2012 at the Hammond Barn

[Bob Carriere]

When Joyce was a manager at Staples they would ...every now and then....throw out racking for more modern ones...... I scavenged a bunch of them.

We needed to take some scrap cut off steel off the floors in corners for room to work and easy access to the odd pieces and bits for future jobs. Wire shelves were nice but needed some bracing with angle iron for holding the weight that we will put on them.

Nice project for the Winter.

Also building a good sturdy box for storing and possibly securely transporting my recently acquired 19 set...... the whole set up moounted on the travel board will fit inside and be a two men carry.

Once that is completed will tackle sheet metal worjon the nose sheet metal fo tha cab 11 which has some nice large rust holes...... will try patches and or repro..... butt welding patches and spot welding will be the process of choice.

Still have to tackle the twisted frame but that will wait until we get milder weather.

Nice to fire up "Lucifer" and be able to work in a 50 to 55 F degrees setting.

Bob

[RHClarke]

The mercury dipped to -23 oC this clear and very sunny morning. With the wind, it felt like -32 – cold on any temperature scale! It was so cold that I was the only one at the barn this morning. Bob and Grant (I’m guessing) were out on Saturday. All of the vehicle shelters had the snow removed, so the boys were busy yesterday. Bob did a great job of clearing the snow from the front driveway, the road to the barn and the area in front of the barn. I’ll bet that was great fun, as no matter where the machine blows the snow, some is bound to blow back over you.

When I got to the barn I didn’t fire up Lucifer as I could only stay for a few hours. Upon entry I noticed that a new bin system was assembled and placed against one of the walls. Bob and Grant continue their fascination with racks and the like. So far most of the bins are empty, but that will change. Hopefully, the boys will chime in to speak of their exploits.

My morning was spent removing about 10 inches of snow from most of the roof of the old shed. The snow was in three layers – a soft top layer, a sheet of ice with compacted snow underneath. It was a bitch to breakup and clear off as the snow rake is somewhat flimsy and it catches the nails on the tin sheet roof. We will need to extend the reach of the snow rake so that I can get the remainder of the snow without having to get up on the roof. The old shed has developed a noticeable westward lean, and there was no sense in tempting fate.

After that fun, I fixed a broken shovel. The shovel blade had split where the dent for the handle meets the flat part of the shovel. After getting the power level right, the weld worked nicely. Some finishing touches with the grinder, and the shovel should last another five years. Yes, I am cheap. After locking up, I drove home for lunch very much enjoying the sun highlighting the ice in the trees. Winter in Canada can be a bit of a bitch, but it also can be downright beautiful.

Photos:
1 - Ice in the trees
2 - Camouflaged Dodges
3 - Unladen Bins

[Bob Carriere]

Colder than a mother-in-law's heart she was........

The wife convinced me that it would be toooo cold to work in the barn so we went photographing Snowy Owl....... it was minus 29C when we left the house at 7:45........ took me 30 minutes to get dressed...... felt like a two year old....warm but could not move. 4 hour Batteries lasted only about an hour in the camera before going dead........ did see 3 Snowy but they would not even respond to baiting with live lab mice......

Spent most of Saturday doing the snow/blow job while Grant did the roofs of the Winter canvass garages. Thanks for doing the shed/containers Rob.

More snow coming this week and Grant is toasting his buns in San Diago for the week.

Blowing snow is fine with modern conveniences.....sucks when the wind shifts and you wind up sucking most of it......
it was minus -15C when they were taken.

Bob

[maple_leaf_eh]

Good reminder to clear the accumulations off the soft-skin shelter. The accumulations in the front of the driveway have been relentless but not impossible to clear. Better to turn 180 degrees and start raking. Monday the weather is expected to break, and get into single digits below zero.

[RHClarke]

It got busy this week at work. Deadlines tend to focus one's thoughts and actions. Now that I have had some time to catch my breath, here is what happened last Sunday. It was cold, but not stupid cold (which I think is easier to survive that stupid hot...). Nonetheless, all three of us made it to the barn for what turned out to be a short day. The first to cross the barn's threshold has the joy of feeding Lucifer and confusing the local mosquito population - they actually do show up when Lucifer is at full glow!

Once Lucifer was sated, I got on to painting some of the items taken off of the Pilot Model HUP. The throw out arms from the windshields, sunshine hatch stopper plates, a few spring clamps and the two upper support pillars got their first coat of black paint.

Whilst slapping the paint on the pre-heated parts, Bob arrived. I think he was amused at how fast the paint dried on the parts. It might have something to do with having spent a few minutes resting on top of Lucifer's fire box. Shorthly thereafter, Grant arrived sporting his California tan. We spent the rest of the morning yakking about cleaning up the barn and other tasks - Bob proudly showed off his "air dryer". The boys put a fresh tarp over one of Grant's shelter to keep the ice and snow at bay. Then we drove to the thriving metropolis of Rockland for a nice sit down full breakfast. It was good to see Bob was behaving himself and was eating wisely.

Back at the barn we fiddled around with various bits and pieces and decided to call it a day. Sometimes you need a small break in the action - or maybe we were just plain lazy. We will make up for it in the future.

Photos

1 - Yep. It is still cold - Bob thawing out the air regulator with the "air dryer"
2 - Pilot Model parts awaiting a new coat of paint
3 - The same with their new coat airing themselves near Lucifer- notice Bob's new rack in the background

[RHClarke]

The boys were out to the barn on Saturday and they took care of shelter maintenance, snow removal and playing with a box. Bob can elaborate. Today was a very nice day with the mercury hitting -3 oC. The sun was out, so the first thing I did this morning was start up the HUP.

Bob arrived shortly after the HUP had warmed up and headed into the barn to spark up Lucifer. I jumped in the HUP and took a ride to the front of Bob's property where Grant was just pulling in. After turning the truck around, I headed back to the barn and out to the wagon line for some fun in the snow. I started out in two wheel drive with the intent of getting stuck in the snow, which was about a foot deep. Even with ice under the snow, the HUP chugged along nicely. After a spell I put her into four wheel drive and had some fun "dashing thru the snow".

On the way back, I decided to get into the deep snow at the rear of the barn. The truck had no problem going over the hills of snow Bob left after plowing around the barn. I noted with some amusement that the HUP was sort of like a male Basset Hound - its lower dangly bits left a small path in the deep snow... We had a quick lunch in Rockland at the local Tim Hortons, and as usual, chatted about the issues being discussed on MLU. After Bob finished his tea, we headed back to Hammond.

Back at the barn Bob and Grant made a spectacle of themselves by disassembling a lens grinding machine that Grant had obtained. We figured that there was no use for it as our glass man takes care of all of our glass needs - including beveling etc... My task was to do some welding on the HUP divider wall kick plate. The bottom lip had rotted from rust, so I replaced it.

Later, Bob and Grant designed a set of steel ramps to replace the old wooden ones that have come to the end of their lifecycle. They spent the remainder of the afternoon cutting up steel tube to prepare for the upcoming welding marathon. That will have to wait until next week, as Bob had a date with a Nun, and I headed home to watch the NHL All Star game. Grant was left behind to tend to Lucifer and lock up the barn for another weekend.

Photos:

1- Bob and Grant repairing Lucifer
2- HUP post snow frolic - someday I'll put the nose back on...
3- Grinding machine being worn down
4- New ramp parts being cut
5- Deep snow and "Basset" marks

[RHClarke]

The boys were out to the barn on Saturday and it looks like they spent the day assembling and welding the wheel ramps. Sunday started off fairly cool. It was -13 oC at 8AM but the sun was shining. The drive out to the barn was great with the sun dancing off the ice in the trees.

After sparking up Lucifer, I headed outside to clear the snow off the shelters. The warm weather on Saturday created a nice crust on the snow that made clearing snow fairly easy. The heavy layer of snow on the barn roof was fun to remove - it took a gentle nudge and instant avalanche! Bob and Joyce showed up later on to check on the local turkey population. There is a rafter of turkeys that have been moving around the local area.

After the turkey trek, Bob fired up the tractor and cleared the snow from the yard. Grant showed up at little later on and helped Bob work on the ramps. I did a little weld job on my tire rack and watched Bob and Grant do some more welding on the ramps. I am sure that they will be able to hold up a tank. The rest of the morning was spent adding a door handle to the rear door of the HUP. I am using a locking handle that required some modification to the door so that the security lugs fit in the opening.

After a quick lunch in Rockland, we got back to CMP related work. Bob and Grant cleaned up a set of shelves, and sorted out some nuts and bolts. I started assembling the lower portion of the HUP divider wall. With Grants aid, we managed to put it together in short order.

In the meantime, Lucifer was belting out the heat and we hit 70 oF inside the barn. The many layers of winter clothing started to come off as we worked up a sweat in the front of the barn. In the back of the barn, near Lucifer, Bob sorted out the steel supply and made use of the rack system he and Grant constructed. Smaller pieces of metal were stacked on the racks located near Lucifer and this opened up a lot of space.

The afternoon passed quickly, and all too soon, I had to head back home. The boys stayed behind for more clean up.

Photos:

1 - Mega ramps - awaiting more cross and lateral bracing
2 - Avalanche country - that stuff comes down quickly and with force!
3 - HUP rear door's new handle
4 - A great rack!
5 - HUP lower divider wall with wood panels installed