Member postings for Nick Clarke 3

I am unable to vouch for that as when I got it out of the envelope David sent it to me in I dropped it onto the large box of 567BA machine screws I was slitting the heads of in the 3 jaw of my Drummond Roundbed lathe.

More seriously Drummonds proudly advertised that their Roundbed lathe beds were ground to a tolerance of 1/1000" so what does that suggest the tolerance of parts made on them would be in reality? 10x that??

Also John Stevenson in another forum a few years ago noted that the latest Myford connoisseur lathe bed was ground on the same surface grinder as his 40 year old one!

I'm with what John S wrote on this subject I'm afraid, silly tolerances are not necessary for our hobby - but as it IS a hobby, if you get pleasure from working to them, you are doing exactly what is right for you.

Nick

PS As someone diagnosed with autism late in life, if you say you have to work to them I can see where you are with that as well

Edited By Nick Clarke 3 on 05/07/2019 12:58:10

If it is fitted to the superheater water can come over if the is over full and the regulator is open (unlikely from what you have said) or from condensation - but in a modern high superheat boiler design makes this unlikely to be more than a few drops if there is a fire lit - steam is more likely than water.

You have puzzled me too. Can't offer any other suggestions, sorry, but when you do find a solution please come back here as I am now close to being as curious as you to find out the cause.

Sorry - I only asked as you said it was blowing hard.

Fire - begin with wood or charcoal soaked in paraffin and then feed coal quite quickly. make certain the whole grate is covered and there are no holes in the fire.

Two areas to investigate - firstly if the gauge is reading zero it is either not making steam or the passage to a fully working gauge may be blocked and secondly is the fire burning brightly or not? If not check ashpan and grate.

If this is your first loco you could possibly do with someone else there to observe and advise as you light up - are you a member of a club?.

Edited By Nick Clarke 3 on 04/07/2019 20:57:05

A callow youth I suspect! My Drummond.was 12 years old when my Dad was born - and I'm no spring chicken either - mind you at present it is under the bench awaiting the fitting of a replacement saddle that amazingly I found on *Bay.

steam blower or electric?

is the gauge OK?

What happens if you open the regulator?

where is the snifting valve connected to?

Nottingham SMEE are in Ruddington and Erewash Valley are in Borrowash - both are quite close and there may be others.

I know I'm not alone - the voices tell me I'm not!

I though I was bad, often not knowing what day of the week it is, but I can usually get within a month!

I call mine the wife ……………..

Edited By Nick Clarke 3 on 30/06/2019 19:31:23

I use a model steam engine - Mamod type - to demonstrate energy changes to children in school.

No longer allowed to use meths burners because they could overflow and spread liquid fire all over the place so we use Metaldehyde fuel tablets instead. What are we to use next??

Quote:- Quentin Crisp — ‘There is no need to do any housework at all. After the first four years the dirt doesn't get any worse.’

(but I am not being serious here )

Edited By Nick Clarke 3 on 29/06/2019 13:02:07

It is Friday night at the end of a hard week. There are three doors and a bottle of red wine between where I am sat in the living room and the workshop/garage.

What's the chance??

Not the best time to ask as I am in the middle if a major reorganisation. Got three lathes and a milling machine that I can't use - in fact I can barely see one of the lathes!

Work is winding down for the summer so in a couple of weeks all should be well.

Nick

The ME index at http://www.itech.net.au/modelengineer/ gives several references to L.G. Tucker(s)

Yours is the next to last one.

Nick

And then it rained and next time you looked the felt tip list had run and blurred and you were stuffed!

Nick

PS At one stage I ran a shed of a CZ 250 and my mate just glanced down at the list on my tank bag and quietly said - don't be silly it won't get that far! Then it hurt, but experience proved him to be correct more often than not!

Thank you for your reply Barrie, however I was intending to comment on tool production in the far east, not the one off or small batch work you have no doubt a great deal of experience in.

As I said I was not commenting on setting up, either for one off or quantity but rather running a production process.

I think we are posting about two different things so, accepting your absolute right to agree/disagree or understand/misunderstand me I will leave it there.

Take care,

Nick

I am sorry but no. The key word in my post was maintaining. Setting up a production process takes skill and knowledge and the toolmaking is obviously skilled as well, but unlike a manual or semi manual (eg capstan) system which needs a skilled operator, once it has been set up the task becomes one of machine minding and inspection of product.

I can't really make sense of your sentence, but I assume you are referring to manual machinists and toolmakers which were not what I was referring to in my post, quite the reverse in fact.

Nick

I am often surprised by the opinions expressed about cheap tooling. There has been cheap tooling for the last 150 years or so - called continental, made in Hong Kong, Jap rubbish (or similar!) and at present it is China getting the abuse thrown at it.

If cheap does the job then don't pay more! It is a sound engineering axiom that accuracy costs money, so don't demand more accuracy than necessary for the job.

If the collet is too far out send it back, if it is too expensive to do that (would you pay postage on a three quid collet?) then buy another - you are still in pocket and it usually works, particularly if you are making parts to fit together rather than absolute sizes.

Today many brand names, even those with a reputation going back years, have changed hands so often that the name is all that is left - Moore and Wright has had 5 owners as far as I can see as one example.

They say quality tools will last a lifetime - but as an amateur how many times might I want to use something in the ten to twenty years remining to me? - and as CADCAM means that accuracy can be maintained with little or no skilled input, many cheap tools today are close to being as good as more traditionally made ones in the past - not feeling as nice, and perhaps not as long lasting, but in general accurate enough to do a job at a price that means they can be afforded and used in place of a second choice lash up. So affordable milling machines, collets, oxy-propane and all the other things unheard of in an amateurs workshop 30 years ago or so are nearly universal today.

Please can we condemn and banish from our workshops bad tooling - but that doesn't mean banning cheap tools or Chinese tools or any other tools unless they truly are unfit for the purpose and circumstances they are going to be used in!

Nick

I agree that many small leaks can apparently be stopped in a boiler - potato peelings, mustard, china clay and porridge have all been suggested, and according to what I have read all work to a greater or lesser extent.

If an issue with insurance were to arise for operating in public, at a exhibition for example, then the appropriate boiler code would need to be followed which will specify the steps it is acceptable to take.

if it is only going to be run in private then you make your own decision and take responsibility as seems appropriate.

Apropos of nothing it is all part of the richness of the English language that 'Improving runout in a slitting saw' can mean both decreasing it and making it more concentric or increasing it and making it more eccentric.

I know what you mean, but isn't language wonderful!