Member postings for Ray Lyons

On a more serious note, many of us thought that National Service was a waste of time but one good thing it thought us the importance of personal hygiene where it was once quoted that dirty hands could do more harm to a squadron than the enemy.

As I get older, its the quite life for my wife and myself. We usually take a walk around town when the weather permits and one of our favourite treats was to walk to our Tesco store where we enjoyed a treat of toasted sandwich and coffee. It was our habit to visit the toilet first to get comfortable and wash our hands before the meal. Anyway, despite our precautions, I caught a bug and was quite ill for days. Trying to trace back on how it could have happened, we considered the visit to the café but dismissed it since we both use a tissue to open the toilet door. Some tine later, I visited the toilet in store which is one of the best in the area with automatic taps dryers etc. As I was washing my hands a big fellow came in and left without washing his hands. As I followed him out, using a tissue to open the door, I found that he had parked a shopping trolley outside. We have now given up one of our treats because I still think about how many people handle all sorts of goods within the store without washing

I think Boris and Lord Hall should get together, perhaps over a pint to sort something out. If I have to be isolated for several months, and Lord Hall insists that all who do not pay the TV licence fee should be jailed, is it possible to offset my isolation against my time in prison.

Just thinking, with prison providing free TV and all meals perhaps that could be a better way to serve my isolation time.

Thanks for that Bill. I will look it up later but since I got rid of my tank when we installed a combi boiler it will need some investment to re establish a system but worth a go.

I had panels installed just before the payment was reduced and have kept a monthly record of the output. This allows me to check if there is any fall off in generation from one year to the next and so far the readings are about the same. I never clean the panels as we live in West Wales where the Atlantic weather ensures that the rain comes down with force. This morning the short, sharp showers of hail virtually blasted anything outside the shelter of the four walls. During the last 12 months I have had several offers from "cowboys" to reconfigure the panel wiring and fit a new converter as a way of guarding against failure. All those offers go straight into the bin.

Bill, I would like to know more about this solar boost box for hot water. I have not heard of that before and it would help a lot if it can be fitted to my system now. There may be a problem since every year I get a form from the electricity supplier to declare and alterations.

There it was sitting on a bench in a barn, covered in dust and with the drive belt broken. A 1950s Super7 with gearbox and clutch. At £250, I couldn't resist and was thinking of returning the following day to collect but the farmer, a big fellow insisted I take it that night and removing the motor, he lifted it into the boot of my car which put the headlights into searchlight mode. After that, it stayed in my garage for some months and after a house move was stripped down, cleaning out years of oily crud. Since then it has been changed and upgraded?. The saddle was cut away to bear over the width of the bed which was a big step improvement. and a new 1HP 3ph motor fitted with inverter control.

Although it can be classed as vintage now, it is still a joy to use, especially for those small jobs. I also have a 6" imported lathe for fast metal removal.

Forgot to mention, did not come out empty handed, bought an air nibbler for cutting sheet metal at £14.99 and a pack of assorted nuts for £2.99.

I went into my Lidl store at 10 o'clock and they still had two plasma cutters in stock. Previously bought the stick welder but found that with 2.5mm rods it is useless, sticking all the time but using 1.5mm rods it works a treat.

When I was in this morning, saw a 13mm bench drill with a variable speed control and rated at about 1 HP which looked interesting.

I went up to the shed this afternoon to have a look at two other routers which have 1/4" collets but neither will fit the new palm router. I have now contacted the supplier to see they have spare 1/4" collets.

What A pot I seem to have stirred with this one, great to see so much interest. For myself, I learned my trade as a carpenter but changed in my early 20s to enter the oil industry. In the old measurements, I could guess many timber sizes by just looking but now when I go into a builders merchant it feels all new and I am lost.

Went to the hospital recently to see a consultant. On arrival, was taken into a side room for measurement, weight, height, blood pressure etc. Height came in at something like 1.7 and weight at 70. I soon got the brush off when I asked what these figures meant in British money. After all don't they quote baby's weight in pounds and ounces and the police give heights in feet and inches when describing a person. I wonder if Brexit will mean a return to British standards such as BSW and BSF.

on a more serious note, I have to change some storage cupboard doors to flush mahogany ply. The fitted doors are a little wider than the new ones so I glued some extra lipping strips on to make up the width with the intention of trimming the excess overlap ( an excuse to buy a new palm router)

Ordered a router advertised as fitted with 1/4", 3/8" and 1/2" collets. After a few weeks, I bought a 1/4" shank trimming cutter and today decided to try it out on a piece of scrap timber. The cutter would not fit so I checked the sizes of the collet and the cutter. Collet is .236in (6.4mm) and the cutter is .246in.

The collet appears to be hardened so I think the best way out is to grind the bore using a small grinder in the lathe. If anyone has any experience of grinding a collet I would appreciate your advise.

Sorry, meant to refer to MEW although I had been buying ME since the mid 50s. .

When I find my subscription details iI will consider wheather the digital issues are worth it since my main use is for quick reference and the occasional printed article. Being lazy, it saves me having to copy from the magazine for use in the workshop. Anyway, my computer now needs upgrading to Windows10 and next week it goes in for that and converting to a SSD hard drive.

I have been a subscriber since day 1. I also have a digital subscription which is rarely used. I have noticed this week that the digital issues do not print from my computer and wondered if there is a problem or is it just finger trouble with me using the computer

The air controller/filter at the back seems to be more like a plasma cutter set up rather than a gas/no gas mig. The line tail is shown with an airline connector.

Puzzled- no information in the add so will have to wait for it to arrive in the shop.

It is a long time ago now but when I was in Germany, the public toilets were usually supervised by a large lady who would collect a small fee and open the door to the cubicle while handing out a 6 inch square of paper. I always carried a small wad of paper in my pocket for such rare occasions when needed. The urinal was free but in full view of the supervisor. Needless to say we did not hang around there for long.

Doug, I agree with you, this saw is value for money. The blade supplied with mine is not so good, especially compared with the TuffSaw replacement. The vice on mine works OK with no sign of movement. I have a job though, trying to hold the saw while clamping the item to be sawn in the vice. You need three hands

Ray

Automatic cut off means you can leave it while doing other things. I admit to being a bit impatient, like watching paint dry.

I fitted the saw to the stand today and did a trial cutting a 11/4" bronze and a piece of 3"x1/2" steel plate. Both were easy and the cut was smooth. It would only need a little filing to finish.

A few things which would improve. The first would be a catch to hold the saw up while fitting and adjusting the work in the vice. 2/ some kind of stop to shut off at the end of the cut. 3/ an adjustable dampening devise to control the presure on the saw.

Some of these have already been covered by others and I will be looking to get some of these improvements soon. Someone is now going to say why not pay the extra and buy a saw with all those features built in but we are model makers and there is nothing like a challenge to improve what is already there.

I went to the TuffSaws site and found that they offer a cobalt hardened blade with varied tooth size for portable, metal cutting bandsaws. They claim that these blades last 5-10 times longer than the normal bi-metal blade.I ordered one at £14 including postage which arrived today.

I just tried it out on a piece of 1" heavy gauge pipe, taking a few cuts at various speeds. What a difference that makes, almost no sign of the joint and the cut is clean and smooth. See how long this one lasts and next time I will may buy a set of 3 which would be even cheaper.

It's a pity that Aldi did not specify a good blade when placing their order. Iam sure that the improved performance would encourage others to buy what is a very handy piece of equipment for hobby use.

Finally took the plunge and bought one of the portable metal cutting bandsaw. It took ten days to arrive, I think the horses on the stagecoach need a rest.

It arrived yesterday and I only got around to a trial this afternoon. When the blade was fitted and tried under power, I noticed a "jump" where it had been joined, far worse than when I make a bad job of brazing. Examining the blade, there was no sign of the joint but when cutting there is a nasty bounce as it passes through the guides and after a couple of cuts the area of the joint has been rubbed to clear metal. I usually make my own blades and will now make one up to try again or perhaps to do a fair test, buy one from a good British maker.

The machine itself is easy to handle and I can see a lot of use on the bench replacing the hacksaw although I must keep my hand in since the exercise helps keep the hand and arm joints in shape. I hope eventually to fit a table to use it in the vertical position.

I have been making my own blades for years to fit a 6"x4" horizontal bandsaw. Going back a bit now but I bought my silver solder from Wiston, it looks like a thick fuse wire. I use a small pencil blow torch for heating and after repair and cleaning up, the joint is annealed to remove the stresses.

Thatt's a good tip. I will try that on my old 6x4 bandsaw which I usually run dry. I was looking at an item on Youtube last night where a cheap, hand held bandsaw was tested and it quickly cut through a section of railway line held in a bench vice. Some kind of foam lube was applied a couple of times during the cut. Very impressive.