! Seth's Lazer-Focused, Long-Winded, Lively List of Lab Lessons (BEL)

BEL #94

Seth Cardenas wrote:BEL #94
...

Hi Seth. About the small tree you show, you said it could be a Hawthorn. I know Hawthorns, they are native to my region. But I know too there are a few different species of Hawthorn, and probably varieties too.
In general the Hawthorns I know have a leaf shape that's not like what you show. But still your tree could be a Hawthorn, just wait and see until the berries are ripe.

BEL #95

Allerton Abbey Wing Walls.

Allerton Abbey, the constant work in progress has had this wing wall problem since long before I got here. The bottoms of the supporting logs that were buried in the ground have rotted at the bottoms causing them to fall over. Now as we are getting to the end of the repair it can be observed that the rot is not limited to the wing walls but can be seen on this support post. It looks important and has other stuff attached. What a fun fix.

BEL #96
June 2, 2026 Rad Bike Maintenance.
The other day one of the bike got a flat on the back tire so the back wheel was removed with great difficulty. The source of the issue is chain tensioner preventing the sprocket from moving in a direction that allows the rear wheel to be removed. To solve the issue l, one has to loosen the screw holding the chain tensioner in place. Once the tensioner is loose and free to spin it can be moved out of the way for the wheel to come off. After removing the wheel I used pry tools to take the tube out to inspect for holes to patch but found none so I reinstalled it as is to make sure it's still leaking before replacing.

While I had the rear wheel off I went ahead and replaced the rear brake pads as well. The rear brake pads appeared worn and had a chip, so I decided to replace them. With the back wheel removed, I used pliers to pull out the cotter pin securing the brake pads and harness in place. I wish the replacements had come with a new cotter pin because one side was broken off and it will probably need a new one next time they're replaced. I added the new ones to the new harness, opened the brake all the way with an Allen wrench, then inserted the new brake pads. After replacing the cotter pin I adjusted the brake tension to make sure there was no rubbing. Then I replace the wheel, tightened the nuts, and replaced the chain tensioner.

As a final step, I checked to make sure the the brakes worked as intended. They did.

BEL #97