This winter has been a real pisser for boredom. Also, I'm trying to lose some weight and staying busy to help keep my snout out of the fridge is important. So, I started on a little more focused project.
I have an Ertl model of the JD750 tractor (or a reasonable facsimile thereof) I used to have before I upgraded to a cabbed Kubota. Some years back I started building a loader for it out of brass. For one reason and another that ended up on the back burner and has set for a year or more. Last week I finished the basic construction of that up.
When I got ready to mount it, I decided the paint job I'd done on the tractor sucked so I stripped it. Then decided the tractor needed a 3 point hitch so I could mount the blowsnower I built for it a couple of years ago. I've got all the parts for the hitch made out of brass and the mounting method noodled out.
Can't mount anything until I paint the tractor, and can't do that until it warms up enough to do it outside. What to do, what to do? Decided since I have a 3PH now, I'd go ahead and build a brush hog to go on the back as well.
All of this stuff takes a fairly steady hand and a lot of patience. The steady hand is still pretty dependable, but patience varies from day to day. Last week or so I've been bored enough that anything that keeps me busy is a Good Thing and my patience has held pretty well. Only had to walk away a couple of times for a few minutes. Positioning and soldering parts 1/16th of an inch long can be a little frustrating. Especially when you get one end soldered on and then it falls off while you're trying to solder the other end...