Deadeyes. CNC Computer Repairs.

by John

You might be wondering why I have not done more on my model Constitution.

Well, I was sidetracked into making more deadeyes, and making some progress with that project, when the computer on my big CNC mill failed. Dead as a dodo. The Dell laptop was over 20 years old, and the screen had been leaking gelatinous fluid for ages. So I was not too surprised when it would not boot up at all. Then within a few weeks the computer on my CNC lathe also failed. Also a very old laptop, so not too surprising. But I had been backing up the old computers to each other, so I was really stuffed.

Stuart came to the rescue.

He gave me a computer which he no longer required, and we reinstalled Mach 3, and Stuart had kept a copy of my original Mach 3 parameters, so with a fair bit of time and messing around, got the lathe going. Similarly with the mill computer, using another old laptop he got the mill going. In my ignorance, and trying to fix the problems myself, I had made the situation worse by overwriting some of the old settings, but Stuart managed to sort all of those problems. Plus he had an electronic gadget with which he was able to retrieve information from my failed computers’ hard disks. Handy! (and I subsequently bought one…. see photo)

I knew of the existence of plug in devices for hard disks, but I did not realise how inexpensive they are and how easy they are to use. As long as the hard disk is not the cause of the failure. It was not in the instance of the 2 failed computers. read on….

Then another problem.

I noticed puddles of water in my workshop after a bit of a rain shower. Not too unusual. After heavy rain my workshop used to get water flowing over the concrete slab, but in recent years that had stopped as result of rabbits making a warren under the workshop. I think that they had made an unofficial drainage system under the workshop, with heavy rain flowing through their rabbit warren instead of through my workshop.

Rabbits are a scourge on Australian farmlands, and I used to spend a lot of effort ripping every warren with a bulldozer (long since sold), and using poison. But, no longer a farmer, and seeing the advantage of the warren drainage system, I have left them alone. Foxes and snakes keep their numbers down to some extent. There is a risk that one day my workshop will sink into the earth, undermined by the warren, and I am mindful of my responsibilities to my farming neighbors. I really do not like using poison, because I worry that birds feeding on dead poisoned rabbits will also die. But there is not much option if the rabbit numbers suddenly increase.

So I could not see why a small rain shower had left puddles in my workshop.

Then I looked up.

The corrugated iron roof was intact, but the 4 panels of Laserlite (polycarbonate I think) had multiple holes in them, obviously the source of the water on the machines and the floor. (and possibly the computers??)

What had caused the holes? They were irregularly shaped, about 50-75mm across (2-3 inches), and there at least half a dozen in each sheet. Then the penny dropped. My neighbour had told me that there had been a severe hailstorm recently, with golfball sized hail!

I have ordered replacement Laserlite, but the local stores no longer stock the old fashioned corrugated shape, so I have to wait several weeks for a special order to be filled. Expensive and delay.

I just hope that there is no rain until then. And it does mean that this 75 year old will have to get up on the roof to install them. Wish me luck.

Meanwhile I have covered the machines and new old computers as much as possible.

And wish me luck for tomorrow. I am going sailing again. I do hope that the great whites have moved on.