CONCRETE SUGGESTIONS

I have been a subscriber to PM for many a year and your magazine not only astounds me every month, but also feeds my childishly enquiring mind. My wife even blames my “wiseassness” on reading PM from cover to cover in the first few days after receiving it. You have changed the conversations around the braai on many an occasion.

“How to make anything” (October 2017) included a feature on building a concrete canoe. The article was written by Jim Wilde of Minnesota State University. The article by Prof. Wilde states facts (sparsely, I might add) that are somewhat outdated. The first issue here is that this magazine is a South African one and, although I realise that you draw on international contacts and information, if something similar happens in SA, it should be reported as such. Did you know then, that we run an annual concrete boat race in Gauteng? This year I challenged students to build a truly African mokoro. The families in the Okavango Delta that rely on the mokoro for their livelihood are not allowed to build theirs from the traditional wood and are now forced to work with expensive, volatile and foreign chemicals. The challenge was to find a way of using concrete, which is cheaper and can be used and repaired with relative ease and low skill. The building of the boat forms part of students’ Project Management studies. Students compete for substantial prizes awarded for construction and racing. This takes place in full view of more than a thousand people from the concrete industry on a fun, family day. Visit concretesociety.co.za/boatrace-2017 to find out more.

Secondly, a while back, you featured an article and photo about a concrete cylinder being broken, as part of the testing of concrete for a road project. You state that this was done by the NRMCA, which is American. Did you know, then, that we have a Southern Africa Readymix Association ( sarma. co.za)? We do plant accreditation, concrete testing (in SA we use cube testing, rather than cylinder testing), concrete technology training, seminars and an annual conference. The most important thing for us is to make sure that the right South African information reaches the industry and the public.

Thirdly, on a personal note, you previously described the Skilsaw as the tool that built America. I agree totally that this is one of the best tools ever manufactured. I bought one in 1995 secondhand at a pawn shop for R290. This tool has given me incredible service for 21 years and only recently began giving trouble. Coincidentally it is the 5150 model, built in the USA, and not the British-built model (as verified by several hardware shops).

The problem lately has been brushes. I have never been able to get brushes for the machine. Instead I have been buying substitute brushes, filing them down to size and fitting them into the plastic holder before installing them into the machine. Unfortunately, the plastic holders are now showing signs of wear (due to arcing of the brushes on the armature). I have found out that the replacement brushes come in a set, including these plastic holders. The problem: it seems that nobody stocks this part in SA. The importers are Bosch, but not even they can get the part.

The upshot is, I can’t find a replacement part for a tool that was built to last millennia. Notwithstanding the fact that you featured the tool in a South African magazine as the tool of the century! So, I need your help in determining where I can find the brushes and plastic holders. Bosch has given up, or maybe it is just their people who are not willing to help me.

JOHAN VAN WYK MIDRAND