For Old Guys Only

[Buzzard]

Thank God for the Steel inserts. I could get my whole body under that helmet but for my feet. Took a hit in the left foot almost took the sole completely off, hurt like ****. When I finally got my boot off there was a big old dent in the sole plate didn't know where it come from but I sure was lucky that time.
buzzard

 

[Tinsmith]

ARTHRITIS! I thoroughly enjoy the reminiscing about growing up in the mid 1900's with you all. Many of us have had a pretty good run (I know I have), even with all the ups and downs we are still going at it. I'm about to pack it in at the machine shop mostly due to pretty severe arthritis in my hands. I've done metal work for over 30 years and most was sheet metal work re-creating lighting fixtures from the 1800's for historic homes using the old bench top machines and foot operated sheers. As my hands began to fail I began working for a friend in his machine shop running lathes, milling machines, welding, etc. and cutting back on my business.

I'm sure some of you old guys/gals have experienced "old arthur" and am curious what if anything has helped you deal with it. I had surgery on one hand last year and it reduced the discomfort to a great extent in my thumb which had become useless and restored some use and flexability. I have taken to wearing compression gloves most of the time and they help a great deal, but they will be way to hot to wear in the summer. Not looking for any sympathy, just some of your experiences in how you deal with it and what allows you to keep the old fingers moving. Still got lots of things to make and work on so any suggestions would be helpful.

Thanks, Dan

 

[Ludwig II]

My lower back has been problematic since I was in my mid 20s, and my knees can make pistol noises sometimes. Now the right ankle is joining in with all the clanking and trying to lock up. Fortunately the hands are ok for now.

For new slipped disc sufferers, do NOT take hot baths, they will loosen ligaments and make it easier for your pet sniper to leap out and shoot you in the sciatic nerve.

 

[2door]

Nature messed up. We should have grease fitting in joints where we could put in a few squirts of a good lubricant to loosen things up a little on those mornings when you feel stiff. I've been fortunate, so far, in that I'm still getting around okay but I know things don't move as smoothly as they used to.

Remember the tin man in 'The Wizard of Oz? He needed an occasional squirt from an oil can. That's how I feel.
"If I only had a heart".

Tom

 

[Intrepid Wheelwoman]

I use a NZ made herbal product called Anti-flamme when my joints hurt. My finger joints can get quite troublesome, but rubbing Anti-flamme into the offending joints relieves the discomfort reasonably quickly.

http://www.antiflamme.co.nz/products.html#

 

[Greg58]

I know all about getting older, one of my favorite sayings to my son is " be careful son cause the things you hurt or brake now will really hurt when you get my age". Anyone that works all their life will have things that hurt, at the rate I'm going I hope I can move when I retire!

 

[2door]

Just to change the subject. (ever notice that people always say,"not to change the subject" but that's what they're really doing?)

Anyway, just wondering if any of my old friends here ever played with CO2 cars. Building a small race car that is powered by a CO2 capsule.
My Dad and I did this when I was just a wee lad and I got some friends into it several years ago. I still have a couple of my cars but haven't run them for a while.
Maybe when it warms up outside I'll try to get a couple of my neighbors into it.
Good cheap fun.

Tom

 

[maniac57]

I remember there was a guy on my street who had a tethercar powered by a co2 engine. He was mostly into glow power by then though, so I never saw it running. He also had several free flight co2 airplanes that I did see fly. I thing they were conversions of the Cox .049 engine but may have been purpose built. It was a long time ago.
The nitro cars they ran were simply insane! There was a park that had two tethercar stakes with a concrete pad where the flying club ran cars. They also had a dragstrip for the wire guided Cox dragsters. I remember watching the chutes pop when they reached the end of the wire.
I say those old cars were very cool! You will have a blast playing with them! I'll bet there are tons of clubs for them still as well. I bet some of the prices for equipment are fairly stout though....
They don't make most of those toys anymore.

 

[Allen_Wrench]

Just to change the subject. (ever notice that people always say,"not to change the subject" but that's what they're really doing?)

Anyway, just wondering if any of my old friends here ever played with CO2 cars. Building a small race car that is powered by a CO2 capsule.
My Dad and I did this when I was just a wee lad and I got some friends into it several years ago. I still have a couple of my cars but haven't run them for a while.
Maybe when it warms up outside I'll try to get a couple of my neighbors into it.
Good cheap fun.

Tom

Boy have I ever. But I was as nuts (maybe more) when I was younger as I am now. You know what happens when you put a "D" size model rocket engine in one of those little wood cars? Ho ho, boy! I laughed till it hurt. In retrospect, I am glad and relieved that we lived out in the sticks where that little wooden missile didn't travel far enough to maim somebody. It went skipping down the street like a flat stone on a lake. Then it hit a bump and went briefly airborn at about waist-level before landing in a ditch. Then the ejection charge blew the top off (forgot about that when I put the rocket engine in there; I should have drilled a small hole all the way through to the front - oh well). I wonder what you could do with those little butane cylinders?

 

[cosmickid]

Tinsmith...
I was well known by "Old Arthur" at one time, sometimes my hand's would lock up, unable to straighten them out, shoulders, elbows & wrists were pure torture to move. I'd tried all the over the counter medications & none really worked.
When we had our mine in N.W. Nevada, one year I met this old fellow, or at least I thought he was an old fellow, really crippled up by Arthur. The next mining season a stranger came up to us, like he knew us . It took a while for the realization to sink in, that this was the fellow we'd met the previous season, but he was moving and acting his age.. in his 40's. I asked what the heck he did to make the fantastic transformation. He said he met some folks who turned him on to what is called "the Vermont Cure". I didn't care what it was called, I just wanted to know what it was.
He told me:
4 oz. pure apple juice
1 oz apple cider vinegar
1 Tbsp. raw honey
drink it daily in the morning, every day.
I saw what it did for him & I was sold.
I started the cure and it worked for me.
Give it a try, but you have to take it every day, it'll take a while for it to start work, but you'll know when it does.
You'll know when it's time to cut back and just take an occasional dose...

Dave

 

[fredric3144]

heck at 66 and with all the bones I have broken in my life I still seem to get around pretty well . I do have aches and pains but I know of others close to my age that are in much worse shape . I gotta try the cure given and hope it works .

 

[Otero]

In Mexico the traditional folk remedy for arthritis is marijuana. I don't
know if it really eases the pain, or if one simply takes one's mind off it.
In the meantime I'm stuck with self-hypnosis. Yeah, I crashed the bike
yesterday, but it only hurts if i think about it,(sure). I haven't been high
in 30 years, but I'm tempted.

 

[fredric3144]

I think that pot would help and that it should be legal . It has been a few years since I last smoked any and I personally like the stuff , but I don't even know where to get any here . Texas will be one of the last states to legalize it but perhaps in 4 or 5 years . Sorry to hear you crashed hope there are no serious injuries to you or the bike .

 

[Russell]

Just to change the subject. (ever notice that people always say,"not to change the subject" but that's what they're really doing?)

Anyway, just wondering if any of my old friends here ever played with CO2 cars. Building a small race car that is powered by a CO2 capsule.
My Dad and I did this when I was just a wee lad and I got some friends into it several years ago. I still have a couple of my cars but haven't run them for a while.
Maybe when it warms up outside I'll try to get a couple of my neighbors into it.
Good cheap fun.

Tom

When I was a kid we would put an .049 engine on a board with wheels. we would get in a circle and let it go. when it came at you, you would have to grab it and aim it back into the circle. Lots of fun but slow guys got some minor cuts!

 

[Otero]

It was a rather strange crash. I went down avoiding being hit by another
bike. Do you remember the little old man on a tricycle on 'Laugh In'? It was
a slow motion lay-down. I wasn't hurt at all, but getting up was painful,
creaky joints.
We used to enjoy destroying .049 control line combat planes. Success
hinged on turning the other guy's plane into a spray of balsa wood splinters.

 

[CTripps]

Tinsmith: See if you can find a product called "Myoflex".. I've tried both the regular and the extra strength and I can tell you it does work. It's not something that you notice immediately (it's not apply and 'ta-da', feel great) but a little after you rub it in the aches fade. I prefer the extra strength for my knees, with the side effect of my hands aching less since they get a fair treatment as I rub it in. It's easier on me than relying on pills; I can only go that route for a few days at a time before my stomach is too sour to think about eating.

IWW: That also looks like good stuff, if I ever spot it I'll give it a shot too.

 

[2door]

We used to enjoy destroying .049 control line combat planes. Success
hinged on turning the other guy's plane into a spray of balsa wood splinters.

Like this? It's what happens when you 'dumb thumb' the transmitter sticks.

Tom

 

[fasteddy]

Tinsmith,

Have you been tested for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome? Before I had my hands operated on the pain was at a level where I couldn't work. It's an out patient operation and the recovery is up to the patient but it took about 3 weeks for me and I was back to work.

I'll leave you to look it up on Google but it's worth a look for anyone with pain in their hands.

Steve.

 

[Tinsmith]

Thanks to all who took the time to respond to my inquiry. I'll probably give them all a try since the next step is to start taking on of the arthritis drugs we all see advertised on TV. The side effect risks are not to my liking at this point, so I'll listen to the advice here and keep wearing the copper bracelet. Steve, yes I have been tested for Carpal Tunnel and I have that to a small degree. My main issue is the bone on bone joint discomfort, but I have gotten my money's worth of work out of these "old dogs". Hopefully I have many days left to play with my toys and tinker in the shop.
Dan

 

[Otero]

I've had carpal tunnel for years from swingin' a hammer. Now I use
smaller nails & fewer than a 100 at time. More than that and my
hand goes numb. For arthritis I smear my joints with habanero
pepper juice. Ya mustn't wear tight clothing over it though or put
any oil or sunscreen over it lessen ya want blisters. Dilute the juice
with 16 parts water. Or you can buy roll-on 'Capzasin',(same stuff).
Keep it off your hands & outa your eyes. Don't use with a heating pad.
Habaneros work internally too if ya don't mind watering eyes, a flaming
tongue, & exploding sinuses. A serious blast of salsa on my eggs, and
I'm set in the morning.