Member postings for larry Phelan

I have made more sawblade bushes than I have had good dinners,and many of them long before I ever had a lathe.Pieces of round tubing or even a thick washer can be used,dont laugh,it works,I,ve been there,done that.

All you need is a drill and a good file to produce a bush any size you need.

Just reading the post from the guy who received his replacement rotary table from Warco.

Good for you ! just as well you were not dealing with Chester !

I was able to measure the run out on my table with a 6" rule,no kidding!

Dont talk to me about getting stuff from America !!! Apart from the cost [that,s OK ] the cost of postage is out of this world. Who do they think they are?I wanted an Ancme thread gauge from a crowd called Shars and the cost of postage was four times the price of the gauge so I told them to stick it. I got one from China for far less even though it took longer to get here. So what ?,I.ll have it for the rest of my life,at a fraction of the cost.

Why is there no one in England who can produce these things anymore? where are these "Steel masters" we heard so much about?

Hi Colin,

Too true,that old stuff was built to last,not like most of the junk being flogged these days. I can,t see much of that being around in 50 years time.It is not intended to last,as far as I can see,just there to fill a gap.

I too have some of my father,s tools,which is just as well because you can,t get a good wood plane or wood chisel anymore,the steel in the plane iron is little more than junk,it will not take or keep a sharp edge. My old plane [my father,s] is still going although it,s getting near it,s end after so many touchups. I bought a few replacements from time to time,they are little better than paint scrapers. So,hang on to your old stuff

The trend now seems to be to make the product look good,never mind how it works. My old saw bench,which I built some 50 years ago from bits and pieces,is not a thing of beauty,but it works and there is nothing in it which cannot be replaced if need be,it,s all standard material. Over the last few years I have repaired two saw benches for nabours because they could not get spare parts for them. One unit was 20 years old,the other about 15 years. "Too old,we dont do that model any more" So I say,long live the simple machines ,and the people who know how to use them.

I stand corrected !! I agree these old machines have a certain attraction,like old traction engines,nice to look at,just outdated.Having said that,I have little for these new fancy machines with all the bells and whistles [and micro chips ],great while they are working but not so good when the chip gets cooked. All my machines are belt driven except the mill which is gear drive. Not much to go wrong there.I agree that a guard of some kind might be a good idea since a slap in the face from a broken belt is not nice,you could end up looking like Scarface.

Regarding those old treadle machines,there are still quite a few of them around over here. They say they are better for heavy work which the new light machines dont like.

Sorry if I rattled someones cage,that was not my intention.

Why would anyone bother with things like this when you can buy a good drill for so little?

Hi Neil,

You are right there,single phase motors do not like too many start/stops.Perhaps I have been lucky in that I have never had any problem with mine but I know it,s something to be aware of.Could be an issue with a lathe,whereas a saw tends to be kept running most of the time,the lathe needs to be stopped every so often. I suppose that,s the advantage of three phase. As they say,horses for courses.

I came across a 1/2 hp Tuscan motor about 50 years ago,fitted it to a homemade benchsaw,and am still using it.

I have no idea what it was used for to begin with,but it was not new when I got it.I have done serious work with it over the years and it has never failed. It is TEFC and fitted with ball races,a little noisy perhaps,but on a benchsaw,you dont notice that. T he point is,it does the job,so if your motor is anything like mine,you have nothing to worry about. It might not be fancy,but it works ! Dont know if they are still being made.

Hi Ian,

Glad to see that you got some response from Warco,that,s a bit better than I got from Chester. Regarding the cost,if these things dont work,what the hell use are they ?. At least you were offered your money back,but dont expect to get anything better for that price. It seems to me that these items are just being flogged off to make us feel good,never mind the quality. Monday morning/Friday afternoon what,s the difference? These days if I get something which works,I tend to look at it twice [surprise surprise ]. To get a table which would really work right,it seems you need to pay big bucks,and unless you have the work for it,you can,t afford it,few of us can,but we should still be offered something better than the junk on sale.

I shall continue to watch Warco.

Edited By Neil Wyatt on 09/04/2017 19:26:13

Things coming from America seem to be sent via Iran or perhaps the Artic circle,so the high transport costs may be due to dealing with the sand or the snow. By the time they get here,there,s nothing cheap about them. I dont think I,d be bothered looking for any more stuff from there.

When you are asked $35 to post an item which costs $9,it,s time to stop and think !

Hi Everyone,

Just a follow up to my air compressor story,the agent here want a total of 180 Euro,s to supply a,new valve plate assy with gaskets. I find I can buy a whole new pump unit,Clark make,for 223 Euro,s.Even if it does not mount directly,it should only require a sub base and perhaps a little pipework. This is from a local supplier [well,fairly local ] Machine Mart do the same one cheaper but the shipping costs put it over the top.

I think it would be as well to replace the entire unit,with less messing.

Check if the switch is stuck with muck. I have had a single ph motor on my saw bench for 20 years or more and from time to time,the switch gets clogged with junk,no problem ! just clean it out and away you go.If you dont hear the click,she is stuck.

I well remember ration books and Mars bars. I remember when the first oranges and bananas appeared here,after the war. We kids did not know what the hell they were,plenty of apples OK but not much else.When I see the way good food is wasted and thrown out these days,it makes me sick. How much food did your Mother throw out because it was "One day past it,s sell by date?" Not too much,I,d say. The amount of food I see kids wasting,is something else,there are times when I have to bite my tongue.Hope they never see the other side. We,ve been there,done that,bought the tee shirt. When I remarked to one of the staff in Lidl,s recently about the amount of stuff they were slinging out,I was told "We must get rid of it,we cannot sell it,it is gone past it,s date" I thought to myself "Big deal,so am I,but I,d still eat it " I said to him "What would Mein Furter have to say about that?" He is still looking at me,I dont think he knew what the hell I was talking about.

This is a picture of my sick compressor. Found a few places on Ebay who supply Ingorsoll Rand spares,so I supplied all the details I had,model no,s ect only to be told that this was not an Ingorsoll Rand model. They seem to make about 500 different types,as far as I can see.

Back to the grindstone.

Edited By JasonB on 28/03/2017 12:30:18

Hi Les,

Just checked my compressor. I t is an Ingorsoll Rand Euro compressor with a 100 lt tank [dont know where I got 150 from ] It is driven by a 2hp single ph motor,belt drive. Dont hear any air leaking anywhere,so it sounds like it might be the valves. Can they be got on Ebay? the agent here charges mad money for parts.

Ah Robo !!!!! Happy days,alas, gone for ever !!

Anyway,my compressor still wont build up pressure. Heard no hissing from the switch either. Do I really need to take off the cylinder ? not looking forward to that at all,but if it,s the rings,so be it !

Good morning all,

Just reading the latest post from that member with the bum rotary table. WELCOME TO THE CLUB !! I too had hopes of doing some gear cutting at some stage,but I hate to think what they might turn out like,since even the chart supplied with my table is full of errors.

You can get fairly good results by using the 4 jaw chuck,it,s just a bit slow to set up and you do need to make a mount for it,but that,s no big deal,even I could manage to make one,and that,s saying something ! I had already made one,a copy of the lathe spindle,just a simple disc with a threaded nose on it and it works quite well.

I agree it,s very disappointing to find that the table is of limited use,but it may be possible to correct it,I hope to have a go at mine soon,thanks to Neil. I saw the one being offered by Warco and was tempted,but I think I might just hold fire. I hope you get a better response than I did [at least they still sell them ]

What is the point of selling stuff like this? Perhaps if they want to sell through M E W,they should have to meet proper standards. The word gets around fairly fast in these circles and if professionals wont accept such junk,why should we? I know they will say that these things are made to a price,but if they dont work,the price is irrelevant. Just some food for thought. This is how junk boxes evolve !.

Edited By JasonB on 26/03/2017 14:55:05

What about FOOLPROOF ? Is there such a thing? Judging by some of the morons I,ve come across,I doubt it !

JUST A THOUGHT !!

Maybe your table came from the same place as mine did ! Sounds like the run out is about the same.

I,m glad I came across your post,since I was considering buying a table from Warco,good price alright but good quality--------? I think we are both in the same boat. My hexagon was like your pentagon,right number of sides,but not too much in common. What did Warco have to say about it?

Why do we have to put up with such crap ?

Hi Clive,

Thanks for your reply,I never knew about unloaders. The only things I can see on my unit are the pressure switch,,which I use for starting it,and another connection which goes from the tank back to the pressure switch.This is fitted with a plastic disc which seals [I presume ] the connection.I can detect no leaks around it,nor is the drain valve leaking.I am beginning to think I may have internal problems [the compressor,not me ! ]