• Hi all and welcome to TheWoodHaven2 brought into the 21st Century, kicking and screaming! We all have Alasdair to thank for the vast bulk of the heavy lifting to get us here, no more so than me because he's taken away a huge burden of responsibility from my shoulders and brought us to this new shiny home, with all your previous content (hopefully) still intact! Please peruse and feed back. There is still plenty to do, like changing the colour scheme, adding the banner graphic, tweaking the odd setting here and there so I have added a new thread in the 'Technical Issues, Bugs and Feature Requests' forum for you to add any issues you find, any missing settings or just anything you'd like to see added/removed from the feature set that Xenforo offers. We will get to everything over the coming weeks so please be patient, but add anything at all to the thread I mention above and we promise to get to them over the next few days/weeks/months. In the meantime, please enjoy!

What I have fixed today

I mentioned sometime back about the loss of pressure in our CH system. No visible signs inside the house of a leak and with all this rain unable to see if the boiler was the cause. The short term fix was to set an alarm in the morning before the CH timer kicked in which would remind me to re-pressurise the system. And in the night when I pointed Percy I'd go outside, face whatever the weather was doing and re-pressurise ready for the morning heating programme. It was starting to get a bit wearing TBH and I'd got a call out with the CH company but, as it was raining so much said that we could wait for drier weather before they sent Nick out. And I waited, And waited.

Today I'd had enough and took the front and top off the CH boiler. The PRV (pressure relief valve) pipe felt as if it was wet at the end of the drain pipe but disconnecting the drain pipe showed no weeping from the PRV.

So I carried on looking around inside and finally saw the culprit. A manky looking drain valve nearly hidden by the burner unit going drip....drip...drip. Two hours later (it was a real sod to get out and the blackbirds learned some new swear words) it was replaced. No drip. Job done. And then back to the en-suite
 
Cabinetman said:
A very simple little 5minute job that made all the difference to snowblowing our very uneven drive, the metal skids were just about worn away so I’ve fitted these hard plastic ones with wheels, how long they last? We shall see.

View attachment 39550View attachment 39551
Click to expand...
I once had a blower and the skids held up very well, that is some damage.
 
So you probably noticed the "slight inconvenience" that happened to the Irish navy in the Liffey last week.
My youngest grandson had a similar, if tiny problem, but in his case, the entire stern came off:
oh dear-1000.jpeg
Amazingly, as it's an end-grain-to-end-grain glue joint, it didn't sink. The vessel is compact: a modest 10cm bow to stern (when attached), so slightly tricky to repair strongly. The quotes obtained from local yards were a bit, er, dismissive really.

Grandpa to the rescue?

My first thought was a bit of scraping:
scraping-1022.jpeg
It didn't go terribly well, as I think the original shipyard used rather dilute PVA that soaked in too well for easy removal. I like the iron from my Boggs pattern spokeshave for this sort of thing though. I was determined not to sand if avoidable, as a respray was out of the question, and I wanted to try to keep the surfaces as square as I could.

Then I remembered that I'd collected some wooden coffee stirrers (1/8" diameter, approx) whilst on holiday in the USA last year.
"What could you possibly want those for dear, just throw them away!"

That meant tiny holes for tiny dowels. Stupidly (in retrospect) I reached for my lovely set of Colt spur drills (no lip!), but that was a mistake.
drilling2-800.jpegdowels-600.jpeg
An ordinary twist-drill will self-centre, and whilst the Colt drills have a good sharp point, they will drill wherever they're pointed. That's usually a good thing, but in this instance, I should have started with something like a 1mm or 1.5mm drill and worked out to about 4.2mm for 'adjustment room', but hey.
I was so embarrassed (you can see the squiffy dowel in the back of the above image), I forgot to take pictures of the actual glue-up.
That said, she's now back in the water and as long as you squint, good as new...

done-1000.jpeg
 
Last edited:
My washing machine started making a terrible noise today while on the spin cycle so I stopped it and had to remove the filter so I could drain it to be able to open the door and empty it.

It sounded like something was rattling around between the inner and outer drum, I turned to Google which said best way to access it was by removing the heating element.

I pulled out the washing machine, took the back off and removed the element but couldn't see anything.

Googles next suggestion for getting inside was removing the sump, I had to turn the machine on it's side to remove this but still couldn't find anything in there.

Next suggestion was using a cable tie to poke down between the front of the drum and the seal, I tried this and eventually found something in there which was rattling around causing the problem, it had got in there but didn't want to come out.

After a long battle I finally removed the culprit using one of those magnetic pick up tools, if only I'd taken more care checking my pockets I wouldn't have wasted 2hrs of my Sunday afternoon.............:rolleyes:

broken washer.jpg
 
TrimTheKing said:
Wonder if it would be that easy on my Ranger, I'll have to take a look because that definitely does NOT like to start when it's zero and below!
Click to expand...
I'm late to this thread. In January 2025, my 2018 Ranger did not like the cold of the garage and was sometimes difficult to start. I thought it might be the glow plugs, so I took it to the dealer. The glow plugs were fine and the problem was the original battery. The dealer installed a new battery while I waited.
 
Doug71 said:
My washing machine started making a terrible noise today while on the spin cycle so I stopped it and had to remove the filter so I could drain it to be able to open the door and empty it.

It sounded like something was rattling around between the inner and outer drum, I turned to Google which said best way to access it was by removing the heating element.

I pulled out the washing machine, took the back off and removed the element but couldn't see anything.

Googles next suggestion for getting inside was removing the sump, I had to turn the machine on it's side to remove this but still couldn't find anything in there.

Next suggestion was using a cable tie to poke down between the front of the drum and the seal, I tried this and eventually found something in there which was rattling around causing the problem, it had got in there but didn't want to come out.

After a long battle I finally removed the culprit using one of those magnetic pick up tools, if only I'd taken more care checking my pockets I wouldn't have wasted 2hrs of my Sunday afternoon.............:rolleyes:

View attachment 39814
Click to expand...
Looks familiar.
 
AndyP said:
The amount of time I spend removing remnants of paper tissues from the WM !
Click to expand...
Thee and me Andy. SWIMBO is an utter menace for stuffing her jeggings pockets with bits of kitchen roll that disintegrate in the washing machine. "But I get them from work" is her only defence so of necessity I have to check all pockets before loading the washer - Rob
 
Woodbloke said:
Thee and me Andy. SWIMBO is an utter menace for stuffing her jeggings pockets with bits of kitchen roll that disintegrate in the washing machine. "But I get them from work" is her only defence so of necessity I have to check all pockets before loading the washer - Rob
Click to expand...
All the kitchen rolling I use doesn’t disintegrate in the wash, it stays intact and you can reuse it, paper tissue has no glue in that’s the problem with it.

Pete
 
Well, what I have begun to fix today...
A couple of evening ago I was having a wee nightcap. I'd already taken out my contact lenses and so when I poured I missed the glass and poured whisky all over my keyboard. Thereafter it would only type apostophes'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' all the time.
It a nice keyboard, backlit with BIG characters on the keys, so even I can see them. So I don'want to lose it.
So at the moment it is in the bath and I hope whatever residue is preventing it from working is being dissolved away.
To dry it, I was going to put it in my va bag, but I had a chat with EtV who suggested just leaving it for a week in a warm place. It's bitterly cold here at the moment, but the porch is glass and faces south, so it does get quite warm in there

.20260329_172618.jpg

This picture reminds me. French family shampoo and French toilet cleaner are both exactly the same lurid shade of blue. Be careful Be very careful indeed.
S
 
Just a suggestion Steve (@Steve Maskery ) if you don't mind me saying - you'll probably know this and do it anyway but you've not mentioned your next steps other than the porch...

When you remove it from the bath stand it upright to let the water drain out - rather than lay it flat... Also, if you've got a dehumidifier, make use of that... or hairdryer... hopefully you'll get to use it again 🙏 🤞
 
Ive deep cleansed keyboards by prising the keys off( take reference photos first!)
Keys in a pillowcase into the washing machine then towel dry.
Wipe clean dry the base then clip them back in.

Maybe worth trying as a last resort

Drowned phones have been restored by burying them in a Tupperware full of dried rice for a week.
You could do it with the crystals from a disposible dehumidifier

A combination of both methods ?
 
But that reminds me...
About 50 years ago I was fixing video games for a living(just pre microprocessor games, so large PCBs stuffed with 7400 series logic gates). I drove out from Mill Hill in N London to Skindles(sp?) in Maidenhead, and when I got there I discovered the fault had been caused by a pint of coke being somehow introduced into the workings. I took the PCB out and gave it a good scrubbing with hot water and detergent in the bar sink(the staff thought I was crazy), then dried it off by sitting it in front of the heater outlet in my van while I ate lunch in the pub. Couldn't do that sort of thing these days, I'd feel too guilty about leaving the engine idling for that long.
 
fuse said:
Ive deep cleansed keyboards by prising the keys off( take reference photos first!)
Keys in a pillowcase into the washing machine then towel dry.
Wipe clean dry the base then clip them back in.

Maybe worth trying as a last resort

Drowned phones have been restored by burying them in a Tupperware full of dried rice for a week.
You could do it with the crystals from a disposible dehumidifier

A combination of both methods ?
Click to expand...
Rice isn't the best way a night in the aring cupboard is best or on top of the boiler.

@Steve Maskery Blow it out with an air line.

Pete
 
We’re (well, Matt and George are) knocking down the conservatory today which could have left us unsecured. There’s an internal door which is lockable so that helps. Well it should have been lockable but the key refused to turn. Absolutely solid as in maybe it’s the wrong key? But when I asked the vendor, he told me that they rarely used the lock.

So stripped it apart. Found the levers all gummed up. Bit of levering. Bit of Magic Spray and lock now works.
20260329_152658.jpeg

Wood sheeting screwed over the glazing.
 
The toaster tripped an ECLB three times.
Had a look at the elements and could see a foreign body between the element and the earthed parts.
This was removed and turned out to be a sultana from some hot cross buns.
Toaster is working fine again!
 
When I bought this money-pit of a house, I also bought the P/T from the owner. I already had a nice lity Kity, but this was a serious bit of 12" kit.

When I got here, I discovered that it really didn't work very well. Upon inspection, it was obvous why - the beds were not in line with each other, the machine was like a hump-backed bridge. There is no adjustment for this, the bed is just bolted to the body:
outfeed table bolts (Medium).jpg


So I set about fixing it with shims. I loosened off the bolts and what did I find? Some bits of a Guinness can. Someone was here before me. I got it better than it had been, but it still wasn't great.

I've not used it for a while, but the other day, when I came to use it, I discovered it was not cutting again and it was back to being humped, I have no idea how that happens but it had.

I decided that it really needed some kind of screw to jack up the table. I found a couple of M8 grub screws that would suit nicely. I was a bit wary of drilling and tapping an M8 thread in cast iron, so close to the edge, but I reckoned that if I took it slowly and carefully, I'd be ok. So that meant removing the outfeed table, not just opening it up a fraction.

Had I done that in the first place I would have seen what I could see now:

out-table removed (Medium).jpg

There are TWO pairs of bolt-holes in the casting. So no drilling and tapping required, I just had to find two M12 bolts. Neighbours are great, aren't they?

So by installing two bolts, facing up from the inside, I could adjust the tilt of the outfeed table until it was right. It took a while, as I'm looking for movement in the thous, and an M12 thread is quite coarse, but I got there in the end. I can't photograph it unfortunately.

The upshot is that it now works perfectly and I have a very nice machine again.
 
Last edited:
Good fix Steve.

Today I failed to fix the broken drive belt on the tractor mower. My spare was too short. :confused:

However, in good news, 8 years ago we bought an electric log splitter from Lidlaldi. About £40. Today we unboxed it and my wife assembled it (mostly). Brilliant machine. We are inundated with wood having had several mature trees down for the cardinal sin of growing too close to power lines. The guys cut it into manageable lengths and the splitter is rapidly turning it into firewood stock that will last a few years. I would post a photo but it is wine o'clock and I'm having a rest.
 
I’ve been struggling a little getting up and down onto my sawhorse which doubles up as a step up, 18” repeatedly dozens of times, and I’d had enough so I’ve added a step to one side, I can still saw along the other.
Should have done this a long time ago as it’s a real game changer.

IMG_4429.jpegIMG_4430.jpeg

Should have said that I’ve damaged a tendon in my calf which hasn’t helped!
Step doesn’t look half way up the leg but it is.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top