Tuesday, November 24, 2020 -- Manhattan Beach Pier - Saw the same people...

When I got to the pier, there was no one sitting on the bench I usually rest at, but there was a group of three cyclists resting next to the bench.

I asked if they were using the bench and one rather friendly guy said hello and said that they were not and that I'm welcome to use it, which I did.

The same friendly guy said that they're giving out the Kombucha drinks and that he'd watch my stuff if I walk over to get some, which I did.

I think I've seen the three guys riding before.

I think I went by them one time & one or two of them decided to pass me back... (happens quite often; some people don't like to be passed...).

They left before me headed north on the bike path.

Later, as I was riding back home, a spandex guy passed me on the bike path.  He was going just a little faster than me & he stayed ahead but within sight.  As we got close to the Marina Del Rey bridge over Ballona Creek, I could see that the spandex guy caught and passed the three guys that I had encountered at the pier.

Two of them chased after the spandex guy (kinda predictably).

When I got to the Ballona Creek Bridge, the three guys had stopped to take a break and the spandex guy was nowhere to be seen. (long gone)

During the lunchtime ride, I don't listen to music (ear phones while riding is dangerous), so I need something to keep me occupied & alert for dangers.

On most rides, there's usually about half-a-dozen times where I have to do something to avert a potential accident (sometimes it's evasive maneuvering or yelling out to alert someone who's not paying attention or someone deciding to cross the bike path without looking, etc.)...

 

Old & Rough Tool Case - part 35 -- Done for now and placed next to the other Gerstner...

Moved the old Gerstner next to the newer one.

There is somewhere around 50 to 70 years between the two...

Ready to receive tools...

Would like to get a replacement Gerstner label for the front middle of the bottom drawer, but the one available through Gerstner is too expense...

Also ready to receive tools...

The Left one is from around 1920 to 1940...

The Right one is from 1989...

Even after the organizing earlier in the summer, there's still too much stuff on the horizontal surfaces...

 

Sunday, November 22, 2020 -- Manhattan Beach Pier - Crowded day...

It was a little cool but a nice day.

The bike path was very crowded.

A younger guy had an accident just south of the powerplant, just as you get into the houses along the strand.

Lifeguards were wrapping a wrist when I walked by...

The pier area was also busy.

This picture doesn't show the large groups of people that I encountered on the bike path...

 

Old & Rough Tool Case - part 34 -- Cleaned & installed the front lid lock mechanism

I had soaked the lock in a penetrating lubricant for a couple of weeks to see if the internal mechanism would loosen up.

 I don't have a key for the lock so using a small metal file, I can turn the lock mechanism but the locking tab does not move.

Oh well...

A lot of the rust on the lock has been cleaned off using steel wool.

These some left in pits but decided to leave some patina to better match the overall condition of the tool chest.

Also used some very fine sand paper on the lock (400 grit).

Cleaned the heads of the screws also...

Lock placed back on the front lid...

Screws placed...

Finished...

 

Friday, November 20, 2020 -- Manhattan Beach Pier - Surf's Up

The surf is pretty big today.  A lot of people out on the water...

Much less wind than yesterday (see the flag).

Marine layer is rolling in.

Can't really see Palos Verdes Peninsula.

 

Old & Rough Tool Case - part 33 -- Cleaned & installed top rear corner protectors

I got tired of hand cleaning the corner protectors using steel wool.

I decided to use a steel wheel on the two rear ones.

This is after the cleaning.

It's a little bit more shiny than the fronts (there's a little bit of patina left but not as much as on the fronts).

This is the power wheel that I used.

The right side is a coarse steel wire wheel.

It's an old grinder and after I cleaned the corners, it stopped working.  A little bit of acrid smoke too...

Will take it apart one of these days to see what happened inside.

It may be toast...

Installed the left rear one...

And the right rear...  Done.

Decided to not do the bottom corner protectors for now.

When I either fix the grinder or get another one, I'll use the steel wire wheel to do the bottom corner protectors...

 

Thursday, November 19, 2020 -- Manhattan Beach Pier - Rough Waves & Windy

The ocean is a bit on the rough side today.  Looks like decent waves too...

The flag shows how the wind is stiff today.

It was tough, riding against it, going back home...

 

Broken Toaster/Oven -- Part 3 and last -- Installed the new switch & cleaned. Done...

De-soldered the white wire from the old broken timer.

I'm a little surprised that the power wires are soldered to the timer switch, instead of using connectors.

Used an old Weller soldering gun.  Worked  well.

The old timer switch had some broken plastic inside.

The red arrows point to a plastic "wall" inside the switch that had broken into pieces.

Probably the root cause of the timer switch not working...

New timer soldered in.

This is the correct position/orientation of the switch.

Put the front cover on loosely and attached the switch and the selector.

There's some debris on the bottom of the unit.

Using a putty knife, this area was cleaned before installing what goes over this area.

On the bottom on the unit, installed this piece that holds the removable debris tray in place, with four screws.

The tray holder was installed.  In total, there's fourteen screws that go on the bottom of this unit (!)

After finishing assembling all the pieces (including the back panel), spent some time cleaning the exterior of the toaster.

Also cleaned the glass on the front door.

Took more time to clean the toaster than to install the new timer switch and reassemble the unit...

Toaster back where it normally lives on the kitchen counter.

There's three heating elements on this toaster.

They look kinda like fluorescent tubes but in this case, they get very hot & glow orange when energized (like in the picture below).

The selector switch allows you to turn on the top rack area, the bottom rack area or both areas at the same time.

 

Noisy bathroom ventilation fan -- Part 3 of 2 -- Installed the fan cover...

Cover came today (Amazon).

Well travelled...

Nicely packaged (cardboard insert to protect the metal clips & unit inside a foam sleeve).  No damage...

There's a recess in the center for a name brand sticker...

Installed.  Done.

 

Old & Rough Tool Case - part 32 -- Cleaned & installed top front corner protectors

Decided to leave a little bit of "patina" on the top front left corner protector.

Before installing the two screws.

After installing the screws.

Just the right amount of patina left on the metal.

The very rusty part is the top front right side corner protector, before using steel wool on it.

Close-up showing the rough rusty surface...

Used steel wool to remove most of the rust.

It's a very tiring process using elbow grease...

The two top front corner protectors are done...

 

Wednesday, November 18, 2020 -- Manhattan Beach Pier - Took the trees away...

They had placed Christmas trees all along the pier.

Now they're gone...?