Rusted Nutz

Got Milk!

2010-01-24T13:05:00.006-05:00

Another picture from Oklahoma. This is a giant Jug of milk which sits on top of a small building located around 25th street in Oklahoma. Bruam's Ice Cream and Dairy stores have been around since the late 60's. Today there are 280 Stores throughout Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas, Missouri and Arkansas. To learn more about Braum's visit their website.

If you know any history about this particular building please provide it in the comments below.

Why did the chicken cross the road?

2010-01-18T13:03:00.008-05:00

On a recent trip to Virginia Beach, I noticed this chicken along the side of route 13 in Virginia. I could not tell what the sign was for as there were no building around it. It just looked cool. I wonder if it crossed the road right before I took the picture. It made me think of all those "Why did the chicken cross the road" jokes. My favorite answer is "Because it could not resist the power of the Dark Side."

Tool of the week 4/18/2009

2009-04-18T08:06:00.005-04:00

Stanley Positive Clutch ScrewdriverThis electric screwdriver is on of my favorite tools. It has been in my family for about 45 years. As you see it was around for years before the big fad for electric screwdrivers came about. I have tried several other brands of corded and cordless screwdrivers but always come back to this one. Look at that nice brushed stainless body. They sure don't make tools like this anymore. The strange thing is I have let other use this tool but nobody seems to like it. They complain its too big, too heavy, only one speed, can't seem to get the hang of the clutch, etc, etc.... Well I don't care, I know how to use it and that is all that matters. About a year ago it stopped working. I decided that maybe it was time to replace it. I looked around at all the tool superstores, and tried a few my friends had but none seem to have the feel of my Stanley. So I went home determined to fix it. After taking it apart I determined the cause to be a bad cord. I cut off 6" of cord and rewired it. It is working great again. Do you have a favorite tool like this? Tell us about it in the comments..

6 Ways to Make a Pattern

2009-04-12T15:51:00.004-04:00

The below list contains several ways I use to create patterns for making things. First let me say that I often get inspiration from other projects I see in Catalogs, Magazines or on the Web. If you are like me you often see patterns or shapes that you want to copy to make something.

- Hand Drawn. This is the most obvious way to copy a pattern. Just grab a pencil and start drawing. The main problem is that if you are not artistically inclined it may be rather burdensome.

- Square by Square. This method of copying an image involves drawing a grid on the image to be transferred and a similar or larger grid on a blank sheet of paper. Then copy the image square by square. Copying square by square is easier and more accurate than trying to transfer an image freehand.

- Light Table. If you own one of these they are a great way out patterns. Just lay your picture on them, cover it with tracing paper and make your tracing. Note that this does not work as well when using magazine print.

- Opaque Projector. You might remember seeing one of these in school. Opaque projectors can be used to project images from the pages of magazines etc onto a vertical surface for copying.

- Copy machine. Although not every shop has a copy machine you can often times find one to use. In some cases you may even find on that enlarges. Many home scanners now double as a copier.

- Computer/Scanner/Printer. Home Computer equipment is great for finding graphics via the internet or by scanning an image. Images can be enlarged, reduce, modified and then printed.

In the coming weeks we will discuss each of these options in more detail.

Cool Hat Rack

2009-04-11T20:08:00.012-04:00

I have a friend who collects hats from US Navy ships. He has a collection of about 100 hats from all kinds of ships. One day I decided to make him a special hat rack to display his favorite hats. The ship is the USS Julius A Furer (FFG-6) and was a Frigate in the United States Navy. For the record it was decommissioned in 1988 and sold to Pakistan in 1989. The ironic thing about this hat rack is that all the hats on it are from Aircraft Carriers not Frigates. You can learn more about the FFG-6 here. The hat rack is just a silhouette of the ship cut out of 3/4" white pine. I added 3 1/2" shaker pegs to hang the hats on then painted it haze gray. Below is another picture of the rack without hats.

Tool Of The Week 4/4/09

2009-04-04T09:04:00.010-04:00

This week's tool of the week is a pair Husky Switch Grip Pliers. I am a huge fan of multi-purpose tools, provided they perform. These pliers have two different jaws, a Linesman and a needle nose. To switch from one set of jaws to another you simple rotate the handle 180 degrees. In addition, the jaws are spring loaded making it easier to use. The jaws also contain wire cutters ans strippers.Now I'll admit that they are not the highest quality tool, and nothing beats individual tools, but they come in handy in a pinch. These pliers are an excellent addition to a small car or boat tool box where space and/or weight is an issue.

Tool Of The Week

2009-03-28T19:04:00.003-04:00

This week's Tool of the Week is a Pencil Sharpener. Not just any Pencil Sharpener, but one which can sharpen a Carpenter's Pencil. I remember as a kid my grandfather gave me my first Carpenter's pencil. I thought it was the coolest thing in the world. He also showed me how to sharpen it with a pocket knife. My biggest complaint as I got older was that I could never get a really sharp point on it. Well a few years ago I saw this as I was waiting in line at the cash register of my local home improvement store. I decided to give it a try. As you can see in the picture it works well. It gives me a very sharp point on all my pencils regardless of it's size. In addition it is small enough that it does not take up much room in my tool box. I highly recommend one of these Pencil Sharpeners for any tool box.

The 31 Day Challange

2009-03-26T21:15:00.004-04:00

I haven't made a post in about 8 months. Shame on me. Well I saw a post entitled "31 Days to Build a Better Blog". The post challenges the participants to dedicate 31 days to working on their Blog and improving it. Each day for 31 days they will teach a new theory to me and assign a task to be accomplished on my blog. I'm hoping to learn some new ideas over the month and hopefully by the end of the project I will be inspired enough to continue posting on a regular basis.

Electric & Manufacturing building

2008-07-06T08:15:00.006-04:00

This is the old Electric & Manufacturing building. It is currently home to ChemImage. Notice some more framing around the windows. The below picture has some nice details above the windows.

Window Treatment

2008-07-05T06:56:00.003-04:00

Another Pittsburgh Building. I shot these two picture just for the window details. Same building, Lower and upper windows. Also note the half brick pattern below the window in the above picture.

The Flynn Building

2008-07-04T09:23:00.005-04:00

OK. There is alot to se in this pic. Start with the door trim. Then you have the window tops with the Keystone, Arch and Diamond. Next we have the rectangular stones between the aches framed with brick. and finally check out the framed rectangles between the window. I would have hated to have been the mason on brick layer on this job. P.S. Note a couple of repair spots on the first picture.

Windows details

2008-07-03T07:46:00.002-04:00

Check out the window details on this building. Note the brick work and fancy Keystone on the lower windows. The upper windows are framed nicely too. But the coolest thing is that ledge. This picture turned out rather nice considering it was shot out of a moving car.

The Laundry

2008-06-29T07:58:00.005-04:00

This is a really cool building. Check out the diamond pattern right above the lettering. Note the way the windows are framed out too. The appliance building next to it has some nice window arches too.

City Vacuum

2008-06-27T08:02:00.004-04:00

This is a picture of the City Vacuum building in Pittsburgh. I'll bet you never would have guessed. Note the brick arches. Just a nice detail.

Pittsburgh Buildings

2008-06-22T09:49:00.003-04:00

On a recent trip to Pittsburgh I noticed a lot of really cool buildings. They had some real nice architectural aspects to them. I will post a different picture/feature over the next few weeks. Check out this archway and the use of the Keystone at the top.

Outhouse pictures

2008-04-02T09:54:00.005-04:00

Well I haven't posted recently for no good reason. Todays post has to do with Outhouses. I found this website that is dedicated to outhouses. It has a nice gallery with pictures of numerous outhouses. Click here to go directly to the Outhouse Gallery of Don Ponder.

Happy Easter

2008-03-22T18:52:00.003-04:00

So tomorrow is Easter. My wife asked my son to help her get out the Easter decorations this week. Well Boys will be Boys. He set the Bunnies out in front of the house. One of the neighbors down the street called to ask why we were promoting pornography in our front yard. You know what the say, "If you can't take a joke......."

Dying eggs

2008-03-18T19:18:00.003-04:00

Another Punography entry for you. Its Easter week so I thought that this picture was only fitting. What more can I say.

Pinstriping Made Easy

2008-03-17T18:12:00.003-04:00

Well I was bored a couple weeks ago and decided to Pinstripe the back of an old guitar. I bought a Pinstriping Mask from www.raceweb.org . I followed the instructions provided, used4 different colors of One Shot paint a proceeded to pinstripe. In doing this I felt it would be an opportune time to develop an Instructable guide on how to do it. You can view the complete project how to here.

Sexy Button

2008-03-16T15:42:00.003-04:00

I'm having a tough time finding something to post about today. So I thought I would post a picture of this button. What more can I say. This Blogging is hrader than it looks.

Uptown Mikes

2008-03-15T07:51:00.004-04:00

Another Hot Dog place. Remember my previous post on the Dam Dogs? Well I found another Dog place in Bremerton, Wa. Uptown Mikes. NY Hot Dogs with Attitude? I wonder if they bite back. It looked like it might be a seasonal place as it was near a marina and there were no boats in the marina. I didn't get a chance to stop and try one but next time I'm in town I will.

Puget Sound Naval Shipyard

2008-03-14T09:41:00.008-04:00

I was out of town most of the week in Bremerton, Wa. During my visit I stumbled upon this sculpture honoring Puget Sound Naval Shipyard for 100 years of service. Now normally this won't excite me all that much except than I noticed the engraving on the propeller blades. It was pretty amazing. The statue in front is life size so you can get an idea of the size of the prop. You really need to look at the high resolution photos to get a real appreciation for the details. More info on Puget Sound Naval Shipyard can be found by following the link.

The Other White Meat

2008-03-09T08:30:00.004-04:00

My son is heading on spring break today and is going to take it with him to wear on the beach. So, doing a little research I find that Wikipedia defines Spring Break as a week-long recess from studying in early spring at universities and schools. A little more research shows the history of spring break as follows, It seems to have started out innocently enough. The Colgate University swim coach was worried that his team might get out of shape during Christmas break in 1934 when a student’s father suggested the team train at a big new city pool in in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Word started to spread among college students that the city was a great place to visit in the spring. The New York Times has a real nice historical time line on spring break here. So you kids on Spring Break, be careful out there.

Rustic Outhouse

2008-03-07T16:33:00.003-05:00

I don't care who you are, this thing is coool. It has got to be one of the nicest outhouse I ever saw. Talk about being built like a Brick S**t house. They have some nice looking stuff on this website. Just look at the beams below. Not a lot to the website but I'm impressed. Visit them at www.logandlumberak.com

The Hoover Dam

2008-03-06T20:17:00.006-05:00

I went on a business trip in the fall of last year to Las Vegas. While I was out there I had to visit the Hoover Dam. What an Engineering marvel it is. When you think about when it was built it is simply amazing. All manual labor. If you ever get to Vegas I suggest a trip to the Dam, it's well worth it. And if you do don't forget to get yourself a Dam Dog.

The Corn Crib Restaurant

2008-03-05T21:05:00.010-05:00

The Corn Crib was one of my favorite restaurants to go to. They never tried to lie about the quality of their food. Their service was below average and their prices were a little high. What more could you ask for. At least they had a top notch advertising team working for them. Needless to say they went out of business a few years ago and dinner out has never been the same.

Hillary Special

2008-03-04T20:41:00.005-05:00

What a great picture. I saw this on the web today and just had to post it on my site. If the sign is hard to read click on the title to jump to the original poster, Nick Scipio. I'm sitting here waiting to hear the outcome of todays race, hoping it will be the end of Hillary.

My Snow Plow

2008-03-03T18:10:00.004-05:00

Just thought I would post a picture of my snow plow. This is made from an old front tine rototiller, a tractor plow blade and some tractor tires. I can use the rototiller in the garden in the spring and summer. Come the winter I remove the tines and replace them with the wheels, then bolt on the plow to the frame of the tiller. To operate I just use the tiller controls to power it in forward or reverse. It does well in a light snow up to an inch or two but a deep snow will cause the wheels to spin.

Remember the Alamo

2008-03-02T09:13:00.008-05:00

The Battle of the Alamo took place at the Alamo in San Antonio, Texas in February and March 1836. The 13-day battle started Tuesday, February 23, 1836, and ended Sunday, March 6, 1836, with the capture of the mission and the death of nearly all the defenders. As a result of this battle, the the Mexican Army was stalled allowing Sam Houston to gather troops and supplies for his later success at the Battle of San Jacinto.

I visited San Antonio about a year ago and just had to visit the Alamo. For more info about the battle visit the Official Alamo Website

A Salt and Battery

2008-03-02T08:35:00.003-05:00

I decided to add a little fun to this blog by taking pictures of visual puns. In some circles this is known as Punography. I will add more as I come up with ideas. If you have any good ideas you would like to see drop me a comment and I will see what I can do.

Bird Houses

2008-02-29T17:00:00.003-05:00

I was coming home from work the other day and took a side street to avoid a traffic jam when I came across this house. Now I have been toying with making a birdhouse for a couple of weeks now. So naturally my interest was peaked when I saw this house. A little overdone if I do say so myself. And the picture only shows half the yard. For those readers with a GPS, you can visit it yourself at the following location; N 39 53.308' by W 075 10.410'

Nightmare Mansion

2008-02-28T20:04:00.007-05:00

I just got back from Virginia Beach, Virginia this afternoon. While I was down there I came across Nightmare Mansion. What a cool looking building. I saw it on Wednesday night but i did not have a camera with me. So this morning I went out about 6:45 am and snapped a few pictures. Being the off season at the beaches the store was not open so I couldn't see what was inside. Hopefully I'll get back there soon and can check it out. The bellhop at my hotel said it looks even better in the summer, at night when it is all lite up. Check out a few additional pics below.

Bunny Easter Basket

2008-02-25T19:28:00.008-05:00

Here is an easy project for you to make for children at Easter time. I developed a detail set of instructions in pdf format. I am a great fan of free things so I decided to provide the plans free to anyone who wants them. The only thing I ask in return is that you consider offering something free. Let me know and if I like it I will post it on this site. I can't figure out how I can post a file other that a picture on this blog so I convinced a friend to host the file on his site by offering him free advertisement. Click here to view the plans. Please remember to visit his site at www.raceweb.org

Tray Ceiling

2008-02-24T10:02:00.006-05:00

Well I am finishing up installing a Tray ceiling in my Dinning room. Not a very hard job. I basically frames out a couple of boxes on the ceiling using 2" x 6"s, Covered and covered them with drywall. After I finished painting and installing Hardwood floors, My wife decided that we needed a way to add some definition to the wall leading into the hall way. Check out more Photos of the installation on my Flickr page.

Welcome to my Blog

2008-02-23T08:48:00.005-05:00

Welcome to my blog. I am going to attempt to create a new post on a daily basis about anything that interest me. The only problem with that is I have many interests. The following is a list of just a few of the many things I think about on a daily basis.
- Automobiles including; Muscle Cars, Hot Rods, Auto Mechanics, Autobody repair, Painting, Customizing, Racing, etc...
- Motorcycles
- Boats
- Woodworking
- Metal Working
- Home Related activities including; Home Improvement, Remodeling, Construction, DIY, etc...
- Outdoor activities including; Hunting, Fishing, Camping, Hiking, GPSs, etc...
- Firearms
- Computers
- Solar Energy
- Tools of all sorts
- Soapbox Derby