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Life at La Foie
April-June 2015
On the 7th April (2015) Chris Eccles (who was here for the week) and I moved the new telescope house and telescope from the garage to the concrete pad. I say "we" but he did all the work!
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See, one pushes and the other watches.
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"Just like that, Chris"
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The Man!
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"You see, Chris, if you look down this you'll see the moon!"
I keep getting asked what tools do I have in the workshop.
There is a pillar drill, a sand blasting cabinet, an 8" grindstone and wire wheel which is floor mounted and a full size lathe. Then there's the 10 ton press. Here's the rest in detail.
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The charging station with drills, led lead light and two screwdrivers (one in use, one on charge.) The plastic box has a huge assortment of screwdriver bits.
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The new "office". This has been created to record the rebuild of the MG TC
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Two tool boxes hung on the wall. The wire stock is kept in the top and the draws have glues and gasket cements, various boxes of grommets, springs, fuses, wiring connectors, packets of multi wire blocks and terminals, a draw of off bits of metal used as brackets etc.
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This is the top box of one of the two small tools boxes (purchased in the last bulk buy from China). Some odds and ends and the multimeter connectors hanging up.
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Three small draws with (l-r) multi use tools and a plumb line, scissors and scrapers and rivnuts.
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Phillips screwdrivers
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Flat blade screwdrivers
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Multi meters. The 3rd from the left has a tacho and temperature gauge.
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Verniers and machine tools
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The yellow box has milling machine cutters, the rest are also stuff for the lathe and two tape measures.
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This is the top of the big box. Various tools.
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The Whitworth collection. 2 sets of Combo's and 2 sockets, 1/2" and 3/8". The large spanners on the right are just that-large AF and metric spanners
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A set of AF spanners
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Another draw of AF spanners
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Metric spanners
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More metric spanners.
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Pliers, mole grips and adjustable spanners
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1/2" sockets, a kit of allen key and torx bits for 3/8" and 1/2" drives and 3 torque wrenches.
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3/8" and 1/4" sockets.
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Dremel and drill bits
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Hammers and hacksaws. Also a few good quality taps and dies.
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Files. Under the files is a timing light, a first motion shaft for a Ford Type 9 gearbox and more files. The red boxes are a 1" socket set (up to 50mm) and a camber angle tool.
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The top box of the second small tool box. Bits and pieces.
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The three small draws hold (l-r) feeler gauges and compass and a few Dremel bits, knives, punches and chisels (going to need the chisels when the TC arrives)
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More odds and sods. The thing that looks like a long torch is a extendable magnet. This and the long claw are really needed when you're working on the 7. Getting dropped bits out of the maze of chassis tubes is a nightmare.
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A draw of Allen keys, OK Alan
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The wiring and soldering draw. The black box has a gas solder iron.
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Solder and fluxes with some glasses cases and a screwdriver bit box (never know when they may come in handy)
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The air tools
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The bottom of the second small box. An angle grinder, an Eazy-bleed, an air rivet gun and some hub pullers. The small plastic box has, er, has, oh, bugger, I've forgotten.
I haven't taken pictures of the 3 draws in the work bench. They have a draw of various clamps, a draw of wire brushes (hand and rotary) and, finally, a draw of brake unions, pipe bender, pipe flaring tool and other stuff (can you tell I can't remember)
So that's it. I should be able to do 99% of work required other than special tools, like the stepped reamer for the TC king pins!
I went to the chemist yesterday. For a really fit bloke I only take a few pills.......
Oh well it could be worse!
12th April 2015
A Day at the Races.
We went to a race meeting at Segre, about 20 minutes away. We met our friends, Camille and Marianne there. Camille is the course doctor so is busy all day long following the jockeys as they ride round. No one was hurt so he didn't have anything to do. Then he has to talk to everyone, I thought I could talk for England but Camille can talk for France and he would be in gold medal position!
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This is a panoramic view of the front of the buildings for the jockeys to change and the restaurant/bars,
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Lynne in full flow, talking to Marianne.......
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.... and Marianne listening to her.
The following are Lynne and Marianne chatting away. Women eh!
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And, of course, Marianne is just the same.
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Problem with Camille is getting him to stand still for a minute without talking to someone.
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He's the chap in the background without the cap!
We had a fantastic day and too top it off, we were invited to join Camille and Marianne in the restaurant for the after race committee do. Champagne and a really good buffet. Only sad bit was the current president had to explain this would probably be his last as president as he has terminal cancer, Makes me mad, if a fraction of the money the world spends killing each other was put into finding a cure for cancer it would be a far better world.
Lynne had 20? to bet on the 18 races so I had the odd 2? I worked out a method and if I'd put 2? on each horse my method selected I would have been well ahead. We're at another on 5th May so I may just try my method again, watch this space. Oh, Lynne bet on 5 of the 9 races, she was too busy talking to get the other 4 on, and came home ahead.