Member postings for jonathan heppel

For the same money, you can get good condition old iron. Well worth looking at.

Consider also using an inverter on the existing motor, particularly if installing a metric motor is awkward. If you're unsure about finding the star point, a good rewinder can and also clean and revarnish windings etc.

You'll definitely need a pilot motor. I'm still a little confused since I thought you're discussing a grinder- do you mean the grinder spindle has its own inverter? Anyway, try wiring a 1hp-2hp motor in parallel. Best way is wire it directly on the converter output so it's running already before you try the suds pump. Ps check the pilot's still star wired, and not delta for an inverter.

Edited By jonathan heppel on 11/11/2013 18:32:43

Edited By jonathan heppel on 11/11/2013 18:37:44

Edited By jonathan heppel on 11/11/2013 18:42:24

It's not clear if you're trying to run the pump by itself or in parallel with a higher power motor. A converter that size most likely needs a pilot motor running simultaneously in order to pull the phases closer to 120° separation rather than the 180°/90° which that type of converter produces. 

Edited By jonathan heppel on 10/11/2013 12:38:40

Low rpm will cause significant pressure drop due to the square law. Coolant pumps generate low head to start with, so that could be your problem. Have you checked that the pump is turning freely with no tight bearings? Not running at synchronous speed is both strange and rather unhealthy for it. In my experience, excessive loads are the major cause of healthy motors not getting to speed. Worth checking the windings with a meter, and tighten all electrics.

Edited By jonathan heppel on 10/11/2013 08:58:32

Potassium nitrate was certainly available ten years ago and may still be, albeit in small quantities. It's an essential ingredient for curing ham and bacon.

A woodruff in an aluminium pulley might as well be mild steel- no point in using anything fancier. They shouldn't really be used for transmitting much torque anyway. The keyways are usually cut quite closely to nominal size. so I've parted off a disc a thou or so over, fitted with a file etc, then milled or more often sawn and filed to fit the pulley,

If a close fit isn't necessary, eg if you're loctiting it, just aim for nominal size and it'll be fine,

If you can afford it, get a Multifix (or Fix-eclair) type QCTP, size. Aa. Most toolposts offer 2 or 4 positions, these provide 40. The toolholder can index around a splined turret. They are very expensive, reflecting the work that goes into making them. Cheapen Asian copies are available, some but not all of which are ok.

As for oiling, best get a manual, though you can't go wrong by doing it before every use.  Get a push type high pressure oil gun. 

Edited By jonathan heppel on 02/11/2013 15:58:34

Edited By jonathan heppel on 02/11/2013 16:07:27

Edited By jonathan heppel on 02/11/2013 16:16:12

They charge extortionate prices on general hardware to pay for flagship discounts on eg tools. Solution is to buy the discounted stuff and boycott the rest. Just hope that everyone doesn't follow suit.

Independant hardware shops and builders' merchants are best.

I'm sorry if I caused any offense, and certainly all I've read of Arc Euro has been good. I probably overreacted because some months ago I had a collet from Chester which very much looked like someone else's return- no shipping grease and axial marks that suggested it had been pulled into a taper and it is a little soft also. The bore was really ugly, too. They replaced it with one I'd say was ok but only just. Then a few days ago I got another couple that looked similar to the first one, (no grease, scratches, rough bore) and they have agreed to replace them, too.

Also, I must confess that It was my second attempt at posting because the first time I pressed the "Add posting" button the posting was deleted and I was signed out, which did nothing to improve my mood.

The only other collets I have are Crawford or Hardinge and while I can"t expect similar quality at bargain basement prices and would gladly pay double for better, they seem not to be available..

Thanks for the reassurance, though. I was beginning to despair. I'll try another of the usual suspects.

It was the Phillips that were designed to cam out, which is why Pozi was invented. I've twisted heads off with a good Pozi driver and screw. As for using a Phillips on a Pozi, well 'nuff said.

Phillips has been called the most misused fastener system ever. It was designed for power driver assembly before the days of sophisticated clutches et al. - I hate it

Hello all. I'm trying to source decent MT2 collets. I've had some from one of the usual suspects and they're junk. I'm told Vertex is ok but nobody's got any.

I've definitely been put off mainland Chinese, so are there any suggestions?

Just been on the French bay and seen a dixi horizontal, unusual hauser vertical/ horizontal and two wheel and pinion engines. Earliest ending is a couple of days. Prices seem reasonable, particularly the latter. May be of interest to someone. They're in the "fraiseuse" section.

I too have found RDG to be a good supplier.

However, there is one thing they do that irritates me no end. It's the ridiculous prices they show on some of their ebay listings, like more than 500 quid for a boring head that everyone else lists as, say, 75.

I presume that these are clerical errors and not a rather too obvious trap for the unwary, but it does tend to suggest that they are either dishonest or incompetent, since it's been going on for months at least. Does it bother anyone else?

Edited By jonathan heppel on 24/10/2013 19:14:24

By "dig in" I meant more workpiece lift rather than cutter drop in marginal workholding situations. However, since you can achieve the same effect by grinding zero or negative rake on the edges of helical cutters and as you say, Bazyle, they probably cost the same, then why bother especially since chip clearance cannot be as good.

Er, I think I've just answered my own question. Oh dear, embarrassment.

Thanks guys for helping me think it through.

They have their uses, particularly resisting "dig in" but now seem to be obsolete to the extent of only old stock being still available. Can anyone shed any light on this?

-----and what's more if everyone had the same worry, there wouldn't be a market for 99% of the machines on Tony Griffiths" site.

I think you're still under the misapprehension that you need to decouple the imperial and metric dials. You don't.

Think of the two as an assembly, which rotates as one unit, setting the zero of either one as required. You never need to zero them both at the same time. As I said, just treat the two as a single dial.

I wish you could delete posts on this site. I think I've been talking out of my backside again. Sorry, my machines don't have dual dials so I've been trying to visualise it. So here goes. I think the master and the gear are locked together, the gear drives the slave, so no stator. I think also that your misconception about zeroing the two together was making you think along the wrong lines, so the knurled thing and the dial being one piece wasn't evident. Hope this post's ok

Sorry I've seen the vid again and it looks like the knurled item should be a press/ glued fit to the dial, so forget some of my previous rubbish. Does that make sense? You still need a stator by the way, as a reference