Cheap Chinese-Made JUNK !!!
NOT having a good day today. I was trying to trim the horses' hooves, but my knives are so incredibly dull that I doubt they could even cut cheese now. The video that I referenced earlier is fine and dandy, but I don't have that equipment at this time, so I still can't get an edge on these knives. I have a little sharpening tool, but I think it's meant more for quick touching-up, not a full sharpening. Still, I couldn't leave things any longer, so I did the best with what I could do.
Bonnie is the one I was the most worried about, and next to Dirk, she's about the easiest to work with. Unfortunately, her forehooves are so hard that the knives couldn't really do anything, and the nippers are useless unless the knives can clear enough room for them to work. Her hinds, on ther other hoof, were a lot easier to work with. I'm very thankful for that, because it was her hinds that were giving her the most trouble. It's not a perfect job, but I managed to get them trimmed down enough that she's not "rotating-back" on them anymore. It took over an hour, and the whole process left me in so much pain I could barely think straight afterwards. The biggest issue is in my elbows - they've been giving me issues since Summer, when we bought 100 bales of hay and moved them into the old garage/barn. It's basically "tennis elbow" - and there's no cure for that, just healing over time. By the time I was finished working on Bonnie's hooves, my elbows, thighs, and back were all throbbing and aching, and I still had to go in to the shop for a U-Haul customer and to work on another customer's air-compressor. I also needed to get some of the Saturday Shopping done.
While I was nearing the end of the shopping, my cell-phone rang: It was the U-Haul customer calling to see why I wasn't at the shop. Well, maybe because he was scheduled to pick up the trailer at 5pm, and it wasn't even 2pm yet? I told him I would be there in about half an hour, and finished my shopping. He arrived at the shop about 10 minutes after I got there, and I got him all hooked up and on his way. In a way, it was just as well that he came early - that way I didn't have to sit around all afternoon waiting for him. As it turned out, I was going to be busy for the rest of the afternoon anyway.
Back in July, a customer brought in a 20-gallon vertical-tank air-compressor for me to look at. It had been leaking air around the check-valve, and he'd tried to fix it by covering the entire assembly with some kind of putty (might have been JB-Weld, actually.) To say it was a mess would be an understatement. It was October before I was able to track down the parts, and then thanks to a number of screw-ups from the company, another two months for the parts to arrive! They actually arrived just after Christmas (before New Year's), but I wasn't about to tackle that project during the holidays. The customer came in last week to inquire about the status of the thing, and I was happy to be able to tell him that the parts had finally arrived, and it shouldn't take long to get them installed. He asked if I thought it would be ready by Monday (tomorrow) and I told him that so long as nothing else blew up, it would be. Famous last words...
Removing the gunk that he had plastered all over the check-valve turned out to be a lot easier than I had expected. Using a hammer and chisel (and eye-protection, of course!) it took less than 10 minutes to knock all of the crud loose. The air pipes also came off easily, and after that the valve unscrewed from the tank just as slick as you please! I should have known that things were going too easy, but I thought maybe I was just on a roll for once. Nope.... The pressure-release fittings went on just fine, but when it all went to pot when I tried to reconnect the "exhaust" line. This is the line that comes from the head of the compressor to the check-valve, it's the line that actually carries the air from the compressor to the storage tank; It attaches to the head with a 90-degree fitting, which, as it turns out, is made from cheaply cast aluminum, instead of being forged from something stronger - say, solid brass?
That cheap, made-in-China piece of crap shattered like it was made of glass! I had barely tightened the connecting nut, and it just snapped! Looking at the remains, you could easily see the crystaline pattern of the cheap casting. Absolute garbage. To make matters worse, the rest of it was (is) still stuck in the cylinder head. Ok, just use an easy-out to remove it. No dice - the stupid thing must be cemented into the head! I don't want to put too much force on the easy-out lest it should break, or worse, have the cheap aluminum head break! Cheap being a relative term, since a new head costs about $50! I made a quick trip over to RV-Auto here in town, where I knew Skip had a large assortment of solid-brass fittings. He didn't have exactly what I needed, but he had two pieces which when combined, should work. Except that I still have to get that broken piece out of the head. :/
It was past 5pm now, so I decided to just close the shop and head home. Maybe things would be clearer in the morning. Before leaving though, I checked on the availability of the correct part. I know that the compressor unit itself was a common made-in-China (piece of crap!) that was used by other manufacturers as well, so I checked for a more local supply. Turns out that it is the same compressor used by a Canadian company, so I've got a part number and price. If it turns out that I can't adapt the parts I have to work, I'll get the part from them. Problem is, they're in Quebec, so even if they have the part in stock, it will take a few days to get here. I'm afraid that come Monday, the customer is going to be disappointed yet again. :/
Bonnie is the one I was the most worried about, and next to Dirk, she's about the easiest to work with. Unfortunately, her forehooves are so hard that the knives couldn't really do anything, and the nippers are useless unless the knives can clear enough room for them to work. Her hinds, on ther other hoof, were a lot easier to work with. I'm very thankful for that, because it was her hinds that were giving her the most trouble. It's not a perfect job, but I managed to get them trimmed down enough that she's not "rotating-back" on them anymore. It took over an hour, and the whole process left me in so much pain I could barely think straight afterwards. The biggest issue is in my elbows - they've been giving me issues since Summer, when we bought 100 bales of hay and moved them into the old garage/barn. It's basically "tennis elbow" - and there's no cure for that, just healing over time. By the time I was finished working on Bonnie's hooves, my elbows, thighs, and back were all throbbing and aching, and I still had to go in to the shop for a U-Haul customer and to work on another customer's air-compressor. I also needed to get some of the Saturday Shopping done.
While I was nearing the end of the shopping, my cell-phone rang: It was the U-Haul customer calling to see why I wasn't at the shop. Well, maybe because he was scheduled to pick up the trailer at 5pm, and it wasn't even 2pm yet? I told him I would be there in about half an hour, and finished my shopping. He arrived at the shop about 10 minutes after I got there, and I got him all hooked up and on his way. In a way, it was just as well that he came early - that way I didn't have to sit around all afternoon waiting for him. As it turned out, I was going to be busy for the rest of the afternoon anyway.
Back in July, a customer brought in a 20-gallon vertical-tank air-compressor for me to look at. It had been leaking air around the check-valve, and he'd tried to fix it by covering the entire assembly with some kind of putty (might have been JB-Weld, actually.) To say it was a mess would be an understatement. It was October before I was able to track down the parts, and then thanks to a number of screw-ups from the company, another two months for the parts to arrive! They actually arrived just after Christmas (before New Year's), but I wasn't about to tackle that project during the holidays. The customer came in last week to inquire about the status of the thing, and I was happy to be able to tell him that the parts had finally arrived, and it shouldn't take long to get them installed. He asked if I thought it would be ready by Monday (tomorrow) and I told him that so long as nothing else blew up, it would be. Famous last words...
Removing the gunk that he had plastered all over the check-valve turned out to be a lot easier than I had expected. Using a hammer and chisel (and eye-protection, of course!) it took less than 10 minutes to knock all of the crud loose. The air pipes also came off easily, and after that the valve unscrewed from the tank just as slick as you please! I should have known that things were going too easy, but I thought maybe I was just on a roll for once. Nope.... The pressure-release fittings went on just fine, but when it all went to pot when I tried to reconnect the "exhaust" line. This is the line that comes from the head of the compressor to the check-valve, it's the line that actually carries the air from the compressor to the storage tank; It attaches to the head with a 90-degree fitting, which, as it turns out, is made from cheaply cast aluminum, instead of being forged from something stronger - say, solid brass?
That cheap, made-in-China piece of crap shattered like it was made of glass! I had barely tightened the connecting nut, and it just snapped! Looking at the remains, you could easily see the crystaline pattern of the cheap casting. Absolute garbage. To make matters worse, the rest of it was (is) still stuck in the cylinder head. Ok, just use an easy-out to remove it. No dice - the stupid thing must be cemented into the head! I don't want to put too much force on the easy-out lest it should break, or worse, have the cheap aluminum head break! Cheap being a relative term, since a new head costs about $50! I made a quick trip over to RV-Auto here in town, where I knew Skip had a large assortment of solid-brass fittings. He didn't have exactly what I needed, but he had two pieces which when combined, should work. Except that I still have to get that broken piece out of the head. :/
It was past 5pm now, so I decided to just close the shop and head home. Maybe things would be clearer in the morning. Before leaving though, I checked on the availability of the correct part. I know that the compressor unit itself was a common made-in-China (piece of crap!) that was used by other manufacturers as well, so I checked for a more local supply. Turns out that it is the same compressor used by a Canadian company, so I've got a part number and price. If it turns out that I can't adapt the parts I have to work, I'll get the part from them. Problem is, they're in Quebec, so even if they have the part in stock, it will take a few days to get here. I'm afraid that come Monday, the customer is going to be disappointed yet again. :/