Member postings for ronan walsh

Thanks John, off to the steel stockists and see what i can scrounge

I recently picked up a bridgeport milling head with the intentions of mounting it to the overarm of my Tom Senior mill. The Senior is a great machine, but the knuckle type vertical head lets the machine down, you get very little room under the tool, between 4-5 inches max, and it has no quill so drilling holes, is a pain, and drilling holes at an angle is not possible.

What i need to mount the BP head to the Senior is a plate to bolt to the end of the overarm, is a plate with the same shape and dimensions as the head to ram knuckle of a bridgeport, that allows the head be tilted left or right, and nodded forward and back. This part is what holds the four large bolts that protrude through the head itself.

Would anyone who might have such a part in their shed or workshop, or who might be rebuilding or working on their Bridgeport, be able to make a dimensioned sketch of it please ? I would buy the part, but they are expensive, usually located in the USA , so shipping is hugely expensive, and i am going to have to cut the part in half anyway as i only need the front portion that the head contacts.

Thanks

I am a mechanical fitter Bri, but i don't think they teach apprentices things as old fashioned as using files and hacksaws accurately anymore. When i served my time, in first year we went away to tech to learn the basics for six months.

For the first three months were were assigned tests in "bench fitting" , you would be given a drawing of say, a piece of 6mm steel plate 75mm x 75mm with a square hole 25mm x 25mm in the centre and a tolerance of 0.02mm on certain features of the piece. The piece also had to have square corners and edges square to the flats.

To be honest i enjoyed it, i always wanted to be a gunsmith and fitter was as close as i had gotten to that trade. The instructor we had was getting on, he retired shortly after we hd left, but the younger replacement instructors did not teach bench fitting.

" No one will pay you to stand at a bench filing bits of metal" was the cry. I suppose they are right, i was rarely asked to use a file after my apprenticeship ended, apart from knocking a birr off an edge on a piece coming out of a milling vice.

Not strictly model engineering related, but i know a good few people on here are into old motorbikes.

Has anyone got a drawing for the aluminium magneto replacements, that allow electronic ignitions to be fitted to old british twins, in place of the lucas k2 and k2f magnetos ?

They can be bought of course, usually in a complete kit. But i already have a boyer ignition system, and some nice pieces of aluminum bar, it would be a nice project too.

Thanks.

http://www.cwylde.co.uk/product.php?xProd=2444

Edited By ronan walsh on 05/07/2016 18:53:55

Clickable link added

Edited By John Stevenson on 05/07/2016 23:06:23

Clive, any idea how many airguns are in the uk ? 5million ? 10 million ? more ?

Well if you look in the link on my last post , you will see a 400cc bsa buddy bottle is used, none of the parts you make store compressed air. Buckley does not sell the book online, as you know what would happen, someone would buy it, scan it and have it up on the web within the day giving it away free, or someone in china would be knocking them out by the boat load.

I found tig welding to be easy to master, but i did a lot of gas welding before i ventured into tig and wound up tig welding pharma stainless fittings for 40 hrs a week. As with all skills, if you get a good bit of time under your belt and a few lessons with an experienced welder, its amazing how quickley you will progress.

Watch plenty of videos on youtube, there are some great channels like weld.com with "mr.tig" i can recommend.

H.M Buckley does two different designs of air rifle, one has a tube fore-end which is a tank to store the air, the other design use's a divers buddy bottle as part of the stock, you rest your face on it and it screws into the back of the action.

I would assume Mr.Buckley has factored in power when he designed his airguns so they are sub-12ft/lbs.

From what i have heard, it is only scotland which is going to introduce licencing for airguns , as if the police hadn't enough to do.

http://airgundevelopment.com/custombuild/schaefer.html

Edited By ronan walsh on 14/07/2015 21:34:23

A chap on another forum i am on just bought a little used colchester lathe, it did not come with tool holders, just the central toolpost (dickson type). Anyway he bought a few and a conversation developed about why there are tool holders available for the dickson system that have a morse taper hole rather than a slot to clamp a tool.

As a turner myself i have never had the need to hold a mt tool anywhere but the tailstock, and have never come across them in any workplace i have been.

Anyone know what is the intended use of these tool holders ?

Is that a neracar in your avatar Ian ?

Anywhere i have worked it has always been en numbers used. Likewise when i go to the special steels supplier they and i use en, unless its for stainless and then its 300 or 400 series , or stuff like p20 tool steels. To me it works well.

John, i have a tom senior fitted with the knuckle head and use the er32 collets in the mt2 chuck, i got them in a set from rdg tools and i am very happy with them. The er32's will obviously hold a larger range of diameters of tool shanks.

Should have drowned the cats !

Yup, that was my finding too, a good long wire aerial, well insulated at both ends, and a good earth, a bit of copper mesh buried in the ground is recommended. Sadly in this new fangled world of the iphone and t'internet, kids wouldn't have much time for messing about with crystal sets anymore.

Yes ady, i agree, they are mesmerising to watch and that is part of the attraction. Also the finish is superior (usually) to end milling and i have seen finished cuts that were more than acceptable. But they are slower and not as versatile or as easy to use as a vertical mill. Still want one though.

What sort of work do you do on your shaper lee ? I am considering buying a cheap one, dunno why, but i have a hankering for one.

Thats a pity, but all you need is bbc radio 4, its like going back to the 50's !

when i was messing about as a kid with crystal sets, i used to use a bit of coke from the fireplace. I believe this is how the pow's in prison camps all over the world did it during the war.

I still use a de safety razor. I find if you take your time with it, it gives a lovely shave, rush it and it will end in a bloodbath. The blades are also remarkably cheap compared to the latest ones with 3, 4 or 5 blades in each "cartridge" that are advertised by football players on the telly. I can buy a dozen de blades for about a fiver, compared to well over a tenner for 3 of the fancy type.

Using old shaving tackle is making a comeback, its almost like a hobby, a lot are using the old straight or cutthroat razors. Wouldn't have the courage for one of those myself.

http://www.shaving-shack.com/straight-razors-cut-throat-razors/

Edited By ronan walsh on 26/03/2015 00:08:04

Sorry Les , yes the motor is still working and responding to the controls, eg. on/off, working in both directions, speed contol and the jog. Its definately the lenze control board, there is nothing else in the panel anymore apart from the brand new vfd. Any of the old electronics and wiring concerning the main spindle drive motor i removed. There is a transformer between the mains supply and the lenze board, the usual iron core wound tranny. This is something else to inspect i suppose.