Member postings for Nige

Thanks Hugh. my measurement of 'about 1/2 inch' is probably quite close but I will check more closely tomorrow.

Ian: Just to confirm that it is an independent 4 jaw chuck and the photo below shows one of the worm drives.and the presence of worm drives i guess precludes the necessity for a scroll drive.

My ML4 currently has a leather and steel link type belt on it but as i want to move the layshaft back a bit I will need a new belt. The first photo below shows the layshaft pulleys. They are about 1/2 inch wide at the outside edge and about 1/4 inch at the bottom.

The photo below is of the driven pulleys on the mandrel. They are very similar to the layshaft pulley with the dimensions being only very slightly smaller than those on the layshaft.

I would like to know what section vee belt I need please. I think it is called A section ? If anybody has recommendations for a suitable adjustable linked type belt that would be useful thank you.

Ahh, light bulb moment, thanks Thor Yes of course those 4 screws hold the chuck onto that back plate!! Doh

Get thee behind me Satan, or in this case Dave and Micheal W. I would spend the money if I had it but I don't so I can't I'm not even going to think about asking the "What Mill should I buy" question

The 4 Jaw chuck for the ML4 is looking a little sad, see photo below and I am wondering if it is worth stripping it down and giving it a good clean. If so are there any pitfalls?

Removing the jaws will not be a problem but I am concernd about the results of removing those 4 big slot headed bolts which appear to go right through to the back, see below.

Am I going to have concentricity problems if I take it completely apart or because it is an independent 4 jaw chuck mean it doesn't have concentricity problems? As always I am greatful for any advice.

There is an interesting paper with a great deal of info on the properties, and machining of copper/brass alloys here:

**LINK**

The free version of the FSWizard app only gives you three choices of material: a Hot rolled steel, an alloy steel and an aluminium. You need to pay almost £50 for the Pro version if you want the full range of materials it covers. An internet search will almost certainly be quicker and cheaper.

Thanks Bazyle I had wondered how much twist you could really get with that sort of construction and an effectively 'light weight' lathe.

Id swap him my ML4 for the Super 7, its lighter and less likely to capsize his narrow boat

I have a new piece of Kitchen Worktop in HPL (High Pressure Laminate) to mount the lathe on. It is about 40 mm thick. Originally the lathe was mounted on two soft wood blocks which were in turn mounted on a softwood plank baseboard. The cantilever bed of the lathe was bolted down with 5/16 bolts passing through the blocks and the base board.

I am at the point in the photo above when I need to decide how to mount the bed onto the new surface. It has been suggested that I use 'proper' machine mounting feet but I am unsure of the type I would use. I presume any such mounting would bolt through the table top and then have some sort of separate adjustment to 'tweak' the lathe bed straight/level etc.

I would appreciate any advice on the way forward from here please

Nige

Nice visit to the Peterborough Model Engineering Society summer steam event today. Lots of small traction engines on show in the field, mostly Burrels but there were others there as well. Grandchildren enjoyed the train rides too. The model boat club were also there with a fine display craft, everything from an amphibious jeep to a great crested grebe! It was very nice to finally meet up with Howard Lewis and take a look at the items he has built. Knowing I was coming along he very kindly made me a small stand that will hold my imperial sized DTIs, Thank You Howard, a very kind gesture and not the first from the members that inhabit these forums.

Nige

Dave: Thanks, that was exactly why I was happy to see that making a chuck key was to be found inside the latest issue. I watched a great YouTube video on using the 4 jaw which used two chuck keys. I can manage the simple challenge of making a chuck key using hand tools though 😀

Nige

How are your technical drawing skills Jimmy? Doodling ideas or even getting a rule out and laying down some straight guide lines lines is something I find quite therapeutic and can be done just 'sitting about' 😀 Hope you don't get too stir crazy😳 Hope you have a speedy recovery.

Nige

As a novice I was particularly pleased to see the front of the latest MEW, 257. The advertised article "Making a Chuck Key" was exactly what I needed and could probably cope with, a true 'article for beginners'. My joy has turned to sadness as I cannot find said article anywhere 😢

Today for the first time ever I managed to set up a piece of round bar stock in the 4 jaw chuck. Took me a good long time and a lot of trial and error but finally got run out to .00039" or .01mm. Is that considered 'good enough' ?

It was only after that I thought to look at YouTube for better ways of doing it than my lengthy trial and error method

Looking good now Martin

i would like to make and fit a simple RPM counter to the ML4. Yes I know I could work out the RPM from the pulley sizes and the motor speed and make up a bit of paper with it all written, but where's the fun in that😀 It is a VERY long time since I constructed anything electronic so I'm sure the electronic hardware has changed and I keep seeing references to Arduino, would that be a route to go as I'm happy to learn new stuff as I go along and I'm certain skills learned will be transferable. Thoughts and advice would be welcome please 😀

John, again thank you. At first read I think it makes sense but I will have to go over it all a couple of times with the lathe and a bar in front of me to get the techniques and the thinking to sink in 😀👍

Nige

Check that you are not trying to replace a nipple intended to take oil with one intended to accommodate a grease gun. I now see better answers above😊

Nige

Edited By Nige on 09/07/2017 22:38:41