Member postings for Sam Longley 1

Changing the subject a bit ( apologies to OP) i noticed that he cut a circular indent in the steel

Probably a dead silly question but:

Forget clamping or material thickness for now - but how would one cut ,say, a 30mm diam sinking of only a couple of mm in the face of a flat steel. Would the method be to clamp in a faceplate & cut on a lathe or is there a way to get a circular shape that is not very deep with a non cad mill when the diameter exceeds end mill cutter diam

For example I might want to use the indent to locate something in a precise position but not have a hole right through

Edited By Sam Longley 1 on 20/03/2016 07:56:09

Edited By Sam Longley 1 on 20/03/2016 07:56:39

thanks John

That is what i wanted to hear. I know i can buy reinforcing steel but when i had tonnes of it ( contractor) i found much of it difficult to turn in that it was poor quality. I suspect anything i make with this steel can be re hardened & give a good wearing product

Being a beginner I have not built up a scrap box yet & I need a cheap source of metal to practice on. Annually I purchase a 1 tonne pallet of 19mm diam long link chain which I sell for moorings. I have to cut into short lengths so I end up with lots of half links. I have noticed that if I cut the links on one side each time I get a length of near straight steel about 3.25 inches long.*3/4 diam

I tried turning a piece but it is very hard & the best tool for cutting seems to be tungsten tipped tools

The chain is specified as C30 carbon steel & in manufacture gets welded at the join. ( I cut my piece from the opposite side to the weld) so has some form of heat treatment in manufacture

What my beginner question is - If I go ahead & build a forge ( I have been thinking of having a go at casting aluminium) could I heat the steel & anneal it to make it softer , or will it always remain hard due to the carbon content?

In the construction industry we would not call that tube but either RHS ( round hollow section) or SHS (square hollow section ) etc etc -we certainly would not call it tube in the context you suggest

I cannot recall ever using  the term "square tube" in the construction of structural units. Although I admit we would refer to "tubular structures" in context of describing components in  lattice roofs etc made from hollow sections

Edited By Sam Longley 1 on 06/03/2016 16:41:31

Edited By Sam Longley 1 on 06/03/2016 16:41:58

Edited By Sam Longley 1 on 06/03/2016 16:44:43

You have clearly never used copper pipe for plumbing where ( for instance) you have table X,Y or underground ( think that is it - its been a long time) all with different wall thickness but the same external diameter to suit a standard copper fitting. Changing to wavin flow plastic pipe the outside diam is kept at the same outer dimension as equivalent copper ( ie 15mm etc) but the wall thickness is greater

So that blows your theory out the water

But as the Monty Python team said ", try telling kids of today that-- they will never believe you !!!!"

Edited By Sam Longley 1 on 06/03/2016 16:31:38

When I first read the post i assumed that the 44 was a miss print & you meant 440mm not 44. Hence my reply was not relevant. Apologies

Edited By Sam Longley 1 on 06/03/2016 07:42:15

Our local junkie always seems to have a straw stuffed up his nose. Never seen him with a tube!!!

Are you describing plummer blocks & shaft

If so then as a starter try http://www.arvis.co.uk/products.php?product=33

then start googling around that

I do recall seeing saw table sets years ago which had a shaft mounted on 2 plummer blocks & machined to take pulley one end & sawblade the other. Try J & M Belts or a bearing supplier & they may be able to source a suitable set

Being a builder I have always referred to scaffolding as tube, as do most scaffolders. Scaffolders rarely call them poles. To support my earlier claim i used to have a lot of scaffold tube that had a butt joint instead of a seam. Have not seen any for years though

You have just confirmed it - seamless is pipe

Jointed or just butted at manufacture is tube

It is to do with manufacture. tube has a seam - albeit welded after manufacture- pipe is extruded

So your copper pipe is extruded & your steel pipe will have either a butt joint or a welded seam

I had to machine 8 UJ's for my moulding machine in my workshop. They each took drives from 3 HP electric motors so were larger than yours I expect. they came with 10mm holes & had to be increased to 15mm with a woodruf key slot

I had nothing to do the key slot so tried a bodge which may be of use to you if you have to put in a key slot.

I worked out where the circumfrence of the hole came & on the circle I centred a 10mm drill & bored a hole.

When I drilled out the 15mm hole ( may have been 18mm memory a bit slow these days) I was left with a semi- circular slot/groove . The woodruff key in the motors stood up about 5 mm so by grinding a round on that half of the key I was able to assemble it. The machine worked daily for the next couple of years machining 1000's metres of timber.

For the model engineer it must be easier to broach the slot if partially cut out. One would only be taking the corners out of the groove. I mention this because I have never seen it written before & expect that it could be adapted on UJ's with the full hole already cut by sticking a sacrificial plug in the hole & drilling down the join to get the same effect.

I expect that the purist will sigh, but it saved me blowing £ 30K for a new moulder for 2 years !!!!

Have you tried a bent coat hanger through the window rubber to hook the door lock. I used a fence wire once & hooked the one on the OPPOSITE side as you can get more of an angle to stop the wire slipping off. Or an icing knife ( nick that from the missus) down the side of the passenger window

Why not see if you can find a door in a breakers & see how the lock works so you know here to hook it. May even get a diagram off the internet.

If it is a 4 door then the rear passenger door may be the one to try as that may have easier access as most thieves go for the driver's door & manufacturers make that part the hardest to access if they can. Are the rear windows electric or manual?

Can you get something in the side door between glass & metal & force the window mechanism rather than the lock so the window drops down an inch

Have you got underneath & looked to see if the rad comes out so you can access the bonnet catch

How does the headlight glass come out? can you get access to the engine compartment & get a jump lead on the battery from there

Edited By Sam Longley 1 on 02/03/2016 17:45:51

Edited By Sam Longley 1 on 02/03/2016 17:47:01

Yes your honour

Still the cheapest & quickest way out though. Would have been in the car & driving by now !!!!

Has anyone considered that the OP may not actually own the car but just wants to nick it?????

That would leave egg on the forums face I suspect

Just stick a brick through the front windscreen & claim a new one on the insurance policy

(Wind screen that is - not brick)

I have a set of milling cutters & chuck for my Warco 250MV. purchased direct from Warco. as part of the lathe package

I cannot see similar cutters ( part cut out flange on the end opposite the cutting end) on any other web site & wonder if the Warco chuck etc that I bought is a Warco only item & I cannot buy cutters & collets elsewhere

Does any one know what sort of cutter they are - ie is there a special description for them & who sells them other than Warco

In the same vein the carbide inserts on the set of indexible tooling they sold me do not seem as good as an old indexible tool tips that I used with my last lathe. Are the tips interchangeable with other makes & if so can anyone tell me what code etc I should be looking for & if any other makes of tip will improve performance

Any help much appreciated

Edited By Sam Longley 1 on 28/02/2016 20:59:33

Edited By Sam Longley 1 on 28/02/2016 21:00:30

Edited By Sam Longley 1 on 28/02/2016 21:02:13

Mine are marked HSS but I assume that there are percentages of colbalt etc in the composition of tool steel

Seems I will have to make a holder for a 20mm blade & hope that the planer steel is OK. I cannot see exactly how to test safely without holding them on edge. Excessive grinding might not be good thing although I do not really know.

Any ideas how to test it first before I source some steel & make a holder

Edited By Sam Longley 1 on 27/02/2016 20:13:29

Just checked my Sealey bench pillar drill. This has a rack for the table which is about 15 inches long although the rack part is 9 inches & same tooth pitch as yours. Other dims the same.

It is a loose fitting that is held in a ring at the base & another at the top. It rotates around the pillar as the table is moved from side to side

This would lead me to suggest that you look at a Sealey floor standing model rather than a bench one & you may be able to buy a long rack as a spare part. You may even find that Clarke do a similar thing

I have found a bundle of old HSS planer blades. I also have some serated backed moulding cutters about 8mm thick & 70mm * 70mm

Would they be the same steel as HSS cutters used in a lathe?

The planer blades are 3mm & vary 20-35 wide * 600mm long & would make cutoff blades if I ground the sharp splay off & clamped in a holder