Author Topic: How did stuff become so difficult?  (Read 3271 times)

Offline K2-K6

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Re: How did stuff become so difficult?
« Reply #45 on: November 13, 2020, 01:57:53 PM »
Sometimes people just make it difficult too.

Went to visit my sister,  niece's boyfriend was there and extremely worried about his scooter. He'd bought a "performance" expansion chamber exhaust, delivered there to avoid his father's gaze.  This just the beginning of his problems,  how hard can it be to swap? 

Anyway,  taken out the big bolt support at end,  exhaust system dropped and snapped off half the exhaust port flange of cast iron barrel. Undeterred (a week previously) and ridden it with the big bolt back in but very noisy,  ordered a new barrel and piston kit. How hard can it be to swap it?

Taken top of motor apart, but with the new piston on the rod and hanging out of the crankcase,  "somehow" spun the motor over and snapped off rear piston skirt, carried on like this and unsurprisingly it wouldn't run! How hard can it be?

Top off again,  installed old piston in new barrel, started it and sounded funny, then stopped. Took top off again (which is when I'd arrived on scene. He'd fitted piston BACKWARDS , ring location pins had rattled up and down exhaust port,  rings partly broken and ring lands mushed. How hard can it be?

Oh, and it had half a base gasket on it. The other half still on the old barrel.  How hard can it be?

Soooooo, I got the piston lands back in shape by grinding a wood chisel on a bench grinder to "plane" the mushed material out of them ( BiL has bench grinder and chisels left in garage from previous owner, he doesn't know how to use them), fitted the new rings to the old piston, glued the base gasket back together in situ with what's left of an old gooey tube of blue Hylomar that seems to have been in my tool bag forever, anealed the copper head gasket with gas ring in kitchen, then reassembled. 

And THEY,  were surprised that it started and was going.

What really amuses me is that the lad was an apprentice...............domestic gas fitter  :o how hard can it be?

Offline ST1100

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Re: How did stuff become so difficult?
« Reply #46 on: November 13, 2020, 03:38:21 PM »
.... "somehow" spun the motor over and snapped off rear piston skirt, carried on like this and unsurprisingly it wouldn't run! How hard can it be?

LOL! ;D
Brilliant!  ;)
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Offline Laverda Dave

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Re: How did stuff become so difficult?
« Reply #47 on: November 13, 2020, 10:05:52 PM »
Nigel, thanks for sharing such a brilliant and funny story  :).
I can remember being an engineering apprentice and every time I made a mistake no matter how minor the craftsman teaching me would shout 'And you are supposed to be our bloody future!' I learnt quickly to listen, learn and not to make too many mistakes!
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Offline philward

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Re: How did stuff become so difficult?
« Reply #48 on: November 13, 2020, 10:23:37 PM »
Sometimes people just make it difficult too.

Went to visit my sister,  niece's boyfriend was there and extremely worried about his scooter. He'd bought a "performance" expansion chamber exhaust, delivered there to avoid his father's gaze.  This just the beginning of his problems,  how hard can it be to swap? 

Anyway,  taken out the big bolt support at end,  exhaust system dropped and snapped off half the exhaust port flange of cast iron barrel. Undeterred (a week previously) and ridden it with the big bolt back in but very noisy,  ordered a new barrel and piston kit. How hard can it be to swap it?

Taken top of motor apart, but with the new piston on the rod and hanging out of the crankcase,  "somehow" spun the motor over and snapped off rear piston skirt, carried on like this and unsurprisingly it wouldn't run! How hard can it be?

Top off again,  installed old piston in new barrel, started it and sounded funny, then stopped. Took top off again (which is when I'd arrived on scene. He'd fitted piston BACKWARDS , ring location pins had rattled up and down exhaust port,  rings partly broken and ring lands mushed. How hard can it be?

Oh, and it had half a base gasket on it. The other half still on the old barrel.  How hard can it be?

Soooooo, I got the piston lands back in shape by grinding a wood chisel on a bench grinder to "plane" the mushed material out of them ( BiL has bench grinder and chisels left in garage from previous owner, he doesn't know how to use them), fitted the new rings to the old piston, glued the base gasket back together in situ with what's left of an old gooey tube of blue Hylomar that seems to have been in my tool bag forever, anealed the copper head gasket with gas ring in kitchen, then reassembled. 

And THEY,  were surprised that it started and was going.

What really amuses me is that the lad was an apprentice...............domestic gas fitter  :o how hard can it be?
Cheered me up in my COVID isolation that did! You can't teach common sense - in a previous job, I was a careers adviser and the number of people I saw who had degrees but no common sense was amazing
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Offline McCabe-Thiele (Ted)

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Re: How did stuff become so difficult?
« Reply #49 on: November 14, 2020, 12:21:37 PM »
[quote
Cheered me up in my COVID isolation that did! You can't teach common sense - in a previous job, I was a careers adviser and the number of people I saw who had degrees but no common sense was amazing
It's debatable if there is such a thing as common sense at least when I was in training its what we came to accept. We redefined it as a group identity by way of shared life experiences.  Certainly it was my experience that graduates who had never worked until they left university were at a disadvantage in terms of real life experiences. Likewise when I was at Univetsity students who had come from Secondary Schools like myself were quite different from those from public schools who were relatively immature in terms of life experiences.
« Last Edit: November 14, 2020, 05:25:40 PM by Macabethiele »
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Offline adespin

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Re: How did stuff become so difficult?
« Reply #50 on: November 14, 2020, 12:47:10 PM »
[quote
Cheered me up in my COVID isolation that did! You can't teach common sense - in a previous job, I was a careers adviser and the number of people I saw who had degrees but no common sense was amazing
It's debatable if there is such a thing as common sense at least when I was in training its what we came to accept. We redefined it as a group identity by way of shared life experiences.  Certainly it was my experience that graduates who had never worked until they left university were at a disadvantage in terms of real life experiences. Likewise when I was a Univetsity students who had come from Secondary Schools like myself were quite different from those from public schools who were relatively immature in terms of life experiences.

 It has been said, "God Has Got a Big Zoo"
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Offline SteveW

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Re: How did stuff become so difficult?
« Reply #51 on: November 14, 2020, 01:15:02 PM »
First day at college doing my apprenticeship new teacher walks in.

‘Hello, I’m Mister Eatwell, I’ll just write that on the board for you’
He went to the board and wrote ‘BASTARD’

Turned out he was a really nice bloke.
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1981 RD350LC
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Offline McCabe-Thiele (Ted)

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Re: How did stuff become so difficult?
« Reply #52 on: November 14, 2020, 05:28:00 PM »
First day at college doing my apprenticeship new teacher walks in.

‘Hello, I’m Mister Eatwell, I’ll just write that on the board for you’
He went to the board and wrote ‘BASTARD’

Turned out he was a really nice bloke.

Like his strategy! 👍👍
Honda CB500 K1 (new pit dug out ready)
Honda CB400 four super sport (first money pit)
Link to my full restoration http://www.sohc.co.uk/index.php/topic,23291.0.html

 

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