and today i have mostly been...

[406Break]

Nope, don't have those. Whats the point?

[steve_earwig]

The point? They seem to be some sort of stone chip protection, on my D8 the paint was quite worn there by stone chips, almost through the paint. Also, my D9 now has it on one side but nothing the other, probably nobody but me would notice but I do.

Back to the loft, I bought a new sanding pad yesterday but after about 2 minute's use it's smashed. This time I seem to have just caught it on the concrete (I though that was safe!) and again the grinder's out of my hands and dancing around my feet. It was well jammed on too. I started using the old pad but my confidence is all gone, the whole time I'm waiting for it to jump out of my hands and cut my foot off or just plain explode and blind me, so I'm giving it a rest. Presently I'm finishing up plumbing the bog, then I'll have a tidy up and then I think I'll go and do some gardening.

[Welly]

I think you've had your warnings from the grinder already today, good idea to give it a rest. Do you not think a wire-brushy drilly attachment thing would clean up the wood?

[steve_earwig]

Gah! rain stopped play, I was just about to awaken a Flymo. At least it never rains indoors...

The idea is to get the rough hewn timber, with 25 years of patina, back to clean wood (complete with nail holes, chunks missing, woodworm holes etc.) and then varnish/stain it. The word is smooth, I don't think I'd achieve the same effect with a wire bush

[highlander]

See if you can borrow/rent/buy a handheld belt sander; it's got to be safer than the Rotary Sander Of Death (tm) for this application.

Should still get smooth results, while still allowing you to keep all your body parts right where they're meant to be.

[steve_earwig]

I bought one, I reasoned it might take longer but it'd be safer. Unfortunately there's a knack to it which I don't have, my dad says he always puts whatever he's working on so it's horizontal, that gives him a better chance. Umm, the only bits I have to do that are horizontal are the bits you can't see, everything else is inclined, vertical or upside-down. All that happened when I tried it was the end where the powered roller is dug in, leaving a nice notch that I had to sand out with The Instrument of Satan. Verdict: waste of money

[highlander]

Alternative suggestion: hire someone else as a finger-losing substitute

[Doggy]

My thinking exactly, entrust it to one of the local artisans

[steve_earwig]

I'd have as much chance of finding someone who's capable of doing that and has the time to do it as I would of getting a Papal handjob. Miloš said he'd help me with it if I hadn't finished so he may end up doing the rest. Not happy about that but I'm not sure what else to do.

I was also thinking, my angle grinder is something like 850 watts, maybe this is too powerful?

I've still not done any more, today I've been having a tidy-up. Dražen, the electrician, was here last week. Absolutely smashing bloke but I think he underestimated the job, he reckoned Wednesday, maybe Thursday, but he was here until Saturday and finished off last night at almost 11! He is only doing half days though, as he has a real proper job doing shifts as an electrician at a fruit co near here. No shortcuts though, no nailing cables to beams as I suggested, it's all been done proper. He was also very good at clearing up after himself but last night he just didn't have time.

It was like this everywhere


New fuse panel:

With not one but two RCD's! I didn't even realise it has a single phase one, I think that's for the shed. Only 1 MCB is on, that's for the socket under the panel so I don't have to run extension leads up the stairs.

It's piggybacked off of the old panel, right off of the feed into the RCD:


It's all ready for the render and then Dražen will be back to fit it all and switch it on:

The white stuff is plaster (of Paris?) which sets horrendously fast, which means that the job gets done quick, no waiting around for the glue to set, but you have to keep it on the go the whole time or it sets solid (ask me how I know...)

Let's have a closer look at that junction box


And remember folks, this is all done to the latest (Croatian) specs!

[Doggy]

Wcpgw (maybe that means something else in Croat)?

Let's have a closer look at that junction box

Well oversized that is, only the cautious would want to isolate that before screwing the cover on....

The absence of brown & grey conductors would imply thers's only one phase in there. Somehow I'd feel kinda let down if they'd missed an opportunity to include multi-phase roulette to liven things up.

[steve_earwig]

Grey? They don't seem to worry about phases once it leaves the fuse panel. I've come across all 3 in one box before, I guess it's best to assume they're all in there, less chance of an instant suntan that way.

No "W" in the Croatian alphabet

[Welly]

"Remember Jimmy....only snip the Blue wire....THE BLUE WIRE... got it?"

[Welly]

....attending a meeting at our bestest client to negotiate an order for a £220K contract (that I've been working on for 4 weeks) only to leave no better off they don't know what they want, can't commit to anything, and I've come away with even more confusion and 'options' to offer them for consideration.

Now I've lost half a day's work on the other 'back up' contract that I'm bidding for in case we didn't get the first one and now they're pressing me for my best offer (which I've only really just began working on let alone compiled an offer).

And I finish at 4pm to do a personal errand. And the next 2 weeks are 4-day'ers lol lol lol lol lol

[steve_earwig]

Any chance they're actually up sh*t creek financially and just stalling for time?

YOu know that saying, if you want something done give it to someone who's busy? I think that might be you...

[steve_earwig]

I bought another grinder yesterday, the Bosch I've been using has taken quite a beating and I've buggered up the pin that you push in to lock it so you can unscrew it because the pad got jammed on and I mangled it trying to free it. I can probably fix that but to replace the grinder would cost well over a ton. So I was in the supermarket yesterday and I spotted they were selling cheap Chinese junk for 13 quid, 500 watt (so less powerful) and, when I had a look at it, the power button can be made not to latch . if you push it forward the motor starts, if you push it more the switch clips into a hole and it latches, so all I need to do is fill the hole in with, say, hot snot from a glue gun It'll mean holding the button on while I'm working but it must be better than risking it jumping out of my hands and severing a finger or two or running down my leg and severing my femoral artery. I doubt it'll last long but maybe long enough.