Member postings for Jon Lawes

I don't know if its a reflection of society as a whole but just lately this forum has started to descend into a really sour, cynical place. It's rather sucking the joy out of a place I certainly used to enjoy and come to for respite from the outside world.

I used to work in (Military) Accident Data Replay; overconfidence paid my mortgage. NTSB reckon 88% of civil aviation accidents are pilot error. Despite what aircrew might tell you there are still fallible human beings underneath the scrambled egg on their peaked caps. I suspect they won't be being issued with "exempt from normal rules of the road" passes any time soon.

We are only little. Economically, geographically and the speed at which they are currently innovating, they dwarf us.

Best we all just give up then.

I have a length of worktop bolted to the wall the length of my workshop. It runs around the perimiter so it is triangulated by the geometry of it. It all sits on a very solid timber framework which is cross braced. The lathe is on top of that, bolted to a piece of cast iron roughly 3" thick. (God knows where it came from, it was my grandfathers lathe, I can't imagine where one would find some cast iron that size, its easily the size of an office desk).

I find the setup very rigid and have had it this way many years with no loss of rigidity or problems with the lathe moving! My mill is on the same bench, round the corner.

I find myself doing it now and then. Like the frog in the saucepan of boiling water.... the danger creeps up on me gently. I only really improved this habit when teaching my wife to drive. I'm still guilty of it now and then (as I suspect more people are than would admit), but as soon as I notice I get a proper distance between myself and the car in front. I could make excuses about the other drivers maybe being inconsistent or whatever, but as I was telling my wife the best way to mitigate the inconsistency of the car in front's speed is to increase your buffer zone.

On the whole my calmness on the road has increased with my age.

Spoken like a true pilot.

Jon

(ground crew)

I don't tend to read the tea room threads, you don't have to read a forum like a book, cover to cover....

I use Chainsaw oil as it doesn't get flung off. I use that on all my motion including eccentrics, and I use compounded 680 steam oil in my mechanical lubricator.

I think engine oil will be just fine for general oiling round.

As an aside, one reason oils and hydraulic fluids absorb water is because its better its held within the oil, even if its in an emulsion, than for droplets of water to remain on ferrous surfaces. This is especially true of brake fluid.

Edited By Jon Lawes on 16/08/2022 10:31:39

I did a speed awareness course a few years ago, and I have to say I came away from it having learned a few things. One of the most useful things was when they talked about road rage, or even just dealing with tailgaters and aggressive drivers.

Someone elses aggressive or thoughtless driving can often be made worse by continuing the cycle. For example, if you are doing 60 in a 60 and someone tailgates you, the temptation might be to slow to 55. All that does is complete the circle of mutual provocation which can only escalate. Same with flashing your brake lights etc. It's down to us as the "grown-up" of the situation to not rise to the bait; don't be the one to allow the situation to escalate. It's been useful advice generally in conflict. I've found with heated work arguments just refusing to enter the cycle of continued escalation has been very beneficial; even if it means we both walk away for a while the conversation can resume a bit later with clearer heads and lower blood pressure.

The price you see there is the cost of a straightforward fit. I used Optical encoders found on a chinese auction site with excellent results, but obviously I had to make my own brackets etc. The cost was 1/3 of that quoted above. The question is, do you want modest cost or straightforward fit? I think thats where choices need to be made.

Whichever you choose, the very best of luck. I found it to be a very worthwhile improvement to my mill. Transformed it.

Often our apprentice solves issues the rest of us haven't because he doesn't go in with our engineering prejudices. Very sharp lad. I hope he doesn't blunt as his experience grows!

Agree with Michael. I see too many people talking about the amazing bargain they got from a sadly deceased model engineers tools being sold; so often the seller gets short changed.

If this is the Stuart castings then there is a very high likelyhood of hard spots. Make sure you listen to the drill.

You may need to ask in a more relevant section to get answers. Best of luck.

I wonder how much people read the previous posts before answering. Would save a lot of duplication.

I wonder how the model tank boys achieve the Zimmerit look?

My friends laugh at our ceiling fans claiming we are 1970s throwbacks.... I've never found a more efficient way of keeping cool, so I'll stay a throwback!

I measured the power drawn out of interest, 50w is typical once it's up to speed. This seems very efficient (and made me doubt my meter).

Bring back the Variac!

**LINK**

I googled 3/8 x 28. I would suggest you get a thread gauge to be sure before spending money though.

Can I respectfully suggest you pause before going too far; jamming in an M6 tap to an old boiler sounds like a disaster waiting to happen. If its an old british boiler I suspect M6 won't be an option and you could be causing damage by trying.

Some people recommend using a soft wood or even wax on internal threads, then withdraw the wood and measure the TPI on that.