Aluminium Angel Comments Section

[Just Old Al]

'Course, if you let him get too into it, he might have it play "God Save The Queen" with the wind.

Hmmm. Moving that tire into position would definitely be rollin' le petour!

Not to be confused with a-hoist by your own petard.

[chicgeek]

Hee, jwhouk, I wouldn't do that. It was a good story. Besides, I'm not from Daisy's social class. ^^
My one and only trip to the Derby was when I was 19, and had just been dating the other half a few months. We packed a cooler, grabbed a blanket, and staked out a spot in the massively crowded infield. I got sunburned, I bought a mint julep for the souvineer glass (which broke). Julup was awful. At race time several couples went to the fence, the girls stood on the guy's shoulders. I saw a brown blur rush by twice. And that was the best view in the infield!
I'd placed a small wager for myself, and one for my strictly anti gambling mother, who decided,'what the heck, derby'. The horse I'd picked to win came in second, so I shrugged and started to crumple my ticket. Someone informed me it'd still pay out a bit before I tossed it. We filed out tired and sunburned, and got on one of the city buses providing shuttle service to get back to his car,
A far cry from a seat in the grandstand and fancy hats!
And that's why so many of us just watch it on tv.

[Dave]

♪ Al mage-ing, there's no havin' ... ♪

(Dave puts wishes for "... all the people, living life in peace..." into the Pun Jar. And to all, a good night.)

[Just Old Al]

♪ Al mage-ing, there's no havin' ... ♪

Sigh...that'as what I get for leaving you any possibility of a straight line....

That's damn-near Ferghoot level...let's not have to call out the pun police on a holiday...

Bravo Dave, and Merry Christmas to you and all on this day of peace.

[Dave]

“RN was out of galvanized 90 chassis, so I called Atlantic British – we’ll have a new chassis in three days freight express.

I've read that trying to weld galvanized steel is rather dangerous... zinc fumes? I had pictured that the chassis was being welded together out of steel stock, and then the whole thing (including the welds) galvanized.

Wrong? How does one go about this safely, and still ensure that there is a continuous layer of zinc over the welds?

Or is the chassis simply bolted together out of galvanized stock?

[Just Old Al]

“RN was out of galvanized 90 chassis, so I called Atlantic British – we’ll have a new chassis in three days freight express.

I've read that trying to weld galvanized steel is rather dangerous... zinc fumes? I had pictured that the chassis was being welded together out of steel stock, and then the whole thing (including the welds) galvanized.

Wrong? How does one go about this safely, and still ensure that there is a continuous layer of zinc over the welds?

Or is the chassis simply bolted together out of galvanized stock?

[Al mode on]
Wrong sequence, correct hazards. Chassis is manufactured (welded), then treated to a spa day - a dip in acid, a rinse, then a nice soak in molten zinc. All of the threaded inserts and such require attention after that to remove the zinc from the threads/openings, and these then get dealt with as needed for corrosion protection.

If you want a rebuild to last forever, you make very sure to deal with the potential corrosion issues - and the chassis and bulkheads are those.

Welding zinc is dangerous if one doesn't take the proper precautions - removing the zinc in the HAZ (heat affected zone) and the like. Not risky, but it does require a certain level of attentivelenss. Afterward, one covers the area in a high-solids zinc-bearing paint.

Yes, I am an unredeemable propellerhead engineer...

Al

[Dave]

Wrong sequence, correct hazards. Chassis is manufactured (welded), then treated to a spa day - a dip in acid, a rinse, then a nice soak in molten zinc. All of the threaded inserts and such require attention after that to remove the zinc from the threads/openings, and these then get dealt with as needed for corrosion protection]

Aha! That's what I had pictured in my head, and why I was puzzled when she said that the original company was out of "galvanized 90 chassis". I thought they were saying they couldn't manufacture-to-specifications because they didn't have the source materials (I was reading it as them being out of galvanized stock to make the chassis from). Misinterpretation on my part.

(It would be wrong of me to refer to the process of bathing the chassis of a light truck in molten zinc as "running it through jeep-dip", I suppose?)

[jwhouk]

Did I mention that I love the "knocked me for six" comment?

[Just Old Al]

Aha! That's what I had pictured in my head, and why I was puzzled when she said that the original company was out of "galvanized 90 chassis". I thought they were saying they couldn't manufacture-to-specifications because they didn't have the source materials (I was reading it as them being out of galvanized stock to make the chassis from). Misinterpretation on my part.

(It would be wrong of me to refer to the process of bathing the chassis of a light truck in molten zinc as "running it through jeep-dip", I suppose?)

If you call it jeep-dip I will advise you to take it on the lam.

Galvanized 90 chassis = galvanized chassis for a 90 (D-90). They're all aftermarket (Marsland and Richards' Chassis are two manufacturers) but they can be had for 88s, 90s, 109s, 110s, 127s (130s) and the list goes on and on. Or if you have time to kill you can have a custom bespoke one made to your exact specifications.

You CAN buy non-galvanized chassis even today - no one does, though, unless they are going to modify it and then get it dipped. Why buy something with a finite lifespan?

My 109 has been rechassised - onto a full-blown military 109 chassis. I epoxy coated it myself - properly - and it looks as good now as it did when I did it a decade ago. That truck will never leave my hands.

[Just Old Al]

Did I mention that I love the "knocked me for six" comment?

Yes, you could, but it would hardly be cricket.

[FreeFlier]

. . . Chassis is manufactured (welded), then treated to a spa day - a dip in acid, a rinse, then a nice soak in molten zinc. All of the threaded inserts and such require attention after that to remove the zinc from the threads/openings, and these then get dealt with as needed for corrosion protection.

Ah, so hot-dip rather than electroplate then.

If your control is good enough, you can also use oversize inserts so the buildup brings the thread to spec.

And if memory serves, there are alloys of CRES (Corrosion REsistant Steel - aka stainless) that don't bond zinc, so if you make your inserts from that . . .

. . . If you want a rebuild to last forever, you make very sure to deal with the potential corrosion issues - and the chassis and bulkheads are those.

Welding zinc is dangerous if one doesn't take the proper precautions - removing the zinc in the HAZ (heat affected zone) and the like. Not risky, but it does require a certain level of attentiveness. Afterward, one covers the area in a high-solids zinc-bearing paint.

Good ventilation and a good respirator are also highly recommended.

--FreeFlier

[Dave]

Latest installments: wow.

Apparently, it's not just channels for motor oil that need to be rodded out and properly flushed on occasion!

[jwhouk]

All that was missing was a little tyke saying, "God bless us, ev'ry one!"

[chicgeek]

*Applauds*

[Just Old Al]

All that was missing was a little tyke saying, "God bless us, ev'ry one!"

Yah....no.

No angelic visitations, no overt magic...just a sharp rap in the 'nads. It could just as easily have gone the other way - if he had not come to it himself, that would have been it.

I have been privately told Al was a sap in this - but I think not. As he said, the second chance here was cheap. If he screwed up again...well, they tried. If not, one less soul on the rubbish tip might not be all that big a thing in the grand scheme - but you take your wins where you can.

Anyway, as Ms. Damhnait said, "I thought you were all about second chances there, Mr. Alexander-Richer?" While she may have been right, someone is going to get a nuclear-powered pranking somewhere along the line.

[Dave]

Anyway, as Ms. Damhnait said, "I thought you were all about second chances there, Mr. Alexander-Richer?" While she may have been right, someone is going to get a nuclear-powered pranking somewhere along the line.

Especially after that incident with the pipes!

I'm sure that someone, somewhere, can devise a setup which won't show up on a mage's radar...

As he said, the second chance here was cheap. If he screwed up again...well, they tried. If not, one less soul on the rubbish tip might not be all that big a thing in the grand scheme - but you take your wins where you can.

The Voice sighed. Valiant absurdity, lost causes, such things may be doomed to incompletion and failure of one kind or another, but they are none of them "wasted". Judge these things by whether they will prolong the Universe's life or bring joy to what I made, and that is their worth. All things must die, but I will not scatter My poor botched creation like a child kicking over a mis-built sand castle. I will make it work the best I can.

(The Goddess, speaking to Herewiss s'Hearn, "The Door Into Fire", Diane Duane).

[chicgeek]

Call me ridiculously naive, but love and positive energy put out into the universe or any of its creatures is never wasted, whether it has the desired outcome or not. I don't have logical reasons or proof, but I like to believe this.
That said, here's hoping Arthur takes full advantage of that second chance! That journey could be very interesting indeed.
As long as he doesn't make the mistake of reverting back to his ways around powerful paranormals, like calling Phix 'sweet cheeks'. He's lucky Sterling didn't turn him into a frog. ^_^
On a lighter note, I am the least mechanically inclined person you'd hope to meet. The engineering jargon is so much babble to me. And I still thoroughly enjoyed the story.

[jwhouk]

The one section can only be properly read with the following playing in the background...

[Just Old Al]

The one section can only be properly read with the following playing in the background...

10 for 10!

[jwhouk]

Now, now, I'm a rubbish bowler, and since that torn rotator cuff I can't even get it to bounce properly off the pitch.