Early Risers.

[BSW01]

Good morning everyone

 

I've been a bit busy here this morning, Sheila got downstairs first this morning and was confronted with water pouring out of the kitchen ceiling, close to the back door. She shouted me a I threw on my dressing gown and went to the kitchen. It was a mess, so I headed upstairs to the back bedroom. thinking that the radiator had started to leak, no it hadn't, so I looked in the boiler cupboard above the bedroom and the boiler was leaking, gravity had lead the water to a gap where the hot water pipework heads downstairs, the water then took the path of least resistance and started to run into the void that is between the bathroom/back bedroom floor and the kitchen ceiling and eventually emerged in 3 places where there are joins in the kitchen ceiling plasterboard. At this point I immediately switched off the boiler, rang the boiler service company (whom we have a contract with) and then began the big clean up, we ended up with 3 buckets in the kitchen catching water! Thankfully, the leaking in the kitchen has stopped and we are now waiting for the heating guy to call and sort it. The boiler is still leaking and a 4th bucket has been deployed there to stop it finding its way to the kitchen again. By then, I was ready for my breakfast!

 

Back later. 

 

Brian 

[BR traction instructor]

1 hour ago, jamie92208 said:

Is it still possible to see any remains of the Solway viaduct a bit further east towards my birthplace.

 

Jamie

 

This is what is left at the Bowness end Jamie…

 

BeRTIe

[polybear]

4 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

What is about Ikea that strikes fear and loathing into most ER and TNM posters? ‘tis nothing more than a place to buy household accoutrements. Could it be that the brave and upright citizens of ER fear the “S” word*

 

 

Ikea can be a useful place for muddlers just so long as they're not under the control of SWMBO at the time.....

 

3 hours ago, monkeysarefun said:

The length of the stretch of highway it got lost on is the same distance as London to Prague, plus it's about 45 degrees.

 

Just how does such a hazardous item housed in a special box that's in the back of a van/truck with the doors locked "get lost"?

 

2 hours ago, Winslow Boy said:

 

I seem to recall, memory is a bit hazy these days so apologies if some of the details wrong, of an abandoned hospital in Brazil/Argentina where x ray equipment was left and some scrotes broke in to steal valuables etc and ended up with radiation poisoning. I think the hospitals director/head? got arrested.

 

Apparently it's also a problem with Souvenir hunters removing stuff from the Hospital in Chernobyl.

 

1 hour ago, pH said:

“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, 
courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.”

 

“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, 
courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to hide the bodies of those that really p1ssed me off.”

[DaveF]

This morning was damp and drizzly, not at all nice.  It is also quite cold.  I think shopping may be needed later on this afternoon.

 

Yesterday though fresh was much brighter, after the usual house jobs I took the car to the local garage and filled it with petrol - it's a while since I've bought any so it was good to see the price has come down.  Then I decided it would do the car good to have a short run so I left town and drove to the north end of East Cramlington Nature Reserve.  I've haven't been there for some time so I was surprised to find that instead of driving up a heavily rutted muddy track there is now a gravelled parking area just off the road and then a pleasant walk along the levelled out track.  I didn't stay long as it still hurts to walk far butI heard  a woodpecker (and caught a glimpse of it) as well as some small brown birds hiding in the trees calling to each other - mainly sparrows.

 

Next I drove along a piece of road known as The Avenue past Seaton Delaval Hall.  It is the Avenue as it is tree lined and is always nice to see at any time of year.  It was originally the main road to Seaton Delaval Hall when it was the home of the Delavals.  Passing the Hall, which is now owned by the National Trust and is a good place to visit I arrived at Seaton Sluice where I parked by the harbour and had a walk round.

 

Driving home I saw a lot of lapwings taking off from one of the fields just across the road from the dunes, there were also a lot of oystercatchers in the fields.  By now it was coffee time after which I sorted out the photos I'd taken.  I spent the afternoon watching Father Brown and doing the jigsaw, I also had a chat with an old friend on the phone.  Later I watched Robson Green, he was visiting a number of local places I know quite well in Northumberland.

 

David

 

Edited January 28, 2023 by DaveF

[BR traction instructor]

7 hours ago, jjb1970 said:

 

For anyone interested in that dreadful period (and I think everyone should have an awareness of what happened) I'd recommend Raul Hilberg's seminal work 'The Destruction of the European Jews'. It's a heavyweight tome in three volumes, but very readable, and is all the more powerful in my view for maintaining a dispassionate style. 

 

I had a girlfriend of Polish Jewish extraction for a year in 2017. She had two daughters and the eldest wished to visit Auschwitz to learn more of her ancestry but her mum tried to forbid it. I questioned her mum closely as to why and she said that she simply wanted to erase the issue from her mind. I persisted in a line of discussion that at 30 years of age and recently married her daughter should be free to make her own mind up and explore whatever was necessary to satisfy that curiosity…she did go and felt it very important to do so.

 

BeRTIe

Edited January 28, 2023 by BR traction instructor

[polybear]

17 hours ago, Erichill16 said:

And of what Bear is up to at Engineering Night Class.

 

A few projects from Night School 🤣

 

A Drop Rivetter:

 

 

 

A "Thing" for forming curves:

 

 

And another one:

 

 

A Tailstock Die Holder:

 

 

A Taig Toolpost:

 

 

More to come..........

Edited January 28, 2023 by polybear

[polybear]

.......An adjustable Toolpost:

 

 

Modifications to a Hobby Holidays Chassis Jig:

 

 

 

Parts salvaged from Ricky the Rover - the aluminium mount for the horn button:

 

 

- so I could create this little souvenir:

 

 

The addition of a DRO to the Taig Tailstock (the clamp behind the chuck and the DRO mount):

 

 

More to come......

 

 

[polybear]

......Adding three Bearings to the support arms of a Taig Fixed Steady:

 

 

The recently finished steel block mounted on the Taig Headstock to accommodate a magnetic mount:

 

 

A Jig for producing Romford/Markits Split Axles from a design article (by Mick Nicholson @micknich2003?) in Finescale Railway Modelling Review Magazine):

 

 

A mount for a Dividing Plate:

 

 

- so that I can mount the plate on the Taig Headstock; this forms a part of the Dividing Head Fixture that was machined to fit the Headstock.  This has been the most complex job I've probably done:

 

[polybear]

Bear here......

Insofar as projects at Night School are concerned, the biggest issue we have is that we need to be able to set up, machine and then clear away all in one evening - so any machining operation that takes extensive, accurate setting up is very difficult if we can't be sure of finishing the machining operation in the same evening; to have to remove a job that's only half machined would be really bad news as it would be extremely difficult to achieve the same alignment the following week.  Pah.

 

In other news......

The Plasterer has been & gone - Happy Bear.  He was here for about 2 hours and used 5 or 6 quids' worth of materials.  And the cost?  Thirty Quid incl.  Big, Big Tick - he got a nice "drink" on top.

Of course now that means that Bear has no more excuses and has to crack on with coving, painting and papering......

Bear gone.

[TheQ]

Afternoon Awl,

A day of trailing around shops has left the right ankle and left knee particularly unhappy.

 

An unsatisfying trip, no books about parallel bits of metal,  no bacon roll, no tools worth mentioning.

But about 2/3rd of a deltic spent...

 

It's also chilly out there and I'm suffering from cold soak.

 

It that were down in Norfolk, there'd be grockles out there wondering why they were surrounded by an increasing amount of water.

 

[Coombe Barton]

Chucking wood - the delivery has arrived

[iL Dottore]

Oi Bear!

What’s with all this Engineering Porn?

 

Don’t you know that there are youngsters on this forum who have never used a screwdriver and have no idea what goes on behind locked doors when “Dad goes to the shed”

 

You may be a world weary @polybear and regard such pictures with equanimity, but think of the impact of such unexpurgated machine shop images on those sheltered youngsters who have never seen turned metal before.

 

Next thing you know they’ll be out mugging old ladies to get cash to buy a WaldrichSiegen….

[Tony_S]

19 minutes ago, polybear said:

Insofar as projects at Night School are concerned, the biggest issue we have is that we need to be able to set up, machine and then clear away all in one evening

When I was at school my engineering (never called metalwork at that school) practicals were limited by my slow pace at filing and cutting things to an approved standard.  Those who were really good got to have a lot more time on personal projects. It was the same in woodwork (always called woodwork!). 

[Tony_S]

2 hours ago, BR traction instructor said:

her daughter should be free to make her own mind up and explore whatever was necessary to satisfy that curiosity…she did go and felt it very important to do so.

Matthew went to Auschwitz to visit on one of his many trips to Poland. He sent me a text saying “on the train to Birkenau”. While he was there he saw some tourists larking about posing for silly photos. He and an Italian chap he had met on the train went and had a word. 
Dad had been with the troops who liberated Belsen. He did talk about it. 

[Coombe Barton]

1 hour ago, Coombe Barton said:

Chucking wood - the delivery has arrived

Wood Chucked.

[jamie92208]

3 hours ago, Coombe Barton said:

Wood Chucked.

Wood barrowed here as well.  

 

As to the remarks about teenagers larking about at Auschwitz I saw the same at Oradour Sur Glane.  A group of German teenagers were the only ones making any noise. Everyone else was just walking round silently.

 

Jamie

Edited January 28, 2023 by jamie92208

[polybear]

1 hour ago, iL Dottore said:

Next thing you know they’ll be out mugging old ladies to get cash to buy a WaldrichSiegen….

 

Bear Googled that one - gettaload of that Milling Machine.......

https://www.waldrichsiegen.com/

 

Bear here......

Just finished watching the film "Devotion" via Prime - U.S. Navy Pilots flying Bearcats during the Korean War & based on fact; highly recommended.

[monkeysarefun]

4 hours ago, polybear said:

Just how does such a hazardous item housed in a special box that's in the back of a van/truck with the doors locked "get lost"?

Have you not seen Mad Max 2?

[Coombe Barton]

1 hour ago, jamie92208 said:

Wood barrowed here as well.  

 

Wood was chucked in barrow after I pumped the barrow tyre up. Wood is now stacked in woodshed. Back is complaining a bit.

[Winslow Boy]

2 hours ago, Coombe Barton said:

Wood Chucked.

 

Is that what the Wood Chucker said when he was chucking wood.

[Tony_S]

2 hours ago, jamie92208 said:

teenagersxlarking

Matthew was irritated as the people messing about were not teenagers but youngish adults. 

[jamie92208]

55 minutes ago, Coombe Barton said:

Wood was chucked in barrow after I pumped the barrow tyre up. Wood is now stacked in woodshed. Back is complaining a bit.

As are my shoulders.  5 barrow loads from the ready use pile to the Verandah, about 80 yards each way.  Then a box of kindling.  What really did for the shoulders was shovelling a few barrow loads of soil later.

 

Jamie

Edited January 28, 2023 by jamie92208

[PeterBB]

@polybear -some skilled workngs

@Tony S - well done Matthew

 

Sorry folks - just had news that my best friend at school and since had a massive MI and died last night.  RIP

[PhilJ W]

Afternoon all from Estuary-Land. The eczema has been quiet  today, probably because I have been wearing slippers all day. I find it difficult getting footwear as my feet are size 12 extra wide fit. I have ordered some new shoes that are described as wide fit but unfortunately some manufacturers have a very loose definition of wide.

[Barry O]

I visited Bergen-Belsen Belsen. Nononecwas larking about there. You can feel death all around you.. no birdsong, no woodland noises at all.....

 

Bas