Keyser

Morning all, hope you all had a great weekend, I’d like to say that I have already learnt a lot of ways to not fit a rear mount turbo, it’s been quite a learning curve already! We, Tim the co-owner has been helping where possible although Covid and his imminent house move are keeping him busy, spent the first day trying to come up with a suitable location for the turbo that allowed clearance, we also had the added constraint of trying to keep the original outlet. This is because the Hayabusa kit we have uses a specific design and modified turbo, Shaun at Big CC racing who supplied and dyno'd the original kit has had issues with boost creep when not using this design and length so we thought we would try and keep it. Location testing Decided that this was too high, obviously with any “race” car you want a low centre of gravity and the closer to the rear axle we can keep the weight the better. I eventually gave up trying to balance the turbo on blocks and hold it in place with bits of wire as we kept knocking it when testing the engine cover clearances. Eventually I welded a temporary mount up as you can see, we then added spacers to get the location right. This is what we settled on That was basically a weekends work. I ordered a few parts one of them being a new flange as ours was welded on to the turbo due to constantly blowing gaskets, this flange also has a built-in mounting tab. I then started on what will be the proper mount and it now looks like this. Then I made a start on the pipe work to get from the manifold to the turbo inlet There I was looking at how neat it was when it struck me that the pipes looked huge, well they looked like all the other turbo pipes I have seen which worried me as they were all on 3l and above V6 and V8 engines! I have a 1300cc engine, this lead me to a bit of research about the size of the pipe I should be using for the rear mount setup, I had already looked into long flow V short flow headers but not the actual size of the pipe. Yer it’s to big, although it will work it will most likely cause lag and we don’t want that! Velocity beats flow pre turbo on a rear mount setup, I stopped work on that and switched my attention to the outlet side. We decide to go for a new silencer as the Radical is very loud and our back box rattles as the baffles have come loose, I went for a Magna Flow from Profusion Exhausts as it is supposed to handle the hotter exhaust temperatures from a turbo setup. We went for the same size as the current silencer and ……….. It doesn’t fit Mainly because the outlet is now much further back the only way to get it in is transvers as per the picture origionally above it was straight out. The problem is the framework gets in the way. Something else to ponder on. Bugger it I’ll work on the cold side and get the inlet from turbo to plenum sorted instead! First pipe on Then I made a new pipe up and even managed to swage the end using my bead roller Remodelled the original inlet by cutting it and rotating the BOV 180 and re-welding, I also added a mount and extended it about 150mm or 6" for the old school amongst us the top pipe completed Just have to order a 90-degree silicone pipe to join them together Yayyy something done. I had an hour or two left of the weekend so I did some work on the manifold, it had split above the flange so initially we cut it off and tac welded a 90 bend into it but now we are going to use thinner pipe I cut that off leaving an inch or so to fit a reducer when it arrives, then I finished the welds Sanded it back And added a collar to make it stronger as this is where it split last time My stainless welding is not the best but I’m getting lots of practice! Loads more parts ordered and more to come soon. Keyser.

Hello Again, Yes I’m back I’m sure you have all missed my updates and my apologies for dropping the ball on that, normal excuses apply mainly life, nothing to bad I’m pleased to say just hectic with work as Covid has caused many changes for us and we have had to restructure to accommodate them. Also, even though it is hopefully a decade away I have started making retirement plans ……………. Yes, I am that old! This has resulted in a company merger with another company I have worked with for about 15 years, the amount of paperwork, solicitor and accountants etc required to sort this is ridiculous! All the above has resulted in less time to do what I love which is playing with cars, but never fear I have been having some fun and although we have had no track days and only 1 meet this year I can’t leave you lot over these cold winter nights without something to look forwards to! Assuming anyone actually looks forwards to these update So a lightning catch up …………………….. The Bug. a recap. After the strip down and powder coating of the chassis I got round to doing all the rest of the bits, starting with the actual reason we own it the blown reversing box, Everything was cleaned Reassembled And mounted The custom undertray was powder coated and I added a protective edging My new plate had the grommets added Some more powder coating Sub assembly rebuilds Gator replacements Suspension rebuilds New dash installed and wired Along with the custom electrics box Shout out to Beb for the assist with the rewire – cheers mate Then it was done, here she is with the battery on charge at the beginning of last week Next stop was the MOT station And here she is outside Beb’s house on the way home from MOT (we bought this as a joint project) We have no idea what we will do with it but it was fun although Covid meant it wasn’t quite as “joint” as we hopped So there ya go all caught up on The Bug Next up we have this ……………. So join me as we continue in our so far futile attempts to show that we can build a better race car / track toy than the manufacturer Since adding the turbo charger to her, she has suffered huge heat issues we have melted wiring looms, exhaust parts and even the paddle shift magnetitic shifter in our first troublesome season. The plan is to try a rear mounted setup, and as I have loads of experience in this sort of work (this is my first attempt) I’m sure it will go well…………. Or not. Anyway, plenty of challenges to engineer my way in and out of and hopefully I will now have enough time to regale you with my antics, what else are we gonna do for socially distanced festive season? Great to be back Keyser

Pure dumb luck is my guess The mad scientist has supplied made me some HUGE battery packs for one of our electrical projects, they may be yet another attempt on my life Thanks mate To be fair the posts are about 2 weekends behind where I am actually at as I missed a week posting, I usually post one week behind, but as I'm not getting every weekend in the Zed Shed you do catch up from time to time. Last weekend which was basically Sunday morning in the shed will be a very short post It's coming along though and plenty more projects waiting in the wings

Morning all, As is now normal I’ve been to busy to post, I’ve been to busy to do anything! Ended up working this Saturday but got a quiet afternoon on Sunday so took the R8 out for a spin – That was fun, decided to go and find an ice cream in the New Forrest, beautiful surroundings gorgeous weather and I got to drive my toy Meanwhile back at the Zed Shed I am back on The Bug, Still lots to do but you have to start somewhere so I started at the back with the luggage rack as this holds the rear lights which all need replacing, Not impressed with the old light holders and it was more work to modify them than to just start again so they went Gone Bit of metal Number plate for size Mark it out Cut down Cleaned up the metal as I won’t be able to get at it with the sand blaster when the new mount is welded on. Missed some pics but all together it looks like this Then onto the front grill Its hammered So I cut the old mesh out and straightened the frame Then put in a new bit of mesh Now to remove the bearings (they need replacing anyway) and hub from the rear arms before sand blasting Hmm no idea how they come out, lets assume they work like any other hub and simply apply pressure Yup that works I found this crack in one of the hubs It goes all the way through so a new one has been ordered, the fact that it is a different colour to the other one leads me to believe it was also damaged in the crash that this Bug most definitely had at some point in the past. Then I stripped the reverse box Then the suspension strip down, but they are so small my spring compressor won’t fit them Here is a stupid idea, Yes, I ratchet strapped the spring to the top of the 30 Ton press then pushed the shock down Worked though That will let me clean this up Not sure if they will be painted of re-plated yet That’s all for now Keyser - Why is Monday so far from Friday, and Friday so close to Monday?

A very good morning to one and all, I’ve been manically madly stupidly busy! Both with work overload and I’ve managed to get all those projects that spiralled out of control during lockdown back in some semblance of order So sorry I didn’t post last week far too much on, but to catch you up; I took the new shelf and tool holder that I made for the lathe apart I also took the back cover off as it is hammered Then I had to pop out shopping Got the vibrating sand sifter out – worked well I had this old spanner that is the right size for the Lathe tool holder, I thought I’d keep it with the lathe instead of keep taking a spanner from my set and leaving it with the late After blasting And powder coated Came up well, I did lash out on a new powder coat setup though, a proper one, I have been using a cheap Chinese one with OK results up until now but this came up at the right price and I do like powder coating so I thought why not It is so much better than the last one, even coat, better “dust cloud” and the powder sticks a lot better as you can control everything it has settings for recoat etc as well, it does not however have a stand or a back so another project coming soon The finish between the new gun and new oven was very good though! This is the back panel (again) And now Then I put the lathe back together Added the wire tune And the light The finished (at last) project Back on “The Bug” next Keyser - You never realize what you have until it's gone. Toilet paper is a good example.

Morning all, Back to normal with work 5 days a week and only weekends to do all the normal stuff around the house associated with being an adult (I don’t do the adult thing very well ) Did manage to get the powder coat oven finished this weekend I put the top bar in and added stops, so it won’t fall out Then a nice big bolt to keep the doors shut Needed handles but the SMEG ones are different lengths So I cut them down pushed the end fitment out and put it back in the now shortened tube so I have matching handles Installed the thermometer Here she is all in place wired up and ready for a test before I decide if I need to anything else I do want to make some accessories like a middle shelf and some more hangers but nothing that stops me using it. For now, I added a cover That’s so I can sand blast the shelf from the lathe and get it powder coated, that will let me finish another project Keyser - “Facebook just sounds like a drag, in my day seeing pictures of peoples vacations was considered a punishment.” – Betty White

along

Morning, Quick update before work Onto the wiring then Started with a hole for the cables Started laying in wires Took a while but got all the switches wired up in the end I used a plug from the Smeg so the control box can be removed if required Mounted it onto the oven Put the elements in and ran the wiring round The back looks like this now Made up some covers To make it all safe and secure End plate Fits here More covers Go here And finally 2 more Some end covers That just left the light access holes Cover for them Inside looks like this And the lights work Just need to make the middle shelf some covers for the fans – if I decide I need them? put the doors on and add the thermostat and it’s ready I recon another day should finish it off so that’s planned for Saturday as I’m booked solid for work this week, then I can powder coat the shelf from the lathe – remember how this started? Then I can get back to The Bug, I need to put that together so before I can get the Radical in. Be Safe Keyser - “Always borrow money from a pessimist. He won’t expect it back.” – Oscar Wilde

Don’t give me any more projects I have 3 on half and 2 more waiting to start not to mention I need to get the Radical in ASAP if we are to have any chance of a track day this year!! Anyway……. Morning all, Managed to get some time in the Zed Shed over the weekend, Saturday morning was spent finishing a job for work (the paid kind) and tidying up then back to the powder coat oven – I really need to get this finished but the little bits take so long but I’ve put so much time and effort into it now I’m not going to cut corners and spoil it at the end! Today I have the new control panel for you, on the first attempt at a powder coat oven I just cut the front of the Rangemaster oven down and bolted it to the top, it saved time as the mounts for the switches are complicated and I couldn’t be bothered to trace all the wiring so I even kept the clock which you have to set every time you turn it on or the elements won’t turn on this time I wanted to do it properly. This is the old one just wacked on the top There was a draw in the Smeg and it was shiny so that seemed like a good reason to repurpose it cut a section out and bent it into a box of sorts MMM Shiny! Made a back from an off cut Then some carefully spaced hole drilling Then I had to sort out a discrepancy in thermostat controls, they come from two different ovens, so of course they are not the same length Nothing an angle grinder can’t solve Next I made these trendy tags up They let me reuse the lights from the Smeg on my new switches Then I mounted the thermostat switchs in the back part of the housing - I said they were complicated - well for a switch they are Had to add notches for the lights etc Tac welded some end plates in Made a top To give us the final control box Even has space for expansion in case I need more elements at a later date and it's shiny Just need to wire it now Hopefully a bit more tomorrow. Have fun Keyser - You know that moment when you get up in the morning, you're full of energy and you can't wait to get to work? Me neither! - Anonymous

Sneaks back in as if nothing happened Morning all Well work came back with a vengeance, we are as busy now as we were on the first week of lockdown! All the work that has been on hold for the last month or two is kicking off and everyone wants in NOW! Add to that a new project (work project not fun project) has snowballed into something bigger than we were expecting and needs to be ready by the 1st of July and I’m back on 12 hour days! I have not managed even an evening in the Zed Shed this week, the good thing is if I’m working hopefully I’ll have some money to carry on with my nutty builds, the bad news is no time to either do them or post on here about them! Here is an update from the end of last week, I welded some support tags onto the inside to give the top shelf extra strength Cleaned these bits of previously used angle iron And put them in the oven for a middle shelf Again, supported to the frame Top insulated and cover on One side Other side And we are here Small door Window was fitted in theis handy hole I made a cover plate but it is held in with self-tappers rather than rivets so the window can be easily removed if required Now this thing is getting blooming heavy! Had to get the heavy lift team in to get it from the Zed Shed to the powder coat room We did it Just need to wire it and push it back against the wall now. Hope to get some time in the Shed this weekend so there may be an update on Monday, have a great weekend guys n gals stay safe! Keyser - “Never under any circumstances take a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night.” – Dave Barry

Morning all. Hope everyone had a good weekend So I got a bit done on the oven, Hoping to get these side projects cleared over the next two weeks and then get back to some work on the vehicles, The Bug first though as I’d like to have that in one piece and maybe even get some use out of it in the summer! The mad fire foam has dried So I trimmed that down and test fitted the window frame, On the small door The foam had a big hole in it right where it is most needed, not sure why, maybe it’s because the foam is out of date I’ll stick some more in when I do the last lot on the back. I got part of the old SMEG Cut some strips and ran them through the rollers to make loops Then welded them onto Back plates This was combined with a cut down box section to create mounts for the elements that stand 10 to 15mm off the inside skin of the oven Then an old bit of pipe was cut into lengths Some holes drilled A bit of tube cut to length Holes drilled in the oven Then weld it all together These are the light fittings and the tube is for the wiring The oven seemed very happy with my work! I may have been on my own in the Zed Shed to long, WILSON!!!!!!……………………………… I then added some more box section behind the rest of the areas an element will go through The idea is to create some insulation area behind the elements as on the original ovent they just bolt them to the outside no insulation at all in places I’m trying to increase efficiency and it makes the thin steel stronger in the stressed areas, to that end I used my last bottle of fire foam After that had dried I trimed it all up Added some insulation Then riveted the back on Then I opened all the access holes for the electrics. The back looks like this now Wilson? #staysafe Keyser - “I asked God for a bike, but I know God doesn’t work that way. So I stole a bike and asked for forgiveness.” – Emo Philips

I know, I know, Thing is I now I have gone the powder coat route I need the oven done before I can crack on with The Bug but I will post the coplete build when I get to it, should be starting back on that in the next week or so, depends how long it takes to finish the Oven and put the lathe back together, the good news is that after The Bug the next two projects are vehicle

Yayyy it’s Friday Still at it on the powder coat oven, I decided to go the extra mile on the rack for hanging the items being powder coated, I could have just put a metal rack in or just a couple of bars but where is the fun in that? Instead I got some box Marked it up Cut it out a And the obligatory clean up Then I had to drag the lathe off the wall Just to make these Then some plates Lined up and tac welded on Made these And welded them on Some more box And some half inch bar All joined together to make a shelf That rolls out Here are the rollers, I need to add a stop so it can’t fall out I added a second set of plates and they bolt through the inner skin I will weld these outer plates to the frame and weld the nuts on so they become captive so the shelf can be removed and it is not just held up by the inner skin Stay safe, have a great weekend I should have an update on Monday Keyser - “Laughing at our mistakes can lengthen our own life. Laughing at someone else’s can shorten it.” – Cullen Hightower

I'm doing the ones on your Scooby pink mate

Very soon - I have doen them before Happy to practice on your wheels

Morning, Getting less and less time in the Zed Shed now, but we have a weekend coming up so I can keep posts coming for a few more days First I got Mrs K in to help with the next part of the project which is the doors, cutting the big sheets is hard on your own! and always handy to have someone to rivet while you drill After the outside panel was on, we added support bars for the hinges Marked and drilled Hinges on Soon had both doors on and checked But the hinges. WOW! they were a PITA, now I’ll admit the big ones were ones I had laying around and we bought the smaller ones as the same design, they are cheap and designed for gates, that probably went against us, I wanted “cranked” hinges as it allows a lip on the hinge side which helps to get a good seal when the door is shut – keeps the heat in – but the hinges just will not line up, if you hold them flat to the frame the doors won’t close properly. This was the solution The hinges were welded on at an angle to get the distancing correct, mind you if you look at them carefully you can see they are not even round That oval shape may be partly to blame, but welded at an angle has meant the doors work properly now Next I got the triple glazed window out (glass protected by the cardboard for sparks) Lined it up Welded a frame around it Then cut a hole in the door On to the thermometer Now that has seen better days, also as the probe is short I had a recess in the old door, I want to avoid that if possible this time round, a quick search of the inter web found me a replacement thermometer with a 150mm probe for a few pounds so that has been ordered. I built this box for it The idea is that when I add this foam, I acquired as it’s out of date Like this I will be able to drill through and mount the thermometer, the theory is that I will be drilling through foam not rock wool, anyone drilled through rock wool? – it bunches up and wraps round the drill bit, I’m trying to avoid that issue – hope it works. If you look closely at the frame in the pic above you can see the holes I drilled around the frame and filled with foam as well – fully insulated door The sides of the window were done just to stiffen them up. Now that takes a day to dry so ……………………… I got the car cleaning kit out and pulled the toy out of the car port where she has been sat undriven for weeks!! Looks like a barn find Looking better now Now I’m no detailing expert but I was happy with the shine Be safe guys hope work is coming back for you – or not if you are happy chilling at home on furlough More tomorrow (work not withstanding) Keyser - “I don’t believe in astrology; I’m a Sagittarius and we’re sceptical.” – Arthur C. Clarke

There was two Plus I have the ones from my origional oven and I may have bought extras from the bay of E to give me lots of ilumination

Morning, Well dunno about you lot but I was swamped yesterday with work, looks like 80% of my clients are back to work in at least some form. But you don’t want to know about that, you want to see cookers There ya go That’s the cheap Smeg oven I bought from Gumtree worked out less than buying the bits I wanted and it has triple glazed doors So stripped it down to get this lot Left some scrap This element has had better days But then it is not new I needed to dump the scarp so I also dumped the old powder coat oven I may have pinched the Stainless steel side panels and put them in my pile of bits in case they come in handy for something later on Onto the oven door, the small door was stripped down But Smeg has some kind of mirrored glass on the outside which I don’t want and the door is to thick to fit in my door design, so I stripped it completely Then milled 3mm off Made a new frame Front Back, but using the glass from my old powder coat oven so all 3 panes are clear That’s laid to one side ready for when the doors are made. Next we, the long suffering Mrs K was called in to help, bend 2.5m long strips of steel which I can’t do on my own 2 were made and riveted inside the frame This is where my angle strips allow fixing and give me good corner joints Next 2 bits of box cut to length Riveted on some plate And welded to the base Some insulation Then the covers were riveted on It’s getting really heavy now #staysafe Keyser - “Common sense and a sense of humor are the same thing, moving at different speeds. A sense of humor is just common sense, dancing.” – William James

I'll do the vibrating sieve in Violet just for you shall I?

Thats what Iwas trying to explain - I did 6.5KW on the 32 Amp breaker - 6.5KW = about 27 Amp Then I did 2.8KW on a 13 Amp extension lead - 2.8KW = about 11.5 Amp fused at 13 Amp So I agree the total was above the 32 Amp breaker but I did split it Thanks for looking out for me though, appreciated.

Morning, hope everyone had a fun weekend? @andybp I would take offence to the comment about being special even from a fellow battery licker like yourself, however I looked back over the last couple of pages of this thread and think you may be right In answer to your question - My wife, on numerous occasions and many eye rolls have been given when she asks “what are you making now”? and I tell her A quick update from the end of last week, Firstly in case anyone was checking my maths for the electric supply to the car cooker, I ran it on a 32Amp supply which won’t run 10KW in fact it tops out about 7.5KW I think the total on that circuit was 6.KW (ish) and then I ran 2.8KW from a 13amp plug on the other side which is in tolerance for that circuit Back to the bug, I second coated it but it looks like @Beb snuck in and changed the powder coat for some of his favourite colour the little sneak I soon put that right with the final coat of Blue Then the Shaggy Beast came back in Nothing to do for an hour ……………………. I swept the floor Ahh it’s done, seems I missed a few bits with the final coat It’s far from perfect unfortunately, the masking tape left marks in the orange, not sure why, maybe that the first coat didn’t cure right, it was supposed to be a 60% cure time but controlling temps in that huge oven is not easy or accurate, or it may be that due to so many coats the base coats softened during the final bake. Not going to worry to much as this is an off roader and we have a few options to improve it if we decide to – I’m not cooking it again!! The rest came out spot on Then I started taking the Shaggy Beats apart It is now extinct So The Bug is now here I’m going back to finishing the other projects now, that’s the new powder coating oven and the lathe, then it’s back to sandblasting The Bug frame and I have another project waiting in the wings. Keyser – “Trouble knocked at the door, but, hearing laughter, hurried away.” – Benjamin Franklin

Morning folks – Another bank holiday is upon us so I will at least get sometime in the Zed Shed, but I think Mrs K has ideas about some garden chores that we need to catch up on. As you will recall I took Wednesday off to try a little something. Back Story – I recently purchased a bulk load of powder coat as it was ridiculously cheap, mostly because of the colour and there was no choice in what colour was available at the price - but the guy selling it did point out that even if you used it as the primer/base coat it was cheap. As you are following you know I’m currently rebuilding my powder coat oven only this time bigger, I was having a coffee break in the Shed earlier in the week and I realised that the only thing that I would not be able to powder coat on The Bug after the new oven was finished was the main chassis, that seemed like a shame because firstly powder coat is probably the best possible coating for this type of vehicle and secondly if I wet paint it then I would have to wet paint all the other parts to get a colour match. At the same time, I have just stripped down another cooker from gumtree as I wanted a few bits from it and found it locally at the right price, due to the door hinges being broken and it needs new seals for both oven doors – It was cheap and I just wanted the parts so no brainer really. This meant I had a load of elements laying on the work bench. The (bad?) idea popped into my head, could I build a temporary oven big enough to cook a car? Why not I thought, I have a load of sheet steel I’m about to cut up to make the side,back and door panels for the new oven why not use it at full size and cut it up afterwards? Lets gfive it a go, I emptied the Zed Shed and took The Bug off the rocker, then dug these out of the store, they were on my old compressor from about 7 years ago, Bit of steel FIRE!!!!!! Shouldn’t weld nylock nuts but they were on the axel bolts (they stink when they catch fire BTW) Had to open the windows and go drink some coffee while the shed ventilated Anyway I soon had this built But needed to add some aniti fall off guides This allows the easy, well easier, transport of sheets from the store to the shed, as Mrs K can’t lift them Then I took the Rocker completely apart and used the wheels and support bars as the cross beams added 3 massive box section bars from the scrap pile as they happen to be long enough and all the same size and laid some sheet on that lot Then the other side and a front A removable door Test fit Looking good, but I need to heat this behemoth, lets throw 10Kw of power at it, that should do the job A thermostat so I can keep an eye on the temps Some dubious wiring - Meh it's only 32 amps running 10Kw at 240v - safe as house that Then after the application of some powder coat the SHAGGY BEAST was switched on Love it Monitoring the temps as I need 180 degrees I did it, I did it Took about 40 minutes to get to temp - The electric bill may be up this month If you need a dozen ostrich, 4 pigs, two cows or all of the above simaltaneously cooked, get you orders in quick Only thing is that after a successful bake it seems the Co-Owner of “The Bug” @Beb is not in touch with his feminine side and disliked the colour – A LOT – no he really, really did not approve (think he secretly admired the oven though ) An F1 team has a similar colour but no he wasn’t happy at all! Shame for the Mad Scientis, as I’m the one powder coating it, he's stuffed, although in his defence when my daughter helped me roll the oven off the after the first powder coat bake she did start singing “she’s a Barbie Girl” O I have some great fun here, I actually don’t mind the colour but I will admit that it may look better on a different vehicle, i.e an MX5 rather than a rugged off roader Anyway after a long facetime chat with the Beb he said he wouldn’t stop talking to me if I kept the colour so I can see no advantage in keeping it anymore. I cleaned up a few blemishes that stood out now it was powder coated and as I’m not using wet paint and can’t use filler I spent some time on the weld lines where I added the quarter panels. Then the BEAST was reborn That leave us here “A more manly colour” according to my daughter – I have 100 KG of this colour powder coat so you may see it a lot, mind you I also have 100 KG of the Violet Just need to second coat the chassis over the weekend and do a final bake. The SHAGGY BEAST will come out one more time before I take it apart and use the bits to finish the actual powder coat oven. Hope this madness cheered you up, I’ve been laughing all week, who does this sort thing? Well me obviously! Do I have issues? Can this kind of behaviour be condoned in anyway? Do I care? Is there hope for me? Answers on a post card Have a great weekend I’ll probably have an update Tuesday for you guys n gals. Stay Safe out there! Keyser - “The man who smiles when things go wrong has thought of someone to blame it on.” – Robert Bloch

Morning all, As I posted my reply to @scobie140 you will have realised that even thought the thing I tried yesterday was both mad and dangerous it was apparently not fatal I am actually calling it a success and will be posting that up in a couple of days after I catch you up on the new Powder Coating oven build Now I started like most normal people would by laying out the frame for the back of the oven, however whatever way I did it, it would not line up as square – I was confused about this for a while but it turns out that as I’m using “scarp” and some previously used steel it was bent and warped My solution was to build the back the in the wrong order, I cut some strips which will be needed to hold the sides in later and then riveted them through the backplate and into the frame using the backplate which is bang on square as the guide and I literally bent the frame to fit the sheet and welded the corners afterwards, not the conventional way to build it but solved the problem. The strips Bent to 90 in the sheet metal folder Riveted on To give the back I then used my very expensive length set tool to cut 4 pieces that will make up the corners OK it’s not really expensive but very effective Then as I’m working alone, I had to come up with a way to hold the corners square in two directions and weld it G Clamps and set squares We now have this Then the front Add a bottom plate out of 3mm so it can take the hammer it will no doubt get, I’m using Zircotec sheet for the inside because I have it and it shouldn’t rust it is fairly light coloured – useful in an oven and I can’t really paint the inside unless I spend out on high heat paint – stuff that! Then I changed the design I was going to have one door but it’s just too big so I’m going 70/30 or 60/40 or whatever fits the hinges I have and looks right So I cut out the front left bar and replaced it with a bigger one to match the one already fitted on the right – They are wider to take the hinges Then I drilled out all the angles I added earlier and moved them over to accommodate the bigger bar – I love to do every job twice, but as I don’t work from plans it happens – A LOT! We are now here Start on the doors then Door 1 Door 2 I think that’s you lot up to speed with where this project is but I have something special for tomorrow Stay Safe Keyser - “The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity.” – Dorothy Parker

Well now I would hope it was my projects, amazing skills, engineering prowess, ability to solve issues, multitude of talents or maybe just my extreme modesty However as you have posed the question I feel it only fair that I post a couple of pics so you can compare my scrap pile(s) to the projects and decide which is more impressive. The only problem is I wasn’t sure which scrap pile you meant, There is the main scrap pile The odd big bits scrap pile The sheet metal scrap pile The stainless and bar scrap pile Then we have the aluminium and stainless pile in the garage Or the bar and pipe pile behind the Mill Not forgetting of course, the aluminium off cuts pile The general steel of cuts box And lastly the draw under the big bench Which has my “useful” of cuts scrap pile. Over to you I will say I have put quite a dent in the amount I had before lock down though Keyser

Morning all, I’m actually struggling to stay ahead of the posts now, it takes a long while to fabricate some of this stuff but only a few minutes to post the results in a picture, things may start to slow down from here on in, I’m also doing more of my real job and the weekend is looking like some garden chores will need attending to. Now I did say a new project was starting today, well this may or may not surprise you but at the end of my last post you will remember this I mentioned this to Mrs K and she said “Why don’t you just extend your oven” I will also say she retracted the statement almost immediately and as I went off to grab a tape measure she mumbled something like “O no, what have I started now” Anyway I thought – what a great idea I’ve had several occasions when a bigger oven would be useful, I have a friend that would like me to do his motorbike frames for example. I would like to do the Go-Kart chassis and just some bigger parts, even the exercise bar I did for my daughter meant hanging the longest bars at an angle and doing them one at a time as they were to long for the oven. So Lets go have a look at the oven, this was my first attempt at a powder coat oven it was done in a hurry in the Old Zed Shed, it was really an experiment to see if home powder coating could be done, cheap gun from eBay and a cheap Rangemaster cooker from Gumtree, As a cooker is tiny I acquired a fridge but it is an industrial one from a hotel and as such is fireproof and lined with expanding foam, domestic fridges use polystyrene so are no use. It currently looks like this The wiring is scary, I literally took the electrics from the cooker and moved them directly onto the fridge They are so scary that my mate and professional electrician Tim, would not wire it into the Zed Shed 2 – He said he would install the cooker socket but would in no way condone the attachment of “that death trap” Dunno what he’s worried about been going for at least 6 years and apart from the fan not working, it blows thecircuit breaker if you turn the light on and it has uninsulated 240v AC mains wires all over it, its fine Like I say this was an experiment – it worked – we never got around to tidying it up. Another problem was the doors – they are rubber sealed and it melted over time – I was going to replace them with fire rope but never got around to that either No secrets from me it looks terrible I think we agree an upgrade is well overdue. So lets strip it down and see how it can be improved / extended Electrics out The empty shell The doors were designed to be a top and bottom separately opening, I joined them together and bolted the oven door over the front during the testing phase I think it had a window in before but can’t really remember, they are looking bad! I then sat back and considered options, drank more coffee and eventually decided – this is not worth the effort, I’d have to put right all my bodges and it won’t extend nicely in any direction except cut the bottom out and make it taller, but then the door would have to be rebuilt. Only one thing for it then – To the scarp pile.......................... Framework sourced Some panelling Lets get started cleaning up some metal – AGAIN!, it’s all I do is clean metal More on the progress of this as it happens, although I am taking a day off work today (emergencies not withstanding) my colleague is covering my calls and I am going to attempt something – I’m not sure if it will work. I’m not sure it’s even a good idea and it is probably dangerous, I may or may not post the results on here – if I don’t post anything it was more dangerous than I anticipated! Stay Alert – The world still needs Lerts! Keyser - “Never argue with stupid people, they will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience.” - Mark Twain