Today I shall be Mainly...

[Stanley]

I had my walk and veggie shop in the Town Square. I am ready for a major veggie cook tomorrow.
And my castings arrived for the next engine.

[Sue]

She loves castles and has done since she was a toddler but this one is Harry Potter castle! .

Apparently so did our two granddaughters! When we visited during our bucket and spade holiday up that way, they both wanted to do the broom riding training that was offered. That was until they called out their names on the PA when the event started. Instant shyness and it was then left up to grandma to take up the challenge! I can report that the training went very well and I have photographic evidence of Sally levitating her broom!

Erin was not shy today we received a photo of her flying

[Stanley]

I love good routines. I shall be in the shed at 06:00 working on my crankshaft blanks. I shall end up with three and will convert them all into crankshafts. You can't beat a bit of optimism! (They make interesting ornaments on the kitchen table as well.... )
After second sleep I shall be cooking veggies.

[Sue]

Morning

Busy morning. Bob has a routine blood test at the GP and so we don’t end up with two cars at Tod I shall go with him. This means I shall be late for art but that is not an issue, I know what we are doing so am prepared. Having finished the jigsaw the other day I dismantled it yesterday and packed it back in the box. Whilst Bob is at the Drs I will deliver it and several other jigsaws to the Barnados charity shop which is next door to the Drs. Then it will be a long drive over to Tod for art followed later with lunch back in Rochdale with Wendy and Keith. A bit of to ing and fro ing

Have a good day all

[Stanley]

As usual a full day Sue. I hope it all goes well.



This morning I took all three slugs and reduced them to the diameter of the crank web in the finished shafts. Notice that the castings for the new engine are sat on the surface plate. You'll notice that one of the finished blanks is much shorter than the others. I am going to chop a crankshaft out of that because despite it being so short, I believe I can make it work. If I can't, no sweat I can use one of the longer ones. I finished up by cleaning the chips up off Mrs Harrison and the floor. Now for breakfast.

[Stanley]

I am back up after second sleep and having a hot drink before starting veggie cooking.

[Big Kev]

Putting new rubber feet on my aluminium stepladder, it's all excitement here

[Stanley]

Lucky you could get them Kev.....
Today I shall be in the shed at 06:00 as usual working on my three crankshafts. The materials for these haven't cost me anything so it's very relaxing work.
No cooking needed today but I think a light shop for milk might be in order..... (and a walk before dinner if it hasn't started raining.)

[Big Kev]

Lucky you could get them Kev.....

There are a lot of different sizes available online

[Stanley]

This morning is made up of small tasks. I marked all three slugs with the offset centre for the crank pin. 3/4" offset. Then I addressed the matter of my 3 Jaw chuck. It is old and worn and is bell mouthed. I have been considering grinding the jaws but never got round to it. This morning I got out the 8" Cushman chuck that is in the cupboard under the lathe but never gets used as I only have one set of jaws for it. I put a slug in and checked it for accuracy and it's within a thou so I shall use it for eccentric turning. Then I marked each slug with its centre point because that's where I will be milling out the meat of the excess metal before actually turning the slug to finish the crank pin. That's enough for this morning, I have earned my breakfast.

[Sue]

Didn’t gat on this morning, we were up and out early to get to Nottingham for the day. Bob needed to deliver some railway stuff to someone just outside Nottingham, so we decided to spend the day there first. We are now in a Premier Inn on the way over to Coventry where we will go tomorrow morning for the day. Back home tomorrow night. No other news, glorious day here today, the town of my birth. I don’t think I have been in the centre since I was about 3 and later when I was about 4 we went to the Goose Fair .

Yesterday Bob’s blood test was cancelled at the last minute due to staff absence but a new appointment for next Friday was promptly made.

Thats it, have a good evening, we are eating at the adjacent Brewers Fayre ie something and chips !

[Wendyf]

I spent quite a bit of time in Nottingham in my youth, a lovely city. My brother was at University there and I started 'going out' with one of his house mates there. So many hours spent on buses travelling between Doncaster, where I was at college, and Nottingham. I have vague memories of quite a few pubs in the centre!

[Stanley]

I am reminded of the saying.... "Youth is wasted on the young."
I shall be in the shed at 06:00 for an hour. After second sleep I shall post a letter and then I expect a visit from Susan and Mick. I think I shall still recognise them!

[Stanley]

Not a single chip cut this morning, it was all about preparation for the next stage, cutting the meat out of the space between the webs with the milling machine and not the lathe with an interrupted cut. The first task was to find a 7/16" cutter that was long enough. I couldn't find the one I have always used before and so had to use another which meant a complete re-sharpen to make sure it will cut cleanly. Next job was a chip chase and clean up. Then remove the vise from the VM mill bed and wipe the surface with a big diamond hone to make sure there are no dings. Next I had to set up the first blank ready for cutting. That included installing the 7/16" cutter and adjusting the height of the head. After setting the cutter in the centre I found the tackle to lock it to the bed and last of all marked the depth of cut on the slug. That all took just over an hour but I am ready to start serious cutting tomorrow. Now for breakfast!

[Sue]

Morning

I forgot to say we did another of the mystery tours in Nottingham, like the one we did in York but it was harder. It certainly gets you round the city, walking over 4 miles looking for clues. We started at the castle and ended at the ‘oldest pub’ in the castle walls and caves under the castle, where we had a beer on a warm sunny afternoon. The city was crowded , rather rowdy in places and I thought it looked rather drab a d dirty. There were many homeless begging, and in one place a drunken row was going on with three or four of them sat under an empty shop canopy. I must say it was not as I expected. Some of the pubs you mentioned Wendy are very old indeed but rather run down. I don’t think a major hockey match and a football match helped the situation. We waited 30 minutes for a coffee in Starbucks and the toilet was positively dis gusting. I won’t go in to details. I did complain and my complaint was met with a shrug. The tram system, like Manchester is superb and took us from and back to the Park nRide

So its another sunny morning here, breakfast and off to Julias in Coventry. Have a good day all.

[Stanley]

Morning Sue. What a shame that there were those negative aspects of the city. Never mind, I know you will have made the most of the stay. I take it you will be heading home today. I hope the day goes well.

[Sue]

Morning Sue. What a shame that there were those negative aspects of the city. Never mind, I know you will have made the most of the stay. I take it you will be heading home today. I hope the day goes well.

It was still a fun day though and lovely and warm and dry after weeks of 5 degrees and rain. Yes Julia is off to a swimming gala with one of the girls this afternoon. Not sure which one ! We shall go for a walk with the other leaving Ed in his workshop and head home around teatime

[Stanley]

I shall be in the shed at 06:00 and know exactly what I shall be doing, milling the meat out of the gap between the web faces of the crankshaft to save hours of high stress eccentric turning. It was Newton that taught me this trick and I recommend it to anyone chopping a crankshaft out of the solid.
Nothing on my social calendar for the rest of the day as we are in for a cold wet day. Midday dad-nap is definitely a possibility!

[Stanley]

Only one image needed this morning. I spent most of the hour cutting with difficulty and in the end decided to resharpen the cutter including gulleting and backing off. It's cutting much better now and I expect to get on better tomorrow. Not bad progress though, a lot of meat taken out of the slug. Now for breakfast.

[Sue]

Morning

After two lovely fairly warm sunny days we are back home to 6 degrees and rain. Its so depressing. I hope Spring arrives in Rochdale soon. We have had two leafy green days too now its back to leafless twigs on trees, although ornamental cherry tree has come into flower over the weekend which is a good sign

Today I only have a few plans, i have Zoom Pilates and yoga morning and evening respectively and I need to try and get an appointment to speak to my GP. Having now had a month of my statins he said to contact him to discuss where we go from here . Don’t hold your breath its not an easy surgery to get an appoint with.

Have a good day all.

[Stanley]

It will improve steadily after today Sue. See my forecast.
"its not an easy surgery to get an appoint with."
That's par for the course now Sue and it's a disgrace. It makes me so angry......
I hope you do better than you expect!

[Sue]

It will improve steadily after today Sue. See my forecast.
"its not an easy surgery to get an appoint with."
That's par for the course now Sue and it's a disgrace. It makes me so angry......
I hope you do better than you expect!

Well at dead on 8 the queue is now full so it looks like not today

[Stanley]

I have returned to the world after a good two hours of second sleep. I'm glad I don't have to go anywhere, we are back to winter out there!

[Stanley]

I shall be in the shed at 06:00 as usual carrying on with milling my crankshaft stock....
Nothing is calling for attention later so I shall take the day as it comes. As usual the emphasis will be on staying relaxed and taking it easy!

[Stanley]

This caught my eye in Private Eye....