Member postings for Nick Wheeler

Depends what you're doing with it:

When we did the modification for the front wheel on a Cessna Caravan, spending £20 on a bottle of the specified Loctite to use just a few drops, was nothing as part of an £8000 job on a million pound aeroplane.

If you're locking a thread on a toy train that might run for a dozen hours a year, using some of the unbranded stuff that you bought 8 years ago from the local fastener shop is going to be more than good enough.

Edited By Nicholas Wheeler 1 on 19/02/2022 15:46:08

The idea of putting a crusty part in a tub of something, and removing it a couple of days later when it's clean is way more appealing to me than using abrasives, wire wheels, power tools, elbow grease and time. I would prefer to use those on things that can't be done any other way.

I've had a Dremel for years and I don't think I've ever used it without thinking what a piece of junk it is, and that there must be a better option.

my WM250 doesn't have back gear, and so far hasn't needed it.

I tend to screwcut larger threads that aren't worth buying tap and dies for, or that would be too much work. This

is a new headstock bolt for a 200kg bell, that needed M20 threads on each end. The end you can see there needs about 100mm of thread, so doing it efficiently was important: I cut it at about 120rpm and 0.2 DOC for all but the last spring passes. The test piece I did was more like 200rpm, but I didn't have enough material to remake the job if I screwed up.

Here's the rest of the parts

that have been in use for over two years; my bolt has a relief at the end of each thread unlike the original die cut one that failed noisily...

A 4 rib belt is hardly necessary on a mini-mill!

Light colours make for a more pleasant work area.

But be careful that it doesn't match the colour of your most used material: for example steel parts on a silver surface

Use it with a bluetooth spatula?

When using complex chemical mixes for critical applications - any 2 pack glue/paint/filler/rubber/etc - using one use disposable mixing cups, stirring sticks, gloves, applicators is better than buggering up the cure and effect by reusing old ones. Shop rags are the same, you don't know what it was soaked in before you tried wiping down your expensive new paint job.

Edited By Nicholas Wheeler 1 on 24/01/2022 23:32:02

Any road user should watch this VIDEO

Consider just how utterly crap the A-series is in standard form; it's next to impossible to make it worse

How about using a wider rubber strip that's attached further into the case, rather than along the edge? Then it won't be as susceptible to peeling off.

Yes, an ELS is a distinct possibility for me.

Where would I find such a list? I'm not sure how useful it would actually be, as one of the main reasons for screw cutting is when you have to make a one-off part with a thread you don't have a die for. Or one that is too big for your tools, like the M20 threads I had to cut on a clapper bolt

It gets even more intriguing with each post.

What kind of desktop item needs such awkwardly finished parts?

Sheetmetal parts are supposed to be cheap and easy to manufacture(cut, bend, paint, install) for when you can't make them out of rod.

rough edged, razor sharp burrs on each face of the cut - I could show you some 30 year-old scars if you like

a cut that is only as straight and consistent as your hand/eye coordination and visibility

the finish of the actual cut edge is utterly dependent on the quality and grit of the abrasives the wheel is made from

pollution from the sparks, grit, noise etc

thin materials build up a lot of heat at the cut edges.

Those all sound horrible; they are worse.

Cutting thin sheet metal with a grinder(of any size, from a hopeless Dremel clone upwards) is a roughing operation, not one that produces the 'precision' finishes and dimensions you're insisting on.

How is 1mm thick sheet steel not thin, when you can shape it with nothing more than your thumbs??

Considering the very small strip you want is normally the waste from using a grinder, perhaps you could clamp your material between two pieces of straight steel and shear it off with a very sharp chisel? A cheap wood one would do the job. You'd still have to straighten it, but at least the cut and size would be decent.

And although you don't want to hear this, not showing at least some of your design is what is causing you all the grief with the advice here. Every part you've asked about should be easy to make as singles. Not being able to make them in quantity is immediate grounds for a redesign. How many times have you been through it removing features, changing materials, swapping to readily available parts that will work almost as well as custom ones, reducing the fastener count or making them all the same, and all the other things that are important for actually developing an idea?

You need more experience then!

Cuts made with grinding wheels on thin materials are horrible things. Doing one or two like would be OK, but more than a couple is not acceptable. I would always trade flattening an already straight cut over cleaning up one done by hand with a grinder.

Cleaning off the burr caused by any abrasive disc is going to be way more work, less accurate and more time consuming than just tapping any guillotine distortion straight. The guillotine will cut quicker too, and a long machine could cut several of your parts in one operation.

You need to speak to the technical department of a glue manufacturer. It's just the sort of question they're for.

Any metric thread is the coarse pitch unless you specify otherwise. Or it should be: cars for example are littered with M12x1.5 threads instead of 1.75 which would be 'normal'

But they're different types of tools, and are built for very different use:

the drill here was intended for industry, to be bolted to a bench, used for hours every day and every few years get a new belt, a squirt of oil and the motor blown out. That example is a bit expensive, but it needs nothing and buying it could save lots of time finding a cheaper one.

the £700 mill is going to be a lightweight machine for hobby use, where annual usage is often be counted in a few hours - like mine.

Depends how important the hole is; cross drilling for a split pin, or cable for a nipple I just drill straight through as it's high speed and a light cut.

I use the attachment for fluting knobs(I think they look and work better than knurling, and is easier to do), and with brass and aluminium I rest a chuck jaw against a block on the bed ways. That also gives enough indexing for a looks good enough result.

For more important jobs, a stepper motor headstock dividing attachment is on my list of things to do.

Edited By Nicholas Wheeler 1 on 12/01/2022 11:40:17