Be careful what you read!

[Omahkapi'si]

I'm sure there are many things I'm happily ignorant of.

 

[GregLaRoche]

Sometimes it’s best to let sleeping dogs sleep. If you wake them up they may bite you!

 

[painter]

Sometimes it’s best to let sleeping dogs sleep. If you wake them up they may bite you!

Sort of like 'If it ain't broke, keep messing with it until it is'?

 

[James C. Burnette]

You can tune a rifle, but you can't tuna fish!!

 

[Musketeer]

Sort of like 'If it ain't broke, keep messing with it until it is'?

I'm unmatched in this skill. It's taken years of practice, but it's been worth it. I believe I could break a 400 lb block of solid hardened steel, given enough time.

 

[Daryl Crawford]

I have taken exquisite pains and efforts to create mediocre results time and time again. I'm a master at it! But I've learned not to "fix things" until they are "broke," I fix things until they "really need fixing."

 

[1950DAVE]

Good point Daryl. I have managed many time to spend $40 fabricating a $5 replacement part to boot.
Dave

 

[Pete G]

I believe I could break a 400 lb block of solid hardened steel, given enough time.

AKA anvil, as in "Tear up an anvil with a rubber mallet".

 

[azmntman]

I just fix my stuff till it sounds expensive myself

 

[bpd303]

AKA anvil, as in "Tear up an anvil with a rubber mallet".

A couple of my officers fit that to a tee, even when the anvil is in a sand box.

 

[nhmoose]

In working with a colleague, I disassembled something out of the proper order. He advised me of my shortcoming to which I replied, “I’m just kind of worthless today.” He quipped that I wasn’t really worthless, that I could always serve as a poor example to others.

But you got it apart! seems there was two ways to take it down that some engineer did not figure on or put in the manual.

Great Job!!

 

[SemperFiHunter]

As a kid, I was proclaimed capable of the “anvil/rubber mallet” thing more than once.
Round holes and square pegs always looked like a challenge to me!
SFH

 

[Greg Blackburn]

My biggest problem with forums is that I discover I "need" to spend more money!

 

[Sun City]

I'm unmatched in this skill. It's taken years of practice, but it's been worth it. I believe I could break a 400 lb block of solid hardened steel, given enough time.

......using a feather!!

 

[M. De Land]

I'm unmatched in this skill. It's taken years of practice, but it's been worth it. I believe I could break a 400 lb block of solid hardened steel, given enough time.

I heard a quip one time that went something like this.(" Ole Hank there could break an anvil with a humming bird feather").

 

[M. De Land]

I also was told a remark made by a very good machinist that had a reputation for improving most anything mechanically. He was asked why he kept messing with things that were operating very well. His reply was how do you know it's the best it can be until it starts going south on you ? I don't know how many times that has happened to me personally. I keep thinking I can make it just a liiiiiiiiiiiiiittle bit better , then disaster strikes and it takes twice as much work to bring it back to were it was in the first place.
But then I usually do get the benefit of improve performance but it's the failures that really stand out in your memory. I'd guess as a whole though I have actually learned more by pushing the envelop to failure than success with no challenge.

 

[LME]

I can't tell you how many times I have heard,""""You could mess up a two car funeral"""! LOL!

 

[Two Feathers]

It can also allow moisture to leak into the priming powder from the outside...

LD

Loyalist Dave:
FWIW? Back in my younger days when I shot/hunted with a .50 cal. TC flint Hawken. The J&J company sold little personal sized tubes of Vaseline lip balm, about 2 inches long, with a 1/16" hole in the tip. I used that and squeezed a tiny line of it all around the top lip of my frizzen pan before I closed the frizzen. That sealed out ANY moisture, and I never had a misfire from damp powder after that. Not sure if you can still find them, but it's worth looking. They used to have a basket of them on the counter by the register at most all of the little drug stores around here in Winter? Just my $0.02.
God bless:
Two Feathers

 

[Loyalist Dave]

Loyalist Dave:
FWIW? Back in my younger days when I shot/hunted with a .50 cal. TC flint Hawken. The J&J company sold little personal sized tubes of Vaseline lip balm, about 2 inches long, with a 1/16" hole in the tip. I used that and squeezed a tiny line of it all around the top lip of my frizzen pan before I closed the frizzen. That sealed out ANY moisture, and I never had a misfire from damp powder after that. Not sure if you can still find them, but it's worth looking. They used to have a basket of them on the counter by the register at most all of the little drug stores around here in Winter? Just my $0.02.
God bless:
Two Feathers

That's a neat idea.

I have used a parafin product that is a bit softer than normal candle wax, that was sometimes used to smooth sharp areas of teeth-braces, back in the day. It can be applied to the outside edge of a pan, and especially in cold weather it doesn't rub off, and the heat from firing from the pan doesn't cause it to melt but only to soften. I also use it by putting a small bit on the stock where it meets the barrel, just in front of the lock, as the "ledge" where the wood and barrel meet seem to form a sort of teeny tiny gutter, and water can roll down toward the pan/touchhole in misty or rainy weather. Since it's a limited supply as I don't think it's used by orthodontists much any longer, I will look for the Vaseline product.

LD

 

[Two Feathers]

That's a neat idea.

I have used a parafin product that is a bit softer than normal candle wax, that was sometimes used to smooth sharp areas of teeth-braces, back in the day. It can be applied to the outside edge of a pan, and especially in cold weather it doesn't rub off, and the heat from firing from the pan doesn't cause it to melt but only to soften. I also use it by putting a small bit on the stock where it meets the barrel, just in front of the lock, as the "ledge" where the wood and barrel meet seem to form a sort of teeny tiny gutter, and water can roll down toward the pan/touchhole in misty or rainy weather. Since it's a limited supply as I don't think it's used by orthodontists much any longer, I will look for the Vaseline product.

LD

LD:
Not sure if it's still available in that form? But it's worth looking into. Even carrying a small (1") tin of Burts Bees lip balm is a good idea. You can wipe your finger across the balm and "Spatula" it onto the edge of the pan. That SHOULD do about the same thing with less mess?
God bless:
Two Feathers