K1200S

[fjtwelve]

I have read on the Internet so it must be true that turning the Vario section upside down does make a difference. Having experimented with the position of mine (see above somewhere) I have ended up with the Vario section in its lowest position. At low speeds say less than 70 it makes a difference if it is raised, but: a) couldn't quite find an optimum position, and b) low speed? Also the stiffness of the support strut connections has diminished over the years and won't support the wind load at higher speeds. Anyway if I can get some tiny Torx I can experiment again.

[Phmode]

Halfrauds do a set of 3/8" drive for £20...

https://www.halfords.com/tools/hand-tools/socket-sets/halfords-advanced-6-piece-torx-bit-socket-rail-3%2F8in-168419.html

...but that 'might' be a bit overkill for the vario thingy 

Halfords are good tools with a lifetime guarantee. If you can find the receipt...

[richtea]

Er, save a bit for beer by getting these:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B001JJLV6I/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
or eBay if you hate Bayzoss:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/112493135463?hash=item1a311d0667:g:mTAAAOSwuVdZdR2X

I have a set - they're good quality.

[Matt]

I should get those too. But I just spent way too much on hops and grain so... next week!

[Phmode]

This is my set...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/100-Piece-Security-Screwdriver-Tamperproof-Torx-Hex-Bit-Set-Chrome-Vanadium-/332921701350?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l49286&mkrid=710-127635-2958-0

...well, obviously it isn't cos it's on ebay, but you get the point.

Dirt cheap and I've had my set for 10 years and the only thing wearing out is the plastic folding hinge on the plastic case.

And it was only last month that I discovered what the Y-shaped piece at the top was for...

[Matt]

Recalcitrant wing nuts?

[fjtwelve]

Have spent some time this afternoon sorting through various sets like this and working out I already had most of the parts. Trying to find a small torx size set that wasn't made out of chewing gum has been , erm, tedious. Not to mention I was also trying to buy an optical level with legs and staff, a toaster and and iron. Anyway nearly there. I think. What I was actually trying to do was sort out a large box of nails screws bolts I think I inherited from my father in law into some sort of order into 7 cases of little boxes. Oh and the bloke turned up to refit our downstairs loo. And the delivery of all the stuff he was fitting, with its fittings, arrived. Did I mention it was recycling collection day but Mrs fj now needs to collect cardboard , but only the non inked stuff, for the compost. Retirement? Pfft. And I also had to deal with an enquiry about intumescent paint of steel in Belgium - did I know somebody who could? And the recruitment consultant wanting  a project leader in London? Mate if the job had been anywhere else I might have bitten. Fink I need to go out on my bike. What was this forum about again?

[Matt]

How picky do you get with project management roles? In my experience in a well run company it's an acceptable level of bum pain, but in the main, the majority of companies bungling along with no idea how to deliver, it's a massive pain!

[fjtwelve]

Working in construction since 1980, the culture was you went where you were sent. In later years I discovered I generally spent 6 months shitting myself I had no idea what was going on, 6 months head down no nonsense work, 6 months cruising, 6 months bored time to move. Thereafter I kept an eye open for projects I wanted to work on, and more importantly, teams I wanted to work with. So now  I'm very picky , either it's working with the good guys I know, an irresistible technical challenge or the money is too stupid to refuse. I aim for a role where I can resolve the technical and organisational issues ie make it happen, jfdi and similar, and with limited client contact. I know what works. Done more than a few jobs in the Red Adair role , or to misquote Kate Adie, if the Colonels arrived we must be in the shit

[Phmode]

Recalcitrant wing nuts?

Matthew, you are SOOOO close!

Because I am an anal twat (when I left home at 16 and my 6 year old brother got his hands on my collection of Dinky and Matchbox models, they were all in their perfectly choreographed boxes, when I went back 3 months later, there was not even a sign of the cars, let alone the boxes) this bit set is still in its admittedly moth-eaten cardboard sleeve with pictures and descriptions front and back.

For some strange reason, last month I managed to refit the sleeve 'upside down' and there, on the 'bottom' was a set of different words, which, among other things explained that the Y shaped thingummy was in fact a 'Hook Driver'. As in, for screwing in things like cup hooks.

But, next time I have a recalcitrant wing nut, I'll remember to phone Matt and ask him what to use to remove it.

[armstrongracer]

Feel yer pain FJ, my baby brother is a construction PM, lives in just outside of Watford so his patch is London & SE. After years of leaving the house at 5.30am to avoid the M25 car park (he doesn't ride bikes) and massive stress from trying to deliver projects at profit that were underbid by his bosses he finally walked out last year. Got about 8 years till retirement , currently he's looking for jobs writing tenders that he can do from home. Had enough of life on the road.

[fjtwelve]

Anyway, after too much deliberation I bought these for £20.79



In other news whilst waiting for them I decided I'd just rip a hedge out and the adjacent garden wall so I could build a narrower hedge bed inside a new wall, give my existing shed to my son, and build a big boys proper shed that can accommodate 2 Ks plus my ever expanding tool collection. The 15 foot high hedge went through the shredder with little trouble, up went a temporary wooden fence,  and I just needed to dig the topsoil off the subsoil to find a solid foundation.
Yeah right.
Murphy has however been planning for me to do this since about 1902 and planted a few obstacles, cut them down and buried the evidence for me to find and prove his law. Again. This is the topsoil stockpile and 3rd stump, and I might be half way through...





So I have now bought this as my sons shed needs block footing, and I am now looking at laying 6 or 700 blocks for the new shed



So it might be a while until i get to use my new screwdrivers to see if I can fiddle with the MRA screen...

[Phmode]

Isn't retirement and lockdown a weird combination.

I assume that you intend to knock down that horrid grey block wall and use the blocks for the son's shed...

Oh, and I'll have that stump for my stumpery if you want to drop it off next time you come by...

[fjtwelve]

No that's next doors car park wall which I have to be careful doesn't fall down despite the big cracks in it. I am building a new retaining wall that will be more than one block thick  have a foundation that is more than a bit of mortar.
Not sure the stump will fit in the soft bag but will have a go

[Phmode]