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I've been burning coal for a couple of winters :( but would like to resume processing wood for the fire. I have a Stihl two-stroke chainsaw, but I can't get the the thing to start now. My fault - forgot to flush it out before storing. I suppose I could take it in for a service, but it might...

Glad you're happy - I have to confess thinking that as I should turn off the mill finish from the nominal 19mm bar I may as well swipe it down to 18mm in the process, and was dismayed when it came out as 17.96 :shock: . I'd be interested to hear how the epoxy joint between the wooden handle...

It was slightly weird - I remembered seeing a bit of brass in the short parts bin with what might have been M8 thread in the end, screwed in a bolt, lo and behold it was indeed M8 and went in about 40mm. Reading further comments about this being a problem with other machines I wondered if an...

Ben, this rang a faint bell and a look in my bits box turned up a length of 3/4" (19mm) brass round with an M8x1.25 hole threaded to about 40mm deep in one end - can't remember why I made it! If you're not sorted already I can cut off the threaded bit to 38mm - turning down to 18mm diameter if...

Tom, apologies if you already know this but the markings on your chuck mean that it has a Jacobs number 3 internal taper and a 16mm capacity (CAP) - not sure about the O/0 . If you want to replace it any JT3 chuck should fit. Robin.

Mock, I've got a drawer full of keys, they're all eleven tooth and fit 13-16 mm chucks interchangeably. I'll bung one in the box when I send you the handwheel if you'd like. Robin.

Jimmer, for what it's worth, out curiosity I tested my engineering vice (it's a big old 'Made in England' job) and the jaw face pieces seem to be somewhere between 40-45 Rockwell C. That's not very hard and well above dark straw temperature if tempering down from quenched gauge plate. Hardening...

Thanks Roger - hadn't heard of TOR before, but now installed. I might have to actually remember passwords rather than lazily allowing Firefox to fill them in for me, but that's no bad thing. Robin.

Thanks for the explanation Colin, that was exactly what I needed to know. I guess what I took to be bruising on the 12mm 'outboard' end of the spindle is in fact one of the slots in which the grubscrews engage. I had wrongly assumed that the wheel was fixed to the spindle so the whole assembly...

I've had a request from a forum member to make a new handwheel for a Kity 419. He's sent me the knackered wheel: and a pic of the spindle which it fits: Because he had the machine second-hand complete with badgered wheel he can't be sure about how it's meant to work. It seems that the...

Thanks for replies. I am convinced - the crown guard is now in place! What resonated most is that attention can wander and although I feel that I am working safely by standing out of the 'line of fire' and using push sticks I can't be sure that I won't get distracted or complacent and reach...

This subject comes up from time to time here, and there seems to be a consensus that the crown guard is an important safety feature. I have a Bosch site saw which can cut a bit over 75mm without strain, but with the guard in place the capacity is limited to about 53mm. Also the instruction...

Thanks for replies. No special need for retail therapy -just wondering (from the perspective of a rank amateur) if these things actually make life easier or if they are among those things aimed at the amateur which are more at home in the pages of catalogues than the workshop. Consensus seems...

If you haven't sorted this out already by reference to CHJ's useful link, they will be changewheels which allow you to change the gearing between the main spindle and the leadscrew, thus allowing to to cut screw threads of various pitches. The range of threads you can cut will depend on which...

I'm thinking of getting a flush cut saw for cutting down plugs used either to hide screw holes or to repair old wood. I've been doing this by whacking off most of the protruding plug with a chisel (splitting it along the grain really) then paring down. That works, but maybe a saw would be...

Thanks, that makes sense. Sounds like drilling stainless - you have to show the metal who's boss. It might be work rather than heat hardening then. I guess I've escaped the problem because I tend to lean heavily enough to keep the bit cutting rather than rubbing. Bob.

I think the OP was referring to tempering in the oven, not annealing MM! I agree that there's nothing significant between mild steel and gauge plate (hardened or not) regarding stiffness - by which I mean how much it deflects under a given stress. Also agree that strength (in the sense of yield...

Gauge plate is normally sold in the annealed (soft) state. It's still tougher than mild steel, but it is easy enough to file, grind, drill etc. If you want to harden it you need to heat to red, quench in oil then temper back . Robin.

That's right for 'single colour' LEDs (the colour is determined by the semiconductor bandgap) , but W2S's comment was about 'white' LEDs which do use indeed use fluorescent materials - see, for example, this wikipedia article. Bob.

Looks good Dibs-h - but what garam masala did you use? It does seem to make a difference - some of the shop-bought ones are like sawdust. Bob.