Member postings for MW

Tim, reading your post is like an excerpt from a workshop instructable with an erotic twist haha. I dare say you'd be making a mint with hints like that. (It may not have worked out like the demonstration but damn i enjoyed reading about it!)

Michael W

I needed to do a rescue of my own today, i recut a new gear in aluminium for my mill (the old plastic one was making a horrible noise missing a few teeth) Sadly, it lost a tooth down to a nut that wasn't fully tightened on the arbor.

I made a new tooth by pressing some epoxy into the missing one and forming the shape by using the cutter lined up with the adjacent tooth.

Michael W

Maybe i've been missing out, I've looked at them before with a degree of suspicion about just how tight they hold together under load. Perhaps this is something i'll consider when my balance is so low as usual!

Anything word + reamer =£££ regardless of size (unless you make one out of SS)

Michael W

Edited By Michael Walters on 12/08/2016 17:15:52

I always thought the whole idea of a reamer was to create a fixed absolute size. The whole idea of adjustability in that seems bizzare to me.  Although they could be useful for cleaning out holes, i can't see myself using them to create an absolute size if i can't set it right anyway. Each to their own but i'll stick to HSS ones thanks.

Michael W

Edited By Michael Walters on 12/08/2016 11:05:26

Now lets avoid the electronics jokes too. They've got a few of their own "trannies" and "hard on/fully hard on".

Michael W

Hi Norm,

I'm not totally sure this is the case but from my experience of induction motors only 3 phase ones have the potential to be controlled via delta star wiring. Single phase can only be operated as ON/OFF type function. So the pump would need 3 phase or 4 wires, 1 for each phase(U,V,W) and earthing lead. A "CY" type? shielded cable will do the trick, with the plastic foil and steel mesh insulation.Also helps to see each lead marked 1, 2 and 3 so you don't mix them up. 

The VFD would take the single phase current, expressed in it's wave form, interpret it and digitally emulate a new 3 phase output waveform, so it's kind of like a real 3 phase mimicry.

A phase converter traditionally did a worse job because you'll only get 75% of its output at best from a rotary, a poor quality static converter could actually damage the motor by frequently overheating. Having said that, their popularity remains because if you have 3 or 4 machines to hook up then it's still economically efficient way of getting 3 phase without buying it from the grid. 

I would prefer to do it this way rather than go down a DC controller route.

Michael W

Edited By Michael Walters on 12/08/2016 10:58:18

No problem, i suppose the only way I can become an expert at broken tap repairs is to break many myself!

Michael W

Well done for having another stab at it. I've been there a few times where i've thought there was nothing i could do, till i went away and thought about it, i would say it's human nature at work and also to make mistakes! You're not alone on that front. I almost start a job now kind of second guessing whether i'll make it through without a hitch.

Michael W

Welcome, there is alot to garner from these pages and should make for good reading! No experience neccessary.

Michael W

This has happened to me too, after some pesky tapers were well and truly lodged in there it shifted the retaining bush on the draw bar, i gently knocked it back into its original resting position and cross drilled the bush and bar together in two places and riveted them ontop of a metal block. i filed and ground the rivets flush with the barrel.

You could try the above silver soldering method if you can draw enough heat into the bar and have a super strong drawbolt. An extreme solution would be to machine a new draw bar with the whole thing as one piece, no fabrication of two parts.

Or.. even buy a new one! warco are very helpful with spares, and would always recommend a home solution if there was one. They dont sell for it's own sake if its not a good idea, very good service and staff i've found. But judging from both mine and Thors responses, this is a common problem once it's happened and a replacement would still need "rectification" at some point. 

Michael W

Edited By Michael Walters on 12/08/2016 08:19:48

If you lightly coat the brass in a smidgeon of oil, you can create a "burnished" sort of look with strange ripples of coppery colours running through it by heating it up with a torch.

You could just leave it to change to a more darker golden color over time, doesn't take that long really, a few months at best. 

You may also be unaware that there are many, many different kinds of brass going around, with differing colours, like abyssinian gold or german silver? 

Michael W

Edited By Michael Walters on 12/08/2016 08:01:48

Ditto George,

Mine is also on a 3 metre wooden bench and definitely sturdy, it's such a hefty piece of iron and the wood takes up all the vibration.

I have noticed a small backing plate makes the width of the contact area a little bigger for the intermediate pulley, having said that it does annoy me that it's just a bolt holding it there :P also makes it really annoying to adjust with the belts in play too.

Michael W

Or "level the bed, mount on steel plinths, dial indicate every surface possible, immerse in acid baths to remove the manufacturers grubby marks and re-oil with special super duper lathe lotion" wear thick glasses and suspenders, carry a pocket calculator and notebook with you and spout techno jargon to confooz the dunces and carry the holy bible of tubal cain/LBSC and Lawrence sparey(a signed edition or used tissue of them would make you very popular)...just dont have fun whatever you do.

Michael W

Edited By Michael Walters on 11/08/2016 14:46:05

Just out of interest when did you buy yours? i bought mine around 2012 and my 3 jaw run out is 0.02-0.03mm, all day long, regardless of position, i don't know about you but it sounds pretty good to me. I've tried in the past to find out who made the chuck, but it's only marked with a "H" and nothing else, can't find it on the internet. 

I have a variable motor and i assure you it's much easier than set speeds with jog mode, keep the pulley arrangement because it's good for more torque. 

Michael W

Edited By Michael Walters on 11/08/2016 14:33:32

Reading the Dials is good for beginners to learn whats going on, but it soon becomes a chore, i would opt for making some fittings for digital calipers, the cheaper ones, see how that is, i eventually went the whole hog and fitted glass scales and a DRO unit, thats alot more expensive though, but definitely worth it.

Another point of interest is the tailstock unit, whilst sturdy and adjustable, its length is a little short for regular work and you find yourself struggling to reach over the width of the cross slide. This means you're constantly winding back and forth to get up and down the table and reach the headstock, it's a chore without a rack and pinion feed. (I will touch on that in a minute)

So one way to get around it is to use a MT extension socket, it works fine, but can be a little wobbly when it's fully wound out of the unit, so i bought a 2" square piece of T6 aluminium, and extended the tailstock housing to support the socket. I did this because a casting was beyond me and a piece of steel would've been hard going to bore out a 6" long 38mm bore, so i opted for the tempered aluminium for ease of machining. 

Bear in mind, that i have had a bad run of "failed mods", ones that i did my best attempt at and could not find a way to make them work with the machine. This included a rack and pinion feed, whilst i managed to mount a rack, there is hardly any room for a half nut mechanism, this meant i had to opt for a design which "wound in" to the feed screw, it wasn't great and the engagement was sketchy.

The dovetailed table makes a free moving table an issue, the gibs are very sensitive for decent movement. If you look at any of the major industrial machines, none of them use a dovetailed bed anymore and opt for a polygon styled rails, that the saddle sits on, it's much better at holding it fast without any sloppy movement, the sloppy movement makes for a terrible finish and would recommend sticking with what it was intended for, a permanently fixed leadscrew nut. 

I've also tried a Ram style tail stock, it isn't a great idea either because of the same reasons, the ram isn't great for harder materials and without a feed screw makes for ropey movement. 

There is scope for new avenues to be explored yet; Improving the fit of the changewheels, the shafts they sit on are unsupported from one side, and under load they can slip off the circlip tether. 

50mm of movement is a little thin, so you could try making a new left hand M12 feed screw for the tail stock, and make it 75mm or 100mm. Stepper or DC motor feeds could also be tried. I can advise you on this if you need help. Go for 24v motors not 12v they aren't beefy enough, for a starters. 

So heres hoping i can make good of some of my mistakes and guide you. My machine isn't permanently damaged by them because i always follow the rule don't do what you can't undo. I'm glad i gave it a go, but ultimately i'm happy with the way it performs, it's paid for itself for sure and an old reliable friend indeed. 

Michael W 

Michael W

Edited By Michael Walters on 11/08/2016 13:44:17

Edited By Michael Walters on 11/08/2016 13:46:30

I have to say the big thing in the UK is postal voting, most or alot of people either can't or don't want to go to a ballot box so it's much easier to have your vote posted. So long as you can figure out getting all the envelopes in the right order it's pretty safe, for the naysayers who say "don't use a pencil", for the record, they actually ask you NOT to use one anyway and black pen, every ten years or so they get you to verify your signature.

I wouldn't use online simply because they've "piloted it" here in the UK by allowing people to use online petitions to get a govt answer, it's been proven to be unreliable and many falsified signatories added to it. The site went down for voter registration on the referendum and they extended the time, was alot of uproar about it.

As we all know garauntees of security dont mean jack once it's compromised, you can't cash in a promise. I learn't the hard way with Macafee internet security, now i don't use it and stick to anti malware detection.

Michael W

The sort of socket screws i have are completely useless, the head twists off under any sort of pressure, looks like i'll be going back to old fashioned studding and nuts!

Michael W

These advertisers have been at it for donkeys years with the phone scams, problem is my landline is practically redundant, anyone who wants to get hold of you rings your mobile. If it weren't for emergency numbers you could argue the unthinkable in years gone by and do without one altogether.

They've turned this circus into a competitive sport and they should be hammered for it, they are routinely breaking the law and then some.

There are some studious people out there who gather evidence against these corporations and i wouldn't be surprised if it leads to some big lawsuits in years to come. 

Michael W

Edited By Michael Walters on 10/08/2016 19:14:27

So..frankenstein getting up to much these days?

Michael W

I could only dream of owning one of those moon sharp'ners. At £700 a pop i'd need 7 times what my bank balance will allow for. Would make life alot easier though, end mills are dreadful for going dull. I'll probably need to actually learn stuff and own a thin wheel to sharpen each edge. One of the cheap jigs will probably allow for it. If you need to remove alot of material with small sizes, don't bother with an end mill, side cutters and slitting saws are made for that. 

Michael W

Edited By Michael Walters on 10/08/2016 16:33:45