croc

Dave Weedons' Rotty in the playpen. We unloaded the tank using Martian and Militant power, then we loaded it again. :confused::-D:cool2:

Just noticed that in one of Andys pictures above (post 25) I am sitting on the trailer talking to Dave Weedon,how we didn't meet up I don't know:confused: Mark Walkers' Rotty on the way out on Sunday evening, they look bigger on a trailer:-D

A couple of pictures of Mikes' Antar before the clutch problem. trailer pushing. morning startup.

I have finally got around to going through my GDSF pictures. We had a very good week of it (monday to monday) split between vintage diggers, military and playpen (thanks again Mike, sorry to see your clutch didn't make it home) I bumped into a few people but missed Andy Fowler which is odd, as we seem to have a very similar set of pictures (see page 44). Andy missed one and I never got a picture of the Booths one so I believe that made 18. Here goes with mine though. 35 BC 00 7044, 35 BC 38 7101, 35 BC 95 7351, not sure if this chassis no was for Efnick or Lightning. 7353, this is the one that Andy missed. 7356, 01 BD 89 7451, 7875, 91 BD 77 7931, 92 BD 33 7943, 92 BD 45 7963, 8007, 93 BD 09 8133, 94 BD 35 8529, 02 A? 96

I think it might be a ship.... http://www.hms-victory.com

The best way to stop rats is to block up their holes, a farmer I knew reckoned a mix of cocoa powder and plaster of paris does the trick. I suspect he was just to tight to buy proper poison.

Please note that mine is now 239 XUE, service no was 01 BD 98, chassis is 7365.

American (licence built my Martin) Canberras were B57

I should get to GDSF later today, if anyone spots me come and say hello.

Hi Phil, nice Mat. Hope to see you at GDSF.

Totaly agree with Marks' post. This is kind of the main point, by planning it properly and rigging it correctly the aim is to make the process as safe as possible. If you don't think the job is safe, what is it that makes it unsafe and what can be done to reduce the risk to an acceptable level?

I don't seem to need to say much more as it has all been said. For towing I would always prefer to use a pole or A-bar. For recovery if something is so badly stuck it would need a snatch or KERR it is far safer to winch it.

As I stated earlier, I believe winching is much safer than other methods of dynamic recovery, because of the level of control available when using a winch. I would sway towards Antarmikes point that the danger levels are overplayed. The horror stories seem to come from two areas; 1. offshore/fishing where many more factors come into play than a winching scenario on land. e.g. even a small swell can create massive additional forces. 2. 4x4 recreational use of small electric winches. It was possible (may still be) to buy a winch with a greater pull rating than the break strain of the cable it was fitted with. For the general purposes of this forum neither of these apply as we are dealing with PTO driven equipment, where, as Mike pointed out, the rating of the winch is greater than that of the cable. Here goes with a few points to think about. 1. The condition of the cable, check it out for damage and if it's knackered don't use it. More importantly don't damage it in the first place. In my experiance most damage occurs through poor spooling under tension, particularly when the cable is allowed to bunch at one end of the drum. The usual cause of this is poor rigging of the pull. This is less of a problem when using something with like a Matador as the fairleads are some distance from the drum and the cable tends to lay better. Using a rope dressing to lubricate it properly helps greatly. 2. Putting a blanket over the cable is a waste of time, I suspect it is unheard of on a fishing boat. If the pull is rigged properly, the cable snapping is not an issue. If there is a significant risk of a failure in the rig then re-rig it, rather than rely on an old coat. 3. "Always use gloves to guide the cable onto the drum" If the cable is in good condition it should not be an issue. If the cable is not in good condition it shoud not be being used. If you need to guide it onto the drum, re-rig it. If you really need to guide the cable, using a bar or a sling with a shackle is a better way of pushing and pulling it about. It is probably more important to use gloves when using wire slings as they tend to get abused. 4. The weakest point of the rig is quite likely to be the attatchment point of whatever is being recovered. (wire slings again) Towing eyes are suprisingly easy to rip off. I once watched the official recovery crew at a 4x4 trial rip the entire front bumper off a lightweight by snatching it. 5. The best bit of safety advice I ever heard was courtesy of my dad. "never put your fingers where you wouldn't put your pri*k"

A few years ago I ran an off road site. I had to ban the local landrover club from doing "snatch" recoverys (don't even start on kinetic ropes) before they killed someone. I have seen all sorts of recoverys and the safest have always been with winches, the whole process is slower and more controlled.

Ignore that, he is deluded, it stands for Huge Military Vehicle Forum :cool2:

See you there Mike, I should be there from the 25th if all goes to plan. Have a good run down.

Found this link showing the importance of a good plan.... http://www.fridaypage.com/images/fridaypage/070408_incidentaction.wmv

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Ex-RAF-Sea-Rescue-Sea-Plane-Tender_W0QQitemZ190243274528QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item190243274528&_trkparms=72%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14.l1318

Another trick is to flush the block with hot water to warm it up and expand everthing. Using a small water cooled engine and plumbing the siezed engine in instead of a radiator works even better.

We had hoped to have a go pulling something in the playpen with the Milly, but I don't think the towing jaw and air connections will be sorted out in time... not like there isn't enough to do...

I will be at Dorset for the week, but not in the Scammell. Chat and beer sound like a good bet. A couple of mates of mine live close to the show and have several things to take, my ride for the show is this much modified Millitant. I am liable to be found somewhere near the working plant, I my also end up around the Playpen. In the evening there is a good chance I will be around the Showmans lineup, as there is quite a strong Aberdeen contingent.

I have finally got the stuck beam moving. I spoke to Chris Acock, among others, about it and Chris came up with the idea of taking the grease nipple out and setting up a drip feeder with thin oil. I developed the idea slightly and made a pressure feeder. (bottle scrounged by Adam Elsdon) I half filled the bottle with a mix of 20/50 and WD40 and presurised it to 125psi so that it forces lube into the bearing as it moves and hopefully flushing the rubbish out of the bearing. It worked a treat, first time out, and this evening I was running it over a bit of wood with it moving quite smoothly.

The walking beam is finally freeing off and moving properly, it really has been a stubborn sod to get going. I will post more about it in the fixes and workarounds thread.

We had a local show a couple of weeks ago in Clatt. There is some video to post when I get a chance, here's a photo meantime. Albion, Scammell and Pig.

Looking good Mike, will the Explorer be appearing as part of the Dorset collection this year?