Silhouette printer paper review (make your own decals and stickers)

As I near my 100th post, I find myself busier than ever with hands on work.  I had hoped to document more of the Matchless build but find it difficult to stop and capture everything on film.  I have chosen to do an extensive write up once rolling and include the photos and notes that I have taken.

In the meantime I wanted to quickly review a product I picked up last year but only started playing with.

I am not a always a fan of decals/stickers on vehicles, but sometimes they work well.  That vintage 'STP' on an old desert sled oil tank can add the right level of character.

Ebay has lots of old stickers and water slide pieces, however these can be a gamble.   I have been lucky a few times (the one on my Matchless tank worked out well) and unlucky on other occasions where the decal disintegrated.

That was when I thought about making my own and decided to do some research.  What I ended up investing in was something called Silhouette Paper acquired from Hobby Lobby ($9.99 for 8 sheets).

This is a clear vinyl sticker paper that can be used with any home laser printer.  I gathered a few random vintage images and put them all on the same screen in MS Paint (I like things kept simple!)

As you can see, I foolishly wasted a good portion of the first sheet.  Next time I will load every inch to get the best bang for the buck!   I would also recommend running a test page on regular paper to make sure everything looks right.

I am impressed by the quality of the end result;  The paper holds colour well and there was no bleeding at all.  The fact that it prints onto a clear sheet is a huge benefit.  My 'Made in England' decal was the only disappointment, I did a test fit on the frame and it could barely be seen.  On a brighter background it works well but the edges can clearly be seen.

Where this product really shines is with more 'solid' images such as this BA sticker.

For the money, this is a great product.  Perfect to produce a good number of stickers for a toolbox, project bike, etc. 

Until Next Time......

Nardi steering wheel restoration

I picked this up about ten years ago for my father's 1989 Miata.  It was never in mint shape (made in 1981) but it was certainly good enough to use. 

The poor old Miata has had a rough life.  I think my father is the 8th owner or something near it.  Nonetheless, it has always run well and delivered boat loads of fun.  Especially after the turbocharger, upgraded wheels and suspension was done. 


A couple years ago, I noticed some horrible rot in the floor and my dad, rather than scrap her, had the work done.  When the car came back, the clutch stopped working.  So it sat still most of last year.   I had been meaning to fix things up for a while, but was sidelined by all my other projects.  This year the little roadster will have a great summer.  Starting with a freshened steering wheel. 

Not good!

It looked a lot worse in my hands than in the photo.  The old varnish had virtually peeled away, leaving exposed wood underneath.  

Step one was to scrape off as much as possible, then apply some paint remover.  I had expected the remaining material to come off quite easily but I was mistaken.  Back to scraping!

Looking better already!

Step two was to sand down with 220 grit sandpaper, being mindful not to remove too much material or create flat spots.  I also filled some minor cracks with wood filler.

I fished around the solvent cupboard and found a can of  Cherry wood Minwax.  I decided to give it a go.  

Coat one.

I added the first coat and was immediately taken with the dark tone.  I let it cure for a couple days before the next treatment.  The stain didn't seep into the wood filler but I had a plan for that.

I found a furniture repair pen in my drawer, the type used for fixing minor scratches.  On to the next round.

I picked up some Marine grade varnish (small can) from Canadian Tire for $8.00.   I did two coats with 24 hours of curing in between.  

  I am very pleased with the way this one turned out; it looks good and fresh, without looking too new.  The last job is to apply some autosol to the spokes.

Until Next time.....

Build the Plywagen!

Let's take a little trip back in time; To a bygone era when men had tools and knew how to use them. To a time when, for just the price of lumber and a magazine a man could build his own roadster. 

These free plans show the ingenuity, spirit and fun one could have in that era unhindered.  It's the closest you may ever get to having a set of time machine blueprints....

Enjoy!





Taken from Mechanix Illustrated, November 1964

Until Next Time....

Kudos to Triumph for excellent Customer service....

This is just a quick post, coupled with an apology.  I haven't written much in the last 5 weeks or so, however I have been very busy!  Please watch this space for my ten year anniversary of Hinkley Triumph ownership and a whirlwind of Matchless updates.

I meant to get to this one last month, however my hands were otherwise occupied.

Katie's fork boots were starting to dry out and tear at the end of the last riding season, requiring some replacements.  I looked around at British customs, Ebay and a variety of other sources.  

Then I finally did what I should have from the get-go.  Go to Triumph directly.  The cost was so low ($22.00 or so) that I thought it was per boot and ended up ordering an extra set.  These were quickly shipped for free dealership pick up and were extremely well packaged.  To my amazement, I was given a free gift which I assumed would be a sticker of some sort.  It was in fact, a baseball hat.  As if this weren't enough,  there was a return shipping label enclosed (in the event of an issue) and label proudly proclaiming that the boots were made in England (note the MADE in the UK all in caps to emphasize the point).  Needless to say, I will be taking this route for all my new parts needs going forward.

The inner boxes were half the size!

Until next time! 

Harbor Freight Stud Welder review

Today I am having a look at the Harbor Freight Stud Welder Dent Removal kit (say that 3 times fast!).  This is a tool I have been aware of for some time but could never quite pull the trigger on.

Last Christmas, someone was looking for gift suggestions for me and I found the request for one rolling off my tongue.

So what is it and what does it do?

 The concept is fairly straightforward.  Insert the stud into the welder, hold it against the desired area, press down and push the trigger for one second.  The stud is welded onto the steel surface which can now be pulled back to shape with the help of a slide hammer.  Priced at $97.99 USD (at the time of this writing) it is an affordable way to remove dents and use only a skimming of filler, rather than pounds of it.  That is of course, if you end up needing it at all.

The contents of the box

For my test piece I chose a mid-sixties Triumph tank that had one poor spot at the front.

This offending dent.

As it was a smaller area, I decided to use one of the thinner studs to weld onto it.

Poor Quality photo, however you get the idea. 

The size of the unit dictates that two hands are used, which is a touch awkward as the studs have a tendency to fall from the tip.  During the first couple of attempts, I had forgotten to press down in conjunction with pushing the trigger and believed it wasn't working.  Truthfully, I should have followed the instructions in the manual and practiced on some scrap first.  After breaking a couple off or misalignment of the stud location I managed to get a good one in.  Phase one accomplished!  Now to the Achilles heel of the system.  The slide hammer.  This thing truly lets an otherwise good product down.  The idea is to slide the hammer over the stud, push forward a thumb-wheel to grip it and begin to pull.   This takes a great degree of fiddling, as it either locks down (requiring pliers to loosen) and breaks off the stud or it doesn't grip properly.  As I discovered, the hammer itself is far from forgiving on the hands. Do yourself a favour and wear some thick gloves!

Once I got the hang of it, I was successful!  While I can't say the surface is 100 percent perfect, it is easily 75 percent improved.

Hard to tell from the picture, but the dent is mostly gone.  

Would I recommend this product?  Absolutely.  If I still owned an old car with dents, this would save a lot of time.  I look forward to fixing a great deal of damaged tanks in the future!   One last note: This product can be purchased in Canada (and other countries as well) however you will find it at a whopping $307.99 CDN and up!   Without going on a tirade, I will once again express my frustration at the ridiculous amount of money asked of the Canadian consumer for goods and services.  I can certainly understand some mark up 3x the amount is beyond the pale!   Even with tax at the border and exchange, you are still miles ahead to get this stateside.


Pros:
-It actually works!
-Price
-Comes with everything you need to get started

Cons:

-Dreadful slide hammer
-Power cord is too short
-Somewhat clunky to use

Until next time....

Electrolytic Rust Removal

Unless I've miscounted, this would be rust removal method number four that I have written about on this blog.  We had Oxylic acid (wood bleach), white vinegar and molasses.  While these methods all work very well, they have some serious downsides.  The biggest is time;  One has to be quite patient and have the ability to wait days or even weeks for rust to disappear.  Mess and odour are another, that is most specific to Molasses and vinegar (to a lesser degree).  Thirdly, weather and temperature are factors.  If you have a cold shop or garage, these processes are almost impossible to undertake in the wintertime as your solution will freeze. 


This brings us to electrolytic rust removal which I finally got around to trying.  A method that is quick, relatively clean and can be done in cooler temperatures.  I won't do a seminar about the science of it as there are far better and more detailed write ups out there.  This is more a matter of sharing the results.


My specimen was an old 650 Triumph crankshaft.

Not the best picture as I had just cleaned and de-greased it.

It took me about six minutes to set up a simple system. 

-1 Home Depot bucket
-1 cup of Arm and Hammer Washing soda (this is very important.  It must be washing soda, not baking soda or laundry detergent)
-Hot water
-Piece of Wood
-Metal Strapping
-Old scrap metal shears (to use as a Cathode)
-Old Battery Charger (set to 12V)

I mixed my washing solution in the hot water, attached the strapping to the crankshaft (in order to keep it suspended).

I then attached the positive lead to the sacrificial shears, negative lead to the Crankshaft-

As soon as the charger was turned on the water began to gently bubble.  After half an hour it looked like this:

After two hours I pulled the crankshaft out.  Lo and behold, the rust was gone! 

Not the best photo, as the crank is still wet.  The rust was however, gone.

I then used a sponge brush covered in oil to protect the part in storage. 

The verdict?  Going forward, this will be my go-to method.  Easy, inexpensive and most importantly, fast. 

Until next Time....

Merry Christmas to all!

While I had hoped to write my 100th post in 2018, I fell a bit short of the goal.

No matter however, as 2019 offers great promise full of exciting projects!

I wish everyone a safe and Happy Christmas and the very best in the New year!



As always, stay tuned!