Another Restoration Project

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

We are getting into the full heat of summer here in Alabama. The days are clear and hot. There has not a drop of rain for the past few weeks. It appears we will have a continuation of the drought that has plagued this area for the past few years.

Tuesday I started to dismantle the Edison “Schubert” phonograph to start on the cabinet restoration. It is such a cheaply made piece of furniture when compared to the machines Edison produced just some 15 years earlier. The finish is “brown mahogany”. Typical of the finish and color of the 1927 era, this translates to a muddy brown that pretty much obscures any wood grain showing through. The grain of the wood is boring, so there is not really much of a loss. About the only interesting aspect of the finish is the two tone effect on the doors. Still with all these faults I’m against stripping off the original finish. The interior finish is in good condition with decals and markings that should never be removed. A refinish job would result in a smooth finish and shine, but the wood would still be ugly. I will keep the original crackled varnish finish: once it is cleaned and rubbed out it should have a bit of gloss.

Perhaps the best gauge as to the grimy condition of this machine is the paper label that attaches to the record slots. A cursory cleaning with an art gum eraser removed most of the grime. The paper is pretty fragile so the cleaned portion is about as far is I’m willing to go.

Looking at the inside of the cabinet: The felt on the turntable cleaned up to where it looks pretty presentable. Again you are always ahead to keep things original. The paper record guide goes on the left side where it holds down dividers that separate the stored records.

View of the machine with the left door “rubbed out”.

Saved Again By the Internet!

Monday, June 23, 2008

Before I close out the last day of the road trip to Chicago, I need to catch up on the current happenings. Anybody who knows me is not surprised when I become all obsessed in a restoration project. The latest has been the preliminary work on the Edison Schubert phonograph. I’ve been able to track down a needle which should be on it’s way.

The cabinet needs a good rubbing out. The exterior varnish is highly alligatored, but I’m hoping to be able to bring it back. The past few days have been trying to track down a suitable cloth for the front grill. The cloth original to the machine was ripped out long ago. There were some remnants of that fabric still glued to the sides. It was a patterned purple lightweight cloth. I made a preliminary visit to some fabric stores. Naturally I was treated like I was from outer space! I could not find anything even close.

Then I made my first forays to fabric sites on the internet. I looked at thousands of patterns with no luck. This morning I was running errands and I made the mistake of going to Michael’s craft store. They do not carry fabric, but I was totally grossed out regardless. Upon entering the store the color scheme for all the fake flowers was orange, brown, and yellow. Yup… they have the Fall collections up already! My God we just had the longest day of the year and they are three months ahead already. In a way this shows my ignorance in shopping in that I still register shock at this kind of thing.

I am on a mission to find a suitable cloth to fit behind the wooden grill. It has to be right, maybe not a perfect match, but close as possible. I have seen too many fine restorations marred by the wrong grill cloth.

If anything I’ve learned how to narrow down my searches. After a couple hundred views I realized I had to use the word “Jacquard” in my search as that would bring up material with patterns woven in. Using Google as an initial search engine I somehow got onto a site where I discovered the perfect material.

The color is an almost identical match to the remaining bits I have of the original. The pattern is not a perfect match, but it is in the same genre.

I ordered two yards in case someone needs some, I can save them the aggravation I went through. Also, it was only $4.00 a yard!

What a great way to round out the evening! Time to pull up Amos and Andy on the internet and relax with a cold glass of my box wine!

Time is Fleeting

If I remember correctly the song “Time Warp” from The Rocky Horror Picture Show starts….. “It’s astounding, Time is fleeting…Madness takes it’s toll”. How true: time has just been flying by for this boy, and as far as being mad goes…. I think I’ll plead the 5^th on that one!

People who really know me have seen me become consumed by a project. This latest patio mess is no exception. Monday found me making plans for a fast road trip to Dallas, TX for a mess of paving brick. I know it sounds crazy but as my sister aptly said: “Once Brick makes his mind up to do something he does it. Case closed.”

I got on the road Tuesday morning at 3:50 a.m. It is a straight shot west on I-20 to Dallas. I’m in luck whereby I miss the thunderstorms that are plaguing Mississippi. All through Louisiana and Texas the skies clouded up and get threatening only to later clear to brilliant sunshine. The brickyard is located on South Lamar St in Dallas. Once again the computer helped out greatly by using Google maps. Being able to enlarge the map to the most minute detail I can plot my route through the tangled mess of exit ramps. Traffic was light and I arrived a bit early from my projected time at 1:00 p.m. The guys at the yard were expecting me. As is normally the case in something like this cash payment is great appreciated. The pavers are only .60 ea so 200 only put me back $120. There was the nicest handyman on the yard who helped me load the things. This was the most weight I’ve ever had in the truck. The back is down as far as it can go. There were even 25 pavers packed in the cab with me! I had almost 600 miles under my belt; I wanted to get to Shreveport, LA for my night stop.

It was about 185 miles later I pulled off the road at exit 8 off I-20 at the Motel Six. The nicest woman checked me in. she had so much personality. I had her laughing so telling of this latest brick run. I made arrangements for a 4:30 wake up call the next morning. I really had her going when I told her I can’t wait to get my wake up call from Tom Bodett telling me I won the one million dollars! (That is the usual recording on the motel Six wake up call!!)

A “Catfish House” is just down the road. A take out catfish dinner and some cold Buds made for a great dinner to this road weary boy.

My wake up call is right on schedule…A woman’s voice tells me this is my wake up call.

Brick: Wait a minute, where’s Tom Bodett telling me I got a million dollars?

Woman: Hearty laughter…Oh baby I don’t have one million for you!

Brick: Laughing back…thanks, I’ll drop the key off on my way out….

What a nice way to wake up with laughing! I just love it when I get called “baby and Hun” in these situations.

I’m fine driving till I get to Jackson, MS. There were horrible thunderstorms I drove through. Even with all that weight I can feel the truck hydroplane on occasion. This is white knuckle driving. Mercifully the traffic is going slow in the right hand lane so I stay to the right.

I finally drive out of the worst of it and don’t have rain again till I get to the Alabama line. It is 75 miles from here to my little home. I don’t mind taking it slow now.

It was 11:15 when I walked in the door to be greeted by Daggy and Stumpy.

By 1:30 p.m I had the truck unloaded and the bricks piled up.

Thursday: The morning is delightfully cool: The perfect weather to get the ground ready for the new bricks. The hard clay is scraped and leveled. In one spot the ground is spongy. I dig down and discover the decaying remains of the tree that was destroyed back in 2000. The remains of the trunk and heavy side roots have to be dug up. UGH! This really heats me up and puts be behind time wise. Better to do the work now and have a good foundation than to skip the job and then have the patio “sinkhole” in a few years.

Time to load the truck up again: a short drive to Scotties for a load of crushed limestone. His business must be dong well. The yard is immaculate. I notice the bin containing the crushed limestone I need is nearly empty. He loads up a half yard into my little truck and the back end is back down to the ground!

That is unloaded and I need another ¼ yard to finish up: Another trip, another load of limestone. By the time I finish cleaning that mess off the truck I’m all done in.

Tamping down the crushed limestone.

But now I need to get the yard all detailed for the dinner party Saturday: I forgot to mention that one! I think everyone has a dish they know will always turn out and people love. That meal for me is bar-b-que lamb shanks. It was a standard dinner that my friends always looked forward to having. It has been some ten years since I cooked up that dish. The biggest problem is finding the lamb shanks to begin with. Publix markets has been carrying them. In the past few months I had acquired enough in my freezer to justify a dinner.

It makes no sense to just cook up a few, so I waited till I had even dozen shanks. I call the gang and everything is set for Saturday night. I told them to arrive around 5 and we will eat at 6:30 or so. The stove heats up the kitchen so; summertime is not the time to cook up a dinner like this. But I need to use these shanks up. I’m hoping cocktails and munchies can be out on the patio or front porch so the heated up house won’t make that much of a difference…

After the walk this morning I began the preparation of the shanks. They are first seasoned with salt, pepper, and paprika. Then they are browned in bacon grease using a cast iron frying pan. A sauce is made up using catsup, water, dry mustard, brown sugar, vinegar, and sliced onion. The shanks are arranged in a turkey roaster, the sauce is dumped over and the entire mess is slow cooked at 300 for a couple hours.

The secret is to have the shanks “rest overnight” to really soak up the flavor of the sauce. That also gives time to “defat” the sauce. Now the shanks and sauce just have to be warmed through for the dinner. When I have company over I hate to have to spend all my time in the kitchen!

Here are the shanks. Time to get them taken care of and get started on making the cheesecake for desert….

Moving Iron 7-03-2007

It is 6:30 a.m. as I type this out. I went to bed last night to the wonderful sound of RAIN! The threatening sky finally let loose after 10:00 p.m. Not a torrential downpour but a steady constant rain. It is so amazing the plants will “green up” after a good soaking. It must have rained most of the night, things are still very wet. Daggy and Stump returned into the house after the first check of the back yard with wet fur. That does not bother them much!

I still have to turn the central air-conditioner on. To annoy everyone I gave myself the deadline of July 4^th to activate the thing. My fans and cooling strategies have been working so well, I might see if I can go the entire summer without using it! People got by in the past without AC. It cooled off enough last night to where I had to get under the wool blanket. Stump insisted on going under the covers for a bit, curling up in the crook behind my knees.

Monday was another steamy hot day. Working on the patio extension I smell the foulest odor. I’m blaming one of the neighborhood cats that frequent the back yard on spraying. Then my little Daggy trots over digs a bit in the pile of dirt excavated for the storm sewer cover. She delicately “does her business.” This loose dirt is her new litter box! Now everything makes sense! That pile of dirt is in full sun so it really heats and ferments. I know what the next project will be!!!

The pad for the sewer cover has cured for a few days; it is ready for the cover to be installed. It is not hard to transfer the iron housing onto the four wheeled moving dolly. The ancient 2x6’s are set up as ramps. Using a scrap of iron pipe, this heavy housing is rolled into place! I used to help friends move upright pianos this way using large wooden “rollers”.

There is a little wobble in the housing. Using crowbars and some wood blocks for support the low side is raised up. Mortar is mixed up and applied in the gap. Ever so carefully the housing is raised, the supporting blocks taken out and then lowered onto the wet mortar. Once cured this will be solid as a rock!

I’m toying with how to tie this patio all together. I think using the Belgian Block around the sewer will give a “city feel” to the installation!

It is still gray and cool as I wrap this entry up. Maybe we will have more rain during the day. I have the door to the driveway open giving me a full view to the street. This so improves the air flow. The inside landing is Daggy’s favourite spot to stretch out. She is safe in her house, but has a full view and access to the outside.

Hot weather and Cement 6-30-2007

Hot Weather and Cement

Saturday, June 30, 2007

Debbie and I did our morning walk in Northport so we could splurge and get breakfast at City Café. It was a beautiful sunrise as we walked on the new levee along the Black Warrior River. I’m going to have to bring the camera the next time we do this walk. There are some excellent “picture possibilities” along here. City Café is not crowded at all. It takes a bit longer to get a breakfast order because everything is cooked to order. We are in no hurry. I get eggs over easy, grits, biscuits, and ham. This is the REAL ham with the bone in it. No processed stuff that is cut from a loaf. I savor each salty mouthful, even relishing the fat!

After breakfast I head to the new Lowe’s to get five 80 pound bags of Quickrete Concrete Mix. I’m hoping to have the forms all put up and hopefully the cement poured for the manhole cover project by tonight.

Before doing anything I have to remove the old forms from border bricks. All looks good. The cement is firm and set well. The new excavation for the “manhole pad” is staked out. The top of the pad must be seven inches below the top edge of where the face of the pavers will be. This entails a lot of digging. As the day wears on the heat builds. The temps stayed at 97 pretty much the entire afternoon. There were a lot of water breaks. Daggy had to come out to help too. Seeing the dusty hole, she had to try it out!

The completed brick edging. Note my iced coffee in the pub mug!

Daggy rolling in the dirt.

I realized I forgot to get cheap lumber for the forms. I take a much needed break to Lowe’s again for the wood. It is amazing the looks I get in my working outfit! Today I’m decked out in a pair of cut off sweat pants, a mesh wife beater, my logger boots, and cammo do-rag. My clothes are wringing wet and splotched with the red brown Alabama clay so prevalent here.

By the time I get home the sky is turning dark. This is wonderful. I will make up the forms in the morning. In all honesty I’m too tore up to do much more tonight.

I just get the tools get put away when the first raindrops start to fall. This is how the summer days are supposed to be. Hot with an afternoon thunderstorm to cool things off. My parched yard enjoys a soft steady rain for nearly an hour.

This morning (Saturday) I’m outside digging and fine tuning the concrete forms at 5:30 a.m.: the morning is so cool. As always, installing the forms is the buggiest part of the job. It is the unseen parts of the project like this that take up the most time.

I mix up seven 80 pound bags of concrete mix. I’m just 1 ½ bags short! Damn! Make a quick trip to Lowe’s. It is about 9:00 now and the store is packed. Naturally there are no cashiers open. One poor woman is trying to handle the entire building materials side. I feel so sorry for her.

The concrete gets mixed and the form topped off. I have to hunt up a coin with the date 2007 to put in the top. By doing that I will never ever be broke! I scratch my name in the top and have Stumpy walk across the top so his pawprints will be forever preserved!

The finished pad with the 2007 dime!

I have enough cement left over I can repair the corner of my driveway. That curbing has been missing forever. The dirt I’m excavating from the back is being transferred to the low area here. I won’t even attempt to grow grass here till the fall. Where this break is, the dirt will just wash into the street during heavy rains. Not now! I found a 2007 penny for this project!

From here on it is clean up time. The tools are cleaned of cement and put in the sun to dry. I’ve got all kinds of excavated plants to transplant. There are lilies that I brought down from my house in Lockport, daffodil bulbs, mum plants, and even a few peonies.

After all that I need a break. The soaking wet clothes are peeled off and clean dry things are put on. As I was typing this entry out Debbie called. At 5:30 we are going to meet for Mexican. I need a taco salad and a couple cold beers.

Hot weather and Cement 6-30-2007

Hot Weather and Cement

Saturday, June 30, 2007

Debbie and I did our morning walk in Northport so we could splurge and get breakfast at City Café. It was a beautiful sunrise as we walked on the new levee along the Black Warrior River. I’m going to have to bring the camera the next time we do this walk. There are some excellent “picture possibilities” along here. City Café is not crowded at all. It takes a bit longer to get a breakfast order because everything is cooked to order. We are in no hurry. I get eggs over easy, grits, biscuits, and ham. This is the REAL ham with the bone in it. No processed stuff that is cut from a loaf. I savor each salty mouthful, even relishing the fat!

After breakfast I head to the new Lowe’s to get five 80 pound bags of Quickrete Concrete Mix. I’m hoping to have the forms all put up and hopefully the cement poured for the manhole cover project by tonight.

Before doing anything I have to remove the old forms from border bricks. All looks good. The cement is firm and set well. The new excavation for the “manhole pad” is staked out. The top of the pad must be seven inches below the top edge of where the face of the pavers will be. This entails a lot of digging. As the day wears on the heat builds. The temps stayed at 97 pretty much the entire afternoon. There were a lot of water breaks. Daggy had to come out to help too. Seeing the dusty hole, she had to try it out!

The completed brick edging. Note my iced coffee in the pub mug!

Daggy rolling in the dirt.

I realized I forgot to get cheap lumber for the forms. I take a much needed break to Lowe’s again for the wood. It is amazing the looks I get in my working outfit! Today I’m decked out in a pair of cut off sweat pants, a mesh wife beater, my logger boots, and cammo do-rag. My clothes are wringing wet and splotched with the red brown Alabama clay so prevalent here.

By the time I get home the sky is turning dark. This is wonderful. I will make up the forms in the morning. In all honesty I’m too tore up to do much more tonight.

I just get the tools get put away when the first raindrops start to fall. This is how the summer days are supposed to be. Hot with an afternoon thunderstorm to cool things off. My parched yard enjoys a soft steady rain for nearly an hour.

This morning (Saturday) I’m outside digging and fine tuning the concrete forms at 5:30 a.m.: the morning is so cool. As always, installing the forms is the buggiest part of the job. It is the unseen parts of the project like this that take up the most time.

I mix up seven 80 pound bags of concrete mix. I’m just 1 ½ bags short! Damn! Make a quick trip to Lowe’s. It is about 9:00 now and the store is packed. Naturally there are no cashiers open. One poor woman is trying to handle the entire building materials side. I feel so sorry for her.

The concrete gets mixed and the form topped off. I have to hunt up a coin with the date 2007 to put in the top. By doing that I will never ever be broke! I scratch my name in the top and have Stumpy walk across the top so his pawprints will be forever preserved!

The finished pad with the 2007 dime!

I have enough cement left over I can repair the corner of my driveway. That curbing has been missing forever. The dirt I’m excavating from the back is being transferred to the low area here. I won’t even attempt to grow grass here till the fall. Where this break is, the dirt will just wash into the street during heavy rains. Not now! I found a 2007 penny for this project!

From here on it is clean up time. The tools are cleaned of cement and put in the sun to dry. I’ve got all kinds of excavated plants to transplant. There are lilies that I brought down from my house in Lockport, daffodil bulbs, mum plants, and even a few peonies.

After all that I need a break. The soaking wet clothes are peeled off and clean dry things are put on. As I was typing this entry out Debbie called. At 5:30 we are going to meet for Mexican. I need a taco salad and a couple cold beers.

Cement, Bricks, and Manhole Covers

Tuesday, June 26, 2007

It is 6:30 a.m. as I type this out. The mornings truly are the favourite time of the day for me. The watering has been done. I know I sound like a broken record on the drought here. Today I hooked up the soaker hose the front holly hedge. I’ve lost one mature plant. It had been sickly for awhile so I’m not sure I can blame it on the drought or not. I will not attempt to plant a replacement till the fall. The annuals seem to be holding their own. The two rubber plants on the front porch are flourishing. They must be a real masochist type of plant. The abuse they have received over the years, they have no reason to be here now! They are in cement planters that drain onto the concrete porch. The water that drains out is Daggy’s favourite drinking water. It drives me crazy! I give those cats fresh water every day! I guess the “dirt filtered” water has a better taste to her!

I am worn out. I had forgotten what a pain in the butt is to mix up concrete. Yesterday afternoon I made a trip to the brickyard to get 50 bricks to line this new patio addition. On the way there I stopped at the wastewater plant. It was recommended I check here for a manhole cover. I heard voices as I entered the building. Three guys were in a “break room” kind of place. I asked them who I should talk to see about getting a cover. They directed me to the head guy upstairs. I’m not sure if it is professional courtesy or not I was not treated as if I were totally mad in requesting this. The city can’t sell me a cover. He referred me to the supplier they use. This supplier is just around the corner. As I was leaving one of the guys was laughing, “You gonna get one?” he asked. “Things are looking good!” I answered. He gave me the high sign as I left!

In the street in front of my house:

First I have to get my bricks. It kills me to actually buy NEW bricks! But this has to be so the top edge of the patio addition is uniform. I found a great old looking style brick with “Old Virginia” stamped into the face.

On the way home is when I check supplier for the manhole cover. Once again the people I talk to don’t think I’m crazy at all! I’m taken into the “yard” after donning a safety vest and hard hat to see the covers. Yup, there is the familiar cast iron cover with “City of Tuscaloosa” all embossed with a great art deco cityscape. The cover with the ring is only $199.00 plus tax. This guy I’m dealing with is laughing as I tell him my patio plans. He has really made my day. I’m sure he told his family about the guy who was in his office to buy a manhole cover that evening at dinner!

I finished up the afternoon mixing the five bags of cement left over from last years projects. There was nearly enough to fill the forms. The bricks are soaked in water and then placed on top and leveled. They get soaked first so they don’t soak the moisture prematurely from the cement. This slow cure makes for a much stronger bond.

Today I’ll dig the other half of the trench. The cement will be set up enough to where I can remove the forms and reuse them on the other half.

I also need to ship stuff off to Louis via Fed Ex. The terminal is right in the area where the manhole supplier is; I might just pick the thing up today.