What did you do today? (2014)

[Raymond Sanderson 2Participant @raymondsanderson2]

Could have become a collector of some nice old Engineering books in visiting an old book store story here

 

Edited By Raymond Sanderson 2 on 18/05/2014 10:44:59

[Cornish JackParticipant @cornishjack]

V8Eng – re. ground-living bees, some time back I had an old decrepit shed dismantled and the area concreted for the base of a replacement. Lifting the old base revealed a bumble bee 'nest', well populated and built on an enormous collection of empty snail shells. Unfortunately, it was too late to recover and/or rescue so I had everything that I could gather up put into a similar area behind the garage. The bumbles were obviously much confused and took several days to find the new home. I hope they settled in but ultimately all to no avail – the whole lot was demolished/washed away in the December 'surge'. Great shame – I do like bumble bees

Rgds

Bill

[V8EngParticipant @v8eng]

Clive / Jack.

Thanks for the replies, I might try and get a few pictures without getting too near or in their flight path etc.

[OuBallieParticipant @ouballie]

Neil,

Good to see the bearings outside the wheel track, therefore no chance of tipping.

Clive,

Are the bees that inhabited my nest of tubes Fossor or Mason?

The seven clumps of tube 'nests' where doing great until the bad 2012 spring, and been empty since.

From what you have said, me thinks I need to bin the tubes and start again.

Geoff – Drawer organising continues. What can I say?

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Hi Geoff,

Solitary bees and bumble bee nests only last one season. If they are reused it is just because they happen to be in a good place.

Some species of bumble bee like to use old mouse nests! Anotehr way to encourage them is to 'plant' old clay flowerpots upside down so there's a space inside about as big as a tennis ball with good access through the hole in the bottom.

This might be useful **LINK**

Neil

[John Stevenson 1Participant @johnstevenson1]

Not done a lot this weekend, some bricking for daughter so it's all ready for plasterer next week.

Basically a chill out weekend, now on my third pint of old Rosie cider.

God it's hard work running a back street bodging shop all week and being in such demand

[Les Jones 1Participant @lesjones1]

Hi John,
I think your description of "back street bodging shop" is being unfair on yourself. My favourite post on this forum was the one when someone was criticizing your work in one sentence and unknowingly praising you work in another. He was praising some work he had done on a classic car which was sub contracted to you by the person he was dealing with.

Les.

Edited By Les Jones 1 on 18/05/2014 18:19:00

[John Stevenson 1Participant @johnstevenson1]

Thanks Les.

Just spotted the two photos of the LED light in your photo's.

Just bought a box of 20 of these off that very nice young lady that stands the Harrogate show, trading as craftlights.co.uk

Idea is lather this year to panel the roof in the shop, at the moment unpainted and uninsulated with plasterboard and insulation, throw the tube banks away and replace with these to light individual machines and gangways.

So far finished up mounting one above the small CNC lathe that is jammed in a corner, it only does two jobs but it does many of each. Works great, only need this one light on instead of having to have the whole shop lit and this corner still dark.

Also put one under the gazebo on the back patio this weekend so I can see what I'm stumbling over after 47 pints.

I'm hoping it will work but I probably won't be able to remember ?

[Boiler BriParticipant @boilerbri]

It's been such a lovely weekend and as such the SWIMBO has been soaking up the rays. So she's happy and i have managed to get on with the Durham.

I cut a gasket to seat the cylinder casting on, any thoughts on it sealing first time?

Bri

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

A smear of Graphite Foliac seems to be the favorite recipe. Not sure what the underside of your cylinder is like but I would have taken the gasket over the whole surface of the casting then there is less water going to get trapped between liner and boiler pad so less corrosion.

Edited By JasonB on 18/05/2014 20:20:09

[Boiler BriParticipant @boilerbri]

Right thanks Jason, i wondered if it would be better full face. I even thought about leaving the gasket out and using some head gasket paste.

Good point on the water.

The under surface of the cylinder is excellent finish and matches the plate. When the boiler came from Bell the sub-plate was missing, i never questioned it at the time but after a lot of thinking i thought it was going to work out better if i rolled the plate and made it match the cylinder. After rolling the sub plate it was bolted to the cylinder, I then ran the risk of welding the sub plate and bolted cylinder to the boiler. I can not get a feeler gauge under the joint when all the bolts are eased off.

Some how though i still feel i need a gasket?

Bri

[Clive HartlandParticipant @clivehartland94829]

Without detailed examination I could not say if Fossor or Mason bees, Many people with nice gardens and lots of shrubs do set up wooden blocks drilled with 3/8" holes to entice the bees. You can buy little wooden houses with tubes already set up in them. Making your own is easy but drill through a thin bit of wood first to keep the edges clean. Was called to a neighbor today as he has Bumble bees going in behind his gas inlet pipe, Suggested he just leaves them alone to get on with it and foam fill in the winter. We all really must do all we can to encourage the bees as they are in decline, being affected by Pesticides and Herbicides plus all these Franken plants that allow the pollen to be contaminated even when the Company that supplies the seed says that there is no way the pollen can carry the weedkiller through the system, then why are the bee researchers finding it in the pollen.? People have very little thought about this specie if insects that are so vital to our existence on this planet. Some years back a place in China that grew fruit trees became so laced with pesticide that no bee could live there or pollinate and now they have to hand pollinate the fruit tree flowers.

Clive

[Roderick JenkinsParticipant @roderickjenkins93242]

Posted by Clive Hartland on 18/05/2014 20:48:12:

You can buy little wooden houses with tubes already set up in them.

Here's ours, fastened to a south facing fence:

I think I've detected 3 different looking bees using it. I'm assuming that at least some are males, which suggests 2 species.

Love reading about your bees Clive.

cheers,

Rod

[WindyParticipant @windy30762]

Had two days at Elvington National speed records there was a fast lass doing a record at over 230 mph and jet car at 281 mph.

With my links to this scene was allowed to test the hydro after modifying it after Harrogate show fire ups minor problems are getting sorted.

Windy

[Terence Yates 1Participant @terenceyates1]

I was fitting D.R.O.s to my new Lathe today when I noticed something large flying just outside my workshop door. I did not need to go outside to see what it was because it came in. It was a huge Hornet and the first I have ever seen in Birmingham. I called my daughter to come and look as it had now settled on a shelf. In this time I found my 6 inch rule and measured it, 5.25 cm, over 2 inches. My daughter arrived and was amazed, she went tearing back for the camera and arrived back with the camera and swimbo so fast the Hornet took off and headed for the doorway they were coming through. I nearly peed myself laughing, they saw it coming, turned round and the last I saw of them was running and screaming back to the house.

The last time i had seen Hornets was when I did a little work on a Farm at Hanley Childe. The old farmer Bert used to say six stings from one O them will kill a Horse.

Terry.

[Terence Yates 1Participant @terenceyates1]

My Wife says I was exagerating the size as I had already had one can of Tenant's Super and was on my second but she agrees it was big.

Terry.

[Les Jones 1Participant @lesjones1]

Hi John,
I noticed these floodlights on the craftlights.co.uk stand. I think they were brighter than the two I bought some time ago on ebay. (I bought one mains and one 12 volt version.) When I saw them on the stand they had all sold out but they were taking postal orders for them. ( Maybe your purchase of 20 of them cleared their stock.)

Les.

[John Stevenson 1Participant @johnstevenson1]

Les,

No they were sold out when I got there on the Saturday. I spoke to the nice lady about prices and quantity and she passed me on to her father who actually runs the company.

So on the Monday after, rang him up and spoke to him and got a good deal. Prices are related to one off, and then in boxes of ten. I need more than 10 hence the 20 order but seeing as how good these are I reckon they will pay back in under 9 months.

My workshop lights go on early morning and go off late night, there is natural light but not enough to work with and I reckon that half my electric bill goes on lighting. I do know what I use as the workshop is on it's own 3 phase supply and meter, down side is I get 2 electric bills every quarter

As an aside I put the canvas top on this weekend on the gazebo which gets taken down each winter and took the time to fasten one up with some cable ties tight at the top, throws a nice warm light out that is more than enough to see which dog you are falling over.

[ChrisHParticipant @chrish]

After having a lovely afternoon's drive along the South West coast in the sunshine and in lovely countryside yesterday in my end-of-life-crisis car, a Mk.1 MX5, back to reality today, the lawns been cut and off this arvo to do some babysitting tomorrow for daughter that needs to do well in her new job. Shed again Wednesday I hope!

We have the odd bee living in my shed wall, going in through wee holes in the mortar, we also have bees in my neighbours lawn, mining bees I think they are. Not arrived yet, but now is the time they start to appear, they then are there in their masses for about six weeks and then suddenly disappear. I have been told that happens after the males arrive and they have mated. We also have quite a few bumble bees, huge things, but don't know where they live.

Chris

[Clive HartlandParticipant @clivehartland94829]

I'm pretty sure thats a Leaf Cutter Bee Rod, today I was in the Apiary early and found a swarm on the ground all spread out. I placed a box over it hoping they would go up in it but when i went back at dinnertime they had gone.

A walk around soon found them almost up to the hives but still spread out on the grass, very odd I think. Again I placed a carton over them and as they are in the shade they may well go up this time. At the moment each of my hives has 3 honey boxes on it, a quick estimate at 25lb a box would give some 300lb. There are 2 more hives not yet given their boxes. Also today i see that the Blackberries have started to flower and the bees will go for that in ernest. I think I will need more boxes.

Clive

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Just returned from Grocery shopping, complete with two of these

"Small Hobby Case" from Aldi … Made in the UK, from Polypropylene, they seem quite robust, and a reasonable size for small-tool storage [my assorted HoleSaws being the first candidate]. … If they are as good as they appear, I think a dozen on a high shelf could be very useful.

MichaelG.

[OuBallieParticipant @ouballie]

A Google search showed me where I've been going wrong with the bee tube nests.

They where on a sunny South facing fence, but the undergrowth has grown such, that they are now in perpetual shade, so I will be repositioning them.

Didn't realise they where cold blooded creatures.

Geoff – Dobbie spring cleaned ready for MOT

Edit:

It was fascinating watching a leaf cutter bee doing her thing.

Edited By OuBallie on 19/05/2014 17:49:47

[Clive HartlandParticipant @clivehartland94829]

Forgot to mention the Bumble bees have taken over a bird box in the orchard, they will be safe and dry in there so I wish them well, I will observe over time and see how they get on.

Clive

[Martin WParticipant @martinw]

Hi

Not quite today but finished the extended banjo for my little DB7 lathe. Allows a extra gears to be put in the train plus with a single gear will allow the lead screw to be reversed for left hand cutting. Also made some revised gear carrier axles.

[StevoParticipant @stevo]

Well you could have finished them properly.

Honestly.. I ask you…

(Jealous… a lot..)

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