Everything else is better, cheaper.

Apple Mac Pro:
One 3.33GHz 6-Core Intel Xeon “Westmere”
16GB (4x4GB)
1TB 7200-rpm Serial ATA 3Gb/s hard drive
ATI Radeon HD 5870 1GB
One 18x SuperDrive
Apple total cost: $5,060.69


Alienware Aurora:
Intel® Core™ i7-3930K (Six Core, 12MB Cache,Overclocked up to 3.9Ghz)
16GB Quad Channel DDR3 at 1600MHz
2GB GDDR5 AMD Radeon HD 7870
1TB SATA 6Gb/s (7,200RPM) 32MB Cache
Single Drive: 24X CD/DVD burner (DVD+/-RW) w/double layer write capability

Alienware total cost:  $2,299.00

So, Alienware is supplying the same chip (Intel 3930k), RAM, disk, double the graphics memory for half of the $$. I've always considered Alienware pretty damn expensive, and now they're owned by a company which I'd avoid, but this is commodity hardware, not a laptop with durability problems.

Mercedes W126 SEC's are 'classic and collectible'

http://www.mercedesheritage.com/2012/young-classics/

DIY Redneck Alignment

It's been a while since I owned a car that went in a straight line on its own. Every car I've had pulled to the right, which is normal on a 2 lane road that is crowned to shed rain water. But if I'm on the highway on a flat surface, I should be able to cruise in a straight line without touching the wheel. The correct alignment won't scrub off the sides of tires excessively and won't pull in either direction at all. Some cars have a centering bias due to either (rarely) an automatic hydraulic balancing system (like Citroen's DIRAVI) or due to suspension geometry. Forget about DIRAVI here.
Most cars have adjustable toe/steer. The mechanical linkage which sets the L/R bias of each front wheel is infinitely (finely?) adjustable within a few inches. The slack in the steering will determine the futility of these adjustments to some degree, but lets assume there's no slack, as all ball joints and steering linkage have been renewed. Caster/Camber are not adjustable here, and the spring rate and height are fixed also.
These would be fun to play around with, but ultimately would just make things handle worse unless there was a race track to try all the infinite settings out on.
I've seen many different methods of alignment using lasers, bubble levels, strings, beams etc... the basic point is to get all 4 wheels pointing in the same direction, so that there is no scrubbing, pulling, side tracking or crabbing.
In order to properly align a car, it must be on a flat, level surface. This is the basic criteria. The rear wheels are probably not adjustable for toe. The front wheels need to be on a surface that allows them to turn freely while loaded. The expensive alignment sets I've used had heavy steel platforms with big sealed roller bearings. They slip under the wheels and and turn freely. The cheap ones are pairs of steel plates with a point on one side that allows full toe/camber/caster adjustment. Lasers are attached to the wheels and used to point at gauges in the rear, which measure toe-in and toe-out.

Before "LASERS" were invented, people used string or long beams. An old trick was to grease up the back of a pair of vinyl tiles and roll the front wheels onto these.
Here's that method in detail:
http://mercedes-diy-alignment.blogspot.com/

New Favorite tools!

Armstrong tools are made in the USA, from US materials. Their sockets and ratchets are very, very nice and also affordable.

500 SEC circa 1983

500 SEC AMG with Ronal R31 wheels

Here's a shot of a 126C Mercedes in Miami Beach, FL when it was new in 1983. This was an $80,000 car in '83 dollars. Adjusted for inflation that's $178,000 in today's money. The owner sold it to a rich young rich person, who totaled it 2 weeks later.  Don't do cocaine.

Currently I have the 15x6" Mercedes 'manhole cover' aero wheels with tires that should have been replaced years ago. The wheels pictured above, Ronal R-31 Centras in 16x8 should be arriving shortly.

I changed out the engine mounts recently, next is front end suspension refresh, rear shocks, and to take a look at the differential, which is leaking and will need to be refreshed. I broke one of the front subframe bushing mounts this weekend while taking it off the jack stands. That will need re-welding, and I'll probably cut out and rebuild the area with 1/8" steel like I did on the other side.

Guide rod mounts

Nice pictorial on replacing the guide rod mounts. Next job after the engine and trans mounts are replaced.

http://benzobsession.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=6920

Jesus Hernandes, W2 Katana video

tiger

SWORDS

Lightbox isn't very good for hosting photos. It doesn't expose image urls. What's the point really.
This is supposed to be a postcard

http://lightbox.com/postcard/hUe_7JGnXnWN1Ic7BsrXHg

Phones are horrible at taking pictures of swords anyway.

Giant wet grinder build

I'm building a big wet grinder for shaping steel after heat treating. This is a 18" diameter wheel, 4" wide at about 80 grit. It weighs 70 lbs and can spin at maximum 1400 rpm. To drive it I have an old Craftsman 3/4 HP 1725 RPM motor from table saw. Using the formula rpm*d1/d2: 1725 * 2.5 / 9 gives ~480 RPM. 

The stand now has feet, the motor wired and installed and twist link belt driving the pulley. I'm looking for a simple pump for sending a mist of cooling water over the top of the stone. The pulley and motor need a housing to prevent water, dust, tools etc from falling into the moving bits. Don't want any foreign object damage with 70lb stone. 

On the Road

Steel eating rust demon

exposed rust demon

rust demon hiding in a corner

Cut out the rusted area, leaving the rear structure in place for now to fit new sheet metal. The original shapes are duplicated using shrinking and stretching dies, and some hammering. Everything is ground back to clean steel.

New sheet metal butt-welded in after tacking. The structures behind the well were cut out and replaced too, but those are not visible anymore. The seam at the bottom is sealed with seam sealer.

The area is then primed with self-etching lacquer primer, left to cure and coated with a brush on urethane rubber rock guard about 1/4" thick.  It's rubbery, but more like plastic so it doesn't hold water like rubber would.
Matching the texture to the original is difficult, and as you can see. 

I'm looking for a person on my bike

First, they stole my truck. Stealing a man's truck is like kicking his dog. Or stealing his dog.
Now just a few weeks later, they steal my bike (mountain bike, the kind you push with pedals). It stands to reason that.. some things just don't.. they ought not a' done.. anyhow I'm looking for a person on a big downhiller. It's an 18" Giant Reign X2 (grey/blue) with a dual crown Rock Shox 155-200 mm front fork. There aren't many big downhill bikes in Chicago (it's flat, no mountains), so it's not that difficult to spot one.

Photos from painting at night

Turns out a half quart covers more than just the hood, so we brought out all the other panels we could find.

demonstrate proper 2 roller technique. They say you must have separate mind - left and right - to master this technique.

Watch paint dry

I enjoyed this; Micronaut

Ambassadors to Mars

EpoxyCast 60 for lens applications

Castable Epoxy Resin (clear, tintable)

This has some interesting applications. Might not have the best light transmission properties or clarity, but it looks like making your own vintage tinted lenses for custom applications is easy with this stuff.  It could be done with some air bubbles included for that extra-vintage look. Polishes and is very hard and durable.  It's made by Smooth-On, who make the best epoxy adhesives available. I imagine something like a giant euro-lens cover would be difficult.
Looking for a casting epoxy to re-create the 500 SEC grille trim. The below picture (not mine) is all too common. The replacement parts for the below damage cost the owner $6000!!! That's a lot. There's nothing quite like OEM parts! But I have the original parts, in pieces, which can't be put back together. But with a solid mold made from the originals, duplicates could be made to replace things which are no longer available. Without the surrounding trim the grille looks kinda f-ed up.

Poor grille. It's plastic, and easily frangible.

TT3D: Closer to the Edge

Snow Flake 2

Snowflake