Recent content by David Lloyd

I also learned to freehand sharpen drills as an engineering apprentice about 50 years ago, and I still do it. I did my apprenticeship at Yale - not the locks but at the heavy earthmoving front loader plant ( it was all the same co' though ) in Wednesfield, so the holes being drilled in 3 inch...

Spanner48, Is the split leather finish a coarse suede or is it a bit smoother - less of a sawdust magnet?

These canopy supports were cut on a bandsaw from 2 1/2" pine and didn't need a touch of sanding or further shaping, but they were done on a huge bandsaw with a blade like a G string by a foundry pattern maker.

I used a worn out saw blade to make two riving knives for my ancient Metabo 10" saw that I bought without any riving knife at all. I made two from one blade - one with bolt holes for a blade guard and the other just lower than the top of the blade for use with my sled. The work perfectly. The...

On our local High Street there's two modern day pawn shops, both overflowing with tools, mostly 110v power tools. I know the staff ask for ID when buying stuff, but the scrotes usually have a stolen driving licence or bus pass to 'prove who they are'.

Interesting discussion about the diesel heaters on the Piston Heads Forum. Super-Cheap Diesel Heater for Home Use? - Page 1 - Homes, Gardens and DIY - PistonHeads UK

I've got an ancient cast iron surface plate that was abused and is just about ok for "that's good enough" jobs, but if I need some precision I lay a thick piece of mirror on the plate with a layer of oil between them to cushion the mirror. Good quality plate glass will do the job as well. I was...

I use a CPAP Machine every night and clean it everyday using Milton tablets, the things that are used to steralize baby bottles and stuff like that. Every morning I use a washing up bowl and just submerge the face mask, air pipe and water tank for 15 min's and dry them off with a towel and they...

Have you ever picked up a live Mole? they are strong, unbelievable for such a small creature.

My wife is short, I cut about 14" off her broom, drilled a hole in each end, used some of her garden twine and a couple of nails into a shelf. Job's a good un.

I did a similar thing, but I used a chunk of brass that didn't need bearings - reducing the size of the carrier - and bolted it to an old handle off 'something' that I had under the bench. I'll take a pic tomorrow.

If you have family in the Americas, use them. My brother is in Canada and he regularly sends me stuff as gifts sourced from the USA.

B&M Home Bargains are sellin packs of interlocking foam floor tiles for £16 for 2sq M. Rolson branded so they should be available at other DIY stores. They are only listing this smaller size on the web site, but they had the big ones in the store as well. Foam Mats 9 Piece - Grey

I'm just down the road in Coalbrookdale, retired and busy making firewood... ;)

In another thread I mentioned using an old saw blade to make a riving knife for my table saw, and being a 'thrifty' old guy I thought I'd cut a bit of the tipped blade and make a parting tool. I cut a long section of the 10" blade just below the center hole and then made a handle from some 1...