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Re: other hobbies.

Posted: 20 May 2019, 11:50am
by Bonefishblues
Yes, I've used that brew previously, too.

Re: other hobbies.

Posted: 20 May 2019, 11:56am
by Vorpal
Cyril Haearn wrote:I like climbing towers and looking down on my peers
Already 'conquered' the highest church tower in the world :wink:

Have you ever been up the Belfry in Bruges? It's not as high as Lincoln Cathedral, but it has it's own charm :) The tiny staircase up to the top (366 steps) contributes. Also, they have carillon concerts.

Re: other hobbies.

Posted: 20 May 2019, 12:32pm
by Tangled Metal
Harlech Castle iirc has an interesting wall walk. It's just wide enough to pass people going the other way. The only bad thing is the way there is only a very low barrier stopping you from falling a bit of a distance inside and even further outside the castle. As someone with a healthy fear of heights I hated it. Not helped by the fact my 6'5" frame meant the barrier was barely above my knee in height. Obviously they've never heard of H&S out there. It is the wild, wild West of Wales in guess that's why.

Re: other hobbies.

Posted: 20 May 2019, 1:19pm
by Cugel
Vorpal wrote:
Bonefishblues wrote:Thanks. The varnish is confined to the fiddly stuff up top, the planking I'm well along with in terms of smoothing the old paint and providing a key for new primer and marine paint. Any chemical means of removal is out for obvious reasons when you see the link below. I think that I am coming to the view that 95% will be rubbing down with paper/flexible blocks, but any and all ideas are welcomed.
I have on some other varnished items used a combination of linseed oil & white spirit. Steel wool, or even scrubbing cloths, like you use for doing the dishes (if it can withstand the mixture) can be enough to work. I apply the mixture, and scrub. With care, it only affects the finish, and not the wood (except to allow some the oil to soak in). It largely restores the looks, and can be used for most things, as if they were varnished new. I've redone several wood floors using that approach, and some were in use for years afterward, and still looked good. I would think it would work for a canoe, though it might need a little more maintenance than a fully revarnished surface. You can varnish over it, after it's left for a few days to dry. If you like, you can try it in a small area, and see how it goes.

The only thing is that the combination of linseed oil & white spirit is extremely volatile. The mixture and any rags or other materials need to be treated with caution and cleaned immediately or left in a fire-proof container.


Oil and a thinner is a good way to have-at an already finished surface where the finish has become degraded but there are a couple of things to watch.

Some finishes of the plastic-comtaining variety won't combine with oil + thinner. A lot of modern wood floor boards are coated with polyurethane varnishes, for example. I suppose any worn areas where there's no old varnish left can be revived with oil but the "patch" is going to show where the new oil stops and the original plastic varnish remains. I suppose you can scrub all the old plastic varnish off and re-oil the lot. I did do this with a small bedroom of the daughter's once but it took ages and ages; and clogged the sandpaper something awful when taking off the plastic varnish Also, one must watch for thin veneer on top of the plywood substrates often used in such flooring.

If the wood is oak or anything else with tannin in it, don't use steel wool as the teeny bits of steel flake off into the open grain then turn things blue, as the iron reacts with the tannin. There is an "artificial" steel wool (a plastic 3D webbing impregnated with grit) that does seem to work in the same way as steel wool, getting in open grain to clean out muck or old finish as well as doing a bit of sanding.

Cugel

Re: other hobbies.

Posted: 20 May 2019, 1:43pm
by peetee
Tangled Metal wrote:Harlech Castle iirc has an interesting wall walk. It's just wide enough to pass people going the other way. The only bad thing is the way there is only a very low barrier stopping you from falling a bit of a distance inside and even further outside the castle. As someone with a healthy fear of heights I hated it. Not helped by the fact my 6'5" frame meant the barrier was barely above my knee in height. Obviously they've never heard of H&S out there. It is the wild, wild West of Wales in guess that's why.


I was up there a couple of years ago. It scared me. I can only cope with heights if I have something to hold on to that is above waist height. It did suprise me greatly in these H&S conscious times that it is not closed or fenced off.

Re: other hobbies.

Posted: 20 May 2019, 2:23pm
by Bonefishblues
Cugel wrote:
Vorpal wrote:
Bonefishblues wrote:Thanks. The varnish is confined to the fiddly stuff up top, the planking I'm well along with in terms of smoothing the old paint and providing a key for new primer and marine paint. Any chemical means of removal is out for obvious reasons when you see the link below. I think that I am coming to the view that 95% will be rubbing down with paper/flexible blocks, but any and all ideas are welcomed.
I have on some other varnished items used a combination of linseed oil & white spirit. Steel wool, or even scrubbing cloths, like you use for doing the dishes (if it can withstand the mixture) can be enough to work. I apply the mixture, and scrub. With care, it only affects the finish, and not the wood (except to allow some the oil to soak in). It largely restores the looks, and can be used for most things, as if they were varnished new. I've redone several wood floors using that approach, and some were in use for years afterward, and still looked good. I would think it would work for a canoe, though it might need a little more maintenance than a fully revarnished surface. You can varnish over it, after it's left for a few days to dry. If you like, you can try it in a small area, and see how it goes.

The only thing is that the combination of linseed oil & white spirit is extremely volatile. The mixture and any rags or other materials need to be treated with caution and cleaned immediately or left in a fire-proof container.


Oil and a thinner is a good way to have-at an already finished surface where the finish has become degraded but there are a couple of things to watch.

Some finishes of the plastic-containing variety won't combine with oil + thinner. A lot of modern wood floor boards are coated with polyurethane varnishes, for example. I suppose any worn areas where there's no old varnish left can be revived with oil but the "patch" is going to show where the new oil stops and the original plastic varnish remains. I suppose you can scrub all the old plastic varnish off and re-oil the lot. I did do this with a small bedroom of the daughter's once but it took ages and ages; and clogged the sandpaper something awful when taking off the plastic varnish Also, one must watch for thin veneer on top of the plywood substrates often used in such flooring.

If the wood is oak or anything else with tannin in it, don't use steel wool as the teeny bits of steel flake off into the open grain then turn things blue, as the iron reacts with the tannin. There is an "artificial" steel wool (a plastic 3D webbing impregnated with grit) that does seem to work in the same way as steel wool, getting in open grain to clean out muck or old finish as well as doing a bit of sanding.

Cugel

I think I'm going to continue (having done a small test bit of gunnel this am) with paper and sanding block/flexible sanding blocks. I've dropped a note to the manufacturer of the renovator to see if I can use it in proximity to by newly-painted planking.

Re: other hobbies.

Posted: 20 May 2019, 3:13pm
by Tangled Metal
peetee wrote:
Tangled Metal wrote:Harlech Castle iirc has an interesting wall walk. It's just wide enough to pass people going the other way. The only bad thing is the way there is only a very low barrier stopping you from falling a bit of a distance inside and even further outside the castle. As someone with a healthy fear of heights I hated it. Not helped by the fact my 6'5" frame meant the barrier was barely above my knee in height. Obviously they've never heard of H&S out there. It is the wild, wild West of Wales in guess that's why.


I was up there a couple of years ago. It scared me. I can only cope with heights if I have something to hold on to that is above waist height. It did suprise me greatly in these H&S conscious times that it is not closed or fenced off.

I nearly didn't post on case I got marked a a girly scaredy cat. But if I'm not alone in being amazed they didn't have to put higher rails up then I know it's not just me with a heightened sense of H&S awareness on castles ramparts.

Re: other hobbies.

Posted: 20 May 2019, 4:02pm
by profpointy
Cyril Haearn wrote:
661-Pete wrote:Not a church, but some years ago we visited the Wallace Monument near Stirling, which commands a superb view from the top. That is also ascended by way of a narrow spiral staircase.

Bad news: as I was climbing it, there was a man in a kilt also climbing the steps.
Good news: he was below me, not above.... :lol:

More bad news, you should have gone below him, then you could have answered the eternal question, 'what do Scotsmen wear under their kilts?' :wink:


Question is wrongly worded - you're supposed to say "Is anything worn under the kilt?"
"och, noo. It's all in perfect working order"

Re: other hobbies.

Posted: 20 May 2019, 4:49pm
by pwa
Tangled Metal wrote:
peetee wrote:
Tangled Metal wrote:Harlech Castle iirc has an interesting wall walk. It's just wide enough to pass people going the other way. The only bad thing is the way there is only a very low barrier stopping you from falling a bit of a distance inside and even further outside the castle. As someone with a healthy fear of heights I hated it. Not helped by the fact my 6'5" frame meant the barrier was barely above my knee in height. Obviously they've never heard of H&S out there. It is the wild, wild West of Wales in guess that's why.


I was up there a couple of years ago. It scared me. I can only cope with heights if I have something to hold on to that is above waist height. It did suprise me greatly in these H&S conscious times that it is not closed or fenced off.

I nearly didn't post on case I got marked a a girly scaredy cat. But if I'm not alone in being amazed they didn't have to put higher rails up then I know it's not just me with a heightened sense of H&S awareness on castles ramparts.

About 15 years ago I walked along this path cut into a cliff. I think it may now have a safety cable you click onto, but back then it didn't and if you met someone coming the other way one of you had to pass on the outside. It did make me think "is this wise?" but I did it all the same.https://www.bivouak.net/photos/photo-52 ... ort-2.html

Re: other hobbies.

Posted: 20 May 2019, 4:51pm
by Tangled Metal
Oh yes! It might be exposed but you don't want to come across as a wuss. So you'll end up doing stuff that you don't think is completely safe.

That's how I got into climbing and scrambling on climbing grades despite a fear of heights. You'd easily tell if I was bricking it by the last part of the last scramble pitch. As it becomes less steep and easier near the end my pace quickens and at the end I'm practically running up the pitch!

Happy days though. The buzz you get after completing something that has you terrified almost to a standstill is amazing!

Re: other hobbies.

Posted: 20 May 2019, 5:49pm
by Cyril Haearn
Vorpal wrote:
Cyril Haearn wrote:I like climbing towers and looking down on my peers
Already 'conquered' the highest church tower in the world :wink:

Have you ever been up the Belfry in Bruges? It's not as high as Lincoln Cathedral, but it has it's own charm :) The tiny staircase up to the top (366 steps) contributes. Also, they have carillon concerts.

Not yet, saving it up for my retirement, 'Europe' is full of mediaeval towns with towers :wink:
Agree with concerns about Harlech Castle
Castle Conwy is good, there are several towers one may ascend, likewise the town walls (free but a bit scary)
I am timid or cautious like TM

Re: other hobbies.

Posted: 20 May 2019, 9:39pm
by Tangled Metal
Strasbourg has a nice cathedral spire you can climb up. A bit hairy looking out on the way up.

Can you climb up Salisbury, Lincoln or Ely cathedrals? Don't they have high spires to.

There's a few Scottish castles worth visiting. A few around dumfries and Galloway are nice and high with a bit of a view. One is on an island in the middle of a river or lake away from any modern road, out of the way such that you'd wonder why it was there.