Member postings for Bob Stevenson

Those are stndard firearms components so take a look in one of the big gunsmithing catalogues or portals and you will probably find them there

One of the best clock build books for a clock beginner is the 'Long Case' book by Timmins.

Also, the last three chapters of 'Practical Clock Repair' by Donald D'Carle is a simple discourse on exactly how the old time clock makers went about making their clocks using the most simple methods to achieve each component. This book, like the Timmins book, is head and shoulders above the Wilding books in my view and uses much superior methods of construction, albeit more simple.

Be aware that some of th Wilding books actually require you to aquire another one of his books to get a complete design....the most notable is 'How To Make A Skeleton Clock' which requires the 'Wall Clock' book in order to gain the pallet/escapement details.....

In the first editions of Gerald Wingroves superb and unique book; 'The complete Car Modeller' there is detailed a very clever little tool made from a piece of industrial hacksaw blade and shaped like a backward facing tooth! I can attest that it works extremely well when run across thin sheet against a straight edge.

For cutting thin sheet accurately I sometimes also use a small cutting disc on a Dremel.....clamp the workpiece to a piece of plywood and make sure to use eye protection. This method is excellent when making small detail cuts in thin workpieces.

lastly, I cut thin discs for clock wheels by using a specially made trammel adjusted to the exact diameter,...this basically cuts thru the brass when revolved by means of a 'knife tool'. I sometimes use the same basic method on a square piece mounted on an arbour in the lathe to cut out wheels.

Finally (?!)...there is an Eclipse sheet saw which works very well,..it looks like a small panel saw but has a hacksaw blade built into the edge, thus allowing any depth of sheet to be cut.

Interestingly, I don't any longer use a scroll saw to cut thin brass as I did not like that method, although many people do use it quite successfully.

One of the best ways to source thin steel is to look around for a discarded stainless item,....i have a little collection of thin stainless steels from about 0.75mm to approx 1.5mm, all reclaimed from such items as a dishwasher casing,...the left over chimney cover for a kitchen extractor,..stainless shop sign and a scrapped pedal bin. All very useful and effectively 'free', most have polished surface.

.The knife making fraternity use what they call 'ivory micarta' which is actually sheets of cream paper laminated by pressure using polyeter resin......the resulting material is then cut and sanded to shape and the many layers give a slightly grained effect as found on some real ivory

My missus is currently trying to get a parcel which Hermes have had for a couple of weeks. She has been exchanging emails with the seller who is Marks & Spencer but their hands are tied and they apparently have to use whichever carrier is immediately available to the distribution centre.

It needs someone with a media connection to do an expose of Hermes since they appear to more or less use slave labour and at least half their business seems to end in frustration for both buyers and sellers.....there's more to the story than most people know.

It actually depends on what you want to make with the lathe,.....Several members of my clock club have Flexi's and at least one uses ER 16(?) collets in a collet chuck using a drawbar in the spindle throat.

Also, if you have a good 4 jaw then you hardly need to bother with a 3 jaw....It does take an hour or so to get the hang of centreing work using a dial guage but there after it's very easy and gives the best accuracy of any workholding method.

Finally, be extremely careful about always measuring and checking threads on your machine (especially chuck fit) since there were several used during the production life of th Flexi and this is perhas one of the biggest drawbacks to using a Flexi now.

+1 for painting with white emulsion...

Looking at the photo I can see that the basic workshop is well lit with the ful length tubes,...however, personally I know I could not manage without specific lighting for the machines and important work areas such as the (tiny) bench areas where I assemble etc. There are some really excellent LED fittings now that have been a revelation for me, and most are not true work or machine lights so much as good domestic angle and spot lights. You might experiment with not using the tubes but using more specific LED lighting and see how that works when actually making stuff....could be much mre cost effective to keep the light exactly where you need it ...if that makes sense!

An excellent video which is itself very well made and which sent me off to relaxed sleep last night....

However, be thoughtful about trying to use the same techniques.......palletts are made from scandinavian soft wood and are often of very poor quality. Tool chests are usually made from hard and medium hard straight grained woods. I mistakenly used pallett wood for the door of my scratch built shed which was mainly made from 100 year old roof purlins.....The door continued to flex and move for three years and the gaps between boards opened further as theh timber stabilised,...not to mention the large amounts of resin which came thru the surface treatment...."spoilt a good ship for a ha'porth of tar".......

DMB.......No, guage plate is basically like O1 and comes in soft, ready to cut state....certainly it's not like cutting brass but quite doable providing you work steadily, use good quality blade and do'nt try to force the pace. Unlike brass I find a drop of light lubricant helps.....WD40 is as good as anything.

The 'Eclipse' piercing saw has no provision for adjusting the tension of the blade directly. When you fit the blade you hold the saw frame against the bench and your, er, gut so that it is bent slightly closed...when the screws are tightened yo release the frame which 'springs' open thus tensioning the blade,...but, you can't adjust easily....

The KC saw has a camm/lever arrangement that allows greater tension and thus a 'stiffer' blade...

When cutting steel (especially 6mm) you need all the stiffness you can get......I use my Victorian piercing saw for steel without any problems and pride myself on not breaking ANY blades....best quality blades help considerably, bye the way.

Several members of my clock club (EFHC) have these and swear by them,...but then, given the high cost they are not likely to say otherwise.

Personally, after having a play I decided against for the time being and I'm currently nocking up my own saw with specific features that I will need on my next clock frames. I have two Victorian piercing saws and, actually, they are just as effective as the KnewConcept frames due to having tensioning screws which most conventional piercing saws don't now have. Where the 'KC' saws score is with being able to angle the frame to the side of the work piece,..but only the most expensive models have this.

When 'KC' saws first appeared form America they actually claimed that they were specifically painted red to enhance their use!!........Not sure that I really believe this, although 'nicer' tools certainly can give the user added confidence.

Pretty much any piercing saw is ok for cutting out wheels but when one starts on clock frames several inches long and 6mm thick you quickly find out what needs to be redesigned!

I did'nt understand a single word but I instantly liked that bloke!....a real enthusiast and engineer...I liked the way he spoke, the way he used his hands and also his simple but businesslike garage..... I would be honoured to meet him!

....Actually you can 'plain' clock pinions by hand using your top slide and you don't need any motor.

Old feeler guages where the blades are broken are a good source......I used these in my first clock and don't plan on using anything else.....except, there are some nice stainless steel stocks now that have the added benefit of being rustless.

Without knowing the sizes, current finish and purpose it's difficult to make a worthy suggestion, however, this is not a very good idea for several reasons and clock makers like me try to get good dimensions and finish straight from the cutting process such that brass wheels come into the world as near to perfect for purpose as possible.

That said, you could try by making a small hardboard wheel and mounting this on an arbour in the lathe...then charge this wheel with 'T-Cut' car body cutting compound which is easily obtained, gentle in abrasive action and easily cleaned form the workpiece. Work the cut teeth evenly and gently frequently using an eye glass to check both process and missed teeth etc. On clock teeth there is every risk of changing the tooth shape and size so be very careful and work carefully.

Good luck!

That's brilliant!...going to try out the strudel on Sunday...

In my family (long gone now) we made 'Cheer up pudding'....only for people with a sweet tooth really!......

Into a pyrex dish thinnly slice apple,...add some sultanas and grated lemon rind.....cover with 'good' spoonfuls of Golden Syrup......next a layer of thinnly sliced bread, trimmed to fit dish.

Repeat layer...then finish of with bread and butter trimmed to fit and sprinkled with brown sugar.

Bake 180 for 20 mins then inspect....if top getting brown cover with foil/greaseproof....cook on until the bottom layer has 'turned to toffee' and top nicely toasted with melted brown sugar....

Absolutely wonderful straight form the oven and perhaps even better cold!...be of good cheer!

Carl Zeiss Jena,...or, in common parlance, 'East German Zeiss' made the lenses for the Pentacom 35mm SLR...the standard lens was the 58mm Biotar, if I recall and, I think used a 39x1 thread. This was later crudely copied by the Russians in the Zenith SLR which also used 39x1 and the Biotar(?) was the origin for the Helios 58mm lens.for that camera.

I think this is about the batteries being actually inside and connected as there is are known fire and magnetic field risks......I do remember (vaguely!) that the batteries MUST be in their own packing with the terminals safely blanked.

lithiium batteries are usually quite safe to transport unlike 'Li-Po' types which can spontaneously ignite...the model plane fraternity carry theem in stainless steel flexible pouches.

+1 for Dave's suggestions.....

At my clock club (EFHC) we have just recently replaced all of the flourescent tubes with LED tubes....it was straightforward conversion neding just the removal/bypass of the units own wiring. The light is vastly better/brighter and electical consumption about one quarter or previous. The tubes we chose are 'daylight' being about 6,400 degrees K....no flickering, no headaches, no humming, just clean, wide, even white illumination.

Working at home, I have for the past 18 months been using LED 'pearl' bulbs which have ES 25mm fit caps and would never go back to tungsten, especially not halogen. In fact, I have thrown away all lamps, lights and anything with an uneven or specular light throw....it's plain white daylight colour, flat lighting from now on and MUCH better it is!

For demanding turning jobs I put the pearl bulb ovefr the work and a piece of white paper on the bed of the lathe immediately under the workpiece.....surface detail is clear and edge profile also easily watched etc. Daylight light is the best for me as any 'colour' tends to upset my old eyes by converting the workpiece colour and spoiling my tired view.

Edited By Bob Stevenson on 09/09/2021 12:04:22

I think this might be for 'Meopta' the Czech maker.