Posted by Jerry on August 20th, 2006 — Posted in Journal, Motorcycling
Last year when I last replaced my motorcycle drive chain it came with a spring-clip split link – which I have found quite safe for the past thirty years of riding. This time the new chain came with a rivet link.
Sure it seemed like a good idea, until I realised that I would require a new $200 tool to fit it. Moreover, I found that very few bike shops sold such a tool. The obvious inference is that replacing a bike chain has now become a specialist job.
Of course my bike was already at home, and I don’t have a bike trailer, and I had already removed the old chain in anticipation of fitting the new one.
Finally, I went to a bike shop that did sell the tool – but the mechanic said ‘of course that’s not how we fit them…’ My curiosity was aroused – could there be a simple solution? Sure – it just requires two hammers – one to brace behind the link, the other to pein it home.
So how does it work in practice? With the chain guard removed and the axle nut loosened and the chain tensioners slackened off I lined up the chain on the rear sprocket (having already fed it over the front sprocket). Having found the amount of overlap (about ten links) I used a dremel-like tool with a grinding wheel to grind down the rivets on the crossover link, then used a chain breaker to drive out the pins.
Now here’s the trick – I found that by then I had some grease on my hands and that when I fed the joining link through, I kept losing the side plate because it would stick to the grease on my hand. The answer was a small rubber band fed around the link to act as the third hand – one to support a small lump hammer behind the sprocket (an anvil) and a small ball-pein hammer in the other. I first drove the side plate on by peining in the centre of the plate with the ball end of the hammer.
Then, once the rivet heads protruded, I peined the rivet heads until they expanded over the plate to hold it in place. Remember there will be no side force on the plate, so you just need enough to ensure the plate won’t come off.
And within minutes I had the chain fitted and the bike ready to ride (after ensuring the wheel was straight and the chain had the correct play, and the axle tightened and a new split pin through the nut, and the chain guard re-fitted.
The result? a nice quiet chain, and no chain snatch 🙂
And the tools? Two hammers and one chain breaker!
Cheers
Jerry
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Posted by Jerry on August 19th, 2006 — Posted in DIY, Journal, Steam, Technology
For those who remember travelling on steam trains as a kid and are surfing the internet now – here is a project that combines the two! Turner art prize-winner Jeremy Deller and Alan Kane have set up a steam powered internet machine to bridge the gap between the steam age and the digital age. This appeared in an article in The Guardian and was uncovered in the Makezine blog.
Cheers
Jerry
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Posted by Jerry on August 18th, 2006 — Posted in DIY, Journal, Steam, Technology
Ever imagined an alternative future in which steam powered remote controlled centipedes walked the streets, or a steam-powered six-wheel-drive mars rover? Well Japanese artist I-Wei Huang has not just imagined – he has built them!
From a radio controlled walking robot to a trilobite steam tank to a truly amazing steam centipede, there seem to be no limits to I-Wei’s imagination – and ingenuity. His site crabfu.com is filled with his award-winning creations. Watch the videos – I love the one where his six-wheel-drive rover tows him on a skateboard 🙂
Imagine someone from a distant planet sending this to Earth!
A kind of Jules Verne meets Bruce Sterling – check out his site – and check out Makezine for more of this guy’s amazing work
Cheers
Jerry
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Posted by Jerry on August 13th, 2006 — Posted in Journal
Digital cameras are certainly coming along – my recent purchase of a canon A530 – definitely in the lower-mid range of cameras, still gives a good clear phot. One of the tests I like to do is to see what happens when you photograph the moon. With the recent full moon, I ventured outside on dusk and there was the moon somewhat above the horizon, so I zoomed in a little and snapped away. And here is the result – no telescope, no binoculars, just the camera.
Not a bad bit of detail – certainly the major ‘seas’ are in view, and a couple of bright spots, one of which could be tycho.
Also, despite a bit of fiddle practice – week 5 of my fitness challenge is still just a little short of the mark. But at least by blogging it, I keep the pressure on to consider how much or how little exercise I’m getting at the moment.
And it’s better than some of my earlier efforts
Cheers
Jerry
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Posted by Jerry on August 7th, 2006 — Posted in Journal, Music
Well Thursday was a great night at the Valley Tavern, Wanniassa – Full Circle and our friends GiLF (all-girl rock and roots band) played to a packed and enthusistic crowd. It was great to see everyone there and of course, in addition to the Kangaroo Valley Folk Festival (8-10 Sept) we’ll be back at the Wanniassa – again with GiLF on 28 September.
Of course all this is great exercise and by Sunday my pedometer steps had crept over the magic 70,000 to show that 90 minutes of fiddle playing is equivalent to a whole day’s worth of steps!
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