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Came home the other day with a Freebie project and nice addition to the workshop tooling- It's the heavier duty version made in England by Bradson, believed to be a subsidiary of Bradley & Co Ltd of the Albion Works Bilsdon and later known as Beldray. Age is questionable, as several versions were still being produced into the early sixties, the demand being for Farms and Crofter types still with no Mains Electricity and DIY. Found an example listed in a 50s Brochure for this No14 model and being sold for 155/- shillings (£7.75 now). This is a single speed model, they produced 2 speed versions in the smaller types, but this has an Auto feed system which hopefully is not too fast for metal, I'll have to check it- This stands at just 2ft (60cms) in height and quite heavy being all cast Iron and Steel, it is quite complete and nearly unmolested. Few screws bodged and the loose Wheel/Handle has been put on around the wrong way. Otherwise it is very smooth in operation and no wear or slack in the important bits- Colour of the paint is uncertain, The chuck feels good and smooth so hopefully there is not much 'Run Out'. Just a clean an repair on this for now to give it a test run. May strip the paint if it's wrong and may clean back to Cast Iron finish.

Job for this week, get it out and washed off and up the drive under the car port

After doing the fuel tank and pipes I put a battery on and she started straight away,

Gemini Number 2 now being stripped down for painting...

It will soon burn away from the hotspots I'm sure but that doesn't bother me, infact I hope that with a bit of use it will start to all look a little battle torn and tone down a bit. They were supplied like this when new but only small remnants remained on the cast Aluminium so I made the decision to repaint it, normally I try to preserve an original finish.

I figured out how to remove the bottom of the Tiny Tiger gas tank and wanted to share how I did this. First make sure all the fuel is out of the gas tank and no flamable vapors are in the tank that could ignite. I used a heat gun to heat the bottom metal plate and the aluminum around the bottom of the tank to about 350 degrees. I was able to use a wooden dowell to push from the inside of the tank push the cover off. The filter on the inside of the tank is rubber and will most likely be deteriorated. I removed the rubber filter and shortened the brass tube about 3/4 of an inch and used a chain saw fuel filter that fit over the tube to replace the disinegrated rubber filter. I made a new paper gasket to replace the original paper gasket for the bottom cover. Pay close attention to cleaning the bottom cover where the bottom cover and the aluminum housing fit together. It must be exceptionally clean for the adhesive glue to seal well. I used "Seal All" adhesive which was recommended by the manufacturer for this type of application. "Seal All" may be purchased at most automotive stores. Apply sealant per instructions on the package and assemble the cover to the tank. I also put a little sealant around the outside of the tank cover after I assembled it. Some people mentioned the use of "Yamabond" which I am sure could be used as well. "Seal All" was only $4 a tube which I believe is cheaper than "Yamabond". I have attached pictures as a reference of how I accomplished this.

Dishwashers are a very useful workshop tool, that and the ovens of Aga's. I also use a food mixer for stirring paint!

The powerhead all being reassembled I couldn't resist having a quick attempt at firing it up and was surprised how eagerly it did start.

Got the Westwood collection out of the sheds this afternoon for a lineup photo or two...