Duck!

No, not a real one!

Can you see it?

Memories relived and revived.

17 (ish) years ago I bought a CB750 chop... 15 years ago the cam sprocket came loose, damaging 8 of the 16 valves and seizing the engine.

Recently I bought a working cylinder head off  a well known auction site for £110, which, is amazingly cheap as it comes with everything I need to get the old thing going again (hopefully!)

I've removed the head and block and discovered the cam chain had pinched itself down by the main drive. This I rectified and now it's just(!) a case of cleaning, smoothing, polishing and then putting everything back!

Here's a photo of it in action...

...and here's a pic of it with seat, carbs most wiring and head off...

More pics and news on the revival of this old monster to come!

Sunday roast.

Jo has been rather ill this weekend, so I took it upon myself to cook dinner. 

Roast chicken, roast potatoes, parsnips and carrots and peas.

It's been over 15 years since I last did one of these babies.

I was pleased with everything apart from the peas which I overcooked - but hey ho, you can't have everything can you!?

:D

Inspirational Easter!

Since I was outside and it's easter - I thought I'd carve something with my chainsaw in a Eucalyptus log....

....I found it very relaxing and the hour I spent carving went in a second! My son Kane thinks it's amazing! ( What a fantastic kid!!! )   ;)

I need to make some slight adjustments and clean it up, but what do you think of my first effort?

:D



P.S.

Kane– Ancient Tiki God of Light and Life
In Hawaiian mythology, Kane Milohai is the father of the tiki gods Ka-moho-ali'i, Pele (whom he exiled to Hawaii), Kapo, Namaka and Hi'iaka by Haumea. He created the sky, earth and upper heaven and gave Kumu-Honua the garden. He owned a tiny seashell that, when placed on the ocean's waves, turned into a huge sailboat. The user of the boat had merely to state his destination and the boat took him there. In agricultural and planting traditions, Kane was identified with the sun.
     In many chants and legends of Ancient Hawaii, Kane is paired with the god Kanaloa, and is considered one of the four great Hawaiian divinities along with Kanaloa, Ku, and Lono.

Fallen tree surprise

A few weeks back we had two Eucalyptus trees fall in the wind - it didn't help them that they were undermined by rabbits.

Out of all the plants and trees in our garden my favourite were these. I loved the fact the bark just peeled off them to reveal the wonderful coloured trunk underneath, the reds, yellows and greys are amazing. Not least because they seemed to spiral around the trunk and catch the light on a summer's day.

I looked at getting someone in to clear them, I looked at prices of chainsaws and decided to get a cheap one and see if I could do it myself.

I spent £100 on a 37cc Spear & Jackson chainsaw with a 16" bar. See below. 

It's a great little machine, although it has plenty of low ratings on the website, one that should not be underestimated in the world of power tools.

Now, I have no experience of using a chainsaw - indeed, I've always declined when given the chance to try one out, but I thought this would be the perfect chance to have a go. My experience in the past with various woodworking machines and trimmers is quite relevant with this tool, so I wasn't too worried with the actual use and safety of it. I have the proper headgear with ear and face protection, a thick work coat and decent gloves. I will invest in a pair of proper chainsaw trousers as soon as I can. 

On with the trial!

I managed to chop most of the main part of the first tree, but had to leave the top and bottom section for when it got lighter.

...and a little later...

...and we have some logs!

Overall, a great little chainsaw with plenty of power to get the job done and a successful trial for me.

....more to come!

Not all fun and games!

Well I don't seem to be able to do anything but work and sleep at the moment.

What with the snow and bad weather recently, it's not been easy at work in the yard. The timber is frozen together and it seems I spend a large proportion of my time breaking apart packs and lengths of wood!

I went out last Friday on some deliveries and, even though it started to snow, I thought I'd be ok but unfortunately the weather was getting worse and the roads were quite bad.

Now, a lot of our deliveries are to farms and places in the country - you can see from the photo above that the quiet lanes aren't gritted at all!

Luckily most of my journeys on Friday were off main roads, but even they were a nightmare as you can see from the photo below! This was just the start of it.

Below is a shot of the first congestion I encountered - not as major as it looks but still took me an hour to do something like 5 miles.

After all the deliveries were completed it was time to go home... this was to be a major problem as by now the snow was falling heavily and traffic was crawling along like a snail!

You can see above the tailback on the A27... in fact the congestion started waaaaaay before the slip road. It took me an hour and 40 minutes to drive 29 miles.

I had a phone call from my boss at 1:30pm telling me that he'd sent everyone else home and he was waiting for me - I actually got back to work at 2:40pm.

PHEW! What a day THAT was - it's been a lot better on the roads as the councils have been gritting well, but unlucky for me they don't come to our yard and separate the bits of wood!

;)

Testing 1, 2, 3!

Ok ....  my first post by smartphone app!

I never got into Twitter, mainly because people on there generally spout all sorts of pointless nonsense.

Anyway I look forward to seeing how this form of blogging works out for me.

Annual visitation.

WOW! Has it really been almost a year since my last post!?

Like most of you, a lot of things have changed since March 2012!

I got a new job in the beginning of the year - I finished my contract at the sword place after 3 months - a shame, but I did what I was employed to do and it was time to move on.

Now I work in the yard at AVS Fencing, which is an interesting job - very physical but there are some great guys who work there who make the job entertaining.

Dave the yard Foreman (left) and I

Andy

I get to drive a forklift and sometimes the transit van for deliveries - all very exciting!

Lewes Boccia is still growing with new people coming along and boosting our numbers.

Boccia is a fantastic inclusive sport for disabled and able people and one very close to my heart as my son (seen front of photo with his new pro ramp and a massive cheesey grin) also plays - and to a good standard.

We have many good players and still hope, one day, to enter a competition...maybe this year will be the year!

It's been a bad year for our chickens, losing all but two, a Purple Haze hen and the male I reared from an egg - Star.

I' going to work on the coops and runs this year so future chickens(?) will be safer and better than they are now.

Well, that's all for now - hopefully see you all again before next year eh!?

Stiggy