What Pleased You Today!

[A modeler named mike]

The driveway at my Dads old place that I took over had some cracking and a spot that needed patchwork. You could see from that spot that the last guy who did the work only laid down 1/2" of asphalt. The neighbor across the street was getting an estimate, so I had them give me an estimate also. They came out the next day, cut the old asphalt out at the road, garage entrance and along side the extended concrete driveway that runs behind the house so that the new layer would be level with the existing areas, they laid down 3 1/2" of new asphalt and then sealed it. Looks 100% better and it was done correctly this time. That's one more thing on my list of improvements checked off and I'm happy as can be. Next up, I need to power wash and seal the concrete portion of the driveway. 

[Falcon Ranchero]

Was able to fix my pocket watch; watched a video of some dude putting an essentially the same watch back together and I was able to put those parts back in nicely. Still doesn't work but it's all there.

Also: going to have to delete the clock forum accout I made on a whim since I sure as hell won't be screwing around with another clock any time soon.

Edited April 2 by Falcon Ranchero

[Rodent]

6 hours ago, Falcon Ranchero said:

Was able to fix my pocket watch; watched a video of some dude putting an essentially the same watch back together and I was able to put those parts back in nicely. Still doesn't work but it's all there.

Also: going to have to delete the clock forum accout I made on a whim since I sure as hell won't be screwing around with another clock any time soon.

When you decide to fix it, you will need to find a trained watchmaker, and they are getting very hard to find. "Jewelers" typically can only replace batteries. I live in California in a metro area of about 2.3MM people, and I don't think we have one anymore. I used to use a guy downtown, but I think he retired. He used to close for a year at a time (haha, joke) to travel to Switzerland for training and certification. If you dropped anything off with him, it would be months before you got it back, but it would be perfect.

I have an art-deco Gruen that my mom gave my dad for his birthday in 1952 (it's engraved). He wore it when they got married about a month later, and I wore it when I got married in 2008. It pretty much was always broken, and it even grew mold inside when Dad was in South Texas in the Air Force. It spent most of its time in a drawer not running. If my parents decided to get if fixed, it never ran very long and it went back in the drawer for another 10 years.

I also have a 1967 Omega Seamaster "pie pan" that somehow wound up with my step-father in law. He bought watches at estate sales, and we believe that is where he got it. I cleaned it up and it worked and kept decent time. The crystal was scratched, but that was about it. It seems kind of rare due to having a gold back. Most you see nowadays have stainless steel backs.

Long story short, Michael got the Gruen working for me after Dad passed in 2003 and it still works great today if I choose to wind/wear it. I mostly wear it on his birth anniversary and that will soon be 73 years ago that he received the watch. Michael also worked his magic on the Omega. He sourced a N.O.S. crystal with the trident, and generally cleaned it up and lubed it with modern products. The bumper wind mechanism was worn, so he added jewels (jewels act as bearings in watches) and kept it for several weeks to make sure it was keeping good(ish) time. Watchmakers add or subtract miniscule amount of weight to make the watch run faster or slower.

That said, just put that watch in a drawer and keep looking for a chain. At some point in your life you will have the desire and money to make it run even though the watch isn't worth what you will spend. My dad had his grandfather's Hamilton pocket watch which usually didn't run either. I really didn't want it, and I don't have kids, so I gave it to a male cousin that has a son. I hope someone fixed it and is keeping it in the family. Again, not worth anything other than sentimental value. I also wound up with my paternal grandmother's Elgin. I recently reconnected with some cousins and gifted it to one of them. Her daughters are sentimental like their mom, so I am sure the watch will be cherished through many generations.

[89AKurt]

I can now say it's official, I'm actually self-retired! 🎉  Two weeks since I left a comment in the Irk thread that I was waiting.

[Kit Basher]

11 hours ago, 89AKurt said:

I can now say it's official, I'm actually self-retired! 🎉  Two weeks since I left a comment in the Irk thread that I was waiting.

Woo hoo! You definitely won't miss the aggravation. Hope you have a lot of fun!

[John M.]

The 08 Corolla is now registered, insured and inspected as of today. However, when I got to my mechanic's shop where he does state inspections for the sticker today, he said I missed my old Accord by an hour. It was taken away on a rollback truck to the big junkyard in the sky. He jokingly said that as it was leaving,  The "Taps" music that's played by the bugler at military funerals was conducted. RIP old friend. 

[89AKurt]

I'm behind on downloading and posting pictures.  The widow selling the Fakearri didn't have the correct paperwork, had to send back the Title to get signed, plus a notarized Death certificate, and they still didn't have the exact words in the right line done, but Footeworks (started local, now state-wide private service for avoiding MVD) got it done.  The timing worked out great anyway, note the date where the pen is pointing. 😆

I was born in 1961, look at the odometer.  Some paperwork from previous owners was about declaring the odometer is close to correct, it did not turn over.

[Tim W. SoCal]

FINALLY heard Quail calling near my house today, but I haven't seen any yet this year.

[Ace-Garageguy]

Intermittent heavy rains for a couple days, soaked tree came down, took out my power late last night.

Called it in, the power company had me back online within an hour and a half.

The electric cooperative I belong to is really really good about repairs like this, and I have some of the lowest electricity rates in the country.

As always, I'm appreciative whenever I get to deal with a company that delivers outstandingly competent service at realistic prices.

Happily for me, the fall missed my big trailer by about 10 feet...but I've got a lot of chainsawing to do when things dry out.

[89AKurt]

Rewind to Saturday, pleased I could still ride a bicycle.  There was a new street ribbon cutting, a friend and I joined with our mountain bikes.  Rode down the double yellow line because it wasn't opened to car traffic yet, funny to see people creature of habit still going along the edge.  I then convinced him to start up a trail to Glassford Hill, a beautiful but chilly windy day.

[iamsuperdan]

The weather is beautiful, and I was actually out in the driveway, wearing shorts, and spring cleaning the fleet.

This is the '04 Aviator we bought for the boy last year. Not bad for $750 CDN.

[The Plasticated Guy]

I had my yearly eye exam that all diabetics have to do. And no problems. But maybe I should post in the "irked" section that part of the exam is that they dilated my eyes and I had to wait a few hours to appreciate the sun after the ice storm in January, the snow storm in February, fighting high winds last month, and the rain storm with tornado watches and flood warnings last week. 😆

[Falcon Ranchero]

Thee (hopefully) last snow of the season happened last night. It was a big one and it took me an hour and fifteen minutes to shovel my grandma’s driveway before school. Pleased because from now until Sunday is sun sun sun and high of nine degrees Celsius by the end of the week.

[Ace-Garageguy]

Pleased that some prices in my most-frequented grocery store are down, with the sliced ham I currently favor for lunch sandwiches down by almost $1 a pound, and a dozen large eggs down to $4.50.

Edited April 9 by Ace-Garageguy

[JollySipper]

Bill, my friend, you need to try this ham for your sammiches! It tastes just like a sliced Xmas ham...... This is where I get it from, but I'm sure other stores carry it!

https://foodlion.com/product/fricks-hickory-sliced-ham-boneless-16-oz-pkg/353856

 

[ksnow]

My agricultural engineering worked. Removing the tires to refinish the wheels on an older ATV.

 

 

 

Edited April 9 by ksnow
Pic size

[A modeler named mike]

Booked my hotel room today for my NNL East trip. I ended up with a hotel that has an indoor pool since my daughter and my grandson are gonna tag along. Looking forward to this trip since I haven't been to the meet in years.

[89AKurt]

First real drive of Fakerri!  Still needs a bunch of work, but resurrecting any 56 year old car that has been run hard and hung up wet [Irk] is, um, fun.  Now where is a sunset when I want one?

[Ace-Garageguy]

7 hours ago, 89AKurt said:

First real drive of Fakerri!  Still needs a bunch of work, but resurrecting any 56 year old car that has been run hard and hung up wet [Irk] is, um, fun.  Now where is a sunset when I want one?

Fake or not, that's a beautiful car.  

[Ace-Garageguy]

More sane grocery prices at Kroger.

Whole hot roast chicken for $5, and a loaf of really good in-store-bakery crusty multi-whole-grain bread for $3.58.

[Falcon Ranchero]

Basically done school till Sept. just one day next week and 2 final tests

[Ace-Garageguy]

Slipped the leash yesterday while some epoxy was curing enough to handle for the next step in assembling the custom instrument panel for the DeLorean project, and drove up to the Savoy Automobile Museum outside of Cartersville for a couple of hours.

First time I've been there, though I've known about it since before they even broke ground.

Very nice. I particularly wanted to see the exhibit of fiberglass kit cars before they went away. Couple of mistakes on the info boards with the cars, kinda surprising for such a professionally turned out venue. But then I lived, ate, and slept kit-cars for a while, and not everyone knows some of the esoterica...and they had one I'd never even heard of before, so that was cool.

They also had an exhibit of early US-made small cars like Crosley and American Bantam, a gallery full of Studebakers from the teens through the '60s, some locally owned restored and customized cars, and cars from their permanent collection...plus a good selection of automotive art and memorabilia.

Overall a very pleasant experience, well worth the $17 admission fee, and I'll be going back when the exhibits change.

Displayed outside is the abandoned 1954 Plymouth Savoy found on the property as it was being cleared, and that inspired the name of the museum.

                                   

Edited April 12 by Ace-Garageguy

[RSchnell]

Been working on getting my home office a bit better organized. Figured since I gained a few empty shelves reorganizing, why not dip into the totes & put some more of my vintage Ford memorabilia out. Shelf 1 this afternoon.

 

[Zen]

That is some cool Ford stuff.

[stavanzer]

I love those "Tire Repair Kits"!

I could have used one, when I owned a Model T Speedster.

Your collection is very sharp.