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New Tractor Shed
Will_D:
For such a narly old root bole some woodturners might even pay you for it!
Trimmed of all the little roots and stones and then sliced virtically it would make a dinning table or two worth a few grand!
Pete W.:
Hi there, Andrew,
Glad to see you're getting to the root of your problem! :lol: :ddb: :lol: :ddb: :lol: :ddb:
:offtopic: But here are my wishes to you for a Happy St. Andrew's Day. :beer: :beer: :beer:
awemawson:
Thanks Pete - well today's task - start unbolting the tank.
Originally, they have laid a slab, bolted 20 four foot square 1/4" thick pressed panels together, then laid concrete inside the tank and a flaunching round the outside, to make it water proof. Plan is to unbolt as many of the fixings as possible, then Darren the contractor will come in with his big digger and pecker, and break up the concrete and pull the panels out of the mess. Slight problem - some of the bolts are buried in the concrete so will probably have to be cut off with oxy-acetylene, but I want to unbolt as many as possible first to save the cost of the gas.
I have a humungous 1" drive air impact wrench made for the job. These are 5/8" Whitworth bolts that have been in situ outside since the 1960's, so the threads are pretty rusty. So having fed the pigs the important thing is to get the road compressor started, as it's minus 7 Deg C here :bugeye:
I'd expected to have to leave it on charge over breakfast, but amazingly it started off it's internal battery (which I'd rejected from my Discovery two years ago!) :ddb: :ddb:
So a bit of manoeuvring reversing it into position set up the hoses, connected the air impact wrench, stuck it on a nut, pulled the trigger - NOTHING - no rotation, just air passing straight through the tool :bang: A few choice words and I dug out my baby 1/2" air impact wrench, but it just hasn't got the guts for the job.
OK take a break and investigate the 1" drive wrench.
awemawson:
Obviously the air motor isn't turning, could just be frozen grease in the bearings as it is stored in an unheated workshop. I pulled the handle end off and exposed the bearing - sure the grease was stiff but not that stiff. Put it back together and tried to pull off the impact end. Four cap screws with 6 mm allen sockets - three came off fine but undoing the fourth one my allen wrench sheared off leaving a stub in the hex flush with the top :bang:
So a bit of improvisation - I drilled through the broken bit with a cobalt drill (I love cobalt drills) and screwed a self tapping screw in that acted as an extractor and pushed the stub out - hooray :clap:
OK so now the impact end is exposed - the rotor that holds the weights that give the impact was seized solid - however grasping it and turning it firmly freed it off - could have been stiff grease, or possibly a bit of rust (though non apparent) but now it's turning freely so shove it all back together and get on with things. :ddb:
awemawson:
Now those bolts don't stand a chance - however if ever there was a case for a 'tool balancer' this is one - that impact gun is unbelievably heavy, and really needs two hands but how do you hold the spanner on the other side :scratch:
Most bolts came out easily, but with some at the top and bottom the socket just spun - then it dawned on me - they probably loosely bolted the panels together at the top and bottom, then went round stuffing bolts in the holes. They must have used a different box of bolts for these two operations - the hex sizes are different :bang:
So having taken out about 45 bolts I'm taking a break for lunch and seeking out a smaller socket. Trouble is the 1" to 3/4" to 1/2" conversions for the square drive - not sure what I have that will fit - a job for after lunch.
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