Gimlet

I have. That is, go through the rabbit and ricochet off the ground the other side. Lapua SK's used to do it for a pastime, Winchesters less so.

Problem solved! Thanks to new member Peekay6 who provided the magic formula. There was no distortion, nothing trapped in the door. Brattonsound told me to insert a lever under the door and lift while applying extra pressure to the key as I turned it and to hammer the leading edge of the door where the bolts are with a rubber mallet. Didn't make the slightest difference except that it almost sheered the shaft of the key. Then Peekay6 came to the rescue. The lock had sprung back half a turn. The solution was to file down the wider throw of the key so it could be inserted the wrong way round. Turning back the lock half a turn with the key reversed brought the lock back into sync and the spare key could be inserted the correct way round and the lock operated as normal. Peekay6 has probably saved me £50 odd for a locksmith.Top man. Brattonsound will send me a new lock and keys free of charge which is fair enough. But this will be the third lock in four years. The next time I move my cabinet a Sentry combination safe will be going in.

Welcome to the forum Rob.

If you want to sell the bole for timber don't put a saw through it until a timber expert has seen it. What might look to the novice eye the obvious place to make a cut to divide the trunk into manageable lengths can ruin the value of the timber. If possible its best to fell the tree whole, de-limb it and leave the trunk intact for a buyer to inspect.

My mother kept saying she could hear a cricket chirping in her kitchen. Turned out to be a low battery in the smoke alarm.

Just put on some gloves and pull it up. Its easy to get rid of. I've pulled up plenty of it in my garden without gloves and had no ill effects. My mother lets it grow, she likes the look of it. It does have a certain architectural quality. Just keep it away from livestock and don't add it to a salad by mistake. Under my apple trees I used to grow monkshood which is considerably more toxic than caper spurge but a very handsome plant.

It does have a poisonous, unfriendly look about it.

I wasn't thinking of the books of those who pay for and use public services or indeed those who staff them. I was thinking of those who control them: the Government. There is no audit of government spending.

Its a wild Euphorbia or Spurge. I think that one with the pointed leaves is called Caper Spurge, in which case it has very poisonous seeds.

Free at the point of delivery. Call it pre-paid. I suspect pre-payment public services, like pre-payment electricity meters, serving as they do a captive clientele who are unable to take their custom elsewhere, operate at deliberately inflated rates. We'll never know, of course, because we are not allowed to see the books.

Old wooden boxes, especially if they have original lids and can be recycled for some other use can go for anything from £50 - £250 in antique and collectables shops. Like NickS says, any object is worth whatever someone is prepared to pay for it. Shabby-chic decorative objects like this which have no specific function, or clutter as it used to be called, seem to be very popular. I saw a pine box with rope handles in an antique warehouse recently which appeared to have been made yesterday out of old floor boards and "aged" with a bit of wood stain. They wanted £200 for it. I expect some mug bought it.

Nothing trapped in the door unfortunately. The usual free-play is still there. The key goes into the lock fine and starts to turn then stops solid after an 1/8 of a turn. Interestingly it can also be turned anticlockwise by the same amount. I can't remember whether that is normal or not. If it isn't it would suggest something let go in the lock mechanism when I last locked it. And thanks for Evo, I think I might PM Parapilot and see what he thinks. Though I'll have to get on to Brattonsound to get a new lock at the very least. I've always had doubts about the design of this system. It seems to me that using the key alone to slide those five heavy bolts and move all the linkage is putting a lot of pressure on small components. Surely its better to have a handle to do the heavy lifting.

Tell them your children were on strike in protest at standards and conditions.

Unfortunately yes. Nearly 4 years.

Sentinel Plus (RD7+) ie: 6/7 gun extra deep rifle safe without internal locker.