No.1: The appreciation of a good bit of string.
I had to measure the dog's chest for a harness today and I discovered a nice length of white nylon cord attached, as a drawstring/handle affair, to a plastic carrying thing. After un-threadelling it and using it to measure said dog I now have a lovely length of gleaming white cord, neatly looped, on my desk where it will stay until I place it lovingly into a tool drawer.
Si
While you're at it, tighten the lids on the solvents as well ;-)
On 11 Feb 2005, Mungo "two sheds" Toadfoot wrote
And then never find a use for it ('cause it's too good to use for a mucky job). But we all know that's not really the point of keeping stuff... :)
Of course. I could keep it in the car to tie up a broken exhaust, should the need arise, but that's a job for lesser string than this piece.
Si
Wuh? S'matter? Lessavacuppateaaaaaaaaaaaa.
Si
I was once glad of a bit of cornflake packet I just happened to have in my pannier when my Norton Commando's rocker box gasket failed all over my derriboot just as I reached Gretna Green ... I was alone, unfortunately :-(
Jeremy
I prefer copper or iron wire for that - string has a tendency to burn/melt/fray.
Cardboard drinks cartons make a good emergency gasket material.
This all reminds me of a book I read a few years ago:
"Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" by Thomas Purzig (sp?)
I would recommend it to anyone on this forum. Look it up on Amazon for a synopsis 'cos I can't explain all the nuances of this story, suffice to say it deals with the quest for - and question of 'quality' as a virtue (amongst many other things).
Using a piece of budweiser can as a shim on a front fork mid journey is a great example, especially when the writer's disgusted companion has this solution applied to his brand new BMW tourer.
Read it. It'll change the way you see things for the better.
I've got a well thumbed copy which I've tried to read al the way through more than once... couldn't see what all the fuss was about.
Yeah, I know what you mean - the middle bit gets a bit sticky -But I'm just looking at Amazon and thinking of buying a copy and reading it again though now I'm in the middle of building a new Kitchen extension.
I >> This all reminds me of a book I read a few years ago:
Especially if you read it the way it was written.
So far as I know it's still an offence to read this book in California without a substantial dose of recently-inhaled cannabinoids circulating round your bloodstream ;-)
And there's *deep* irony in the idea of a 'synopsis' of ZATAOMM - it's like, man, the journey *is* the destination; neither synopsis nor (God preserve us) the Reader's Digest Condensed version could come anywhere close to recreating the reading experience...
Stefek
"Mungo "two sheds" Toadfoot" wrote | ... I now have a lovely length of gleaming white cord, neatly | looped, on my desk where it will stay until I place it lovingly | into a tool drawer.
Where you will find the tape measure you were looking for originally.
Owain
I keep a wire coat hanger somewhere in the car, and there's always a pair of pliers too. The coat hanger got used to tie up the (remaining) exhaust section just a few weeks ago when the back box dropped off. Some years ago, I used one to make a new clip to hold the handbrake cable in place when its clip dropped off leaving the cable rubbing on the road, whilst on holiday of course.
... or in my case when the throttle pedal of my 2CV detached itself just outside Reading. I used a variety of door /gate hinges over the years before I finally caved in and bought a proper generic pedal and had it welded on properly ....
Coat hanger? Bloody luxury!!
In Ladakh a while back some friends were travelling in a taxi - the ubiquitous Austin Ambassador - when its throttle cable broke. The driver fished around and brought the end of the cable in through a hole in the dash and drove on, working the throttle with one hand whilst steering with the other. The front seat passenger was given the job of changing gear.
It was my life-changing book. Trouble is, I lent it to someone ...
Mary
Spouse cursed me for not using hairpins when the small end went on our Thames mini-bus. Luckily we had a cargo of girls with us and one was able to provide the temporary split pin.
Mary
Rob Morley wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@news.individual.net:
I've just put a mudflap on the back of my new bike, made out of an old rubber mat clamped and supported by bashed flat 22mm copper pipe.
This is because all bikes now are designed for cannabis smoking Californians who don't go out in the rain, but sit around reading ZATAOMM.
(I read it years ago, and didn't get the point)
mike
Ah...another Fellow of the DIY. *Makes secret sign and offers bizarre handshake*
Si
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