Category Archives: Projects

Speidel hydropress bladder replacement

Posted on September 30, 2026 by james

At least, for the older forty litre model. In spite of other plans, today mostly turned into a day of fixing things. The most complex one was replacement of the failed neoprene bladder in said Speidel forty litre hydropress which … Continue reading →

Posted in Orchard, Projects | Tagged | Leave a comment

Break out the welder!

Posted on June 26, 2026 by james

Yes, I’ve been putting this off for a few days. Not entirely sure why, really. Possibly because I’ve not actually done any welding for a few years now and I’m a bit out of practice. So, I wheeled out the … Continue reading →

Posted in Machinery, Projects, Smallholding | Tagged | Leave a comment

Speidel apple press bleed valve replacement

Posted on June 22, 2026 by james

Some time back I posted a photo of one of these presses where the top of the (brass) bleed valve had snapped off flush with the top of the central stainless steel support for the bladder. In an attempt to … Continue reading →

Posted in Projects | Tagged , | Leave a comment

First step of lawnmower cutting deck repair

Posted on June 17, 2026 by james

I managed to remove the broken bracket this morning. There wasn’t an awful lot of room to play with and I added a few more scrapes to my forearms. This is it. Now I need to work out how to … Continue reading →

Posted in Machinery, Projects, Smallholding | Tagged | Leave a comment

The lawnmower wants to die

Posted on June 15, 2026 by james

After replacing the steering linkage that snapped just a few weeks back, yesterday the ride-on mower failed again. This time, the lifting bracket for the cutting deck has sheared off. It’s not easy to get a photo of whilst it’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Machinery, Projects | Tagged | Leave a comment

Almost finished tidying up after the water leak

Posted on May 14, 2026 by james

One of the last few jobs after digging up our leaking supply pipe was to restore the entrance to the vegetable plot. I decided not to replace the previous steps however, but re-lay this matting that will stabilise the slope … Continue reading →

Posted in Environment, Projects | Tagged | Leave a comment

Due to the rain today

Posted on January 25, 2026 by james

I have been contemplating automated irrigation for the polytunnels and greenhouses. There are some cheap kits on Amazon these days, but I’m way less than convinced that they’ll flow sufficient water for my needs and after stumbling around trying to … Continue reading →

Posted in Polytunnel, Projects | Tagged | Leave a comment

Should get a bit more life out of it

Posted on January 22, 2026 by james

It seems to be all too common that the handles of large trugs snap or break off the body of the trug. I have quite a few sitting around here. Having found a bit of scrap 12mm ply and an … Continue reading →

Posted in Projects | Tagged | Leave a comment

A new cork pinboard

Posted on January 20, 2026 by james

Made from, err, corks. Obviously it was quite a tough job acquiring all the corks to start with. I’d not recommend it without having put in years of practice first, though you can cheat by just buying the bags of … Continue reading →

Posted in Projects | Leave a comment

Mains water leak (hopefully) resolved

Posted on January 19, 2026 by james

The final paperwork is still to arrive, but it looks as though our water leak may now be fully resolved. The most shocking thing is the amount of water lost. At our current rate of consumption it looks to be … Continue reading →

Posted in Environment, Projects | Tagged | Leave a comment