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2004-06-08 Rev. 2004-07-04, -07-05, 2006-02-13, 2007-03-02, -04-23, -04-30, -10-30, -12-02
2008-02-08, -05-01, -06-09, -08-22, -08-31
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I wanted a page to mention things I had done that were not related to glass that were interesting or challenging so I could share my knowledge and brag. Then I got to thinking about creative thinking and added that here.  Several years ago the Dallas Morning News ran a feature on people around town who had done serious work on their house.  One had reroofed, another had done the sewer lines, a third had redone the electrical service and rewired the house.  As I sat reading it, I said, "I've done all of those."  Of course, I'm not very good at working on my car.

Creative Thinking

I am willing to bet that most of these ideas are not new to me.  In fact, I may have read them in books and magazines or seen them on TV shows down through the years.  But thinking again of them, I will share them.

• Borrow Ideas - So step one in creative thinking is always be ready to borrow ideas, both from others and from yourself in other fields.  It is not being creative to plagiarize or steal an image or words, but it certainly is useful to observe a core idea and stretch or shift it to fit.  There have been whole books written on shifting thinking and looking at ideas other ways.  Other words that mean the same thing lead to other meanings of the same words.  With the Internet in place, a search on a word can result in dozens or hundreds of responses (or none.)

• Ask for Help - There are lots of people out there who enjoy helping solve problems.  Often the people who sell products know a lot about the products and related products.  When I could not successfully drill holes in the end of acrylic rod, I called a plastics company and learned that extruded rod has so much stress it in it will always crack inside, while cast rod can be drilled easily.  By extension Ask Who Else might have a solution or product.  The man with the answer had cast acrylic rod on Houston, but knew that a competitor stocked it in Dallas.  I am very loyal to the first plastic supplier.  People are very loyal to Elliott's Hardware because they get solutions, even if it is a referral to another source.

• Change Your Mind - Look at a solution, decide it isn't a good one, work on another, change your mind and go back to the first one.  Just because you made a poor decision doesn't mean you are stuck with new one or none.  This also applies to your own enthusiasm for an idea - see the flaws that are developing and change away from them if needed.

• Park Ideas - I have always found that my half best ideas are not worked out quickly.  If I seem to be coming up against a wall, I will mentally or by making a drawing or notes, park the need to come back to it under different circumstances.  This falls in the category of "you will find it when you are not looking for it."  If you are under pressure for a solution, then parking may be a matter of a few moments - draw a blank, park the idea, look at the other needs of the problem, look at the parked idea again.

• Take Your Time - This can be most difficult when you are under pressure, especially if others are chattering and distracting.  Ideally, you can take the problem and walk around with it, letting it cogitate in your mind while you through up solutions.

• Treat Product as Raw Material - Working in a hardware store, one of the joys has been the opportunity to work on customer's problems and come up with fragments of ideas or solutions that I don't need to test and develop myself.  I find that often a solution arises when I treat finished products as raw material.  A simple example is someone wanting a thicker piece of wide metal than we stock as sheet or hobby metal.  A brass kick plate may be an answer.  Some one who wants a longish narrow hinge may be able to cut it from a piano (continuous) hinge several feet long. "Pipe" when redefined as "long round hollow stuff" can then mean tubing, lamp parts, or rolled up sheet metal.  A "door handle" may be a Baldwin or it may be a piece of water pipe, two elbows and two flanges.

• Ask and Listen and Draw - When working with someone else, gather information and understand it.  Feed the information back in another form.  "Let's see if I understand you."  "Let me draw a picture."  When working on your own, draw pictures or write outlines and add questions against the ongoing collection that is created.  Trying to draw it may make you realize that dimensions are very important to the answer - it may work if the size is right.  Or shape or weight. In working with another person, color or size may be more important than quality or cost.

• Ignore Cost - Eventually cost may be a factor, but ignoring it while doing creative thinking may solve the problem, then working on reducing the cost can occur.  If something can be made in gold, then perhaps it can be made in brass by a different technique.  This is one of my limitations - I am cheap by reflex and when I am standing with a customer, I may not extend my thinking, assuming that people do not want to spend $600 for a door handle - which I would never do.  Years ago, I should have bought a full-sized drill press, much more useful in reaching to the center of things and tilting, etc., instead of the smaller bench models I did, but I was being cheap until I finally had to have it.

• Define Terms - Especially when working with other people.  "Heavy" is a relative term.  When told that a mirror or a fixture is "heavy", the first thing I try to do is pin down the weight.  A woman who says a pot she wants to hang on the wall is "heavy", is asked to compare the weight to her kid sitting there in the cart.  A mirror on a wall that weighs 100 pounds is a different problem than a moose head because the moose head sticks out from the wall. 

• Do It Again - I tend to solve problems quickly by using ropes and knots - I learned them young in the Scouts and I do them well.  We keep a fair amount of rope around that gets reused.  But once something is tied up or tied down, it may be time to consider what is a better solution.  There may be none.  When this shade frame was first built, the upper bars were held in place by lashing.  But with time, taking it down or folding it out of the wind became a considerable task, especially with it having to be tipped down into a yard full of stuff.  Somewhere along the way, I made 3 T's out of larger conduit and two fit the upper cross bar to the sides while the third receives a pole for mounting and dismounting the top.  The lower end, which is within my reach, still is lashed.

Bike - Carrier and trailer hitch. This picture shows the most elaborate version of my bike carrier, hitch, and trailer.  I have built about 4 versions of the carrier, which have been stolen and run over.  This version is half-inch square welded tubing bolted to thin angle iron with punched holes in it.  In previous versions I have used cloth and pegboard as the side panels to keep stuff carried on the sides from getting in the wheel.  Thin rope pulled tight seems to work especially well.  A previous conduit tubing trailer was simply tied to the back of the carrier or mounted on a bolt, I still have the light one.  This trailer was custom built to haul upright a 100# propane tank to the fill station which would no longer fill tanks carried sideways in a car.  The tank weighs 180# filled, so the trailer had to be strong and the mount much further forward, as a rear mount would tip the bike up.  The mount is simply a post welded upright to a plate bolted to the carrier.  The hitch is made up of sections that allow 3D movement so the bike can be laid down (or fall down) without destroying anything.  There are 3 axes - vertically around the post, horizontal through the silver headed bolt and yaw (rotation) around a shaft running back from the post. Several sections replace a ball hitch that I could not machine or shape at the time I made it. 2004-07-05 The pictures at right, taken with a phone camera, so a close up of the hitch mount and saddle bags for groceries.  Sharp eyes are required to see that the one below and to right are not the same, mostly by the aluminum lower shelf, the one below being stolen. 2008-02-18 Projects List

Bus, VW back pack, haulers and movers.  When I owned a VW Beetle, I built a triangular "camper" to fit over the engine cover in pockets fastened to the bumper mounts.  There were two compartments; the lower one being for bulk storage - sleeping bags, etc. Inside the upper one was an insulated icebox and a water tank along with shelving.  The upper door dropped down and was held by chain to make a work surface.  I took a long trip in 1962 and removed the back of the back seat and the passenger seat for more storage and a flat surface.  Although I am 6'2", I could sleep straight out with my feet under the dash and my head back near the engine.  Later when I traveled in my VW Squareback I cut cardboard boxes so that from the outside it looked like the passenger side was full, but a chamber existed for me to sleep.

In the early 70's, my first wife and I bought a 42 passenger school bus in Iowa - not rusty but with rural mud caked on - and I tore out the seats and rigged it for travel.  The first things put in all folded: stove, bed, basin, table, so that we could move from Iowa to her residency in Texas.  Empty as a camper later, it weight 12,000 pounds. Loaded for the trip, it weighed 18,000 pounds.  After the move, water tanks under the bed, a heater and refrigerator, clothing and tool storage made it less flexible and more comfortable.  Sewage, propane, and extra gasoline tanks were added underneath along with a pullout ramp under the rear door.  The bus was used for a long trip to the east coast, Iowa to the Carolinas, up to Philadelphia and New Jersey, out to Rhode Island and back to Iowa with several adventures along the way.  It was also taken on trips from Dallas, including a trip with three kids to Big Bend, Ft. Davis, Four Corners, and the Grand Canyon.  On purchase, I estimated the total cost would be about $2000 and I was close.  The vehicle was about $600, a replacement engine $400, a brake rebuild about $400 and the various added appliances and tanks about $700.   Projects List

House - Heating system, gas plumbing, electricity, sewer, water, leveling, chimney, roofing, garage, kitchen, grey water drainage.  I like living in an old house.  I like making changes and in a new house the changes would stand out as well as the incomplete jobs.  The house I was renting when I married my second wife was literally pulling apart by the time we left - the foundation walls were tilting and it had been hit in the corner by a loose car from next door.  The house we moved into was in nice visible shape, but the floor sagged and was out of level so much the dogs learned to drop a ball in the living room and chase it as it rolled into the kitchen. 
  Over the course of time, I did all those things listed above, assisting on the first with my father-in-law and his workers doing most of the skilled stuff.  Gas plumbing included the line to the furnace in the attic and removing extra pipes to unused heaters as well as adding plumbing to move the water heater from the kitchen to a utility porch, add a gas dryer and move the cooking from a stove on one side to a cooktop and dual ovens on the other side.  When we moved in there were two circuit breakers in a box limited to six and all the wiring was old tube and post.  First the box was filled with breakers and wiring changed to grounded Romex and eventually the service was upgraded to 200 amp.  When the sewer line started breaking down, the first part was done professionally, but the rest was rerouted by me around the garage in a trench with a rented trencher.  During leveling, one chimney was found to be resting on the house, making it sag, and was removed brick by brick from top and bottom with a pal.  The other chimney was lowered from the top and the hole shingled over during reroofing done with a nephew and one hired guy.  A rented pneumatic stapler and purchased trailer let me take off four roof layers and meet the insurance company's needs while they paid for it due to a nasty storm in the spring.  The house was leveled gradually with hydraulic bottle jacks and mounts that let me slip the jack inside, raise the house 1/2", add shims and remove the jack for use in another location. 2005-07-29
  The kitchen rebuild was a major project done during and after the house leveling and gas plumbing rebuild.  When we moved in the kitchen was usable, but the counter was installed lower than average, preventing putting a dishwasher under it and the cabinets under the counter had been sawn away to accommodate a double sink.  The two wall cabinets were apparently original to the house and thin sheet rock had been installed around them.  There were two closets, one fairly recent with the water heater inside and another original to the house with a door that opened along the wall (not into the room) over a window.  Our first step in planning was to move the existing gas stove across the room and fix the gas plumbing for a planned replacement and double oven.  After more planning, the water heater was moved to the former back porch which had one of two walls of windows removed and the wall rebuilt solid and a smaller closet built for the water heater.  Water, gas and drain plumbing were extended under the floor to make a utility room with gas dryer, clothes washer, and chest freezer in line along the wall.  The large and small closets in the kitchen were ripped out - we found original wall paper in the small closet. 
 As in other parts of the house, the walls were planked with shiplap on the inside.  The window just outside the closet was shortened to allow cabinets across its site.  We bought assembled cabinets from Home Depot.  Following a lead read somewhere, most of the lower cabinets have drawers rather than doors, much more convenient.  The ceiling is almost 9', so we gained more storage space by putting in 42" tall cabinets on the walls and improved access for 5' tall Gigi by lowering them until a Kitchen Aide mixer would just slide under.  New 20 amp electrical circuits were brought down from the attic, 2 on each wall but the entry, so there is lots of power available for counter top use. 
[Images below]
 When standing at the entrance, starting on the left, there is a refrigerator freezer, then a microwave below the counter and silverware drawers with dinnerware on shelves above. Stepping to the right to the SW wall, There is dog food and garbage containers, a small cabinet of cleaning stuff next to the dishwasher with canned goods above, then a double sink with disposal and window over, then drawers with storage containers and baking glassware above.  A lazy susan corner cabinet holds bulk food goods like flour and rice leading to the gas cook top with vent and small storage over and cooking tools and pots and pans below.  Another wide set of drawers is under the side window with narrow storage filling out the length to the gas double oven in the corner with storage over and under it of baking sheets and broiling pans.  Total cost of doing the kitchen, with myself and Lynn White doing the work except for the counter fitting, was about $3,000 including appliances.  Besides lowering the tall cabinets, the dual ovens were mounted lower than average and the microwave was put under the counter instead of above to accommodate Gigi's height. 2007-10-30  Projects List

Office - The desk I am sitting at is a 3/4" plywood pentagon fitted into a corner. (obviously 90° in corner with 2 longer sides, other 3 are 24" and I sit at base.) Before it was put in place, 1x4 lumber on edge was screwed and glued to the edge on the side that would be the bottom and the whole thing finished with polyurethane. It was screwed in place to studs by going sideways through thickness of 1x4, the height giving lots of working space. The front edge was fitted with legs also made of 1x4, but you could use commercial legs as long as the height was planned first. My wife has a similar desk, but rectangular, and since it is longer and supported at the back and of 1/2" plywood, a 2" wide piece of the plywood was cut and glued flat to the front edge, making it look thicker and stiffening it. While the same 1x4 treatment was done on the back, on the open end, the wood was applied to the end so it projected up enough to keep stuff from being pushed off, a 1x2 as a ledger underneath involved in the fastening..  2008-08-15

Garage Repair - When we moved in, the garage was in poor shape and very old style with dirt floor and tacky brick image tar paper and asbestos wall shingles.  In 1994, the city cited us for garage condition.  When I stripped off the siding, the wood underneath was in worse condition than I expected, though I knew it was strange from looking at the inside.  The walls were built of upright planks nailed to a sill, a middle rail, and a top rail.  Most of the bottom sill was gone to rot and ants.  The citation helped me get a permit to "repair" the garage in place.  Under current rules, the garage would have to be built in the back third of the lot 3-5 feet from the fence line.  This would put it right on top of my new sewer and water lines and the soil worked up for a garden.  Under original rules, it is within a couple of feet of the line and 20 feet from the house, not 40.
The first step was to reinforce the roof with added cross joists which were nailed and bolted from below to the roof rafters lacking joists.  Then the metal roof was stripped off, the solid wood decking repaired in places and asphalt shingles placed - good practice for doing the house roof.  4x8 panels were built that would eventually become part of the walls, but were used to make a temporary 4x12 building in the drive to hold wood and tools stored in the garage.  It turned out that the dirt garage floor sloped (as does the lot) with the back walls several inches taller than the front to level the roof.  Temporary jacking posts made of doubled 2x4's with space for hydraulic bottle jacks.  In a complex dance, the stuff inside was moved around and various sections were framed for laying level concrete with wire mesh reinforcement.  Each one was the right size for a single ready mix concrete trailer of 1/3-1/2 cubic yard which is about as much as I could haul with the van and much as I could place and level in the time to return the trailer.  Sand and gravel were used to level the base for level concrete without using excessive concrete.
Once most of the concrete was laid, the roof was jacked up, with diagonals added for wind bracing.  The whole was jacked up about 6 inches and framing added to bring the concrete out under the walls. Interesting measurements and plumb drops were done to insure the new walls would fasten to the concrete and be vertical when done.  The walls were then ripped off in sections and the new walls and previously built panels installed. Siding matching the house with similar corner boards and top panels were nailed in place.
The front wall was built for a full width door, then part of it was framed within that to form a single car opening.  A person door was put in the side and a narrow access door covered with siding with a concealed bolt was put near the back on the same side to permit putting long wood and metal across the back of the shop without maneuvering them through the shop.  The first side door was a hollow core bought used accessorized with two bullet holes of about 38 caliber.  More recently, as that delaminated, a very heavy solid core door was installed with security hinges.  The overhead door which I built (on hard to find track hardware) is locked from the inside, so only the lock on the solid core door is keyed.  2007-04-30  Projects List

Access Door for Lumber - One of my neater thoughts in the garage design was making a door covered with siding near the back corner.  The door is about 18" wide and 6' tall and pretty much hides, showing a slight crack and the latch string (rope) in the first image below.  It is locked with a sliding bar than can only be undone by pulling on a rope that runs across the wall behind stored tools to the solid core door mentioned above.  It is locked by pulling on the latch rope that fits in a slight notch in the frame.  As shown in the other three images, the bolt was made by welding a bent rod bracket to the side of 1/2" steel rod.  Slightly oversized holes were drilled at a slight angle to allow access for the drill chuck and for the rod to be slid past the frame.  The rod's length is shown in the second picture where the back end is up against the frame.  The third and fourth pictures suggest the locked and unlocked positions of the bolt. It actually extends somewhat further - going about an inch into a hole in the door frame.  Inside the opening, a steel rack holds two levels of lumber above a space for sheets of 4x8 material.  With some adjustment, lumber up to 16 feet long can be inserted, but normally 8' boards and 10' tubing are what is stored.  I think I swiped the basic idea from a shop portrayed in Fine Woodworking magazine several years ago. 2007-12-12  Projects List

Sheet Goods Patterns - Armstong Flooring sells a kit for a price that includes a guarantee of replacement of your sheet goods if the method does not work.  The kit contains a very good idea for doing a paper pattern, two small tools that make it work and a bunch of paper.  If you need to fit a pattern to a sheet or two of plywood or non-Armstrong sheet goods, you might find the idea useful.
  The basic idea is to roughly fit the room with sheets of paper, then exactly transfer the outline of the room to the paper in a way that it can be exactly transferred back.  The transfer is done with tools designed to an exact offset.
  The first step in the idea is NOT to cut a big sheet of paper to fit the room/shape.  It is rather to take moderate sheets of somewhat stiff paper (heavier than 20 pound in the package, white food wrapping paper would be a good substitute, brown wrapping paper is a little light) and lay them down close to but not exactly matching the wall.  Where the wall makes a considerable corner, a new sheet of paper is laid down to fit, overlapping the previous.  In narrow situations a piece may be roughly cut to fit or two smaller pieces are sued.  The pieces are taped to each other - I use blue masking tape.  Smaller individual problems - pipes, outlets, etc. - are dealt with as encountered - cut the moderate sheet or cut a much smaller piece and fit it in place.  When done, the pattern is a large rectangular donut shape.
  Tip #1 - You are working on a large piece of paper, WRITE ON IT.  Make notes to remind you what that funny little bump is and which pipe is involved or why you added the cut you did.
  Tip #2 - It helps to put a piece of tape upside down under the bottom piece of paper before taping on an overlap.  This isn't required, but it helps in handling when picking up the full pattern - tape can be added to the bottom later.
  Tip #3 - While short pieces of tape can be used at first for taping, it is best to fully tape each seam to reduce the risk of tearing free later.
   When the paper is laid out completely, and tacked to the floor in a few places, since you are going be crawling on it, the next step is to transfer the exact size and shape of the room to the pattern.  This is done, in the kit, with two small tools.  One is a wheel with a hole in the middle and the other is a flat plastic ruler shape with a blunt point on one end and a hole an exact distance from that point.  The secret to the system is the location of the hole and the width of the ruler shape.  The radius of the wheel is exactly the width of the ruler which is the same as the distance from the point to the hole all being the offset.  In making a substitute, I would take a hole saw about 2 to 2-3/8" and drill out a hole in a scrap of wood and keep the disk.  The center hole will probably fit a BiC type pen exactly, but another pen can be fitted with rolled up sandpaper or careful drilling.  To make the ruler, place thin plywood or masonite against an upright and roll the wheel with a pen inserted in the center hole along the upright.  The line marks the offset, the width of the ruler, cut it carefully.  If desired, one end can be bluntly pointed and a hole just large enough for the pen tip drilled the exact distance of the offset back from the tip.
  In use, the pen is held vertical and the wheel is rolled along the walls, making a line exactly the radius from the wall.  Where smaller details must be recorded and the wheel bridges them, the blunt point of the ruler can do the offset.  When done and checked, the tape taking down the paper to the floor, if any, should be removed to avoid tearing.  Roll, turn over, or otherwise then the paper out of the room.
  Tip #4 - If many of the pieces of paper seem to be flapping loose on the back, handle with extra care for a few moments and open the pattern on a large flat space, but upside down, and tape the errant pieces in place.
  Now the process continues with the sheet(s) of material laid down in a large flat space.  When I did my kitchen floor, I used my neighbor's concrete driveway (mine being grass and gravel) and seriously considered going three blocks to the park and using the parking lot surface.  In both cases, a broom to sweep off damaging stones is needed.
  The pattern is opened out on top of the material, adjusted to best fit (and match the pattern if any) and taped down as needed.  The ruler shape is then laid down along the drawn line and a tight line is drawn on the other side, transferring the outline back exactly to the material.  The ruler smoothes the little bobbles of the wheel and extends lines into corners where the wheel appears to leave them short.  Your notes on the paper assist in making any corrections.
  When rolling up the materials, take care as to how the roll is going to fit in the room - one way may run into things while unrolling while crosswise to that may allow fitting around pipes, etc., without risk of tearing.
  Tip #5 - While the method was created for sheet goods, it works for plywood, especially where multiple sheets are needed either just to fit the room or to enable getting the project into the room.  2007-05-08  Projects List

Canes - After the operation on my knee, I bought a cane for about $45 at Elliott's Hardware where I was working and after a while, left it on the bus where it was never turned in as lost.  Instead of spending the money to buy another, I cut a piece off the thick slab of cherry that I had purchased to make wet tools back in 1991 while in Junction for glass blowing class and formed a handle to my favored shape and added a rope loop to keep from setting it down and losing track of it. I also wood burned my name into the shaft.  In spite of that, this is the third one I have built. The shaft is about 36" long, 5/8" diameter birch dowel. The handle is a trapezoid shaped (wider at top) piece of cherry, sanded to fit the hand.  The loop, put over the wrist, permits dropping the cane to handle things, and the bead on the loop tucks under my belt to hang it there quickly - a feature used less than I expected because the light cane is so easy on the wrist.  This is actually a fairly sloppy version, the others being thicker and more smoothly carved, but I needed it and was angry as I lost the last one when it slipped off a cart of stuff at Home Depot and I think one of the staff took it.  2008-08-31     Projects List

Sewing -- Bags - Down through the years I have done a fair amount of utility and repair sewing, including a padded backpack for Apple IIe computers to go to meetings and a padded cover for DeskCase to fly with it.  I had also made saddle bags big enough for groceries on the back of my bicycle. Recently, I have done a couple of things with bags.

Several years ago, I was commuting by bus to work and preferred to dress fairly lightly at work. While I had heavy jackets, my legs and fanny could get quite cold through the  dress pants while sitting on the aluminum or concrete benches provided at the bus stops. This was my response. The yellow is simply a couple yards of heavy ripstop nylon to which are sewn a short strap with buckle and long strap to fit the buckle.  When wrapped around my lower body and strapped at the waist, it blocks the chilly wind and traps air in the fabric underneath.  The white bag, holds it neatly, but also has a 1/2" foam pad sewn in so when I sit on it, I am insulated from the cold. The long handle is looped in my belt to keep me from leaving it behind.
These grey bags were made a few days ago. I had seen a story about a guy who looked at the designer grocery bags that have popped up and thought how awkward they were to carry empty. So he made his of thin ripstop nylon with a small drawstring stuff bag for carrying, the two with matching decorations. Seeing no need for a separate small bag, I fooled around and came up with this design  The bag holds two 1 gallon milk containers and is as deep as the larger paper bags the stores used to give out.  The bottom is sewn rectangular. In line with the handle laying flat on the opened bag is a panel sewn on three sides with the opening at the bottom.  If the other handle is stuffed in the pocket first, it is a matter of seconds to use the fingers to stuff the rest of the bag in, producing a packet as on the right.  The rather small loop handles fit my hands and stay on my wrist when other stuff is carried in my hands.  I have used these a few times and find them great!  2008-02-08  Projects List  And have started making them in other colors, yellow, green, and red and have sold one on www.mikefirth.etsy.com

Bed - Most of the furniture we sit (as opposed to at, like desks) is purchased, the bed frame being one exception.  I have built all the beds I have slept on in my home since half way through college, most of them being platform beds with a plywood surface and a foam mattress   My current bed now uses an all foam 8" combo Temperpedic/Urethane Foam mattress from Wal-mart that is wonderful [previously an innerspring mattress I didn't like much], but the construction is much the same as past, but since there is less likelihood it will be moved, it was built heavier.
  My standard queen or king bed platform has been the following: two panels of 1/2" plywood framed underneath with 1x2 on edge screwed and glued.  The surface is finished with polyurethane varnish after drilling 1/2" holes for ventilation about every 9" in each direction.  For the more moveable beds, these panels have a 1x4 on edge running between them down the center with the top flush and 1x4's around the edge aligned with the bottom of the 1x2's thus forming a lip to hold the mattress.  Everything is held together with 1/4" bolts about every 12" - 2" on the outside, 3" down the middle.  I weigh nearly 300 pounds and walk around on the bed when turning the mattress - it flexes but does not break.  Oh yes, the surface is about 24" from the floor and there are storage boxes under it.
  The headboard area has been treated differently on each bed, but basically all have had a 1x4 or 1x6 to bolt the bed to and some kind of shelf, perhaps doors, and mounts for reading lights and electric blanket controls.  Depending on location, the headboard may be screwed to the wall or rest on vertical boards that form the ends of the headboard box.  I don't have foot boards.  The foot legs have been handled in different ways, the most common being to extend the side rails enough to fasten 1x4 or 2x2 for legs and a diagonal brace under the bed if the head is not screwed to the wall.

  The current bed is built similarly, but the side and foot rails are 2x6 with rounded over corners which are tenoned into slots in the corner posts which are rough cut 4x4's.  The headboard this time is quite shallow to give more room in the bedroom and is made of 1x4's across which are screwed to the wall and bolted to the platform, 1x8's on end for end legs and a 2x4 across the top to form a shelf. Tilted plywood panels give a surface to sit against, being a stop for pillows and concealing the wiring.  In and on the narrow shelf are two heating blanket controls, LED alarm, phone jack, ceiling fan speed control, dimmer outlet for reading, X-10 remote control console,  multiple outlets for plugging in the former plus heating pads and my wife's audio reading equipment.  A reading light is clamped to my side upright and a phone is mounted on the wall near the center. On my wife's side a box on wheels is sized for Braille paper and books. Both sides have slotted standards for shelf brackets.  Just recently, I added an extension to one of the foot legs (on my side) and put a carpeted cat climbing post and platform for our cat.  2007-08-09, 2008-02-08  Projects List

Fence Gates - When I moved in there were a couple of wood posts left over near the garage and a really rotten fence along the back with nicer cyclone fences on the side.  My neighbor put up board fences beyond the cyclone to block my view into his yard (and his into mine, thank you.)  I needed to do some stuff to keep dogs in the back yard when we let them out and to make it look better and I tore out (or did not preserve) the back fencing in the process of bringing in the big trencher to do the sewer line.  I prefer not to use concrete footings for the posts, buying longer posts and going deeper into the ground.  There are three gates in the yard which are beyond ordinary functioning: back fence, middle fence and driveway fence.
The back fence gate looks somewhat like the back fence - 6' upright planks on horizontal 2x3 rails in 8 foot sections - but a few features stand out.  The section with the gate is indented from the alley to accommodate the garbage cans which used to be collected back there and to allow for a large rose bush and the expected move of the gas meter from under the house to there, which never happened.  The actual opening is 12' wide which is gated with a 4' easily swinging gate and an 8' section that is hinged on one end and rests on a 4x4 footed post at the other.  The smaller gate rests on the foot when closed to take strain off the hinge post which does not have the fence to back it because it is a corner post.  To open the bigger gate, the foot must be lifted out of the grass and the gate carried as it is pivoted around the hinges.
Now about 15 years old and not kept finished, both pickets and rails are rotting and breaking.  I am going to replace it this year (08) using pressure treated wood.
The middle fence gate is part of a 4' white picket fence that runs from the corner of the garage to the corner of the house, cutting off the driveway from the backyard.  The gate itself is a permanently mounted simple 4' wide unit with a diagonal brace built on 2x3's. The fence itself is hung on loop and post hinges so it can be removed for greater access.  Until just recently, the gate was hung on a permanent post with a spring closer.  Over time, the joints in the gate worked loose and collected water and rotted. So I replaced the upright and doubled the horizontals, went from butt to strap hinges and moved it to mount on the fence panel to open back.  A latch replaces the spring.
The driveway fence is totally different.  It is three identical panels, 1/2" square steel tubing in 3x6' rectangles with 2x4" hardware cloth wired in the openings.  Welded to the bottom six inches from each end are 1 foot cross bars that keep the pieces upright.  One is wired by a loop to the side fence, while the other two are wired together to run from the house wall to overlap the first, forming a gate that is more difficult to open than it looks because the foot bars slide underneath. A slight lift is an easy move, lifting too far locks them. 2007-04-30  Projects List

DeskCase - is a box about the size of a large suitcase that opens out into to a roll around desk. (Image below) Conceptually, it is a tray that forms the bottom of the box and a cover that forms the upright of the desk.  Wheels can remain attached to the cover for rolling around as a suitcase or they may be moved to the bottom forming a platform to stack other stuff on or removed and carried inside.  The parts are held together with 1/4" bolts, T-nuts and short steel straps plus properly placed holes in the wheel supports.
It was originally built to hold an Apple II computer with a small monitor and was thus sized for a snug fit because the equipment stays on the tray and inside the box while being moved.  The first case had a canvas cover to protect it and was checked as luggage for one round trip on a plane.  Casters are mounted in pairs on two wood plates. (B & C) When closed, the wood plates help bolt the bottom to the top.  If the plates are removed, two short steel plates fasten the tray to the lid, while two identical plates always connect the tray to the lid as a desk or a case.
One current version of the DeskCase is 30" by 21" by 10".  The desk height is adjusted with additional plates if needed.  About 5 copies of DeskCase have been made, 2 for a school district, 1 for a friend and 2 for our house, one of which was destroyed because of weakening modifications.  For all practical purposes the length and thickness of a DeskCase are unrestrained, but the width (middle dimension) which forms the upright must be limited between the lowest possible desk (with spacers under) and too high to be useable.  The caster supports raise the unit about 4" (2" casters plus mounts) and the edge of the tray adds about 1.5"  The 21" case above has 24.25" under the tray and the lip is 26" off the floor.  2005-07-29 
The boxes were built closed and sawn apart after the glue dried for perfect alignment without having to glue and nail narrow strips around the tray.  The tray bottom and sides are 1/2" plywood, the large flat of the lid is 1/4" plywood.  At least one had additional T-nuts added in the bottom of the tray so the caster plates would bolt there and other stuff was stacked on top - handy mover, kept the contents flat, awkward to hold the plates against the bottom while bolting.  One version had a hinged portion of the bottom back that lifted to give more leg room.
In the images, C shows the T nuts that are used throughout to fasten the 1/4"-20 machine screws.  In later versions, it was found that careful placement of these t-nutted holes eliminated the need for the second hole on each side that has a connector plate attached to it here.  The extra plates, which are needed when the wheel plates are removed, are bolted to the front of the tray or kept at hand loose.  In ordinary use - as when taking the computer to a meeting, the connector plate holding the tray to the lid is undone from the lid and the tray is set on chair arms or flat surface.  Packing is added, which may include accessories, presentation material or just towels or other pads. The lid with caster plates is picked up, reversed end to end and placed down over the lid with the wheels on the front side.  A longer machine screw is placed through the hole visible in both A & B in the caster near the box, this hole lining up with a T-nutted hole in the lip of the tray.  The rear, side connector plate is pivoted up and a bolt placed through a matching hole. When all the bolts are snug, the case is lifted off its resting surface and set front down on the casters.  Upon arrival, the process is reversed.  If the caster plates are to be removed, then the link from the lid is done by the connector plates using the same holes. 2006-03-13.  Projects List

Modular Storage - Book Boxes - Back when I started buying books to keep and was living in rented quarters, I knew I was going to be unhappy taking apart bookshelves and shipping them or throwing them away while packing the books in boxes.  So I began building modular bookshelves that were strong enough to ship the books in.
  Originally, I made these as respectable sized furniture, but strong enough to move full, but after building a memorable monster out of solid birch and finding it was beyond my capability to move when full, I settled down to single shelf units (or two shelves when made for small light books.)  I actually cut the birch unit into two pieces.  When I move, I tape flat cardboard over the face, packing in extra books or other stuff, and wrap in brown paper. 
Originally, my units were 30" long (like the desk case above or the bookcase below right) except when I was on a metric kick and made them 75 cm.  Although I still have several of these, I found that this was too long to handle comfortably when loaded and threading through doorways or down stairs, so I began making them 24" (or 60 cm).  I also began making them mostly of 1/2"  plywood with glued-on 1/4" plywood backs, again like desk case.  The 30" units have the advantage of allowing more artistic arrangements and a 3/4" bottom board allows offsetting the boxes to make a more pleasing arrangement. [below right]
I also use both size cases as structure in vertical shelves where the added shelves rest on pins in holes in the sides. [below center] 2007-03-02  Projects List

	The office stack on the left is 2 feet wide, set on a 2x2 foot welded frame with casters.  It is all just plain shelf units, each of different heights to accommodate different needs. A molding strip adds 1/2" to standard wood widths where they are short for the content.
The living room stack on right is a permanently positioned set of 30" units installed on a base of white cement bricks with offsets for visual interest and to fill the wall space.  The two center units are sized for the tall books in them. One is birch and the other 1/2" plywood.  The top unit holds many years of the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction.  Sized to fit vertically is is also exactly deep enough to have another row behind.  The bottom one in the picture is a two shelf unit for heavy books.  There is one more unit below, the top of which supports the phone shown.  All of this is next to a recliner my wife uses, the back of which shows lower right.
	The book cases, left, are a mix of modular and structured. The 2 foot wide stack to the left is modular.  The two top units hold my treasured set of onion skin 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica, the top box being higher to hold some special table top books and the indexes.  The next four are fairly standard except for the second from the bottom which is deeper for Braille note books. (Another stack, in the dining room, has a pair of custom boxes for Gigi's Braille Bible.) The unit on the right has a top frame and two 30" modular units holding together vertical shelf supports, the top shelf being pinned to them.  The second shelf from the top and the third from the bottom are actually the top of the modules.  The extra books are packed into modules when moving is done.  As you can see, the bookshelves are well used rather than just decorative. 2007-03-05
The unit at right is one of several early modular boxes built to hold LP's and tapes and is about 40 years old. Others of the type had flush doors pivoted with screws. This one has a lazy Susan bearing between its bottom and a base plate so the TV and VCR's set on top of it can be aimed at the dining room, living room or office for viewing and remote access. Lazy Susan bearings are neat, being thin sheet metal with small ball bearings in between that cost little and can take hundreds of pounds, but only straight down vertical loads.  The name comes from the turntables put on dining room tables for condiments when maids no longer served the table.  2007-03-05

Weight Set Storage - One of the neater units I made was a holder for a weight set.  I bought a small weight set after trying my nephew-in-laws' and finding it worked like massage to take kinks out.  The set consists of a long bar, two short bars, and disks that fit on either.  I needed to store the long bar with some disks on it ready to use, the short bars with disks ready to use, and the extra disks.  After dummying up some different arrangements, I came up with the arched design with the base dovetailed together to form a tray to retain the disks and smaller bars.  It looks halfway interesting, sits on modular book boxes the same size and acts as a hand rail when getting out of bed. The details show dovetailing on bottom and the front and back lips are dovetailed lap joints and are beveled to let hand weights fit as shown and rest on bottom.   Oh, and I built the bed also.  2007-03-02 -04-23  Projects List

Stackable Shelves - Having tried a number of other designs, I am currently entranced with stackable shelves (defined below as open front and top, so they stack on right, left, and back edges.)  These are all 24" long and mostly about 12" wide with 1-by lumber back and sides.  The bottom is usually 1/4" or sometimes 3/8" or 1/2" plywood if the contents would tend to bend 1/4".  Most of these are just plain units made tall enough to hold a set of contents.  As a unit, all the contents can be moved at once.  The stack is usually mounted on a frame with 4 caster wheels to allow movement of the stack although a few stacks have casters screwed to the bottom unit.
Examples are shown below.
Among the more interesting modifications to the basic design are:
  A shallow raised rim along the bottom to keep items from rolling or sliding out, such as hammers having handles supported.
  A divider that exactly aligns one side, to hold sand paper, the other being adequate for a heavy stapler and staples.
  Narrow supports on the side which hold a plate on which a grinder is mounted, stored upside down. Turning the plate over sets it in place for use with alternate wheels, jigs for alignment and tools stored within the box.
  A unit with a tool box type upper that slides in under cleats so the same handle allows carrying the double unit.
I have also settled on 11x11" smaller trays, these fitting side by side in the 24" units, but holding smaller collections of items.

Storage Types - When I began marking my various storage devices and places so that I could make a computer list of them and their contents, I began defining names for the containers I was using or building.  The last time I looked there were numbers assigned to about 180 of these.

Basin

is plastic case, open on top  Example: wash basin

Bin

is ? case open up?? (ca Tray) Wood metal or cardboard

Box

is closed, attached cover Example: casting sand box - heavy sided, plywood lid.

Bucket

is upright with flip over handle, round or square, metal or plastic, often a 5 gallon plastic grey or white with lid.

Case

is open one side, like a book case, occasionally as in a suitcase (trunk?)

Flat

is flat board, needing box lid for protection  Example: stained glass layout

Lid

is special purpose cover not fasted permanently which makes a box  Example: stained glass work space cover

Roof

is lid with sloping top surface  Example: cover for 2x2 storage trays, cover for annealing kiln

Shelf

is open two sides, usually top and one long side  Example: see above and below

Tote

is open on 3 (front, top, back) or 5 sides (plus 2 ends), with a central handle for carrying. [photo].

Tray

is open on top, with 4 shallow sides, (ca bin)  Example: shallow fused glass show trays

Upright

is tray with cross bar handles, taller than thick, for protruding stuff   Example: Metal pieces store,

                          2007-03-02   Projects List

	The units shown in this section are in my shop. This one is near the entry door. The white corner at top is a 4" tray now designated for garden & lawn stuff.. The yellow box next is Forge accessories including hardies for the anvil, short sledge, large ball peen, and tongs.  The anvil is mounted on the end of a log outside with a bent sheet metal cover over it. The wood unit with the partially pulled out drawer is glassblowing tools.  There is a tote handle on the drawer unit which fits BELOW battens so that the whole double unit can be carried with its handle..  The drawer holds the more commonly accessed tools, the bottom holds those needed for a full session (puffer with hose for example.)  Note the visible dovetails in both units.  A finger hole gets the drawer started out.  The next shelf down is glass cutting and soldering support items. The remainder is in the next photo down. 2007-03-03
	This bottom section shows a welding parts box (yellow), a bicycle parts shelf (with erroneous hammer), a collection of small pinch and crow bars (white), a hammer shelf with lip, and the steel tubing frame with casters.   The weld box is curious because it is open on top, but it is also open on the far end.  Originally built to hold a reciprocating saw with the blade in place, it has been recycled and holds welding tips, cutting torch handle, Vise Grip clamps, etc.  The welding tanks, rod and hoses are across the entrance and welding is commonly done outside the door.  Both yellow boxes have rough hand cut dovetails.
The top unit is actually part of the measurement section of my wind tunnel with a Plexiglas tunnel area above.  The long wind supply is stored on end elsewhere. The next unit is a 19" rack panel mounted Variac and CD power supply built years ago and mounted in a shelf by adding vertical panels to screw into which are sized to inset the panel for clearance of the knob and plugs.  A small left over area to left of knob is used for storing cables. The next is the grinder mount mentioned above.  Unlike many shelves it has hand holes on the end to permit carrying from near the top, because of the weight and bulk.  The small square batten ends show in line with the handle.  When used, the grinder can be put on a bench or turned over in place, resting on the battens in use. Next down is masonry tools then punty parts and molds for glassblowing with a shelf of hammers on the bottom with a caster plate underneath. The top as shown is about 6' off the floor.
	This upright unit is one of three built at one point and while all three are in use, in one sense they are all failures.  Built to carry tools, they are too deep for easy access and small items get lost.  Medium tools fall out when upright and the 1/4" back is too light to carry weight on the back.  This Red one holds metal leftovers. Obviously nothing can be put on top of it, but it is strong enough to move out of the way when needed.  A Yellow unit now sits on its side holding wood leftovers, simply a convenient box.  A Blue using holds stained and flat glass sheets with top access like this one and with stuff sticking out, very sharp, but mostly out of the way.
	A not so great picture of a much modified tote.  Originally the handle was mounted on 1x2 verticals with long bolts through them. and the unit was 30" long.  This meant it toted a lot of stuff, but took up a lot of space and nothing could be stacked on it.  So the verticals were removed, it was cut down to 24" and wood panels were drilled vertically for the bolts and the handle was inset into the ends for a level top.  The lower end of the bolts are flush T-nuts and the upper countersunk washers and nuts. 2007-03-04
This is a short (~3') stack holding current project tools. Uniquely, the bottom box has casters screwed directly to it and has a fairly high side lip.  It holds air tools, a fancy aluminum vise and a Dremel-type tool set. The top unit is newly built to hold full sheets of sandpaper and sanding accessories, including a tear off blade and holders on one side and a big stapler and accumulation of staples on the other.  The center divider is screwed, not glued, in place.  This box holds two sets of items that had wandered about my shop and house, getting in the way for years. The 1x4" unit below has hand torches and small propane tanks and the one below that is wax handling for metal casting, including a variable soldering iron using a dimmer with special tips to shape wax.  1x4 The six inch unit holds a variety of paint brushes and has a tote like handle down its center along with the lip that shows. Not full, it had sand paper mixed with the brushes before the top unit was built and is a candidate for reuse with the brushes moved to a shallower unit.

These two photos show a lid on a stack of 2x2 foot trays that were originally built for selling small fused glass wind chimes at craft fairs.  The small holes in the lower yellow narrow panel have T-nuts on the other side and took bolts through 1x2" A-frame supports.  The lid provides rain shedding angles and the leatherette provides sun resistant rain shield. The lower wrap is nailed to a 1x2" hinged frame.  This stack has sat outside since about 1993.  The base is cinder blocks supporting an X of wood raising the whole.  An awning is on the wall above it also.

Welded Steps - After using various boxes, I welded up a set of 3 2x1x0.5 foot steel tubing frames with expanded metal on top.  These are constructed so that, by running conduit through horizontal tubes they can be made into a set of rising steps for access or exercise. They could also be made into rough raised tables with inserts in the vertical tubes, with a different welding arrangement (table) Mostly they are used for stepping up to blow glass into a mold and supports for welding.  Have also been carried to aid an injured person to climb into a vehicle with high step in and provided a temporary roll around seat when placed on a board with casters with a seat board on top.  Painted bright colors for rust protection. 2007-04-23  Projects List

Welded Table - when I needed a table for sorting stuff, I welded up an interesting choice.  The top is a frame like the welded steps 2x1x0.5' but the 4 corner tubes were welded to be open at the bottom and closed at the top. Also, one long horizontal tube was left off to permit getting knees in if used as sit down work station.  The lower frame was made similarly except that both long tubes were left off on one side and the vertical tubes were made longer (and open on top of course) to permit more adjustment.  The tubing is all 1" square.  On the side of each of the eight vertical tubes about 2" from the open end, a 1/4" nut was braised over a hole drilled in the tube and a short machine screw with a slotted head was installed - the slotted screw permitting adjustment with a coin or any pocket knife.  Four pieces of 3/4" square tubing were cut (18" long) which insert in the tubes, permitting adjustment from about seated height to a low standing height.  Replacement insert tubes would permit lowering the frame top to 17" off the floor or extending it to waist height or more.  Exact length tubes would permit standing on it (not safe with bolt "set screws") as would drilled holes with pins.   An available 5/8" plywood shelf was cut to fit the width and overhang the open side by 8" for greater work space or seated use. 2007-03-03  Projects List

Welded Bench - In these somewhat cluttered pictures you can make out the frame of my adjustable height work bench.  After getting polyneuropathy as part of a bout with Lyme disease, I found I can't stand OR sit for extended periods. So I made this bench to complement my heavy standing bench of 2x material.  There are frames at each end which carry a pulley to support a lifting wire.  The frames are 1x1 top and bottom and 3/4"x3/4" uprights which on the bottom fit into 1x1 sockets to allow taking it apart.  The uprights are sanded smooth and waxed.  The bench surface is a 3/4" plywood sheet with the corners cut to clear the uprights with a 3/4" reinforcing strip under the access side for stiffness. The top is screwed down to the end pieces.  The end pieces are 1"x1" steel tubing welded into an L shape with a 3/4x3/4" connecting piece across the lower back (a second piece could be installed but the top serves the purpose. In the center of each end piece an aluminum 1/8"x 2" flat 6" long spans the rails and is drilled 1-1/2" to hold a flanged replacement bearing from a wheelbarrow wheel.  Through the 1/2" hole in the bearing a short piece (about 12") of 1/2" rod is fitted into 1/2" thin wall conduit and pinned with cotter pins to span the length of the table.  1/16" inch steel cable is wound around the rod, then up to the pulley and down to a bolt drilled through to receive the cable which fits into the frame and is tightened to clamp the cable.  Fender washers on the 1/2" rod keep the cable from overrunning the ends and a long 1/4" bolt acts as a handle to turn the shaft.  At first the unit would jam on raising and lowering, requiring rapping the frame to free it, but adjustment of the end frames to square, waxing, sanding and working with the alignment made movement much easier.  2008-01-27   Projects List

This is the BBQ pit I built in the back yard.  What makes it interesting is the flexibility.  It started with building the grill from expanded steel mesh (with diamond shaped holes) exactly the right size to fit in a 55 gallon barrel if I wanted that style.  The grill and charcoal support (insert) fit inside each other with bent over edges and 1/2" welded link chain hangs the charcoal support.  It is adjusted by lifting the loop of chain above the grill, pulling the chain through the holes in the grill and then sliding a wire with a loop on one end through the chain at two points.  Thus the charcoal tray can be tilted front to back or side to side or kept level for adjusting cooking temps.
This grill was then mounted in a welded steel tube frame that runs fore and aft on top and side to side on the bottom (hidden in grass.)  If desired the grill can be used this way.  However, it is normally set in the top lip of a rack of about the same height to bring it up to cooking level.  This rack has an expansion mesh top and spends most of its time in the brick pit.  The brick pit is nothing but three walls laid on a concrete foundation, sized to exactly fit the grill base.  The sheet metal is in three pieces: a peaked roof top with a steel tubing frame inside and a wooden handle in front; a bottom panel with support angles and a door for sliding in a rack of charcoal or wood chips; and a middle panel with angle iron braces that blanks off the space and rests on the lower panel and the grill support.  The lid fits in angle iron rails bolted to the brick which are visible at the upper edge of the picture below.  The lid can be tilted up and held with a rod or slid off the back to hang by the lip with the handle.  There are some holes in the brickwork for ventilation and adding a torch to boost temp.  Projects List

This picture shows the lid and front panels removed and the aluminum melter set on a flat pad on the lower base with the BBQ grill set off to one side in the grass.  Besides this unit, several additional pieces: the Firehole foundry furnace, the coal forge, and the small kilns can be moved into this fire resistant cubby hole for use at a good working height. 2005-01-14

These are stored on a 7' rack legged to working height with an arched lid as shown below.  The arched lid is a neat project in itself.  The skin is corrugated steel with the dips and valleys running lengthwise across 1/2" thin wall conduit that is bent to a curve thus making a stiff cover.  Here the conduit is extended to make arms to reach the hinge point which is on the end of pair of sharply bent supports that put the pivot further back.  In use the lid is propped up as shown by a chain across the extension arm and withstands the heat when an item is used in place - most often the FireHole foundry melter.   Projects List

Good Practices

Driving - My original private driving instructor was gung-ho on what is now called defensive driving, including picking routes that offered less risk of accidents.  I have since taken Defensive Driving courses several times, all but once to reduce insurance and get education, once to void a ticket.
  I back into my urban driveway in the big SUV that I drive for a friend to likes to own a car even if he is blind.  I don't currently own a car.  I have noticed that it is much easier to drive straight into the driveway and back out, in terms of driving tension, but I do it because the large rear end of the car blocks my view backing up and we are on the walking route to the nearest elementary school about 2 blocks away.  After a couple of close calls, I started backing in so that I could drive straight out and have a good view of the sidewalk and street.  But I don't think it is just habit that makes the other pattern easier - when leaving one is naturally going slow and being in reverse is slow; when arriving, one has been moving at 35-65 miles per hour and driving straight in and quickly is easy.  When backing in, I find turning across the street to back, with variable parked cars, is a great change from driving at speed and I manage to get misaligned on the driveway rather too often.  I am not going to change because of the safety and because parking that way puts the driver door next to my porch stairs.  2007-12-07

No Car - We currently don't own a  car although I drive a gas guzzler somewhat reluctantly.  I had owned cars continuously from college years when my parents gave me a used 1960 VW Beetle to wean me off the 1950 Chevy 4 door sedan that my father drove to the train station to commute.  After that car broke, I drove two 1967 VW Squarebacks in succession for a decade while also owning a school bus converted to a camper for 7 years, then a Toyota Corolla, then a Chevy G-10 Van. When the van started to break, Gigi suggested we might not get a replacement car for a year until we had paid off the loans on her blindness related computer equipment.  By this time, I was working at Elliott's Hardware and taking the bus occasionally and biking a couple of times a week for exercise.  Gigi had been taking the bus downtown to work all along.  I did some more serious bus test runs, we got rid of the van, and occasionally rented Enterprise small cars on the weekends.  As time passed, I realized that my long term tension with driving was gone:  I had no stress about my car being destroyed or damaged, most of the time I never had to drive and certainly not in rush hour, and so on.  After I left Elliotts, a coworker of my wife revealed that he had a car, having owned one since college, and needed a driver.  At first I would take the bus over to his place to do an couple of hours driving on a volunteer basis - easy since a bus to his place stopped about 6 blocks away from my home and literally at his front door.  But it took an hour out of my day beyond the driving so we suggested that I keep the vehicle at my place so I could drive right over and I could use it for my errands and we would split gas proportionately.  So that is handy, aside from the fact that it is a Ford Expedition and around town gets 12.9 miles per gallon or almost 20 cents a mile at today's prices.  When his divorce became final and we went shopping for insurance, my good record, my taking defensive driving again online this time for a discount, not commuting in the thing, and early payment discount got insurance from his previous company with me as designated driver for about half of what they were paying with the wife driving with an a couple of accidents. Farmers.
Non-Owner Insurance - When I gave up the van and called the insurance company to tell them we would not be buying right away, I was introduced to Non-Owner Insurance.  This serves two purposes - when you do buy a vehicle, you don't get dumped in the expensive pool while they spend a couple of months searching to see if you owned a car without insurance when you said you didn't own a car and it covers you when you drive a third party car meaning I didn't have to pay the rental company $10 a day for insurance on top of $9.99 daily weekend special rate.  I was chicken and triple checked, but did good.  The only insurance claim was when hail hit the rental car while it was parked in the drive.  Years earlier I was told I could not get insurance on me, it had to be on a car; told by the same company that offered it to me - State Farm. 2007-12-02

Tools Made

The image at right gives details of a pair of super deep socket tools. [click for larger image]  Why did I need them?  In the lower left corner are the two main reasons - the lowest image is a corner clamp for making frames or boxes and it uses nuts on 1/4" threaded rod that is fastened to one side of the plastic corner and slides through the other side.  The upper image is a 2 ft long 1/2" all thread with many nuts used for mounting whirligigs. While there are costly split nuts that will slide on the rod and turn on the threads, having that many nuts for the whirly mount would be bad.   The first one built was the brown one for 1/4" thread. While playing around with scap on hand, I found that a 1/4" drive 7/16" socket would fit almost exactly into a 1/2" copper connector and I had a short length of hard copper tubing and two of the sockets, so I silver soldered (because of the chrome on the sockets) the whole together. The drive when using a drill is a 1/4" hex to 1/4" square drive as shown on lower right, but it can be removed to let the 1/4" rod extend all the way through the socket for hand tightening.

The other socket was built very recently for disassembling the whirly mount to install a longer rod for better clearance. Since the job did not require a lot of force, instead of trying to house a 3/4" socket in the manner of the 7/16", I got a short piece of 3/4" thin wall conduit from the scrap which compared to the size of the nut and first hammered flats on a vice anvil.  The flats were obviously distorted being rounded and different sizes, so I clamped a short piece of 3/8" thick by 1/2" flat stock in the vice and used it as an anvil inside the tube to hammer, enlarging and evening the flats until a 3/4" nut would fit inside.  Instead of making the whole shaft of 3/4" conduit, a piece of 1/2" conduit was fitted.  To fill the gap and center the socket head, a short length of 3/4" conduit was cut and sawn lengthwise to take out a piece so the diameter could be reduced and it be squeezed into place.  All three pieces were filed and ground to remove all burrs and ease fitting, all were cleaned of oils, and glued with 5 minute epoxy.   At the other end, a nut was selected that almost fit in the 1/2" conduit and the corners were ground off to allow a forced fit.  Again filing and cleaning were done before epoxying.  A short threaded rod in the nut allows a drill to drive the socket.  If a socket driver were advisable, jamming hex nuts could permit a shallow socket to be used.  2008-05-01

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