Printer Jam Ups and Bricks

             Things have been way too crazy here for me. Friday afternoon the train bricks were delivered. The box was destroyed and it had been checked for damage and repacked. The four bricks probably weighed in at about 35+ pounds. The sender did a great packing job… but…the bricks were packed double boxed individually wrapped in heavy packing cloth. They were surrounded by soft foam which allowed a lot of shifting. If peanuts or solid foam was used I’m sure the box would have survived much better. One brick arrived with a little chip out of the side. Once things calm down a bit I’m going to see if the ceramics studio might be able to fill it in. I’m just so glad to have the entire set.

The weekend was spent working on the patio with the new bricks. I was able to get some 30 extra fancy bricks, along with the “square design” bricks my last run to Knoxville. There was not enough to fill out the two steps with that design. However, I was able to work out a design using the other brick I have plenty of.

Here is a wet shot which shows off the intricate design of these special bricks.

I decided to use the yellow brick for the bottom pad. That way it can be like the “Yellow Brick Road!” That was my morning Sunday; measuring and sawing bricks to lay in the herringbone pattern. I was in luck that the dimensions worked out so there was little waste. I want to research this brick a bit more. I don’t think they are Ohio brick. The guy I got them from thinks they were made by Southern Clay in Tennessee. They are not fired as hard as the Ohio Brick sidewalk pavers.

Calculating how the bricks will go.

“Yellow Brick Road Bricks” in the herringbone pattern.

Sunday I put the lamp post all back together. By first assembling the components in a dry run made the job very easy. I was a very happy boy when I tested the polarity on the socket and it tested out right. I was afraid the light fixture might be a bit out of scale in being a bit too small. But, I think it all ties in together well. I’ve checked out the sites for custom lights. I’m trying to not be cheap, but there are limits!

Early this morning I hung out a line of laundry. I took a chance and sure enough, we had rain at 10:00. Not that I noticed, I was in “computer printer Hell”!

We are having a “Learn to Row” this week. I volunteered to get the packets together. To save paper I was printing on both sides, which means first printing out the odd numbers and then running the printed paper through again upside down to print the even numbers on the other side. Half way through my laser jet printer started acting up with paper jams. I pulled out the paper (which did not want to come out) and from that time on the feed screwed up. I was convinced I had messed thing up throwing the printer out of synch.

I even c

alled the computer place to see if they worked on printers. The answer was “No!” Thank you Google. Doing some searches I discovered a “printer repair forum”! This problem I was suffering from is quite common for Brother Laser printers. The fix hardly took five minutes. I had to remove two screws which allowed the left panel to come off exposing the gears and solenoid. Working off the solenoid is a little arm that clicks down when the paper starts to feed through. There is a bit of foam to cushion this little arm. Over the years this foam turns very sticky holding the arm down which keeps the paper feed running. The remedy was to just scrape that foam off! The printer is working like brand new again! With the foam gone there is some clicking added to my print jobs… I can live with that! It was such a high to have that printer running again.

My clothes dried out by the time I did the last touch up on the green paint on the lamp post. This is not as pretty a shot as I would like, but it gives the general idea. This rain is triggering intense growth everywhere I look. Must get to yard work next soon as I pack up the brick saw.