f1steveuk

If it's it's free to view you want in France, the only way is a Sky box, but instead of a monthly subscription (minimum £15 a month) you need a one off purchase FTV (Free to View) card from SKY (£20 approx), as the other British FTV systems rely on a "normal" aerial and broadcast systems, which obviously will not have the range!!!!

Actually I do have Broadband!! and was considering an internet phone, but have next to knowledge of them, only what I guess, which is it's a handset that plugs into your USB, has a different number? and you dial normally, withing France and Europe? I'll check out the other suggestions, thanks

I visit my home in the Dordogne, every three weeks for three weeks, and for the time we are here the phone bill seems a bit high. Obviously we are calling the UK the most, but still it seems a tad high for the use. What are the various tariffs that you could suggest? All help, gratefully recieved!![:D]

Of course if anyone has a GoldWing trike on this forum, they are very nice!!!! Sorry in advance. I met a guy in Rouen last year, British, who had taken his bike there from Sittingbourne. Had his left leg missing from just below the knee. He had replaced the gear lever with a sort of upright one that he could still operate, such was he determination.

I've been off my bike  now for a year, and am missing it terribly, so I can sympatise with how hard Eddie's decision must be, but I have always looked for alrternatives. On another part of the forum, we've been discussing guitars, and how someone with finger strength problems missed playing, I suggested playing bottle neck or slide guitar. So, would Eddie consider a trike?? There are the ridiculous, VW engined things, and Goldwing trikes (might as well have a car!) and some superb conversions of standard bikes, like a Hayabusa with a very trick leanable rear end. It's just a thought.

According to my better half I don't shave my face often enough! and the hairs down my plaster are itching like mad!!

Funny there were no strap buttons in mine either!! Maybe that's where they save all that money!! I knew from experience that the Tele had the wrong jack plate, so I sourced the right type, Ebay is a marvelous thing!! I was all set to get going, and the old B&D workmate broke (it has had a very hard life!) so I'm not going to cut the headstock until I can hold the neck properly, espcially as my jigsaw has a habit of undercutting. I'm currently looking around at materials to make a custom pickguard from. Weldom have some sheet machine plate which may work!!

Drugs and alcohol!! So Tommy Simpson died from, er I know a bee sting. I don't have to shave my legs to ride my bike, motorised or pedal (yep I have a mountain bike) !!!! Nor wear a cute "bum bag" to carry my stuff, but if I did it would not contain any drugs, or alcohol. Ian, are you sure your brush is wide enough to tar EVERYONE with?[blink]

My other half works for the ambulance service, if you add injuries to deaths, there are more call outs for cycling incidents that motorcycles. End of subject? (Bet not!!!) Airbrush out a mug of tea! How big was the mug, this id directly proportional to how long a job takes!

From me too, get well soon, man and machine!

I've studied that first picture for two days now.  I can identify with the cardborad on the floor, keeps you clean, and any little bits safe. I did my apprenticeship with a Rolls-Royce garage, so my tools would be lined up (sad I know, but that's how we were trained!!). The cloth to keep everything clean, and to clean eveything that wasn't. Yep with you there. I just couldn't work it out, then it occured to me. Where's the mug of tea!!!!! I couldn't cotemplete a job with a mug of tea, give the job obe good coat of looking at, then in, followed ny? More tea!

you should try owning a Ducati! I fitted new brake pads, and it wont start....................[8-)]

Bottle neck has to be the way forward then, because to get the bottle necks, you have to empty the bottles!!!! A room with all those guitars, that's what I call a lounge!! Maybe needs just one or two more... Back home in Belves, lid still taped on the box, for now!

Thank you for your sympathy Bob!! No it is big, but SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO comfotable after a succesion of plasters, including the first one which weighed 8 kilos!!. But your right BOB, I could just say it's a high tech motorcycle boot!! Open the front pop your foot in, fix the front on and then pump up the little bladders inside for a perfect fit!! Luxury! Up tomorrow morning at 4 and on the ferry at 7 and we should be home by 5 tomorrow night. I am going to walk into St Cyprien market!!!!!

New special boot turned up today [IMG]http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t215/f1steveuk/378a_1.jpg[/IMG] Which is way bigger than I was expecting! Can't ride, or drive in that!!! But plaster is gone, and I can take this thing off to shower, and do my own physio', and I'm sort of walking already with crutches. OH has christened me "Robocop", so we're in the car tomorrow and going home to Belves for three weeks, and the new starter motor goes on, I'll be riding soon (well three monthsish!!)[:D]

At this rate every kit produced will end up in France. I have heard that quite a few builders rub the sanding sealer off regardless, but they have also said, it is bl@@y hard work! Boreing though it sounds I think I am going the sea foam blue route, or black with a polished ali' pickguard, but I'm sure once I am standing in front of the paint rack I'll see something else and go for that! Number one son heard I was doing mine as a single pick up Esquire, and has already asked for it when finished. YEAH RIGHT, he's had three guitars out of me each time I have finished them. I have also been told by Paul at Music King, there is a Thinline Tele (semi acoustic version) a 335 semi acoustic and  a SG coming soon! No one doing red white and blue then????!!![+o(]

You stick at it! I went out on my mates 600 Burgmann super scooter (100 mph with you feet forward, and no gear changes, all auto, weird!) and because of the little wheels, I soon learnt to think about what I was doing. I'm worried about regaining the strength in my lower leg, and toes. I dislocated both knees in a racing accident at Thruxton, and this tendon thing is worrying, but your tale is an inspiration. I know I'd be nervous about pushing a car again, so it's totally understandable that your worried about riding a bike when that's where it happened. All I'm thinking now is "oh please let me bend my leg, I can fit the new starter motor then!!"

Injuries caused by a car, a horse, and a dog, must mean motorbikes are safe!!![;-)]

I would have thought with a light sanding nitro would work, but I bet you'll need a fair few light coats to loose the grain!! The speed your going you'll be playing it before I get the tape of the box on mine[:-))]

So how did the ride and the leg go in the end??? I've managed to get hold of an American "Aircast" leg brace, which I am hoping the surgeon will let me use, it has a built in sole, I could walk again or the first tie in two months!![:-))]

The big hole under the neck fixing plate also occurs on the Tele kit, I assumed it was to hang it while painting, but I prefer screwing a dummy neck on and uing it as a handle. The polishing compound I use is from Halfords, in a yellow tube (can't give you the name, I'm in the UK, my polish is in my garage in Belves), but once the hospital has kicked me out, we're off home for three weeks I'll find out. T cut tends to make the finish go hazy. I did a "relic" Strat for my son, using a Squier copy, made it look like a 1959 one that had been palyed everyday since, and the best finish I got on the plain wood was to rub it down with 1200 wet and dry, then flour paper (which is barely abrasive) and then coat after coat after coat of Bri-wax, natural bees wax, and I used a  tinted one. I'm tempted to do the Esquire/Tele/Replicaster neck by just waxing it, but I've never done it on a neck before..............[+o(]

The site I pos above, manchester guitars, talks you through a sunburst, I usually go for solid colours, if you look at his tele build guide, he tells you how to get a good finnish. The biggest tip, other than lots of rubbing down with different grade papers, is polishing compound!!!

That's one of those nasty Acepro things, very cheap, and there's a good reason for it!!! As requested http://www.manchesterguitartech.co.uk/ surf around on here and there is all sorts of tips on how to build the tele and the prs type kits

Obviously I can't say or call the guitar a Tele#a@te*, nor use anything else that is copyrighted by Fender, so I have drawn up my own headstock for my "Replicaster" [IMG]http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t215/f1steveuk/TeleHeadstockPattern.jpg[/IMG] Does that look similar to anyhting else????!!!

Well the last bits arrived in the post today, and we're heading on home to Belves Saturday. First job will to be cut a block of alder to fill the space where the bridge pick up would normally live, fill the gaps, do a dry run constuction (make sure it all lines up, little trick is to use fishing line instead of a set of strings!!), put matches in the holes I want to keep, and get rubbing!! Might even have it in primer by this time next week...........................