The Beast Tried To Kill Me But I Won The Skirmish

[Gene O. Carpenter]

Last Sat I finally got the 4 pistons cleaned good, gaped the rings at .008, installed all 16 rings without breaking any, cleaned some galled aluminum deposits from the cylinder walls, removed all the valve springs again. I had installed the long springs on the exhaust valves and the shorts on the intake. What a pain, even with a VS Compressor!And I painted the cyl to block gaskets with hi-temp Alum paint.

Moved my hydro lift over by the Hol-Gar that you can see I have sitting on the Gen head end bell. It's mounted on a wooden skid made of 4"X6" PT timbers sitting on the 6" side and 2 cross members also 4"X6" sitting on the 4" flat. The 2 runners extend approx 12" past the end of the gen head so it's almost impossible to reach the rod nuts from way out there. Thus my decision to stand it on end.
When I tipped it up on end I placed an 8"X8"X2' timber down with a 4"X4"X8" block on that. It made it easier for me to work on the engine. It's on a 3 point support,, supposedly! A couple weeks I removed cyl 2&4 & then cyl 1&3 so didn't notice any wobbliness the 1st day.

I did a few other small jobs figuring I would slip the cylinders back on sometime during day of Sunday.

I had a bad night so slept a little later and
about 1;00PM I uncovered everything, moved the jugs over by the genny,,placed a folded Van Pad on the hydrotable for a seat cushion, got seated right in front of that length of Terry cloth you see hanging over the jug, picked up the correct jug and lifted it up on the studs. Well there must be a bent stud cause it won't go on. I started to rise up to standing position and sensed that something besides me was moving AND IT WAS! It
was the BEAST and she was coming in my direction. She was too heavy for me to stop and I couldn't get out of the way. She pushed me back down on the lift and that jug that I had just slipped on came to rest on my right knee.
She had planted her big ass on my lap and I couldn't move any which way.
I yelled for my wife 2 times the I realized what's a 130lb female gonna do but make the situation worse than it is already.
I started yelling for Joe, our GOOD next door neighbor I'm yelling HELP, HELP Joe. He looked out and I said she's on me! He jumped the fence just as Ed, another good neighbor, showed up. They leaned into it and with my
pushing we got it back to where I could get up. Then Joe and I held it while Ed repositioned my 3rd support point.
Thank God Joe was home! I'd been in a world of hurt if I'd had to wait for the PD or the First Aid Squad.
Now initially if I had checked my 3 point support to be sure the movable point was equidistant from the 2 fixed points then it wouldn't have happened but getting stupider in my old age I just went ahead and removed removed 1&3 jug and it would have gone over when I took that 65-75 lb jug off. Probably would have broke something on the Hol-Gar but better breaking metal than bone!
In all the years that I have been crawling around jacked up car's,trucks, motor homes,buses and boats, this was my 1st such happening. I've had things "come down" but I wasn't under them.
I had a big welt on my thigh and a slight abrasion and muscles hurt from the straining trying to get it off myself.

I went ahead and placed jug 1&3 on the studs and tightened them down. I covered everything up and said I'll let her rest for awhile and "git er done" next weekend, which is tomorrow..
Tomorrow I have to see which stud is bent and persuade it back in place.

Muscle soreness is gone now so if it ain't raining, I'm gonna get that SOB back together if it kills me! And this time it might win!

Next time power goes off Joe will definitely have either TV and a refrigerator or TV and the furnace! I owe him!

Gene

[Rich Mc]

Gene Don't quit your day job to become a rigger. Rich

[Billy J Shafer]

Well now you can sit down and work it. Glad your ok

[Gene O. Carpenter]

Billy,
As fat and old as I am, sitting is the only way that I can work! The hydrolift and the van pad are an important part of my tools n equip both as a seat and a lift. Have 3 CI, and or Teak, park benches placed in stratigic locations around the patio to sit on with the hydrolift holding the object being worked on. I can elevate the item to a comfortable position for whatever it is I'm doing.
One bench is directly under a Swamp Maple, that's my hot Summer work area. There's another bench 10' to it's Right facing South, that my Spring n Fall area and the other is
20' to the East but facing W which is my winter work area, if'n it ain't too cold and it usually!
But I don't ,can't, do as much as I used to in the past. I'm slowing down to a crawl , the honeydo list is way behind and the Gene wanna do's are so stacked up I'll probably have to start selling off my accumulation of woodworking machines, Miller Mig & Plasma cutter 4 generators, oh and the 30' motor home that hasn't been used in 8 years.

Sis, out below Alpine, said she just sharpened up her snake hoe's and picked up another 50rd box of 357 Snake Shot..Glad I don't have to stop and look before I reach for something. My hearing is about 90% gone so I'd never hear the buzz of the one that's got my name on it..

Thanks for your concern..

Gene

[Gunny]

Gene:
Maybe it got tired and went to lay down and rest, you got in the way. You know how it is with old bulls, they just flop down wherever and whenever, just be careful you don't get in their way.