Recent content by Chalkflint

I use lots of engineering adhesives to bond things at work. There is a whole science around bonding things but there are two simple rules. Use the correct adhesive and prepare the surfaces properly and it should work every time If anything has the term Glue in the title I tend to avoid it. As...

My trees are in general standing up well to the winds. (Inland and quite sheltered) I have recently had the top half of a large Beech fall down. I had a small clearing that I was having trouble finding until I realised the tree had filled the entire area. Last year snow brought down top half of...

I too have a speedy stitcher. Great bit of kit. I have used it for making some short straps out of old seat belts and also used in for stitching leather. Chalkflint

Thanks to this forum I now pass on this advice to my Cubs and Scouts and it has paid off. A couple of times they have got lost and remembered to stop and use the opportunity to have a break and reassess things. Also the advice of not to walk yourself further into danger but back track to the...

I am lucky as I work in engineering so have access to odd bits of tubing etc to make any new adaptors I need. But a trick I also use to repair fibreglass poles is use "Heatshrink" For those of you that dont know what it is, heatshrink is a plastic sleeve which shrinks down to 25% of its...

You are absolutely right Spandit A good quality tool is still a good quality tool regardless of its age. I still use some tools at work which I got on my first day as an apprentice and that's 30+ years ago. Looked after and used properly they will give many years service. Chalkflint

Hello Guy Welcome to the forum. There are quite a few others here that are involved in scouting. I am a Cub and Scout leader Like you we never miss an opportunity to have a fire or do outdoor activities. We have just taken our cubs up to some private woodland and played capture the flag in the...

Brash I scatter it around the woodland. I also make piles in various places. There is always a lot especially as I have mainly Beech trees which drop large amounts constantly. I have also made brash hedging with limited success but its mainly to mark areas rather than keep deer out. As the...

The policeman did not want him to "mow any body down"

Cars are OK but you really need a van. http://www.dirty-weekender.com/gallery/stealth-dave/ I have seen it up close and its brilliant . Chalkflint

I had not really thought about this but Keith has a valid point. I do a lot of chopping with an axe in my wood mainly large fallen branches to make them more manageable to move and some will end up on the log pile. But last week when I needed to supply my scouts with some fire wood I just broke...

Thats an impressive activity. Chalkflint

I used to coach youngsters rugby at my local club as well as being a scout leader. There is a big difference. When I am coaching I am on a field in full view of everyone so any misdemeanors would be spotted. As a scout leader I am taking children away on camp etc and therefore not publicly...

Raspberry jam on my sandwiches. But for scones its a large scoop of clotted cream with big dollop of strawberry jam on top.

Well I survived another Scout camp this weekend. 56 young people of all ages Beavers, Cubs, Scouts and Explorers. The most enjoyable part is always seeing so many youngsters enjoying themselves. We split them up into teams of mixed ages and the older ones were brilliant at encouraging the...