Member postings for derek hall 1

During my apprenticeship I was shown that interposing thin paper between the table and workpiece and or clamps go a long way to protect the table and also provide better grip/contact during clamping without overtighting and possible distortion or damage to table and or workpiece.

Regards to all

Derek

Although your question Ramon refers to marine reciprocating engines. I served an apprenticeship in a shipyard in the 1970's, where we installed marine diesel engines and they all most definitely had flywheels.

The flywheel was separate from the engine and bolted onto the crankshaft via a machined matching spigot and with fitted bolts. A short tail shaft was then fitted between the flywheel and the thrust bearing (a Michell bearing). From the thrust bearing the prop shaft and the prop was fitted.

I guess steam engines would have had a similar layout but I am sure there would have been some sort of flywheel fitted for the small turning engine to engage with to rotate the engine manually prior to starting...but marine steam was a bit before my time!

Regards to all

Derek

I recall many years ago during my apprenticeship scrabbling around looking for bits of shim to set my lathe tool at centre height, I thought at the time there must be a more efficient way to do this....then I discovered the Dickson quick change tool system, never going back to cutting bits of tin can!....

Regards to all

Derek

I checked my circa 1963 Myford super 7 countershaft and it too has a very slight wobble when the clutch is disengaged.

If I remember I will clock it tonight after work and see what its doing.

I have to say though that I have had this lathe since early 80's and made loads of things on it, not had any issues at all regarding surface finish or vibration.

Make sure that tools are sharp and on centre height and rake and relief angles are near what they should be for the material being machined and the lathe tool has minimum projection (overhang) from the tool post. Obviously the type of material, speed and feeds need to be correct for the job in hand.

If all this is ok then it will be time to look elsewhere, but check the simple stuff first. It is very easy to dive in and strip down components - and upon reassembling them you could introduce new additional problems.

Regards to all

Derek

It is a question I often ask myself, where do all these models of locos, ic engines and stationary steam engines etc end up?

Another question what proportion never get completed?

It would take me several lifetimes to build a model Merlin engine....that actually runs.

Happy xmas to all

Derek

Dave

If the lathe was running (it appears stopped)

My caption would be:

"Hair today, gone in a second"

Do I win the £5 prize?

Regards to all

Derek

A mention for Westfield Fasteners as well, easy to order (and pay!), arrived quickly. Lot of stainless steel cap head screws etc at very reasonable prices. No personal connection with them but highly recommended....

Regards

Derek

Ever since I was given my first Zeus book in my first year of my apprenticeship way back in 1974, I always wondered about the unsung hero who originally hand wrote all those fraction sizes on some master sheet before it was sent to the printers - who was he or she?

Even the latest version has the same "style" so has remained unchanged since the first edition of Zeus whenever that was.....

Regards to all

Derek

That is unusual, normally Kirk replies pretty quickly by email in my experience...

Hope all is ok?

Regards

Derek

I remember being at the dispersal auction of the late great Tom Walshaw (aka Tubal Cain) where all of his workshop equipment and tools was being sold including his Myford S7 and mill.

When I inspected the lathe (I did not buy it) I was amazed at how the HSS lathe tools were honed to an almost mirror finish. I think I recall that he was an advocate for honing HSS tools before use rather than just left in the "as ground" condition......was it something to do with getting a better finish on a job?

(I wish I had bought his lathe...I could only afford to buy one of his scribers at the time......)

Regards to all

Derek

I agree with Jason, Neil did make it pretty clear to be honest.

I think the fact that you can order something from amazon in the evening and it arrives the next day has led many of us with unrealistic expectations...

Regards to all

Derek

Andrew.....what a great answer!

Got my paper version of MEW today, all looks good (as always!)

Slightly disappointed not to have a repeat of a "Christmassy" pic on the front like there was a few years ago when someone "decorated" their milling machine to look like a Christmas tree....very funny...!

Maybe a competition for next year?

Regards to all

Derek

Fantastic work .......(applauds)....

SOD made some very good points...

We had a young electronics graduate start with us a couple of years ago, and didn't know that IC's had to be inserted the right way round, and had never heard of NPN and PNP...said he spent most of the time designing circuits and testing them on computers at uni.

I left skool with nothing, did an apprenticeship and ended up eventually with an HNC/HND mechanical and then HNC electronics years ago, i think the old HNC's had more engineering/technical content than an engineering degree has these days..... some of my mech HNC circa 1983 is still relevant today but much of it isn't.

I eventually was able to register as an IEng but purely to prove to myself that I wasn't thick. I don't care what other people call me !! (insert suitable word here)

A very good friend of mine, ex Navy 20 years, said to me "a guy who has got a degree can work out the square root of a glass of pickles but cannot take the lid off".....made me laugh at the time, but does the degree qualified person "need" to take the lid off when there is someone who is more qualified than him/her to do that?

This sort of discussion has been going on for years and will continue as the job title "engineer" is not protected i.e. anyone can call themselves and advertise themselves, as engineers.....

Shame really as say the word engineer to a skool leaver looking for a career suggests that its a job with an adjustable spanner and an oily rag......Engineering opens up a huge world of opportunities and job satisfaction. I have spent the last 25 years travelling the world running training courses for my company - never in a million years did I think I would end up do this when I left skool with a grade 5 CSE in French....

Regards to all

Derek

Almost still on topic...

I thought I read somewhere that Australia imports as much bottled drinking water as it exports bottled drinking water...so it appears that there are ships sailing around the world full of drinking water...

Madness

Regards

Derek

Is it the intention to eventually get away from all IC engines? or just cars?....

Like ChrisH mentions its not just cars to be considered is it?, where is the "line" drawn?...what about all the static standby generators for hospitals, sewage and water pumping stations?

Another question about the green credentials of going all electric...how much copper will be needed to be mined and special coatings manufactured for all the extra cables that will have to be run - plus all the digging up of the roads by those nasty polluting diggers....

I am not against change but I think the true cost of going the totally electric vehicle route is not as green as it appears.

I would have thought phasing in of hybrids first then gradually introducing all electric would have been sensible or is that just "kicking the can down the road" and perhaps we should "bite the bullet"......??

Regards

Derek

PS Could we end up having a "war" between different and incompatible electrical connections for different cars? much like betamax and VHS? - just a thought.....

Well I am thinking to myself to what I would be doing if I was a silly teenager with his mates coming out of the pub/nightclub late at night when every sensible person is asleep in 2031........."look at all them electric cars being charged...lets unplug em all for a laugh"...........

Que, chaos in the morning as all the cars down that street have no charge due to them being deplugged!

What fun !

Regards to all

Derek

I expect the price of second hand diesels and petrol cars will plummet towards 2030, but the fuel to keep them on the road will increase massively - by the government of the day to get them off the road.

So now the money raised in fuel tax will have gone, there will have to be a new tax (higher of course!) to replace it.

People don't like change and have to be forced into it sometimes. Life is different in 2020 compared with last year, however this electric vehicle situation will arrive eventually....

Good questions and answers from everyone on here. There have been similar articles in the magazine of the Institute of Engineering Technology and the big question is of course are we exchanging one form of pollution for another?

I don't know much about electric vehicles but rare earth magnets and other materials seem to be found in those Countries that could hold the world to ransom like the Middle East have done to inflate prices. What happens to the old batteries - I mean current mobile phone batteries are hopeless

I think "driverless" cars is the ultimate goal whatever the fuel. You don't need a car, you order one to arrive at a specific time and date and take you to "x" and then "y", like a taxi but better. No need to have a tin box on wheels spending the majority of its time not going anywhere....

Good discussion all round but lets not get personal eh guys?, we all have different opinions on stuff and this is no different...

Regards to all

Derek

I have a spare micrometer head that I was thinking of using in much the same was on my Myford. However what is stopping me is protection against swarf and coolant...

Regards to all

Derek