Member postings for Gaunless

I own a Ford Focus 1.0 Ecoboost. 2017 reg.

Excellent engine for a 1.0l 3 cylinder engine. Very quiet for a 3 cylinder, ultra smooth, powerful for it's size with that amazing little turbo, and economical for an engine of that class in a family car. (regular 50mpg).

70,000 miles with not a whisper of trouble. It's a little masterpiece. An amazing bit of design.

If you can't afford the belt change, don't buy the car. Or sell it before it's due.

Think of how many of those engines are out there. You only hear of the ones with problems. Like any engine. In any car.

Far too many crap drivers out there. Drive it properly, service it regularly with the proper parts and oil. In other words, RTFM.

LBSC wrote for years with virtually no photos at all, and it was still entertaining.

Pete. You have done me a massive favour! Read your post and went straight out to check my lathe. Horror! Surface rust! Wiped it all off with an oily cloth, but if I'd left it much longer there'd have been trouble. You've saved my bacon! Thanks fella!

Everything is done for a camera now.

Somebody would be filming it. Pathetic.

Society is broken.

I used to enjoy driving until I became a Firefighter and attended many many road traffic collisions. It beggars belief the state a human body can get into and still remain alive..for a while anyway. I watched too many people die.

Far too many aggressive people on the roads with no idea what can happen to you when cars collide.

I actually consider driving beneath me now, I have to do it, but there's not an ounce of pleasure in it.

These days, I tend to agree with that quote from the excellent movie 'Repo Man'.

'The more you drive, the less intelligent you are'.

Edited By Gaunless on 24/07/2022 11:48:21

Hi all.

Currently restoring a Neslein wood tool box. Does anyone know what the original finish was?

Stew.

I have had several metal tool boxes over the years, from multi-thousand pound Snap-On monoliths, to little Clarke chests, and now I find I have a small selection of very good tools that I'd quite like to keep in a nice wood chest. It's for aesthetics rather than practicality now. Pleasure of ownership. I am just a little disappointed that I can't go to a British maker for such a tool chest to be purchased new. I'd like to spend decent money for a well built item that will last, but I may have to buy secondhand to get what I want.

If anyone knows of a really good quality chest, or would sell me a well loved one, I'd be very grateful..

Oak, dovetail joints, etc? That would take a lot of learning and tools. No time. I'd have to start from scratch, although it would be very satisfying. Sadly it's not my major malfunction. I just want to store quality tools nicely and safely, and I'm prepared to pay a decent amount.

I had a look at the machine mart ones and was not impressed.

Poor quality. To be honest I'd rather pay more for something older and better quality.

Hi all.

I'm in the market for a nice wood tool box to hold sone of my nicer tools and occasionally transport them between workplaces.

Vintage would be nice, or a good new one. (Gerstner prices are beyond my pocket though)..

What's the choice, and what are the best ones to go for?

Any dealers out there. I'd prefer to avoid Ebay and blimmin Etsy..

Thanks all.

Very, very dodgy ground. I wonder what the Police would say to plans for firearms being posted here? Even if a barrel is not drilled, it's only a few engineering operations from being able to be fired.

Young fella here doing some good work.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-56503921

I was skeptical of Linux at first, but after loading it onto my laptop with a USB stick, I never looked back.

What was a slow laptop seemingly fit for the bin, became fast, and with a bang up to date operating system too. lots of very tech savvy people out there for support too. Granted, there's the usual clowns, but most are very happy to help, and will walk you though most issues asking for nothing in return.

I've never had any problem whatsoever with virus issues.

Most distros (operating systems) have a vast amount of software, and to be honest, I've never had any issues finding what I need. Often (for e.g Open Office) it is so close to the Windows equivalent it's hardly noticeable.

People worry about using the command line, but mostly it's 'sudo apt-get install' and the name of the thing you want to add. I only use it when I want to really speed things up.

I'm no expert, but it just seems to work really nicely for me. if you run it off a USB you can try it, and if you don't like it, simply pull the USB stick out and keep on with Windows. I have to admit a small thrill when I installed it over the top of Windows and pulled the licence sticker off the back...

Linux is one of the best kept secrets that's actually no secret at all.

Look into Linux. I recommend a 'free' (as in freedom) version like Trisquel. I've been using it happily for years. (and it's free, (as in free beer) too.

I have a former windows PC running well on it, and an Acer Aspire laptop. It isn't full of bloatware like Windows. Plus if you're a tinkerer, you can play with the source code if you like. Runs way faster than Windows, and on older machinery too.

Just a wee note, I had a radio where the rubber trim went sticky, rubbed it with WD40, it removed the sticky and restored the smooth finish. I've done that with several items with the same finish and got the same result. Worth a try perhaps. On old rubber items that have gone hard, a blow with a hot air gun can bring them back to a nice finish and restore pliability.

The ICS wasn't the one with the uber-creepy 'Let me be your Father' adverts was it?

Stiff upper lip lol. What the hell even was that? Too many old giffers here who think they fought WW2 but were actually in their father's knackers at the time.

After reading my great Grandfather's previously forgotten 102 year old letter from the trenches of WW1 yesterday, I think I will gladly stay with the current reality, fearsome as it may be, than swap it for his reality, or any other. Happy to play the cards I'm dealt.

He didn't make it.

Very much enjoying the Mandalorian, but I accepted the glaring aerodynamic issues of vehicles from the Star Wars universe once I saw my first X-wing bank into a turn, in space...

It's great escapism!

Just out of interest, I wonder if any of the Disneyland/Magic Kingdom rides, or mechanisms have been modelled?

The rides when installed in the 60's were super complex for their time, and if anyone has ever seen some of the technical books that accompany each ride, allowing maintenance, fabrication of spares, recording material specs etc. they are masterpieces of documentation and clarity. Beautiful things in their own right. Even down to listing the tools needed to fix each installation, and oh man, the drawings....

I may be odd, but a reduced scale nicely engineered model of say, the device that turns ride cars 90 degrees in their track, or tilts the ride vehicles while they fly over Capt. Hooks ship etc, or perhaps the animatronics linkages and so on. A bit esoteric I guess, but perhaps some scope there?

Penny for your thoughts?

Edited By Gaunless on 27/05/2020 16:45:14

I'm not that experienced Michael, so take my advice with a pinch of salt, but could it be at this stage you need a mentor, someone to keep you right? I know clubs/societies and meeting people is difficult right now, but might it be better to do something a bit less demanding, and leave the fiddly stuff until you can get a hand with it?

Just a thought anyway. Don't beat yourself up about it man.

Take care

G.