Junk

I thinks, if memory serves me correctly(and lately, thats questionable with all the gaslighting crap and Mandela effect taking place) there was only ONE show (besides most of Mike Rowe’s stuff) worth me watching in the last 20 years.

Junkyard wars.

Loved that show. Took a TON of inspiration from it. That show reinforced sumpin my Da taught me: there is not a whole lot out of reach if you’re willing to bloody a knuckle or two. A few tools and a well stocked brain and a pile of “junk” and what you can come up with is purt amazin’. May not be the purtiest, but functional and robust make up for a lot of esthetics.

Toss in a couple skills like welding and machining (I did not use a lathe this go round, but it opens up even more possibilities.) and imagination opens wide.

And it comes in handy more than you’d guess.

Bossmans Son had a crazy idea for a cooler hauler, (prolly sumpin he’d seen out-n-about) and found some used high powered go-cart tires. Asked me to come up with a way putting them on an old Radio Flyer wagon.

(will update with Pics when I can get a decent signal. Apologies up front)

Those are just the steer wheels, and I will be making the drag axle soon. But, it ain’t gonna break easy, and every part in it was a cast off from something in the lot outside the shop. Coulda handed Son a list of parts needed, but I like to flex my FRUGAL SQUIRREL muscles everyoncewhile. Redneck? Mehbe a little, but who gives a shit if it works, eh?

I didn’t ‘need’ the lathe for this, What i did to make the hubs concentric was to set up an axle bolted down to the bench and used the grinder cutting at an angle and driving the hub at the same time. Crude? Yup! but it works and is “good-nuff” in this case. Its not like this thing is going to do much more than walking speed, ever! so who gives a damn if the hubs are a little off. They roll smooth enough that, when I pulled the grinder away, that hub kept spinning at high revs for at least a full minute. “Perfect is the enemy of GOOD” and I like to keep things as simple as I can. My only grump building these parts was lack of drill press. But, cordless drill worked well enough, even if my thumb is a touch sore from when the bit caught once. High torque setting, low speed and that thing wrenched the hell out of my thumb,,,

Any whoos, this is one post today. The other will be up shortly. I started it this morning but didn’t want to hit the publish button ‘cuz I felt there was a lot more to go into it yet.