Homework!

It is a long time since Woody had to do homework and as with most school related matters that interfered with free time I was never that keen on it! However, there were always some subjects that you enjoyed and homework in these was sometimes quite enjoyable. For me that was technical drawing. I had a wooden drawing board, T square and the inevitable school geometry set, which I think I still have, with compass, dividers and the all important eraser! 

My current homework is also something that is enjoyable. Leaning to drive the drag line excavator at the Rocks By Rail Museum is not just practical experience in operating all those levers and pedals that I showed a few days ago. The theory is important as well with knowing how the machine works and the full maintenance procedures. That is why I have been sent home with this rather thick tome of reading!

And as you would expect at WMD HQ anything new brings about a feline investigator team with Marty and Monty, AKA The Destructo Twins, being todays nominated moggies!

Wonder if I will get a gold star for my homework????

Life is a drag......line!

Rocks by Rail Museum today where I could hang my doctored event signs up that I made the other day.

Then a few QR codes were distributed about linking to the Rocks website - all very high technology especially given that most volunteers can still remember the days of only having three TV channels!

Then for the fun bit! Rob and me wakened the drag line from its Winter slumber. Batteries reconnected, oil levels checked, greasing points greased and fresh fuel added all took time but all very necessary.

Then it was tine to play test it! There are a lot of controls that I am still trying to get my head round but no major incidents as Rob teaches me to operate this massive machine.

Strange how something grows in desolation but this sole daffodil has survived and grown in the mountain of earth that has been moved about - we couldn't dig it up!

Until next time anyway! In the meantime life has indeed been a drag today!

Sign making!

The Rocks by Rail Museum opens to the public on Easter Sunday which is the 31 March this year. The Museum has used banners placed at six local locations to advertise its events which last year became my responsibility to put out on site. Given the number of events during a year and the fact that each banner is unique with the event and date details, there are a lot of banners needed during the year. A lot of banners means a lot of cost! In an effort to save money I have been developing a way to reuse last years banners. Basically the text advertising the event is reusable but the dates need to be changed. I did think about paint and stencils but that has issues such as paint adherence to the banner material and getting stencils lined up. I have therefore used some image software to print off the necessary dates. Using a website I was able to identify the font that is used on the banners so it matches reasonably well. I was also able to reasonably match the background colour using the imaging software. With the dates printed off I sprayed the paper with some varnish to seal the printer ink.

I then cut out the individual dates.

 

The individual dates were then wrapped in clear sticky back plastic - very Blue Peter!

I then attached double sided tape to the back of the wrapped dates.

As with most things in the WMD household a cat became involved and Monty here was curious as to what was going on. As you can see last years opening Easter event was on the 9 April.

With the original banner cleaned with some IPA the backing to the double sided tape was removed and hey presto one updated 'new' sign!

Well the concept is proved so I just have another five banners to do and then the 6 for the Easter Monday! I will be busy but signs are that it will be worth it!

Soapy times at the Museum.

Strange for me to be at the Museum on a Monday unless there is an event but Rob had persuaded me to go in and help him wash the face shovel! Now a face shovel is not the type of thing that you sponge water on  and rinse off dirt before waxing the paint. After years of outside living the face shovel was as much a habitat for fauna and flora as it was a working machine! Cleaning it was going to take some serious work!

The main pieces of kit were the pressure washer (fed from a water container raised off the ground by the CAT to give the necessary pressure), scouring pads and brushes! In fact Rob managed to run over my brush with the CAT! Well at least he didn't run me over!

You can see what we started with - grime and dirt!

The pressure washer does its magic following a scrubbing with brushes and scouring pads!

Stages in cleaning the rear of the face shovel. Firstly dirt!

Secondly slightly less dirt!

Thirdly, a lot less dirt!

Rob, now happy with the job!

And from a side not often seen.

All in all a great job and the face shovel looks so much better for it unlike me!

Not satisfied with the face shovel Rob moved us onto cleaning the cab of Sundew which was once the World's largest walking excavator. More soapy times!

Pressure washer, brushes and scouring pads out again!

Getting cleaner but the paint does peel off so it will need a repaint! Another job to be done!

Rob perhaps was a bit too clean as he pressure washed the interior!!!

There is no doubt it does look cleaner now. Thinking that was it for the day there was one other job. A welding job!

Being a big welder and the job being outside it would have been easier if we had put it on the pallet to start with but we did learn our lesson!

I did some of the welds and Rob made them actually strong afterwards!

It should hold!

Man with the best job today? Derek! He rode the platelayers wagon down the line as it freewheeled down the 1 in 60 gradient - nice and no soap!!!!! That looks the job for me!

  

Welder Woody

 At the Rocks By Rail Museum it is getting close to the opening of the  2024 season. It is advertised far and wide but one of the most effective forms of advertising are the banners that are put up on the nearby roads. For reasons that I cannot even remember I got this job when someone else could no longer do it. 

The banners themselves are normally attached to metal posts termed as lamp irons which are hammered into soft ground. One of the issues I had last year was that whilst the banners hooked over the bend in the post meant to hand a lamp from, the lower part of the banner could only be fastened loosely with a cable tie to the lower part of the post. In windy weather the banner would ride up the post making it difficult to read the banner. My solution, developed in my mind over the past year (Woody's ideas take time to ferment!) has always been to put a bracket onto the post so that the cable tie can be securely fastened and prevent the banner riding up the post. Today was the day that idea became reality - enter Welder Woody!

Starting with some scrap metal in the worm of some metal jointing strips.

Put it in the vice, take one large hammer and put a 90 degree bend in it.

Clean the surface to be welded with an angle grinder.

Take the lamp iron post and clean the rust where the bracket is to be welded to with an angle grinder.

Take a MIG welder, clamp the bracket to the right place on the post.

 

Allow one armature welder loose on the MIG and get a welded joint that will never win any beauty competitions but it is at least strong!

Take to bench and place in vice.

Use angle grinder to tidy up joint!

Test finished product! Well almost as I did not have a cable tie to hand but the bracket is in the right place and it should work making life easier this year too! Nice one Welder Woody! After congratulating myself I then went on to weld another 11 posts!

Meanwhile Alex continues work on the inside of Ketton No1 with rubbing down the control panel ready for a repaint. It reminded me of the pandemic seeing Alex in his mask but he is only being sensible with the dust that the sanding is creating.

Not an easy thing to sand!

Meanwhile John and Pete were trying to fight nature by resetting these concrete retaining slabs that had been pushed over by the vegetation roots that are in the bank behind them. Not a nice job but has to be done.

Whilst some of the wagons are out from a hidden siding I did spare a few minutes to take a closer look. These tipper wagons are fairly unique and still in a restorable condition.

I did not even know this bogie low loader was at the museum.

Restorable but that mobile compost heap needs to go!

And if there were ever any doubt as to the power of corrosion look at this!

Way beynd the skills of Welder Woody!