Isle of Wight Capacitor

I'm not sure what the capacitance is, but I found this recently:

Miele T230C Tumble Dryer De-Problem

Being woken up by a clacking clanking scraping sound (CCSS from now on) normally means the little one has decided to attempt destruction of his cot, but this time, it was a bit too regular and went on for too long. So I went to investigate and the CCSS was coming from the other direction, from the tumble dryer that was running on cheap rate electricity. Oh dear. We're off on holiday today an could do without a dryer failure. Anyway, it's 3:30am so normal getting up time, so I get dressed and go and dismantle the dryer to find where the CCSS is coming from.

The dryer looks like this:

The CCSS sounds like something has fallen inside and is scraping on the drum, so the first thing to do is to remove the top. This looks like two screws but turns into a bit of a battle and ends up being four screws and a slide type hinge at the back. (When I put it all back together I find that you can get the top off without removing any screws at all, just undo the side ones under the plastic covers and the lift the front while sliding the top backwards).

Not much luck with the top off, no obvious 'thing' dragging on the drum. It's all a bit packed in too:

OK, off with the sides, this entails getting the front panel off, which means off with the door and the bottom kick plate. Then screws on the front, top and back of the sides.

I notice when I take the front off that they've provided a spare bulb in a small recess in the top of the front, just above the door. That's a nice touch I think, then later find out that the bulb had managed to unscrew itself over the years and fall out. I screw it back in so it can start it's next 10 year journey wandering out of the holder.


OK, we can see more now, it's all quite neat and well made. Still no obvious culprit and the CCSS is still there. There's nothing touching the drum that I can see and it sounds like it coming from the bearing area. OK, can we see the bearings? Well, yes we can if we take the rear cover off.

Under that metal plate is the rear bearing:

There's a gap around the bearing and in there I see what looks like the source of the CCSS. It looks like a clip or spring has fallen off and is now dragging on the back of the drum. I try to put it back where it came from but it doesn't seem to want to fit back. Then I wonder if it should actually be in the dryer at all, an suddenly realise what it is. It's an underwire from a bra. There's just enough room to get it out. The culprit:

This wire had managed, presumably, to get itself out of its bra and then poke into a hole at the back of the drum, then sit wrapped round the bearing until it decided to make the CCSS. I think this may have happened a while ago as there has been a scraping sound when the dryer is on which I thought was just how it sounded. Maybe it's been there for ages and something recently caused it to go on a wander and then get caught and make the CCSS.

Anyway, re-assembly is the reverse of dis-assembly, as they say, and I put it all back together. CCSS gone and the drying continues. So not a fix really as nothing was broken or replaced, but the problem has gone.

Carbon brushes look ok for now and are an easy replacement.
Condenser cleaned.
Filters cleaned.
Oh yes, and the light inside now works...

Prinztronic Calculator

I didn't have much interest in this calculator until I took it apart. Modern calculators are very cost conscious and the construction tends to be flexible membranes and other non fixable things, fixed together in a non removable way.

This calculator, though, is totally different. It's a simple, basic calculator, but internally it is a set of modules that plug together. Without the case and plugged together the modules look like this:

The keyboard unplugs:

The processing unit has a single ceramic IC on it, made by Toshiba. I suspect the whole calculator design is a Toshiba one:

The display module has seven segment LEDs on it, each digit being a seaprate module.

The seven segment display modules look a bit the worse for age:

but they do all work:

The set of modules connect together well, and the connected unit plugs into the case using the battery connector as a mechanical link. A single screw then holds the case together. A really neat design.

I've got a video showing how it all fits together here:

Miele induction Hob FE32 Problem Update

The post a while back that detailed my fix to our Miele induction hob has been quite popular and, I hope, useful to people. I thought I'd have a dig around to see if I had any more information about the fix process.

I found some more photos, which may be of use. I'll put them all here, just in case.
This is the mains input connection area, we're in a 240V area, this will probably change for different voltages.

 This is the PCB that had the problem, I removed it to do the replacement of the capacitors. The problem capacitors are bottom left, either side of the coil.

 

Here's a couple of close-ups of the capacitors with the problem:

I found this video on YouTube, which has details of a fix that looks very similar to mine:

German Fix Video

Breitling Aerospace

I've had my Breitling Aerospace for nearly 20 years now (well sort of, see later). It's been pretty reliable over that time (crown had a problem but was fixed). Every so often (4 years or so) it had a battery change and sometime a service, which was quite costly. £70 for a battery change would sometimes get a bit of a service with some other broken bits, a polish or a clean. the last few times were more expensive, and the servicing stopped. One battery change the hands came back not quite aligned properly.

The flat spring in the bracelet died a long time ago, and genuine replacement parts are very expensive. So I made a spring. Seems to work quite well. I've had to make another one since.

The bracelet clasp failed a couple of years ago. Proper parts were about £400, which I thought was ridiculous. I sourced some generic parts that fitted perfectly, and were actually titanium. The original was steel. A bit of filing and the fit was perfect.

So now, the watch was original, but the bracelet clasp was different parts.

The last battery change, though, became a service (as it hadn't been serviced for a while, so obviously needed it). So I had a service done and the watch came back, after I declined other replacements and work. All seemed well, then I noticed that the movement was displaying things it never did before. I suspected that the movement had been changed, and indeed, an email confirmed this. The back of the case had also been replaced as that is necessary if the movement is changed. This resulted in an anorexic serial number being engraved on the case back, rather than the sturdy punched one I originally had.

Anyway, all was well until this happened:

Yes, the minute hand fell off.  I have already decided to do my own battery changes so I had purchased tools to open the case and remove the hands. I also have the tools and parts necessary to service the movement if I need to. So I popped the case back off and put the minute hand back on.

It wasn't very traumatic, as I now feel that the watch isn't my original one, as the bracelet clasp, case back and movement aren't the original. I'm left with bracelet, case and crystal as original. It's not my watch any more.

Drawer

The drawer where I keep my abrasive paper was making me sad every time I opened it. The paper was just piled in there and I was never sure what grades I had. So, with some time available for a re-jig, I reorganised:

There's a plywood frame with foam board  slots for each of the grades. I cut the paper sheets down to fit the slots, as I realised I never use a sheet without tearing or cutting it down, so why not just cut them up? Small foam board inserts hold the slots in shape and I wrote the grit sizes on them.
I'm not sad when I open the drawer now...

Marker Gauge Holder

I try to put all my frequently (and some not so frequently) used tools on shadow boards, so they are easier to find and also so I can quickly tidy up.

A Marker gauge is a tricky shape to put on a boards so I finally 3D printed a holder.

The holder needs to be a fair distance from the board, so I mounted it on a bit of wood. Yes, I could have mdae the print a bit bigger, but this way I save some print time and filament.

There's the gauge, mounted on the board (the back of the Maslow).

Quick Drawer  Fix

When you fix the front of a drawer with dowels and a microscopic amount of glue, you'll need to glue it all up again in the foocher...

Small Pen Box

I've made a pen box that is big enough for just one pen. This is a simple task compared to the one I have just finished which was for a set of four pens. The box is a simple plywood affair with a cutout (done on the CNC) for the pen.

Crushed velvet is used to protect the pen

and provide a nice base for it.

This box is not glued at all, everything is screwed together.

Broken Clamp

back in the mist of the past I bought some clamps for holding stuff together while they glue.  Anyway, they were made of a cheese that wasn't quite strong enough for the job they had to do and two of them broke years ago. The handle that you use to close the clamp snapped off. They look like this when they aren't broken:

Yesterday another one broke, which meant I had three broken clamps. This was getting a bit silly so I had a look and thought I could 3D print a new one. Maybe. So I started a design, then, about fifteen minutes into that I wondered if maybe somebody else had had the same problem and designed a replacement. A quick hunt on Thingiverse and I had found a replacement handle for a clamp that looked very similar:

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:861193

I had a go at printing it, but the print failed a couple of times as there was plastic that was being printed on the edge of a face that was in mid air. This was curling upwards and fouling the print head. I turned the print through 90 degrees and that was much better. I had a handle, even though it was a bit rough on one side.

The handle fits almost perfectly. It's a bit wide and so doesn't allow the spring to return the handle after it is compressed, but that can be fixed.

I'll see how it gets on...

Tally Board

Well, I'm not sure what it is called, really, but as you can tally with it I think it's a tally board. Counting square? Anyway I made it many days ago and it has been used for a bit then left for a longer while. I decided to package it up.

I've done a short video of the finished board here:

It's a square with a lot of holes in it for peg things. The peg things were from a glitter pen set I think, I didn't make them. So it's a re-use project too.

So you can keep track of things with it. Count things. I made it originally to save the pegs from the bin, I don't like throwing away things that look like they are useful.So I made a board to hold them in. The board I originally made had a 7x7 grid and the holes had a diameter that was a miniscule, tiny bit too small for the pegs, so it didn't feel nice putting them in the holes.
I reprinted the boardwith an 8x8 grid, which just feels nicer.
There's also a single hole board, for special counts:

I used this set once for counting swearing. The big board was for normal words, each rox for a different word, or maybe a differen tperson, I alternated. Then for very very good (or bad) swear words, one utterance and the peg goes in the single hole board and you have won the game.


When I remade the boards I printed them with a small increase in diameter and also printed the board in 'glow in the dark' PLA. (Faberdashery PLA again).


So you can count things in the dark. the pegs don't glow though.

 The box I made is a simple plywood box, glued and nailed together.

The catch is a small one, I used this as the lid is very thin and I needed something that would fit on that lid. I original fitted a hook catch, but I'm not a big fan of those and fitted a chrome button type catch afterwards.

Inside the box there's two compartments, one fits the 8x8 board and one holds the pegs and the single hole board.

The bottom of the box is lined with crushed velvet and the outside of the box is painted with some blue paint I had.

Lid For a Box

The little one has bashed his VW camper model car about a bit, so I have taken the breakable and/or broken bits off it and needed somewhere ot store them.

I made a box without a lid back a whiles and decided to put a lid on it and store the bits in it. It seemed appropriate, it is the same colour as the VW.

I suppose I ought to paint it...

Loading The Dehydrator

Loading The Dehydrator

Another load for the dehydrator. Some reduced price peaches (rather squishy), some reduced price strawberries (not quite as squishy), a nectarine (to help fill a tray) and a couple of cherry tomatoes (as an experiment).

Tail-stock Stand

I have a mini lathe and it came with a tail-stock. This is removable and I use the lathe without it quite often. It spends most of its time on a bench somewhere, or propped up against the back of the lathe. The design of the tail-stock means that it can't stand up in it's normal operating orientation and so has to lie on it's side or lean against something. This started to irritate me. I thought of a shelf, then decided to make this:

 The tail-stock rests in it like this:

I then mounted the stand on the side of the shelf unit I built around the lathe:

It's now in a space that I couldn't really use for anything else. We'll see how good an idea this was as I use the lathe for future projects.

Dehydrated Apple

Dehydrated Apple 2018

This year we had a few apples on the tree (due to the harsh winter?) and so i got the dehydrator working again:

The display on the dehydrator shows the relative humity and temperature:

unfortunately, while I was using it, the display corrupted:

I'd noticed a small corruption now and again but the problem seems to be more persistent now. I'll probably have to break out the scope and see what's up. Fortunately the control of the fan and heater appear to be working  so I can use the dehydrator, just operating it a bit blind.

Die Shots

I'm starting to put die shots over on another blog. There's only one there so far.

https://blackrockdieshots.blogspot.com/

Agh! I Got Fed Up With It

I have a woodworking vice on my bench (made from old garage roof bits) and it has had a succession of jaw inserts. Each of them has broken, the last one was a piece of scaffolding board that I didn't think would break, but it did:

So I finally got fed up with this and made a jaw from some bamboo flooring and some plywood:

Of course, the other jaw now looks bad, so I glued up another jaw to match. I had to use a lot of clamps on this, because I could.

 

I now (after sanding and filling and planing) have a pair of nice strong jaws, let's see how long they last...

Of course, I got fed up with the other vice next to this one and made some new wooden jaws for that too:

Hmm, that's better.