Member postings for MW

Is that based on the suggestion that the assembly would rotate from a fixed point, thereby allowing the blades to carve a radius around some material?

Michael W

Yes i would second that quite alot of lathes have no such function for reverse, though it is a very common and quite simple adaptation to do so, one only needs to fit an intermediary gear between another banjo, and hey presto tumbler reverse. I haven't got one though, i use left hand taps/dies if the need arises, although it is something to think about no?

Michael W

Good hint Nigel, sounds like quite an interesting lot.

I do well believe the rigidity argument, when i used to side face aluminium to get a work piece square on a bridgeport turret mill i found you couldn't be too aggressive with the cut even on soft material like ally. When you think about it they aren't designed to take huge amounts off in one go, especially with really small sizes, doesn't matter if it's made of carbide if it gets too hot n dug in deep it'll either break or warp, you're better off using a horizontal for that kind of work.

Michael W

Edited By Michael Walters on 09/07/2016 22:27:59

Well my guess is steel bar could be anything, hence why i thought i was being relevant.

Michael W

You know, i've got a pipe vice and it's been a dust collector for ages, i bought it thinking i'd use it to cut up alot of bar and now i just part off or use the bandsaw and i really wondered why i got it, i asked my mate who's a farmer if he wanted it for the yard, and he said he's also got one and can't think of what to do with it!(he also referred to it as a "pipe bender" rather than a vice)

 So now i know what i can use it for. I literally couldn't give the thing away. damn.

Michael W

Edited By Michael Walters on 09/07/2016 20:18:52

Well the split nut clearly shows it could be cut. So the answer is yes, i reckon you could do it. Hasn't anyone seen the sort of dies used for pipe threading before, they're huge. (Now those are probably just for cleaning/repair) But i don't think a 1" Dia. thread with a coarse pitch is too big a push in 2 passes. 

Michael W

Edited By Michael Walters on 09/07/2016 17:14:54

The bullies will be lining up at the school gates. It's not their lunch money they want anymore!

Michael W

Well, i haven't seen a BSW one but i've found dies online that will go larger than an inch, but i haven't ever cut one that big before, biggest i've got is M16. that was using a 2" stock. 

Michael W

Edited By Michael Walters on 09/07/2016 15:32:49

At college people used chisels for lopping off bits of plate metal that a hacksaw couldn't reach, i never liked the idea of using them though and prefered taking as much as i could with a saw then filing it flat, despite the fact it took longer, i just didnt like the idea of big bits of metal flying off in random directions.

Michael W

Hi Graham,

A photo would be a wonderful reference. I'm sort of new myself to the referencing system so i couldn't tell you what it is from the top of my head. I can't find it online but it's an ISO system for the letters and numbers.

Michael W

"A lathe is a lathe, and I never could really understand how a woodturner could claim a wood lathe was better for tunring wood. To me (and I own a wood turning lathe too) the engineer's lathe has proper precise control of carriage and cross-slide, meaning one can turn wood precisely parallel and to size. Sure; it shrinks and moves later, but that's the wood, not the lathe. My wood lathe says under the bench, out of the way."

The traditional woodlathe which the metal lathe grew out of, was a traditional craft where most of the work would be carried out freehand. There wasn't a great deal of tolerancing so therefore things were simply made to fit if they needed to be. You have to learn the ability to turn freehand and its not something you can pick up overnight if you want to work well and accurately. Much like filing really.

Michael W

I dont know about anyone else but i've had a fairly easy time with thread lockers, The brand i buy has never caused strength problems for me and find it acts rather quickly, i have a locking handle on my QCTP for the lathe which gets tightened up and loosened so often and yet the critical parts are only held together by threadlock, never come undone.

Even some parts on the bushes for a compound gear train i made are only held fast by "threadlock" albiet i wouldn't call it a threadlock as such more of a bearing lock. 

Michael W

Edited By Michael Walters on 06/07/2016 02:08:49

Good choice, the 1/5hp motor is probably ok for pen making. I've never had a problem with the quality. Always found it was pretty decent.

Michael W

Just throwing an idea out there.

I happened to be wondering once about the sort of adhesives used by either dentists for fillings or dental fixtures for dentures or tooth repair, what sort of adhesives are they? It's an interesting question because so many adhesives are biologically harmful, how could you have one that was constantly in contact with you all the time and potentially getting into what you eat and drink?

So, i have no idea how they managed to come up with one that was safe, But what sort of potential could said adhesives have in a workshop enviroment? Say you were making something for a disabled person or repairing ceramics/other materials that will be in contact with food and drink? I think it could have some interesting applications simply because it's adapted for biological contact.

Michael W

Unless you can obtain a mirror finish on the surface i'd be doubtful if even that would seal it. You would be needing a perfect meet. As this is essentially a rotating joint it makes the situation so much harder.

Michael W

Ah, i see well, i had to ask the question because i wasn't even alive in 1986. Most people older than me tend to talk to me about what music they listened to or what pub they used to drink at rather than interesting things.

I don't really have any history at all related to steam engines or childhood exposure to it (only in the much more distant past were my ancestors workers for the swindon rail factories) But the engineering bent exerts its influence to this day, as my father(a rather different sort of engineering), as well as i am now involved in it. I certainly didn't pick it nor was it chosen for me!

Michael W

Edited By Michael Walters on 05/07/2016 02:06:33

Was that the situation 30 years ago? i would imagine with the advent of the internet they're much easier to get in 2016 than 1986? I'm not educated on this so i'm genuinely asking whether or not it would be similarly priced. If at any rate, all the the less reason to steal unless he knew them and it was out of spite and jealousy rather than value,

Michael W

I would also second that as a bit of casual detective work, someone had, just had to know he built it. The first things any typical burglar has in mind are cash and jewelry, easy to take, know what they're looking for and can be in and out very quickly. Imagine the timescale on what they're trying to achieve, probably around 20 minutes, they can't afford to take unnecessary risks on items possibly too heavy to steal. Not only that, but they're unlikely to realize the market value for a engine. It would've been hard to pass on locally and quickly unlike other priced commodities.

You can choose to deny that if you want, and simply believe it was a completely random act, it's possible after all. That line of thinking doesn't really give you anything to go on though.

The likelihood is as awful as it may sound, someone he trusted, or he procured goods from to complete the engine betrayed him, knew he made a good job of it and stabbed him in the back. And that is traceable, because your father will know who his friends were at the time. It would've been the people in the immediate fallout of the event who will know the most about it. If it were me this would be my line of enquiry, a scatter gun isn't likely to yield results this far after. But thats just my opinion.

Michael W

Edited By Michael Walters on 05/07/2016 00:45:20

The slitting saws i buy that are 5" wide with a 1" bore all have a keyway and although i have both a keywayed and non keywayed arbour i've never used it keywayed. I found that the load on the tool was rather minimal. Make sure you make the arbor long enough to take advantage of it because your collet chuck will need to take up some of the room and enough arbor to fill atleast 2/3rds of the collet, if you don't use this much room the consequences will be an arbor that spins out of round. (presuming this is an ER collet, where the makers of the ER system themselves give these guidelines).

Michael W

Edited By Michael Walters on 05/07/2016 00:22:35

I have to admit the pop-hype of "green" energy and more explicitly the word "green" in relation to energy is one of my pet hates. Why can't they just say lets reduce waste? The color green has nothing to do with energy.

Michael W