Barn juice and boxes (CW and electrical)

Greetings, one and all,

I've been distracted with some weekend Civil War reenacting events (and been so busy with school) I haven't gotten up to Walnut Hill much since I wrote last. I did however use the shop for the very first time last Thursday. I built six boxes to approximate the sort used during the Civil War and they were well received. They weren't perfect, but it was fun to be measuring and cutting and actually using the space for what I intended, I just wish I'd been able to finish before 11PM!

Some time ago I'd bought a set of those halogen work lights on a tripod and finally had a reason to unpack them and get them assembled. Sal did a great job of figuring it all out and putting it together. They work well and I suspect will get a lot of use.

I also tinkered with the wiring in the barn and discovered the power does not come from the house to the barn and then to the pool, as I'd assumed. It goes from the house to the corner of the barn and then splits to the pool and barn. From the barn it runs up to the chicken coop. The wiring is a rat's nest. There is one joint in there with about six wires all run through one set of wire nuts. Right now the juice goes into that mess and stops, for reasons I'm not sure about. It will have to be broken down into a better arrangement for the future but for right now it's good to know the way the juice flows and what I need to do to correct things and get the lights on out there. I think I'll install some timer switches when I do it, so I don't inadvertantly leave the lights on and drive away for days.

I'd bought a little gizmo that sounds off when it senses live current in a wire and used it in my tracing. I was able to figure out why there is no juice in the barn and managed to hook up one lone outlet inside. No more having to string extension cords from the pool outlet. :) A lot of work will be required to set up new circuits and whatnot. But that will have to wait a bit. Thank God for the right tools and some basic know how though.

The grass will need cutting in a bad way by the time I can get up there Thursday this week. Eloise still needs a new starter motor and has to be rolled down the hill to get her going. And the little mower and the "goat" will have to get a workout trimming up some of the areas I can't reach with Eloise.

Saturday morning I have to go to Gettysburg and do some "yard work" cleaning up around the First Jersey Brigade Monument. My CW unit has three acres there to keep trimmed up, the largest on the battlefield we've been told, and it's a lot of work. I'll take the "goat" and she'll make short work of a large area. We usually cut down small brush and seedlings on the hill between the monument and the road, to maintain visibility up the hill. This year I'd like to clear some of the brush on the right of the path going up, so folks can see the monument better as they approach. We do this each Spring and Fall and it really makes a difference.

Late Saturday afternoon I hope to buy the new material and begin tearing out the old door header in the north end of the barn. With help I might be able to finish it up Sunday afternoon. If I only had a jack hammer I could cut out the rock in front of the door apron and lay some drain pipe there and be done with at least one aspect of this project... "All in due time," I keep telling myself. Closure on anything here will take a while, I suspect. :)

All for now, we proceed on,

Doug

Updated my template here.

I've indulged myself in a new "look" for the blog. Things that were on the right are now on the left of the posts. Somehow I couldn't change that. You'll have to translate previous posts accordingly.

Also, I don't know if I mentioned it, but I got Eloise patched up, for the most part, and the grass mowed. It was a couple feet high in some places... :)

Her starter has fried, I think. I got her going by rolling her down a hill. Not the best thing for her, but it worked and the grass is now mowed except a few edges here and there. Sal did the front lawn and along the road where the flowers are blooming with the little push mower.

I hope at some point to find a machine shop that will shave off that water pump pulley and fabricate a new mount for the alternator. When I ran Eloise down the back hill she didn't like that and splurted out a lot of coolant.

All for now.

Doug

More pix posted tonight

I posted some more pictures tonight, same link, same album as below. They're mostly of the area around the house and barn, two of the roadway out back. Enjoy!

I didn't get a chance to pick up the lumber for the header or get the wall closed in yet. I've had brake problems with my truck and it's slowed things down. I've had it in the garage twice now and they're still not right. To the tune of $120-140 each time.

Now the car is running rough and needs new plug wires. I went to pick those up today and they gave me the wrong kind. Of course, I only found out when I got home and had removed the most difficult one to replace... So I had to put the old one back in... ugh.

About three weeks ago I bought a ladder at Lowes. Turned out there was a rebate on it. They printed me a sales slip to enclose with the request for the rebate they printed out. Today Lowes sent me a letter informing me I had not enclosed the proper receipt when I asked for my rebate. I called to tell them I enclosed what they printed out and express my displeasure, but it turns out that when they scanned it, they only got part of it, so they denied me my $25. I asked to speak to the manager and got the "well, we can't help that, sir." I told them that unless they found a way to give me my rebate I'll take my business elsewhere. And I'm about to spend a GREAT deal of money with someone. If this is the customer service I get, I'll go to the local lumber yard and pay a higher price before I'll deal with Lowes again. It's farther to drive but I refuse to be treated that way. Whatever happened to "The customer is always right!" ??

And I have this vague feeling of forboding, that it's just starting...

"Tomorrow is another day," Mom used to say...