Member postings for Stuart Bridger

Does the motor plate have a current rating at 240V?

055kw should be OK for a modern 3/4HP motor designed for VFD operation, but may be a bit tight

The Inverter has a max continuous current output of 3A at 240V for the 0.55kw unit so not surprised it is tripping if it is drawing 5A

A couple of submissions. The first very much not engineering related. A Sussex pattern billhook inherited from my Grandfather, still in regular use in the garden and for its original purpose, hedgelaying. A bit of research identified the makers mark, to be a Walter Wadey who was a blacksmith in Billingshurst in the 2nd half of the 19th Century.

Slightly more recent, a pair of toolmakers clamps both made by myself. The one on the left was an apprentice piece mad at the BAe Weybridge (Brooklands) training workshop in 1980. The one of the right was made in a school workshop (George Abbot, Guildford) a few years earlier. A got a very high mark for that one. The teacher was so impressed I was allowed to finish them on a surface grinder. The one an only time I have ever used one. A word on finish. The left hand one was phosphated and the right hand one had a traditional dunk in waste in oil after heating. Of course both are still in regular use.

It's a very interesting question, with a number of factors.

The decline of apprenticeships since the 80's and 90's has removed a lot of skill base. Also the drive for everyone to go to University was one of biggest mistakes this country ever made. I was lucky to get a a very good technical apprenticeship. The decline in school workshops hasn't helped although I do hear that my local school has a well equipped workshop.

Our hobby has always been expensive to get up and running, which is why it tends to be taken up in later life. Time is another concern, we are all leading busier lives.

That said I took my 10V into work and got a real interest, it inspired one of my colleagues to get into 3D printing.

Personally my reason for getting back to manual machining was that the modern world is so transient and fast moving. I work in the IT industry, where there is very little legacy or permanence. If something you work on lasts more than 5 years it is unusual. So getting back to basics and making something that lasts means something. We were the first apprentice year to do G code programming in 1980. I found it fascinating at the time, and could still watch a CNC machine running with awe. But the last I want to do after staring at screen all day is to work on producing tool path code by whatever means.

It is horses for courses, some are happy with CNC and others are content to stay manual.

I do see an opportunity for the 3D printing makers to take on some more traditional skills.

I have always used NC-110 from Hallett Oils. Had good service from them in the past, however they now seem to have dropped their ME section from their website. May be worth a call though ?

**LINK**

Nice one.
Quick question, did you use the US threaded fasteners as per drawing or convert to metric?

James,

I am a fan of Vertex, quality kit available from a number UK suppliers.
I use their keyless chucks in my lathe and mill/drill.

Regards

Stuart

Perhaps we should go back to basics. It has been implied that the inverter trip has been due to overcurrent, but this hasn't been confirmed. Paul, can you advise the exact trip message/code and the model of the inverter.

I find it a little odd that we would get an overcurrent trip after 5 mins. If the system was was waming up, then I would expect the running current to decrease. This is of course unless something is tightening up on the mill.

As others have indicated, the inverter parameters do need to be matched to the motor, particulalry the Full Load current setting which is there to protect the motor from overload.

After looking around for a second project to follow on from my Stuart 10V, I ordered up the Ransomes & May set of plans from Hemingway. Quality, but somewhat daunting set of plans and very comprehensive build notes. It is clearly a big step up from the 10V, with some new techniques to learn and a lot more complexity. Fasteners are smaller mostly 10BA with some 12BA instead of 7BA. I should however be able to build on the knowledge and experience. gained on the 10V. I have seem one of these running at a local show and it certainly looks the part. Now just have to bite the bullet and order up castings.

Does anyone have any experience or words of wisdom on this or other Hemingway kits?

Thanks in advance

Stuart

+1 on running the motor on the machine without the belt.
If it is A VFD with a 7A output and the motor is drawing more than this, then it will trip!

Nice job!

Not wanting to steal your thunder. This was an apprentice piece I made in 1980, during my bench fitting training. Not on the same scale as yours. Hacksaw and file only...

Screwfix do wd40 for £6 per litre if you buy 5l. More expensive than a neat cutting oil, but not rediculous.

The demise of the rubber protective sheet on my Warco VMC has raised a question. Why do we protect the slideways on milling machines with bellows or similar, but we don't do the same on lathes? Is it just that it can be done on a mill, but is not practical a lathe?

I was somewhat surprised as well. The machine was ordered complete with DRO from Warco and is long out of warranty. I have had it about 7 years.

Not a lot of room to get some photos, but here we go. The head is not directly on the rubber, but on the plate that is clamping the rubber, still seems  a dodgy mounting technique?

Edited By Stuart Bridger on 01/02/2017 22:15:27

Edited By Stuart Bridger on 01/02/2017 22:16:26

Jumping back to the rubber protective sheet. I have just discovered that the Warco fitted DRO X-axis read head is mounted on top of the plate that that holds the bottom end of the rubber sheet.

This means that to get the remains of the existing sheet out to replace it. I will have to disturb the DRO installation which I really don't want to do. Further more it looks like the read head alignment is determined by the compressibility of the rubber??? I think I will be looking for an alternative fixing method that doesn't disturb the DRO.

100% support for John, every organisation needs its characters and John is definltley one of those. Life would be very boring without people like him. As many have said, he is a practical engineer with a get it done attitude. The Bodgers Lodge thread is probably the most informative and enjoyable to read on here. If his posts come with soem ascerbic wit, then so be it. I have been on the end of one of his "clumsy b*" comments when I was brave even to share one of my mistakes (it may have nee on another forum) and it was taken with good humour.

I have a VMC and the rubber sheet that keeps swarf out of the slideways has disintegrated. The standard Warco sheet is a bit on the thick side and often fouls my vice. I would be interested to hear what others are using. I see that one owner is using some form of yellow sheet from a photo earlier in this thread.

Thanks

Stuart

I would agree with metric standards being on the generous side. I recently made up some brackets for a friend who is building a telescope. His drawing called for M10 clearance. Standards say 10.5mm for "close fit" and 11mm for "standard fit". So I purchased a 10.5mm drill for the purpose. Even with a close fit an M10 bolt rattles around like a wotsit in shirt sleeve. Friend was still happy with the job though.

I have an entry level Sparmax Arism 1A airbrush compressor. Rated at 14-14 lpm. Fine for airbrushing but not quite man enough to run my Stuart 10V.

Emailed Warco for a spares quote yesterday. Answer within 10 mins advising in in stock.

Can't ask for any more than that