Member postings for Mike

My experience was very similar to Steve's. In my case, a very expensive professional-quality paper shredder went missing in transit. Fortunately, the supplier went out of his way to be helpful, and dispatched another immediately and without any argument. As far as I know, the original item never did turn up, although the tracking system insisted that it was "out for delivery" for weeks . A relative of mine used to work in the courier business, and apparently Herpes is a name frequently used within the industry...

Nowadays when ordering on line I generally request that this courier is not used.

You can get lucky with the things you find in garages. Back in the 60s a pal bought some premises off the official receiver following the bankruptcy of a small plant hire farm. He found a very big, nearly new digger bucket in one of the garages. Being honest, he informed the receiver, only to be told to please go away and not to make a nuisance of himself because the business had been wound up. And anyway, he'd paid for the buildings and their contents. The bucket was worth just short of £2,000, which was a tidy sum in the middle 1960s.

I can't say much without it being possibly libellous, but I wouldn't ever use Hermes.

I'm on my third grinder in around 45 years, and all have had a right-had thread on the right, and a left-hand thread on the left. I've never had a wheel come even slightly loose. Makes me wonder if Eric's grinding wheels have been fitted with the correct washers. I've just had a quick "Google", and a Health & Safety Executive document on grinding wheels can be downloaded free at https://www.staffs.ac.uk/assets/hsg17_tcm44-45519.pdf

Considering my home is about 150 yards from the sea on a north-facing coast, it's surprising how few rusty cars I see in my neighbourhood. But surprisingly, I do see two slightly rusty Range Rovers. In the last 20 years I've had a Peugeot, a VW, two Vauxhalls and a Renault, and haven't had a speck of rust on any of them. And my cars get washed every six weeks, whether they need it or not............

Shooting enthusiasts used to swear by Rangoon Oil as an anti-rust agent, and I believe it was used by the British Army in tropical climes around 150 years ago. I see it is still available, but some examples are labelled "improved formula". Problem is, I dont know what the original formula was. Does anybody? All I can find out is that it was a "clingy" sort of oil with an extremely low evaporation rate. If it was effective on steel in tropical jungles in the sweaty hands of soldiers, it must have been good stuff!

A friend's wife found this weird "thing" in the boot of her car and, not knowing what it was, asked the woman next door. She didn't know either, so they threw it away. About a year later my pal and his wife were out in the wife's car on a gale-swept, rainy night where we live in the far north of Scotland, when they had a puncture. You can guess the rest... The one garage prepared to help welded a nut on to the head of the security bolt. It made me replace all of the security bolts on my car with plain bolts. Maybe we're lucky living in a rural community, but I haven't heard of alloy wheels being stolen for well more than 10 years, they're so common these days. What's the experience of people who live in cities?

They say "Buy cheap, buy twice". True in my case - bought a cheap magnifying device which turned out to be all but useless. Then saw a TV documentary about the talented men and women who restore paintings worth millions, and noted they used Optivisors for the fiddly bits. I bought the same model as IanT, primarily for dressing trout flies but nowadays used for many other things. Highly recommended (same as Ian, usual disclaimers etc.....)

Useful stuff, if you look up its uses. James Bond used it as secret ink in one of the original Ian Fleming books, and US Cavalrymen were told to pee down their gun barrels when no other cleaning agents were available. The Romans used it for washing clothes, and I think I read somewhere that it was used in the early production of phosphorus. I'm sometimes full of useless knowledge.....

Whereabouts are you supposed to stick that?

John, you could also stick them to their seats.......

Danny's technique was used on me in the local A&E department after I had gone a... over tip in the bathroom, clouting my face on a waste bin. Got a big cut in my forehead and the top of my nose. Superglue was used instead of stitches, and the cut healed without scarring. And think: in another age it could have been an interesting duelling scar! A medical grade is "Liquid Skin", available from Amazon. Said to be non-stinging, and safe to use on children.

Edited By Mike on 05/09/2016 15:07:14

The 3 per cent of people who voted that CNC is cheating would have been Luddites in a previous age. In my one area of speciality - writing about the building of shotguns and rifles - we have seen Britain fade into insignificance on the world scene in every aspect except in the super-expensive "Purdey " class because of a pig-headed insistence that CNC was bad.

Back in the 1980s I visited a factory producing one of the last of Britain's "affordable" guns and was urged not to photograph a small CNC machining centre because "we only use it for roughing out gun actions and we don't want people to know about it." Their pride was a long line of blokes at benches,wielding files. When I noticed that the machine's tool magazine was covered by a cloth, I was told "that's because it's secret." I ask you! Needless to say, the firm is out of business.

Only a few weeks previously I had been round the Mandelli factory in Piacenza, Italy, who in the era were among world leaders in CNC. I only got in because my sister was their technical translator. When I asked why they were using robotic probes to ensure that workpieces were firmly clamped before machining began, when it would have been easy to walk up to the machine and check, the answer was, to me, a classic: "That's all very well, but what if you are using the machine from your office in Chicago, and the machine is in Taiwan?"

Why don't I use CNC for the modest amount of machining I do? Because, although the equipment is now affordable for amateur use, at 75 I am too ancient to learn a new skill. But I am full of admiration for those who have acquired it, and my admiration is even greater for those who develop new CNC techniques.

If you have a proper gunsmith in your area (rather than a gun salesman) ask him where he gets his steel for making v-springs. Also, just a thought, but could you use a steel ruler?

Charles: can you post an example of the script - a photo would be great - then we might be able to find a suitable font. Also it would be handy to know how the lettering is to be applied to the component. For instance, is it etched into the surface? Would Letraset dry-transfer lettering be of any help, if only to provide an example of what you want? You can see their fonts catalogue in PDF format at www.letraset.com/pdf/LETCAT_FONTEK.pdf

Sean,

I have no specific knowledge of the ML1, but I have quite a lot of experience with an ML7R and a Super 7B. I live about 35 miles from you, on the Moray Firth coast. If you think I could help, send me a Personal Message and I will send you my contact details.

No, Neil: temperatures BELOW 25 Centigrade.

Sam, I was taught by my former employer's IT chief that writing e-mails in upper case was rude. Mind you, as a deaf old git myself, 72 point lower case might be handy...

Michael Gilligan, you have a PM from me. Thanks again for the link - Mike

....and people who use "invite" as a noun. Invite is a verb. The noun is "invitation".