Author Topic: What have you fettled today? (Read 2163122 times)

canny colin · « **Reply #14475 on:** 19 April, 2020, 09:22:46 pm »

Washed & polished the house windows . Popped to my mums on the bike and took photos of the gas and electric meter
readings .Mum is isolated / stuck in Spain & we are fighting with the suppliers . " Oh its been a cold winter " , Yes but she has been in Spain for 6 months you script reading numpty with no common scene .

vorsprung · « **Reply #14476 on:** 19 April, 2020, 09:28:15 pm »

tried to remove a pushfit BB86 bottom bracket cup from the best bike, tried using a sledgehammer an' all

failed

I guess will have to make a puller

The Family Cyclist · « **Reply #14477 on:** 20 April, 2020, 12:24:00 pm »

A few months ago when renovating the tandem I couldn't find the hydraulic front brake I had left over from when I changed the full set on a mates bike but only the rear was actually borked

Found it a few weeks ago in the bottom of the bin I stand my gardening tools up in. Been meaning to change it but the cable ones have been fine for stopping me and the eldest monkey who is a skinny 8 year old. Struggled a bit more with the wife on the back of the tandem as she obviously weighs more then a skinny 8 year old

Just as I'm about to start my neighbour asked if I could look at his bike as has no brakes. It hasn't been used in years since he passed test and stopped cycling to school with his son. Brake lever and cable off tandem and with a few other spares into front of the BOS bike and hydraulic brake onto my tandem.

Changed the chain on the tandem while at it

bludger · « **Reply #14478 on:** 20 April, 2020, 12:42:37 pm »

Bled the front brake. Feels much better.

I feel that this technique is the best for the Shimano 105 hydraulics - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhTGk6b-E-k (long video but definitely worth it - skip to 16:40 for the most important bit) and most shops just don't seem to be doing it so they always come out spongy.

HK · « **Reply #14479 on:** 20 April, 2020, 10:09:57 pm »

Quote from: LittleWheelsandBig on 19 April, 2020, 02:42:55 pm

Fixed a new 1/8” chainwhip to be better than new.

The old hammers with loose heads no longer do.

In reality spent 85% of the day on the internet. Others did heavy toil in the garden - digging but no help from this person who has just left this residence.

Tim Hall · « **Reply #14480 on:** 21 April, 2020, 08:05:25 am »

Did some socially distant fettling on a mate's shagged out bike. He stood a suitable distance away, wittering inanely while I struggled to get his cup and cone bottom bracket out. The Sheldon Brown nut and bolt trick to get the fixed cup shifted never ceases to impress me.

rogerzilla · « **Reply #14481 on:** 21 April, 2020, 07:46:10 pm »

Chased and faced the Brompton BB shell ready for something fancy. Considering how hard it was to get in a decade ago, the UN54 cartridge came out without too much fuss. I hate those plastic left cups.

Btw, my Tacx fixed cup spanner has never failed to extract a fixed cup, even on a 70s Dawes Galaxy that was half returned to iron ore. Sometimes it needs a mallet on the end of it.

Pingu · « **Reply #14482 on:** 23 April, 2020, 09:09:24 pm »

Bottle opener installed in the shed

IMG_5867_01 by The Pingus, on Flickr

Feanor · « **Reply #14483 on:** 23 April, 2020, 11:41:28 pm »

I'm building a VLF receiver to pick up some historic transmissions.
Today was the assembling of the pre-amp PCBs, in the back garden...

VLF project by Ron Lowe, on Flickr

Assembled:

VLF Rx by Ron Lowe, on Flickr

MattH · « **Reply #14484 on:** 24 April, 2020, 09:37:10 am »

What are you listening for? I know VLF is used for subs, but wonder if there is something else going on at the moment.

Jurek · « **Reply #14485 on:** 24 April, 2020, 09:55:31 am »

Yesterday.
Assembled a scythe.
It's made in Austria by a firm which has been making them since 1540.
For all my efforts, I could not get my assembled scythe to look like the one pictured on the website of the people I bought it from.
Following some interweb research, it transpires that the scythe pictured on the website of the people I bought it from, had been incorrectly assembled

rogerzilla · « **Reply #14486 on:** 24 April, 2020, 01:53:36 pm »

Quote from: Jurek on 24 April, 2020, 09:55:31 am

Yesterday.
Assembled a scythe.
It's made in Austria by a firm which has been making them since 1540.
For all my efforts, I could not get my assembled scythe to look like the one pictured on the website of the people I bought it from.
Following some interweb research, it transpires that the scythe pictured on the website of the people I bought it from, had been incorrectly assembled

The Grim Reaper has been forced to subcontract in these busy times.

Feanor · « **Reply #14487 on:** 24 April, 2020, 03:43:20 pm »

Quote from: MattH on 24 April, 2020, 09:37:10 am

What are you listening for? I know VLF is used for subs, but wonder if there is something else going on at the moment.

Transmissions from the Alexanderson electromechanical transmitter at Grimeton VLF station SAQ on 17.2KHz:

https://alexander.n.se/the-radio-station-saq-grimeton/the-alexanderson-transmitter/?lang=en

Kim · « **Reply #14488 on:** 24 April, 2020, 07:30:27 pm »

Quote from: Feanor on 24 April, 2020, 03:43:20 pm

Alexanderson electromechanical transmitter

I discovered these were a thing a few years ago via Eric Flint's 1632 universe^[1]. And people think modern electronics is witchcraft...

_{[1] In which a town of late-90s rednecks gets plot-deviced into 17th century Germany with nothing but lots of guns and an extended fandom of optimists who've really done their homework to help them. One story follows the attempts to construct an Alexanderson alternator based on little more than a grainy image from an encyclopedia and the knowledge that it was actually possible.}

Cudzoziemiec · « **Reply #14489 on:** 24 April, 2020, 07:35:14 pm »

The knowledge that something is or has been possible is enormous. It's why those post-apocalypse stone age scenarios won't happen.

Well, I kind of think and hope.

spesh · « **Reply #14490 on:** 24 April, 2020, 07:47:58 pm »

Quote from: rogerzilla on 24 April, 2020, 01:53:36 pm

Quote from: Jurek on 24 April, 2020, 09:55:31 am
Yesterday.
Assembled a scythe.
It's made in Austria by a firm which has been making them since 1540.
For all my efforts, I could not get my assembled scythe to look like the one pictured on the website of the people I bought it from.
Following some interweb research, it transpires that the scythe pictured on the website of the people I bought it from, had been incorrectly assembled
The Grim Reaper has been forced to subcontract in these busy times.

BLOODY COWBOYS, THE LOT OF THEM.

AT LEAST I CAN STILL GET A TAKEAWAY CURRY WHEN I AM OUT ON DUTY.

Kim · « **Reply #14491 on:** 24 April, 2020, 07:59:48 pm »

spesh · « **Reply #14492 on:** 24 April, 2020, 08:06:56 pm »

YOU MAY LAUGH, BUT TRY FINDING AN OCTARINE-QUALIFIED BLACKSMITH WHO IS NOT UNDER LOCKDOWN...

Feanor · « **Reply #14493 on:** 24 April, 2020, 09:58:02 pm »

Quote from: Kim on 24 April, 2020, 07:30:27 pm

Quote from: Feanor on 24 April, 2020, 03:43:20 pm
Alexanderson electromechanical transmitter
I discovered these were a thing a few years ago via Eric Flint's 1632 universe. And people think modern electronics is witchcraft...

The slightly ironic thing is the way in which I intend to receive there transmissions.
The transmission is using the most basic electro-mechanical components.
And my reception is using an un-tuned VLF wideband simple loop antenna and pre-amp which has a fairly flat response from 8 to 20 KHz. This is then digitised using nothing more than a PC sound card, and fed into FFT software and then processed in the frequency domain, using sophisticated modern techniques. Probably cheating.

Mr Larrington · « **Reply #14494 on:** 25 April, 2020, 11:35:07 am »

Quote from: spesh on 24 April, 2020, 08:06:56 pm

YOU MAY LAUGH, BUT TRY FINDING AN OCTARINE-QUALIFIED BLACKSMITH WHO IS NOT UNDER LOCKDOWN...

I don't think the Ogg family would care much for piddling Gubbinsment regulations.

Cudzoziemiec · « **Reply #14495 on:** 25 April, 2020, 08:04:01 pm »

A mountain bike, for no reason other than because. And then I rode it. So did my son, which was remarkable, because it's supposed to be his. The brakes work well, the gears work decently, air in tyres, oiled chain and freed up some stiff links but it's still rusty. Telefork has never moved in all the time we've had it (got it from his two elder cousins), pedals knackered and now so is the headset. Steering feels twitchy but it's slightly too small for me, had to sit right back on the saddle to preserve my knees. Barely big enough for him really. Bottom bracket is still fine – I remember adjusting it when he got it – and most importantly the dinosaur bell still pings.

citoyen · « **Reply #14496 on:** 25 April, 2020, 09:53:35 pm »

Bled some disc brakes.

Which was a surprise to me, because until I started the job, I was expecting to have to adjust some cables... I really don't recall this bike having hydros when I acquired it. To be fair, I've not ridden it for a while.

Also surprised that a) I was able to find my disc brake bleeding kit, and b) remembered how to do the job.

rogerzilla · « **Reply #14497 on:** 26 April, 2020, 01:16:34 pm »

Took out the Raleigh Twenty's BB. Going to rethread to 24tpi and narrow it later. It's 77.5mm and I need it to be 73mm for a Shimano cartridge. 68mm would be a step too far.

rogerzilla · « **Reply #14498 on:** 26 April, 2020, 08:10:01 pm »

All done, and not as hard as Sheldon makes out. Just takes time to face away 4.5mm (!). The tapping is trivially easy. Will need a 73 x 110mm BB for correct chainline with the 300EX cranks I had in the crypt of crap.

I'm going to go down to 42 x 15, which gives a 52" starting/climbing gear and a 70" cruising gear with the Duomatic hub.

hatler · « **Reply #14499 on:** 26 April, 2020, 08:21:31 pm »

How do you do the facing ?