Mix of gravel and road on the Sequoia this afternoon, 22.5km in all – perfect weather!

Orange Clockwork rigid in ’93 with (I think) Deore LX was RRP 700 but with student discount I think got ten percent off.

This was intended as a wee stepping stool for the workshop but my wifedecided it would be perfect as a coffee table at her end of the sofa, besides the floor in the workshop is so far from flat that anything with four legs always wobbles… Recycled 60yo iroko science bench top (made a dowel jig for glueing the boards) and TIG welded 40 X 5 angle iron; metalwork sanded and then waxed using the same Osmo hardwax oil as the iroko – not something I’ve done before but looks and feels lovely and should provide it with a degree of rust protection.

Next project will be a three-legged version for the workshop, perhaps slightly higher and with a step on one leg…

Do you think a 1600w Miele will provide enough suck – it works fine when stuck under the bench so I am hopeful.

In all honesty, no. You’d be better off just using as local suction as and where you need it; by the time you added all the pipe the losses through friction and bends would be immense. As a rule chip extraction requires high flow but low pressure whereas dust extraction is the opposite.

Would this be sificient so you think?

Depends on how much you value your health! People often refer to some woods and wood dust being toxic but this doesn’t reflect the fact that all wood dust is potentially carcinogenic and can cause all manner of health issues. I’m very careful when sanding and don my 3M Versaflo.

Househusband your workshop is mint 👌😊

@kayak23 Coming from you that is indeed a massive compliment – cheers!

‘The Reader’ by Bernhard Schlink.

I’m a reasonably competent woodturner having taken it up as a hobby several years ago; do make money from it from time to time and when I can be bothered. Started off with bowls but have moved on to more ‘technical’ hollowforms. I started off with a smaller Axminster trade lathe and within a few years moved on to a much larger Killinger KM1450SE that I was able to get directly from the company in Germany as it was between UK distributors; saved £1K and could never afford one now!

Tools; please, please don’t buy a cheap set containing numerous tools as they’re more a liability than an investment as the tang will be very short as will the handle – any catch and they’ll fail. Start off with a spindle gouge, small bowl gouge, roughing gouge and parting tool. Sorby, Ashley Iles are good names to go for. I’d urge you not to go down the rabbit hole of ‘carbide tip’ tools as they are technically scraping rather than true cutting tools and you will struggle to develop proper technique.

Sharpening is the key and you could make jigs for your grinder to get uniform, regular profiles. CBN Wheels are excellent for sharpening as they remain cool. I’ve got a slow speed grinder with 200mm CBN wheels and have various jigs and rests for getting repeatable angles, etc.

Woodturning has become a bit of a reserve of the middle-aged bearded man with a shed that buys blanks off the internet and scrapes away. I’m middle-aged and bearded but have yet to use a blank ordered online; all my wood is sourced locally and that more often not means access to a chainsaw and filling the boot of the car. Do have a sizeable bandsaw at home.

I’me also very serious about dust extraction too; have three stages – dust and chip extractor in corner, Record Power AC400 above lathe and a 3M Versaflo when sanding.

Plenty of used lathes around but collection may have put a damper on the trading; a friend runs a Facebook group for trading in woodturning tools and equipment and has suspended it during lockdown – rightly so.

I went for a 15″ Lenovo L340 ‘Gaming’laptop four months ago – but not because I’m a gamer. Gets used primarily for 3D modelling using Autodesk Inventor and ticks all the boxes I need in terms of speed and ‘proper’ graphics card. Think I got it for just over £600 at the time as they had a ten percent off for new customers – think that is still going. I’ve since upgraded the SD drive and use it with a second monitor, USB keyboard and mouse.

Whether or not that sort of thing would be suitable for someone that wants a proper gaming computer I don’t know but £600 was all I could justify; with your budget it might be more sensible to go the desktop as suggested.

And so it begins… about time seeing as I’ve had it since Deecember 2018.

Yup – I was right in my assumption on what this would be about.

Baffles me too.

I saved this from, in all likelihood, being scrapped at work. It is three phase but runs from a VSD system (Mitsibushi inverter and ‘pendant’ switchgear) I bought from Newton Tesla – wasn’t cheap but came with full instructions and largely pre-wired.

Pfft… I got nude selfies from her!!! She’s hot.

(Yeah. Audible link, supposedly.)

Old news… ;-)

PSA (for the colouring in community) – 50% off Affinity Products…

Lovely work! Glad you got them uploaded.

@harvey

I don’t know about anyone else but I can’t see any images. Looks like you’re trying to share from a Google account, looking at the URL.

I now have the cleanest bike shed in the country; the tidiest tool bench; 2 new gorgeous gravel bikes build from old ti 26 frames, 700 wheels…

@harvey I’d sure like to see some photos of the gravel bikes you’ve built up!

Well, that was indeed a comprehensive survey worthy of a second year degree course.

(No, already have one.)

Now that I’m WFH and getting used to juggling phone calls, Whatsapp messages and calls and text messages a few days ago I made in my home workshop a project that kids make with me in third year metalwork. Sheet steel and square bar phone stand, except mine is TIG rather than flux-core MIG welded.

Many thanks! Have Tomb Raider from another PSA earlier in the week; I’m not a gamer at all but, well, have some time on my hands at the moment…

Getting kinda used to it; as a secondary school ‘techie’ teacher I’m used to being on my feet 80% of the time. Currently setting quizzes using MS Forms and Teams to pupils that, for the vast majority, won’t even look at them – but it covers my arse when management ask what we’re doing for them. Spending mornings largely WFH and then sliding into procrastination and finding distraction in garage where I have reasonably comprehensive woodturning and light fab facilties!

It took me two days to realise that my faculty principal (doesn’t use a headset) has budgies in his dining room, from which he’s working, and that the horrible electronic noise I was listening to was them… first thing I tell him to do is move them into another room!

Anyone doing some Tamiya or other R/C stuff during the lockdown?

Yup, I have a Carisma SCA1E kit to build – have had it for a year or two. Somewhat fortuitously I spent a tenner or so on a bearing kit for it a few weeks ago… have several high turn motors and a few ESC’s to play around with too so should have some slow-speed, long battery life entertainment as and when.

I know the cables need tidying up and I’ve also just realised that I skipped the engine cover / bonnet for the Mack truck…

Many thanks @squirrelking – Tomb Raider downloading on Steam now.

It’s a great film, watched it last night!

(Didn’t pay that for it…)

Just be aware that (and I would be delighted to be told I’m wrong!) Serif Affinity products uses a file format wholly incompatible with previous Serif products and will not open or import files from its previous versions; I beleieve that we’re going to be obliged to make the switch to the Affinity suite…

Just checked… subscriber since issue 16, 2004 – and I still have ’em all.

Just announced to Scottish teachers (at my school anyway) that all SQA examinations cancelled and graded will be awarded on evidence gathered and estimates.

Sounds like we’re going to get redeployed across schools in the authority to teach, what I assume, pupils with learners in crucial services and industries.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-51907795

Thanks for posting that up.

We could do with a list of similar suggestions that people that can just add to as the situation evolves?

BBC News – Coronavirus: Australia orders all arrivals to self-isolate for 14 days
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-51894322

Looks like we’ll not be visiting family in Perth in July then, unless things have improved by then.

@WillH

Conversely, across the ditch here in NZ: surprise surprise, “She’ll be right, bro” it’s pretty much business as usual*.

Sounds like that position may have changed more recently, since you posted. My sister woke up this morning having to tell my 6yo nephew that they won’t be going on the holiday of a lifetime now that NZ has imposed 2wks self-isolation upon arrival – they had a 3wk camper van holiday booked and paid for and were due to leave in two weeks. Don’t know which will be worse; telling him or coming to terms with the £5.5k loss of flights and camper van.

Umm… Good luck? Anyone flying into NZ will be quarantined for 24 days. I expect our pm to do something similar of course once he’s had his weekend of fun.

I thought it was 2wks self-isolation?

This afternoon’s 23km from the doorstep… it wasn’t all like this:

With hindsight I’d have put my money in hand sanitiser rather than loo rool.

Ordered a Gore R3 jacket for circa £93 jacket and £6.24 back on Quidco – thanks @rockhopper70

Star Trek acknowledges and expresses alcoholism and depression shocker pleasant surprise.

Thanks all, sounds like I’m not the only one dissatisfied with the Amazon offering. Back to Spotify sooner rather than later!

Househusband would the Payoff be frame only? The complete bike doesn’t come with a dropper.

@oldfart Full build. The Payoff is a 27.2mm seatpost and the full build isn’t offered with a dropper; I have a spare carbon seatpost and they’re pretty good at softening the ride – that’d be of more use to me.

Househusband if you’re in the mid Somerset area you’re more than welcome to take a look.

@oldfart Cheers but I’m several hundred miles away! I’ve been mulling things over and in all honesty I think the 29″ version, the Payoff, might be more tempting… long-term monstercross project maybe!

Onza Jackpot £199 or complete bike Inc Reverb and Revelations for £699! Quality double Butted frame to boot! I’m loving mine. 😎

@oldfart That’s a bargain… my PayPal credit may take a hit this weekend!