Onoff

I found a rat chewed copy of the Karma Sutra under the suspended floor in one of the bedrooms here!

One of my pieces I made as an apprentice. This was rusted solid, stiff and otherwise fit for the bin. Came out of the bath yesterday and tbh I should have oiled it straight away. A few minutes back in the tank will get rid of the flash rust: (I even made the knurling tool that knurled the screws. Trying to find that).

Why do anything? Keeps the old grey matter ticking over. The day I stop thinking...or is that over thinking? Why collect bottle caps, why start making a table with them set in 2 part resin? ?

They handle really well and it's a FORD!

Thinking to mount the bath up on 4 bits of slot together scaffold. Maybe a couple of bits of Unistrut lengthways if the bath feet don't sit right. Fill it up with 160L water. Then a quick homemade solar thermal panel o/of some leftover Pex-Al-Pex. Got a scrap OSB board I can mount it on and paint black. I could really go to town and frame it, glaze it and even insulate! Let it do its thing and thermosyphon. All out of scrap of course The first worry is maintaining 65degC?

"Onoff was here 2010 - 2019"

Going for 19:1 for the big bath solution for the cross member 10kg of citric acid ordered tonight. Based on: 4:1 by volume = 250g / 1L 19:1 by volume = 250g / 4.75L Required volume is 1200 x 400 s 350 so 168L thus just under 9kg at 19:1 Should be here Wednesday.

The painter's work was all in vain The bog wall writer strikes again!

On the basis that galv, stranded wire could be whacking weeds and forcing wet, green stuff into the wire I don't reckon it'd be too long before it rusted and broke. I'll try some 2mm stainless and report back.

And Latchway Mansafe systems...

He has sponsors!

Rolling vistas of rubbish mountains await future generations!

I've always known it as aircraft cord rather than "cable" oddly and I did mean stainless steel. I've got quite a bit of 2mm dia stainless scrap wire like this if anyone wants some to try.

Why not aircraft cable then?

So, next candidate for the citric acid treatment. MK1 Focus estate rear cross member. What a pig stripping the arms off it. Cut probably 50% out with a slitting disc. Bless Ford for never assembling any suspension component with grease or anti seize! Got a couple of old baths available as I say if I want them, might do as a container. Maybe paint black and leave in the Sun? However, wondering if making up a "tank" with some Celcon blocks, lining with DPM and then putting a ratchet strap round the whole lot might allow a tank near the exact size and thus save on citric acid powder? Just hoping there's enough metal left to make it worthwhile. Also a few seized, cut off bolts still in there that I'm hoping will loosen enough to undo once in the bath.

In this weather you need your wits about you to mix and pour quickly whilst the preceding mixes are still wet or it can dry too fast. Thereafter think about covering with a plastic sheet, keeping wet. Tbh it can be too hot to mix up concrete especially if you're new at it.

If your soil is firm enough and you can dig a hole accurately enough size wise then the soil sides will contain the concrete. Go oversize with your hole of course and you might underestimate your quantities. My brother hand dug a hole for his astronomy pier about 3 feet deep and I reckon it was near perfectly square. That's in clay though. Stems from digging holes in the Army I imagine!

Getting there:

You can mix up in a barrow...or on a board. I often use a mixing tray for small quantities. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Builders-Building-Material-Children-Plastering/dp/B06XS2FJND/ref=asc_df_B06XS2FJND/?

I wondered about replacing my electric strimmer line with 2mm dia stainless steel aircraft cable?

I suddenly want a Landover... (Thinking of approaching an owner for a neglected Series 2. Really need to do the Capris first...or more garage space but then I need that anyway). Why no MOT?

Adding flames to the fire stoked by @SteamyTea, I've just secured the old bath to be able to derust bigger things! First in will be a MK1 Focus rear cross member once I've liberated it from the associated suspension arms. That's tomorrow's job. Just hope there's enough metal left to make it worthwhile... Now then how big's the bath to calc how much citric acid...and how to heat? Thinking a loop of Pex-Al-Pex in the bath and a simple loop of black pipe in the Sun to thermosyphon...

Closer to the truth than you realise.

Worth thinking of ready mix. Just found a place local will do it for £99 cash per cubic metre. Doesn't matter if you want 1/2m3 increments, they'll mix what you want on site. They don't go as far as Wales though!

Use one of the online calculators like this: https://source4me.co.uk/calculate_concrete_mix.php