Pictures

Here’s a collection of interesting pictures from the last several weeks. The first picture is from a place where I do restoration work; it’s crawling with Brown Recluse Spiders. These are very poisonous. Their bite causes a large chunk of flesh to die and rot away. Notice the back facing violin shape behind the head. The second picture is of a motorcycle exhaust pipe. What’s interesting is how it shows the range of colors a blacksmith looks for during certain heat treating operations.Next is what I saw upon awakening from a rest on our leather couch. You can see my two white socks in the picture. See the face? The next picture is closer. Maybe anybody would have seen it, maybe I’m more sensitized by my work with graphic art, maybe I need help…or maybe you’re just in a WEIRD place.Next is a picture of a Diesel-electric locomotive being scrapped. Actually, the frame will be used in manufacturing a new one. I show this picture so you can see how it works. The cab is still intact, the motor is the large thing in the middle, and the generator is between the cab and the motor. The generator makes electricity to drive large electric motors on each axle. That’s actually what powers a Diesel locomotive; electric motors. Now what do I call the frames after disassembly? Why, Loco Bones of course.Next is the exhaust manifold of a 1978 Toyota truck, which only gets driven every week or two. A Mud Dauber made a nest here. After a drive, the contents were quite crispy, as seen in the picture after.Below is how the dust from sanded glazing compound forms into little mounds. Other materials don’t do that.Next is a ventilation cover of a battery box on a rail passenger car from the 1940’s. The top half has been needlescaled. It’s good to have numerous tools around to tackle different parts of a job.The first two pictures below are from the July 4th weekend. One is a sunset scene, the next is my daughter Jacqueline’s Toyota truck, which we spent the entire week prepping to paint. I painted it late Sunday afternoon, amid a series of bad setbacks. I’ll make a web posting about the project at my restoration blog. the last picture is of my family, except my oldest son, who was gone at the time. This was taken a couple months ago. Grainy to be sure, but it’s a scan of a printed photo. I’ll try to get a better image.