Remember the 600 pound welder I accidentally bought at an auction for $500 a few years ago? The one I had to pick up 90 minutes away on the hottest day of the year?
Yeah, that one. I decided it was taking up too much space, and I sold it for scrap for $36.
Worth every penny.
There’s a speck in there, but I don’t see it.
It’s summer time, and the bugs are out.
At least that’s what I’m told, because they mostly don’t bother me.
There’s plenty of bugs on the porch, of course, but apparently, a bug flew into Mary’s ear one night and, come morning, she wasn’t sure if it was still in there.
A day later, a bug flew up her nose, and a bit of a commotion ensued.
A bug drowned in her drink. A bug bit her.
I told her she had a bug up her ass, and she was not amused.
Last month, I left you with a cliffhanger.
The Kawasaki was not working. It starts. It idles. It revs. But it doesn’t like going uphill.
And – plot twist! – I couldn’t figure out why.
How’s that for a season finale?
Other than the carbs, (which it couldn’t be, because I checked) , the problem can only be the ignition or the timing. But it’s not, because I checked. So I checked the carbs yet again.
Something’s got to be wrong with them, but last time I checked, the carbs were clean, and the vacuum was sealed. So when I looked inside, I was un-prepared for what I found.
Globs of gunk!
It turns out that … Awww fuck it. You don’t want to know.
And!
Brass filings fell out of the #3 pilot fuel screw hole! I don’t even know how this is possible, but it sure explains a lot. And as long as they were in there, I’m sure glad they fell out.
My guess is that this is is my big break, and I’ll have the wind in my hair in a week.
It’s two weeks later, and I’m waiting on parts.
I was super careful when I took the carbs apart, and I kept all the small parts in separate containers, one for each carb. But when the time came to put it all back together, a pilot O-ring was missing. All systems stop. I inspected the area on my hands and knees with a flashlight. I swept the floor and combed through the dust pan. I un-crumpled my discarded paper towels. No O-ring.
They’re in the mail.
Potato bugs ate my potato plants.
I was excited to try out my new motorized Z axis on my spiral mill, and I wrote a bunch of G-code to put it to the test. There was a learning curve, but it’s a huge improvement, and my first – um – dresser and three quarters came out very nicely indeed.
Then the bearings fell out.
In hindsight, that kind of bearing is not made for vertical work, and especially not for a vibrajiggety load like mine. It was free, though, and before it broke, it saved me a lot of time and trouble.
But now, I was dead in the water, in mid-dresser, and more than a little demoralized. I took a break while waiting for parts and worked on the KZ. Which didn’t exactly cheer me up. Then I put together a slick new Z elevator and formed the rest of the stacks.
That’s more like it.
They replicate like DNA
In other news, Celia is living next door, and I am now the primary male role model for a pair of 4 year olds.
One step at a time.