What did you do today? (2014)

[Boiler BriParticipant @boilerbri]

As the sky was leaking we called in at the auction in Criccieth.

Lot 17 was "a train and track". I know nothing about G guage but knew I had to have it.

Short stay at the auction and one happy chappie.

Turns out to be a roundhouse ' Charles Pooter' with radio control fitted. Meths fired.

They stopped production in 2000, it is enhanced with name plates and rear lamp.

 

The carriages are all Ffestiniog style, one is in bits, and I have already started to fit it back together.

 

Photographs are in my albums if anyone is interested?

 

Brian

 

Edited By Boiler Bri on 20/07/2014 09:05:57

[Les Jones 1Participant @lesjones1]

The programme "Fifteen Billion Pound Railway" that Clive mentioned yesterday is now available on iPlayer.

Les.

[David ColwillParticipant @davidcolwill19261]

Todays job is……

Stop the workshop falling down!

Actually it has been the job of the last week.

I am having to replace a rotten lintel. Needles to say my bricklaying skills are minimal but I'm nearly there.

Right O back to work.

David.

[BazyleParticipant @bazyle]

Picked upa David Dowling engraver from a one man small engineering shop closing down and he let me pick over his skip. Got some nice bits of metal not too affected by a few days rain. What I don't fancy can go in our club shop.

[MuzzerParticipant @muzzer]

I've learnt a lot making these pistons. But I'm not satisfied with them, so they will be going in the bin, and I'll make another pair. Metal already on order!

Is the one top right "before" and bottom right "after'? What's wrong with them. And did you make the piston ring – that looks tricky.

[Clive HartlandParticipant @clivehartland94829]

There is another TV programme on Tuesday about bees, its on BBC 2 at 8pm. This would only interest people who have an interest in nature and this is the 2nd part and is about Queen bees.

Clive

[chris stephensParticipant @chrisstephens63393]

Hi Neil, Bob and others,

"Standard" colour chart, perhaps "similar" might be nearer the phrase, take a look at Acton Bright's list, some colours the same, some are completely different. EN1A the same,green, but EN24T completely different, brown versus blue.

It all depends on where the suppliers get their stock, so best check rather than assume.

chriStephens

[Anonymous]

Posted by Muzzer on 20/07/2014 21:16:08:

I've learnt a lot making these pistons. But I'm not satisfied with them, so they will be going in the bin, and I'll make another pair. Metal already on order!

Is the one top right "before" and bottom right "after'? What's wrong with them. And did you make the piston ring – that looks tricky.

Top right and bottom right are the two halves that screw together. Of course both pistons are perfectly usable, and no -one will ever see the hiccups once they're assembled and in the cylinders. But they're not quite right.

The milling on the pockets of the one bottom right is a bit iffy; because I forgot to tighten the nut on the ER collet before milling. I also messed up boring out the recess for the nut on the piston rod, resulting in the piston being a few thou short. On one part the internal hole is countersunk, because I went too deep with the centre drill. Finally on one piston there is a gap of a few thou when screwed together, probably because I wasn't careful enough with the clearances for the threads at the ends.

No I didn't make the piston ring; it's a Clupet ring. I've read the manufacturing explanation, and I'm still none the wiser as to how they're made. I've made cast iron pistons rings in the past, easy- peasy. So it seemed interesting to try something different; hence the Clupet rings.

Regards,

Andrew

[Four stroke FredParticipant @fourstrokefred]

Had a good day today as I ran FAB 2, the all fabricated 15cc engine, and also started to machine the cast iron flywheel for the tractor. As it is winter here in Australia the cold start (7C) to the mornings reminds of my workshop in the UK (Newhaven). Cold metal,cold chucks and cold fingers! I still have problems adding photographs to forum -can get photograph or typed script but have difficulty with both. Must be a combination of thickness and age!

George Punter,

Bundaberg.

Edited By Four stroke Fred on 21/07/2014 10:18:16

[OuBallieParticipant @ouballie]

Clive,

I enjoyed the first 'Hive Alive' and learned a lot.

Who would have thought that bees and flowers 'communicate' with each other!

As mentioned in the programme, I have also been amazed at seeing bees ignore flowers recently visited by themselves or other bees, but not knowing why or how. Now I do.

Mind boggling to say the least!

Geoff – Taking videos in the Workshop is NOT a doddle. See my LCD post for details.

[Raymond Sanderson 2Participant @raymondsanderson2]

Completed another Fountain pen wood is Wenge

[Roderick JenkinsParticipant @roderickjenkins93242]

That's very smart. Nice finish – I'm sure the piece of Wenge I had was pretty open grained.

Cheers,

Rod

[dcostaParticipant @dcosta]

Hello Raymond,

Very nice work.

Regards
Dias Costa

[Bob RodgersonParticipant @bobrodgerson97362]

Not today but yesterday, I went for a run on my 1927 Humber 350 side valve motorcycle. Normally it goes so slow that flies get stuck to the back of my helmet but yesterday, I think from the taste of it, a wasp decided to fly into my mouth.

Now despite virtually instantaneous rejection by me the beggar managed to sting me in the split second it was in my mouth. By the time I got home I had a marble sized lump on the inside of my lower lip and couldn't speak properly. I was luck that it didn't get further into my mouth and from the speed of the reaction to the sting I now realise how it can give severe problems with breathing if you get stung at the back of your throat.

Fortunately the swelling went down after a couple of hours and I was able to carry on setting up the CNC mill.

[Clive HartlandParticipant @clivehartland94829]

I had a lovely day today, the clown who owned the house next door before he emigrated planted a Leylandi right up close to his house and on the boundary, in other words 3 meters from the corner of my house. It grew fast as they do and I noticed the paving stones on my patio lifting. So today i investigated and found 3 roots coming from the Leylandi under the fence and heading towards my house. I dug down and found the root ball just under the fence and cut the offending roots and severed another 3" or so again. Then I got my gas weed burner and played it on the rootball until it was well charred! Now I have to buy some sharp sand and tamp it all down again and replace the pavers. I just hope I have done enough damage to the fir to deter any more roots coming my way.

Clive

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

> I have also been amazed at seeing bees ignore flowers recently visited by themselves or other bees

I don't know if this was in the programme, but watch a bee visiting a gorse bush. As it forces its way into the flower, it opens up and thumps the bee in the tummy collecting pollen while dusting the visitor with pollen from its own stamens. The flower remains in the re-arranged shape and this deters further visitors.

Neil

[Rik ShawParticipant @rikshaw]

Hello Clive – Personally I would dispense with the gas weed burner and use a proper flame thrower. The stump can be removed with a small charge of Semtex.

Rik

[Clive HartlandParticipant @clivehartland94829]

Oh I wish Rik, the fir has been a bone of contention since it was planted and now even though it has been topped it still blocks light. Im getting to old for all this earth and slab humping. It seems to grow quicker each year and I can fill the green bin with what I cut from my side. The residents are Iraqi and he is a Pediatrician at the local Hospital. Nice people and we get on but the tree, it keeps getting in the way. Of interest the trunk though only about 3 meters high now is 8" in diameter.

I have to say that the last time I used PE it certainly shifted a tree. It turned the trunk into a thousand sharp spikes. Better still were the 'W' trays used to break tank tracks under fire. a half pound of PE pressed into the shaped tray cut the tough tracks clean as a whistle. Many times I would have liked to resort to using a big bang to get something moved.

The bees, Bees see only in the Ultra Violet and flower colours are visible in UV. We cannot see UV as our spectrum is much lower. I often wonder what we look like to a bee? Strangely they seem quite happy to tolerate me among the hives and sometimes will settle on my hands and sort of examine my skin and sniff around. They come into the garage where I store bits and pieces and of course they can smell the wax and honey residue, even Bumble bees come and look also.

Interesting to read Bobs tale of the wasp in his mouth, I was belting along in Hong Kong on my Norton Dominator and a big beetle hit me in the middle of the forehead and it dont half hurt! I made sure I wore my goggles after that.

Clive

Clive

[Raymond Sanderson 2Participant @raymondsanderson2]

Posted by Roderick Jenkins on 23/07/2014 13:39:50:

That's very smart. Nice finish – I'm sure the piece of Wenge I had was pretty open grained.

Cheers,

Rod

 

Thanks Rod the first one I did was much like you say very different **LINK**

 

 

Thanks Diae Costa

Edited By Raymond Sanderson 2 on 24/07/2014 01:41:02

[Raymond Sanderson 2Participant @raymondsanderson2]

I see a number of you enjoy the Bee's and I guess there produce also, Honey and the wax??

I haven't read all the post on the matter but just in passing LOML has a nice Lavender garden at the front of the house and of course the Bee's love it. About 4 yrs ago they decided that it would be better to move closer to the source. The Bee's took up residence within the bedroom wall cavity no problem we thought, until the meter reader was surrounded by Bee's when entering the territory as well as the grandkids when they came to visit.

Had to deter and seal the entry holes, this hasn't stopped them at the feeding frenzy of Lavender and this whole winter they are still going strong. just wish we knew where the hive or box was.

We can't put in a hive as we are renting and local school kids pass daily.

[OuBallieParticipant @ouballie]

Bob,

OUCH! You had a near miss alright. I shudder to think of the consequences if it had stung you in your throat.

That was one reason why I wore a Bell 'spaceman' full face helmet when on my Honda. Bugs don't taste nice.

Incidentally, I was one of the first in SA to wear that helmet, as well as full Nomex gear when racing my 105E Anglia at Kyalami in the '70s, after hearing about guys having teeth knocked out during a woopsie on track.

Neil,

Never had the pleasure of observing that. Amazing as well.

Actually both of Martha Kearney's programs where. One of the most interesting I have watched in ages.

Geoff – New license received, as three score and ten arrives end September, & I feel it today

[Ian S CParticipant @iansc]

Clive, blasting the tree reminds me of when I was very young (maybe 9 or 10), our neighbour in the semi rural area that we lived decided that two large pine trees should go, so he placed his explosives under the trees, nice and evenly placed around the base of the trees, he then fire the charge (both at once), an almighty bang, clouds of earth, the trees rose a number of feet in the air, then settled back down in the holes they had come out of. In the end it required a bulldozer to dig them out, I remember dad saying before all of this , that a dozer was the way to go, he was worried about his two large glass houses. Ian S C

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

They always used to say you could tell a real biker, because he grinned so much as he was hooning his teeth would be covered in bugs

Neil

[John McNamaraParticipant @johnmcnamara74883]

Hmm Tree invasion……

A nice thin 5mm extended drill a little "round up" inoculation and the problem is gone in a few days.

Shhhhh

Regards
John

[MikeParticipant @mike89748]

I once killed quite a large tree on my property with Roundup root killer. The trick is to drill a hole in the root, fill the hole with the magic liquid, then plug the hole. Osmotic pressure does the rest…

Not that I would wish to put ideas into Clive's head, of course…

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