http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Topic: Very OT - hole cutter for DIY en Wed, 13 May 2026 05:48:14 +0000 http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=13566&page=2#post-168618 Sun, 19 Oct 2014 21:13:32 +0000 gembo 168618@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Those were the days. Assume they used the spinner in the twin tub rather than the washing compartment? Though maybe a mangle would have worked better? </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=13566&page=2#post-168617 Sun, 19 Oct 2014 20:49:33 +0000 kaputnik 168617@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>My ex's dad used to tell a story of his times as a summer job binman in Glasgow when he was at nursing college.</p> <p>They used to pick up the bins from the Distiller's Company at Port Dundas. They also used to go round the back afterwards and pick up some "other" bin bags that weren't thrown in the back of the bin lorry but were kept in the cab.</p> <p>He never got to find out what was going on until the end of the summer they let him in on their secret. It was the filters out of some part of the distillation process. Were a bit like rolls of sodden loft insulation. The binmen would pick them up to smuggle them out of the distillery, they were then taken direct to someone's house where they were put in a twin tub and given a spin, action of which would draw the dregs of the spirit out, which was bottled and sold around the back doors of pubs in the east of Glasgow. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=13566&page=2#post-168595 Sun, 19 Oct 2014 10:30:07 +0000 Instography 168595@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I like to think more of the guys in distilleries who would steal raw spirit by drilling a hole in the barrels, fill a bottle and then plug it with a pencil. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=13566&page=2#post-168593 Sun, 19 Oct 2014 09:51:28 +0000 gembo 168593@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Ah insto, every time I think along those lines I remember the small dent in father ted's car that they just try to bash out.</p> <p>Might have some cocktail sticks if I light the fire with the match. Never made a cocktail that required a stick </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=13566&page=2#post-168591 Sun, 19 Oct 2014 09:20:55 +0000 Instography 168591@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Cocktail sticks are just the job. An alternative is to drill out a much larger hole and fill it with new wood, wood filler or epoxy resin and start afresh. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=13566&page=2#post-168585 Sun, 19 Oct 2014 09:09:32 +0000 Arellcat 168585@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Gembo, I tend not to use matchsticks when plugging a stripped hole for a screw. Matchsticks are either pine or aspen and compress too easily. I use cocktail sticks, as they're generally made from birch and consequently a good bit harder and stronger. You can even use a pin hammer to tap them in. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=13566#post-168583 Sun, 19 Oct 2014 08:48:10 +0000 gembo 168583@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Did a really bad piece of DIY yesterday as better half down south (her building standards would not have accepted it). The brass key hole plate on the front door had lost a screw of a very small size that seems not to be reproduced metrically? Anyway the hole the screw was in had lost all grip. I took out the wood filler which had a match stuck in the hole in the tube in lieu of a lid but split the tube trying to get the match out. I then stuck another match in the hole in the door and swapped the new and old screws around. </p> <p>Is fine just now but the plate is slightly lower than it was so I imagine the kids will dislodge when opening the door. Still got one match left though so might do the trick again but swap the screws back, the other hole had very little grip now too.</p> <p>Not sure how I would have inserted the wood filler into the small holes in point of fact. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=13566#post-168581 Sat, 18 Oct 2014 23:55:53 +0000 Tulyar 168581@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Windows generally need maintenance (renewal if facing serious weather) every 50 years in line with most other building maintenance.</p> <p>Modern glass tends to be 6mm when 4mm was acceptable for large late Victorian/Edwardian panes. Early Victorian stuck with Georgian standards with general purpose windows mostly 6 over 6 and larger ones 8 over 8. I have some original 1849 windows with &lt;2mm barrel glass which makes sash very light, compared to what it would be with single pane top &amp; bottom. Main dining room windows are big but originals were 4 over 4 with panes roughly 12" square. Mine have been modified to 2 over 2.</p> <p>BIG mistake is that people often think about double glazing and this really adds to sash weight.</p> <p>Often useful to date last repairs by newspapers in sash box.... </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=13566#post-168459 Fri, 17 Oct 2014 11:36:20 +0000 kaputnik 168459@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>The new parting beads, pile carriers and weatherpile (5.5mm) arrived today.</p> <p>Thought I was buying 10m given the price. Turned out I bought 100m!</p> <p>I now have 90m of weatherpile going spare, if anyone ever needs some. It fits in a special self-adhesive carrier which costs about 90p for a 2.2m section (<a href="http://www.draftfix.co.uk/ecom-catshow/pile_carriers_self_adhesive.html)" rel="nofollow">http://www.draftfix.co.uk/ecom-catshow/pile_carriers_self_adhesive.html)</a>. Of course you need a parting bead with a channel in it to take the carrier. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=13566#post-168111 Tue, 14 Oct 2014 16:54:57 +0000 kaputnik 168111@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Relevant of course, because the mastic indeed was falling our so has been removed. It was unpainted, which according to the googling means it is more likely to dry out and become ineffective.</p> <p>I need to get the pointing around the front bay window done which is too big / inaccessible a job for me, so thanks for the tip. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=13566#post-168108 Tue, 14 Oct 2014 14:39:49 +0000 algo 168108@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>@Snowy - thanks for reminding me to redo my burnt sand mastic… quick plug for a good local company that has the right materials for working with Edinburgh tenements…. (it might be relevant to you kaputnik?)</p> <p><a href="http://www.masonsmortar.co.uk/knowledge/page/burnt-sand-mastic" rel="nofollow">http://www.masonsmortar.co.uk/knowledge/page/burnt-sand-mastic</a> </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=13566#post-168091 Tue, 14 Oct 2014 13:38:49 +0000 Snowy 168091@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p><em>I might order some replacement beading that comes pre-fitted with the brushes.</em></p> <p>We did this. Much faster and possibly longer lasting.</p> <p>Reminds me I have a rotten sill to extract and replace due to the drying out and subsequent falling out of my burnt sand mastic. The joys. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=13566#post-168057 Tue, 14 Oct 2014 11:28:47 +0000 kaputnik 168057@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>@Algo yes I thought that might be wrong, but the location of the previous nail holes confirmed I have them round the right ways. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=13566#post-168050 Tue, 14 Oct 2014 11:12:30 +0000 algo 168050@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>@k - really stupid question just in case…. if both parting beads are off - have you put them back the right way round in both orientations? </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=13566#post-168040 Tue, 14 Oct 2014 10:42:29 +0000 kaputnik 168040@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>@Algo the only damp would have been from perhaps absorbing some of the water out of the primer? I'm now thinking that while I've got the thing in the semi-put-back-together state that I might order some replacement beading that comes pre-fitted with the brushes. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=13566#post-168035 Tue, 14 Oct 2014 10:21:38 +0000 chdot 168035@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>"I think it's heavier glass replacement panels"</p> <p>Presume so - though always assumed that older glass was thicker/heavier. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=13566#post-168032 Tue, 14 Oct 2014 10:10:19 +0000 algo 168032@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>"Come across that problem too (why?)"</p> <p>I think it's heavier glass replacement panels - at least that's the only quantifiable difference when the paint is stripped….</p> <p>"Yours is a neat solution."</p> <p>thanks :-) </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=13566#post-168030 Tue, 14 Oct 2014 10:08:37 +0000 algo 168030@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>@k - is it possible the parting beads have got wet and expanded the wood? You should be able to tap the parting beads in and they shouldn't restrict the movement of the panes - I always put that brush strip draft proofing on the parting bead which means there is very slight resistance (indeed you can buy parting bead with this pre-applied). Unfortunately this means they won't be filming period dramas at my flat where they like to have scenes of people flinging sash windows up with gay abandon... </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=13566#post-168029 Tue, 14 Oct 2014 10:04:40 +0000 chdot 168029@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>"WD40 and a mallet, which is my usual approach to things not fitting on a bike"</p> <p>You <em>know</em> that's not a good idea. </p> <p>(There are impressionable readers on here.) </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=13566#post-168028 Tue, 14 Oct 2014 10:03:13 +0000 chdot 168028@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>"I found the top sash often dropped a bit and needed a bit of extra weight to hold it up"</p> <p>Come across that problem too (why?)</p> <p>Yours is a neat solution. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=13566#post-168026 Tue, 14 Oct 2014 09:58:46 +0000 kaputnik 168026@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Thankyou all for offers of tools, cord and advice. I will file these away for future window repair or hole cutting requirements.</p> <p>I did have extra cord I could use in the end - the issue was I had made a schoolboy error and measured once, cut twice. I had measured the right hand sash cord (the one for the plug) off of the left hand cord (the one tacked into the groove). Previous sash windows I had taken apart had the plug recess fairly high up the window, round about where you would tack on the other cord. This window, alas, had the recess right towards the bottom, meaning I was short about 8 inches of cord in my calculations and the bottom pane wouldn't close as a result.</p> <p>Anyway, lesson learned, I got back into the weight box (despite the access hole being designed in such a way as not to open with the parting beads in place) and put in a longer piece of cord.</p> <p>Another question to the learned though - the parting beads really are struggling to go back into their slot (it's not paint fouling, as I've not painted the slot and I've sanded the edges of the slot and the bead). I thought about planing off the edges of the bead to a slight taper. Is this the best way to achieve a fit? As it is they aren't sitting right and making the sashes very stiff to raise and lower. I don't think this is a job for WD40 and a mallet, which is my usual approach to things not fitting on a bike. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=13566#post-168024 Tue, 14 Oct 2014 09:49:01 +0000 algo 168024@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Although the offers for bits are now plentiful, I also have Forstner 30 and 35..</p> <p>When I redid my sashes, apart from the draft-proofing strips on the parting beads which are a must I think, I found the top sash often dropped a bit and needed a bit of extra weight to hold it up… most tenement lofts, or even running behind the shutter boxes have lead pipes - I found this particularly useful as a cheap way of adding a bit of weight and thus getting a good seal on the top sash…</p> <p><img src="http://algorhythmical.co.uk/sash.jpg"> </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=13566#post-167992 Mon, 13 Oct 2014 16:39:37 +0000 davidsonsdave 167992@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I think I have some spare sash cord if you need any (for free). It was leftover from when I renovated the windows in my previous flat. It's now just taking up space in my garage. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=13566#post-167987 Mon, 13 Oct 2014 16:12:52 +0000 Roibeard 167987@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>If you change your mind, I can supply a 32mm flat bit, but probably better to replace the cord!</p> <p>Robert </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=13566#post-167983 Mon, 13 Oct 2014 15:58:24 +0000 kaputnik 167983@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Thanks for the offer, urchaidh. I have decided in retrospect it's probably a safer course of action to leave drilling out of this, and to dissaseble the sash case box to replace and lengthen the offending bit of cord, rather than moving the cord plug recess up to counter the shortened piece of cord.</p> <p>This is a lesson in why you shouldn't start dissasembling your windows because the paint's a bit ropey and you're bored. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=13566#post-167945 Mon, 13 Oct 2014 13:18:14 +0000 urchaidh 167945@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I have a 30mm Forstner bits if that's any use - will sink a nice neat hole but 2mm too small. The next size up I have is 35mm. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=13566#post-167932 Mon, 13 Oct 2014 12:06:22 +0000 I were right about that saddle 167932@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>@kaputnik</p> <p>For bigger holes (even greater tit nesting boxes) I use the 28mm bit and then expand the hole with a curved wood carving gouge. You're welcome to that too. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=13566#post-167931 Mon, 13 Oct 2014 12:00:37 +0000 kaputnik 167931@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Insto - I'll drop you a PM.</p> <p>IWRATS - 28mm too small for the 31mm plug. Perfect for a great tit nesting box though, or so I'm told. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=13566#post-167928 Mon, 13 Oct 2014 11:54:56 +0000 Instography 167928@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Nothing that size in a spade bit. 25mm is biggest I have. I think you should be OK with the hole cutter. My problem with them is usually getting the plug off the bit. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=13566#post-167927 Mon, 13 Oct 2014 11:49:27 +0000 I were right about that saddle 167927@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I have a 28mm spade bit if that's any use. (The ideal size for great tit nesting boxes.) </p>