iwan's hdj81

[Ben Stratford]

Sounds like a copper who stopped my on my RD80LC when I was 16 for the front tyre being too narrow!!

Stonking result there Iwan, and very satisfying i bet given the going over you gave it?

 

[piers_finlayson]

Hey Iwan - nice to see my old 81 getting some much deserved TLC . Out of interest what the problem in the end with the auto box when you picked it up? When I sold it on as far as I was aware it was shifting fine - was a bit surprised when the buyer told me he was having problems with it.

 

[Iwan]

Hey Iwan - nice to see my old 81 getting some much deserved TLC . Out of interest what the problem in the end with the auto box when you picked it up? When I sold it on as far as I was aware it was shifting fine - was a bit surprised when the buyer told me he was having problems with it.

Good to hear from you Piers! Thanks! Yes been great getting the 81 back, when I look at the pictures of when I picked it up. I realised the transformation that it's been through! It's like a completely different truck!

Don't worry about the auto transmission, the kickdown cable was seized at full pull, then it was continued to be used towing the scaffolding trailer. Which prevented it from changing up and that was the start of the auto to break down and overheat! All water under the bridge now it's a manual!

Always wondered Did you change the big end bearings in the lovelly 12v engine that it had in it?

I'll catch you on the highway sooner or later! All the best!

 

[piers_finlayson]

Good to hear from you Piers! Thanks! Yes been great getting the 81 back, when I look at the pictures of when I picked it up. I realised the transformation that it's been through! It's like a completely different truck!

Don't worry about the auto transmission, the kickdown cable was seized at full pull, then it was continued to be used towing the scaffolding trailer. Which prevented it from changing up and that was the start of the auto to break down and overheat! All water under the bridge now it's a manual!

Always wondered Did you change the big end bearings in the lovelly 12v engine that it had in it?

I'll catch you on the highway sooner or later! All the best!

Yeah, Julian changed the bearings for me - the originals were in a pretty shocking state. I probably have them kicking around somewhere still - lots of wear.

Good to know on the auto box - I did wonder if towing scaffolding could have contributed!

 

[Iwan]

I got inspired by @pyemaster s thread about snow/mud chains. I thought "if someone makes them then surely I can make my own! So started at 2 this afternoon and finished at 5 ish! Lol
After some R and D on you tube I decided to give it a go!

I wanted to start with this kind of side cover.

The chains are from some old pulley blocks that have been kicking around here since as long as I remember!

Sorry for the crappy pic!

You dont even need much of a tool kit to make them. Bolt cutters, vise, 2 good quality screwdrivers, a lump hammer, a pair of mole grips.... and a welder!

It's as easy as this! You need to be able to count chain links well!

First fit seems good! Because I have 10 cross chains and 9 gaps (10 with the joint) I really want to find a way to fit an x in between each of them.

The inside is just right!

A quick fit up! I've used d hooks to do the joints and I have 12 mini ratchet strap hooks (6 each wheel) with a long ratchet strap to tension. All in a R and D stage at the moment!
Ideally I'd like to make a set for the rear but I'm running out of bloody pulley blocks! Lol

Oh yeah the 81 is running like a dream. Totally dependable! Been a mix of runs, towing, offroad, off to work, trips on a days off and it's been doing the shopping runs since being back!
Happy days!

 

[tonytoyota]

Hi
Iwan looking good keep up the good job hope you r ok thanks for the pics from Tony.

 

[Iwan]

Been a while since an update.. To be honest I've had a complete nightmare with the 81 and it effected me quite badly considering the effort I went to building it up with very good intentions to use it!
In the middle of November I changed the oil and used the correct grade which is stated in the paper owners manual and an after market filter (never again). Went for a drive with the trailer to pickup the timber for my new job and I noticed that it was ticking like hell which increased with the revs when I got to pickup the timber. It really did my head in as I had to tow 2 1/2 ton of oak back! On the way home and to cut a story short knocked it down into 3rd for a corner on a sharp hill and it knocked 4 times I then changed into 4th and drove home! Unbelievable! I felt like I'd been ripped off with the purchase of the 24v. So the 81 has been put aside since. I needed a bit of time to get the enthusiasm back with it.

Went to my 71 1kzt project and have been hammering around in this for the last couple of months.... it is an excellent truck and completely love it! A hell of a good drive! But uses alot of fuel! But much faster than the 81

It makes me wonder when the previous oil change schedules have been on this motor?? There's quite some wear on these!

Bottom shells..

Top shells

You can see the 4 lines on no 6 which I think is the 4 knocks before the chip was ejected and later found wedged in the oil strainer.

interesting how they get blacker to the outside from the center.
I've fitted a genuine oil filter, new connecting rod bolts, std acl bearings from Karl as after research they're the same size as the no4 24v bebs etc. All bolted up as per the FSM and it's now running really sweet, but it's going to take me some time to trust this 24v motor..... my worries were always on thinking that the gearbox was going to self destruct!! Not that the engine was needing retrieving! lol

So when buying a 24v 80... key to:-

How often has the oil been changed?
What oil type has been used?
Because I think this one looks as if it had the oil changed last when the cambelt was last changed which was at the end of its life...
I think that the motor was bathing in very very old oil possibly mineral oil and when I put the semi synthetic 10w40 it was thinner???? I really don't know as all I did was change the oil!!!
There was a very light score on the crank journal on no 6 but I couldn't detect it with my finger nail...
Any ideas guys?
Relieved that all the effort hasn't gone to waste!

 

[Ben Stratford]

That was a close one Ewan, hopefully you get away with it. Its normally an exceptional engine if looked after. The 70 looks tasty!

 

[Iwan]

That was a close one Ewan, hopefully you get away with it. Its normally an exceptional engine if looked after. The 70 looks tasty!

Thanks mate! Yeah too bloody close!! Oil changes are key to longevity. Previous owner could've fallen for "It's a land cruiser, they last forever!" Not if you don't change the oil between cambelt changes!

Ref 70... love it very much!

 

[Iwan]

So instead of hijacking others threads with my work pictures and tool talk. I thought it was time to share with you all what I am really about! I am a full on timber tech and really cruisers are secondary!
This work dates from 2012, I designed it on the drawing board to 1:20 scale myself to sell the idea to the client. It's my baby this one and I built it in my workshop, fitted and finished it with my old friend Luke. The both of us were and still are very very proud of the job even though it was a massive challenge (to say the least!)

This is the base/floor joist network for an octagonal garden room!

Angled tenons are a challenge! All the components are in multiples of 8.. 16,32,64 and the most laborious yes 128!

A lot of thought has gone into this but it's worked out well!

3 of 8 wallplates in and 1/2 of the posts in. If I recall the build has a diameter of 18 to 19 foot. (If you don't know what feet are, there are plenty of conversion websites that will do it for you!!!) LOL No offence to anyone reading this after this week!

Angle tenons and mortises. Wall plate junction detail.

If you get a 260x260 oak beam and cut a 45 off all 4 corners in the right place you get a perfect 100mm sided octagon beam. Coincidentally this is the only 1 single piece in the whole build and it is an increadably busy piece of timber!

There's 8 no 1/2 A frames going into this centre post! And a hint of WW2 shrapnel in the left principle rafter! A bit of history too!

A bit of working out... lower steel is the wallplate level.

Had to get the workshop scaffolded out... coincidently it was the guy I bought the 81 off! Small world lol He said"I've never had to price a job like this before!" I said " Me neither mate!"
A fair bit of threaded bar had to go into it too!

The horizontal purlins in the roof were probably the most complicated oakwork I've ever done! Compound mitre purlin trenches!! We thought we'd cracked it by now until the client called and said " My Mrs wants the roof to be round and she wants 8 triangular double glazed units in the top triangles!!!!!" LOL OK it's possible but we have to agree a price! FFS!

Eves boards were a challenge, rounded rafter ends.. no pics but loads of softwood tapered pieces to enthuse a round start for the roof!

Galv super heavy duty steel feet... hell of a lot of weight going on the 8 posts. Mental angled rebate to allow the 2 sets of double doors to be fitted! Nearly got onsite after 3-4 months work hellish!

Time for a break! Guys from Cruiserworld came for a visit! Hefty old beasts those 60 and 61's!

Haha Maarten Delwell from Cruiserworld leggin it as we had an angry farmer on the warpath!!! Really funny that was!! The 70 was my first cruiser...

Going up onsite!

Thought it was best to bolt the corners on the ring beam.... some serious weight going on top..

Was really pleased with the roofing.. Llangynog random slate roof.... double glazed fixed glazing upto the point/peak! A local joiner has a massive lathe and we turned the centre post in the roof a mushroom on the top and an acorn on the bottom!

The inside of the roof looks fantastic! Ash tongue and grove sarking on top!

Poor pic but love the flush outside to inside floor levels!

Love the floor finish too!
All in all a hell of a top job we did here... been a long time since I've looked at these pics and thought it would give you all an insight into what I do! Hope you enjoyed seeing them!

Had a bit of trouble with loading the pics, so hopefully they're all there! Cheers all!

 

[chapel gate]

impressive work there mate. I have to admit to looking forward to your updates. proper folk imo, doesn't seem to be that many of them about these days..

I admit I wouldn't attempt something like that on a price. do you use a imperial roofing square or trig for your setting out?
feet and inches is my language..

 

[Chas]

So instead of hijacking others threads with my work pictures and tool talk. I thought it was time to share with you all what I am really about! I am a full on timber tech and really cruisers are secondary!
This work dates from 2012, I designed it on the drawing board to 1:20 scale myself to sell the idea to the client. It's my baby this one and I built it in my workshop, fitted and finished it with my old friend Luke. The both of us were and still are very very proud of the job even though it was a massive challenge (to say the least!)

View attachment 139863
This is the base/floor joist network for an octagonal garden room!
View attachment 139864
Angled tenons are a challenge! All the components are in multiples of 8.. 16,32,64 and the most laborious yes 128!
View attachment 139865
A lot of thought has gone into this but it's worked out well!
View attachment 139867
3 of 8 wallplates in and 1/2 of the posts in. If I recall the build has a diameter of 18 to 19 foot. (If you don't know what feet are, there are plenty of conversion websites that will do it for you!!!) LOL No offence to anyone reading this after this week!
View attachment 139868
Angle tenons and mortises. Wall plate junction detail.
View attachment 139869
If you get a 260x260 oak beam and cut a 45 off all 4 corners in the right place you get a perfect 100mm sided octagon beam. Coincidentally this is the only 1 single piece in the whole build and it is an increadably busy piece of timber!
View attachment 139870
There's 8 no 1/2 A frames going into this centre post! And a hint of WW2 shrapnel in the left principle rafter! A bit of history too!
View attachment 139871
A bit of working out... lower steel is the wallplate level.
View attachment 139872
Had to get the workshop scaffolded out... coincidently it was the guy I bought the 81 off! Small world lol He said"I've never had to price a job like this before!" I said " Me neither mate!"
A fair bit of threaded bar had to go into it too!
View attachment 139873
The horizontal purlins in the roof were probably the most complicated oakwork I've ever done! Compound mitre purlin trenches!! We thought we'd cracked it by now until the client called and said " My Mrs wants the roof to be round and she wants 8 triangular double glazed units in the top triangles!!!!!" LOL OK it's possible but we have to agree a price! FFS!
View attachment 139874
Eves boards were a challenge, rounded rafter ends.. no pics but loads of softwood tapered pieces to enthuse a round start for the roof!
View attachment 139881
Galv super heavy duty steel feet... hell of a lot of weight going on the 8 posts. Mental angled rebate to allow the 2 sets of double doors to be fitted! Nearly got onsite after 3-4 months work hellish!
View attachment 139882
Time for a break! Guys from Cruiserworld came for a visit! Hefty old beasts those 60 and 61's!
View attachment 139883
Haha Maarten Delwell from Cruiserworld leggin it as we had an angry farmer on the warpath!!! Really funny that was!! The 70 was my first cruiser...
View attachment 139884
Going up onsite!
View attachment 139885
Thought it was best to bolt the corners on the ring beam.... some serious weight going on top..
View attachment 139886
Was really pleased with the roofing.. Llangynog random slate roof.... double glazed fixed glazing upto the point/peak! A local joiner has a massive lathe and we turned the centre post in the roof a mushroom on the top and an acorn on the bottom!
View attachment 139887
The inside of the roof looks fantastic! Ash tongue and grove sarking on top!
View attachment 139888
Poor pic but love the flush outside to inside floor levels!
View attachment 139889
Love the floor finish too!
All in all a hell of a top job we did here... been a long time since I've looked at these pics and thought it would give you all an insight into what I do! Hope you enjoyed seeing them!

Had a bit of trouble with loading the pics, so hopefully they're all there! Cheers all!

My God Iwan, that is a work of art.

 

[Ben]

Bloody hell Iwan, that is some amazing work!

You're not a tradesman, you're a craftsmen!

 

[Ben Stratford]

Love it Iwan, what an achievement and as you said something to look back on with immense pride.

 

[karl webster]

Stunning iwan.
I know where to come for any oak work

 

[clivehorridge]

Incredible Iwan, that’s a monster achievement!

Like the shrapnel bit and the reference to goooogle conversions, shows you’re keeping up.

When are you coming here for a working holiday?

 

[Iwan]

impressive work there mate. I have to admit to looking forward to your updates. proper folk imo, doesn't seem to be that many of them about these days..

I admit I wouldn't attempt something like that on a price. do you use a imperial roofing square or trig for your setting out?
feet and inches is my language..

Cheers mate! I try to be informative even though somethings don't work out! That's the way it is! And worse thing's happen at sea! After all they're material objects! I call it character building when things turn into a disaster!!

Yes very tricky job to price as it was full of unknown or unquantifiable so it was quite conditional from the word go... so going into the design I got the idea from an old black and decker garden shed book believe it or not! The roof and floor setup was in that and hit the drawing board and beefed it up from 6ft wide to 18-19ft wide!Lol From 4x2 and 6x2 softwood to 7x6 and 10x6 oak posts! mint like!

Only use imperial for spoken reference as above a 21' 10" x 6" is basically [email protected]. If you have a 1:20 design you only have a +/- 10mm tollerance.... 1:100 you have +/-50mm and that is pretty shit in my opinion never get any accuracy from that! That's why you turn up onsite and the base is out! Fuckin muppets built the base out by 2"!lol. Stuff pissing around with trig! Use a 1:20 design and a decent digital angle measurer and measure twice.. (taking the piss!) lol glad you like the job man!

My God Iwan, that is a work of art.

View attachment 139890

Thanks Chas mate.... they say left handed people are artistic... I'm ambidextrous! (had to check the spelling on that one!) Lol! I trust that you are well man? Really happy that you picked up some inspiration from the pictures/tale!

Bloody hell Iwan, that is some amazing work!

You're not a tradesman, you're a craftsmen!

Yo mate! Thanks man! I've been kinda immersed in oak frames most of my life. My Dad through the 80's/90's and on used to do demolition of buildings and sell reclaimed materials very busily, so in my high school holidays I used to tag along! Then we used to restore the good ones and sell on/re erect. Long time involvement and picked up "the feel for it". I think you may remember when you came here that there were/are piles of old beams here!! He was very impressed when I did my first "big" job in the late 90's!
Great to see your doing well back in Victoria with the nipper and all (lol).. LJ looks real well Bro!

Love it Iwan, what an achievement and as you said something to look back on with immense pride.

Excellent Ben.... I'd changed computers quite a while back and dug the old pc out to get the pictures off it and it's inspired me to maybe market it. If I was able to sell 2 a year I would be very busy with it and back on track Thanks mate

Stunning iwan.
I know where to come for any oak work

Cheers Karl... I thought you'd like to see this job.. it's not the standard milarky at all! Speak to you soon about this golf tdi etc! Cheers mate!

Incredible Iwan, that’s a monster achievement!

Like the shrapnel bit and the reference to goooogle conversions, shows you’re keeping up.

When are you coming here for a working holiday?

Haha thanks Clive man! It was a massive learning curve and most of all succesfull too!

Re shrapnel and bullets beam fodder... I have extracted a few over the years.. I will have to dig them out in a bit and get a picture up of them for you. I find them absolutely facinating! Oh yes I find it appaulling that the miss spelling correction is American on here and it really pisses me off!

 

[tonytoyota]

Hi Iwan that is one top job thanks for the pics love that you r one top craftsmen it's a big big big big

 

[Iwan]

Some history found in french oak!

The shrapnel is hard to tell some looks more molten and others are like blocks which are less molten. .. either way the bottom left completely knackered my 16" circular saw blade!

The more pointy tip is what seems to be made of iron... and the style seems to be really old??

The bullet tip lhs is brass.
I think that the centre bullet tip is ww1
The mostly complete bullet rhs I did some breif research and it appears to be a brittish 10mm ww2. If the tip is lead and 12mm then I think if I remember it would be ww2 german. So I think that the tree or beam that I fished the larger one would be from behind the german line!
So when you think about it they were fired in anger... was the person who fired it forced to fire it or what?
So when the tree was damaged as such.. I think that it would have been closer to the ground and the next 80 or so years would have seen this damage and the piece of shrapnel grow higher with the tree.
So the blue mark is the reaction between the metal and the tanning in the oak tree..
I really find it interesting. Also if you know more than I , I would be happy to be corrected. .. cheers!

 

[clivehorridge]

Some history found in french oak!
View attachment 139923
The shrapnel is hard to tell some looks more molten and others are like blocks which are less molten. .. either way the bottom left completely knackered my 16" circular saw blade!
View attachment 139924
The more pointy tip is what seems to be made of iron... and the style seems to be really old??
View attachment 139925
The bullet tip lhs is brass.
I think that the centre bullet tip is ww1
The mostly complete bullet rhs I did some breif research and it appears to be a brittish 10mm ww2. If the tip is lead and 12mm then I think if I remember it would be ww2 german. So I think that the tree or beam that I fished the larger one would be from behind the german line!
So when you think about it they were fired in anger... was the person who fired it forced to fire it or what?
So when the tree was damaged as such.. I think that it would have been closer to the ground and the next 80 or so years would have seen this damage and the piece of shrapnel grow higher with the tree.
So the blue mark is the reaction between the metal and the tanning in the oak tree..
I really find it interesting. Also if you know more than I , I would be happy to be corrected. .. cheers!

I certainly don’t Iwan, but hearing what you’ve discovered is intriguing

You might remember from some of our posts, I lived not so far from your place some years ago, at Hermon, y Glogue, near Crymych. I had a small cottage there, and when I came to insure it for mortgage purposes, I found out that it was one of the first in the village, built by a shepherd over 250 years old it was.

It had 3’ thick stone walls, with lime stabilized soil as a mortar. Bugger of a place for showing damp on the inside, but very cool in summer and as warm as toast in the winter, once up to temperature.

There were nice old beams in the bedroom, the roof rafters because originally I think the “upstairs” would just have been for storing hay.

I didn’t find any bullets mind, but the rafters were staked together with hand-forged staples. Nice to see something original, and I only found them when stripping off some box-outs that the previous owner had put there to cover the beams up

He’d “modernized” the place, which was a nightmare in my eyes, skinny skirtings in white, and all the wood was painted.

I set about stripping everything wood, then doing it with shellac and bees-wax. All the doors had been painted white, so they went down to be dip-stripped at an antiques workshop in Cardigan. He was a good guy there, he used to give me a gallon or two of the dip, so I could treat new wood with it to make it match the old original pine.

So the Victorian style 6” skirtings I bought at Jewsons got a good soaking in the dip juice to bring them to a matching color with the dip-stripped doors, and it looked OK when all was done. Did the same with the new staircase the local undertaker made for me.

The bedroom floor was my favorite, 2” thick butted pine boards, black as your hat, so when sanded and polished, they came up like new, well old new, but you know what I mean.

If you go on google street view, the cottage is visible, but the new owner has built a poxy little porch over the front door, and for me, she’s spoilt it. She’s also stripped of the external rendering to show the stone, but I’d decided not to try that because the stone wasn’t the best looking stuff TBH. It was slate-stone and done in quite small pieces, so not very appealing. I’ll bet the place is as damp as a cave now, without that protection.

The upstairs bedroom window ledges were level with the top of the skirting boards, it was a cute place to live.

Great thread anyway Iwan, I love to see anything made of wood, especially when it’s done to the quality of your work.

My house here is timber built, but the framing is just nailed together, I think the chippy only had a shovel in his toolkit.

I’m rambling, time for a beer and bed I think....