Another couple of projects

Here is another project I did. Below are the flexible hoses that my class attached pipe fittings to. It sure was a tough project. Not that it was very mentally demanding, but it took some muscle. I really had to force the fittings on there. The second photo shows a close-up of what we put on the end of the flexible hose (both the gold and black parts).

This second set of photos was the result of yet another project. I took a straight piece of aluminum tubing, put fittings on it, then bent it according to the specifications the teacher gave us. After I did that, the teacher damaged the pipe, so I had to repair it. That is why you see the black part on the lower end of the tube on the first picture. As for the second photo, the flared end of the tube was also done by me. I used a special tube flaring tool to do it. The third picture is the tube being pressure tested. It had to hold 1500psi for at least on minute. The tray of hydraulic fluid was used to lubricate the flexible hoses and to prep the hydraulic line. My line passed.

A Little of What I do

For the past four months, I've been busy training to become an airplane mechanic (the PC term is Aviation Maintenance Technician, stupid PC). Usually all I get to do is sit in class and work on worksheets, or view powerpoints about various items. However, once in a while I also get to do some really fun, hands on things. The hands on things are generally called projects. One project I did started with these two items above. The first picture is a piece of Steel Rod Stock, and the second picture is a piece of aluminum bar stock. We cut the bar stock to size, heat treated it (heated it up to a high temp and then put it in cool water) and practiced anodizing it (anodizing is a corrosion resistant coating that turns the aluminum a gold color). My class then put the metal aside so that we could practice our drafting skills. We ended up drawing up the plansfor our individual blocks. Each of us had to follow precise instructions. My blue prints ended up looking like this:

Once I finished the blueprints, I had to manufacture the block according to the dimensions and layout on the blueprints. That included drilling holes in specific places, doing a countersink (so a countersunk screw or rivet could sit flush with the surface), counterbore one hole, thread two holes, ream two holes to a specific size, then put a helicoil in one of the holes that I already threaded. The block itself had to be within certain dimensions, so I hand filed the block until it was in those dimensions and was square. The corners also had to be rounded so that they were at a certain dimension and radius. The rod stock also had to be cut to a certain size, the head of the bolt filed so that it was square and a 5/16 wrench could fit on it. On the bottom of the rod stock, I had to cut threads in it until it fit into one of the holes I threaded on the piece of aluminum and it was flush with the end of the block when threaded. This is how the finished product looked.

As part of the finished product, we had to polish the block. I had a pretty good time making this. I used everything from jewlers files to drill presses. Most of the time we worked in the shop with a cessna 172. It was great.

Easter weekend

We woke up Sunday morning to a gray, cloudy, rain-filled sky.

We were relieved that we had done all the traditional Easter festivities on Saturday, when the weather was much more Spring-like.

The Easter bunny strikes

(who else loves those movies? some of our childhood favorites)

Isabelle, showing off her basket

Eliza, mid-hunt

Isabelle, being taught how to properly eat a chocolate Easter bunny

Eliza, enjoying her Easter spoils

Isabelle: 2.5 years old, going on 27 (wearing mommy's high heels and carrying mommy's purse)

She came down later that evening, informing me she was going to Prom. She had my purse again, had gotten her Sunday shoes on, and was ready to leave. She came and gave me a kiss goodbye. I played along, opening the door for her, telling her I expected her home before 11:30pm. She got as far as the front sidewalk before I made her come back. It was raining. The girls have been in love with the idea of prom ever since Aunt Amanda went a few weekends ago.

I'll admit it. I bribed the girls with candy. All I wanted was one good picture of them in their Easter dresses, looking at the camera and smiling. I know I was asking a lot for the smiles. This was the best smile I could get from Eliza. And it was only because I starting speaking to her in jibberish out of desperation. She was probably secretly thinking, "My mom is a nutjob." In her defense, she and Isabelle have not been feeling well lately. The girls and I had to come home early from church. They were so disappointed they couldn't go to nursery.

This is what I got when I asked them to put their arms around each other. That's what you would call a literal interpretation.

Finally. A good one.

Isabelle's hair, complete with handmade hair accessories