Member postings for Carl Wilson 4

Hi,

Thanks for the info, I missed that first time round. Always the same, as soon as you buy something, you find it cheaper somewhere else!

Hello,

Electric motor arrived today. Not received the inverter yet as it is being sent direct from the manufacturer.

I can get on with making an adaptor bush for the motor pulley group whilst I'm waiting.

Yes. Those who would seek to see model engineering as a closed world into which newcomers are not permitted. Without realising that is precisely these newcomers who assure the future continuation of their chosen pastime.

Hi Jason,

I agree wholeheartedly that minute attention to detail and getting things "just right" is a large part of  the pleasure to be derived from any sort of model making.

I wasn't attempting to denigrate this, rather I was commenting on those who sieze on what are often simple errors and then kick the backside out of them for the next 20 postings, rather than discussing the actual topic or question that was the real subject of the post. This happens here, HMEM, Model Engine Machinist...you name the forum. And you all know what I'm talking about here.

I also like to see correct spelling and punctuation (even if I don't always get it right myself!) My own personal bugbear are Americanisms in the English Language...but I wouldn't let this get in the way of a meaningful discussion.

In the words of Leonardo da Vinci:-

"Good literature proceeds from men of natural probity, and since one ought rather to praise the inception than the result, you should give greater praise to a man of probity unskilled in letters than to one skilled in letters but devoid of probity."

Edited By Carl Wilson 4 on 12/12/2013 12:49:30

Greetings,

It is an unfortunate fact that the model engineering fraternity is beset by a number of individuals who are plain and simple pedants. They lurk on this and other forums, and their sole pleasure in life comes from telling people what they can't do and what won't work. I am sure that these self regarding types would say of themselves that they "Do not suffer fools gladly".

Not knowing something does not make someone a fool. What seems simple and obvious to some may need to be explained in detail to others. Making the hobby a "closed shop" by not passing on information and knowledge to others is doing it a disservice.

Hi John,

Thanks for the information. The TECO drive I got was £117. I don't know when the WEG unit that Chris used was £70 plus VAT because it isn't now.

Carl.

I received my copy of the latest ME today. I read with interest Chris Hazel's account of the conversion of his Warco Mill to 220V 3 phase.

I have decided to do the same with my Chester Eagle 30 Mill. The WEG inverter and motor described in the article have lead times of upwards of 6 weeks. Accordingly, I have ordered a TECO E2 201 H1F 0.75kW inverter and a TECA 4 pole 1500 RPM 3 phase motor.

I will write up the conversion here.

Carl.

With regard to the item being made in Manchester and then marked up as "foreign"; perhaps the original owner was a Yorkshireman.

Hello,

Thanks for replying re the spec of the material. The armchair pundits will likely tell you that you have done it wrong. I suspect that there are a hard core of individuals who come on the forum purely for that reason.

Hello Chaps,

Michael:- Thank you for taking the time to post and for the information you gave. I have read the articles on the duplex stainless boiler, the link you gave was the one I included earlier. As you suggest I have been reading around this topic generally. My background is in the Aircraft industry and I am more than familiar with the need for avoiding sharp corners and other potential stress raising features.

Chris:- Very interesting reading your comments. Although in my previous life I was an Aircraft man, for the past ten years I have been involved in subsea intervention engineering and I am familiar with the use of duplex steels in this industry. I remember a particular job last year...we recovered a subsea control umbilical, which for the benefit of other readers is a subsea pipeline that is made up of many hydraulic and electrical lines used to control subsea wells. We brought the umbilical up from about 1800 metres of the coast of West Africa. A specialist team of guys had come from Duco to TIG weld the duplex stainless hydraulic tubing on the gooseneck (end fitting with multiple quick connects). They set up a habitat on the back deck of the vessel and had, as you say, difficulty in welding the tubes. I think this stemmed from the problem of getting backing gas inside the tube, and the fact that it was very hard to ensure the tube interior was free of the working fluid. I managed to get several films watched whilst they did it though, so it wasn't all bad. Was that you by any chance?

I'm interested in what you say about the increase in the ferrites with excessive heat input, and the use of nitrogen to help with the stress corrosion cracking. I take it you use some sort of nitrogen/argon combo?

I find it odd sometimes that people can be very reluctant to discuss a subject, and will instead by way of a reply "throw the book at you"...in this instance the boiler codes. So thanks to all who replied.

Carl.

Hello Fizzy,

Fantastic work. What is the spec of the steel you are using?

Thanks, Carl.

Hi Jason,

Thank you for the link. Fizzy's boiler is an excellent piece of work and gives the lie to the naysayers.

Hi Neil,

Indeed. A good point and well made. It seems to me that the second one utters the word "boiler" it is a cue for someone to quote chapter and verse from one code or another.

What I'd like to see is a meaningful and measured discussion about the subject based around what materials are available and their properties. The link I included is to a report on the duplex stainless boiler built in Australia. Fabrication techniques have moved on so far what with pulse TIG and so on. When it comes to something like this appearing in ME or MEW I'm not holding my breath. There are a lot of knowledgeable and experienced people here it seems to me. So I'm looking forward to opening this one out a bit. It may well be that the old maxims prove to be the best. I'm interested in finding out.

Afternoon gents and thank you for the comments.

Paul:- Thanks for going to the trouble to outline the Australian regulations. I'm intrigued as to why amateur welding has to be overseen by a professional. I would imagine that as part of the certification process the joints would have to undergo some form of NDT. If a joint is bad it will be so regardless of whether or not a professional welder watched someone do it. In the petrochemical industries, professional welders cut out and re-weld joints they have made all the time.

Stub:- "LOL", as I believe the young people say. As I recall this photo is of British and US Engineers dismantling a German experimental Nuclear Reactor at the end of World War 2.

Speaking of nuclear reactors, I believe they use duplex stainless in their "boilers". It seems that the 300 series (austenitic) stainless steels have too great an index of expansion. The cyclic heating and cooling is what leads to stress cracking in welded joints. It still looks to me like ferritic grades of stainless (400 series) could be useful for boiler construction.

With regard to duplex steels, look at this link:- **LINK**

This seems to me to be an innovative attempt to move things forward. That is what I am interested in hearing and learning about here. Not what should be done, but what could be done, taking into considerations the material properties and the end application. All thoughts welcome.

That is an interesting thought Bazyle. The biggest worry I have about these types of places is that those that run them are just not capable of seeing the intrinsic value of such artefacts. They look at a beautifully crafted model, or even a full size piece of engineering, and all they see is a dusty old collection of bits and pieces. As most of them are art graduates they also do not have the understanding of the physical principles underlying these machines and models and cannot see their relevance in demonstrating these principles to the young. I also believe that they fail to see the place that the machines these models depict have in our industrial heritage.

Hi Ady,

Yes, I remember also the National Museum of Scotland. They had some particularly fine models of steam cranes in there as I recall. Where has all that stuff gone to? I think also the People's palace in Glasgow had some excellent model steam engines...not been lately but I suspect they are all gone too.

The website for the arty outfit running the Silk Mills describe themselves as remaking the place for the 21st Century "Through reawakening the spirit of the Enlightenment" or some such nonsense. the place wasn't built for or in the spirit of enlightenment, it was built to make as much money as possible from what was then new technology by a man who was most likely bumped off for stealing ideas from his competitors. It was a place of hard cash and hard knocks, the latter, not the former, for the workforce.

There is a picture of one of the re:make staff with dirty hands, holding their hands up to the camera (no doubt on a phone, to then be tweeted and put on facebook or whatever other nonsensical folly) to show, with what almost amounts to incredulity, that they have been doing some work and, oh the amazement, have got their hands dirty. Well, the news is that generations of skilled, educated craftsmen and engineers did that everyday for decades. It made us into the world's leading industrial power.

Eloi is the word that springs to mind when I look at this re:make site. Eloi. HG Wells may have been right.

I just looked at the site and there is 1 minute and 30 seconds of my life I will never, ever get back. What a load of utter drivel.

There is a photograph of a lot of earnest looking types shifting a nice looking Excel lathe with a pallet truck. What are they doing with it? Probably moving it outside to clear "the space" to allow more pointless navel gazing.

John, I hear and sympathise with your views regarding the Science Museum. In the early '90s I was living about an hour north west of London and used to spend many a happy Saturday wandering around the place. I revisited a couple of years ago and I was deeply dismayed to find it much changed and greatly for the worse. I remember the Babbage Difference Engine, it was being worked on in the times when I used to visit. As you say, no sign of it now. Astonishing.

Hello all,

I have been rooting around some of the threads relating to boilers on this site. This has led to a number of questions. I don't want to hijack someone else's thread so I thought I'd start a fresh one.

First off, stainless steel. There seems to be an almost pathological fear of this, and I can understand to a certain extent as it seems that austenitic is prone to stress corrosion cracking in the presence of water and heat. Fair enough.

Ok, so what about duplex stainless? Apparently a boiler has been made in this in Australia. It seems to me also that ferritic stainless might be a contender.

Regarding fabrication, I have read somewhere that if a boiler is produced by welding, i.e. TIG, the welder does not have to be coded, but can submit test pieces to prove competency. So the welder has to be competent, but not neccesarily coded. Is this correct?

In terms of TIG welding a copper boiler, I'm thinking that OFHC copper could be used with a moderate preheat, (depending on thickness) then a filler containing silicon (SIF do one think it is called sifcopper). Also helium might be useful instead of argon. Alternatively instead of the preheat one could tack at much higher current to get some heat into the joint, then proceed as normal. I've done that with aluminium before.

Just throwing some musings out there. Interested to hear the thoughts they provoke.

Hello Ian,

Contact made! Thanks again,

Carl.

Hello Ian,

Thank you very much for the information. I have been on the G3 forum and I will register with them. I'm looking forward to chatting with Ralph re The Fell. A subject that has been close to my heart for many years.

Once again this forum has proved to be a valuable resource.

Thanks again,

Carl.