Goings on at Casa De Garabaldi

 It has been a while since I did a post of things going on here at Casa De Garabaldi, it took me 2 days to squeeze this post out between life getting in the way.

I had found my old compass from when I was in the Army and took to the desert in 1990/1991.  We didn't have GPS, it wasn't common back then so it was "old school" and I was actually pretty good with the land navigation stuff.  I was a Boy Scout for many years then going through the Army Land Nav wasn't a super big deal since I already was pretty good with a compass from before.  But in the desert there are no real landmarks so paying attention to azimuth and distance was a bigger deal than normal.  

    This is the compass at work, I had noticed that all the "liquid" inside was gone so it didn't "compass" anymore.  I had thought about replacing it, but I figured I would try to repair it, I had nothing to lose, it either worked, or it didn't.  I kinda figured if I went to the Army/Navy store, all I would find is "Chineseium" versions of it.

I had started taking it apart , I had to strip part of the rubber off the bowl to get the compass out of the case, should I have, don't know but I did.  I kept the rest of the compass segregated so it wouldn't get lost or mixed with any of my regular parts.  

I was testing this part to make sure that it was still magnetized and you had to use a magnet to do that(that was the stick thing in the picture, I had that to go fishing for hardware when I worked hanger maintenance. ;) )  It was still magnetized.

According to my "Google-fu" the solution inside the compass is 2 parts water to one part alcohol,  so I did that and then used the syringe to put a bead of sealer around the rim of the compass bowl then gently placed the marked "glass" on the orientation points, one shot to get it right or I will smear the sealer all over the place.  Well I was successful(I was surprised, I ain't the paragon of steady hands, LOL )

Here is the compass fixing to go back together, you can still see the middle east dirt on it.

   There it is back together, It works ok, not flawlessly but it does work, so I will take the win.  

I also completed a project, a couple of years ago "I replaced a light " well it was hit or miss..well mostly miss.  The light didn't come on when I came outside in the morning to go to work, and walking to my truck in darkness was disconcerting.  

     So I backed up my Stepladder(looks like an F150)

   Yeah it is a later pic but same thing, I moved my *Stepladder* put my new light on the back of the truck and all my assorted tools to change the light.

                                                          New Light

        My assorted tools, and I would stand on the tailgate and use the tonneau cover to do the job.

I made sure the power was *off*, then removed the old light, then matched the colors of the wires, and then used zip ties to ensure that the wires don't move, I wrapped the wires together  then I used the wingnuts to make sure the connection was good, I also used a pair of dykes to cut the excess off the zip ties.

                                                            A look farther away.

      I then secured the light to the fixture after tucking the wires inside the junction box.

  I then tested it...YES   Success, I didn't screw something up, LOL. And yes the light has worked well since.

    And speaking of  my Stepladder, Er my F150, I decided to upgrade the seats, the truck came with cloth seats and I always wanted leather seats because for starters, I am a mechanic by trade, and grease cleans off leather and will soak into cloth.    And yes that is a leather cover on the seat.

    I decided to go with Katzskin, and I went to their website and custom ordered my seat covers.  It took 3 weeks, and the seat leathers came in and I took the truck to get them installed.

  This is what they looked like in the box(es)

  And the back seats

They did the front and back, the leather looks a bit wrinkled, but it will dewrinkle? in a few days, and it did.  I highly recommend it, it cost me about $2100 out the door and it really made the interior *pop*.  it totally dressed up the truck.

   I had gone to my happy place to run a shooting range

  it was an all girl Boy Scout Troop, and they were going for merit badge qualifications,  So I started early, and taught the book stuff, and then we went shooting, there were 7 scouts plus several adult leaders,  and a boy scout from another troop.

   We fired about 1400 rounds of ammunition, and several of the girls never fired before, but the time we were done, any anxiety they had was gone, all the scouts qualified and got the merit badge.  I was impressed, all of them had an excellent attitude and I actually enjoyed this immensely,  I got a little but of shooting in also. 

    I then went to the Blackbird Cafe, 

                                          It was a good day...