On 20/09/2017 21:12, Tim+ wrote:
wrote:
On 20/09/2017 10:30, GB wrote:
On 20/09/2017 08:57, John Rumm wrote:
On 20/09/2017 00:50, wrote:
Some numpty (not me) seems to have dropped a long length of hardwood
down one of the downpipes on my "new" house - presumably when clearing
the hopper some years ago. I need to get the bottom discharge "shoe" off
to get the wood out but it probably hasn't been touched since it was
built (1930s) and I can't work out what the fixings are. I've got the
paint and render off the fixings and the heads seem to be domed, but no
slot or other means of undoing the things.

They are normally very large nail like fixings that are hammered into
a wood plug that sits in a recess that is chiselled into the wall.
Basically very difficult to remove. I think in the circumstance I
would be looking at ways of getting the wood out via the same route it
went in.

I was thinking of a drain clearing rod pushed in from below,
particularly as the cast iron pipe won't look right with the domed
fixings removed.

*If successful,* that method may result in a large piece of sodden hard
wood emerging from the top of the pipe and crashing onto the bonce of
the person below. So, maybe, it would be best to get someone up a ladder
to lift it out, once the first bit emerges from the top.


A drain rod would be far too stiff to go round the bend in the shoe.
I've tried shoving plastic 22, 15 and 10mm pipe up - the 22 and 15 are
too stiff, the 10 is too small and also gets snagged on the joints.

I started using a multi-tool through the shoe opening to cut off 20mm
sections but then realised it was a long piece of wood and would take hours.


If you can see the bottom of the stick, is there any chance of dropping a
weighted loop of string down from the top and out the bottom?

If so, you could pass the loop under the cut off bottom of the stick and
use the string to pull it back up. If the string isn't strong enough you
could use it to pull through something stronger once you've got the loop to
the bottom.

Tim

Somebody else suggested using the 10mm pipe to do something similar. I
managed to get the 10mm pipe all the way down from the top and tried
fitting a penny washer to a bolt and screwing it into the end of the
pipe - close, but no banana. Tomorrow I'll try fabricating or turning a
piece of something to attach to the pipe to lift the wood - this seems
the best strategy.

On Thu, 21 Sep 2017 00:19:55 +0100, nomail wrote:

On 20/09/2017 21:12, Tim+ wrote:
wrote:
On 20/09/2017 10:30, GB wrote:
On 20/09/2017 08:57, John Rumm wrote:
On 20/09/2017 00:50, wrote:
Some numpty (not me) seems to have dropped a long length of
hardwood down one of the downpipes on my "new" house - presumably
when clearing the hopper some years ago. I need to get the bottom
discharge "shoe" off to get the wood out but it probably hasn't
been touched since it was built (1930s) and I can't work out what
the fixings are. I've got the paint and render off the fixings and
the heads seem to be domed, but no slot or other means of undoing
the things.

They are normally very large nail like fixings that are hammered
into a wood plug that sits in a recess that is chiselled into the
wall. Basically very difficult to remove. I think in the
circumstance I would be looking at ways of getting the wood out via
the same route it went in.

I was thinking of a drain clearing rod pushed in from below,
particularly as the cast iron pipe won't look right with the domed
fixings removed.

*If successful,* that method may result in a large piece of sodden
hard wood emerging from the top of the pipe and crashing onto the
bonce of the person below. So, maybe, it would be best to get someone
up a ladder to lift it out, once the first bit emerges from the top.


A drain rod would be far too stiff to go round the bend in the shoe.
I've tried shoving plastic 22, 15 and 10mm pipe up - the 22 and 15 are
too stiff, the 10 is too small and also gets snagged on the joints.

I started using a multi-tool through the shoe opening to cut off 20mm
sections but then realised it was a long piece of wood and would take
hours.


If you can see the bottom of the stick, is there any chance of dropping
a weighted loop of string down from the top and out the bottom?

If so, you could pass the loop under the cut off bottom of the stick
and use the string to pull it back up. If the string isn't strong
enough you could use it to pull through something stronger once you've
got the loop to the bottom.

Tim

Somebody else suggested using the 10mm pipe to do something similar. I
managed to get the 10mm pipe all the way down from the top and tried
fitting a penny washer to a bolt and screwing it into the end of the
pipe - close, but no banana. Tomorrow I'll try fabricating or turning a
piece of something to attach to the pipe to lift the wood - this seems
the best strategy.

A coach screw on the end of the pipe?



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On 21/09/2017 00:11, wrote:
On 20/09/2017 17:37, GB wrote:
On 20/09/2017 16:00, wrote:
On 20/09/2017 15:28, GB wrote:
On 20/09/2017 14:18, wrote:

A drain rod would be far too stiff to go round the bend in the
shoe. I've tried shoving plastic 22, 15 and 10mm pipe up - the 22
and 15 are too stiff, the 10 is too small and also gets snagged on
the joints.

Maybe stick with the 10mm pipe idea for a minute, and perhaps
there's something you can attach to the end that would keep the pipe
more or less centred and would ride over the joints?Â* Something like
a small water bottle firmly attached with the neck downwards.


And the next question here would probably be: "how do I get a small
plastic bottle out of a cast iron downpipe" ;-)

Hence why I said "firmly attached". You bring it down to the shoe, and
if necessary cut it into bits with your multi tool.

It seems to me that you can discourage all suggestions, with a hearty
sneer, or you can use them constructively to sort out what is, after
all, your problem. I can assure you that I have no pieces of hardwood
stuck in my downpipes.

I'm always amazed that people here are so helpful, when the OP only
gives out a tiny fraction of the information about his problem at the
outset.

I think you missed my "smiley" - all suggestions are welcomed and I will
report back whatever works in the hope that it helps others

Sorry, I was a bit bad-tempered yesterday! I hope you get this sorted out.

On 20/09/2017 00:50, wrote:
Some numpty (not me) seems to have dropped a long length of hardwood
down one of the downpipes on my "new" house - presumably when clearing
the hopper some years ago. I need to get the bottom discharge "shoe" off
to get the wood out but it probably hasn't been touched since it was
built (1930s) and I can't work out what the fixings are. I've got the
paint and render off the fixings and the heads seem to be domed, but no
slot or other means of undoing the things.
HELP!

Solved! Pass a length of small bore plastic heating pipe down the
downpipe and out of the shoe at the bottom, rigidly attach a 40mm (ish)
plywood disk with an 8mm bolt into the plastic pipe, pull pipe gently
from the top (jiggling at appropriate moments and supplicating
appropriate deities to ensure the disk doesn't get irretrievably stuck)
to lift the offending piece of wood within reach of the hopper.
The offending piece of wood was a surprisingly heavy length of oak
beading, about 2m long and 20mm across.
Thanks for the various responses and suggestions.

On 24/09/2017 16:22, wrote:
On 20/09/2017 00:50, wrote:
Some numpty (not me) seems to have dropped a long length of hardwood
down one of the downpipes on my "new" house - presumably when clearing
the hopper some years ago. I need to get the bottom discharge "shoe"
off to get the wood out but it probably hasn't been touched since it
was built (1930s) and I can't work out what the fixings are. I've got
the paint and render off the fixings and the heads seem to be domed,
but no slot or other means of undoing the things.
HELP!

Solved! Pass a length of small bore plastic heating pipe down the
downpipe and out of the shoe at the bottom, rigidly attach a 40mm (ish)
plywood disk with an 8mm bolt into the plastic pipe, pull pipe gently
from the top (jiggling at appropriate moments and supplicating
appropriate deities to ensure the disk doesn't get irretrievably stuck)
to lift the offending piece of wood within reach of the hopper.
The offending piece of wood was a surprisingly heavy length of oak
beading, about 2m long and 20mm across.
Thanks for the various responses and suggestions.

Well done, that's a really ingenious result. I do like the idea of using
relatively stiff pipe to maintain the collector disk roughly
perpendicular to the axis.