What are you doing today?

[GPster]

I am recovering from back surgery that was a week ago today.  All is well and for the first time in 14 years or so, there is no pain in my legs and lower back.  I think I have more plastic and stainless steel, in my lower back, than I have bone now.  I will have a slow recovery but that is okay.  I am spending a lot of time walking the streets in my neighborhood.  I told the neighbors to call my wife if they see me laying in the street.   I have fallen and I can not get up.

John

sounds what my back doctor is suggesting, L4/5 area. I  go in thursday for another injection. I had the last one 7 months ago, and have been hurting since early august.
What kind of time frame for going back to work?

I tried the injections and they worked well at first but then they did less and less.  I was to the point where something had to be done.  I was up walking the next day.  A week later, I am outside taking short hikes around the neighborhood 3 times a day.  The doctor told me that he anticipated I would be able to drive the school bus in two to three months.  I do not plan to go back to school bus driving.  I will keep you posted on the recovery.  Others on this board have had similar operations with great success.  

John

I did my back in in '67 taking out a floor furnace at my job. I was never diagnosed so just rest got me back to work (no insurance or sick pay). Had a spell with it in '72 and went home to lay down and they had to carry me out of bed to the hospital. Doctor that saw me then had in his mind what it was (still no insurance or sick pay) and told me I might learn how to live with it but I'd be looking at surgery with-in 10 years. I learned to live with it and it became part of my being, so much so that it was not a concern to anyone in the job physical for a new job in '79 (with insurance and sick pay). Three months into the new job and I had trouble standing up and I had no feeling in my right leg. Got an appointment with an older doctor and during the examination he almost drew blood "pin pricking" in my leg trying to find feeling. During the examination I could see the screen when they injected the dye (?) into my spinal core. When it got to between L4 and L5 the haze that was on the screen told the story (and made me sick to my stomach). He did a laminectomy the following day and had the nurses get me up to walk when I woke up in recovery. I was back to work "light duty" in 3 months. Any back problems I have now (not often) the pain is mostly because I stiffen-up thinking that my stupidity has done it again. That's not been the case. Any time I see anyone that is having the trouble I remember having and they are going for shots or some "out patient lapriscoptic procedure" I wonder if it will fix the problem. Been there, done that. My body has been through some accidents over the years but that part has held. I'm not as strong but that's probably age. GPster

[kb426]

The last 2 evenings, I swapped out the heater in the garage. I installed the old one in 1981. It came out of a house built in the 40's or early 50's. The motor was about to die so I installed the one that I took out of my son's house this spring. It appears to be about a 1975 model. The motor has been replaced before and the exchanger looks solid. I should be good for another 30 years.  

[Boyd Who]

I haven't done much in my shop for quite some time. Today however I gave my "new" B/A wiper cabinet a bath. I picked this thing up in a junk removal job I did last week. Haven't decided if I'll keep it or sell it.







My shop is getting crowded!

[Rrumbler]

Good to see from ya', Al.

[Crosley.In.AZ]

welded some transmission parts together. Converter parts, custom cut metal..

Landscape yard art stuff

[Boyd Who]

Good to see from ya', Al.

Thanks, Rrumbler. I haven't spent much time in the shop lately but I'm hoping to get out there a bit more this winter.

[jaybee]

Same here. I tuned up the shop furnace so it'll be ready to go.

I also sourced a shade 5 glass to go in my welding helmet in place of the autodarkening module so I can oxy/acetylene weld with my glasses on. My eyes have gotten to the point where there's no way I can see well enough without glasses.

[BFS57]

Hello;
Well, it's been a long time coming but I am slowly stripping the trim off my 57 for a well deserved paint job.
Got the side trim off to find pretty bad rust under the side pieces in the rear quarters. Don't know if this can be fixed or should I re-use those long aluminum trim pieces? Buying new is way too much $$$ at this point, may be I could opt for powder coating them? (chrome).
It is also looking like I will have to paint the bumpers, no budget for new or re-chromed. Got to figure out how to remove the long pieces of trim on top of the rear quarters. The more I do, the more I save.
Am also thinking about having the car soda blasted before taking to paint?
I plan to stop by the shop and ask first before I mess up everything like I usually do!

Bruce

[papastoyss]

Hello;
Well, it's been a long time coming but I am slowly stripping the trim off my 57 for a well deserved paint job.
Got the side trim off to find pretty bad rust under the side pieces in the rear quarters. Don't know if this can be fixed or should I re-use those long aluminum trim pieces? Buying new is way too much $$$ at this point, may be I could opt for powder coating them? (chrome).
It is also looking like I will have to paint the bumpers, no budget for new or re-chromed. Got to figure out how to remove the long pieces of trim on top of the rear quarters. The more I do, the more I save.
Am also thinking about having the car soda blasted before taking to paint?
I plan to stop by the shop and ask first before I mess up everything like I usually do!      

Bruce

 On my '57 wagon the trim pieces on top of the fins have a series of studs that snap into a spring socket in the top of the fin. Start at the front w/ a forked pry tool & go slowly to prevent damage.There is a connecting piece spot welded into the verticle pc of trim on the back of the fin, it just slips into the back of the horizontal piece you were asking about.The verticle piece is held on by a stout wing shaped retainer at near the top rear of the fin, there are also 2 clutch head  @#%^&*$# screws on the gas door side. To avoid bending the connecting link and/or breaking the spot weld you must move the verticle fin trim up along w/ the horizontal trim.Go easy &good luck, I learned this the hard way! BTW, all the trim on my wagon is stainless, not aluminum, & its the elcheapo model.

[jaybee]

I built one of those little prybar tools today to turn a flange on sheet metal. Yeah, I'm aware that "built" is an ambitious word for cutting a slot in the end of a piece of steel, trimming the corners off to narrow it down to a "nose", rounding the edges for comfort, and painting it yellow, but there you go. I put a 1/2" deep slot in one end, 3/4" in the other and dang that's an easy way to turn a flange.

After that I finished grinding out a hollow in the end of a metal working stump and treated it with Linseed Oil. It's been sitting in my garage for several years drying. I tried to cut a dish then by making plunge cuts with a Skil saw, but at the time the wood was too wet to work well. A Skill saw was still the wrong way to do it but an angle grinder got the job done. I'm sure that isn't how a woodworker would do it, but my woodworking skills won't qualify me as a cabinetmaker.

A few minutes playing with the stump and a piece of waste sheet metal tells me this is going to be fun to learn how to use. I have an old baseball bat that'll make good mallets to use with it.

[BFS57]

Hello;
Progress is slowly moving foreword. I got the two long trims on the top of the rear of the car off by using a large slot head screwdriver. They came off pretty good no broken parts but did have a issue with rust on the driver's side which was there previously.
The two, and I do believe they are aluminum, inserts on each side revealed previous rust as well a present rust. Went to the body shop and discussed my  ideas further. They will paint these side panels to look like stainless steel. I have the gold crests it's the Bel Air scripts I need to re anodize or? New ones are about $50.00 (pair)
Still can't figure out how to get the exterior belt moldings off because the windows either have to be out or lower than normal to get to the screws that hold these in place. I also have a new set of window fuzzies to install.
I still have to get the AC finished up but as I have about 85 percent of it in place, just mostly make 3 to 4 hoses, get them crimpted and then vacuum the system and charge it up although this is a old (new) system from defunct Hot Rod Air, I expect no problems (ha ha ha)!

Bruce

[enjenjo]

Dug a trench, and buried  a conduit from the shop to one of the outbuildings. Now I can run the 220 electric, and the air lines underground.

[Glen]

so for two months I have had a build sheet in my truck to special order a new F350, I was going to order it today.  I was at the light thinking how spotless my f250 is and I never eat in the truck, no dings, nobody sits in it but me......one mile later a kid in a geo decided to cut across three lanes traffic in an attempt to turn left, i don't even know if i hit the brake pedal before impact.  They are going to measure the frame rails on my truck tomorrow, the appear to be shifted left.  drivers door is kinked open at the top, and rubs on the back door.

[enjenjo]

Aren't you glad it wasn't your new truck?

[Glen]

ya, good point, now just trying to figure out how im getting my stuff to vegas in two weeks for the Street Car Super Nationals.