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Tank birthday and I'm a Geezer
- Thread starter Paul B
- Start date
David@wegetkraken
Area Local Reef Club
Turkey, largest flock I've seen. Stopped counting at 30.
David@wegetkraken
Area Local Reef Club
That's actually one of the smaller ones. Have a great video of one scratching his back on a tree in our yard, but file is too big to load here. He's around 7' tall and easily 400-500 lbs. Should have gotten him to help us lift the 327..lol. Would make two of the mama bear pictured here.
Paul B
NJRC Member
Paul B
NJRC Member
The girls had a great time on the boat and didn't want to come home.
My wife had an accident though getting off the boat at the restaurant. We docked at the gas dock but it wasn't a floating dock so my wife had to step up about 2' from the boat to the dock. Her leg didn't make it and good thing I was holding her. She almost went into the water but I had a grip on her and managed to hoist her up to the dock. Her shin was all cut up and she bled all over her shoes. I had a first aid kit on the boat and patched her up with a 6' gauze bandage. It didn't ruin her night, just her shoes.
I have the entire steamer trunk taken apart and I removed all the hardware along with hundreds of nails and metal. I sanded the entire thing smooth which was easier than scraping to remove the old canvas.
I ordered new canvas, leather handles and hand made nails. Today I also found a source right near my home for cedar which I will line the thing with as the paper in the inside is all rotted off. I will use all of the existing metal and I won't re-finish it too much as I want the age to show. I still have to sand all the oak slats that were all over the top and sides.
My wife had an accident though getting off the boat at the restaurant. We docked at the gas dock but it wasn't a floating dock so my wife had to step up about 2' from the boat to the dock. Her leg didn't make it and good thing I was holding her. She almost went into the water but I had a grip on her and managed to hoist her up to the dock. Her shin was all cut up and she bled all over her shoes. I had a first aid kit on the boat and patched her up with a 6' gauze bandage. It didn't ruin her night, just her shoes.
I have the entire steamer trunk taken apart and I removed all the hardware along with hundreds of nails and metal. I sanded the entire thing smooth which was easier than scraping to remove the old canvas.
I ordered new canvas, leather handles and hand made nails. Today I also found a source right near my home for cedar which I will line the thing with as the paper in the inside is all rotted off. I will use all of the existing metal and I won't re-finish it too much as I want the age to show. I still have to sand all the oak slats that were all over the top and sides.
Paul B
NJRC Member
The inside of the chest smelled like "Old people."
I sprayed it a few times with bleach and water, now it smells like Lotus Blossoms in the wind, with bleach.
That belt sander is very old. It died last week and I had to re-condition it and solder a wire on to the brushes. I would never throw out an old American tool as I would have to replace it with something from China and that can't happen. It is as good as new now but I have to get the belts on line as they don't make that size any more. It's a Craftsman but Sears is going out of business and now just carry snowflake shoes and shirts.
The sander does have a vacuum built in to catch the dust but sanding the old canvas off just made too much dust. The canvas turned into cement and they used flour and water for glue so I can collect the dust from that and bake a cake with it if I like. Maybe I will invite you over to sample that. :beer:
I held my Re-designed vacuum next to the sander to take off the excess dust.
I bought nails, canvas and handles for that trunk and I got them yesterday. The "hand made" nails come from an ancient machine that used to make the nails when that trunk was made. It makes one at a time.
They are special nails that are very soft and designed to be bent over inside the wood. I don't have to do that as I am putting 5/8ths cedar inside the trunk so the nails can go into that. Bending each of about 400 nails over is too time consuming at my age. :agree:
I also have stuff to "age" the shiny nails.
The sheet metal that goes on the sides, corners, bottom and a lot of other places is rusty. I will reuse it and just blacken some of the rust as I don't want the thing looking brand new.
If I get time today, I will work on it. I still have to sand the wood slats. I thought they were oak but I think they are maple.
My restored drill.
My vacuum is very cool. Virtually all the dust gets collected in that top bucket and none of it goes into the lower vacuum container where the filter is so the filter "never" gets clogged. Nothing goes on to the filter so I never have to clean it and it never loses suction.
The top part of the bucket with that vortex thing on it just twists off and I lift out the bucket to empty.
I connect it to my radial arm saw when I use it .
I sprayed it a few times with bleach and water, now it smells like Lotus Blossoms in the wind, with bleach.
That belt sander is very old. It died last week and I had to re-condition it and solder a wire on to the brushes. I would never throw out an old American tool as I would have to replace it with something from China and that can't happen. It is as good as new now but I have to get the belts on line as they don't make that size any more. It's a Craftsman but Sears is going out of business and now just carry snowflake shoes and shirts.
The sander does have a vacuum built in to catch the dust but sanding the old canvas off just made too much dust. The canvas turned into cement and they used flour and water for glue so I can collect the dust from that and bake a cake with it if I like. Maybe I will invite you over to sample that. :beer:
I held my Re-designed vacuum next to the sander to take off the excess dust.
I bought nails, canvas and handles for that trunk and I got them yesterday. The "hand made" nails come from an ancient machine that used to make the nails when that trunk was made. It makes one at a time.
They are special nails that are very soft and designed to be bent over inside the wood. I don't have to do that as I am putting 5/8ths cedar inside the trunk so the nails can go into that. Bending each of about 400 nails over is too time consuming at my age. :agree:
I also have stuff to "age" the shiny nails.
The sheet metal that goes on the sides, corners, bottom and a lot of other places is rusty. I will reuse it and just blacken some of the rust as I don't want the thing looking brand new.
If I get time today, I will work on it. I still have to sand the wood slats. I thought they were oak but I think they are maple.
My restored drill.
My vacuum is very cool. Virtually all the dust gets collected in that top bucket and none of it goes into the lower vacuum container where the filter is so the filter "never" gets clogged. Nothing goes on to the filter so I never have to clean it and it never loses suction.
The top part of the bucket with that vortex thing on it just twists off and I lift out the bucket to empty.
I connect it to my radial arm saw when I use it .
Paul B
NJRC Member
Today we went to Nikola Tesla's birthday party. Right near my house. No Really! they still have his workshop/laboratory and the pad where he had his huge Tesla coil that was supposed to give everyone in the world free electricity.
Of course thats why they stopped funding him. Free is not a great thing for businessmen.
Anyway he is the reason we have AC electricity today as well as Radio, TV, cell phones, dosers, electric eels, Facebook, controllers, etc.
I was totally disgusted with the event. The guy was one of the greatest minds in the history of the world right behind Justin Beaber and in almost 80 years since he died they did absolutely nothing with his workshop. It is still boarded up and no one is allowed in. Next month they said they were going to do a little work on the chimney. The Chimney! after 80 years thats all they are getting to repair.
Supposedly under the shop there is tunnels and a shaft that goes down 120' so he could anchor the tower so it could "shake the earth".
But all you can see is the outside.
The entire event was a big waste of money and they could have done so much better. Near the gate where you pay $25.00 they were selling half wraps with a small container of potato salad which we bought for ten bucks, But they had no napkins or forks to eat the potato salad so I assumed you were supposed to eat it like an Aardvark and suck it out with your tongue. Luckily we are smart enough to cut a piece of the container off and make forks but people who don't know how to do that had to use a stick or credit card I guess.
Then they had this big truck selling cookies and grilled cheese sandwiches, which is an odd combination. Now we were like the fifth people in there as we got there when it opened and I went to buy a cookie.
The guy tells me they ran out. I said, how many did you bring? Six!
They they had Port O Sans and next to them they had a portable sink which I thought was nice. There was a paper towel holder next to the sink to dry your hands but no garbage cans in the event so I assumed they wanted you to put the wet paper in your pocket and take it home.
I don't know what people think when they put on these events. They could make so much more money and have more people come back the next year but they just don't get it.
It was like 90 degrees and they had lots of chairs out in the sun for the "Scientific Presentation" about Tesla that I wanted to hear. It's the only reason I went, but the entire thing was to thank the volunteers who put the thing together. No science, nothing about grilled cheese, no discussion about ich, nothing.
There was a 40' replica of Tesla's tower that was supposed to make a display, which was a spark. But after that titillating speech in the sun we forgoed that and went home. Total waste of time.
The best thing there was a Lady selling tick repellent which didn't have much to do with Tesla. But she had some ticks stuck to Scotch tape and she was a tick expert.
She also told us that they were not allowed to spray to kill ticks any longer on Long Island where ticks are very prevalent. We asked why and she said the jewelers complained and sued the state. I said "The Jewelers".
Why would Jewelers care if they kill ticks. She said because if they eliminate the ticks, clocks would just go "Tock, Tock, Tock.
Of course thats why they stopped funding him. Free is not a great thing for businessmen.
Anyway he is the reason we have AC electricity today as well as Radio, TV, cell phones, dosers, electric eels, Facebook, controllers, etc.
I was totally disgusted with the event. The guy was one of the greatest minds in the history of the world right behind Justin Beaber and in almost 80 years since he died they did absolutely nothing with his workshop. It is still boarded up and no one is allowed in. Next month they said they were going to do a little work on the chimney. The Chimney! after 80 years thats all they are getting to repair.
Supposedly under the shop there is tunnels and a shaft that goes down 120' so he could anchor the tower so it could "shake the earth".
But all you can see is the outside.
The entire event was a big waste of money and they could have done so much better. Near the gate where you pay $25.00 they were selling half wraps with a small container of potato salad which we bought for ten bucks, But they had no napkins or forks to eat the potato salad so I assumed you were supposed to eat it like an Aardvark and suck it out with your tongue. Luckily we are smart enough to cut a piece of the container off and make forks but people who don't know how to do that had to use a stick or credit card I guess.
Then they had this big truck selling cookies and grilled cheese sandwiches, which is an odd combination. Now we were like the fifth people in there as we got there when it opened and I went to buy a cookie.
The guy tells me they ran out. I said, how many did you bring? Six!
They they had Port O Sans and next to them they had a portable sink which I thought was nice. There was a paper towel holder next to the sink to dry your hands but no garbage cans in the event so I assumed they wanted you to put the wet paper in your pocket and take it home.
I don't know what people think when they put on these events. They could make so much more money and have more people come back the next year but they just don't get it.
It was like 90 degrees and they had lots of chairs out in the sun for the "Scientific Presentation" about Tesla that I wanted to hear. It's the only reason I went, but the entire thing was to thank the volunteers who put the thing together. No science, nothing about grilled cheese, no discussion about ich, nothing.
There was a 40' replica of Tesla's tower that was supposed to make a display, which was a spark. But after that titillating speech in the sun we forgoed that and went home. Total waste of time.
The best thing there was a Lady selling tick repellent which didn't have much to do with Tesla. But she had some ticks stuck to Scotch tape and she was a tick expert.
She also told us that they were not allowed to spray to kill ticks any longer on Long Island where ticks are very prevalent. We asked why and she said the jewelers complained and sued the state. I said "The Jewelers".
Why would Jewelers care if they kill ticks. She said because if they eliminate the ticks, clocks would just go "Tock, Tock, Tock.
Paul B
NJRC Member
Yesterday I looked at my tank, I have been so busy that I rarely look at the thing unless I hear the crabs banging on the glass to get my attention. One "arm" on one of my SPS bleached. I figured I would test the water. The Alk was like 4 and the calcium was so low I couldn't make an Alka Seltzer tablet out of the entire tank. So I dumped a load of alk in until it went up to 7.
Don't worry, I did it over about 5 minutes.
I don't believe in Old Wives tales unless it is my wife about doing this stuff slowly.
If you were dying because you had no food, water, or internet, would you rather take a small sip and maybe an M&M, or would you want a full Gourmet meal right away?
Thats the way corals think about it. If you don't agree. Write me a letter and send it snail mail with a self addressed envelope. I won't read it but I could use the scrap paper.
Anyway, I looked at the tank today and all seems well. That piece of coral didn't miraculously re grow but nothing else bleached.
I really need to change some water, but it is not in the cards for a while. My workshop is so full of projects that I have no room for water buckets.
But besides that, today I am very happy. After living here a year I found a fish market, (not a LFS) that is supposed to be the best on Long Island. It's right on the docks and you buy the fish still jumping, you can't get fresher than that. They have every kind of fish caught in the North Atlantic and the prices are pretty good. My wife and I are "foodies" and we need good food.
The stuff you get in a supermarket marked "Fresh Fish" is code for Cat food.
Fresh fish is so much better, it's like comparing a gold fish to a moorish Idol.
My Dad had a fish market and I grew up in it so I know what fresh fish is supposed to smell like. The aroma brought back so many memories.
We got some fresh tuna and scrod that they were cleaning when we got there. They even fill the bag with ice for you.
But they had squid, octopus, MahiMahi, porgies, fluke, flounder, striped bass, and almost every fish and crustacean that I can name including soft shell blue claw crabs which is amazing now because they are not even in season.
I can't wait to go back.
I made the scrod tonight and was in Heaven. What a difference. Fish after it is a day or two old, is not the same animal. As I said, it turns into cat food.
Don't worry, I did it over about 5 minutes.
I don't believe in Old Wives tales unless it is my wife about doing this stuff slowly.
If you were dying because you had no food, water, or internet, would you rather take a small sip and maybe an M&M, or would you want a full Gourmet meal right away?
Thats the way corals think about it. If you don't agree. Write me a letter and send it snail mail with a self addressed envelope. I won't read it but I could use the scrap paper.
Anyway, I looked at the tank today and all seems well. That piece of coral didn't miraculously re grow but nothing else bleached.
I really need to change some water, but it is not in the cards for a while. My workshop is so full of projects that I have no room for water buckets.
But besides that, today I am very happy. After living here a year I found a fish market, (not a LFS) that is supposed to be the best on Long Island. It's right on the docks and you buy the fish still jumping, you can't get fresher than that. They have every kind of fish caught in the North Atlantic and the prices are pretty good. My wife and I are "foodies" and we need good food.
The stuff you get in a supermarket marked "Fresh Fish" is code for Cat food.
Fresh fish is so much better, it's like comparing a gold fish to a moorish Idol.
My Dad had a fish market and I grew up in it so I know what fresh fish is supposed to smell like. The aroma brought back so many memories.
We got some fresh tuna and scrod that they were cleaning when we got there. They even fill the bag with ice for you.
But they had squid, octopus, MahiMahi, porgies, fluke, flounder, striped bass, and almost every fish and crustacean that I can name including soft shell blue claw crabs which is amazing now because they are not even in season.
I can't wait to go back.
I made the scrod tonight and was in Heaven. What a difference. Fish after it is a day or two old, is not the same animal. As I said, it turns into cat food.
Paul B
NJRC Member
Actually it is 13 months.
Sponge I went into Petco today which I just found right next to a supermarket my wife shops in. I didn't even know they had salt water fish. They had a few anemic looking damsels and a triggerfish. If I needed such fish I would have bought them but I really went there for salt. I use NSW and here it is very weak. I don't know why but you can keep Blue gouramies in it so I have to add some ASW when I change water. My skimmer also loses a lot of water down the drain so I need to throw in some salt occasionally.
But getting back to goldfish. They had a large tank full of them. Larger ones like 2 or 3 inches. They were all dead except one which was getting last rites. I can't believe they just didn't flush them. They had people working in the store which mainly sells dog food but there were no dogs there, or customers except for me.
Flush the dead goldfish for Gods sake. Thank God there are Dogs to feed or that place would go belly up. Like those goldfish.
Sponge I went into Petco today which I just found right next to a supermarket my wife shops in. I didn't even know they had salt water fish. They had a few anemic looking damsels and a triggerfish. If I needed such fish I would have bought them but I really went there for salt. I use NSW and here it is very weak. I don't know why but you can keep Blue gouramies in it so I have to add some ASW when I change water. My skimmer also loses a lot of water down the drain so I need to throw in some salt occasionally.
But getting back to goldfish. They had a large tank full of them. Larger ones like 2 or 3 inches. They were all dead except one which was getting last rites. I can't believe they just didn't flush them. They had people working in the store which mainly sells dog food but there were no dogs there, or customers except for me.
Flush the dead goldfish for Gods sake. Thank God there are Dogs to feed or that place would go belly up. Like those goldfish.
Paul B
NJRC Member
I just finished restoring this 160 Year old Steamer Chest. I think it came out pretty good. I used all the existing metal, wood, hinges, lock, latches etc but Had to buy some more cut nails. The entire thing was put together with about a thousand nails that were purposely to long and were bent over for strength. I lined the inside with cedar so i was able to get longer nails that went into the cedar. I found nails that were made individually on a machine from the same time period so the thing is pretty authentic. I also replaced the handles and the OD green canvas with a light brown one also from the same period that I got from a place that sells authentic chest parts. I added wheels because now it is real heavy.
This is the old chest as I got it.
I also have a "Victor Talking Box" record player from about 1910. That was before RCA merged with Victor making RCA Victor. It is on top of my Ice Box from the same time period.
This is the old chest as I got it.
I also have a "Victor Talking Box" record player from about 1910. That was before RCA merged with Victor making RCA Victor. It is on top of my Ice Box from the same time period.