Member postings for noel shelley

With a bore of only 5/16" X 2 ( as in O/P ) you will have very little power for much above the friction levels. I would save the crank driven feed pump for a much bigger engine. At this size meths is a good fuel, it's combustion is something you need to think about, pre-empting your answer is why I had suggested a horizontal with water tubes. It will give you more room for burners and also the air feed they will need, it will be able to supply more steam than you will want. 30psi will be more than adequate and will simplify boiler making. Small injectors are not easy to make, often temperamental in operation and unsuitable for a boiler of this size. Gain experience making a simple unit that will work well first, then move on to bigger projects that with current metal prices will be expensive. Good luck. Noel.

For such a small boiler and engine, had you considered a horizontal boiler with water tubes ? 5 longtitudal stays, or reduce pressure to say 40psi and less stays and 3 or 4 water tubes, flanged ends. You do not mention a fuel type ? What water feed do you intend to use ? or run on one fill. If you build a hand feed water pump this can also be used to conduct a simple hydraulic test for safety. Good luck Noel.

A small point , but when fitting wire into a hole rather larger than the wire, bend the wire back over to double it's thickness, this will give the screws more to bite on. The box looks as though it's powder coat , it is vital that ANY coating(or paint ) is remover from under screws, bolts Etc to ensure sound connection. In this case round the earth bolt and copper washer for screen fixing.  Noel.

Edited By noel shelley on 15/09/2023 11:04:21

Right ! You WILL only be building a small boiler with 1mm thick sheet ! or it will have a VERY low working pressure. What sort of boiler O/D ? Noel.

An accepted or published design is one way to go - basing your design on it ! There are many books on the subject, many have designs in them. Authers like K.N.Harris, Martin Evans, E.L.Pearce Etc. If you want the boiler to have a club certificate then your boiler inspector is the man to talk to. If on the other hand you just want it to be safe you can conduct your own tests. As To end plates, I have just had alook at K.N.Harris and it would seem that A) you use the same thickness as for the shell and if a multi tubular fire tube boiler then the tubes act as stays, for unsupported plate then the stay calculations are given. You do not say what type of boiler you are considering, but saftey factors of 8 are normal and IF the boiler end is hemispherical reqires little or no stays. Noel.

PS I have just looked at my 6"vertical and the plates are as above.

Chris, whilst the brass gland will provide screening it may not give good mechanical support. If the cables are otherwise fixed this may not matter. The type of gland used appears to be made for SWA (steel wire armoured) cable where the armouring is of much heavier steel wire galvanised, this may account for the loose fit. Noel

It looks like a simple circuit/unit , the leaflet puts me in the mind of a product of the 60s. There are 2 books on building EDMs available. Using the bits of both designs I liked I built a much more powerful unit that worked well. What is your problem ? Noel.

CLARKSON ! The MK 2 is a refined MK 1 - but The late MK1 had Mk2 accesories ! If it has the universal head (complete), 2 centres and both tooth rests thats a good start. The most obvious difference is the mk 2 has a second speed of 6000rpm - will you need this ? The MK2 base is VERY HEAVY ! If 3ph they will run on a transwave, just plug it in ! BUT the drill grinder, radius grinder and air bearing flute grinder are VERY EXPENSIVE when they come up for sale. A MK2 universal head ? The Mk2 Grinder head/ spindle has different bearings. I may be biased but I would go for the Clarkson, BUT see how worn it is, £300 - £400 with the basic bits. Noel.

As with Andy, sounds like it became stuck. Clean and use light oil sparingly ! Noel.

BK3 is a bandsaw model. Nothing to worry about ! From the pictures it doesn't use a start capacitor.! The motor is oldish so when working on it be mindful that old/rubber insulation on wires may disintegrate. A first step would be to check IF you have continuity on both sets of windings. For this remove the cover of the terminal block, NOTE WHERE the mains wires go. At this point you will need a multi meter or a friend with one to check that there is continuity on both the start and run windings. It looks as though there is a fault in the start circuit. A good picture of the terminal block will be needed if we are to guide you ! The centrifugal switch will be in the end cover where the terminal block is - Non Drive End. Noel.

A simple answer would be either take the cap to a motor rewind company, ask them to test and then sell you a new one IF faulty or below spec, or get a capacitor of between 100 - 160 uf 400v motor start capacitor and see what happenes ! Don't be alarmed at the fact it may be 10% tolerance. They are not expensive. You have not indicated what use this motor is being put to, if starting on a light/no load then go for a lower value if starting on load then the higher value. I still say the rating should be on the casing. One clue as to it being not the right value will be that the motor will run hot or draw excessive current. As your O/P states your working on an assumption and there are many reasons why a motor may not spin up to speed. Good luck Noel.

Alan, where abouts in the country are you ? There may be one of us close to you. Howards point is a good one - if having run the motor at it's rated speed, then turn it off and as it slows you MAY hear a click, this will be the centrifugal switch re setting, some are louder than others. I have a De walt band saw, it doesn't have a capacitor, this is as Ian has said. Noel

Colin, my reference to 400v was the capacitor rating as mentioned by Andrew J, NOT the motor voltage. Noel

Hey Al, It very much depends on the type of motor. It sounds as though you have a fault on the start windings, this could be numerous things. Does it have a capacitor on it , a round lump ? This may have failed. If it has a centrifugal switch this may be playing up, contacts, spring, or just broken. Open circuit start windings. Does it have brushes if so then the brushes or commutator is the fault. There's a few to start with. Good luck Noel.

IF your luck is in and you look VERY carefully you should find the value of the one you have stampted on the tin tube, on the end and painted over ! Note that the voltage may well be 400V. It is possible with the right meter to check the value it currently is ! Or has the centrifugal switch failed ? Good Luck Noel.

With out getting out some books, O rings are available in both odd imperial sections and also metric sections so that give or take one can normally find a ring to do the job. Noel.

Though no expert, on seeing the pictures The box does not look like mine which I knew was the later one, so it must be the ealier version with unhardened gears. I must also thank Simon for the long explanation, I had not realised that the later box had a 2:1 ratio in it . 51/17 sounds like the back gear ratio ? Though I have never tried to use it I do have a 127T change wheel for metric threads, came in a box of bits - not sure it would fit ? The cover would not close ! Noel

Hi Scott, If you intend to use an O ring then the finish of the cylinder bore is very important if you want to run the engine. Using a small cylinder hone is one way to get a good finish though there are other ways This then means leaving the cylinder bore slightly undersize, say .025mm, then you hone or finish to size. .I only mention this as your comment above indicates you may not be from an engineering background Good luck. Noel.

John ! Click on all topics, then create new thread, put in title and heading of manual machine tools, it should work - I think. Noel.

Remember them well, surprising how much power you can get from a light socket. Noel.