Hardpan Curmudgeon SASS #8967

Any lapidarists in our midst? I know a family who has four little girls - ages about four to twelve. With Christmas on the horizon, I had a thought about a "collective" gift for them - a tumbler type rock polisher, thinking it might be something they could enjoy together. With that, thoughts and advice on how to pursue this without breaking the bank would be welcome.

Cook 'em breast down. Breast meat will be nice and juicy, thanks to gravity. When done, flip 'em over to carve.

Undoubtedly, Lodge is good. Very good, in fact, and I'm a big Lodge fan - although there is some question about the value of their "pre-seasoning." That said, comparing Lodge cast iron with other brands is not like comparing a Mercedes to a Yugo. Others are also quite servicable. For example, I have three cast iron Dutch ovens; a Lodge, a Texsport (from Sports Authority), and a Ridgeway (Costco sold brand). All with lots of miles on 'em. And of the three, the Lodge is my least favorite. It's good and I like it, but I just happen to like the other two more. Now, with THAT said, what @Subdeacon Joe sez above is worth heeding. I have a few very good rescued pieces of indeterminate origins, including a really nice Belgian made Descoware enameled saucepan (with lid!) that my old friend Zelda Gurch found in an alleyway. Totally disgusting when found, but it cleaned up like new! Lodge - How it's Made:

What @Palouse sez above. Either an 1884 Buffington or 1901 Krag sight. 1884 Buffington 1901 Krag Either will work, and work well. Infinitely adjustable, and you'll have more windage and elevation than you'll ever need, want, or could use. How do I know this...? Well.....

Well, I know what I will NOT be cooking for dinner! Snapped this picture at the supermarket. Hm... and here I thought them misc's wuz endangered!

Seventh grade, Xenia, Ohio. Home sick in bed with the flu. A bad, bad day. Tangentially related - long, controversial, but interesting: LBJ

That's a right handsome blade there, 'Smith...! So, what forge and anvil are ya using...?

In the interest if simplicity and brevity, at Scout Camp before meals we recite the "Philmont Grace:" “For food, for raiment, for life, for opportunity, for friendship and fellowship, we thank Thee, O Lord. Amen.”

It's a major pain here in california. Hell... if you're visiting from out of state, you better bring your own - you cannot legally buy it here.

Back in 1959, a cement truck crashed near Winganon, Oklahoma. By the time a tow truck arrived to haul it away, all of the cement had hardened inside the mixer, making it too problematic to move - so they just left it there. The locals have since repainted it to look like a NASA space capsule.

Good find, Joe! Andy Devine as "Somerset Frisby!" Loved it!!

All righty, then ~ all is now right with the world. Sorta!

Mustafa Speaks as Nate Romanowski in the too-short Joe Pickett series. Speaks is very good actor. I just have a problem with casting people in roles for the sake of gratuitous "ethnic balance." Romanowski was of Polish descent in the books; casting Speaks would have been like having Tom Cruise as Carl Bashear* in Men of Honor. *the first African-American U.S. Navy Diver

I believe I've read that bayonets are now pretty much only for ceremonial use. That said, I recall an old timer WWII vet once telling me "the last thing you ever want to hear in battle is 'Fix Bayonets!'" Which reminds me... I have a bunch, but I still need a couple ~ one for the AR and one for my M1 Carbine.

That was hilarious! Oh... for sound, just click on the tiny li'l speaker icon at the top right.

I allus wondered why california's deer seasons are in the summertime. Unless you're well up north sometimes it can be downright hot and mizzerbul. Sometimes.

Found it! When I first saw the opening post I flashed on one of my favorite coffee mugs ~ with this same picture, and the caption "The Original Homeland Security." I gotta post a picture! I sez to myself. Alas... I rifled all my cupboards, the Kid's room, the guest bedroom... no mug. Oh well.... So I spent last weekend at my son's "new" house. Sunday morning, went for a cup o' coffee, and right there in his cabinet - The Mug! And of course he's welcome to it.

Fresh round of prayers offered up from these parts....

I We* started my son, Sassparilla Kid, off with a standard-sized single shot H&R Topper in 20 gauge. He had no problems with it whatsoever; in fact, he did quite well with it, taking his first ducks and doves. *Baby shower gift from his Great Uncle Frankie. He had his first shotgun before he was born. Anyway, for his tenth Christmas I "upgraded" him to the 20 gauge 870 Youth Model, just as @Sgt. C.J. Sabre, SASS #46770 described. Although he's something like 6' 3" tall now, back then he was just a li'l kid and handled the 20 just fine. (Not so the H&R Topper 410 "Youth Model." That thing was brutal - even I didn't like it, and we happily gave it to someone else.) But his Remington he enjoyed for all his "growing up" years ~ still keeping an eye out for an adult size stock set. That said, I would not hesitate to start another kid with a 20 gauge. Oh... his "adult" favorite field shotguns are his O/U CZ Woodcock 12 gauge and his Winchester Model 12 16 gauge. Here's the Kid with his 20 ga Topper at about age 8, and the Model 12 some fifteen years later.

Pat, the top is black. I bought the car about eight years ago; she was already 13 years old but had only sixty thousand miles on 'er. I'd been looking for a while, cruising ads and the usual auto sales places online. Late one night I hit Craigslist (for the third time that day) and there she was - I immediately sent the fella a message, and he called me a few minutes later: "Dude! It wasn't three minutes after I posted the car when I got your message!" I arranged to see it first thing the next morning; the car had a few issues (she was not new!). Anyway, he said he wanted six grand for her; we shook hands on the deal and I came back the next morning with cash. He'd had a bunch of higher offers, but was an honorable fella and stuck with the price. So, when I got her, the passenger window would not work, there were a few tiny dings, and there were other minor faults. The worse was that some lowlife cretin had decided to break in by taking a knife to the new, expensive fabric cloth. This was made worse by the previous owner effecting a totally okie repair with silver duct tape. Aarrgghh...! Being the original "Mr Fixit," I set out to mend the top. Ripped off the duct tape, cleaned most of the adhesive off with a variety of concoctions, sutured the slices, and had the Kid stitch a "bead" of black silicon to seal them. Then I literally painted the fabric; after eight years it's still watertight and doesn't look bad. I'm the third owner. The fella I bought it from in Fresno had her for less than a year; he'd wanted an "economy car" to commute from Fresno to Coarsegold, and finally decided he really needed a truck. He'd found the car in Berkeley (Yikes!), where the original owner was a flight attendant who'd bought it new, early in her "career." But I think that the absolutly worse experience was the night a bunch of us came out of a Boy Scout Commissioner meeting and one of the ladies saw her for the first time - she pointed, and gleefully exclaimed "Lookit! Someone has a Barbie Car!" I was mortified. By the way... I frequently tell folks "she's nimble, but she ain't nearly as fast as she looks like she thinks she is!"

Dang, but that's still a sharp-looking ride, Pat! Love the color. Mighty curious about the brake clicking ~ that's the kind of thing that I'd be laying awake in bed at night staring at the ceiling pondering.... Ya might check with https://forum.miata.net/ ~ lots of helpful and knowledgeable folk! On the "shifter rebuild," basically for the 6-speed manual it's packing with grease and replacing spacers and bushings, the inner- and outer-boots, plus four thick layers of felt "sound-deading" insulation. The latter helps, but the tunnel still gets hot in the summer. The shifter had worn and was sloppy; now as crisp as she ever was.

"MOTORCRAFT XTM5QS Full Synthetic Manual Transmission Fluid" Like @PowderRiverCowboy sez, it's a really good - and pricey - transmission oil that Miata's thrive on. Rock Auto sells it for the lowest price I've found, $22.79 per quart and other places charge up to $35. Hence the name "Unicorn Tears." The li'l car takes two quarts. The original throw-out bearing was loose and chattering - the reason we pulled it - but it still spun freely; however, the input shaft pilot bearing was frozen solid. With over 154k on the clock the original clutch disk and pressure plate were in surprisingly good condition - "Dad, you're not doing enough burnouts!" sez Sassparilla Kid (my son and chief mechanic).