tuesday got shot to s**t with 90% of it being taken up entertaining Clara - unexpectedly ... 'til late afternoon when i dragged the lil' Mountfield out, full of expectations for it to start - NOT

.... I wasn't disappointed

..... pull it to bits ....
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remarkably - no spiders/web on the points ..... just a very furry set .... quick clean ... reassemble and away it went


...... after I'd sorted the fuel filter that'd let go and spewed its guts all over the floor
little bit of tinkering, to get it ticking over smoothly and it was whizzing around the patch quite happily .... sized up the 'skip' trailer .... ball hitch on the back of the Mounty is set at std 16" ctr .... and realistically a bit high for said 'skip' so sussed an additional position for it and have sorted a suitable candidate plate to get attached, when I get the existing one off to attach it to (easier on the bench, than grovelling on the floor, for the sake of a couple of bolts)
Bit late after tea to go dragging me gear oot for the hitch so thought i'd have a look at the Harrison to see WTF it was chattering the other day. having had a close examination, it was coming apart ....
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someone'd been pissing with it and half the cross slide guide bolts were loose-ish ... needed investigation ... got the compound slide and tool post off and then the guides off and cleaned up, by which time it was nine o'clock and the boss had come to see if I was still upright and why hadn't I made her
mid evening cup o' tea?

..... so that was the end of that for the day.
Wednesday morning got Clara-ed for a couple of hours (Vicki's at 38 weeks and about to burst, so needs all the help she can get ATM)

I wish i had a quarter of Clara's energy !!
So ...... later in the day, I resumed where i'd left off ....
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I'd eventually dismantled enough of it to get the cross slide off by half two ... most have a cast lug on their underside carrying the lead screw nut ... not this one

, But I did eventually suss it and got it off to find a horror story
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that just got worse, the harder I looked and deeper I got ..... this is just Boris Karloff territory .....
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yes it's as bad as it looks ..... I've cleaned it as best I can -- which took soooome time !! and every thing else got the same treatment ....
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the nut is actually in a decent state, but this needs a new screw (and nut-to be sure) ..... hopefully Harrisons'll be able to supply and hopefully at a decent figure, otherwise I have a
plan B
got what was left of the screw decent and cleaned ... will give backlash, but is usable - sort of - for now ...
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cross slide sat while i had me tea
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... didn't want to leave this in bits, so it got re-assembled - a lot easier than it came apart

now I could see how it was assembled in the first place ......
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set up the slider mounts and their back up screws ..... got the compound cleaned, together with the tool post and back in place
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the backlash is tolerable/workable, as long as you account for it .... it'd do to create plan B if I have to
oh and someone's been in here before as the screw has been mod.ed at both ends

..... and will be Druidised too if they can't come up with a new screw

.... will make some calls tomorrow.
Today has been a 'different day'
