November 16, 2010
Movember
So in case you've been living in a cave for awhile, or just found it strange that a lot of blokes around you starting looking like they belonged in a 70's tv cop show, I'll explain. This is the fabulous month of Movember. A chance for blokes around the world to throw off their chains of socially demanded cleanshaven upper lips. It is a way to raise awareness and money for men's health issues. We do well to be aware of women's health issues - even the NFL and the NRL had weeks where they wore pink jerseys or helmets. Now it's our turn. It's important that we look after ourselves as well. As it stands, on average, we leave this world a couple of years before the ladies we love, so let's not let this get worse. Men, stand up and give a few bucks and say "We deserve this!"
For more information about the charities and causes, as well as my progress in growing back my Mo, hit up the Movember website.
Don't forget to donate.
Posted by Dr.Unk at 11:40 AM | Comments (0)
September 13, 2009
Procrastination finished....for now
At the start of the summer I decided to build an armoire or standing closet for our room. I sorted out supplies, created an efficient design and started building - that was probably sometime in May. Now, the summer in Jasper can be a busy time. It's primetime for tourists, there's money to be made and most of your time off is spent trying to do summer things like hikes, bike rides or enjoying a tasty beverage on a patio somewhere. Needless to say, spending time in a garage doing woodworking is not high on the priority list, especially when sunlight til 11pm let's you enjoy a lot of outdoor activities, even with a full workday.
So after several months of plugging away at things slowly, having to wait weeks for a shopping trip or a sawblade to arrive in the mail, I've finally finished it. It ain't perfect but it's done and there's finally a much smaller pile of clothes on the floor.
Posted by Dr.Unk at 12:09 PM | Comments (0)
March 4, 2009
Biggest demonstration of my patience
And what could possibly test my patience so much? More even, than waiting for the final season of Battlestar Galactica to start (yeah, I'll admit I'm hooked)? Or more than waiting for a Leaf's Stanley Cup.... ok, so that one is probably my biggest demo of patience, but this one ranks up there.
I recently got into the hobby of preparing my own liqueurs. Before you get any mental images of me sitting out in the bush with a lot of copper pipe, handing jugs off to the Duke Brothers, I'll straighten things out. These liqueurs are made by infusing vodka or grain alcohol with flavouring and then diluting to a liqueur-like strength with simple syrup (also adding the needed sweetness).
There is a fair amount of patience involved as the preparation can last anywhere from 4-6 weeks before any sampling can occur. Having finished several batches, I will say that it is definitely worth the wait. I am now enjoying the flavours of rhubarb, amaretto, chocolate, cinnamon/ginger, anisette and several others. The amaretto is tasty and not quite an amaretto but some apricots should solve that issue next time. The Rhubarb batch was the simplest to make and so far the most enjoyable.
If these things have piqued any interest you can find some good resources here. I was first put onto the project by a nice little book called Luscious Liqueurs from Chapters.
Posted by Dr.Unk at 1:16 AM | Comments (0)
May 1, 2008
Canopy finished
As you may be able to tell from the photos on my flickr site the canopy is essentially complete and has been for a whille. It is my lack of spare time and inspiration that has prevented me from finishing writing about the project.
I seem to recall that in my previous entry I had the frame complete and was searching for a roofing material. In the end, I settled on 1mm steel sheeting for the best weight vs strength compromise. It's not quite strong enough to stand on, but I reckon if it gets to the point where I want to load some shit on the roof it'll be time to invest in a roof rack anyways.
Working with steel sheeting requires specialized tools (for bending and cutting) to produce nicely fitting sections so I took the ute down to DnA steel. They were hoping to be able to get it done so that I'd have it for Easter weekend but the odd tapers and angles on the frame nessecitated more time to ensure a proper custom fit.
When I did receive the two sections of roofing, they fit the frame like a glove. I rang up my mate Bull who was quite happy to come down to the shed to help me assemble (as long as it was my shout for Hungry Jacks [yeah, Burger King was taken down here already so they're forced to call themselves that]) the rest of the cage.
While I'd been waiting for the roof to be manufactured, I'd kept myself busy assembling the doors for the cage. I used 25x25mm square tubing for the frames and used some old fencing for the cage part. It was a little tricky to work with cause it was dirty and galvanised but a drill with a wire brush attachment and cranking up the MIG a bit more was a workable solution.
With the roof attached to the frame, the next night was spent spray painting everything. Doors, frame and roof had to be done. Looking back, I reckon it may have been done over a few nights...as you can tell, I was working in a well ventilated area.
Once painted, I was ready for final assembly. This basically entailed manufacturing my hinges and attaching them to the frame and doors. Now these bloody hinges took a few more days of work and running around than I'd first anticipated. The original idea called for 2-3 bits of pipe to be welded to both the door and frame with a rod pasing through them all and acting as the pivot point. I'd found a beauty length of rod in the scrap heap so all I needed was the pipe. As it turned out the rod fit snuggly into one of the jack handles hanging around the shed. It wasn't long enough for the job though so I borrowed it to run around town with and find a suitable replacement. Never happened though. I wasn't searching very hard but after being to the third hardware shop and not finding a suitably snug and strong pipe I gave up. After explaining the situation, I changed the plans and welded the rod right onto a bit of spacing plate and then onto the frame. I somehow convinced Rex to 'lend' me the jack handle and it became the pipe sections on the cage door frames.
That brings it up to speed for now. I'm still trying to sort out some simple locks for the cage but it has sorta been put on the backburner as I'm appreciating having some spare time again. Overall, I'm satisfied with the project that only cost about $350 to put together. Obviously there are no labour charges involved....just some tins of XXXX and some Hungry Jacks. Maybe a steak dinner down the road. We'll have to see how the paint job holds up.
Posted by Dr.Unk at 3:46 AM | Comments (0)
April 9, 2008
Canopy Project Continued
Once the rear frame and the front angle bar were shaped and sorted I was then able to make a fair bit of progress and cut the roof beams to length. My mate Bull came round and gave me some tips for welding and a hand setting all the pieces up square and tight.
In every project of this size there comes a point where, although you may want to do it completely DIY, the Y is actually gonna be for YourselVES. When it is your project there can also be that little inkling that you don't really wanna ask for help but it always pays off in the end with better workmanship. And if you're really cringing about asking for help, just do it strategically - use phrases like "I've got hang these awkward pieces of steel, but I've got some extra beers that need to be drank as well". This way you're not really asking, but offering. It may sound stupid, but for those out there who are really anal about DIY, it may help you sleep better.
In one night the canopy gained a recognizable form. The next night, I added some cross beams and it gained strength.... as well as a slight bow in the 25mm beams (when the crossers were welded down they pulled a wee bit on the beams and added a unique bend. There is no one to blame for it but me, so I'll call it a learning experience.... that and cutting odd angles in manufacturing requires the right tools, or more patience.
I wasn't ready to start building my doors yet, but I had already sourced my materials for the caging. The 25mm square tubing was already purchased and I'd managed to find some old galvanized fencing lying around. It needed a bit of a cleanup but it was quite strong stuff and light as well - perfect for the cage doors.
Next step, finding a proper roofing material. For Aileron, I had to settle on a tarp to keep the sun off. Obviously I'd designed the canopy for something a little more permanent.
Posted by Dr.Unk at 8:05 AM | Comments (0)
March 19, 2008
Building of a canopy...the beginning
As mentioned before I discovered that I had a fair bit of time on my hands and had previously been wasting it in front of the tv or surfing the vast, mindless voids of the net, hoping to find something inspiring... which I didn't. Instead I noticed how ugly the cage was on the back of my ute and how impractical it was for camping. In reading all the 4wd mags that tend to accumulate around the house, I was always bombarded by pics of great canopy setups that that were out there. I knew that I'd never afford a brand new one and never do the trips to appreciate it so I looked at what it would take to modify my own.
The old cage came with the ute and was made out of 50mm square tubing with a plywood roof 
and aluminium security cage for the side doors and rear panel. It was alright for having a lockable section and still being able to chuck shit into the remaining section of the tray that was open. In terms of camping, it certainly wasn't going to provide any shelter for us or our gear.
My original plan had been to modify the cage by adding another rear frame that would cover the entire tray and replacing the plywood roof with a full steel or tin one while altering the rear panel so that there would be three opening doors with full access to the length of the tray for stretching out the swag or carrying longer cargo.
It was going to be a relatively simple plan which would provide the full length roof that I wanted and left it open to have canvas sides at a later date for further rain sheltering if I thought it would help. The main problem was aesthetics - the old cage was square and boxy and had a second layer of rails along the top for tie-downs which were going to make the new roof more difficult to afix.
Once I took the cage off to have a look at it, I made the decision to just start from scratch and build the canopy the way I wanted it. The best way I reckoned to build it was to use the existing bar that was part of the tray. It is nice and sturdy, made from 65mm square tubing.
The first little annoyance I spotted was the tie down points that were on the corners of the first 
bend. Highly useful bits with an open tray but a pain for a form-fitting canopy. They had to go so out came the 9" grinder and a cutting wheel.
With a smooth bar now showing I had a look around the workshop and found a great length of heavy angle iron that would suit the purpose. I was about to cut it apart at the angles to fit over the existing bar when our mechanic, Rex, convinced me to just cut out the excess steel and bend the iron so the top would be one single bit of smoothly bent steel. It turned out beautifully but it was a real pain in the ass to get right. Not to mention the fact that the rear bar had to be formed the same way, ensuring a straight bend and little kinking.
I forget how many hours I spent getting those just right but it paid off and provided a great start to the project. Next post - support and doors.
Posted by Dr.Unk at 8:31 AM | Comments (0)