Post by kirkadie on Jun 16, 2013 23:54:16 GMT -5
I found this site last year after an exhausting search for a ham replacement to a rotting pop-up replacement man cave, sort of, for my 70 year old violin maker mentor 600 miles away from me in Illinois. I researched for months for him, found one for him within a few minutes drive, but wasn't aware of all the pitfalls of a 50+ year old camper. He bought it ($400), had it dragged home, and began an eyeopener for both of us.
His rig had as y'all would guess, 4 corner rot and roof rot. His dismay was not unlike having a string break on his Strad during a White House concert, so I began the quest to find solutions. And during the quest I had a DNA sequense alteration that convinced me I couldn't ever die happy unless I experienced the same trials of absolution; a rebuild that I could document and share with him to let him know that rebuilding a ham is not so much different than restoring a fine violin. Rules seemed similar. You guys provided pictures and enduring enthusiam.
I bought a rotty scotty. I bought tools and sent him them after making sure he wouldn't remove flesh while removing rot.
These days he sits at his bench matching 200 year old varnish colors, and ventures out to his Trail Blazer (with an over hang he partially chopped (you know of whom I speak)), and I sit today during a torrential rain looking at the newly cut a/c ply side walls for my mostly denuded Hilander, with 11 jalosied windows scrubbed and regasketed, marker lights buffed with new lenses, door and door frame ground, primed and repaintd, and wonder what the hell was I thinking.
My back hurts.
My wife has already said our first camping trip will be to a holiday inn, where she will look down from her 3rd floor room to the parking lot where I'll be struggling to set up 'camp'.
I just want to say, while I try to remember where I put the Kreig jig and the high dollar Rockwell multi tool, how much fun this is.
Fun mostly because I get/got to watch all your rebuild trauma, blood letting, and beer celebrations with such simple accomplishments as axle rotation calculations and bad running light grounds that led to total skin removal.
I also just want to say, as the earth turns, that as difficult as this new proboards shift has been for us boomer luddites, it's still worth it.
A shame pics have been lost I admit. But sometimes I forget the names of my best friends... doesn't mean we won't still show up at their house every Saturday night for cocktails and appreciate what ever's left, and I know that our VSTF family sees the same screen as me and will hold on to what's gone while learning how to evolve to the strange new, that will shortly probably eventually be as comfortable as what was.
I want to say thanks for making me feel welcome even though I have plywood walls, thanks because while I sit here with coffee in the AM visit and Merlot in the late night, our forum handlers struggle to make things easy for us for only Thanks as payment...
Thanks,
Kirk