With a mirror and head torch - excellent devices - I was able to locate the missing bolts and tab washers in The Great Collector's Sunbeam.

They were trapped in the bellhousing, but between the sump wall and the flywheel rather than the bigger space between the flywheel and the gearbox. A magnet was of no use as it just stuck to the flywheel and wasn't powerful enough to penetrate the casting to shift the bolts. I could see two sets of bolts and washers, but thinking about it, there might well be three. We learnt that the previous owner also had trouble with the starter motor and had a chap replace the missing bolt. No one knows if the first wayward bolt and tab washer were retrieved - I doubt it.

After much deliberation it was decided that we would have to face up and move the rear axle rearwards, unscrew the torque tube and remove the gear box to expose the flywheel. It might then be possible to extract the offending articles, but if not, the flywheel would have to come off. I thought about that on the way home and wondered if it might not be easier to remove the engine instead. Awkward was of similar mind.

I certainly didn't want to make any more tab washers as my success rate was not 100%.

As a change of scene, I have a couple of these stainless steel manifolds to make up. I haven't done any TIG welding of late, so I'll dig out some scrap to get back into the swing of things.

You may recall that some five years ago, I built a silk finishing machine for a local silk weaving company. The machine has daily performed largely without fuss and the only thing I've had to fix was an air brake on the wind-off shaft.

The machine has two electric clutches - one to cushion the main drive motor, should something seize up, and the second geared to increase the wind-on speed by a couple of rpm which helps keep the tension on the finished fabric as it's rolled up after the process is complete. It also allows the machine to operate on start-up and cool down, without the wind-on rollers rotating. The signal to the second clutch is controlled by a load cell on an auxiliary shaft just below the wind-on rollers.

This bit of the setup has had the occasional blip and some time ago, the clutch gave up the ghost and was removed. Fortunately, the operator was able to adapt to the change in the automatic sequence and all was well. A problem though might arise if the operator goes on holiday and someone else stands in on a machine that is meant to be fully automatic.

I could replace the magnetic clutch or devise a manually controlled fandango with a 'V' belt, a couple of pulleys and an idler wheel attached to a lever to engage and disengage the drive, though this simple solution may have consequences as yet unforeseen.