Ace-Garageguy

Backwards-spelled and forwards-spelled-the-same words are called palindromes, and that phrase is very clumsy.

"Call Bob" said my AI virtual assistant, but I don't know anybody named Bob.

"Good Vibrations" was a Beach Boys song that was almost orchestral in its complexity.

Great project. I purchased a Cox body to do the self-same thing.

I like bright lights to see where I'm going at night as much as anyone else. But this is largely, again, an instance of either stupid, lazy design, or intentional planned obsolescence and built-in captive after-vehicle-sale expense. Even with the most sophisticated xenon or LED lamps, a few more mouse strokes and thought COULD HAVE MADE INDIVIDUAL COMPONENTS EASILY REPLACEABLE, vastly reducing cost. But no, for whatever reason, you get to spend $1500 when a "bulb burns out". And as usual, consumers just take it. PS: It's not only improperly adjusted late-model OEM lighting or improperly installed/designed aftermarket stuff that cause annoying problems from oncoming or following vehicles. I have purchased several vehicles that had simple old-fashioned standard sealed-beams or later sealed-beam halogens and "composite" lighting with the bulbs installed literally upside-down or partially cocked. I've seen the mounting rings cut and modded to force-fit bulbs wrong because the chimpchanic was too dim to understand those little slots and keys are there to ensure the bulbs go in correctly.

"Too much of nothin' can make a man feel ill at ease."

I have thousands on my desktop for reference or inspiration, and sometimes I'll just let them shuffle while I listen to music. Much better entertainment than a lot of what's out there.

HOT today, right at 100F in the shop up until 4:30 PM when a really violent downpour thunderstorm with hail started. Temp dropped to 71. 72 right now, but with 100% humidity.

Though Amazon shows the Bondo 2-part polyester 801 putty to be unavailable, NAPA still shows stock. This may or may not be true because...internet. I'll check my local NAPA tomorrow. In the meantime, the above mentioned Dolphin Glaze is an excellent product and has become the go-to for the high-end bodyshop I work with. The package "pouch" is a kind of plasticized metal foil, and keeps the product fresh longer than other 2-part polyester glazing putties in plastic tubes. BEWARE: SEVERAL ONLINE SELLERS ARE LYING AND LISTING THE BONDO #907 ONE-PART PUTTY AS "PROFESSIONAL" (WHICH IS THE 2-PART #801) AT STUPIDLY INFLATED PRICES. PAY ATTENTION. ALSO BEWARE: THE DOLPHIN GLAZE PACKAGING HAS CHANGED. ANYTHING IN THIS PACKAGE IS OLD

Road rash is usually less fun than the rash from poison ivy.

VERY nice. Some aspects of it make me think of Allard, had they built a full-fendered somethingorother.

When someone highlights a part of a quote with questions in it, the normal assumption is that the highlighted part is what's being addressed. As above. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- And though there are some necessary internal similarities among lathe chucks, the means of adjustment, the "operator interface"...two small bars ("tommy bars") stuck in holes in the chuck and the adjustment collar...which is what I was addressing in my first post, is identical on the Unimat and Sherline 4000, and unlike the adjustment means on any conventional full-size lathe I've ever worked with...a T-handled square key that you insert in holes in the chuck, and turn to scroll the jaws open or closed. The very first lesson in Lathe 101 is to NEVER LEAVE THE ADJUSTING KEY IN THE CHUCK...EVER EVER EVER FOR ANY LENGTH OF TIME FOR ANY REASON WHATSOEVER. The first time the key hits you in the face indicates exactly why. Big lathe, below, showing the chuck key very clearly "Tommy bars" for opening and closing the chuck jaws on a Unimat, similar to the Sherline, below.

PM'd.

The plan is to make molds of it, and put copies in several Stratos kits. But it'll be a while. I seem to remember that Model Builders Warehouse had a beautiful engine kit, but if so I missed it, and they're gone now.

I got the partial refund I'd asked for on the Testors 246 Dino kit that had a warped body and broken roof pillars and windshield, so that's something.

Amazing fall colors can be found in many parts of the country, with upstate New York and all over New England being among my favorites.

Yup. Stretching and exercise do much good to keep everything functioning, but I have to rely occasionally on aspirin, ibuprofen, and topicals like Bengay to get me to the point where I CAN exercise. That six weeks of immobility with the rib deal has been harder to get back from than I'd anticipated.

Very nice, and the big sparkly flake is really appropriate for that build style.

Yes, I do.

Several stainless socket head capscrews in lengths not available locally. Excellent quality for a very good price with free delivery, from Fastenere. And a roll of heat-shrink tape that's devoid of adhesive, and not anywhere as user-friendly as the great stuff that used to be available from Radio Shack. Heat-shrink tape is particularly useful when building custom wiring harnesses where branches sprout from the main wiring bundle, and you want a permanent un-sticky solution that won't let go and unravel over time, but if it's not self-adhesive, installation is much more time consuming and just about requires you to grow a third hand. The alternative, self-vulcanizing sticks-to-itself tape, is easier to use, but it tends to be considerably thicker, and makes klugeier looking junctions. I'm disappointed in this product from one of my regular electrical component suppliers, Sherco.

"South" isn't my favorite region unless it's followed by "west", though there is some very beautiful country down here.

OK, I'm corrected. But the means by which the lathe jaws on the Unimat and the Sherline are adjusted, among a few other things, appear to be absolutely identical. That wasn't coincidence (though I haven't disassembled anything on the Sherline to see how far the similarity goes).

Yup. I've had a full size gap-bed lathe (16" max OD workpiece) since 1995. And a full size Bridgeport clone. Bought a Unimat lathe and mill maybe 6 or 7 years back, about a 1969 issue, and subsequently collected a lot of tooling, parts, upgrades. Great little machine, good for model and other small precision work, but not sufficient power to efficiently work as large pieces as it will accommodate. Bought a pretty complete used Sherline lathe and mill setup with a LOT of tooling back in February of 2024. First time I've really needed it was this week, and it's impressive: well thought out and plenty powerful. And very obviously influenced by the little Unimat.

Austrian. The Unimat.