me removing the crank sprocket and needlessly cleaning (again) nooks and crannies of the block that ultimately won't matter. So while I could have been accomplishing two tasks at once by letting the cams, et al, sit in degreaser I instead wasted time on the block as they sat untouched.

    On the one hand the crank sprocket removal took more time than it should have, on the other hand that's pretty much expected when working on old cars so I didn't mind too much. Ultimately it's a matter of doing things "properly" vs quickly, but it's a bit of adding insult to injury when the proper way doesn't work and you have to resort to the quick way. The special tool I mentioned last week did arrive, but didn't work (and is being sent back) for a couple of reasons. The tool was supposed to be low profile enough to squeeze into the area between the sprocket and sprocket guard, but it wasn't; so I wasted time busting out my die grinder to eat away at the guard to make room for the tool. Once I was covered in enough aluminum chips that there was clearance I find that the lip on the crank sprocket, where the tool grips, just kept breaking off as force was applied making the tool doubly useless.

    Between big screwdrivers, crowbars, cusswords, and even the correct tool for the job it was clear it didn't want to come off and I was tired of asking. So what's a man with rotary tools, diamond cut off discs, and chisels to do? Line up with key slot to minimize chances of damaging crank nose, cut as deep as you dare, make relief cut on opposite side, and hit it with a chisel to split the little bastard in two. It should be noted that this process of cutting it off took, at most, 20 minutes, compared to the hours spent on the other methods. Afterward take off the oil pump, that even if you weren't replacing with a high flow version you'd have ruined anyway, and clean up the gasket surfaces before moving on to the previously mentioned time wasted cleaning the block further than what's necessary.

    After last week's dialing in of sodablasting cabinet and realizing that it'd probably be better to degrease at least a little of the valve covers, cams, and related components before putting the baking soda spurs to them, I picked up some brake cleaner and set out to get some of the previous owner's neglect off of this week's blasting targets. In case you were wondering, oil should not be chunky. Story time below!1 After degreasing, and confirming that while there's plenty of old stinky oil remnants on them the cam lobes and bearing surfaces aren't burnt (praise be the god's of Toyota), off to the sodablaster to get cleaned up.

    That's where this week's update ends, with plenty left to do. Valve cover number two is mostly cleaned up, but needs some spots gone over again. I need to pull the head out of my storage shed, remove components attached to it, degrease, and put it in the cabinet as well for cleaning both on the top end and the combustion chambers. Do an inventory of the rebuild parts to be 100% sure I do have everything (and order anything I missed), get the pistons and rods together (which will be exciting as there's fire involved), and finish the rebuild as far as can be done without having pulled the old motor out of the car yet. Paint the block, let it dry, and mount the head. Also having one of my best friends over next weekend for some welding work so you might get a glimpse at that as well even though it's not related to this project.

    1

    Rewind to 2015, I was in the parking lot of a grocery store on a cold, drizzle-y, miserable day when I see a could-use-a-little-work-but-overall-not-bad 1st generation Toyota MR2 in Super White wearing a matching set of period correct (and appropriately mounted) Enkei EK81 wheels with center caps intact, snapped a photo and went about my day as the driver was leaving and the weather sucked so I wasn't going to try to have a car guy conversation in the rain.

    Fast forward a couple of years to 2017 on an equally dreary day as the first encounter, I'm driving somehwere at 9am on a Saturday (the fact that I'm awake enough to be headed anywhere at 9am on a weekend means it was probably important) when my car-guy-spidey-sense goes off and out of the corner of my eye I spot the same AW11 in the parking lot of a small donut shop. I immediately find a place to make a u-turn and head back to check it out. It's a little worse for wear is to put it mildly; especially notice the bald tires.

    Here's a tip: Bald tires are bad. Bald tires in the rain are really bad. Bald tires, in the rain, on a mid-engined car are downright deadly.

    I don't know who it belongs to as I never got a good look at the driver the first time, so I stand outside, in the rain, waiting for someone to walk up to the car like some sort of car-nut-stalker. A thankfully short amount of time passes before he exist the donut shop with a box and walks up to the car. I approach him with the intent of asking if he'd be willing to sell the wheels and if so exchanging phone numbers. He wasn't opposed to the idea, but not convinced either with his main question being "well, what would I drive on?". Which is a fair question and I offered him the stock steel wheels off of one of my cars with new tires on them plus cash in exchange. We trade numbers as he says he'll think about it. I don't expect much, but short of robbing the guy it's all I can do.

    Fast forward again to two months later and I get a text telling me to make him an offer on the wheels, I do so and schedule a time to go get them, no replacement wheels needed. I meet up with him and he says he was out on a test drive with someone that was going to buy the car when the engine locks up, sale doesn't go through obviously, he has it towed back to the alley behind his apartment, and after I take the wheels off (and leave it on blocks in the alley) he's selling it to a junkyard that'll come pick it up. Know what two word phrase is music to an old car guy's ears? Part out. A part out is the harvesting of usable components from one car to use them to keep another to the road. It's one of the reasons cash-for-clunkers is a bad word among car guys along with being a complete failure. So it's harvest time!

    I make offers for the wheels (but he wanted to keep the tires, two of which were new, crap, and the wrong size for both his car and what I need anyway), side vent (80's cars weren't afraid of being asymmetrical), engine head, and maybe the mud flaps (can't remember for sure of the last one). The interior was trashed so nothing of use there and with the report that the engine had locked up I had no desire to pull the entire engine and transmission out in the middle of August in Texas, as I expected it to be little more than a boat anchor. Once I got the valve covers off to get to the head bolts I learned how the guy managed to kill something widely considered unkillable (to be fair, the engine was probably rebuildable). Oil pumps like pumping oil, they do not like pumping road tar. This poor thing had to have gone tens of thousands of miles without an oil change. It was no longer a liquid.

    Handshake deal (remember when you could touch total strangers?) and I tell him I'll be back in a couple of days with some friends and my tools to get the stuff. Do so and he comes out to check on us and talk while he's outside having a cigarette. Find out that it was his father's car originally, he listed off a number of other classic cars his father had before he passed away, this and that to ultimately get to the fact that his father was a car guy with some great taste and he's not a car guy at all, just needed transportation. Bald tires led to slipping in the rain and ping-ponging off cars and the front fenders being destroyed to the point they needed removing.

    Hope everyone's projects and plans are going well, here's cat tax round two: Hank.

    5 votes
    1. [2]
      mat
      Link Parent
      I was waiting to hear "it can't be stuck if it's a liquid" but glad to hear you didn't have to resort to a plasma wrench to get that sprocket off. Regarding chunky oil, I once pulled the cylinder...

      I was waiting to hear "it can't be stuck if it's a liquid" but glad to hear you didn't have to resort to a plasma wrench to get that sprocket off.

      Regarding chunky oil, I once pulled the cylinder head off an ancient Skoda to find the oil wasn't even chunky, it was spreadable. The block was literally full of margarine. Cleaning that out was all sorts of awful. Later the same engine somehow produced brown smoke when started, which I'd never seen before, or since.. Got the bugger running though, drove it cross-country two days later and it was glorious.

      I do miss fiddling about with cars. Very much enjoying seeing your project progressing.

      3 votes
      1. AugustusFerdinand
        Link Parent
        Ha! I contemplated tossing the mechanic's meme in there, but couldn't find an image I like and didn't feel like creating a new one. When I took the valve covers off the head as I was pulling it in...

        Ha! I contemplated tossing the mechanic's meme in there, but couldn't find an image I like and didn't feel like creating a new one.

        When I took the valve covers off the head as I was pulling it in the alley you couldn't tell there was a valvetrain under there, had to scoop it off. Praise be nitrile gloves! Spreadable oil is prime content for /r/Justrolledintotheshop, meme it up by scooping into jars and call it Mechanic's Marmite.

        Brown? Brown? How the heck do you get brown smoke? I did a quick google and the only references I could find say that if the smoke turns brown it's indicative of untreated wood burning in a structural fire. Which just opens up more questions!

  13. Gyrfalcon
    Link
    Researching and reading this week went pretty well. I probably should have taken more notes but oh well, note taking makes a fun project more of a chore, and I'm planning on being a bit more...

    Researching and reading this week went pretty well. I probably should have taken more notes but oh well, note taking makes a fun project more of a chore, and I'm planning on being a bit more "Here's my sources, I'm going to talk about them and not cite every little thing" in what I eventually write. Either way, I read two life cycle cost analyses that reached opposite conclusions on the topic of which kind of Christmas tree is best for the environment, so I think there should be some good opportunity to talk about why that might be, make some recommendations on how to reduce your consumption as an individual no matter what option you choose, and speculate on how both natural and artificial Christmas tree production could be made more environmentally friendly.

    4 votes
  14. Fiachra
    Link
    10k words written out of 50k. Probably won't be done on time, but I'm determined to finish it so I'm not too bothered about that.

    10k words written out of 50k. Probably won't be done on time, but I'm determined to finish it so I'm not too bothered about that.

    4 votes
  15. autumn
    Link
    I’m still chugging along! I’m just shy of 24k words out of 50k. Got a little behind over weekend due to traveling, but I made some of it up yesterday and today. I’m pretty sure I’ll hit my goal so...

    I’m still chugging along! I’m just shy of 24k words out of 50k. Got a little behind over weekend due to traveling, but I made some of it up yesterday and today. I’m pretty sure I’ll hit my goal so long as nothing super crazy happens. Even Thanksgiving should be pretty chill this year.

    4 votes
  16. aphoenix
    Link
    I made limited progress this week. I have decided to use Zola as a static site generator, be and have put together a basic site. I did very limited design and development of the theme. This week...

    I made limited progress this week. I have decided to use Zola as a static site generator, be and have put together a basic site. I did very limited design and development of the theme. This week just got busy for me; had too much work and a water leak that had to get fixed.

    3 votes
  17. [2]
    Tygrak
    Link
    Whoops! I did it again! Or more precisely, I didn't do it again. Still kind of busy with stuff, and when I finally had some free time I didn't do music. The last few weeks I got quite into...

    Whoops! I did it again! Or more precisely, I didn't do it again. Still kind of busy with stuff, and when I finally had some free time I didn't do music. The last few weeks I got quite into doodling on my graphic tablet, one evening I made this digital drawing thingy. So at least I am still making something in this Tildes make something month, even if it's not what I said I will be making.

    I still believe I will stop procrastinating and make the damn song(s)!

    3 votes
    1. autumn
      Link Parent
      Super cute Eevee!

      Super cute Eevee!

      2 votes