What have you fettled today?

[Asterix, the former Gaul.]

I cut the grass today. I hate cutting the grass   

Don't do it then. It's better for the environment if you don't cut it. Enjoy the wild flowers that will appear attracting billions of beautiful butterflies.

[Mr Larrington]

Reattached the soap dish to the wall athwart the bath at Fort Larrington, it having become detached when Lt. Col. Larrington (retd.) took a tumble into the tub the other day.

[Cudzoziemiec]

I appear to have broken outer casing of my front gear cable. Come apart at the inline adjuster and can't get it back together. 

[Asterix, the former Gaul.]

Found the hole in my trailer inner tube.  Ordered repair kit off ebay.

[Kim]

I cut the grass today. I hate cutting the grass   

Don't do it then. It's better for the environment if you don't cut it. Enjoy the wild flowers that will appear attracting billions of beautiful butterflies.

You appear to have mis-spelt "nettles, brambles and sycamore".

[Cudzoziemiec]

Nettles and brambles have flowers, one makes tea, the other makes blackberry crumble with custard. Sycamore makes helicopters.

[Kim]

Today, being the warmest day of the year so far, was chain-cleaning day.  Normally I do this while barakta is at work, because solvents give her migraine, but since that hasn't been an option, my chain had got to the point of squeaks and low-level misbehaviour^[1], forcing the issue.

So, with barakta safely hiding in the back garden with a Chromebook, I was able to do the Sheldon Shake in the kitchen, followed by general drivetrain de-crudding and lubrication with both front and back doors open.  I then proceeded to general washing of the rest of the bike, during which Student1 appeared to chat mid-bike-ride at a socially distant 2 metres with Student2 from nextdoor.  I heard her remark that she was completely knackered because her tyres were flat, and glancing at her bike, I was able to confirm this completely unexaggerated diagnosis.  They were staying on the rims through the stubbornness of Marathon Pluses.

Using a clean bit of industrial-strength fettling tissue, I grabbed the backup track pump from its shelf in the Cupboard of Doom, and deposited it on the pavement outside, saying that I couldn't help overhear, and don't worry, that one's been untouched for weeks, much to the appreciation of Student1.  I then provided a socially-distanced tutorial on Presta valves, and they got the tyres up to a respectable 80PSI before I reclaimed the pump for a thorough wipe-down and re-shelving.



_{[1] Some of this is down to grotty gear cable outers, but I'm holding off on replacing those because it seems like a waste to put shiny new cables on just to ride around in circles.}

[rogerzilla]

I cut the newly-seeded grass for the first time (the front hedge had got out of hand so I took it back a yard at the end of last year, leaving a bare strip).

[perpetual dan]

I started trimming mudguard stays down, but was beaten by a blunt hacksaw.

[aidan.f]

Notching with a triangular file and snapping off with pliers is my method. Then dress the ends flat with file..

[rogerzilla]

I have unfettled a double-glazed window.  Part of the friction hinge snapped when I opened it a bit wider than normal to clean it (they are very old windows).  It cannot be closed properly.

A hinge is a fiver but I need to get someone to fix this for me; if I try it I will probably break the other hinge and send the window crashing through the roof of the porch below.  Now I have the fun of getting someone out during the coronavirus pandemic; it is allowed, especially for emergency repairs, but most tradesmen seem to have put their feet up.  As a last resort I can try my insurer, although they might just recommend boarding it up.

[robgul]

Continued to install benches and cupboards in the garage/workshop at our new house . . . the wall cupboards salvaged some years ago from a friend's kitchen fix to the wall with some chamfered wooden "cleats" . . . could I find them? - no, so out with the electric plane and some oddments of wood to fashion 4 new ones . . excellent, but then what did I find taped inside one of the cupboards       That said everything was packed up about 6 weeks ago and we went on holiday 4 days after we moved . . . and only got back last week*

* and we had been to Australia and New Zealand - got caught up in the NZ lockdown and were confined to a hotel room at Auckland Airport for 4 days until a flight home 2 weeks before were supposed to be back 

Rob

[SoreTween]

Jumped on the springy thingy yesterday & found it only has 3 gears rather than usual 24.  Turned out all three short segments of outer had partially rusted to the inner. All freed up but once the rust starts it won't stop so I'll be replacing it before the next serious outing. Also lightened it to the tune of a half kilo of mud. Must have been a horrific day to have got put away in that state.

[JonBuoy]

Replaced all eight bearings in the rear suspension of the MTB.  Some of the old ones really did not want to be removed and one eventually required the attention of the Aldi Dremel-alike.

Couldn't tell much difference on the test ride apart from the fact that the horrendous creaking/cracking noise has stopped 

[DuncanM]

I took the front of my MTB apart to measure up for a headtube to go into a recumbent frame. It's a Carerra Fury, and it's got some strange sort of semi-integrated headset - I thought it would be like the normal aheadsets where you undo the stem and the top cap and then lift it up and the forks fall out and all the parts roll around on the floor.
Not this one. There's some sort of head race that I had to apply leverage to get it to move at all, and even after I did that, with nothing on top of the top bearing, the forks still resolutely fail to fall out of the head tube. I may have to resort to a hammer! I suspect this means that the headset bearings are shot (that and the suspicious brown colour of the underside of the top seal), which means this was long overdue anyway. The chain is also rusty on the outside, but quite free running and smooth.  I think this is because I used Squirt on it rather than regular oil before I left it under the bike shelter in the garden for a few months!

Today I shall do the same to a BMX that I also want to rob the forks from. I reckon that is bound to do the opposite to the MTB and leave ball bearings all over the garden!

[zigzag]

new (kmc gold) chain and (11-32) cassette on the "audax" bike.

(in case audaxes resume anytime soon )

[Kim]

Copper-to-the-shed (polyethylene-jacketed cat5e).  This involved the usual exciting mix of dust, spiders, power tools, knee-abuse, operating a thumb-detector at the top of a ladder, cable-ties, colour vision and harsh language.  I also tidied up some of the droopy coax to the satellite dish, (which I'd installed to Sky engineer standards shortly after we moved in, on the basis that if the landlord asked questions we could deny all knowledge).

Then I went for a bike ride, to clear my lungs and celebrate not having injured myself.

[Tim Hall]

I've started putting my Dad's several thousand colour slides into a digital format, so the rest of the family can see them.

This involves a GAF projector that was presented to him in 1980, my DSLR on a sturdy tripod, a screen and some careful positioning.  I can only do it at night, as the room is too bright even with curtain closed during the day, so I leave everything assembled and step carefully round it during the day.

I'm up to 1967, but thankfully they stop in about 1982. 

I may be some time.

[chrisbainbridge]

Tim
Have you looked at a commercial company? they can be surprisingly cheap for large volumes.  Alternatively buy a slide copier on eBay and then flog it again.  A bit like pass the parcel.

[perpetual dan]

The slides sounds like an interesting view into a life.
I fettled mudguards.

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

[Ashaman42]

Made a start on the triffid planation. Did more than expected but only a fraction of what's required.

[Tim Hall]

Tim
Have you looked at a commercial company? they can be surprisingly cheap for large volumes.  Alternatively buy a slide copier on eBay and then flog it again.  A bit like pass the parcel.

Even if I beat a slide company down to say 20p a slide, that's two grand assuming I've got 10000 slides.  I don't have two grand spare at the moment. For the same reason I do have lots of time spare. Furloughed y'see.

I've got an (old) slide scanner. It's slow. Very slow, like minutes per slide.

[rogerzilla]

A man is coming from Wales to fix my window today.  £80 isn't bad considering the amount of fuel he'll use getting here!

[hatler]

A BSO for an NHS worker. In surprisingly OKish shape, except that there was no rim tape on either wheel, and the front tube was for a 29er (it's got 26" wheels). Rusty handlebars and distinctly rusty chain with a number of stiff links, but that would happen to any bike left outside.

The gears were perfectly adjusted and the wheels only needed a little bit of trueing.

Brakes adjusted, rear hub greased, chain freed up, cables lubed, rim tape applied, new tube, tyres pumped. Job's a good 'un.

[Socks]

Gave the Kingcycle recumbent a thorough clean, including the chain.  Replaced a couple of mudguard stay bolts which were rusty, probably just in time as one of them took a soaking in release oil and a long Allen key to get moving.  Àny worse and the head would probably have broken or rounded off.

On to check / clean / lubricate another bike in a day or two.