Bench Seats Update

   Dave, Mick and myself can vouch that the bench seats work well, particularly when you are caught out in a thunderstorm at the apiary .

Pass the biscuits, there's a good fellow.






Check out what else is going on the  The Bee Farmer world at www.thebeefarmer.co.uk 

Back again!

   I have not posted for an age partly because Degsy has not needed anything but oil and water top ups but mainly because life has taken a dramatic change of direction and I lost the log in credentials for the blog....again. As you can see I have recovered that situation. I how earn my living keeping honeybees. You can find out about that by following the link to my website HERE. Never mind me...what of Degsy?

   Degsy has been reassigned duties. He is now my promotional vehicle. He makes guest appearances at the shows we attend throughout the year. I swear he gets more attention than my honey does. As for his health; well the last MOT was no trouble just a flaky earth to the rear nearside indicator. An easy fix. I replaced the rear leaf spring as the near side one was wearing out and causing Degsy to sag to one side in a most undignified way. Degsy got a wash too!

 Now I have got into my stride with the bee farming I hope to blog on a more regular basis.

Credit note

I went over to Craddock's early on Saturday. They were good enough not to laugh at my mistake and give me a credit note. Well more of an exchange. I selected a few choice goodies to the approximate value of the two items I returned. I got a proper tow rope which was on offer and had a shackle to go with, a work light to fit at the back and a radiator cap. The rad cap was the only thing a really needed. Craddock's netted the cost of the new selections against the returns and I had to make up the difference.....two quid. That was a result. Honour served all round.

When I got home I fitted the rad cap. Then organised the well under the passenger seat to hold the new tow rope, first aid kit and jump leads. Seat back on and all is well.

I still have to find a new home for the high lift jack. It is in the way where I have put it.

Birthday money

With the cash from birthday prezzies I went over to Craddocks. Click HERE for their website. They are in Cannock so it was just a 45 minute drive. They had everything for Land Rover. I got a dog guard, a tyre cover and a door stay. When I got home a brew was in order. I got changed and set about fitting the guard. The guard is not for keeping dogs in the back but to keep all the other stuff in the back and not in the front seat under braking. The guard just came with two brackets that fit onto the top of the tub's bulkhead. It did look like look like a very strong fixing to me, however I marked up the bulkhead for drilling the holes for the bracket bolts. That done it was a small matter to fit and tighten up the bolts. The Guard was then fitted to the brackets. To my surprise the bracket made a very secure fixing for the guard. A bit of a clean up and the guard was done.

I bought a stay for the back door. It was a fiver. I figured out where the anchor bolt needed to be positioned. Another hole in the bodywork and a long bolt with washers was fitted. I put the roller end of the stay into the track on the door. I popped the anchor end of the stay on the bolt and secured a pair of the nuts on the top of the stay to finish the job. However the roller end of stay kept jamming in the track. A closer inspection showed the track was not even. A couple of judicious whacks with hammer sorted the wayward track. I gave the door track a good greasing. Another job ticked off.

I bought a steel tool box many weeks ago at a car boot sale. I think it contained a power drill.I bashed the dints out and straightened up the panels with the hammer. I offered up the box to the back door, marked to back of the box and drilled several pilot holes. I put a screw in the pilot hole, offered the box to the door and ran up the screw. After that it was a matter of fitting a further six screws. The box is now the home for the Trangia and brew gear. As what was the box lid drops down it creates a shelf for the Trangia when it in brewing mode. It also frees up a plastic crate from the back of Degsy. Whilst I had the back of Degsy emptied out I gave it good brush out. I reorganised the crates back into Degsy. I took a few minutes to find a new place to put the rake and hoe. The guard was bought with the idea of finding a place to store the long handle tools such as the rake.

The last thing was a soft cover for the spare wheel on the bonnet. I think I have bought the wrong one. The cover is for a fatter tyre. Never mind, it will keep the wheel from corroding.

Door line

The driver door line has looked a bit bigger than usual. I had a little look and found that the bolts securing door catch were loose. I just need to find some time to fix it. The exhaust is still blowing. The nuts on the bolts securing the exhaust pipe to the exhaust header are rounded off so won't tightened anymore. So that is something else to deal with.

Timber and Tools

In a quieter moments over the summer, I pondered the idea of creating a raised floor in the tub. The tub is the area behind the seats, the van part of Degsy. The raised floor would be level with the top of the wheel arches creating a flat area from one side of the van to the other. The wheel arches run the length of the back and are seven inches deep. I spotted some 20mm square PAR timber on offer a few weeks ago so I bought it up. I have not really had time to mess about on the little project so the timber has been lying in the garage. After the lotttie and bees a window of opportunity revealed itself today. The weather was kind and H was out, leaving the drive clear.

I emptied the tub and got the timber and tools out of the garage. From this timber I made a frame to line the well between the arches. The framing created a place to support the floor. The floor was some 10mm plywood I had left over from another job. I had made the framing 10mm short of the top of the arches so that when the floor was fitted it was flush with the top surface of the wheel arches. The lip also had the effect of creating an edge to keep the floor in place. It was a small matter to cut the ply sheets to size, place on the framing and screw them down. What the framing also created was a space as wide and long as the tub and seven inches deep. Much like a deep drawer. This under floor space is big enough to take the forks and spades. It also takes the oil and Jerry can. I put the plastic boxes, in which keep all my allotment hand tools and bits and pieces, on top of the near side wheel arch. This is to be their new home. I cut a piece of the 20mm PAR to length and screwed it to the new floor as a fiddle to stop the boxes careening about the tub.

The tub is all neat and tidy now. I even have a small area to perch on when having a brew. I might see if I can get a bit of lino to cover the floor. I found a couple of unused bungee cords and with them I have been able to strap up the rake and hoe. The plan has come together nicely an for a few quid and for an hour or so of effort.