Some fellows manage to run a house and even a hobby gun-tinkering shop without compressed air. This is sad. Forget people on food stamps; an airless man is the truly deprived soul.
Couple of months ago I became one. The 10-or-12 year-old Campbell-Hausfield blew up. It was my own fault. A consumer-grade machine -- the happy-homeowner model -- it still would have lasted years longer if I were more religious about turning it off when I left the shop. A slow leak in the system kept it needlessly cycling on and off, at least trebling the wear.
I recently hauled a new one home. It's also assuredly non-professional, with an advertised output smaller than the old one, about five cfpm at 90 psi. That's enough for most of the work around here, but too wussy if I decide to use air-hog tools -- sanders, etc. The situation is improved by adding an extra tank to the system.
Aha! Opportunity knocks.
I've never had a convenient air outlet in the gun/reloading shack. But now the old C-H tank will be mounted in or adjacent to the room and fed by the new magic air densifier thourgh permanent piping to its on-board tank. A whip hose will be handy to the bench. One result: tidier gun innards. Another: About 35 gallons of total storage capacity, just in case I want to sand-blast this or that.
Well, that's probably already more than you want to know about me and my air. So I'll sign off now.
Oh wait, you have a question? ...
Well, yes, hot compressed air is sometimes useful, but I'll be damned if I can think up a way to pipe Al Sharpton into the system
Mar 2, 2012
Thank You!
Your diligent discharge of unburned hydrocarbons, C02, and methane into the atmosphere is appreciated. Only three days of grungy chill stand between me and an improved lifestyle. From Monday onward, as far as meteorological eyes can see, Camp J will bask in mid-40s to mid-50s temperatures, well above normal. It means blogging a little less and doing actual things a little more.
Start the annual yard cleanup. Clean the vehicles. Build the new compressed air distribution system (q.v. - next post) Catch a crappie or two. Et a helluva lot al.
'course, there's no suggestion yet that the sublime no-socks season will arrive earlier than the usual June time frame. I wish it would, of course, and if you care to help you could certainly run your SUV around the block a few extra times.
Start the annual yard cleanup. Clean the vehicles. Build the new compressed air distribution system (q.v. - next post) Catch a crappie or two. Et a helluva lot al.
'course, there's no suggestion yet that the sublime no-socks season will arrive earlier than the usual June time frame. I wish it would, of course, and if you care to help you could certainly run your SUV around the block a few extra times.
Mar 1, 2012
Iowa Stand-Your-Ground Bill
The text of the bill as passed by the house last evening is here.
It goes to the senate. I can't offer a confident prophecy on its chances there. Comments in the previous Constitutional amendment note also apply here.
---
The best argument the opponents could dream up seems to be that we're turning gentle, agrarian Iowa into the "Wild, Wild West."
That's nonsense. But even if it were true, so what?
Wander though the Boot Hills of Deadwood, Tombstone and the like and two things will stand out. (1) They're pretty small places. (2) In even the toughest towns of frontier legend, moving to the local grave yard courtesy of a gunslinger's bullet was a remote danger compared to, say, the fatal results of untreated acne.
The point being, Ladies and Gentlemen of the statist left, Clint Eastwood westerns are tales written to entertain, not exhaustively researched narratives of the norm in the 19th Century American West.
It goes to the senate. I can't offer a confident prophecy on its chances there. Comments in the previous Constitutional amendment note also apply here.
---
The best argument the opponents could dream up seems to be that we're turning gentle, agrarian Iowa into the "Wild, Wild West."
That's nonsense. But even if it were true, so what?
Wander though the Boot Hills of Deadwood, Tombstone and the like and two things will stand out. (1) They're pretty small places. (2) In even the toughest towns of frontier legend, moving to the local grave yard courtesy of a gunslinger's bullet was a remote danger compared to, say, the fatal results of untreated acne.
The point being, Ladies and Gentlemen of the statist left, Clint Eastwood westerns are tales written to entertain, not exhaustively researched narratives of the norm in the 19th Century American West.
Iowa Gun Rights Constitutional Amendment
The language finally approved is here. It would arguably affirm the strongest self-defense rights in the country.
Procedure: An Iowa Constitutional Amendment must be approved by both house and senate in two sessions separated by an election, i.e., two "General Assemblies" in our jargon. Then it must be approved by voters. The next step for this one is the senate where Democrats control things this year. Next is passage -- in identical form -- in the 2013 or 2014 session.
O. Kay Henderson, news director of Radio Iowa and a savvy reporter, says senate passage is unlikely. That may be slightly strong. Two years ago the conventional wisdom ruled out passage of shall-issue because of a Democrat senate and governor. But that was also an election year, and anti-gun lawmakers took a second look at citizen sentiment. They had a sudden epiphany revealing that shall-issue was a very statesmanlike policy indeed. We'll see.
Procedure: An Iowa Constitutional Amendment must be approved by both house and senate in two sessions separated by an election, i.e., two "General Assemblies" in our jargon. Then it must be approved by voters. The next step for this one is the senate where Democrats control things this year. Next is passage -- in identical form -- in the 2013 or 2014 session.
O. Kay Henderson, news director of Radio Iowa and a savvy reporter, says senate passage is unlikely. That may be slightly strong. Two years ago the conventional wisdom ruled out passage of shall-issue because of a Democrat senate and governor. But that was also an election year, and anti-gun lawmakers took a second look at citizen sentiment. They had a sudden epiphany revealing that shall-issue was a very statesmanlike policy indeed. We'll see.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)