john87

I can still remember on that first day of drill sharpening that the boss showed me how to place two nuts side by side so that you could use the resultant angle between them [120 degrees] as a rough guide to the 118 degrees you were aiming at for the point angle [for general use as you say] Were good days them... 8 to 12 degrees clearance too. We had to learn all this stuff and all the details of threads too [55 degrees angle round root round crest] all that sort of stuff too off by heart.. john,,

Hi all, WTF were Stihl thinking of when they came up with their system for numbering chains.. Now, i am not a stupid man [debateable!] but WTF... First off apparently they have a "Marketing number" this is not very well explained in the bit of the chart i have added below.. Say we want a 3/8 lo-pro 0.050" chain... Ok, we can see that the "marketing number" is "63P XXXX" When you look in the Stihl catalogue though, you, after very much confusion and hours of trying to work it out, discover that the "part number" is not "63" whatever, but the other way around, "36" whatever.... What kind of cretin came up with this??? john...

My first ever job was in an engineering works that did that "metal stitching" cast iron repairs. Part of the job involved drilling literally thousands of 1/4" holes, 2" deep in the cast iron to be repaired, and also in 2" thick steel plate to make the hourglass shaped repair inserts.. On my first day they decided to teach me to sharpen drills. I was crap at first but after a while it just sort of comes to you, you know the movement i mean, the twist and drop the angle of the shank to form the clearance.. Bigger drills i would narrow the point too.. far away days them... As an aside; In work they chuck away "magnifying glass on a stand with a light built in" medical type things from time to time. I should get one of them,, Bloody good idea that!!! Never occured to me at all... john..

Yes, a very delicate touch would be needed to avoid overheating.. Fully hardened carbon steel [no idea what chains are made from] starts to temper [and therefore lose hardness] at a mere 200 Centigrade.. john..

Yes, very good point!! Guess i am a little paranoid!! john..

Yes, i am lucky in that i can pick and choose what i do, so no way on this planet would i cut dirty wood or roots or any of that stuff.. I see "experts" [well, self proclaimed ones] on youtube sticking the bar in the ground when trying to cut logs and generally being well rough with the saw itself, clumping and banging it around, you would think it was a log they were handling.. I have seen people claiming that they can get a chain sharper with a file than a grinder, but i doubt that.. Before age ruined my eyesight i was VERY good at sharpening twist drills. but no way on this planet would it be possible to get the same results as you would with a drill grinding machine [and i mean a proper one, not one of then plastic things or an attachment for a bench grinder] I would imagine a properly ground chain would be kinder to the saw too, less vibration and stuff?? john..

Yes, i think you are right about it being a better job to take the chain and bar off and clean it all. I have often read about giving the chain a bit of a tickle with the file every time you fill up with fuel, but you would not get much done in a day.. I am VERY careful with my saws and the chains seem to stay sharp for a heck of a lot of cutting, well, by my standards at least.. If i were to be out felling trees all day it might be different. By the time i think the chain could do with a sharpen it would be time to clean it all anyway, the bar and chain i mean, i clean the rest of the saw every time i use it I clean out the groove and the oil holes on the bar with an air compressor, same for all around the clutch and the chain tensioner mechanism.. When i have filed a chain on the saw i do worry a bit about the filings.. Taking it off and cleaning it all would be far better as you say.. john..

Hi All, Was just wondering if any of you use a proper chain grinder?? They are very expensive, and a lot of faff taking the chain off too, AND for the price of one you could buy an awful lot of chains.. So, a thing worth having, or use a file like anyone else?? john..

I bought a brand new Yamaha motorbike. That was made in China and it was great.. So, as you say, if it is a trusted brand, why not. Saying that, now, after the goings on in the last few years i do nto buy chinese stuff on principle.. john..

Be interesting if the OP gets back to say what happens in a few weeks.. I hope they do anyway.. john..

Hey, i know that you are not having a dig at all, you come across as a decent bloke. Nope, never been sued, hope i never am too! Never had to sue anyone either.. All i am saying is, look at all the things you see in the paper where neighbours have decided to sue each other. There is usually only one winner; Neither of them.. An insurance company is not in the business of losing money. If they did not think they would win, they would not be commencing legal action. You do not need to be a lawyer to work that out.. john..

I know that, but a trip to the high court against an insurance company [that have with limitless resources] is not something to be taken lightly. They have already stated they will commence legal action; I would suggest they mean it.. john..

No Idea, but as i said a minute ago, anyone would have to be stupid to ignore the insurance company. The OP stated that they [the insurance company] have told him that he has to comply within seven days or they will commence legal action.. This will mean nothing to them, it will mean a great deal to the OP if he loses.. The costs would be unbelievable.. Why risk that for a tree?? john..

I never said that any formal contracts were entered into, how would i know, i was not there, all i am saying is, why would anyone [other than an idiot] want to risk a trip to court especially, up against an insurance company?? Even a legal letter writing exchange with them is going to cost bundles.. Going up against them in court, where, if you lose, not only will you be paying your own costs, but theirs too, would be foolish to say the least.. john..

So, let me see.. You bought a house, knowing there was a dispute over a tree and that the neighbours insurance company was involved. The vendor provided you with the funds to comply with the insurance firms demands, but, having agreed to this, you have now changed your mind, and, not only this, you think you will now defy the insurance company. This will only end one way, YOU, will not get legal aid. THEY, do not need it, as, not only have they their very own legal team, they will also have a LOT more money AND expertise AND experience at this sort of thing than you.. You can employ all the "experts" and tree huggers you like. All you will do is rack up more and more legal expenses until the day the insurance company act to recover these, and then you will not have a home, never mind a tree.. john..

Yes, i loved the smell of Trefolex.. was green gunge as you say!! It was banned some years ago for some funny reason.. You CAN still get it now, but it is not the original stuff. When i worked in the boilerhouse we used it for threading the steam barrel as it was called. Was all a very long time ago.. I still love the place though.. john

Remember that green "Trefolex" stuff?? We used to use it when threading the ends of pipes.. john..

I was always taught [in tech] that; Steel = many types of lube all depending.. Cast iron = Dry, [as the graphite in it acts as lube] Aluminium = Paraffin Brass = Dry [as the zinc in it forms zinc oxide that acts as lube] john..

Yes, quite a few of the old hospitals were the same. They were built to a sort of standardised layout.. I have access to more of less anything i like there, including the technical drawings that works and estates have. A few weeks ago i found one giving the layout of the ground floor as it was in 1948. The drawing is about six feet long! It was like a town. In them days the hospital was 120 odd acres, but we are down to about 60 odd at a guess now.. An awful lot of the staff are very interested in the history of the place. I get asked to do guided tours for newly qualified nurses!! john..

The boiler house was a thing to see... It was spotless for a start off.. The boilers were fuelled by heavy oil, thick stuff like molasses. This was kept in heated tanks, pretty sure we had 18,000 gallons.. Anyway, the oil was heated to about 170F i think it was before it entered the burners. You can see these together with their fans for the combustion air at the front of the boilers. Every hour the boilers were shut down and the burner assembly hinged outward and you wiped the flinger cup thing out with thinners, This cup was about the size of a coke can and was driven at very high speed by an electic motor. Next thing you started the ignition cycle.. The fans would start and "purge" the thing, then the oil sprayer would start and there was like a car spark plug, but about 18" long that served to light the oil spray.. If the boiler did not catch straight away, the purge cycle etc would start again.. Every now and again you would have like a backfire on starting. If you look on the front of the boilers you can see round disc things. "blow out doors" they were called.. In the event of a backfire they would blow out on springs to relieve the pressure and you would have to remove them and repack the groove with asbestos string. Assuming the thing did start ok, you would test the high and low water alarms next. First off you started the feed pumps manually, this rasied the level of the water in the boiler until the "high water" alarm sounded. This from memory was a bell. Next you blew the boiler down. This meant opening about a four inch valve at the base of the things and blasting out some water. [This was led through pipes into a blowdown pit about 40 yards away outside] Apart from serving to clean any sludge out of the bottom of the boiler this lowered the water level quite quickly. This set off the "low water" alarm which was a loud "klaxon" type thing. Then you would switch the feed pumps back to "auto" and they would fill the boiler back up to the proper level and then shut off and the boiler was back on line then. You also had to blow down the water level gauge glasses too. [two on each boiler] both to clean them out and also to check that the water rose back in them so you knew they were working. There were always one boiler off and cold and maybe having work done on it, and one on "standby", which meant it was full of water and steam and more or less up to working pressure too, so it could be online in a few minutes, and the other two would actually be online producing steam.. The flame from the burner would pass down the central firetube, then bounce off the back wall of the boiler, back through loads of little tubes [about 2" diameter] then back down another set of small tubes before going out and up the flues and hence up the 180 foot brick chimney. Even though this was in 1975 the flue gases were analysed [CO and O2 content and flue gas temperature and "opacity" of the smoke] and all this was recorded automatically by what resembled 2 foot diameter lorry tacho charts! The boilers ran at 150 PSI and so the feed pumps were multistage turbine pumps driven by rather large electric motors. These pumps let out a very loud banshee scream as they did their stuff.. Now, boilers are rated by the weight of steam they can produce an hour, From memory, i think the two larger ones were 8000 lbs an hour each and the two smaller ones 5000 lbs each. A LOT of steam.. If you look above the boilers you can see a faintly coloured large diameter pipe. It was actually bright red. This was the steam delivery pipe from the boilers. The steam was led all around the hospital through pipes in the ducts i was on about. Each ward had its water for heating and indeed "domestic hot water" produced by "calorifiers" These were simply heat exchangers. They were fed by the steam and also cold water. The calorifier heated up the water that was then pumped round to heat the place etc.. Now, What happens to steam when it cools?? Yes, it turns back to water. The water, or "condense" as it was called, was pumped back to the boiler feed water tank, and, as it was still hot, saved power when it was fed back to the boilers and re-heated. This meant that the only feed water that was required was that to compensate for leaks and evaporation, so not much at all really. This all had to be tested for water hardness etc and treated with a white powder they would stir in. Cannot remember what that was after all these years.... Anyway, i was privileged to be working on these things, rebuilding steam traps, repacking glands, changing gauge glasses etc. If ever you had nothing to do, you were fitted out with a can of "brasso" and off you went polishing!! The worst job, and i never ever did it, was about twice a year i think it was, the very large doors you can see on trhe front of the boilers would be unbolted, [there were doors at the back too] the doors swung open on the huge hinges you can see, and the tubes would have to be swept. Problem was, the tube the flame went down had to be swept too, some someone had to crawl down the thing and sweep it as they went!! They would come out balck and sooty!! The boiler house is still there, although the boilers are gone and the place is heated by gas now. The decline of the place from pampered pristineness, [and i include the entire hospital in this] is very sad to see, which is why i spend as much time as i can, and lots of my own money, trying to restore the place as best i can. Some people like to go to the pub, others like to go on holiday, still others mess around with old motorbikes [been there done that] but me? i like to try to get the hospital back as it was.. I have been working on one garden in particular for a while, Now it looks like that, since i have sorted it, the possibilities have been noticed, and the garden, and a large building in it, may very well be brought back into patient use.. Yes it is hard work, yes it costs me a fortune, but the rewards when you see things coming back to life are HUGE.. That is why i do what i do... I will get some photos from down the ducts!!! john..

Well, if it is that close to the wall what about damage to the footings etc as it grows?? I hope you do not mean the wall of a building.... Why the heck plant a very lerge tree right on a boundary?? john..

Ok, i will try to get some!!! Someone decided that the corridors were subsiding, i cannot see any sign though. Most likely just the NHS being ripped off.. Biggest problem is that i cannot remember when it was done.. I first went down there back in about 1978 and I cannot remember if the props were there then. I CAN remember someone showing me folding wedges and explaining what they were for, and the only place i can think that could possibly have been would be the hospital.. In them days there was no proper lighting arrangement in the ducts and they were black and bogging. Now most of the pipework has been stripped out and the ducts painted white with fire doors every so often.. i will get a photo and post it on here!! Here is the boiler house in about 1975.. john..

Under all our corridors are service ducts. They are about 8 feet wide and 6 feet high so you can walk through them without too much effort. The whole lot is propped up on 6" square timbers complete with folding wedges. It is like being down a coal mine!! john..

It was not fun... I am not one of them people that are naturally good with heights. Up a tree i do not mind as i trust the gear, but just standing on a roof i do not like at all especially as it is about 26 foot high.. Not much more and i can just revert to climbing the tree and taking it down in bits.. john..

I know. I spent half of yesterday up on the hospital roof with a set of pruning poles. Was not much fun!! john..