Hello ODK members It never seizes to amaze me � the use of cable ties. The cable tie must rank as one of the most simple, useful and versatile inventions of the 20th Century.
G'day Mowerfreak and Tyler These cable ties are amazing for sure. Mowerfreak tells us of one use. Brilliant!
Tyler, I hope you, wearing fawn-coloured Safari Suit, holding a magnifying glass, calculator, notepad, pen, and butterfly net, venture to Bunnings and do the calculations for us.
Tyler on Ties --------------------------------- Jack
Howdy Tyler & CyberJack, many cheap discount stores sell packs of various cable ties and I imagine they are considerably less than at the major chains. I use 2.7mm plain round trimmer line with my Kaaz weed whacker and it works very well. I don't bother with that fancy star shaped stuff. They don't seem to perform as well and when you look at the cross section, they actually use less nylon to produce the same "thickness".
Yes CyberJack, I was chuffed at the simple solution it provided there. I got a multipack in a variety of colours for a song many years ago and have been looking for uses ever since.
Ahh, if only victa had kept producing the thumblatch catcher series, they would be in better shape today!
Hi Cyberjack: Butterfly net being required for me sounds about right haha.
MF, yeah, this is a pretty rough estimate - in some cases, the cable tie user would probably pay less. I use 2.4mm round in everything.
Disclaimer: the following will probably put readers to sleep:
Ok, worked out the following - pretty rough estimate, but its comparing chalk and cheese
Comparing zip ties to a bump feed head poses too many variables (eg how often bumped, etc), so these calcs are using a head like the cheap homelites use, single line, 40cm cutting diameter, 10cm of line wasted each replacement. 4.6mm wide x 1mm high cable ties $9.50 and 15m Saxon 1.6mm trimmer line $4.98 (homelites actually take 2.4, but still)
1.6mm line has 8mm^2 cross-sectional area (CSA), the ties have 4.6mm^2 CSA. Inaccuracies arise due to the slim nature of the zip ties - they will spin much faster, as they have more like a knife edge - meaning faster wear.
Basically, with the fixed line head, 1/5 of the trimmer line is unusable, meaning 1/5 the string is useless.
Overall, it seems that zip ties work out at 47.5 cents 'per metre', whilst even the smallest (least economical) roll of 1.6mm trimmer line works out at 41.5 cents per metre (after loosing the aforementioned 1/5 useless short lengths). Can't make any comments on the longevity of the cable ties, but if 1.6 is anything to go by, great in the field, but useless against concrete.
By the way Cyberjack, not sure if everyone else is having this problem.
Last few hours on here, first time i post a reply, all my paragraphing disappears; it just becomes one block.
If I edit and repost, it works fine
[quote=Tyler] . Overall, it seems that zip ties work out at 47.5 cents 'per metre', whilst even the smallest (least economical) roll of 1.6mm trimmer line works out at 41.5 cents per metre (after loosing the aforementioned 1/5 useless short lengths). Can't make any comments on the longevity of the cable ties, but if 1.6 is anything to go by, great in the field, but useless against concrete. [/quote]
I think it's plain to see that in a bump feed situation, trimmer line wins out (especially when you paid only $5.00 for a 50m of 2.7mm trimmer line at a sale price in Bunnings!), but one situation where they are useful as an alternative to the line is when you have just about finished doing the yard when you run out and don't have time/ feel like rewinding the spool, so you just fit a pair of cable ties to complete the task with!!
P.S Hey Tyler, I'm currently having problems getting the quote function to work haha. Something CyberJack can also have a look at.
Ahh, if only victa had kept producing the thumblatch catcher series, they would be in better shape today!
Hello Mowerfreak and Tyler One thing never ceases to amaze me here - the dedication to the UK inspired anorak syndrome. You are both true train garden equipment spotters.
Your replies are entertaining for the ODK punters like me. Tyler, many thanks for the investigative journalism, a candidate for a 4-corners' expos�.
Many thanks to you both for the entertaining posts.
-------------------------- Jack
p.s. Tyler/MF - not sure about the posting problem. Will investigate ... Sorry!
CyberJack]Hello Mowerfreak and Tyler One thing never ceases to amaze me here - the dedication to the UK inspired anorak syndrome. You are both true train garden equipment spotters.
Speaking of trains, Sydney is close to losing it's 1970s double deck stainless S sets....no, lets stick to trimmer lines.
Ahh, if only victa had kept producing the thumblatch catcher series, they would be in better shape today!
CyberJack, Anorak syndrome - never heard the name, but I certainly suffer from it; mower spotting, car spotting, researching odd topics etc. Hit the nail right on the on the head mate.
Its just lucky that I didn't try to compare the 2 materials used in terms of things like the Young's elastic modulus, Yield stress, Ultimate Tensile Stress. Can't remember if second moment of area applies in this instance (especially as I only know how to use it in relation to a static beam).
Mowerfreak, I don't think I will ever run out of trimmer line. From memory, I have 15m of 2mm, 30m of 3mm, the 2.4mm 250m $20 role from Bunnings, 30m left of 2.4mm Saxon line.
And about 35m of 2.4mm line I got from the tip last week - $12 for a Line trimmer, the 35m of line, and a VN Commodore Executive instrument cluster (and no, I don't have a VN so I have no excuse) :)
By the way, CyberJack, thank you for looking into the issue with the replys and quoting. Seems UBBCode is disabled - Html is the only option.
I'm sorry I don't have any special uses I have used cable ties for but every cable tie I have used has been for a very special need and reason. I have seen the remnants of cable ties on whipper snippers though, and I remember a motor bike brought here with probably 30 cable ties holding something together. Can't remember what it was holding together, just remember the pile of them on the floor after I cut them all off
By the way, CyberJack, thank you for looking into the issue with the replys and quoting. Seems UBBCode is disabled - Html is the only option.
Many thanks for the info Tyler.
Hope this is fixed shortly.
----------------- Jack
p.s. Anorak (slang) ... "Anorak" is a British slang which refers to a person who has a very strong interest, perhaps obsessive, in niche subjects. This interest may be unacknowledged or not understood by the general public.
I think thats right CyberJack - Garden equipment is an interest unacknowledged or not understood by the general public.
It perhaps stems from the reduction of the mower from something that represented several weeks wages, to something you can pick up for pocket change at Aldi, Big W or Bunnings.
Like other consumer appliances - kettles, toasters, (even Toyota Corollas), most people are happy to just use it until it breaks and then go out and buy a new one - without ever paying any great attention to it
I used one recently as a clamp for a windscreen washer hose that kept coming off a fitting every time I opened the bonnet, that extends the hose as you open it. It has helped so far.
Ahh, if only victa had kept producing the thumblatch catcher series, they would be in better shape today!
I think there are many different aspects that has brought our world to this point.
It was a quote I once read on a wall in a business that sums it up.
A man named John Ruskin said, 'There is hardly anything in the world that some man cannot make a little worse and sell a little cheaper, and the people who consider price only are this man's lawful prey.'
However, taking care of what you bought has always been ignored by some - but it appears that the trait has become more prevalent (I suppose biologists would call it a dominant trait).
Off topic but, for example, at around the same time back in 1983, my Grandmother (Mum's side of the family) and my Fathers parents, each bought a new car. Coincidentally, each purchased a new 1983 Holden JB Camira SL/X Automatic. Now that statement alone will probably cause some previous Camira owners to shudder.
My Father's parents had a old A40 Austin prior to the Camira - rarely repaired/cared for except when it broke. They drove their Camira into the ground - it went to the wreckers in 1996.
My Mum's Mother takes good care of her Camira. Keeps it clean, checks the oil and coolant once a week, and oil change on time. 35 years later, it has so far done somewhere in the region of 280,000 to 340,000 km (odo stopped and restarted itself - indicated 250k). The head isn't original, but the bearings, rings and pistons are.
Just goes to show that taking care of something can allow it to exceed all expectations.
People say its now too old to be any good. But just like a 1983 Victa, it will outlast a lot of the new Asian made stuff on the market now
Tyler were they the injected models made to run on super? They were a rocket ship I've heard. The unleaded EFI versions weren't as good.
I had a 1995 Toyota Lexcen on duel fuel that made it to 308,000km...before I crashed it.
Ahh, if only victa had kept producing the thumblatch catcher series, they would be in better shape today!
