41 Years

It was 41 years ago.

The Fuzz & His Sweetie

No Regrets.

Still On Top

The Fuzz has been a bit slack these days on his posts.  But he did promise to keep y'all posted on this business.

He and His Sweetie have been working on this, a bit at a time.  The rope is there as a safety precaution.  The pitch of the roof is just enough to make it easy to slide down, and right off the edge.  It would not be good for The Old Fuzz.

But the back side is finished now.  Next they'll start on the front.  That should be a bit less complicated, since it's pretty much a strait shot.  Of course it could be a while yet, with the Holidays and all.  But that is one advantage to retirement, the schedule is pretty flexible.

Nightshot

More Heat

Well, now that there is a heater out in Our Fuzz's "shop", he remembered an old article he had seen years ago for making a "Waste Oil Burner" that would fit inside an ordinary wood burner.

This is not exactly the same design, but as can be seen, it is working. (so far)

A large can was selected for the outer body, and a smaller can placed inside as an oil reservoir.  A series of 1/2" holes were cut into the outside can to let in air for combustion.  The space between the cans was filled with an absorbent material, originally sawdust*.  Tiny holes were made into the inner can which was then filled with a cup or two of old motor oil.  Theoretically, the oil would seep slowly into the absorbant material which would act as a wick.

In practice, once the thing heated up pretty good, the oil in the small can would ignite.  But this worked out fine since the fire was well contained, and could only burn at the surface.  
In testing it was determined that it could burn for well over an hour- maybe two- without refilling.  Then all that was needed , was to add a bit of oil to the small can.
The Fuzz reports that this thing actually did warm up the shop pretty well in the first trial.
It may not be the best way to recycle oil, but it is better than pouring it a ditch, or down a storm drain.

*The Fuzz plans to try using sand, and perhaps some steel wool in the future.

Getting on Top of Things

So what has The Fuzz been up to lately?

Well, His Sweetie and he have been doing a bit of roofing over at the Old Place.

Here's a look at His Sweetie taking a break with a view.
Although they don't live there anymore, they do occasionally spend a night over there.  And there are still a lot of things stored over there.
This roof was put on when they originally moved in to the place 34 years ago.  And to be honest, it is shot.  So it was either re-roof, or let the place simply cave in.
This time they decided to go with tin.  That should still be there when they're gone.

Rather than having everything delivered at one time (and sit there unguarded) they elected to just bring what was needed for a day or two at a time.  That way it anything not used that day could be easily stored inside.

They are taking their time, working when the weather is good, and staying away when it rains.  Since the old shingles are not being removed, there is no necessity to work quickly anyway.
This should be a big improvement.  The Fuzz promises that he'll keep y'all posted on how this turns out.

Christmas Lights

The Fuzz finally got around to getting some new Christmas Lights up on the trailer.

Have Heat

With the arrival of cold weather it was time for The Fuzz to add a bit of creature comfort to his new workshed.

When The Fuzz upgraded to the New Woodstove, the old one was moved out to the shed.  But That Lazy Fuzz had never gotten around to hooking the thing up.  
So with winter moving in for real, it was time to quit putting the job off.  After all, what good is a woodstove you can't make a fire in?
And so Our Now Motivated Fuzz trucked on into town to the Home Improvement Store for some stovepipe.  
Once the location for this Little Hot Box was determined, it was time for the smoke pipe.  Rather than running straight up and through the roof*, The Fuzz opted for a run through the wall.  An old piece of roofing tin was trimmed to fit, and a hole cut through for the pipe.  The pipe was secured to the tin roof with a bit of metal strap, and Voila!

We now have heat in the shop.

*Cutting a hole in the roof just seems like a bad idea!