What did you do today?

[John Stevenson]

Cages were only relevant when they used the split rim type of fixing.
Modern trucks, at least over here have the same type of tubeless construction found on millions of cars.

[Tony Ennis]

I've been working on a chicken coop and run. For some reason, my wife wants chickens. Of course, my wife doesn't like ugly stuff (other than me, marginally) so am building a coop and run that is 10x what it needs to be.

[Black Forest]

I've been working on a chicken coop and run. For some reason, my wife wants chickens. Of course, my wife doesn't like ugly stuff (other than me, marginally) so am building a coop and run that is 10x what it needs to be.

Hey Tony, you aren't fooling anyone. We know you are making it extra nice so in the event that she is mad at you, you have a nice place to camp out until she cools off!

[Tony Ennis]

I have lived in smaller places than the coop I built. I didn't want to build a coop, but I didn't mind building a shed... So this coop looks a lot, structurally, like a shed...

[vpt]

SS exhaust for an audi r8. Pain in the butt to get at the muffler in this thing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WeDTzN5UH0E

[Black Forest]

nuff said!

[ncjeeper]

I got my new DRO installed on the mill today.

[EddyCurr]

Flushed a Keller Model 1A die filer's oil today. Several times.

I've had the machine for a while without running it much, in
part because of not knowing what was inside.

Although I have yet to find a lubricant recommendation by
Keller for this machine, other manufacturers that use the same
scotch-yoke mechanism to convert rotary motion into
reciprocating motion specify SAE 20W or 30W non-detergent
machine oil (ISO 68 or 100) for a fill.

Naturally, what came out of the sump on the first pass
resembled gear oil, thick stuff at that. Maybe with a
Lucas-like additive ... Time will tell whether SAE 20W
ISO 68 proves adequate. Certainly seems to operate
with less effort and the motor runs cooler.

Took a moment to align the pulleys and check the SPM.
The larger drive pulley delivers a 4:1 ratio for 431 SPM.
The smaller one provides a 5:1 ratio or 345 SPM. A future
project will be to slow this down quite a bit.

.

[boslab]

I do find that Lucas oil extender works though, feels funny on your hands, sticky skippy
Mark

[EddyCurr]

While I have never used Lucas products, I have played
with their promotional display samples.

Speaking of sticky skippy oils, here is what I did today.



Those are the component parts from four sets of mid
-late 70's Showa forks. Stripped the front ends off
the bikes, fabricated some bits that facilitate use of
an H-press to separate fork tubes from their lower legs,
removed every Phillips head holding the spring seats
without so much as hint of stripping the head, completed
a preliminary scrubbing and checked for run-out.

Ummm. Nothing like the smell of fourty-year-old fork oil.

Here's why one removes and disassembles forks, rather
than simply removing the drain plugs.



That sludge is typical of what lay at the bottom of each
of the lower fork legs.

Here's what the Phillips (J.I.S., actually) head screws
look like on removal. The granulated residue here resembled
silicon sealant in some cases.



In any event, these things are REALLY held TIGHTLY in
place. The secret to successful removal is the use of
a J.I.S. tip in an impact driver - mine is a Vessel, what
a joy to use.

Three more sets to do once these are refurbished and
back on their respective bikes.

.

[boslab]

Good candidates for a parts washer, nasty looking gunk
Mark

[EddyCurr]

Good candidates for a parts washer, nasty looking gunk

Not at that early stage.

I have a large parts washer. It has several nice features for trapping
solids (errant small parts, too) before reaching the sump, depth for
settling to help liquid separation and filtering, all with the aim of
providing a clean stream of solvent when the pump is on.

That said, for me cleaning a parts washer ranks second only to one
more disagreeable task. (Also, the low odor solvent I use is a bit dear.)
So, objects have to be pretty clean before they are allowed into the
parts washer here.

For forks, surface dirt gets wiped/brushed off into an outdoor garbage
can lined with a plastic bag. Once the tubes and lowers are separated,
they are positioned over the funnel of an oil drain pan that doubles as
a container. When the spring seats are extracted from the lowers, the
sludge on the seats gets brushed into the funnel and the lowers are
rinsed in a make-shift container - with both ends of the lowers now
open, agitation clears the sludge from the innards. Ditto with rinsing
the tubes and springs.





At this stage, the component parts are getting close to being considered
for admittance to the parts washer.

The bag in the garbage can goes out with the weekly trash. The
contents of the oil drain pan are delivered to the local recycling depot.
The pricey low odor solvent in the make-shift bottle is covered and
allowed to settle, then the 'clear' solvent is poured into a container
for 'pre-cleaning' on the next project.

.

[boslab]

I tend to use diesel, but it's cheapish, bout the same as petrol now over here, but insurance is going up 10% to compensate! can't win
Mark

[The Artful Bodger]

A simple job today. I took the idler pulley off my little linisher which was continually frustrating me with poor belt tracking. A few minutes to put more crown on the pulley solved that!

[vpt]

No pic (yet).

Today after work I made up an oil cup for my mill to replace the plastic one that was cracked, which I tried to repair and it cracked again. I made up and aluminum cup a little taller than the original that also accepted the original cap. Drilled a hole in the side and tapped in a "spigot" which was then a tap on ft to the nipple sticking out of the mill. I stuck a pipe cleaner in for temporary, I feel there is a better wick option just have to wait for one of you to show me.

Gonna wait to fill it so the loctite on the spigot can set up.