Member postings for Oldiron

I tried a Rothenberger Mapp gas torch before I bit the bullet and got a set of bottles from SGS Gases. The only way I could get it to do anything bigger than say 3/32" thick was to use a BIG old parrafin blowlamp to increase the heat input. Still got the Rothenberger but its only used for quick heat up and plumbing jobs.

regards

Edited By Oldiron on 24/01/2018 11:10:29

If its this one H8AAOSwe6ZaZ38v">http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/centec-2A-Milling-Machine/202200488099?hash=item2f141698a3:gH8AAOSwe6ZaZ38v it does look a little short on parts. Probably a great parts haul. A long way from here to go have a quick look.

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I have the Chester version of the SX2 mill. It has the damper type counter balance. It also has a mechanical stop block that I can slide up and down the vertical ways. Never had a problem with head drop.

When I set up a job I find the relevant position for the head and then adjust the stop under the head. It is then not possible for the head itself to drop at all. Also I tighten the lock on the head. All movement is then done buy the micro feed on the quill.

regards.

Welcome Nigel. Sounds to be just about the right size as a starter workshop. The central heating sounds a good idea.

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Hi, Many people seem to use that kind of motor on these small lathes. As long as a motor is in the correct HP and speed range it should be OK. Sorry I have no personal experience with them so cannot give a definitive answer.

May be a Moderator can alter the title to the correct spelling for you.

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I have 2 HY inverters and find them to be excellent. Got them here.:- **LINK** Supplier based in Germany. Fast delivery (less than a week) The 1st one cost me £74-38 & the second £80 63.

The price is now about £90. I run a 1.5HP motor on the Boxford lathe & a 2HP on my AJAX mill. Never had a problem of any kind.

I use these control boxes which cost £50 each and were a doddle to set up. **LINK**

Hope this helps a bit. regards

I have had one similar to this **LINK** for 10 years and it still works great. It is use quite often and when doing my house renovations was invaluable. Other makes are available.

Edit  I fitted my own dust extraction to it.

regards

Edited By Oldiron on 12/01/2018 12:09:42

Here is a link to similar topic. **LINK**

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SWMBO and myself were invited up to the Rolls Royce Heritage Centre in Derby to have a look through their archive collection of mechanical calculators & slide rules. Managed to put in a request for some of their duplicate items to add to our collection. Just waiting for approval from the powers to be now on when we can collect them.

We had a tour around all the engines and other paraphernalia which was fascinating. The centre is only open by invitation so most of the items have never been seen by the public at large. They must have at least one of every model of RR aero engine ever made. They also have a very large collection of aero models hand made by RR apprentices over many decades.

Managed to get a look through all the test equipment archives as well. The amount of stuff they had put away was huge. From massive granite & cast iron surface plates, micrometers, surface finish gauges to vernier calipers over 6 feet long the list goes on. I have never seen so many wooden boxes stacked up. All containing machinists tools and test equipment. It was disheartening to see so much equipment that will never be used again. Large amounts have been thrown out (ha) or have disappeared. They are going to try and place some of it in other museums eventually as they will never have the room to put it on display.

We were told that they have no idea of how much stuff they have and an ongoing task is to log and record it all.

All in all a good day out. Looking forward to going back up to collect some items.

regards

Hi Benjamin. Message in your inbox.

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Speedy Buiders5. We use brake cleaner in small doses on metal parts and wd40 or Fairy liquid to dilute down the old grease on other surfaces. Depends on the material. Many times these machines are jammed up by misuse not old grease etc. If the calculator is jammed solid they can be a real pain in the butt to unjam. Unfortunately they are not like a typewriter where you can just pull everything back into place. It like a jigsaw puzzle trying to unravel the lockup. Can take a lot of work to do. My wife spends many hours stripping them till she gets to the stuck parts.

regards

Edited By Oldiron on 07/01/2018 20:41:51

Just a few pics of a tiny part of our collection

Edited By Oldiron on 07/01/2018 19:09:17

Edited By Oldiron on 07/01/2018 19:10:25

Got that set to record in case anything else gets in the way.

Edited By Oldiron on 07/01/2018 14:00:54

Joseph Noci 1 Both my metric and Imperial boring heads are adjusted using 2 Allen keys. one to adjust and the other to lock. Both have 2 different size keys.

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I must agree with you JasonB. Its much easier to just dial in (or is that out) a couple more thou on the cross slide than messing with a couple of Allen keys to adjust a tail stock boring attachment.

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Why is it when you swear that you will not add any more to the list of things to do some smart Alec (or Stew) comes up with another thing you want to make.

Nice job Stew.

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Good catch.

regards

Edited By Oldiron on 06/01/2018 18:09:13

As Acme threaded rod is readily available I doubt if most people would want to run a die down even a 150mm long  piece of rod. I have used a 7/16 acme tap on bronze and it was quite difficult going. I definitely would not want to do it on SS.

regards

Edited By Oldiron on 06/01/2018 17:20:18

Similar thread here. **LINK**

Many things can cause runout.

Does that figure remain constant when you rotate the arbour 180 degrees ? Have you checked runout directly on the bore of the quill ?

I would have thought that was a reasonable expectation on a "cheap Chinese" arbour. Or the arbour could be perfect and the runout is in the quill.

regards