Tuesday, August 4, 2020

Farming Follies, Part II...unbalanced.


      Many vehicles today are some form of All Wheel Drive. The feature goes by a variety of names but the effect is the  same...all the wheels can propel the vehicle. It's a nice feature for driving in ice and snow.
A downside is that's important that all the tires on these vehicles be equal. If one tire is ruined after some mileage it is necessary to replace all four to keep the tires equal and not stress the all wheel drive system.
   When the tire blew out on my wheel disc yesterday I was expecting a 14" rim but it turned out to be 15". The other tire on the disc was very worn so I decided to replace it, brought out a 15" spare only to discover the rim was 14". It's a very old disc and apparently a previous owner had put one a non-matching rim. Unlike an all wheel drive vehicle this imbalance makes no difference on the disc. It was just a minor puzzle to solve.
      Looking at the 1&3/4" nut on the disc shaft that had to be removed for repair I anticipated much difficulty. After soaking it a couple of days with penetrating oil it came off rather easily. This is typical, what's anticipated to be difficult is not and the expected easy task becomes complicated. Working on these projects with no pressure of time makes them enjoyable. Now the disc can rest until it's needed next spring.
    When I asked one of the teachers in my Thai school how she likes the new building she replied "It's OK." Not exactly a ringing endorsement but she, like the other teachers, didn't want to leave the old one.She sent some Facebook pictures of her classroom. The school building is provided by the Buddhist temple, on which grounds it stands. The teachers have no say about the building. The construction of the new building proceeded over several years as money was available. Many years ago a bulldozer was busy pushing up a mound next to the canal. I wondered what that was about. It turned out to be the rise on which the new school was build and is high enough so it will not flood. The temple is named Wat Klang:
Wat means temple and klang means canal, i.e., Temple on the Canal.

Takk for alt,

Al 

                                                      The new school.
                                                           The old school

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