Tools and late night bike maintenance

[David Waters]

Excuse my rant, but basically it is 3am and I decided to do a bit of
bike maintenance to sort my head out before I go to bed after a
stressful evening of revision. The Galaxy has just undergone a major
overhaul with a complete new set of cables, new levers and new front mech.

I'll just put the front brake back together I thought to myself, a nice
easy task that should take 10 mins at the most and will chill my head
out nicely. All is set up nicely until I go to cut the cable down to
length. Being a cheapskate I have never bothered to buy a proper set of
cable cutters (and always have to "nip down the shop" to get outers cut
as I can't get through them at all)and so instead I am using some pliers
which can only be described as a piece of **** with a cutting blade that
couldnt cut a very cutty thing! Of course it totally shreds the brand
new cable to pieces. I then decide the best course of action is to yank
the shredded cable out so that I can bin it and start again tomorrow.
But of course the cable gets all tangled in the straddle thingy and rips
that to pieces as well!

So straight I goes onto Wiggle to buy a new brake cable, new straddle
wire and a pair of cutters that at the very least look a bit mean. Net
cost close to £35.

The moral of the story is thus. Buying decent tools saves much stress
and money! Oh and don't try and do bike maintenance at 3am when you are
feeling stressed and tired. Oh and don't then go and post a very stroppy
post about your bad experience on URC where you will rightly get told
what a prat you are for using **** tools and working at toally
inappropriate times!

Night all!

[Just zis Guy, you know?]

David Waters wrote:

> The moral of the story is thus. Buying decent tools saves much stress
> and money! Oh and don't try and do bike maintenance at 3am when you
> are feeling stressed and tired.

This is the First Law of Bicycle Maintenance: any maintenance operation
commencing after the local bike shop shuts will result in the loss or
destruction of at least one part for which you do not have a spare.

This is an immutable law, and applies even if you have whole bikes in your
spares bin (which I do).

As to tools, my rule has always been to buy a reasonably price kit
containing all the common ones, and to replace any that wear out with top
quality ones. I also buy any tool I need to do a job which, in my
estimation, I will need to do more than once, provided it costs less than
about £25.

The only problem with this is that I now have six large toolboxes (bike,
plumbing, electrical, motor, household and powertools) plus a number of
smaller toolkits on the bike, in the car, by the railway layout and so on.
Oh, and the odd vice, grinder, workstand and other odds and ends. If we
ever move I expect movement cracks to appear between our house and the other
half of the semi as the tremendous weight is lifted...

--
Guy
===
May contain traces of irony. Contents liable to settle after posting.
http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk

Victory is ours! Down with Eric the Half A Brain!

[Helen Deborah Vecht]

"Just zis Guy, you know?" >typed


> The only problem with this is that I now have six large toolboxes (bike,
> plumbing, electrical, motor, household and powertools) plus a number of
> smaller toolkits on the bike, in the car, by the railway layout and so on.
> Oh, and the odd vice, grinder, workstand and other odds and ends. If we
> ever move I expect movement cracks to appear between our house and the other
> half of the semi as the tremendous weight is lifted...

Isostatic rebound, innit?
Ye Shedde's that way ------>

--
Helen D. Vecht:
Edgware.

[Helen Deborah Vecht]

Good luck with your exams!

A five-minute job is a description ONLY ever made in retropect.

Hope you get some decent cablecutters. Then you'll buy cone spanners,
block removers & who knows what. Uk.rec.sheds is thisaway... ---->

--
Helen D. Vecht:
Edgware.

[Roos Eisma]

"Just zis Guy, you know?" > writes:

>The only problem with this is that I now have six large toolboxes (bike,
>plumbing, electrical, motor, household and powertools) plus a number of
>smaller toolkits on the bike, in the car, by the railway layout and so on.
>Oh, and the odd vice, grinder, workstand and other odds and ends. If we
>ever move I expect movement cracks to appear between our house and the other
>half of the semi as the tremendous weight is lifted...

Or, being like that, try moving in with someone with the same approach.
Though I suppose it could be useful that we now have 2 almost identical
hammers but with a slightly different weight. And lots of spares of
everything. Nothing wrong with having a chain tool in every room of the
house :)

Roos

[audrey]

On Tue, 08 Jun 2004 03:12:41 +0100, David Waters
> wrote:


>length. Being a cheapskate I have never bothered to buy a proper set of
>cable cutters (and always have to "nip down the shop" to get outers cut
>as I can't get through them at all)and so instead I am using some pliers
>which can only be described as a piece of **** with a cutting blade that
>couldnt cut a very cutty thing! Of course it totally shreds the brand
>new cable to pieces.

T'other day I was about to try cutting some brake cable with pliers
(usually borrow cable cutters from a neighbour but he was out) when
electricians arrived to do some work on our block of flats. They are
bound to have decent cutters, aren't they? No. The cutters they lent
me mashed the cable worse than my pliers. Grrr.

A
--

email = audmad aaatttt hhhottt mmmaailll dddoottt ccccoommm

[Tony Raven]

Roos Eisma wrote:
>
> Or, being like that, try moving in with someone with the same approach.
> Though I suppose it could be useful that we now have 2 almost identical
> hammers but with a slightly different weight. And lots of spares of
> everything. Nothing wrong with having a chain tool in every room of the
> house :)
>

Beats getting up in the middle of the night to sneak into the garage and fit
that new bit you haven't dared to own up to buying ;-)

Tony

[Mark South]

"audrey" > wrote in message
...
> On Tue, 08 Jun 2004 03:12:41 +0100, David Waters
> > wrote:
>
> >length. Being a cheapskate I have never bothered to buy a proper set of
> >cable cutters (and always have to "nip down the shop" to get outers cut
> >as I can't get through them at all)and so instead I am using some pliers
> >which can only be described as a piece of **** with a cutting blade that
> >couldnt cut a very cutty thing! Of course it totally shreds the brand
> >new cable to pieces.
>
> T'other day I was about to try cutting some brake cable with pliers
> (usually borrow cable cutters from a neighbour but he was out) when
> electricians arrived to do some work on our block of flats. They are
> bound to have decent cutters, aren't they? No. The cutters they lent
> me mashed the cable worse than my pliers. Grrr.

Electrical cables are hardly ever made from hardened steels....
--
Mark South: World Citizen, Net Denizen

[audrey]

On Tue, 8 Jun 2004 12:22:58 +0200, "Mark South"
> wrote:

>
>Electrical cables are hardly ever made from hardened steels....

oh. <blushes>

but. I asked them, I told them what I was going to be cutting and
asked if they had anything suitable I could borrow. They could've
said no ...

A
--

email = audmad aaatttt hhhottt mmmaailll dddoottt ccccoommm

[Nick Kew]

In article >,
"Just zis Guy, you know?" > writes:

> This is the First Law of Bicycle Maintenance: any maintenance operation
> commencing after the local bike shop shuts will result in the loss or
> destruction of at least one part for which you do not have a spare.

That'll be why I have the Round Tuit problem. LBS opening hours aren't
really relevant when you need the bike to get there in the first place.

> As to tools, my rule has always been to buy a reasonably price kit
> containing all the common ones, and to replace any that wear out with top
> quality ones. I also buy any tool I need to do a job which, in my
> estimation, I will need to do more than once, provided it costs less than
> about £25.

I used to take that view. But once you've lost a few tools, and put off
essential jobs while anticipating finding them, it seems to make rather
less sense.

> The only problem with this is that I now have six large toolboxes (bike,

Let me guess. You haven't moved house as often as I have. And you have
more space than I do.

OK for some ....

--
Nick Kew

Nick's manifesto: http://www.htmlhelp.com/~nick/

[Wirral John]

> Oh and don't then go and post a very stroppy
> post about your bad experience on URC where you will rightly get told
> what a prat you are for using **** tools and working at toally
> inappropriate times!
>
> Night all!

You're a prat for using **** tools and working at totally inappropriate
times!

But there again, I've done it, others have done it and we'll probably all do
it again.

Cheers
John

[Colin Blackburn]

On 08 Jun 2004 09:25:19 GMT, Roos Eisma > wrote:

> Or, being like that, try moving in with someone with the same approach.
> Though I suppose it could be useful that we now have 2 almost identical
> hammers but with a slightly different weight.

You can never have too many hammers. I know the same is said of bikes but
it is even more true for hammers. I used to think that you needed just
two, a big one for walloping the f*ck out of things and a little one for
panel pins and window beading. Jobs requiring something in between could
be achieved with one extreme or the other depending on the amount of
collateral damage you are prepared to put up with. Having been on a few
blacksmithing courses I now realise the true value of a hammer's weight
and why you need lots of them. And that's before factoring in the
different cross peins, ball peins, bevelled edge, sharp edge,...

Colin

[Alan J. Wylie]

On Tue, 08 Jun 2004 16:41:02 +0100, "Colin Blackburn" > said:

> You can never have too many hammers. I know the same is said of
> bikes but it is even more true for hammers. I used to think that you
> needed just two, a big one for walloping the f*ck out of things and
> a little one for panel pins and window beading. Jobs requiring
> something in between could be achieved with one extreme or the other
> depending on the amount of collateral damage you are prepared to put
> up with. Having been on a few blacksmithing courses I now realise
> the true value of a hammer's weight and why you need lots of
> them. And that's before factoring in the different cross peins, ball
> peins, bevelled edge, sharp edge,...

Copper-faced, leather-faced, rubber, nylon, dead blow, the good old
wooden mallet, ...

http://www.thorhammer.com/

--
Alan J. Wylie http://www.wylie.me.uk/
"Perfection [in design] is achieved not when there is nothing left to add,
but rather when there is nothing left to take away."
-- Antoine de Saint-Exupery

[David Martin]

On 8/6/04 4:41 pm, in article , "Colin
Blackburn" > wrote:

> You can never have too many hammers. I know the same is said of bikes but
> it is even more true for hammers. I used to think that you needed just
> two, a big one for walloping the f*ck out of things and a little one for
> panel pins and window beading. Jobs requiring something in between could
> be achieved with one extreme or the other depending on the amount of
> collateral damage you are prepared to put up with. Having been on a few
> blacksmithing courses I now realise the true value of a hammer's weight
> and why you need lots of them.

Too true. I started to mentally count my hammers and kind of lost the plot
at around a good eight or so (from teeny tack hammers to 14 pound sledge
hammers).

Love to try blacksmithing at some point. Looks like the right application of
brute force and skill combined with chemistry and lots of fire ;-)

...d

[Mark South]

"audrey" > wrote in message
...
> On Tue, 8 Jun 2004 12:22:58 +0200, "Mark South"
> > wrote:
>
> >
> >Electrical cables are hardly ever made from hardened steels....
>
> oh. <blushes>

I know, it's not obvious to most people, which is why they try to cut bike
cables with electrical pliers.

> but. I asked them, I told them what I was going to be cutting and
> asked if they had anything suitable I could borrow. They could've
> said no ...

They probably just heard the word "cables". Like the dog in the Far Side
cartoon.
--
"I would recommend Iowa or North
Dakota for your dip into reality."
- Ed Dolan in alt.rec.bicycles.recumbent

[Mark South]

"Colin Blackburn" > wrote in message
...
> On 08 Jun 2004 09:25:19 GMT, Roos Eisma > wrote:
>
> > Or, being like that, try moving in with someone with the same approach.
> > Though I suppose it could be useful that we now have 2 almost identical
> > hammers but with a slightly different weight.
>
> You can never have too many hammers. I know the same is said of bikes but
> it is even more true for hammers. I used to think that you needed just
> two, a big one for walloping the f*ck out of things and a little one for
> panel pins and window beading. Jobs requiring something in between could
> be achieved with one extreme or the other depending on the amount of
> collateral damage you are prepared to put up with. Having been on a few
> blacksmithing courses I now realise the true value of a hammer's weight
> and why you need lots of them. And that's before factoring in the
> different cross peins, ball peins, bevelled edge, sharp edge,...

I hear the sound of trolling for Andy Dingley....

[Al C-F]

On Tue, 08 Jun 2004 03:12:41 +0100, David Waters
> wrote:

>Excuse my rant, but basically it is 3am and I decided to do a bit of
>bike maintenance to sort my head out before I go to bed after a
>stressful evening of revision.

Assembly of Japanese bicycle require great peace of mind.
--

Cheers,

Al

[billlee]

I did not think my life complete without a Dremel. I find no use for i
except cutting bike cables


-

[chris French]

In message >, "Just zis Guy, you know?"
> writes
>
>The only problem with this is that I now have six large toolboxes (bike,
>plumbing, electrical, motor, household and powertools) plus a number of
>smaller toolkits on the bike, in the car, by the railway layout and so on.

I've been experimenting to see what the optimum number is for the number
of the same tool you need to own before you can be sure of finding one
of them when you want one.

For tape measures it seems to be about 8 at the moment, though for head
torches, 3 seems to be sufficient. For garden trowels I suspect the
number is infinite though.
--
Chris French, Leeds

[Sandy Morton]

In article >,
Al C-F > wrote:
> Assembly of Japanese bicycle require great peace of mind

Assembly of Japanese bicycle require great piece of mind

--
A T (Sandy) Morton
on the Bicycle Island
In the Global Village
http://www.millport.net

[Patrick Herring]

Helen Deborah Vecht > wrote:
....
| A five-minute job is a description ONLY ever made in retropect.

It's actually the truth, most times, but refers only to elapsed
progressive time. Wallclock time includes all the mistakes, dead-ends,
going to the loo just as your hands are at their muckiest, searches
for parts and tools that have been moved by forces unknown, and all
the getting back to square 1 malarkey, and is reckoned in hours if not
days.

| Hope you get some decent cablecutters.

I use thin-nosed pliers so I can unmash the steel spiral afterwards.

--
Patrick Herring, Sheffield, UK
http://www.anweald.co.uk

[Tony Raven]

Al C-F wrote:
>
> Assembly of Japanese bicycle require great peace of mind.

So desu Al-sensei.

Tony

[Tony Raven]

billlee wrote:
> I did not think my life complete without a Dremel. I find no use for it
> except cutting bike cables.

The other use is having one to look at with that inner contentment that owning
such tools brings

Tony

[Just zis Guy, you know?]

Patrick Herring wrote:

>> A five-minute job is a description ONLY ever made in retropect.

> It's actually the truth, most times, but refers only to elapsed
> progressive time. Wallclock time includes all the mistakes, dead-ends,
> going to the loo just as your hands are at their muckiest, searches
> for parts and tools that have been moved by forces unknown, and all
> the getting back to square 1 malarkey, and is reckoned in hours if not
> days.

My rule of thumb used to be double it and go up one unit. So, for a five
minute job, allow ten hours.

Recently I have adopted a more accurate factor by moving to the FFF
system[1], so for a 250 microfortnight job allow 2.5 millifortnights[2]. I
usually manage to finish within this timescale. Usually.

[1] Furlong / Firkin / Fortnight
[2] Conversions at
<url:http://www.chemie.fu-berlin.de/chemistry/general/units_en.html>

--
Guy
===
May contain traces of irony. Contents liable to settle after posting.
http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk

Victory is ours! Down with Eric the Half A Brain!

[Just zis Guy, you know?]

Sandy Morton wrote:
>> Assembly of Japanese bicycle require great peace of mind
> Assembly of Japanese bicycle require great piece of mind

Heh!

I'm surprise the PP did not post in the form:

late night assembly
of japanese bicycle
requires peace of mind


--
Guy
===
May contain traces of irony. Contents liable to settle after posting.
http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk

Victory is ours! Down with Eric the Half A Brain!

[David Martin]

On 8/6/04 11:04 pm, in article , "chris
French" > wrote:

> I've been experimenting to see what the optimum number is for the number
> of the same tool you need to own before you can be sure of finding one
> of them when you want one.
>
> For tape measures it seems to be about 8 at the moment, though for head
> torches, 3 seems to be sufficient. For garden trowels I suspect the
> number is infinite though.

Screwdrivers are a case in point. I must have at least 20 with additional
bits for the socket type. Can I find the right size when I want one?

I'm sorely tempted to get another set of small ones...

Ring spanners are the other thing where I only have one of each size.

Sockets are fine. I picked up a 50+ piece britool set for a tenner in a
closing down sale so have everything from about 10mm to 40mm in imperial and
metric (and the plug spanner sizes too). Shame I can barely lift the box
they are in ;-(

...d

[Mark South]

"Tony Raven" > wrote in message
...
> billlee wrote:
> > I did not think my life complete without a Dremel. I find no use for it
> > except cutting bike cables.
>
> The other use is having one to look at with that inner contentment that owning
> such tools brings

If you like such tools then the weak, fragile, low-quality, built-to-price,
heavily-hyped Dremel is unlikely to give much of the glow of inner contentment.
--
"I would recommend Iowa or North
Dakota for your dip into reality."
- Ed Dolan in alt.rec.bicycles.recumbent

[Tony Raven]

Just zis Guy, you know? wrote:
>
> [1] Furlong / Firkin / Fortnight
> [2] Conversions at
> <url:http://www.chemie.fu-berlin.de/chemistry/general/units_en.html>

[1] I like the microcentury unit - about 50 minutes; a useful length of time
[2] Interesting. It tells me that one acre is 1.209600e+06 seconds

[Dave Larrington]

Colin Blackburn wrote:

> You can never have too many hammers. I know the same is said of bikes
> but it is even more true for hammers.

One can never have too many /tools/[1]. Why did I buy that bench drill,
when all it does is glare at me from the top of the fridge every time I go
get another BEER? Why do I have an illogical urge to buy an angle grinder
every time I set foot in B&Q? And why do I continue to want a set of cone
spanners even when I /know/ I'd never use them?

My name is Mr Larrington and I'm a tooloholic.

1 - Except garden tools, obv. Gardening is one of Stan's greatest
creations..

--

Dave Larrington - http://www.legslarry.beerdrinkers.co.uk/
================================================== =========
Editor - British Human Power Club Newsletter
http://www.bhpc.org.uk/
================================================== =========

[Dave Larrington]

Sandy Morton wrote:
> In article >,
> Al C-F > wrote:
>> Assembly of Japanese bicycle require great peace of mind
>
> Assembly of Japanese bicycle require great piece of mind

Assembly of Japanese bicycle require BIG hammer.

--

Dave Larrington - http://www.legslarry.beerdrinkers.co.uk/
================================================== =========
Editor - British Human Power Club Newsletter
http://www.bhpc.org.uk/
================================================== =========

[Tony Raven]

Dave Larrington wrote:
>
> One can never have too many /tools/[1]. Why did I buy that bench drill,
> when all it does is glare at me from the top of the fridge every time I go
> get another BEER? Why do I have an illogical urge to buy an angle grinder
> every time I set foot in B&Q? And why do I continue to want a set of cone
> spanners even when I /know/ I'd never use them?
>

You can never have too many tools. You never know when you might have to fix
a fridge magnet back on the door when you get that beer. Be prepared ;-)

Tony

[Martin Read]

"Mark South" > wrote:
>If you like such tools then the weak, fragile, low-quality, built-to-price,
>heavily-hyped Dremel is unlikely to give much of the glow of inner contentment.

OK, is there a *good* rotary multitool that one can obtain at retail in
the UK?

m.
--
Martin Read - my opinions are my own. share them if you wish.

[Colin Blackburn]

On Tue, 08 Jun 2004 21:11:15 +0100, David Martin
> wrote:

> Love to try blacksmithing at some point. Looks like the right
> application of
> brute force and skill combined with chemistry and lots of fire ;-)

Yep! Well worth doing an introductory course even if you take it no
further. It can be cutting, upsetting, wrenching and twisting but it'll be
fun hammering and punching.

Colin

[David Martin]

On 9/6/04 11:19 am, in article , "Geraint
Jones" . invalid> wrote:

> I wouldn't be without my dad's semi-infinite collection
> of razor-sharp taps and dies,

I realised the difference between my family and others the day after I had
been attempting (age 12 or so) to sdjust the rear derraileur on the bike and
stripped the thread. I looked in the shed, found a die for the next size of
nut down, found an appropriate nut, cut a new thread and half an hour later
(or about 0.75 microcenturies) had everything working again.

Virtually none of my friends could actually comprehend what I had done, let
alone believe that I could do it, and were even more confused as to why I
had done it when I lived next door to a bike shop.

(got a few axes as well.. useful for all sorts of things. And a good range
of kitchen knives that are kept appropriately sharp. Must put a decent edge
back on the axes.. I used to be able to use them for whittling.)

...d

[Simon Brooke]

in message >, Geraint Jones
k.invalid') wrote:

> David Martin > wrote:
> ( I started to mentally count my hammers and kind of lost
> the plot
> ) at around a good eight or so (from teeny tack hammers to 14 pound
> sledge
> ( hammers).
>
> And then there are the five or so different weights
> of axes with wedge-driving faces on them. I don't
> think I've ever wielded one of those in the presence
> of a bicycle, though.

I have. Indeed I do almost every Thursday, clearing fallen tree-trunks
off the old track we're re-opening.

--
(Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

;; IE 3 is dead, but Netscape 4 still shambles about the earth,
;; wreaking a horrific vengeance upon the living
;; anonymous

[Michael Green]

"Mark South" > wrote in message >...
> "Tony Raven" > wrote in message
> ...
> > billlee wrote:
> > > I did not think my life complete without a Dremel. I find no use for it
> > > except cutting bike cables.
> >
> > The other use is having one to look at with that inner contentment that owning
> > such tools brings
>
> If you like such tools then the weak, fragile, low-quality, built-to-price,
> heavily-hyped Dremel is unlikely to give much of the glow of inner contentment.

What alternative do you suggest?

[Mark South]

"Michael Green" > wrote in message
om...
> "Mark South" > wrote in message
>...
> > "Tony Raven" > wrote in message
> > ...
> > > billlee wrote:
> > > > I did not think my life complete without a Dremel. I find no use for it
> > > > except cutting bike cables.
> > >
> > > The other use is having one to look at with that inner contentment that
owning
> > > such tools brings
> >
> > If you like such tools then the weak, fragile, low-quality, built-to-price,
> > heavily-hyped Dremel is unlikely to give much of the glow of inner
contentment.
>
> What alternative do you suggest?

Think how the owner of one of these tols must look down on someone who takes
pride in their Dremel: www.foredom.com

--
"Do stairs, stairs, and more stairs,
wherever you can find them."
- Jim Roberts in rec.backcountry

[Tony Raven]

Mark South wrote:
>
> Think how the owner of one of these tols must look down on someone who takes
> pride in their Dremel: www.foredom.com

Gimme, gimme, gimme, lust

Tony ;-)

[Mark South]

"Tony Raven" > wrote in message
...
> Mark South wrote:
> >
> > Think how the owner of one of these tools must look down on someone who
takes
> > pride in their Dremel: www.foredom.com
>
> Gimme, gimme, gimme, lust

Yeah, I rather like the 1/3 horsepower model....

Phone them up - but check other sites first, several US retailers sell them
cheaper than the manufacturer does.
--
"I would recommend Iowa or North
Dakota for your dip into reality."
- Ed Dolan in alt.rec.bicycles.recumbent

[AndyMorris]

Dave Larrington wrote:
>
> Why do I have an illogical urge to
> buy an angle grinder every time I set foot in B&Q?

They are wonderful aren't they


--
Andy Morris

AndyAtJinkasDotFreeserve.Co.UK


Love this:
Put an end to Outlook Express's messy quotes
http://home.in.tum.de/~jain/software/oe-quotefix/

[Dave Kahn]

On Wed, 9 Jun 2004 09:57:38 +0100, "Dave Larrington" >
wrote:

>One can never have too many /tools/[1].
<snip>
>1 - Except garden tools, obv. Gardening is one of Stan's greatest
>creations..

My dad used to leave his garden tools out in the garden on principle.
He said it would make the neighbours think he did a lot of gardening.

--
Dave...

Get a bicycle. You will not regret it. If you live. - Mark Twain

[Dave Larrington]

AndyMorris wrote:

> Dave Larrington wrote:
>>
>> Why do I have an illogical urge to
>> buy an angle grinder every time I set foot in B&Q?
>
> They are wonderful aren't they

I have managed so far to resist the temptation, but my grate frend John has
two[1] which, he says, are his favourite power tools. He is wont to refer
to them as "sparky spanners".

1 - he does a fair bit of faffing about with Land-Rovers, so I suppose this
is justified...

--

Dave Larrington - http://www.legslarry.beerdrinkers.co.uk/
================================================== =========
Editor - British Human Power Club Newsletter
http://www.bhpc.org.uk/
================================================== =========

[Just zis Guy, you know?]

Dave Larrington wrote:

[of angle grinders]

> I have managed so far to resist the temptation, but my grate frend
> John has two[1] which, he says, are his favourite power tools. He is
> wont to refer to them as "sparky spanners".

I have a 9" one (fnaar fnaar) which cost a measly twenty quid from Messrs
Screwfix. I reckon if it wears out I'll have justified replacing it with a
better quality one (which is my usual reasoning with power tools).

Guy
--
"The trouble with the facts about the law-breaking of the motorists and the
motor interests is
that there are too many: it is difficult even to grasp them. In fact, the
position has long since
passed far beyond the limits of ordinary law-breaking and become an
exhibition of national
degeneracy." - JS Dean, 1947

[Colin Blackburn]

On Tue, 15 Jun 2004 11:27:51 +0100, Just zis Guy, you know?
> wrote:

> Dave Larrington wrote:
>
> [of angle grinders]
>
>> I have managed so far to resist the temptation, but my grate frend
>> John has two[1] which, he says, are his favourite power tools. He is
>> wont to refer to them as "sparky spanners".
>
> I have a 9" one (fnaar fnaar) which cost a measly twenty quid from Messrs
> Screwfix. I reckon if it wears out I'll have justified replacing it
> with a
> better quality one (which is my usual reasoning with power tools).

Same here, well mine is only 4.5 inches :-( and from Argos and a tad
cheaper. But it's done the job I bought it for and a few others.

PS notice PS on radio4 this morning!

Colin

[Just zis Guy, you know?]

Colin Blackburn wrote:

> PS notice PS on radio4 this morning!

Yes, his comments are given more promience than those of the Secretary of
State for Transport on BBCi. Apparently the recentincrease in drink-driving
is due to the police spending too much time on speeding, not drivers
driking. Or the propaganda effect of opposition to lower limits and random
breath tests. He is a twunt.

--
Guy
===
May contain traces of irony. Contents liable to settle after posting.
http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk

[Colin Blackburn]

On Tue, 15 Jun 2004 11:45:28 +0100, Just zis Guy, you know?
> wrote:

> Colin Blackburn wrote:
>
>> PS notice PS on radio4 this morning!
>
> Yes, his comments are given more promience than those of the Secretary of
> State for Transport on BBCi. Apparently the recentincrease in
> drink-driving
> is due to the police spending too much time on speeding,

But I thought the claim was that the police spent no time on speeding due
to that job being done by cameras. Now suddenly they spend their time
dealing with speeding.

> not drivers
> driking. Or the propaganda effect of opposition to lower limits and
> random
> breath tests. He is a twunt.

Far too polite.

Colin

[Just zis Guy, you know?]

Colin Blackburn wrote:

> But I thought the claim was that the police spent no time on speeding
> due to that job being done by cameras. Now suddenly they spend their
> time dealing with speeding.

Ah, now you're expecting consistency...

How's this for a lovely observation:

"In this connection may also be noted the different standard of conduct
frequently- and, in some degree, always- applied to the pedestrian in
contrast from the drivers. [...] we continue to be told that what is really
required in the drivers is, " skill." So long as a driver is "skilful," so
we are assured, he can be trusted to go as fast as he likes: 100 mp.h- 200
m.p.h.- at super-sonic speeds presumably: so long as he is "skilful" no one
need get hurt, or, if they do, it will be their own fault. But with the
pedestrian it is different. What is needed here is "care": "care" and ever
more "care": "care" carried to the point with old persons and children of
staying away from the roads altogether and living lives of permanent
immobility in their own homes. The pedestrian must continually "pause " and
"wait" and "watch": everything about him must be "deliberate": he must never
exceed "a measured pace." He is a "menace," and no matter how "skilful" he
may be he must never, in any circumstances, no matter how safe they may be,
proceed at speeds of four or five m.p.h."

Written in 1947 by JS Dean, chairman of the Pedestrian's Association, in his
book "Murder Most Foul"
<url:http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk/web/public.nsf/Documents/Murder_Most_Fo
ul> - amazing how little things have changed since then, really. It even
applies to the perennial helmet debate.

p.s. - nicked the PDF from Howard, with acknowledgements.

--
Guy
===
May contain traces of irony. Contents liable to settle after posting.
http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk

[David Martin]

On 15/6/04 11:32 am, in article , "Colin
Blackburn" > wrote:

> On Tue, 15 Jun 2004 11:27:51 +0100, Just zis Guy, you know?
> > wrote:

>> Dave Larrington wrote:

>> [of angle grinders]

>>> I have managed so far to resist the temptation, but my grate frend
>>> John has two[1] which, he says, are his favourite power tools. He is
>>> wont to refer to them as "sparky spanners".

>> I have a 9" one (fnaar fnaar) which cost a measly twenty quid from Messrs
>> Screwfix. I reckon if it wears out I'll have justified replacing it
>> with a
>> better quality one (which is my usual reasoning with power tools).

> Same here, well mine is only 4.5 inches :-( and from Argos and a tad
> cheaper. But it's done the job I bought it for and a few others.

I have a baby one (4 inch) for tidying up my shockingly bad welding. I did
have my fathers 9 inch one (3kw) but couldn't plug it in to the 16amp ring
main as it tripped it every time.

But for real jobs I borrow a friends Stihl saw.. Fantastic beast. Great for
cutting up old concrete, especially if you plug the garden hose into it to
keep the dust down.

...d

[Graeme]

"Just zis Guy, you know?" > wrote in
:

> I have a 9" one (fnaar fnaar) which cost a measly twenty quid from
> Messrs Screwfix. I reckon if it wears out I'll have justified
> replacing it with a better quality one (which is my usual reasoning
> with power tools).
>

I'm really surprised at the price of these things these days. I bought a
wee 5" one a few months back for about 8 quid! Okay, the spindle lock bust
after a total of about 20 disks worth of use. If I were so minded I could
treat it as disposable (it cost less than the disks), but I just jam a
spanner behind the disk to change them now, so the cheap-skate side of me
is happy :-)

Graeme