Member postings for Jon Lawes

I never would have thought of strimmer cord, fantastic,

Agreed, I like hearing the responses as its all learning.

That's a nice finish. I must have a try at etching sometime

You think that's bad; whenever I try to work out anything using Pi I have to give up after just a few hundred decimal places.

As an aside, another good source for small glass tubes for lubricator tanks is the borosilicate glass used on Vaping machines. They sell the tank glass on a well known auction site.

Certainly has a nice finish so far.

Not at all, I routinely forget mine, or maladjust them. You have engineered a solution to that problem, which is fantastic both from the point of having created something and also have enjoyed the process, with the bonus that you will now have ideal lubrication for your machine. My comment is more intended to highlight that to onlookers its a very detailed and overengineered device to replace a simple, analog device that works fine (for the most part!).

The urge to do something like this is what makes us model engineers; I completely understand your motivation and admire the finished product.

I agree Stephen. People will gripe for a while and then things become second nature. Sometimes that does not work quite as efficiently as intended; as mentioned I think quite a few people still treat the new multiple use carrier bags like their old single use ancestors, which rather defies the point.

The real innovation will be the day we learn to generate electricity from grizzled and grumpy forum cynicism. We will be able to shut off the national grid.

Edited By Jon Lawes on 16/09/2021 11:32:23

Please take this in the complimentary way it is intended; I do love a bit of over engineering, the drip oilers do OK but I love a bit of engineering to improve things just for the sake of it!

A very nice execution of an interesting project.

It's not as bad as it looks, honestly, once you have stared at a diagram for a while it starts to dawn on you... the art of getting all the geometry right is a bit harder but plenty of people have managed!

Welcome and the very best of luck.

The cheap meters do have their place for me, for example when I drove classic cars a small cheap meter fits nicely in the glovebox to help when you are roadside trying to diagnose the fault of the day. I kept the Fluke for everything else. However the place even the best made cheap meter seemed to let me down was the quality of the leads and probes, which seemed very flimsy and fragile. That being said I'm sure things have improved.

Which I why I bought used, so someone else can take the hit of depreciation.

I wonder if somewhere there is a forum for electricians saying "buy cheap chinese lathes and mills but always buy good quality used DVMs if possible"

If you experienced the sim you might change your mind. The scenario he talks about, along with many others, are perfectly capable of being replicated very well, with frightening accuracy (especially the vibration which can be very difficult to deal with!).

A lot of hobbies are anti-social. It all depends how eager you are to be upset by other people enjoying themselves. I live between Henstridge airfield and Compton Abbas, and right in the flight path for Yeovilton and Boscombe Down. However I knew that, and the airfields were there before my house. Had my living in this house predated any of these airfields I might have a right to complain (if it was annoying, which it isn't)

If you have the patience they can be sold individually or in batches on the well known auction site. Many model engineers are trying to find the specific magazine that contains the article that completes the set for their specific locomotive or similar, and they were not often sequential.

To provide another opinion, I bought a barely used but second hand fluke (a 76? 74? Can't remember) years ago and its been utterly rugged and reliable, taking me through various careers. I can see the appeal of a cheaper unit that you don't have to worry about so much, but you would have to do something pretty serious to damage the Fluke.

I agree with the comments about an analog meter being better for noticing trends but I find the large digital display easier to read than trying to squint at small numbers on a dial. I think I was one of the few people that didn't get too upset when the hangar stores stopped giving out AVO meters.

For once I feel qualified to comment; I'm a flight simulator engineer on the Merlin aircraft.

The training they get in the simulators is invaluable; every nuance of flight characteristics and engine modelling (for example) is designed to replicate the real thing to the finest detail. Obviously there is a limit to what I can share but our sims are detailed in this article:

Link to MoD Website

You had enough will to reply!

If anything I think you will find it easier; I don't think they had quite so many issues with chilled castings back then.

Best of luck, I'm jealous of your find.

I'm a complete amateur and mine wasn't too bad. I lapped all the mating faces to try to get a good seal (as there is a plate between the valve chest and the cylinder to provide the crossover between the ports for the shuttle valve) but on the whole its a nice little design to make. As I say, the problem I've had has been with the valves on the water pump side not shutting off quickly enough to pump the water rather than just moving it back and forth. I'll get there.