Druidic Dabblings and General Twaddle !!

[V8Druid]

busy (ish) day yesterday ... stripped a big Ikea wardrobe that we bought for Vicki maybe 20 years ago, to go in Clara's bedroom ... she's 'outgrown' what she had and is in need of a LOT more space - well she is almost nine
came apart well, fair play .. loaded into a trailer and off into town .. seem to recall handling it in one lump when it arrived here in 2010 ... I was a LOT younger then .. was heavy enough, laying it on its front to dismantle it now!!
A serious number of bits to lug down stairs and then back up into Clara's room .... went back together sweet as ... one very happy little girl .... she was filling the various draws, etc., while I was still trying to hang the doors back on it
Then her mummy wanted some wall lights putting up, (to replace the batten lamp holders I stuck up as a temporary measure when they moved in) .. went up surprisingly quickly and well.

Call from Russ tea time ... the two guys working on the cutter wheels, we couldn't get off Saturday had been at 'em with the gas axe and were ready to hoik 'em out ... so guess where I was first thing?
Woke up with a bump at six, looked at my phone, thought "Oh **** , the bloody alarm's not gone off " ... then realised it was an 08.00 start today - 'nother half hour in bed

got down to Pontrilas by ten to eight, expecting to see Russ sat waiting - nope - 's the fourth time I've beaten him to site in the last five days .. he always likes to be early
got all the crap moved from where we needed to be and set up ...
went and had a look at what the guys had been up to with the 'axe' and sure enough - 'xactly what I'd 've done with the damned things .. hacked some proper lumps out to get at the lock collars

got a bite on one, so's they could thrash the crap out of the collars, to slip 'em offf the shaft

one out .. and the next ....

did a good job on 'em, fair play

beautiful morning .. next one on it's maiden flight ...

and in it went ... some seriously nice operating from Russ .. it damned near fell on once we'd gotten it in the right spot

noo. 2 sat waiting in its crate, ready to take to the air ....

and in it went .........

nice easy morning ... was home having breakfast by eleven ..... no can you justs this morning and we didn't hang around to ask if there were any .. contract lift - job done

 

[V8Druid]

then after breakfast ......
set this up in the Ajax and datum-ed the hole ctrs, with the DRO ..

out of the Ajax

and into the Harrison for a bit of a shape up ..

had to keep a bit of pressure on it to groove it out .. one of the holes must be a couple of thou. out as it was wandering, trying to machine the groove ... bit of tailstock pressure cured that problem

and No. 2 done .....
might be able to get on with the rest of the 'project' now

if i don't get too many can you justs from the executive management dept.

back out with Russ on Friday, so got a couple of days to get creative, with a few other bits

 

[Lancs Lad]

busy (ish) day yesterday ... stripped a big Ikea wardrobe that we bought for Vicki maybe 20 years ago, to go in Clara's bedroom ... she's 'outgrown' what she had and is in need of a LOT more space - well she is almost nine
came apart well, fair play .. loaded into a trailer and off into town .. seem to recall handling it in one lump when it arrived here in 2010 ... I was a LOT younger then .. was heavy enough, laying it on its front to dismantle it now!!
A serious number of bits to lug down stairs and then back up into Clara's room .... went back together sweet as ... one very happy little girl .... she was filling the various draws, etc., while I was still trying to hang the doors back on it
Then her mummy wanted some wall lights putting up, (to replace the batten lamp holders I stuck up as a temporary measure when they moved in) .. went up surprisingly quickly and well.

Call from Russ tea time ... the two guys working on the cutter wheels, we couldn't get off Saturday had been at 'em with the gas axe and were ready to hoik 'em out ... so guess where I was first thing?
Woke up with a bump at six, looked at my phone, thought "Oh **** , the bloody alarm's not gone off " ... then realised it was an 08.00 start today - 'nother half hour in bed

got down to Pontrilas by ten to eight, expecting to see Russ sat waiting - nope - 's the fourth time I've beaten him to site in the last five days .. he always likes to be early
got all the crap moved from where we needed to be and set up ...
went and had a look at what the guys had been up to with the 'axe' and sure enough - 'xactly what I'd 've done with the damned things .. hacked some proper lumps out to get at the lock collars
View attachment 63187
got a bite on one, so's they could thrash the crap out of the collars, to slip 'em offf the shaft
View attachment 63188View attachment 63186 View attachment 63185

one out .. and the next ....
View attachment 63183

did a good job on 'em, fair play
View attachment 63179 View attachment 63180
beautiful morning .. next one on it's maiden flight ...
View attachment 63182 View attachment 63181
and in it went ... some seriously nice operating from Russ .. it damned near fell on once we'd gotten it in the right spot
View attachment 63178
noo. 2 sat waiting in its crate, ready to take to the air ....
View attachment 63177
and in it went .........
View attachment 63175View attachment 63176
nice easy morning ... was home having breakfast by eleven ..... no can you justs this morning and we didn't hang around to ask if there were any .. contract lift - job done

Few quid in that tangerine disc

 

[V8Druid]

Few quid in that tangerine disc

yeh .. I should smile ... as said, the machine hours in it to get it from a billet to that must be phenomenal ... apart from the cost of manufacturing all the cutters and building it all up
the faces are all triple helix - not just round, but rising ... some exceptional engineering, fair play ... plus it all has to be perfectly balanced, as it goes round at some rate of knots

 

[V8Druid]

aye .. just spent a couple of hours cleaning the Ajax miller and the Harrison lathe ... all covered in blue crap .. had the chuck off the Harrison and stripped, cleaned, blown out and oiled it all, 'fore lugging the 40kgs of it back on the spindle nose!!

just tripped over a D1-8 320mm 4 jaw on FB MP I'd love to have for it ---- in bloody Lowestoft though - have asked if he'd package it for collection - not heard back yet ... don't 'spose anyone here is anywhere near there ?????

@tinydigger ? far from you mate?

total bargain

View attachment 63219

and it eventually stopped precipitating, after getting my 'house keeping' done on the miller and lathe (what a mess!) .. looking a lot cleaner now

so got a little job I've been trying to do for ages, sorted

have had the muddies for ages and made up half the spacers a while ago ... made the other four yesterday, while I had the genny running and the lathe/band saw usable ...

Pam eventually returned from her day out with her mates and they'd stopped off on the way back at quite a large farm shop place - long time since we were last there
she brought me one of their steak and ale pies for me tea and I have to say, t'was one of the best I've ever eaten
worth every penny of that price ticket - absolutely stunning ... will have to have a trip and get a few more of them

 

[V8Druid]

found this last night ..... really fancy having a look it - 7.5t so'll be about a 4t payload ... could used to get these down to 3t bare, even, for plating ... have done thousands of miles in old TKs
this one is not gonna be everyone's cup of tea .... 3.5l straight six PETROL ... would run great on LPG and loads of space to fit plenty of tanks, 'specially if you pulled the petrol tank off, put a huge LPG tank in its place and just kept a small 5-ish gal. petrol tank, elsewhere, or even a couple of jerries on a QC umbilical

 

[V8Druid]

'nother busy day ...
started with this - done by one o'clock -- base frames ready assembled for lifting into spot, followed by the various silo/cyclone components -- couldn't get any further as half the component parts were missing ...
been sat in their yard for 14 months, in bits, on pallets .. although signed for, on delivery, there was a lot missing

then back to the log line motors

having removed the peeling blade rotors, it completely altered the dynamics of the damned things, so had to have a rethink on getting 'em back into where they lived

with the motors tucked under the end of the lines, they took some persuading back into spot, especially as they were now a loooooong way from balanced with the monster rotor removed

get 'em in so far then swap lift points with a pull lift t'other end of the carrier shaft to take the motor's weight .. first one for practise .. second was a little easier -- but opposite hand

also made easier by the fact that the arms above the lift point'd been stripped off as requested, on the last visit, getting the burgers out -- which would've been a POP without said arms in the direct line of lift .....

then stuck the arms back in/on

was worth the couple of minutes getting the single choke point right, for a perfectly balanced lift .. makes life so easy to juggle 'em into spot ...
and getting the lift perfectly flat saves a hell of a lot of wrestling a couple of tonne into position ..
keeping those link rods captive and up out the way also made life a POP ...
then just lift their drive heads back into line to get the links re-attached ... went sweet as

five o'clock and we were heading out the gate

 

[V8Druid]

28C here yesterday .. tad warm ... can't recall WTF I was doing yesterday morning but had a go at this in the afternoon ...
found some temp. lines and a case drain line .. been wanting to get the line off the drum for a while, so's I can get on and get it sorted ..

woke little Jake up from under his cover, tracked him round to the bench and coupled up the lines with the case drain on the breaker return to tank

grabbed a piece of rope for an extension and gave it a try ...

got fed up after about 30ft of hauling one handed and went and got Pam to run Jakie for me, while I pulled the line out

'til I got to the pear wedge ... unusual set up with the gripper screw as well ... had to wind it back in a bit to suss why I couldn't pull the tail free ... couldn't see it without rotating the drum a bit

grub screw released -- the pear wedge knocked out sweet as ....... and rope released

cleaned all the rusty crap off with a rag as I coiled it up to put away for now ................ and set about cleaning the drum and removing some of Mog's additions

today started with some more addition removal from t'other end ...... and fettling up the edges ..... also ran a tap into those four M12 holes .. gonna come in handy later

then it was time to get into the serious trimming and fettling ..... got a corded grinder out for the first time in ages

 

[V8Druid]

got this end squared up and tidied up

then turned the disc's attention to t'other end .... got it flat-ed off then squared up

time to flip it and have a bit of a brain storm for some dimensions

followed by hamster juice time, 'fore tea ....... was too bloody warm for much else this afters .. been 31C here and unusually zero breeze - like being in a sauna
tidied up after grub and set out some mounting holes on the base plate, ready for the mag drill tomorrow .......

plus some fab. time, hopefully


and just remembered what I was up to this morning ... repairing and fettling up one of our patio tables in need of some attention, 'fore getting a fresh coat of tish ... winter'd not been kind to it

 

[V8Druid]

been creating a few bits this afternoon, after a morning's paperwork and other odds an' sods

gonna have to wait to see what the 3D jigsaw makes .. visitors tomorrow

 

[V8Druid]

SIL & BIL legged it at half three, so had a bit of time 'fore tea to get a bit done ....
got a couple of 50mils done,
then swapped out for some 70s .. back to a few 20s then set up for a dozen 1 inch-ers ... didn't have a 1" broach and the 26mil I did have would've been too sloppy for what these're gonna do - a 1" drill it was ..
the 70s/50s from earlier
'nother pile of bits processed for assembly

rained here about six, but is supposed to be a dry day tomorrow .. see if I can't get this lot together

 

[V8Druid]

BIL didn't come empty handed the other day ..... brought me the remains of his pergola ..... his contribution to the wood/kindling stocks
filled the little trailer that goes behind the Countax (which has developed a flat tyre - one for later), to over flowing ...
so it all got chopped to suitable lengths ...... and then a lot got 'chopped' up with the axe and had a few bearers out of it all too

filled three of these ... an old water header tank I had sat and a.n.other smaller box ... also contributed quite a bit to one of the block bags I've been filling quietly with gash.....

just a few bits left last night to 'dismantle' and got them done late morning after returning from an early start with Russ down at Ponrtrilas - again - lifting the de-barker back into situ and it's associated guarding ..
away by 10 o'clock this morning

unusually I didn't get time for any pix -- we were on a mission - in and gone
pix from last shutdown, last August .. it's 12t ... shiny new orange wheels fitted this year

this arrived yesterday ...
good ol' FB MP

20kgs - £10.14 with Royal Mail Parcels ... amazingly cheap ... will be using them again - OK up to 30kgs -- booked collection on line POP

and this just after I got back this morning ...... 's what you call a packaging job ... purpose made box

dunno HTF he booked the delivery, but was half the weight and 5 quid dearer same postie as yesterday's drop

 

[V8Druid]

had the kids for 5 hours yesterday and same again today, so bench time's been restricted ..
got a few more bits chopped and processed ....
will soon have enough done to start creating ...
few more components I need to get my head around though

frustrating how long all the fiddly/piddly bits take to knock out
back 'in the day' I'd've cropped and punched this lot in under an hour .. or less even

black marker pen's datum edge

 

[Quattromike]

had the kids for 5 hours yesterday and same again today, so bench time's been restricted ..
got a few more bits chopped and processed ....
will soon have enough done to start creating ...
few more components I need to get my head around though
View attachment 63584 View attachment 63583 View attachment 63582 View attachment 63581
frustrating how long all the fiddly/piddly bits take to knock out
back 'in the day' I'd've cropped and punched this lot in under an hour .. or less even

black marker pen's datum edge

You need a profile cutter with truehole tech that cuts perfect holes for this kinda stuff, can chop them out with rounded corners in minutes, the fancier ones also fit the weld prep where required ready to weld on the job.
You could get one in your shed when you get in up

 

[V8Druid]

You need a profile cutter with truehole tech that cuts perfect holes for this kinda stuff, can chop them out with rounded corners in minutes, the fancier ones also fit the weld prep where required ready to weld on the job.
You could get one in your shed when you get in up

couldn't agree more Mike ... 's OK if it's earning though ... them days're gone
just a 'hobby' these days Boyo ..

a few more bits and more bits processed .....
my remnant of 70 mil BDMS ain't so bright after some time in the weather

took some getting back to some semblance of clean ......... and then a lead in on an end .....

one of the reasons I spent so long looking for a lathe with a 3" mandrel/spindle bore -- when you have a duck running 70 mil pins

some 'lead ins' on a dozen 1" pins ...

just noticed that one or two's a bit 'stumpy'

then it was time to find me leather apron ....
for some serious grinding on me 6" belt grinder -- after one hell of a slap in the leg, when a belt joint let go a while back, I was taking no chances - especially as I've been in shorts for weeks !
another one of them, without a pair of jeans and overalls on, would've taken several layers of leg ....
took some time, last time, to recover to a 'normal' looking leg! -- never had a belt let go like that before, in pushing twenty years of using them -- always a first time though .. hope it's the last / one and only -- that belt is doing 70mph, when it comes off/lets go
didn't much fancy spark rash on the legs, either

quick trial sizing ... measured out OK

and it was Pizza time


and after tea, although i'd intended to just tidy up all the mess ... swarf every where ... I made a bit more first

then cleared up ... thank God for me magnetic wand ......clearing up swarf's easy ... the belt grinder dust is a bit more time consuming but hate having it under-foot - it gets everywhere and well worth the effort of collecting .......
about 2 lbs of metal dust there

me 20L swarf bucket's just about overflowing tonight .. gonna need a fresh one soon

 

[V8Druid]

not a lot done today ... but quietly progressing .. got the caddy out - too bloody windy for the MIG
put these together

got one more to do, but short of a washer, so'll have to make one more
and then assembled a carrier frame diagonally perfect in every direction ..
end plated the top and bottom members as I wanted some 'meat' in the corners, rather than just mitre the corners

then me hamster juice stopped play for a couple of hours .... followed by munchies
came back to the bench after tea and got this consolidated ... needs slagging off in the morning

bit late to take the grinder to it to clean up the faces on a Sunday evening ... job for tomorrow and fit the various bracketry and pick up assembly
would've been so much quicker and neater with the MIG

 

[V8Druid]

been a pretty grim day here today ... did get an hour's respite about four and got it cleaned up, ground back and vee-ed where I needed to .. had just set it up for a few attachments/ bracketry and it lashed down again so gave up

'sposed to be better tomorrow

 

[V8Druid]

absolutely lashed it down here about seven o'clock ... thought bollox and rolled over ...had stopped by nine, but not looking good ..... nothing like the blue sky day forecast -- 'til about one.
only got rained on once this morning though, for about three minutes - big lumps and thought we were in for it
I was already set up and busy so ignored it .... and it went away
started putting some more together first thing ....
Pam out for the day with a friend so had the day to myself

was gonna assemble these on the bench ...

but thought better of it, trying to wrestle this lot about, so had a re-think ....

added a few bits of re-enforcing and set these pick ups up - very carefully

everything lined up a treat, so got it all stitched up

then braced up for a LOT more hot stick ..

took a roll of MIG wire up with me this morning, in the vain hope of using that, but the wind's been savage here today
pulled the pins and got it all consolidated ...
checking the pins now and again, but it didn't move, with some careful sequencing on the hot stick front

then whilst it all cooled down, i sorted the pin keeps and got them attached

set out some holes on a lump of 200 x 10 and got the mag out ....
needed it later and it made light work of some 18s in the 200 x 10

then turned my attention to the red bit .....
dunno where Mog had kept that piece of plate he'd attached to it, but I'd guess under water, judging by the pitting in it .. piece of an old boat 'praps

... and i'm out of pix

 

[V8Druid]

whatever the plate is on the bottom of that winch, it drilled a treat ... drill was sharp as and went through it like a hot knife through butter

centre holes were a bit tricky/interesting and had a firm hold of the Mag, in case ...
but it hung in there and pushed 'em through sweet as

Presto time .....

followed by a trial fit .... bang on

more trials ... another cock on fit

as you might tell from the pic, it was starting to get - not quite as bright as it had been, - so spent the rest of what was left clearing up the carnage ... swarf everywhere and tools, pretty much the same ...
all bits indoors for the night, in case we get another seven a.m. deluge ... not forecast, but neither was this morning's down pour either .....
lots more to do tomorrow

 

[Lancs Lad]

whatever the plate is on the bottom of that winch, it drilled a treat ... drill was sharp as and went through it like a hot knife through butter
View attachment 63738
centre holes were a bit tricky/interesting and had a firm hold of the Mag, in case ...
but it hung in there and pushed 'em through sweet as
View attachment 63737
Presto time .....
View attachment 63736
followed by a trial fit .... bang on
View attachment 63735
more trials ... another cock on fit
View attachment 63733
as you might tell from the pic, it was starting to get - not quite as bright as it had been, - so spent the rest of what was left clearing up the carnage ... swarf everywhere and tools, pretty much the same ...
all bits indoors for the night, in case we get another seven a.m. deluge ... not forecast, but neither was this morning's down pour either .....
lots more to do tomorrow

Really liking how this is going
Every man needs a big winch