Sad Day

After tearing apart the van to make it into a camper I realized it was going to need far more work than I am willing to put into it. This decision was made after I pulled the carpet and discovered that most of the rear floor was gone as well as part of the rear frame.
Maybe twenty years ago I would have scoffed at the rust damage and fixed it but I'm not that person anymore. It's too much and I don't have the money.
So with a heavy heart I drove it to the scrap yard and left it to its fate.

The end.

Van Project Entering Stage Two

It's been a while since my last entry, par for the course I suppose.  I have been in hibernation since winter started, its been too cold to work in my shop. But that all has changed since the weather is becoming more agreeable.
I started phase two of the van project. This phase includes gutting the interior and rebuilding it into a camper. I will also work on the engine, brakes and rear axle, all of which need some attention.
I will also start planning on my next project, a trailer. The trailer is what I'm going to use to move my shi stuff from the overly expensive New England area to New Mexico. Once I get there it will double as my living quarters until I get my feet on the ground.
I have been looking at manufactured homes out there and they seem to be very affordable. I just need to have a steady income once I get out there. And there lies the challenge.
I have a number of tools that I can use to make some money for myself, I just need good ideas.
Anyway, that's the update, I will have more on the van progress coming shortly.

New Project

I recently got my 1944 South Bend 9A Lathe back from the great white north. I will be forever grateful to my friend for bringing it home.
It sat in a garage with a leaky roof and it suffered for it. The rust isn't too bad though, the pulleys and half of the bed have some rust but the rest of the machine is good.
So this is now my current project because I get a great deal of enjoyment from using the lathe. It is very Zen.
I started working on the bench already. It is original to the lathe and is in good shape. The top is made of eighth inch steel and the cabinets are a bit thinner. I cleaned the rust off of the top and sprayed it with dark machine gray Rustoleum.
I'll post pic's later
There is not a lot going on with the bench so I'm not going to dwell on it.
When I get to the lathe I will take it apart in sections and make videos of the work. I have not found a good video of a teardown and reassembly of a SB9A on YouTube so I'm going to make one, or a couple. We'll see how it goes.
So, the lathe is a South Bend Model 9A. It has a quick change gear box and a horizontal drive. That means the motor and associated mechanicals sit behind the head. Other models have the drive in the base under the head and still others have the drive above the head. I think the over the top model I viewed was formally used in a factory with overhead belt drives.
Anyway, I picked the gem up in Brentwood, New Hampshire at an industrial consignment shop for $500 US. It's former home was a local high school. It has seen a lot of use but is not beat up too bad. The bed ways still have a little bit of the fish scaling left on it. The bearings are all buttery smooth and the motor, which is three phase, runs flawless. The bearings in this lathe are all just cast iron, no ball bearings at all. I'm going to replace all of the felts and broken oil cups. I replaced the main bearing felts a few years ago just so I knew they were getting oiled. I was using it a lot so I didn't want it to run dry. Now I have the time to do a proper rebuild.
Ok, more later.

I'm Homeless

I would have never thought that I was homeless but the facts are, I don't make enough to put a roof over my head.
Here is how I look at it.
I take home about 2,200 a month. Food costs are about 700 a month, I have a workshop that costs 250 a month, I pay my parents cable bill that is around 180 a month, fuel costs are around 400 a month and everything else is about 200 a month (cell phone, insurance, van maintenance)
So my total expenses are around 1,730 a month.
Leaving me with 470.
Even if I get my grocery bill down to 400 that leaves me with 770 at the end of the month.
The cable bill can go away but it would be replaced by utilities at an apartment. And it would be more.
I think I'm a little light on the fuel but this is just an exercise. If I sat down and figured out what everything cost down to the dollar I think I would be worse off.
So, renting is out of my reach. And I have no hope of buying a house.
That said, here is a little info about me.
I'm a 51 caucasion male. I work full time 40+ hours a week. I love my job. I have health, dental and vision. And I have weekends off.
Both of my parents are alive and I am currently staying with them. I was living in a shared house but the landlord decided to make it a single family rental and I had to leave in August. I have severe allergies to dogs, not the itchy eye sneezing type of allergy but the lungs close up type. I had to clarify that because I'm constantly told 'they make shots for that you know.'
I would stay with friends but they all have dogs.

What I have discovered over the last few weeks is that there is a growing population of what are called 'Working Homeless.' Link Most of these people work 40+ hours a week and are not junkies or drunks. Most of them have families. They are in the same predicament as me. It was alarming to me that this even exists. Most people stay with other family members or with friends. And some are on the street.

Some ass-hat suggested to me that I move to a more affordable area if I didn't like my situation. Most of my family and my friends live near me, plus it cost a lot of money to up and move to one of these fabled areas of lower cost living. These areas also have no work. I have already gone down that road.

Here, I have the option of crashing somewhere familiar. I don't have that option anywhere else with one exception. Both of my sisters live in New Mexico and they would (and have) put me up for a while. My adventure there is documented in this blog.

Worst of all, I recently had some issues with my back and teeth and I went from debt free to owing a almost 10,000. I forgot to add that to my list of expenses. That monthly payment is about 400. And yes, I do have insurance. FML.

So anyway, the current plan is to live in my van for some of the time especially during the winter because the drive to my parents house is bad during snow storms. I'm going to get to work outfitting the van this weekend.

Phase One of the Van Project is done.

I forgot my phone today, I felt lost without it and I had no camera.

So, I finished the rust fix by applying the sealant to hide the bad welds and it's black so I didn't have to respray any of it.

I cut out the rust in the front bumper skin and fit and welded a patch. I used the same sealant as if it were bondo to smooth out the welds. I hammered the patch to match the curve of the bumper so it wouldn't look too back yard mechanic. It looks nice, you can't see it unless the light catches it just right.

I painted it with flat black Rustoleum. After it dried I mounted it back up to the van with new hardware.

It was time to clean the floor and drop it back down on all fours. After making sure there was nothing underneath I had it down in a matter on minutes. It sat nice and flat. It looks really good without the side steps and hub caps.

I gave it a start and backed it outside so I could let it warm up and do a little more housekeeping.

My radiator seems to be leaking, it's only a few years old. I replaced the brass and copper unit with a new aluminum and plastic one. I think I'll spend the money on an all metal replacement this time. But it's not leaking too bad so that will be a project for another time.

When I backed it out It felt like a new van, the steering was tight, the brakes were tight and it rolled so smooth. I stuck my new registration stickers to the plates and new parking permit on the windshield and took it for a drive around the parking lot behind my shop.

The first thing I noticed was that the steering wheel was almost perfectly straight and it tracked straight as well, although I wont know if it does in fact track straight until I drive it on the road at speed. But looking at it, it seems to be pretty close.

All in all it was a good day and I finished what I wanted to get done for the first part. Everything else from here on in will be weekend projects.

Now to get the thing inspected and aligned.

Good Progress on the Van

Ok, first off I didn't post as I worked. My deepest heartfelt apologies. Once I get rolling with a project and I get in the 'zone' I don't think of anything else. As a matter of fact, the pictures I shot where at the end of the day.
So, the plan for today involved patching the undercarriage and ordering the brake part for the rear.

I stopped by Home Depot and picked up a sheet of 14 gauge steel, measured out the plate, cut it out and welded it in place. I hit it with paint and tomorrow I'll apply some sealant on the open seams. I couldn't find my caulking gun.

I put in my new driveshaft and it is a beautiful thing.

Here is another shot of the driveshaft. You can see one of the new shocks as well.

So after I got all that done I drove to the auto parts store and to my surprise they had what I needed in stock. I had a late lunch and drove back to finish the brakes.

I noticed a few other things I should address in the future but I think I'll get it inspected first and give my dad his car back. Everything else I need to do doesn't involve disabling the thing. They are all weekend projects.

Plans for this weekend

I'm going to work on the rust in the back of the van. It's not bad but there are one or two areas where it needs attention. I'm also going to try something new, I'm going to take pictures along the way and post them as I go. I've got all day and I'm going to take my time.
I need to find some metal to make repairs on the crossmember and bumper. I was going to go to Haverhill Steel but they may not be open this Saturday on account of the gas line explosions.
I can get what I need at the Home Despot. The metal doesn't need to be thick and I think the depot carries 16 gage. I wanted something thicker just so it would be easier to weld.
The bumper will be patched and painted. I got I good idea off the internet, taping off the bumper in a way to make a strip that covers the patch and spraying it with textured bed liner.
We will see how that works.