Stuff you have fixed today

[Keithmac]

I remember doing the green mouldy earthing points on a Super Blackbird!
What a mess
At least I got it super cheap as the HISS immobiliser was playing up

I'm nearly done with this, new top yoke and HISS lockset was £1000, interesting job coding brand new keys but go there in the end!.

Expensive job because some summer tried to pinch it..

 

[Migmac]

This is the toro my son brought home

It wouldn’t start but a very simple fix, cleaned the plug and away it went. Odd machine, pull the bail and cord and it starts. Walk towards it and moves at your pace, pick up the pace and it goes faster too. Quiet clever I thought

 

[The_Yellow_Ardvark]

This nice German Wilsco Engine came my way the other day. I knew it needed work, they all do when they get this old.
This one had lost the following.
Whistle.
Burner tray.


The parts are avaialable from a few places.

Putting it into steam showed it had no power. It struggled to turn it's own flywheel.

The clear issue was teh safety valve was so far gone, it would have to be replaced.

New parts arrived and were fitted. It proved to me that from this engine being built and new engines, the threads changed from metric fine to Metric standard.

Did it work?

No.

Every fixing leaked, the main steam pipe was solid with crud. The piston con rod was bent.

Then finaly on the last steam the gasket on the site glass let go.

So I took it bits. It was given a bath in Citric acid, a new seal was made.
The con rod was eased into shape
.

The new whistle was weeping. So that was rebuilt as well.

At last.
Fully working and a small but powerfull engine.

 

[awemawson]

Cigarette lighter socket on the JCB 3CX. Volts on it when probed from the front, but plugs and actual lighter elements didn't work.

I eventually cottoned on the the fact that deep down in the socket are clips that not only supply the power, but retain the plug / element and they had lost their springyness. Probably been over loaded at some time and got too hot.

Easy - just replace it - except not only are the originals no longer available, but I couldn't get at the back of it without major dismantling. Bought an after market jobby as near the same as I could find, had to totally destroy the original so as to pull it through the hole in the ash tray support mangling it in situ, then open up the hole from 25 mm to 28 mm - all worked out OK in the end but a silly amount of faffing about.

. . .and I don't even smoke !!! (but I do want to use the socket for phone charging etc )

 

[dan.taylor.1]

Cigarette lighter socket on the JCB 3CX. Volts on it when probed from the front, but plugs and actual lighter elements didn't work.

I eventually cottoned on the the fact that deep down in the socket are clips that not only supply the power, but retain the plug / element and they had lost their springyness. Probably been over loaded at some time and got too hot.

Easy - just replace it - except not only are the originals no longer available, but I couldn't get at the back of it without major dismantling. Bought an after market jobby as near the same as I could find, had to totally destroy the original so as to pull it through the hole in the ash tray support mangling it in situ, then open up the hole from 25 mm to 28 mm - all worked out OK in the end but a silly amount of faffing about.

. . .and I don't even smoke !!! (but I do want to use the socket for phone charging etc )

Bit late now, but I always replace them with a12v socket rather than a lighter socket, the cylinder is full on a 12v one where its broken up on the lighter by the clips, they just work better with charger leads.

 

[Turbo]

looks like the tape measure might have been playing up with the saddle spacings

Whenever I'm clipping T&E I use my claw hammer to measure the spacing & if it needs an extra clip I've a mark 1/2 way up the hammer.

 

[Melvyn Best]

Bit late now, but I always replace them with a12v socket rather than a lighter socket, the cylinder is full on a 12v one where its broken up on the lighter by the clips, they just work better with charger leads.

I’ve replaced a couple of 12v sockets on our motorhome with USB sockets that work even better with charging leads

 

[Cobbler]

Whenever I'm clipping T&E I use my claw hammer to measure the spacing & if it needs an extra clip I've a mark 1/2 way up the hammer.

Many years ago on BT, then GPO, the boss came out to see a mate of mine that had recently started. Mate was clipping cable down a pole & the boss asked what is the spacing between the clips. Mate replied “hammer & half” The boss was not amused, he expected the “book“ measurement.

 

[James1979]

I’ve replaced a couple of 12v sockets on our motorhome with USB sockets that work even better with charging leads

Was going to say that, but thought as he’d done it I wouldn’t

I did the same as you in camper and my truck - I don’t have anything that has a cigarette lighter end on it now. All USB.

The DIN 12v are good for flashing lights and things though. Got one on the outside of the truck.

 

[Turbo]

Many years ago on BT, then GPO, the boss came out to see a mate of mine that had recently started. Mate was clipping cable down a pole & the boss asked what is the spacing between the clips. Mate replied “hammer & half” The boss was not amused, he expected the “book“ measurement.

I'm lucky in that my hand is nearly exactly 4" wide, thumb 1", little finger 1/2", my boot 12", ear to tip of fingers 3' & all are regularly used to measure stuff!

Not saying what I use to measure 8".

 

[DAPPH]

I'm lucky in that my hand is nearly exactly 4" wide, thumb 1", little finger 1/2", my boot 12", ear to tip of fingers 3' & all are regularly used to measure stuff!

Not saying what I use to measure 8".

Two hands ?

 

[redlig]

I'm lucky in that my hand is nearly exactly 4" wide, thumb 1", little finger 1/2", my boot 12", ear to tip of fingers 3' & all are regularly used to measure stuff!

Not saying what I use to measure 8".

My style of measurement " nearly exactly" followed by a quality control of" that'll do"

 

[James1979]

I'm lucky in that my hand is nearly exactly 4" wide, thumb 1", little finger 1/2", my boot 12", ear to tip of fingers 3' & all are regularly used to measure stuff!

Not saying what I use to measure 8".

Dunno but anything that’s about 2” from the ground is easy if I’m stood next to it

 

[redlig]

I'm lucky in that my hand is nearly exactly 4" wide, thumb 1", little finger 1/2", my boot 12", ear to tip of fingers 3' & all are regularly used to measure stuff!

Not saying what I use to measure 8".

Not after the sympathy vote by any chance?

 

[Bullet2012]

Dunno but anything that’s about 2” from the ground is easy if I’m stood next to it

Ahh, the curse of the short legs

 

[bourbon]

Started this today. Came into the repair cafe.

 

[bourbon]

getting there slowly

 

[galooph]

Started this today. Came into the repair cafe.

Gentlemen, we can rebuild him. We have the technology. We have the capability to build the world's first bionic man baby.

 

[Wedg1e]

I have a 2007 Makita cordless drill. It was bought for a site job and ended up being hammered rather harder than it should - so both batteries ended up with reduced capacity and that got worse as time went on. Eventually I built one battery pack out of the two but even that gave up the ghost.
Deciding it was past wasting time or money one, I opted to whip the 13mm Rohm chuck off it and bin the rest.
Got the locking screw out but could I hell get the chuck off. Tried every trick, ended up stripping the gearbox down thinking I'd just monkey the spindle out of the chuck.
And then I realised the internals were mint
So I carefully gathered up all the pingfeckits from where they'd been projected, gave them a slosh in petrol, threw in some grease and put it all back together, polished the commutator and checked the brushes.
I've just done what I should have done years ago - ordered some new batteries

 

[bourbon]

Done a few now, non this old though, guessing interwar. German