Here is a list of all the postings Frances IoM has made in our forums. Click on a thread name to jump to the thread.
Thread: how to make best use of my (unused) 3D touch probe? Linux? Arduino? Raspberry Pi? Mach 3? |
16/03/2023 13:26:50 |
RaspberryPis have become very scarce - even 2nd hand Pi3s are well over twice the price they were sold some years ago - I saw even a Pi-zero being sold at 4x the price of a year or so ago in the local CEX store though these were supposed to be readily available. |
Thread: Why is the world of model engineering still imperial? |
05/03/2023 19:04:47 |
just replaced my kitchen radio with a new, made-in-China, undershelf DAB model from Lidl - the measurement for placing the screws so it lines up with the shelf was 31.5mm - aka one and a qtr inches ! - so much for metrication Edited By Frances IoM on 05/03/2023 19:05:09 |
Thread: Drilling Stainless Steel |
28/02/2023 18:48:59 |
I suspect the 2mm + 3mm sizes are too small to use the "pilot point" - rather like several good suppliers of Cobalt drills state that 4 facet drills are those above 3mm. |
Thread: Thread Size |
24/02/2023 21:46:21 |
having acquired at rummage sales a large assortment of taps + dies; one afternoon I made my "swiss cheese" block from a spare bit of ali bar and drilled + tapped all common threads 6.3mm and smaller - now sorting odd screws is a trivial task - they can then be sorted into those multi-compartment boxes that Maplin used to sell along with any matching nuts. |
Thread: Microsft 'Edge' |
21/02/2023 22:01:01 |
how did you get 3000 items of adware in your machine as I presume these were not accepted knowingly? |
19/02/2023 09:15:42 |
my MX Linux system has updates as needed take 2 or 3 minutes at most and when I say so - check just what you need Windows for and then check out Linux alternatives |
Thread: All motorcycle races and trials events in Northern Ireland cancelled this year |
10/02/2023 19:06:11 |
I doubt very much if those revenue figures are totally honest - certainly those of the TT are heavily questioned with many costs (eg that of closing key roads + the cost of maintaining them to a racing standard) ignored or deemed 'commercially sensitive'. The TT kills about 1.5% of entrants and seriously maims about the same. In 2022 by severely restricting max road speeds there were I think no visitor deaths - in the past these have also been significant |
Thread: oddities embedded in posts |
04/02/2023 08:44:53 |
possibly an image from one of the 'free' suppliers - not free as the price is the cost of your known IPaddress, browser signature (used to cross-match against other sightings) + interest - the reCapture is often used to check on this and also gain additional info as it forces a Java script enabled access to their site |
Thread: Fine leveling adjustment means? |
01/02/2023 20:46:07 |
using a LH 1mm thread on one end and a RH 26tpi on the other - assuming perfect threads would give a very fine adjustment yet the individual threads could be quite substantial and taps/dies readily available (the weight of the moveable plate should avoid backlash) Edited By Frances IoM on 01/02/2023 20:46:33 |
Thread: Thinning solder paste |
23/01/2023 17:05:07 |
the usual applicator is a small syringe to place a spot of paste(flux + powered solder) onto a board on top of which the component to be soldered is placed in industry by using a pick + place machine - the paste holds it in position while the board is brought up to the melting point of the solder - is it not possible to spot the paste and then place the dummy rivet on top - or have I misunderstood what you are trying to do |
Thread: Spudger |
16/01/2023 14:35:27 |
possibly derived from spud one meaning of which is a digging implement having a narrow chisel shaped blade (dates from 1667) possibly the slang name for a potato derives from the implement to raise it from the bed |
Thread: Raw materials. |
08/01/2023 19:58:47 |
I used to deal with one of those mentioned by Jelly - I would phone an order in advance, with alternatives though usually most was EN1A and paid cash (tho I would be given a proper receipt) - with each order at least ?100 (prob now would be ?200+) + used my car to collect - stated offcuts would be acceptable or a 3m length chopped into a couple of manageable pieces. Sometimes while the order was being put together I could look over their small offcuts scrap bins and get a selection added to the bill. |
Thread: M10 x 1.0 Fine |
02/01/2023 10:30:45 |
M3.5 was a replacement for 4BA - you may find 4BA on old switch fittings that haven't been changed since the 60s or early 70s - a right pain! M3.5 taps and screws are readily available from electrical trade shops but being sold in small numbers and restricted lengths tend to be expensive but not so expensive as 4BA |
01/01/2023 11:50:35 |
the 1mm thread seems very common in many electronic related items - anything from 8mm upwards 0.75mm thread also seems commonly used for small items. |
Thread: Chinese diesel heater |
29/12/2022 18:12:20 |
in the 70's and early 80's I always went to the old USSR in early January - one year it was a coach tour around the Golden ring of historic Monasteries (or Kremlins) that circle around Moscow - temperature about -16 to -20 - each morning whilst we were at breakfast the driver would put two fires under the coach one for the main engine, the other the fuel tank for the coach heater. Edited By Frances IoM on 29/12/2022 18:13:00 |
Thread: Parallelism of carriage to spindle. Taper. |
28/12/2022 19:30:23 |
It looks very similar to my WM180 (possibly slightly smaller) tho the topslide differs and it appears to have a guard on the lead screw - the WM180 can be bolted to a bed. Wasn't it an optimum lathe that Hopper was involved in fixing some years ago?. Isn't a quick test for alignment to put centres in both head + tail stocks and see if a thin rule can be held vertical between them? |
Thread: Keeping Warm |
26/12/2022 13:28:41 |
living next door to or above cattle was fairly standard in most parts of Europe until modern times - just research the topic. |
Thread: BEEP command not workring on a vintage 486 desktop W97 PC |
24/12/2022 21:50:33 |
If the battery, usually a CR2032, is dead then you get a bios message and need to force the boot - the date also reverts to some early epoch.
I am somewhat surprised that a board of this vintage still works as electrolytic capacitors tend to fail Edited By Frances IoM on 24/12/2022 21:55:36 |
24/12/2022 19:17:43 |
disconnect the mouse and/or Keyboard then turn on - it should bleep - as others have said it will normally be a small device on the main board but otherwise there is a 4 pin connector to a speaker - easily disconnected. |
Thread: My (little) bit for the planet.. |
19/12/2022 20:06:56 |
Joe I hope then when the crunch comes and Namibia loses much of its power that you are friends with the local military - with that equipment in the midst of a mass of have-nots you will need all the security you can get. Edited By Frances IoM on 19/12/2022 20:07:19 |
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