Member postings for pgk pgk

If it's for orthopaedic purposes then they are a specific stainless composition. Unlikely that is your intent when posting here but you could always call veterinary instrumentation - if they haven't got them they can always point you where. Not that I immediately figure what they are used for. Dynamic compression plates have an interesting grooved slot for each hole which matches to conical head screws placed neutrally or loading for compression rather than using screws needing a conical washer. But ortho stuff usually jumps from 4.5mm to 6mm.

Pretty 'stickie' here too in depths of rural wales..but we do have a tar driveway to the first barn wide enough for an artic and i spent a lot of dosh last year having some of the mudways dug out and stoned so lots of turning room and less mud-paddling to get about the place.

All the delivery company had to do was ring and ask. Heck, they didn't even ring before rocking up today and there is always a chance that wife and i were out sorting pet sheep issues etc. (it's not a working farm... just a large lump of quite heaven but still lots needs doing)

Ta for the explanation,

Stage 3 complete..

Stage 1 was actually getting delivery... it turned up on tuesday on a pallet..in the back of an ordinary large van. The driver then suggested we unbox and move the contents by hand. My answer was - " I can probably lift about 50kg still... can you manage the other 486kg??"

Yup.. no tail lift and not enough height to even consider trying to get my tractor loader arms in there. Then they claimed to redeliver yesterday... bull-faeces. I was in all day and we have 2 dogs - Ok one is old, knackered and deaf but the younger dalmatian barks at any engine - in the vain hope the driver has a biscuit.

It turned up today with a very helpful driver I was happy to give a bung to.. with a lot of heaving, practice and cetainly skills.. and some pushing from me we ran the pallet down a plywood runway to my shed. That was stage 2.

Stage 3 was getting it into the shed. And it's been hissing down all day. I dropped the bucket off the loader and slung the pallet from chains and ropes. It would have been easier to get it balanced sideways but just the inch too wide to get through my double doors. With the weight of headstock pulling it down it was more a case of one end coming off the ground and an angled low drag over the protected step and then a gentle shove with the arms to get the end of the box in far enough to close doors.

The woodburner is on and box and I are cosy. Stage 4 is to unpack my new lathe and start putting it and my engine crane together....

Obviously you guys have all done this.. but for a first time it's both a tad scary and exciting. Oh, it's a chester crusader delux and some basic tools came yesterday in a seperate delivery.

Edit. I should add this was in no way Chester's fault. It was the pallet company muck-up.

Edited By pgk pgk on 18/12/2014 18:31:31

<<For milling cutters don't forget to allow for the multiple teeth. This is significant when you come to run a slitting saw which are often run too fast. (it is nothing like a saw cutting wood which needs to run as fast as possible for differnet reasons.)>>

This is the question I was going to ask... does one roughly halve the speed for a 4 flute compared to 2 flute cutter?

JasonB's answer is way simpler than what i dreamed up:

Which was to drill right through an oversized piston block, bond a length of piston rod right through. Find a way of clamping your drill horizontally after drilling through 2 blocks of wood.. source some cheap bearings to fit the rod and the timber holes.. smear the outside of the bearings with slow set epoxy then clamp the whole shebang' sections down - effectively giving you a temporary lathe jig. If you can then find/make 2 blocks as referece for the finished piston height then you have further reference for filing/sanding

The slow set epoxy gives you time to set it all up

Edited By pgk pgk on 12/12/2014 09:20:21

When i first bought this farm I was over moon by a huge brick barn but keeping it dry enough to avoid rust is impossible. I ran a diesel space heater in there at 25KW equiv and wsn't able to wamr a corne enough to work in and feel my hands on a cold winter day and obviously running it long term would be mad on cost. My expensive rc helis corroded their bolts - fortunately the rest is carbon fibre and alloy.

The new hobby shed is lined with 4in of celcon walls and ceiling and skinned inside with ply and has a midsized wood burner - toasty to the point of having to open windows on the coldest day. The celcon isn't cheap but then nor are good toys and tools..

Go on, put it down to a 'hulk' moment and feel proud <g>

I must admit to buying a 24in adjustable rather than the stillson's as well as a very long breaker bar for the socket set - age takes it's toll....

Here we go... not as senile as I thought (but couldn't find a way to reduce font size)

From http://forensicsciencecentral.co.uk/firearms.shtml

Even though criminals may attempt to erase these serial numbers to avoid the weapon being traced, it may be possible to restore these serial numbers to a state in which they are legible. Serial numbers are often erased by filing or grinding, which will not necessarily remove the digits below the surface. Alternatively the perpetrator may attempt to change the serial number. Various techniques and reagents have been used to successfully restore these original numbers.

Fry’s Reagent is a substance composed of hydrochloric acid, copper(II) chloride, ethanol and water, commonly used on iron and steel. Other reagents are available for use on other types of metal. Initially the metal is polished to smooth the surface, a process which in itself may partially restore some of the digits. Following this, the etching reagent is then applied using a cotton swab, removing scratches and markings covering the numbers. This process can be repeated until the entire serial number is restored. However chemical etching methods can be very time consuming and are obviously damaging to the evidence.

An alternative method of restoring serial numbers on iron or steel is the Magnaflux method. As in the chemical etching method, the surface to be treated is first smoothed. A magnet is then attached behind the area and a mixture of iron filings mixed in a light oil is added to the surface. These minute metallic pieces will hopefully arrange themselves to visualise each digit. This technique is particularly beneficial due to its non-destructive nature, however it is not effective on all types of metal.

Part f the problem is the shallow impression and then there's a fair bit of scrappy paint, some casting roughness and superficial pitting on that face as well... all of which obscures things further. If I sanded smooth then the faint impressions would probably vanish too. It really isn't that important to me..just a curiosity and might have had some history.

If memory serves there's an etching technique used forensically to try and read filed off serial numbers too

I'm not sure exactly how you plan to do that. As you know it's designed to be air-operated and isn't going to drive any bulky drills. If its the challenge of fiddling - then fair enough. But for not a lot more money you can buy a cheap handpiece with latch etc... and all you'ld need to do is figure out mounting and air/coolant connections if you dont want to buy those.

example **LINK**

..it didn't help

I never fixed my own dental handpieces..they got sent away or binned/replaced for a better brand if giving me grief. It was cheap low speed handpieces where gears and bearings tended to stick..usually from polishing compounds finding their way in somehow. Highspeed handpieces were way more reliable but then the coolant water and function means little debris is going to find its way past seals. I did a lot of animal dentistry but those handpieces also got used for cutting rings off things and even hand shaping s/s toggles for surgical use. Also used them for fine bone surgery. Dental burs are cheap enough in hss to just chuck them as they go blunt.

I haven't dipped far enough into this hobby to know how much they could be used.. but perhaps the fissure drills for fine slots or the burs for decorative channels if you made appropriate clamps to hold the handpiece still

I wire brushed off one side and the bottom today and stove blacked it.. I'll do the other side tomorrow.

Once scrubbed clean it's possible to see the join of the top plate forged to the casting and faint lettering stamped into the side. Sadly I can't make out what it says.. too faint. It's inwards rather than a raised casting. Maybe it;ll be a little better in daylight but I failed to get anywhere trying a rubbing or side illumination. The bottom ine may say 'warranted' or 'patented' or something like that. Middle short line might be a short serial number but the last letters are possibly lb or st (yeah it;s that faint). Top line almost impossible.. may begin with an H or part of a W or even an N.

As for black powder firing... The history of gunpowder factories isintersting ..grinding the powder finely gives best performance and factories were often sited by rivers for water-power.. built with three stone walls and the wall facing the river of timber..so in the event of explosion that weaker wall would blow out into the less populous zone and factory could rebuild and get back to work quickly...

... I'm guessing staff wasn't the problem back then...

I was looking at the larger log options whilst splitting firewood today. I'm not sure any was left thick enough for this job..specially since I'm over 2 metres tall and I don't fancy a narrow top heavy base. I might get creative with a stack and brown foamy glue since it occurs to me that rotating 2-3 slices could end up with a level top - but no rush until the forge is made and a carport like cover.

Meanwhile I'll finish cleaning it up and stove blacking.

Oh, and it;s also got a horizontal square hole up it's back end...

Thanks for the help, guys

Vic, Thanks for that link .. a simplified version of the method I used to skim the thinner slice.

Thanks for the comments. Since it's going to live outside and in reality won't get used often, I'll go with the stove blacking and make it nice.

I've got to come up with a stand for it. My chainsaw ability doesnt ever get two parallel cuts on any log of the required diameter and facing the ends with a router I have done on making a coffee table out of a 4" slice that diameter but the jig making for a 2 foot high job wouldn't be worth the effort so I'll likely go with welding up a stand. I did come across an interesting simple idea of using a cut off oil drum filled with tamped sand & ballast but it'd end up sitting in the damp.

Hopefully scrappy can turn up some economic recyclable stock. He's also on the lookout for a large brake drum for my forge.

I've fancied having a go at some basic 'smithing' for a while although my experience totals making one horseshoe at college 41years ago.

Anyway I was int'pub with local part time dellboy and scrappy when he said he'd seen an anvil someone wanted £100 for and I jumped at that subject to it being in reasonable condition and full size.

It turned up yesterday and the top is pretty darned good , the horn has a little asymmetrical wear. It has the usual square hole but also 2 round holes of different sizes all at the opposite end from the horn. It also has a side 'shelf' jutting out on the side of the main body towards the horn end (facing the shelf the horn is to the left).

It's certainly heavy..probably 2cwt or so but no name etc anywhere. I can lift one end and walk it sideways Picking it up is not an option with 2 of us.

It's in the hobby shed now and I'm startng to clean it up.. wire brushng off some algae stain etc.

It's been painted? black all over. Anyone know if this is likely original (as it looks) and what sort of paint or stove blacking might have been used - or should it just be redone with hammerite? There's a few small flakes of coating where superficial rust shows through but I plan to keep it outdoors under a covered area for when i build a forge so full coating is necessary.

If there's any steel barn erectors near you then they'd likley have a punch that can go through 15mm plus steel for your holes. The local guys made me some new brackets for my tractor for steel cost plus beer money last week.

It's not really for a newbie to jump in here but as yet another alternative I recall seeing some aluminium repair rod that could be 'melted' with just a MAP gas burner and such holes fixed. the demo vid (can't remember the site, sadly) showed the guy fixing such a thread.. by dropping a bolt into the filled hole while still hot and liquid and just unthreadng said bolt when cooled - no need to tap. And the filler material was stronger than the original alloy. I think they had something similar for steel too.