Member postings for Guy Lamb

Boss White and Hemp was all town plumbers had to make a seal on water pipes before P.T.F.E came along. I've just renewed some cast iron down spouts on a period house and used Boss White and Hemp on all the joints - stays just movable enough for expansion. The Hemp used to be unpicked rope known as Oakum also used mainly in caulking ships timbers. Prisoners and Workhouse inmates 'Picked Oakum' resulting in bleeding fingers as part of their sentence.

Don't know if it's been mentioned but from memory Colchester students have a limit switch on the gearbox door, presumably to knock the power off if its opened whilst in motion. Might be worth checking.

Guy

My fly press is mounted on a stand alone cast pedestal (on witch it came) and rag bolted down, found that best way to contain all the forces at play especially when using on hot work. It's simply to big a lump to risk coming down especially knowing how busy A & E is!

Guy

Also something to look at is the rating of the kettle leads (proper name IEC lead) as the same configuration can be used on computers etc and these are only rated 5 Amp. The danger being you put a higher rated fuse in the plug than the rated value of the lead. It's possible that a 5A rated lead would go pop before the 13A fuse has time to blow. Proper kettle leads are only 0.5 M long and have a half moon cut away to stop under rated leads being connected but this doesn't stop a kettle lead fused at 10A-13A being used to supply a computer and thereby over rating the fuse.

Having said all that most of the rest of the world does not use plug top fuses!

Guy

The last time I welded cast iron it was in the form of an ornamental clock face some three feet across, after many cracks appeared in places other than the areas being welded I resorted to a degree of pre and post heat and ultimately covering the whole casting in agricultural lime (slaked) keeping this is hot as I could with a spreader torch for two hours after welding had finished. The shape of the casting, many interconnecting segments, may also have caused uneven stresses to build up in adjacent areas not subject to welding heat. As this casting was more of an ornament than substance my efforts were acceptable I feel.

If pressed again to tackle a similar job I would concentrate more attention on pre and a longer post heat.

Guy

The only thing I can comment on is my own experiences with pain relief medication for Osteoarthritis, for a fortnight I felt like I couldn't wake up - along with a feeling of disconnection from reality. During the third week this passed leaving me with the beneficial affects without which I could not carry on working and I'm glad I give the meds a chance.

Guy

In the past I've had people come into my smithy an ask "how many hammers do you need" looking at my shelves of neatly stored top tools (swages, fullers,punches,drifts,flatters, sets etc) thinking because they have a shaft they must be hammers. And not being aware that in turn these tools are stuck by a hammer. Many of these tools were made by long dead smiths which I inherited and, to be truthful, some of which I have only rarely used but, as they don't eat anything they can stay until I've had my day. The one hammer I use day-in day-out is a 1 1/4 lb long shafted ball pein sort that 'just feels right'. I have to re-shaft it every three or four years usually from broken sledge shafts shaved down and kept for the purpose and I wouldn't like to start training another hammer at this stage in my working life should I loose it!

Best

Guy

Can I take it that the corners of a surface plate are ground at 90 deg to one another?

I've just bought an oldish second hand cast job (12" x 10" and according to the one square I trust implicitly it's as spot on, or is this just a fluke?

Guy

A handy set of rolls that will see you through a lot of jobs, well done Sir.

(Can't find the jealous emoticon)

Guy

A 'dispersal sale' organised and advertised by a local auction house may be a route worth considering. Typically engineering firms,farms, small manufacturing concerns and the like have the auction at the business premises - the vendee being responsible for the removal of his purchases in a given time period. Your friend could expect to pay between 15% to 20% for the auctioneers services. If advertised properly a fair 'used market price' could be achieved for most of the equipment I would imagine.

Guy

As the years have passed I've amassed a good collection of tools and equipment, from building, plumbing and agricultural to engineering equipment and I've also sorted out friends and acquaintances into 'trustees' and 'not to be trusted with anything' categories.

The system works well, if you tell at the point of inquiry, to which stream the friend/acquaintance belongs.

I also stencil or engrave most things on the advice of the police after a burglary some years past.

Guy

Let us know how you get on Gary.

Guy

Can't be sure but changing round the brown and blue wires won't change the rotation. As single phase motors usually have a running winding and a starting winding (connected together at one end AZ in your photo). The direction in only one of the windings should be reversed to make the motor run in the opposite direction, this is done using a rotary switch.

It's possible you'll need a rotary switch (Myford 7s had a 'D' shaped job) and also be able to identify the separate windings in your motor (starting winding probably has a higher resistance than the running winding). Then it's a case of connecting up the switch, including its internal wiring to the motor windings.

Plenty of wiring diagrams to choose from on the www but if you're not confident ask a competent person to check your work.

Guy

Thank heavens for our Old Etonians! I say, you can jolly well rely on those chaps to be completely above board and thoroughly honest going, and when the chips are down and our backs are to the wall you can be sure they will have the little mans prosperity and livelihoods uppermost in their red boxes.

Can't you?

Guy

Like Colin Brannigan above I failed the 11+ all so, our Secondary Modern was just like the one Billy Casper attended in 'A Kestrel for a Knave' but without all the frills. In wet weather (most days in Cumbria) the first years spent their time 'on bucket patrol' that is too say positioning/emptying buckets underneath the leaking roof. At that time if you were thought capable enough a suggestion would be made to your parents along the lines of ' he/she is capable of attaining some O levels but the county won't pay for them and they will have to be sat outside school time so if you can afford the fee it may be a good idea'. Needless to say most of us left at 15 or 16 without any qualifications just 'A good standard of secondary education' asked for by the two largest employers in the area.

Latin no, but I'm quiet good at industrial swearing.

Guy

Just be careful when forging brass 'cos some grades suffer from 'Hot Short' if heated too much and then worked. In a nut shell it will crumble and flake (like short crust pastry).

Guy

In my neck of the woods W.W.2 Italian P.O.W.s created mosaic floors in churches and a hotel, quiet stunning stuff given their limited facilities and tools. The latter now has listed status.

Similarly the stunning models produced by French prisoners of the Napoleonic Wars from bone, paper, hair etc. are remarkable in there detail.

Sorry can't help with any L.G.Tucker information.

Guy

The obverse of course is 'tool abuse'. Once witnessed a micrometer being used as a G cramp whilst welding and another, a Neanderthal swinging an shipwrights adze in his garden thinking it was a mattock.

Perhaps Esther Rantzen could be persuaded to open a dedicated hot line where such outrages could be reported?

Guy

Just be careful typing 'Gents impulses' into Google you never know what might come up!

Guy

It may be that your school was originally connected to a D.C. supply, as a negative fuse would be required in such a system.

Guy