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Stanley
Local Historian & Old Fart
36804 Posts
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 Posted -
25/11/2004
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14:20
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I've always been fascinated by the things people do in their spare time when they can do exactly what they want to do. Men and sheds are a particularly fertile field. Women tend to do their thing in the comfort of the house.
I was delighted to see Andy's picture of the clock movement he has made.
It struck me that we could perhaps start a new topic devoted to spare time skill. So Andy starts it off and my contribution is this:
It's a small steam engine made from scratch and is based on the Stuart 5A but a longer stroke. One of these will drive a 14 foot boat with steam at 250psi. By the way, we don't like to call them models, it's exactly the same construction and materials as a full size engine, just smaller. So come on out there, let's hear about what you make in your spare time. I reckon we could be in for some surprises!
Stanley Challenger Graham
Barlick View
stanley at barnoldswick.freeserve.co.uk
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panbiker
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Posted - 10/04/2008 : 00:41
The way you worded it Malcolm I thought you were loaning the ThunderBird for the race but you have realised that now. No worries, I had visions of your mate crashing the gearbox when braking into the bends, a relief now you have explained that it's just for orientation practice. I would think that the Triumph would be a tad heavier than the race bike so if he does get the chance it should be a breeze if it all comes good.
Ian  |
Stanley
Local Historian & Old Fart
36804 Posts
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Posted - 10/04/2008 : 08:53
Ian, I thought he was being brave too! I've often said that one of the advantages of living alone is that nobody is getting picky about the swarf in the carpet or the choice of TV programme..... But then I'm just a selfish old fart! Must order a switch for the 1hp motor today......
Stanley Challenger Graham
Barlick View
stanley at barnoldswick.freeserve.co.uk |
belle
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Posted - 10/04/2008 : 13:19
and you've always got us lot to talk to !
Life is what you make it |
Stanley
Local Historian & Old Fart
36804 Posts
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Posted - 10/04/2008 : 19:00
That's perhaps why I post so much Belle. You are right of course, OG is a very valuable component of my life and I appreciate it. God Bless Doc!
Stanley Challenger Graham
Barlick View
stanley at barnoldswick.freeserve.co.uk |
Stanley
Local Historian & Old Fart
36804 Posts
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Posted - 02/05/2008 : 08:33
No excuses now..... The direct online starter and matched overload for the Horace Green 1hp motor is to hand. £70 from City Electrical and the only money I have spent on both the HG motors. Bit of a result. Now all I have to do is get cracking.......
Stanley Challenger Graham
Barlick View
stanley at barnoldswick.freeserve.co.uk |
Bodger
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Posted - 02/05/2008 : 14:04
Stanley, it's a pity the lathe isn't 3 phase, you could have used an old star/delta starter, the one where you pulled the handle down untill the rpm were up and then a quick lift into delta, i remember as an apprentice having to top up the dashpots with special anti flash oil, this oil was later discovered to be dangerous to ones health if your skin came into contact with it, and the use of it was banned, on a similar vein i used to mix "bullmuck", this was asbesto in a bag we mixed it with water to make a lagging compound, this was used to repair any broken steam pipe insulation. Touch wood 55 years later, no after effects
"You can only make as well as you can measure"
Joseph Whitworth
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Stanley
Local Historian & Old Fart
36804 Posts
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Posted - 02/05/2008 : 16:20
We'll survive the expense Bodge. Just realised I have a Tilley Lamp to refurb in order to clear the decks..... Have been working out in my head where I store the stuff to give me room to work. Quite a few treasures in the way.....
Stanley Challenger Graham
Barlick View
stanley at barnoldswick.freeserve.co.uk |
Bodger
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Posted - 02/05/2008 : 22:56
Stanley, i have about 40,000 words of my life to date, the date being around 19 75, i can only write about what i know, but i could tell stories like your self about things that i i shouldn't know, so when you are writing , should you you tell the full story, things happened in my live that i enjoyed, but i'd hate to think that my goood lady knew about, so does one be 100% truthful and tell stories, warts & all or write what you think future generations wan't to believe about their parents
"You can only make as well as you can measure"
Joseph Whitworth
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Stanley
Local Historian & Old Fart
36804 Posts
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Posted - 03/05/2008 : 06:14
Bodge, it's entirely up to you. There is no law against editing or massaging your own memoirs. You do what will keep the band in the nick. besides, with the best will in the world, stories always grow and alter even if we believe we are being dead accurate. Memory can play funny tricks. My dad deliberately edited his memoir and we didn't find out for many years. Doesn't lessen their value, it's still him speaking.
Stanley Challenger Graham
Barlick View
stanley at barnoldswick.freeserve.co.uk |
Stanley
Local Historian & Old Fart
36804 Posts
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Posted - 03/05/2008 : 16:52
I have bad news and good news..... I have been diverted from the shed by starting to transcribe Arthur Robert's Black Book. It's descriportions of engines he visited in the 1960s in company with Edgar Brook and Arnold Throp. All handwritten and so a slow job but I promise you'll forgive me when it's done. Just a matter of getting my head down.....
Stanley Challenger Graham
Barlick View
stanley at barnoldswick.freeserve.co.uk |
Stanley
Local Historian & Old Fart
36804 Posts
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Posted - 06/06/2008 : 07:48
The good news is that I think I have got the rare text bug out of my system and both the Petrie Engine List and the Roberts Text are up on the site in rare texts. I had to convert the Roberts document to plain text in order to load it. If you want the original Word doc with all the bells and whistles mail me at the address below and I'll send you the file. The more it is spread around the better and there is no copyright restriction, it's all done pro bono.
Now then, about the shed...... Where was I up to!
Stanley Challenger Graham
Barlick View
stanley at barnoldswick.freeserve.co.uk |
Stanley
Local Historian & Old Fart
36804 Posts
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Posted - 09/06/2008 : 08:51
Things are stirring in the shed..... I've got the latest bout of transcription out of my system and turned my mind towards setting the big Pickles OT lathe up. I'm short of room as you can see because the lathe needs an overhead lineshaft. First job is to clear the wall and put the shafting up. I shall have to move a lot of stuff into the bathroom for storage so that I can see the rabbit. Come to think, if you look carefully you'll see a Tilley Lamp sat on the bed of the lathe. I rescued this from a skip, spent £40 on spares for it and I think that I shall have to do that first. I've already got a Tilley and a Vapalux in working order but I couldn't walk past a perfectly good lamp in the scrap bin! I might think about selling it....... They tell me a good refurbished Tilley can be worth £100......
Stanley Challenger Graham
Barlick View
stanley at barnoldswick.freeserve.co.uk |
Stanley
Local Historian & Old Fart
36804 Posts
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Posted - 09/06/2008 : 17:31
It's been a busy day. All the contents of the shelves distributed round the house, mostly in the bathroom. I reckon I made 30 trips up and down stairs and decided that we could do without walking up to Letcliffe at lunch time. Jack hasn't suffered, he's been out chasing his ball. I've made my decisions about the positioning of the lineshaft and the design and fixing of the brackets. The wall brackets are welded and need finishing. I've found some good 4" pitch pine amongst me treasures for the raising blocks. The wall is marked for levels and belt positions and I made the big decision to cut the old belt out of the headstock, even though it's a good one, and use brammer belting for the drive because it's easy to adjust for length. I suppose I should have painted the wall first but by the time that had struck me I had marked me levels and alignments so I decided that it gets a lick of Mongolia after the brackets are up! Progress and it's tiring...... A shower then tea and that's it for the day.
Stanley Challenger Graham
Barlick View
stanley at barnoldswick.freeserve.co.uk |
Tizer
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Posted - 09/06/2008 : 20:17
I hope there's enough space left in the bathroom for you to find the shower!
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Stanley
Local Historian & Old Fart
36804 Posts
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Posted - 10/06/2008 : 05:42
No problems. It's a big bathroom because when it was installed they used the back bedroom because it was nearest to the foul drain. The erection used to be the stand for the wet darkroom but now that we are digital it is a large flat surface that gets used for anything where you need space. The big cabinet at the end is the local history index.
The heavier stuff and the shelves have taken up residence in the hall for the time being.
If you went for a root in the stuff I have shifted out the first thing that would strike you is that this bloke is a packrat. There is stuff here that would be impossible to find these days. How many people know what Victory powder, coarse and fine is used for? Where would you go to find indurated asbestos packing, essential for the old asbestos packed cocks and illegal now even though it is perfectly safe when used properly and by far the best material for the job. Some other things I reminded myself about; Neats Foot oil, clock oil, projector oil, refined distilled Oil of Terebinth, Wintergreen oil, Driffield Oil, Cascamite, Manganesite, Syke Pickavant pipe flaring tackle and cupro-nickel tubing, a Vulcan hydraulic test pump and then of couse the collection of splendid old chucks for the 1950 lathe. Johnny was a good man and only bought the best chucks, A Tayolr 3 jaw SC, a Pratt 3 jaw SC and a nice Pratt 6" 4 jaw independent that's almost new. CI face plate and a brass face plate used when you wanted to solder something thin to it, like a brass dial face that was going to be calibrated and marked, or anything made of non-ferocious that is to thin to hold any other way. A treasure trove........
Stanley Challenger Graham
Barlick View
stanley at barnoldswick.freeserve.co.uk |
Shed culture
