Winter CSM maintenance

[BobL]

Stick on UHMWPE looks real neat but it will be interesting to see how long it stays on for and it tends to expand quiet a bit with changes in temperature.

I once built a lab with false (stand off) walls made of 1/8" x 8 x 4' sheets of UHMWPE. One day when the air con failed and the lab temperature hit 120 F some of the sheets just popped off their fixings and peeled off the walls and curled over like giant flower petals - wish I had taken photos.

 

[mtngun]

Stick on UHMWPE looks real neat but it will be interesting to see how long it stays on for and it tends to expand quiet a bit with changes in temperature.

Ya. The alternative is attaching the UHMW with countersunk machine screws. There isn't much meat on the alaskan rails for screw threads, so that might not hold up well, either.

Maybe countersunk pop rivits ?

Maybe cut the strips into pieces only a few inches long, with a small gap between pieces, so it has room to expand ?

They make a UHMW shape that snaps on over square tubing, but not in a size that fits the Alaskan, otherwise the snap-on stuff would be the way to go. It's $3 - $4 a foot, though.

 

[BobL]

Ya. The alternative is attaching the UHMW with countersunk machine screws. There isn't much meat on the alaskan rails for screw threads, so that might not hold up well, either.

Maybe countersunk pop rivits ?

Good idea!

Maybe cut the strips into pieces only a few inches long, with a small gap between pieces, so it has room to expand ?

Also good

They make a UHMW shape that snaps on over square tubing, but not in a size that fits the Alaskan, otherwise the snap-on stuff would be the way to go. It's $3 - $4 a foot, though.

Not so good.

 

[mtngun]

A while back I posted about how my ENM tach's display gradually faded until it stopped displaying altogether. I assumed the battery had died, but then one day the tach started working again, so the mysterious fading display is still a mystery.

Anyway, when the tach was malfunctioning, ENM literally told me it wasn't their problem. The former AS sponsor who sold me the tach never responded to two emails. Since he seemed to be ignoring me, I never bothered to update him when the tach decided to start working again. It looked like there was zero support for the ENM, and I didn't have anything nice to say about it.

Yesterday a package from the former AS sponsor showed up, with a brand new ENM tach. Even though he didn't respond to my emails, in the end, the former AS sponsor made things right.

Problem is, my old tach is working perfectly at the moment, and I feel guilty about receiving the new tach. Then again, the mystery problem with the old tach has never been resolved and the problem may return, so I guess I'll hang on to the new tach in case that happens.

 

[BobL]

A while back I posted about how my ENM tach's display gradually faded until it stopped displaying altogether. I assumed the battery had died, but then one day the tach started working again, so the mysterious fading display is still a mystery.

Anyway, when the tach was malfunctioning, ENM literally told me it wasn't their problem. The former AS sponsor who sold me tach never responded to two emails. Since he seemed to be ignoring me, I never bothered to update him when the tach decided to start working again. It looked like there was zero support for the ENM, and I didn't have anything nice to say about it.

Yesterday a package from the former AS sponsor showed up, with a brand new ENM tach. Even though he didn't respond to my emails, in the end, the former AS sponsor made things right.

Problem is, my old tach is working perfectly at the moment, and I feel guilty about receiving the new tach. Then again, the mystery problem with the old tach has never been resolved and the problem may return, so I guess I'll hang on to the new tach in case that happens.

Good for you.

I put my bung sendec in the freezer - no luck now I might try warming it gently with a hot air gun. I even opened up the back but it is filled with epoxy and the battery is sitting about 1/16" below the top of the epoxy. I'm not buying one of these sealed units again.

 

[mtngun]

I'm not buying one of these sealed units again.

I feel your frustration.

Of course, it remains to be seen if the more expensive replaceable battery style tachs will last longer than the cheap units when mounted on a CSM. Glad you are testing that for us, Bob.

If you are interested in an ENM and can't find one in Oz, I can arrange to mail one to you. For about $30 U.S., it can be considered disposable, though I'd like it to last more than 5 - 6 months.

 

[BobL]

I feel your frustration.

Of course, it remains to be seen if the more expensive replaceable battery style tachs will last longer than the cheap units when mounted on a CSM. Glad you are testing that for us, Bob.

If you are interested in an ENM and can't find one in Oz, I can arrange to mail one to you. For about $30 U.S., it can be considered disposable, though I'd like it to last more than 5 - 6 months.

Cheers ntmgun.

I tried warming in the sun but it is still dead. I am tempted to dissect it and see if I can find the problem but I suspect the problem will be buried inside a chip somewhere that cannot be seen.

The scooter riders had the same problem with using these tachos continuously on their scooters . It would be of value to see if they have come up with a suitable model for their use. They make chips that can ride continuously on an F18 so I can't see why they can't make them to ride on a CS.

Thanks for the kind offer of sending me a an ENM but next monday I will be in the PNW anyway so I can probably get one myself. Where did you get yours from?

 

[mtngun]

Thanks for the kind offer of sending me a an ENM but next monday I will be in the PNW anyway so I can probably get one myself. Where did you get yours from?

PM sent.

 

[BobL]

Thnks mtngun

Like I said in my reply, I think I know what might have happened to the Sendec. The last time I used the 880 with the sendec was in late January.

Then it was too hot in Feb and March to mill or I used the 440. During this time the daytime temps reached over 100F many times and 880 and mill were stored outside covered by a dark grey tarpaulin. I reckon under the tarpaulin it would easily have been 140F+ so the sheer heat probably killed it although interestingly the temp gauge seems to have survived OK. Unfortunately I have nowhere else to put it - my shed also gets very hot in summer ie >120F.

I will make the instrument easily removable so that at least that it does not have to sit outside. This should not be too hard.

 

[mtngun]

Studs, rather than bolts, to secure the bar to the Alaskan. I borrowed a trick from DRB, and used jam nuts to secure the studs. For insurance, a dab of Hondabond serves as a thread locker.

Locknuts and wave washers. The rear of the bar is bolted tightly......

.......while the nose is merely snugged up to the wave washer, to avoid pinching the sprocket bearing. Note the discoloration from the overheating episode.

Even if this doesn't solve the problem with the nose overheating, it's still a better system. It's easier to change or flip bars with this system, and I don't have to remember to carry an allen wrench in the field.

 

[mtngun]

The latest carnage

I was getting the CSM ready for its next adventure, and noticed that when I spun the chain by hand (engine off, of course ! ), instead of spinning smoothly, it went "clunk clunk clunk clunk." That's not good.

Further investigation gave the bar a clean bill of health.

The Stihl 066 clutch drum sure seemed wobbly, though. The clutch bearing was fine, and the output shaft was fine, so where was the wobble coming from ?

The bore of the clutch drum looked a bit worn. Sure 'nuff, the portion where the clutch bearing rides mic'd 0.638" (16.21 mm). The drum bore is supposed to mic 0.630" (16.0 mm).

It never occurred to me that the clutch drum's bore would be the first thing to wear out. Live and learn.

 

[Brmorgan]

I have an 066 drum with the same problem; it came on the ratty old one I got at the pawnshop a year and a half ago. It puts yours to shame though - its ID bore is probably 1/16" oversize or more. That saw was such a wreck when I got it! Like you I couldn't figure out what was going on with the chain every once in a while. Felt like I had a .325 chain on or something. I ran it like that for a long time though and probably milled over a thousand feet of lumber before replacing the drum this past March. It never gave me any problems cutting though. Once the clutch locks onto the drum, it isn't going to wobble at all anyway.

 

[mtngun]

Once the clutch locks onto the drum, it isn't going to wobble at all anyway.

Hmmm..... I hadn't thought of that. If the replacement doesn't arrive in time, I may run the old drum one more day.

 

[huskyhank]

mtngun -

Nice bore gage.

 

[TraditionalTool]

There are two great little restaurants across the canal - one was where we had the 3 grilled fish dinner.

Bob,

Is that Venice? Me and my wife love Venice...a lot of folks hate it cause of the canal odors and such, but we loved all the little restaurants where you can enjoy pizza and wine with some live music from local folks walking the streets, playing their music...

Maybe that is somewhere else, reminds me of Venice though...speaking of great music, my company bought me and my wife tickets to go see Ron Carter on Lido Island, a short boat ride from Venice on the water ferry...I was excited as I knew I had 4th row seats...turns out they removed the first 2 rows to enlarge the stage...we were in the 1st row. I snapped these pics before the ushers asked me to turn my camera off...:monkey:

At least they didn't ask for my camera...lol

 

[BobL]

Tis indeed Venice. It's my friend's apartment across from the Fpndemente delle Misericordie. My mom is venetian so just about everyone sounds like here - I find it quite spooky.

Nice shots or RonC BTW!

 

[TraditionalTool]

Tis indeed Venice. It's my friend's apartment across from the Fpndemente delle Misericordie. My mom is venetian so just about everyone sounds like here - I find it quite spooky.

Nice shots or RonC BTW!

One of our favorite places. On the way back to Milan in 2005, I changed my train ride at the last minute and me and my wife went to Cremona to visit the Stradivarius museum...one of the coolest places of our trip we went...so cool to see old hand made tools that Strad had made for violin building, like hand built calipers...it was humbling...

I play upright bass myself, so really enjoyed the RC concert. I hollered out "Blues for Bradley" at the end, and they came back and did an encore of "Blues for Bradley"...what a night...me and my wife will never forget that one...must be nice to have friends there,

BTW, to keep on topic of the forum, have you heard the theory that the wood Strad used got the way it did due to being in the water in Venice for so long? Evidentially when the logs would come down the river, they would all be taken to Venice to be processed. There is a theory that the water is what caused the wood to sound so special.

Another theory is the insecticides used in the day...

Here we are close to 400 years later and people still can't figure out why his violins were so great sounding...it is fascinating...wood is fascinating...

 

[BobL]

One of our favorite places. On the way back to Milan in 2005, I changed my train ride at the last minute and me and my wife went to Cremona to visit the Stradivarius museum...one of the coolest places of our trip we went...so cool to see old hand made tools that Strad had made for violin building, like hand built calipers...it was humbling...

On the more musical side of things in 2007 I attended an open air concert in the "bosco di Paneveggio" in the Dolomites. The "bosco di Paneveggio" is where Stradivarius sourced his wood for his violins. The highlight was a violin performance played by Ugo Ughi on his Stradivarius.

Here is a not very good picture of the event. There were about 5000 people packed in the crisp summer mountain air and this was about as close as I could get.

I play upright bass myself, so really enjoyed the RC concert. I hollered out "Blues for Bradley" at the end, and they came back and did an encore of "Blues for Bradley"...what a night...me and my wife will never forget that one...must be nice to have friends there,

I have 4 brothers that all play various things. Two are in several serious bands and one plays the double bass in a Blue Grass band.

BTW, to keep on topic of the forum, have you heard the theory that the wood Strad used got the way it did due to being in the water in Venice for so long? Evidentially when the logs would come down the river, they would all be taken to Venice to be processed. There is a theory that the water is what caused the wood to sound so special.

I support the mini-ice age theory.

 

[wigglesworth]

It never occurred to me that the clutch drum's bore would be the first thing to wear out. Live and learn.

Maybe im wrong here, but I dont think that would affect anything while the clutch was engaged, no?

 

[Andrew96]

I thought they disproved all the old theorys about the stradivarius's perfect sound. From what I know.....The wood was only one key point...(uniform growth rings from equal summer and winter growth). The other main point was the perfection in thickness throughout any of the parts (perfect control of thickness...by hand!!). The end result, I thought, was the perfect craftsmanship trumped any major affect the wood had on it. In other words....they made a perfect instrument...they didn't 'just' have some special wood that no one else could get. Other period instruments were made of very similar woods but without them being combined with the uniform body thickness (therefore not perfect), didn't produce perfection in sound. I remember them using a CT scanner and found the inside of the instruments to be as perfectly made as the outside. From memory, something like 0.005" variation in thickness on all the body panels, curved and bent and all.
I've never been to the Stradivarius museum. You guys do get around.