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A few years ago I visited Hill House, the home of Rennie Mackintosh. I was completely taken by the designs he created and as a lockdown diversion sought to make a copy of one of his coffee house chairs (apologies for the rubbish photo). As a very amateur hobbyists I am very aware that if I...

The real benefit is in making small adjustments to the tool rest height when changing gouge. Loosen the tool rest, rotate the knurled bit, tool rest settles in the new position. Tighten tool rest. Current method (for me anyway) is loosen tool rest, guess the height, tighten, repeat until ok...

I have a magnetic light with a flexible stem of ~25cm. It is a pain getting it fixed to the lathe (mostly curved castings) in a stable position, where the lighting illuminates that which I want, without the flexible stem getting in the way of gouges, or the LED obscuring the view. I am shortly...

It would be possible to mount a small bandsaw on castors. It could simply pulled out of position for blade change. It would also be helpful if it could be located and locked in position when pushed back to ensure alignment with the worktop was maintained.

The number of smartphones worldwide is estimated at ~7bn. This may be an over estimate as some folk may have two, some may have limited data plans etc. Assume 4bn. Lets assume 1bn spend a large part of their lives idly browsing and personal interests. Let's further assume that ~86.5% (about...

Before worrying about what generator and how it is connected, I suspect the first task is to understand what you want to back up and for how long. Covering a full domestic requirement for any length of time needs serious power, proper installation, lots of money. Covering a limited duration...

Just a non-professional perspective. Without a fixed back, stability relies on the joints to sides, top, bottom. How do traditional joints (eg: M&T or dovetail) compare with those on a plywood carcase (glue, screw, batten?). I can understand how a fixed back means that most deformation...

Moisture absorption will apparently result in plasticisation. I assume this is down to humidity - each time the pot is opened, it is exposed until ultimately it degrades. I don't know whether you "enjoy" fairly high humidity - worse when temperatures are high as warm air holds more moisture...

The question of weight saving vs furniture material depends on the van - payload will be specified by manufacturer. Personally I would avoid going over ~60-70% or performance will be compromised and brakes/suspension continually stressed. Loading a van to the max occasionally may be OK for a...

I can understand if the flow temperature from the boiler is reduced to ensure the return temperature is lower, condensing efficiency increased. This only becomes an issue (I think) in heating performance as: in cold weather radiator output may be too low to achieve the set room temperature...

Looking at the dial callipers they all seem to do only external measurements. I am sure my digital callipers can do both external and internal measurement (can't check as packed away for house move). Are they all like this

We have a hall thermostat set to ~25C. Room radiators have TRVs which are set to deliver the temperature required in each room - unused rooms 0, living room ~20C etc. This means the boiler will always fire up to deliver the room temperature set. As noted by others single zone temperature...

We changed to an induction hob a couple of years ago. It is far more responsive than the previous ceramic hob. And as far as I know works by heating the (iron) pan through induction - the only reason the hob itself gets hot is conduction from the pan/saucepan. As induction heats the pan...

Over-reaction to legislation - understandably they do not want to sell to underage, or potential weapons etc. They also seem to have stopped selling kitchen knives. Strangely they still seem content to sell chisels and other woodworking kit.

Some more annoying facts to get in the way of preconceived notions. From 2010/11 to 2020/21 the proportion of income spent on different types of housing barely changed: owner occupiers spent between 17.2% and 18.8% on mortgage costs social housing rents varied between 26.7% and 29.2% private...

In global terms the actions of the UK in reducing greenhouse gases is trivial. But there are choices - do nothing as it makes little difference, or strive for technical leadership which may be both good business sense and influence global outcomes. Personally I favour the latter. Chinas...

Financial analysis is relatively simple and unambiguous - initial cost compared to estimated future savings. Money as a common denominator makes it possible to compare (say) a ground source heat pump against solar water heating and choose that with the best return. The environment is complex...

Basic economics of supply and demand - if supply is below demand, prices will rise. Property is not immune from the fundamentals, save that homelessness is the alternative if both rental or ownership is unaffordable. This is not a socially acceptable outcome. Markets in a stable environment...

Look at it another way - UK freight movements in billion tonne kilometres - road 77%, water 14%, rail 9%. Complete elimination of rail lines may not be the end game, but rail freight is small and a large part of that probably on Eurotunnel to a UK distribution depot. Rolling resistance issues...

We are moving house and needed an EPC. The last was 18 years ago but valid for only ten years. There were significant assumptions made - particularly (property is a 1970s build) with reference to insulation in flat roof extensions and cavity wall insulation. The tick box stuff was easy - LED...