Member postings for Farmboy

There is sometimes a temptation to overthink these things.

Now that it's freed up, surely a quick squirt in the right places with an oil can, maybe once every week or so, is all it wants. Capillary action usually takes the oil to where it's needed. I probably wouldn't even bother to replace the parts, assuming it runs ok, but then I can always think of something I'd rather spend the money on

If it was mine, I would refit the stub shaft in the arm, secure the arm in a vice with the stub pointing upwards, replace the big gear on the bush with the key in place, then soak the bush with Plus Gas and try to turn the gear back and forth. The extra leverage gained by gripping the rim of the gear could be enough to start it moving, then it's just a matter of time and perseverance . . and plenty of Plus Gas . . to get it spinning freely.

If that doesn't work first time, leave it overnight to soak and keep trying. I've freed up many old bits of machinery using similar methods. I would only use heat as a last resort.

Mike.

Other penetrating oils are available

I wasn't so long ago that Jaguar made cars with style and class . . .

According to an 'expert' on a radio programme I heard, dropping off the radar is one sure way to draw attention to yourself these days . . . different if you've never been on it of course.

Of course you'd also need to avoid going anywhere in range of a CCTV camera . . . or a spy satellite

It's more sophisticated than that, they take account of things your friends say too

Not sure what they've been saying about me, but there are a couple of very nice Russian ladies who are anxious to meet me

I always thought Twitter and Facebook were for people without hobbies . . .

A challenging project, and I can't offer any constructive help with the restoration, but it occurs to me that you might gain some purchase on the threaded sleeve by pressing the end grain of a block of wood against the serrated end.

A few thoughts come to mind:

Surely, any misalignment that produces millimetres of wobble would break the tap, or at least the wobble of the tap would be visible as it cuts the thread?

Can we safely assume you have clocked the piece true in the chuck before drilling? Although if the turning, facing, drilling and tapping are done without removing the workpiece everything should be concentric anyway.

Have you tried taking the part off the lathe and tapping it by hand? That might prove whether the lathe is inducing the wobble.

I feel the drilling must be at the root of the problem, a tap can only follow the existing hole. If it were forced to deviate by millimetres it would only be cutting on one side of the hole, and would surely break, as above.

Sorry. Meant to add, I have turned galvanised with no problem, but the swarf can be a little dusty if it is old and weathered.

You soon find out if you are welding galvanised steel as you can taste the zinc fumes. I was told to drink a glass of milk when that happened (only the one time), as the calcium helps counteract the zinc absorption. Preferably don't do it!

Most of my welding was done outdoors so fumes would usually blow away.

I wouldn't expect a screw thread to provide accurate location on a mandrel. You really need a plain unthreaded mating section, on component and mandrel to ensure concentricity, and a faced shoulder on the mandrel fitting against the faced area on the part.

I remember reading many years ago of someone building an amp and getting a hi-fi enthusiast friend to listen to it. After several sessions of listening to a violin solo and then redesigning the circuit he got the friend to listen to his latest effort. On being told it was still not right, he pulled back a screen and introduced the violinist who had been playing the piece live

Now, if you'll excuse me, I must go and dig out the sub-bass speaker unit and the sound activated disco lights I built in the early '80s from Maplin plans . . .

Now you've started something

I wonder how many pages this will run to . . .

I would suggest that the steel frame of the bookcase need not be massive if it is suitably braced with diagonals, but the hanging post will need to be substantial. How it is fixed will depend on the condition and construction of the wall.

A wheel (or possibly two) would be good if the floor is level, and might even allow the existing door frame to be used if it supports the weight adequately.

Sounds like an interesting project.

Mike.

I bet the designers are kicking themselves now for not consulting the ME forum at an earlier stage

If you keep them you'll never need them, then the day after you throw them away you'll find many jobs you could have used them for

Don't ask ...

Mike.

3D printing is surely still in its infancy. Once it gets to the molecular scale ( like the Replicator in one of Isaac Asimov's sci-fi books ) all bets are off

It won't even be limited by your imagination once artificial intelligence takes over ...

I remember dad telling me he took his driving test in the farm van. The passenger seat was not fixed down so it could be easily removed for more carrying capacity.

The emergency stop was interesting . . . surprisingly, he passed. Maybe the examiner didn't fancy a re-run

My dad had a 1953/4 Standard Vanguard diesel (think it was a modified 2 litre tractor engine) with 3-speed column change. 0-60mph in about 5 minutes! If you pulled out the starting fuel boost when driving you got a small power surge and created a smoke screen.

He reckoned he got 40mpg which wasn't bad in those days for a big heavy car. It had red leather bench seats with pull-down armrests, and a valve radio. Unfortunately I was too young and innocent at the time to appreciate the potential benefits of those

The previous car was an Armstrong-Siddeley with pre-selector box, running boards, leather bench seats and a pull-down picnic tray in the back . . . happy memories

Oh yes, and 'suicide' doors

Edited By Farmboy on 28/11/2017 12:22:03

Edited By Farmboy on 28/11/2017 12:28:35

In my experience, tapping it with a BIG hammer is much more effective than belting it with a small one

I imagine the softer the head the more energy it will tend to absorb. I always thought the only point of the soft head was to avoid damage to the surface being struck.