Tip Of The Week

Clearing out the FiL’s flat & garage & came across an old (‘58 pattern I think) roll sleeping mat & had a lightbulb moment 💡

It’s about half as thick again, & denser too, than the old sleeping mat off cut I use as a cushion/insulation from the cold & damp when sitting out.

I now have a 20”x24” piece folded & stowed in the rear pocket of my stalking jacket waiting to be put to good use come the doe season :thumb:

Looks like these can be picked up for around a tenner on the good old ‘Bay of e.
 
I've got a goodun for those members of TSD that contribute to the "Lead Ban" and many other such interesting threads:

Visit your local (pub) more often!

😃
K
We're busy doing the doing. Thanks all the same. If the keeper is in the pub, the poachers are in the wood. Sure as eggs is eggs.
 
Don't allow your electronic scale to become unusable due to corrosion of the battery terminals and thin power supply wires. I recently binned an expensive Kern due to exactly this problem.

Remove the batteries after each use and make this a simple task by converting the tiny battery compartment cover screws to a larger thread and attach quick-release wings nuts:
1000025221.jpg
You'll need to go careful with the drill when opening up the threaded nylon hole to accommodate the relevant tap.

K
 
Don't allow your electronic scale to become unusable due to corrosion of the battery terminals and thin power supply wires. I recently binned an expensive Kern due to exactly this problem.

Remove the batteries after each use and make this a simple task by converting the tiny battery compartment cover screws to a larger thread and attach quick-release wings nuts:
View attachment 443355
You'll need to go careful with the drill when opening up the threaded nylon hole to accommodate the relevant tap.

K
There are brass threaded inserts available, drill an interference fit hole and heat the brass up with a soldering iron till it slides into the hole, the brass is knurled on the outside for a strong grip.
 
Clearing out the FiL’s flat & garage & came across an old (‘58 pattern I think) roll sleeping mat & had a lightbulb moment 💡

It’s about half as thick again, & denser too, than the old sleeping mat off cut I use as a cushion/insulation from the cold & damp when sitting out.

I now have a 20”x24” piece folded & stowed in the rear pocket of my stalking jacket waiting to be put to good use come the doe season :thumb:

Looks like these can be picked up for around a tenner on the good old ‘Bay of e.
To add to this tip…

The ex army sleeping mat is a LOT more robust than the old Millets version I had been using. So much so that it didn’t fold properly for the poachers pocket but otherwise it was perfect for the job. The solution I settled on was to make some half thickness cuts across it at the fold points - one on the actual line I wanted it to fold along plus one either side about 1/2” offset. I also trimmed an inch off it, down to 23”, so that the narrower section fits nicely between the two wider ones.
 
If using Ginex primers which are a tight fit in many primer pockets when using the Lee Bench priming tool they sometimes will not seat all the way down and it is very difficult without using undue force to get the cartridge case out of the shellholder. I just did this and as the force on the blue arrow increased until it finally broke free the case flew out direction blue arrow and hit the primer tray red arrow which due to the sideways force on it then broke the main plastic primer ram holder at the connection point.
The tip is to take off the primer holder before trying to remove a half seated primed case from the shellholder.
1773847822923.webp
 
To add to this tip…

The ex army sleeping mat is a LOT more robust than the old Millets version I had been using. So much so that it didn’t fold properly for the poachers pocket but otherwise it was perfect for the job. The solution I settled on was to make some half thickness cuts across it at the fold points - one on the actual line I wanted it to fold along plus one either side about 1/2” offset. I also trimmed an inch off it, down to 23”, so that the narrower section fits nicely between the two wider ones.
Look out for a German Army sleeping mat. Similar to the British one but has fold lines in it to fold up to a neat rectangle. Trim the width to desired size and bob's your uncle.

Si
 
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