Ron Altier

I sure hope loosening the nut does it. Now that I am older, my eyesight, fumble fingers and patience sure ain't what it used to be.

so if it ran for 8 years with those tight nuts you are saying it was the tight nuts all that time...??? It was never, ever that tight. I never tightened the nut more than finger tight. It may come loose, I'd retighten. That is why I was surprised that I couldn't loosen it with my fingers. It was NEVER as tight as I found it. If it goes another day or so.......I think it will be Ok

I should clarify, the knurled finger nut on the hands was that tight.

I've built 2 clocks, a grandmother clock and grandfather clock. The difference is size. The grandmother clock had run for 40 some years and the mechanism was worn, so I replaced it. It is doing fine. The grandfather is another story. It ran fine for 8 years, I oiled it every 2 to 3 years. The last time I did, it had quit chiming. Oiling did not fix the problem. I got a professional and he redid all that i did. It ran great.............for 15 minutes after he left. He came back 4 times and could not get it running longer than 12 hours. He quit and refunded our money. He gave up. A good clock guy would NOT give up. Anyway, I got a bright light and some magnifier lens and watched everything operate......many times. I did find one thing, the hands were on so tight that I had to use pliers to loosen. After that, it has run 24 hours and doing good. Do you think that the hands being too tight could have caused this? I checked the web and got varied answers. If it keeps running........I'll have to believe that the tightness was the problem.

I went to youtube to see the concept and structure. It won't replace any jointery any time soon. I saw a guy build a birdhouse in 50 easy steps. I can do the same much simpler and cheaper with a saw, some nails and a hammer. However it will make Ikea very happy.

It gave me more ideas of paint/stain blending. Don't know if I'll continue down that road or not. It was fun, but it takes time to dry between applications.

It looks a lot better from a distance, its about 5 inches long

I got another idea about how to make different designs on turned pieces, an ornament in this case. The whole piece is Oak, next time I'd use Maple. I turned it to where I thought it looked OK and then filled the pores for a smoother surface (that is why I'll use Maple next time) From there I made the designs with stain, latex paint and clear lacquer spray. It is a long process because things have to dry before I could proceed. I kinda like it.

I knew we'd have some fun with this one. I've never been around a bloodhound and this one NEVER barks and is afraid of everything. Can you believe a quiet bloodhound? Sure am glad she isn't the opposite, those dogs have a big voice.

Maybe this should be in the "Free for all" But it is made of wood. Our fence between homes is 5 ft high. My wife is short and can not reach far enough to pet our neighbors Bloodhound. So she turned a flower pot over and stood on it..........till it collapsed. So she wanted a step that would be strong. I made one with 4"x4" legs screwed to the fence. If this one falls......so will the fence

The Zinc/air batteries do not run down in the package. They are only activated after you take the seal off and let air in for one minute.......then install in your aids. Ear wax is a huge problem for me and I clean mine about twice a week. I use magnifiers on my glasses and tiny brushes/scrapers to do that job. I watched the tech do it and now do it myself. I don't like the hassle of setting up an appt, traveling to the tech and waiting. I was an inst tech in my working days, so it is just another job for me.

Congrats! All the years you worked and looked forward to this time. WOW, the feeling is tremendous! ENJOY!!