sloth

Not a bad idea matelot, cheers. I'd still be very interested in your idea Alec, I've gone back and re-read it and just can't picture it. I've just cobbled this together from my kids old scooter as a prototype of sorts, as the bearings in it feel full of sand (they may well be!), and I still have 4 wheels in total to sort. This (apart from having already grumbling bearings) seems to work OK secured to the plywood cage side; and there's another wheel I can pinch off the scooter which is completely seized at the moment. So if it works well I can buy some replacement bearings and a cheapo ten quid scooter, and all 4 wheels will hopefully be whisper quiet!

Did they have it 250 years ago though?

9mm ply in most places, could easily make a bit double that though...

The best I could think of was to replace the white sleeve for a suitably sized needle bearing, or something like the drawing below. Glue/epoxy a tight fitting tube into the centre hole of the wheel; get bearings (are they called taper bearings, and would they even work?) to fit snug in each end of the tube; use a wooden back plate 'spacer' to give the wheel clearance from the wall; use nut/bolt/washers to hold it all tight. No idea really if this would work though! Edit: bloody doubled up again!

Sorry for the delay, but hope this helps and makes sense... I didn't measure anything yet, but I think the bolt is 8mm, and the hole in the centre of the wheel is about 15mm (guesstimated, will obviously be sure when it matters) There is a shoulder on the yellow back plate to give clearance between the wheel and the wall, and the white sleeve is slightly shorter than the yellow 'spindle' it slides over, so the bolt doesn't just tighten against the wheel. Edit: not sure why I have doubles of the images? Sorry...

What sort of serious kit are you talking? You're just south of London are you? If so work shouldn't be too hard to find and you should be able to get a decent rate. But if you're thinking decay detection equipment I don't think demand is very high, there are already a few choices dotted about...

No worries, and just noticed that should be 5 - 10g salt, but too late to edit it...

Busy enough given I only want to work part time to fit in around other commitments, but not quite as regular as I'd like it to be, ie nothing all week then three 'urgent can you do it yesterday' calls! Why do you ask?

500g strong white flour 0.5-1g salt (use less if you have salty toppings) 7g yeast (or whatever the packet says for 500g flour) 400g luke warm water 40g olive oil (or toasted sesame is tasty too) A handful of fresh or dry herbs, and maybe some diced onions, fried (and then cooled, so you don't kill the yeast) if you can be arsed. A clove or two of crushed garlic, more wouldn't hurt! Whatever toppings you have 1. Mix the dry ingredients together, then add the water and oil and mix well. It is supposed to be really wet. Either use dough hooks on a mixer for a few minutes, or stretch and fold it a few times. (Stretch and fold probably has a YouTube video - basically with a wet or oilly hand slide your fingers down the far side of the bowl, and stretch the dough up and fold it down towards you. Turn the bowl a quarter round, and repeat three more times. Leave 5 or 10mins, then repeat again. Easier to do than explain, but you should feel the dough have a bit more resistance and sag less each time you do it.) 2. When the dough has noticeably risen a bit, but not necessarily doubled (30ish mins) , generously rub olive oil all over a big flat baking tray, or two smaller ones. Don't worry about oily hands it'll help the next bit. Tip the dough onto the tray then give it one last stretch and fold, and then leave a few mins, to make the next step easier to do without tearing the dough. 3. Stretch the dough out to about a finger thick all over. Then leave for about 45-60mins, until it is two fingers thick and bubbly. 4. While waiting for the 'two fingers thick' stage chop your toppings and preheat the oven to 210*C. 5. Top it, then kind of poke it all over, pushing right down into the dough so most of the toppings are pushed in and its all dimpled - careful not pop all the bubbles though. Drizzle all over with more olive oil and herbs (fresh are much better) and cook for about 20-25mins until golden. Enjoy... I like lots of tomatoes, chunky courgettes, olives, mozzarella, rosemary, basil, pine nuts, sunflower hearts, thick onion rings, wilted spinach, sausage, chorizo ... Anything really, it's all tasty. I often use 300g white 200g strong wholemeal flour to give it a bit more flavour too, add an extra 40g water if you do though. You really can't go far wrong, just don't skimp on toppings and if possible use plenty of fresh herbs. Let us know how it goes...

Mine did too till a few years ago, generally I only do breads or pastries. Actual meals are my wife's realm, more than one saucepan and something will get burnt!

Good stuff. If you want a foolproof delicious foccaccia recipe I can put mine here, it always goes down well and is a world away from anything I ever got in a shop...

Thanks for the update, always appreciated...

Cheers all for the replies. Muttley, that is wonderfully brilliant. Is it under cover at all? I worry any clay exposed to the rain would wash away over time, or crumble when it gets frosty. I suppose it'd be easy to slap more on occasionally, but I can't just keep digging holes in my garden! The clay is at least a foot down, and my garden isn't huge. What about a chimney? A lot I've seen have had a chimney above the door, with the door standing forward of the 'main dome'. I did some reading a long while back when I first considered this, and seem to remember something about it helping with the burn and giving an even heating to the dome...

Seems about right. When I bought plain flat pack boxes to move house last year I was surprised how expensive they were...

Infrared thermo duly noted. And yeah Nikk, any info you gather chuck it on here please - I can't be the only arbtalker to want a wood fired oven!

Any one ever built their own wood fired oven, particularly but not exclusively for pizza. I do love pizza, wholemeal sourdough with loadsa garlic and onion, aubergine, courgettes and camembere & brie... I'd love to hear any experience or tips etc. I may also at some point be digging a small pond, so may have clay for a cob build, maybe. Bricks more likely though. Cheers all...

From the ground, with his shins... Badass

I'm liking that a lot...

Sounds suspicious to me. Woodchipperer, care to elaborate?

Part 8 of the ASB act only applies to hedges, ie. rows of, not single, trees. That blooming great thing (assuming it's not TPOd or in a conservation area) could be cut back to your boundary, if that helps. Your lender or building insurers may insist on a survey, but to be honest no one can say that tree will cause subsidence, even on heavy clay soils, only that it is highly likely. Your (potential) neighbour may not have the financial means to fell it, even if they want to, and offering to pay might be in both of your best interests should you decide you really want the property.

Not that I'm certain as the form overall is not quite right, but could it be a mulberry?

Can't read German I'm afraid. I think I read the book on the AA site is translated from a German one, so maybe the same...

I have wondered about adding less starter to the dough to see if that slows things down, but haven't experimented with that yet. A colder fermentation seems to make it more sour sometimes, which I'm not too keen on...

Depends what mood I'm in, and being self employed /working from home helps too. The last week has seen my sourdough go from a 10 first rise to just 6, which is a bit of a pain - so I mix it up while I stick my morning coffee on and give it a few stretch and folds between getting ready to go out, and chuck it in the fridge. Take it out, shape and leave 2-3 hours, then cook. Does mean I have to wait a little longer to cook, but the bonus is because it's cold I can get away with a wetter dough and still shape it; and we all know wetter is better!

It's an addictive, and tasty, hobby