Now and then, the mist clears and I have moments of clarity when I think, 'ooh, that's a good idea!' and on rare occasions it actually is.

Why not, I thought, put the Riley's subframe on the mill and with the DRO, check the dimensions on my drawings - fingers crossed they're not miles out.

Because of the datum I adopted in the original sketch - taking a corner and expressing the hole centres as measured radials - unless I do a full-size sketch, I can't do an accurate comparison. I've sent the new drawing off to Mr Slightly-Strange who will compare it to his 3D modelled example. Provided we're in the ballpark by a millimetre or two, we'll get the parts cut.

Speaking of lasers, here is the result of the laser weld on the Ford block. You may recall that a crack was discovered around one of the tappet bosses. The weld will have penetrated well below the surface of the problem area, so it should be just a case of blending in again. The fact that the heat of the welding process is so concentrated makes the likelihood of expensive re-machining almost remote; I'm thinking about my Morris MS block with the 9" crack in the water jacket....

The bonnet of The Great Collector's Daimler DB18 DHC has finally been opened and the state of the engine revealed. It's not a pretty sight. Apparently, this car was largely restored and running some 10 -12 years ago. It was never used but parked and covered with a tarpaulin. This is the result. It's well and truly seized.

Unlike the Silk Finishing Machine that I built for a local silk weaver a couple of years ago. The machine is in daily use and whilst there's been a couple of minor snags, it's been very consistent and reliable. I can't take all the glory because I was extremely lucky to work with the factory's semi-retired chief engineer who quickly understood and ran with the technology I was proposing and was often ahead of me in the logistical detail of the operation. His can-do attitude to getting things done was a major factor in the machine's commissioning and overall success. Anyway, I was called in to address a problem with an air-operated brake. A simple mod turned up on my lathe should put things right.

Which is more than I can say for this MIG welder. There are no teeth missing on the gear train and the wire feed tube has been replaced, but still the feed motor stops intermittently for no apparent reason. I'll have to strip it down again - for the umpteenth time - and have another go.

Continuing with the assembly of the MS head, I noticed that one of the valve spring locating pins was broken. They're tiny - 1.5 x 4mm long.

I drilled out what remained, cut the end off the drill (the big bit shot off into the stratosphere) ground it to length and popped it in with some thread lock. The light must still be on.