Member postings for OuBallie

Joe,

Someone trying to get us to pronounce it as they do down under maybe.

Geoff - Worshop tidying process speeding up.

Edited By JasonB on 10/12/2013 19:43:22

Thank you J.

Appreciate your comments Bear, tks.

Will give your suggestion a try Colin, and report back.

Geoff - Workshop heater turned on so need to wait for it to warm up. Cold workshop & I do not get on well together.

The header should be:

Drilling machine vice hold down bolts.

Can one of the moderators add the extra word please?

Geoff - We can edit contents but not headers once posted, any reason why not?

That's bolts for the vice. Finger problems on my part.

My Mitco drilling machine has a table with T-slots, but, the issue that had been a real PITA has been the method I was using to secure the vice.

As can be seen in the photos, Mitco drilling machine album, I used a cap head screw into the T-nut, with shouldered nut fastening down onto the vice.

During November I cried enough is enough, as every time I needed to move the vice, the cap screw would tilt when loosened, causing the T-nut to tilt as well and dig into the table thus preventing me moving the vice easily.

Longer T-nuts would have solved the tilting, but not the need to use a spanner, and in any case, there was no way of getting longer T-nuts in.

The BH600G lathe amongst many other machines, has a level operated locking screw for the Cross-slide, and this looked the ideal solution, and so it's proven to be.

All that's now needed is a 1/4 turn to either loosen or tighten, with the non-threaded section a close fit in the vice slot, so no more tilting.

The T-nut's leading/trailing edges have been chamfered as a precaution against them digging in, so they now slide in the T-slots without jamming up, but they no longer tilt as before.

There is no way of getting across the absolute pleasure those two small metal assemblies have made to using the drilling machine now.

Next to receive this treatment will be the lathe Saddle locking bolt, and any others I can find.

Geoff - Organizing the workshop is going to take me far far longer than I planned.

Edited By OuBallie on 06/12/2013 14:40:44

You had a lucky escape there!

Reminds me of the day not long ago when I put my palm down onto a spinning circular saw and felt/heard a ripping sound.

No sympathy whatsoever from other half, she being a nurse.

No pain whatsover. Still can't believe it.

1.1/2" gash and five stitches, and the only pain was from the injections prior to being stitched up.

Luckily the saw ripped into the fleshy heel opposite the thumb.

Even now I shudder when thinking how the outcome would have been so different, if the saw had been only an inch further towards my wrist.

Geoff - Started to get workshop organized, something I've been promising myself for ages (years actually)

Ian,

Your suggestion works.

Does that mean it needs a far more sensitive IR diode? If so, how do you specify it?

My qualifications are all with HV, with bits and bytes just making an appearance when I left the profession.

Other half said the ladies where waving their hands in front of the inbuilt sensor to activate it.

Progress is being made, with thanks to all the help received.

Geoff - Washing down and hung

Russell,

I have tried both, but with little success.

The Gods are telling me something I think, along the lines of "Do you really really want that grief back in your life?"

Cannot remember the last time I booted up Vista, as I've found Apple software quite adequate for my needs now, as I'm no longer involved in the design of websites/newsletters, thank goodness.

Geoff - Getting head round iOS 7

Deleted the duplicated post.

Geoff - Finger problems?

Edited By OuBallie on 02/12/2013 08:08:44

MichaelG and Les,

Thank you both for the links.

Neil,

Will take you up on your offer please, with thanks.

Robert,

Have one of those, and concur with what Neil says about holding it.

I need an on demand, brain power produced, force field type third hand, that some of the people in the scifi novel I'm reading have, and use to great effect.

Geoff - and they live for hundreds of years to boot.

All the Windows problems that are appearing is making me feel nostalgic

After coming out of hospital January 2007 and back into what I can only describe as Windows XP grief, I took the plunge and bought an iPod.

Well what can I say, except that the 'halo' effect proved to be true, as a couple of months later, after I had recovered enough from the op, I decided life was just too frigging short and bought a MacBook, and soon afterwards a MacPro, after the revelation of OS X compared with Windows.

To use a system that is rock solid is a pleasure, and NO I'm not a 'fanboy', I just appreciate something that 'just works' as intended.

I do have the Pro dual boot with Vista to run Serif software, but that is a pain, even on that superheated machine.

Would not now voluntarily go back to MS, and in fact, I have both XP and Win2000 laptops I haven't booted up in about 4 years. I just dread the grief I know I'll get from Windows.

As you can surmise, my experience of Windows has not been trouble free.

I so pity new businesses having to get new computers with W8 on them!

Time for my tablets - Nurse!

Geoff - In recovery mode after eating far too much yesterday. It was very lekker though!

Neil,

Cheesy works for me.

Did you etch the PCBs?

Would be interested in the tacho you are doing, as I've tried the push bike speedo variety without much success, no doubt due to not putting in the correct wheel dimension.

Bought a Galaxy Tab3 and fitted a rubber BobjGear Michelin Man style case that is perfect for a workshop environment.

Installed the TouchDROHD app that will do what I want, but probably not for industrial use.

Details to follow once parts arrive for the interface box and also when I've decided what scales to use.

Geoff - Killing time before SHMBO & I head of for a mid-day Chinese meal in newly refurbished emporium.

Thanks for looking Steve.

Will give that a try Ian.

Geoff - Hopefully workshop time today

Update.

Have tried three photodiodes:

Two with a dark 'lens' one being IR Filtered but they only work when a bright light is aimed at them

The third has a clear lens that works when light is interrupted.

It appears to need a proximity/movement sensor of some sort.

Ready to file this in the Lost Cause folder and just let her indoors operate it manually, BUT I will be in credit with her if I can get it to work properly

More photos added.

Geoff - A week wasted with nothing done.

Oops, sorry Les, that post was meant for Paul.

I like it John, and that will work a treat with my Kodak camcorder.

Watched your video when I read the 'screw cutting made easy' thread.

Geoff - Bad night so taking it easy today.

Martin,

Dream away

Oh, I munch on DIY 70% Jumbo Oat Crunchies.

Geoff - I'm being distracted from sausage making

Thanks for the comments Bear.

I've been wanting to make YouTube videos for some time now, but never plucked up the courage to do so, and the universal problem of positioning the camera/s put me off as well.

Now, however, there is no excuse thanks to the SkyHook design from 'doubleboost' so yes, I shall be doing videos as and when I am doing something interesting, be it ME or working on the Austin Seven.

The first will be taking the lathe's Apron off again, but I need to make a second SkyHook beforehand.

Will keep everyone updated.

Geoff - Sausages here I come.

Les,

Lester is working on a PCB for the MPS430 version. My names down for them.

Paul,

Hope you will be doing a follow-up post once you have fitted the system.

Sausage making day today, and yes, that includes Boerewors. Skins have been soaking overnight.

Geoff - Multi talented am I.

When I saw the Sky Hook that 'doubleboost' showed in his YouTube video, I sat upright in the recliner and thought what a brilliant solution to the problem of tripping over tripods and the space they take up.

I then said to myself:

"I can adapt that to run in the OverheadCrane Unistrut I'd recently put up!"

Then the normal process of thrashing out ideas before the final design was reached.

Eventually I came up with that shown in the photos, but not without grief with regards the new length of Unistrut I fitted above the workbench.

The uprights that had the pins in them, that slide along the inside of the Unistrut, where dimensioned as the OverheadCrane, BUT the new Unistrut was either a reject or it had need extruded beyond acceptable limits as I couldn't get the uprights to fit!

I had to grind the tops of said uprights right down to the pins before they would slide along, so that precluded the use of roller bearings. Not a deal breaker, just not so easy to move along that's all.

I already had a few lengths of pipe I used as rollers to position the machines, but just needed a slightly larger outer tube.

Fortunately there is a gold mine scrap/parts hoarder/dealer close by who had what I needed, as well as longer lengths for the Carport SkyHooks to be added later.

Machining and assembly where straight forward, but the only design limitation, on mine at least, soon showed up when on first test as I couldn't get the thing to lock securely.

The thin contact point between the LockingShaft and InnerTube just didn't cut the mustard, so a solution was sorely needed. It is just a plug of aluminum with a concave machined in one end to match the InnerTube diameter, and loosely held in place by a pin to the LockingShaft.

It now locks with less than a 1/4 turn on the LockingShaft.

I now need to make a second one, so that I can do multiple videos, but need to practice using it/them before taking a video of the BH600G Apron being removed to replace the parts I mangled.

I'm very pleased with the design, and can now pack the tripods away.

Did think of adding a quick release base to the camera bracket, but ditched that as its quick and easy to swop cameras.

Hope it inspires others to adapt 'doubleboost's' design.

Geoff - Photos up in Album of same name as thread.

There's always one in the classroom

Geoff - Trying to ignore the smart*****