Member postings for Andrew Tinsley

Thanks for the suggestions so far, I am taken aback at the bronze welding suggestion. I do indeed have oxyacetylene and I have done a great deal of silver soldering and Sif Bronze "welding". I have always thought that cast iron was virtually unweldable by any method, let alone Sif Bronze!

I have seen references to mig welding of cast iron which had a lot of caveats, which I take to be an unreliable method. I will certainly give Bronze "welding" a try, although I am a bit of a doubting Thomas!! But then again I am always amazed at my lack of knowledge in these matters! That is why I keep asking questions in the Beginners Forum.

Andrew.

Thanks gentlemen,

I do appreciate all the inputs that you give. It is really good to have such a formidable resource to hand when you are operating on your own.

A lot of written wisdom assumes that you have the basics under your belt, so quite often I find the written explanations to be wanting (or rather I am wanting!). Now I would never have thought of using a three corner file on the crests of the thread. Must be my age showing!

Thanks again,

Andrew.

I seem to be monopolising the beginners section, so apologies for another post!

I was cleaning up my tailstock this afternoon (ML7) and the handwheel parted company from its boss! Further inspection revealed that it had been glued together with some form of cyano! The breaks are in the centre of each of the three "spokes".

Now tailstock handwheels seem to be quite rare on Ebay (you have to buy a complete tailstock to get the wheel). So a replacement isn't going to be easy to source unless I buy the complete tailstock.

Any idea of how I could repair the handwheel. I suppose I could clean up the breaks and use some form of Loctite, but I am not sure how long this would last. I am baffled as to how to do a mechanical repair, the spokes are quite thin and flat and don't seem to lend themselves to an easy repair method

Thanks in advance,

Andrew.

Hello John,

If you use a tool ground for 8tpi for a smaller thread, then the rounded formed shoulders of the tool never come into contact with the crest of the pitch. So you have a rounded transition at the bottom of the thread and triangular finish on the crests.

Is this what people put up with for the finer pitches?

Thanks Raymond, for letting me know that thread form inserts are widely available. I have not seen such things in my present incarnation as a model engineer. Obviously not looked in the correct places. I will shortly be buying some insert holders for my ML7 , so 6 to 8mm square. What type of inserts do you use. There are so many different types and I assume quality that I may as well buy insert holders and inserts that are recommended by some one on the forum. I don't want to relearn the wheel! help here any one?

Thanks again,

Andrew.

I can just about make a passable threadform tool for 8tpi, but how on earth do you make such tools for smaller threads. Can you buy such things these days?

Or do you simply use a large pointed tool and forget about such niceties as thread profile? Triangular threads make me flinch!

Andrew.

Thanks Everyone!

A great help and even metric change wheels too!

Andrew.

I seem to have only half a dozen change wheel on my Myford ML7. From memory I seem to remember that there were 14 changewheels for an Imperial set. I have tried to work out what these should be. It is good practice at setting up the various threads per inch. However I cannot work out all the threads per inch. I have worked out 7 pitches, but I may have made an error or two and cannot work out all the pitches anyway!

So can you please tell me what comprise the Myford set of 14 changewheels?

Thanks in advance,

Andrew.

I seem to have raised some interest as to why I want 5 backplates for an ML7 lathe. It is pretty simple, one 6" independent 4 jaw. Two 4" three jaw chucks (one precision Pratt Burnered for best and a tatty TOS one for rough stuff!). A three (soft) jaw chuck (invaluable when you need one!). Finally a Pratt Burnered six jaw precision chuck for delicate rings (mainly optical stuff).

The above collected over the years for the happy day when I could get started again!

Andrew.

Thank you gentlemen!

I am glad you told me to cut the thread in the lathe. I must admit to being almost brain dead to even think I could tap it! That is precisely why I use the beginners forum. I don't mind making a fool of myself here! I think I shall purchase the backplates, I am not sure I could get the register absolutely correct.

Just as a matter of interest, why does everyone use cast iron for backplates? There must be a good reason, but right now I can't think of one.

Thanks everyone,

Andrew.

I have 5 chucks that need backplates for use on my ML7 refurbishment project.

I note that Tracy Tools do a tap for the Myford backplate thread for not a lot of cash. Now I have done hundreds of tapped holes over the years, but never anything near as big as this!

Now 5 backplates ready tapped will cost well over £100, while the tap is around £20 from memory. Providing I can get the raw material at a reasonable price (steel or cast iron ?). It may make economic sense to make my own backplates.

I suppose it depends on the cost of the raw materials. What do the experts think

Hello Matty,

I will buy your cutoff slide if you want to sell!

Regards,

Andrew.

When I have my ML7 restored, I need to make a large number of a particular item. A capstan lathe would be an ideal solution, but I don't have one!

Which type of turret would suit the ML7 best? A 2MT, capstan style turret for the tailstock or the Myford horizontal style turret that goes on the carriage?

The Myford style turret would seem to be by far the easiest one to make, but are there any snags in using it? I don't want to make the effort of constructing one, only to find there are snags in using it! Comments please?

Andrew.

Hello Mike,

Thanks for the heads up on the Myford collets. I seem unable to PM you to give my thanks, so this is about the only way I can contact you!

Andrew.

Hello Dallas,

Now what do I do? I reckon I have 10 years left so do I just keep the lead screw clean (plus the half nuts!) and let my heirs worry about lead screw wear? Or do I take up your offer of keeping a lookout for something suitable on your next toyshop visit?

If you do spot something suitable let me know and I will send the necessary shekels!

Best wishes,

Andrew.

Thanks everyone for your help, Why is it that I can't think of even the simple answers like the drilled hole, bore and then use a swiss file on the half moon left? I fear that I don't have the muscles left to do a lot of filing!

Simon, many thanks for your kind offer, I live in Rutland so I fear it would be a postal job! I would prefer to make up a slotting tool , because A/ it will expand my number of tools and B/ it will give me much needed experience as a retread.

So it looks like a toss up between the Ian Bradley slotter and that from Mikes Workshop, oh and the College Engineering casting set.

Which of the many Ian Bradley books is this described in? I have a few of them and maybe this is where I saw the design.

Andrew

Going through an old cupboard, I found a rusty heap of change wheels. It is an odd collection as nowheel has the number of teeth on it, but for example 9-10 mm.

They are the same tooth size as Myfords and also thickness ties up. The bore is considerably smaller than the Myford bore.

I was thinking of boring them to Myford size and using them. The only snag is the keyway. How do you do this with the limited range of tools that I have at present. Basically an ML10 and most of the attachments for an ML7. I can think of ways to do the job but not with the kit I have available.

I did come across a slotting device which can be made (this one for an ML7). However I have no idea where I saw it. Can anyone help? I wouldn't mind making one up, I do miss my big power shaper!

Andrew.

I have used shellac for turning small parts on the faceplate of my Bolley watchmakers lathe for many years without a failure.

I would not use cyano glue. I am an aeromodeller and used cyano for a while, I have stopped using it because even the best, in date cyano produces a brittle joint. Any shock load and it breaks. Shellac on the other hand tends to give a little under shock loads and returns to its original position.

Andrew.

Thanks gentleman,

Plenty of good ideas there and also some issues that had not occurred to me. I like the sound of the modified steel rule. Ok it does not cover the leadscrew completely, but it is an excellent 90% solution, far better than nothing at all.

Neils duster sounds a good idea too. I will mull all the suggestions over and stick the nail in the wall!

Thanks again,

Andrew.

Further to my ML7 restoration, I am hoping to find some sort of concertina bellows to protect the leadscrew.

I need to make my ML7 last as long as I do!

Thanks,

Andrew.

Thanks Kwil!

No fool like an old fool, why didn't I think of that! Obvious when I think about it.

Andrew.