The Murder Bus...

[musigenesis]

Originally Posted by EastCoastCB

I'm not big on safety. I'll often not even wear a seatbelt if there isn't anything beeping at me.
But I won't use an angle grinder without a guard. I've done it before and had very similar results to what you experienced.
Eye protection and that guard- or I'm not using a grinder.

I've told this before, but the alleged fabricator I hired to rebuild my floor lectured me about the importance of unplugging the angle grinder before changing blades - and then went to work without the guard on and wearing only eyeglasses.

[PatrickBaptist]

Originally Posted by EastCoastCB

I'm not big on safety. I'll often not even wear a seatbelt if there isn't anything beeping at me.
But I won't use an angle grinder without a guard. I've done it before and had very similar results to what you experienced.
Eye protection and that guard- or I'm not using a grinder.

Exactly what you said, I'm even lousy with jack safety (you should just see how lazy I was with an RV I parted out) but angle grinders... Well there is a video of a man on YT that taught me never to play around with grinder safety, cut off wheel came apart and nearly cut his head in half, pretty serious stuff when the wheels explode....

Did you know how dangerous air compressors can be, good night this was something else, can't believe that older feller was still standing like a champ after this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVP_A7eGYxw

I couldn't quickly find the guys video about the angle grinder but saw plenty more similar....

[banman]

Originally Posted by PatrickBaptist

SNIP...

Did you know how dangerous air compressors can be, good night this was something else, can't believe that older feller was still standing like a champ after this

...SNIP.

Hmmm... does make me realize while my ol' compressor is still bright red paint on the outside (and I routinely drain it after use)
I musta' bought it when I got my first house... so it's at least 20 years old now... I exercise the "blow-off" valve periodically as well...

So yes..., a potentially dangerous tool badly mistreated or neglected (like my free bus...?) becomes a very dangerous tool...

But I think I will switch to a face shield instead of just safety glasses for today's grinding session 'cause it's hard not to have my face close to the work...

[JDSquared]

Originally Posted by musigenesis

I've told this before, but the alleged fabricator I hired to rebuild my floor lectured me about the importance of unplugging the angle grinder before changing blades - and then went to work without the guard on and wearing only eyeglasses.

You'll be happy to know that I've got the guard back on at least. I just couldn't get around the seat legs well enough to cut the bolts out with it on.

And I just realized when I start cutting those beams under the bus I'm going to be upside down in some weird angles where I could drop the grinder right onto myself if I'm not careful.

[banman]

Originally Posted by JDSquared

You'll be happy to know that I've got the guard back on at least. I just couldn't get around the seat legs well enough to cut the bolts out with it on.
I have three grinders. One came to me w/out a guard -- it's a Milwaukee -- it's probably my favorite -- but I try to avoid using it for cutting ops.

And I just realized when I start cutting those beams under the bus I'm going to be upside down in some weird angles where I could drop the grinder right onto myself if I'm not careful.

1) Does your grinder have a "dead man" switch? Try to avoid having the power locked on while doing this...

2) Maybe have a sheet of plywood over your lap...

3) Do as much of this as you can with a sawzall instead.

4) More justification (for me) to get a plasma cutter

[o1marc]

I think there is more to the story here on that exploding compressor. It didn't blow just from rusty age. It had so much pressure in it it blew off both ends completely, that's not due to rust.

[banman]

Originally Posted by o1marc

I think there is more to the story here on that exploding compressor. It didn't blow just from rusty age. It had so much pressure in it it blew off both ends completely, that's not due to rust.

I would tend to agree -- the pressure will exit the weak link -- if you've got a thin bottom from water sitting in the tank that's the part that's gonna blow open...

I did find the pressure test tag on my tank though -- 2002! It's not quite as old as I thought! It was pressure tested to 150psi at 350°F.

[PatrickBaptist]

I had a nice mac tools compressor and it was cracked at the bottom from rusting inside out, anymore I won't buy a used compressor, I had took it in on trade for labor and it looked brand new on the outside, but the inside was another matter...
Then I watched the video I posted earlier and stopped using it, if I use my large compressor now it has a block wall around it separating it from me, I won't ever work close to one again.
That said my air tank on my bus is pretty rusty and I'm probably going to be replacing that before taking on another road trip uggg....
Didn't mean to hijack the topic here....

[banman]

I did get 4 more seats out today -- faster than before -- still a PIA...

I DID confirm that I'm glad I didn't use a torch/plasma cutter over the fuel tank! One of the seat bolts was pressed against the rubber fill hose for the tank Blue flame wrench would have melted a hole in my hose for sure.
Got the metal panel over the fuel tank connections off. Hopefully the corrosion I see on the sensor wiring is why I went from ½ tank of fuel from day one to reading empty... I highly doubt anybody stole my 3yr old fuel while the bus was out at the farm... I'll clean that up tomorrow...

And I don't have a back-up alarm when I'm in reverse. First I should confirm I have reverse lights but I'll ask here: is the backup alarm commonly on the same wiring as the backup lights? I'm assuming I'm required to have one on a vehicle this long -- damn good idea too whether it's required or not...

With that panel up I now can look at a clean cross-section of the floor construction -- I'm starting to get it now...

The sheet metal floor isn't laid over the sub-frame -- sections of floor are bent perpendicular to the length of the bus making the sub-frame and floor as one piece -- this is way cooler than I thought and not what I assumed.
Over that I have 3/4" plywood with 1/8" rubber mat over that.

[o1marc]

Originally Posted by banman

First I should confirm I have reverse lights but I'll ask here: is the backup alarm commonly on the same wiring as the backup alarm?

I assume you mean the back alarm and the back lights? I would say no, because I haven't been able to get my back up lights to work, but the beeper is loud and clear. I was going to hook up to the beeper but figured my lights would flash in rythm.

[banman]

Originally Posted by o1marc

I assume you mean the back alarm and the back lights? I would say no, because I haven't been able to get my back up lights to work, but the beeper is loud and clear. I was going to hook up to the beeper but figured my lights would flash in rythm.

D'oh! Edited, and thanks -- as yes, I did mean "lights"

Oh, that's an interesting point -- IDK, is the backup beeper a simple horn where if power is constantly applied it would make a constant bleep, or does the horn ave a timer element within, or is there simply a thermal switch like a flasher unit has downstream of the reverse lights...

It'll take someone with a Thomas fs65 to answer for sure -- there's a lot of ways to skin this cat...

[Native]

Originally Posted by banman

D'oh! Edited, and thanks -- as yes, I did mean "lights"

Oh, that's an interesting point -- IDK, is the backup beeper a simple horn where if power is constantly applied it would make a constant bleep, or does the horn ave a timer element within, or is there simply a thermal switch like a flasher unit has downstream of the reverse lights...

It'll take someone with a Thomas fs65 to answer for sure -- there's a lot of ways to skin this cat...

Someone like me?


It has been a while since I wired up the back panels to include the backup lights. I do seem to remeber a wire that went from the backup light to the backup alarm. The alarm itself has two wires, power and ground.


Suggestion for removing those flange-head bolts ... use the angle grinder with a cut-off wheel and cut a deep "X" perpendicular to the top. Make sure the "X" penetrates the flange. Then, take a cold chisel and hammer (or an air chisel) to the bolt head. The four little pieces of the bolt head will pop off as will the bolt.

[banman]

Originally Posted by Native

Someone like me?


It has been a while since I wired up the back panels to include the backup lights. I do seem to remeber a wire that went from the backup light to the backup alarm. The alarm itself has two wires, power and ground.


Suggestion for removing those flange-head bolts ... use the angle grinder with a cut-off wheel and cut a deep "X" perpendicular to the top. Make sure the "X" penetrates the flange. Then, take a cold chisel and hammer (or an air chisel) to the bolt head. The four little pieces of the bolt head will pop off as will the bolt.

The more I thought about it -- the simplest way to have the backup alarm would be wired to the reverse lights with a thermal switch like a flasher unit.

I will try the X cut! I've got plenty of seats to experiment with!

[banman]

Tried the X pattern grinding -- maybe it was less grinding but not any faster overall...
It was a bit less destructive to the foot of the seat, and I do want to reuse 6 or 8 of them...
But I'll try again today -- getting work lights into the bus is also a factor...

I notice all the seats have brackets to attach seat belts -- is that the norm?

Also discovered I have an on-board surveillance camera that goes to a locked data storage box -- a black box! I'll have to see if that can be re-purposed as a dash cam...

My reverse lights work! So where's my back-up buzzer?

Also noticed that while my emergency door buzzes (when opened) my emergency windows don't. I think I would like them to buzz -- it would be good to know they got left open... I'm also thinking I might like more of them since I don't expect to run a/c (while stationary) Windows that open farther w/out letting in rain would be more better...

Cleaning the corrosion off the fuel sender unit wiring didn't change the reading on the tank... There's a couple of un-used plugs on the top of the tank; one labeled "AUX SUM", and one labled "AFT SUM". ?
I'm sure a 100gal tank has built in baffles but it shouldn't have separate compartments -- that would be hard to weld up true -- and to what purpose? You'd need a separate fill tube... Anyway I'm considering opening one of the plugs to "dip stick" the tank -- that will tell me how full it really is compared to what the gauge says... I just hate messing with rusty plugs...
Or I could pull the sending unit out...

Almost anythings more fun than grinding out the seats...

On a positive note: I've now found $1.21 in change while removing the seats!
I only paid a dollar for the bus so I'm now up .21c

I found one penny so corroded that I'm NOT counting it -- I only mention that now in that it causes me to rethink the wisdom of using penny's to cover the holes left from seat removal...

Okay, back to the grind -- literally...

[musigenesis]

Originally Posted by banman

I'm also thinking I might like more of them

My original plan was to get as many emergency exit windows as I could, so I could have more of the window open to the breeze. But while it turns out that the window openings in the frame are the same dimensions for both regular and emergency windows, the trim bits on the outside that attach to the rib and separate the windows from each other are an inch or so thinner on the side adjacent to an exit window; this creates a wider outer opening for the exit windows so they have room to open out. So exit windows will not fit into the openings for regular windows (without modifying the outer trim pieces, anyway).

I'm not sure if this is generally true for school bus exit windows, or just for the kind on my my make of bus.

[Native]

Originally Posted by banman

Tried the X pattern grinding -- maybe it was less grinding but not any faster overall...
It was a bit less destructive to the foot of the seat, and I do want to reuse 6 or 8 of them...
But I'll try again today -- getting work lights into the bus is also a factor...

The flange heads might need a double X (more like an asterisk).
Lights do help.

Originally Posted by banman

I notice all the seats have brackets to attach seat belts -- is that the norm?

I believe that is dependent on the school district. On ours only the front-most row had seat belts, and they were attached to the seat with a bolt and NO bracket.

Originally Posted by banman

My reverse lights work! So where's my back-up buzzer?

Ours is near the middle of the rear bumper.

[banman]

It really looks like my emergency windows aren't any different than the others... I guess I'll find out later when I get to removing and resealing them.
A couple have obvious leaks -- I'll try and get to those couple sooner than later...

Almost all the seats are out! 6 to go... maybe today...

Batteries are still holding a charge of 12.6v so I'm continuing to leave 'em hooked up...

Anybody know what this switch on my emergency door is/was for?
Has what appears to be a red momentary switch in the center of it...
And speaking of the E-door -- why does my school bus back wall curve up towards the front? Gonna make it more complicated to have a full length door that looks oem...


Taking a moment to drink the Skoolie koolaide -- if you look close you can see a sliver of the moon through the branches. With all my windows blacked out it's pretty dark in the bus -- but I discovered all the windows have sheetmetal screws blocking them from being lowered past half way -- removing those today -- silly bus rules!

[banman]

Yay! Finished busting out all the seats today. Slow going 'cause I wanted some from each side that were "non-destructively removed...
And the dude that graciously gave me free storage for 3 months till I got it drivable would like a few seats for his barn/workshop -- I'm not sure he realizes these seats only have two legs but easy enough for me to weld a couple legs on -- got enough metal with the spare seats...

I'll probably only end up using four from each side to make a couple of booths.
Part of the design/build here is to keep it obvious and embrace that it was once a school bus -- why try and hide it?!

I'm impressed with what heavy tubing is used for these seats -- they gotta be 50 to 60 lbs each!

Too weary for pix -- maybe tomorrow when the sun is shining...

[o1marc]

Ya, just cut the legs off a right side seat and weld them to the left side seat and vice versa. I had contemplated a pair as a dinette, but decided they would look too "bussy" in the "home"

[Native]

That moon was really hiding beside the branch!