We Remember...

...Lloyd Bentrup, the uncle we never knew, mortally wounded July 24, 1944 as he served on the USS Colorado.

Buried at St. Joseph, Missouri with a brother and his parents.

His Mother's flowers still honor his memory.

A Couch Is Not A Holster! Secure Your Firearms!

 Your firearms need to be under your control at all times. When you have company come, do not leave guns loose in the house where an unauthorized person may come in contact with them. These little safes are inexpensive and can be staged conveniently in your home. If a gun is out of your primary safe, it should be on your body or in a staging safe for safety's sake. 

Nasty Cherrybark Oak

The shooting club where we hang out had a nasty removal problem. The good part was there are no high value or dangerous targets, so I took a couple saws and attacked it. The tree that is still standing has a widowmaker hanging, and a contractor with a bucket truck will be needed for that. Don't go looking for takedowns like this one. Run the other way if you see one!

Mechanics' Secret Weapon

Not too long ago we posted some photos of a nice, late 1950's Studebaker station wagon, with overdrive. I saw on Statcounter that someone came to that post by doing a search for information about rebuilding an overdrive unit in a Studebaker. I wish they would have e-mailed me, because I happen to have the information they need; a 1959 repair manual that covers many brands of automobiles. This book was a great educational tool for me during my high school years, and it gave me the confidence to jump into mechanical adventures that most shade tree mechanics would send to the "Professionals."

I pulled the old book off the shelf and reminisced about my 1958 Silver Hawk. The photos and instructions in the Motor Auto Repair Manual especially helped in the disassembly phase of unfamiliar auto parts. Laying out the parts carefully on clean newspapers kept things orderly, and I was able to rebuild my transmission and overdrive unit without too much trouble.

The freewheeling rollers, and some of the bearings in the transmission had me stumped when I was reassembling all of the parts. How do you hold long roller bearings in a bore, fit in the last roller, and then slide in the shaft without things getting crossed up? The Motor Manual does not tell you how to do this. I called a mechanic who lived a couple blocks from us with my dilemma, and he let me in on a little mechanic secret: Butch Wax.

Butch Wax will hold parts in place when grease will fail. It is great for replacing the needle bearings in U-Joints when they have fallen out, and for many other applications when you need a part to stay put during reassembly. Mrs. TBS found the photo above for me, and this is the package I remember. I probably have an old container just like this buried in one of my toolboxes.

A search on the internet turned up this image of the current package for Lucky Tiger Butch Wax, only they don't call it Butch Wax nowadays. If you ever plan on working on a manual transmission, U-Joints, or other tricky reassembly projects, you need this in your toolbox. Buy it before you need it.

Tom Got His Turkey!

 Our friends Tom and Ray both hunted for a gobbler this spring.  Ray got one in the first season, and Tom got his today, in the final turkey season for Spring 2021 in Illinois. The birds were taciturn yesterday and would not even talk to Tom, but this morning they were all chatterboxes, and Tom had his choice of three good birds.  Well Done, Tom!

Women On Target 2021 Is In The Books!

 We had a good time at Carmi today. Women On Target was canceled last year because of the vid, but we forged ahead this year with a good turnout. There was even more interest this year in pistol use, especially ones suitable for home defense and concealed carry. Our members were glad to help, and we ran more than an hour longer than we usually do at these events. There was lots of comparison in shooting .380s, 9mm, .38s, and .45 in pocket pistols, compacts, and full size pistols. The target you see, shot on the indoor .22 range scored 100 with 8 Xs. Another lady, new to shooting, shot a 100 with 3 Xs. Folks are serious about their shooting!