2013 at the Hammond Barn

[RHClarke]

The weather has been both warm and cold. Warm during the day and cold during the night. The roads are frozen when we arrive at the barn in the morning, but by 10AM they turn into mud swamps. This has been a very cool spring and the snow is gradually disappearing. There has not been too much going on at the barn for the past few weeks other than spring clean up and maintenance.

This weekend Bob, Grant and I got together on Saturday to do some barn chores. We removed Bob's concrete pad in the barn, and began deconstructing the old 45 HUP parking garage foundation. There was some CMP work completed as I test ran the HUP to see if last week's waterpump repair took hold. The truck started with relative ease and to my great relief there were no coolant leaks.

Bob and Grant removed the snowblower from the back of the tractor and completed some routine maintenance on the old girl. Later that day I convinced Bob to help me move some parts to the top of the new sea container. We hoisted the nose for the HUP with the bucket of the tractor to take advantage of all that spare space.

While I was up there, I noticed that the roof of Bob's container was in need of some maintenance. When it get a little warmer out, we will be fixing the rusty spots. In the meanwhile, we will be concentrating on diverting the run off water from the grounds and roads, finishing the wiring on the 45 HUP and starting to reassemble Bob's sheet metal. We may even see the emergence of Grant's radio truck.

While we have been somewhat hamstrung by the weather, we are looking forward to a warm, dry summer and the various MV events taking place - including Bob's BBQ!

Photos:

1 - The yard
2 - Nice view of the new storage space
3 - The HUP looks nice from this angle
4 - Bob loading the last of the concrete pad - it will be used to fill in some of the holes we are expecting this spring

[maple_leaf_eh]

Originally Posted by RHClarke

While I was up there, I noticed that the roof of Bob's container was in need of some maintenance. When it get a little warmer out, we will be fixing the rusty spots. ...

and that would be the reason the container was surplused. The other reason might be hairline fatigue cracks on the welds. May I be the first to suggest an actual 3D roof instead of patches on patches. A real 2x4 joist, plywood and shingle roof will last infinitely longer than a coat of roofing tar. It will also improve internal humidity levels.

[Bob Carriere]

Long term plans are to buy another container and set it up 20 feet apart from the existing one and set up a proper roofing span in between them gaining another two 10x20 parking spot protected from the weather..... subject to finding the $$$$$$

Short term extend the life of the roof with a quick waterproof coating.

so far the interior of the container has remained very dry.

Bob

[RHClarke]

I took a short trip to the barn this morning to deliver a parts bin and to do some outside work. The road to the barn was very soft and wet. There is a lot of water on the surface of the grounds as the frost is still just below the surface in some areas. Where the sun hits the ground you find mud. Not just ankle deep...

As the morning progressed, the temperature dropped and snow squalls blew through. Thursday we were up to 20cC. Not today, it was windy, overcast and chilly. Bob and Grant were nowhere to be seen this morning, and the mud prevented any useful work outside, so I loaded up the van and headed back home in the snow.

Photos:
1 - Clive's "stealth" shelter.
2 - Vehicle park in Lake Hammond
3 - More of the same
4 - A sign of spring!

[RHClarke]

Well, we went from winter to summer in one fell swoop. Instead of being too cold, too muddy, too wet, it is now too frigging hot. We went from -20oC up to 24oC in less than a week or so. Our thick Canadian winterized blood has not yet thinned enough to handle the heat of the day. We do live in a world of extremes here.

The past few weeks involved a lot of maintenance around the barn. Bob got some sandblasting time in, Grant worked on making up some wooden hip ring spacers, while I busied myself with ground preparation for the eventual move of my container. This involved removing deadfall, a few trees and a whole lot of poison ivy. Next step is to bring in a truck load of pit run to build up the four corners of the container's resting place. Once done, I will top each of the four corners off with gravel, level it out and build piers for support. Bob has a container moving rig already made up, so moving the box should be fairly easy - if the ground dries out enough.

In the meanwhile, we had a visit from Guy Vapeur, who brought along a small naval type replica canon. He made the barrel from an old shotgun barrel and machined up an interesting breech mechanism and firing pin assembly. At 10:30 AM, Hammond was awoken to the sound of gunfire, courtesy of Guy and his gun crew.

Other work accomplished - we ran a test of my alternator and wiring harness. There are a few more tweaks to be done, but we should see a fully running electrical system in the near future. Thanks to my pal Johnny T for taking care of the electrics.

Yesterday was another maintenance day at the barn. Bob and Grant took down a few dead trees and a few that were close to the power lines. Being quite warm (by our standards), the tree felling was followed by a well-appreciated beer.

Next steps - pull out Grant's truck, pull out the Pilot Model HUP for body removal and engine work. Thankfully, the fun never ends at the barn!

Photos:

1 - Guy's naval gun
2 - Same
3 - Johnny T working away on the HUP
4 - The lumberjacks at it
5 - The end product

[Stuart Fedak]

Originally Posted by RHClarke

...I busied myself with ground preparation for the eventual move of my container. This involved removing deadfall, a few trees and a whole lot of poison ivy. Next step is to bring in a truck load of pit run to build up the four corners of the container's resting place. Once done, I will top each of the four corners off with gravel, level it out and build piers for support. Bob has a container moving rig already made up, so moving the box should be fairly easy - if the ground dries out enough.

Bob and Grant took down a few dead trees and a few that were close to the power lines. Being quite warm (by our standards), the tree felling was followed by a well-appreciated beer.

Thankfully, the fun never ends at the barn!

Rob, with all the land clearing and HUP House building, this is starting to sound like a reality show called "Little HUP on the Prairie".

Nice to hear that the Hammond Barn crew survived the winter and is now into summer mode. I came across my first batch of wasps who also survived the winter and were already setting up home in my salvage Iltis. You have to be careful when jumping into the vehicles and lifting hoods.

Any news on a potential meet and greet at the barn? Then we can admire all the updates in person.......... Have a great summer!

Cheers!
Stuart

[Phil Waterman]

Hi Guys

Glad to hear the Hammond Crew has woken from winter hibernation to finally find spring. Stuart may have renamed you thread, Little HUP on the Prairie, is kind of catchy.

In a similar vain today I started and drove all three of my CMPs for the first time this spring. The wonders of electric fuel pumps they all started right up. This is about the latest that I started driving them in all the years I had them generally they come out sometime in March.

Cheers Phil

[RHClarke]

Originally Posted by Stuart Fedak

... I came across my first batch of wasps who also survived the winter and were already setting up home in my salvage Iltis. You have to be careful when jumping into the vehicles and lifting hoods. Any news on a potential meet and greet at the barn? Then we can admire all the updates in person.......... Have a great summer! Stuart

Yes, hornets/wasps/yellow jackets help with security here at the barn. We also employ chemical/biologic agents (essence de chat ) to make unauthorized visits less than pleasant.

I will leave it up to Bob to discuss the "social season". Get your dance card ready.