Fixing a Cheapo Drill

About 10 years ago I was in need of an electric drill. Despite being in a well-paid job at the time I went to the supermarket and bought the cheapest one they had. It was a Chinese item for £9.99, as I recall. Well, sometimes you get what you pay for and this was one of these occasions.

When in use there was a small firework display going on inside and it was hard to hold due to the particles exiting the tool at high speed. It was clear what was going on. The carbon brushes were burning up. The thing failed shortly after and I then splashed out a whole £30 on a Bosch drill on special offer at my local hardware store. As you'd expect this has worked faultlessly ever since.

Crappy drill

Good drill

I don't like waste so I thought "could I resurrect the crappy drill?"

I opened it up and the problem was not hard to find. As I expected the brushes were shot. They were badly worn and one had broken up. 

By luck I had a spare set of brushes of the correct size. They must have come with some tool (an angle grinder, I think)

The new brushes fitted. The commutator (the part that contacts with the brushes) was stained with carbon so I gave it a clean.

A little clean up and it looks ok

It's not the smoothest running drill I've owned but it could put a reasonable sized hole in some steel plate. All else (variable speed, reverse, hammer action) works so it'll do as a spare.

Oh well, I should be bringing you a "Tale from the Road" but our Easter weather is more like winter. Still, a little time in the garage wasn't wasted.

Even Further Along the Coast

Yesterday I completed my tour of the Lothian coast by visiting the town of Dunbar. It's a few years since I was here and it was good to return. The day started bright but frosty, luckily it warmed up a bit.

The focus of the town is its harbour and the ruined castle. Dunbar Castle was once considered the strongest fortress in the country and has a turbulent history having being destroyed and re-built several times. It's old. There's been a castle here since the 11th century. Strangely its strength was its downfall. In 1567 the Scottish Parliament ordered its destruction because it was feared that an enemy capturing the castle could endanger the whole country. 

The castle and the harbour. The building of which caused yet more damage to the ruin.

It's hard to imagine what the castle once looked like.

Maybe like this

The town & harbour

There is an active fishing industry here. Do Scots eat a lot of lobster? I think most of the catch will be exported.

At the other end of the harbour is a building that used to be battery for cannon. This was built in 1781 to defend the harbour. It's a little known part of our history (well, little known by me) that during the American War of Independence rebel ships operated out of France and attacked British ports.

In 1779 & 81 there were unsuccessful actions against the town that prompted the building of the defences. Both attacks were carried out by British captains acting for the Americans. The first of these being by Scotsman John Paul Jones, the "father of the US Navy". Although an American hero he seems to have been a dubious character and his actions may have been more in search of plunder rather than in support of the revolution. He went on to become the bass guitarist in Led Zeppelin, but that's another story.

 

The battery

A good vantage point to look out for pesky Yanks!

 

There is another American connection in the town. This is the birthplace of John Muir. He emigrated to the US as a child, became a naturalist and founded the National Parks. He was closely connected with Yosemite, in California.

The SV at the beach

Cliffs

Interesting rocks at shore

I came back by way of this narrow, winding road through the Lammermuir Hills.

You have to use your imagination but this is an ancient hill fort. "early Iron Age" so maybe 3,000 years old.

Run to Dumfries

Our cold weather persists but it was sunny today so I got out for a favourite run of mine.

In Sanquhar this pond was still partially frozen

I was mobbed by these ducks who seem to have been under the mistaken belief I was going to feed them

Footbridge over the River Nith in Dumfries

Dumfries

Spring flowers in Dumfries

Glencapel

Glencapel

Phone boxes have become rare here now but this one has been converted into an emergency defibrillator point.

Solway Firth at Gretna

Annandale north of Moffat 

Serious Snow

So the snow melted, then it fell again, then it (mostly) melted again.

There were reports on the TV that a nearby area, the Carron Valley, had been badly affected. Some people had been cut off for a week and even the snow plough couldn't get through.

Today I tried to visit the affected area. It isn't remote being in the Campsie hills only 12 miles from the city centre. 

 

Warning signs, but the road looks ok

Deep snow where the road has been cleared

No way past!

Looking back

The road ahead

 

Snow

Britain is currently enduring a period of freezing, snowy weather. This is due to cold winds from the east.

Here is an interesting satellite picture. It shows almost the entire country blanketed in snow.

It doesn't look like the bikes are going anywhere soon

The arctic wasteland that is my back garden

Further Along the Coast - Part#2

Continuing my journey across East Lothian…..

Now that's what I call a bearing! It came from the machine that ground coal to a powder for use in the nearby power station.

***UPDATE***

Although it looks like it this isn't a bearing. It’s a ball pulverizer. Lumps of coal are milled into powder between the balls and the ring. The powder is then blown into the furnace and burnt like a gas.

At Longniddry there are war time tank traps on the beach

Gosford Bay

Gosford Bay

Gosford Bay

The church at Aberlady. Parts were added over the years but the tower dates to the 15th century

Spooky old gravestone

Mounting block. Handy if you're travelling by horse or KTM Adventure

The golf course at Gullane - there seems to be more golf courses than farm land in this area.

Lobster pots at North Berwick

North Berwick harbour

This looks like an old outhouse but is an ancient church

The beach at North Berwick

Selling ice cream in Scotland in February - this must be the definition of optimism. I mean who wants ice cream in winter?

Well, why not?