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My 1910 Mitchell "parts car" project


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I'm sure that Joe will get this fixed. Look at the obstacles he's overcome so far! And if all else fails we, his faithful followers, could consider chipping in for some new technology. After all, he's provided us with a heap of free education and entertainment over the years.

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2 minutes ago, JV Puleo said:

Thanks guys. It is gratifying to know my efforts are appreciated.

 

We all appreciate you restoration and machine shop efforts. I am espicially grateful for the help you have offered me. 

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Well...I am typing this from my office computer which is actually running an older version of Firefox than I have at home. It seems to be working so I think that establishes that something is wrong with the home machine. That said, the computer I have at home came from our office and may have security settings I know nothing about. I only started to set it up yesterday...replacing one with the same OS but the new one has a much bigger screen, valuable for my book work. At least we have evidence here that it's the machine and not the site.

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2 hours ago, Gary_Ash said:

Yes, Mac OS 10.11.6 is approaching it's 8th birthday, was marked obsolete in 2018.  But, hey, it still runs on your Mac and I understand about wanting to run old, familiar, irreplaceable software.  I'll fire up my old Mac mini and see how Chrome looks on that.  Normally, I'm 98% PC/Window here.  And, even though I have the latest Windows 11, it can also run a virtual machine running Windows XP and some 25-30 year old software in a window.

My problem is that I use InDesign for the book work. That has now become a subscription service and there is no way I can afford the subscription for the small number of books I do each year. I have the last of the pre-subscription versions but they won't load on a machine newer than 10.6.11. In fact, even that is newer than recommended but it works fine. Eventually I'll have to use a dedicated machine for my work but all that starts to get both complicated and expensive.

Edited by JV Puleo (see edit history)
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Another question, since many here know a lot more about this than I do. The new computer I have at home has nothing on it yet that I need to save since I only started to set it up yesterday. Should I "wipe" the HD? I'm not sure how to do that but a google search indicates it is possible. Would that set everything back to the original default settings?

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15 hours ago, drhach said:

I sure do hope this gets resolved. I check for updates to this thread everyday. Your work is inspiring. 

I echo these words. It is an ongoing education for all of us and also SO INSPIRING!  A real insight into how things were designed and made with your descriptions making it so much easier for us to understand . Not enough viewers here say think you often enough , I am one of those. Ed's last comment about appreciation is well stated too. Everything you show and state is JV P - just very positive !

Walt

Edited by Walt G (see edit history)
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I fixed it. I found the window that allows resetting the computer to it's original default settings. That seems to have made the difference. Hurrah!

That worked with Chrome. However when I  try to log onto the AACA forum via Firefox I get this  message.

 

 

ScreenShot2023-07-13at7_33_20AM.png.055b5deaf51115d22770e140c450749a.png

Edited by JV Puleo (see edit history)
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That Mac version should run this site just fine. I'm a Mac user (though not a "power" user). I came out of the printing industry and the layout/book/processing software is definitely a good reason for staying with Mac. I would certainly miss your posts and treat them like the old-time continuing serials, keeping me riveted to tune in next week! I sincerely hope you can stay with us!

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Since the computer in the office actually works I thought I'd share the current project. This really should go in the "what are you working on" thread but I'm posting it here. These are the two rooms I'm trying to finish...

The living room...

 

IMG_7369.JPG.9f0d93b9aef931be1679d46617da4d3a.JPG

 

And the dining room.

 

IMG_7370.JPG.6d81e725cba42c0423f6695754d66654.JPG

 

I also finished, today, new doors for the bulkhead. The old ones are so rotten I put my foot through one of them.

 

IMG_7372.JPG.bdf290412d8c73cd600af093bcf0a4e9.JPG

 

And, because I actually finished early today I set the mill up to start a square hole. I could have started milling but this is a job that requires so much concentration that I don't want to start it until I'm rested and as alert as I'll ever be.

 

IMG_7373.JPG.8a419dcc0f5e77c00b465c6eee0607c6.JPG

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Joe, I was unaware that you did household projects. Please from the South Florida I’ll keep you busy for a couple months.

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Actually I built the 2nd floor so it's much closer to level than the first floor but yes, nothing is really flat, square or level. The oldest part of the house dates from 1703...that is now the kitchen and the dining room. Head clearance in the dining room is 6'3"...if you are any taller you'll bump your head on the beams. An addition was added in, I think, 1757...that's the living room, bath and another room that is a real wreck. I don't even open the door unless I have to. That one is going to be next year's project.

 

Ed...I fix just about everything. I did all the finish carpentry, the wiring and the plumbing. My cousin, an ex-navy electrician, helped with the wiring but it's mostly a 1-man show. This house was in such bad condition that the seller took $5000 off the price of the land if he didn't have to tear it down. I, on the other hand, wanted an 18th century house and this was what I could afford. Finding someone who knows early 18th century construction is every bit as difficult as finding someone who can sort a pre-war car properly but if I could find such a person I couldn't afford them in any case.

Edited by JV Puleo (see edit history)
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Joe, I fired up my 2014-vintage Mac mini now running Mac OS 12.6.7 (latest) and Chrome.  No problem going to this forum and typing in a response - as I am doing just now.

 

Thinking about the window you got wanting you to load a picture, I'm wondering if at some point in the recent past you were creating a post and were trying to load a photo when something went crazy.  Somehow, your Mac wants to go back there and finish.  One solution might be to try it again, and if you are asked to upload a photo, do that and see what happens next.  It may clear the problem.  But, also in Chrome, click on the three dots on the upper right, then click More Tools, then click Clear Browsing Data.

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Thanks Gary. It've no idea why it did that but, thankfully, I got past it by going back to the default settings. It would appear that something like that did happen but it may be that the settings were altered for one of the programs that were used when it was in the office. I'll eventually eliminate most of those because  they have nothing to do with my work.

 

I'm now down to a problem where the computer frequently refuses to open a web page saying it isn't "private". This happens with 3 different browsers so it appears to be a computer problem rather than one of the browser. It also appears to be an issue with this particular OS. Jeff (Luv2Wrench) has sent me a instructions on how to fix it since, naturally, I can't open the page you need to access the information. But, it's a 13-step process so I will have to print the directions out before I even try and, as you might guess, I can't access the printer either.

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It looks as if I've finally gotten my computer to work properly and want to thank Jeff...Luv2Wrench, for solving what can only be described as a very obscure problem peculiar to the operating system I'm using. In a million years, I would never have found it.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Thanks Terry...I am making good progress but I still need to get a lot done before the cold weather hits. It's hard enough working in the heat an humidity...it's impossible when it's freezing out. If we have a couple of rainy days and I'm relaxed enough I'll finish the square holes. I'd have done that already but it's something that requires a lot of concentration and I can't do it when I"m tired or distracted. Right now I'm clearing part of the cellar and hooking up a new washer...all that has to be done to get room for the installation of the new furnace. Any one of these projects would be a good summer's work but I have four or five of them in the works. I'm not even going into the shop today...a very rare occurrence but if I spend the day on the cellar I may come close to finishing that part.

Edited by JV Puleo (see edit history)
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  • 4 months later...

Slowly...like a car restoration. I'd post progress reports if I didn't think I'd get banned for it but I'll sneak this one in...the sink area as of tonight. What doesn't show (because I've made a big effort to hide them) are the big beams that hold up the second floor. This end of the kitchen is located where the 1703 house was joined to the 1757 addition so it has double ceiling beams, all of which were salvaged from some older building because they still have the notches and holes for treenails from the previous building. The beams were never intended to show...that's a 1970s "rustic" thing. They recognized crude work in the 18th century and made every effort to hide it. The beams are simply tree trunks squared off with an adze. Beams that were intended to show were planed and often had a decorative chamfer on the edges. I have to admit that this is taking a lot longer than I'd anticipated.

 

Kitchen.jpg.0a238a6c6e577a6b30fba306cd815053.jpg

 

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I think I’ll stop by for Christmas dinner Joe. I’d like one of those Kobe beef tomahawk steaks that cost 300 bucks. Don’t forget the cognac reduction cream sauce.  All the regular fixings are fine. What time should  I arrive Christmas morning? No need to shop for a gift, cash is always fine. 😎

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1 hour ago, dibarlaw said:

Joe:

 Was you home ever included in "The White Pine Monographs". A series of publications documenting existing 17th and early 18th century homes published around 1900-1910.

Not to my knowledge. When I bought it it was very near falling down. In fact, the seller reduced the price by $5000 because he didn't have to tear it down. It's officially the Joseph Olney house. Olney may have been the father or uncle of Capt. Stephen Olney, one of RIs two Revolutionary War heroes. Stephen Olney's house is still standing further down the same road.

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8 hours ago, edinmass said:

I think I’ll stop by for Christmas dinner Joe. I’d like one of those Kobe beef tomahawk steaks that cost 300 bucks. Don’t forget the cognac reduction cream sauce.  All the regular fixings are fine. What time should  I arrive Christmas morning? No need to shop for a gift, cash is always fine. 😎

I don't think I've had any kind of steak for ten years....not that I don't like it but it's way too expensive, and that's the cheap stuff.

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  • 4 months later...
Posted (edited)

Not really. I'm working 12 hours a day, 7 days a week on my house. I have learned that it's actually more difficult than the machine work. I'm about 2/3 done with the kitchen and currently working on the passageways to the living room from the kitchen and dining room. The job itself is not unlike brass car work. Because the house is so old and I'm a nit picker about making it look right I have to make literally everything so it's about 10 times as much work as doing a similar job on a house built after the mid-19th century. I'm hoping to get back to the Mitchell in the Fall but for now I have to take advantage of the good weather. By way of example here's the new back door I made...the problem is that the clearance under the beam over the door (this part of the house was built in 1703) is only 6 feet. You can't buy a 6 ft door at Home Depot and I can't afford to have someone else make one...

 

Thanks for asking though. When this is done the machine work will be relaxing.😃

 

NewBackDoor.jpg.069095baf4ed8bb465e4d6b1df92f3ba.jpg

 

 

Edited by JV Puleo (see edit history)
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  • 2 weeks later...


I’m also anxiously waiting for the return……….

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Joe, Antique-vintage cars,  metal machining and fabrication, vintage home renovation, wood working! You amaze me at your age with your ability and dedication. Post anything, we will enjoy it. 😊

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Posted (edited)

Thanks guys...

 

You can't be any more anxious than I am but this is a case of "first things first." The interior of my house was never finished so it's not like I'm re-doing it. I'm actually doing what I set out to do 30 years ago but got sidetracked by a very bad 10 years that left me barely able to hang on to the house let alone finish it. If there is anything good in that it's that I'm much better at these things now than I was then and I've had 30 years to plan it even though, as is so often the case with me, the plans change while I'm doing it.

 

A good friend of mine's wife once asked him "doesn't Joe like entertainment?" He replied "sure he does, he just has a different idea of whats entertaining."

 

Weatherhead...we should add 17th and 18th century books, 18th and early 19th century guns, especially New England Rifles, and swords of the same period. I'm actually far better known in the antique arms world than in cars.

 

Here's a couple more of my projects...

 

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Edited by JV Puleo (see edit history)
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