Member postings for Mike

Thanks, SillyoldDuffer and not done it yet - I can understand that, although my knowledge of electricity is still abysmal. My late father, who spent his working lifetime in the electricity supply industry, must turn in his grave when I try to express opinions on the subject!

Edited By Mike on 06/04/2018 18:41:38

Duncan: you mention the fact that pylons are ugly, which they are. At my home village on the Moray Firth two cables come ashore - one from the offshore Beatrice wind farm, and the other from wind farms in the northern isles. Before the electricity is fed into the national grid, it makes its first ten miles of its journey as DC through buried cables - apparently because DC does not suffer the same voltage drop as does AC over long distances. I confess to being a complete idiot as far as electricity is concerned, but is this the future of power transmission? The two cables should be operating soon.

Not done it yet: I agree with goose fat. A sprinkling of coarse salt helps, too. OK, it's a heart attack waiting to happen, but I'm sure it does no harm now and again! I've never heard of voltage dropping at times when many people are cooking, but when I was a kid the gas pressure used to drop alarmingly when thousands of mums were cooking Sunday lunches. That was in the days when coal gas came from the gas works half a mile away, and there was no gas grid.

I've had some adventures lifting Myfords, including getting a Super 7 with gearbox stuck in the back of a very small Ford hatchback. As has been mentioned, the best trick is to remove the motor and tailstock. In my case, having a neighbour who was a super-fit martial arts champion helped too!

I've been retired for 12 years now, and have loved every minute of it. I like Neil's suggestion that local firms might value the occasional services of a skilled toolmaker. In another sphere (magazine publishing) I find that people who have proper creative skills like Colin, rather than retired paper-shufflers, will always be welcomed. Otherwise, I suggest volunteering for a worthwhile charity. I've done this, and find it very rewarding and a way of making some super new friends.

Amazing how some topics mushroom on this forum, isn't it? All I wanted was a little whinge about the amount of warped wood in my local B&Q. Anyway, I've picked up some good advice, for which I am very grateful.

Thanks, Gordon. I know where they are, but I never knew they sold timber. I'll call in next time I am in Elgin, which I think will be Friday.

Thanks, guys - I am certainly not alone. I must explore other local timber sources. Our local Homebase had to close - far too few customers.

Not today, but yesterday. Went to B&Q to buy a 4x2 sheet of 15mm plywood. Took every sheet off the rack, and they were all warped. Went for Plan B, MDF, and they were all warped, too. While there looked at some lengths of timber for another job, and most were not straight. Is it me that's unlucky, or is this a common experience with this company?

I can remember free Ministry of Food orange when I was a small child in the 1940s. I loved it. We also got Ministry of Food cod liver oil, which I hated so much I used to spit it out. But my mum made sure I got it in another way - she mixed it with the chicken mash. The chickens loved it. Their feathers became glossy, and they laid big, orange-yolked eggs, which I loved to eat. When my little sister arrived in 1945, the chickens got a double dose, and were even more healthy.

I don't know about coffee removing rust, but tea can be a solvent for all sorts of crud. In the days when magazines used a lot of black and white photo prints, file prints often got filthy on their journeys through the print works. Our retouching artist would clean grease spots and muck by taking a swig of tea, then sucking a cotton bud for a few seconds before rubbing the affected area. He had a theory that the enzymes in spit and the tannin in tea did the trick. I don't know the chemistry of it all, but it certainly worked!

...........or docky time, if you're a Fen Tiger?

Yes, they have. The Indian servant is no longer serving the Scottish officer. Rather, an Indian officer and a Scottish officer are enjoying coffee together, as equals.

Russell, I remember mods and rockers, too, but ours being a very small town, we had just one of each, who scowled at each other from opposite corners of the milk bar. Remembering back to my schooldays, we had just one teddy boy.

When I was daft enough to go fishing in all weathers, a shot of Cointreau in the coffee worked wonders. At the other end of the scale, who can remember Camp coffee? I'm horrified to discover that you can still buy it.

I must be getting old! It. When I was a lad and you asked for a cup of coffee, that's what you got. It doesn't seem long ago that I asked for a cup of coffee and was asked whether I meant espresso, latte, cappuccino, mocha, americano, and several more I can't remember - and this by a lad who looked about 12. But I'm determined to learn, because modern coffee is miles better than the grey sludge served up in my home town in the 1960s.

Try this - it's brilliant!

https://speysidecoffee.co.uk/

Although the roasting machine looks like an invention of Heath Robinson!

Yes, Roger - a few years ago we had quite a heavy snowfall here in North-east Scotland, and a number of friends and neighbours were stopped by the police and warned for driving with snow on car roofs, although windows, mirrors and lights were perfectly clear. At the same time we have, for a rural area, a bad drugs problem. What clown is it that decides on police priorities?

Yes to Truloc - just as good as the Loctite equivalents.

...........nor the TV licencing authority. They automatically assume every house has a TV, so investigate any home that does not have a licence.