Member postings for Russ B

The saddles on these things are very low profile and seem to get thinner and thinner in terms of meat on their bones, I wouldn't be overly surprised if you tightening the two front screws to lock the x axis is causing the Y ways to bow slightly.

Just to clarify, i think the weakest point of the saddle will run right to left where the cutout is for the X screw, I seem to recall it gets down to sort of 1/4" steel thickness which means load is transferred across the thicker Y dovetails below.

Next question.... how tight is tight? I only nip mine, a good squeeze with a screwdriver sort of tightness, I wouldn't use an allen key or spanner to gain any leverage.

Edited By Russ B on 05/06/2019 11:46:12

I remember picking up a centre punch from the car boot tool man for 99p..... I remember thinking how hard could it be to get a centre punch wrong..... I'll chance it for 99p.....

it lasted 20 seconds, blunt after the first hit, domed after the second and bent on the third...... I was only using a small tapping hammer!!

Ed,

How about using a 110v transformer and a rotary switch to run through the 110v or bypass it. This keeps your CAP running at the correct frequency for the phase shift

This spring disintegrating reminds me of changing brake fluid types on my trails bike, technically both compatible as per the manufacturers recommendation, however the change in PH caused the spring to disintegrate.

i would have guessed repeated use with a toolpost grinder without protecting the bed

Sounds like you're speaking from experience there

Useful comments here, I need to strip my Myford VM-C to change the bearings, although I'm having a bit of difficulty finding the plain thrust bearing at the bottom (NTN 2907) - I prefer not to order online as there seem to be a lot of fake bearings around.

I was also considering doing away with the thrust altogether and fittings a pair of angular contacts top and bottom, but I'm not sure what I'd gain, if anything. If it isn't broken.... etc......

I used a company on ebay called Paints4trade, very knowledgeable, they can make anything you want. You can also get Toluene and other useful solvents for cleaning really stubborn grease/grime stains.

The enamel paint I bought was specifically for plant and machinery and was Xylene based. Just go easy on the Xylene and Toluene as they are a bit toxic, affects the nervous systems etc. Well ventilated area needed!

Tractol is a Xylene based enamel paint too.

Edited By Russ B on 20/03/2019 08:13:15

LandyLift

I've used him several times for machines including a series 1 Bridgeport which was a task and a half. Affordable, very hard working.

Ron,

Sorry for the delay. I was out in the garage today and can confirm when the saw is lowered to horizontal the blade is about 5 or 6mm above the vice, thus the pivot point is obviously a but high. This means the saw has to be lowered further than it should reducing the depth capacity by about that much. I few simple spacers under the vice will resolve this, a slightly longer bolt and nut between the vice and stand would probably be a very adequate quick solution, albeit a bit unrefined.

On the plus side, you can fit a larger vice!! I'll roughly measure the actual height of the pivot point next time im in there which will tell us how high of a vice we can make/mount.

I'm in doncaster if anyone wants to have a go with the Aldi bandsaw.

There are a few minor things like the vice, but at £150 all in, it is an incredible amount of usefulness for the money - a good vice would cost £150 on its own?

Edited By Russ B on 08/03/2019 09:32:42

The best built quality old english lathe in the country won't give you any better results if its worn out or incorrectly set up. The latter can be rectified almost cost free, the former is a bit trickier, assessing a old lathe and determining how much falls in to each of the above two categories is key.

One thing with the old Myford 7's (super and ML) is the flat bed is easy to measure, it should be off the top of my head, 1/2" out the factory. If you give the shears a dam good scrubbing with solvent and make sure they're sparkling, it's very easy to compare the thickeness at the tailstock to the thickness at the spindle end, giving you a very quick idea of the sort wear the bed has. The white metal spindle bearings on the ML7 are irreplaceable, requires a new spindle and bearings to rectify, so make sure there are no issues with that and you're good to go.

I have an ML7 that I had every intention of refurbishing (rebuild, repaint, and I think the belt guard might be missing) -no idea what condition the bed or spindle is in. I've got 4 lathes and an 8 month old daughter, they don't go together very well, if you're near doncaster let me know, i might let it go cheap.

Never had a boxford but always fancied one, they look really nice.

I have Kennedy Hexacut and have just sold my Blackgates Power Hacksaw.

I'm now using this and absolutely love it, £150 delivered from Aldi of all places, 5" capacity off the top of my head. It is primarily a free hand saw but it comes with a stand and produces very accurate cuts and also rotates to cut mitres, the blade is variable speed so you can adjust it to suit but i think is mostly a gimmik, I just run it on minimum all the time.

workzone-240v-portable-bandsaw

A few caveats,

• the cam mechanism on the vice jaw isn't amazing but it's sufficient.
• because this is primarily a free hand saw, when mounted in the stand the blade cuts towards you rather than away
• also, the flex also points towards you - it's not really a problem, just something you wouldn't encounter on a purpose built bandsaw.
• There is no hydraulic mechanism to drop the blade
• you have to keep your finger on the trigger.

Still, prefer it to the Kennedy and the Blackgates as it's quicker, quieter, smoother and more accurate - plus it comes in a nice blow mould case with blade storage that takes standard 1140mm bandsaw blades- Milwaukee manufacture 10, 14, 18 and 25 TPI bimetal blades (£19 for 3) as well as 10/14 and 14/18 variable pitch bimetal blades (£22 for 3) - the saw comes with a very nice M42 bi-metal blade as standard.

Edited By Russ B on 06/03/2019 13:24:13

I used this method to mount a coolant pump, which on its own, is COMPLETELY silent, you can't even tell its running, unless you put your hand on it. As soon as it's rigidly mounted there is humming sound that just resonates through the whole house, it is now completely silent again (I didnt use rubbers as big as the ones in the link obviously!)

Edited By Russ B on 28/02/2019 10:55:37

I would guess the majority of the sound will not be air borne, so sound deadening on the walls and floors won't do much.

Mount your machines stands on anti vibration motor mounts, this will be the main source of sound that is passed through the floors and in to the walls, shaking the whole building.

**LINK**

Just to be clear, I was not suggesting the cheap helmets give me arc eye?

I meant exactly what I said, they clearly give me headaches and sore eyes, like not wearing my glasses kind of eye strain. Granted, I might be using it for several hours but still, it is a sign of the protection difference.

Clive, I've got the FX not the XX, however the XX shares the same optics (there are 3 different versions of the glass). The FX has a lithium battery powered belt that filters and feeds fresh air in to the helmet and the welding front flips up to reveal a full face grinding shield.

I have 4 or 5 helmets, ranging from cheap fixed shade ESAB's to my £1200 3M 9100FX helmet with 9100XX glass.

Going from one end of the spectrum to the other, I find I get best visibility on the fixed shade glass! in my opinion, they seem to do a better job at blocking the arc without blocking so much light you can't see what you're doing. If you can used to starting blind it's the way to go especially on a budget.

I bought a £120 3M 100v series, great helmet but as above, despite being good quality, and my go to helmet actually, you can see more with the fixed shade, but its comfortable and quality.

I have just bought a 3M 9100FX helmet with 9100XX glass (its a modular system, you can get various different UV filters depending on budget). The auto darkening filter on this helmet is very different to the cheaper £130 100V, for a start when you turn it on, the shade changes immediately, so it's obviously using power to become clearer, when tinted it is also more clear the 100V, allowing me to see more of what's going on around my weld, more like the fixed shade helmet - it doesn't seem brighter, but somehow I can see more?

And finally, I also have a cheap Chinese helmet (ive had 2 actually, the current one was from Cromwell, the other was eBay) I wouldn't recommend them at all, they clearly give me headaches and sore eyes, I suspect the time they take to switch isn't any where near as fast as they claim and you get a bit of a flash each time you start, and possibly the UV protection isn't what it should be - I'm sure they claim to meet all the required standards but who actually checks, and who could be held to account. The one from Cromwell doesn't have a brand on it, I know it's their own brand but they aren't taking responsibility.

I'd happily have another £120 3M 100V although I haven't tried ESAB's offering for that price range so I can't say which is better.

I think you might find that motor is a direct replacement, ask the seller if he can roughly measure the square flange face on the motor and the shaft diameter - might just be a simple swap.

You lathe might also be the same but 250w to 350w ish - I'd put the new 500w motor on the lathe, and the lathe motor on the mill.

Just to make things complicated of course.....

Sorry Chris beat me to it

check the vee pulley hasnt siezed to the spindle ie. with the backgear disengaged, release the backgear key and check that the spindle is able to turn freely from the vee pulley or visa versa.

Check the back gear is also able to spin freely when disengaged with a suitable long pointy thing poke down into the bottom and spin the backgears on their shaft.

If they're both turning freely...... who knows

Edited By Russ B on 06/02/2019 12:39:43

I'm not just converting the drawing, this would be an entirely new set of drawings from scratch generated from 3D part and assembly files. It wouldn't be a straight 7/16" to 11mm conversion, I would use nominal sizes, whatever is cheaply available, I may even cheapen it off to more easily available "things" if I see fit.

I'd also be creating 3D printed items (certainly the gears for the drivetrain which I can accurately print from ABS and then make steel/aluminium copies as and when required (although it's far easier to just print another)

The original Jacobs machine (based on a prototype unit made by Tom Jacobs to demonstrate the process) was featured in Model Engineer from January to August 1976 and was fabricated not cast, intended to made at home, and then Helix Company made a set of castings some years after, followed by College Engineering Supplies, who also provided drawings.

Presumably, this is no different to what CES did when they created their drawings based on the original Jacobs hobbing machine?

I'm unsure who if anyone actually owns the design in principal, College Engineering Supplies clearly own the copyright for their own drawings, and Model Engineer magazine no doubt own copyright for the fabricated Jacobs unless used under licence from Tom Jacobs himself - or perhaps just accepted to free to use ??

I don't know?

What I want is for my drawings to be available to anyone free of charge, forever.