Want to buy or sell something? Check the classifieds
  • The Fedora Lounge is supported in part by commission earning affiliate links sitewide. Please support us by using them. You may learn more here.

So trivial, yet it really ticks you off.

Messages
10,933
Location
My mother's basement
I was sorely tempted to buy a mangle at the nearby Habitat for Humanity ReStore. The thing was unused and, judging from the original tags and owner’s manual accompanying it, dated from the early 1950s.

I have very little use for a mangle, and I wouldn’t wish to be the first to use an appliance that had survived in brand-spankin’-new condition long enough to collect Social Security benefits.

This place ain’t a museum.
 
Last edited:
Messages
10,933
Location
My mother's basement
...
Replacing the wringers was a problem until I found a company in New York that resurfaces old typewriter platens. I told them what I needed, and the kind of rubber required, and they were able to put new rubber on the old shafts. I think it ran about a hundred dollars, and I'm good for another half-century or so.

That’s the sort of intelligence that ought get disclosed far and wide. There’s just gotta be online forums and/or Facebook groups devoted to wringer washers. A(nother) source for new wringer rubber would be most welcomed, I’d think.
 

LizzieMaine

Bartender
Messages
33,728
Location
Where The Tourists Meet The Sea
I tried a lot of different things before I thought about typewriter platens -- the best luck I had was with "Tommy Tape," this self-fusing silicone rubber tape you get in the plumbing-supply department. That held up for quite a while, but I got tired of replacing it every few years and figured there had to be a better option. This is the company I used -- http://www.jjshort.com

It's not that hard to find NOS rollers for Maytag washers, since they were still being made into the '80s, but mine is an Easy, and uses a particular type of shaft that's hard to match. And, of course, NOS rollers aren't much good if they've been stored badly and have dried up.

I use my mangle regularly -- I use heavyweight "service muslin" sheets, and they need to be ironed. The only way to do this without frustration is to use a mangle -- and it's very satisfying to sleep on crisp, line-dried, ironed muslin sheets. It takes maybe twenty minutes to do a pair of sheets and some pillowcases, and the results are well worth the time.
 

GHT

I'll Lock Up
Messages
9,777
Location
New Forest
I use my mangle regularly -- I use heavyweight "service muslin" sheets, and they need to be ironed. The only way to do this without frustration is to use a mangle -- and it's very satisfying to sleep on crisp, line-dried, ironed muslin sheets. It takes maybe twenty minutes to do a pair of sheets and some pillowcases, and the results are well worth the time.
cleen sheets.jpg
 

GHT

I'll Lock Up
Messages
9,777
Location
New Forest
A couple of days ago I put up some photos of Rod Stewart's model railway in The Golden Era Model Railway thread. Rod's efforts was 26 years in the making, the story ran in all of the British newspapers.

Cue Jeremy Vine, he's a political journalist with a mouth that's bigger than his ego. He has both a television daytime show and a BBC, two hour radio slot. Vine opines that Rod Stewart couldn't possibly have made that model himself, he must have had help.
Vine got his comeuppance however when Rod Stewart phoned him, (having had a tip off.) The question Rod put to Jeremy Vine was: "What evidence do you have that I had help?" Vine couldn't answer, fact is that the only help that Rod had with his work was with the electrics.

Jeremy Vine and his ilk are what I call The Thought Police and Twitter has given them a soapbox on which to stand and spout their diatribe to all and sundry. What is it with these people? Even before the internet there were those who would criticise others, I had jibes when I was younger, about being selfish because we are childless, but that's nothing compared to the flak that I get for working past retirement age. It's not as though it's an issue that harms anyone.

I'm reminded of the saying: The more I get to know some folks, the more I love my dog.
 
Messages
10,933
Location
My mother's basement
^^^^^
Mr. Stewart’s model railroad has gotten a fair amount of play over here in the colonies as well. The response has been largely favorable. Of all the ways in which a pop star of some presumed means might indulge himself, a model railroad some 26 years in the making seems downright charming.

Rod the Mod(el)!
 

3fingers

One Too Many
Messages
1,797
Location
Illinois
It sounds like Mr. Vine lacks the imagination or ability to do anything like spending years building something by himself, so he assumes no one else does either. They must have cheated!
Regardless of his stature, what a sorry little man he is.
 

ChiTownScion

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,247
Location
The Great Pacific Northwest
A couple of days ago I put up some photos of Rod Stewart's model railway in The Golden Era Model Railway thread. Rod's efforts was 26 years in the making, the story ran in all of the British newspapers.

Cue Jeremy Vine, he's a political journalist with a mouth that's bigger than his ego. He has both a television daytime show and a BBC, two hour radio slot. Vine opines that Rod Stewart couldn't possibly have made that model himself, he must have had help.
Vine got his comeuppance however when Rod Stewart phoned him, (having had a tip off.) The question Rod put to Jeremy Vine was: "What evidence do you have that I had help?" Vine couldn't answer, fact is that the only help that Rod had with his work was with the electrics.

Jeremy Vine and his ilk are what I call The Thought Police and Twitter has given them a soapbox on which to stand and spout their diatribe to all and sundry. What is it with these people? Even before the internet there were those who would criticise others, I had jibes when I was younger, about being selfish because we are childless, but that's nothing compared to the flak that I get for working past retirement age. It's not as though it's an issue that harms anyone.

I'm reminded of the saying: The more I get to know some folks, the more I love my dog.


Stewart has not one, but two, spectacular model railroad setups. In the UK he has a OO scale setup that models British prototype. His LA home features HO scale North American prototype.

The two scales share the same gauge (distance between the rails, at 16.5 mm) but the scales are different: OO is a slightly larger at 1:76.2, while HO scale is 1: 87.

Stewart is reported to take along model building tools and material when he's on tour. Builds quite a bit of his prototype stock and scenery, and is very respected within the hobby. He's not another Frank Sinatra: a rich guy who played occasionally with his Lionel toy trains. He's a serious modeler!
 

Edward

Bartender
Messages
25,078
Location
London, UK
I am amused by some of the tight jeans people wear these days. I can only wonder how the get them off when so often their feet seem considerably larger than the cuff.

I find it funny that drainpipe jeans came back. Used to wear them myself, and for yearswanted them but couldn't find them anywhere, save for in goth shops - and only in black. My Joey Ramone years. It seems that only two or three years after I got into really wide-legged jeans, 30s/40s style, the market flipped and while the drainpipes I once wanted are everywhere, now I'm complaining that all available jeans are too *skinny*! Heh. A 1990s "straight" fit is now considered super-baggy. Fashion, eh?

Maybe this belongs in the “You know you are getting old when:” thread, but seeing how we’re on a blue jeans theme ...

I thought I would never wear “stretch” jeans, the ones with a bit of Spandex or whatever woven into the fabric, but I happen to have a pair, and I gotta admit, there’s something to be said for ’em.

I don't feel the need now I like a wide leg, but a bit of stretch was a real saver when I wore drainpipes. I remember mid eightiesdrainpipes with no stretch - getting change out of my pocket looked like I was having soem sort of seizure....

I’d imagine she’d have to turn them inside out as she peeled them down her legs and then have another person grab the waistband with both hands and yank.

Rare is the person who, to my eye, is flattered by such tight-fitting garments. If a person is carrying so much as an ounce of excess weight, such items of attire only draw attention to it. That’s quite the opposite of the desired effect, I’d think.

Reminds me of that scene in Dazed and Confused/i] with the pliers...

The thing with the real tight fit stuf is knowing to go one size up for maximum effect...

I've never understood how people can say they wear this tight stuff for "comfort." I hate the feeling of any tight, constricting garment -- one reason I don't ever wear jeans. It feels like being sewn into a canvas bag.

One thing I've noticed about wider and higher waisted trousers is the extreme comfort improvement.

On TV I have seen an amazing laser type of printer that scans something like a car component then it transfers that information to a computerised lathe or similar cutting machine which then reproduces an exact copy. It's probably too expensive for a washing machine but it was a life saver for me when I was after difficult part to find for my old MG.

In ten years' time, 3D printing will be cheap and widely available; I'm looking forward to being able to buy a machine that lets me press my own vinyl records from digital music files (as opposed to the other way around). It's a real revolution already, though: a ouple of years ago surgeons in the UK replaced the entirety of a man's lower jaw with a 3-D printed one. I'm looking forward to dental implants being as simple, and then I'll have all my natural teeth redone. (Oh.... and fangs. I'm very keen on a subtle alteration to my molars to make fangs of them, but 'natural' looking rather than obvious 'oh, he's had fangs done'). One thing I do look forward to for the future is owning a 3D printer and being able to print my own for many simple components.

^^^^^
Mr. Stewart’s model railroad has gotten a fair amount of play over here in the colonies as well. The response has been largely favorable. Of all the ways in which a pop star of some presumed means might indulge himself, a model railroad some 26 years in the making seems downright charming.

Rod the Mod(el)!

Musically I've always considered him the poor man's Jagger, but as an individual I have a lot of time for Rod. He has a rela sense of humour about his own image and is always ready to laugh at himself, which I appreciate. I also love the notion of him playing trains in the Old Rock Stars Home, while Keith sits in the corner reading The DEcline and Fall of the Roman Empire. There's something undeniably rock and roll about them both having such defiantly, unstereotypical rock and roll hobbies which makes htem positively, well..... rock and roll.
 
Messages
10,933
Location
My mother's basement
Of the rockers who come to mind, Rod Stewart is perhaps the most worthy of mention in an online community centered on the culture of the 1930s and ’40s. He’s a singer, predominantly, with a great ear for the material that most suits his voice. In more recent years, that has included standards from what is referred to around here as “the Golden Era.”

I’ve been a fan for 50 years or so.
 

GHT

I'll Lock Up
Messages
9,777
Location
New Forest
Stewart has not one, but two, spectacular model railroad setups. In the UK he has a OO scale setup that models British prototype. His LA home features HO scale North American prototype.

The two scales share the same gauge (distance between the rails, at 16.5 mm) but the scales are different: OO is a slightly larger at 1:76.2, while HO scale is 1: 87.

Stewart is reported to take along model building tools and material when he's on tour. Builds quite a bit of his prototype stock and scenery, and is very respected within the hobby. He's not another Frank Sinatra: a rich guy who played occasionally with his Lionel toy trains. He's a serious modeler!
Did you know that the music impresario, Pete Waterman, (he gave us Kylie Minogue & Simon Cowell,) has an amazing collection of model trains and a layout to match, or even better, that of Rod Stewart. Much as Waterman loves his hobby he has actually sold the lot, it was all auctioned off in 56 lots and raised something like £600,000. The money has gone to another of Waterman's projects, the opportunity for underprivileged kids to do something worthwhile in life, be it an apprenticeship, a trade or even study for a degree. Pete's lowly start in life has always been his motivation.
Thanks for the information on HO gauge, I have never heard of it before.
 

Edward

Bartender
Messages
25,078
Location
London, UK
Molars ? I think you mean canines. 9 out of 10 vampyres recommend them.

Nope, that's a Hollywood mistake. Canine fangs look great, but beause of the way the human jaw works, for a vampire to be actually able to break the skin and drink blood in an efficient way, the fanges would need to be placed either where the molars are, or the front teeth (a la Count Orlock, the first screen vampire).
 

Lean'n'mean

I'll Lock Up
Messages
4,086
Location
Cloud-cuckoo-land
Nope, that's a Hollywood mistake. Canine fangs look great, but beause of the way the human jaw works, for a vampire to be actually able to break the skin and drink blood in an efficient way, the fanges would need to be placed either where the molars are, or the front teeth (a la Count Orlock, the first screen vampire).

Still don't see how having 'fangs' at the back of the mouth will help feasting upon innocent comely wenches but I do see the advantage of razor sharp incisives to pierce the delicate skin above a throbbing blood vessel & then suck the vital fluid while it is still warm.
image.jpg


vampire-bat.jpg
 
Last edited:

Edward

Bartender
Messages
25,078
Location
London, UK
Still don't see how having 'fangs' at the back of the mouth will help feasting upon innocent comely wenches but I do see the advantage of razor sharp incisives to pierce the delicate skin above a throbbing blood vessel & then suck the vital fluid while it is still warm.
image.jpg


vampire-bat.jpg


My mistake also! I meant the incisors!!

(Had a root canal this morning, I must have been molars on the brain!)

Oops!
 

Forum statistics

Threads
109,140
Messages
3,074,927
Members
54,121
Latest member
Yoshi_87
Top