What Did You Do Today (2017)

[OuBallieParticipant @ouballie]

A few days ago replaced one of the rear shocks, swearing at myself and the World in general during.

Spent ages with a 5ft ext on the ratchet undoing the bottom bolt as space only allowed 1/8 turns, and in total disgust/frustration went looking for a solution to getting that tight bolt undone, with meds not helping.

The swearing started when I 'discovered' the air ratchet!

That tool made short work of removing and replacing that bolt plus the nut on the top connection.

Geoff – The whole exercise would have taken minutes instead of hours, if only I had remembered!

Edited By OuBallie on 08/12/2017 16:28:03

[Ian PParticipant @ianp]

Posted by OuBallie on 08/12/2017 16:26:35:

A few days ago replaced one of the rear shocks, swearing at myself and the World in general during.

Spent ages with a 5ft ext on the ratchet undoing the bottom bolt as space only allowed 1/8 turns, and in total disgust/frustration went looking for a solution to getting that tight bolt undone, with meds not helping.

The swearing started when I 'discovered' the air ratchet!

That tool made short work of removing and replacing that bolt plus the nut on the top connection.

Geoff – The whole exercise would have taken minutes instead of hours, if only I had remembered!

Edited By OuBallie on 08/12/2017 16:28:03

So where are the rear damper on an A7?

Ian P

[OuBallieParticipant @ouballie]

Posted by Ian P on 08/12/2017 16:40:01:

Posted by OuBallie on 08/12/2017 16:26:35:

A few days ago replaced one of the rear shocks, swearing at myself and the World in general during.

Spent ages with a 5ft ext on the ratchet undoing the bottom bolt as space only allowed 1/8 turns, and in total disgust/frustration went looking for a solution to getting that tight bolt undone, with meds not helping.

The swearing started when I 'discovered' the air ratchet!

That tool made short work of removing and replacing that bolt plus the nut on the top connection.

Geoff – The whole exercise would have taken minutes instead of hours, if only I had remembered!

Edited By OuBallie on 08/12/2017 16:28:03

So where are the rear damper on an A7?

Ian P

Smart @rse

Geoff – Don't you just love 'em

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

> cat sitting on the log?

[Stan] Bray's Bench, I think?

Neil

[Martin NewboldParticipant @martinnewbold]

Lol, Niel , backing up data and measuring parts i have made a quiet day pondering if i should risk trying to buy another chuck after the last one didnt turn up and the seller has disapeared from the bay.

Martin

[MuzzerParticipant @muzzer]

Finished off replumbing the kitchen today. There is now zero soldered copper pipework in the potable hot and cold supplies (lead risk in a house of this age). I also had to replace the under sink cupboard which had almost rotted away due to leakage from the sink (new one £32 from B&Q). I assumed this rotting was due to the fact that the sink anchors had come away from the underside of the worktop, leaving a gap around the top of the sink.

Finally got it all together and was preparing to buff up the sink before gluing it back under the worktop when I discovered the cause of the leakage. Although this is a Franke sink, it's turned into a sieve with holes all over, for instance the clusters bottom left and centre top here:

The good news is that Franke proclaim a 50 year guarantee (doubtless loads of getouts etc) and are regarded as a decent quality brand. Given that this kitchen is about 10 years old, something didn't work out so well. The water here is very soft – I wonder if that has resulted in these holes dissolving out? They still make it (Ariane ARX 110-35) but at £230 each I'll be on the blower to their customer services on Monday.

Murray

Edited By Muzzer on 08/12/2017 19:04:04

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Posted by Muzzer on 08/12/2017 18:46:00:

Finished off replumbing the kitchen today. There is now zero soldered copper pipework in the potable hot and cold supplies (lead risk in a house of this age). I also had to replace the under sink cupboard which had almost rotted away due to leakage from the sink (new one £32 from B&Q). I assumed this rotting was due to the fact that the sink anchors had come away from the underside of the worktop, leaving a gap around the top of the sink.

Finally got it all together and was preparing to buff up the sink before gluing it back under the worktop when I discovered the cause of the leakage. Although this is a Franke sink, it's turned into a sieve holes all over, for instance the clusters bottom left and centre top here:

Franke proclaim a 50 year guarantee (doubtless loads of getouts etc) and are regarded as a decent quality brand. Given that this kitchen is about 10 years old, something didn't work out so well. The water here is very soft – I wonder if that has resulted in these holes dissolving out?

Murray

More likely you wash you hands in it after being in the workshop?

Iron filings will start corrosion on stainless steel – ask how I know!

Neil

[MuzzerParticipant @muzzer]

Hardly been in this house for long and I've only had a functioning workshop for about a year. The previous owner was a comic artiste (I bought it from Bobby Ball – rock on Tommy etc) who won't have been flushing iron filings down the drain. I can only imagine it was a problem with the raw material.

Murray

[Jeff DaymanParticipant @jeffdayman43397]

this happens a lot on cheap 300 series stainless sheet raw material from China. When I worked for a firm doing instrument washers for medical and dental markets we had a few wash chambers every year (out of several thousand built per year ) that developed pinholes or bad staining after a few years use. The occurrences did not seem to be related to water in different regions, or soap used , etc. The weldability of the stuff varied a lot too. Price was right but quality was not consistent.

Given the high cost of your sink I would definitely make a warranty claim. If genuine 300 series stainless of good quality, it should last essentially forever without corroding, even if you leave it in the woods outdoors.

As others have said though, keep iron filings out of it and isolate any non-ferrous pipe fittings from it to prevent any galvanic action.

[Steve PaveyParticipant @stevepavey65865]

The cat on the log I was thinking was indeed the Whiston cat o’ log advertisement. A bit corny by today’s sophisticated standards but I bet it stuck in many readers minds. I seem to remember that they sold off cuts of many various materials as well as tools.

[BazyleParticipant @bazyle]

Exeter DMES meeting promised mince pies. Turns out Ces the Secretary is a keen caterer and there were piles of sandwiches, quiche, pizza, pies and I'm stuffed to the gunnels. Nice welcome for the 3 new members who joined this evening.

Alan brought along the track bender he has made so we are just waiting with fingers crossed for permission to start digging for the base due just before Xmas.

[MuzzerParticipant @muzzer]

Posted by Jeff Dayman on 08/12/2017 19:37:28:

this happens a lot on cheap 300 series stainless sheet raw material from China. When I worked for a firm doing instrument washers for medical and dental markets we had a few wash chambers every year (out of several thousand built per year ) that developed pinholes or bad staining after a few years use. The occurrences did not seem to be related to water in different regions, or soap used , etc. The weldability of the stuff varied a lot too. Price was right but quality was not consistent.

Given the high cost of your sink I would definitely make a warranty claim. If genuine 300 series stainless of good quality, it should last essentially forever without corroding, even if you leave it in the woods outdoors.

As others have said though, keep iron filings out of it and isolate any non-ferrous pipe fittings from it to prevent any galvanic action.

That's interesting Jeff – thanks for the thoughts. It does sound like a problem with the raw material then.

Of course, these "50 year" guarantees may be like the classical "lifetime warranty" ie most people don't even know / remember they had one and of course once the house / car etc changes hands it becomes difficult to prove you bought it or it was formally sold on to you. In this case I doubt it's been in production for 50 years, so surely there can't be any question that a claim would have merit.

On the face of it, I also seem to have incurred additional loss ie the carcass of the cupboard has ended up getting trashed due to the resultant swimming pool environment that I have to say I was struggling to fix. Must admit I was gobsmacked to discover the thing looks like a sieve. Last thing I was expecting – and me an engineer, silly me.

Murray

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Posted by Neil Wyatt on 27/11/2017 09:34:22:

Anything with an FTDI chip will be fine.

You don't need to spend £23

**LINK**

Neil

.

… and if you're happy with the Prolific chip try this: **LINK**

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Hot-USB-To-RS232-TTL-UART-PL2303HX-Auto-Converter-USB-to-COM-Module-Cable-JB/201198529178

If they get any cheaper they'll soon be paying you to take them away.

MichaelG.

[RobboParticipant @robbo]

Posted by Steve Pavey on 08/12/2017 23:09:59:

The cat on the log I was thinking was indeed the Whiston cat o’ log advertisement. A bit corny by today’s sophisticated standards but I bet it stuck in many readers minds. I seem to remember that they sold off cuts of many various materials as well as tools.

ken Whiston also used the phrase "seen my ill. cat.". Still have some small round bar, square, and flats from Whiston's in the bar stock cabinet.

I think that Proops who used to attend the shows bought up the metal stock on the demise of Whiston's.

Edited By Robbo on 09/12/2017 00:21:35

[RobinParticipant @robin]

Posted by Michael Gilligan on 09/12/2017 00:09:42:

… and if you're happy with the Prolific chip try this: **LINK*

Totally the wrong colour, black is so passe

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Posted by Robbo on 09/12/2017 00:19:50:

I think that Proops who used to attend the shows bought up the metal stock on the demise of Whiston's.

My only link to Whiston's was buying one of the last Whiston's Metal Packs from Proops – still a source of rolled (but bright) bar. The weight was made up with soft steel copper coated TIG rods – many used bent into U-shapes for releasing car rados!

Neil

[jimmy bParticipant @jimmyb]

Just spent a happy hour recovering the benches in the shed. Used cutting mats, hopefully they will last…..

Jim

[richardandtracyParticipant @richardandtracy]

Posted by Muzzer on 08/12/2017 18:46:00:

Finished off replumbing the kitchen today. There is now zero soldered copper pipework in the potable hot and cold supplies (lead risk in a house of this age). I also had to replace the under sink cupboard which had almost rotted away due to leakage from the sink (new one £32 from B&Q). I assumed this rotting was due to the fact that the sink anchors had come away from the underside of the worktop, leaving a gap around the top of the sink.

…

Murray

Edited By Muzzer on 08/12/2017 19:04:04

With regard to the lead content of solder… Do you live in a hard or soft water area? If hard, there will be very little risk of acidic erosion of the lead, even if you had 100% lead pipes. Different mater if in a soft water area.

Regards

Richard.

[OuBallieParticipant @ouballie]

IanP,

Brain wasn't with it yesterday when responding, sorry

Shock change was on the modern, those on the A7 where a doddle as body was off.

A7 shocks are friction type using wood and brass discs, compressed by spring, compared with modern type.

Geoff – Sometimes I need to think before posting.

[MuzzerParticipant @muzzer]

Posted by richardandtracy on 09/12/2017 16:33:31:

Posted by Muzzer on 08/12/2017 18:46:00:

Finished off replumbing the kitchen today. There is now zero soldered copper pipework in the potable hot and cold supplies (lead risk in a house of this age). I also had to replace the under sink cupboard which had almost rotted away due to leakage from the sink (new one £32 from B&Q). I assumed this rotting was due to the fact that the sink anchors had come away from the underside of the worktop, leaving a gap around the top of the sink.

…

Murray

Edited By Muzzer on 08/12/2017 19:04:04

With regard to the lead content of solder… Do you live in a hard or soft water area? If hard, there will be very little risk of acidic erosion of the lead, even if you had 100% lead pipes. Different mater if in a soft water area.

Regards

Richard.

I've lived in a few places over the years and I've never seen water as soft as this. There is absolutely no trace of chalk buildup in kettles, washing machines etc. I was suspecting this spectacular softness might have contributed to the (dissolved) holes in the sink.

In contrast, we had to scrap a washing machine when we lived in Cambridge. It was absolutely riddled with chalk (sic) deposits to the point that it packed up. I naively thought I'd be able to dismantle everything and simply clean out the chalk but it soon became obvious that this wasn't remotely achievable. Everything was packed almost solid, like one of those scary adverts for water softeners.

The risk of lead in water is also greater in hot water pipes, as lead salts are more soluble in warm water. But none of the pipes were insulated, the hot and cold pipes ran side by side and the hot water was continuously circulated by a pump to give instant hot water at the taps, so the cold pipes often ended up fairly warm much of the time. Overall it's a minimal hazard but having replaced almost all of the pipes with modern plastic, it seemed a shame not to finish the job by removing the final few metres of soldered pipe. Given the way our sink seems to have dissolved, that might have been a sensible move.

Murray

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Just finished a 9hr 26m print!

Phew!

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

Posted by Muzzer on 08/12/2017 19:07:24:

…. I can only imagine it was a problem with the raw material.

Murray

Not necessarily. Stainless steel is corrosion resistant, not corrosion proof.

There are many ways stainless can be damaged. Two different stainless steels in contact can react electrochemically – I have to be very careful not to mix two of my cutlery sets in a dishwasher! A more likely cause of the damage in Muzzer's sink is Chlorine. Table salt is a possibility, but I'd suspect Bleach and/or Bleaching powder. Some ladies like their kitchens really clean! Industry has trouble with organisms attacking the surface of stainless steel pipes and tanks. Unlikely in a kitchen but not impossible. If bacteria was responsible the sink may have been punctured from underneath. Whatever starts the initial entry, oxygen gets in the hole and bores the characteristic pin-hole.

Dave

[Mick B1Participant @mickb1]

Took son, DiL and grandkids on the Santa steam train. Lotsa fun, we all enjoyed it. The sherry tasted like it could etch glass, but the mince pie was decent, and the kids liked their presents from Santa.

The engine was a GW tank, tastelessly overpainted black. Not a single component I made in it, not even a pipe union – though there are odd bits of mine in some of the others.

[MuzzerParticipant @muzzer]

Posted by SillyOldDuffer on 09/12/2017 19:41:25:

Posted by Muzzer on 08/12/2017 19:07:24:

…. I can only imagine it was a problem with the raw material.

Murray

Not necessarily. Stainless steel is corrosion resistant, not corrosion proof.

There are many ways stainless can be damaged. Two different stainless steels in contact can react electrochemically – I have to be very careful not to mix two of my cutlery sets in a dishwasher! A more likely cause of the damage in Muzzer's sink is Chlorine. Table salt is a possibility, but I'd suspect Bleach and/or Bleaching powder. Some ladies like their kitchens really clean! Industry has trouble with organisms attacking the surface of stainless steel pipes and tanks. Unlikely in a kitchen but not impossible. If bacteria was responsible the sink may have been punctured from underneath. Whatever starts the initial entry, oxygen gets in the hole and bores the characteristic pin-hole.

Dave

Yes, it sounds as if they are typically made of 304 which is susceptible to pitting when exposed to chlorine (bleach, sodium hypochlorite). Worst situation would involve Brillo pads and warm bleach.

One paper suggests that sulphur inclusions result in local robbing of the chromium. Pretty good going to convert a sink into a sieve within 10 years, mind.

The pitting seems to have started from the inside of the sink, as there seem to be some that haven't made it right the way through yet.

Murray

[Ian PParticipant @ianp]

Posted by OuBallie on 09/12/2017 16:55:58:

IanP,

Brain wasn't with it yesterday when responding, sorry

Shock change was on the modern, those on the A7 where a doddle as body was off.

A7 shocks are friction type using wood and brass discs, compressed by spring, compared with modern type.

Geoff – Sometimes I need to think before posting.

No problem. You see, I wasn't thinking either. I saw you post and immediately thought, why would you need a 5 foot extension (to anything!) on a Seven.

So what's the modern car?

Ian P (Ex Nippy owner)

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