tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38309362024-03-14T04:03:57.388+10:00Fading MemoriesLegends from our own lunchtimesbitingmidgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12593806233011328620noreply@blogger.comBlogger2233125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3830936.post-10734555416147256322023-03-11T11:32:00.001+10:002023-03-11T11:32:18.738+10:00The tiniest rush of relief.<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQmO4gEUIyxacVffwJyz7B_lWzTSxVvNuqyA9BkE90Y9x7oFkgGtlBbHVLdHoVt5ByC01I1gvcJ_H_KCHUj6FV1kvrLq8Umf702IPrnEg6A_pzgaSoy-NE1v76XNHUT25A9bGDLGCj6pd-bP2QzKf4QZ_cKq5sH7NQNYQL0NKSRSdavAssaSY/s3703/23-03-%2011%20at%2011-09-32.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2083" data-original-width="3703" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQmO4gEUIyxacVffwJyz7B_lWzTSxVvNuqyA9BkE90Y9x7oFkgGtlBbHVLdHoVt5ByC01I1gvcJ_H_KCHUj6FV1kvrLq8Umf702IPrnEg6A_pzgaSoy-NE1v76XNHUT25A9bGDLGCj6pd-bP2QzKf4QZ_cKq5sH7NQNYQL0NKSRSdavAssaSY/s16000/23-03-%2011%20at%2011-09-32.jpg" /></a></div><p></p><p>Yes there are fingerprints all over the thing, but there are fingerprints all over us as well, and who cares, today we took a very big step. </p><p>It's currently 31° (feels like 34 apparently) and 85% humidity - a bit more of both in the garage and it's a bit hard to handle anything, let alone juggle it into place without getting great smears of perspiration over the lot let alone a few little fingerprints. But I digress.</p><p>On the the day we picked up the fridge, which only came in one singularly inappropriate colour for a fridge, I determined that we'd try to match the design "language" for the rest of the fit out. I think we've finally done it, or as close to it as we can! We've made light plastic drawers look like heavy plastic ones!</p><p>Only the galley unit remains to be fitted, and the printer does seem to be enjoying the change of colour as it chugs away making the plumbing fixtures. </p>bitingmidgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12593806233011328620noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3830936.post-60872164953296028152023-03-10T16:32:00.001+10:002023-03-10T16:32:15.203+10:00 Another day on the net.<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD2MytUXdJnD3XxMXwaVzZjdRbkGbFPesMZr-ZwAI-1OVE3MLyIKIOdAXLJc_lGTsTPjI2c2DELuVgaNSHTLgr6UOeOcHWzy7-S3XjX9qMCK4s8w6ff52I2tUPoimXZ0ftB7IsubmycWrDkbJy3225mCOZ5IR1-zt65VKtpcG8iGvrb9Nucow/s3784/23-03-%2010%20at%2015-34-08.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2129" data-original-width="3784" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD2MytUXdJnD3XxMXwaVzZjdRbkGbFPesMZr-ZwAI-1OVE3MLyIKIOdAXLJc_lGTsTPjI2c2DELuVgaNSHTLgr6UOeOcHWzy7-S3XjX9qMCK4s8w6ff52I2tUPoimXZ0ftB7IsubmycWrDkbJy3225mCOZ5IR1-zt65VKtpcG8iGvrb9Nucow/s16000/23-03-%2010%20at%2015-34-08.jpg" /></a></div><p></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">Well one of us has had a great day. She's finished her bit and the mobile boudoir is now complete with mosquito net for those time when we wish we had one. </span></p>
<p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">Just like pretty much everything else, we'd planned it in detail, made allowance for it to go exactly where it does, and were surprised when it did exactly what it was supposed to do without fuss or bother. </span></p>
<p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">I guess that's because on the other side of the garage, no amount of planning and allowance could have made up for today's misadventures. So we're back to being a day behind for every day we work, but thankfully we have a deadline, so I suspect by midnight Sunday, we'll be where we need to be, perhaps with a list of things that still need doing!</span></p>bitingmidgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12593806233011328620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3830936.post-71404794878068345022023-03-09T14:00:00.003+10:002023-03-09T14:00:49.123+10:00Meanwhile, back in the soft-furnishings department...<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdQ1hUVrucX1MBHob2bF-bC5jCNvNgDfEnuRUYS1e7cUjNbqHi8015iTG_xIVyWJQN6g9Q7dEISeKjSaoKIcC-vOmEsH-UsDMw_tPTop15IramQUY-uEkIdWk2bq89ToNWjznQinjb--OjUKeof8Lj3mXgj-goeCAoSMkxSfVJRnlFiZTx6Cs/s1920/23-03-%2009%20at%2013-48-00.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdQ1hUVrucX1MBHob2bF-bC5jCNvNgDfEnuRUYS1e7cUjNbqHi8015iTG_xIVyWJQN6g9Q7dEISeKjSaoKIcC-vOmEsH-UsDMw_tPTop15IramQUY-uEkIdWk2bq89ToNWjznQinjb--OjUKeof8Lj3mXgj-goeCAoSMkxSfVJRnlFiZTx6Cs/s16000/23-03-%2009%20at%2013-48-00.jpg" /></a></div><p></p><p>While one of us has been errr…"pacing himself", which is code for "catching up on other projects" while waiting variously for paint to dry, sealant to cure and things to print, the other has been bringing the stuff that most don't think about to a glorious conclusion.</p><p>The blackout curtain for the back window is complete with all it's magnets sewn in and if it wasn't so black, what a picture it would make. So would the trials of sewing very strong little magnets into little pockets while simultaneously trying to stop them leaping onto parts of the sewing machine, but no pictures were allowed that day.</p><p>The mosquito net is the last bit of insurance we think, and like everything else we've done it's a bit of a fiddle to get it just "so". If we have a net, even a good looking one, we will presumably never need it, and sometime tomorrow, we'll have one, quite possibly about the same time that the drawers return to their rightful positions. </p><p>On Monday, we're probably off for a few days!</p>bitingmidgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12593806233011328620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3830936.post-18713838504321162132023-03-06T15:53:00.006+10:002023-03-06T15:54:02.122+10:00Sliding (van) doors.<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuK_y7qZuzz_HHoDXAODUFp9QaTr8dcXrOQAJcvrR0Zwey1S5o4RYaRCNMW_2ixqqBh6GFtLGPsFISpBkS4Cb4Rxx4fAEdOmmHHo2Af8LPH_lKUdFfRXYnUW7u-MCbVYQ_3HHzVIXrY0HpjhdD5aw8onBTsnaV0o0S-9vYI6GKURC6jAP06iM/s1920/23-03-%2006%20at%2015-25-52.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuK_y7qZuzz_HHoDXAODUFp9QaTr8dcXrOQAJcvrR0Zwey1S5o4RYaRCNMW_2ixqqBh6GFtLGPsFISpBkS4Cb4Rxx4fAEdOmmHHo2Af8LPH_lKUdFfRXYnUW7u-MCbVYQ_3HHzVIXrY0HpjhdD5aw8onBTsnaV0o0S-9vYI6GKURC6jAP06iM/s16000/23-03-%2006%20at%2015-25-52.jpg" /></a></div><p></p><p><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Having had a few days off van building to be up to our armpits in little children and some slightly larger ones, it's nice to be home with a clear head and a clear list of things left to be done, as well as one thing crossed off the somewhat longer term list. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">The downstairs bathroom is now complete and in a way it's because of the work on the van. We we were struggling even before the madness of Covid hit, to find someone to make our wallpaper at a price and in a time frame that was even barely reasonable. We gave up in the end and decided that task would made a nice perpetual heading for our whiteboard list in the shed.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">A week or two ago, before the morning mist had time to clear (if indeed there had been any morning mist, which there never is round here) I was picking up a few nuts and bolts and a roll of tape at our very large hardware store, when another van caught my eye, this one with very subtle graphics proclaiming the driver to be just the person for the job. I phoned the company, sent them my image and with no fuss or bother, they waved a magic wand and our downstairs bathroom was complete.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">We we speaking to our grandchildren of many things over the weekend. Of places we'd lived and things we'd done and projects we'd actually completed, and we both became quite tired thinking about them.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">So tired were we, that an embargo has been brought down on large projects from this day forth.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I don't think that includes documenting the old ones though!</p>bitingmidgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12593806233011328620noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3830936.post-48687585357568364842023-03-04T05:00:00.001+10:002023-03-04T05:00:00.199+10:00Atychiphobia<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzgYjvbjduHt64ebOAwKWtQbRJ4shUz1ODIdctCVQ61ZD5LjXAls94Vu6RQBfG9XXDB8ZTkcjvJxbItdNKQ_wCOBfjSRCz5rzhXjD5A_s4zdugatXwbiHx1Qo33woBgb-KXJGJituHhcZel4ee_mPqpjuXgEFcweOzKwL55BM57xY_gfKrQLc/s1920/23-03-%2003%20at%2011-36-33.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzgYjvbjduHt64ebOAwKWtQbRJ4shUz1ODIdctCVQ61ZD5LjXAls94Vu6RQBfG9XXDB8ZTkcjvJxbItdNKQ_wCOBfjSRCz5rzhXjD5A_s4zdugatXwbiHx1Qo33woBgb-KXJGJituHhcZel4ee_mPqpjuXgEFcweOzKwL55BM57xY_gfKrQLc/s16000/23-03-%2003%20at%2011-36-33.jpg" /></a></div><p></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">There actually may not be a word for "fear of not being able to put the interior of your car back together again after you've insulated the roof", but it does feel something akin to atychiphobia I suspect, and that's probably what I had a very good dose of today!</span></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">It was a lovely change for a time, not worrying about the minutia of cupboard detailing, to let the shoulder that comes these days from working overhead take away all other thoughts, that was until we figured there would be no better time than the present to install the telephone hands-free kit properly.</span></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">What's the word for "fear of the remote microphone not working after you've made a special fitting, cut a hole in the ceiling, and put all the interior trim back together without testing anything"?</span></p><div><span style="font-kerning: none;"><br /></span></div>bitingmidgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12593806233011328620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3830936.post-9406858770284900732023-03-03T05:00:00.001+10:002023-03-03T05:00:00.236+10:00Places to go<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9lYfc7HxWphqs42FXkdxPPH5DFlQH3FGKfwzJz8RPmKFbzhHCRohAvQfZlAXN3e04ujvznn8XuvE8xS0hG5WS1wD_-ZCm5bFnDM5LYqXq-YYxh2oOzUcKH9Az8D6a56Rd7nH472cO7TyEt9wfxeMPnf86ILDfNssnKHSFBs05anmdDcSZ-1U/s1920/23-03-%2002%20at%2009-44-47.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9lYfc7HxWphqs42FXkdxPPH5DFlQH3FGKfwzJz8RPmKFbzhHCRohAvQfZlAXN3e04ujvznn8XuvE8xS0hG5WS1wD_-ZCm5bFnDM5LYqXq-YYxh2oOzUcKH9Az8D6a56Rd7nH472cO7TyEt9wfxeMPnf86ILDfNssnKHSFBs05anmdDcSZ-1U/s16000/23-03-%2002%20at%2009-44-47.jpg" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">It was more than satisfying to finally have the first of the drawers in for what should be the last time for the build process anyway.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Ladies and gentlemen our bathroom is installed. Sure there's not a lot of standing headroom, and nowhere to hang a towel, but when a man's gotta go, he's gotta go and now with the flick of two yellow catches and through the miracle of a small slide, he can!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Today though with the drawer concept proven, and the printer chugging away making more bits, it was time for our second very long lunch of the week.</p>bitingmidgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12593806233011328620noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3830936.post-6796809291431320112023-03-02T05:00:00.015+10:002023-03-02T05:00:00.197+10:00Everything but the kitchen sink.<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY5dd74vCMQ4_asjIHTRjl6z_RIUwbiO2bjEoRkfO3TsFVKZ8hn5RGW1CocdX1_CoqXlJ6WG0IiN-yC5kxy3hkpF5cBbhBa3bssOp4-edMHoRi_AOwPx8giO1V8UfsGEuJfsvjsFnmdZFyC1ZuinWII3QWYaFbRg1sYdTOamAFzut_Fxp99FY/s1920/23-03-%2001%20at%2017-18-24.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY5dd74vCMQ4_asjIHTRjl6z_RIUwbiO2bjEoRkfO3TsFVKZ8hn5RGW1CocdX1_CoqXlJ6WG0IiN-yC5kxy3hkpF5cBbhBa3bssOp4-edMHoRi_AOwPx8giO1V8UfsGEuJfsvjsFnmdZFyC1ZuinWII3QWYaFbRg1sYdTOamAFzut_Fxp99FY/s16000/23-03-%2001%20at%2017-18-24.jpg" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">We are in the midst of something of a social season I'm afraid, but there's plenty of time between visitors to tweak here and there, so we got the galley unit in for a bit of a trial fit today.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">"Trial fit" of course ignores the ten thousand kilometres of trial we've already had, but the more observant will notice the white plastic templates held on with blue tape. The more observant will also notice that the removal of large amounts of building dust and debris is not necessary to achieve a reasonable trial fitting outcome. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Encouraged by the fact that everything seems to open and close as it should, we've suggested to the printer that it could atone for its sins of the past few days by working overnight.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Perhaps by day's end tomorrow we will be ready to cook, if not wash up although even that might be possible at a pinch. However given that our working day will end somewhere around eleven as social responsibility looms large once more, who knows what boxes will have been ticked!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">With only three drawers to go, would now be a good time to note that we haven't soundproofed or insulated the cab area yet. Will that happen in our next exciting episode?</p>bitingmidgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12593806233011328620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3830936.post-47762263079496683192023-03-01T05:00:00.002+10:002023-03-01T07:15:14.619+10:00Some not diamond days aren't bad!<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWRXhHha1XTusIK4rza2CdfreiehBOVOrNsWZ4Q1LghbtvLF6d-W2ARMawDH2jtXcPaUt5tKOm3C-7nUcIaNfdD2WIfHa9UQuvLsYLW97n6EPX8X5X14ecBYNkG45azismdCa3_tjSrm7-8xF24y_extSZa97lPtZryrCtwUW-JByjY8grusA/s1920/23-02-%2028%20at%2021-38-18.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWRXhHha1XTusIK4rza2CdfreiehBOVOrNsWZ4Q1LghbtvLF6d-W2ARMawDH2jtXcPaUt5tKOm3C-7nUcIaNfdD2WIfHa9UQuvLsYLW97n6EPX8X5X14ecBYNkG45azismdCa3_tjSrm7-8xF24y_extSZa97lPtZryrCtwUW-JByjY8grusA/s16000/23-02-%2028%20at%2021-38-18.jpg" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Another day "lost" today, but it's not what you think. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Some good friends decided they could assist in pulling us out of this semi-productive mire, which they achieved by plonking us squarely in a totally non-productive one. What were they thinking, popping in for coffee like that and dragging us neither kicking nor screaming, to lunch by the beach?</p><p style="text-align: justify;">It was all delightful enough that the printer seemed to sense a lightening in our collective moods and set about restoring equilibrium. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">There is great joy to be had in being able to produce products of one's imagination on what ever whim take's one's fancy, however much as we like to think otherwise, the 3D print process is not completely hands-off. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">A printer relies entirely on operator input and will blindly follow instructions even if those instructions doom it to failure at some point of the process. This is usually timed to have the greatest impact, for instance when one bounces happily up the stairs (OK there's a bit of licence taken there in the use of the word "bouncing"), gently glowing from a few hours of sitting by the beach and eating fish and chips. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Print failure tends to leave great globs of molten plastic encasing delicate electronic components which need to be heated to 250° and gently picked out of delicate electronic componentry, usually over the next several hours. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">You know what?</p><p>We've pretty much written off today anyway, I think I'll have a nap and think about it later!</p>bitingmidgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12593806233011328620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3830936.post-50160388566399599112023-02-28T05:00:00.002+10:002023-02-28T07:32:41.225+10:00Some days are diamonds.<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkFyhGz4EnsU4EXxA2cYoLUMRPWfViVjzO4iF9h1Eio4cZEKaHQc6Er2nHZraZX3zZ91RiqXrpCCGZ-bO1czD8lW30TD63M337N6zo9aZBl-d9fRj1GZc0XlXiJK1-V5XZd57uf5npsGfsDTa69Pkx0uVGITcoKlH1lRGXUxXDCYrV-p268FE/s1920/23-02-%2027%20at%2009-49-24.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkFyhGz4EnsU4EXxA2cYoLUMRPWfViVjzO4iF9h1Eio4cZEKaHQc6Er2nHZraZX3zZ91RiqXrpCCGZ-bO1czD8lW30TD63M337N6zo9aZBl-d9fRj1GZc0XlXiJK1-V5XZd57uf5npsGfsDTa69Pkx0uVGITcoKlH1lRGXUxXDCYrV-p268FE/s16000/23-02-%2027%20at%2009-49-24.jpg" /></a></div><p></p><p><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">If one was working to a schedule, one could only describe today as a "setback". As things tend to do when they come of the rails, they started poorly and went less well for the rest of the day. Several steps were taken in a backwards direction and while I think in the end we were back more or less where we started, it's difficult to avoid making the conclusion that there's actually more to do now than there was this morning.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">One of the very cool things about being able to print anything at a whim, is that we can make incredibly accurate jigs and guides, such as the one in the photograph which would allow me to cut out that notch for the drawer slide with a zillionth of a millimetre precision using a trim router to great effect. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">I don't think I'd finished my pre-breakfast coffee when I was lining it up ready to make the first cut and wondering to myself (although I might have mentioned the haste previously) why I hadn't done this in the first place. Thankfully that wondering led to me realise that there were screws embedded right in the firing line of the router blade and that perhaps it was time to pull out the trusty Dremel, hence saving the cost of a router bit, and the potential healing time of limb and eye after picking shrapnel out of them for the rest of the morning.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The Dremel did the job remarkably quickly, and the hand plane and spoke shave made short and very pleasant work of shaping the edges before breakfast as it turns out, and that dear friends, was the last time we were to see anything go right this day.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">PVC shavings do not absorb tears very well. It's just as well we're doing this for fun!</p><p><br /></p>bitingmidgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12593806233011328620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3830936.post-66786274276556428232023-02-27T05:00:00.014+10:002023-02-27T05:00:00.203+10:00On the subject of drawers.<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho6tRpZSHYjlNkM0z27vHdqNZRdwsa0BF24ESCocvHnXvgOIF8RTVgJlpdydkQcOSxIC7waNeVdjkrL369GUxVwIGUNAI0foP1Hn8dSmy0TxoYFs4dnLLNO-DKRCy6mD13cUaAQEQA_yabH2I-USqaRD4KPFhscLuJ53BL7SVdvcFY6S8DJIA/s1920/23-02-%2025%20at%2008-21-50.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho6tRpZSHYjlNkM0z27vHdqNZRdwsa0BF24ESCocvHnXvgOIF8RTVgJlpdydkQcOSxIC7waNeVdjkrL369GUxVwIGUNAI0foP1Hn8dSmy0TxoYFs4dnLLNO-DKRCy6mD13cUaAQEQA_yabH2I-USqaRD4KPFhscLuJ53BL7SVdvcFY6S8DJIA/s16000/23-02-%2025%20at%2008-21-50.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">While we were out having a splendidly long lunch today, and not thinking at all about what needed doing, nothing happened.</div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">I know I seem to be fixated on those drawers, the ones that looked as though they'd been chewed on by a rat. The ones that still had bits of plastic protection on them in places because at that point we were simply screwing things together and packing, not particularly in that order, and they certainly weren't in need of protection.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">It's fair to say that the workmanship on those, while fundamentally sound is not something of which I can be proud, but there's nothing a bit of sanding, a few plastic bits and some vinyl wrap won't fix.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">It was the frig that started it all, with its curvy edges and all its blackness. The plan was always to add the dark wrap to the drawer fronts and some trim to at least show a bit of sympathy, and although no one seems to have noticed that we've been testing it on the galley cupboard since we launched. To cover up the nastiness of the industrial hinges we've planned something that looks as though we tried at least and with a few other bits it might all come together in the end.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">A smarter person than I, might have edge stripped all the panels before assembly, therefore saving himself yesterday, but at least that bit looks as though someone cares now (not unkempt as in the photo!).</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Tomorrow will be another day, and rested as we are, we'll fire up the printer and get them done, or maybe we can start tidying the shed and put it off until closer to our deadline.</p>bitingmidgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12593806233011328620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3830936.post-75006289278311818642023-02-26T05:00:00.002+10:002023-02-26T07:44:53.898+10:00Therefore I made a mouse.<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQpNIAGwlJyuo-xmN0b7hZp2k3PNkrIQn1X1ur1QlTLmcllLNCfW7nDp-wc0nT_lsqZwvm5LlNDOwnS0Y2qn389r9RhxKn2BsALDvFfTgMmUprM1bzRw1CcVrjnmptFEqjczE0VQQXVfV_qWjI_sIQBlbu-PAn57zC3cp-EVsz9SlfBf4zc3E/s1371/23-02-%2025%20at%2012-17-08-Edit.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1371" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQpNIAGwlJyuo-xmN0b7hZp2k3PNkrIQn1X1ur1QlTLmcllLNCfW7nDp-wc0nT_lsqZwvm5LlNDOwnS0Y2qn389r9RhxKn2BsALDvFfTgMmUprM1bzRw1CcVrjnmptFEqjczE0VQQXVfV_qWjI_sIQBlbu-PAn57zC3cp-EVsz9SlfBf4zc3E/s16000/23-02-%2025%20at%2012-17-08-Edit.jpg" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">My spool of black PETG filament has been open for quite some time in our recent overly humid weather, and had absorbed sufficient moisture that print quality was being affected and remedial attention was necessary. This is no big deal unless you are building a van and have a deadline - one of which I have not, yet. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">It was a bit of a relief really, to have a sort of tidy-up day. I really didn't feel like battling on trying to sort out the last of the tiny details around the drawer slides, and while I was sitting with my CAD software open I discovered a competition to design a cat toy and this was the result.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I know a lot of people are under the misapprehension that I don't like cats, and would therefore perhaps under their breaths be mumbling things like: "You hypocrite". </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Let me go on the record here and now. I actually quite like cats under the right circumstances.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">They taste a bit like chicken.</p>bitingmidgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12593806233011328620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3830936.post-38292159289872350142023-02-25T06:12:00.002+10:002023-02-25T06:12:38.742+10:00 Not enough gas!<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSfsUGN6c4lXdlgNMaNdPcmXm_spdP85E31gNfbHJbz-qs5p8CTTatb9P5l5BTsloJ5wN_tVwlZjtBNdV7aWGDR1_ZP-dZix7crCeihKl7MavNHiyJgvr5LpVjFXeaGCadB878c0nn88NWAkMWo3yXQwuaphAQnuOTTzziLyurig6VOUy5Og0/s1920/23-02-%2024%20at%2014-50-50.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSfsUGN6c4lXdlgNMaNdPcmXm_spdP85E31gNfbHJbz-qs5p8CTTatb9P5l5BTsloJ5wN_tVwlZjtBNdV7aWGDR1_ZP-dZix7crCeihKl7MavNHiyJgvr5LpVjFXeaGCadB878c0nn88NWAkMWo3yXQwuaphAQnuOTTzziLyurig6VOUy5Og0/s16000/23-02-%2024%20at%2014-50-50.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">If we were playing one of those "spot the difference" games, most would notice the bed is made.</div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">It has to be unmade one more time once the bolts arrive for the hinges, but when Paul arrived with his trusty bottles of nitrogen, to our surprise he added more gas to our strut and it started behaving as it was supposed to. He of course was mortified, certain that we need a second strut, but the bin below the bed is only for occasional use and it's just fine for our needs.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">You might also notice that things are looking close to complete, although the drawer-sized gaps are a bit of a give-away that this daily journal is also getting fairly close to drawing to some sort of conclusion for the time being.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">It seems as though it's been a very long four weeks I must say, with very few breaks, and I'm loathe to make any predictions but if we weren't going to waste all of Sunday in the company of good friends, I'd almost say we could be loading the food on Tuesday ready for an early departure. but things won't work like that and there'll be a day or two thereafter spent scratching around remembering odd jobs, (like the insulation in the cab which even now we are tempted to put off until a later time).</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The trick now, is going to be in not giving up until those little things are done.</p>bitingmidgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12593806233011328620noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3830936.post-82479765346791039912023-02-24T05:00:00.001+10:002023-02-24T05:00:00.213+10:00Too much gas.<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikRw4iDdv9zCEr4Iwu8ayakdKDRQ2_Jef0hrFAme6zIryDTnM29dqwoqyn2odEB3Zd-gJyT1Ru4bVncLTHWqgqv_NqehKsMA6lU9oeGwiZc5cuQB-WNIDWJXQIlrQ-ZzYphxzSBxpsKzcuxJAP8rvzcvKEF93Mai5iH4gwvnLt2vYVV0-nk0A/s1920/23-02-%2023%20at%2017-11-27.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikRw4iDdv9zCEr4Iwu8ayakdKDRQ2_Jef0hrFAme6zIryDTnM29dqwoqyn2odEB3Zd-gJyT1Ru4bVncLTHWqgqv_NqehKsMA6lU9oeGwiZc5cuQB-WNIDWJXQIlrQ-ZzYphxzSBxpsKzcuxJAP8rvzcvKEF93Mai5iH4gwvnLt2vYVV0-nk0A/s16000/23-02-%2023%20at%2017-11-27.jpg" /></a></div><p></p><p>I've had a gas strut sitting on my workbench for eighteen months, waiting for the time I guess, when I've figured out how to mount it without tearing great holes in the lightweight sheeting.</p><p>Well I've done that, made the mounts and installed the strut and of course the inevitable occurred. What do you call a gas strut that doesn't move? A pipe, I suppose.</p><p>Paul the gas strut bloke did warn me he'd probably made it a bit stiff, but he is coming tomorrow and he'll sort it, which will leave almost no work to as far as the "envelope" goes. "Almost" because the vent grilles that go each side of the after most cupboards are printing as we type, and the sewing department is going along so swimmingly I suspect there'll be a few lengths of tube to cut and a few bits of assembly to go and that will be that apart from the usual last minute paint touch ups.</p><p>Every little electrical thing is routed and connected now, the fire extinguisher is mounted, the drawer slides are in and tweaked. even my hearing aid charger is mounted securely.</p><p>Which brings me to the drawers, all five of them. </p><p>I keep putting them off until tomorrow. </p><div><br /></div>bitingmidgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12593806233011328620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3830936.post-682839701780721342023-02-23T05:00:00.025+10:002023-02-23T05:00:00.215+10:00The son of the son of a blacksmith.<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0BlY6Ow1aVGkbwE2MGCl-bamabGPlu4fciQ2osTijwQAu6wdnqH9RNWWlx8RYwHrhIYJa4mXXBs0_CPQodnjdT1BE6lmde8fqgR_jwSm3yDKdoQZjQHhaUy7DusNADaMKFa2s9czbOtfAVN9iDEXv5yDg0sat-tOVsTMLN8QYF-grXpkdE5Q/s1920/23-02-%2022%20at%2015-50-37.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0BlY6Ow1aVGkbwE2MGCl-bamabGPlu4fciQ2osTijwQAu6wdnqH9RNWWlx8RYwHrhIYJa4mXXBs0_CPQodnjdT1BE6lmde8fqgR_jwSm3yDKdoQZjQHhaUy7DusNADaMKFa2s9czbOtfAVN9iDEXv5yDg0sat-tOVsTMLN8QYF-grXpkdE5Q/s16000/23-02-%2022%20at%2015-50-37.jpg" /></a></div><p></p><p>My Dad was the son of a blacksmith. </p><p>His dad was not a very big man, but he could hit things really, really hard with a hammer. </p><p>Perhaps it was learning by observation, but there weren't too many things my Father couldn't fix with the use of a cold chisel and a decent whack, and to be fair quite a few of his repairs looked as though that methodology had been employed.</p><p>While I may have inherited a number of talents from them both, I tend to have a healthy aversion to whacking things really hard, particularly if one of my body parts has to hold the object being whacked. I have been called "Lightning" in times gone by, by those observing my skill with a hammer, not because I'm so fast, but because I rarely strike twice in the same place.</p><p>It was therefore understandable that that methodology was not at the topmost of my mind when somewhere in the fourth hour of gently teasing out the broken bolt in the turning nutsert with a lack of enthusiasm that betrayed my frustration, that my forebears spoke rather loudly in unison. "It's time!"</p><p>Thirty seconds was all it took with a tiny cold chisel and a big hammer, and the problem was solved and I was off looking for something else to whack with a bit of gusto.</p><p>The rest of the day may have been a little more productive in the sense of getting a bit done, but nothing came close in the satisfaction stakes to the way I felts as that nut fell neatly into two pieces.</p>bitingmidgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12593806233011328620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3830936.post-37170245162715717502023-02-22T05:00:00.002+10:002023-02-22T08:32:46.154+10:00A deadline looms.<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSS_cjxEzhcgwsor0jI_lFfX1Wf8FtB4MKK9Zrnz7eT9J-l_FhI_EgORrabUEuCAH9xZc_Nur8vz0aHUWbA2q4-Up2tDUTMNUcmV4_IGSbc58rTOzAx-UkdysX3Qhl_LH7H28YxS99INZVHcrbf9oODGV_npYogD0ff7TI37SE5e6wQhPwj5c/s1920/23-02-%2021%20at%2017-07-17.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSS_cjxEzhcgwsor0jI_lFfX1Wf8FtB4MKK9Zrnz7eT9J-l_FhI_EgORrabUEuCAH9xZc_Nur8vz0aHUWbA2q4-Up2tDUTMNUcmV4_IGSbc58rTOzAx-UkdysX3Qhl_LH7H28YxS99INZVHcrbf9oODGV_npYogD0ff7TI37SE5e6wQhPwj5c/s16000/23-02-%2021%20at%2017-07-17.jpg" /></a></div><p></p><p>It took a few hours last time.</p><p>Today every task left half-done then, took a few hours to put right, and I'm glad I didn't start the drawers until we can measure them in place one last time. They "may" be ok. Logic says they will be as the runners haven't been removed, but I've spent quite a bit of time making shims that previously were unnecessary due to the miracle of the over-tightened screw and a bit of flex in the cabinet so who knows where the new alignment will be.</p><p>That might have been good of course - a bit of stress in the skin might make for very stiff structure, but I suspect not. Mostly it's just inadequate construction.</p><p>Usually after a day like today one would feel quite dissatisfied with the lack of progress, but I think having the carcasses in place is a step in the right direction, even if it's going to take all tomorrow to finish that job!</p><p>This has gone on so long we now have a deadline - it's a few weeks off yet, so the panic is unlikely to set it, but it's reassuring to note we will be finished. This may not be a never ending story after all.</p>bitingmidgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12593806233011328620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3830936.post-44239851365290059742023-02-21T05:00:00.001+10:002023-02-21T05:00:00.189+10:00 Illusion or Delusion?<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOc-LH46OiIc3qoP5MwDCuHkga5nTmoOS3rJeA5nEici-S6aU7Pilw0_u7IGMaxQ-XkfcLfX0MzvsCHY6J17ewRiEKJefx4bdTMy82c_-snYkMF_keZDEYccUTxe1jQsjJV-tu7qqlOo3T2UOohww0JYKMWRuMp4VC4d961s8H9XJUaq5o0lE/s1920/23-02-%2020%20at%2009-46-14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOc-LH46OiIc3qoP5MwDCuHkga5nTmoOS3rJeA5nEici-S6aU7Pilw0_u7IGMaxQ-XkfcLfX0MzvsCHY6J17ewRiEKJefx4bdTMy82c_-snYkMF_keZDEYccUTxe1jQsjJV-tu7qqlOo3T2UOohww0JYKMWRuMp4VC4d961s8H9XJUaq5o0lE/s16000/23-02-%2020%20at%2009-46-14.jpg" /></a></div><br />One of my boat building mantras goes something like: " Joiners work to the nearest fraction of a millimetre, carpenters work to the nearest centimetre, boat builders work to the nearest boat".<p></p><p>I know that it's folly to try to get parallel objects to appear that way when all of the surrounding surfaces are curved, yet there I was, hunched over like an apprentice bell ringer, with measuring tape, shims, thread tap, nutserts, and assortment of drill bits and a very big hammer in case any of it needed a nudge, fiddling for what seemed like more than the few hours it actually was.</p><p>It's a question of getting everything "close enough" then walking away and not looking back, and certainly not taking a picture. </p><p>This wasn't necessary the first time round, it was late, we were desperate, and I drove a couple of screws into a block of pvc stuck to the wall. It's been like that ever since, having survived some very very long patches of very very rough roads, and one of us has been happy enough. </p><p>Why did I think it should be "done properly"?</p><p>The rear most carcasses are in now too - so tomorrow we'll repeat today, but a metre and a half to the left I suspect.</p>bitingmidgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12593806233011328620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3830936.post-24039635049925031162023-02-20T05:00:00.001+10:002023-02-20T05:00:00.198+10:00 A splash of not colour.<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD41l9_JH_5sW4ncUR5Yqe8xZ4-qASjGWy1uugkMlbeNnp3pI6pVyW78u-m2aTLZhDlH7qRCSnvgnO4xn6AZY5s2HO9LBoguJyMwj8fE-9cxZDr3oPcK_8OSPsZXQV4GYAgo0u3glxRv2OLOpph4j4UYaBCHj2glzFxb9ORXx-g7ZOJGR-1go/s1920/23-02-%2019%20at%2015-43-30.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD41l9_JH_5sW4ncUR5Yqe8xZ4-qASjGWy1uugkMlbeNnp3pI6pVyW78u-m2aTLZhDlH7qRCSnvgnO4xn6AZY5s2HO9LBoguJyMwj8fE-9cxZDr3oPcK_8OSPsZXQV4GYAgo0u3glxRv2OLOpph4j4UYaBCHj2glzFxb9ORXx-g7ZOJGR-1go/s16000/23-02-%2019%20at%2015-43-30.jpg" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">If someone said "we are going to Birdsville tomorrow do you want to come", we are at the point where realistically we could throw it all back together and go.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">If they said that of course we'd think of the temperatures in the forties there at the moment and politely reply: "sorry the van's not finished" and fiddle on with it for another week or so, and "fiddle" it is. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">There are lots of little detailed jobs happening that are too minuscule to describe - the making of some sleeves to prevent the hold-down latches from rattling among them, but we did get some colour (if grey is a colour - it does look a bit brown-ish in some lights) on the cupboard faces and we are now at the point where we have probably put off gluing in the carpet for as long as we can.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">We have a dilemma though. All the measurements to tweak the drawer fitting were taken of necessity before we dismantled everything. Will things settle into a different place when we reassemble?</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Should we do that, refit each drawer and measure from it's final resting place. My head says yes, but my heart says "really?"</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Will good triumph over evil?</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Stay tuned for the next exciting episode. </p>bitingmidgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12593806233011328620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3830936.post-50005840976572362102023-02-19T08:40:00.001+10:002023-02-19T09:15:16.472+10:00 The never ending story meets Neighbours<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-ols4v0D-KKLLOFCWGr2Nmw80XzuFs0x45Th8h61SEel8pFTXMTxku3ETKu7HRhIqvW8ofy5Mu2pL3cY-B_kRc1u2d6uOuQCZkfT6Pkq6PL38zK-VYUv_Y0m3ytP33rXvhOeLSz-cO6bpB1T3eNkmO3--7SfMRvmWy3WoDvEebb4d2dhcyX8/s1920/23-02-%2018%20at%2011-10-42.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-ols4v0D-KKLLOFCWGr2Nmw80XzuFs0x45Th8h61SEel8pFTXMTxku3ETKu7HRhIqvW8ofy5Mu2pL3cY-B_kRc1u2d6uOuQCZkfT6Pkq6PL38zK-VYUv_Y0m3ytP33rXvhOeLSz-cO6bpB1T3eNkmO3--7SfMRvmWy3WoDvEebb4d2dhcyX8/s16000/23-02-%2018%20at%2011-10-42.jpg" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">Life gets in the way of progress just occasionally and it did today in the most delightful of ways.</span></p>
<p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">Not much more than a decade ago (refer the Archives of this blog 2010) we lived at the end of a short cul de sac, where we enjoyed an extraordinary sense of community with each of the others sharing that tiny street. In some ways it like living a kind of utopian dream of the sort that movies are made about. The theme song from "Neighbours" rang disgustingly sweetly in our lives.</span></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">Just when life could get no better the plot thickened, an evil government decided that a transport corridor would look great running through our bedrooms, and we all found ourselves dispossessed. Ironically, on the day our sales contracts went unconditional, the project was cancelled or at least postponed for an indeterminate period on the grounds of "damage it would do to the community".</span></p>
<p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">With the damage done, we scattered to the four winds, each of us maintaining contact with many of the others over the years until a week or so again when someone got the bright idea that we should all get together. And that was today, eight households delightfully reunited for lunch, babbling excitedly away till almost bedtime, just like Fridays used to be, except that it was Saturday. </span></p>
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<p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">We're going to do that again of course. Someone is already organising a time next year.</span></p>
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<p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">Meanwhile back in the garage, the amount of work expands to consume the available time. That's why when there's a deadline it all seems to work so well so a day lost means a day less work to do.</span></p>
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<p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">This photograph was supposed to make a triumphant announcement to the effect that I'd packed away all the woodworking tools, that barring a zillion coats of varnish the wood work was finished, and then I realised there are two parts missing from the picture. Until we have a deadline, there's always tomorrow.</span></p>
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<p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p>bitingmidgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12593806233011328620noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3830936.post-3385041013810096382023-02-18T05:00:00.013+10:002023-02-18T05:00:00.190+10:00A must to avoid.<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYpNbhRswPZ1LtPPU8VpHKk41dyO0Jhh7ZOYQrOEXvB1N7UoLPym79ivNDv9uoUNHo8Op0p56szP1N8QSvNMAvM2VLqyL_CyM0jWTnsM0zHa2TazD2F1odQgsJxNSC3ie6LwpVwF0sPgijTe8weKbfngpTEIgMhzWHV2VSp7yJYqxPPv8ZGGQ/s1920/23-02-%2017%20at%2014-15-45.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYpNbhRswPZ1LtPPU8VpHKk41dyO0Jhh7ZOYQrOEXvB1N7UoLPym79ivNDv9uoUNHo8Op0p56szP1N8QSvNMAvM2VLqyL_CyM0jWTnsM0zHa2TazD2F1odQgsJxNSC3ie6LwpVwF0sPgijTe8weKbfngpTEIgMhzWHV2VSp7yJYqxPPv8ZGGQ/s16000/23-02-%2017%20at%2014-15-45.jpg" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">I'm sure you've heard it all before, doing something right the first time around means you can avoid all the extra work that repairing it and making it right will entail.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I know there were excuses (reasons really) at the time for not peeling off the protective film on the cupboards or getting the cupboard sealing strips tidy, but they've been a thorn in my side or a stone in my sock or whatever and the time has come to sort them. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">As I recall, the only mitigating factor for what was really the only part of the job I have been genuinely ashamed of, is that when the time came to add the strips, I was straddling cupboards which were being packed by torchlight at almost midnight on the day before we were due to leave, and we still hadn't bolted in the bed. Naturally the rubber-like strips I'd selected was the least forgiving product on the planet, so every little divergence from a straight line, and there were many, was there to stay.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Now, it's difficult to even sand the stuff off, but sand we will, and a few years of use have made that thin layer of clear film a real treat to deal with too, but with the few other little detail jobs on the cupboards almost complete we're hopeful the carcasses will be back in the van by the end of the weekend.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">These are poky little repair jobs really, but the completion of each is quite each is satisfying in it's own way.</p>bitingmidgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12593806233011328620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3830936.post-88919523610540681822023-02-17T05:00:00.001+10:002023-02-17T05:00:00.179+10:00This is the dawning of the Age of Aquarium.<p style="text-align: justify;"> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6VBuRueSpS2vepO_PcLkqYctHUTsoYbWRhowZgetVxnnqS-N95nzXqSFhPmluMuQ5vRgrTf_inyP_8_figVMuUZ0SUyI8ePwujbjYOe5o_1HJIElnBB95G0-PZ9NDw0xDr4JTH0eyVwGlSdz2sP0xzpMXeh-4rTIKKi9mQsW_lK5tBZMgHc8/s1920/23-02-%2016%20at%2014-49-42.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6VBuRueSpS2vepO_PcLkqYctHUTsoYbWRhowZgetVxnnqS-N95nzXqSFhPmluMuQ5vRgrTf_inyP_8_figVMuUZ0SUyI8ePwujbjYOe5o_1HJIElnBB95G0-PZ9NDw0xDr4JTH0eyVwGlSdz2sP0xzpMXeh-4rTIKKi9mQsW_lK5tBZMgHc8/s16000/23-02-%2016%20at%2014-49-42.jpg" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">He thought he caught the faintest whiff of "Old Hippy" as the panels were going in, which sent his mind scurrying to simpler times, when vans had vaguely rude signs on the back windows imploring parents not to laugh lest their daughter be within, and something about "rocking" which no doubt was a reflection on shock absorbers no longer at their best.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Then he realised the scent was a mix of Ikea and the water-based varnish he'd been breathing all day, and the bubble burst, and the cost of getting to this point flashed before him, dashing all those illusions of "cheap and cheerful" styles so enthusiastically espoused by every DIY programme on television. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">In <i>that</i> world, someone glamorous in a pair of brand new gloves so they don't get icky, manages to look straight into your eyes with a straight face and tells you how simple the job is, then cuts to an ad break and it's done!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">On the other side of the screen, it goes like this:-</p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li style="text-align: justify;">Buy a van, have an idea, buy enough quirky patterned fabric to do the job.</li><li style="text-align: justify;">Do a half-baked job of the fit-out, make a temporary ceiling panel, and spend a year falling out of love with the material bought in haste yet never installed.</li><li style="text-align: justify;">With the van in pieces and a solution needed, find a quilt cover with some turtles on them that might do the job. For added interest, do that at around midnight and discover there is only one left at the nearest shop which is only eighty or so kilometres away, and no they won't "click and collect" on that item.</li><li style="text-align: justify;">Safely home, after a trip to Sweden and a pensioner's morning tea and because you "know about this stuff", immediately cut up the pillow slip and start testing glues, and while you're doing that, give the panels that are to be treated a freshen up with some grey "cover all" primer.</li><li style="text-align: justify;">Three unsuccessful attempts later you realise that the stretchy lightweight cotton/rayon blend really wasn't designed to be stuck down, and the grey primer has sucked the life out of the colours.</li><li style="text-align: justify;">Then you remember that glamorous person with the brand new gloves waxing lyrical about a product she was using to stick glitter stars on the outside of a saucepan, and in desperation you fork out twice as much as the fabric cost for the glue to stick it down, and for good measure half as much again for some white primer in sufficient quantity to cover the grey.</li><li style="text-align: justify;">You don't test it this time because, well, testing is for pussies, and all goes surprisingly well except for the bubbles which you convince yourself will be fine as they sort of go with the underwater scene, don't they?</li><li style="text-align: justify;">Six coats of varnish later everyone is still wondering why it's taking so long.</li></ul><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Well it's done now, and if it falls apart or we don't like it any more, we'll do it over again. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">I suppose.</p>bitingmidgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12593806233011328620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3830936.post-4310032063141070532023-02-16T05:00:00.002+10:002023-02-16T05:00:00.206+10:00 How much of this is “just because I can?”….<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9O1zAWj45cyrpBsuknyP33sAi8Pn5ilLbSXLipxgdIvVpFLLJ5Axa-0UYEuKXedUVepLPVeTbZedbUwfWZJLwzRHl5VHAII4ass5N8DV-WWnE-00AFW1uy8hr2XyTjnsyqaRyL5dI3b8uWlFBT8LXLbwqWqqfKhom9jVQ_uRELMIODgmc2X0/s1920/23-02-%2015%20at%2014-23-22.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9O1zAWj45cyrpBsuknyP33sAi8Pn5ilLbSXLipxgdIvVpFLLJ5Axa-0UYEuKXedUVepLPVeTbZedbUwfWZJLwzRHl5VHAII4ass5N8DV-WWnE-00AFW1uy8hr2XyTjnsyqaRyL5dI3b8uWlFBT8LXLbwqWqqfKhom9jVQ_uRELMIODgmc2X0/s16000/23-02-%2015%20at%2014-23-22.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In answer to the question posed by Don and Cathy Jo yesterday we would say - </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"Why, <b><i>ALL</i></b> of it, silly!"</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Everything from deciding to do the work ourselves to going to the ridiculous extremes of making hat racks out of bespoke parts, are simply being done "because we can". </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I am not sure if we will derive any more pleasure from the van with its finishes than we did without, after all it's essentially the same fitout, just painted a bit so the grubby fingermarks don't show on the white plastic quite so much. Of course they will show even worse on the grey felt and may not be as easy to clean, so there's that, but we no doubt will have a rule about not touching the felt with grubby fingers. Let's see how that works for us! Never the less the process thus far has been a joy, a painful tiring joy, but one we've both enjoyed.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> A lick of paint here, a dash of sandpaper there, some holes filled, some drawers eased, and five coats of seal on the roof panels all contributed to today's progress. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The simple little hat rack end is probably my most complicated in place print yet. In a forty millimetre diameter we have three zip ties, two screws, an embedded nut, and a machine bolt as well as room to turn the elastic on itself. Yet there it is. Finished (except for that one screw top-right which I hadn't tightened at the time of the photo). Every time another little part is complete a new wave of satisfaction washes over us, and we expect a tsunami of that over the coming week.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">And of course we now have somewhere to hang our hats.</div></div>bitingmidgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12593806233011328620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3830936.post-20621156565962500662023-02-15T08:18:00.001+10:002023-02-15T08:18:09.813+10:00Working with plastic.<p> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEp5HfTxQnvaFNxrOeNBSAX-zygDT-913JCqTT1K2bSgIRIMA32PRz8ff0W2WMdJTMunqx3HXQ2QbetFnHMkoaJ93Oz6aMqq40shr3yZOUEO1bInJzLhLqcAT9-JLwa8r2O5_Yv9MQzIMSTxP74cm9afaTRBxMmHI_GqrEkPOHfFLEus4Wt6U/s1920/23-02-%2015%20at%2008-11-02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEp5HfTxQnvaFNxrOeNBSAX-zygDT-913JCqTT1K2bSgIRIMA32PRz8ff0W2WMdJTMunqx3HXQ2QbetFnHMkoaJ93Oz6aMqq40shr3yZOUEO1bInJzLhLqcAT9-JLwa8r2O5_Yv9MQzIMSTxP74cm9afaTRBxMmHI_GqrEkPOHfFLEus4Wt6U/s16000/23-02-%2015%20at%2008-11-02.jpg" /></a></p><div style="text-align: justify;">I've made mention of the poor little 3D printer pumping out parts all day without complaint, although the filament it's using doesn't like the humidity particularly either, and the ambient temperatures do create a challenge from time to time, so in that sense it almost seems to be a living thing.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">When one of us is asked "what do you print", most often he lapses into that rarest of conditions; "lost for words" relying on the other to fill in. She has a well-practiced speech which begins with the word "everything" and ends exactly where it began. When there are no gaps in a one word sentence, there's no need to fill them.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">We continue to be amazed at the opportunities the machine provides to make stuff that doesn't exist, to modify stuff that does, or simply to create a bracket or jig in less time than it would take to drive to the hardware shop to buy one and at far less cost.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">There are hundreds of custom made parts in the van, perhaps the most obvious at present (if you don't count the dashboard parts) are the luggage racks which will comprise more than a hundred individual bits when full assembled, but they are the least of them, and what's visible in the photo accounts for a tiny fraction of the project components. Over the next couple of days a quite large collection of drawer trims, vent grilles, plumbing parts and cover strips will miraculously appear to add the finishing touches, while the machine rattles away day and night without complaint.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Welcome to the 21st century people!</div><p></p>bitingmidgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12593806233011328620noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3830936.post-43275563530026045882023-02-14T07:15:00.000+10:002023-02-14T07:15:42.398+10:00Working with wood.<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh97ZqXc4jXx0rSL11Fhr7QtzcztmT1qBz3AXwjP4zu7ykPNbsZC7SswKZGhqwIXJm6E9iGzGORB2--pKpmgAlPLkbH6IdJ_TDHzaI-D0HDHJm_-V1RuOgYjpNysvqsePqdm4UelMMFG2nV5a6ncrMDhWQBb_I0unDOF7UZXF-wbvlD59VX-Ko/s1920/23-02-%2013%20at%2017-18-14.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh97ZqXc4jXx0rSL11Fhr7QtzcztmT1qBz3AXwjP4zu7ykPNbsZC7SswKZGhqwIXJm6E9iGzGORB2--pKpmgAlPLkbH6IdJ_TDHzaI-D0HDHJm_-V1RuOgYjpNysvqsePqdm4UelMMFG2nV5a6ncrMDhWQBb_I0unDOF7UZXF-wbvlD59VX-Ko/s16000/23-02-%2013%20at%2017-18-14.jpg" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">It's not actually a change, but eighteen months have confirmed reservations about the durability of the lightweight PVC in some places subject to impact, nothing terrible and nothing that can't be improved upon. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">The curved beam at the head of the bed has suffered a couple of little dings that will show through the finishing wrap, and in truth if I hadn't been quite so clever and made the top all rounded it would be a nice place to rest tins of beetroot on while getting things out of the fridge. It's getting a nice flat timber cap as we speak/write/read/whatever which will trim everything nicely and will be a bit more resilient when I'm throwing sheets of ply in there to carry home for the next project.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The bed also is being treated to a timber edge (part of the plan) to keep the mattress in place, and to stiffen the edge when it's lifted to access the storage bin under, and the cupboard sides surrounding the only bit of internal floor have a few scuff marks, because that's where we carry stuff when we are using it to do that - so I'll add some timber battens to make the scuff marks less obvious.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">So that's it. Another day when the temperature was a bit too uncomfortable to actually work inside the van. Another day of no progress, yet lots of baby steps taken towards actually finishing something and it was nice to be making a bit of sawdust. </p><p><br /></p>bitingmidgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12593806233011328620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3830936.post-32856399382817181392023-02-13T05:00:00.001+10:002023-02-13T05:00:00.199+10:00What would we change? <p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqWhmj9IfQn7mVrjEQJlgujbyENMzV8T9ZSqhdDxZlq9S7_9g828jnDmko08hX-72mBqjXBdYvUDzzSK-NGGKvjlBjpKCYgd6gb7kmIOSCey07V245sLTPW7WyOrIF3jbO3e4eM9Yw0oCSmr8oKl3Cixcb1L1kTzxW_mxl5KEGIs7dI7v1yIA/s1920/23-02-%2012%20at%2008-56-32.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqWhmj9IfQn7mVrjEQJlgujbyENMzV8T9ZSqhdDxZlq9S7_9g828jnDmko08hX-72mBqjXBdYvUDzzSK-NGGKvjlBjpKCYgd6gb7kmIOSCey07V245sLTPW7WyOrIF3jbO3e4eM9Yw0oCSmr8oKl3Cixcb1L1kTzxW_mxl5KEGIs7dI7v1yIA/s16000/23-02-%2012%20at%2008-56-32.jpg" /></a></div><br /><p></p><div><br /></div><div>We've often been asked over the past eighteen months if there's anything we'd change after using the van for a bit, and the answer is "nothing - we've already put half a century of camping experience into it", and while that's true, we're always on the lookout to see what we can leave out to save a bit of weight and generally simplify our lives aboard.</div><div><br /></div><div>The plan was to build a set of pigeon holes on the back panel on either side of the bed to hold our clothes, which we always keep sorted in little zipper suitcase bags in any case. Building that in a way that was light enough, big enough and simple enough was a challenge that neither of us had got our heads around, opting for the lightest, simplest and biggest interim solution, which was to do nothing at all and sort of shove things beside the bed.</div><div><br /></div><div>When inspiration finally came it was from a panel van lined with racks of those little boxes full of screws. Yes I know one or two observant types have noted that we have had some screws in the plywood all along, it's just that it was a lot easier measuring the location before they were on the wall. Each of these modules weigh just 200 grams including all the fittings so by my sums, six of them will add a bit over a kilogram to our payload. They are quite experimental in terms of durability so we're both hoping they stand up to the rigors of life with us.</div><div><br /></div><div>While one of us busies herself for the next day or two, slicing up pieces of RipStop and mesh and reassembling them in different configurations, and the poor little printer works twenty four hours a day churning out the parts, the other is thinking seriously about having the rest of the day off while it all happens around him.</div>bitingmidgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12593806233011328620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3830936.post-66846404873128936572023-02-12T05:00:00.002+10:002023-02-12T07:02:31.643+10:00 It's the little things<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-DJ50RR6HYYYGqkbKo79uMlM7NIlJyzUuG2Dpsah8vuuzYT3KEYkJq7dFLNbslZQJc3_Dm3vSIsJfVtfEJNrcaz9LJyEPPLc_et0rcJeB3D4AeFc8OZDscW3qTWgoeREdzW5kek26ZsSiq4Pr2Oe9QIIK6YN7q3UpR2Ep4_3w8EXjFQTeKkQ/s1920/23-02-%2011%20at%2017-38-30.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-DJ50RR6HYYYGqkbKo79uMlM7NIlJyzUuG2Dpsah8vuuzYT3KEYkJq7dFLNbslZQJc3_Dm3vSIsJfVtfEJNrcaz9LJyEPPLc_et0rcJeB3D4AeFc8OZDscW3qTWgoeREdzW5kek26ZsSiq4Pr2Oe9QIIK6YN7q3UpR2Ep4_3w8EXjFQTeKkQ/s16000/23-02-%2011%20at%2017-38-30.jpg" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>They say it's the little things that take the time, but I can't be sure about that although I must admit there are an awful lot of them. </p><p>For instance, the one length of cable we couldn't hide is located under the jack and runs exposed for about 150mm in a place where no one would see it, but the thought of a bit of wire poking through a slit in the wall liner did not sit comfortably at all.</p><p>The 3D printer is working fairly long hours at the moment, but I managed to get it to squeeze in this little grommet just to tidy things up a bit. I think that the ten minutes i took to draw and send it to the printer and the two minutes to screw it in place were worth the delay.</p><p>It's not as if we've been slacking off, the roof panels have their fabric glued more or less successfully, all of the fuzzy stuff is in place except for one panel which needs a little magic to get it to sit right, the door rubbers are clean and back where they should be, and the plastic covers on the back of the seat bases have (finally) been adapted to make them removable.</p><p>Meanwhile, yes folks it had to happen - the other of us is also fully occupied manufacturing bits out of fabric and polyester mesh.</p><p>Stay tuned, there's something of a crescendo coming methinks..</p>bitingmidgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12593806233011328620noreply@blogger.com0