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Member postings for Steve Pavey

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

Thread: Centec riser block
14/10/2022 09:18:22

Yes, the pdf I have is the one provided by Gary Wooding in the thread Peak4 has linked to above. The thread referred to contains a lot of information from Gary and others on the details of the dovetails, and pros and cons of short vs. Long riser blocks.

13/10/2022 21:04:50

If you message me your email address I can send you a pdf file.

Thread: Irritated by ebay
06/10/2022 13:48:01

Of course eBay is annoying, and of course some of the stuff is junk, peddled by dodgy sellers or is priced in a slightly misleading way. But if I think back say, 20 years or more, I have no idea where I would go to buy 200 lollipop sticks, two diamond grinding wheels and a very reasonably priced 0.37kW inverter all on the same shopping trip. Certainly there were no local shops round here that would sell any of those items.

I have only lost out once with a dodgy seller (who wriggled out of his responsibility to refund me by offering a replacement which would be delivered in 25 days, thus neatly taking me over the 40 days window for lodging a complaint, and then refusing to answer messages). Revenge is a dish best served cold though, and he will eventually regret his actionwink.

In my view Amazon is far worse - prices are usually higher, and try as hard as I can, I can never navigate the checkout without signing up for Scamazon Prime, so I have vowed never to use them again. Anything I want that is on Amazon can be found elsewhere, usually cheaper.

(ps the lollipop sticks are for making labels for plant pots on my cnc laser)

Thread: Ideas on how to form the joggle plate for a small tool makers clamp
29/09/2022 16:31:38

Even on the Eclipse version, those plates are a bit of a fudge imo. Tony and Jason have offered the best engineering solutions above.

Thread: I just had to buy these …
28/09/2022 14:00:53

Given the mis-labelling, I think I would be more than wary of actually using them for any sort of electrical test.

Thread: Internet access alternatives
03/09/2022 18:54:04

I was getting a lousy service with John Lewis (who use Plusnet, who in turn use BT) on a copper line. So much so that I ditched John Lewis (who subsequently continued to debit my account until I noticed it, and were completely unapologetic). I bought a TP-Link 4g router along with a SIM card and package from Smarty (unlimited data only for £16/month), which has been excellent.

Since then full fibre has been installed in our local area so we now have fibre to the premises courtesy of EE for slightly less than John Lewis we’re charging us for their shoddy service. I still have the 4g router as it is very useful when away from home - I often take it with me even for a trip out in the van.

The moral of my story is to cancel your direct debit when you change supplier, especially if John Lewis or Plusnet are involved (revenge is a dish best served cold though, and they paid dearly for their poor service, which is another story wink)

Edited By Steve Pavey on 03/09/2022 18:54:45

Thread: IS IT A SCAM
25/08/2022 17:31:59

Seems to be a lot of prejudice about AliExpress, possibly from people who have never bought anything from them. I built a laser CNC last year using parts sourced almost entirely from there. I think in total I placed around 50 separate orders for various components, ranging from bags of machine screws for next to nothing to a 100watt Cloudray CO2 laser tube for around £500. I can’t recall a problem with any of the orders, apart from a few of them taking a couple of months to arrive. There is actually a system for dealing with orders that go wrong, as AliExpress clearly rely on their suppliers being reliable and trustworthy.

As for quality, I have no complaints with what I have purchased, and it’s as least as good as any of the Chinese stuff that U.K. sellers supply. Of course you can buy rubbish from AliExpress, especially if you can’t be bothered to do a bit of research. Equally you can buy rubbish from U.K. suppliers - it just costs more.

Thread: covid booster warning
17/08/2022 18:28:13
Posted by Harry Wilkes on 17/08/2022 17:41:48:
Posted by mgnbuk on 17/08/2022 08:48:13:

Is this the privatisation of the NHS creeping in ?

Does it matter as long as you get the service you require, when you require it, at the same cost to you ?

Nigel B.

Is this the privatisation of the NHS creeping in ?

I think no but I think the NHS will use the private sector to easy it's load. My last eye test revealed I have cataracts within two weeks I had my first consultation and an appointment and four weeks later I get my left eye done all this with private eye care.

H

In the past my GP father-in-law ran a practice which dealt directly with the NHS. Nowdays practices like his have been taken over by health companies which run a number of surgeries and have therefore installed themselves in between the medics and the NHS. They like the money, but not the patients because the latter cost money. So now, when you ring for an appointment you might get one in 3-4 weeks, or you get told to go to A and E, or a pharmacist, or if you’re lucky you might get a video call with a GP at a private on-line consultancy. So yes, it is creeping privatisation. And of no use to the patient.

Thread: 75mm x 2000mm Belt Linisher Build Thread
30/04/2022 19:04:02

That’s going to be a nice machine when it’s completed - nicely made components.

Where did you go to for the water jet cutting?

Thread: Spindle speed, vfd and Mach4
30/04/2022 17:39:35

Sorry, it has taken far too long to find the necessary piece of paper.

My parameter settings are:

PD No - setting

1 - 1

2 - 1

3, 4 and 5 - 400 Hz

6 - 2.5 for 50 Hz

7 - 1.2

8 - 220v

9 - 15

10 - 8

11 - set to 133 Hz for air cooled spindle to give min 8000 rpm, for water cooled any figure but below about 6000 rpm gives reduced torque

14 - 5 secs

15 - 7 secs

44 - 2

45 - 3

72 - 400 Hz

73 - 120 Hz

142 - 8.5 amps

143 - 2 pole

You’ll need to check in your manual what each of the parameter settings does, and if in doubt possibly leave some of them at the default, but having said that the important ones to check in your case will be the frequency and no of poles, ie PDOO3,4,5, 72, 143 and 144.

26/04/2022 22:28:49

Yes, I’m still around!

I have a file in the workshop with all the paperwork and I’m sure I noted all the vfd parameters - I’ll have a look tomorrow and let you know.

Thread: Woodwork Router Advice
09/02/2022 23:06:58
Posted by jerry bakermr on 09/02/2022 18:29:13:

I only do woodworking when it's necessary, although I've built two houses, largely with a chainsaw. You don't need a router; I have a cheap one that has saved me a lot of money when it comes to skirting board and trimming. I created doors out of 2x2s nailed together in a frame form and covered both sides with ply, as well as door frames out of 2x4s and architrave to disguise the connections. A drill and a good chisel are required for the locks and hinges. I don't want to lead people down the wrong path, but it is possible. The router is safe; just maintain a tight grasp and, as previously stated, do not climb the mill.

Err.. the thread is seven years old, so I think he’s got his doors sorted now. And in any case, your advice is the same as that given by someone else on page 1, post no 10. Just saying..

Thread: Need to cut long thin strips of steel (& plastic) - e.g. with an angle grinder?
21/01/2022 07:52:08

I’ve skimmed through all the posts so may have missed it, but has anyone mentioned the Gabro guillotine? Their main advantage is that they give a distortion-free result.
Second choice (because it is slightly slower, but has the potential to be far more accurate) is a slitting saw in a milling machine -I think Jason has already suggested this, and there is an excellent Stefan Gotteswinter YouTube video on this very topic.

My third choice is to clamp the work between two pieces of ply/mdf and cut with a hacksaw, which I see you already do.

Last choice would be a Dremel - way too slow, not good with stainless, razor sharp edges to clean up, etc etc.

Thread: Endless Repeats
28/12/2021 13:15:00

The BBC, under the guise of TV Licensing, are guilty of harassment and demanding money with menaces. And I’m not joking either. If an insurance company, for example, sent out letters telling people who are not their customers that they risk fines if they drive without insurance cover, or telling those same people that they are ‘under investigation’ there would rightly be uproar. At the very least the ASA would be having strong words with them. But the BBC do this routinely. I have a stack of threatening letters from them. Some of them even resort to ambiguous or misleading statements which imply that owning a tv or an aerial necessitates a licence, which of course it does not.

Attempting to tell them that you do not want their services means divulging your personal details to them, which I am loathe to do. So I have to put up with a letter every 2-4 weeks, and threats of a visit, not from a salesman but from an ‘enforcement officer’. If one ever appears on my doorstep I may not be responsible for the resulting language.

Thread: Solid Edge Community Edn. - Gen. Qs. Thereof
28/12/2021 07:14:42

The learning process with any software is an interesting topic. My working life has included standing at a drawing board, and much later on teaching various software applications including Photoshop and Illustrator, to both adults and children. Teaching adults is a nightmare - they usually bring with them a lifetime of baggage, and their objections and observations all seem to consist of phrases like ‘why doesn’t it draw this/ that way’, or ‘why has it done that’. Youngsters, on the other hand, simply submit to the way the application works, happily adopting all the tricks and techniques that the adults find so difficult.

Fortunately, us adults have YouTube to help us learn, which is exactly what I did with Fusion360 - laptop in front of me, iPad on the left, watching Lars Christiansen and copying the moves. My previous knowledge of draughting was really not much help, other than being familiar with the concept of X Y and Z planes. After maybe 18 months I’m no expert, but I am able to draw what I need to for the work I do - mostly working in wood, like this jewellery box:

Jewellery box

Thread: Cutting Brass Sheet
20/10/2021 07:12:15
Posted by Brian John on 20/10/2021 03:13:19:

How hot should the brass plate be heated before flattening ?

Brass shouldn’t be worked hot in my experience. Some brasses are quite brittle at higher temperatures. Just anneal the brass normally (bring up to a dull red and then leave to cool).

19/10/2021 22:14:55

I’ve flattened bent sheet by annealing and then running it through a set of slip rolls - put a slight uniform curve in one way, then turn it over, reset the rolls a little and flatten it out on the second pass. Of course, it means knowing someone with the slip rolls, or spending more on another bit of equipment..

Thread: Vfd and motor efficiency
13/10/2021 22:22:58
Posted by john fletcher 1 on 13/10/2021 09:38:53:

Martin, a couple of years or so ago some on this site posted a series of picture of how he located the Star point on his motor and then reconnected it in Delta worth locating. Not a difficult thing to do, but a rewinder will be able to help out for a fee, think £50 plus an hour. John

I might be the guilty one - see this thread

There are loads of folk who can give you advice (as I obviously found when I tackled my motor and vfd setup) and when I got stuck in it was really very easy, and I wouldn’t hesitate to do another one. The motor and vfd have run perfectly ever since.

Thread: Stepper motors
26/07/2021 22:31:51
Posted by mgnbuk on 26/07/2021 19:20:29:

I have some 4 pin plugs and sockets connecting the steppers back to the control cabinet.

This isn't intended to be critical of you, Steve, as what you have done is what appears to be done often on DIY builds - but did you actually need a quickly detachable connection.. etc

Nigel B.

You’re right Nigel. I did think about this early on in the build, but it really had to be like this because of the space restrictions in the workshop, and the need to have the machine on castors, along with a control cabinet fixed on the wall. I also used some decent connectors from RS rather than cheap imports from you know where! Of course, as you now know I was let down badly by the bloke doing the soldering! At least I know where to look first if a similar problem arises in the future.

Thread: Leveling machines
26/07/2021 16:38:14

Whereabouts in the world are you Derek? I have a level you can borrow if you’re within a reasonable travelling distance from RH19 near East Grinstead, Sussex.

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