Last week was a rough one here at our house.
Saturday morning we call the call we never wanted to get, but knew was coming. My father-in-law passed away. He was a really great guy (he bought me my TIG welder, as a matter of fact). He was a great guy.... R.I.P. "Pap", you'll be missed.
Then on Monday I went in for what seemed to be a standard colonoscopy. Turns out I have colon cancer. Really not the thing I wanted to hear.
Well anyways, Steel Stew is going to be put on the back burned for now. I have bigger fish to fry right now.
Look here for a link for my new blog I plan to start soon..."Scope That Colon" is the working title...think "Livestrong" on mountain bikes.....
Monday, February 8, 2010
Monday, January 4, 2010
What the hell happened to ya????
Well that's a really good question. The answer, I don't know.
Last few months have kind of been a wash bike and build wise.
One thing I've learned about TIGing, is that you have to practice quite often, and I haven't had the time (or maybe the desire) to just sit and run beads.
A couple of times it's gotten to the point of me wanting to sell the welder and just move on (you all saw all the "what bike?" type of posts I've been laying out on MTBR).
Personality wise I have to big problems in regards to welding.
One is that I have absolutely no patience. I want to be able to weld yesterday, not down the road.
Second is that I'm really bad at dealing with tedium. This is a huge downfall that's come back to bite me in the ass in the past.
Well after long quite walks along the beach, hitting up some cross races, and discussing things with the boss lady, I've decided to keep plugging away.
We're working on a schedule that will allow me to get in the garage earlier than "after the kids go to bed" and maybe even get me in some training time.
Training time? Yep, you heard that right... Root 66 is going to feel the wrath off Toddre this year, too.
No new bike, just run the trusty Inbred with some new bling to be ordered up soon.
So 2010 is is here, new attitude, new rides and hopefully a few hand built frames.
Wish me luck!
P.S.... I promise to post and learn how to use a digital camera too, this year...
Last few months have kind of been a wash bike and build wise.
One thing I've learned about TIGing, is that you have to practice quite often, and I haven't had the time (or maybe the desire) to just sit and run beads.
A couple of times it's gotten to the point of me wanting to sell the welder and just move on (you all saw all the "what bike?" type of posts I've been laying out on MTBR).
Personality wise I have to big problems in regards to welding.
One is that I have absolutely no patience. I want to be able to weld yesterday, not down the road.
Second is that I'm really bad at dealing with tedium. This is a huge downfall that's come back to bite me in the ass in the past.
Well after long quite walks along the beach, hitting up some cross races, and discussing things with the boss lady, I've decided to keep plugging away.
We're working on a schedule that will allow me to get in the garage earlier than "after the kids go to bed" and maybe even get me in some training time.
Training time? Yep, you heard that right... Root 66 is going to feel the wrath off Toddre this year, too.
No new bike, just run the trusty Inbred with some new bling to be ordered up soon.
So 2010 is is here, new attitude, new rides and hopefully a few hand built frames.
Wish me luck!
P.S.... I promise to post and learn how to use a digital camera too, this year...
Friday, March 27, 2009
Two things I suck at..
Welding and updating this blog.
The ear infection is still lingering...nothing like hearing your pulse throb inside your head!
I've had three operations on them, hopefully this doesn't cause a need for another.
Thinking I'll get back behind the hood this week end and really hit the practice hard next week. Then damn it, I'll just start building after that.
What the well, we have good health insurance...
The ear infection is still lingering...nothing like hearing your pulse throb inside your head!
I've had three operations on them, hopefully this doesn't cause a need for another.
Thinking I'll get back behind the hood this week end and really hit the practice hard next week. Then damn it, I'll just start building after that.
What the well, we have good health insurance...
Friday, March 20, 2009
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Thursday, March 5, 2009
What I've learned
Well last night was more practice time, but I think now I've "seen the light" and figured out how to fix a few problems I was having.
First, I was using way too much shielding gas. Generally you want about17 CU.Ft./hour. I was running about 17 liters per hour. Big difference. I was wondering why I was going through so much argon....
Second, my filler rod was too big. Going to a smaller rod is allowing me to control the heat a bit better (less holes) and give me a more uniform and consistent puddle.
It's all coming together now.
Tomorrow I'll try to get some pics for those of you who get bored reading.
First, I was using way too much shielding gas. Generally you want about17 CU.Ft./hour. I was running about 17 liters per hour. Big difference. I was wondering why I was going through so much argon....
Second, my filler rod was too big. Going to a smaller rod is allowing me to control the heat a bit better (less holes) and give me a more uniform and consistent puddle.
It's all coming together now.
Tomorrow I'll try to get some pics for those of you who get bored reading.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Where have I been?
That's a good question. And the answer is, well, no where. Just been here all winter.
Haven't really posted much because I haven't had much to say.
On the frame building front things have progressed slower than I hoped. Trying to get the consistency of TIGing down has been harder than I thought because I haven't been able to practice consistently. I hope this week will be fully dedicated to practice and building can start next week. It's hard to get motivated going into a cold garage at 8 at night.
I pretty much have my jig up and running, requires a bit of tweaking at build time, but it will be more than OK for my needs. I'll post pics when it's used. Fist bike will be a modified version of my UBI bike. Then a few bikes for some friends and a cross bike for myself.
On the riding front, it's the same as the building. Nothing. I was hoping to start racing this April, but at this rate, I don't see that happening. Plus money's getting a bit tight, so maybe I'll just do select races this year anyways (yeah, that's what I'll keep telling myself).
Well I promise to go back to more consistent updates from here on out.
Toddre, out.
Haven't really posted much because I haven't had much to say.
On the frame building front things have progressed slower than I hoped. Trying to get the consistency of TIGing down has been harder than I thought because I haven't been able to practice consistently. I hope this week will be fully dedicated to practice and building can start next week. It's hard to get motivated going into a cold garage at 8 at night.
I pretty much have my jig up and running, requires a bit of tweaking at build time, but it will be more than OK for my needs. I'll post pics when it's used. Fist bike will be a modified version of my UBI bike. Then a few bikes for some friends and a cross bike for myself.
On the riding front, it's the same as the building. Nothing. I was hoping to start racing this April, but at this rate, I don't see that happening. Plus money's getting a bit tight, so maybe I'll just do select races this year anyways (yeah, that's what I'll keep telling myself).
Well I promise to go back to more consistent updates from here on out.
Toddre, out.
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