Recent content by Old Grizzly

Cheers ... Dave ... and I'll have to brush up on the review/edit procedure too ;<)

Marples 1959 catalogue page 97 #4222... 'brick cleaning axe, double edge, strong ash handle weight 1 3/4lbs' I have one in the workshop that comes in very handy for any job requiring a bit of trimming with a sharp edge . ... the one thing I have never used it for is brick cleaning ;<) Dave

Carters still produce very good hickory handles but no longer sell direct to the public. I buy mine from Torne Valley Farmers Supermarket, but more often than not, I get them from car boot sales. If you go down this route, always worth looking out for a cheap sledge with a good hickory handle...

I have one of these huge blowlamps, ex army If I remember right. I know roughly where it is - buried under all sorts of 'it will come in handy one day' clutter in the back of one of the sheds, so getting to it will be quite a challenge.... the downside of going to the car boot every week for 30...

Hello again Ardvark, That is pretty much the look I like and it certainly has kept the red 'iron fungus' at bay. I'll give that a go with my new leg vice and see how it goes. It is a six inch jaw and weighs in at 120 pounds so I'll be interested to see how much gas it takes. The anvil does need...

Hi Tom, I can't fault that approach. I guess kickstarting the blacking process is probably 50 % vanity and the rest, simply that I just enjoy doing it..... instant chemical transformation. I think I'll order some today and give it a go when my Lad comes to visit.... next. It will take both of...

Nice to meet another member of the 'black hand gang' Unless caustic or deadly chemicals are involved or something is ridiculously hot I prefer to work glove free Dave

Thanks Valeboy, I used to have a cast Iron Range at my last house which we kept nice with Zebrite , I think it was called. I do have at least one tube, somewhere but it must be buried deep cos last time I wanted it [quite a few years ago], couldn't find it, the company had stopped making it...

Cheers Pete. I did consider wine tannin, which would be handy for someone working at a smaller scale. I have a ready supply of tea bags, probably about 25 or more a day, and it seems logical to get one more use out of them between supping tea and the compost heap. I save them up till I have a...

Thanks for that Ardvark, Had a look on the Frost website and the only customer review for the solution was 1 star and said 'do yourself a favour Don't buy this solution, you can buy it from Chronos for £8 a Litre [as opposed to £30/l] I'm inclined to shy away from the Cleaner/Blackening...

Hi I recently cleaned up my 450lb London pattern Anvil [no maker name :<( ] There was a lot of rust which I removed with wire brush to reveal a very nice anvil indeed. This left a somewhat bright finish which I would like to chemically blacken, before finishing with some sort of Wax/Oil. Main...

Greenheart was also used for canal lock gates, in similar sizes.

Have a look at this video - 'david mcluckie' video 'Emergency automatic switch from power supply to battery 12V module' David really knows his stuff, but he takes a little getting used to... ;<) This simple cheap ebay module will automatically switch power from mains to battery. There is...

Hi Bodger Don't be tempted by adverts selling '8 kW heaters' - They are exactly the same as the 5kW heater and will have not have a bigger output than the 5kW......but carry a big price mark up. Again I would suggest you watch the diesel heater playlist of videos by youtube user 'John McK 47'...

If you are going to get an diesel heater I would recommend watching a series of videos by a youtube user 'John McK 47'. This guy has many years of experience with these heaters really knows his stuff and is a good teacher. These heaters are really efficient when installed properly and run on the...