Member postings for Samsaranda

Back in the early sixties I owned what started out as a rigid framed Matchless G80 that I transferred to a 1956 swinging arm frame, unfortunately soon after the frame swop the big end decided to let go and had to be renewed. Stripped the engine and took the flywheel assembly to our local motorcycle shop to have a new big end fitted and the flywheels re-assembled. Built up the engine with the new big end assembly and everything seemed fine for about 100 miles and then something catastrophic happened with the flywheel assembly and the engine had to be stripped down again. When it was all apart I found that one of the nuts on the crank pin had split in half and the flywheels became independent of each other. Fortunately the engine was only ticking over when it happened so no real damage done. It transpired that standard practice was to renew the crankpin nuts when the assembly was disturbed but this didn’t happen when my big end was replaced so an apologetic mechanic rebuilt the assembly again this time with new nuts. Soon had the engine reassembled and the bike working again, have vivid memories of how viciously that engine could kick back if the manual advance and retard was not set correctly on starting.

Dave W

Had thought about seeking some bees from an established beekeeper, I am looking to join a local beekeeping club, should get me on the right track then. Point taken about bees of unknown origin could be vicious, not the way to start out on a new hobby by being stung to death.

Dave W

Today I finished my latest project, woodwork not engineering, it is a top bar style beehive. Have wanted to keep bees for years and thought not getting any younger so I took the plunge and built a hive. The objective is not to produce maximum honey but to sustainably keep bees and take only minimal amounts of honey that the hive can afford to lose. Haven’t any bees yet but am hoping to attract a free flying swarm, have sprayed the hive with attractant so will just have to wait and see, probably a bit late in the season for a random swarm. Need to clear up the workshop now it’s amazing how much timber offcuts accumulate and fill whatever space is available, got into trouble because the kitchen sink wouldn’t drain very well after I had been melting beeswax in the kitchen, you can never win can you.

Dave W

Just returned from an enjoyable few hours at Shoreham airfield, near Brighton, we took my grandson there for an introductory flying lesson which we bought for him as a present. He is 20 years old and on the autistic spectrum, we prewarned the flying school of his autism, and they were brilliant, he really seemed to communicate well with his instructor and he took him up along the coast to where we live and circled over my grandsons house so he was able to get a photo of it. The weather was brilliant sunshine and couldn’t have wished for better, he flew in a Cessna 152 so high wing, no problem with the sun beating down into the cockpit and plenty of downward view. He has always wanted to fly and now seems bitten by the bug and wants to carry on and gain his licence. It was a brilliant experience for the grandson and the staff at the flying club really made his day for him.

Dave W

It is surprising where bacteria can live and thrive and the consequences from their proliferation, there are bacteria that live and thrive quite happily in aviation fuel (kerosene), nowadays the fuels are dosed with inhibitors to control their growth. Prior to the widespread use of inhibitors it was not uncommon to find extensive corrosion of aircraft fuel tanks from the products of the bacteria that were highly corrosive to certain grades of aluminium alloys that the aircraft were constructed from. Not surprising that bacterial growth in coolants and oils has an effect on steel and cast iron.

Dave W

As Roger said depleted uranium is only slightly radio-active but as it is so dense it is used because it will attenuate the emissions from highly radioactive isotopes therefore making suitable containment enclosures for said isotopes.

Dave W

End of July, which time zone are you in Tim.

Dave W

I was only fifteen when I built my own canoe in our garage at home and then used it unsupervised in the sea off the shore at Eastbourne and Beachy Head. At college when I was sixteen we used lathes, milling machines and shapers without an instructor hovering over us, just instructed what to do and we got on with it. You do learn from mistakes, we all make them, I remember finding out how sharp copper turnings can be, took three fingers down to the bone, made you very wary of grabbing any metal turnings on the lathe. My time in the workshop at college was invaluable in teaching me lessons which have stayed with me all through my working life.

Dave W

Depleted uranium definitely very heavy, I can vouch for that, we used to have depleted uranium containers for radio-active isotopes used in gamma radiography. Carrying the depleted uranium containers up into radar aerials some 100 feet off the ground made you aware just how dense and heavy the uranium was.

Dave W

Problem with slug pellets is that once ingested the slugs die but then hedgehogs and birds eat the dead slugs and also get a dose of poison so slug pellets are definitely not eco friendly. Perhaps the mechanical traps using beer that attract the slugs then they drown because they can’t get out, what a way to go drowning in beer! I try to avoid any chemicals in our garden, to protect our cats and any wildlife that ventures in, also my two koi ponds, don’t want any chemicals finding their way in there. Had good success with copper tape on pots containing Hostas, until they found the drainage holes in the pots and got into the soil and laid eggs there. We have given up on growing Hostas because the slugs outwitted us with the core tape.

Dave W

Have accumulated a selection of various sizes and lengths of HSS toolsteel, agree with Blue Heeler they make excellent parallels for the mill, irrespective of their country of origin. On a more serious note I find the ARC HSS toolsteel is excellent quality for the price.

Dave W

Not wishing to destroy illusions of how safe it is to use cheques, most banks do not check the signatures on cheques if the amount drawn is less than £1,000. It is not until it appears on your statement that you are aware of a possible fraud, full marks to the banks though they are usually very quick in restoring the missing funds to your account, I stress most banks, performance varies from bank to bank.

Dave W

Today I received a very convincing email from TVLicensing stating that they are unable to renew my TV Licence automatically because my direct debit had failed and that I needed to make an online payment to them as failure to do so could incur cancellation of my TV licence and passing my details to a debt collection agency. Fortunately I have access to my banking online and was able to check that no direct debits had failed and the amount that they quoted as the payment needed wasnt even the correct amount of my direct debit. I would warn anyone who receives such an email check it out and take care if you log on to any of the log ins provided in the email, it could cost you a lot of money.

Dave W

And here was me thinking that I was wierd, apparently it’s safe to come out of the closet but I don’t think that our other halves will understand our obsessions with metallic objects.

Dave W

Hi Mohammed, welcome to the forum, what interests do you have? I see you are in Dubai, I spent a year in Sharjah in 1967, I know Dubai has changed beyond all recognition from what I knew 52 years ago.

Dave W

As a historical point, in the Middle Ages when Valletta the capital of Malta was constructed, I think it was the first city laid out on a grid the fore runner of city planning, every dwelling had to be built on a cistern which collected the rainfall that fell on the dwelling. This was essential for survival when the city was under siege, the practice carried on and many properties even those built recently have cisterns under the property, the contents are used for toilet flushing and clothes laundering. We could learn a lot from this practice, if every new house built in UK had a rainwater harvesting system we could survive our frequent dry spells without the threat of water restrictions. Not sure how the utilities would view reduced sales/profits.

Dave W

I tried with a Sandvick holder, gave up in the end it was so tough. I am sure the cheaper holders would machine ok because I doubt they are as tough.

Dave W

Desalinated water is far from palatable, I remember in my youth when we travelled to and from the Far East the ships used to take on desalinated water from Port Suez and Aden, it tasted foul. Nowadays in Malta, where we have friends, there is a small amount of water extracted from boreholes and the greater proportion of mains water comes from a huge desalination plant, the local Maltese rarely drink mains they have imported bottled water which they get delivered to their houses much like our milkmen used to do house deliveries. For me desalinated water is not an option but the way our country is going we will soon have to invest in it.

Dave W

Anthony has highlighted an issue with our privately owned utilities, there is a need to invest in a lot more infrastructure, more reservoirs etc. but because their allegiance is to shareholders they pay dividends rather than invest back into the business, yes they do make some investment but not nearly enough bearing in mind the “drought” problems that continually threaten. Our electricity industry is in the same position, there is nowhere near enough investment going forward. Our society is so focussed on making a quick buck, we disregard the future. One solution to our water shortages in the South East corner of the country would be a transfer system to bring water from areas such as the Lake District or Scotland where there is always a surplus, this could be achieved using a series of canals and aquaducts, it was good enough for the Romans and other civilisations. A system like this could benefit all regions of the country.

Dave W

I have had variable results with carbide on plastic, I now use HSS but make sure it’s sharp, I always cut at a reasonably slow speed, too much speed generates heat which you don’t want.

Dave W