Member postings for larry Phelan

Best way to find out how much stuff you have,is to move house !

Dont even ask how I know !

Done it twice,still can,t find all my stuff.

So am I !!!

Never knew soldering fluid was that dear,must be years since I bought it. I use a product called "Fluxite",looks like grease but works well. Also another flux called "Everflux,looks like cream,again very good. No idea how much they are,I,ve had them for ages. Might be worth while looking them up. The Everflux was made by Alan Wiseman Adhesives PO box58 Ingatestone,Essex, ph 0277353330..

The other tin is so discoloured that I can,t read who made it.

I did that too some time ago and it work out well.Not too difficult and cheap !

Not sure if this will be of any help to you,but here goes,anyway.

I had a static converter,on loan,some time ago,to see if it would run my planer and spindle moulder. I t would not .,just gave a buzzing noise when I pressed the starters [each machine had 4hp motors ] Would run my lathe and mill OK 1/2 hp each,even both together. Got fed up and bought a rotary converter,set it up and away she went !

Now I just switch on and get stuck in. I think you may be better off to just buy a rotary job and be finished with it. There is no messing about adjusting anything to suit loads.

Chinese might not be all that bad, they do good take aways.

I never bother with auctions because there seems to be a cozy arrangement between auctioneers and the well known dealers,they get first choice,you get to bid on what they dont want. You are not really wanted there,simple as that ! Plus,you can,t check if the stuff even works. You buy A-PIG-IN-A POKE.,with no come back.

You can be assured that the dealers have been advised what,s good and what,s not.

Walk away from them FAST !

Hi Dave,

Would the lathe not be a better bet all round? drill presses are not great for that kind of job.

. This is quite a common object,found in boot sales all over the place. It,s called JUNK.! usually found in boxes full of rusty water and offered for sale at mad money.

Believe it or not,some people actually buy it !.

Perhaps I should replace my micrometer ?

Why bother to change the thread in the first place ? If it aint broke,dont fix it.As they say "Let sleeping dogs lie"

Dont see anything like that at my local Tesco station !!

Like Duncan,I thought it was a bit odd to hear of an AC induction motor with a controller.

Both my lathe and my mill have simple induction motors [Chinese],as has my bandsaw. Touch wood,none of them have given any trouble [so far !! ] Must be going about 12/14 years now.

Would it be possible to simply change the motor type? Wishful thinking perhaps !.

To Antony Powell,

Just looked up that machine from Axminster,seems to be a fairly tidy machine alright..

Just nice to know what,s around.

This may not be relevant,but two points mentioned there rang a bell with me,

1 I have a wood lathe whose speeds are controlled by a leaver type switch in steps,and the directions state to start and stop in steps, never to take off at full speed ! Worth checking ?.

2 Since I moved to the sticks,I had to buy a converter to run my planer and spindle moulder,both 3 ph. While it does that,I notice a difference between true 3ph,which I had in Dublin,and my converter 3ph. I believe this is normal and since it causes no problems,I live with it. I have never checked my voltage supply,might be no harm to do so.

Since none of my machines have control boards,except the wood lathe,I,m not too well up on them,but it,s a very interesting subject since more and more stuff seems to be going that way.

To Michael W,

I dont need one any more than I need an E type Jag,just curious to see what,s out there. I am quite happy with my Craftsman and I do manage to turn out some good work with it. It,s a simple machine [which suits me,perfectly ],not quite in the same class as the example above. That is a gem,and no mistake.

Everyone dreams about something better,we all do,it,s the nature of the beast,otherwise we would still be living in caves.We just cut our cloth to suit our measure,but never stop dreaming,that,s the name of the game.

Some good feedback there,if I do decide to go wild.

For what it,s worth,

I bought my Record 6" vice about 1974/76,paid £8 for it ! A friend worked for a tool shop and got staff discount. The full price was £12 at the time.

I,m still using it and it will see me out,even though it gets fair good use.Not sure if it was made in the "Good Times" or the "Bad Times" but apart from some wear on the jaws there,s nothing wrong with it.

I have two smaller vises but seldom bother to use them,the big one does all.

Something very wrong if you burn out 3 motors in that time.Are you sure you have the right voltage,nothing binding ?

Did Chester not think it was a bit odd? I have a Lux mill and a Craftsman lathe,both get a fair bit of use,but the motors have never given trouble.

Not much point in having the motor rewound until you find out what the problem is. One motor,maybe,but Three ???

Would like to hear other members views.

My thanks to all,

What prompted my question was that I was just curious to know what was available in what I would call a middle range,but there does not seem to be such a thing.

That deal on the Buck& Hickman ,sounds too good to be true but maybe it is. If so,it,s a good find.

I take the point between a rebuild and a renovation,big, big difference !

I think that at my level of skill together with my needs,I,ll stick with my Craftsman.

Just nice to dream,now and then. It,s just that some of the prices around are more of a nightmare than a dream !

Thanks to all.

Just reading a reply from Dave regarding better quality lathes,which I had asked about. Dave mentioned Buck and Hickman,which I looked up.

Good job I was sitting down !! After going through their list,you,de need more than a strong cup of tea ! Those machines are not for us.

I had wondered what was available between hobby range and industrial range,and at what price. Would be interesting to know if anyone else has looked and what they found. A gap between £2200 and £21000 leaves plenty of room.

On the other hand,there was a nice one there for only £31000,might be a little OTT.