"When I tell you something is dangerous, I mean it. And, I never forget the Victims"
T.J. Hooker
"Everyone can master a Grief but he who has it”
William Shakespeare
”I had given him a life not worth living, but I had also given him an iron will to live. This was a common combination on the planet Earth”
Kurt Vonnegut about his character, Kilgore Trout.

Friday, May 8, 2015

Friday MacGyver's - an occasional series.

Ok only one picture of the project, the only really interesting thing because it shows a most excellent tool.  This is a spring loaded dimpler- there on the right.
The next step is to Spiff up the metal lid.

Mr. Z muscled the lid apart.  It got a little stretched.  Since I can no longer work this little monster tool ( a hand held, spring loaded gadget) he did the dimpling.

This tool has a sweet history.  It has worked on P-51 Mustangs and other WWII era war planes.  It was given to me by a man, a Rockhound buddy, who worked on these planes at Consolidated-Vultee Aircraft (Convair) and at General Dynamics.    This weird spring loaded "hammer" was for marking rivet points for drill holes on sheet metal.  It's lovely.  I am weirdly crazy about any tool, and would have a 36 inch long spanner on the wall if DH would stand for it.  I think I get this from my maternal Grandpa, who was a Heavy Equipment Operator and a Mechanic in the Merchant Marines.  He loved tools, too.

But, back to the topic: I'm grateful and honored to have this historical object, Frank, wherever you are.

The Project:

After dismantling the lid, Mr.Z handed it over to me.

The How-to:

The new fabric filter was made from two 7.25 inch diameter circles, and a single 10 inch diameter one, made from the re-cycled edges of an old mattress cover.  I've got scads of it to make new filters. and think it's some sort of interfacing material; in other words, it's a breathable non woven fabric.

After making a sandwich of the two smaller circles and closely zigzag together, I ruffled in the 10 inch one to fit these two.    I divided everything into quarters and pinned in the excess, hand sewed the result, leaving an opening for a partially slit re-cycled tissue roll to fit through.  Then we filled the "baggie" with Zeolite that Mr. Z found on the web, and I zig-zaged the hole shut.  All this made a perfect fitting new deodorizing packet inside the lid.   The reason we made one was that we couldn't find any of the original activated charcoal filters for sale anywhere.   Not being used to giving up on perfectly good metal in any form (I even collect Rusty stuff), giving up wasn't an option.

So, there you have it.  An afternoon MacGyvering project.

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I’m going through some stuff but I will peek in now and then and will be back when it’s over..