Member postings for Grotto

I’ve been surprised at how much better spiral taps are than standard ones. I only have a few metric ones, I’m not sure if they’re available out here in Whitworth, but guess if they are they’ll be prohibitively expensive.

I've never broken a spiral tap, wish I could say the same about standard ones.

Hi all

I bought these two tools at the weekend.

I’m not sure if they are for use on metal or wood.

looks a bit like an end mill, it won’t drill holes as it leaves a nipple in the centre like an end mill.

The other looks like it's for counter sinking?

They are both “Louis Eichman”, but google seems to give loads of info on a famous war criminal and little else.

I’ve bought a few items from the UK where they don’t charge VAT (as it’s an export to outside EU), and freight cost is only a bit more than the VAT. It does seem to depend on weight.

I have found some sellers have really high freight charges but guess they don’t really wish to get into selling overseas.

I still don’t understand how Aliexpress sellers can do free shipping. Often I can buy items with free postage from China for a fraction of the cost I can buy exactly the same thing locally.

I like the cheap carbide inserts because they are cheap. As an unskilled beginner I've chipped quite a few inserts inserts. I’d rather destroy cheap ones than expensive ones (have done both). I’m starting to get better at with practice, and maybe when my skill levels are higher I’ll start using the expensive ones I’ve got in the drawer.

It would be tempting to blame poor results on cheap inserts, but find they're lasting longer and performing better with practice.

And a complete chapter on making your own fireworks.

Don’t see that in modern books

You may find you can sell the old lamp for more than a replacement costs. They’re quite collectable and sell well on eBay. I looked at replacing the one on my lathe with a period lamp but after seeing the prices went with led

Switch is rated 500v 3 phase.

I’ve wired it up and it works, but sometimes it tries to start the motor rotating the wrong way. Motor won’t start if belt on Myford is tight (need to have belt slack to start). Once motor is running it’s fine.

I’m wondering if I’ve got the R, W & B wires going to the motor around the wrong way?

Thanks!

One section of cable (motor to switch) is older but looks to be in good condition & is in a metal sheath, so I’ll reuse it. Rest is more recent with a green earth wire.

I reckon I should have paid a bit more attention at school when we did electricity.

hoping someone can help me with wiring up a Dewhurst switch.

I have 4 wires from socket;

L1 - Red

L2 - Blue

L3 - White

Earth - Black

Dewhurst switch has 8 terminals, 1-4 down one side, 4-8 on the other.

I did have photos of how it was wired (replaced motor with single phase) but can’t find photos anywhere! Now I’ve put the 3 phase motor back on but can’t work out wiring. I’ve had a hunt on the web but can’t find any diagrams which seem to match for 3 phase

Nice work David!

I think I’ll make a couple those to replace some knurled ones which really don’t have enough grip.

That auction site pretty much monopolises NZ.

There’s no eBay here, closest is Australia.

There’s even a few UK companies which sell on it

The conrod on mine is the same as pictured above, with only a clip where it attaches to the saw frame. There is some sideways play if you wiggle it, but not when it’s in operation.

The only problem I’ve ever had is a tendency for the large flywheel to move in towards frame, but I think I just need to replace the grub screw which should hold it in place.

Thanks, it’s a “Topone” Bridgeport style mill. Pretty much the same as a Bridgeport but head rotates on 2 axis.

Glad I read this thread. I’ve had one of these for years and always thought it was home built.

Where does the gaitor go? Mine has none. Also, is the tube with the damping mechanism meant to be filled with oil?

I saw a oil in frame Bonneville in the crate for sale a few years back. It had changed hands a few times, with only the lid having been removed.

A panel beater and Triumph enthusiast down the road from me bought it so I went to have a look. He wouldn’t take it out as he reckoned the value would drop.

What a waste of a motorcycle, might as well have had a crate full of scrap metal. I kind of understand people having vehicles with only a few miles on the clock as display items. As least they’re nice to look at, but not don’t reckon a wooden crate is quite the same.

Hopefully someone will buy the lathe and use it.

Hi all

I’ve recently acquired a new mill but unfortunately the last page of the manual covering the lube system is missing.

I’ve found similar manual online but it’s pretty brief and doesn’t help a lot.

The mill has a manual “shot lubrication system” which appears to oil the ways. The book recommends Sunco Waylube #80 for ways. A bit of google research appears to say ISO68 hydraulic fluid is the same. Does this sound correct? (Photo is rotated 90 degrees)

Should I just fill the tank with this? How frequently should I pump the handle and how many times?

There are also grease nipples but I’m unsure if these are for grease or oil and can’t find any reference in the manual to them or any indication of what to squirt in?

There are also some oil caps, but like the grease nipple I’m not sure what to use in them, there are quite a few - should I guess they all take same lubricant?

Sorry about photos, I haven’t worked out how to get them the right way up.

Got my 3 phase converter (rotary?) installed today. Had done all the cabling but needed a qualified electrician to hook it up.

I was expecting the converter to be a bit noisy, but you can hardly hear it running.

I can now use my mill which has been sitting for a week, unbelievably pleased, it far exceeds all my expectations. I really need to get it into position (it’s currently sitting on a pallet in the middle of the garage) but that can wait a day or two.

Can also put the 3 phase motor back on my Myford (have been running a pretty dodgy single phase which sparks a bit).

Overall an exceptionally good day

I've bought thread coils from Aliexpress (not M3) which seemed fine.

I still can't understand how I can buy stuff with free shipping from China (to NZ) for less than the cost of postage from supplier in the same city as me. Someone told me China is classed as a 3rd world country so they get free postage, but that doesn't sound right.

Postage can be a little slow, but often I receive stuff within 7-10 days

After a few years of looking I finally found a decent mill I could afford.

I went and had a look at it, seemed like it was in really good condition, but more importantly the guy selling it was a really nice retired engineer (I tend to judge things more by the person selling as I'm no expert judging machines).

Had a bit of heart fade when it was delivered, as it looked much smaller in his empty workshop, and was too high to get in my garage/workshop, but tilting the head 90 degrees it just squeezed in.

Getting it plumbed in tomorrow, but it will take a few days to move everything around and get it into position (unless I can convince my wife to park on the street).