Druidic exploits of a various nature!!

[v8druid]

well it got weighed this morning .....





I was surprised TBH .... 925kgs is what the clock says ... couldn't get any closer to it to get a good pic


then it got shifted out the way for now ... and made itself useful in a supporting role .... for Del's placcy pig chassis ....





I've been threatened he's gonna collect it at the weekend LOL .... together with Mr Sanders


shoved it in there with the hook in the eye ... went in sweet as ... some serious flexibility at the end of the boom/dipper .... could put that just about anywhere even sat on the armrest ..... Sparty had taken up residence in the seat and left him and the 'Drema here, 'til he'd vacated .... and I'd had me lunch





Found a bit of 12mm for Rob65 's chuck key for a tommy bar..... really needs to be 1/2", but it'll do for now ...





he did a nice job on freeing it off and cleaning it up ... works well enough for what i want it for .


been another stunning day here today .... sat after tea (which i don't do very often) letting it go down a bit ...enjoying the evening sun ...







........ and me phone rings ..... Russel, me crane mate ..... what was i doing tomorrow?
Did I fancy a few hours slinging for him ... got a silo to take down (amongst other things) and wanted someone who's not afraid of a basket .... plus the site he's on's ticketed bloke is ****ing clueless ... got the paperwork ... and that's as far as it goes.
and he's terrified of the basket
So ... gotta go to work tomorrow LOL ... will be a good craic with Russ ...... an' I'll get to have a play with his new crane probably


He said " why don't you do your ticket Gra ... could keep you real busy " LOL ... like I'm not already !!!!


got some pix today from Plymouth .......





apparently he's gonna be called Beau Ebeneezer Griffiths was expecting summat biblical again !!





his 'big' bro, Shem, will be two shortly .... hell he's grown some in the last few months .. incredible

[v8druid]

woke up with a bump, Friday, rolled over and looked at me phone ... 05:31 .... WTF hasn't the alarm gone off?? .... old body clock is remarkably accurate when it needs to be ... had set it last night ... but forgot to check it was for all days ... and was set for weekend only


on site for seven .... shame the rest of the 'team' weren't .... half seven the guy with the gas axe turned up ....we were ready to rock ...





hour later the gathered throng were still ing about, as to how/who/when/what/why .... FFS ...... it is no wonder everything takes so long and costs sooooo much these days ....


was on the floor eventually by half nine ...... and on to the next lift ....



LIEBHERR LTF 1035-3.1


same issue .... plus everyone'd disa-fkn-ppeared







one lift turned into three .....so much for the RAMS .... and ....on to the next .... 4.8t of cooler





...... after waiting another half an hour to get into spot, after they'd shifted the crud someone'd dumped in the way Thursday .. organisation be damned !!!!!


......and the next, after yon cooler'd gotten dropped on a truck .... which was another half an hour late turning up





2t of cooler base frame and blowers out on to the road-side, ready to get transported away ... tomorrow ?? ... when they'd have to fork it on????? the lack of organisation beggars belief. !!!!


I used to put my cranes in here almost fortnightly ... and they weren't a lot better back then ......


Steve the maintenance manager's looking at me, whilst we were waiting for the truck to arrive and says "you're Graham aren't you ? .. thought you'd retired? "
"Aye ... I had ... Russ was stuck for a hand" ... " so're you coming back with him, in a few weeks, to put the new stuff in? "


let's hope they're better organised for that lil' escapade .... two an' a half hours work and we were there for six ....... Russ had a wedding to go to in the afternoon LOL ...... beautiful day for this though ..... and the wedding


Pam collared me for a pic when i got back at lunch-time
Russ had said dress code was hi-viz ...... he sure got HI VIZ from me !!





no missing me clambering about on site Friday


aside from all the waiting about the job went smooth as silk ..... Russ said to me after "Bet you were stood there wondering WTF he was pissing about at .... 15 min.s a leg that took him " .... I'd have had the four of 'em off in under 5 minutes for sure ... never seen anything like it .. talk about creating / wasting time use


Saturday morning shot to hell with one of those "can you justs" .. empty the three barrows please and burn it all .....





ooops !!





an' tha's not fog LOL


it got a bit monotonous after the ninth barrow load ..... 'specially when I had to crack out the magic fire lighter ...





due to it being so ****ing green it wasn't having it, 'til it'd been 'barbied' a bit
she was filling 'em faster than it'd burn


but Pam eventually ran out of things to massacre just as I'd gotten well and truly kippered


Posty arrived after lunch, as I was on a box roof trying to deal with a drip with some Evode flash band .... (for now ) ... "get down yer and sort the washing machine ... they've arrived!" ..... "slight problem; need the oil seal too and that's coming from some where else " "Bugger !!!"

[v8druid]

sat having lunch and there's this "did you say you're going to mow the grass, 'fore it pees down for a week? " "er when did I say this?"


was easier to do it than debate it and it'd give me some peace for a while ... apart from Sparty's mitherings ...so new tactic....





no chance of bungee-ing him down so a bed'd be the next best thing LOL


He loved it ......











saved him doing his usual dance from lap, to bonnet and back every five minutes, and I could give it some, with him safely strapped on
did all the lawn and a couple of passes beside the drive, 'fore he decided he wasn't keen on the angle of operation and baled out .... the side of the drive gets a nap of the earth cut once or twice a year with the Countax and 'twas dry enough today so cut and collect in one hit


looked ok afterwards





and'll need it if it's gonna rain for a week, as forecast


lawn's not looked this good all year .....








and Pam's 'pruning' has re-tamed some of her 'gardeny' bit








must get the gate retainers made



first rocks I found here digging with Jakie








keep forgetting to say ... for those of a sad persuasion or want more pix to look at LOL ... i keep me 'bucket' up dated so there's always more in there than i post ....
https://s1275.photobucket.com/user/v...?sort=3&page=1
just have to nose about in the various folders

[v8druid]

guess where we've been the last couple of days ?








did manage to escape for a couple of hours though and caught up with Delbouy to pick up a few items i'd bought from him over the last few months ..
a very creative chap is our Mr Woods ....





went up to see him, outside of Plymouth, equipped with josh's newly acquired tranny van .... and filled it with all sorts of goodies from Del's Aladdin's cave of a workshop
was great to finally meet him and put a face to the name


Came home with said van last night to two 'starving' cats ....




Vicki & Clara fed 'em wednesday .... they did not stopped eating all evening thursday ... you'd think I'd been gone a week


Left granny down there with the Golf ....


Also came home to find an oil seal in the letter box ..... so if it's dry in the morning yon washing machine can go back together .... whilst i can still remember how ... has pissed down all day today


seems we had better weather down there than it's been here ....











bloody hammered down for the last 15 miles of the journey home

[Wazza]

May I just casually ask ,where is da shed or mancave junk storage work area type thing ? ....
Must be about a year since I dared ask

[v8druid]

May I just casually ask ,where is da shed or mancave junk storage work area type thing ? ....
Must be about a year since I dared ask

aye ..... probably is Boyo ...... ..... dunno WTF the time goes TBH ...... got some boxes to move shortly, then I might just get started on some founds

[v8druid]

in spite of the bloody weather today, managed to get this back together ....











....... in a few stints, interspersed with torrential bloody rain 'sposed to have been dry all day .... and absolutely hurling it down here ATM


glad to report we now have a stealth washing machine .... can barely hear it run .. and the 'test drive' proved uneventful, with a nice dry floor afterwards ... .. at least under the machine ... outside's been a different matter, most o' the day

[v8druid]

and here is your starter for ten points .........











been one of 'those' days ........... TBC

[v8druid]

" here's your first bonus Q. for 5 points "..... "you may confer " ....













"I'll have to hurry you "

[v8druid]

so ....... Clara arrived at 7.45 this morning ...... Vicki says " you know the CH pump you came and tweaked last year ? " : ... " could you call by after dropping Clara off and give it another one ..... pretty please " ..... keep telling 'em to just run the thing every couple of weeks when not in use
Dropped little 'un off at nursery at 9 and nipped up to the village ... sorted said pump with a quick flick of the driver in the armature hole and away it went. Cap back on the pump and headed home.


I'd just pulled round a friend out walking his dogs in the lane heading for Druid central, put me toe down to pull away and ...... nada .. dead stick .... thought I'd stalled it - God knows how?? - but pulled in for a restart ... won't do it on the move .... and would it bloody start


so... walked the last two miles home after shoving the Golf, back into the hedge/verge as far as I could ... least it wasn't raining !!!






Spoke to a mate as I walked back ... "Fuel pump Gra ... known for it ... fine one second, dead the next ..... under the back seat squab is an access hole ... not too bad a job " ............ thank f**k it didn't die on Pam on the way home from Plymouth last week!!!


She was surprised to look up from her weeding and see me stood beside her ....... "get yer coat - we're going for a pull "


Shot back up in the Rangey, stuck a rope on it and dragged it back to me patch





Back seat squab took some extracting ... doubt it'd ever been out, but sure enough there was the access





note the unit locking ring ..... ..... only evident after 5 min.s with me trusty hoover, clearing all the crap off the top of the tank ...... couldn't believe the amount of crud that'd collected !! ..... and didn't want any of it ending up inside it





what a bar steward that was ....... hence the earlier posts .... no way José was it coming off/out, without either buying summat from VAG if you could find one ...... or getting creative





even with my foot on top of it and a 10" adjustable on the leg ... it still had to be tapped loose ... and i mean TAPPED!!


it did surrender though





and the suspect ended up where most things do ..........





on me bench ..... an application of 12volts soon determined the lil' bar steward'd given up the un-ending struggle with gravity ... and'd quit being a team player


Lunch and an ebay sesh later and I have one coming ......... into me local factors in the a.m. at 08.00 ..... 108 quid ..... ebay was anything between 48 quid, but Tues/Wed.s (maybe?) and 178 quid .. same speed ...... so went for the local and OE unit ... sod it ... want it sorted and it's VAG/OE ... or had better be ... was what I was told/sold for the bucks


Not been my month for fuel pumps, eh !!


on the plus side ......... I did have a nice 'score' with this Tuesday .....











pity it's missing its 'woodboss' badge, but came from a trusted friend who's had it donkeys and only uses it for his wood burner these days.
he's bought summat smaller, lighter and easier to start (like auto recoil thingy) .... and I've had first dibs on this one for years ... new pot and piston 12 months ago, new chain last month and running like clockwork ..... a hundred quid sounded like a bargain to me ... so's not been all s h 1 t this week

[Wazza]

Haven't run the VW very low or out of fuel recently have you , I had a car that needed a pump replacement if you ran the tank empty ,mukanics said not to let the tank get below 1/4 ,sold the fkr as a pump was about $700 AUD a pop back then ,and coming to a sudden stop was dangerous and unappreciated .

[v8druid]

Haven't run the VW very low or out of fuel recently have you , I had a car that needed a pump replacement if you ran the tank empty ,mukanics said not to let the tank get below 1/4 ,sold the fkr as a pump was about $700 AUD a pop back then ,and coming to a sudden stop was dangerous and unappreciated .

Nah Wazza ..... generally fill it once it gets to half a tank .... like to be able to get in it and drive all night if I have to .... you never know when you might have to ... me mate who I called has a garage and said they're known for just giving up the ghost, without warning ... annoying, but C'est la vie ..... have had it with other vehicles too ... SD1s were also prone to just dying and the classic Rangies and / or discos with the in tank pumps

[v8druid]

today didn't quite go as planned ...... rang the local factors first thing, to make sure it'd arrived as promised .... Oh yeh .... and'd been put on a van for delivery to me !!! ... usually too much trouble for 'em ... despite being on a route


"Well i was just leaving to collect it, as arranged"
" I'll find out where it is and come back to you "


An hour later he's ringing to say it'd be back in the unit .... in an hour's time .... driver said he'd failed to deliver it as I was closed ... muppet !!


Anyway ... had a bit of a hit in town for various bits and bobs, top up the fridge, and a few other items ... then went and got it.


me mate who owns the place'd taken great delight in telling yon muppet that I couldn't possibly have been closed ... 'cos i wasn't a biz address !! ...
if yer's gonna bullshit ... at least make it plausible!!!!!!!








box'd had a hard ride at some point, so got opened 'fore it left there .... but looked fine, so it came home.


a very different unit, but basically the replacement ..





it got 12v on the bench ... and ran sweet, so in it went ...





glad I had the spanner made up .... would've taken some dogging down without it ...but all went in well ...


on/offed it maybe 20+ times to prime the filter up .......and didn't think it was gonna start .. 'til it coughed a bit and was away ... Purring like a watch this afternoon ..... hardest part was getting the seat squab back in ... what a lil' bar steward that was !! ...
gynecologist job getting the seat belts through it .... at the same time as getting it aligned with three other locators ... but job done

Hoping this is the last of the three .... RR tank, washing machine rebuild and now this ..... they reckon it happens in threes ....
'twill do me for a while ..... buggered my plans for the last two days anyway ....was gonna have a look see what i have to do to this ....

[v8druid]

well I had a quick look under yon tranny on Saturday ...


might be busy for a few days dealing with what I found ..... "beauty is only skin deep"

Wednesday night



last night



Squeak in full chill mode LOL..... had to extract him from off the keyboard earlier in the evening ... to use it better find some batteries for me wireless one



appears me desk is now squeaks 'bed of choice' .....








had a few visitors yesterday afternoon





could see about a dozen all told ...... 'til I opened the door and about 30 or more took off, in formation, down across the lawn ... the shoot next door has obviously released a new hatch/batch


been giving this a spruce up .... ready for the onslaught of the winter's weather ......





amazing how the sunlight 'dulls'/takes the sheen off it in a few months .......
got it finished by the afternoon ...
well and truly 'tarred' this end, with the bottom of me 25ltr bituminous drum, which I had to cut in half to get it out of ...
time for a new drum of paint ... for the rest of it.


this end tends to catch the worst of it though and as it was nice and dry it had to have the treatment ..
finished item pic to follow .. forgot to take one wednesday


URL=http://s1275.photobucket.com/user/v8druid/media/scans%202/WP_20191017_09_12_01_Pro_zpsbhqweino.jpg.html][/URL]


pam was busy with the black gloss ...... first time these have been done in a loooooong time ... usually full of flowers ...











made 'em for her years ago and have lasted very well ..


Pam was playing macrame with 'em yesterday morning ... jury is still out ??








then it pee-ed down


I thought it was about time i hauled this out from under the bench








and had another go at getting the lil' bar steward to start ...
usually very good, but last time i tried, it would not have it ....
so, ... knackered, I stuck it away for a n other day ...
I would like to be able to use it .. really good little, portable set .... have had it years ...





well I pulled my guts out on it .... to the point that me spleen was complaining - A LOT yesterday evening. ......


plug out ...pulled and pulled 'til there was nowt emanating from yon plug hole with the fuel turned off ...
all dry, crank cases empty ...
plug had a cooking on a few occasions, with a mini blowtorch and it'd aaaaalmost have it. !!


anyway ...
went and picked up Clara from one of her full days at nursery, at 3.15, entertained her for an hour plus, 'til mum arrived and she went home.
Wandered back up to lock up, as it was still pee-ing down and thought ... quick shufty ...
what am i missing ???? :???:
well i'll admit it to you lot ... but don't tell anyone else


when I put it away last time, I'd thoughtfully put a bung in the carb's bell mouth ... keep out any unwanted visitors, etc. .........
pity I hadn't remembered that this morning ...... but was a while ago ..
no wonder yon plug was so wet ... every time it came out


I was hoping for a more fruitful outcome this morning ....
after I'd delivered Clara to nursery ...........
assuming I was in any fit state to pull the bugger, but has pissed down here all day .....
as in 'kin monsoon rain ... so a job for the morning




I heard that ...... which one of you buggers laughed!! ????

[ianoz]

Probably all of us .