Lockdown Purchases / Projects

[ŽižkovClaret]

Firstly, i get that some have not had the work, and so have been skint, and that's crap, this is in no way intended as a wind up.

Inevitably though, some people will have been sat twiddling their thumbs, and then come up with ideas / projects to get into while stuck in home.

My home bar / shelves certainly has never been so well stocked....

Whats yours?

[dpinsussex]

75 Square metres of astro turf in the back garden.

[JohnMac]

Conditioning myself to relax and breeeeeaaaath...

[ClaretEngineer]

I’d been meaning to install a proper electricity supply to my shed since for a few years but that meant ripping up the patio. My new next door neighbour was doing his patio, and that gave me the push to get on with it.

My shed is my workshop in the absence of a garage and having a proper power supply is something I should have done years ago.

Then during Lockdown 2 I saw a Discovery 3 TDv6 for spares / repair going cheap on eBay. So I’m half way through the engine at the moment, and looking forward to weekend when I get stuck into it again.

[blsclaret]

Similar to dpinsussex but making my 50 sq mtrs of artificial turf into a putting green .
3 ton of concrete in a skip as we speak.
Happy days ahead.

[dpinsussex]

Similar to dpinsussex but making my 50 sq mtrs of artificial turf into a putting green .
3 ton of concrete in a skip as we speak.
Happy days ahead.

4th of Jan our work starts.
Already ripped out all,the rotten decking, smashed up the concrete base. Rest of it will leave for the installers.

[FactualFrank]

I started working on a video project from April, creating explainer videos for businesses, products and services. Certainly the most significant new project I've taken on this year.

[ClaretAndJew]

Worked on myself. Lost 17lbs so far. This only started a few weeks ago. Who'd have thought not eating as much would make you lose weight?

Can finally see my hips and I'm a size 34 waist for the first time in 5 years.

Still got more to go!

[FactualFrank]

Worked on myself. Lost 17lbs so far. This only started a few weeks ago. Who'd have thought not eating as much would make you lose weight?

Can finally see my hips and I'm a size 34 waist for the first time in 5 years.

Still got more to go!

I'm 34 waist as well, but used to be a 32. You didn't do much exercise then, it was mainly eating less/better?

[ClaretAndJew]

I'm 34 waist as well, but used to be a 32. You didn't do much exercise then, it was mainly eating less/better?

Yeah, no real exercise other than walking. I just reduced my calories.

[Lowbankclaret]

Bought all the individual components and built myself a 500mm quadcopter drone. First time I plugged the battery in the frsky Taranis controller it set on fire. One of the issues buying direct from banggood. Going to buy a new one with some Xmas money then can start to program it.
Been a new learning experience for me building it.

[THEWELLERNUT70]

Clearing out the loft. 17 years worth of hoarding up there ffs. Ive got a box of Burnley programmes from the 60s through the 90s which when I eventually lay my hands on them are free to a good home if collected

[IanMcL]

I found weeds were inhabiting my garden all summer. I saw waves of them off but they won in the end....or have they?

I took up learning Scots Gaidhlig (Gaelic) on Duolingo. Still at it.
Still trying to work out why I would tell everyone that I do not have underpants on or even that I do! Perhaps it is optional in the Hebrides, depending on whether the wind is blowing high or low!

Other than that, sustaining life.

[wilks_bfc]

Been in the house 5yrs and had never decorated. Its new build so everything was white but needed freshening up
We wallpapered a wall in living room, along with painting the kitchen/dinning room

Also put up some shelving in the 2 storage cupboards that we have so things weren't just piled up on the floors in them


The big job though was to completely gut the back garden

Its a new build and the lawn was crap and slopped both front to back and left to right - I hated mowing it.

Although not the biggest, the quotes we got for doing work on it were ridiculous, mainly because we have no access to the back other than through the house.

So I took a few weeks off in July & August and dug it all the lawn out, built a retaining wall out of sleepers so we now have a split level area, with a flagged area as walk out the house, which was double original size and a loose stoned area higher up with some planters that I also made.

Not 100% perfect by any means, but 100% satisfied that we did it ourselves.

Next job, is hopefully some sort of bar, but that will be a job next year

[IanMcL]

Are you sure you have your priorities in the right order, Wilks?

Just checking!

[wilks_bfc]

Are you sure you have your priorities in the right order, Wilks?

Just checking!

Bar is going in the garden so had to sort it out and get it level first

[Lowbankclaret]

Bar is going in the garden so had to sort it out and get it level first

To be fair if you put the bar in first, nothing after that would have been anywhere near level. Might have looked after a few beers but the morning after you would be like WTF!

[Nonayforever]

Building a train set / layout for the grandson.

[Dante.El.Chunk]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRSxb32 ... hamberlain

been working with singers from around the world to do weird little tunes, also been working on animation. great fun!

[TheOriginalLongsider]

Copied all of our old Videos onto computer. Had to relearn how to use a VHS player.

[Bosscat]

Building a train set / layout for the grandson.

Well thats what you are telling everyone but we know the score And who will play with it most when its built



Great fun though isn't it

[strayclaret]

13C190B6-7D4F-46F2-88C3-D06BFEF9A12C.jpeg (753.8 KiB) Viewed 2920 times

Started in June ! Just finished anyone trying this needs a degree in civil engineering
I’ve got 5 O levels and a gold lifesaving badge, plus around 20 scout badges, none helped me

[jedi_master]

During the utter boredom of lockdown I started a football podcast on YouTube/Spotify with two mates of mine from work. We have a current/ex pro on every week via Zoom and talk through their career, funny stories, a quiz to see how much they remember about themselves etc - don’t take ourselves seriously!

Had mostly League One/Two players on, biggest name so far probably Warren Barton (ex-Newcastle/England). Recorded this week with our very own Mark Robertson (Aussie midfielder) from the mid-late nineties. Very interesting insight into the realities of playing alongside Chris Waddle and why it didn’t work out, and what it was like when Stan walked through the door!

If you fancy checking us out and subscribing we’d be eternally grateful Equally, if you can suggest anyone for us to try and get on I’ll do my best.

Pie and a Pint Podcast

https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCZVnK3VQ0bcuF_ewir6PWPA

[ReddishClaret]

Started brewing my own beer under the first lockdown. Brewed some cracking beers the latest being a porter

[appleton]

I'm busy refurbishing my musical instruments, started on my Marshall amp today.

[what_no_pies]

Some awesome efforts here.

We've turned the dumping room into a home office and generally rearranged the living space and created some bespoke lighting solutions - lighting under an armchair make it look like it's floating and behind my shelf of spirits and behind my CD's the coloured light shining through the various bottles, liquids and cases looks great - or at least we think so.

I've also started making art agian for the first time in over a decade and have framed and hung loads of our collection (mainly signed music memorabilia and personal stuff).

Latest project is a decorative interior design piece that will replace ugly (but practical) fixtures you find in almost every home. I've always wanted something more decorative to replace these buggers and so I'm prototyping something which may even become a commercial product. Who knows, this could be my new business in the not too distant future...

[GodIsADeeJay81]

I’d been meaning to install a proper electricity supply to my shed since for a few years but that meant ripping up the patio. My new next door neighbour was doing his patio, and that gave me the push to get on with it.

My shed is my workshop in the absence of a garage and having a proper power supply is something I should have done years ago.

Then during Lockdown 2 I saw a Discovery 3 TDv6 for spares / repair going cheap on eBay. So I’m half way through the engine at the moment, and looking forward to weekend when I get stuck into it again.

Oil pump failure or crank knocking?

[tiger76]

I'm afraid I can't match some of the great contributions already posted, however like many others we've been decluttering, and in the past couple of months I've started collecting BFC literature, I never realised there was so many great books on our club, and I keep discovering more every week, I'm up to about 20 collected when my latest orders come through, now I've just got to find the time to read them all, and also a new bookcase to store them in.

I used to read regularly, but due to work and other demands I've fallen out of the habit, so plenty of good stuff to keep me entertained through the long winter nights, especially as we can't get out and about right now.

[IanMcL]

Building a train set / layout for the grandson.

I have mental scars from my trainset, as a very young lad!

There it was on Christmas morning. Great. Open other presents from aunts and uncles etc. All good. Knock on door. An uncle and aunt.

Dad and uncle discuss trains etc. Next minute, they are dismantling it! They spent the morning messing around and little Ian never got a sniff!

[Bosscat]

I have mental scars from my trainset, as a very young lad!

There it was on Christmas morning. Great. Open other presents from aunts and uncles etc. All good. Knock on door. An uncle and aunt.

Dad and uncle discuss trains etc. Next minute, they are dismantling it! They spent the morning messing around and little Ian never got a sniff!

Know the feeling well Ian....

I remember feeling that myself

[IanMcL]

Grown ups never do grow up, Bosscat!

[harpers_perm]

Another one who has focused on himself.

1. I've lost 49Ibs since April through exercise, low carb diet and virtually cutting out drinking. I keep a daily log to keep me motivated so know that since April I've cycled 1019 miles, ran 245 miles, country walks of 387 miles. The mental benefits of cutting drinking and feeling fit and healthy is amazing.

2. Astronomy - Researching and learning then looking at planets, stars, nebulas etc..

I'm a person who needs a focus so recognised that without doing something and being home alone just working I'd put on 19 stone binge eating and drinking every day so decided to do something.

[ClaretEngineer]

Oil pump failure or crank knocking?

Neither.

LH (passenger side) cam timing chain snapped, I now suspect as a result of the nylon guides on the chain tensioner breaking up. I've just completed the RH cylinder head and the tensioner had started to break up.

I was prepared to have to take the heads off, but fortunately there hasn't been any valve to piston contact.

It's not the easiest car to work on, but I'm enjoying it thus far. I've never had the luxury of a car to work on that I don't depend on.

In addition to this I've repaired a Wacker plate (ground compactor) as it would only run for a minute before cutting out, so i stripped the engine and fitted new rings, gaskets, carb and a pull start. Its not even mine just fancied something to do. It now runs a dream.

Serviced a sewing machine for my Mother-in-Law who was on with mask making during the first wave.

Kitchen and living room decorated.

And loads of other odd jobs like rendering and flooring. It's not been a bad year for little jobs.

[Pstotto]

If you can only dream of owning a Harley and but have asked Santa for one for Christmas, take time to consider perhaps a Ducati instead, as you cower behind the settee for the whole of the festive period indoors rather than watch Strictly:

Digital Media Chimps.jpg (217.13 KiB) Viewed 2476 times

I said I'd quit the site and I have but sometimes it's hard to resist a sl**...

[Bosscat]

The big job though was to completely gut the back garden

Its a new build and the lawn was crap and slopped both front to back and left to right - I hated mowing it.

A sloppy lawn will never be easy to mow

Typo's don't you just hate em

[tim_noone]

Another one who has focused on himself.

1. I've lost 49Ibs since April through exercise, low carb diet and virtually cutting out drinking. I keep a daily log to keep me motivated so know that since April I've cycled 1019 miles, ran 245 miles, country walks of 387 miles. The mental benefits of cutting drinking and feeling fit and healthy is amazing.

2. Astronomy - Researching and learning then looking at planets, stars, nebulas etc..

I'm a person who needs a focus so recognised that without doing something and being home alone just working I'd put on 19 stone binge eating and drinking every day so decided to do something.

Very Good Effort on the Exercise.