2008 at the Hammond Barn

[RHClarke]

In April, Mike Tymoshyk visited Ottawa. The Ottawa Rotters organized a behind the scenes tour of the Cdn War Museum and were given a rare look at the inner workings of the Museum's restoration facilities. Of great interest was the Churchill tank bridge launcher - this caused tears to well up in Bob's eyes as he had played on the very same tank when he was (a lot) younger - or perhaps because many of the controls had been pilfered before the Museum got the tank...

Jim Whitham chats with Bob, Grant and Myke.


Interesting find at the CWM - a 45 HUP - What's wrong with this picture?


Myke at the Barn.


Myke had a look at Bob's truck and provided some sound advice on replacing exhaust gaskets. Since the Barn is a hands on locale, Myke was given a pair of work boots (his brogues were not quite up to the task) and some coveralls. He rolled up his sleeves and got his hands dirty. The Hammond Trio then took him to Chez Marie for one of the infamous luncheons. Back at the barn, he was put to work. All too soon, the day ended and Myke headed back to Ottawa with Grant. The next day Myke met Mike (AKA Gunner) for a tour of the S&P Museum.

Thanks for comiing out, Myke.

[RHClarke]

This is another reason why I love my wife - she knows when to send me to the barn! After a lengthy absence due to work/travel/administrative requirements, I spend a lovely day in Hammond - but forgot my camera (out of practice...).

The early morning was spent cleaning out the shed. A new floor of pallets was put down to prevent our CMP parts from sinking into the mud and to prevent them from being frozen into the ground next winter. Bob showed up around 0900 hrs and helped put some of the parts back into the shed. Grant had work commitments.

Later that morning we swept the grounds for garbage and scrap. After the windy days of the past few weeks, there was quite a bit of paper and plastic lying about. Scrap metal was placed on the scrap pile, and a collection of logging chains was hung on a rack for future repair.

We also moved some of Bob's artwork (a feature of a future post) and repaired the same. While Bob welded up the CMP "guard bird" (photos later), I decided to de-rim one of the tires lying about. Bob and Grant tried the high-tech methods to remove the rim, but gave up. I figured that I could have the rim free in an hour. Three hours (including lunch at Chez Marie) later, with the help of Bob's tractor and a set of chisels, we removed the outer rim. The inner rim held fast until we cut the bead in four places and wedged it out of the casing. That worked up a sweat, so Bob suggested we take a break and sample "The Pride of Nova Scotia". No argument there.

Following the beer break, we pulled Bob's trailer out of its winter hiding place and assessed the damage done by the long winter. We have some rust to contend with, and sandblasting may be the order of the day. Bob replaced some of the clearance lights and made plans to keep Grant busy on Sunday.

I did not get to work on my HUP, but that’s fine with me – there are several ways to repay Bob for his generosity and cleaning up around the barn and shed is the least one can do for the privilege of storing ones truck at the Hammond Barn.

[RHClarke]

This past Saturday Grant and I got on with the Spring clean up. The metal scrap pile was sorted through and salvageable pieces were stacked off to the side. Paper scraps, bottles and other wind borne items were rounded up and disposed of in the most environmentally methods available.

Bob stopped by prior to his visit to Joyce's Mother's place in the deep south of Ontario. He went through all of the parcels he picked up in the previous week and once again demonstrated that the Internet can be used for more than surfing naughty websites.

Grant pores over the latest acquisition - a 45 HUP wiring harness:


Grant and I headed out to lunch at Chez Marie (where prices jumped 10%). After discussing our respective shopping lists we headed back to the barn. Then I took the photos of Bob's creations - see the Bob Carriere - Artiste thread. After all that fun, it was back to the city to paint the rear deck. I'll get to the HUP sometime in the future - I hope...

[RHClarke]

Well, sort of. On Saturday morning, Bob rounded up Grant and I and we went on a tour of Bob's old stomping grounds near Quyon, in Quebec. It was interesting to see so many Irish names on the mail boxes...The tour took us to some of his favourite hunting spots, except this time, Bob wasn't interested in ventilating wildlife, but rather was on the lookout for CMPs in the wild. The hunt was quite successful (Bob will explain if so inclined), but alas, all of the CMP vehicles were lawfully owned. After the hunt, we hit the local roach coach for burgers, hotdogs and fries - good timing as the heavens opened up just as we arrived. The drive home went fast as we chatted about upcoming summer events.

On Monday (Victoria Day holiday), we met at the barn to continue the spring cleanup and repair cycle. We actually got some CMP work accomplished.

Grant continued his production of spring clips. Grinding the edges.


Bob and I took apart my HUP floor plate to repair the lock out which was stuck due to too much paint and a bent housing.


For all you 45 HUP owners out there, take your time taking the handle off its mounting bracket - the bolt is unique and it threads into the mount (so, don't hammer on it like I did...). The lock out housing and clip is just below Bob's lower coat button.


After that, we all collaborated on a small project that you can read about in the next posting (See HUP Headliner Project).

Following that fun, we headed to Chateau Carriere, where Joyce cooked up a great brunch - Chez Marie's was closed (Vicky Day). After that feast, we waddled out to the barn to continue some of the repairs.

Here is a shot of Bob and Grant "fencing" Hammond style.


Like all days at the barn, the leave pass quickly expired, and I headed for home - the boys will fill you in on their exploits later.

[RHClarke]

This is another example of Bob's talent. I found my old HUP headliner- a wooden spacer that fits just above the windshield frame and fills the space immediately above the frame up to the roof metal. My spacer was broken, warped, twisted and filled with dry rot (fits right in with our crowd at the barn...).


It was my intention to salvage the good wooden parts and to shape some wood to fill the gap and to try to true up the spacer. Bob had other ideas - he found a good length of white oak and started measuring. Then he performed his magic with his radial arm saw.


Since the spacer was for my HUP, Bob put me to work on the saw (eventually, we remembered the need for eye protection). Grant supervised the cutting operation.


Here are some shots of the progress:






Grant rounded the edges to ensure a good form fitting.


Comparison shots:




After a test fit, some minor adjustments were made, and it was off to paint.


Thanks, Bob. Your skills are appreciated by this poorly skilled writer.