Druidic exploits of a various nature!!

[Muz]

Fek me .... thats been some amount of data ... and jobs done since last I checked in will have to re read last 3 pages for correct info absorption

[v8druid]

You have been a busy bloke .
Thanks for the photos ,been good watching Alexs job site progress .

And congratulations grand dad . pass them on to the happy couple as well.

Cheers Ian ..... Alex has done a really nice job ..... wish I'd taken a few more right at the start, but didn't like to take too many as wasn't my job

I'll convey your congrats Boyo ..... as said, I doubt we'll see quite as much of this lil' un though

You grandads need to stick together.......................................... ......

your time will come Stock

[v8druid]

Fek me .... thats been some amount of data ... and jobs done since last I checked in will have to re read last 3 pages for correct info absorption

Yep ..... better 'bone up' Muz ..... there'll be an exam at the end of it all ....... with a high pass mark

[v8druid]

Yep ..... better 'bone up' Muz ..... there'll be an exam at the end of it all ....... with a high pass mark

Q1 .........and the cost of 10 tons of air freight from O'hare was ? .........................

[Stock]

your time will come Stock

Well I have a grand niece and another grand niece/nephew on the way...................................and did I get some sport calling the sister granny, as only weeks earlier she was crowing about someone having said that both herself and the daughter looked more like sisters..........

I know I'm a fat balding beestard so she get no rise from me.......................

[AndrewMawson]

You're all part timers - 10 grandchildren so far, the eldest is coming on 21 and the youngest just a year old

[Stock]

You're all part timers - 10 grandchildren so far, the eldest is coming on 21 and the youngest just a year old

Not too far off the GREAT so.............

[v8druid]

Not too far off the GREAT so.............

You're all part timers - 10 grandchildren so far, the eldest is coming on 21 and the youngest just a year old

WOW!!

I'm an impostor though ...... got no kids of me own

[v8druid]

well me new Broach arrived this lunchtime, courtesy of the posty ......





.....so once the little un'd nodded off, for her after lunch nap, I shot off down me mate's place, with a small shopping list ......





Didn't have exactly what I was after, but reckon it'll do the job ... it'll have to ... 'twere this or now't and Alex is in need of the HPX to dangle off of Matilda, in Ross!! ASAP


Be busy tomorrow .... if it stays dry !!


had a new co-pilot on the Countax, this morning .....





...... be a while 'fore she can reach the pedals, etc., but she had fun riding 'round on my left leg, for an hour ..... trying to get her used to the noise, as she panics when she hears the neighbour's mower going, but was happy as Larry, sat on ours, with me ???


Also developing good tastes in heavy metal, having carefully inspected the dumper and then the 'Drema, she stood there pointing up at the cab yelling 'Grandads', this morning .... LOL ....


Pam said ... "she's getting a 'taste' for your gear" and when I replied, " better get some more then " ..... the response wasn't really repeatable, or printable !!!!!!!


Spent the day yesterday wrestling this bloody thing off of our spare, spare jalopy ....





Should've gone back to Plymouth with the kids on Monday, but after fitting a new battery to it, Saturday morning .... it's been sat around for months and old un'd died .... I jumped in it Monday morning to find it flatter than a frog that'd been run over by a 38 tonner !!!


Sussed/diagnosed a 3 A drain on the battery and isolated it to the power steering pump's constant live feed, which when inactive should draw sod all ....... so after much 'net reading, yon pump had to come off ....
Worrabitch !!
Seems they tend to take in water in their inbuilt control box and then go to earth via the H2O in there.


With it off and on the bench ......... 'twere dry as a chip and I COULD NOT replicate the drain to earth fault ....... Grrrr !


So put it all back together,and reassembled it all, (another worrabitch job), assuming that it had got its little CANBUS head in a knot, with it being sat for months with no battery connected.


left it (the pump) unplugged, 'til I'd got the rest of the vehicle live and tested for drain, then again, with each plug connected, as I went, with the CANBUS connection going in last.


Damn me, if it wasn't behaving perfectly ... small 300 miliamp load with vehicle shutdown, which apparently decreases to 50mA after an hour standing (bloody modern cars) ..... started fine this morning and the same again an hour ago !!!!!!!!


So ... it'll be Plymouth bound, end of the month as Josh's sister, hubby and Clara are off down there for a long weekend and can shuttle it down.


It'll be getting a damned good shakedown 'tween now and then though !


At least it did it here !!

[v8druid]

well as predicted ..... busy day today .....







base sorted ..... on to the cheeks



would've preferred some 12mm but he didn't have any, so 10 it had to be ..



just finished hole #2 and the bloody leccy went off ....



Would've been bouncing off the walls if it had gone off 10 seconds earlier and the magnet had let go ....... bye bye broach !!

so the next two got the G clamp treatment ...... taking no chances of the mag letting go



written off too many broaches in the past !!!! You can not react quick enough to grab the mag as it rotates and smashes the broach tips as they dig in cockeyed 'cos the drill's suddenly hopping about !!

Power's been off several times in last couple of days .... this was the last straw and a conversation was had with Western Power .....
" Yes " their system had logged the several occasions in the last four days and " no " they had no idea why the breaker keeps tripping and re-setting ..... they're waiting to see what goes wrong ..... fkn great !!

Every time it goes off it pisses off our cooker, which has some sort of 'puterised control system (induction jobbie) and takes bloody hours to get its head back together ....... to say now't about how pissed off me old faithful desktop gets ..... and how pissed off I get at re-setting all the bloody clocks on everything ..... 4 times yesterday evening ... Argh!!!!!!

AND how pissed off I'd have been, if I'd wrecked that nice new 45 mm broach that took 4 days to arrive !!!

anyway ..... we both survived and the power didn't dare go off again !!

got it suitably holed .......



set up ....





and nailed together ......





cleaned up, de-spattered and a coat of shiny tish ......



While I waited for the tish to 'set' ...... had a lil' job, from yesterday, to sort, whilst the Caddy was out .......

[v8druid]

Big job ........



I'd just filled it full of motion lotion yesterday ..... pulled on the go cord and yon handle let go !!!!
hence the azzy blanket on the motor/fuel tank ..... was gonna take the handle off and onto the bench, but .... bolts no play ball and with tea imminent ...... it had to have it Could do with a new one (mower that is) for all the lil' bits and nearly bought one at Screwfix, on a 'special', in Ross a week or two back, when I was in there with Alex one day ....... 'til I discovered it too had bloody plastic wheels AND 'tyres' .... if you can call 'em that .......
A nice bit of rubber / whatever to give it a modicum of grip would be so good!

Anyone have any suggestions as to a possible unit to fit the bill ??
Something that will 'actually' self propel itself with a decent level of grip ??

I am all ears guys !!

Anyway .... tea became less imminent and more sort of ready, just as I'd finished the 'Big Job' .... came back out after, to tidy up and try the head plate on the HPX !





The beauty of Mr Kinshoffer's 140 centres is - - it'll go either way round with minimum hassle ..





Think this is likely to be the favorite for what Alex has to do with it next week .

As usual .... lots more pix in't Bucket, for them's is interested !!

[v8druid]

been investigating the drive issue, with this lil' beast, this afters, when Alex left, after inspecting the HPX ..... and arranging a collection/installation session for it, tomorrow morning


This is one, well worn, 'Vee' pulley








No wonder the new belt didn't make a lot of difference ... so worn it's not touching the sides .... dunno how I missed it, but IIRC, 'tweren't very bright when I fitted it last October ... as in ..... damned near dark


Lil' sod took some getting off the motor spindle .... new one ordered and 'en route'
Will be well happy if it'll haul its own arse about again.


Watch this space for a possible re-tread idea on the drive wheels...... which're nearer to race slicks than traction grip !!!

[v8druid]

Guess where I've been this morning ??





Stuffed it in the back of Alex's van first thing, with the 'Drema (don't think the neighbours noticed - LOL) and shot over to Ross with him ......
needed for a bit of 'tree surgery' next week!!






Got a little bit of a Plantohyd shower, when he picked it up, before we got the plumbing on and the placcy adapter covers exited stage centre .... right where I was stood!!!


Certain parties found it bloody hilarious .... head to foot jobbie ... me left boot is well waterproofed, for a while ... as is me shirt !!!





so ... piped up and plugged in, it works a treat ...and looks relatively 'sensible' on Matilda, who is a big girl for a 6 tonner really !





makes her a tad 'noddy', full stretch and with a bucket full. Digs fairly well too ... be wicked with some gnashers on it !!!










Look out trees ..... HPX is coming ..................

[v8druid]

Monday being a non-Clara day and having been dry(-ish) for a while, was gonna get on and shift some crud ....... I say was .... boss had other ideas.
I'd already had Sunday afternoon commandeered, after getting back from Ross and the HPX fitting with Alex ...... Monday morning didn't start any better ....... can you just??? .... oh oh!!

having gotten back from town, eventually, laden with a dumpy full of green slate chippings and five bags of cement .... they had to come out ........

My favoured method .... much kinder to the bags ......



and get it on a pallet, for easier re-handling



got the dumpy full of sand down, while I was at it and parked it somewhere more easily accessible for later, then ........ dropped the forks and stuck a bucket on ....

to create a stockpile



I'm hopeful of losing a lot of me spoil to an old customer's place ..... he's filling a huge gully and I'm waiting to hear from the guy doing it for him...who's also one of my old customers and lives pretty close by to me.

one of the day's finds!!!!! 'Twere a lump .... doesn't look much here, but about 8 - 9 ft long and bloody heavy ! Large lump of oak!!



took the top down about 12-18" (in places) and got it a bit more level than it was .... where I could get at it !!

Grand-dad duties ...... solo this morning!! Pam had to go out for a few hours!!

Little 'un takes some amusing ..... especially when it's like winter out ... lovely sunny morning, but bitter NE wind and 2C air temp. !! ..... with snow forecast !! FFS !!

Handed over to Pam, sort of, late morning and once Clara'd been fed lunchtime and she had her head down, I managed a bit more time in't 'Drema, finishing off yesterday's efforts, enlarging the heap, tidying the rest of it plus getting the top of the ramp a LOT more level than it was ! .........




Added to the stockpile a bit more, whilst getting snowed on twice ... !!



and again a third time just as I'd packed up....



can't really see it as well in this, as in the original pix .... hell it came down in some order!!!!!

Treatment night ..... hence the early finish and got in just in time to avoid this ........

---

hell did it come down in some order .... hail the size of small peas...... and's been doing it on/off 'til it got dark ....... like winter out tonight !

[v8druid]

new boss arrived today ....





bit more meat to the one flange on the new one .... and interestingly two drive spigots for the blade too !! ..... not as it ever seemed to struggle in the cutting dept. ...... I keep the blade sharp enough to shave with !!





Got the 'new tread pattern' attached to the wheels this evening, having sourced what I'm reliably informed is the ultimate in sticky shite ..... we'll see .... time will tell on that one ..... pix to follow, when said sticky shite has set !!


Also fitted a 'sort of' cure for the jalopy's leccy earth drain problem .... battery isolator switch that arrived this afternoon along with the boss, courtesy of Postman Pat.
Don't yer just love an intermittent problem ..... NOT !!!!!


So that's off to Plymouth at the weekend.


Couple of bits of plant porn for you, from the possible site for some spoil loss in said 'kin gert hole ........








called by there yesterday, to see if Jimmy (the m/c's owner) was about, to try and sort some spoil shifting.
The hole's owners were more than happy at the prospect of getting their 'pit' dumped in, but still haven't gotten a hold of the D6's pilot yet, to try and sort summat.

I know the owners of the property, pretty well and they've been there since '63.
Apparently the gully they're now filling didn't exist then and you could drive across, from where I was stood taking the pix, to the field in the distance!!





when I came by there, a few times, on me way back and fore to Ross, the Powerslide was down in the gully, installing big concrete pipes and you could barely see it ....... 'tis DEEP!! ...... the power of water, eh ??





Local builder, from a job up the road, making a small contribution to the 'project'





Apparently they have had SOME SORT of stuff go in there these last few weeks !!


I can well believe that !!!!