Covid19 ressurection - Locked down in Yorkshireshireshire. Part 4

 #22/09/2020 Albert here. News update. The Covid is once again raging outside. The germs are winning and quickly spreading. A second wave. So tonight I warn you that the situation is once again very serious. Even Boris thinks so. Little Walt's engine has become trapped at Basils Polishing Shop. With no end to freedom in sight we can only hope that repatriation with his frame and wheels will happen in our lifetime. 

In the far distant future are the answers as to why and who will know, and when they will know has yet to be decided.

Electronic commumication continues between The Old Sidevalve Bar and Basils Polishing Shop. Within these missives was news of Little Walt's engine. He's made himself at home and has his own bed. Crisp white sheets and jolly comfortable they look too.

And he gets to play with his new pal Freddie whenever he wants, so yeah there you have it. It's now a waiting game.

In the meantime it's a Lockdown life for Little Walt. 

I spy with my little eye....a beer barrel full of homebrew....Oh yes - tankard dipping time !

Stay safe - 

 

Covid19 ressurection - Locked down in Yorkshireshireshire. Part 3

 #28/08/20 Basil is still locked in behind his anti-Covid19 cloaking shield that offers protection against the invisible enemy ....Better taking no chances. Unfortunately solvol-autosol and cloth stock levels are now running critically low however.... with a never say die Blighty attitude, Land of Hope and Glory blasting out of the Bose soundbar and a polishing elbow pulsating at supersonic speed Little Walt is getting shinier and shinier. In fact possibly never been shinier....

What I do know is the table Walter is resting on is in Basils Conservatory. The very table that Mrs Splutterpipe serves her guests extremely large Gin and Tonics and huge glasses of the best french vino. Now, either Basil has staged this picture whilst Mrs Splutterpipe (Fifi to her friends) was out shopping ? (Possible) Basil will be in very serious trouble if Fifi finds out (Highly likely) or Little Walter has won the heart of Fifi and this picture is all above board ( very very unlikely).

I haven't heard from Basil for a few days now...Hope he is ok !

 

Covid19 ressurection - Locked down in Yorkshireshireshire. Part 2

#20/08/20. The Covid19 virus continues to pick off those those who have dropped their guard. Socialised up close and swapped contaminated mouth droplets....Eeeekkk. What a gross thought. I'm sterilising my mouth with goodly amounts of real ale at every opportunity. (Not rinsing and spitting, just quoffing)

Still locked in/down across the valley is my chum Basil K. Splutterpipe. Thank goodness he had sense to lock in with plenty of Solvol Autosol and soft rags. Many hours has he spent rubbing the grim off Old Walt. Rubbing as if it's a magic lamp..expecting a phuff of smoke and a genie...and three wishes. No such luck, Little Walts ran out of luck many years ago...but his shine is slowly coming back....

An old repair uncovered.

The buffing is working....

More scars from the past.

 

Yee olde sump plug.

Basil K says stay safe -  Heed 'Vintafaker' safety advice.

Covid19 ressurection - Locked down in Yorkshireshireshire.

Tempus Fugit....Todays date #03/08/20.

Previous blog post 06/10/13...

Many moons have waxed....many soltices have passed...and many times hath the hour glass being turned and emptied since I wrote of 'Little Walt'.  I sit here in 'The Old Sidevalve Bar' penning an missive to anyone who may be out there to read it. For a deadly virus is sweeping the globe. Science is battling against time to save humanity. I am no scientist, I'm a 'Vintafaker'. What can I do ? I can try to piece together vintage machines, possibly useful as transport to escape into the mountains and northern moorlands when the major cities become uninhabitable. Metropolisis left to the covid mutants to cough germs on each other and live outside the law....It's true....It's happening NOW!!!!! We need an escape plan.....

Let me start work again on 'Little Walt'..He could be useful....Time is of the essence.

Alas the Grim Reaper took his crankshaft many years ago it could not be saved....but we cross our fingers and toes in the hope that enough masterful and imaginative engineering can be done on the remaining parts to flick on his life switch again. Of course a crank replacement will be needed. A crank stronger, shinier, made of modern metalics and capable of turning up and down motion into circular motion like no other Raleigh Model 17 crank has ever done before.

I am not alone in this quest at the moment. I have help. Over the valley lives a chum of mine Basil K Splutterpipe. He of very shiney Pembleton fame..(see below) A champion polisher, certified and approved by Solvol Autosol to perform aluminium polishing using only elbow grease and cloth duster. (Proper old skool)

Basil has kindly volunteered to reassemble what remains of the motor. Not as a runner but for visual only. This we will fit back into the frame and present the complete item to the UK registration authorities in the hope that 'Little Walt' will become a member of the DVLA computorised division. Only then when he has official papers will he be able to travel freely without question on the highways and byways of Blighty.

The remains of Walter were gently lifted into Basils transporter and taken to the polishing surgery for cleaning and microscopic analysis. A daily update using Non G4 methods would be sentback to H.Q. (The Old Sidevalve Bar) Social distancing measure would be observed at all times between the 2 outposts. To let ones guard down now would be disastrous.

I've said it before...Just saying it again. Poor Little Walt...We will do all we can for you mate...

Keep you posted on further developments.

Stay safe.

Took my collection of Walt internals to see a Metallisation expert last Friday. I was hoping he could build up the worn components and rework back to standard spec.
Oh dear ! His opinion was that these ancient pieces of engineering were unrepairable. Too time consuming (expense!) if he could but too badly damaged/repaired by previous owners to enable datum points for the machining to be re-established.

Walter old chap.....It's just you and me from here on in......The world is a cruel place.

This is NOT the end ! It's a new beginning !

Crankshaft....still fighting...

Greetings and thanks for looking in on the progress of 'Little Walt'
Eeeeh poor Little Walt...he's not in the best of shape. However he's in the right place.
Crackleport's Motorcycle Hospital. (Better known to ale flagon lifters and pickled onion suckers as The Old Sidevalve Bar.)
If you read my previous blog entry you will know it was a big day when the crankshaft gear finally cried "Enough, I give in". I was now on a roll.........Walter old chap I whispered. We can make you live again....I'm sure we can...
Attention was then turned to the crank-pin nut that some careful previous owner had welded to the flywheel.
Careful grinding, drilling, filing with the occasional tickle with a cold chisel was the order of the day. I knew the nut was a lost cause before starting so no attempt to save that part was undertaken. But further damage to the crank-pin had to be avoided at all costs.

Good job I still had my trusty Linen Tester magnification lens close at hand because eyeballing at close quarters is a wonderful thing. I can see the thin line that suggests the crank-pin and the nut are no longer welded together. Only now to separate the nut from the flywheel......easier to say than do and certainly a lot quicker to write than do also.

Fast forward a couple of hours and the nut has held its thread for the last time.....Hurrah !

The remains of the nut are scattered on the workshop floor, the crank-pin is loose from the flywheel.
Time for a cuppa.
Keep tuning in bloggers and maybe leave a comment ....Little Walt needs all the support he can.....these are his darkest hours.....

Dusting Cobwebs and big blowlamps

Phuff...........Phuff..........Hello! and welcome back to The Legend of Little Walt Blog..
It's me,  Uncle Albert, blowing cobwebs away from the pages of the previous jottings
Aaahh, now where was I ?
That's it, poor Little Walt had been down to surgery in 'The Old Sidevalve Bar' hospital and things didn't look good......mind you he is an old codger of 88 years so I guess a bit rough around the edges is ok...
However.......
Remember the welded conrod ? the chiseled crankpin nut ? and worse still the other crankpin nut that had been welded ? How could you forget ? I couldn't

I've been on holiday this week and what better way to spend 2 days of a holiday than fighting a reluctant vintage crankshaft..?

Little Walt has 2 gears ! Drive is direct from the crankshaft to the gearbox. From each side. Choose which side is driving by way of the selector and Bob's your uncle (no Albert is) high or low speed. Hey, that's pretty impressive for 1925 technology in my books.
I wanted the gear off the crank so I could access it's condition before writing an full engineering repair list.
Bearing in mind the parts are irreplaceable forethought before action would be a good idea and delicacy during Modus Operandi would help too......Can I do that? I'll try.....
Blimey, that there gear is stuck like a stuck gear in a gear sticking competition.....Gentle prising....Nope still stuck.......firm prising......nope........bearing puller........nope......
3 hours later under microscopic inspection I find some previous 'caring owner' had welded the gear to the shaft......Chuffin hell !
File.......file.......inspect.......file....file......inspect. I was looking for that tell tale sign of a crack proving that the weld had broken through.....but, I was filing into the shoulder of my precious. valuable irreplaceable gear...
A catch 22 situation....stress levels rising...
Note how some muppet has badly damaged the end of the crankshaft....Well peened in...
IT WASN'T ME !!!!!!

As soon as I saw I had filed through the weld I fitted the bearing pulley and tightened....and tightened more...

nope, no joy.
Big Bertha (The Old Sidevalve Bar residential blowlamp) ! Get some heat on it.......
Blimey, now things are hotting up. Just at the point of near hopelessness a 'crack' was hear across the land...The gear had shifted..
But still wouldn't pull with the bearing removing tool...

Soak in oil, Heat, crack, tighten, soak in oil, heat, crack, tighten. That's how it went until the gear got stuck again.....half way off...half way on...teasing, frustrating, No! Damn annoying more like.
Time to forget delicate....Tougher action needed, nothing can survive my Big Bearing Pullers!  .
Noooooo not the big bearing pullers

Happiness is a loose gear and a steaming hot crankshaft..........
Inspection revealed that the gear was on a taper, why it's sticking on the crank during removal has yet to be determined, and why it was welded on by previous owner is still a mystery too.....

More to follow, stay tuned.
Albert over and out.