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The "What Did You Work On Today" thread

3M views 36K replies 388 participants last post by  cerial 
#1 ·
4 hour work day for me at the shop. Used the time to do a valve body swap on a '01 Jetta 1.8t auto .... I successfully installed a transbrake on the car .... that however wasn't my intention.

Its in 2 gears at once in park, all other gears (R/N/D/2/1) are forward gears.... they all seam to be first gear.

I have it torn back down most of the way. Tuesday I'll actually get the VB back out and see whats up.... but part of me wants to take it out for a test drive the way it is just for the fun of it.
 
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#17,363 ·
Good Gawd that's a LOT of hardware to fix a simple hole...:drunk: and it still has a splice with crimp clamps in the middle, couldn't he have done with about 10 less fittings ??

No wonder it cracked, you're no where near 6 ft down to be below the frost line...:p

Pick on me and my dirt project...
Hahaha. Yeah I thought it looks like a mess and yeah clamps. Its buried now. Not sure what happened, I didn't know the guy was here until he finished and knocked on the door. Kinda do like my fix just as well. When compression fittings come into play, the situation is never optimal. There was no plumber friend to call in this case, but here I sit fixed. If I backfilled gently enough. Today deserves both these guys- :pain::sweat:

Glad you used the pokey stick because now I can copy and paste it somewhere on an applicable -ahem- Chevelle thread that I've been wondering about lately.

I PROMISE THERE ARE NO DEAD BODIES IN THE HOLE! G-men, in-laws, none. ;)
 
#17,364 ·
Glad you used the pokey stick because now I can copy and paste it somewhere on an applicable -ahem- Chevelle thread that I've been wondering about lately.
I know you like that pokey stick, but it seems I now need to go do some-ahem-updates...:sweat:

Did you have to pay for that repair ? I thought everything before the house was the city's problem.
 
#17,365 ·
I know you like that pokey stick, but it seems I now need to go do some-ahem-updates...:sweat:

Did you have to pay for that repair ? I thought everything before the house was the city's problem.
You dodged the prod... THIS time. :p That was close though. I can think of anOTHer thread that needs stalking.:D:mwink:

Naw yeah but naw... yes I did pay. Anything before the meter is the city's problem. The whole line ain't 50 feet but that would be over a grand and backhoe. This check had a two on the front and I let it go with a proper harrumph but was glad to text the boss that the drama was finito and I am quite relieved because the meter is rock-steady now, showing no leaks.

Kinda sore in some places I forgot about :pain: so work should be fun. Seems like I pulled this off without fouling up the bum hand too bad. Back to the literal grind.:)
 
#17,366 ·
Up here the meters are on the side of the homes. Anything in the ground is the utilities problem. I take it your meter is in the street ?

I'm not coming up with this other OTH thread I need to attend to. I asked my wife if she knew and she came up with Over The Hill ?? big help she is...:rolleyes: She likes to tease me about my age, being she is still "young", compared to me anyway. She is younger than Brian...:p
 
#17,367 ·
I was talking about John and Rusty's thread. Curious how that's going, that's all. Wives must be very luxurious to have, I can only imagine.

Meters are under an iron cover, about a foot down in a hole out near the street. That's plenty to avoid freezing here. How on earth can water meters not freeze on the side of a house? They put an electronic device on the meters in recent years here, to transmit the readings to a truck in the street so they don't have to look at the actual meter.
 
#17,368 · (Edited by Moderator)
this economy is booming!

insane last two weeks. 3 jobs in two weeks. The first was at a restoration shop where the boss's son wanted to be the painter but he hired me to do that, so when the boss wasn't around this know it all was trying to sit there and debate on every little ding I came across, trying to tell me how to mix filler, just riding me. Wanted to slap some sense into him. If I have to stop and ask what we do about a fricken ding what exactly am I going to get done for 8 hours? Made no fricken sense. I nicely told him I wasn't a beginner and knew how to do the work and the boss took that as "not being a team player". BS. The next day I'm in this shop that does very minor collision. Boss says painter is leaving and he wants me to run the shop. I knock out the first job and they're impressed. Because I was so nice to the painter he thought it was an opportunity for me to do all his prepping and dirty work while all he does is spray and flags all the hours, so he wanted to stay after that, thinking I'd be the body guy and his work horse. That would have been fine for a little while but on the first week's pay the boss is in my face showing me payable hours vs hours I clocked in. I told him to bring more work and if the work was there I can easily put out more than 60 a week. Still refused to tell the boss I was doing stuff the painter flagged. Just a weird situation. He wanted me to pick the painter's brain and estimator's brain so I could then replace them. That's just too much for me. I just want to work and didn't feel like forcing anyone's hand or dealing with that situation. So as soon as I saw the work flow and him telling me I need to do more hours when clearly the problem was the work HE was bringing in, I looked for another job. Now I got hired by a great production shop that pays me $25 an hour, which is far more than what I got in restoration, plus benefits, 401k, vacation, BREAKS. Even got a $2 raise just for having tools and a box, before even starting. Restoration taught me to be well rounded but it payed like crap and I've dealt with a lot of crap. I always expect to pay dues but at the last two jobs I've learned the most and payed them harder than I think I ever will have to. I still love restorations but the money just isn't there these days. In SF/bay I'd make around $30 hr. So I'm very glad to not be smoking the green, thinking more clearly, a better communicator, and have gone back to production. Just got these in the mail too. Tonight I try out this new helmet. So awesome to have a shade 8 helmet with 4 sensors and clips to hold in a cheater lens. It's everything I look for and only $50. Shade 8 is great for low amp Tig welding sheet metal. My other helmet wasn't the greatest for that.

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#17,369 ·
I got the plywood sub top installed on one section of the counters.
One more small cabinet next to the stove and I can order the tops.

Sink is about a week away. I could have made one but the guys in the shop can't get the same finish as the production (China of course :rolleyes:) jobbies with their nice machine polishing.

In case you're wondering, the port hole in the wall has a fan in the duct to pull out the heat from the fridge. Got to "rod" the house where I can....
 

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#17,370 ·
Nice looking kitchen. Yep, heat will kill a refrigeration. Is your exhaust system thermostatically controlled with a cut out so the heat goes outside if the interior temp is over say 65° and kept inside to warm the house in cooler temps ? :D
That reminds me, I need to pull ours out and vacuum all the dog hair again...:rolleyes:

How many times did you have to bonk the noggin on the exhaust fan housing before it got the warning tape...:p
 
#17,371 ·
Nice looking kitchen. Yep, heat will kill a refrigeration. Is your exhaust system thermostatically controlled with a cut out so the heat goes outside if the interior temp is over say 65° and kept inside to warm the house in cooler temps ? :D
That reminds me, I need to pull ours out and vacuum all the dog hair again...:rolleyes:

How many times did you have to bonk the noggin on the exhaust fan housing before it got the warning tape...:p
Thanks.

I'm going to plug it into a timer. 15 on 15 off should do it.

I was just massaging last nights loogey as I read your comment...ha.....
 
#17,372 ·
We are doing the kitchen in my m-i-l's house for sale. OMG, we weren't going to get a permit, things changed, now we do, $600, for BS! :evil:
DAMN I want this project over with!

Brian
 
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#17,373 ·
I got some stuff on eBay last night too. It's funny, I hate having to do it, there isn't much money here that we are talking about. But once I get it on I love watching it! LOL

Brian
 
#17,374 ·
my last day of freedom well spent. This Antra welding helmet is awesome. It's working flawlessly for low amp Tig welding, which was giving my other helmet problems. No flutter, nothing. The knobs are a little cheap but nothing a little o ring can't fix. Best $50 I've ever spent. Love the cheater lens holder too. Simply amazing. Go check out the reviews for The Antra welding helmet. on Amazon.
 
#17,375 ·
I was just massaging last nights loogey as I read your comment...ha.....
LOL do you know what a loogey is down here? :D

Top notch kitchen stuffs!:thumbup: Lookin good.


Poke your nose into the shop...:cool:

I don't know why I called this a more-door earlier. Painter project, looks like gravy but I gotta wonder if its a color change-



Riviera must be still waiting for some chrome, more when its done and outside-



In the interest of not blowing up the page, I'll just attach these pics of my project and you can ask if you're curious. Only worked two and a half days this week. Probably half a day of topside floor welding left, then I'll go underneath and tidy up. Its going OK so far. :)
 

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#17,377 ·
Just got done watching The California Kid for the first time. That's one bad '34....:thumbup:

Like the '70 GTO commercial at the end too.......

You can see "The Kid" at Pete and Jake's in Peculiar, Mo. about 50 miles south of Kansas City.
In case you didn't know it is and always was powered by a small block Ford, not a small block Chevy as portrayed in the movie.
 
#17,380 ·
I read that, funny thing, I belong to their FB site....... "Liked" them a while ago.....
I remember when the movie first came out in 74 and a couple of years ago I bought a DVD copy. Since it was a made for tv movie it didn't get near the acclaim of American Graffiti, but it's still a great movie.

If I'm not mistaken before Pete and Jake sold the business they built a similar 34 for Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top and it's been in some of their videos.
 
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