Christmas lights seem to be the worst in that regard. Usually the outlet they plug into doesn’t get used for much till December every year, then gets the crap loaded out of it. Plenty of time for oxides to build up in the off season. Kitchen and laundry outlets get loaded heavily all the time, and any oxide that builds up in the short term gets burnt off periodically (almost self cleaning). And it might get noticed if it’s getting hot or loose and replaced. The one the Christmas lights get plugged into gets ignored, and all of a sudden there’s a problem.
I had a 1967 Triumph Daytona that had US Imperial, Metric and British Whitworth.
A crescent wrench worked wonders.
A crescent wrench worked wonders.
Also a plane ran out of fuel because the gallon vs liters when taking on fuel. :O
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gimli_Glider
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gimli_Glider
Shifting would have been more of a problem in the past, virtually everything these days is an automatic. Manual transmissions are a great theft deterrent though.
Indeed. Although I thought that was more of a North America thing... I thought Europeans liked stick shift better. I know I do. If I had an automatic, it would NEED to be dual clutch. No slushboxes for me, thanks.
In Europe it is kinda the other way around.
Personally I will never voluntarily drive a manual again. Hate the bloody things and since I live in a city and not on a race track a stick shift is just stupid.
Fuse wire is still common in the UK.
It takes many years for old installations to be updated since perishable rubber insulation went out of use.
However, you can now buy resettable fuses to fit the older style fuse boxes.
Bayonet cap light bulbs were the norm until just a few years ago.
I guess it changed when most light fittings stopped being home produced.
So a plain ceiling pendant for a bulb is still likely to be bayonet but a complete ceiling light (or table light) could be any fitting.
In the old days you would have a 2 way adaptor in the ceiling fitting to plug your radio/clothes iron in.
Now you go to the DIY outlet and the (long) aisle for light bulbs has 4 sections -
large bayonet, small bayonet, large Edison screw, small Edison screw, with same full range of bulb shapes in each section.
You have to be careful that a previous shopper has not put one back on the wrong shelf (taken wrong base home once - never again).
It takes many years for old installations to be updated since perishable rubber insulation went out of use.
However, you can now buy resettable fuses to fit the older style fuse boxes.
Bayonet cap light bulbs were the norm until just a few years ago.
I guess it changed when most light fittings stopped being home produced.
So a plain ceiling pendant for a bulb is still likely to be bayonet but a complete ceiling light (or table light) could be any fitting.
In the old days you would have a 2 way adaptor in the ceiling fitting to plug your radio/clothes iron in.
Now you go to the DIY outlet and the (long) aisle for light bulbs has 4 sections -
large bayonet, small bayonet, large Edison screw, small Edison screw, with same full range of bulb shapes in each section.
You have to be careful that a previous shopper has not put one back on the wrong shelf (taken wrong base home once - never again).
For a while I lived in a country that used bayonet-base bulbs. I had the same experience as you once, after which always wore thick work gloves when screwing or unscrewing a bulb.
I take exactly the same precaution when removing old vacuum tubes from tube equipment. Good thing, too - I had an EL84 shatter in my fingers once when removing it from a Fender Blues Junior.
That particular Blues Junior had a very poorly designed metal retainer that made contact with a hot part of the EL84 glass bulb. When I pulled gently on the tube to remove it, it shattered starting along the line where the cold metal tube retainer had made contact with it. Evidently there were already stress cracks in the glass in that area.
-Gnobuddy
I can't believe anyone is complaining about Robertson screws. Man, what sort of screwdriver did you try to use to unscrew it? 😀
Seriously, I have never, ever seen a stripped Robertson-head screw. Every other type of screw I've ever seen in my life will sooner or later fail that test - Phillips, JIS, Torx, Allen, you name it. All of then can, and do get stripped now and then.
Robertson screws also stay in place on the head of your screwdriver while you try to fuss it into a tight location. With other screws, you have to magnetize your screwdriver tip before you can get that same benefit.
If someone made a screw head with a recessed equilateral triangle (instead of the recessed square in a Robertson), it might be an even better design.
-Gnobuddy
I guess you've never built a wood fence with a battery powered drill, with a Robertson bit in the chuck. 😉
jeff
jeff
I'm sure I once filed a piece of bar to a triangle to remove a 'security' screw to replace a melted cable on a sandwich toaster.
I did think it was a dangerous place to use a security screw - why would you want to discourage someone from replacing a damaged cable?
I wondered how many were operating with taped up cables due to the fitment of security screws.
Anyway, surely the improved Robertson is the Torx?
I've never built a wood fence, period. 🙂
In your experience, what type of screw head stays on your drill better than a Robertson?
-Gnobuddy
Here's an electric bug bare of mine...some fuse boards/consumer units have the incomer/main switch on the left.......others the right...so when its time to replace the fuse board, you have to either fit the same again (if possible) or move all the wiring or the incomer tails if you can!!
Real PITA now that MK are no longer making fuse boards/consumer units and their main switch/incomer is on the far left...& the main replacement brand is Wylex...which have theirs on the far right!!!....
Real PITA now that MK are no longer making fuse boards/consumer units and their main switch/incomer is on the far left...& the main replacement brand is Wylex...which have theirs on the far right!!!....
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There's a lot less "meat" in those narrow little Torx splines. I've seen stripped out Torx screws in small sizes.
I've never yet seen a wallowed-out Robertson head, not even in the 00 size.
That could change tomorrow, but still - it's impressive that I've never seen one.
Henry Ford was a truly nasty piece of work, but he knew what he was doing when it came to rapid manufacturing - he wouldn't have wanted to use Robertson screws unless they were clearly better than the alternatives available to him at the time.
Half-close your eyes, allow your ethics and sense of honesty and fair play to fall away, try to imagine thinking like a typical sleazebag...you want to get richer, and you don't mind taking advantage of other people.
With that mindset, did you get it?
If you discourage people from replacing a simple damaged cable, you can then sell them a whole new replacement product. That's more money for you, the manufacturer.
Apple Corp is among the guiltiest in this regard. They also have the highest hardware profit margins in the industry. Not a coincidence.
There is a "Right To Repair" movement gaining some traction. Let's hope legislators do the right thing: https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20190719-right-to-repair-movement
-Gnobuddy
I've just done some Google fu & actually found out that I am wrong !!...
MK are owned by Honeywell & stopped making their consumer units (Sentry sub brand) in 2019.....
https://www.efixx.co.uk/NEWS/mk-pulls-the-plug-on-consumer-units#:~:text=MK pulls the plug on,Sentry consumer unit product range.
What I don't know as I haven't been following it:-
The backlash was quite bad & the UK based company that made the units for MK has bought the rights/license to keep making them...(now mostly in China).!!
https://www.industrialprocessnews.co.uk/circpro-takes-over-mk-sentry-licence-for-uk
Yay!!...Now I can think about sorting my other fuse board out!!
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