Druidic exploits of a various nature!!

[v8druid]

don't know how ... or why, .... but it was a Clara day again today !!


Needed to get to town as the kids have eaten everything and we needed a re-stock ....


Booked a pallet collection for a new (to me) bucket, earlier in the week for Wednesday ... expecting a Monday delivery next week ... looked at the tracking this morning and damn me if it wasn't out for delivery today ?????


usually here by half eleven, so gave 'em 'til then and then thought "sod it - we gotsta go" .. asked for a rough ETA this morning and got sod all, apart from before 5 today!!!!


been back about 5 minutes and nothing 'dumped' on the drive, so assumed they'd either been and not found me or they'd not been at all, when I get a call from the truck driver .. sorry he's late but had a day from hell.


" No problem " ..... transpires he's the son of a friend, knows exactly where we are ... but he's in a 6 wheeler ... a loooooong one.
So said I'd meet him at out turning spot, best part of the way down the drive with a trailer.


get there and yon lump is at the front of the truck ..... with a load of stuff he's collected through the day blocking it in, behind it.


Curtains open - back trailer up to the side of the truck and we persuaded it out over the side, down into the trailer and then flipped it over .... sweet as!!





not 'new' but one solid lump ... gonna need new cheeks .. not a problem ... made in the days when they knew how to make a solid bucket ... IMHDO 'tis a Geith, but STBC ......





Nice profile ..... for footing digging !!





and I sure as hell am not going to wear it out ....





Apparently 'twas on a Pocy last .... looks to have had a few 'incarnations', cheek-wise ..... it'll get another and probably its last .... 'Drema spec ... 400 x 280, on 70mm pins ..... have it sussed, but not in a hurry-ish ATM .... job for anon






Chap I had this off - usual Eblag - when we swapped phone numbers to get it sorted, I thought he'd sent me my own number back ..... until I realised he had one digit difference ..... some sort of coincidence !!!!! ..... he'd even rung himself by mistake, trying to call me ..... LOL

Anyone recognise the teeth ?








As you've probably guessed ...... it was a cheap bucket .... ain't gonna create gert trenches for concrete filling at 550mm wide and should plough through most things, I'm likely to encounter, when I get to it .... other than boulders .... of which there should be none, where I'll be pulling footings out

[v8druid]

I've cleaned out many suds tanks and machine tool sumps. My favourite method, when the bulk is pumped out. is to dump clean dry sawdust in, stir it around then vac it out with the workshop vac. A couple or three cycles of this and things get more pleasant to work on !

Neat idea
I'd already cleaned/cleared the tank out last week, but you know what they're like ... old suds always stinks

Was 99.9% water, with just the slight residue that only a good pressure/steam cleaner'd really shift.
Was some sort of volume though - going 25-30 ltrs in there and all rain water ... admittedly caught in the machines coolant catch tray, plus, whatever had already overflowed into the base of the saw and sat on the bench/run off it.

we had some sort of deluges here over the weekend, as did a lot of the country by the seem of it.

Back to dry and warm these last couple of days, although it looked like we were in for a hell of a downpour at 5 a.m. this morning .... didn't happen though

Now it's all got to dry out again .... I'm amazed at how slowly it's happening, with the sun and breeze on it

[AndrewMawson]

I've cleaned out many suds tanks and machine tool sumps. My favourite method, when the bulk is pumped out. is to dump clean dry sawdust in, stir it around then vac it out with the workshop vac. A couple or three cycles of this and things get more pleasant to work on !

[v8druid]

We've had the kids back again, ... from their third wedding on the trot ...
Shem continues to scream the house down, most of the night and I am knackered.
I am not good with sleep deprivation .... two nights I cope with, but ......!!!!


took them to Bristol airport at 4 a.m. this morning ... after about 30 minutes sleep last night !!!


Done sod all all day, as (a) I am buggered and (b) Clara day !!


Did manage to get all the pallets banded Tuesday, or was it yesterday ??? .... I have no idea TBH .. I am on screensaver !!
I have no idea how they cope with it ... and work !!





Might just bag the odd shaped lumps to keep 'em in some semblance of 'tidy', on a pallet, out the way





the rain at the weekend was .... significant .... I'd cleaned this out and emptied it (band saw coolant tank) .... came as a bit of a shock when I swung it out for a shufty and got soaked in the process ... old suds tanks stink !!!!





Note the meniscus 'clinging' to the corner !!!!!!!
Was some sort of full !!!!!

[v8druid]

went and paid me neighbour a visit this morning ....





and came back with 20 pallets





last four coming out





and got parked over by the rock pile .....
then stuck the VA-r on. ......





..... and the Cranab, for some rock sorting and pallet packing


took a bit of patience, juggling them all about and landing them, so they stayed put and as I wanted them





didn't take too long though .....





will take longer to band the bloody things, probably!!!





VA-r worked fine, first off ..... not been on the 'Drema in a while, but made easy work of sorting and packing


Squeak came to tell me it was time for his tea ... as he often does ... as in
"I will just perform by here, until you come and feed me" LOL





Just a pile of real random lumps left to deal with, having sorted through them and gotten them ready to hand ball onto yet another pallet ... they'm all 'little 'uns', in comparison to some of the lumps today .... might just bag them, to keep them relatively contained !!


My neighbour was well happy to lose a trailer load of pallets and said to come back anytime for another one/two/ten loads of 'em !!
He's also over the moon with his rock stockpile down his field .... " just keep tipping it there ... all you like "

Left the VA-r sat on her tonight .... might need it again tomorrow for a bit of grab work and maybe the forks, to juggle this lot about





Don't like leaving the rams extended, but can't see it raining tonight and it's safe enough here.

[v8druid]

forgot to say that I'd managed to get this reasonably leveled out and all tracked in on Friday last week ... remember Numbawun, off the CEF saying that, the ol' twins do a decent job of flatting it down with 15t rolling about on it ... good job too with all the wet stuff over the weekend ...








got that pallet packed at last ... 'kin hard work too ...







gonna go get some more pallets and stick the VA-r & Cranab on, to sort that bloody pile out .... in my way to make any further progress and some of them are way too big for anything other than mechanical handling

[v8druid]

Saturday started with ......... torrential rain .... but the sun was out by the time we'd done the hour to Welland !


stayed that way til about 3 and then it caught us up !!!!!!


someone'd got a challenge on their hands .... presumably from the auction the previous day !!





Clara'd loved watching the 'little diggers' in the RC display tent .... credit to the folks who put it on .... amazing small scale gear .... then she decided she needed to see the "big ones" up in the 'playpen' on the hill.
Unfortunately by the time we'd trudged up there they'd all got tired of the mud too and'd given up for the day ...





she did get some up close and personal time with 'em though ...


checking out Martin Ashfield's traxcavator



after she'd checked out the row of 'beasts' and assorted 'heavy metal' awaiting her inspections





Many thanks to Dehane, who offered her a ride in his mule .... she'd have loved it, ... if she hadn't had an eppy ..... don't think she's ever seen anyone quite that tall before !!!


All in all and in spite of the bloody horrendous weather in the afternoon/evening, a good time was had by all. nice to have time with some old faces and meet a few new ones .....


two months of glorious weather and it had to piss down for Welland weekend .... sod's law!!!!

and yes we've had more than enough wet stuff here too, the last 48 hrs ....





ain't seen any of this wet brown stuff for a while ....





had started to dry a bit by yesterday evening





aided by the serious hooley that accompanied the precipitation and stuck around after it stopped.
This is going to mean a return to the mowing regime ... had almost forgotten what that's like !!


We've had the pleasure of a visit from Doobin off the CEF and his good lady today, down in God's country for a wander about ... sure chose the right weekend to kick it off with


I blame him for the weather .... was fine, 'til he arrived in Wales, Friday night !!!!!!

[v8druid]

co-pilot's been at it again ..... he's a personality .... damned near human !!


he's been a right lil' bugger this afternoon ....


In/out, in/out - I'll just lie here / there / here - where-ever





put him something to lie on in the hope he'd stay put





nope .. "I'll just lie here instead"



he's been on my lap, on the floor, under my feet, sat behind the seat, sat on my shoulders ..... laid on the deck of the machine - front / back, on top of the tool locker .. he has been everywhere today !!

he is one spoilt cat ... he cost me a bloody fortune when he was 18 months old ... has had a full back end rebuild ... both hips wired, pinned and screwed and his lower rear, right leg completely rebuilt.


you'd never know, apart from a few small scars .... we were very lucky to have one of the country's top orthopedic veterinary surgeons practicing quite locally.


the bill how-ever was

last but one load, from yon pile, ready to depart ....





a pretty fair heap up there .....





kept the last one - still in the dumper ATM ... in case I want/need it ...
and set about getting it squared up, with what was left on the floor





still got a lot more mudstone to rip out in places, so might not need said load.... but yer never know??





looking a bit more like it ....





the big question is ....... how many more pallets do i need for this lot .....








looking a bit flatter than it was ... there's always one big b'stard that pops up as yer's pulling the edge across !!!!! getting there though





still got lots of tidying/fiddling about to do at the far end





then there's the question of dealing with those bloody lumpers ... and sorting this end ..... think I may have to relocate some pallets ... again .... to give me some space for this corner.!!!
Plus .... quite a few of 'em are sat on some of what needs to come up !!


load count .....


this morning



this afternoon



put very near five hours on her today

which I know is sod all for all you guys who spend day in, day out in 'em .... but ...
couple of min.s to load the dumper from the heap .... turn her off ... pilot dumper prob.s 2/3rds of a mile each way .... and repeat ....


for me to put hours on her is 'unusual'.


she's approaching about 850 hrs since I've had her .... so five in a stint's a lot for me - sort of!! ..... 4504 on her when she arrived at Druid central ..... four years ago!!!!


explains why I was 'in the groove', edge grading rubble, this afters !! ... LOL


as per ..... lots more pix here for the masochists amongst you
http://s1275.photobucket.com/user/v8...postlogin=true

[v8druid]

rain came to sod all

so another day to myself ..... and cracking on ..... well I was 'til Sparty puss appeared ... all stop, bucket down and get him in the cab!!




getting down to 'a level' finally





top layer is all 'block stone' ... mudstone again under it .... a lot of block to come out yet ! Better go get a load of pallets !!







but running out of space to pile it all .... more than enough to trim off a level where needed so decided this morning that some - a lot - had to go, so been loading out most of the afternoon and tramping it up to me neighbour's stone stock pile in his field





Chatting with him last weekend, at his kid's birthday party and he's over the moon with the pile .... "keep it coming" was his expression ...

..... happy to oblige .. backwards is the only sensible way down here, with pushing 7-8 ton of rock in the skip





getting it up on the heap can be 'exciting' ..... that doesn't look much of a heap with the dumper sat on it ... it is though!!!!





gotsta be 9 or 10 ft high ....







the Thwaites is a big lump





if next doors hadn't pissed me off, this'd made a hell of a nice shed base/hard-standing area for his gear .... and'd been a bloody sight closer !!!!

tea time ..... 'bout half seven tonight ..... back from the last one of the day .. would've done another hour or so ..... but I was bloody starving !!





still a lot of 'block' to pull up





but the pile of stone and crush is diminishing ... IIRC about 10 or 11 loads this afters





reckon I can ship out most of the pile ... a lot more mudstone, under the block layer and most of it'll need ripping up





No fire tonight though

[v8druid]

managed to get a bit done yesterday ..... Pam and the kids went out for the morning/early afternoon and I got some me time .....





slow old going though pulling the 'right' amount of rock out, without destroying the batter above






the pile is growing, but don't want to ship any out 'til I know what i'm going to need to get back to the right level .... running out of space though






got given as many pallets as I want Saturday, so must go get some and start getting some of those blocks stacked ....... A LOT more to come out yet and need 'em OUT!!



Trying to rain here ATM, but hoping it ain't gonna come to much ... need to get on !!

[v8druid]

Busy day ....... getting sod all done !!


the best man and his assistant .....



trying to get these three out the door and mobile for ten was not easy ...

then clearing up the bomb site that was our house, twelve hours earlier, before the next shift arrived ......


to be taken to our next door (across a few fields) neighbours kids' party

damned sight better weather, than last year's peeing down and cold day !!


this un couldn't see what all the fuss was about this morning !!



LOL


I am deffo coming back as Druid's cat !!!!!

[v8druid]

Only went and ****ing rained on me this afters





getting there .......





gonna have to put the VA-r and grab on to put some of these on a pallet !!!





PROPERLY !!!!! ...not the 0.5mm forecast !!!!


did damp the dust down ..... it's now brown sludge !!!!!

[v8druid]

Not a great deal achieved yesterday .... 'twas a Clara day after all .... rule no 1 ... do not leave your Crocs 'unguarded' ..... they'll walk !!








LOL


Me an' the 'co-pilot' were exhausted, by the end of the day!!








but got a second wind after tea ..... and got the mag stand out to create .......




an Emmental pick up set .... been trying to get around to this one for ages.....





multiple choice mount for Alex's HPX ..... or anything else with Kins's 140 square ctrs or their 6 way 198mm PCD attachment ctrs .... like his big Kins grapple.





..... and will also pick up my 'beam' too, plus a few other att.s ..... can't have enough options on yer pick ups !!!


44 no. x 18mm dia holes produce a lorraswarf !!!!!
just got a short turret to knock out for the grab and job done!

[v8druid]

all I've done today is rip more mudstone out and crush it down ..... got a bit of a tump mounting up .....





oh ... and a bit more of this .....








these have been testing gravity today .... it's fully functional at Druid central .... they don't stay together too well when they land ....





My co-pilot's had a hard day ......





there's a whole bed of those blocks to come out yet ....





but it's coming along .... quietly





the start of no 6 ..... need some more pallets .... a lot more at this rate !!!





these 1200 squares are ideal .... get plenty on the buggers !!!


It may be a Clara day tomorrow ?? Not sure, but she's gonna have her work cut out brushing up after grand dad, if it is ,,, hell he's made a mess today !!


We also have 4 days of Shem and co. .... up for Josh's best mate's wedding ... Going to be loooong days and short nights .. he's still not sleeping!!!!!

[v8druid]

A rarely spotted Alex ...... persuading one end through the side frame, whilst I routed it across the turntable, under several layers of plumbing .... no way was he getting as far under as I'd had to





anyway ......it was back on, oil tight and running by five, all reassembled and ready to rock ... or attack rock at least!!


so after Alex'd departed, it had to have an hour ....











it's coming ....... be coming again today too ..... if it wasn't 'bloody Sunday'


Clara and Co. were back into Heathrow last night/this morning about 5.00 a.m. ..... those two weeks in Vietnam went quick!! ..... so had been expecting a visitation anytime this morning ......... they came straight here from Heathrow, as Clara'd been yelling to come here since they got in the car ... got here about half eleven, had a bit of a chill and some brekky, then left Clara with us, whilst they went and unpacked and got sorted!!


So a fair chunk of the day's be taken up grand-dad-ing ..... my apprentice/cleaner is back






she's also spent a bit o' time chasing granny .................. with a hose pipe



who's gotten a tad wet a few times this afternoon ......... as have I .....

..... and playing with her favorite toy .... of late



been a glorious day


managed to fill pallet no 4 in the week .... a 1200 x 1200 one this time .. run out of 1200 x 1000s .....





and bloody heavy it was too !!





started on no. 5 yesterday .... and probably gonna need a few more yet