Stuff you have fixed today

[Blue Chips]

I did some restoration work on an antique pump that I showed in an earlier post. As mentioned, I think it could be a bilge pump for a small craft, activated by wave action rocking the boat to make the weighted pendulum operate the diaphragm pump. In addition to the “Columbian” logo plate, it’s stamped with “PAT. APP. FOR” on one of the bronze castings. I did a bit of searching but haven’t yet found a patent for it, and I’m wondering if it was ever patented.

I took it apart, cleaned it, chemically restored the patina, and mounted it on a piece of oak. After cleaning the ball-check valves, I found that it still pumps water, although the rubber pump diaphragm has stiffened up over the years and needs to be replaced. As far as I can tell, the pump is all original. I still haven't been able to find another one like it. If anyone has more information about it, let me know.

Before:

After:

 

[MattF]

Nicely done.

 

[nickk]

That's a nice looking bit of kit! Imagine if SIP saw that

Yes,23 years old,I’ve another in the small shop,2 years newer,the cause of the motor death,it became loose and shorted against that bracket I fitted for anti condensation light.

 

[4String.]

Got the "fan-light" fitted in the van roof:




Rigged a temporary feed from the leisure battery and I'm impressed with the fan. Powered open and close, 4 speeds air in or out, and a rain sensor for the inevitable falling asleep with the lid open and it starts to rain...

And covered the upper side panels and remainder of the roof inside the van with sound deadening so it will be interesting to see how much difference it makes on tomorrow morning's 5 am commute to work.

 

[Anguz]

Put some of those sound deadening pads in my combo and it made a lot of difference

 

[4String.]

Put some of those sound deadening pads in my combo and it made a lot of difference

Just ordered more soundproofing and insulation supplies for the van.

At some point when the weather warms up I'll remove the front seats and treat the cab floor and the roof above the headlining to a layer of soundproofing and insulation.

 

[MattF]

Almost six year it's taken me to decide on a spot, but the Swindens is now permanently mounted.



Mounted it at that end as there's a drawer cabinet at this end which would limit its usefulness. Had to mount it around a ⅓ of the way along the bench so that I can still get to the lathe. ½" BSW bolts, bolted into the wood rather than through bolts. It'll never see any heavy work, so the wood should be ample anchorage.

 

[m_c]

The old ToughTerrain forklift.

Finally after sourcing the correct bits, the eradication of two or three seals during installation, it is finally back on it's own wheels, and moving without any leaks from the bits I've repaired.

 

[Anguz]

Just ordered more soundproofing and insulation supplies for the van.

At some point when the weather warms up I'll remove the front seats and treat the cab floor and the roof above the headlining to a layer of soundproofing and insulation.

These are the one I used

Soundmat Pads Pack of 10

Vibration and noise suppression panels. Forget that old bitumen-based stuff. Soundmat Pads are made from the same modern, flexible material used by mainstream motor manufacturers. Soundmat Pads can be applied in temperatures down to 0ºC on the inside surface of doors, bonnets, boots, floors...

www.carbuilder.com

 

[minimutly]

New wire feed motor,courtesy of the ever helpful Technical arc,ordered yesterday afternoon,here by 11am.View attachment 485747

What's with the lightbulb? Looks like led?

 

[bricol]

What's with the lightbulb? Looks like led?

Keeps it nice and light for the spiders as they carry tiny buckets of water in to tip over the wire . . or something

 

[nickk]

What's with the lightbulb? Looks like led?

Stops the wire rusting,condensation from sudden temperature changes,left on from October to April.

 

[badabec]

Stops the wire rusting,condensation from sudden temperature changes,left on from October to April.

Is there enough heat from an LED? Would an incandescent be better?

 

[Craig-SM]

Sorting through my power tools today to make room for new additions and remembered the circular saw that wasn't working when you pressed the trigger. Followed the video and it really was as simply as that to fix, a bit of scraping and it whirred back to life.

 

[Nomad]

A major step forward today - I’m trying to fix a 90s Nissan that’s been parked up for at least 10 years.
I got it to run but it stalled below 1500 rpm. I found and bought an (expensive) new carb from a breakers and got the same result which convinced me the problem wasn’t the carb.

Another full day yesterday stripping carbs (it's already been done several times) and I found a blocked jet that isn't on the factory workshop manual - the drilling is so tiny I though it was a solid plug with a couple of much larger holes drilled in the sides …

I ended up using my tiniest micro drill (in reverse - no cutting needed) to scratch the sediment out of the jet. The car now ticks over ok

The same jet has the same "blocked with sediment" problem on both carbs.
Lots of very clever engineering has gone into the carbs (to improve emissions & mpg) and they're great when they're new... not so good in the real world after a few years

 

[voipio]

Those micro drills...are they branded, from a reputable manufacturer. All of the ones that I've seen in the same moulded dispenser, are a complete load of tosh. One lot I bought off eBay didn't have a single drill of the nominal size it was supposed to be. A couple of them came close. The smallest drills weren't even sharpened. They just had broken off ends!!

 

[Nomad]

My micro drills are unbranded and came from Boyes (a cheap high street store - same idea as Wilkinsons was), I've not measured the diameters or the sharpness but they are ok for drilling tiny pilot holes or cleaning small bores.
I almost need a magnifying glass to see which end is the sharp end on the smaller sizes - no way I can see the tip with the naked eye but I'll try to examine them next time I have them out.

 

[Bullet2012]

impact driver had a toolbit jammed in it, managed to shear the bit by clamping in the vice and running the driver in reverse, then the remainder just dropped out.
nice simple fix for a change.

 

[nickk]

Is there enough heat from an LED? Would an incandescent be better?

It’s proven for over 20 years.

 

[Blobber]

Fixing the mud!