Greetings from Michigan!

Today is the first of December and I have several interesting stories and projects to share. Recently I was able to purchase a new tool box to hold my small but growing collection of hand tools. It is nothing amazing but I will include a photo below.

Through school work we have been making a number of tools ourselves. A spark plug box which offered riveting experience. A beading tool which helps bend a non-flexible line in fluid lines and fittings class. We machined a tap holder to help put threads in a project. One of the most functional items we have put together is a multimeter for our electric projects. Volts, amps and ohms of resistance can all be measured with this common yet useful tool. The multi-meter was particularly helpful during our group electric projects. We put together an electrical board which included a functional radio and "surround sound" speakers. We had to assemble and mount a long list of items which included a starter magneto, volt meter, a rheostat, circuit breakers, a push-to-test light and navigation lights. It took about two weeks of daily work to bring all this to a functional conclusion from random spare parts. Photos below.

Welding and fabric are our current major projects, and I am finding both require skills I do not yet posses. Despite the difficulty in making a quality weld or a respectable looking fabric job it is a great learning process.

My tool box.

Our electrical board.




Busy in the lab.


Look for updates regarding my deer near miss (maybe the story of the year) and the annual SMAT Turkey/Snow bowl football game in the near future. Stay posted.