Richard

Howard is absolutely right but it's possible to interpret his instructions as "The thread is a bit tight and if you can scrape it out a bit it will fit better"

The fit of the chuck, both alignment and concentricity, is determined by the register (The parallel part behind the thread ) and not by the thread itself. So the thread is only there to keep the register engaged and stop the chuck falling off.

So it does not matter much if the thread is a bit of a loose fit as it screws on, it will tignten up as the register engages.. So feel free to poke about and scrape about inside the backplate with whatever you have to see if you can remove a bit of metal and any burrs etc to enable the backplate to screw on. Try not to damage the register.

Failing that, return it to the supplier as not fit for purpose and see if that wakes them up.

Rod

William,

Yes I get that, but the slope determines the rake which in turn has a big effect on the quality of the cut. Have you tried packing the blade to get it near center height without needing that slope? You have try to picture the set up as "seen" by the work, which is not easy to visualise at first. Good luck.

Rod

There was a recent thread on this issue recently, see "Parting off Problem" which seemed to cover all aspects. Also I can't make entire sense of the photos. Is the OP using the wrong end of the parting off blade or is the blade sloping "down" towards the work when it should be either level or sloping"up"? Everything is upside down on rear toolposts, of course,

Rod

Or perhaps the parting off blade is not square to the lathe axis or it's mounting is loose.

Rod

As well as the usual pressed steel lazy susan bearings there are better quality ones based on two alloy rings with stainless steel ball bearings between, such as these below, from Amazon. I used one of these, and an old alloy pan, to make a rotating plier holder as seen on Steve's bench on "The Repair Shop", and it seems quite smooth and precise for such a purpose. I acknowledge the methods of cutting the grooves listed in the posts above but share Jason B's concern about the difficulty of holding a thin and possibly flexible ring without distorting it unless one has a 6 jaw chuck or other special equipment.

Lazy Susan Rotating Aluminium Metal Round Circular Turntable Bearing 140mm 5.5 inch Heavy Duty

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Hi Derek

Looks a useful thing for lifting but expensive.

If you have the height in your shop, an engine lifting crane is usually cheaper to buy,( or easier to borrow) and it can lift from the floor. Some can be dismantled to take up less space when not in use. For moving, a strong, low level trolley can be made from boards and castors.

Rod

Hi all

I have a Record number 4 vice on a swivel base, so similar to but slightly bigger than Journeyman's, and of similar age. I do use the swivel usually only to get a position at right angles to the usual position. This makes it much easier to file or saw along the length of a workpiece. I can't remember ever wanting to fix the vice at any other angle, so perhaps the alternate holes schemes of Clive and AJW would be a usable alternative to a swivel base - I suspect it would need to be quick and easy to make the change or it would never get used! The ideal might be a vice mounted on the corner of a bench which can be approached from 2 directions.

I accept Clive's other points about the swivel base not being quite as strong as direct mounting to the bench but I find mine quite rigid enough for ordinary filing and sawing work. These are cast iron vices and so not really suitable for heavy hammering for which a steel vice is much stronger. I share the concern about the relative quality of the cast iron used in some new vices compared to the older made in Sheffield ones.

Rod

Acrylic is said to go opaque after some years of contact with cutting fluids.

Many thanks for the additional help on this.

Emgee, thanks for the pointer to Joe Pi's home page information, I will search through it.

As Buffer says, someone has missed the point which, as I understand it, is that though a rigid industrial lathe may take off 20 thou when you dial it in, a less rigid hobby lathe is more likely to take off 19 or 21 thou, and Joe's method of multiple cuts enables one to compensate for this so the final size is near enough.

Rod

Thanks for the input everyone.

Martin, thanks for that, I will check my history.

Old Mart, yes that is the idea that Joe was advocating, with measurement of actual diameter ( using a tenths reading mechanical mic) at several stages to avoid the long creep up to "damn, it's under-size, and the finish is not good!" Thanks for the idea of using inserts intended for aluminium to take small cuts.

Andrew, yes I am sure you are right but I tend to use low carbon mild steel more than most other materials.

Tony, I can't remember exactly what Joe said but he normally works to sub one thou sort of accuracy, seems good enough for most model work. When I said exactly, I should perhaps have said near enough but that might have started a different debate.

Tim , I am fairly sure it was Joe, I am not familiar with Stefan's work but I will try to find the video you refer to.

Rod

Hi all

Any fans of Joe Pie on the forum?

I was watching one of his youtube lectures a few weeks ago and now I can't find it again. Joe was explaining how to use a "3 near identical cuts" method to turn stock to an exact diameter using a carbide tip, and get a good finish at the same time.

It's well known that a carbide tip will only cut well if it has a decent depth of cut. So the usual amateur method, when using HSS, of taking finer and finer cuts as one approaches the final size does not work at all well when using a carbide tip.

I was impressed by his method but now I can't find the video again to check I am doing it correctly! Is there a list or even an index to these things?

Any suggestions of how to find the one mentioned, I can't remember the title.

Thanks

Rod

Despite the sales pitches, anything thin is likely to be a poor thermal insulator though it may make a good vapour barrier.

.The best insulator is air but it needs to be trapped in something porous or fibrous to stop convection currents taking the heat away. And there needs to be a reasonably thick layer of it, 2-4 inches perhaps, more is better. Loft insulation material is likely to be the most cost effective easily available insulation.

Conventional wisdom suggests:

If your shed is timber framed, then vapour barrier ( suggest thick, 5000 gauge, polythene but other products are available) fixed to the inside of the frame, and then covered with ply etc to screw shelves to.

And loft insulation wedged in the spaces within the framework,

Then builders' (breathable) paper ( which is waterproof but not water vapour proof), fastened to the outside of the frame.

And then the outer cladding.

Then if any water does get into the insulation, it can dry out through the builders' paper and the cladding.

Rod

+1 for Bazyle's input on firebricks.

The insulating ones seem expensive per brick, but you don't need that many. They are fragile, and can be cut to size with an old woodworker's handsaw. It's quite a good idea to use a pizza oven shelf, which is strong and hard and heat resisting but not that insulating, to use as a working surface on top of the firebricks that form the base of the hearth, to take the wear.

Rod

See photos of my brazing hearth made for me by the Iron Dwarf who advertises cooking ranges and related items for medieval re-eneactors on eBay. His charge for the steel parts was very reasonable and firebricks are readily available.

Rod

There was an item on tthe newly opened British Normandy Landings memorial in France on Radio 4 this morning, Should be available on BBC Sounds ( About 9.30 am?)

I have a 5 inch sine bar and have used it a very few times.

I am intrigued by Mark Rand's description of the Hardinge double sine bar .I cannot see why the slips would tend to get squeezed out of a conventional sine bar when they are held betwen a flat and a tangent to the roller- which tends to a flat at the point of contact. There is a limit to the size of the angle which a particular sine bar can be set up for, determined by the amount of metal cut away to give clearance near the roller but I would have tthought that would equally apply to a "double" sine bar.

Rod

+1 for markings on sheets of Marine ply as Sandgrounder notes. also Marine ply is made of hardwood plies which are heavier than the softwoods typically used in exterior ply, the surface plies of marine ply are usually smooth rather than the rougher finish on exterior ply and there are more ( thinner) plies.Typically the outer plies in marine ply are a mahogany type hardwood which has a darkish reddish colour with fewer knots, compared with the paler and knottier appearance of exterior ply. So chalk and cheese really, big difference in price too!

Rod

Howard T makes a good point about gripping a stub of something round in the back of the soft jaws while machining them to fit a job.

However if the job is a ring, and the jaws will grip it by pressing outwards on the inside of the job, then for the task of machining the jaws to fit the work, the round stub needs to be replaced by a ring. The ring goes around the outside of the set of soft jaws so that the jaws will be pressed outwards ( to take up any slack in the scroll) rather than inwards. I hope this is clear, it does make sense when you think about it.

The idea of keeping lots of numbered sets of soft jaws works very well. Soft jaws are essentially sacrificial items but the more sets you have the more likely you are to have a set which is nearly right. And the less you have to machine off to get a fit for a new job, so they last a long time.

Rod

There is no actual essential need or virtue in having the lathe level except that it makes it easier to fit and align accesories etc. They use lathes on ships after all. The need is to get any twist out of the bed, which you seem to have done. Acid test is does the lathe turn parallel? You can do intial tests with a test bar which fits in the headstock mandrel and final teats turning 2 bobbins on a piece of steel held in the chuck, and check they are the same diameter.

Rod

intersting thread.

There is a mention that the stump is still trying to grow. I have had some sucess from banging copper nails ( as used by boatbuliders) in tree stumps to stop further growth. I think the heavy metal poisons the remaining wood but I am not clear if it speeds up or hinders the rotting process.

Rod