What an achievement. I actually managed it!

I have been unhappy with all the marker lighting solutions I have thus far encountered. I had been completely unable to locate marker lights similar to those already on the bus until I was in Harbor Freight the other day. Then I saw they had a single pack of 12 amber marker lights. Well, I needed 7 in amber and 5 in red. Just by chance I found Advance Auto has the red lenses for these markers listed, quite cheaply. When it comes time to install I shall install all as amber then I shall get the red lenses and switch out the 5 lenses that need switching. What a score!

The other day I'd tried my hand at aluminium welding and it really had not gone well. Today I tried again and it all went almost perfectly. The Harbor Freight Aluminaweld rods worked really well with the Benzomatic torch and MAPP gas that I bought in Home Depot a few days ago. 

The trick with this "welding" seems to be to do one side and then let it cool before doing the other. The torch will melt the weld but not the aluminium. I had a good go at it and I think I did reasonably well. Cutting the aluminium and welding it took all day because I was feeling my way around how to do it the whole day. I was learning and this was my object lesson.

After spending all day on it there were two problems left. The first was the camera would not fit inside the square tube so using a G-clamp, I inserted the immovable part on the inside of the corners and the rotating jaw on the outside. Tightening down I managed to bend the aluminium sufficiently that now a round camera will fit into what used to be a square hole. It fits tightly enough that it should not slip loose. If it does, I can epoxy it. 

Having made the camera mount for my upper reversing camera, I sprayed it with white primer. The next stage will be to make a lens hood for the camera. Being a cheapskate that might well end up being aluminium tape doubled and painted. Being where nothing should touch it, tape should work just fine. 

Meanwhile I was curious about the LED clearance lights I'd bought some weeks ago versus my incandescent clearance lights so I put them head to head. I really don't think there's much choice there. The incandescent wins hands down. It keeps coming back to this doesn't it? LED is the technology we all really want to work but it's just not ready for primetime - very much like electric cars. Sure, there are people willing to swear black is blue and the moon is made of cheese but when it's a cold hard logical comparison devoid of emotion, incandescent wins every time. Both lights are P2 rated. The only lights that would be brighter would be the sealed 4 inch incandescent lights I bought that clip into separate bases and won't light when clipped into that base.

And finally, I was just asked for a hand to do something with the something undeclared. Apparently the tarp and shovel were not needed. Now I'm disappointed. My friends are all so tame!