Miscellaneous DIY Projects (or bits of jobs)

[PanBiker]

Furthering the plant stand refurb. I countersunk the holes in the slats for the coach head bolts then gave them a light sanding. Two coats on the underside, sides and ends yesterday and here they are with the first coat on the top side. They will get another coat this afternoon.



The slats are about half an inch narrower than the originals and are just sawn pine. I had to buy two lengths and to get the same in the wider dimension and correct depth would have cost £17.00 a length! It's an outside plant stand and you wont see much of the top anyway so the £3.50 a length was a much better option for the job in hand.

I have just degreased and jet washed the cast iron base ready for painting when it has thoroughly dried.

[PanBiker]

Took Sally over to Skipton for a meet up with her friends from Carelton, It's Elaine's birthday so they have gone to the Railway in Skipton for lunch. Did a bit of shopping on the way back then had my dinner. Set about painting up the pot stand ironwork and a small metal table we have in the yard. Blue Hammerite, I wanted a spray for these jobs but they didn't have stock in the blue. I managed OK with a 1" brush though. Might get away with just one coat, the cast iron pot stand was already blue the little table was red but both seem to have covered quite well.

[Wendyf]

Blue Hammerite is a very popular colour! My ' Britannia' table base is now blue to match the bench ends.

20220504_154645.jpg

The new table top (made from some old bed slats) is on the bench behind awaiting treatment of some sort. It smells strongly of paint out in the workshop Ian, I hope your kitchen isn't the same!

[Tripps]

Now we know they are called Britannia Pub Tables - seems there loads on ebay. I've coveted one for decades. Not sure I really need one now, and they are a bit heavy to post. I'll keep my eyes open an opportunity may yet present itself.

Are they a Northern thing? I've seen the name Baxendales associated with them. There was a business of that name in Manchester.
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PS I think they must have made them Baxendales though I don't see anything direct - just mentioned as the maker in adverts for sale. Looks like this mid 19th century Miller Street Manchester comapny ended up as Baxi. Interesting company history - a bit like John Lewis, with benevolent management.

I have fond memory of phoning them (in Preston) one Saturday morning to get a switch for my Baxi Bermuda balanced flue heater. A security guy answered the phone and when I explained my plight and what I needed, he went to the stores, found one, and sent it by post free of charge.

PPS - I now find that in the Manchetser Blitz book (very recently aquired), there is a full description of the Company being bombed in the December 1940 air raid on Manchester. (Just slightly spooky?)

I'll have to get a Britannia table, and bore people talking about it now.

[Wendyf]

They seem to be very common as well as very heavyTripps! Someone well known to Stanley and an occasional poster on OGFB sells them from his reclamation yard locally.

https://www.dandelionstonetroughs.co.uk ... dandelion/

[Tripps]

I remember him - Alan McEwen.
Not posted here for a very long time -in fact I think he had a bit of a 'flounce' if I recall correctly.

I'll wait and see what turns up. That painted one is still on ebay but I'm thinking it's over priced, a bit gaudy, and in nowhere near original condition. I watch a lot of Drew Pritchard !

PS - yes it was defintely a flounce - better than Hartley's and probably qualifies as 'best in class'. I seem to have made a note of it at the time. Did I mention 'Treepad' ? It's a great little note taker. I think this proves it.

July 2010
To Tizer, Stanley and the Barlick Mafia
Since first joining O.G.F.B. in July 2007, I have gained a great deal of knowledge from the postings on Steeplejacks’ Corner; I have also thoroughly enjoyed my time on the site.
During the three years I have posted quite a number of what I considered were well researched, mutually interesting topics generally covering industrial history. Additionally, I have posted over 400 photographic images, many being extremely rare. I feel that the postings, together with the photographs have greatly enhanced Steeplejacks. I have also endeavoured to promote O.G.F.B. during presentations of my illustrated lectures to audiences scattered across Northern England, and indeed I have mentioned the site in my regular articles in magazines.
Since posting my two topics last Sunday, of which I considered the O.G.F.B. membership would find interesting, and perhaps, somewhat refreshing in place of the stomach churning stuff in “WHAT DID WE HAVE FOR TEA?” and some of the other down-market types of topics, I have received from Stanley (no surprise there), and from Tizer, a man whom I have great respect, nothing but the kind of juvenile clap-trap, normally mouthed by illiterate hooligans.
Due to the fact that I consider O.G.F.B. has taken a dive, reluctantly I have decided not to post further until there is evidence of an upturn in the quality of the postings.
Thank you Moh and Herb for your generous comments.
No, you haven’t chased me away. It would take real men to even attempt it.
Happy Steamings,
Alan

[Stanley]

Thanks for reminding me of that David! " I have received from Stanley (no surprise there), ..... nothing but the kind of juvenile clap-trap, normally mouthed by illiterate hooligans. " Sounds as though he had got the message.
Funnily enough his name crossed our lips as John Ingoe and I caught up when I visited him last Friday. John tells me that he has fallen out with his son who runs the business now. The son has barred him from using any of the pictures as he says they are 'the intellectual property of the company'. McEwen has a bombastic line in bullshit and many fell for it. It cost them a lot of money. John was telling me another story about his dealings with a museum in Staffordshire..... Get hold of his book from the library, Chronicles of a Lancastrian Boilermaker and read it. The epitome of purple prose.
Hammerite is such good stuff for one coat painting!

[Big Kev]

I resprayed a car with Hammerite, they had a deal on for 2.5 litres of paint and 2.5 litres of thinners. It went on very well with an old electric spray gun, in the street outside my parent's house.

[PanBiker]

Smooth or hammered? I bet it looked good though Kev.

I shoved my pot stand frame outside last night to harden off properly in the cooler air. I had to run the drill through the holes in the slats again after painting to get the coach bolts in. Here it is finished The slats should be a little wider but I reckon it looks OK.

[Tripps]

but I reckon it looks OK.

As Plusnet says - when a Yorkshire man says 'it looks Ok' then it 'looks more than OK'.


I'd agree with that. Do you know what it started its life as?

[Big Kev]

Smooth or hammered? I bet it looked good though Kev.

It was the hammered finish (I wasn't aware of the smooth finish then, it was around 1980 I did it), it went on very evenly. I was quite impressed with it.

The pot stand looks good.

[PanBiker]

Do you know what it started its life as?


We have had it since new, bought it from a garden centre years ago. Top slats were originally wider, all I have done is stripped it down and refurbished it with narrower slats. Narrower because I am a Yorkshireman and the original sized timber would have cost six times more. I was planed up but even so!

[Stanley]

Looks good Ian and hasn't just been thrown out as would have happened with most owners. Make do and mend will become more popular as money gets tighter but at the moment too much stuff is dumped when it could be given a mew lease of life.
I like the idea of a hammered finish on a car....

[Wendyf]

It looks good Ian.

[PanBiker]

As does yours Wendy. I just have the gate to give a coat of preservative and the gas meter cupboard in the yard to paint. Need a good fine day. Next week shows promise on that front.

[Big Kev]

I think this is probably the best place for the next project at Chez Kev, the replacement of the lead water pipe. I have a man coming on Saturdayy to price up digging a trench from the kitchen to the back gate. My task today has been locating the shared stopcock out in the street. A conversation with UU gave me a rough idea and how many houses it feeds, found it. I won't need to do anything with it until the new pipe is in, inspected and connected. I will then need to shut it off to cap the lead pipe at my boundary.

[Stanley]

Are you connected direct to the public main Kev? I ask because so many houses round here are connected to a party branch main which is also their responsibility.

[Big Kev]

I am currently connected to a branch main, along with at least 5 more properties. There is a relatively new main that runs along Skipton Old Road that I will be connecting to.

[Stanley]

That sounds like a good move Kev......

[Big Kev]

Especially as UU are currently paying a grant to do this

[Stanley]

That is a good deal! I'm lucky in this respect, It's a very short connection to a major main that runs down our back street and it was renewed before I moved in 25 years ago.

[PanBiker]

Its seven years since I replaced our kitchen. I noticed recently that the right hand door of our corner cabinet that has the carousel was not closing properly. Both left and right doors on this unit use 160 degree hinges to give maximum access to the cabinet. All of the hinges have a spring mechanism that pulls the hinge closed once it is past a certain point of the arc. I took the door off with the hinges and it soon became apparent that the spring cam on the lower hinge had tripped over its stop mechanism so was not allowing the bottom hinge to close properly. I reset the cam and it clicked back into place. I refitted the door but found on first opening the cam tripped again and I was back at square one! Here is a photo of the problem, the top hinge is how it should be, the bottom hinge shows the spring cam in its tripped position. Not fit for purpose in this state.



I thought I may have a spare upstairs but that wasn't the case. A quick Google for 160 degree hinges led me to Screwfix, no doubt high in the results because we have a new branch in town. They had stock so I ordered online for collection at the depot. Confirmation email of my order within a minute followed by a text on my mobile to say that the goods were ready for collection. £5.99 inc vat for two replacement hinges. I had a walk down and collected and fitted them after a bit of light refreshment, (warm out walking in the sun today). Right side of a small can of Aldi's peach, mango and lime Cider, I fitted both as the other is just as old as the one that just turn it's toes up. Cabinet doors now closing properly.

[Big Kev]

I ❤ Screwfix

[Stanley]

Nice to hear of such good service....

[PanBiker]

Bathroom this time, six months since we had the new shower fitted and have noticed during my morning shower that the fast flow low profile waste in the shower tray was being a bit slow in draining allowing water to rise in the tray! Two visits by grand children including Ruby and Isla who both have long hair, Finlay and Sally although not long but a lot more than I have.

Easy job if a bit yucky but someone has it to do. The top chrome drain cover pulls straight off as it is only held by a rubber sealing ring, this has the hair trap attached to it by a single screw in the middle of the metal cover. Once separated it makes it a lot easier to clear the accumulated soap and hair gunge. The odour trap is a drop fit in the receptacle below so that comes out as well for cleaning. A clean and wipe round the bottom trap and then reassemble in reverse order. Normal waste water flow restored.

Previous showers have always been over the bath so this trap arrangement was new to me. Fortunately there are lots of instructional videos on YouTube as below: