Sunday, September 19, 2010

Feeling better, worked hard on nose and new grill patch

At the end of last week's shortened session I did not apply any filler, so that is where I started today. In between filling and sanding I worked on the next patch, at the bottom of the LH grill opening.



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I finally got the area around the right-front corner of the hood high enough, and the run towards the center smooth. It will take primer to see if it is still wavy. The area around the RH side of the center, forward facing, is a lot better now, but it will need several more rounds of sand-and-fill.

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I took the patch as far as bending, saved that for next time. The tab at the upper left corner (as viewed) is to reinforce the grill bracket, which has almost rusted off.

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Next Sunday is the Honolulu Century Ride, which I plan on doing as long as I feel like it. By then I think I'll be just good enough, which is all I need.

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Sick day, just a little done

Last week I came down with a flu bug. I've had worse. Previously I had decided to attend a friend's music school recital, so I got a late start on the car and quit early.

As if that weren't bad enough, the last batch of TECHNIFILL I applied last week did not quite kick off. Sanding it just produced balls of sticky stuff that clogged the sandpaper. It all had to come off.

I think I finally have the height right. There is a tricky high spot just to the right of the roundel recess. Still need to fabricate the roundel recess shaper.

The next patch should be easy. Two or three parallel bends. It will need to extend to reinforce the grill mounting tab.

This is how it looked at the end of the day, and a detail of the roundel recess.

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Sunday, September 5, 2010

Still on the nose

Football season is back. When I arrived at the shop I tweeted that nobody was there. (You can follow me @garydunn808.) Later on a couple of guys showed up. Maybe it makes sense to close on Sundays.

Very little to write about today, only because it was a lot like last week. Sand, fill, sand some more. By the end of the day I was covered in dust and my arms were sore. I guess that's what days off are for.

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In the end, both sides looked a lot nicer.

Starting to design a tool to shape the roundel opening. Looked around for raw materials but the shop was cleaned recently and all sorts of cool junk was tossed. One piece should bolt to the roundel mounting holes and establish a center, a second piece should turn on the center and establish the edge. What to use for that, given I have no lathe?