What did you do today?

[Die Judicii]

Actually, don't trouble yourself mate. I'm not playing anymore tit-for-tat online disagreements anymore.

No such thing as "disagreements" from me Mate,,,,,
Was just pointing out a maybe "generalized",, highlight of getting old.

[Blr243]

Took a run up to cleavers and grabbed 800 rounds of frontier 223. The 55 weight shoots well in my eureka

[Wapiti]

Pretty bleak drizzly day so the tractor has been getting a coolant and hydraulic oil change. Bloody hell, where to put 80 litres of hydraulic fluid. That's the biggest pain, and getting it to the recycling point at the tip in town.
But had time at the end of the day to make an unobtanium screw for a job I've been mucking about with in the lathe, it's pretty ambitious. It's a 12-32 UNEF screw made from a 10.9 squat head unbrako screw, turned to .206'. Mightn't seem a big deal, but it came out perfectly fitting the thread where it's going, without the slightest wobble.
You can't buy these things, and they are rare as, and can't be easily replaced. So I thought I'd make one.
The taper is just the lead-in to cut the thread, it'll be cut to length once it's fitted up.

12-32UNEFscrew.jpg (688.34 KiB) Viewed 169 times

[perentie]

Nice job. I enjoy screw cutting on the lathe. Put 3 barrels into my wifes 6.5 -284 over the years and they all went well.
Was going to ask you if you were getting any rain out there .So good. Its been light but a good soaking rain here too.
I have been in the shed working out how to move my big mill. I have forgotten how I got it in there but probably use the skidsteer. Thinking of giving it away as it was well used when I bought it 30 yrs ago and getting a smaller new one.

[Wapiti]

Morning Perentie, just tipped 9mm from the gauge from Wednesday and overnight... pretty sad when considering the hysteria the forecast has been saying.
The centre of this squeeze was supposed to be right over us but there you go again. Maybe today we'll see more. At least all the tanks are full of rainwater again.

But out in the paddocks west of Stanthorpe things are not going to improve from this rain, the feed won't grow this time of year anyway, the growing season has been a huge failure.
In the creeks here, the last remaining she-oaks that rely on creek-bottom moisture have just died. Half of them were lost in the 18-19 drought, now the last living ones from hundreds of years ago are dead. The landscape is changing completely.
Although we've been trying to keep the wild deer alive, I see there are many dead ones around. On a stock run I'm constantly pulling up at the smell of death and the dogs find the bodies for me. The males have run themselves ragged in the rut and won't recover this winter. Many will die.
As usual, the rut is the worst time to kill deer, the best males get shot before they breed, the ones that survive die from running on empty in the drought of winter following it. Blokes got it tough. Oh but the hunters egos!

On moving the mill, have you considered hiring skates from industrial hire places? These little caterpillar-roller blocks sit under the heaviest workshop equipment and allow one man (on concrete floors) to nudge the biggest machine anywhere. Or to a point somewhere for a fork to grab them.
The ones we use have metal rollers, these ones from Vevor use poly but the capacity is what you look at when buying. Or hiring.
You can move any machine to any spot in your shed with these, with one man.

https://www.vevor.com.au/machinery-move ... 0877513062

[Die Judicii]

You make a good point there Wapiti in regard to the "capacity" of skates for moving stuff.
Even when you've looked at all the specs and advertising,, you can still get caught out.
I got caught out,,,,,,,, and the sorry saga still continues.

I purchased four of those rolling skates intended for moving a car around in a workshop.

Here is the specs (word for word from the sellers ad)

" Car Dolly Wheel.
car wheel dolly is ideal for many applications around the workshop and very handy for car sales showrooms. Allowing you to easily move vehicles around in tight spaces. Our brand item is made is made of thickened steel and thus durable as well as solid.
Features:
[Reliable and long lasting] Crafted from one-piece thickened steel panels, our wheel dolly boasts remarkable strength and sturdiness. The reinforced steel platform can effortlessly carry weighing up to 6600 lbs/ 3000 kg (1-piece)
[Versatile Performance] The wheel dolly allows you to effortlessly move vehicles, change tires, and perform various maintenance tasks. Designed to accommodate tire widths of up to 12" (305 mm) the car dolly compatible with a wide range of vehicles.
[Easy Maneuverability] Equipped with 3 inch/76 mm rolling bearing universal castors and locking castors, the wheel dolly ensures smooth and secure movement. You have complete control over the direction and positioning of your vehicle. The foot lets you instantly lock the dolly, providing convenience and security during maintenance work.
[Maximised Safety] The concave platform features dense diamond patterns that perfectly fit and grip vehicle tires, significantly increasing friction and minimizing the risk of falls or slips.
[User friendly Designs] Using the dolly is a breeze. Lift the car tire with a jack, position the wheel dolly underneath, and lock the wheel in place. Repeat the simple process for each tire, and within approximately 10 minutes, you'll be ready to go. No assistance from others is required."

Very cleverly written (probably by a politician) which doesn't actually lie,,, but instead implies the product is up to standard.

In practice this is what I found,,,,,,
You cannot "easily move a vehicle" and in fact I have a new workshop with an excellent concrete floor,, but I couldn't move or push the vehicle, because the castors are no better than those used on an office desk,, and the "rolling bearings" are not bearings at all, only plastic sleeves.
When making a complaint, the seller suggested I should have more people to help push the vehicle which makes a mockery of the "effortlessly move" claim.
The nyloc nuts supplied were of the poorest quality I've ever seen. Most of the inserts fell out when doing the nuts up.
The claim of 6600 lbs capacity for the set was a complete and utter farce.
The claim of "thickened steel" is a complete mis-nomer that could only have been born in the minds of a particular ethnic race. They are simply made using common checker plate which is also of a lighter gauge than what is required in practice.

The products description is grossly mis-leading to say the least.
They simply do not perform.

I gave negative feedback to the seller with full explanations including my qualifications to back what I said.
Since then the seller has asked me to supply my personal email address which is contravening ebay policy, and continually harasses me with messages via ebay. Up to two messages per day (including weekends) for the last month and a half. Which is also contravening ebay policy.
I have officially reported this to ebay three times, and they said they would rectify things,,,,,,,,,,, but they have done nothing at all.

The worst thing is that there are in the vicinity of 20-30 different sellers,, all peddling the exact same crap product.

[Wapiti]

Jesus mate, that's not good.
Can you name the brand?
The reason I ask is that people should not be afraid to buy or use these "skates", as we call them, because for a one-man band as I am most of the time. These things allow me to move one-ton plus awkward machines like the cast bases on lathes, mills and even a full 20-foot container sideways into a shed corner where, without them, there is no way to get it out.
I first use them on a site job and hired them for bugger all from Kennards Hire.
The ones I use have sort of, roller "caterpillar" tracks and a turntable with ball bearings under it, to allow the skates to swivel.
If I remember, I'll take a pic of them and post them up.

I can't imagine how they would move a vehicle though, there are special 4-castor-wheeled frames used for that, one for each wheel. They are different from what I'm mentioning by miles.

[Die Judicii]

Mate, these things are (as you could expect in this day and age) made in China. And sold by a myriad of dealers on Fleabay. Regardless of which seller, they are all the same product and have virtually word for word identical descriptions. Just look on Ebay, and search for “car dolly”. I know full well that a lot of ebay products are not of the highest quality,, but i bought these for a once off use, but they wouldn’t do the job and certainly didn’t perform to the stated specs.

If interested look 2/3rds of the way down Page 3 of the Sellers,,,for the seller "Ozlearningshop" and read my feedback to them.

[Wapiti]

A mate has the whole bottom of this 2-story home in Brissy set up to display his collector Holdens and Fords, from a HDT 05 Commodore to a XB GT, stuff like that. He moves them around on the epoxy floor with those dollies, but he bought ones that his fellow collectors use, from places like Autobarn etc. They work very well, in fact almost effortless. He mentioned that if you gave the car too much of a shove, it would glide along the floor and punch through the plaster wall.
So, buyer beware once again buying Chinese knock-off crap.

But these are the skates I'm referring to, to move machinery. These things are Australian made, and make the job into a one-man task.
You can see the rollers in the top turntable too, which allows unlimited positioning.
All you have to do us use jacks to lift one side of your machine slightly, and sit these under.
The Vevor ones use poly rollers instead of the caterpillar tracks of these ones, but they are meant for occasional use not constant abuse as these are.
Do exactly the same job, just make sure you buy the models rated for the machine weight you're moving, because the wheels are poly not hard bearing steel as mine here.

skates.jpg (690.58 KiB) Viewed 94 times

[Wapiti]

Just look on Ebay, and search for “car dolly”. I know full well that a lot of ebay products are not of the highest quality,, but i bought these for a once off use, but they wouldn’t do the job and certainly didn’t perform to the stated specs.

If interested look 2/3rds of the way down Page 3 of the Sellers,,,for the seller "Ozlearningshop" and read my feedback to them.

Mate, I looked up Ozlearning shop for a giggle, and they have a 99% awesomeness rating. Are you just getting grumpy like I am as we get older?
Just kidding mate, if you say they are crap then they definitely are.

[Wapiti]

To help out anyone who is looking to move machinery around their shed or hanging off buying gear because they have no idea how the hell they're going to move it:

skates2.jpg (694.03 KiB) Viewed 78 times

No, you won't find these at Bunnings or AutoBarn, this is pro-industrial gear but a look at your big-city chain, hoist and sling lifting specialists will have a range of these things and will courier them.

[Wapiti]

I had some time to sandblast and "parkerise" a few parts today inbetween chores.
Simmered them for about 40 minutes, and the results were unbelievable. A dark grey/green after I dropped them into some old used engine oil after rinsing.
I can't believe how great they look.

[Flyonline]

Finally managed to get a custom cheek piece made up to fit my hw97k so that I now have a great cheek weld for use with my new(ish) GS515 thermal. This sits somewhat higher than the scope I had on it originally, so I went down a few rabbit holes trying to get it to sit lower, but the only thing that has worked long term is an Eagle Vision dovetail to weaver rail adapter, then using the QR weaver clamp that came with the scope. As a bonus, I can now take the scope off to charge the scope/store/travel and it seems to hold zero on the few times I've actually had to do it. I had to try a few different heights of the riser to get a good line of sight coupled with eye relief etc. and this has changed the trajectory somewhat of the pellet with a reasonable zero distance. Thankfully it now gives me a flatter shooting arc at the ranges I'm most likely to use (particularly at night), with only a few mm difference in height between 20-35m. However I will be aiming 6" over their heads <15m, but for the rest it's actually worked out for the better. Had hoped to sneak out to the olds over the next few nights, but it looks like it's going to be raining and a full moon so not much point when the bunnies can see me coming from 100m away, or fog down to 5m!

I've also slowly been putting together a bit of gear to head out for a few overnight packpack hunts. Unfortunately the tarp I made earlier in the year is a little too small, so I've ordered the fabric and doings to make a somewhat larger one (~2.5 x 1.5m vs 1.8 x 1.2m). The One Planet Vertex has been performing superbly as a day pack, and it's easily large enough for overnighters so all I really need now is some water filtration and some lightweight cooking/eating gear.

Guess I'll need to start looking for a lightweight stainless sambar legal rifle next also

[Wapiti]

We had to cull some deer today that just didn't make it through the rain period. Well they did, but they weren't getting up again. Learned from bitter experience that anything else it just adding to their suffering.
It's going to be a tough winter, despite our efforts.