Stuff you have fixed today

[The_Yellow_Ardvark]

Fun day yesterday.
Mostly working in my play pen and a nice interruption by a friend who has done his first restoration of a tool.

Before.



The chisel cutting edge is dull and rounded over, the body rusty from lack of use.



He is never going to use this tool. But he is very pleased with himself.
He left with a saw to do now.

Early hours work means I have to be quiet. So I am.

This set of pliers were given to me, I like the feel of the handles. But they were seized with rust.



Not even a gap to insert a tool to start to open them.



Applying gentle heat as I melt bee's wax.


In time I had a gap I good insert some wedges and work in penetrating oil.
I wish you could here the noise they were making as they sat there.




Finally free and moving. I kept working them and adding oil until the oil that was worked out was clean.
Then dipped into hot wax. This will get inside the joint and with luck stop them from rusting again.


This turn on the century spoke shave was acquired on a work trip.
It was complete, but rusty.




It took some force to strip it to the component parts.



This was after it was cleaned in boiling citric acid and pumice powder.
Dried of with a hot air gun. When worm a wax/oil mix is applied.

 

[The_Yellow_Ardvark]

One more of the donated planes.
This one I wanted to do. Mainly because I wanted to try to save it. By using parts from some of the dead planes.



Here it is.
The blade was damaged, bent and rusty.
There is a wedge, but it is broken, seized and with wood worm.
The rubbing strips are long gone.



New rubbing strips fitted. The wood was "Recycled" from a dead Jack Plane. Traditional glue was used There is one original strip left. The shaving hole was cleaned using a hole saw.




Rebuilt.
The blade was re-ground and sharpened. The wedge is from another dead plane and shaped to fit the hole. Using the remains of the original.. There is a lot of angles on these traditional plane wedges.

 

[The_Yellow_Ardvark]

Nice old fashioned adjustable spanner.



A different method of fixing the jaw, a wedge arrangement.



To get it apart took heat and force. Made worse by the fact the wedge is very soft.



This shows the poor past restoration. Black hamerite paint, slapped on.

Cleaning it up showed this small issue.



A crack.
So the end was drilled out, the crack was "V" cut and a quick weld.



This can not show the heat. Both the wedge and head have been hardened and tempered..



Rebuilt.
The finish?
Black paint powder mixed with bee's wax and linseed oil.
Messy, slow to dry but traditional.



The only other spanner like this I have seen is in the store at Steam in Swindon.
Sadly the wear and damage is to much for this tool ever to be used in anger.

I like the finish, but it did take a test one to get it right.



This tool was used as the test bed.



The finish here was the best it got.
To much black pigment and you get a grey hue to it, to little and it goes patchy.

 

[The_Yellow_Ardvark]

This Ex MOD water stored pressure fire extinguisher was in need of TLC.


It is an early unit, for the MOD.
The design was never fully taken up by the MOD. As the handles are prone to seize in the open position. So it will fully discharge.
Now the MOD use Of the shelf extinguishers.



I think the pressure gauge is dead. But new ones are available at an eye watering price.



But fear Not.
I have one or two spares.



The label can not be replaced, but it is saved.

Finished.
Empty now and for display only.

Yes. It can be brought back into service. By simply filling with water and charging with air or Nitrogen.

 

[RichardM]

Nice old fashioned adjustable spanner.

View attachment 313710

A different method of fixing the jaw, a wedge arrangement.

View attachment 313712

To get it apart took heat and force. Made worse by the fact the wedge is very soft.

View attachment 313713

This shows the poor past restoration. Black hamerite paint, slapped on.

Cleaning it up showed this small issue.

View attachment 313714

A crack.
So the end was drilled out, the crack was "V" cut and a quick weld.

View attachment 313715

This can not show the heat. Both the wedge and head have been hardened and tempered..

View attachment 313716

Rebuilt.
The finish?
Black paint powder mixed with bee's wax and linseed oil.
Messy, slow to dry but traditional.

View attachment 313717

The only other spanner like this I have seen is in the store at Steam in Swindon.
Sadly the wear and damage is to much for this tool ever to be used in anger.

I like the finish, but it did take a test one to get it right.

View attachment 313718

This tool was used as the test bed.

View attachment 313719

The finish here was the best it got.
To much black pigment and you get a grey hue to it, to little and it goes patchy.

Have you put the wedge in the wrong side or is it just while the "paint" is drying?

 

[Seadog]

Rebuilt.

I've never seen one like that. However, you've put the wedge on the wrong side

 

[The_Yellow_Ardvark]

Have you put the wedge in the wrong side or is it just while the "paint" is drying?

Opps.
Hush now.

 

[RichardM]

At least I gave you a get out clause

 

[MattF]

You lot are a tough crowd to please.

 

[The_Yellow_Ardvark]

I've never seen one like that. However, you've put the wedge on the wrong side

Not now.

 

[Maker]

This Ex MOD water stored pressure fire extinguisher was in need of TLC.
View attachment 313733

It is an early unit, for the MOD.
The design was never fully taken up by the MOD. As the handles are prone to seize in the open position. So it will fully discharge.
Now the MOD use Of the shelf extinguishers.

View attachment 313734

I think the pressure gauge is dead. But new ones are available at an eye watering price.

View attachment 313735

But fear Not.
I have one or two spares.

View attachment 313736

The label can not be replaced, but it is saved.


View attachment 313737

Finished.
Empty now and for display only.

Yes. It can be brought back into service. By simply filling with water and charging with air or Nitrogen.

What do you make of this, dad found it in a customer's basement and kindly removed it for safe disposal.

It still worked, the CO2 bottle inside was stamped 1980 and had a broad arrow.

I just noticed there's an old carbon tet pump polished up in the background too.

 

[The_Yellow_Ardvark]

What do you make of this, dad found it in a customer's basement and kindly removed it for safe disposal.
View attachment 313804
It still worked, the CO2 bottle inside was stamped 1980 and had a broad arrow.

I just noticed there's an old carbon tet pump polished up in the background too.

Dam good peace of kit.
Lasted for years. Only issue was when it was set off it could not be shut off.

Like the one on the wall behind as well.

 

[MattF]

What do you make of this, dad found it in a customer's basement and kindly removed it for safe disposal.
View attachment 313804
It still worked, the CO2 bottle inside was stamped 1980 and had a broad arrow.

Nice extinguishers. I've got an older version of that, which is riveted. I've lost the CO2 canister though. It got left at the old house.

 

[Arc Tourist]

I have several of powder extinguishers for the house and vehicles, but would like to purchase a couple of the CO2 type extinguishers. Could those knowledgeable here, recommend a reputable supplier ?

Thanks

 

[Pete.]

I have several of powder extinguishers for the house and vehicles, but would like to purchase a couple of the CO2 type extinguishers. Could those knowledgeable here, recommend a reputable supplier ?

Thanks

If you're gonna let off a powder extinguisher in your car interior you might as well just let it burn

 

[BarrieJ]

This Welsh Slate hammer was in poor condition.
The tangs hard gone work soft, or were never hardened and tempered in the first place.

View attachment 312446

Even the shaft hole is an odd size.


View attachment 312447

So a claw hammer handle was shaped to fit. The wedge is white oak. Only for the simple reason is it was the right size.


View attachment 312448

Fitted, French polish and waxed.

As we don't have much, if any slate down here. I shaped the tangs to be a useful chipping hammer.





View attachment 312444

This pre WW1 hose nozzle was used as a trail fro a of the shelf brass restorer.

View attachment 312445

Not bad, but if you leave it on to long it will leech the cooper out,.
So you have to work harder to polish it out.

Don't know much about Welsh Slate or the hammers used to attach them but yours looks identical to a Whitehouse Tinman's Creasing Hammer.
I certainly remember using an identical tool to close beads and form radial crimps and creases. If I recall the narrow faces were polished.

 

[Arc Tourist]

If you're gonna let off a powder extinguisher in your car interior you might as well just let it burn

Sadly, I've been there before.

Back in the 1970's I had a Dodge camper van. I was at an intersection when the light changed and as I was proceeding through, and saw a car coming at me from the side. I stomped on the accelerator and the van lunged forward out of the way, but the engine coughed and backfired under the engine cowl and the van was on fire. I had a powder extinguisher and was lucky to be fast enough to get the fire out. Insurance took care of the repairs, but I later found out the cause was from a faulty valve in the smog system. There was a vacuum line coming from the expansion chamber of the fuel tank to the carburettor which backed up, and fumes entered the engine block which were ignited, blowing out the cam plugs and igniting fuel spilling out of the carburettor. I was lucky, as no damage was caused inside the cab.

 

[Dilkris]

Where's the thread for stuff you've tried to fix today?

Clio II, 1.6 petrol, power steering and air con. Eventually fought the starter motor out, bloody nightmare.

New starter motor, well, it's half way in, but no further. Just won't go.

Spoke to local garagist, he had the same issue, ended up pulling the transmission shaft.

Really, don't want to do that...

Want to cry....

So inaccessible...

View attachment 310162

Try changing one on a Range Rover Sport TDV8......

 

[pedrobedro]

If you're gonna let off a powder extinguisher in your car interior you might as well just let it burn

As a lad part of the school I was going to was being demolished and a few of us went into the old labs before they were knocked down. One of my mates went into a small room of the chem lab and found a powder extinguisher. He set it off in the confined space and nearly suffocated plus he looked like he'd been in a flourmill explosion.

 

[minimutly]

Didn't fix anything, but managed to bar a 2 ton milling machine around the mini, and the lift int my workshop. Had to resort to an ancient chain hoist, anchored around the lift for most of it. Back is killing me, but the mill is semi clean, x and y working. Anyone got a crank handle for a Midgely and Sutcliffe - sort of castlated engagement?