Fantasy workshop.

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workshop is heated ,lathe and mill ,cut off saw band saw mig tig arc gas god knows how much tooling m/cycle bench so all good but a bit strangled by industries scheme to keep us all spending so much stuff sealed and even if one gets inside often no way to get separate bits to effect a repair. i have boxes of stuff i would prefer to repair ,but cant get bits for.i dont throw anything away in case i need bits from it at some point .and the thing i hate worst is not being able to locate the exact problem. normally when electronics involved.i recently spent three weeks trying to repair a roller blind motor that would just pack up and then work again . changed capacitor and electronic relays and no change suspect pcb .cant get it ..150 euro replacement after 2 yr ..
When I move I must get closer to you, all that equipment has got me excited, any neighbouring properties up for sale.
Yes, I'm the same I have to find out what component is faulty, having been trained in the time of discreet components it's frustrating to find that it costs more to replace one PCB, if you can find it, than to replace the whole item.
Never really enjoyed working on road cars but it became a necessity and now seeing the price of any garage work it has given me a boost.
I've boxes of parts that may come in handy some day but with a move in the offing they may have to be recycled.
 

LostKiwi

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When I move I must get closer to you, all that equipment has got me excited, any neighbouring properties up for sale.
Yes, I'm the same I have to find out what component is faulty, having been trained in the time of discreet components it's frustrating to find that it costs more to replace one PCB, if you can find it, than to replace the whole item.
Never really enjoyed working on road cars but it became a necessity and now seeing the price of any garage work it has given me a boost.
I've boxes of parts that may come in handy some day but with a move in the offing they may have to be recycled.
Andy does have a very nice set up.
Like you I was also brought up in the time of discrete components and trained in component level repairs and use of oscilloscopes and logic probes to troubleshoot failed components, though it's been over 35 years since I've had to do it.

It was brought home to me a while back how good it is to use discrete components. I have an amplifier I bought in 1979 and it had a buzz on one channel. Sent it off to a vintage stereo repair guy in London (who did a cracking job on it).
He said that it was one of the last that used entirely discrete components and that everything is either still available or gas a usable equivalent. The model following mine had integrated circuits that were bespoke and you guessed it, no longer available. Had mine used ICs it would have been scrapped. As it is it's repaired, sounds superb and will likely see another 40 years use.
It annoys me intensely when I pull something apart and I can see discrete components embedded in a block of epoxy resin. Makes something that should be repairable into landfill.
 

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Andy does have a very nice set up.
Like you I was also brought up in the time of discrete components and trained in component level repairs and use of oscilloscopes and logic probes to troubleshoot failed components, though it's been over 35 years since I've had to do it.

It was brought home to me a while back how good it is to use discrete components. I have an amplifier I bought in 1979 and it had a buzz on one channel. Sent it off to a vintage stereo repair guy in London (who did a cracking job on it).
He said that it was one of the last that used entirely discrete components and that everything is either still available or gas a usable equivalent. The model following mine had integrated circuits that were bespoke and you guessed it, no longer available. Had mine used ICs it would have been scrapped. As it is it's repaired, sounds superb and will likely see another 40 years use.
It annoys me intensely when I pull something apart and I can see discrete components embedded in a block of epoxy resin. Makes something that should be repairable into landfill.
Chips with everything these days...
 

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Andy does have a very nice set up.
Like you I was also brought up in the time of discrete components and trained in component level repairs and use of oscilloscopes and logic probes to troubleshoot failed components, though it's been over 35 years since I've had to do it.

It was brought home to me a while back how good it is to use discrete components. I have an amplifier I bought in 1979 and it had a buzz on one channel. Sent it off to a vintage stereo repair guy in London (who did a cracking job on it).
He said that it was one of the last that used entirely discrete components and that everything is either still available or gas a usable equivalent. The model following mine had integrated circuits that were bespoke and you guessed it, no longer available. Had mine used ICs it would have been scrapped. As it is it's repaired, sounds superb and will likely see another 40 years use.
It annoys me intensely when I pull something apart and I can see discrete components embedded in a block of epoxy resin. Makes something that should be repairable into landfill.


does my head in . another thing i learnt,if its Chinese it will be held together with odd size everything..B cant even organise to hold stuff together with regular spanner /socket i only buy this stuff now if i envisage only needing it once..
 
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does my head in . another thing i learnt,if its Chinese it will be held together with odd size everything..B cant even organise to hold stuff together with regular spanner /socket i only buy this stuff now if i envisage only needing it once..
My big gripe is trying to find something not made in PRC.
A while back we had to buy a new toaster (I know exciting, well actually it seems like it now) as it had developed a fault in its pcb so I thought we'd buy a better one of a known brand. Visiting the local supermarket and electrical stores not one, even names you associate with UK and France, were made there.
So bought a better one (well more expensive) brought it home and it didn't work! The bread would have gone stale before it was toasted. Thought I'd look out that toasting fork for the fire.
 

ajlsl600

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My big gripe is trying to find something not made in PRC.
A while back we had to buy a new toaster (I know exciting, well actually it seems like it now) as it had developed a fault in its pcb so I thought we'd buy a better one of a known brand. Visiting the local supermarket and electrical stores not one, even names you associate with UK and France, were made there.
So bought a better one (well more expensive) brought it home and it didn't work! The bread would have gone stale before it was toasted. Thought I'd look out that toasting fork for the fire.

know how you feel , my mother only buys miele (if spelt right ) previously thought to be premium quality? anyway we run 2 washing machines ,like one grade above poverty model and as simple as it gets . a few yr ago i bought another used one ,same model and stripped it for bits both still running more 10 yr and if one karks it there is a running spare plus one in bits . my mother is on her 2nd so called quality machine, you dont ALWAYS get what you pay for !!
 
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The first thing you need is actually a Gardener, otherwise you'll never be allowed into the workshop!
 
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Fantasy has gone now back to necessity. Trolley jack has given up the ghost, I've been soldiering on with it but have finally decided a new one is needed.
I've been looking at a Sealey 3290cx 3 tonne at about £120 which was always my choice years back, with130/465 mm low/high is just about right. Many others about with quick lift twin pumps and lower and higher lift but I'm suspicious of their real country of manufacture.
Any recommendations?
 

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LostKiwi

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Yes was eyeing up some of those on ebay but no delivery to France. Other similar ones are £175- £200 delivered. Looks like a Sealey.
If you can wait till travel restrictions are over we could probably find space for one - we usually come into Cherbourg on summer runs or Caen otherwise.
 
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If you can wait till travel restrictions are over we could probably find space for one - we usually come into Cherbourg on summer runs or Caen otherwise.
Thanks very much for that I'll see how things work out and keep that in mind.
 

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Ooo... if I ever won the lottery, the local garage equipment guys would make a fortune out of me, once I had the new garage...er... I mean house organised of course.

This is one of my recurring dreams. :D
 
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Trolley jack saga continues.
Looked at so many and changed my mind so may times that I'm back to a Sealey.
Either a 3000cxd (37KGs!) or a 3290cx (only 28KGs) as they both have a wide base and a chassis of flat steel and not the flanged type on the top sides which seems to be the norm on other lighter ones. Probably not a problem but it looks like all the Chinese ones have this type of chassis and makes me wonder if ones reportedly coming from Europe are either just re-badged or assembled from Chinese parts.
 

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I would have a 12 x 12 room with panoramic doors out to the garden, a La Z Boy, large tv with Sky Sports, beer fridge, wine fridge and a small bar, and a big window where I could watch visiting mechanics and technicians do the work! :p
 
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