merry christmas

Merry Christmas more post in the new year thanks for reading cheers stewart

Qualifications and tickets

I have spoken about tickets being revoked by the N.S.W government before. Well I have heard of it happening again!  This is how the story goes, An electrical ticket was obtained from the fair trading department to work as a licensed electrician. The appropriate qualifications were produced and the license was issued. Several years went past and on the last job the customer inquired about the ticket at the fair trading with the numbers supplied by the electrician. Turns out that the ticket was a forgery given by one of the fair tradings employees doing some moonlighting. The electrician again paid his fees and was given a legitimate ticket and all was well for three weeks when the ticket was cancelled because the electrician was deemed to be a person of dubious character and was not deemed fit to have a license and again the ticket was cancelled. Fed up with all the crap the electrician went to Canberra in the  A.C.T  and obtained a ticket there. The fair trading having spent heaps of money had to stop the electrician and told him that they didn't recognize the A.C.T license. During his time working with the forgery license he was never charged with doing a bad job or cutting corners, the electrician is now out of work. So here it is the trainers of Australian technical and further education (TAFE) and the licensing authorities don't recognize each others qualifications. How obserd is that.
 Not true then that is one heck of a story....

drug sub

Sorry for the bad quality as it was getting dark. The wheel is from the rubbish tip and I have to make something to hold it to the steering shaft. The controls are set up on the dash and cables have to be ordered to the correct length.

Energy saving light bulbs are falsely marketed! Power = Volts * Current or volts x amps.
Nelson have a compact fluro light Australian approval CA V04116 ..Now taking the data from the light bulb DCELS15bccw6p - 15w 220 -240-50hz 87mA

Now if you take there figures that are written on the 15watt bulb, the true power used is 20.8 watts not 15watts as stated
therefore from ohms law Power drawn form supply = 240 x 87mA = 20.88watts. All this is controlled by the Fair Trading department and it shows that the department gets it wrong on many occasions.
You can see there is a problem as they state there bulb uses Watts 15 watts of power but if you work it out from the values printed on the bulb it works out to be 20.88watts, I guess it takes Watt or Eddison  to work this out cause the Fair Trading Department can't.

locus control

Locus control can be done with ten meter high bright green fences made from shade cloth. When the swarms hit the fence, insect spray is then immediately sprayed on the little critters as they try to eat the cloth. The cloth would have to be fastened to the ground to stop them going under the cloth. There it is for free to use. This would be used to protect crops. This fence would have to be a quick erect fence to hit the swarms on flat ground where the fences could be erected in minutes by a crew of men specially trained to do the job like a racing car pit crew.  The cloth would have to be green of a special colour to attract the locus in flight. Cheers Stewart

defective buildings

I have sent an email to myself about two building one in Wollongong and the other in Sydney.They both are high rise buildings and have rhythmic swaying in the floors which to my mind seems excessive.
My old mate told me of a similar problem and the harmonic vibration was tracked to a small compressor in the basement of the building. The end result would have been a collapse of the building.
I know I complain a lot so that is why I have not named them also as my son is in the legal business he advises against me taking this action. We will wait and see.

bitchen in Tasmania update

Robertsons Bridge – Wielangta Road

DATE 04/11/2010

In recognition of the Wielangta Road’s importance to the local community, tourists, and the forest industry, the State Government recently announced that it would provide funding of $500,000 to construct a replacement for the now-closed Robertsons Bridge.
Forestry Tasmania is overseeing the works, and it is expected that the road will re-open to through traffic early in 2011. Gunns Limited, which maintains the road, will fund the cost of removing the old bridge.
Robertsons Bridge, which provided the crossing on the Wielangta Road over the Sandspit River, was erected in 1987-88 of timber construction. It would normally have been expected to have a working life of 25 years. However, decay was more rapid than expected due to the damp forest environment, and the bridge was closed following an engineering assessment carried out after heavy rains in July 2009. Consequently, the Wielangta Road, previously an important link between the east coast and Tasman Peninsula, has also been closed to through traffic since this time.
Forestry Tasmania, supported by specialist environmental advice, has completed a thorough assessment of the site, including surveys of the site’s flora, fauna, geology, soil and water, cultural values, stakeholder issues and operational requirements. These assessments will ensure that any unfavourable impacts from the site works can be minimised or mitigated, for example, preventative measures will be put in place to control sediment movement in the river.
A formal cultural heritage record of the old bridge, which was of traditional construction and built from local blue gum, has also been compiled.
If required for safety reasons, specific hazardous trees near the work site may need to be felled.
Current road safety requirements will ensure improvements to guarding and sight distances at the approaches to the bridge. Additionally, signs will be installed to warn traffic to give way at the crossing and slow down near the Sandspit picnic area.
The Sandspit Forest Reserve, which includes a picnic area adjacent to the bridge, will be closed to the public during the reconstruction works.

So sorry for the miners families.

There could be further explosions in the pike river mine, The mine would have to be flooded with inert gas or water to be sure the fires at out  before anyone goes in that mine again. I feel so sorry for the families of those miners.

golden staf

I have been given antibiotics for Golden Staf and the only place I could have got it from was the washing machine. I got the infection round the wrists and on the front of my legs. This being the places the washed clothes and the disease laden water would have touched me. Thanks to WHIRLPOOL FOR HELPING ME WITH THE PROBLEM, like fuck they did. So here it is be warned, there is a fault with the new washing machines on the market today as they don't have a lint filter on them. I have sent a copy of this to ALAYNE_GOODWIN@whirlpool.com and will advise you of the results. Please feel free to contact them yourself if you have one of the above machines and are worried about this post and get a guarantee for your self.

mine explosion

When you have an explosion that rips the ventilation fan off its base there is not much hope of someone left in the mine. If you look at the images of the NZ blast you will notice the carbon marks on the trees near the entrance. This was a methane and or coal dust explosion and the cause was some sort of ignition most likely from a hot roller on a belt. When these explosions hit they give no warning and every thing is blown from original resting place. Pipes twisted like spaghetti and blown to the nearest intersection. Pit props blown out and unsafe conditions are all that there is left.  If you watch the video you will see how they treat the explosion as if it is nothing.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fc0GqjPvZ7Q  
or the closed tank explosion http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxhEln1LiYk&feature=related Which I think was irresponsible as the tank could have blown to smithereens could you imagine the pressure that was instantly in that tank. Or this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XM2TbddOhN0&feature=related  That was on the surface how would it have been underground sucking up all the air to burn. There is still a big risk of the mine exploding again.
I will let you know this is serious stuff and should be treated with respect. I know as I worked in a coal mine doing underground roof support and working with methane gas. There is a culture in coal mines that needs to be changed, My father worked in a coal mine and there was a fire in the mine that he worked at and he was lucky to get out. I suffered burns to my face and chest from a gas explosion in a model boat that I made and this was about half a ltr. of gas and air. I do hope for miracles though. I was lucky to be carried out Wongawilli mine on a stretcher and still be able to walk and live the rest of my life. Yes I do have mental scars.

ACCC

The ACCC is set up to stop monopolies taking over and stopping competition in Australia. This is a commendable roll but I know they have lost there way. I know that David Hughes called the boss of the ACCC a Pseudo professor wonder why....?

drug sub

Drug sub is probably not a good image to portray for a recycled sailing boat. This lead me to what to call it, Its made from glass and plastic commonly called glass reinforced plastic ( G.R.P.) Now if it going to float then Jesus what a miracle.
So we put the two together and we get Plastic Jesus.
Now there is this song Plastic Jesus  which is a fun song about a plastic Jesus doll riding on the dash board of a car. This doll is filled with booze which is a drug of one kind which brings us back to weather the boat is going to sink!
Drug sub, and it looks like one a bit.
Think it all ties in so there it is. That's how I came about with the name. Plastic Jesus...


I have been working on the navigation lights and interior lights and doing the wiring which is all soldered and shrunk wrapped on all joints. There is also a hole on the interior of the boat that has been fixed and still needs about an hours work to finish. All of these jobs are not ones that I will bore you with but need to be done. I have just ordered a 6 HP Tohatsu four stroke outboard motor .with power propellor and control stuff so this will be installed in the coming weeks.

Starshipchurch

 Warning
Starshipchurch  
This is where I do some mad thinking. But please look and don't be offended as I did offend my readers there and they all stopped reading. Yes all of them so be warned it might make you think. Just click on the word starshipchurch

Good work I found this on the net under rubbish makes my day seeing someone do clean up work

Rubbish man gutted

Kathryn Greensill | 27th July 2010

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Henry the rubbish man was torn apart on Saturday night

IT was a dirty and low act.
After The Morning Bulletin on Friday highlighted Des Covey's efforts to clean up a section of the Capricorn Highway by packing litter into orange overalls to create rubbish men, someone disembowelled one of the creations.
It was no way to say thank-you to the Gracemere engineering contractor who braves the blazing sun on the road between Rockhampton and Gracemere in his spare time, collecting rubbish.
One of his creations named Henry was sitting alongside the highway on Friday night, when vandals attacked.
By morning Henry had been torn apart, leaving a pile of rubbish sitting around him.
Rockhampton couple Noelene and Phil Smith were appalled to see Des's hard work gone to waste.
“It's disgusting,” Noelene said.
“Somebody's out there trying to do good for the community and then someone just goes out and deliberately destroys it. We just want to encourage (Des) to keep up the good work.”
The couple said they couldn't understand why someone would do something so deliberately destructive.
“We don't know Des but it was really good to see the article and see what he's doing,” Phil said.
“I was a bit concerned on the weekend to see that it looked like it had been shredded and someone had undone his good work. Instead of destroying something they should do something constructive.”
Don Close, of Close Constructions said the people responsible should be found and punished.
“I think it's despicable,” Don said.
“Someone, out of the kindness of their heart, is doing the clean-up like he is and he's doing a tremendous job. It's really good to see how clean he's got the highway looking. It's really disappointing to see that someone can just come along and wilfully destroy his work. They should be found and made to clean up another street.”
Don was glad, however, to see someone had stopped on Saturday to clean up the mess.
“There were two vehicles and they looked as though they must have seen the rubbish and come back to clean it up,” he said.
Don said he hoped it didn't discourage Des from continuing his good work.
Des did not want to comment further on the situation, for fear of further repercussions.

Had a small job waylay me

I did this small job to a dingy that had a hole smashed into it, It is easy to do small jobs like this one the photo shows the finished result.

Front end loader

The photos of the front end loader were taken today. It has just come back in my hands after fifteen years away. It was built in my shop by my son who was fourteen at the time. It is capable of lifting over a 1/4 of a ton on it forks. 

It has two Toyota diffs in it, one is turned upside down and are coupled together making it four wheel drive, it is articulated and the gearbox is from a Toyota Dyna truck. The axils have been shortened about six inches on both sides if the center. This is done with an angle grinder cutting threw the housing and the axils and then re welding the pieces back together. The hydrolics came from the scrap yards, This is hard to do these days as they wont sell to the public for fear of insurance claims, crazy isn't it.

The machine weighs about three quarters of a ton. It evolved to where it is as the original hydrolic pump was a piston pump and has the movements of start and stop as the pump delivered its load to the cylinders. Finally a vane pump was found and installed with smooth operation as a result. He went on to make a hydrolic car for the Shell mileage marathon and a hydrolic train as seen in a previous post.

He is now a electrical engineer and was considered a no hopper at school. He built a truck and took it to the school fete and made  the school hundreds of dollars for the school by giving rides and was never given any credit or thanks, If he played football by there rules they would have given him everything, he was good at football but hurt too many of the players and wasn't allowed to play. I wont tell anymore as he gets embarrassed by me telling his stories. Nuff said. The photos speak for them selves.

drug sub

For all those of you who have been waiting to see the sub in the water you will have to wait a little longer. Is it going to float or turn turtle? I am thinking the same and am a bit apprehensive myself, Will I come out smelling roses or will I have egg on my face? The suspense is getting to me as well.
The big question is who is running the betting as I would like to have a bet myself say 50 cents each way.
Cheers Stewart

Want to buy a boat

From my experience the most fun was had with the smaller boats. Now with that said what to look for?
 The deeper the boat the safer the boat! I would rather 12" of free-board than 6" less chance to take water over the sides. Decking amounts to more free-board.  Engine size, The bigger the engine the more it costs to run. With that said you need to match the power correctly with the size of the boat. I had a sixteen footer with a 25 hp engine and updated to a forty and the fuel consumption went down. Shallow lakes can get large swells so I would recommenced to have a high front to keep out the water. I had the bow raised on my boat to five feet and on the lake I used it I took green waves over the front. The wider the boat the more stable, again if bilge keels are attached then the stability is increased. Drop center boards increase stability. If you go slower you see more and on the water time doesn't count as you have all day to get there. Most people these days have the hurry worry disease and its fatal. No hurry no worry. Now if it takes more than a day to get there then you need a boat that you can sleep on. Then there is the weather rain or just the heat of the sun or the wind so some sort of cover is needed.
With this boat you will also need to get back in the boat if you fall out. Must have a ladder available at all times. Then if the motor breaks down some sort of auxiliary power is needed so a small sail or a kite is more efficient than oars. Water is collected from the roof, if you have one. Its all about self sufficiency as you just don't get out and walk home when things go wrong.
The must haves are emergency radio beacons on the person as well as buoyancy vests as you don't know when you might end up in the drink.
If you are out at night navigation lights are essential and red interior light to keep night vision.
I will add to this post as things come to mind, The boat described above is my drug sub but you might like other features so give it a go. My little 8 foot tug boat could take waves over the deck and hit the wheel house and remain dry inside where a open boat would have sunk. The best boats are not necessarily the spruced up expensive boats.
In Sydney Australia they made a little motor called the Chapman pup and was 2.5hp. I was looking for parts for one of these and met the maker of this motor who took it on a voyage up the east coast of Australia and it took several months to see if it would last and it performed exceptionally and this was in a sixteen foot open boat. I can't think of the blokes name but he was in his seventy's when he told me of the story, I must admit I was Humbled in the presence of this man.

rex roberts

I received this comment and decided it needed a posting all of its own. This is the first photos that I have seen of his works,I think this is an earlier one of his works as the windows are not sloping.I thank Scott pond studios for taking the time to send this. Cheers Stewart


Scott Pond Studios has left a new comment on your post "Just read this fantastic book":


Rex Roberts was a man ahead of his time. He believed in building houses that were practical and served the needs of their owners. We have a Roberts' designed house for sale in Troy, New Hampshire. If anyone wants to check out the photos, you will see how how Roberts put his ideas into action.


http://newhampshireruralhouseforsale.blogspot.com/

Neverwas trike.... This is weird like Neverwas Haul

More work is happening with the wheels being put on. The frame is welded and the steering heads are in place. The rear wheels steer and have suspension so this will give it a firmer hold of the road. It is at this stage questions are will it be stable at speed. The rider sits where the piece of wood is. The big black tube is from a bed head The pink bike is upside down and the two front ends are from a BMX bike front end with suspension. I tack welded the thing together and the local muffler place welded it with mig welder for strength. The trailer behind is for the drug sub. The trike will not be shown as it was too dangerous.

news flash

New information has come to light as to how Humphrey lost his leg. He was seen out at the dog on the tucker-box late one night and was teasing the dog with a stick. The dog being made of bronze was hard to stir and when he did he tore off  Humfrey's leg. Humfrey thought he would be in trouble so he made up the story of the mice. I am not shore what the white stuff on the dogs face is, he is either crying for what he did or it is Humfrey's stuffing. He is sitting there as if to say it wasn't me ....So children don't tease dogs with a stick cause they might bite.

Before and after flood

New recumbant bike

I am building a recumbent bike, It will be front wheel drive and rear wheel steer so here is the start.

New recumbant bike

I am building a recumbent bike, It will be front wheel drive and rear wheel steer so here is the start.

drug sub

I was asked a question as to how I fixed the top to the hull. Around the joint area there was 2" by 1/4" flat bar shaped to fit the fiberglass boat and was bolted into position and the cabin was welded to this. In the photo the flat bar is shown. Under the fiberglass large washers 2"x2" were placed to spread the load. Silicon sealant was used to seal the joint. The cabin was tack welded to this flat bar and the whole lot was taken off to fully weld. There was little scorching of the glass surface.

Humphery Bear at Gundagai

Humphrey was at Gundagai when the river flooded and then came the mice plague. Humphrey being a placid thing could not let the mice starve he offered his foot for them to eat. When found on a recent trip he was hemorrhaging his bits on the floor. With out a thought his left leg was amputated without anesthetic and he made a full recovery. The picture below shows him sitting on the front fence.

The next photo shows Humphrey playing hide and seek sitting in a tree hiding from a little girl.

He also went swimming in the Murrumbidgee river in all his clothes. He could have found a cleaner part of the river to play.
Humphrey asked to come to Nowra to live as he said he doesn't like the mice anymore and the next photo shows Humphrey visiting Goulburn on the way to Nowra.

gundagai river flood

River floods have done damage seen and unseen. The unseen is the rabbit burrows filling with water and softening the soils deep into the ground. The above photo shows the result combined with the removal of trees that all help each other to buffer strong winds. This tree is as old as European settlement in this country and the question is why did it fall over. If I get comments I can delve deeper into this as I have more information and photos

drug sub

Those drug subs that the Columbians build are probably one of the best types of boats made for the open ocean. I read where they crossed the Atlantic ocean in a similar boat with a small Tohatsu outboard motor.  please check out the following http://www.tohatsu.com/news/seiko.html . Maybe I should use one of there motors.

strawler

I have put the port and starboard lights on and have had to get more parts and have to spend more time to get all the parts. The photo shows the installation.

drug sub

The windows are in. Looks like one of those drug subs! It wouldn't be hard to make a drug sub from steel and set it up to move automatically to a destination and sink to await being woken up by the owners.  The welds are strong and have good penetration as seen in the below photo.

Then there is the view from the stern and a bow photo.

strawler

Windows marked out ready to cut. I made them small so if they get broken in a heavy sea then there is only a small hole. I am using 6mm lexan for the glass.

just a number......

We gave 500 dollars to the rspca those people who look after the animals and told them it was a one off payment. Our name then goes onto a list and out come the letters begging for money at least a hundred of them.
I decided to ring them to stop the postal service getting all the money we gave them. They answered promptly and it wasn't a machine. The request was made to take us off the list but I needed the number on the letter. I was just a number to them not a name. I was lucky I had the letter and the number was there to give them and I was taken from the list. Now I have to get my number off all the other lists that have been sold to someone else. We thought that it would be nice to give  to the animals.

strawler --- drug sub

More windows go in to stop it looking like a drug boat.

strawler

The shape is looking good it looks like one of those drug subs I see on the net. If it was loaded with two tons of drugs it would sink deep in the water like those subs so I think with out the weight if will be a good sea boat.  I think I have just given a idea to those sub builders and the drug barons, would be nice if they the barons paid me for the idea. I aint into drugs so to be caught on the open sea in this thing I think I might get arrested.

strawler--drug sub

The windows have to be cut in and you can use an angle grinder with one of those thin cutting wheels on it for the straights and a jigsaw for the corners.

strawler

 More work on the shed! If it don't work it will make an expensive shed, it is looking good with the hand rails on the roof and the navigation  lights at the end of the rails. Mounting hand rails you only need an inch of clearance for your fingers to fit behind the rails with comfort. this next photo is looking from the inside of the boat.

This photo above shows the hand rails on the cabin sides.

The final photo shows the general layout of the cabin on the boat.
 Fitting out will commence in the coming days.

strawler -- drug sub

This photo taken looking from the bottom.More work done and it looks good, the weight is not a problem.The photos speak for them selves.

This is the finished product fully welded.
Just some hand rails to go on.

strawler

The cabin roof is in place and welded at the top