Well, it really is my name. Never mind.
I agree with you on old tools. I am still daily using some toola my father purchased in the early 1960-ies. He was not a craftsman or any kind so the tools he bought were just the ordinary department store type. They hardly show any kind of wear and perform better than any modern tool. Whatever he bought later, let's say after 1990 or so has either been disposed of, or is worn out and waiting to be disposed of.
For myself, I do woodworking as a hobby. And I prefer old hand tools (chisels, saws, planes) so much over the modern crap. It is either worthless, or good quality but way too expensive and with unnecessary features.
Unfortunately where I live any piece of steel not covered in oil and well stored rusts away an literally evaporates in 20 to 30 years. So no chance of recovering anything which has been lying around being buried in the ground.
What a beauty. I wish I had one of those handed down. Good job on the resto.
I see a brand of cast iron cookware sold locally here branded Victoria, made in Columbia since 1939. They look very well made and I've been meaning to pick one up to try.
I've owned one hand made very basic carbon steel wok for about 40 years, bought from a little asian grocery store. You can see the rivets holding the handle on are hand hammered. It was seasoned by me when purchased and has never needed to be done again. We still use it at least once a week. Brilliant.
My son recently moved out and wanted a wok and I told him not to get a fancy one, or stainless steel. You see the fancy woks in the stores now, with non stick surfaces and elaborate handles and they'd be knackered in a couple of years. We bought him a similar one to mine, and told him how to season it. He should still be using it when he's an old fella like me. Fortunately he doesn't mind the old ways and a bit of maintenance and a will look after it.
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Hi seventenths,
I have a very similar, if not the same pan. Had it for years.
My medicine for pots and pans that need a thorough cleaning is a brass brush on a drill. You know, the circular brass brushes? They won't damage the pan or pot at all. Then you season it again (if needed, pots don't). Easy, quick.
Anyone who loves to cook really appreciates those thick, cast pans. Nothing like them. I don't cook (eggs and bacon while camping only), but my lady does! Out camping, nothing better than cast pans!
I have a very similar, if not the same pan. Had it for years.
My medicine for pots and pans that need a thorough cleaning is a brass brush on a drill. You know, the circular brass brushes? They won't damage the pan or pot at all. Then you season it again (if needed, pots don't). Easy, quick.
Anyone who loves to cook really appreciates those thick, cast pans. Nothing like them. I don't cook (eggs and bacon while camping only), but my lady does! Out camping, nothing better than cast pans!
@Stuey I grew up in South Louisiana, where everyone had cast iron and no one used a wok. Flash forward to married life and my California raised wife bought a teflon coated wok for stir fry... it lasted just long enough to get me hooked. I'm in the market for a nice carbon steel unit now. Things must have changed a bit back home in the years since. An old friend happened across a few plow disc, made some beautiful woks and he's constantly ask if he can make more...
@anatech yes sir. I have a much newer Wagner piece that I'm re-seasoning before gifting it to our youngest boy. A brass brush/drill was just the ticket. The outside of the old pan was so thick and baked on that even a heavy steel brush I use for blacksmith work (another hobby) wouldn't touch it. I really should have taken a before pic 🤣 it was embarrassingly bad
@anatech yes sir. I have a much newer Wagner piece that I'm re-seasoning before gifting it to our youngest boy. A brass brush/drill was just the ticket. The outside of the old pan was so thick and baked on that even a heavy steel brush I use for blacksmith work (another hobby) wouldn't touch it. I really should have taken a before pic 🤣 it was embarrassingly bad
Gas furnace from the secession war era in my Mom's house. She was using a hammer (my advice) to get it going until it would not. Bummer! In my infinite wisdom I determined it was a magnetic valve which was the cause of a malady. I promptly ordered Chinese valve at 1/10th of the cost American Imperialists were asking and proceeded with replacement. Apparently half of the furnace had to be dismantled to replace that valve which I dully did with some breaks to try honey diluted vodka Mama just procured. There was little left in the bottle when I finally finished. The flame was back and I promptly turned off all the electric heaters she was using while Xi Jin Ping was sending the damn valve . They joy lasted entire 10 minutes before the flame was gone. WTF ? Well, there was a safety bimetal thermostat in the furnace which was acting up . Two turns of the screw fixed the issue. Do i feel bad about it? Not at all. No HVAC tech would touch it and they would recommend new furnace and $3k charge.
Yeah, we were similar here in terms of wok usage. I don't think I ever saw one in someone's house until I was in my 20's (I'm now retired).
We can still get half decent carbon steel woks from any old fashioned Asian grocery - the ones where you are a slight oddity if you're a Caucasian customer. We have a few of those in the city. But the wok's are no longer as 'rustically constructed'.
Isn't there a square hole in the centre of plough discs? I guess they can be filled. Cool idea.
Woke are you talking about? It smells big time like a cultural misappropriation. Methinks yore only entitled to porridge
Limono...do not throw away the old valve, if it is working, you simply do not get that quality any more.
Ask for 'kadhai' at an Indian shop, or on line. It is a wok without the support base, more or less.
It is an essential item in Indian kitchens. Can use on most heat sources, except maybe induction.
Aluminum, stainless steel, brass, carbon steel...and assorted sizes are available.
Ask for 'kadhai' at an Indian shop, or on line. It is a wok without the support base, more or less.
It is an essential item in Indian kitchens. Can use on most heat sources, except maybe induction.
Aluminum, stainless steel, brass, carbon steel...and assorted sizes are available.
One important thing with a wok is that it's fairly thin so it can get hot really quickly and then cool pretty quickly as soon as the flame is reduced. A pic of mine below...it's not dirty; we just don't over scrub it or it will stick and need re-seasoning.
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So, on topic...yesterday I repaired a pair of speakers for a friend. The Tonegen tweeters had lost their coating, and his kids had poked in the woofer dustcaps.
I recoated the tweeters and sucked the dustcaps out with a vacuum cleaner. The dustcaps have some creases but are much better. Treble is now restored to the tweeters...see before and after pic when I'd done just one, with one to go.
I recoated the tweeters and sucked the dustcaps out with a vacuum cleaner. The dustcaps have some creases but are much better. Treble is now restored to the tweeters...see before and after pic when I'd done just one, with one to go.
I had a teflon coated wok, not bought by myself. After 4 years or so the teflon began flaking off and my wife refused to eat from the wok. The thing with woks is once you are accustomed to it, it is hard to do without.
I am anti-teflon so we found a stainless steel one. It looks fantastic, but it cooks badly. That was no surprise, stainless steel sticks like hell. So I can't recommend stainless steel.
Now I am back in my home at the other end of the ocean and we have plenty of Chinese stores around which sell plain steel woks. It won't be as good as cast iron, but it can't be as bad as stainless steel. At least I can season the plain steel.
With these particular tweeters, it is fortunate that once the faceplate is removed (four screws) the fabric dome and voicecoil can be removed, being glued to the plastic base in the above photo. The four rectangular holes fit to four similar shaped bumps in the magnet structure to align the coil and magnet.
The remaining coating can be removed with tweezers. Any bits still stuck can be dissolved with white spirit, then that is mostly removed with camping fuel/naphtha, and then isopropyl alcohol to try to remove as much of the oily white spirit as possible.
The coating is from Speaker Repair Shop in the Netherlands, specifically for tweeter domes. See here: https://speakerrepairshop.nl/en/instructions/tweeter-repair/restore-silk-tweeter-dome/c-101
The treatment is just brushed evenly over the dome. However, the first one I did a while back came out a bit bumpy, and I found with the second tweeter, it was best to quickly apply the treatment with the supplied brush, but have a second (small artist's paint) brush ready with a container of water to brush water over the coating and smooth it out. The coating turns milky and glossy, then dries.
This works really well as the fluid is water based. You could probably thin it in the original container and I have added a few drops, but I don't like doing this too much because I've ruined water based glues in the past.
I also applied one thin coat to the reverse of the dome to make sure it was impregnated through so it is less likely to lift off the front like originally. Then, once touch dry (which takes about ten minutes) I apply one more coat to the front and again smooth it with water. That's it...
Reassembly is easy as there is no special alignment technique needed.
Note: I think this coating is made from acrylic artists pouring medium with a small amount of black acrylic paint added for colour. I have made my own and it appears to be the same, and extremely cheap to make. I hope to pick up a cheap pair of speakers with dome problems as a test, and if it works I'll post it on the forum.
Edit: While I was typing this the owner messaged me to say how good they sound, now having treble again. I'd asked him to wait a day.
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I just fixed a Philips 22AH578 main amp...it had one cable just wrapped around a leg of a power transistor which should have been soldered like the others...now it is...
I've recently replaced a Nissan J11 (Rogue / Qashqai / Juke) blower thermostat for the 2nd time.
The first one failed after 5 years - that it would work on full power from startup. If adjusted down it would then not fire the blower at all.
The second one just fails to fit the fan full stop. That lasted about 3 years.
Fed up buying new ones...
I took the cover off the last one and find
Nothing obviously burnt out.
I'll unsolder the IC and see what it is.
I only have a multimeter and indicator / capacitor meter🙂
Anyone here repaired one of these?
All hints and tips welcome.
The first one failed after 5 years - that it would work on full power from startup. If adjusted down it would then not fire the blower at all.
The second one just fails to fit the fan full stop. That lasted about 3 years.
Fed up buying new ones...
I took the cover off the last one and find
Nothing obviously burnt out.
I'll unsolder the IC and see what it is.
I only have a multimeter and indicator / capacitor meter🙂
Anyone here repaired one of these?
All hints and tips welcome.
Possibly burnt / oxidized contacts.
Polish with fine paper, 1000 grit or finer, spray with anti-arc coating, for example 2-26 spray, and try it in the car.
That circuit will be custom made, finding out of date SMD parts and replacing them needs a lot of time and effort.
And you might be able to hack a fridge thermostat for this application, a SSR controlled by temperature controller may also work.
Polish with fine paper, 1000 grit or finer, spray with anti-arc coating, for example 2-26 spray, and try it in the car.
That circuit will be custom made, finding out of date SMD parts and replacing them needs a lot of time and effort.
And you might be able to hack a fridge thermostat for this application, a SSR controlled by temperature controller may also work.
Check the wiring going into this module.
I've replaced more than one harness end due to heat related weakening of the contacts in the connector on heater blower resistors.
Also check that the heat sink gets unobstructed air flow