Builds My '78 FJ40 "44"

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very nice table ... I've learned never to say never ... yah never know when a skill unexpectedly returns to the fore ... besides, furniture making is kind of therapeutic (a visit to the divine, whatever that is) ... I'm not sure about that with fj40 mechanics which is more like a survival skill and definitely has its ups and downs ... lol

Thanks! It's definitely therapeutic!


...via IH8MUD app
 
very nice table ... I've learned never to say never ... yah never know when a skill unexpectedly returns to the fore ... besides, furniture making is kind of therapeutic (a visit to the divine, whatever that is) ... I'm not sure about that with fj40 mechanics which is more like a survival skill and definitely has its ups and downs ... lol

Jesus was a carpenter - but attributing divine attributes to it.... well.... I can make most anything out of metal, and pretty much nothing out of wood - I guess that makes me evil ;)
 
I also started in the wood world , then switched to nearly all metal - which gets expensive as I only have so much room for tools and equipment . Worked at one time for a high end cabinet shop that made furniture and specialty cabinet work in uber-expensive homes - don't miss that part since money and taste somehow doesn't seem to go together . I must say , it's nice to have a welding skill and keep it honed , that's one thing missing from the world of wood and even my tig can't weld walnut . Everything else is easy...lol .
Sarge
 
I also started in the wood world , then switched to nearly all metal - which gets expensive as I only have so much room for tools and equipment . Worked at one time for a high end cabinet shop that made furniture and specialty cabinet work in uber-expensive homes - don't miss that part since money and taste somehow doesn't seem to go together . I must say , it's nice to have a welding skill and keep it honed , that's one thing missing from the world of wood and even my tig can't weld walnut . Everything else is easy...lol .
Sarge

Then you need to get a laser welder. I've a picture somewhere of brass fused to wood using a laser. Lasers don't act long enough on the metal to heat it up, so you can melt a soft metal into the wood thereby fusing wood to metal....
 
I have a laser welder, never use it - but when it was offered to me for free; how could I say no? And the actuality behind it wasn't that I needed a laser welder, but that it came with a really nice torch cooler that is now attached to my old-school Dialarc. Someday I'll treat myself to a synchrowave; but this works just fine for what I do, so it will be awhile.
 
Update: I used to be able to rely upon my overlarge nose... No more... turns out the leak was oil, not coolant... It was leaking around the front crankshaft seal. My rebuilder (his problem) hired my engine puller to fix it. So, they removed all the front stuff, so they could get in there and replace the seal. The engine puller called me around noon at said he could have it ready to pickup before closing time, but preferred to make sure it is completely fixed. I told him to call me when it is ready... He said 'early next week'.

So, the plans I had for getting 44 ready to go... Have been sidetracked by the absence of 44 this weekend...

But, I have to look at the bright side... My hip/leg/ankle are killing me again... Last Sunday, I pitched my new tent in the garage and then sat on the floor and worked around the tent, sealing the 'bathtub' seam. Monday, I found I could barely walk... My Sports Med doctor, has realigned my crooked frame, yet again, and I'm back on the drugs... And have doubled my stretching time in the hot tub...

It's supposed to cool down a bit late next week, so I'm hoping to make a trip by then... I can't take both Gunner and Chester... Can't take a chance with Chester this time... He's great on the leash, but is easily, "squirrel!".

So, I'll take Chester target shooting, he loves it... And will take Gunner camping on the next trip.
 
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patience is for grasshoppers - everyone needs "backup" cars. :rolleyes: of course my problem is many of my backup cars have only reverse or only move with a tow strap.

I always have my Tundra to use as backup... It's also my tow vehicle.

But, my heart belongs to 44... She's what I love to drive... But, not when it's hot here...

Fall was in the air, just before daylight, this morning ... So, as soon as I have her back home, I need to get all my off road/exploring/camping stuff back in place ... But, that's part of the fun!!
 
No fall for vegas peeps yet.. ;)
 
Just needs to be cool enough for a three hour drive up to the Reese River Valley, then east into the outskirts of Arc Dome. Trees and cool nights at 7500-8500'.

Or, I could head east on Morman Well Road to that "Desert something" campground at 6700' - plenty cool at night. Probably 1.5hrs drive, depending on the condition of the very rough road.

"I have a dream...":cool:
 
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No fall for vegas peeps yet.. ;)

Maybe not fall for daytime peeps, but it was chilly when I climbed out of the hot tub at 4:30am... Felt like fall for us vampires. :cool:

Weather report says highs in the 90s for the next seven days, lows in the 70s... I broke out my parka and will pack extra blankets for our first overnight trip. :eek:

I just remembered a promising side track into the Clover Mountains, that's only a couple of hours from here. But, since much if it is 'wilderness area', much of it is closed to mechanized vehicles... So, I'll need to dig my maps out and take a squiz to see if I will be able to get high enough in 44... I doubt I will be able to hike much this time... So, if I can't get high enough by driving, I'll have to pass on the Clover Mountains this time. There are many more alternatives anyway...;)
 
make sure you turn off the heat before I come down there in November... my wife wants to rent me some track time at Las Vegas Speedway, I'm thinking maybe a dual sport or a Heep - and go travel around that area. She's stuck in a conference during the day (poor her, good for me)....
 
Hey Peter (@Bambi Girl ) and Tom (@lostmarbles ) and any other Len Beadell fans...

Well, I've finished reading Blast the Bush... And blast it they did... Detonating the first atomic bomb in Central Oz!!

Len was definitely no bludger! He worked longer hours than any other bloke, he served as barber, dentist, rescue, surveyor and boss.

He (apparently) never took a smoko, never hit the piss, never blew a bush oyster, even into a bush hanky. Instead, he simply brewed shade tea in a billy and was happy just to set in front of a bush telly and eat dead horse and bully beef!

Len was happiest exploring and was well recognized for his contributions to his Country, as well as to the United Kingdom.

Question: has anyone in Oz ever been knighted by the Queen or is that not done? Seems like with all his many contributions and his numerous discoveries ( like Aboriginal Stonehenge), he should have been Sir Len!!

This next book, Bush Bashers, says his Ball and Strife and ankle biter will camp with him for five months, while he and his Gunbarrel Highway team break east-west roads through Central Oz... I expect it to be a great read too!!

:cheers:
 
I just received a call telling me that the front crank seal has been replaced, everything is back together and the leak is a memory...

I was supposed to pick 44 up yesterday, on the way back from my sports medicine Doctor, but when the mechanic called in sick and the boss put her on a rack, the front diff/axle was wet. He was sure his mechanic didn't wipe it off, but asked to keep her a couple of hours so he could drive her and be sure it wasn't leaking.

I told him not to get stressed... "My hip is killing me, call me next week, when you're satisfied everything is copacetic".

So, I just told him I'll pick her up on Monday.

The sports doctor gave me another round of several injections, this time in my hip. This time the pain is coming from there, instead of my L4 (flat) disc. The injections last two weeks. If, after that period, the pain returns, I'm going to speak to a surgeon about arthroplasty, with a plan to, at least, repair a tear in the labrum of my left hip joint. Maybe if we stabilize the joint, by repairing the tear, the pain will subside. We'll see...

Apparently, I exacerbated the tear when I sat on the garage floor last weekend, to seal the bathtub seam in my new tent... Who knew....

Anyway, 44's coming home Monday, gotta get a shopping list ready for the party!!
 

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