Stainless Steel Angel

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jwhouk
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Stainless Steel Angel

Post by jwhouk »

Image
...Yet again, the Pillsbury saga causes another spinoff - and yet again, with everyone's favorite majordomo.

---

Ari stopped by Building #2 on Saturday after the hockey game. She now sported a #20 Ryan Suter Wild Third jersey, just to annoy that strange man who had attended the game in his Predators gear the previous night. Since the factory was closed for the weekend, she didn't figure she would need to "dress up" for anyone.

She pulled the Mustang in to the gated entrance, next to Chesnut Park. Pressing a code, the gate swung open. As she pulled up to the parking lot, she waved at the security guard who was there. As she pulled up to the garage entrance, she tapped her remote entry code on the specialized panel the boys had installed. The door rose, and she deftly swung the GT into her usual spot.

She tapped a few more commands into the console as she put the 'Stang in park. A moment later, there was a beep from the console, then the front lights for the main shop floor came on as the garage door slowly shut.

Her mind was already pondering the task ahead of her - the reason why she was there on a Saturday - as she climbed out of the car. She'd managed to find a set of keys to that small storage room off the back of her office, and she was intent on clearing it out to make for some useful work space.

Thing is, no one really knew what was back there. The room, from the best guesses that Charlie and Portnoy could determine, was maybe 12 feet by 6 feet - decent enough that it could be repurposed for a server room, or maybe file storage. Portnoy, who'd worked for AHI when the building was last in use back in the late 1990's, said he believed it was used for that - but they never could find the key to it.

Until Al started moving things around at Casa Alexander. Among some of Rock's things they'd found an old keychain set that had "B#2" stamped to a metal tag, and a series of old Sargent keys with various numbers stamped on the foreground. She'd called Portnoy about them, and he was relatively certain one of them was the lock to that door.

"Only two people had keys to that room: Rock and his secretary, Loreen," he explained to her over the phone. "Loreen died the year before we closed B2. Those offices were still being used, even after we'd shut the place down. Rock was using the offices as office furniture storage until his coronary the weekend before September 11."

She had told Al in passing (the brief time he'd been back at the plant) about the keys, and told him she'd like to try to see if she could get in - and maybe get the place cleaned out. He'd assented in a half-heard, "yeah, whatever" comment that was the impetus for her foray into the office today.

She made a quick call to the security guard station, letting him know what she was doing there on a Saturday, then eagerly bounded up the stairs to the office. Had she not been wearing her brand new Wild jersey, she might have flown up to the landing.

She had a guess as to which key might be the magic one; purely by logic, there was one key that had the same stamping on the front (B202103). And, as the key to her own office was numbered 102 - and Al's 101 - it followed that the lock for this unknown room was very likely the 103 key.

She put the key into the lock, and attempted to turn the lock. Nothing at first; the key fit, though. She thought for a moment, then rummaged around in the bottom drawer of her desk. When they'd moved into the old Building 2, the lock to Al's office - and hers - had stuck a lot from disuse. The graphite spray she pulled out had been very useful in getting the tumblers unstuck.

She quickly gave it a spritz into the key hole, then worked the key in slowly, pulling it in and out a few times. Gingerly, she tried to move the key in the lock.

It turned.

She let out a little yelp of victory. Carefully, she unlocked the door, hearing the deadbolt slide open. The door opened with a turn of the knob - though that was a bit difficult, as the internals were a bit rusted as well.

The room was pitch dark. She could see in the dark a bit, but the contrast from the lighting in her office to this room took a moment for her to adjust. She found a light switch - which did nothing. Puzzled, she looked up. There was one light fixture, uncovered, with two empty sockets where there would normally be light bulbs. She shrugged, stepping back out into her office. She had some bulbs in the cabinet next to the door.

Two LED bulbs in hand - and her Wild jersey off - she cautiously spread her wings and flapped a moment to launch herself up to the overhead light. She found herself coughing from the amount of dust she was kicking up, but it was to be expected. She held her breath and quickly put the bulbs in (something she'd done a few times before at her new apartment), then landed back at the doorway.

Cleaning herself up best she could, she cracked open one of the windows to let a bit of outside air into the office. Though it was a typical cold November Saturday in the Twin Cities, the air would refresh some of the dust that had been disturbed by her wings. She re-entered the room, and flipped on the light switch.

What the two new LED bulbs revealed... was yet another mystery.

The room was definitely NOT small by any means. It was actually two floors - one was, indeed, a 6x12 platform with a half-wall, but there was also a spiral staircase that led down... but where?
Last edited by jwhouk on Fri Feb 12, 2016 7:33 am, edited 1 time in total.
"Character is what you are in the dark." - D.L. Moody
"You should never run from the voices in your head. That's how you give them power." - Jin
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Re: Stainless Steel Angel

Post by jwhouk »

---

Before she would descend the stairs, though, Ari wanted a look-see at what was up on the top platform area. It was two shelving units, which had various parts and markings on them. None of them looked like farming equipment. She didn't quite recognize any of the items - though she did recognize something marked "BOSCH" on one of the lower shelves.

There was a small black solid-body briefcase wedged on the side of one of the shelves. She pulled it out, careful not to have the sea of parts collapse over and onto it. Fortunately, there was a metal grill over the front of the shelves - something she hadn't seen right away until her eyes readjusted to the light.

She quickly put the briefcase in the doorway, partially to keep it from closing (and possibly locking) on her, and partially to keep the source of fresh air coming in from the office. Looking down, she saw that the stairs led down to the main floor of the factory - and to a room that was much larger below.

That's odd, she thought. That's where I thought the backup generator was located. She carefully stepped down the spiral staircase, noting that the metal stairs creaked a bit as she took each step. Probably haven't been used in years.

At the bottom of the stairwell, she realized she had descended below the main floor of the shop. This place had a basement? She thought. Sure enough, the light looked to be about 20, 24 feet up from the bottom of the stairs - and it made this lower area a bit dark. She squinted a bit, trying to adjust to the lower light again. This time, she saw another light switch - and turned it on.

There was a brief flicker, then a buzz, before a bank of fluorescent lights came on. A few flashed and flickered from the long time of disuse, but what they illuminated was astonishing.

She was in what appeared to be a long tunnel, one that extended off towards where she knew the parking lot of the plant now stood. She couldn't quite tell, but it appeared that the tunnel ended abruptly about 30 meters down - bricked over. It became obvious what this was - an underground supply tunnel that likely connected the building with the newer engine plants on the other side of the freeway. That was made clear when she saw the twin rails embedded into the concrete floor of the "room" surrounding the end of the tunnel. The endcap on the wall next to the stairs clinched it.

There was, apparently, an old supply cart sitting at the entrance to the tunnel, the back against the bricked wall of the tunnel - with some odd frame on it. She thought she recognized it as a tractor frame, but then she realized it wasn't shaped quite right. This was more of a double-wishbone frame.

Something glinted to her right, where the upper room area was open to the basement at a slight angle. She recognized the indention - it was the front stairs up to the offices. She looked down and saw what was reflecting the light - a large piece of steel, sitting inside a crate frame.

Several pieces of steel. Brushed steel, in fact. One was in a very strange shape - almost like...

...a car door.

She turned around. On the other side of the wall was more parts: these were larger parts, like an engine, what appeared to be a suspension, a strange black grill that was slightly smaller than the large steel piece. And, a long polygon-shaped frame with an indention in the back - that looked like the place where you'd put a license plate.

This was too strange, she thought to herself. She went back up the stairs to her office, taking the briefcase with her - and making sure that the door was unlocked.

She put the briefcase down on her desk, and went to close the window of her office. The breeze blew the dust off the briefcase, which made her curse a bit at her carelessness. But, the dust removal revealed that the case had no lock on it. Just two latches, both a bit rusty from age.

Curious, she opened the case. Inside, she found what appeared to be numerous technical manuals, a few wiring diagrams, and a leather portfolio with a strange imprint on the bottom:

Image

DMC.

It took her a moment, after thumbing through the portfolio, to realize what she had found.

Disbelieving, she put the portfolio down and went back into the storage room, then down to the basement.

The large metal piece in a crate confirmed her suspicions when she saw the "DE LOREAN" stamped on the one corner. The crates were all stamped with "MADE IN DUNMURRY, NI", and the frame had a similar marking on it in pen.

She nearly flew back to her office, and got on the phone immediately to Al.
Last edited by jwhouk on Fri Feb 12, 2016 7:37 am, edited 2 times in total.
"Character is what you are in the dark." - D.L. Moody
"You should never run from the voices in your head. That's how you give them power." - Jin
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Re: Stainless Steel Angel

Post by jwhouk »

---

"Yes, I'm sure," she said again as she scanned the papers in the briefcase yet again. "It appears there is a completely unassembled De Lorean in this back room. I don't know how they got the main body into the basement, though... What? Well, the one end was bricked off, and I couldn't see beyond the... well, okay, lemme go down and check."

She took the cordless phone down the stairs with her, along with the LED flashlight she had in her desk. Descending the stairs - which, for some reason, weren't creaking as much as they were before - she landed on the basement floor.

"Can you still hear me? Good - yeah, the tunnel goes off for a few yards to the north. This looks like it was a receiving room of some sort... okay, I'm looking over there. Right now, all I see are the metal body parts - that's stainless steel? What was this guy thinking when he built these?... Well, yeah, whatever. I can't quite tell, but there does seem to be a ramp in the back..."

She shined the flashlight behind the door panels. The ramp was there, next to the stairwell.

"Wait a second," she said. She shined the flashlight behind the stairs. The ramp led up to what appeared to be a metal plate, about roughly three by three meters. There didn't appear to be any handle or opening to the plate, which appeared to be sitting on a ledge.

"There appears to be a metal door covering, but it doesn't have an opening on this side," she spoke into the phone. "I'm not sure exactly..."

She stopped.

"Hold on," she said - and she nearly flew back up the stairs and into her office. She opened the door and pitched herself off the railing at the top of the hallway to the offices, and with a FLOOMPF her wings spread out, allowing her to levitate in the air. She knew no one who was para-unaware would be in the plant without her knowing, so she had no fear of discovery.

Though she made a discovery of her own in very short order: the area directly under her office was the parts storeroom for Richer Engineering.

She glided down to the door, taking the phone back to her ear. "I really have to invest in a bluetooth headset," she said to herself. "Yeah, I think I found out where it comes out. Right into the parts room... Yeah, surprise, surprise, right? Lemme see if I have the code for it, hold on..." She pressed the "hold" button on her phone, then swiped it right to the main screen. She tapped a few icons, entered a code - and the door buzzed. She opened it up, and quickly switched on the lights.

Inside the parts room, the edges for the metal door were barely visible on the floor - covered by pallets of parts, apparently for a Land Rover. She looked back at the entrance - the parts room had a double door; the one was what she had entered, while the other was openable only by unlatching from the inside. The resulting opening was big enough for a forklift or other carrier to enter the room.

"Bingo," she said. "I'm gonna need to give Buck a call - I think this car might be his dad's..."
"Character is what you are in the dark." - D.L. Moody
"You should never run from the voices in your head. That's how you give them power." - Jin
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Re: Stainless Steel Angel

Post by jwhouk »

Buck, Katherine, Al and Daisy looked at the contents of the briefcase with mixed looks of disbelief and wonder.

"Yeah, that's dad's handwriting on that check stub," Buck said. "Looks like he bought the car unassembled directly from John Z."

"Did you know about any of this?" Al asked his dam.

"I knew he'd talked to Delorean, about a year before Buck was foaled. Had this weird scheme where AHI would provide parts - mostly engines - while there'd be a share in the profits from sales. Only problem was that it was so one-sided, they'd have to sell millions of them to see any sort of profit." She shook her head as she handed Al the letter she'd read. "The company board told him no way in Hades they'd let it happen."

Al looked at the letter. It had a Delorean Motor Company letterhead, dated 7 February 1981. The writer thanked Rock for his purchase - and there was an understanding tone by the writer that the vehicle was shipped in parts due to constraints.

Al read out the last sentence of the letter: "Thank you for the assistance, and I hope to hear from you again soon about the investment you spoke of with AHI. Sincerely... John Z. DeLorean." He put the letter back down in the case. "You didn't see any Transflux Capacitors down there, did you?"

Ari tilted her head. "I'm not sure what you mean?"

"I take that as a no," Al replied.

"But why'd the car end up in that tunnel for so long?" Kath asked. "I mean, even if it was in parts, you'd think he would have tried to get it put together at some point, right?"

"I think he had tried to get it built right after it got here, but then Buck here was born." Daisy thought for a moment. "He'd mentioned several times about getting the thing built - I think the closest he ever came was after those movies came out - Ari, dear, we need to screen a copy of the Back To The Future trilogy with you - but then Rowdy was born. I know he'd talked to that gentleman down in Houston who bought all the surplus parts about maybe getting a hand with some of the assembly once."

"Yeah, but by then the board made the decision to close Building 2," Buck pointed out. "I bet he basically forgot about it down there."

"So - what are you going to do about it?" Ari asked. "I mean, it's been sitting down there, neglected, all these years..."

She stopped.

"Why is everyone looking at me like that?"
"Character is what you are in the dark." - D.L. Moody
"You should never run from the voices in your head. That's how you give them power." - Jin
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Re: Stainless Steel Angel

Post by FreeFlier »

:lol: :lol: :lol:

Ari, dear . . .

:lol: :roll: :lol:

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Re: Stainless Steel Angel

Post by jwhouk »

Monday morning, the logistics of moving the parts out from the basement and up to the shop were set, and it was agreed that one of the bays would be set aside for Ari's use.

She, of course, was complaining the whole time. "Why do I have to be the one to put this jigsaw puzzle together?" she whined, as she tried to look over the 35-year-old schematics yet again.

"You found it, you build it," Al said - yet again. "Besides, it'll be a way for you to get your mechanics merit badge. And, you'll be able to see what we deal with on a daily basis here on the floor."

"And yet I'll still need to do my regular job, too," she sighed.

"You'll do fine, dear. Besides, I've decided to book you on a little trip down to Houston. Stephen Wynne and I used to work on Land Rovers back in the '90's, after the Gulf War."

"What's in Houston?" Ari asked.

"Oh, only the home of the Delorean Motor Company - or what's left of it."
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"You should never run from the voices in your head. That's how you give them power." - Jin
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Re: Stainless Steel Angel

Post by AmriloJim »

The first DMC-12, SCEDT26TxBD000500, rolled off the Dunmurry line on 01/21/1981. The 1981 model year ended at the end of November 1981 with SCEDT26TxBD007199. (The x is a check digit.)
This would indicate 6,700 units produced in 313 calendar days, at an overall rate of 21.4 units per day.
The letter, dated Sat 02/07/1981, was written on production day #17. Assuming that this vehicle was manufactured within three days before or after the letter, the VIN of this crated vehicle would be in the range of BD000799 to BD000928.

The formula to determine the VIN check digit can be found here.
Decoding the VIN: S=country of origin, CE=manufacturer, D=car line, T-series, 2=body type, 6=engine, T=restraint system, x=check digit, B=year, D=assembly plant, 000000=chassis serial.
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Re: Stainless Steel Angel

Post by jwhouk »

AmriloJim wrote:The first DMC-12, SCEDT26TxBD000500, rolled off the Dunmurry line on 01/21/1981. The 1981 model year ended at the end of November 1981 with SCEDT26TxBD007199. (The x is a check digit.)
This would indicate 6,700 units produced in 313 calendar days, at an overall rate of 21.4 units per day.
The letter, dated Sat 02/07/1981, was written on production day #17. Assuming that this vehicle was manufactured within three days before or after the letter, the VIN of this crated vehicle would be in the range of BD000799 to BD000928.

The formula to determine the VIN check digit can be found here.
Decoding the VIN: S=country of origin, CE=manufacturer, D=car line, T-series, 2=body type, 6=engine, T=restraint system, x=check digit, B=year, D=assembly plant, 000000=chassis serial.
Thank you. :)

Personal reveal: when I was in college, one of my classmates who lived in the grand town of Mukwonago actually owned a Delorean. This was before the whole BTTF thing became a big deal. I never took a ride in the thing, because I felt like I was going to fall into the passenger seat when he opened the doors.
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Re: Stainless Steel Angel

Post by Just Old Al »

“This…is going to be annoying.”

The unearthing of the long-ensconced DMC-12 was not going to be easy. The contents of the stockroom were going to move – a blessing in disguise, really, as the parts needed to be shelved – but the opening of the tomb was going to be…annoying.

“Ari, next time you get an urge to nose around in this dump…don’t.” Al was not a lover of DeLoreans, even though they were theoretically a British vehicle, having been built in Northern Ireland. This didn’t make them any more endearing, with their mishmash of parts sources, annoyingly variable build quality and general stuck-in-the-80s styling.

He’d worked on more than a few of them over the years, and the design had just never grown on him.

However, after a few veiled threats from Buck Al had acquiesced to having the wretched thing assembled at RE.

“First thing first, we will need to clear the parts.”

“Already done – got John and Smokey to shelve that stuff – which Smokey was supposed to do two weeks ago.. and hadn’t.”

“No tattling, dear – I know well Mr. Smokey’s penchant for procrastination – and if you continue I will remind you of the back reports to MIB that are due.”

Ari sighed. It was hard to work for a man with eyes in the back of his head, some days.

The double doors to the parts store had been opened, and with the floorspace clear the steel slab embedded in the floor was visible. Thankfully, the lift rail that ran through the parts store ran over the opening, so the dodgy-looking ramp would not be needed to get the assemblies out.

However, that was going to do little good for the steel slab.

Set into its rabbet in the opening, the slab was featureless – it had no handles or lift points. For the Nth time that day, Al wondered what had possessed the building types that had done this – unless they had planned to blow it out of there with Torpex or the like there was no way to move the steel.

1.5 tons of steel plate was not going to move itself – and in any case would not be going back. Al had asked and Buck had agreed to install an electric lift at that point so the floor space below could be used – but that was a task for another day.

This slab had to go.

Al donned safety equipment, leathers and a heavy shield, and knelt to his task. The suggestion of bringing John in to “slice and dice” had been made, and Al had flatly turned the idea down Slow and steady was going to be the way not to ruin anything underneath – this had to have the precision of an archaeological dig, not a building excavation.

PSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS… the sound of the arc from the water-cooled plasma cutter hissed and sputtered in the room like trays of cooking bacon. Smokey, below with a fire extinguisher, watched as the arc burned through the inch thick plate in the shape of a D, then another one backing it reversed.

The same double-D cut was made at the center, and again at the right corner of the three-meter square plate. Chains were run through the cuts and linked with shackles, and these were tied to the winch on the lift rail, and to two hydraulic lifts on either side.

“With the clearance we haven’t got we’re stuck with more primitive methods – I’d have just as soon gotten a good sized lift truck in here to do this – but Egyptian methods will have to do.”

With lots of counting and pumping of hydraulics the slab was eased up out of the recess it had occupied for many years. With the lifts to the sides supplemented by timber baulks holding the plate up a chain was passed through the center D-link and attached to Al’s Hyster forklift, which eased the plate out of its recess and dragged it onto the shop floor.

At this point, Al turned the plasma cutter over to John, who began quartering up the plate for disposal or reuse.

With the opening cleared, large task lights were pointed into the hole. The ramp was inspected and cleared for light usage, so the boxes of parts could br moved out.

“Okay – parts go to bay 11 – Bay 12 is where the major assemblies are going to go. NUMBER THE BLOODY BOXES AND ASSEMBLIES, otherwise we’ll NEVER be able to put this damn thing together…CAREFUL!”

As parts came up box by box, Ari was writing down part numbers, assembly numbers and noting the location each item had come from and was going to. This was organization – and she was right on top of it.

Soon, the packages of assemblies were out, and the heavy lifting began. The ramp came out on the rail lift and was dragged aside for salvage, engine and transmission were slung from the overhead lift as well and hoisted from the hole. These then went to heavy-duty dollies, and too went to the parts store in Bay 11.

Finally, it was time for the main reveal. The body crate was wheeled into position at the bottom of the opening, and the lift attached. The front came up and up, and was lifted to the edge of the opening and chains secured it to the Hyster. The lift cable was then re-slung to the center of the crate, which was lifted as the Hyster pulled it gently forward. Working in stages, the bodyshell crate was pulled from the tomb where it had lain for over 30 years.

It was then followed by the chassis, slung in nylon webbing and handled like Steuben crystal.

Wheeled to bay 12, the light from the windows shone on parts that had not seen daylight for far too long.

“So, Buck, like the dog and the Volkswagen – now that you caught it – what are you going to do with it?”
Last edited by Just Old Al on Sun Feb 07, 2016 5:03 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Stainless Steel Angel

Post by Warrl »

AmriloJim wrote:Assuming that this vehicle was manufactured within three days before or after the letter, the VIN of this crated vehicle would be in the range of BD000799 to BD000928.
Maybe they were a bit slower at the start, enough to justify making it BD000700. If additional help is needed, perhaps negotiations were already in progress and that car was specially held back.

Failing that, I vote for 800 or 900.

Those would be good numbers to Bond over.

(places a finger from a gold statue in the pun jar)
Last edited by Warrl on Sun Feb 07, 2016 3:58 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Stainless Steel Angel

Post by Sgt. Howard »

Just Old Al wrote:Placeholder - we need to get the miserable heathen thing out of the basement..... :)
Torpex- solves many problems...
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Re: Stainless Steel Angel

Post by Just Old Al »

Re: Torpex: Not if you want it in one piece...come to think of it that might solve a few problems.

It is a tempting thought.
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Re: Stainless Steel Angel

Post by Warrl »

Just Old Al wrote:Re: Torpex: Not if you want it in one piece...
It already isn't in one piece. Image
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Re: Stainless Steel Angel

Post by DinkyInky »

Just Old Al wrote:Al donned safety equipment, leathers and a heavy shield, and knelt to his task. The suggestion of bringing John in to “slice and dice” had been made, and Al had flatly turned the idea down Slow and steady was going to be the way not to ruin anything underneath – this had to have the precision of an archaeological dig, not a building excavation.

PSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS… the sound of the arc from the water-cooled plasma cutter hissed and sputtered in the room like trays of cooking bacon. Smokey, below with a fire extinguisher, watched as the arc burned through the inch thick plate in the shape of a D, then another one backing it reversed.

The same double-D cut was made at the center, and again at the right corner of the three-meter square plate. Chains were run through the cuts and linked with shackles, and these were tied to the winch on the lift rail, and to two hydraulic lifts on either side.
.

At this point, Al turned the plasma cutter over to John, who began quartering up the plate for disposal or reuse.
And this folks, is what a guys spa day sounds like, with additional sessions with various machine oils, and a lively day blowing stuff to hate and back, firing various calibers at the range, with goop or fast orange and a nail brush for a manicure.

*ducks and runs*
Yanno how some people have Angels/Devils for a conscience? I have a Dark Elf ShadowKnight and a Half Elf Ranger for mine. The really bad part is when they agree on something.

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Re: Stainless Steel Angel

Post by FreeFlier »

Sgt. Howard wrote:
Just Old Al wrote:Placeholder - we need to get the miserable heathen thing out of the basement..... :)
Torpex- solves many problems...
Not really . . .

Composition 4 or another plastique would be better.

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Re: Stainless Steel Angel

Post by Sgt. Howard »

DinkyInky wrote:
Just Old Al wrote:Al donned safety equipment, leathers and a heavy shield, and knelt to his task. The suggestion of bringing John in to “slice and dice” had been made, and Al had flatly turned the idea down Slow and steady was going to be the way not to ruin anything underneath – this had to have the precision of an archaeological dig, not a building excavation.

PSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS… the sound of the arc from the water-cooled plasma cutter hissed and sputtered in the room like trays of cooking bacon. Smokey, below with a fire extinguisher, watched as the arc burned through the inch thick plate in the shape of a D, then another one backing it reversed.

The same double-D cut was made at the center, and again at the right corner of the three-meter square plate. Chains were run through the cuts and linked with shackles, and these were tied to the winch on the lift rail, and to two hydraulic lifts on either side.
.

At this point, Al turned the plasma cutter over to John, who began quartering up the plate for disposal or reuse.
And this folks, is what a guys spa day sounds like, with additional sessions with various machine oils, and a lively day blowing stuff to hate and back, firing various calibers at the range, with goop or fast orange and a nail brush for a manicure.

*ducks and runs*

Al, Joe, Glytch... she's got us figured out...
Rule 17 of the Bombay Golf Course- "You shall play the ball where the monkey drops it,"
I speak fluent Limrick-
the Old Sgt.
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DinkyInky
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Re: Stainless Steel Angel

Post by DinkyInky »

Sgt. Howard wrote:
DinkyInky wrote:
Just Old Al wrote:Al donned safety equipment, leathers and a heavy shield, and knelt to his task. The suggestion of bringing John in to “slice and dice” had been made, and Al had flatly turned the idea down Slow and steady was going to be the way not to ruin anything underneath – this had to have the precision of an archaeological dig, not a building excavation.

PSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS… the sound of the arc from the water-cooled plasma cutter hissed and sputtered in the room like trays of cooking bacon. Smokey, below with a fire extinguisher, watched as the arc burned through the inch thick plate in the shape of a D, then another one backing it reversed.

The same double-D cut was made at the center, and again at the right corner of the three-meter square plate. Chains were run through the cuts and linked with shackles, and these were tied to the winch on the lift rail, and to two hydraulic lifts on either side.
.

At this point, Al turned the plasma cutter over to John, who began quartering up the plate for disposal or reuse.
And this folks, is what a guys spa day sounds like, with additional sessions with various machine oils, and a lively day blowing stuff to hate and back, firing various calibers at the range, with goop or fast orange and a nail brush for a manicure.

*ducks and runs*

Al, Joe, Glytch... she's got us figured out...
Oooh, nothing sexier than a guy in Carhartts covered in various machine fluids.

Except maybe one who's also talking nerdy engineering science stuff and gaming stuff...

*sighs dreamily*
Yanno how some people have Angels/Devils for a conscience? I have a Dark Elf ShadowKnight and a Half Elf Ranger for mine. The really bad part is when they agree on something.

Aphyon chu kissa whol l'jaed.
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jwhouk
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Re: Stainless Steel Angel

Post by jwhouk »

---

Ari sighed as the taxi pulled off the freeway and onto the side access road. The suburb of north Houston was a lot like Bloomington, but the heat was oppressive - at least, to Ari.

Buck was the one who suggested building the thing. And Al had insisted on researching replacing the PCV engine with... something else.

Her task was to visit the factory and see how they put together old cars from parts - and maybe find out what exactly was behind this... what was it that Greg had called it?

"Barn Find"?

A sea of warehouses and fenced in storage lots lined the access road along the freeway, when just before the interchange the taxi turned down a small, two-lane road. A couple of ramshackle houses, then a warehouse. The first entry was closed by a low gate and a few crates - a couple of which looked similar to the ones Ari had found in the basement.

Just before turning into the parking lot, she saw it: a silver car, slung low with a wide front glass. The taxi pulled up next to one of them, which was parked in front of the entrance to the building.

She paid the tab with a swipe from her phone, then got out of the car - and saw the car, in all its glory.

So that's what they look like assembled, she thought. The car barely came up to her hip.

"Looks a lot better in one piece, eh?" An older man in a plaid shirt with a thinning hairline said, emerging from the office door. "Stephen Wynne. Al told me to expect you." She shook his hand. "That piece of steel has been the cause of more hopes and dreams bein' dashed than you could ever imagine."

Ari just shrugged.

"Come on in," he said. "We've got the info about your car inside."

---

Join us inside the plant, eh?
"Character is what you are in the dark." - D.L. Moody
"You should never run from the voices in your head. That's how you give them power." - Jin
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AmriloJim
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Re: Stainless Steel Angel

Post by AmriloJim »

JW, your link appears to be broken, but I was able to extract the geocode... try this one.
dmctexas.jpg
dmctexas.jpg (101.96 KiB) Viewed 21387 times
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jwhouk
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Re: Stainless Steel Angel

Post by jwhouk »

AmriloJim wrote:JW, your link appears to be broken, but I was able to extract the geocode... try this one.
dmctexas.jpg
...You didn't click on the doors, did you?
"Character is what you are in the dark." - D.L. Moody
"You should never run from the voices in your head. That's how you give them power." - Jin
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