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Member postings for thaiguzzi

Here is a list of all the postings thaiguzzi has made in our forums. Click on a thread name to jump to the thread.

Thread: Boxford lathe gurus...
17/02/2017 02:47:36

Excellent!

Thanx for that.

Identical!

Enquiring minds, so i pulled the front location plunger housing off a bit. Painted behind, held on by two 1/4" BSW allen heads AND two locating dowels a very snug fit.

Thread: New Holbrook Lathe to replace my Boxford
16/02/2017 02:20:07

Nice lathe.

Yeah, i'd swap a Boxford for that.

Another PO Research Institute lathe surfaces...

Thread: Boxford lathe gurus...
14/02/2017 03:21:33

Good points in both the above two posts. Thanx. Keep them coming...

12/02/2017 04:13:56
Posted by Michael Gilligan on 11/02/2017 15:07:20:

Posted by thaiguzzi on 28/01/2017 08:39:04:

20170122_155135.jpg

Hi, i'm asking for opinions and info from fellow Boxford lathe owners, past and present.

Enclosed pics of the 72 hole dividing disc/wheel and plunger engagement that came fitted to my lathe when i bought it. I have never seen another like it < etc. > Any opinions and info?

.

Now that the Boxford Gurus have had their say ... I hope that I might be permitted to comment:

  1. To my eyes, there is nothing to definitively indicate whether the sevice was built by Boxford, or by the in-house workshop ... The knurling is certainly similar to that on the factory parts, but that is not unexpected; the unfettled number-stamping, however, would surprise me on a 'factory special'.
  2. The fact that locking appears to be effected only by the index pin suggests that it was not used for gear-cutting, but more likely for drilling or scribing work.
  3. The choice of 72 divisions may relate to something horological, but my guess is that it is for 5° angular increments on a setting-dial or somesuch.
  4. A short article [recovered via IOPscience*] describes 'A goniometer for aligning large single crystals prior to cutting' ... This is just the sort of device for which such setting-dials might be required.

.

Unless the original delivery document; or a report mentioning its in-house manufacture; turns-up ... we shall presumably never know.

MichaelG.

.

[*] the Journal of Scientific Instruments (Journal of Physics E) 1968 Series 2 Volume 1

Diana M Jefkins and R E Hines

Post Office Research Department, Dollis Hill, London

Thanx for that, i agree with your point no. 2, and possibly no. 3.

Yes my (badly) stamped numbers every 6 holes. Saved lots of counting. Stamped in situ. As i mentioned earlier it is a large lump of beautifully machined iron with a lovely radius each side.

Thread: Dickson Toolpost - Tool Holder Rack
11/02/2017 14:05:34

Perspex shelf.

11/02/2017 13:56:56

20160830_134415.jpg

Edited By thaiguzzi on 11/02/2017 14:04:15

Thread: Boxford lathe gurus...
08/02/2017 02:28:28
Posted by Nicholas Farr on 05/02/2017 08:51:05:

Hi, define "factory made" any decent machine shop should be able to make such a an attachment.

Regards Nick.

"Factory made" means made in the Boxford factory. A non std item to special order. The original question was is this a Boxford made item or aftermarket/home made? I believe it is factory made and fitted.

Thread: Bench Grinder
05/02/2017 04:07:45
Posted by Tony Pratt 1 on 15/06/2014 14:45:36:

Creusen are top quality,

Tony

+1.

Not cheap, but top quality.

I have the Creusen vertical belt linisher one side, polisher the other side.

Thread: Lathe use
04/02/2017 14:57:42

Excellent. Love it.

Thread: Stamping numbers
04/02/2017 14:37:20
Posted by Lathejack on 02/02/2017 20:48:23:

I used my rotary table mounted on a stand and connected to the lathe spindle to cut new divisions and stamp new numbers onto the flanges of my Warco VMC mill. This was to replace the standard factory glued on scales.

I made an expanding mandrel to grip and drive the lathe spindle, and first I cut the divisions with a cheap carbide tipped lathe tool mounted on its side.

The fourth photo shows the numbers being stamped. The number stamp can just be seen mounted in the toolpost behind the block of steel used to guide it. The turret castings base flange and front verticle flange for the swivelling head were both done this way.

Dividing.Dividing.Engraving.Numbering.Head degree scale.Turret flange degree scale.

I use the shaper and a table extension for the lines, and a homemade UPT (Harley flywheel half for the base - it ain't gonna fall over!) for the numbers, but that is ingenious !!! Talk about thinking outside the box ! Superb.

Thread: Eagle Oil Can
04/02/2017 14:16:02

I like OCD in the workshop. That is very nice.

Thread: Optical Finder/Optical Centre Punch Article
01/02/2017 03:50:07
Posted by Paul Barrett on 31/01/2017 22:04:20:

I'm on Johns side.

+1.

Thread: Boxford lathe gurus...
28/01/2017 13:11:41

Head stock, and indeed the whole lathe is original paint. Only the doors and splash guard are non original Boxford paint.

I do think it's a factory fit.

28/01/2017 13:07:37

Bit of history about the lathe that i know of since i've owned it.

I got the lathe in around 2000/2001 when i still had my workshop in the UK. It came via a good friend who was emigrating, and came in a part ex deal with a couple of motorcycle basket cases. Complete bikes, part restored, in parts, an iron head Sportster and a T140 Triumph Bonneville. He was a commercial aircraft mechanic working from Norwich airport, and was going to use the lathe at home (his shed and projects had the best of everything, tools, aftermarket parts etc befitting of a certified aircraft technician) prior to him deciding to up sticks from the Norfolk coast and move to southern Spain.

I was'nt that interested in the Boxford, it was part of the deal with the bikes, as i had two Colchesters (a 24" Student, and a 36" Master, both round heads) in the shop, i just put it in the corner, covered it up, and thought one day, maybe tart it up and out it to some shed dweller, or home machine shop enthusiast, or heaven forbid, a model engineer. It was in lovely condition and pretty much fully tooled.

Anyway, 2003 rolls around, i've had enough, decided to shut the shop, sell up, sell the freehold, move abroad, though to NE Thailand. In hindsight, i should of kept one of the Colchesters (love my round head Colchesters), but weight, and lack of cheap converters, inverters, at the time, made me decide to sell the industrial stuff and keep the little Boxford.

The Boxford was 3 phase, again at that time inverters were pretty new and pricey, and converters were outragous money, and did'nt have a great reputation. Being in the trade, i got a machine tool service engineer friend of mine to find and locate the very rare correct 930 rpm, 1.5 hp single phase motor, s/hand, and we fitted it in with a bunch of swearing and skinned knuckles. New belts at the same time. One of my employees knocked up an extended left hand side motor access door (the replacement 1 phase motor was 50% bigger than the original 1 hp 3 phase motor), and also fabbed up a lovely splash guard. All got colour matched at our local powder coaters. Then i got a professional machine tool electrician in who owed me a favour or two (again, handy knowing people in the trade), who completely re wired the whole lathe, to run off a household plug (light and suds, seperate plugs).

The lathe has an imperial gearbox and leadscrew, but both top slide and cross slide feed screws and dials are metric (?).

The lathe came to me with the correct 3 jaw chuck, 4 jaw, faceplate, catchplate, both steadies, Crawford 3C collets (90% complete metric and imperial c/w several duplicates) and all gubbins, all the change gears required to cut all threads, 4 TPI and below and all metric inc the big 100/127 compound gear, correct indexing 4 way toolpost, and all the usual stuff that fits in the headstock and tailstock spindles.

So, i moved out here in 03, and my containers with Boxford followed me out here in 05. Prior to storing the lathe, i purchased a Bison Dickson QCTP from Cromwells. The t slotted cross slide was purchased from the UK since i've been out here, still have the original. All the plastic balls on all the handles have been replaced with brass. ditto, all my machine tools, TS mill, Boxford shaper, Stent T&CG, Taiwan pillar drill, none of them have any plastic on, everything on the end of a handle is brass.

That dividing wheel/disc is useful for spinning the chuck by hand with gears dis engaged, but i have rarely used the dividing hole facility, having an H/V rotab (c/w plates) for the mill and shaper, even though it's handy for 3, 4 and 6 marking out on discs for radial bolts etc whilst still set up in the chuck. Oh, and the (poorly) stamped numbers on the rim, every 6, not original, my handiwork unfortunately.

This lathe has probably seen more work in the last 12 years than in it's previous life. It gets used a LOT, i love it dearly, but on those big jobs, too big for the spindle hole, or some nasty 5" diameter steel, i do miss my round head Colchester...

28/01/2017 12:08:22
Posted by Tractor man on 28/01/2017 09:19:39:
No idea but it looks a lovely machine and I agree it has to be a factory made item. Can boxford assist?

Possibly worth contacting Boxford with the serial number off the bed, again thanx.

28/01/2017 12:04:52
Posted by Tractor man on 28/01/2017 09:24:06:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post_Office_Research_Station

Have a butchers here, they did some cutting edge engineering by all accounts. Mick

Very interesting. Thank you very much.

28/01/2017 08:42:55

Sorry about the photography, that is not rust (honest!) on the plunger housing, just oily steel...20160830_134315.jpg

28/01/2017 08:39:04

20170122_155302.jpg20170122_155135.jpgHi, i'm asking for opinions and info from fellow Boxford lathe owners, past and present.

Enclosed pics of the 72 hole dividing disc/wheel and plunger engagement that came fitted to my lathe when i bought it. I have never seen another like it, it's not on Tony's lathe site, but it just looks too factory made and factory finish to be a home shop made jobbie. Note the brass plaque on the headstock "Post Office Research Station London". It's held on directly to the std 1.5" x 8TPI spindle with 3 radial c'sunk screws. Beautifully made of iron. Also the plunger mechanism knurling looks identical to the micrometer bed stop. Lathe is a '69 VSL.

Any opinions and info?

20170122_155115.jpg20170122_155055.jpg

Thread: Proper tool grinding?
28/01/2017 06:33:16
Posted by mark smith 20 on 24/01/2017 10:48:32:
Posted by Speedy Builder5 on 24/01/2017 09:20:58:

I came across this Southbend link which may be of interest to some of you. Just bear in mind that some of the HSS tool holders present the tool at a fixed rake angle.
**LINK**
BobH

Southbend bend made a useful tool bit grinding jig block ,which could probably be easily made, square broached holes in the collets would be the most difficult part.But it can be used with a normal swivelling grinder rest.

grinding jig sb 4.jpg

Now that is very neat and very simple. I like it. A bonus is you're not getting hot fingers...

Thread: Tecalemit vintage brass grease gun
28/01/2017 05:07:24
Posted by Martin 100 on 28/01/2017 00:45:50:

As a Boxford owner for many years, and with no more than five minutes playing on an ML7 decades ago, it's always puzzled me the reams and reams of discussion in ME and elsewhere about oiling Myford lathes and how the Myford oil gun is useless and lots of suggestions from all and sundry on how to fix it, and store it, and stop it leaking, and etc.

With a Boxford I just use a Reilang gun, prod the end into the oiler squeeze the trigger a couple of times and get on with using the lathe. Is a Myford oiling point something so massively complicated it needs a 'special' solution to apply the oil?

+1.

Wot he said.

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