Member postings for alan ord 2

This is an old posting but I want to buy a set of Quorn castings. Have checked the previous link but it's not Model Engineering Service based in Chesterfield. Anybody have an update regarding supply of castings?

Thanks,

Alan.

Hi Derek, welcome to the forum. I don't agree with your comment that " Myford super 7 sounds about the best bet ". It can be a good machine if you buy a good second hand or a refurbished machine but they don't come cheap. For me they are not value for money. Also used machines can be in poor condition (as can other second hand lathes) and still be relatively expensive to purchase and more cost to bring them up to a good standard. Keep an open mind when making your choice of machine and don't restrict yourself to a Myford. If you are considering second hand British made machines think about Boxford, Harrison, Colchester, etc. The same comments, regarding condition, apply but if you get a good one they are worth it and in my humble opinion better than a Myford. Also don't discount the new Chinese machines. Plenty of choice of UK suppliers with good after sales support, well specked, plenty of tooling and very competitively priced. At the end of the day it is all down to how much you want to spend, space available and what you want to use it for.

Hope this gives you something to think about.

Good luck,

Alan.

Phil P thanks for the parking tip. I am inclined to drive over tomorrow and will park at the location you suggested.

Thanks, Alan.

Hi, has anybody been to the MEX today that can provide some feedback. Undecided whether to drive over to the exhibition tomorrow.

Alan.

My first lathe was a Clarke CL300M but after a short time bought a bigger Chester DB11. I have kept the CL300 as a back up, as the DB11 is the workhorse. I tend to keep the DB11 set up with a 5C collet chuck as I have a lot of 5C collets, std. round metric and imperial along with Hex and square. The CL300 has conventional 3 and 4 jaw chucks which I find convenient so I don't have to take the collet chuck off the DB11 when needing a std. chuck setup. My favourite set up and most frequently utilised are my 2 mills, both from Chester. A Champion 20VS and a Super Lux. I use the 20VS for small milling operations and the Lux for larger. Without doubt it is very convenient and less time consuming, so go for it.

Alan.

Agree with all of the comments. I bought a number of tooling items from Tadge and Richard and will miss them. The only problem I had with them was once you got into the shop you could not get out!! Great experience, very knowledgeable and great conversations.

I have been very critical of Chester but I think Tony has made a very good move setting up a Customer Support team and they should receive credit for that.

Alan.

I was a loyal Chester customer until I bought my last mill from them at Doncaster last year. I have a Chester 3 in 1 multiformer, a Chester DB11 lathe and a Chester Champion 20vs mill with DRO, stand, clamps, etc. As I mentioned last year I decided to buy a Super Lux milling machine with a 3 axis DRO fitted. That's when things started to go wrong. The day before the scheduled delivery I got a call saying they had to reschedule the delivery. OK, but when it was due to be delivered, I moved a load of equipment out of the workshop into the garden in anticipation of the delivery, only to wait in all day and no delivery, not even a call from Chester. I rang the next day and got a feeble excuse and an apology but we agreed another delivery date. The machine arrived but some items missing. Called again and they sent some of the missing items. The last items missing were the Z axis DRO cover and the Z axis gib locking screw, that had to be removed to fit the DRO scale. Rang again and was told they would be posted to me!!! After a week I called again to say they had not arrived and received another apology and another feeble excuse. Now months later nothing. For the sake of a simple locking screw and bracket they have lost a loyal customer. There customer service is not good but I have to admit the machines are good value for money.

Alan.

Hi, I am interested to know what the more experienced model engineers consider to be the best or preferred tap and die manufacturers. I accept that there are many variables that can impact the performance of taps and dies, but all things being equal, what do people think. I have read a number of forum threads on the topic of taps and dies but I have not come across any that refers to the ranking from a quality perspective. My personal preference is Presto, but they are relatively expensive. I also have LAL, Osbourne, Goliath and Totum. I have tried Chinese made taps and dies but I would not touch them now with a barge pole. They are very cheap but after breaking a tap on two separate occasions and the frustration of having to remake parts again has left a bad taste in my mouth and I should have known better. You get what you pay for!! I think that the Chinese taps are too brittle. When I broke the ones I referred to earlier I was tapping mild steel and using tapping paste. Also what about HSS vs carbon steel?

Glad to get some feedback.

Thanks,

Alan.

Thanks Ketan, I am going to order some tooling from you and just thought I would enquire to see if there were any promo codes.

Alan.

Hi, does anybody know if Arc have a Xmas promo and if they do would you let me have the promo code.

Thanks,

Alan

Hi Bandersnatch, you make a good point regarding availability of a sharp cutter when needed. But I would say most people carry more than one cutter of a particular or popular size and how often would the incidence of not having a cutter available occur?

Seeing John Stevenson's message earlier in the thread reminded me of the great service John performed at the recent Doncaster show. I took advantage of John's kindness and for a charitable donation got a handful of cutters resharpened. Maybe this could be a possible solution. If say a vendor like RDG offered a similar service at shows, I for one would be prepared to pay a reasonable cost to get some cutters resharpened. Obviously one can use your local engineering tool shop, but most are not geared up for small one off infrequent customers and would probably either not bother or charge a disproportionate amount. John, are you intending to offer your kind services again at next years Doncaster show? Or has the popularity of your last offer put you off. I was at Doncaster on the Thursday and Sunday and on both occasions I noticed how busy you were and also the queue at your stand.

Alan.

Hi Graeme, I looked at the Acute system when I visited the Doncaster exhibition but at the time not overly impressed with it. Regarding the Worden, Deckel and Quorn, they are fairly rare and when you find one there is a lot of interest and they go for silly money. I did recently bid on a Stent but lost out. I also think that the Quorn is not sufficiently rigid (I may be wrong with my perception as I have had no experience with them) hence the interest in the Clarkson which I feel is a more robust bit of kit. I would love to justify the expenditure for a Vertex version, even if I had to buy a Chinese version. But around £700 including shipping!!! Or a Warco version at £525 but you need to spend a lot more for the attachments to be able to use the equipment.

Alan.

Yes of course cost will always be an issue. I did make Harold Hall's simple grinding rest, not the more complex version. I have used it with a degree of success to regrind some end mill cutters using a bench grinder which sparked my interest in buying something more sophisticated. Either a second hand or new T & C grinder. Second hand Clarkson T & C grinders are reasonably priced but all the ones I have looked at lately don't come with all of the necessary tooling. So further cost's would be incurred.

Alan

I keep looking at T & C grinders and keep asking myself how can I justify spending hundreds of £'s acquiring a machine. Especially when considering how cheap milling cutters are these days. You can buy a lot of cutters for what you would pay for a T & C grinding machine. Other than the pleasure of regrinding them, I don't seem to be able to justify the expenditure. What do others think.

Alan.

Great looking workshop but if you don't want problems with rust get rid of the gas heater!

Alan.

I bought one of these to hone the cylinder bores of my 5" Pansy loco:-

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/252030027513?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

Great for removing machining marks and not too aggressive with material removal.

Alan.

Hi Jason, thanks for the link. I did get a quotation from them but at 1300 Euro's for the unit and 63 Euro's postage it was way too expensive for me. I have carried out extensive research in Europe, US and China, which included finding another expensive supplier in the States and have decided to give up on my search. When I bought these from a local auction in South Yorkshire I thought I was buying 5C collets. I have since learned my lesson, buy in haste and repent at leisure. The collets are now resigned to the back of a draw!! I ended up buying a new 5C collet from Warco and a bunch of used collets at a competitive price from a local tool supplier.

Thanks to every body for their help and greatly appreciated.

Alan.

Hi Damian, where in South Yorkshire are you? I am located in Wadworth, just south of Doncaster.

Alan.

I am so angry!!!!!! At the Doncaster show I purchased a Chester Super Lux Mill and was told it would be delivered Friday 3rd June. On Thursday 2nd June I received a phone call to say that they could not deliver the machine on Friday due to the guy who fits the DRO's being off ill. They said they would rearrange delivery of the machine for today, Wednesday 8th June. It was supposed to be delivered a.m. After no delivery I called them to be told a similar story and that they will now deliver the machine this coming Friday. Why did they not call me to inform me the machine would not be delivered due to ongoing problems???? Not good customer service!! To make it more frustrating, I moved a load of equipment out of my workshop and into the garden at 8.00am so that I could get the machine into position in my workshop. Now I have to move it all back and repeat the procedure again on Friday.

Alan.