Handlebar moustache

In dash MP3 holder

I like taking my MP3 player in the car, especially on long trips.  The problem is there isn't really a good place for it and I don't especially like it laying on the dash on the rubber mat that it came with.  I've tried a couple of those holders but just haven't found one that suits me.  Either the player doesn't fit or there isn't a good mounting system.  I've seen one that I like but can't find it in the stores.

I bought one the other day and I acutally liked the way the player fit in it. Problem was it had 3 different mounting systems. 2 of them were the vent clip type and that's not what I want. The other was a "T" shaped piece of metal with double backed adhesive, but I didn't want to stick it on the dash and there wasn't really anyplace else for it.

There is a recessed place in the dash of the car, and what I really wanted was something that would fit that hole and have a place to mount the MP3 player on the front of it between the AC vents.

I just thought that would be the best place.  Passenger and driver could both see it plainly, and it would be convenient enough that you actually might be able to work it some while driving without having to hold it, and still keep your eyes on the road because you dind't have to look down, but there wasn't anything I could find that even came close to doing what I wanted.  Plus I wanted something that wasn't permanent, and wouldn't damage the dash, yet fit tightly enough that it wouldn't vibrate, move around or fall out...like something that was under tension like a spring.

So I started looking around to see if I could find anything that might...

And I found this stuff:

Which looked like it had some potential.

So I made a few changes.

(p.s. springs are tricky to weld as they tend to burn up pretty easily and require a lower setting and this is not something I learned from the book)

and came up with the (above) which fit the hole (below)

Which left somehow getting the bracket attached.  Double sided, padded tape was an option, and I thought I had some but I couldn't find it and didn't want to buy something I thought I had.  Velcro was another option but again I thought I had some.....

Anyway the bracket came apart and after some thoughtful drilling and some black paint...

there was this:

Which all translates into this:

and this:

I think that's just what I had in mind when I started, and that is a good thing.

One for the "Yo' momma so po'" archives

Recently person S2 asked me to frame a mirror which person T had made for person S1.  I said that wouldn't be a problem.  When I got around to starting this project yesterday I thought to myself; there are a lot of frames in the attic...
Now, I knew I didn't have a frame that would fit said mirror because the mirror was an unusual size but I thought maybe I could rework one of those home-made frames from years ago that were not hanging, and not especially well made anyway and save a trip to Home Depot.
(That's not the "he so po'" part)
As I said, the frame was home-made and rather amateurishly made at that.  The miter joints weren't exactly perfect fits, and in order to hold everything together there was a piece of 1/8" plywood nailed to the back to firm everything up, hold the picture in, and keep the corners somewhat closed.
When I took this backing off I noticed that the nails holding it on were not pointy as nails should be.  Evidently, when I made the frame, the only nails I had were too long, and rather than go buy new nails I cut them off to the length I needed...
So...
Was I too poor to buy the right nail, too tight to buy the right nail, too lazy to drive to the hardware store, or just too danged resourceful?
You can make that call.
Anyway the job turned out OK, if still a little amateurish.

I wonder if I ever had to go buy nails the size of the ones I cut down because all the ones I had were too short.

I got a welder for Christmas

Once my dad told me not to throw metal stuff away because you might need it one day for something.  So I had an old cooler in the garage and I'd throw pieces of metal in it when I had some.  Now I'm finally getting to take some of that junk out of the cooler (which by-the-by has overflowed into a box and a crate and some buckets.)
I still have a lot of junk metal, now it's just stuck to other pieces of junk metal.

this was first.

then this guy.

the peace sign

Hook 'em Horns

The Right Tool for the Job!

A couple of weeks ago our coffee pot started leaking.  A little at first then more.  I took it out of service and went back to the old stand-by 40 year old CorningWare percolator.  Make pretty good coffee but it's not as big.  I put the leaking Cuisinart out in the garage.
Being naturally curious I wanted to see if I could figure out what was wrong with it.  Turns out there wasn't really a whole lot wrong with it until.........

Well there are all these  hidden specialty fasteners, and special screws recessed so deeply that you can't even see what kind of screw it is. After trying every tool in the box trying to get the little bastard open I came to my last tool.  And it opened it......

And there isn't enough Super-Glue in the world to fix it now, because the last tool I tried was a hammer.