Member postings for RichardN

No idea where I got fields metal from- absolutely right, I meant Woods metal (and changed original post)... I bought a small ingot of woods metal but then found the uni workshop had springs I could borrow and never tried it... I think there are different flavours of woods metal with compositions including or not cadmium etc which may effect melting point and availability..?

Looks like a cheap set of springs including 1/8"... no guarantees of quality, usual disclaimer etc..!

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You can get tiny little bending springs which could work, although using the correct size is important as an undersized spring still lets the pipe crumple a touch which ruins the effect or causes small splits- or have you ever tried using Woods metal as a filler instead?

Edited By RichardN on 28/02/2017 19:59:48

Would standard Borosilicate tube do?

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I've bought from this bunch before- send a message and they can create pretty much whatever you need with nicely ground ends I believe.

Lots of useful comments- off topic responses appreciated too- useful to understand why things are as they are sometimes too! Will be checking out those parts diagrams...

Thanks for the responses- sounds like the consensus is the original stud was BSF but modern versions have changed, without any impact on usefulness- I shall soldier on with the BSF handle then!

So would you guess this is wrongly labelled, a later differing thread, or just a special stud of unknown origin?

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I'm debating with myself cutting both UNF and BSF sample threads to compare fit with the original tool post nut, and possibly teaching myself the mystical three wire thread measuring system which seems like multi handed black magic to me...

I am currently using my fathers 1979 Super7B, and endeavouring to add a few nice touches to it, such as a locking handle for the tool post stud, saddle clamp etc.

Fairly new to the whole engineering lark, but have metric and BSW/BSF Moore & Wright thread pitch gauges, and came to the conclusion the tool post stud was 7/16" BSF 24 tpi. Ground a 55deg internal threading tool and cut a neat blind nut as a handle- but when speaking to Myford Ltd at Alexandra Palace I was told he had never seen a toolpost stud that wasn't 7/16" UNF, he had no idea why but understood Myford are/were very good at mixing threads around.

Should this stud be 7/16" BSF, 7/16" UNF, something different, or could it be almost anything...? Anyone any thoughts? Does the 55deg vs 60deg thread pitch angle worry/offend others as much as me?!

I would add a picture of the handle I have made, but a ball turning tool is a way down my to do list and other people's knobs put mine to shame...

Thanks again- sounds rather like generic tool steel- I assumed they were something special!

I'll be playing with the clips in the morning!

Many thanks for the responses- the outer of the shaft is 15.8mm, perhaps a 16mm clip would be ideal- but I will have a play with a grinder and a blow torch and see what I can produce.

Not that it's important in this case- but what would be a good target colour for hardening after annealing and shaping? In reality turning a mild steel washer and splitting it with a hacksaw would do- but that's not really the point- the door already has a new knob, just fancied fixing this one...

I have an issue with buying the right size external circlip- this is all to repair an old brass door knob.

The diameter of the groove that I need the circlip to clip around is 0.550", so I thought a 14mm circlip would suit, and ordered a pair from eBay. These arrived and the unsprung diameter measures 12.8mm- no chance of these stretching sufficiently to go on, let alone fit comfortably.

I contacted a bearing supplier, described the precise clip I require, and they explain the notional size of the circlip sometimes is the maximum diameter the clip will stretch to while fitting, and others sell them as the relaxed size, which may explain the issue. So I purchased a pair of 15mm which should have an unsprung size of 14mm at their recommendation, and the clips I received were identical to the previous, although came in a factory sealed packet that says "15mm (13.8mm)" but measure unsprung as 12.8mm.

Have I missed something obvious? Should I just force the clips open, have I bought the wrong clips twice despite being labelled differently? What should I ask for to receive an external clip with a relaxed inner diameter of 14mm?

Thanks to anyone who can help! Richard

If it's just a one off job I would think about a quick split sleeve to hold in the 18mm, I'm trying to think what the wall thickness is like on 3/4" copper plumbers pipe...

Or there are some 15mm MT3 collets around, but can't see them in any of the normal online shops I use.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/ulk/itm/131173200327

Thanks- you must have a well organised photo library to find the images so quickly!

Looks like I need to hunt down some different brick cleaner- I thought it was Muriatic (HCl) but it seems my bottle in the garage COSHH states NaOH... Would be unwise to start mixing the two on a driveway...

I think my sievert burner (240g/hour) was struggling to get up to temperature outside in the wind, so took a while to get the heat up- and the steel was a mix of black bar and a box of boot sale offcuts- will have to play with it more for practice!

Will that be a decent overnight soak, or likely a few minutes? I've no idea how deep and how quick the blackening will be removed!

Will I get much impact on dimensions?

Thanks for the quick response

Edit: just seen the pictures and time- perfect info, many thanks!

Edited By RichardN on 26/06/2016 20:46:15

When silver brazing (CupAlloys 455 with EF flux powder) I tried soldering lumps of steel (2" dia, about 5/8" long, attaching 1/2" diameter bars) the other day, cleaned with wet/dry with oil, then acetone, then fluxed and soldered, and all good. Except everything not fluxed has a solid hot blacked finish. Maybe I dropped the pieces into water while too warm?

How do I remove the black finish- my acid pickle says for copper alloys, and the flux residue just flakes off, and wet/dry takes far more elbow grease than I have to spare. I thought the acid pickle was to help remove the flux which came off far more easily than expected.

Muriatic (brick cleaner)?

Citric acid?

Don't quench while hot after soldering and appreciate a solid even blackened finish?

I tried to buy H2SO4 a few years ago for anodising parts- found a local supplier to me (Poole, Dorset) but they needed to check my unloading facilities were up to scratch... turns out they sold almost anything you could dream of in the way of nasty chemicals by the cubic metre... I suspected SWMBO would have feelings about that delivery on the doorstep...

If you find a good supply let us know how you get on and I'll restart my anodising plans!

Has anyone on here any thoughts on the difference between these two methodologies for obtaining repeatability?

1- first cuts take relatively deeply- maybe 30thou/pass, then as you approach the final measurement make progressively lighter passes, 15thou, 5thou, then shave the last thou to suit.

2- take first cut at around 10thou, measure before and after so you know what that tool actually removes at a pass (which may vary due to sharpness, material, speed, time of day etc) then remove whatever amount is required allowing for a final pass or two at the 'known' depth of cut.

I assume 1 thou cuts with a dull cutter are just rubbing and polishing, so not guaranteed to be reliable and consistent?

Edited By RichardN on 06/06/2016 18:50:23

Unfortunately Rotring no longer make the 'gold' series for film- which from memory have a carbide tip for wear resistance rather than the conventional steel. I still have 2 gold pens, but the rest are conventional.

I am 30, work as an architect, and probably do 15% of my work by pencil & pen. There's a time and a place for everything (most things..?) and a romantic quality can be instilled in CAD work just as well as in a pen drawing- but it's quicker and easier by hand... Sketch and scribble for a first draft, work up detail in CAD, then final iteration for presentation with hand detail for the visual impact.

But if you do want to see the train, local newspapers help by publicising the route with outline times and dates!

http://m.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/14489030.display/