Home-made Tools and those you've adapted or modified. And also "tips and tricks".

[JohnD]

Sycamores came here with the Romans, so as a family they may be bit more native than you and me!   The trees are martyrs to aphids and so are a valuable  resource for aphid-eaters, from ladybirds to birds.  Its flowers are a good pollen source for bees, it has big seeds that are easy to get at for birds and  small mammals, and its leaves support certain moth caterpillars that feed on nothing else.   Sycamores add to the variety and diversity of UK Flora and wildlife.

And before that, about 10K years before that, the UK was covered in ice, so ALL plant life "isn't native".

John

 

[Wagger]

4 hours ago, JohnD said:

Sycamores came here with the Romans, so as a family they may be bit more native than you and me!   The trees are martyrs to aphids and so are a valuable  resource for aphid-eaters, from ladybirds to birds.  Its flowers are a good pollen source for bees, it has big seeds that are easy to get at for birds and  small mammals, and its leaves support certain moth caterpillars that feed on nothing else.   Sycamores add to the variety and diversity of UK Flora and wildlife.

And before that, about 10K years before that, the UK was covered in ice, so ALL plant life "isn't native".

John

 

Well stated JohnD. No such thing as 'Native' mammals either eh.

[Wagger]

5 hours ago, 68vitesse said:

An even more dicey subject is pollution caused by pets, particularly dogs.

Regards

Paul.

As this was a Tool related section, let's try to correct the drift. There are 'Tools' that deal with dog waste. I take a trowel, dig a deepish hole and bury it when there are no bins in sight. Too many dog walkers accidentally, or otherwise, mislay their bags when hooking or unhooking the dog leads, Some parks suggest that we flick it into the undergrowth. When clearing our back garden, I notice slugs and birds feeding on the 'Turds'.

Nowadays I see overflowing, uncollected poo bins everywhere. Where is the incentive to add to the pile?

The worst polluters are those that bag it and throw it into the trees, undergrowth and streams.

Once again it is humans causing the problem. Just look at the litter strewn along every highway now, especially at the M25 Exits. It cannot just be a thoughtless minority. It would fuel a waste burning facility for ages.

It is education that is required, maybe even more cameras to catch the tossers that throw it out.

One of us should design a tool to detect 'Rubbish Tossers'.

 

[Colin Lindsay]

30 minutes ago, Wagger said:

Once again it is humans causing the problem. Just look at the litter strewn along every highway now, especially at the M25 Exits. It cannot just be a thoughtless minority. It would fuel a waste burning facility for ages.

It is education that is required, maybe even more cameras to catch the tossers that throw it out.

The nearest shops to my house are about 3 miles away, so all of the drivers in the Haulage and Delivery yard three doors down get their breakfasts in the deli at the garage, then over the three mile drive to the yard eat it and throw the waste out along the roadside. The Council workers park their flatbed in a lay-by every morning, have their break, and again dump the rubbish - weeks of carryout trays and coffee cups. If you mention it, the rubbish was already there when they arrived, or else it's someone else's. Prove it!

However back to tools and one for which I can claim no credit, but it's a great idea and sadly a necessity. Fords for some reason have a tin cover over their wheelnuts which means a standard 18mm socket won't fit and a 19mm is too big. I found out yesterday that enterprising suppliers are selling 18.5mm sockets for this very reason. Cost me a tenner but worth it in saved time when the tin covers round off and the wheel nut won't budge.

[JohnD]

Trebucket?

1 hour ago, Wagger said:

One of us should design a tool to detect 'Rubbish Tossers'.

 

 

[Wagger]

3 hours ago, Colin Lindsay said:

The nearest shops to my house are about 3 miles away, so all of the drivers in the Haulage and Delivery yard three doors down get their breakfasts in the deli at the garage, then over the three mile drive to the yard eat it and throw the waste out along the roadside. The Council workers park their flatbed in a lay-by every morning, have their break, and again dump the rubbish - weeks of carryout trays and coffee cups. If you mention it, the rubbish was already there when they arrived, or else it's someone else's. Prove it!

However back to tools and one for which I can claim no credit, but it's a great idea and sadly a necessity. Fords for some reason have a tin cover over their wheelnuts which means a standard 18mm socket won't fit and a 19mm is too big. I found out yesterday that enterprising suppliers are selling 18.5mm sockets for this very reason. Cost me a tenner but worth it in saved time when the tin covers round off and the wheel nut won't budge.

Colin, I have found that those 'Metrinch' sockets will work on various sizes of nut. They do not grip on the corners of the nut, instead, just off centre on each flat. Hex always beats 12 point too if the fit is not snug. I have a few worn A/F and imperial sockets. Hammering them on sometimes works.

[Wagger]

3 hours ago, Colin Lindsay said:

The nearest shops to my house are about 3 miles away, so all of the drivers in the Haulage and Delivery yard three doors down get their breakfasts in the deli at the garage, then over the three mile drive to the yard eat it and throw the waste out along the roadside. The Council workers park their flatbed in a lay-by every morning, have their break, and again dump the rubbish - weeks of carryout trays and coffee cups. If you mention it, the rubbish was already there when they arrived, or else it's someone else's. Prove it!

However back to tools and one for which I can claim no credit, but it's a great idea and sadly a necessity. Fords for some reason have a tin cover over their wheelnuts which means a standard 18mm socket won't fit and a 19mm is too big. I found out yesterday that enterprising suppliers are selling 18.5mm sockets for this very reason. Cost me a tenner but worth it in saved time when the tin covers round off and the wheel nut won't budge.

Some Fiat Ducatos have drain and filler plugs that are square sockets. I cannot remember the actual size, but 3/8" and 1/4" drive bars do not fit. I filed one down, slightly tapered, so that it 'Fits'. Then people curse when they borrow my socket set. How dare they!

[PeteH]

1 hour ago, Wagger said:

Some Fiat Ducatos have drain and filler plugs that are square sockets. I cannot remember the actual size, but 3/8" and 1/4" drive bars do not fit. I filed one down, slightly tapered, so that it 'Fits'. Then people curse when they borrow my socket set. How dare they!

8mm from memory?. Seem to remember I made one out of some square section I had in my "scrap box", welded to a piece of steel pipe.

Pete

[johny]

Yes its the same size as the bar used in house internal door handles so you can remove one, do the oil change and put the bar back in the door before anyone realises👍

[PeteH]

4 minutes ago, johny said:

Yes its the same size as the bar used in house internal door handles so you can remove one, do the oil change and put the bar back in the door before anyone realises👍

5/16" is only about 2thou smaller.

Pete

[johny]

Is the door bar still imperial then😮

[PeteH]

Just now, johny said:

Is the door bar still imperial then😮

Any in my scrap box will be! along with the square Head Whitworth nuts, All the lathe fittings are Whit/BSF, It was built in 1945. I still have a full set of Whitworth/BSF Taps and Dies, And a Screw thread jack with Acme Thread. Hate throwing good stuff away😁

Pete

[chrishawley]

9 hours ago, Wagger said:

too many......humans.

Well done you:

Elephant in room

Nail hit on head

Nettle needing to be grasped

etc

It so very much warrants discussion since so many ecological problems bear relationship to excessive population. But, paradoxically, decline in birth rates and (native) population reduction is beginning to be seen in many countries: Scandanavia, Italy, Japan and even China for example. And Wales.

Too much thinking about the world makes my brain hurt!!

[ahebron]

4 minutes ago, chrishawley said:

 

Nettle needing to be grasped

 

Walking through Sherwood Forest somewhere near the Major Oak  back in 2000 I said to my son grab hold of that plant.
He did so then started telling me it hurt, from that point he knew what a nettle looks and feels like.

[Colin Lindsay]

12 hours ago, johny said:

Yes its the same size as the bar used in house internal door handles so you can remove one, do the oil change and put the bar back in the door before anyone realises👍

Those bars are amazingly versatile!! Same diameter as door glass runners so great for straightening out any dents in the metal, but also for holding the rubber runner in place for gluing.

  

 

[Colin Lindsay]

6 minutes ago, ahebron said:

Walking through Sherwood Forest somewhere near the Major Oak  back in 2000 I said to my son grab hold of that plant.
He did so then started telling me it hurt, from that point he knew what a nettle looks and feels like.

I assume you don't have an open fire?

[68vitesse]

Often thought it would be easier to move some items past the angle grinder than the other way round.

Regards

Paul.

 

Edited March 19, 2023 by 68vitesse

[JohnD]

Does this count as a home made tool?

My Vitesse is not daily-driven so while it's in the garage I plug in a CTEK charger to keep the battery topped up and conditioned.    Rather than have a cable/tripwire trailing on the floor, it's powered by a 'flying lead' suspended from the  roof.   But if the socket for that is above head height, the cable on the charger is too short for it to sit on the boot floor.   So I've mounted it on a shaped plate that sits on the wing.    The wing is protected from plate edges by gaffer tape.

John     

[Iain T]

On 24/02/2023 at 09:28, Colin Lindsay said:

Those bars are amazingly versatile!! Same diameter as door glass runners so great for straightening out any dents in the metal, but also for holding the rubber runner in place for gluing.

A different problem but if you have a section or tube you want to bend without too much deformation try Cerrobend. It melts at around 70C, we used to use it to maintain form on prototype door channels circa 1970s. It melts in boiling water. 

Iain 

[Pete Lewis]

just dont shut the door with the  bar missing   

Pete

[Colin Lindsay]

58 minutes ago, Iain T said:

A different problem but if you have a section or tube you want to bend without too much deformation try Cerrobend. It melts at around 70C, we used to use it to maintain form on prototype door channels circa 1970s. It melts in boiling water. 

Iain 

Had to look that up! Interesting stuff, am already thinking of what I can use it for.

[Iain T]

27 minutes ago, Colin Lindsay said:

Had to look that up! Interesting stuff, am already thinking of what I can use it for.

Cerrotru is, another variant. We used to use both. On glass channel extrusions we tinned the inside then cooked the Cerrobend in boiling water and poured it into the straight extruded section. When formed to the correct shape we simply dunked the section in boiling water and the Cerrobend melted and poured out. Simples! 

[Iain T]

49 minutes ago, Colin Lindsay said:

Had to look that up! Interesting stuff, am already thinking of what I can use it for.

False teeth although I don't think there's any Magnesium in it......... 

[Colin Lindsay]

1 hour ago, Iain T said:

False teeth although I don't think there's any Magnesium in it......... 

Melts in boiling water... may be the replacement for coffee I've been looking for...

[Iain T]

You can use Cerrotru to make castings. Make your own mould in sand, wood, ceramic etc and hey presto. Easier and safer than most metals even kirksite/zamak. 

If you use sand Petrobond gives superb definition. The detail is so fine you can see your fingerprints in the sand! Make a metal open mould box and play away with your sand castings! 

Iain 

Edited March 21, 2023 by Iain T