What have you fettled today?

[hubner]

Stronglite A9 headset with needle roller bearings: has been stiff to turn for a few years, I even adjust it loose.

I thought it was because the lower race was fouling on the front brake (Campagnolo Super Record, which is installed with extra washers to move it forward of the lower race). I filed  the brake to make more space and the headset did seem to loosen up but became very stiif again.

I then noticed what looks like dried old grease coming out of the lower race, I didn't have any grease or headset tools on me so I turned the bike upside and dripped some oil into the headset and left it overnight.

It turns normally now.

Having said all that, I haven't regreased it since it was installed about 15 years.

[Polar Bear]

Replaced the kitchen mixer with an identical one.

To be more specific, I only actually replaced the portion above the sink top.  The reason?  One of the ceramic cartridges is leaking and no amount of brute force has facilitated removal.  We just happen to have an identical mixer awaiting installation in the downstairs loo over the imitation Butler's sink.  Once the isolators beneath the sink were turned all I needed to do was undo two small allen head screws and gently persuade the head unit to part company with the base. 

All the clanking, banging and whistling emanating from the plumbing has mercifully ceased.

[T42]

Here is a pic of the hole at the back of our fireplace. The flue itself is up top (where Pumpkin kept trying to climb up when the fire was there providing a handy climbing frame).
2021-10-17_02-32-12 by The Pingus, on Flickr

That looks as if a back boiler has been taken out at some point.  The house I grew up in in the 50s had one. Dunno when they went out of favour. Bloody awful things - the only way to get enough hot water for a bath was to roast everyone in the living-room.

Or maybe that metal plate is really the front of a back boiler... Tread softly.

[canny colin]

That plate is the front of the back boiler tank . Heat , flames & smoke  were directed through the letter box opening and up the back of the tank if you required hot water by closing the damper . Handy thing to do is to  expose  THE ENDS  of the copper pipes  ( flow & return) if connect you may be able to supplement your heating . if pipes are cut you , clean out ends & leave exposed or drill two 12mm holes in tank for expansion   . Have the chimney inspected, buy a dog crate and an all night burner fret & you will be sitting pretty . During the next winter of discontent , remember we only have 8 days reserve of gas now (bloody muppets). The firebricks look spot on .

[rogerzilla]

A very long and thin bottle brush turned up, so I properly scrubbed out the annular space* in a Moulton steerer tube.

*I was going to say I cleaned out my annulus, but Calcutta rinses are in another thread

[Wombat]

A very long and thin bottle brush turned up, so I properly scrubbed out the annular space* in a Moulton steerer tube.

*I was going to say I cleaned out my annulus, but Calcutta rinses are in another thread

Flue brushes for cleaning the flues of large scale model steam locos, traction engines, etc.  They'll do the job.  Not free, mind you, but needs must an all that.

[Mr Larrington]

Removal of large lumps of herbiage from Larrington Gardens means that I can now access the door into the Sheds without recourse to a team of Native Guides.  This is necessary as Mr Khan has mandated I do my shopping by bicycle from next week, the git.

This involved, in the continuing mysterious absence of my gardening gloves, donning a pair of Gote-Tex winter cycling gloves that my sensitive artistes' hands might not be subject to the predations of the Horble Spiky Evil Bush o'Doom (aka “George”) which lurks outside the Chips Room window and makes bare skin itch just by being within a metre of its horble spiky leaves o‘DETH.

Tomorrow’s mission: pump up the tyres on the Perfectly Good Gentleman’s Mountain Bicycle, see whether the BoB trailer can be attached to same or whether, as I suspect will be the case, the rear brake gets in the way…

[rogerzilla]

I started pulling apart a 1964 Moulton Speed with totally seized forks.  It came apart with a bit of a fight.  They were seized because the coil spring had rusted to the inside of the inner steerer and needed pulling out.  The rebound spring stop and rebound spring are still up there while I think of a way to unstick the spring seat.  The retaining screw and washer came out with no trouble, so only rust is holding it there.

Bellows are intact and the unique Milremo stem isn't too rusty.  To start with, I'll throw all the chrome bits in citric acid and then see how badly pitted they are under the rust.

Mudguards are the early rare alloy ones but have been Hammerited 

I am expecting a real battle with the rear pivot.  Bronze bushes.  The last set of these that I did came out with Plus Gas and a bit of percussive persuasion.  I might need heat too.

[salar55]

Gave my Van Nic Zion a new lease of life. Fitted a Magura Menja fork and a new and old rack. Oldmanmountain racks have jumped up in price, old one was less than a ton for rack and kit. Decided to make and adapt for the new rear rack,not buying the fitting kit saved me a small fortune £110-140 depending on type. Made the dropout supports and the other stuff from an old Tubus disco kit for a Disc frame with no eyelets. One problem was the lower bolt for the disc brake, drilled the frame for a countersunk bolt saved finding a spacer to move rack leg out. Bolt flush with dropout
Both racks have a top plate less muck  thrown up and support for a couple of bike packing handlebar bags

[rogerzilla]

Been dunking things in citric acid.  It can't restore chrome or fix pitting, but it's good on encrusted rusty parts.

[Mr Larrington]

Started fettling the Perfectly Good Gentleman’s Mountain Bicycle in preparation for Monday's enforced shopping-by-bicycle palaver.  Do I have any M5 nuts, rear racks for the relocation of?

Why, no!  No, I do not!  That noise you just heard was the txt frm Scrwfx telling me my click'n'collect order is ready…

[ElyDave]

The hell that is the fettling of Pax and Billy,

It's her project, so why am I the screwdriver monkey?

[LittleWheelsandBig]

Pulled the slightly-worn Pasela tyres off my fixed and fitted them to my trike’s rear wheels. Replaced an aged Velox rim tape that was starting to rot. Swapped one of the trike’s rear tyres to the front and ditched the wornout rear tyre. The part-worn front tyre has been hung up in the garage for future reuse.

Fitted a pair of nice-ish Vee Rubber 30mm tyres to the fixed and tweaked the front cantilever brake adjustment. The fixed will have to be dismantled for powdercoating later this year.

Charged the front battery lights on my fixed and my trike.

[Mr Larrington]

Poke, prod, swear, drop divers tools and small parts on floor, tread in dogshit* while wearing treaded MTB shoes, swear more, get rack on Perfectly Good Gentleman’s Mountain Bicycle raised to the point where it will interfere neither with the back brake nor the BoB trailer, using bits robbed from Miss von Brandenburg when we turned her Perfectly Good Gentleman’s Mountain Bicycle into a motorbike.  Rack actually a good deal less wonky than it was before too.  Yay!  Go me!

Gears still index!  Amazeballs!  Wrap gaffer tape around ridiculously sticky grip-shifter.  Test brakes.  Rear one fine.

Front one not fine.  Lever goes to bars without slowing wheel.  Mine out Stuffs, hydraulic discs for the bleeding of.  Shake bottle of DOT 5.1, which makes unreassuring “I am empty” sound.  By the time I get to Halfrauds, buy more brake juice and get home again I will be running short of daylight, patience and vocabulary.  Decide to give up and do it tomorrow.

Arse.

* At least, I hope that’s what it is…

[Mr Larrington]

Update: Perfectly Good Gentleman’s Mountain Bicycle now has brakes at both ends, a feat accomplished without dropping either of the tiny black bolts that secure the cap of the fluid reservoir on a Hope lever.  One minor flesh wound and one b0rked Bell That Goes Ping after over-tightening the screw wot clamps it to the handlebars.  Trip round the block successful but not looking forward to laden trip back from Mr Sainsbury’s House of Toothy Comestibles tomorrow coz it’s uphill most of the way.  At least I had the foresight to stock up on cases of Fizzy Pop last week so I shouldn’t need the trailer for a week or two.

Where the heck did I put those AAA flatteries I bought the other week?

[Kim]

You should complain to Mr Sainsbury, and insist that he molish a new emporium that is uphill from Larrington Towers.

[Mr Larrington]

That would be tricky since Larrington Towers is, as near as makes no odds, on top of the local hillock.

[Jurek]

Have you considered asking Mr. Saino to  stand and deliver to Larrington Towers?

[Cudzoziemiec]

Have you considered asking Mr. Saino to  stand and deliver to Larrington Towers?

Mr Larrington is adamant he's using the Perfectly Good Gentleman's Mountain Bicycle.

[Kim]

That would be tricky since Larrington Towers is, as near as makes no odds, on top of the local hillock.

Skyhooks!

[Mr Larrington]

Have you considered asking Mr. Saino to  stand and deliver to Larrington Towers?

Given the propensity of horriblemarkets to substitute X for Not-X and their desire for Actual Cash Money in exchange for their delivery services, no.  Mr Sainsbury does offer an annual pass for thirty of the BRITONS' pounds provided you don't want any not-groceries and are at home midweek.

[LittleWheelsandBig]

Replaced a rear tube on my trike and pulled out a couple of thorns. I would have preferred to fix the flat while we were waiting for our coffee, rather than when we were mounting up to leave but ‘such is life!’ Lubed the chain when I got home.

Time to reload the tool/tube bottle again and service the Topeak pump. Somehow it has turned into a suction pump, rather than a pressure pump.

[Salvatore]

Yesterday I had a new front door fitted. Once Dave had finished the installation and demonstrated the keys and locks, and departed in his van, my priority was to put one of the keys in the key safe in the cupboard next to the front door, as locking myself out would prove very expensive, and I was bound to do it sooner or later. But as soon as I tried to open the cupboard door, I realised that because of the new bigger doorstep, it would only open about an inch or two. So I made full use of my very meagre woodworking skills and came up with a solution.


 


So when I leave the house I only have to check I have my keys once (or not at all).

[rogerzilla]

Rebuilt a pair of Raleigh 717 rat-trap pedals.  A child could do it - no special tools, meaty 5/32 bearings, a lock washer that works.  In comparison, a Shimano M324 is microsurgery.

[Pingu]

They are a power for the hills.