Category Archives: Random Stuff

Power cut

Random Stuff

During the recent storm we lost power at home. The insulation failed on main cable from the pole to the house. After warning us it was going to pop for two stormy days with sparks and buzzing sounds it finally broke on Tuesday morning just before I left for work.
We waited until Saturday for the linesman to come and pull the pole fuse so we could get an electrician to come and fix the fault. The electrician came almost immediately and did the work then we had to wait for the linesman to come back and install the pole fuse. This didn’t happen until the following day (Sunday) afternoon.
I thought I had a backup plan using a Chinese Superswift/Allpower inverter generator I’ve had in my garage for the last 10 years but it wouldn’t start and had no spark so I bit the bullet and bought a new Honda EU22i. It performed admirably and was very frugal on fuel, roughly $20 to run from 7am to 10pm. We managed to keep the fridge freezer running and run the internet, TV and some lights. Charged our phones and made cups of tea. It did it all.

Honda Goldwing GL1200 timing belts

Motorbikes, Random Stuff

Richard brought his Goldwing into work to get the timing belts replaced. It was a relatively straightforward job, just the thought that if I set the timing wrong the engine could be damaged made it a little nerve racking. Fortunately it all worked out well. It still needs a new choke cable, after 40 years the original has seized up. That’s a job for another day.

2k Clear coat bonnet repair

Random Stuff

The clear coat has been peeling on my car’s bonnet pretty much ever since I got it.
I had about 400ml of 2k clear left over from doing the coffee table and the weather was spot on.
It’s not quite as good as it looks in the pictures but is pretty darned good. I’ll let it fully cure and after a wet sand I think it will be fine.

Hydraulic Work bench improvements

Random Stuff

I managed to disable some of the safety systems in our repurposed wheel chair lift, they’re not required as we are not using it for its original intended purpose.

I added a 2 way joystick control which is much easier to use than the double toggle switches it came with.

Next step is to fabricate a frame to hold the front wheel of a motorcycle 🙂