Superpants

Sorry to see that. Hope it is recoverable

I've used them for small brackets, which the work well for. There are quarter turn types about, although not sure who supplys them.

Another vote for the celotex/ kingspan- Built a workshop last year, and been able to use it through the winter with minimal heating. It also works well for deading sound. I used this lot as a supplier: http://stores.ebay.co.uk/secondsandco?_trksid=p2047675.l2563 Tehy sell Kingspan seconds. The definition of second is pretty good-usually things such as dinked corners or out of spec thickness, but nothing to worry about for a shed.

You'd also potentailly fall into the trap that affects the boy racers- spending loads of money on an old car, that then is still not worth the raw cost of what has been spent on it, let alone any cost for the labour. You'd therefore have to be doing it because you want to!

Just came across another tool like this when looking for something else; http://kapcoaero.com/products/e-drill/

It is possible to make your own- the basic premise is pretty simple- my Dad made one up although I'm not sure he has used it anywhere other than the bench at home

Si, How about entering with the electric freelander? Could be a first on the challange scene?

I've had a similar problem with the police control room before. What we did was made sure they wrote in their notes a description- the person in the control room may well not have the local knowledge the guy coming out might have.

You say there is a direct link and then say ‘I think’: that is not a direct link, it is a conclusion you have drawn. If you have some evidence- perhaps you could share it, otherwise this is little better than scaremongering!!! Simon’s comment about dogs is interesting, but I can’t find any evidence to back that up either. The most comprehensive article I can find makes no link with scrap thefts: http://www.kentnews.co.uk/leisure/dog_owners_warned_of_dramatic_rise_in_pet_thefts_1_1950859 There is no link claimed either in the press release on the Kent Police website. Perhaps you could point us to the source? I don’t disagree with you on the last point that metal thefts are a big issue- we have had visits at work (thankfully nothing taken), and have to remain vigilant- our neighbours were not so lucky, I’m just not convinced that a relatively small change in steel price implies the effect of an increase in other thefts.

I'm afraid I don't agree with that logic; I don't see a direct link. If something is easy to steal, easy to pass on and get a good price for, then that is independent of what price scrap is fetching. Secondly- it's the higher value metals such as copper and lead that tend to drive thefts, so I find it unlikely a small percentage change in scrap steel prices will affect those thefts.

Whilst it's interesting to hear of a change in scrap prices, i'm not sure that I follow the logic that this will increase thefts...... If it's more difficult to sell scrap metal, and the price drops, surely that's a disincentive to theft? It's also just pure speculation about one section of our community which I find somewhat disappointing.

IIRC this is a good aftermarket tool for this type of terminal; http://www.lasertools.co.uk/item.aspx?item=3175

A quick search using the google image search and following some links pulls up this http://www.4x4dergi.com/hurda-arac-israfi/ As the likely original source- looks like Turkey. A very rough translation is; http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=tr&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.4x4dergi.com%2Fhurda-arac-israfi%2F

I regularly keep an eye on http://woodgears.ca/ which has some pretty impressive wooden wood working tools amongst it's projects. His marble machines are also spectacular!

I have done the 4 day introduction to solidworks course and found it very useful- if you understand the correct way to set up the model, it makes life so much easier when you come to make changes. This is something i didn't appreciate form the books, trying it on my own. The resellers will often offer subsidised courses if they think you are going to buy the software- it may be worth looking into doing it that way!

For most users, crimping with a suitable tool (let’s not resurrect the I just crimp it in a vice method!) will enable you to produce a consistent, reliable joint with no risk of collateral damage- melted insulation etc. I wrote a fairly comprehensive instructable on this relatively recently, from which the following is the relevant extracts regarding soldering; “Crimp systems are designed to compact the wire strands together to a set level so that no interstitial spaces (gaps) are left between the strands. This stops both moisture and oxygen entering the crimp and therefore prevents corrosion from occurring. If this is correctly carried out, soldering the rear of a crimp (as some people will recommend) will have no effect on the corrosion resistance of the joint as there will be no space for the solder to enter. Ultimately the crimp process aims to deform the wire and crimp to a preset level, to eliminate the spaces as well as cold work the wire to a pre-determined level.” “Soldering- you may see recommendations to solder crimps elsewhere. There is absolutely no need to solder any crimp. In fact you may reduce the reliability of the crimp by doing so. Crimps are designed to control the flexure of cable at the entry point. Soldering can stiffen the joint and result in premature failure.” http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Make-A-Quality-Crimped-Joint/

I’ve just gone through a workshop building project, and ended up building in timber as the cost was significantly better than doing it in brick/ block and aesthetically looks better than steel. If you go for a standard shed, you are unlikely to get the wall thickness that you would need to get a decent thickness of insulation in. My construction used mostly 3”x 2” timber, and was therefore able to get 65mm kingspan seconds (about 1/3rd price of new) in the walls. In a garage sized building the temperature is soon (30mins or so) up to a working temp with just a standard fan heater, even in the coldest weather. Another thing to consider with standard sheds is wall height and headroom- most of them are pitifully low!

I was at a conference yesterday where Bob Joyce- JLR engineering director spoke. The things relevant I took away from his presentation are: JLR are very heavily targeting weight of vehicles, so expect to see a lot more structural use of aluminium and composite panels The seperate chassis looks highly unlikely to continue on into the new Defender A picture of the defender was put up with the comment "you're not supposed to see that".... Obviously joking, but intimating the defender (in some form) is part of the long term plan for JLR

I'd start by looking at the polyurethanes that are available- there are certainley some grades used in industrial castors- there are also some quite 'tacky' types used in printing rollers. In fact a company making printing rollers could probably apply the material for you.

I didn't mention the Lucas switches as last time I looked the supply of them wasn't very reliable- that may have changed now. Information wasn't also forthcoming on the available options. It is good for a driver to 'instinctively' know where relevant switches are, and especially important in racing (one of the reasons F1 drivers have their own steering wheels customised to put switches in the right places for them (often Otto switches)). However there are good reasons to ensure legends/ tell tales are fitted; For our uses: Legislation- some of this is required to meet current legislation- particularly important for those trying to build a vehicle to meet IVA. Commonality- If you meet the common standards, anyone driving the car (MOT tester/ co-driver or girlfriend etc) can correctly identify the switches. This would be especially important for those who have esoteric (to the general public) items fitted to the car, particularly where inadvertent operation could be damaging. For manufacturers: There are other reasons an OEM would want to use accepted symbols & legends including; Branding Operation without language barriers No need for special training of drivers Common styling between vehicles

Switches seem to be an emotive subject- the OEMs spend huge amounts of time & effort getting the look, feel and lighting right on their mainstream cars with countless discussion/arguments. Personally I like the rocker type switches and prefer them over toggles in vehicle use, but whether it is Carling or someone elses is just a personal preference. Key technical advantages of rockers over toggles are: Legends- on the switch, potentially easier to read than under a toggle. Illumination- Toggles can only have simple illumination, rockers can have a wide variety that enables easy identification and status; Single or double legends, off when switched off and on when on or dim when off and bright when on, dimmable with panel dimmer, two colours in two legends etc etc. Variation- there are a huge range of circuitry options & numbers of poles available beyond the simple SPST, SPDT, DPST,DPDT & Centre biased options with toggles. This can simplify wiring significantly. Connecterisation- Multiway connector housings available which make wiring up simpler. Colour- Available in many colours which can help with identification in large banks of switches (or help with styling), and particularly identifying such switches as hazard warning which legally have to be identified in red. Other options- Multiway housings available for neat installation, and in some cases other switch functions like headlight levelling can be had in the same package. When at Pinzgauer and trying to sort out switching for our new vehicle I had samples of all the sealed automotive rockers available at the time mounted (stuck) through a paper box lid and had staff voting on them. Stylistically there was no clear winner, so the decision came down to other factors. I think key to why the Carlings have won out in our field is they are technically capable, but key is availability over the other options in singles. The other available parts to the best of my knowledge are; Otto Controls: My personal favourite- well sealed, good LED illumination options, meet military specs, nice rubber covered switches SWF Valeo 511/521 series sold through Britax: Favoured by coaches, reasonable priced, dedicated connectors, wide range of switch options and easily changeable legends with wide range. SWF Valeo 533 also sold through Britax: nicer modern design with advantages of 511 Eaton Sealed Vehicle Rocker: Interchangeable legends, limited range available easily Hella: Similar to SWF 511 but range of legends not so available. Polish Switch- don’t know manufacturers name: Clone of Valeo 511 but of poor quality Carling- You know about

If you talk to your local friendly vehicle breaker, they may be able to put you in touch with a reliable flatbed operator. A previous vehicle I had scrapped was picked up by an independent operator as it wasn't worth the yard running their own. He was open to doing other jobs. Can't find his number now though!

There had been a couple of deaths from Carbon Monoxide poisoning (this is back in the late 90s) in various types of caravan, and so we were carrying out some investigations to work out what recommendations/ information should be made to the industry. Nick is quite correct that CO deaths aren’t normally associated with the burning of a house/ caravan. The two main issues that caused the problem were in lack of ventilation- blocking of gas vents either deliberately or accidently and by a faulty open flame fire. Putting the ceramic radiator in the fire incorrectly chills the flame, causing incomplete combustion and hence CO rather than CO2. In this case the gas generated is still warm and less dense than air, so roof level measurements were higher than lower height ones. In a domestic situation, the generation of CO is almost always going to be associated with a similar method, and so the gas will tend to rise. The levels at which you will be affected vary from person to person but are well below 100 parts per million before someone will be affected adversely. This is a very small quantity of gas.

Many of the smoke alarms/ carbon monoxide detectors on the market used to explicitly state that they weren't suitable for motor vehicles/ caravans- ones that are intended for this type of use will have slightly different instructions than a domestic installation as it is almost impossible to comply with normal fitting instructions- too many doors/ windows/ vents and you practically sleep in the kitchen! I was involved in some experiment on fitting Carbon Monoxide detectors in Caravan Holiday Homes with the HSE- Given the wrong conditions i.e faulty fire and bad ventilation, you’d be surprised how quickly the CO can build to a dangerous level. It was in a few minutes in the worst case. Having said that the detectors worked very well and detected the problem very quickly. CO is not to dissimilar to air density when cold, but it is normally associated with combustion, it tends to be warm and therefore rise. The instructions should take account of this in where they recommend placement so best to follow them- not what someone remembers or tells you on the internet!!!!!!

"Isn't the max vertical load on a tow hitch 75kg or am I confusing that with roof racks??" Unless it's changed, I'm fairly sure that's roof racks! It is down to the car manufacturer to state what they deem to be the safe towbar load (noseweight) and is in the type approval for the vehicle. Whilst there isn't an explicit law against oveloading the towbar, you could be prosecuted under the more general bits of legislation about vehicle safety if anything happened (forget the correct term!) and you were over the recommended figures.