Member postings for Jerry Wray

Jason,

Yes according to my HP calculator (RPN) it comes out at 101.16, what an odd number, no accounting for the eccentricities which occur following the adoption of a (supposed) fraction of the Earth's dimensions! You can see why the size of the King's thumb was just as sensible.

I'm not too worried, Its more to get the same movement at each end of the shafts. Of course too worried is an unknown, and subject to actually doing it. I shall start with the 4mm nut as that might be the most difficult to do.

Should that not be successful I'll think again, perhaps go to the normal coarse thread of 0.40mm thread. 63.5tpi.

Jerry

Thanks to everybody for the commentary and ideas.

Whit and BA sizes are (for now) freely available, but certainly in the case of BA it seems a case of 'whilst stocks last'.

Since obsolescence, planned or otherwise is a pet hate I have decided to adopt 2mm as the smaller size as fine (0.25 mm pitch) for which I have now been able to order thin and full nuts for delivery in the New Year.

The other size I shall need is ~4mm and I can turn the threads on the shafts to 0.25mm pitch, and with a little(?) ingenuity make nuts to fit(?), so it's out with the Cowells.

I look back in time and often marvel at what our forefathers could achieve by hand.

Jerry

Jason,

I had a feeling that EKP probably would not have ME sizes, but obviously I cannot ask them until they return. I am looking for constant pitch finest thread across a sizes from I/8" to 7/32" which seems to be only available in ME 40 tpi. They are to provide adjustment on coupling rods which vary in size.

It seems strange that they are so difficult to find yet are constantly listed in the various ME handbooks even in the (current ?) 2003 edition 3.

I am less worried about bolts, more about nuts. I may have to consult 'Jo's' treatise on making studs etc and use Metric fine. I have the gear to make those..

Thank goodness I enjoy reading.

Thanks for your thoughts,

Jerry

I have a need for ME Nuts & Bolts.

Can anyone tell me a good source please?

I know JasonB usually recommends EKP, their website is down for the holiday so I cannot try them.

Is there anyone else, specifically I need the 40 tpi sizes?

Thank you,

Jerry

To add to the misery expressed here I have memories of a great mate of mine, when we were both in our early twenties 50 odd years ago, analysing the low esteem in which engineers are held as being due to the motor car.

His thought was that because many people at that time could do some maintenance on their cars, Morris Minors etc. which those people regarded as engineering then engineers must be simple. Once an idea takes root how do you shift it?

I might add he was an engineering apprentice with Metal Box, of sad but glorious memory.

Jerry

I feel I should contribute a little to the actual performance of water based suds. Some theoretical work posted above has talked of the energy input not being sufficient to account for the evaporation of the water content.

Water- based fluids should normally be supplied to the tool/metal working point in a concentration range of oil concentrate 5-8% and should be mixed to form a stable emulsion. (There is some debate whether an oil in water emulsion or water in oil is formed.)

Having done some years work on water-based suds I had opportunities to investigate this problem, the temperatures at the cut are very high, much above the boiling point of the oil-water mix, the heat being carried away by the water component and the aerosol formed. The oil serves mainly as a lubricant as well as a film former inhibiting the instantaneous corrosion of the hot metal.

Of course the heating also occurs where non-water based coolants are employed but the physics are significantly different. The droplets are significantly larger and are also more stable and tend to recombine more easily thus re-converting from aerosol to liquid.

This is offered as a possible line of investigation, but I have found that it is quite involved needing a lot more data before coming to any meaningful conclusions.

Most of us will have our own thoughts and experiences and I am reminded of 'Horses for Courses'.

Jerry

All this talk of cars and their reliability reminds me of a (luckily) company car I was once provided with, reputedly the most unreliable car ever produced anywhere Vauxhall HB, and white at that. One year it did over 86,000 miles, mostly at emulating today's auto stop/start models before it was invented. It even let me down several times on Salisbury Plain, once in blinding snow. No wonder I took the family dog for company.

I too have stuck with Land Rovers ever since

Jerry

Just a comment on Julian Atkins post referring to Robert Ingham-Clark & Co. I worked for RIC, as it was known, for around 12 years. It was known within as 'Rubbish In Cans' but we were very proud of our reputation even in the 50s- 70s and anyone referring to us by that monika would get short shrift. Being within Docklands we had some guys who were very handy in a 'sort-out'.

I still have a company tie. I have no recollection of the company making pigments, they were a paintmaker, some of the Ingham-Clark family were still involved even in the sixties.

It's no wonder that the colours used in 1947 were poor matches for the originals. The factory was in Silvertown E16 and was rebuilt and known as 'Minerva Works' as it emerged from the flames. While the factory was out of use the production was vested in another paintmaker, also in London.

Happy memories

Jerry

While thinking about whiskey (whisky?)my mind went back over my own experience to recall when I was heavily involved in lining of steel drums. Our lab, probably the most expert in Europe discovered that resistance to gin and whiskey was the most difficult to achieve, more so than almost all other chemicals.

It's not the finish that's important but the characteristics of the polymer.

Jerry

That's a totally different type of primer.

2-pack self etching primer is the sort of primer that performs best on aluminium. The coating to which 'Bill' links does not contain zinc tetroxy chromate (ZTC) which is an essential ingredient and it is this which is the hazardous component.( That's excepting the corrosion hazard of the phosphoric acid contained in the activator component. These primers were developed by the military in WWII based on research which ended up in a formulation which has been in use ever since, but declining.

Follow this link **LINK** to see a short history of UK/NATO use.

Unfortunately the US MSDS to which 'Bill' refers is not to GHS but also does not provide the correct substance classification which must be used in the EU.

The European Chemicals Agency have published an assessment of ZTC which contains the following summary -

Substance Name: Pentazinc chromate octahydroxide

EC Number(s): 256-418-0

CAS Number(s): 49663-84-5

· The substance is identified as a substance meeting the criteria of Article 57 (a) of Regulation

(EC) 1907/2006 (REACH) owing to its classification as carcinogen 1A2 which corresponds to

classification as carcinogen category 13.

You can search for the article its in the public domain..

In Google search - Pentazinc chromate octahydroxide EC number - ECHA.

Jerry

Where do they get these people from? The chattering classes in London of course.

I have just listened in amazement to an item on sheds. The designers stressed the friendliness of rotating sheds, glass walls, rooftop installation etc. etc.

Not a mention of bikes let alone lathes, milling machines, not even where to park the mower.

Jerry

The equipment available has always and continues to be a limiting factor whether hand drawing or CAD, its only the tolerances which have decreased(?) to a point where they are almost irrelevant.

I've just checked my Pentel drawing pencils, these were in common use at the board even in the 70s and 80s. The smallest I can find is 0.3mm PS523.

The Rotring pens seem to go down to 0.2mm, when unblocked.

That being said all the drawings I have and do see clearly state 'Work to dimensions only. Do not scale from drawing' or something along the same lines.

Jerry

Hi Peter, and everyone who has contributed to this thread,

I'm approaching retirement age +5. I am sure I no longer have the strength in my hands that I did 5 yrs ago. When I say I have tried lots of potential solutions I think I had tried almost everything that has been suggested above, including buying a brand new Albrecht 1-10 mm.

Now I've gone through a more thorough series of checks and discovered that I have made mistakes that I would not have made in the past.

I found I need to -

1. Forget that my time on this earth is finite,

2. Work carefully,

3. Clean all the mating surfaces.

4. Use much higher rotating speeds, I've gone from 70 rpm with a 6mm drill to 200rpm.

Now I am much more confident!

The first item has possibly been the most significant. It affects all the others!

Thanks to you all.

Jerry

I'm overwhelmed by the response. Lots of suggestions, some I have already tried, but each one contains a gem or two and I will have to work through my technique (again).

I'll use them as a check list, and tick off each one as its done, the memory is not what it used to be.

Although I try to clean my chucks after each job I may not have removed all the oil from the gripping face of the jaws.

Thank you to everyone.

Jerry

I am seeking some help with problems of drills slipping in chucks.

This seems to have taken on something of nightmare proportions. Whatever chuck and drill combo I choose the drill always seems to slip.

I have used both keyed and keyless chuck but the problem is always the same.

Drill sizes vary between 2mm and 10 mm, now and reqround. I am meticulous about cleaning drill shanks.

I can accept that I am no longer strong enough to tighten keyless type but I don't remember having this problem in the past.

Any suggestions are most welcome.

Rick,

For what it's worth, (very little) at one time I worked for the paint company that for many years supplied almost every machine tool manufacturer in Britain.

I can assure you that the formulation was not 'nothing more than an air drying brushing enamel'. It was indeed air drying but most companies used what was termed conventional spray. A lot of work had gone into achieving a level of oil resistance, hardness and the high gloss which was preferred. It was sold as a 'system' of primer, filler and top-coat.

That company would match any colour which was asked for. I suggest you should forget any connection with RAL colours (German standard) and concentrate on BS 381. No self respecting British company would use anything other than British Standards. RAL in the UK is 'Johnnie come lately'. It was only with the influx of foreign electronics companies that RAL gained a foothold.

Unfortunately that well known paint company fell apart some years ago and was taken over by the Germans. It is still operating in the UK but what happened to the formulations? I don't know.

Jerry

For the sake of clarity:

Work does NOT depend on being paid. If you read all the guidance to which I referred young people on any premises are discussed.

Although HSE advise on and enforce the provisions of The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 they are involved in many areas.

Jerry

Whilst I am totally in sympathy with the tone of this discussion there seem to be some assumptions being made.

If you take a look at the UK HSE website on this subject 'What the law says about young people at work'

**LINK** you will see a fairly clear explanation of what needs to be done.

It's much the best approach to be aware of the actual legal requirements rather than conjecture.

You will see that it is all about a suitable and sufficient RIsk Assessment, there is no one size fits all approach. I find I am given all sorts H&S reasons for not doing or using something. Risk assessments are simple to write, the trick is to get the person to read and understand it. Let training be your watchword.

I have acted as safety officer in a few engineering companies of various sizes, from totally manual to completely CNC. The approach I have adopted for the last 15 years or so, if I find I am being given the B..m's Rush is to ask where the legal text is to be found. 99 times out of 100 I receive the response 'I'll get back to you' or 'that's what I was told'.

The obvious response is for me to say 'You don't believe everything you are told do you?' but I only use that if I know the person well.

Happy reading!

Jerry

John,

Did you really mean to say hypochlorAte?

Jerry

Of course it doesn't matter. There are some who would also add that spelling is an essential of communication. For myself I deprecate the use of mobile texting in any form.

Armchair is certainly in the OED as arm-chair (1633) " A chair with arms." !!

The word was certainly known by the time James Murray started on his editorship in 1879.

In my OED on Historical Principles first published by Fowler and Coulson in 1933, edited by Fowler and revised by Friedrishsen and with addenda dated 1977. (always quote the sources)

Vernier dates from 1766. "A device consisting of a short movable scale, by which more minute measurements may be readily obtained from the divisions of the graduated scale of astronomical, surveying, or other mathematical instruments to which it is attached."

The entry goes on "atrib., as v. circle, scale; also in the names of instruments or tools having a v. scale or attachment, as v.caliper, compass.

(Sorry but that's what happens when you build-up a large reference library)