Vanny

I've got three Dremels at work, and the missus has a hand held jobbie for jewelery making. I use mine more for cutting plastics and finishing rapid prototype parts, she uses hers for polishing and drilling. We tend to have the same complaints, you have to take your time or you burn through the accessories, and you end up with a better finish. You'll find an initial glut of spending on things like the larger collets, and variety boxes. These days she tends to buy the cheapo kits from ALDI when they come around and finds identical performance to the Dremel ones, but when in doubt we both revert to B&Q's pretty extensive range of genuine Dremel. I've bought two Dremels direct from a web based company i can't remember the name of, but the Dremel its self worked out at about £20. Cheaper than repairing a broken one annoyingly. Also, she tend to get miniature drill bits from APTC (Axminster Power Tool Center) in Nuneaton, probably because thats where i send her!

At long bloody last, it's about time. Just don't go a trash it on your first day out! Now you only have the 109, Merc, kit car and Mini to complete, should have them done just as you retire

Well its a UK vehicle from new, the company that own it bought it new from a local UK dealer in 2006. I appreciate this doesn't automatically mean it's a UK model mind. It is RHD though so i guess it could only be a Japanese spec model? I don't know much about the Discovery to be honest. Makes a great sound though! On the economy front, it has cost about 20quid to do around 60 miles (1.04ppl at the pump) so thats around 14mpg. Slightly worrying as the traffic i've been sat in has been a fairly consistent 50 to 60 on the motorway, i'd have expected a bit more miles per pence. But it's gone back now, fun while it lasted, and a new found respect for the Disco!

Hi all, I've been enjoying the relative pleasure of a V8 Supercharge Disco 3 for the last two day (loaner while my car is repaired) and i'm wondering if anyone has an idea of the fuel economy? I've only done 50miles so far so can't guage it myself. I've tried searching but found nothing, i'd be happy for pointers in the right direction if the information is already out there. Cheers

I use PTC's Pro Engineer Wildfire 4 and once you get used to where tools are hidden (very different layout to AutoCAD/Desk IMHO) then it is an incredibly useful program and quite easy to see when your going wrong. My understanding is that CoCreate is a cut down of ProE so should be good!

Is there anysort of generic system which can use any given hardware. I have a peak systems PCAN USB interface which works great with the JAG/LR hardware i deal with at work, but the software we have is very specific to individual pieces of car, ie i can't use the software to read engine fault codes. Looking at the website it looks like the Launch X431 is pretty much buried in hardware, and not generic.

You can still work on electrics 'DIY' under part-p, you simply have to get the work validated afterwards. Major things can require various amounts of paper work, but it is still cheaper in the long run to do it yourself (assuming your competent that is). Also to do the part P exams is a one off fee of around £50, so long as you can manage your own learning and get the right teaching materials (ebay £4), then even the most occasional of DIYers could get them selves qualified to sign off on basic changes.

10mm 3 core feed to the garage also helps, can't half pack a bit of juice down one of them! 6mm twin and earth is not for winners

Cheers Bowie, will give it a go and see what happens. I haven't made an actual PCB for a good ten years, typically it seems quicker to just knock stuff up on vero board, but its rare these days that i make any circuits. Probably can' t do it at all anymore

Mobile phone batteries you can lob in a microwave and nuke for a couple of seconds to recharge. But i hold no responcibility if you blow the bugger up!

Have you tried PoleVolt rather than VWP? I stopped ordering through VWP when I went to put a £350+ order in and the guy on the phone wasn't interested/couldn't be bothered to take the order. PoleVolt on the other hand is a guy in a shed setup, really friendly, and usually you can an/change the order until the early evening when the parcel man comes to collect. Prices are about the same, but the help and advice is much better. Bowie69, what program did you use to draw the wiring schematic? I tend to use PSpice but it doesn't half take some effort, i wondered if there was an easier to use cheap/free solution?

If its a standard plumbing size could you use a couple of compression fit joints and flexible braided pipe length (similar to that fitted to some sink taps)?

my feeling is that the setup should be lever left for loose, lever right for tight (lefty loosey, righty righty), since that is the was most fittings do up. My tool box has a mix of US ratchets (that use this system) and UK ratchets that are the opposite way round. These days i find there is such a mix that i just check as i go unless i know for definite which way the ratchet is setup.