My husband, Schoo, has worked on cars, motorcycles, dirt bikes, boats, and airplanes for all of the twenty-some years I've known him. I watch him search for information about the things he wants to do, and usually not finding all the information he wants. I think it's a shame that someone else might want to do similar projects and have to reinvent the wheel (pun!) So, here you go... all the inspiration you need to do-it-yourself on some pretty cool projects.

Monday, July 4, 2016

It's Been Awhile

Sorry.  And no, the adventures haven't stopped.  Today Schoo has drained the hot tub and is filling it.



Yes, he is using his Go Pro so he doesn't have to keep going back and forth to check the water level.  :-)  "Use the tools you have to make your life easier," he says.  

I have some ideas for posts you will love, if you are a mechanic's wife.  Or the wife of a handy, do-it-yourselfer... or if you, the wife, are the handy one.

Soon!

Monday, July 22, 2013

Riding the Continental Divide

It's been awhile since my last post, but that doesn't mean Schoo hasn't been busy with projects and adventures.  His latest is a proposed trip to ride parts of the Continental Divide with four friends.  About a month ago his buddy, Jack, came into the garage and said, "Hey, you oughta go with us on an adventure touring trip."  (For more information on adventure touring, check out this great website called Adventure Rider.)

Schoo came home and said, "Well, Jack thinks I should go on this trip with him... what do you think?"  I said, "I don't see how you could pass it up!"  His boss said, "Get all your work done before you go!"  So Schoo said, "I guess I'm going!"  The original plan called for him to borrow Jack's Suzuki DL 650 Vstrom, but once the dream was planted we also found a great deal on a 2003 BMW R1150 GS from a great bike shop in Columbus, OH.  


Now we are deep in preparations for this 6000 mile, 16 day adventure.  So far this has involved buying an aerostitch suit and boots; a heated Gerbing jacket liner, remote control, and case; and an iPad camera connection kit.  Why do I say, "we?"  Because I am the woman who runs to Wal Mart with Schoo's debit card!  I also enjoy musing over every aspect of the trip over a cold (lite!) beer in the evenings.  In case you wonder about my own adventures on a bike, I only ride on the back and adventure touring isn't the best place for 2-up riding.  I've had my share of great bike trips... but that's another story.





Monday, February 4, 2013

The Mechanic's Latest Projects

He says it wasn't a Christmas present.  But I told him all along that more than anything he could ever buy me, I wanted built in shelves in our living room.  During the month of December--in the midst of his father's illness and during the holidays and a busy time at work--Schoo put on his carpenter's apron and made me a priority.  He used a 4x8 sheet of plywood for the back, some blond plywood for the shelves, and poplar for the front pieces.  Then he custom fitted them into our home and, voila!  :-) A Merry Christmas for me!

Bumper Pictures At Last!



How long does it take to get a picture on this blog?  Several months, apparently.  Here's the bumper fabrication project.  Cost:  $600 for fabrication. 

Sunday, November 25, 2012

Spraying Texture Paint on a Truck Bumper

Schoo has been at friend Dave's all day working on the bumper of his 2003 Chevy Avalanche, 3/4 ton.  He had the bumper fabricated about a year ago--big enough to contain his winch.  He also added two sets of fog lights, one white and a smaller one, blue.  If you need the specs on those, I can get them for you.

Today they are firming up the lighting situation and spray painting the bumper with a textured bed lining paint that we bought last night at Auto Zone.  Before you get too crazy over that, let me tell you about when he painted a jeep with a brush and some house paint...

The year was 1992 and I was laying out in the yard working on my tan (because we did that in the 90's.)  Schoo came out and said, "I'm thinking about painting the old jeep with a camo pattern."  I dismissed this because I know my husband and he'll think about these things for awhile before he does them.  But not a long while.  A few days later he went to WalMart and bought several gallons of green, brown, and tan house paint and a four-inch brush.  By this time I was a little concerned.  I had lived a life in the back woods for awhile in my teen years and some of the cars and trucks I'd ridden in were pretty embarrassing. 

So I said, "I don't think this is a good idea."  I pouted.  He was not deterred and, as you can expect from a man who later would build and fly his own airplane, he triumphed!  We got a lot of compliments on that jeep, and a good many imitators.  Schoo had started a local trend.  I may be biased, but I think ours was the best looking camo vehicle out there. 



This leads me to having a good feeling about the Avalanche bumper.  I'll post a picture for you when it's done.