Today I acquired...........

[Turbo]

Yeah, I've spent the evening checking for the likelihood of it being a LH thread - because some are. The Rhona site lists replacement and alternative inlet pipes and quotes them as 1/4" NPT m, not a mention of LHandedness, so I'll have at it again tomorrow. The nut the fire guy gave me was for exactly this purpose, after I told him that I'd sourced the reg from a European provider, and he suggested I have a matching nut in case I needed it. If that inlet tube had come out easily, I'd have the new nut on and been using it today. The replacement nut seems beefy enough, and looking at the reg's own nut, while it's quite beefy, the retaining metal at the clamping shoulder doesn't really amount to much - much of the clamping shoulder has been removed by forming a hex on it, for the purpose of unscrewing the pipe. But by the time I fettle the new nut to closely fit the stem, there will be a better fit.
One good thing though; I found the body of the reg is solid forged brass, not cheap casting, so it should be man enough for a bit of heave-ho, but if it shows no sign of moving I'll just halt. No point in wrecking it, as it's definitely not a cheap piece of rubbish.
I think these ones were sold as the end of a run of ones fitted with 1/2 BSPP and probably punted out the factory door cheaply, just to get rid. Hence it found its way onto ebay and I bought it from a Hungarian chap on Ebay UK.
I wish I'd noticed before now, the difference in size.
I'll ask the fire guy if he can supply the next one with a simple handwheel and outlet thread, good idea, thanks.

The stem should have a normal RH thread but stems on regs for fuel gas like propane & acetylene are a LH thread.

 

[Farside]

The stem should have a normal RH thread but stems on regs for fuel gas like propane & acetylene are a LH thread.

What caused some caution was the discovery of some US CO2 regs with left and right hand stem threads at the small end. There's no thread showing, and no marking, so I tried to confirm what it was.

 

[Turbo]

What caused some caution was the discovery of some US CO2 regs with left and right hand stem threads at the small end. There's no thread showing, and no marking, so I tried to confirm what it was.

I know someone very well who has swapped stems over on fuel gas regs & they were LH thread. They have also dismantled argon regs & they were RH thread. (It wasn't me - I would never do such a reckless thing)
Green loctite was used in all cases & you would wring the stem off before green loctite will let go, unless you heat it first!

 

[Turbo]

I got my £25 welder hooked up to a temporary supply to try it out.

I thought I'd do a comparison with my existing identical Bantam. I was a bit worried that the welder threw the rcd twice randomly but I guess it was down to moisture in the tank, it settled down once warmed up.

3.2mm ine blu rod running at 145a, yes I know it's a bit high but they run ok but don't run well at 120A. I always thought it daft that there's no 130A tapping on a bantam!
I think the new welder runs slightly hotter than my old one but there's not much in it.

4mm bohler fox ohv rod at 165a, These rods run nicely, they even weld ok at 145a!

 

[Parm]

I got my £25 welder hooked up to a temporary supply to try it out.

View attachment 138518

I thought I'd do a comparison with my existing identical Bantam. I was a bit worried that the welder threw the rcd twice randomly but I guess it was down to moisture in the tank, it settled down once warmed up.

View attachment 138519

3.2mm ine blu rod running at 145a, yes I know it's a bit high but they run ok but don't run well at 120A. I always thought it daft that there's no 130A tapping on a bantam!
I think the new welder runs slightly hotter than my old one but there's not much in it.

View attachment 138520

4mm bohler fox ohv rod at 165a, These rods run nicely, they even weld ok at 145a!

Absolutely bullet proof welder, I got mine for 40 quid and well happy with it.

Now for the dodgy bit....... if only I could weld properly

 

[slim_boy_fat]

...... if only I could weld properly

Join the Club!!

 

[MattF]

Join the Club!!

One with quite a few members. Myself included.

 

[dieselsamurai]

was going in skip and it works fine! Im almost there with all the bits for a hydralic press , can they be converted to use a remote hand pump ? ie one from a body kit

 

[sardine]

View attachment 138477 View attachment 138478 This.

As a thank you from Howdens Kitchens for opening an account with them.

I don't need a trade account as I stopped fitting kitchens years ago, but when I went in for a few bits the other day, the offer of freebies made it sound like a very good idea!

Not used them yet, so I've yet to find out if they're any good or not.

I tried to open an account when they were giving away battery drills, they made it so difficult I gave up. The manager really didn't want to let go of any of the freebies.

 

[MattF]

Do they still do those grey metal screw containers? The ones with the removable trays, carry handle etc.? They're handy bits of kit.

 

[eLuSiVeMiTe]

I tried to open an account when they were giving away battery drills, they made it so difficult I gave up. The manager really didn't want to let go of any of the freebies.

Didn't argue with me. Business name of cooks carpentry probably helped.

@MattF yes still do em. About 50 quid full of reiser screws from memory.

 

[Farside]

Today, I swapped one of these...

For one of these...

I might eventually get around to making some tiggy noises.

 

[DennisCA]

2.2kw Dust collector, motor was tested with am old but professional megger, the old analog kind you wind up.

 

[The_Yellow_Ardvark]

@Dennis Aspö

Nowt wrong with a wind up megger.

Solid bit of kit, good for testing and waking people up.

 

[The_Yellow_Ardvark]

@Farside

Did the old RN Radio work?
I cut my teeth on them.

 

[The_Yellow_Ardvark]

I got some cable ties, about 20 for £10.
Plus I got to keep the container they were in.
Saddly the cable ties are all UV damaged and very brittle.

But, do I care?



No.

Why?I hear you say.

This is why, I explain.

Base stamped 1940.

It is a Bofors 40/60 case.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bofors_40_mm_gun

 

[Farside]

@Farside

Did the old RN Radio work?
I cut my teeth on them.

Yep, it was working fine until it got caught in the flood two years ago.
It was always a pleasure to listen to, in the wee small hours, with its sensitivity and being in the middle of nowhere at the time, I could pick up the world.
I gave it to someone with an interest in valve kit, as a challenge, to put it mildly.
Given the bombproof nature of them, it might be perfectly ok.

 

[Windy Miller]

I tried to open an account when they were giving away battery drills, they made it so difficult I gave up. The manager really didn't want to let go of any of the freebies.

That's very different from my experience. Initially I was not keen to open the account, but they talked me into it.
The freebie swung it for me in the end, and also the fact that I got an 85% discount on the plinth trims that I bought!

 

[eLuSiVeMiTe]

% discount on the plinth trims that I bought!

Yes there markups are extreme.

 

[Farside]

What caused some caution was the discovery of some US CO2 regs with left and right hand stem threads at the small end. There's no thread showing, and no marking, so I tried to confirm what it was.

Follow-up..
After nearly wrecking it, I realised it should have been loose by now, so turned it the other way.
Only trouble now, is my search for a 16mm bit was fruitless, so either out with the round file tomorrow, or get a stepped drill.