Neanderpundit

it takes very little time at all to cover every girder and rafter with the dust of the manufacturing process.

I have been in the habit, for many years, of hitting things as hard as i can, with my bare knuckles. I do this because I spend a lot of time on my hands and knees under machinery, and the callouses on my knuckles have helped protect my hands. This has an added benefit: if you have to hit someone, their jawbone feels like a pillow after thirty years of hitting steel and brick and concrete.

A year or so back, I was leaving the factory of one of my customers, thumping the building columns as i went, and then I came to column L14.

Years of remodeling and layout changes in the plant has left L14 floating, just standing there supporting nothing. it is still connected to a network of lateral supports, but the roof has been resupported by a different structure, at that one location.

So I thump L-14, and instead of giving me a hard “bang” that makes no sound but I can feel it through the bones of my hand, it goes “Thrummmmmmmm!” and an area about twenty feet wide by about 12 feet long gets showered in dust.

Yesterday, a tour of people came through the shop looking at some new processes; these people were predominantly competitors, and I recognized them all as people who have caused me some trouble in the past.

I waited until they got in just the right spot, and then I whacked L14 a hell of a whack.

Sometimes I’m a real stinker.

Tam handed out copies of the latest “Concealed Carry” magazine, with an article about (Among other things) Ballistics gel. it also had an article by Caleb about the Smith Model 60.

I’m not about to buy a Smith 60, but I am about to buy and make some ballistic gel. I need to shoot some slugs out of the backhoe and catch them, and see what kind of deformation i get, as well as measuring the lands and grooves. I also want to do some solids, to see what effect they have. The article on gel was quite informative and, since it was Tam, amusing, and I look forward to trying it myself. I have been told you can add oil of wintergreen to tone down the stench, though I have to experiment as far as proportion.

Maybe his ghost can help Howasrd Stern find his career.