It seems that in an attempt to protect the planet from us mere mortals,the powers that be have decided to limit the power of new vacuum cleaners to 900watts-1.2hp!
I expect the next thing will be to ban the gas guzzling 2 1/2 & 3 1/2 hp monster motor mowers that disturb the peace on Sunday mornings.
From now on,only push mowers will be allowed, & as for the morally inexcuseable 'Ride-Ons', well, anyone wishing to own one of these 'Planet Destroyers' ( a collector perhaps ) will probably have to have it 'decomissioned' to prevent it from being started/used which could cause untold damage to the atmosphere.
Maybe there will be a 'scrappage scheme' to rid the world of these 'products of a depraved society'.
I suppose anyone caught actually using one of these, will suffer the fate of confiscation and crushing! and as for the 'ride-on' ?
In the future the only way we will be able to see these 'abominations' in action will be via dvd's in the safety of our extremely 'energy efficient' homes on our very low energy home cinemas,
So it's our duty to take as many photos and video clips at shows etc, and don't forget the sound, future generations will be relying on us
"Ian" has already attained 'Hero' status due to the quality and volume of his efforts in this field,( and the one behind his house.)
The cheapo welding rods never seem to work very well unless you have a decent set with highish OCV or a DC unit (if you can avoid 'arc blow') I've just ordered a 10lb box or 6011 rods from the USA at a price a 10th of the cost from the UK or Germany, - the same brand name too. On the Fenner power transmissions website you can download the shaft fittings pdf which lists taperloc,Trantorque gtr & Fenlock cone clamping elements, well worth a look as some are keyless and can be used where existing keyways are damaged.
chisels are better for stirring coffee with than welding rods, but you do get that nice 'coffee shop' aroma if you weld with the rod before it dries. ( no doubt someone will try it to see )
More years ago than I care to remember we used to use Alum powder mixed with water and poured into a plasticene 'well' surrounding the hole with the broken steel stud/tap in.
The 'mixture' used to eat/rust away the steel item,the remains of which could then be picked out. NOTE!! This should only be used to remove steel from aluminium castings etc or brass ones.This is ok if you are not in too great a hurry!
The butterfly nut on the rear wheel is supposedly a diff lock! Apparently the operator just reaches over and switches the knob from the comfort of his seat. in my case, it will need freeing up with heat and liberal spraying of WD40!
I thought the 'butterfly nuts' were the same as the'spinners' ie. knock on/off wheel retainers we had on old sports cars with wire wheels etc,or even F1 cars for quick wheel changes when you get a puncture in the middle of cutting the lawn. :D
My mate Farmer Boyce's combine has lots of chain tensioners which are made from nylon & don't rotate.
the chain side cheeks cut grooves in the nylon, which guide the chain and the chain rollers then run on the tensioner.
I suppose a piece of oak fencepost,etc would do at a pinch. As the tensioner doesn't rotate it wouldn't matter if it touched the casing,drill the bolt hole eccentricaly for adjustment,and put as many as you like on to support the chain,in fact they don't even have to be round!!!
I was going to use it for a Bonser style truck for the stables, but then I gave the axle away. After seeing the Villiers powered motorcycle: It looks to old to call it a motorbike, I wonder ????????
:D 
HADDENHAM STEAM RALLY 6th / 7th SEPTEMBER.
in Upcoming Shows and Events
Posted
HADDENHAM STEAM RALLY September 6th / 7th.
usually pretty good, previous years videos on Youtube.