Thursday, April 30, 2009

Happy 200th post!

Wow, 200 posts already, sure has gone fast.

I'm thrilled that y'all have been following along for the fun.

Today started off with a project for my dad...he called and asked if I could move a piano out of a storage unit for him before the end of the month. Now, just to be clear, that was move a piano for him, not with him. No worries, I thought. How big and heavy can an upright be? Well, let's just say that after lifting the piano into a trailer and then off loading it all by myself, it's a darn bit heavier than I remember a piano being. Workout for the day...check.

Thanks for the encouragement from y'all on the lard ass loss (ahem...lifestyle change), so to show ya that I'm hanging in there, here's today's shop meal; Spring rolls with spicy shrimp and seaweed salad...that oughta make an interesting turd ;)

I was only able to eat half of it before I was full. Kalten promptly showed up after school and sucked it up in about 5 seconds, oh to be a teenager again.

As I began cleaning up to begin welding, Mike S. showed up with a BIG something for me, my new Hardinge horizontal mill fresh from Plaza Machinery in Vermont. I've been patiently waiting for just the right machine to become available and this guy is the one. The mill, while a bit dirty, is tight and in great shape, should be a killer piece for mitering uni-crown blades and a few special parts I have on the back burner. I hadn't planned on receiving it today, but you gotta take life as it comes sometimes. Here she is all wrapped up like a big Christmas present...
I'm not sure how much this guy weighs, but it is a fair bit heavier than the piano :)
It took Mike and I and a 2 ton crane lift to off load it from the truck with some creative strapping and pulley work. All that rescue experience definitely came into play when setting up the rigging for this one.

I'm pretty sure I burned about a bazillion calories in getting this one placed. Maybe I should start looking for a nice used fork lift...hmmm.
And, as promised, the formula for the Team Violet Fat City paint. Take this list to your favorite supplier and you to can have the elusive color.
For a matter of information sharing, I use PPG paint, DBC series, listed by weight based on a pint formula...
FCC TEAM VIOLET:
DMD 1684 White 668.5
DMD 1679 Red 40.3
DMD 1683 Black 17.7
DMD 1676 Blue 8.0
DBC 2002 series clear 6 oz with 3 puffs of Sunset Red Pearl overcoat
There y'all go...hopefully we'll keep more vintage rides looking great for decades to come.
At the FD for a 36 hour push so I'll try to catch up on correspondence.
cheers,
rody

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Awesome Rody, the wait was worth it. Thanks so much.

-MW.

Drew said...

Rody,
Great machine. I love my Hardinge horizontal mill. Good time to invest in machines since many people are dumping them.

Cheers,
Drew

grannygear said...

OOHHHH...I remember that color! Very cool. I always wanted one of Chris's frames, but never had the scratch.

Fat City Cycles rocked back in the day.

Anonymous said...

How did you derive the formula?