New member in Washington State!

[10K Pete]

I found this great board just a few days ago and 'joined' yesterday. This internet thing is just great.

I'm mostly retired and now working on getting my shop 'organized' more than it is. My life has been devoted to most anything mechanical. I started out loosing Dad's screwdrivers when I was old enough to pick up something and crawl away with it.

Been a weldor/fabricator certified in stick, tig, mig on all the common materials, worked a lot in plastics, composites, explosives, physics research, vacuum systems, heavy equipment operation/repair, truck driver, boat repair, wood working, airplanes....

Well, you get the idea probably.

One of my very early passions was model engines. I haven't built any yet, unless you consider a tin can Stirling a 'model', but have enough plans, drawings and parts to drive me nuts.

I am really looking forward to learning from the many experienced engine builders on this board. From what I've read so far, you folks are light years ahead of my abilities in this field!! I've seen some beautiful work here.

Anyway, thanks for listening,

Pete

 

[deere_x475guy]

10K Pete welcome to the site. Lots of very friendly people here willing to share a wealth of knowledge. This board helped me finish my first engine and I now have several in the works.

 

[rake60]

Welcome to HMEM Pete

Rick

 

[10K Pete]

Thanks guys! I'm sure you'll understand how many hours I've spent dreaming
and thinking about all the engine stuff I want to do (way too much I'm sure!)
and all the different ways to go about doing the machining.

I'm good at figuring things out on my own but when you're past 60 ya don't want to waste too much time re-inventing the wheel! ;D

I'm looking forward to starting my first 'serious' engine with your experience to guide me.

Pete

 

[Maryak]

Pete,

Welcome to our forum.

Best Regards
Bob

 

[b.lindsey]

Welcome Pete...and of course a tin can sterling counts ;D. So now you have to select your SECOND project.

Bill

 

[Kludge]

Hi, Pete, and welcome to the asylum. We all suffer the same grand madness, that being the love of machines & machining and everything mechanical. Some have even been known to flaunt their passion in public, can you imagine?

By the way, you'd be surprised how many here have passed the six-oh, some of whom came into the game late in life and are making grand progress. Age is a number and chronological age only counts toward retirement.

Have fun, make swarf & chips, ask questions, answer questions (Your experience suggests you'll be able to handle quite a few.), and keep smiling. It makes people wonder what you're up to.

BEst regards,

Kludge

 

[old_bones]

Welcome. You will find lots of good ideas here.

 

[JackF]

Hi Pete,
Welcome. I'm a noobe here also, over 60 and a resident of Wa. state (Issaquah). Where is Nordland, I'm going to assume it is a place populated mainly by Scandahoovians. It would be nice to know how many others on this board are from Wa. and in my case, from the Puget Sound area. What do you have in your shop now and what projects are you working on now or hope to start in the future?

Jack.

 

[Philjoe5]

Welcome Pete. This is a great site for learning about the many aspects of turning (pun) lumps of metal into something interesting. Count me as one of the over 6 oh's too ;D Ain't life grand at this point?

Cheers,
Phil

 

[itowbig]

pete welcome home

i lived in vancouver wa . now in calif.

 

[10K Pete]

Thanks for the great welcome!

To answer some questions; Nordland is about 8 miles SSE of Port Townsend, on Marrowstone Island. It's right on the east side of Mystery Bay. I live here because I love boats and boating and this place puts me right smack in the middle of some of the best water in the country.

Don't have much in the way of fancy shop tools. The biggie is my SB 10K. Then there are a couple of drill presses, a bench grinder, a couple of vises, hacksaws, files and etc. I do some milling on the lathe with a Palmgren fixture. I have stuff for stick and gas welding, bending equip., and a fair amount of special tools accumulated over the years working on heavy equipment and other weird stuff. There's a forge, anvil and tools sitting in one corner, a little air compressor, a solvent wash tank, a couple of roll-aways and tool chests.......

Aww, it's just a pile of tools that have followed me home at one time or another. Some of it I inheirited from my Dad, like the little 4" lathe he built, the bench grinder and one of the drill presses. And a bunch of hand tools.

I learned to do things by hand way before I ever saw a machine. Sawing, chiseling, filing and such. Can't see as well as I used to but what the heck.

I've been squirreling away materials for future projects since I can't remember when, but it seems like I never have what I need when I go to do something. Every once in a while I'll surprise myself and find what I want but this engine thing is going to bring up a whole new bunch of 'needs' in materials and tools.

I guess I'll just have to grit my teeth and succumb to these new requirements without a fight.

Pete

 

[JackF]

Hi Pete,
Thanks for the reply. It sounds like you have a good start on the tools. When I first started acquiring metal working tools my wife couldn't understand the want or the need for more tools. Now when something new comes through the door she just smiles and shakes her head. I only hope she never asks me how much money I have spent on this new hobby.

Jack.

 

[Orrin]

Welcome aboard!

I also live in Washington State, but I'm over at the extreme east side, about two hours south of Spokane, about as far away from you as I can get and still be in the same state.

There will be a gathering of metalworkers in Seattle on February 28 and March 1. Forrest Addy will be teaching a scraping class. If you are interested, it requires a $150 deposit and another (IIRC) $100 at the time of the class.

Because the class has been presented in the PNW a couple of times, already, chances are dwindling of having another. This might be your last chance.

If you are even mildly interested, let me know and I'll find a link to another forum that will give the details.

Best regards,

Orrin
BTW, I'll be at the class.

 

[Paolo]

Hello Pete
Welcome aboard. wEc1
Cheers
Paolo

 

[10K Pete]

Hi Pete,
Thanks for the reply. It sounds like you have a good start on the tools. When I first started acquiring metal working tools my wife couldn't understand the want or the need for more tools. Now when something new comes through the door she just smiles and shakes her head. I only hope she never asks me how much money I have spent on this new hobby.

Jack.

Heh, heh! I was gatherin' tools and makin' stuff way before I met the wife so she knew what she was in for! And her Dad was a packrat nut mechaniker guy also.

She insists on having her own basic tool box in the house so she doesn't have to go out in the shop if she needs a tool to work on something.

Pete

 

[10K Pete]

Orrin,
I know about the scraping classes but it just isn't going to work for me. Forrest lives 'just down the road' in Bremerton and, although I don't know him, I suspect some folks I hang around with do know him so who knows....??

I've done scraping and machinery fitting a few times and, while it can give a good sense of satisfaction to 'get it right', that sort of work is very hard work. To do a whole rebuild on a Bridgeport, which is what I helped do last, took the two of us about a week. A lot of repetitive lifting, squatting, moving, etc. The body gets a good workout!

I know I could learn from Forrest but any scraping I do in future will be on little stuff and not much of that!

Pete

 

[JackF]

Orrin,
Thanks for the info on the scraping class but I don't have $250 worth of interest in scraping. At my age I would like to spend my time learning all I can on the machining end of this hobby.

Jack.