What did you do today (2015)

[Nick_GParticipant @nick_g]

Posted by Danny M2Z on 19/02/2015 11:53:05:

(Sorry if this is not model engineering, but some things are more important)

* Danny M *

.

Yesssss. …….. Starbucks coffee.!

But being serious the power of nature never ceases to amaze me. Awesome energy that can be so destructive, frightening, taking life and property in the blink of an eye yet at the same time can be fascinatingly beautiful.

Nick

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Posted by Danny M2Z on 19/02/2015 11:53:05:

The immediate concern is George in Queensland. A level 5 cyclone has more destructive power than an atomic bomb, it's very scary. I know what happened to Darwin in 1974. So if you believe in a God, say a prayer for all the people who are copping it.

.

Sorry, Danny … I'm not eligible

But my thoughts are with them.

MichaelG.

[DullnoteParticipant @dullnote]

If you could harness the power in one of these storms I wonder how many workshops you could run. We think humans are smart still a long way off nature

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Apologies for off topic, but I thought you might like this example of weasel words.

I just made porridge with some American 'blueberry muffin oatmeal'. It was exceptionally sweet, the nutrition gave values for 50g of product, not 100g, so 12g of sugar was actually a whopping 24%.

But… and this is the good bit … there was no 'sugar' in the ingredients! Just 'evaporated cane juice'.

Neil

[BazyleParticipant @bazyle]

Good joke Neil, I can't beet that.

[Four stroke FredParticipant @fourstrokefred]

It's now 6.0 am and very still with a very eerie light. The cyclone is still hovering out at sea and expected to cross the coast at 8.0 am this morning. It is still a level 5 and will be a level 1 or 2 even when it miles in land ! It's scarey to say the least and there is nothing we can do. I will go out into the shed and strap every thing down and keep the fingers crossed.

George.

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Hi George,

Marcia has barely registered on the UK news yet, or Lam on the north coast.

Looks like it will hit north of you, so hopefully some of its strength will be gone by the time it gets to you.

Don't get caught in the shed when it hits, sheds can be fixed and nailed back together, you can't. And don't stick your head out the window!

Make sure you check in with us when everything stops flying around!

Neil

[Danny M2ZParticipant @dannym2z]

Here is a linky to the local weather maps if anybody wants to keep an eye on things down under. **LINK** . 300k/h winds. Recording instruments have been smashed in places.

* Danny M *

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Sounds like its already hit land and is heading for Yeppon, the weather forums reckon it will drop to category 3 by the time it hits, still looks like a bad time for them, but much less than a cat 5.

Good news for George, it should have lost most of its energy by the time it reaches him.

Nearly live data from Yeppoon. Expect the windspeed indicator to break.

Neil

[NJHParticipant @njh]

Good luck George

It makes our "bad weather" – which we love to moan about – look very tame.

Stay safe and do let us know how things progress.

Norman

[Danny M2ZParticipant @dannym2z]

Today Yesterday I carefully inspected a kiln.

It has previously used by a pottery club for firing ceramics. The pottery club has folded, so I have been offered this for peanuts if I will take it away as the location has no further use for it and they need the storage space.

As you may notice, it comes complete with trigs and shelves for holding jobs plus a neat hole in the door for what I assume is a temperature probe. (Maybe there is a plug somewhere for the hole)

The overall dimensions are the size of a large freezer and the 'oven' measures 24" wide, 36" high and 24" deep, it is lined with electical heating elements just visible they are let horizontally into the bricks. All is thermostatically controlled. It is quite heavy looking.

Electrically, it requires 3-phase rated to 15A per phase, overall rating is 3.5kW per phase and the manufacturer's plate warns not to run it at over 1300°C.

The problem is that it's a bit of overkill for home use, even though I have read my well thumbed copy of Tubal Cain's 'Workshop Practice Series #1 – Hardening, Tempering & Heat Treatment' and would love to play with it, in reality it is impractical to use it to harden and temper a few lathe tools and cutters. Plus it would put my power bills through the roof, even though I am contemplating getting a 3-phase hook-up to home for other machinery. Transport is not a problem, just mate's rates (slabs of beer) as its' just up the road.

I do not want to see this on the local tip, there are no local clubs to share the cost of housing and running the beast and I don't contemplate opening a pizza shop.

The owners do not want the hassles of flogging it online so therein lies my dilemma.

What to do about this lovely bit of kit?

(Btw,I refuse to take it for nix and flog it for a profit – so don't even think of advising that avenue).

I took a few photos.

* Danny M *

Edited By Danny M2Z on 19/02/2015 22:06:04

Edited By Danny M2Z on 19/02/2015 22:07:45

[Four stroke FredParticipant @fourstrokefred]

Thank you all for your kind thoughts and I am pleased to say that the cyclone crossed the coast quite away from us and by the time it reaches here it will have been down graded to a level 2 and will pass us on the inland side. I expect we will still feel some of its effect but thank goodness it's not at level 5! The weather people gave it two options and thankfully for us it took the first as the second had it coming down closer to the coast with Bundaberg near its path. I feel sorry for those who have had damage to their properties and a sigh of relief for our area. Should it drop it's expected quantity of rain then we may have some floods but at least we are high and dry where we live.and the shed and our roof live to see another day. Looking forward to " just another day" of setting cams and fiddling with engines without the extremes of climate.

George.

[Ian S CParticipant @iansc]

George, a Red Cross team is on it's way/there from NZ, it will be there for a week. There were some pics on the TV news tonight, some major damage with wind and flooding, king tide and tidal surge combined just at the wrong time.

Ian S C

[capnahabParticipant @capnahab]

Went to the Musée des Arts et Métiers in Paris to see amongst other things the Mercklein lathe.

Louis XVI used one to turn ivory, http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O157817/bonbonniere-porcher-louis-claude/

The Museum is beautifully restored including the tracks which run everywhere.

Theres also a very impressive Hispano Suiza with the bulge at the bottom of the radiator (someone will be able to tell me what its hiding) pure batmobile.

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Now that's a beautiful lathe Capn !!

Pretty car too.

MichaelG.

[Four stroke FredParticipant @fourstrokefred]

Back to normal today. We had 125 mm of rain and last night at 2.30 am there was very strong winds but fortunately very little damage in our area. I think we were very lucky . Today's task is to return every thing to its place and then I can continue working in the shed.

George.

[Craig PotterParticipant @craigpotter35892]

Glad to hear things are getting back to normal George.

finally finished my live center but i made the tolerance on the outside race the same way as the inside race and it is now to tight. so ill just have to go and make another one

[OuBallieParticipant @ouballie]

Can't believe it but I actually finished the Knurling tool yesterday!

Now, when I say finished, that usually means 99.90% or thereabouts.

Just need to sort out the graduations on the Clamping Nut and a way to stamp numbers on and make washers for the spring to rest against. As can be seen one side has slipped into the slot, top as well.

What a pleasure it was using 'old iron' to machine the Pivot Arms.

Using that slab cutter on the TS, to mill both arms at the same time, was a revelation.

Slight 'oh bother, moment soon rectified my drilling and tapping two larger holes for the clamp bar.

I'm not 'Peter Perfect'.

New Album added.

Geoff – Baby sitting in 30min.

[Russell EberhardtParticipant @russelleberhardt48058]

Posted by capnahab on 20/02/2015 14:13:51:

Theres also a very impressive Hispano Suiza with the bulge at the bottom of the radiator (someone will be able to tell me what its hiding) pure batmobile.

Could it be the crankshaft damper?

If you're visiting French museums a must see is **LINK** It houses the world's biggest collection of Bugattis including four of the six Bugatti Royals that were ever built.

Russell

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Russell,

Thanks to the link to Schlumpf

As for Hispano Suiza … have a look at this, from 1938

MichaelG.

[mick70Participant @mick70]

finished building a tapping fixture.

got small drill press from someone as it struggled to drill anything over 4mm in wood.

binned the motor, boxed pulley's for other projects.

kept quill and wind down handle binned top 2 bearing's and adaptor to fit pulley to quill.

made collar to replace bearing's and new top sect for handles.

checked it with square and all is good.

best of all got my 7 yr old boy out helping me let him drill top pce for handles pulled down bit hard and hole went through at angle but doesn't affect anything.

[JAParticipant @ja]

I found the Schlumpf Museum bitterly disappointing. It felt like a bored civil servant's idea of a museum. However if you do visit Mulhouse the French Railway Museum is an absolute must.

JA

[Eric CoxParticipant @ericcox50497]

"I found the Schlumpf Museum bitterly disappointing. It felt like a bored civil servant's idea of a museum."

The Schlumpf Museum wasn't built as a museum but to house the collection of cars belonging to two brothers and was never intended to be viewed by the public. Part of it was a memorial to their mother. I believe they made their fortune in textiles and channelled all the profits into the collection.

[Speedy Builder5Participant @speedybuilder5]

Far better to go here then. Its not much further up the road – 40Km ?  Its all housed in a 3 story factory which was used for making watch cases for the Swiss I believe.  See the flying 2CV, snow plough and speed boat models besides all the others,  most in the as found / driven condition.

http://musee2cv.free.fr/zenglish/presentation/cadre.htm

BobH

Edited By Speedy Builder5 on 21/02/2015 15:17:01

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

"to celebrate one of the greatest living myth of the car industry"

I always thought 2CVs were to weird to be true

Neil

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