I've always admired stained glass. Last year, I decided to give it a go. I think I'm hooked.

I bought a starter kit and some glass, read a book ( Rainbow Vision SG has a great starter book, and incidentally, is from Harrisburg), and started digging in.

I found inspiration for a first project from a picture online. I needed a pattern to work from, however. So naturally, I drew it in CAD.

I gave Inkscape a try, but quickly realized that I'm an engineer and not a graphics designer, so I switched to Creo Parametric (my favorite modeling software). This may have been overkill, but it got the job done. (I'm guessing most stained glass artists don't work with 3D parametric models of their desgins...)

I ended up with this, which is almost certainly not 1:1 as pictured:

Once I had my pattern, it was time for the real fun to begin.

Cutting glass is an odd experience, at least initially. You take your glass sheet, make a scoring line with your glass cutter, grab your breaking pliers, and then "pop", you have two pieces of glass. Each score has to be a straight line from one edge of the glass to another, so you start to get decent at laying out your pattern to get the most out of your sheet of glass.

During this process, it became quickly apparent that I needed a glass grinder to get the pieces to final shape and clean up the edges. The kit came with a grinding stone, but I think I would have lost what's left of my sanity in the process.

The grinder has a water basin and a pump to keep the diamond cutting head lubricated. It works amazingly well.

With all the glass pieces ground to shape, it was time to start foiling. There are two main methods of assembling stained glass: lead came, and copper foil. Copper foil is generally used for smaller pieces. This piece is 6" square. The foil is adhesive backed, and wraps around the glass.

The copper foil can be applied by hand, but I decided for sanity sake (again) to pick-up a foiling machine. That's the device you see on the far left-hand corner of my workbench. It's basically a tape dispenser with a guide to keep the glass centered. I'm getting the hang of it still, but I can't imagine foiling without it.

Finally, the foiled glass pieces are soldered together, and you get the final result which you already saw:

I've soldered electronics before, and pipes, but never glass. I still need to work on my solder beads, but that will come with time and practice.

I'm already lining-up my next project, so stay tuned...

Another piece completed. This time, inspiration was drawn from a book of Art Deco stained glass patterns published in the '70s.

I alluded to my choice of glass in my earlier post:

I drew the piece from scratch in Creo Parametric, modifying the concept into a 6"x6" panel with a border.

The border is Oceanside Compatible glass, while the remaining pieces are all Youghiogheny stipple glass. This was my first time working with either glass type. Its interesting how different glass behaves differently with cutting and grinding.

The texture and density are some of the attributes that affect how easy the glass is to work with. The smooth, relatively light Oceanside glass is a lot easier to work with compared with the relatively dense Youghiogheny stipple glass.

Something else to note, the Youghiogheny turquoise stipple is iridized. I'm still trying to figure out where iridized glass fits into the equation. The iridization shows up when the glass isn't backlit, and disappears when it is backlit. It's probably more suited to something like a lamp, rather than a panel. However, it doesn't detract from the finished piece, in my opinion.

Here's the piece after it was foiled.

And the finished piece again.

The next piece is in the planning stages, completion TBD.

As I was exploring Elizabethtown on Saturday, I stumbled upon a stained glass shop. Curious, and intrigued by some of the pieces in storefront windows, I decided to stop-in and check it out.

As I walked in, I noticed quite a few interesting pieces scattered around the small front "showroom". As I stood in the "showroom", I could see a stained glass workshop, which occupied 2/3rds of the small main street storefront.

The purveyor, an older gentleman named Jack, was sitting on a couch in said "showroom". He asked if he could help me. I told him I thought the glass-work on display was very impressive and I was curious about the place. We got to talking a bit about the pieces he had on display, and about his background. Jack has been working in stained glass for 20 years and does commissioned jobs and repair work.

We continued to converse, and in the process it came up that I was starting to get into stained glass as a hobby. His eyes lit-up, and he proceeded to spend the next hour and a half giving me a tour of his workshop and sharing his 20 years of knowledge. Tips, tricks, experiences, both good and bad. His favorite tools, some of which he designed and built himself. His tools, glass, and projects in progress were scattered about his workshop, but he knew exactly where everything was. He flipped through his big book of past projects - commissions and personal projects (really, something I should consider doing in some form), recounting stories behind a few of them. Mixed in with all the projects were pictures of his bone-stock Super White MR2 Spyder.

It was a fun encounter, one I won't soon forget. I think he had even more fun sharing than I had listening - I had a lot of fun listening.

Honestly, if I end up like him in another ~ 50 years, I'd be perfectly fine with it.

My most recent stained glass project has taken flight. The inspiration:

A picture a friend took and shared in a group chat.

I imported said photo into CREO Parametric and turned it into a pattern.

All pieces cut, grinding & fitting in progress.

All pieces fitted.

Foiled again!

And the finished project again. The small pieces added some difficulty in grinding, fitting, foiling, and soldering. Additionally, I'm not quite as happy with my glass selection as I'd thought I'd be... specifically, the "tan" background pieces. They are a bit more orange when backlit than I anticipated. I'd have liked there to be a bit more contrast between the background and the orange of the bird. There is still a fair bit of contrast based on the difference in texture and translucence, however, I like it more in the non-backlit state. This is something I should have caught when picking out the glass, but something I'll definitely be watching out for more in the future.

Overall though, I'm quite happy with how this piece turned-out.

By the way, this piece isn't sticking around... it's going to my bird-loving mom for Mother's Day.

I've been searching for one of these license plates for a few years now, and when I saw this one eBay, I immediately bought it. To understand what this license plate actually is, and why it is special*, a bit of backstory is needed.

Some states issue special license plates for use by vehicle manufacturers. These plates are commonly used on newly introduced vehicles driven on press tours or given to journalists to review. Other times, you may find them on prototypes or test mules. Usually, the plates are issued by the state where the manufacturer is headquartered, but there are exceptions.

Back in 2014, I spotted this Subaru Legacy 3.6R in a hotel parking lot in Mechanicsburg, PA. The BN Legacy was new for the 2015 model year and were uncommon on the road at the time (as I recall). The license plate also stood out, but other than noting that it was odd, I thought nothing of it.

A few years later, in 2018, I spotted this Subaru Crosstrek in a hotel parking lot in Schaumburg, Il. It was the second time I had spotted a MFR plated Subaru in person. By now, having seen these two and having looked more closely at a number of press photos, I started noticing a pattern.

To the best of my knowledge (based only on the two plates I've seen and on looking at countless pictures available online) it appears that in Illinois, manufacturers are issued a specific MFR license plate number. Every plate issued to that manufacturer keeps that same number, while the two letters change. In Subaru's case, that number is 14.

Strangely, Subaru uses MFR license plates from Illinois. I have no idea why. In the US, Subaru is based out of New Jersey (formerly Cherry Hill, now Camden). They do have a manufacturing plant in the mid-west, however that is located in Lafayette, Indiana. It's a mystery!

The "IL 14 MFR" plates have stayed true over the last 15 years. However, you may have noticed that asterisk in the first paragraph... this is where things get a bit fuzzy.

The Tribeca pictured above has a IL MFR plate from 2007. This is the earliest one I've found a picture for online. Prior to this, Subaru was using New Jersey MFR plates.

Take this B9 Tribeca...

Or this Baja...

There doesn't seem to be a rhyme or reason behind the numbering of the New Jersey MFR plates, but that's not important at the moment.

This practice dates back to the late '70s or early '80s, based on the BRAT.

There does seem to be some overlap in usage, based on this BRZ circa 2012.

The question remains... did Subaru have the "IL 14 MFR" plates back in 2002 when my plate was issued? Was it ever on a Subaru press fleet vehicle or prototype? Did some other manufacturer have "IL 14 MFR" plates until Subaru stated using them? It is unlikely I will find an answer.

That being said, this is the only "14" plate I've seen for sale, and if its not quite genuine by backstory, it's likely the closest I will get. I have to imagine Subaru keeps a tight hold on these plates, likely destroying them once expired. There may be the rogue plate in circulation, but it can't be common.

If it is genuine, then I have found my favorite piece of Subaru memorabilia. If it isn't... nobody will ever know or care... (except for OPPO)

Not how I wanted my Sunday to go.

Long story short, I was making the curve towards my apartment when the Camry driver strayed into my lane. I veered right best I could, but this was the outcome.

Driver claimed I was in her blind-spot / driver's side pillar. Sure, OK... she got two citations. I got none. What a dope!

Now to deal with insurance.

I found this at a flea market this past weekend. I was unaware that these existed until I saw this one. After some research, I learned that these were first issued on January 1st, 1987 as a commemorative piece for the Space Shuttle Challenger. The $25 extra fee went to the Astronaut Memorial Fund. Last registered in 1992; its a little beat-up, but a neat find.

I also found this, which can only be described as teal...

My friend's late '80s Craftsman air compressor became an unscheduled project this past weekend. It's been getting a bit noisier over the last few years, but only recently started knocking a bit. I don't think getting the sand blast cabinet running again has helped this...

Well, it reached the point where we were getting concerned it might disassemble itself, so we decided to see what was up.

First though, we swapped in the complete spare pump my friend had sitting on a random shelf, because of course he has a spare laying around. The compressor is running great, and sounds a lot better.

While we had both pumps on the bench, we discovered a potential source of the knocking. I'm no expert on air compressor pumps, and don't know the specs for this particular one, but I kinda doubt the crankshaft should have ~0.040" of play fore and aft...

Disassembly commenced, which was fairly straight forward. Removing the pulley took the longest.

The rearmost bearing is a little worse for wear...

Generally speaking, the rollers in roller bearings are supposed to turn...

It turns out, this compressor pump was made by Devilbiss, and many parts are still readily available. We'll see if some new bearings make any improvement. Worst case, we still have the spare pump as a fallback.

I really hope we don't need a new cranksheet though, as it’s NLA...

Bonus shop cat picture!

I finally made it back to the Carlisle Import & Performance Nationals - my first time since 2019. There were lots of weird and interesting vehicles in attendance, as usual. The weather managed to hold out for most of the afternoon, and I only got a mild sunburn. Overall, a successful car show.

Enjoy this photodump:

What a strange Mazda...

I spent more time looking at this than I care to admit...

When you can't decide between a Miata and a Wrangler...

Build and Offroadster!

The only place you'll see this many SAABs together, at least in PA.

The Honda S660 is cute... almost as cute as the BEAT.

I was more enamored by this Polo than I should have been... very weird to see this in the States. Amusingly, I found an article referencing Whitehouse Bexley VW, the original selling dealer.

My friend and I tore into the Maytag further over the weekend. This mainly involved taking apart and cleaning the "carburetor".

I say "carburetor", because the fueling setup for the Maytag 72 is ridiculously simple. The carburetor jet and pickup tube sit low in the fuel tank and the assembly is held in place with a set-screw. And corrosion - lots of corrosion.

With the pickup tube removed from the engine block, it was time to thoroughly clean it. Per the service manual (which I bought), the jet should be cleaned with a No. 72 drill bit. Bonus points to anyone who can find it on the workbench!

This and an unhealthy amount of carb cleaner were used, and a fair bit of junk was flushed out. You could now spray carb cleaner in one end and it would actually exit the other end, and quite smartly, too.

We also removed the air inlet tube (the piece with the knob) during cleaning. During removal, and especially during re-installation, we noticed that the air inlet tube was quite loose. Not knowing if that would cause an air leak, we added pipe tape around the stem as a temporary solution.

After re-assembly, it was time to see if the Maytag would finally start. We started out on the bench-top, like before. After many attempts, it gave hints of wanting to start but wouldn't. We then had the thought: "It's called a kick-starter for a reason, should we try setting it on the ground and actually kick-start it?" It turns out you can get a lot more momentum with your leg and body weight rather than with your arm...

It finally started and ran! We first got it running in the shop, but quickly decided it best to take it outside.

Now I said that it runs, but don't just take my word for it:

And a little bit later:

The Twin still needs a bunch of work. The ignition system probably needs a good tune-up, and I'm sure a better job of a full cleaning is needed. The inside of the tank (and the whole engine) really needs stripped, cleaned-up, and painted. I also need to decide the final goal of the intended restoration job, but at this point, I'm just happy that it runs!

This brings me to the parts Twin.

We took a brief look at the parts Twin as well, and I actually took a picture of it this time. It's in rough shape, and missing quite a bit - I knew this when I bought it. I mean, I bought it for $20 and am calling it "the parts Twin" for a reason...

The tank bottom is full of holes, and the tank top has a crack in it - which we just discovered. The crankshaft nose has some damage on the flywheel side, and the flywheel and most of the magneto are missing. There is also no starter assembly. It does seem to have compression, amazingly.

Since the red Twin is now running, my current plan is to keep that as the base. I want to tear into the parts Twin soon and see if the heads are any good. Hopefully they are, because then the goal would be to swap over the parts Twin heads as part of the restoration project. The heads on the parts Twin are I believe a two year only style (1937 & 1938), and should be period correct for the flywheel (The SN puts it as a Feb. 1938). Maytag only put an ID on the flywheel, so there is really no knowing what year the block is. Design cues can tell you the general period of the heads, but again no exact years. The goal would be to end up with a period correct looking 1938 engine.

Also, and unrelated: My friend has some new occupants in his shop:

A mutual friend had their living situation change abruptly, so these two will be rooming here for a while. I'm not too keen on when that happens (sometimes it can't be helped), but at least we get shop cats out of it for a while!

@HammerheadFistpunch Saw them a few weeks ago, such a great show!

@WasGTIthenGTOthenNOVAthenGTInowA4 I remember seeing one ~20 years ago in the Poconos at my grandmother’s house. Was a really cool sight. Haven’t seen one since, though I’d love to!

@WasGTIthenGTOthenNOVAthenGTInowA4 Stick bugs are cool!

@MM54 That’s reasonable, and also really dumb on HP’s part (what else is new).

This one was far enough gone that I felt it didn’t require being scanned, besides the fact I don’t have a scanner...

I found this while sorting through some glass I recently acquired.

@MM54, you gonna share the vintage car sale ads we found someday?

@ash78 That event was 9/11 for me. I was in second grade. I didn't see any of it unfold, but I do distinctly remember the aftermath in the days following. Living in Eastern PA, we were "close" to all three locations. I can't imagine the impact of seeing the Challenger disaster in person.

Supposedly, the Challenger tag was the first specialty plate in the US. It's only one source saying that, so I'm kinda dubious on that claim.

I was completely unaware that this tag existed. I knew I had to buy it when I saw it.

@415s30

@Danny-Korecki I have one and use it often. I spent the extra $8 for the 1022D with adjustable emissivity and dual lasers.

@atfsgeoff No longer available for issuance, but still legal to register. I still see them on the road on occasion, and am always happy when I do.

I will say though that I both love and hate this license plate. I love it for the history, but hate it for the precedent it set... I'm pretty sure the Flagship Niagara plate has been cited as the reason why most PA specialty plates are so boring now.

@functionoverfashion It looks like Illinois honored a lot of different things with their license plates over the years. Mostly colleges.