Happy Father’s Day on a Wreck-Free Sunday

Happy day to all you (other) fathers and dads out there. I will be going out to have a late lunch/early dinner with the kids who still remain in this country after I do the blog, so I will probably be cutting this short.

On the Wide 5 to early Ford spindle adaptor, I did some preliminary stress calculations and the only Al alloy that would not fail in use after a couple of years costs like $200 each for a hunk of billet big enough to use for the adaptor, or I can change the design so that instead of being structural the adaptor just fills space between the bearings in the Wide 5 hub and the Ford spindle and the cost of the billets goes down to $50 for the pair or $25 each. That’s a huge cost saving at a weight increase of about 2 ounces or just over 0.1 pounds. So, the inside diameter of the new design adaptor goes from the OD of the grease seal run with a step to the ID of the Ford inner bearing (1.189″) that runs cylindrical to the shoulder for the Ford outer bearing (about 3″ in length) then a step down to the ID of the Ford outer bearing (0.75″) that runs two threads up the threaded area of the Ford spindle (another 1″ for a total of 4″ from the inner bearing shoulder) and goes straight out to the size of the spindle washer on the spindle nut kit, then it tapers out to the outside of the outside bearing of the Wide 5 hub next to the washer and lock nut on the adaptor (4.6″ from the inner bearing shoulder) then straight out to the end of the adaptor at 0.250″ wall thickness so it doesn’t fail at the threads (1.375″ ID). I have been looking at other Wide 5 spindles on the market and not all of them are the nearly 7″ from spindle face to the end of the threads that the initial drawing I looked at implied. The original design was from the late 1930s/early ’40s and used double locknuts to retain the bearings on the spindle, while modern usage is to use a single nut that locks to a tabbed washer via machine screws in the outer face of the nut. So on these hubs from the inside out you got outer bearing, then a tabbed washer to keep any torques from the bearing trying to undo the spindle nut, then the spindle nut, then another tabbed washer with slots that small screws go through that screw into the spindle nut to prevent the spindle nut from coming loose. The older design was bearing, tabbed washer, spindle nut, tabbed washer, second spindle nut, then enough clean threads so that you got a good accurate torque value on that second nut. Now I only have to leave enough threads that the one nut has a good torque value. So shorter adaptor and I made up the couple of ounces I added by reducing the ID of the adaptor so that it only acts as a spacer rather than a structural member. I win (for some values of “win”).

On the way to the Solstice Service last night I had a stitch let loose from my neck rather suddenly, as in it felt like I had been hit on the back of my neck and I felt/heard a “thunk” when it let go. Now that I have had some sleep I have a smidge more range of motion in my neck and a tiny bit less discomfort at the end of my range of motion than I did before the stitch let loose. Still that was a disconcerting way for a stitch to go away. It was doubly so as I was crossing the street when it let go.

And my ride to Father’s Day dinner will be here shortly, so I have to quit running on at the keyboard now.

PSA, Opus the dad Poet

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Still not ready to deal with the Feed, so an update on my surgery instead

I got sliced and diced yesterday, but I got so dehydrated waiting for my surgery that I got held up from leaving post-op until I was hydrated enough to pass urine which was about 2 hours and 2 liters of water and IV fluids later. As I wrote, part of the issue was I was restricted from food and fluids from midnight before the operation but did not get into the OR until between 1130 and 1145. The last thing I remember was transferring out of the gurney to the operating table and then getting woozy from the pre-op drugs. Next thing I remember is waking up in post-op from the nurse shaking me gently.

Anyway, getting back to the dehydration, I was denied fluids for 12 hours before the operation so that I wouldn’t throw up during the operation, and I was given very dry O2 during the operation that dried me out even more. After the operation I had about 1500 cc of oral fluids (water and coffee) and 500cc of IV fluids and I managed to get a trickle of urine about 2 hours later.

After I got home I had iced tea and water pretty much solid for another 4 hours, until I was passing urine normally. Then I just hung out with my Peeps.

Mrs. the Poet was able to get a good picture of “Chris Christie” after removal.
I should tell you that this doctor does not have small hands, if anything they are larger than normal.

I was told that there would be a dent left behind when Chris was evicted from my neck, but I was not expecting anything like this dent.

That is a friggin huge dent, especially when you compare the “before” shot.

And a lump that large takes a large incision to remove.

With all that the relief in pain was immediate, from about a 2 or 3 to maybe a 1 on the 0-10 scale. And that was with no post-op pain drugs. I was forced to take 1 Hydrocodone after the operation because maybe I would have some pain after the shock of the operation wore off, or the last of the anaesthesia wore off or something like that, but I haven’t needed anything for pain at all. I feel less pain now than I have in months.

The only thing I regret is I will have to miss the Ride of Silence tonight because I can’t let the incision area get sweaty.

PSA, Opus the unkillable badass Poet