grendel

Minkeys

I think one of our construction guys has been channeling Peter Sellers today, not only could I not find the job number, but the job name came up blank as well,. It seems that 8208 Minks Walk, should in fact have been 8028 Monks Walk (still thats an hour wasted looking for the right job)Sigh

just ask anyone who was on the workparty when Royal Tudor had her dump-through poo tank removed, it had to be cut in half with a grinder. Timbo will tell you as his descriptive powers are far better than mine.

colour

Apparently 8BA left hand taps and dies are available, its about £23 for the full set of 3 taps plus the die. https://www.tracytools.com/taps-and-dies/left-hand-thread-taps-dies-ba?product_id=1485 Probably a bit of a specialist thing though

probably vying for your position as Forum idiot

because I havent found any at the boot fairs

you did the right thing in logging on directly and not using the links, usually if you hover over the links when using a pc your browser will show you the actual place it links to (ie not where the link says) and even that can look convincing also similar with the originating email address if you hover the cursor over it it will tell you where it actually came from,.

yes it would, but I dont have a left hand 8BA tap or Die

three done two to go

With the rod threaded next i needed some spacers, so the 3mm tube was fitted in one end of the lathe and the collet chuck in the other to hold the tap. i then proceeded to tap and part off 10 spacers 5mm long threaded 8BA internally. then i needed to clean up the other ends of the spacers and clean the threads out where i had done that. this ended the machining work, i do have 4 more to make, so you just need a picture to show the finished item. oops not a great picture, i will get some more, i just need to trim off the thread and smooth it up.

Yes Error, for it was only when i fitted the parts together i spotted the problem, yes to assemble it i had to rotate the parts on like threading a nut, but if i did the first i couldnt do the second, and if i trued to do it by rotating the rods, the bottom would unthread as fast as i threaded the top on, i needed a way to overcome this. thinking about it i had some 3mm brass tube that was 2mm internal diameter, i wondered if i could get the 8BA thread down the centre and use this as the spacer, but no, 8BA is 2.2mm plus i now needed longer sections of thread, so with this in mind i tried turning some 2.3mm brass bar down to 2.2mm for the thread. This wasnt so easy as the bar flexes too much, but eventually i had a section that i was happy was the right size to thread. As it happened i slowed the lathe down to let it do the work, and when it reached the end of the section i had thinned down, it carried right on and threaded the rest as well, great i thought, and prepped two more lengths by sanding a short taper on the end.

Next was putting some 3mm bar into the lathe, this was turned down at one end to 2.2mm for a short length, then parted off. then the other end was cleaned up on the lathe, then i needed the collet chuck on the other end of the lathe to hold the work for the next operation. so, the next operation was to thread the two ends of the spacer, the middle 5mm was staying the full 3mm diameter, and then the ends would thread into the top rail and baseplate. have you spotted the error yet?

next the holes were tapped to 8BA threads, if i had thought then i would have done the next step first. After tapping the holes the centres were transferred to some flat bar that would be the base, and these were drilled and then tapped. After this step the 4.6mm brass bar needed to be reduced to 3.5mm and parted off (its a lot easier to drill the holes in the bigger bar) It was at this point i made a mistake.

Well today was working on cleats day, on model #1 i made these from brass rod and tube soldered together, this time i had an idea i could make these without soldering. so to achieve this it was necessary to drill the rail across the top, bearing in mind this was only going to be about 3.5mm dia this wasnt going to be easy. starting with 4.6mm stock i mounted some in my newly purchased collet chuck, these are great for holding things with a consistent diameter, so first the bar had a small centre dot drilled with a centre bit, a short stubby drill designed for the job. then it was drilled through at 1.8mm the size of the pilot hole for an 8BA thread. This was parted off and, then used in a vice to guide the drill, by putting the guide in the vice above the bar, the drill bit was then accurately centred over the bar, so when the 1.8mm drill bit was inserted the hole drilled was vertical and centred on the bar. 2 holes were drilled the correct distance apart.

try a marthams boat, 2 volt meters and an oil pressure gauge, you judge speed by wash, barely a ripple =3mph that said flat out they produce less wash than a fibreglass cruiser at 3mph.

To be fair JM, from reading that report it would seem to me that no amount of safety measures would have prevented this tragedy. and the emergency services attended were sufficient.

face coverings, so far i have bought several face coverings online. one size fits all is a misnomer, they dont, most are designed to hook under the chin, and cover the nose, well none so far have managed that for me, several have straps that while elasticated are too short, and even when i can get them on, leave me with prince charles ears, and threaten at every instant to slip loose. most to cover my nose sit half way between my chin and mouth, and as i have a beard, none have formed anything near a seal around the edges. I could wear a scarf across my mouth, but then i cannot breath properly, for me i need a mask with the breathing valve incorporated so i can wear it for more than a minute or two. thus so far i have not found a mask i can comfortably wear for longer than a few breaths, so have been having to make do without, while i am sure most people can fashion a suitable mask, for some this is not an option.

the silly part is if it could be floated even for 30 minutes it could be got to the slipway at sutton staithe boatyard, where it could be dragged out and broken up.

marthams boats dont draw a lot, but if i go up that way i will keep an eye on it.

for my week at the end of july i may well stay above the bridge, but will see how it goes, i might head for somewhere else that a boat that gets under potter can easily get to, coltishall or dilham maybe

yellow and black flag

I use an O2 Mifi unit, I can get signal most places but there are spots I lose it, it does better if put somewhere higher up, and strangely enough if the usb cable is left plugged in. but there are a few spots signal cuts out or its impossible to get a good enough connection.

well if you consider that wales has been tagging along a week or so later than england, it looks hopeful doesnt it.

At least the initial Lockdown has given the hospitals a breathing space during which to prepare themselves. to get the processes , procedures and equipment needed into place.