What have you fettled today?

[Tim Hall]

My ancient Denon CD player didn't work when asked the other day. As it hadn't been asked to work for Quite A While I suspected something was gunged up. Opened it up, poked,prodded,gave the motor spindle a twist. Lo! It lives!

Reassembled it and music pours forth.  Only one bit of divvery - putting the magnetic wotsit back in upside down, so that the drawer would only open when there was a CD in it. Soon sorted though.

A CD player.
Is that similar to a digital watch?

I think the last time it got used is when I rescued it from the FMH and plugged it in to my system. I occasionally buy CDs, at gigs,but then rip them for playing on my Raspberry Pi. It was only used the other day as The  Boy had bought CDs of some band I've never heard of. He, of course, has no optical drives on his babbage engine.

In other news I've just wound my wooden clock.

[JefO]

I acquired two CD Players a while back for £10 (£5 each) one working, one not.

I recycled the not working one. The working one worked quite well but skipped easily depending on the CD in it. A friend was moving and wanted to find an appreciative keeper of the CD Player he had and a rather nice amplifier. So I now had two CD Players both Marantz. I repaired the broken CD Drawer Transport mechanism and compared them.

The later, more tinseltastic one, with all sorts of features lost in the comparison, because it was still skipping on certain CDs (and the older more basic unit was a solid performer). So I sold the newer one and continue to enjoy CDs. I still buy them. The last one I bought was by Rocket from the Crypt, which is growing on me more each time I listen to it. 

Mainly I listen to vinyl and CDs, in equal measures. To a lesser amount television streamed 'radio', and very occasionally mp3 type music, on a very old tablet. 

I guess I like the fettling that CD and Vinyl adds to the experience.

Oh yeah, just remembered why I came here. Fitted some LED lights in the attic. Reasonably chuffed with them. I will eventually get the 6ft fluorescent tubes down and take them to the tip.

[chrisbainbridge]

Bought and fitted a tow bar mounted bike rack for the camper van and then removed the gates and the hinge brackets from the gateway.

[JefO]

Used my lovely new derailleur hanger alignment gauge, on a mates bike, it is so much more accurate than the ZTTO rubbish that I had to send back, but then again it did cost £100 more. Lesson learnt. Also advised said mate that he bought new jockey wheels as the T-Pulley was missing the bush that allows it to rotatewhen clamped firm between the cage parts.

Wired up a couple of 20W LED lights for the garage, and "fitted" them in the garage (loosely speaking). Old and new systems working in parallel until I can be bothered to support the wiring properly, and then I will scrap the old stuff.

[Wobbly John]

I acquired two CD Players a while back for £10 (£5 each) one working, one not.

I recycled the not working one. The working one worked quite well but skipped easily depending on the CD in it. A friend was moving and wanted to find an appreciative keeper of the CD Player he had and a rather nice amplifier. So I now had two CD Players both Marantz. I repaired the broken CD Drawer Transport mechanism and compared them.

The later, more tinseltastic one, with all sorts of features lost in the comparison, because it was still skipping on certain CDs (and the older more basic unit was a solid performer). So I sold the newer one and continue to enjoy CDs. I still buy them. The last one I bought was by Rocket from the Crypt, which is growing on me more each time I listen to it. 

Mainly I listen to vinyl and CDs, in equal measures. To a lesser amount television streamed 'radio', and very occasionally mp3 type music, on a very old tablet. 

I guess I like the fettling that CD and Vinyl adds to the experience.

I had to fettle the CD draw mechanism on my main Marantz CD player a few years ago. the plastic spur-gear/cam had gone so brittle it crumbled, so a replacement gear/cam was bought on ebay and fitted. A good working Marantz CD player turned up at a charity shop a couple of week after for a fiver, so I bagged that as a spare.

[drossall]

Replaced the bushes on the Brompton's rear hinge. Pleased with the result. Satisfying job to do. The hard bit was getting the old bushes out.

[Afasoas]

I still buy and listen to CDs. Some vinyl as well, but it's ridiculously expensive so I don't have much.

I sold my last CD player because the transport noise was unbearable. It was 20 years old. I'd meticulously cleaned and re-lubricated with the recommended stuff. I'd also changed the eject belt.
Thankfully the CD transport I replaced it with is absolutey inaudiable.

</ot>



Stripped factory grease from four chains and waxed them. Fitted one of the four to the Ribble CGR Ti. Couldn't get the power link locked using the pliers so resorted to applying pressure to the pedals whilst simultanously applying brake. Put the bike back in the stand and the rear calliper is dragging on the rotor .... again. I'm guessing that calliper mount isn't perfectly faced.

I'll have another stab at aligning the calliper. Last time around, I could could align the calliper, with the bolts tighten up enough to keep the calliper in the correct position, but I could see it's alignment change every time I torked the bolts up to 5 nm. 'Made' an alignment tool to keep the calliper in the correct position whilst I torqued up the nuts. Guessing todays firm 'braking' has moved the calliper in much the same way as torquing the bolts without the makeshift alignment tool.

[JefO]

... resorted to applying pressure to the pedals whilst simultanously applying brake. Put the bike back in the stand and the rear calliper is dragging on the rotor .... again. I'm guessing that calliper mount isn't perfectly faced.

I'll have another stab at aligning the calliper. Last time around, I could could align the calliper, with the bolts tighten up enough to keep the calliper in the correct position, but I could see it's alignment change every time I torked the bolts up to 5 nm. 'Made' an alignment tool to keep the calliper in the correct position whilst I torqued up the nuts. Guessing todays firm 'braking' has moved the calliper in much the same way as torquing the bolts without the makeshift alignment tool.

Your caliper mount needs facing. Don't be fooled into thinking that even a brand new frame is straight enough to be able to just bolt a caliper to it and expect dragless braking. My 2011 Hase Pino frame now has a (home made) 10 degree shim fitted between the frame and the rear caliper mount post, and it was obvious the original owner had been plagued with problems on both of its disc brakes. The front caliper mount on my 2018 Scott CX10 had to be faced as it was behaving exactly as you have described.

[Afasoas]

... resorted to applying pressure to the pedals whilst simultanously applying brake. Put the bike back in the stand and the rear calliper is dragging on the rotor .... again. I'm guessing that calliper mount isn't perfectly faced.

I'll have another stab at aligning the calliper. Last time around, I could could align the calliper, with the bolts tighten up enough to keep the calliper in the correct position, but I could see it's alignment change every time I torked the bolts up to 5 nm. 'Made' an alignment tool to keep the calliper in the correct position whilst I torqued up the nuts. Guessing todays firm 'braking' has moved the calliper in much the same way as torquing the bolts without the makeshift alignment tool.

Your caliper mount needs facing. Don't be fooled into thinking that even a brand new frame is straight enough to be able to just bolt a caliper to it and expect dragless braking. My 2011 Hase Pino frame now has a (home made) 10 degree shim fitted between the frame and the rear caliper mount post, and it was obvious the original owner had been plagued with problems on both of its disc brakes. The front caliper mount on my 2018 Scott CX10 had to be faced as it was behaving exactly as you have described.

Had another stab at re-aligning the calliper. Exact same result.
I'd have hoped this sort of thing would be checked before a bike is shipped out. I've already emailed Ribble. Hopefully they will be constructive resolving it.

[Hot Flatus]

Fitted a new crank set.

It was one of the 11sp Shimano replacement sets, from their safety recall. It's actually a 12 sp crankset and inner chain wheel. The outer ring has been specially manufactured to work on 11sp, I believe.

[JefO]

Had another stab at re-aligning the calliper. Exact same result.
I'd have hoped this sort of thing would be checked before a bike is shipped out. I've already emailed Ribble. Hopefully they will be constructive resolving it.

No amount of undoing and retightening the bolts will have the desired effect. And no, generally, they are not faced before "a bike is shipped out". You can pay a local shop to do it, or do it yourself.

Where (roughly) do you live? If you are local to South Essex I am happy to do it for you.

[T42]

Installed a yet shorter stem (6 cm, ye gods) on the eBrute.  The distance I have to stretch is now 3.3 cm shorter than with the stem I put on back in 2007.  If I still get neck and shoulder problems I'll have to try moving the whole motor gubbins to my already-shorter carbon butterfly and shortening that.  Just now I'm shying away from that because it might limit the size of bottle I can carry, but I could use my lovely Carradice bags again.

♫ Momma's little baby loves short'nin' short'nin',
Momma's little baby loves short'nin' -

[Get knotted - Ed]

[JefO]

Out of curiosity more than anything, decided to check / align the rear derailleurs on both my CX and 29er. Gave them both of good clean and polish before tucking them up for the night.

(I should really be riding the CX on training rides twice a week now, but the weather is having a detrimental effect on my willingness to do so.)

[Afasoas]

Had another stab at re-aligning the calliper. Exact same result.
I'd have hoped this sort of thing would be checked before a bike is shipped out. I've already emailed Ribble. Hopefully they will be constructive resolving it.

No amount of undoing and retightening the bolts will have the desired effect. And no, generally, they are not faced before "a bike is shipped out". You can pay a local shop to do it, or do it yourself.

Where (roughly) do you live? If you are local to South Essex I am happy to do it for you.

I was rinsing and repeating to confirm the problem - wasn't expecting to resolve it. Does sound like a defect to me which should be picked up in quality control and resolved. I don't know a huge deal, but what I do know is that one of the innovations Shimano points in it's marketing the wider clearance to reduce brake noise and in the dealer manual states there shouldn't be inteference between the rotor and the pads.

Thank you btw for the kind offer. It would be a bit of a treck, but it's very well appreciated all the same. I start finding out about LBSes that can do the job as it's not likely I'd use the tool again if I bought it.

[LittleWheelsandBig]

Over the past few days I have:
- Swapped the cassette on an Alpha 7 velomobile to improve climbing ability
- Replaced both gear cables on a borrowed touring bike
- Set up lights on a borrowed Greenspeed recumbent trike
- Built up a packed-for-flight upright trike
- Cleaned and tweaked an older customised Brompton
- Adjusted the bearing preload on an ancient Brampton hub

[Afasoas]

Update on the Ribble and rear brake calliper alignment.

They have emailed me back and they are arranging for one of their mobile mechanics to come and fix it next week.

 

[JefO]

Update on the Ribble and rear brake calliper alignment.

They have emailed me back and they are arranging for one of their mobile mechanics to come and fix it next week.

 

Great result! 

[Diver300]

The garden shredder.

At the weekend the blade stopped and smoke poured out. I thought that would be terminal, but I opened it up just in case, and found that it's belt driven, and the belt had slipped and burned through. So I ordered a new belt, plus some screws to replace the ones that needed drilling out to open up the shredder. They arrived today and it all went back together quite easily.

[LittleWheelsandBig]

Retorqued the BB clamp bolts on an Alpha 7 velomobile.

[Cudzoziemiec]

My ancient Denon CD player didn't work when asked the other day. As it hadn't been asked to work for Quite A While I suspected something was gunged up. Opened it up, poked,prodded,gave the motor spindle a twist. Lo! It lives!

Reassembled it and music pours forth.  Only one bit of divvery - putting the magnetic wotsit back in upside down, so that the drawer would only open when there was a CD in it. Soon sorted though.

A CD player.
Is that similar to a digital watch?

I think the last time it got used is when I rescued it from the FMH and plugged it in to my system. I occasionally buy CDs, at gigs,but then rip them for playing on my Raspberry Pi. It was only used the other day as The  Boy had bought CDs of some band I've never heard of. He, of course, has no optical drives on his babbage engine.

In other news I've just wound my wooden clock.

FMH: Former Mad House?

[T42]

Spent an hour trying eBrute's battery cage out on carbon butterfly.  Replacing the rear bottle cage it wants ~5mm more clearance to get the battery in, and if I fit it place of the front bottle cage it projects 2cm into the rear bottle cage.  Rats.  And now I have to spend another hour fiddling with screws & cable ties to get the eBrute back as was.

[hellymedic]

I have set up a Cat-Eye Velo 7 computer for David, entered the correct tyre circumference and carried over mileage from his unreliable wireless computer.
Penetrating the instruction leaflet challenge my ageing, failing brane!

[T42]

Penetrating the instruction leaflet challenge my ageing, failing brane!

Tell me about it.  The wireless access point I put at the far end of our house is getting dodgy. It's actually an old router I adapted 10 years ago when I was still compos mentis.  The thought of doing another one bequails me.

Spent an hour trying eBrute's battery cage out on carbon butterfly.  Replacing the rear bottle cage it wants ~5mm more clearance to get the battery in, and if I fit it place of the front bottle cage it projects 2cm into the rear bottle cage.  Rats.  And now I have to spend another hour fiddling with screws & cable ties to get the eBrute back as was.

Visited the 'manufacturer' - it's really Chinese-made to their specs - this afternoon and they told me which bits I can file off to make it fit. Nice people.  Mind you, they also took the opportunity to show me kit that has greater battery capacity and shorter batteries, only 600€.

[T42]

Put the battery mount back on the eBrute pro tem 'cos I want to ride it tomorrow. I'll get to converting the butterfly Sunday or Monday.

Swapped the eBrute's worn SPDs for less-worn ones out of my spares stock.  Old ones' bearings shot & contact surfaces well worn. Should maybe do my cleats too...

[ElyDave]

Another one still buying CDs here, generally rip them to a drive and play via whatever mobile device. My land rover had a 6-CD changer and a decent set of speakers (harmon kardon iirc) current x-trail has a Bose system with a woofer that sits in the spare wheel, but only a single disc. It at least allows mp3

Anyhow, yesterday, reflated the front on the recumbent which resulted in sealant splurging around as it reseated. Need a new bottle to top up that and others.

Today, replaced the light in our en-suite, its like turning on the sun by comparison with the old one. Very odd lighting shop, never been in there before, does a lot of contract stuff so mostly back payment and doesn't take credit cards. So we wrote name, address and email on the back of an envelope, walked out with the light and a bill to follow.