"Invisible" Brackets and Nasty Chemicals

Mr. Sheppard got nailed with the flu on Dec. 4, so we missed a Cafe session that day.  On the 11th, Mr. S forgot to charge the batteries in the camera, so this post is a little delayed.  It will also be the last post before Christmas break as some other school activities next week will get in the way of our scheduled time.

It took some time, but we have finally mounted the hi-power ignition coil.  It was an interesting process and discussion with the students... a lot of time and effort was put into a bracket that no one would ever see (unless you removed the tank).  We talked a bit about the importance of having high standards... "good enough" sometimes isn't, when you are putting your name or your reputation on something.  The bracket isn't fine art, but the holes are centered, they are equally spaced, we used matching bolts that are the correct size, washers, and locknuts.  Again, a lot of effort, but WE know it was properly engineered.  Even making the spacers from some surplus stock sourced from Mr. Sheppard's garage had to be measured, cut, filed, measured again, until they were identical.  You can see one of the spark plug leads is installed as well.

Speaking of spark plugs and coils, the process of figuring out a 40 year-old wiring harness is underway.  A bit monotonus, but its better to label wires now, rather than just start sticking leads together!

Finally, the tank is at a point where it can be prepped for paint.  Part of that is to remove the rust from the inside of the tank, and then coat it.  The quote to get it done professionally in Brandon was far too much, even with a discount.  We decided to use Kreem tank liner.  A 3-step process: the rust is removed, the tank flushed with water, then acetone added to get rid of the water, and finally the tank liner is applied.  A drawn-out job, but it has to be done exactly as described in the directions.  The students helped get the caustic chemical into the tank to get at the rust and etch the metal.  Mr. Sheppard used his failing artistic ability to warn off any High School shops students from poking noses or fingers into the tank while it "cooked".  It was pretty rusty, so we let it sit for a few days.