Member postings for Nick Thorpe

Morning All.

I will be moving soon to a new house and will have to store my Boxford lathe, Tom Senior mill and Elliot pillar drill in a rather damp and unheated garage.

Is there a special grease or oil that I could put on the exposed metal parts to keep rust at bay?

Any other tips and advice would be very welcome. Thanks. Nick.

Thank you Bob & Jason. Sounds like a good idea, especially given the prices! I have a piece of cast iron left over from the cylinder that I can use. Nick.

I need a 1.25" x 1/16th" section piston ring for a Westbury Wyvern IC engine..

Could some kind soul point me in the right direction for a supplier. I could go back to the kit supplier but would rather try OEM first.

Many thanks, Nick

Thank you all for the feedback. My friend asked me to say that he is grateful for your help & advice. Regards. Nick

Thanks Dave, I started with a Google search and those links are no longer active.

Thank you everyone for your helpful replies that I have forwarded on to my friend.

Regards,

Nick

Morning All,

A friend is looking for a timber workshop 5m x 4m, with pent roof. It will probably be bespoke. Can anyone reccommend a supplier please?

Many thanks,

Nick

PS: I bought mine from Malvern Timber Framed Buildings three years ago but they sadly seemed to have disappeared.

Posted in error. Nick

Edited By Nick Thorpe on 24/03/2018 19:51:06

Trevor. Others may disagree but I went through this loop about three years ago when I was installing my CUD. I tried to find the thread but it's disappeared or I have changed my log-in.

The basic advice was that I didn’t need to bolt it to the floor. I don't pretend to be anything other than an advanced novice but I don't seem to have any problems. It seems to me that as long as the bed is level long ways and side to side you are pretty much there.

Sorry to be a bit vague! PM me if you wish and I will give you my phone number.

Nick

Edited By Nick Thorpe on 07/03/2018 20:31:39

After considerable research I didn't bolt my Boxford CUD to the floor but used adjustable feet from Axminster. This would save you moving the lathe as you could either rock it to put the feet on or crow bar it up.

I also placed the feet on to two pre-stressed concrete lintels (about 100mm high) to raise it to a very comfortable working height.

Hope this helps,

Nick.

Edited By Nick Thorpe on 07/03/2018 11:49:33

I always remember that a new Triumph Tiger motorbike in 1973 cost £437 - I used to spend ages looking at one in the dealer's window in Camberwell. A quick look shows that new Triumphs cost between £8,000 - £10,000 so not wildly different to the price increase on Phil's 1973 Myford at £380 that now costs £8,000 plus VAT.

Nick

I have to agree on the Eccentric Engineering Diamond Tool Holder. I was a novice when I bought my lathe a few years back and the Diamond was a life saver. Not cheap but well worth the money. I later bought TCT tipped tools for cast iron etc. Good luck!

Edited By Nick Thorpe on 23/02/2018 07:23:08

Colin. I did a lot of research three years ago and ended up with a building from Malvern Timber Framed Buildings **LINK**

Their Website is not the greatest to navigate but the bottom line is that they will configure the product to your needs. I ended up with an adapted summer house design that I subsequently lined with top quality Kingspan insulation lined with 15mm foil back plasterboard and it has been a great success. Malvern erected the building in half a day and I then spent a few months fitting it out.

I looked at building one myself but the cost of materials was very high compared to buying a ready made product. I discounted 'sheds' from garden centres etc as they were very expensive and lacked sufficient depth in the uprights to take insulation. The time was also a key factor.

Message me if you need more information. Nick

Edited By Nick Thorpe on 27/01/2018 08:10:10

MEW 151, February 2017, page 25, Michael Cox, Further Modifications to a Bench Grinder. Nick

Thank you all for the helpful advice and to you John for the specific feedback. One to go on my Xmas wish list. Nick.

I have recently completed a 5" gauge Sweet Pea 0-4-2 chassis and the total amount of side to side movement (slop) in an axle is 80 thou. I am unable to get any definitive advice on whether this 80 thou will be OK.

My feeling is that this might be too much and I have double checked all the drawings and the frames are 11 thou less than they should be. Wheel back to back width is per drawing and 5" Gauge Association specs.

A member of a Sweet Pea forum said 2 thou slop, a respected member of my club said 1/16" which is about 62 thou and another said that his Sweet Pea is 28 thou. I have done a lot of on-line research and there was an old posting on here which said that 1/16" is OK on a 0-6-0 5" Simplex and that too tight a clearance will cause problems on tight curves.

There is a book called "So you want to build your own live steam locomotive" by an American fellow where the calculations are given. The book is quite expensive to buy and I just missed one in EBay last week.

I would appreciate any ideas or suggestions as I don't wish to jeopardise a year's work. Many thanks. Nick

Try G&M Tools in Sussex. It won't be listed on their Website but they tend to have quite a few Boxford bits kicking around. They advertise on here (see right). Nick.

Thanks Rod - much appreciated. Nick

Andy. Try asking these questions on the Yahoo Boxford Group. They were very helpful when I was buying my 1978 Boxford CUD. Nick.

I was asking myself the same question recently and did a lot of research. On a recommendation from a post on this site I bought the Chronos Chipbreaker type parting tool shown HERE.

I am a novice and was dreading using a parting tool but this worked like a dream cutting 3/4" steel bar on my 5" Boxford CUD. I would have preferred one of the bigger sizes but they are out of stock. The small size that is in stock should be ideal for a small lathe and at £16 including delivery it is a bargain.

Nick