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Member postings for File Handle

Here is a list of all the postings File Handle has made in our forums. Click on a thread name to jump to the thread.

Thread: Not such a Dodgy Lathe on Ebay
24/07/2020 07:28:57

Talking up bids is nothing new. I remember a conversation from a friend with an auctioneer friend who had tried to sell his landrover. Who was the highest bidder, I night be able to do a deal? Auctioneer replied that there were only 2, you and me.

22/07/2020 18:42:01
Posted by Barrie Lever on 22/07/2020 17:55:18:
Posted by Eng Joe on 22/07/2020 16:06:10:

Hi

Thanks for the reply’s, Barrie I think you are right about the bidding as the winning bid had zero feedback and the item was relisted 53 seconds later. Regarding the photos it looks as if the seller may have supplied them to the website, if that was the case the seller should have mentioned that in the description, how old are the photos one year, five years, ten years, what does the lathe look like today, if the seller has the lathe why not supply new photos it’s not very difficult. With all of the above points the seller is not giving any potential bidders much confidants in the sale. I am over sixty-five years old with a fully equipped workshop and worked in engineering all my life, I have been looking at small lathes this last two years probably never buy one. So having been caught twice myself on eBay decided to highlight this issue. So I took the plunge, my first-time post in any forum anywhere and I wish I hadn’t bothered you are a suspicious lot, do you ever thing that there might be people out there that just want to do the right thing and highlight things like this when they are full of red flags you should have a bit more faith in humanity. It is a lot of money but I do hope there is nothing untoward about the sale and somebody can pickup a nice little lathe and get as much pleasure out of it as I do with mine. Will be watching the sale.

Thanks Joe

Hello Joe

Yes that is what I call a rescue bid, ie it rescues the item from going down the pan !! I don't like it and feel I have been cheated that way a couple of times.

In general you will find the forum friendly and the denizens don't get much more vicious than in this message thread so don't be put off as this is about as bad as it gets.

I would best describe the experience of coming onto this forum for the first time as a bit like going into a pub where you are not known and a few grumpy old men in the corner scowl at you and are rude but the rest of the pub is friendly.

There a few people on the forum who make great statements that come from a very narrow mind, if you stay you will figure these people out.

I have had great experiences buying lathes and other engineering items on Ebay, if you wish I will talk you through some of the ways to make things work in your favour rather than against you.

Pretty well my whole workshop is kitted out with Ebay purchases.

Best Regards

Barrie

Barrie would that make a publishable article, sounds a good idea to me if you have the inclination to write it. I watch prices on ebay, but wary about bidding without viewing.

Thread: Please be welcoming in your welcomes.
22/07/2020 18:37:13

My opening post was a query and I received an almost instant series of responses with positive suggestions. Do use my real name and have hinted at location, I think. Not sure why not doing so is an issue, but if the response does depend upon the location then perhaps that should be included in the OP,. I do belong to other forums that are not nearly as welcoming or helpful as this one.

Thread: How to stop scam phone calls for good?
21/07/2020 14:12:57

We bought a phone that has the ability to block calls. Have had no trouble since we bought it.

Thread: Is Iron / Steel endlessly recyclable ?
15/07/2020 14:26:58

Iron is not the top priority for recycling as a common element, but still not a reason for not doing so.

Thread: Basic Electrics
15/07/2020 13:50:19

I remember when it was common to plug electric irons into lighting circuits via adapters. Don't remember there ever being an issue with this. Is perhaps the fear of things going wrong greater than the reality. have had to rectify some very dubious wiring in some of the houses we have bought, e.g. lighting cable with legnths with no insulation, a 13 amp socket wired with 2 core orange cable. Clearly the previous occupants had lived with this with no consequences.

13/07/2020 14:19:05
Posted by Fowlers Fury on 13/07/2020 11:44:01:

I'd like to better Peter Shaw's claim to fame viz " And there is the pistol drill at probably 35 to 40 years old (and which still makes the battery powered things look puny!) "
I'm now 76 and my parents gave me a Christmas present when I was 11. It was a mains Wolf Cub drill.
(I should add Santa also provided a lambswool polishing bonnet no doubt in response to my mother's letter to him because she used the my drill regularly for polishing the lino).
Altho' it has a 1/4" fairly crude chuck - it is still in regular use after 65 years.
I echo Peter's words - it makes the battery powered things look puny.
To my shame it has only been dismantled once to clean out sawdust and to oil the felt pad. I've also replaced the mains lead - again, once.

Mine is a slightly younger white and gold B&D with a 1/2" chuck. It was my third drill in my teens. I bought it with savings. Previously I burnt out an old secondhand drill and a cheap B&D, both gifts. I remember my mother trying to persuade me not to buy it, but it lasted much better than the first 2. Suspect it will outlast me. I saw a tradesman using one a few years ago, he had rescued it from a skip.

Thread: TOOL BOXES
01/07/2020 15:30:44

A cantalever toolbox bought in my early teens, had a few repairs in those 50 odd years. A metal toolbox with a tray, bought when I bought my first car, had to repair one hinge at some stage. A couple of A4 file drawer towers, obtained both free when they were surplus to requirements. Had to braze the body on one of them. plus many drawers and racks. All a bit haphazard, but works for me.

Thread: What Did You Do Today 2020
01/07/2020 15:22:09

One issue with ignoring the cm is volume. A mm3 to m3 is a big jump, and I wonder how many can visualise either.

Thread: Weeds in a 'lawn'
21/06/2020 13:36:02

pelleted chicken manure is a good feed to enrich a lawn.

Thread: Just right for the holidays.
09/06/2020 17:28:39

Slightly too young, will have to wait a couple of years.

Thread: Riveted Linked Vee Belt
27/05/2020 07:05:59

I have also used link belting with just one metal link screwed to the belt. The belt having a series of vertical holes. Just cut to length and screw on the link. But will slip on very small pulleys.

25/05/2020 08:24:06

Nearly 5 decades since I had to shorten one of these, I don't recall that it was particularly difficult. From memory I just forced it open with a worn screwdriver,

Thread: Look what I Found
19/05/2020 06:58:27

No longer have one, but the last time I used one, decades ago, was to drill into hard Victorian bricks. Didn't have a hammer drill at the time and the only way that I could drill one of the bricks to fit a curtain was to use one. Then opened it up to the right size with a masonry bit.. After this I bought a hammer drill.

Thread: Sort of a Straw Poll
13/05/2020 07:04:07

If you want it, can afford it and have space for it buy it. Many of the tools in my workshop "are" deceased relatives, at least their spirit. Others are second hand purchases and a few were new. To others they probably don't have the same value that they have to me. I would hope that someone gets value out of them after me. Some of them are older than me, some made by me or repurposed by me. Because of decreased interest by younger generations sadly many tools will simply be thrown away, but that is their loss, not ours. However, it is sad when this happens.

Thread: Where do you put your chuck key?
11/05/2020 08:24:46

Most of mine are in a row, below a shelf, at the side of my pillar drill, I use small terry clips. Easy to see if one hasn't been put away. But my muscle memory tends to return them now without me thinking about it..

Thread: Drill press vice
10/05/2020 09:07:22

I bought a small second hand one that I think was homemade. Very precise, but only about 1 1/2 " jaw. But this is fine for the work I do.

Thread: TiN coated twist drills
04/01/2020 09:20:13

When I had a similar problem, cut through the screw and used a piece of wire wrapped around to hold it together. Cheap, quick and works.

Thread: Suppliers of brass, aluminium, bronze etc
11/12/2019 18:08:00
Posted by Philip Burley on 11/12/2019 12:11:23:

I recently ordered some 1/2 round bar and 5/8 square metal from a well known supplier . They sent me metric material , too small for what I needed . I have emailed but had no satisfaction , a bit disappointing

Phil

Not sure if they still do it, but B & Q did sell bolts with metric and imperial sizing. The daft thing was that whilst most were metric some were imperial threads.

Thread: Why mostly manual cars in UK
06/12/2019 11:58:41

Previous car was automatic only the second that I have owned. Didn't really want it but my wife liked it. Now back with a proper gearbox with 6 gears. Did like overdrive when I had a car with it.

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