<font color="blue"> "Is all of existence a gigantic "clockwork" mechanism?" </font>
I met a fellow yesterday who makes his own cuckoo clocks. He purchases the clockwork mechanism but hand carves all the oak leave, acorns, bird, etc.
I met him when I went to purchase a 2500 watt generator from him. His church had received it as a donation but failed to sell it at the Bazaar. Rather than let it go for pennies to the fellow who was buying up all the leftover stuff, he brought it home to try to get more $$ for it. I met him in a line at Walmart, where we got to talking, and he said he had a generator he wanted to get rid of. When I said, "How much?" He said, "$50." I said I'd be over that afternoon. I gave him $60 because it was for his church, and I still feel like I stole it. Works perfectly.
We got into the subject of his clocks because he was making wooden reindeer to serve as a centerpiece for his church's Xmas party dinner. Each reindeer is cut from an 8" length of 2z4 using a bandsaw. They're kind of an abstract sculpture. He paints them gold and his wife decorates them. They raise a little extra money for the church by selling them for $10/pair after the dinner is over. He gave me a copy of the cardboard patterns he uses to cut them out. Now, all I need is a bandsaw. Any recommendations?
I was in the line at Walmart because my regular gas station was out of diesel fuel. I have my tractor in Port St. Lucie right now to do some hurricane cleanup at my commercial property. My off-road diesel refueling rig is in Okeechobee, 45 miles away. With the tank almost empty, I drove up the street about 1/4 mile to the gas station, only to find the diesel pump "bagged". The next station is only another 1/2 mile away but it is across one of the busiest intersections in town; I wouldn't try to drive there. My 5 gallon diesel can is also in Okeechobee, so I had to run to Walmart and get a new 5 gallon can. That's where I met the fellow who makes clocks.
We got talking because I got a call from my roofer while I was standing in the checkout line. He said they had me on the schedule for the next day (today as I write this) to replace my hurricane-damaged roof. After I hung up, I turned to the man behind me and said, "That's the best news I've gotten since the hurricane -- my roofer is coming tomorrow." He said his roofer hadn't gotten to him yet, but, thinking about the hurricane and seeing my gas can, he was reminded that he had a generator to get rid of.
He said the church bazaar was after the hurricane, and apparently everyone who had needed or wanted a generator had already bought one. In fact, that's why they had the donation. It's a really cute little Sears Craftsman generator, 2500 watt, 110V, 6 HP, on a 2-wheeled cart with a handle. It fired up on the first pull of the rope and ran an electric drill just fine.
I already have an 1800 Powermate, and a 4K Onan in my motor home, but the addition of another generator at that price couldn't be passed up. I also have an old 4K contractor's generator that has a bum engine. It's belt driven from the engine rather than direct drive. The generator head and electrical stuff is fine. I thinking about making some sort of framework under one of my tractor running boards to hold the generator in place, then use a couple of properly sized pulleys and a belt to run the generator head from my mid-PTO, which runs at 2,000 RPM. I need 3,600 for the generator.
I also have an old air compressor head that works, but the electric motor is "gone". Maybe I could mount that uinder the other running board and switch the belt back and forth. In fact, now that I think of it, Maybe I could squeeze enough room under there (after all, all of these components are smaller than a mid-mount mower) to mount a water pump. Then, I could pump water from my pond for irrigation until I get my electric hooked up. With compressed air, electricity and water all available from my tractor, it would be like a mobile service station!
I never did get the diesel fuel to fill the can; I spent too much time learning how to make reindeer. The roofer didn't show up this morning; they discovered they had to get some special, shorter nails to roof over the T&G section over my back porch so the nails don't poke through. So, I guesss I'm free to go get the fuel now.
I just hope I don't run into anyone in the gas station who wants to talk about piracy...
