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paul99

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  1. paul99

    Chimney

    The relevant heights here: http://www.stovesonline.co.uk/flue-outlet-height.html AFAIK the regs are up to date.
  2. We survived most of last winter burning it. Of course hardwood is always better but we had the chance of several winters worth of several types of softwood majority being douglas for nothing which had already been limbed up and stacked up around for 3 years already so literally just needed blocking up before being ready to use. The only thing we found was that it burnt quickly and left behind fine white ash which would eventually build up and choke the fire - from a efficiency point of view that's probably ideal but in a grateless woodburner with no ashpan etc it meant much more regular cleaning out. Multifuel stoves like our new one would make that small niggle irrelevant. I think too many people get hung up on only using a specific type of wood - mostly from hearsay based on the sayings of old when modern woodburners or even enclosed fires weren't available. There are very few types of wood that when seasoned for long enough will not burn especially when used in a modern woodburner designed to burn hot with excess air. If the price is right go for it and as suggested above just use it to bulk out your hardwood.
  3. I was given one as a Christmas present last year but only used it for the first time yesterday. It does works and is quick when you get it right but it's too cumbersome in a cordless drill IMHO - it's too easy to dig in and tear the skin on a pheasant - partridge faired better. I reckon set up where the plucker is held stationary and you move the bird instead it would work much better - I intend trying that next weekend.
  4. Nope, you're dead right but scrap brass recovery likely wouldn't be the reason for wanting to separate the plastic shell and the "brass" in the first place. Even it was brass you'd not make a profit given the time it would take to remove each one, knock out primer etc being plated steel you'd be on to an even bigger loss.
  5. Gordon Recoil shells will come apart just the same as any other shell you just need to heat them up that little bit more - gas hob worked for me: I did these a couple of years ago but never did get around to using them for anything useful.
  6. Rotten sills is the only thing that's gone wrong with ours - only an MOT failure if it's within 30cm of a seat belt mount etc but if the rest of the vehicle is fine it's worth repairing.
  7. I was just about to pick what's left of the rhubarb for crumbles and the idea of making a drink out of it sprang into my head. I see a few simple vodka based recipes mentioned on here but little feedback on how it actually turned out. So has anyone got any recipes they've tried and would recommend or should I forget the idea and just use it for a crumble instead?
  8. I don't want to take the thread off topic too far or hi-jack Simon' thread but as it's kind of related. My old High School ( an old mansion house converted to a school in the 60s) was used as a munitions dump during WW2. My Fathers PE group came across an old grenade on the short walk to the sports field while he was there which prompted another massive clearup shortly after. They didn't get it all though... fast forward 20 years or so and I come across both of these after a flash flood eroded a section of grass alongside one of the footpaths: As far as I can tell a 9mm round and 303 bullet It was very likely I'd have known a lot more about what it was than any of the teachers and as I knew, through the old man, of the schools past I said nothing or else spark mass hysteria.
  9. Several years ago I came across some old maps of the area 1940s / 50s and was astonished to see a rifle range marked on them not 500 yds from the house overlaying it on a modern OS map showed it to be the odd sandy cut out in the middle of a bank / hill above the town - which I always thought was an odd looking / out of place bit of ground fenced off for no apparent reason but it all now made sense - that's why the patch is soft and sandy and home to the only rabbit warren that I know of near home whilst the rest of the hill is red clay and rabbit-less. Quite excited about piecing together what I thought was a long forgotten bit of local history I mentioned it to the old man and grandfather - both knew all about it. As per the OP the range was apparently used for training soldiers between the wars. My grandfather had even used it once or twice when it was run for a short time by the local gun club before closing - god knows why they never mentioned it before given my interest in history and shooting back then. It just goes to show how easily knowledge could have been lost had I not stumbled upon that old map as they likely would never have thought to mention it otherwise. P.S. despite spending a bit of time looking I've never found any bullets there one day I'll make the short walk there with a metal detector as the ground is bound to me peppered
  10. Personally I think Damson Gin wipes the floor with sloe gin it's far more fruity especially when left to soak for a long time. The batch ready for this season coming was put to soak in September 2011 and I'll be draining it off this week. I think you need a lot less sugar with damsons as opposed to sloes to and have gradually cut down the amount added each time. The last batch - and the best so far was: 3lb Damsons 18oz Sugar 1.5l Gin
  11. Another one to look at: It's a Clearview Vision 500 which we only put in Friday to replace the Villager BH that's served us well for the last 5 years. Clearly a big step in price and it's early days yet but so far we haven't regretted getting the Clearview uses a fraction of the wood and is more controllable and is certainly a lot nicer to be able to actually see the fire.
  12. I haven't been for a few years now despite it being only a few miles away as when you've seen it once you don't need to go again as it's the exact same thing year after year it never changes. Definitely no clay shooting there and the last time I went the air rifle galleries weren't there either. NJ Guns used to have a stall there every year, there were / are? a few gundog demonstrations too and of course there's plenty of clothing stalls to look around but that's about it shooting wise. There's a bit more fishing wise if you're into that. I was asked for some feedback on the show one year by RWAS committee members quizzing random show goers. I filled in their survey sheet and commented that it was a shame there wasn't more made of shooting and fishing given how important it is in the area only to be told it's an agricultural show you know - well then, I asked, why is 50% of the showground taken up with stalls selling non agricultural tat - it might as well be a Sunday car boot or market? - that's want the people want apparently - the irony of their reply was lost on them . I'm pretty sure my survey sheet would have been thrown in the bin as soon as I turned my back it was feedback they just didn't want to hear. Anyway as an agricultural show I'm sure it serves the purpose but you'd be disappointed if you went there expecting to see shooting related stuff - better going to the CLA which is always on around the same time - this year the week before but usually the week after.
  13. Thornton would be an ideal place to learn an as has already been said Ifor is a very helpful bloke and would certainly do his best to get you going. As for kit - you can spend as little or as much as you like on it and I'm sure like coarse fishing more expensive kit doesn't mean more fish caught. Generally it's said coarse anglers make for quick learners when they come to fly fishing but the few I know who have made the switch seem to want to take a simple idea and make it too much of a complicated scientific theory on times. Don't worry about trying to cast as far as everyone else to start with (especially from a boat at Thornton) instead concentrate on getting your flies /fly out without tangling and actually fishing them - the more the flies are in the water rather than being untangled the better you will do regardless of how far you can cast. Ideally have a few days out with an experienced fly fisherman (if a regular to the venue even better) early on if you can - it could save you a lot of time, money and frustration. The local angling club there may well be able to help if you don't know of anyone who could show you the ropes.
  14. Yep add me to that group I've clicked on so many profiles by accident I've given up worrying about what people must think. In addition some of the things I've accidently liked on Facebook after visiting on my mobile makes me cringe.
  15. Tear /snap the leaf in half slowly - if it's dogwood the thick white sap (like a natural latex) in the leaf should hold the torn halves together if you hold it up by the stalk.
  16. paul99

    Lawnmowers

    Of all the mowers I've used and worked on (and I went through loads in a past life at a grounds maintenance company) John Deere comes second place by a margin to Sabo for pedestrian mowers - the build quality of the sabos was way ahead of anything else we got our hands on and was the mower everyone grabbed first. Hayter - overpriced and trading on old reputation IMO - never was impressed with their pedestrian mowers TBH. Very old model mountfields (believe it or not) were up there build quality wise too - I've held onto one myself for years hoping to come across a replacement engine - they really were bomb proof but later models are utter rubbish. Honda mowers are also better in older models but newer ones were still reasonable. Rover - cheap ****, Flymos - interesting one this - B&S engine versions were surprisingly useable and robust even if it was just about all plastic teucumseh engine versions - ****. There were loads of other useless mowers though they must have been too poor to remember what they even were now.
  17. My first reaction was I agree as I too had problems doing some seemingly simple things in Linux when I considered switching for good a year or two ago - but then when I stopped and thought about it I'm not so sure we're right - you've used computers for 25 years me about the same (though mostly windows for me) I would think that after all that time we're doing / expecting to do a hell of a lot more on computers than the vast majority of PC users - who would happily get by with basic Home office and email software, maybe a media player etc and to be used with mainstream / popular peripherals - all of which are free and good on Linux. As you say you could use a tablet for that but that's what most people are still using a PC for from what I can see. I don't think TBH we'll see a significant uptake of Linux by home users that I thought we might a few years ago simply due to everything being windows based at school. We must both have been old enough to remember the pre-windows era with BBCs, Amstrads, ZX Spectrums, Commodores etc but a few generations kids will only know windows. I don't think that Linux is even mentioned in the current GCSE curriculum - certainly no hands on experience with it - that can't be good at all. I know of one IT teacher who asked me what Linux was (not joking) when I mentioned it in passing - not sure how he felt but I was embarrassed for him.
  18. Several ways to fix it but the quickest easiest I've come across so far is Hitman Pro +kickstart: http://www.surfright.nl/en/kickstart The two videos take you through it step by step. Free 30 day license - you only need it for 10mins or so. Good luck
  19. Maybe too late now but this is what I came up with for GCSE technology years ago. It's had a few alterations since (hence the newer looking welds) and really is an on going project that gets a bit more work each time it's needed. Of course it looks a mess and there's plenty of mistakes too - I'd do it a bit differently next time if I was to do another (like cocking it right handed - I did it to suit myself and right handers struggle cocking it with the spring wound up a bit). Despite what it looks like it does work surprisingly well and will throw a standard clay over 80 yds. Pairs are a little hit and miss in that they don't stay tight together - a result of the aluminium flexing under the strain - it was all I had access to at the time. It improves each time I fiddle with it but its got to the point where a complete new build would make more sense TBH. As it was all made with scrap the only expense was the spring (£30ish - Stuart High speed 10 years ago or so) but I doubt you would be able to source all new metal and parts for less than you could buy a whole working trap - especially a second hand one. Still it might give some people out who like making their own things there a few ideas to get going with... Paul.
  20. There you go then - Apple if you want to pay and any other OS if you want to steal - that just about sums up mindset of the average Apple brainwashed - still if it makes you happy to believe that you just carry on As for developing your own personal apps for iOS - I'm guessing you've done it then? - no thought not or else you'd have kept quiet on that front . If you've never come across an Android app that far surpasses an apple offering then I have to wonder if you should really be recommending one system over the other
  21. Google is open source Apple is proprietary. Anyone is able to develop the OS and Apps for Android and are free to distribute their work in any way they see fit. Apple only allows you to use apps that it has strictly vetted (unless you want to invalidate your warrantee by jail breaking - don't let anyone convince you it does not !!!) many potentially useful apps never make it onto the Iphone simply because Apple see them as being competition for their own inferior apps - that benefits only Apple whilst the customer suffers. If you really want to know just how untied Android / Samsung can be from Google then look up both the Chinese and Russian versions of "Googleless Android" - The Western world largely finds google integration to be a benefit rather than hinderence - but it does perhaps answer your question. Apple would rather go bust than allow an Appleless I phone.
  22. Yes hence why I mentioned it - from what I heard he is normally a very helpful bloke but can understand if he's not quite on top form at the moment. As for Sheppards Surplus in Upperhill - they used to be a great place many years ago as it was all genuine army surplus but I, like many others it seems, stopped going when they started moving away from the surplus stuff and started selling named brands and not cheap either. I wouldn't have thought Marsh Farm would have been interested in Sheppards as it was all ski ware & hiking type stuff in the end - very little for shooters.
  23. I just spoke with the friend that goes fairly regularly and I believe that the guy in charge had a significant health scare recently and so regular service might be affected a bit - with the effort being put on the Ebay side of things for the time being. That said it's well worth calling to find out.
  24. I've not been there myself but several friends have - one goes regularly. They were all shocked at just how much stock they kept - and so long as you arrange in advance with the bloke in charge you are (they were anyway) allowed to look through it all - they didn't know where to start. As for finding the place I think I remember them saying it was a little off the beaten track but they found it ok without satnav so can't have been that bad.
  25. Both of mine have a fuse inside the box. The older metal boxed models have a glass barrell fuse whereas the newer plastic boxed ones have a standard car / blade.
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