Kenfab HQ (Australia)

[Kenfab]

Hey Ken,
Projects and shed looking great! I used Yellow tongue as a bench top (in double thickness), cheap and solid and easy to replace, works really well on pallet racking.

It's a bit late now but worth keeping an eye on Aldi, they had wall hung cabinets late last year for $60 each which included frames, doors, hinges and handles. Bargain!

Love the R100, if I only I could find a decent one up here. What's power? Still got the 10A?

MIB, thanks mate! Yellow tounge is great stuff, ill have to look into it. Theres a bit at work lying around. I dont think we have aldi yet? They all open this year though. Sounds great though ill definitely look when they do.

The r100 needs a bit of love, no real progress in the 10 years of owning it. It was either build the plasma or spend some coin on the r1. It has no motor at the moment. Hopefully 13b cosmo block with a nice responsive turbo one day.

Cheers for stopping by

 

[jon72vega]

I've looked thru your thread.
You do nice work!

 

[Kenfab]

I've looked thru your thread.
You do nice work!

Thanks jon! Hopefully i can make my shed as nice as yours!

 

[racingtadpole]

Hopefully i can think up a good idea to cut a bunch of to start paying off this machine, one off work is ok, but with some production I can actually pay off the machine (in my head)

Check your email, there might be a paid job in there

 

[Kenfab]

So quick update: another project

Despite my hatred of mowing lawns, I decided to buy a lawn mower. Its an old Scott Bonnar Self Propelled Reel Mower. Ive always wanted one for some reason, maybe its the way they cut so nicely.

Its the supercut model which is apparently a pretty rare/high quality machine.
The inertia reel in the pull cord snapped the tab off so it won't recoil, and therefore won't start. Its a 171cc Honda g41 motor, being honda I'm hoping there isn't any issues apart from not being turned over fast enough without a pull cord.

Thats about as far as my knowledge on it goes. I got it for $70, which was a steal considering a very similar model in restored condition is on eBay for $1750.

The plan is to get it running sweet, give it a clean up and minor restoration and flip it, unless i fall in love with it.

 

[Grumblebum]

That looks like a cool beast!

 

[1/2 Cup]

Great score on the mower, I can see some bowling green quality lawns coming up.

Regards

 

[ajohno]

Nice mower.

 

[Kenfab]

That looks like a cool beast!

Thanks mate! She is a beadt thats for sure.

Great score on the mower, I can see some bowling green quality lawns coming up.

Regards

Cheers mate, haha i wish i had the lawn for it!

Nice mower.

Thanks mate

 

[Lyndon]

Ken

Any drum mower does a great job (except on paspalum - its too thin). That one's a beauty.

If you ever get to see the Rolls Royce of Drum mowers, a 36" Dennis (yes the people that used to build our Fire Engines - http://www.dennisuk.com/), now they are something else. I used to use one after school at a huge mansion that I would mow, and the Dennis with it's Dog Clutch and massive power was a real treat to have access to (and a brute to learn to control). But that was along, long time ago.....

Have fun with it (try it on your lawn, or your Mothers, just once then see if you can sell it).

Lyndon
South West Sydney

 

[G20-Budo]

Ken - GREAT find on the mower! I'm looking forward to see the kick *** restore you're going to do on it.

 

[MKTL]

Ken - Nice Mower = Great Minds

 

[Kenfab]

Ken

Any drum mower does a great job (except on paspalum - its too thin). That one's a beauty.

If you ever get to see the Rolls Royce of Drum mowers, a 36" Dennis (yes the people that used to build our Fire Engines - http://www.dennisuk.com/), now they are something else. I used to use one after school at a huge mansion that I would mow, and the Dennis with it's Dog Clutch and massive power was a real treat to have access to (and a brute to learn to control). But that was along, long time ago.....

Have fun with it (try it on your lawn, or your Mothers, just once then see if you can sell it).

Lyndon
South West Sydney

Lyndon, yeah should be a laugh once i get it going. Wow a 36" would be a handful! How old were ya?

Ken - GREAT find on the mower! I'm looking forward to see the kick *** restore you're going to do on it.

Thanks Kyle! Haha i dunno about kick *** but i hope it comes out pretty.

Ken - Nice Mower = Great Minds

Nice mate, your lawn looks amazing, id love mine to look that good one day!

 

[anth]

First time seeing this thread, loving all the toys, very jealous!

 

[Lyndon]

Lyndon, yeah should be a laugh once i get it going. Wow a 36" would be a handful! How old were ya?

Ken

I was 17 and on P's (though they never once went on the car.... )

The property was about 15 kms from town, on a then "de-restricted" road, and I had access to Dad's rally bred 1969 Mitsubishi Colt SS (I have now found out there were only 6 of them in Australia - gee I wish he'd done what I told him to and kept it for me to restore - but that's another story). I used to time myself from town to the property with the aim of beating the time every time I went out there. How I survived my youth I don't know...



Anyway, as a keen sportsman and competitive cyclist I was built like a brick outhouse in those days, and I needed to be to handle the Dennis - it was a brute of a thing. But gee it did a good job.

Have a great day, and thanks for making me remember those great days, roughly 40 years ago.

Lyndon
At work in South West Sydney.

 

[Kenfab]

First time seeing this thread, loving all the toys, very jealous!

Thanks for stopping by anth! Dont be jealous mate, my bank balance is pretty dismal because of it! Ill treat my self to a look at your build once i get home, lurking on the phone at work doesnt do pictures justice.

 

[Kenfab]

Ken

I was 17 and on P's (though they never once went on the car.... )

The property was about 15 kms from town, on a then "de-restricted" road, and I had access to Dad's rally bred 1969 Mitsubishi Colt SS (I have now found out there were only 6 of them in Australia - gee I wish he'd done what I told him to and kept it for me to restore - but that's another story). I used to time myself from town to the property with the aim of beating the time every time I went out there. How I survived my youth I don't know...



Anyway, as a keen sportsman and competitive cyclist I was built like a brick outhouse in those days, and I needed to be to handle the Dennis - it was a brute of a thing. But gee it did a good job.

Have a great day, and thanks for making me remember those great days, roughly 40 years ago.

Lyndon
At work in South West Sydney.

Wow dont see much of those older era mitsubishis anymore, shame ya didnt keep it, but thats always the way. Would have been a good rally car


Had a look at those dennis mowers! Man they are huge! Did you get the luxury of the seat model with a wheel or did ya have to walk behind, man handling it around?

Cheers for the story about the good ol days! Have a good day too bud

Ken
Hiding at work on my phone in the adelaide cbd

 

[Lyndon]

Had a look at those Dennis mowers! Man they are huge! Did you get the luxury of the seat model with a wheel or did ya have to walk behind, man handling it around?

Cheers for the story about the good ol days! Have a good day too bud

Ken
Hiding at work on my phone in the Adelaide CBD

Ken

It was a walk behind, then you had to throw in the clutch and turn it around using some of it's momentum, a lot of elbow grease and some good timing on the handle..... then let the clutch back out and hang on as it took off.

Keep up the good work. I am working in Word on a thread of my own finally, and will probably throw it up in the next couple of days.

Lyndon
It's as hot up here now as it was down there a couple of days ago. Absolute stinker. But T/Storms due in the next couple of hours.

 

[Kenfab]

Ken

It was a walk behind, then you had to throw in the clutch and turn it around using some of it's momentum, a lot of elbow grease and some good timing on the handle..... then let the clutch back out and hang on as it took off.

Keep up the good work. I am working in Word on a thread of my own finally, and will probably throw it up in the next couple of days.

Lyndon
It's as hot up here now as it was down there a couple of days ago. Absolute stinker. But T/Storms due in the next couple of hours.

Haha sounds like a bit of fun!
Look forward to more updates in your thread!

Its hot here, but we just had a huge storm roll through and then leave. Flooded a few underpasses.

 

[Kenfab]

Mower update:

got the pullstart back from a "specialist" in pieces, apparently the spring kept snapping so he couldn't fix it.

I did a bit of a google and found that spring steel needs to be tempered.
Got handy with the MAP gas torch on my portable workbench :eye crazy:

Also saw this was the trick to rewinding an inertia reel spring, screw in the bench, drill, cable ties.

Re-tensioned the spring and then re attached the pull cord, pretty simple really.

All Fixed!

Motor still wouldn't fire, gave it a spray from a great aussie icon

Still no luck, checked the spark, then borrowed this comp tester off the father in law. Love old tools

Comp test showed 100psi, so we have compression and spark! The fuel is probably pretty old so Im a bit stuck at the moment. Must be carby issues. Not sure what the next plan of attack is

 

[Kenfab]

Also got handy on the plasma cutter yesterday, Ive been trying to think up a business name, was pretty keen on borrowing a name from the USA, Precision Plasma, but its been registered here in Australia. Hopefully i can come up with a clever name so that I can start a Facebook page for it.

Cut a good mate of mines business logo, he runs a race fabrication workshop, hopefully i can get a bit of work out of him! He was stoked with it, straight off the table, no clean up

also cut 2 of these, hopefully i can paint a few and sell them. straight off the table no cleanup, need to buy a new wire wheel for my angle grinder to knock the dross off.

Action shot

Cut speed is pretty close, few small issues, may have to get a fine cut nozzle, i mostly cut 2mm anyway

 

[1/2 Cup]

Nice work on the pull starter Ken, well done.

I think I am going to have to talk to you about doing a sign for here!

Regards

 

[Kenfab]

Nice work on the pull starter Ken, well done.

I think I am going to have to talk to you about doing a sign for here!

Regards

Sure thing mate id love to! Hard to get motivated doing my own stuff.

 

[Grumblebum]

Nice work on the pull starter Ken, well done.

I think I am going to have to talk to you about doing a sign for here!

That is pretty dang cool, I think there might be a few of us asking for signs

Cheers GB

 

[HOTFR8]

Also got handy on the plasma cutter yesterday, Ive been trying to think up a business name, was pretty keen on borrowing a name from the USA, Precision Plasma, but its been registered here in Australia. Hopefully i can come up with a clever name so that I can start a Facebook page for it.

Just a few ideas to expand on what you already have.

Performance Precision Plasma !
Precision Performance Plasma !
Precision Plasma Performance !

or Precise Plasma !

If not to close to the already registered name. May give you some ideas.

Oh, nice work as well.

 

[G20-Budo]

Ken,

Looks like you're making good progress on the Mower. Get the carb off, clean it out and get some fresh fuel for it and I wouldn't be surprised if it starts.

As for the business name, what about:

Close cut Plasma
Or
Sharp as you like Plasma

Something like that?

 

[Kenfab]

That is pretty dang cool, I think there might be a few of us asking for signs

Cheers GB

Im heaps keen GB, let me know when you can think of something you might want mate!

Just a few ideas to expand on what you already have.

Performance Precision Plasma !
Precision Performance Plasma !
Precision Plasma Performance !

or Precise Plasma !

If not to close to the already registered name. May give you some ideas.

Oh, nice work as well.

Thanks mate, i really liked performance plasma, i have a full a4 page of names now, just trying to cross them off until i get to the one i like the most is the hard bit haha.

Ken,

Looks like you're making good progress on the Mower. Get the carb off, clean it out and get some fresh fuel for it and I wouldn't be surprised if it starts.

As for the business name, what about:

Close cut Plasma
Or
Sharp as you like Plasma

Something like that?

Thanks Kyle, im average with these small engines, i never had much luck before in the past. Will try the clean up on the carby and fuel today. Thanks mate!

Thanks for the business names, theyre both added to the list

 

[Lyndon]

Ken

I thought I posted here, but I must have lost it. I was also going to suggest carby and fuel. If everything else is OK, that's the problem. But those little carby's can be frustrating. Look for a perished diaphragm, or seals.

And I love the plasma work too. That would be a fab toy to have (not that I'd have a clue how to use it ).

I reckon Kenfab Plasma would be a good name too (as you can see I didn't throw a lot of thought at it)....

Keep up the great work.

Lyndon
Now for some QST I think.

 

[Kenfab]

Ken

I thought I posted here, but I must have lost it. I was also going to suggest carby and fuel. If everything else is OK, that's the problem. But those little carby's can be frustrating. Look for a perished diaphragm, or seals.

And I love the plasma work too. That would be a fab toy to have (not that I'd have a clue how to use it ).

I reckon Kenfab Plasma would be a good name too (as you can see I didn't throw a lot of thought at it)....

Keep up the great work.

Lyndon
Now for some QST I think.

Just got the carby off and it looks like its never been cleaned in 40 Years. Off to buy carby cleaner and fresh fuel and maybe a kincrome stool

The plasma is actually quite easy to use. You can get a picture off google images. Put it in a program to change it to a cad file. Then put the cad file into another program that you tell what thickness material your cutting (2mm steel) and the speed you want to cut at, it spits out a notepad file of coordinates for the machine to move around.

That file gets loaded into the computer at the plasma and away it goes. Some pictures like the batman logo i cut for instance took 2 minutes from google images, to cut product. It only begins to get tricky when you have things with cut outs inside of them, you need a tab to hold the bit you want to keep attached.

The hardest bit is picking what you want to cut.

I was set on kenfab plasma, but i decided to keep my name out of it. Probably why im having a hard time working out what else to call it.

 

[Lyndon]

.....The plasma is actually quite easy to use. You can get a picture off google images. Put it in a program to change it to a cad file. Then put the cad file into another program that you tell what thickness material your cutting (2mm steel) and the speed you want to cut at, it spits out a notepad file of coordinates for the machine to move around.

That file gets loaded into the computer at the plasma and away it goes. Some pictures like the batman logo i cut for instance took 2 minutes from google images, to cut product. It only begins to get tricky when you have things with cut outs inside of them, you need a tab to hold the bit you want to keep attached.

Ken

Gesundheit..... That's what I meant by "not that I'd know how to use it".....

And don't tell us all how to use it (not that I understood a word of that). You won't have anyone to sell to.

Have fun.

Lyndon
Yes, I know - I'm not in the garage yet. I'll go now.

 

[Kenfab]

Mower update:

Fresh fuel - check

Cleaned the carby - check.
Gave it a lot of love from the can of carby cleaner (half a can) pulled out the main jet, couldnt get out the tube bit inside, but i sprayed every hole and cleaned all the springs and screws.

Put the carb back on, gave it a bit of love from the Start Ya *******. Sounded like it wanted to start, maybe 2 full cycles then died, then i just about pulled my shoulder out the socket trying to get it going.
Pulled off the muffler, the exhaust valve is moving and not jammed. Pulled off the carby again and checked the intake valve, which is moving about the same amount.
I definitely have spark, but the timing mark has worn off the flywheel so i cant tell where it is supposed to be as opposed to TDC.

Turning the flywheel by hand i can hear the intake stroke, which i can hear pulling fuel through the carby in a very faint sort of sucking sound.

The spark plug isnt saturated after trying to start it, i get a bit of a clear mist coming out of the exhaust, im assuming fuel.

Not sure what to do from here. The pooch didnt really know either

Decided to give myself a win and serviced the german oil burner for the missus.

She left for netball training soon after so with 3 hours of Free Time

Cut myself 3x Old Mazda Logos 150mm diameter 6"

Which didnt end up taking very long so i made a tail tidy (fender eliminator) for my bike.

Yuck!

Basically removed the original fender and took it to the computer and drew up the mounting plate in sketchup. I cut that piece out and bolted it back to the bike. Then i held the numberplate where i wanted it, measured it and drew the plate holder in sketchup.

Gave it a quick blaze on the TIG and wallah. Just need a nice led for the plate

 

[G20-Budo]

Ken,

Nice work with the plasma cutter. I like the fender eliminator, you did a nice job on it.

Good luck with the Mower.

 

[anth]

hey, I know Cam!

 

[Kenfab]

Small world hey!

 

[Kenfab]

Been messing around with my mower a bit, still not running though. The thread is over in free parking if anyones interested.

I also came up with a business name and made a facebook page.http://www.facebook.com/carbonplasma

Carbon plasma cutting
Chuck us a like if you want

Spent 4 hours doing a long overdue tidy up in my shed last night. Still need about 12 more hours worth though

 

[Lyndon]

Been messing around with my mower a bit, still not running though. The thread is over in free parking if anyones interested.

I also came up with a business name and made a facebook page.http://www.facebook.com/carbonplasma

Carbon plasma cutting
Chuck us a like if you want

Spent 4 hours doing a long overdue tidy up in my shed last night. Still need about 12 more hours worth though

Ken

"Liked". - Looks good, but now you've got 2 "things" to keep updated?

And keep on pluggin' with the mower.

Lyndon
Looking in during a break.

 

[Lyndon]

Ken

Looks like your pictures have disappeared....

Lyndon

 

[G20-Budo]

I also came up with a business name and made a facebook page.http://www.facebook.com/carbonplasma

Carbon plasma cutting

Ken,

I like the name! And I went and "liked" the facebook page.

Maybe I'll check shipping rates to ship small stuff to the USA.

 

[1/2 Cup]

Been messing around with my mower a bit, still not running though. The thread is over in free parking if anyones interested.

I also came up with a business name and made a facebook page.http://www.facebook.com/carbonplasma

Carbon plasma cutting
Chuck us a like if you want

Spent 4 hours doing a long overdue tidy up in my shed last night. Still need about 12 more hours worth though

Liked

 

[Kenfab]

Ken

"Liked". - Looks good, but now you've got 2 "things" to keep updated?

And keep on pluggin' with the mower.

Lyndon
Looking in during a break.

Haha, yeah i like to make it hard for myself sometimes haha
Thanks mate!
My yard looks like we got hit by a tsunami from this rain/storm we had so im camping inside today i think. Wish i knew what to do on the mower

Ken

Looks like your pictures have disappeared....

Lyndon

****** photobucket has been having issues all day. I need to find a new host i think, theyre rubbish

Ken,

I like the name! And I went and "liked" the facebook page.

Maybe I'll check shipping rates to ship small stuff to the USA.

Thanks mate! haha id be happy to help out