What did you do today? (2013)

Thanks Jim

I have bought a replacement valve and I will ( try to remember to ) do as you suggest with this and other valves I have fitted. Don't you just love standing on your head in the smallest room, wielding two adjustable spanners in the most inaccessible space, whilst giving the WC pan a fond embrace! Oh the joys of retirement.

Norman

Being a plumber i come across this all the time, to be honest we are all to blame including myself, every one wants things on the cheap and the down side is quality suffers to enable the cheap purchase price to become viable, I stopped fitting bathroom suits because of this, folk buy stuff of the net for a third of the price of quality gear and expect people like me to make something out of it na don't think so, if i don't supply it I don't fit it.

Alan.

Hi

Bought myself a new Scheppach Tiger 2000 wetstone sharpener today, as I did found out that one shop close to my home had it on sale for £75.00

Also bought a lot of Tormek jigs as they do fit the Sheppach machine

Rest of the day whent on to sharpening lot of tools

Cheep machine, but did work as expected

After testing it on one knife I whent stright to the shop and bought å small tray to rest the machine on, to take care of the waterspill

Also bought me a small magnet to put in the water reservoiar to pick up metal

Never had a Tormek, so it is hard to compare, but hopefully it will serve my small sharpening needs å few times å month

Edited By Johnny Gleden on 11/07/2013 22:33:04

Sorry..Dobbelposting

Edited By Johnny Gleden on 11/07/2013 22:31:46

Drove down to Essex (again) this morning to pick up some Britan tooling (again) that I won on Ebay. Bit of a mixed bag, and some duplicates, but nevertheless useful stuff:

Regards,

Andrew

Yesterday came back fromholiday on Skye. All the sun without too much heat (a nice 23 degrees). It doesn't get properly dark up there, I got up at 1 am to check.

Two sessions of archery revealed that my success the last time I tried (about 35 years ago) wasn't a fluke! Might have found another hobby...

Lots to catch up with here!

Well done Windy, especially!

Neil

Had the steamer redesign valve seat and guide finished and pressed into refashioned head will be doing a heat test with the blowlamp to check the valve stem clearances are ok when motor at operating temperature a bit crude but it works.

Roll on August 4th to see if successful at Kingsbury or a disaster it will be interesting with Bob bringing his steamer with new burner assembly that sounds like it’s generating more heat.

As usual if nothing breaks and weather reasonable 135mph looks promising as looking at the 129.33mph video if timing started at lap 8 or 9 instead of lap 5 the average speed would have been 130mph plus.

Hope I am not boring anyone with my build up to a possible  successful record attempt by Bob or myself.

Paul

Edited By Windy on 17/07/2013 20:24:17

Took down some scaffolding prior to putting it up on the other side of the house. Rather enjoy messing about as it is a form of big meccano but I wonder at what age I will no longer be able to lift a 21ft pole. It is one area some dumb pen pusher hasn't yet make illegal to DIY so just single safety rails and no toe boards (eeek HSE man having kittens).

pulled squirrel cage blower from ducted central heating to diagnose 'noise like a motor bike'. Discovered the blade assembly is spinning freely on its hub. It was held together primarily by friction, pretty much like a 'meccano' wheel on its boss. I managed to mill off the flange (i guess created under some humongous press),to separate the boss. It wasnt spinning free long, but has seriously undercut the mounting diameter. I've turned the boss down to make a new mounting area, now to reassemble it (probably drill and tap since i dont have a 20 ton press handy..) Then see if i can balance it...or chuck it all out and buy a new one. Since the company doesnt do heaters any more, and its 15 years old, i'm not hopeful.

and its turning cold again...

-russ (from Oz)

Paul

Keep up the good work I like the fast side of model engineering, I am going to miss you and Bob at Kingsbury again. I am competing in the Tether Car World Championships in Switzerland. I hope to exceed 200 mph again with my 10cc car. The 2.5cc car wont be as quick but it is certainly a chellenge to get the 40,000 rpm out of the engine with any consistency.

Olly

Pump for our borehole failed a week ago, ordered a new pump. It was delivered yesterday. Fitted it, switched on and the motor didn't turn - big dent in the fan cover stopping the fan and motor turning. Contacted the supplier and they are sending a new cover.

So today I'm sitting in the garden with a glass of wine watching the grass go brown. At least it won't need mowing

Russell

Singer 660 A1 industrial sewing machine for doing the leather upholstery for the Austin Seven & A35.

Assembled the frame base consisting of two CI uprights & one CI spreader, and I have a length of 1"ø bar, tapped either end, that appears to fit between the frame uprights just above the spreader.

No idea what it does, so have left it off for now.

Fitted the knee lifter, bobbin winder and heavy clutch motor to the base and screwed that to the frame.

Pretty easy once the grey matter started working as it should.

Took the sewing machine into the carport and gave it a good clean and will leave it there to dry out.

Just need to either find or make a couple of Arm Spool Pins & Thread Eyelets.

Geoff - Called it a day.

Today I went up to "Reliant Rubber Co" at Batley Yorkshire, (180 miles each way ) to collect the wheels of my 6" scale Burrell traction engine, to which they had fitted the vulcanised rubber tyres, also shot blasted and primed, had a tour of the factory with the boss.

Richard.

Edited By RICHARD GREEN 2 on 18/07/2013 17:48:24

Don't tell us, it's creeping down towards the 20s isn't it?

Neil

Richard,

The shot blast & prime sounds a good idea, I recall Martin Wallis was taken aback by the state of his rusty little samson wheels after vulcanising!

He had his tyres made oversize and ground them down, yours look more or less on size to me?

Neil

Neil,

Yes the tyres are perfectly on size, I gave Trevor at "Reliant" the required sizes and he machined them to the drawings,

They have several facing lathes that they machine traction tyres on, the largest had at least an 8 foot faceplate on it,

When we took the wheels up to " Reliant " about five weeks ago they were working on a pair of 6 foot 6 inch diameter rear wheels from a full size road loco,

Also they were "rubbering" steam roller wheels,

Richard.

Our local library has a display case, and we are invited to put up a display, so today I took the Stuart Turner S9 That I rebuilt earlier in the year.Ian S C

Ian S C

The flash steamer engine mods have been finished now it's assembly time.

Had a lad come with a couple of antique trumpets one I will make a few parts for on condition he gives me a Concert?

I thought the steamer was noisy until he gave me a taste of a trumpet voluntary on them.

It was good to see what a person with limited academic qualifications can do as trumpets that were a basket case has been turned into a thing of beauty and sound by his own hands.

Paul

Hi Paul,

Perhaps he can use them to get through the door of a local engineering firm?

Good luck for the weekend

Neil