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The great eclipse
2017-Aug-21, Monday 11:45Wow, I didnt post in July, sorry about that....
Daily I see these messages about donating cars to charity.
They often say something about fixing them up for sale.
95% of the time, they give you a $500 write-off, and the car goes directly to the crusher without even being looked at and the charity actually nets $25 when the smoke clears.
A few of the charities take the best of the cars and ship them overseas for sale.
In order to get around import-export, they cur the car in half for shipping and weld it back together on the other end before sale.
This, of course, places a very unsafe car on an overseas highway.
In the US, after welding a car back together, a very detailed recertification is required to put it back on the road.
The stretch limos, if they use a spliced chassis instead of a custom new one require a VERY detailed
In most cases, welding a chassis back together again after cutting in half, results in a very unsafe car.
My sense of honor is a bit ragged around the edges, but not ragged enough to participate in the whole car donation scam.
The whole bit about doing radio comms for events is just not fun anymore.
I dont know how long I am going to keep doing this.
The El Cerrito July 4th thing was not fun either.
There really isnt a whole lot of anything thats really fun any more.
Over at Sharon & Dons, I got the tile backer board installed in one shower and steam cleaned the other.
Both got a thorough water proofing and some punky plaster removed and filled.
The pipes were not correctly braced in the hall bath shower so that was fixed before the backer went in.
Now Don can wade in and tile the hall bath.
Then Don & I took on part of the basement.
The wrong sealing compound between foundation & slab had been allied and I scraped that out and then dismantled a gardening closet. Don followed me with the right sealant.
The new outdoor garden shed isnt done yet, so I dismanteled the closet around the shelves in the closet.
This will yield the space for the new CNC machine.
Upcoming projects will include milling metal printing plates.
Faire season is upon us.
Buildout for Ren Faire started this weekend.
Im not going to make it to Ren this year, but the ball is rolling for next year if all works out.
Meanwhile, Dickens workshops start a week after Ren Fair teardown.
A while back, Laura & I ran the numbers and figured out Cuthberts Tea Shoppe could only run 2500 people per season for high tea.
After tea, you get a tea pot and some goodies in a shopping bag that we print.
Last year, the other side of the tea shoppe that just sells tins of tea and teapots started using the bags too, which put us at short supply.
We THINK they will use 3500 shopping bags this year.
Unfortunately, St Cuthberts at both Northern Faire and Southern Faire have started using the leftover bags from Dickens for Tea With The Queen.
This depletes stock needed for 1st weekend at Dickens while we are printing the next batch.
Never mind that it is AD1500 and the shopping bags say "Since 1774".
"But... Thats NOT PERIOD!!!" Where are the history police when we need them?
The solution is to come up with a logo for Ren Faire and get them to use the right bags for the right occasion.
We have been using photopolymer (New plate each year) for the bags at Dickens and sometimes it takes the whole 1st weekend to get the "bag job" make-ready process ironed out.
Some years its taken 2 weeks to get it right.
Enter the CNC mill.
Metal plate for each Ren & Dickens.
Combining that with the way we adapted the flexographic process to platen presses we should be able to do make-ready in about 10 mins flat.
The big press lives up north, so we wont see it till rehearsal weekend at Faire.
It is going to get its turn being steam cleaned for the first time in a century.
That is going to be one tight weekend.
Im fabricating some mock-ups for more shop fixtures.
If they pass muster, either Don will bang them out on CNC or I will over at the KSW shop.
Meanwhile KSW will be bringing steam engines to Roaring Camp the weekend of Sept 30 Oct 1
It sounds like Steve & Colleen have finally landed, which is a relief.
Im trying to be out of storage in Santa Clara before Dickens starts.
I need to find someone who wants a queen size bed, frame, box & mattress, and no bed bugs.
No word on the big bike yet.
I finally scored the perfect radio to install on it. (Rain resistant)
Ill try and get another post off before Labor Day.
Daily I see these messages about donating cars to charity.
They often say something about fixing them up for sale.
95% of the time, they give you a $500 write-off, and the car goes directly to the crusher without even being looked at and the charity actually nets $25 when the smoke clears.
A few of the charities take the best of the cars and ship them overseas for sale.
In order to get around import-export, they cur the car in half for shipping and weld it back together on the other end before sale.
This, of course, places a very unsafe car on an overseas highway.
In the US, after welding a car back together, a very detailed recertification is required to put it back on the road.
The stretch limos, if they use a spliced chassis instead of a custom new one require a VERY detailed
In most cases, welding a chassis back together again after cutting in half, results in a very unsafe car.
My sense of honor is a bit ragged around the edges, but not ragged enough to participate in the whole car donation scam.
The whole bit about doing radio comms for events is just not fun anymore.
I dont know how long I am going to keep doing this.
The El Cerrito July 4th thing was not fun either.
There really isnt a whole lot of anything thats really fun any more.
Over at Sharon & Dons, I got the tile backer board installed in one shower and steam cleaned the other.
Both got a thorough water proofing and some punky plaster removed and filled.
The pipes were not correctly braced in the hall bath shower so that was fixed before the backer went in.
Now Don can wade in and tile the hall bath.
Then Don & I took on part of the basement.
The wrong sealing compound between foundation & slab had been allied and I scraped that out and then dismantled a gardening closet. Don followed me with the right sealant.
The new outdoor garden shed isnt done yet, so I dismanteled the closet around the shelves in the closet.
This will yield the space for the new CNC machine.
Upcoming projects will include milling metal printing plates.
Faire season is upon us.
Buildout for Ren Faire started this weekend.
Im not going to make it to Ren this year, but the ball is rolling for next year if all works out.
Meanwhile, Dickens workshops start a week after Ren Fair teardown.
A while back, Laura & I ran the numbers and figured out Cuthberts Tea Shoppe could only run 2500 people per season for high tea.
After tea, you get a tea pot and some goodies in a shopping bag that we print.
Last year, the other side of the tea shoppe that just sells tins of tea and teapots started using the bags too, which put us at short supply.
We THINK they will use 3500 shopping bags this year.
Unfortunately, St Cuthberts at both Northern Faire and Southern Faire have started using the leftover bags from Dickens for Tea With The Queen.
This depletes stock needed for 1st weekend at Dickens while we are printing the next batch.
Never mind that it is AD1500 and the shopping bags say "Since 1774".
"But... Thats NOT PERIOD!!!" Where are the history police when we need them?
The solution is to come up with a logo for Ren Faire and get them to use the right bags for the right occasion.
We have been using photopolymer (New plate each year) for the bags at Dickens and sometimes it takes the whole 1st weekend to get the "bag job" make-ready process ironed out.
Some years its taken 2 weeks to get it right.
Enter the CNC mill.
Metal plate for each Ren & Dickens.
Combining that with the way we adapted the flexographic process to platen presses we should be able to do make-ready in about 10 mins flat.
The big press lives up north, so we wont see it till rehearsal weekend at Faire.
It is going to get its turn being steam cleaned for the first time in a century.
That is going to be one tight weekend.
Im fabricating some mock-ups for more shop fixtures.
If they pass muster, either Don will bang them out on CNC or I will over at the KSW shop.
Meanwhile KSW will be bringing steam engines to Roaring Camp the weekend of Sept 30 Oct 1
It sounds like Steve & Colleen have finally landed, which is a relief.
Im trying to be out of storage in Santa Clara before Dickens starts.
I need to find someone who wants a queen size bed, frame, box & mattress, and no bed bugs.
No word on the big bike yet.
I finally scored the perfect radio to install on it. (Rain resistant)
Ill try and get another post off before Labor Day.
