Member postings for CotswoldsPhil

Can you help me identify which QC toolholder I have acquired?

When I bought the Super 7 at the end of last year it came with a basic QCTH set. The tool-post fits the top-slide clamp stud perfectly. I have the original box (see photo below), the 2 tool-holders are engraved with the part number 4494-48, and appear hardened.

I bought 3 additional holders at the Midlands Show having been told that they were Myford originals and stamped W on the back. I now know (from this Thread) that these were probably manufactured by Weston Engineering.

However, the locking cam does not engage as fully as the matching pair of holders. The one shown at the bottom of the photo is part of the set, the one on the right is one of the new ones. The lack of cam action does not appear to affect the operation or stability of the holder when clamped.

I would like to purchase some more holders but do not want to waste money on holders which might not fit.

Your input would be much appreciated.

Regards

Phil

Hi Ian,

Here is the link to the thread about the Axminster NVR switch.

http://www.model-engineer.co.uk/forums/postings.asp?th=102212

Regards

Phil H

Ian, Thanks for that - I will next time. I was rushing to beat the edit timeout.

CotswoldsPhil

I have the same Axminster NVR switch as IanT; it is installed as the main power switch for my Super 7. If you hit the big emergency stop button it locks off and requires a twist to reset. The internal wiring does, however, require 1/4inch spade type crimp connectors and you will need cable entry glands.

I have no connection to Axminster apart from being a satisfied customer. I ordered the switch at 3:30pm and the postman delivered it at 10:00am - next day delivery, a bit more expensive but no need to wait in anymore than necessary.

Regards

CotswoldsPhil

Wish I could create a post in one go...

Edited By CotswoldsPhil on 03/12/2014 20:31:16

Edited By CotswoldsPhil on 03/12/2014 20:32:18

Edited By CotswoldsPhil on 03/12/2014 20:34:50

Edited By CotswoldsPhil on 03/12/2014 20:38:07

As Jason says, any tension in a spoke will pull the wheel out of true.

I made the wheels to my Minnie some time ago and remember it being rather fiddly, but I did manage to achieve wheels with very little run-out. Len Mason's description, in the Minnie book, which I followed, goes something like - working in opposite pairs... set the bend at the rim end, position the spoke with a 10BA screw through the central hole and press the spoke gently onto the rim, the spoke should just graze the edge of the hub groove and there should be no rock. It's probably more obvious if the bend is just a little too much at first, and then tweaked back to fit.

Now the hard part - mark the spoke at the hub end and bend the spoke (all bends must be a right angles across the spoke and each hub end bend should be slightly short of the hub groove). Now refit the spoke to check - there should be no rocking and the hub end should lie flush with the face of the hub.

Perseverance - bend, fit, mark , bend, tweak, fit, tweak, fit ---- ahhhh is quite satisfying.

Thinking about it now, for the second bend, I would make a little test jig, which would simply be a block of an appropriate height (inside rim to bottom of groove), resting on a flat surface, you could then test each spoke with Mk1 eyeball, so that it rests flat at both the rim and hub ends.

It might be an idea to do 4 each side and check before completing the wheel.

Regards

CP

Edited By CotswoldsPhil on 18/11/2014 19:29:14

Welcome Terry,

Frank makes some good points about finding a secondhand lathe in general or a Myford if that is what you decide to do after hearing all the differing opinions. Just be careful you don't get seduced by shiny new paint - there are a number of refurbished? Myford machines out there, I'm sure many will be OK but buyer beware. You just have to look at at what sells on 3bay and 6umTree.

Regards

Phil

Edited By CotswoldsPhil on 07/11/2014 17:00:48

Following on from Neils post, here is a crossslide index wheel I made for an ML7 years ago to replace the 'orible die-cast one. As Neil indicates the feedscrew is 10tpi so there are 100 divisions on the dial. A piece of clock-spring between the inner and outer components adds the necessary friction.

Phil (CP)

Hi Robin and all,

Sorry for the tardy reply...

The DRO in the photo does not power down when static, once on it stays on - you have to long-press the on/off/reset button to turn it off. The battery is an LR44 which seems to last a reasonable time; even the cheap ones. I tend to just turn it on when I need it, it's always there ready.

As I mentioned, the only issue (for me) is that these particular DRO's (from Axminster - usual disclaimer) are not liquid proof. I may have been lucky, it got wet and started behaving oddly so I took the back off, dried it out and all has been well since.

Phil (CP)

I made the 30 tooth oil pump ratchet wheel (<>3/8 in dia. > for my Minnie in silver steel by planing the teeth with the blank held in the chuck on an ML7. I used a slotter attachment to rack the topslide. You could just rack the saddle if you are not over worried about wear on the saddle's rack and pinion. I indexed the spindle with a 30 tooth gearwheel attached to the rear of the spindle. On a Super 7 you could just use every other tooth on the 60 tooth bull-wheel.

Phil

Here is my version of a DRO fixed to my Super 7 which was originally made for an ML7. It gives me repeatable accuracy to 0.0005 or or 0.01mm at the push of a button. Just keep cutting fluid out of it, hence the plastic cover - don't ask. Total cost £35 + some bits from the cum-in-for box.

Phil

Edited By CotswoldsPhil on 06/11/2014 18:54:57

Hi Frank,

I was having my tea...

Here is one - it actually refers to a vertical shear bit

**LINK**

I'm sure there are others, I'll report back.

Regards

Phil

Hi fizzy,

Crikey...a 20 thou cut on a small piece in a small lathe is a bit suicidal dont you think?

Well spotted - I missed that - darned metric - I don't think I've ever taken a 20 thou cut in my life on my Myfords - probable why it took so long to make the Minnie and kept the machine in good condition .

HSS most days, lot cheaper too.

Phil

I'm glad to hear you are OK Andrew.; this thread has however, focused the mind;

I've been using a Dewhurst switch on the Myford since I was a lad - quite a few years now, I've not burned it out yet despite all the warnings, probably because of limited use.

Yesterday, I ordered an NVR with Locking Panic Stop switch a 15:40 from Axminster it arrived today at 10:00 - now that's good service. I have no connection apart from being a satisfied customer. It's not got any overload capability but after 40+ years without...and it does need spade connectors for the NVR switch.

Off to the workshop to fit it between the plug and the machine's supply cable.

Regards

Phil

I agree with very sharp HSS tools, I finish the cutting edges with a very fine diamond stone.

You could try a HSS tool variation for your finishing cuts - a tangential tool; (this is not the same as the tangential tool holder advertised on the website). I came across the details during an internet search for something else. It's a bit like a normal knife tool but on its side. It works with a distinct slicing action. The swarf comes off like wire-wool and 1/2 thou. cuts are easy to achieve. The photo of the tool looks odd because it was difficult to photograph. The only issue is that you can't finish to a shoulder.

I used it to good effect when attempting to make a missing 7/16 Myford Collet from silver steel.

The second photo shows the difference between insert carbide and the HSS tangential tool finish on the MT2 section. You should note that I did not have the benefit of fine feed, I was manually feeding the set-over topslide to machine the MT2 taper.

Another, not so obvious benefit, came from grinding the front face to 90deg (another variation) which I think eliminates any tool height error which affects taper turning.

I've rarely had good finish with insert tooling, as I tend to use small depths of cut, I'm in no hurry! and insert tooling calls for reasonable cuts, otherwise it just rubs. However, I have found that the Super 7 is able to produce a better finish from carbide with reasonable cuts than an ML7 (in very good condition) probably because the spindle is stiffer on the Super 7.

I'll try and find the original link to the tangential tool if anyone is interested.

Regards

Phil

Hi Thomas,

Is the clutch slipping? even with no load, it might still slip with the drag and generate heat which will transfer to the shaft bearing block, on the left hand side. The reason I mention this, is that your woes appeared to start with you fixing the clutch engagement mechanism.

Is/has the end float in the clutch mechanism (0.010 inch) been set correctly after your repair? not easy, as I could not see how to get a feeler gauge in there! I set the end float by just leaving a bit of detectable slop in the clutch lever, when the clutch is engaged. As far as I understand, the small ball bearing and spring in the end of the cam follower (the subject of your other post) act as an anti-rattle device, taking up the end-float.

Regards

Phil

I made a lever arrangement to rack the top-slide, to save wear on the saddle gearing. The second photo shows it in use cutting a test keyway in what would be a pulley. There are many versions of this accessory, mine was made up from the scrap box.

For a square hole, I think I would mount a cutting tool with a square corner pointing to the lathe centre height and index the work. Taking light cuts should get the job done. If you mounted the work in a 4 jaw you could use the jaws to index the work.

Is a complete square necessary? or could just enough metal be removed to locate a square shaft by its corners in a larger hole.

CotswoldsPhil

Jon..

The bracket fixed to the Saddle - it is the one supplied with the DRO (Axminster Power Tools - usual disclaimer) I have a spare; two were supplied. The setup was originally made for my ML7, and I had to elongate the hole to get it to fit the Super 7 without remaking the cranked bracket.

It all seems to work; there are two 3mm cap-head screws fixing the bottom of the reader to the bent-up MS bracket to eliminate any potential twist. Nice thing is, it can all be removed in seconds, by undoing the two 1/4 BSF cap screws.

I checked the repeatability with my trusty vintage Mitutoyo dial gauge (long before Chinese imports) and was able to repeat positioning to 0.01mm over the range of the gauge (5mm). Whilst turning, I would remove any potential backlash in the feed-screw by always moving the cross slide in the direction of the cut.

Phil

Edited By CotswoldsPhil on 17/10/2014 10:56:14

Here is my version of a low cost DRO fitted to my Super 7. I used an original hole on the rear of the saddle and made concocted support from bits from the scrap box. I will tidy it up sometime in the future now that I know it works. The plastic cover is to keep cutting fluid (Rocol Ultra 370) out of the works. These DRO's are not waterproof - don't ask how I found out!

I'm pretty sure I don't suffer from backlash; the bracket is pretty solid, but I will double check, following Jon's experience.

Phil

It's easy to fall into the potential trap of making personal information email / telephone numbers available to undesirables. I did not include any email address in my advert but instead decided to use a "mafia phone" (Neil's term) to control what data was published. I still managed, however, to provide an email address 3 times by responding to Wanted adverts via email. (dumb or what)

This discussion has caused me to think further about my experience with my classified sale and how it might have been improved in terms of privacy, without adding any of the restrictions discussed so far. The key is Personal Messaging, it's already part of the website and hides email details very effectively whilst making contact simple and effective. Making PM the sole method of contact for adverts would help mitigate any perceived risk. Once an advertiser is happy with a contact, then email / telephone numbers could be exchanged to progress the transaction.

CotswoldsPhil

I tend to agree with Russ B that access to free classified adverts (browsing or placing) on the website could be a reward for actively taking part in the Forum, this would all but eliminate the most determined interloper, making any additional security arrangements unnecessary.

I'm hopefully here for the long term as I get stuck back in to model engineering after some very stop-start activity during my working years.

Regards

CotswoldsPhil