Early Risers.

[tigerburnie]

G'night all.

[Simon G]

Evening all,

Just back from my now usual nocturnal ramble.  I went out a bit earlier than usual, to get a longer walk.  So typically when I get to the furthest point away from home, it starts to rain!  I got rather damp during the 20 minute walk back home, although fortunately I was wearing a coat with a rain hood.  Hopefully it will now rain for the night, as the garden certainly needs it again.

 

Goodnight all.

[bbishop]

3 hours ago, Ozexpatriate said:

Bill, I would have thought the roots of these "troubles" lay further back into the chaos of the transition from the old Burgundian rule to the Spanish Hapsburgs, closely followed by the reformation and counter reformation (encompassing the Dutch revolt and 80 years' war).

 

I don't pretend to know but I wonder if a concentration of Catholicism in Flemish Belgium has roots in the Prince-Bishopric of Liège (mostly west of the Meuse but extending well north of Brussels) which existed at various times as a separate entity from the Spanish Netherlands and the Dutch Republic and is today bisected into Flemish and Walloon regions.

 

EDIT:

According to Wikipedia, religion in Belgium, where professed (excepting atheists and agnostics) is predominantly Roman Catholic and that Belgian Flanders was traditionally Catholic - and as Bill points out part of the Belgian revolt from the United Kingdom of the Netherlands.

 

 

Thanks Oz, if I can do a "1066 and all that" summary, that part of Europe had been invaded at various times by the French and the Spanish from the Reformation until the Napoleonic Wars.    The great powers at the Congress of Vienna (1815) decided that a greater Holland be created, obviously without consulting the natives, hence the revolution fifteen years later.

 

The French - Walloon border was particular flexible and I think that Lille was part of Flanders until the Franco-Dutch War of 1672-78.

[Erichill16]

Evening everyone,

Sorry but I haven’t had chance to read everyone’s post today. Been to work then supermarket run then a call at mils with her share of the goodies. Got home about 6 so decided to go for a walk and take a pick nick tea with us and didn’t get back till 8:30. 10 minutes in shed with a bit of filler ready for a some modelling tomorrow (hopefully) .
Anyway hope to catch up you all tomorrow.

Goodnight

Robert

[Barry O]

@generally a successful day. Woodwork glossed, two chassis built, long conversation about exhibitions held, newsletter sent out.

 

Mugadecaf to be drunk then..time for some kip!

Goodnight all!

Baz

Edited June 10, 2020 by Barry O
Spellung

[bbishop]

4 hours ago, Tony_S said:

I was at the park with Robbie once and someone thought it was amusing to irritate the cute spaniel with an RC off road car thing. Amazing how fast a working cocker can turn and chase. I had deliberately set off in the opposite direction to the people operating their vehicles. I think  Robbie eased  off when he realised the vehicle wasn’t edible.

 

Some bright spark drove one of those tanks behind JRT1 on Folkestone Leas and fired the gun.  "Lets scare the little doggie."  Little doggie, being a Jack Russell Terrier, turned round, picked up the tank by the barrel and dumped it upside down.  Bright spark threatened me with the law, JRT1 advised that the next thing to be broken would be bright spark's ankle, so he picked up the remains of his tank and slunk off.  Moral - don't mess with a Jack Russell Terrier.

[AndyID]

7 hours ago, Happy Hippo said:

Istr it was nicknamed a stick change. You didn't need to use the clutch either!

 

Arrrggg! Further americanization of the Queen's English.  Here, a manual transmission is always referred as "a stick".

 

Strictly speaking you only need a clutch to get a vehicle moving from a standstill. I'm not sure if anyone has ever made such a thing (probably someone has) but it wouldn't be too difficult to give a driver a "bung it in gear now" indicator.

[Coombe Barton]

And more marking

 

https://johncolby.wordpress.com/2020/06/09/marking-marking/

[BSW01]

Good evening everyone

 

The weather has been kind to me today and some progress has been made on the bench. Ive got two benches that need refurbishing, the one I’m currently working on has a cast back as well as cast sides. Whilst rubbing it down with a wire brush, it became apparent that there were quite a few areas where the mould leaked, (we’d call it flash if it was a loco kit) leaving some very ragged edges. So I set about these with various files, after about 15 minutes I decided that it would be easier to work on if the bench was in pieces. So I dismantled it and was then able to do each piece on my portable workbench, which I’d set up outside the shed. Once happy I’d got the rough edges sorted, I put it all back together and then gave it a wash down, to remove dust and filings etc. All this was accomplished before dinner, I even managed a few minutes work on the turntable before heading inside to eat.

 

After dinner I made a start on priming, but I only got about halfway before I packed up for tea. Hopefully if the weather is kind again (the forecast doesn’t look good) tomorrow and I’ll hopefully get it all done. 

 

Goodnight all 

[Dave Hunt]

Speaking of manual gearboxes and the use of the clutch, late last year I took Jill's car to be serviced and collected a courtesy car for the day. As I drove it out of the dealership I realised that the synchromesh on 3rd gear wasn't working (which was surprising as it was almost brand new) but I couldn't be bothered going back and  having all the hassle of getting another car so I just accepted that I'd have to double declutch for the day. When I went back in the afternoon I told the young man on servicing reception that there was a problem with the synchro and that you had to double declutch. He looked a bit blank and said, "Sorry, you have to do what?"

 

I well remember having a go at driving a Centurion (the tank, not HH) and how much easier it was when I was allowed to drive Chieftains with their simpler gearchange. I think the best fun I had with an armoured vehicle, though, was when I had a go with an Abbott SPG and was shown how to sideways drift it round corners. And you're wrong HH about me teaching Pontius to fly - we were on the same course.

 

G'night everybody, have a quiet and peaceful one.

 

Dave

[Happy Hippo]

53 minutes ago, AndyID said:

 

Arrrggg! Further americanization of the Queen's English.  Here, a manual transmission is always referred as "a stick".

 

Strictly speaking you only need a clutch to get a vehicle moving from a standstill. I'm not sure if anyone has ever made such a thing (probably someone has) but it wouldn't be too difficult to give a driver a "bung it in gear now" indicator.

If I'd said tiller, you'd have thought I was talking about a rotivator and not one of the steering activation rods.

[Happy Hippo]

4 minutes ago, Dave Hunt said:

And you're wrong HH about me teaching Pontius to fly - we were on the same course.

 

A big sorry there, I forgot it was actually Icarus.

 

But I didn't want to mention it as I recall his first solo didn't end too well.

[PhilJ W]

Goodnight all.

[AndyID]

11 minutes ago, Happy Hippo said:

If I'd said tiller, you'd have thought I was talking about a rotivator and not one of the steering activation rods.

 

No. I'd have thought you was referring to one of those dancing ladies wot was in The Billy Cotton Bandshow.

[laurenceb]

Night awl

[The Stationmaster]

6 hours ago, bbishop said:

Mike,  I'm going to disagree with you here.  The Belgian Revolution was basically the catholic south of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands breaking away from the protestant north, which was dominating economically and, to a lesser extent, religiously.  So the catholic Flemards joined with the Walloons to create the Kingdom of the Belgians.  The offered the throne to Victoria's German uncle who I'm pretty certain was a protestant. The religious factor may be the cause of  the Belgian enclaves on the Dutch side of the border.

 

I was thinking of discussing the different attitude of the Dutch and the Belgians towards the Holocaust.  Worth studying but probably too political for ER.    Bill

Not sure what you were disagreeing with Bill.  I don't disagree at all about the way the country came about (or its attitude to various things later on such as the one you mention and what happened in Africa) but it was certainly a fact regarding the 'equal employment' situation of the two language groups and the two religious groups in state employment. (In fact SNCB went further than that because they aimed to get the equality in all the managerial grades hence it resulted in some unexpected candidates moving between functions and getting getting jobs because they helped the equalisation.)

 

4 hours ago, AndyID said:

 

Yes, I've seen the pics. The PTO would be quite useful for powering stationary equipment and some farm implements but I don't think a LD (or a Jeep) would be able to compete with a tractor when conditions were "heavy going". The tyres are too small and skinny and the view of the ground ahead of the wheels is restricted.

That's basically what Land Rover aimed the PTO at, and of course the belt drive pulley was obviously only suitable for stationary use - an ability they added an optional extra for when they realised just how much belt driven kit was in agricultural etc use and customers started asking if such a thing could be made available.   In the belt drive area they were in direct competition with tractors but there was plenty of stuff around which didn't need the sort of power a tractor could deliver and the Land Rover was an ideal multi use tool for that stuff.  I doubt the Land Rover PTO would have been much good for field work as a Land Rover was hardly the right sort of vehicle for tractor work.

Edited June 9, 2020 by The Stationmaster

[newbryford]

17 minutes ago, Dave Hunt said:

Speaking of manual gearboxes and the use of the clutch, late last year I took Jill's car to be serviced and collected a courtesy car for the day. As I drove it out of the dealership I realised that the synchromesh on 3rd gear wasn't working (which was surprising as it was almost brand new) but I couldn't be bothered going back and  having all the hassle of getting another car so I just accepted that I'd have to double declutch for the day. When I went back in the afternoon I told the young man on servicing reception that there was a problem with the synchro and that you had to double declutch. He looked a bit blank and said, "Sorry, you have to do what?"

 

 

 

One of my "party tricks" when instructing was to change gear without using the clutch. This was a good way to explain how gears worked to pupils.

The opposite trick was to set off in 4th gear without any accelerator (not good for the clutch though!)

 

A quick stockcar memory for Chris116. We had a Ford D300 with a 4-speed box that had failed as we arrived at Leicester stadium (Blackbird Rd - as mentioned in earlier threads). The clutch wouldn't disengage.

How would we get home asked my bro?

Leave it to me...

He was driving, but I controlled the gear lever.

Engine off - put it in first gear. 

Make sure the coast is clear and start the engine. (Not possible on many of today's cars as they won't allow an engine start if in gear/clutch engaged)

Truck lurches forward into life.

For each gear change I would call out "off accelerator"and then at the opportune moment as the revs match roadspeed, pull/push the lever into the next higher gear.

In the case of down shifts, there would be a "off accelerator", gear into neutral and then a  "rev the engine" and I would do a downshift as the revs matched roadspeed.

Stopping was a case of easing off the gas, pulling it into neutral and coasting/braking to a halt.

Turn the engine off and repeat as above.

It also involved a bit of thinking ahead with traffic lights and junctions, but as the journey was carried out in the late hours of a Saturday night, we managed to travel from Leicester to Lancashire with only 3 absolute stops. One of those was a m/way services for a PNB.

 

[AndyID]

15 minutes ago, newbryford said:

 

One of my "party tricks" when instructing was to change gear without using the clutch. This was a good way to explain how gears worked to pupils.

The opposite trick was to set off in 4th gear without any accelerator (not good for the clutch though!)

 

A quick stockcar memory for Chris116. We had a Ford D300 with a 4-speed box that had failed as we arrived at Leicester stadium (Blackbird Rd - as mentioned in earlier threads). The clutch wouldn't disengage.

How would we get home asked my bro?

Leave it to me...

He was driving, but I controlled the gear lever.

Engine off - put it in first gear. 

Make sure the coast is clear and start the engine. (Not possible on many of today's cars as they won't allow an engine start if in gear/clutch engaged)

Truck lurches forward into life.

For each gear change I would call out "off accelerator"and then at the opportune moment as the revs match roadspeed, pull/push the lever into the next higher gear.

In the case of down shifts, there would be a "off accelerator", gear into neutral and then a  "rev the engine" and I would do a downshift as the revs matched roadspeed.

Stopping was a case of easing off the gas, pulling it into neutral and coasting/braking to a halt.

Turn the engine off and repeat as above.

It also involved a bit of thinking ahead with traffic lights and junctions, but as the journey was carried out in the late hours of a Saturday night, we managed to travel from Leicester to Lancashire with only 3 absolute stops. One of those was a m/way services for a PNB.

 

 

VW's had a nasty habit of breaking their clutch cables. I've had to use the method you describe a couple of times.

 

We had a semi-automatic VW 1500. It had an clutch that was activated electrically when you pushed or pulled the gear stick and was always disengaged in the neutral gate. It had a three-speed synchro box and a torque converter. You could start it in any gear but the acceleration in top (third) was a bit sluggish    IIRC the NSU Ro 80 used a similar arrangement.

[The Stationmaster]

G'night all

[Florence Locomotive Works]

Evening all,

82 degrees outside, so not to bad, but there’s a catch.

 

Its blowing a gale outside, so everything is incredibly dusty.
 

Not as bad as the dust bowl, but the worst I’ve seen it since the last tornado scare. Downtown looks like Los Angeles in the late 90s now! At least in terms of air quality. The pic below is not the good side of Tulsa, it does have marginally better areas.

Edited June 10, 2020 by Florence Locomotive Works

[AndyID]

41 minutes ago, Florence Locomotive Works said:

Evening all,

82 degrees outside, so not to bad, but there’s a catch.

 

Its blowing a gale outside, so everything is incredibly dusty.
 

Not as bad as the dust bowl, but the worst I’ve seen it since the last tornado scare. Downtown looks like Los Angeles in the late 90s now! At least in terms of air quality. The pic below is not the good side of Tulsa, it has does have marginally better areas.

 

 

No dust here in the Pacific Northwet. It's been raining all day and cold. I thought I was done with the wood-stove in my shop but I was wrong

[brianusa]

4 hours ago, brianusa said:

In response to Mike, Ozexpats, recent posting, how long more can these protests go on for prolonging the lockdown for some and inconveniencing others?  Its is a bit overdone and it would be considered racist in this day and age to offer objections to what is becoming an serious event world wide, especially with the destruction of property and history and not even counting the cost of protection and clean up.

  We are now in Phase Two and can venture out a bit more, even got a haircut!

     Brian.

 

Solved the problem.  Turned off the TV and am listening to Beethoven's 5th.  Much more relaxing, on Classic FM!

    Brian

[Florence Locomotive Works]

Just now, AndyID said:

 

No dust here in the Pacific Northwet. It's been raining all day and cold. I thought I was done with the wood-stove in my shop but I was wrong

Lucky!

We finished late this year with our wood stove since the downstairs heating died for while, so we finished in April. Normally it rains torrentially in the spring down here, but it’s been quite dry. 

[AndyID]

6 minutes ago, Florence Locomotive Works said:

Lucky!

We finished late this year with our wood stove since the downstairs heating died for while, so we finished in April. Normally it rains torrentially in the spring down here, but it’s been quite dry. 

 

I was trying to suss out what your convertible is. Based on the chrome on the door something a bit older perhaps? We'll have to organize a race. Mine only has a 1.4L engine so the course will have to be very twisty. Oak Creek Canyon maybe.

[Florence Locomotive Works]

5 minutes ago, AndyID said:

 

I was trying to suss out what your convertible is. Based on the chrome on the door something a bit older perhaps? We'll have to organize a race. Mine only has a 1.4L engine so the course will have to be very twisty. Oak Creek Canyon maybe.

It’s my dads 1969 Alfa Romeo spider. Not exactly quick in a straight line, whats yours?

Edited June 10, 2020 by Florence Locomotive Works