Member postings for Kiwi Bloke

Hi folks. I'm getting on, and things have a nasty habit of changing. My >50-year-old 'knowledge' about oil seals may now be out of date. What direction should the lip of an oil seal face, in this case, in an agricultural vehicle's wheel hub?

The hub will eventually fill with grease, if regular greasing instruction is obeyed. My belief is that the seal should therefore allow passage of material (grease) to the outside of the hub, whilst preventing muck getting in. (The seal is primarily a 'muck-keeper-outer', rather than a 'grease-keeper-inner). Therefore, the lip should 'face' the outside, with the 'smooth' side of the seal facing in. This is the opposite direction to, for example, a crankshaft oilseal. But my knowledge may be OK for ancient, single-lip seals, or even leather seals, and now we are supplied with double-lip seals, so have fitting instructions changed (for this type of application)?

Edited By Kiwi Bloke on 02/03/2023 01:37:58

Does anyone remember the 'Versator' (Mk III), made and supplied by Mason & Gauntlett Ltd, of Norwich? IIRC, advertised in ME in the '60s, onwards, until...? Prismatic, glass lenses, substantially, if rather crudely, made. I really must get around to replacing the forehead pad and the headband for my set. I have no idea how it may compare with the current Optivisors. Anyone got any comments?

I'm currently using a cheap, oriental Optivisor clone and various 'Ready Readers', in various strengths - a skinflint's solution, and perhaps optically rather limited.

Edited By Kiwi Bloke on 26/02/2023 09:36:53

Gray. Thanks for explaining. It all makes sense. Instructive. Seems Proxxon equipment may be more than a bit like the curate's egg?

Duncan. Glad to hear you also have a scrap/to-be-used-later bin! I hate waste and throwing anything away. My wife tells me it's a problem. I think it's a virtue...

Gray, did you overlook my previous post?

If forum threads stuck rigidly to the topic of the original post, they would be far less interesting and informative, and have narrower appeal. Many posters contribute for the benefit of as wide an audience as possible.

Those who are not interested in changing their habits won't discover the benefits of so doing. Keep doing the same, and keep grumbling if you wish, no-one's forcing you read comments that others may find useful.

I've moved quite a few machines, initially using primitive methods, but am now older, weaker and have an engine crane, chain blocks, pallet trucks, and tractor with front-end loader, and no longer take pride in doing everything possible solo. Given the right gear, it's easy, of course.

However, before the mechanical aids came along, one of the most useful things was a pair of discarded formical-covered wardrobe doors. Things slide easily on formica! Lifting one end of a machine at a time, with pry-bars or suitably-placed jacks allows rollers to be placed underneath (scaffold poles, for instance, although smaller diameter makes handling rather easier) and then it's usually possible to insinuate a sheet of ply underneath the rollers, if one has to cross gravel, grass or uneven surfaces. I've never had to negotiate stairs with anything heavier than a Myford Super 7 (easy two-man lift, with motor and tailstock removed). Hats off, and sympathy to those who have stairs to contend with.

I've made various flat-plate trolleys, of various iizes, using scrounged casters and thick ply. It's often surprisingly easy to wrestle one end of a machine at a time a few inches up onto such a trolley, and then you're away...

It's surprising how much easier it is to carry a heavy lump if it can be slung from a long pole, on the shoulders of a couple of sturdy blokes (or, with the benefit of a longer leverage arm, a sturdy wife...). Knees bend, and only try to raise it a couple of inches.

And grippy gloves double your lifting ability!

Re the LED lamps: why bin them? It should be fairly easy to convert them to a low-voltage supply. Surely the mechanical hardware is worth a few bob?

Gray. Interesting mod, that can be applied to other machines, of course, and beautifully executed, as we've come to expect. Two questions...

1. Why did you choose to use a roller (ball bearing set) to follow the guidance strip/key, rather than fit a gib strip?

2. (Apologies if I've overlooked the answer). Is the column's guide strip/key located in a groove in the column, or just planted on its surface, or on a flat?

MX Linux is my currently preferred version of Linux too, having migrated from Mint and, before that, Ubuntu and Suse. I have Bodhi Linux running on an ancient 32-bit laptop, too old to have Bluetooth, but my more up-to-date machines, including a touch-screen-equipped laptop run MX. Installed with all its default settings, it just works (so does Bodhi, on the antique), but it can then be tweaked extensively to suit preferences. Libre Office substitutes for MS Office suite, and even handles the ridiculous .docx file format.

I've encouraged folk to stop paying for annoyingly bad software for nearly 20 years, and move to Linux. I don't think I've had a single convert. But no-one has said that they tried Linux and hated it. So I guess folk just won't change. OK, keep subjecting yourselves to Microsoft hell, if that's what you want - and enjoy paying for the priviledge...

Edited By Kiwi Bloke on 19/02/2023 09:57:11

Excuse me for my laziness - I think I may have a partial answer to my query somewhere on this cluttered, shambolic HDD. However, even if I can find it, it will be out of date...

There seems to be several Multifix clones, and some 'badge engineering' complicating things. Does anyone know the countries of origin of the various clones? I have a suspicion ( = unreliable memory) that the PeWe clones originate in PRC.

Quality was iffy, decades ago, too. Pinhole leaks were common (the plumbing merchant told me) around Stockport in the 1980s, when I re-plumbed a property which suffered such leaks.

The cause of pinhole leaks seems mysterious. I was convinced by research suggesting that one cause was electrochemical corrosion caused by residual graphite, pressed into the bore of the pipe. Graphite was apparently used as a drawing lubricant. I've since read more, and have just got progressively more sceptical and confused. I think it's probably Satan at work...

Really, I think you should do your own research. you will find out more that way, and avoid (some of) the misinformation that clogs up the internet - and, mercifully fairly rarely, even this forum. There are plenty of appropriate books out there (remember books?).

A 'cheap grinder'? '...fairly vocal'? Well, goodness knows what sort of wheels come with a cheap grinder, but they almost certainly won't be well suited to the task. Perhaps OK for putting an edge on a mattock... And, in the 10 years of taking 'literally hours', trying to grind HSS, the wheels are probably glazed. Glazed wheels won't cut.

So, tips: 1, read - buy books; 2, get appropriate wheels; 3,mount the wheels properly; 4, dress the wheels; 5, sort out a sensible tool rest - what came with the grinder will be hopeless. 5, read more. Then, if you're still stuck, ask...

Oh, and balance the grinder and the wheels...

That's pretty!

Years ago, when in UK, I DIY-installed a couple of wet CH systems, in copper pipe. Some pipes were harder than others, and tended to crack when bent (with a proper bender). Annealing it made it softer than 'usual' pipe. So the pipe, as bought, has not been annealed. I would be very worried that your pipe will split.

Not sure how your controller is arranged. If you have two circuits, each valve-controlled, what happens if both are 'off' at the same time? I installed a pressure-sensitive bypass valve, necessary, I thought, because I fitted TRVs to the two CH circuits and the three circuits were electric-valve-controlled. Never thought about a HW coil circuit restrictor. Perhaps I was lucky.

(Redundant knowledge now. The climate in this part of NZ doesn't really warrant full central heating, even though domestic insulation standards are woeful. Anyway, DIY plumbing isn't allowed, and the components would be ridiculously expensive - you think UK is expensive?)

Don't know whether it had a particular name. IIRC, the 16 valve Triumph Dolomite used this arrangement. I remember them going like stink, and very noisily, at Silverstone - in the 70s? Might be able to find info about them...

I think that's about it, and beautifully summarized!

Edited By Kiwi Bloke on 20/01/2023 08:48:47

Is it also worth pointing out that the auto table feed should feed on the ram's return stroke, and go 'Click, click, etc' on the cutting stroke? I've seen them wrongly set...

It's worth checking to see that the ratchet on the table feed doesn't also drag the feed screw backwards, so it oscillates, rather than feeding steadily. IIRC there's no built-in provision for adding some friction to the feedscrew's rotation, to prevent this from happening.

If you're 'running ' the colour up the shank of a tool, towards its cutting edge, you need to stop the process quickly, as soon as the desired colour reaches the edge. hence quench. But there's no need to quench if you can control the temperature accurately (as in an oven, etc). This answer is appropriate to the average Joe, working with silver steel, high-carbon steel, etc. No need to quench copper, when annealing, either.

Perhaps the tool clamping screw ends got mushroomed, then some gorilla wound them out, destroying the threads in the toolpost.

No, this is not true. Molasses contains chelating agents, and it is chelation that removes the rust. It works before the stuff has a chance to ferment (if you're reasonably hygienic). If it were alcohol acting as a reducing agent, booze would work. The problem with molasses is that it's slow, but in Australia, in summer, it'll only take a fortnight to deal with significant rust. Evaporust works well, but is expensive. That's also thought to be a chelator - perhaps EDTA.

Great news, Hopper! Everyone deserves some luck, some time! Bet you're as pleased as a dog with two er, .....