Member postings for Andrew Tinsley

I have done the star to delta mod on quite a few motors that are not preconfigured for star or delta. Unfortunately not on a Newman motor. I have yet to find a motor that can't be converted.

Most times the conversion is straightforward, but sometimes it can get quite difficult especially if more than 3 joints are to be seen!

You need to take care with insulating any mods you make to bring out the 3 wires of the star point to the connection box. If you are not completely comfortable in modifying the mains wiring, then I recommend you to leave well alone and get someone do the job who is!

Andrew.

I have a hand coil winder and would like to automate it. Rather than hijack the electronic leadscrew topic. I thought I would start another.

The ELS solutions are very much over the top for my application and I do not need the high precision. I simply need to drive two motors with speeds that are in a given ratio. I also need to alter the ratio for different thickness wire.

I suppose I just need a very cheap and cheerful "ELS" with no great pretension to accuracy. The cost of the ELS dwarfs the cost of the hand coil winder!

Any suggestions gratefully received!

Andrew.

Hello Alan,

It really isn't a smart idea. Wild bees acquire all sorts of nasty parasites and diseases which spread to beekeepers hives. All you are doing is to increase the "wild" colonies which are the source of these infections. At least with controlled colonies, the Beekeeper can address these issues.

If you kept bees, then you might appreciate where Clive and myself are coming from.

Andrew.

Yes I tried the method when I was a brash beginner. it didn't work. I suggest you give it a try and let us all know the results.

Andrew.

I do model engineering because I want to keep the old methods used in the past as part of today. I suppose something like a museum. If I can interest my grandchildresn in keeping the old ways alive, then I shall be happy.

I am a physicist with an interest in quantum foundations and cosmology, so hardly your typical stick in the mud oldie.

Andrew.

Looks pretty, but as a practical step / ladder, pretty useless.

Andrew.

I have an old book on threads dating from 1914 and the usual Machinery's "Screw Thread Book". The nearest thread to 25 tpi is in fact 0 BA (at 25.4 tpi), but obviously this falls down on diameter and the same for 1mm threads.

I am pretty certain that Nicholas Farr is correct and that it is 7/16" 26 tpi brass thread (you say the plug is bronze or brass!). Tracy tools do a carbon tap for £3 and a die for £4, plus postage, plus Vat, so you could spruce up the threads if need be.

Andrew.

A friend of mine purchased 3 Myford back plates from RDG at a reduced price (via Ebay), which were described as faulty. They all fitted the Myford spindle , with no problems.

As you seem to have problems with anything you have bought, my money is that your spindle is at fault. If that is not the case then why not buy a "Myford" tap from Tracy Tools and be done with it. For less than £20 you have a solution and everyone can relax.

Andrew.

Clive's mention of a clinometer, reminded me that I have a gunners sighting level from 1944. To those familiar with the device, would this be sensitive enough for lathe levelling?

Andrew.

I have a similar one and use it for general heat when silver soldering large boilers. It was given to me by an old model engineer who used it for 3 1/2" gauge boilers pre WW2..

I take my hat off to people like that. I am pretty sure I could not use it for small boiler work!

Andrew.

Hello Neil,

Could you give a reference to your claim that it is illegal to use cadmium bearing silver solder? According to a friend of mine who is a membe of the legal profssionr. It is illegal to sell said item but not illegal to use it.

Clarification would be appreciated as I am still using cadmium bearing silver solder. I do so outside with positive pressure breathing apparatus.

Andrew.

Ronald, if you increase the voltage the current will increase and thus make things even worse!

Andrew.

I have a goodly stock of cadmium bearing silver solder. I only work outside and use a positive pressure breathing apparatus.I believe this is safety enough. If it isn't, then at my advanced years, I am not unduly bothered,

Andrew.

My garage is integral to the house, double glazed and cavity wall well insulated, as is the floor between garage and first floor of the house. To top it all the sectioned garage door is well insulated too. I didn't really want to spend all the extra cash during the build, but now I am very glad that I did so. It is delightfully cool in this heatwave and requires only a couple of small radiators ticking over in the depths of winter to make it cosy.

Andrew.

Thank you Mike, for your review of the 4 jaw San Ou chuck. They do appear to be excellent value for money. I purchased a smaller 3 jaw chuck from Arc and that was just excellent all round. I checked it out and found that it didn't lack when compared to a PB chuck. The only difference that I could find was that the scroll action was not quite as smooth as the PB chuck.

It might be worth saying that the chuck was marked as an ARC product, but I seem to recall Ketan saying that his Chinese chucks were San OU sourced. The other thing that he commented on was that San Ou would produce more or less the same chuck but at different quality levels and prices. So you cannot assume that different suppliers are selling the same quality San Ou chuck.

I hope I have not misquoted Ketan on the subject.

Regards,

Andrew.

I did some fairly rigorous fuel consumption tests when E5 came in. My findings, for what they are worth, were a decrease of just under 5% in mpg. I wonder if E10 will give me a 10% decrease in mpg? I will never know as I have converted to diesel power.

Andrew.

Yes it seems to be a ripoff all round. I repaired an electric powered wheelchair. Fortunately one that wasn't surface mount and microprocessor controlled.

The owner was quoted £425 plus VAT for the repair. It took me an hour and about £2 of electronic bits. I also fitted two new tyres which cost £15. The agency had mentioned the tyres were shot and wanted another £50 plus VAT for replacements.

Seems the disabled are a good target for the rip off merchants.

Andrew.

Edited By Andrew Tinsley on 18/07/2021 12:01:43

Plenty of fixing suppliers. I use Spalding Fasteners and Bolt Base, they both have a usually quick turnaround.

Andrew.

Chinese quality can range from utter rubbish to world class quality, with a huge range between. This gives scope for the Chinese knockers to feel smug and also for people to be very satisfied with what they get from China.

I strongly suspect that the western importers have a great deal to do with the perceived quality of Chinese goods on sale in the UK.

Andrew.

I would agree with Mick B1's comment on Rod Jenkins statement re tungsten steel taps. On the whole. I prefer good quality carbon steel taps to HSS for "shed engineering" . They always appear to be sharper than HSS. Longevity may well be worse, but I am not into serious high speed production, so who cares?

To be fair, I am talking of good quality carbon steel taps, such as supplied by Tracey Tools. I am sure that there is a good deal of rubbish carbon steel taps on the market

As an aside and tempting fate, I have never broken a carbon steel tap, but have certainly broken a fair old number of HSS taps!

Andrew.