I’ve got loads of quotations to get out, parcels to pack and label and send as well as all the other office work that has to be done but I can’t resist stopping frequently to see what Jeff and Steve are up to in the workshop. A 6mm sheet of steel has to be bent to make up the main part of the  bucket for the loader which Jeff is rebuilding.

At one point Steve was swinging in mid-air putting all his weight on the plate while Jeff heated it with the blow torch (Jeff having tack-welded one edge of the plate to the rusty bucket being used as a former and welded a strong bar across the mouth of the old bucket to make it rigid). That failing to make any impression on the plate, next time I went out it was Steve wielding the blow torch while Jeff put straps and hooks on the edges and ratchetted the plate down. Triumphant moment as the metal plate began to move!

As the curve became shallower two straps and ratchets were necessary so I was handed the torch (leaving me standing like the Statue of Liberty!) while the two tough guys turned the heavy assembly on its side to fit the straps at either end.

Now, with only a foot gap to close there are sounds of torch and ratchetting going on simultaneously. Slight hitch when the hook came off the old strap being used and a new load-binder was put on instead together with a heavy duty metal gripper as well.

They’ll succeed without a doubt!

The workshop is filling up with fumes from the hot metal so I’ve opened the doors each end and put the fan on to clear it.

‘That’s about it, Steve’, I hear Jeff say, ‘Looks pretty good’, replied Steve. Success!

Coincidences do happen- I’ve never had a request for brake adjuster ball retaining plates and within four days I’ve been asked for them from two different parts of the country! This meant a search for some of the many old brake back plates stored on the mezzanine floor put in by Jeff last year. Its now very easy to access because Jeff has this week installed a wooden staircase with safety rails and going up to look for used parts is now a doddle. I’m looking forward to the weekend when I can start getting the parts sorted properly.

Brake plates, yes,- Steve and I between us had to dismantle five assemblies to find only two retainer plates in any sort of reasonable condition (I now understand why people restoring their Fergusons need them). I need four to send off and want to keep one good one as a pattern so yesterday Jeff knocked up a few more (sounds like an easy process but it took quite a bit of trial and error to get them right. They have a ¼” indentation at one end and a tab in a notched square hole at the other end and fit over the crown wheel brake adjuster. This is a picture of old and new ones. No prize but can you correctly pick out the original ones from the Jeff-made ones? (picture to follow-its on Jeff's camera!)

‘Want a bigger hammer?’ comes Steve’s voice through the office door so I am going to have another look. (In the meantime I have answered several emails, made up a quotation and stuck core plugs onto a card to send them off.

Side plates of the bucket are being welded- the hammer was being suggested to push the side plate up which had begun to twist on its spot weld but Jeff preferred to used the more controlled method of a block of wood and a hydraulic jack.

By the end of today there is one super bucket! (picture to follow!)