Member postings for larry phelan 1

Martin, I agree, and I am the idiot in question, but so what ?

Mike, we all know what happened to the English motor bikes, they never moved with the times, but the Japs did !

I,m sure someone will be along soon, this Forum is like that, and not everyone looks for cash !

How do I know ? ask me !

I made up a simple guide in the form of a short piece of 1/2 " square with a number of holes drilled in it to suit a range of taps, each hole being a clearance fit for the tap in question. Just clamp it in place over the hole to be tapped and away you go, no more lopsided tapping..

I know this would work for all situations, but when it does, it,s hard to beat.

I have often opened a 6mm hole to 8 or 10 mm without any wobble and my machine is not "Top-of-the-range" model, just a cheap Chinese Monday morning job. Very seldom do I need to bolt down the vise, the larger drill just centers itself.

But for anything bigger, such as 12mm, yes I do bolt it down, got fed up chasing the vise and job around the floor !

Surprised there was no tailstock ?

Not sure if this will help, but when I installed my Transwave rotary converter, I was advised to make sure I fitted trips suitable for motor running [I think they are type "D" ] It seems the D type can cope better with the surge when the motor starts. Anyone out there know more about this ? I bet there is !!!

I seem to remember the late L,C Mason writing about something like that in his book "Using the small lathe".

, and he was no duff ! Am I perhaps mistaken ?

That machine might be no worse than many others on sale, if this Frum is any thing to go by.

How long did it take to build ? How long does it take to build a model engine, which may be only a showpiece anyway. I thought it was a fine piece of work, but then, I,m easy pleased.

Over here an Engineer is someone who comes to put a new washer on your tap , or perhaps to replace the filter on your washing machine. All very Hi Tech stuff !

I have even seen a guy who repairs bikes describe himself as an "Engineer" No kidding !

Perfection, Perfection this must be our goal !

What about the toilets which never had a cover [like the ones in most workplaces ] ?

Let us be for ever thankful that our "Betters" have our welfare at heart.

Must say, this is heavy stuff to be taking in so early in the New Year.

Gives me something to think about next time I visit the Loo, who would ever think that such a small room could be so important to the EU ?

My thoughts exactly S-O-D !!

Cannot help you on your project, but if you need help, you are in the right place, just ask !

Just ask, it,s all there and willingly given, I speak from experience.

You have only to ask, someone there has the answer.

PS You are never too late to start, at 50 you are only a young un with years of fun ahead.

Good luck with your build.

Never be afraid to ask, you will get nowhere without a bit of cheek !!!

People around here have no lack of it !

As my friend say,s "There,s money in scrap, lad "

I have a tapping head which I use in my Lux mill and I find it,s OK. Might be nice if the machine did have reverse ,but so far this has not proved to be a problem and the Lux can handle fairly big work.

I have fitted many of these lights over the years and the first thing I did with a new fitting was to replace the screw with a brass nut and bolt. Never had a problem with those fittings afterwards. The screws as fitted are A-P-I-T-A !

Agree with both Members, Sparey,s book is the one to go for. Simple, straight forward sound advice.

Although I am now an "Expert" [only every second job is a cock-up ] I still refer to it .

If you get through it all, you will have a very good grounding.

The only bench block I ever came across was the ones we had in the Tech many moons ago.

These things were just big lumps of iron or steel, not sure which, and we used or abused them when centre punching our masterpieces.

"Do not centrepunch on the wooden bench!!!"

Yes Sir/No Sir, three bags full !

I now have on old 56lb weight which I use for the purpose

I store all my large size Morse Taper drills in short lengths of plastic pipe, one end plugged with a wooden plug This way they never get damaged I just mark the size on the tube. It,s simple and cheap

I am surprised that the noise from the rotary converter is that bad. I have a 7.5 KVA unit and I don't find it too noisy, but then, I half deaf anyway, thanks to noisy conditions in a past life [Anyone else been there ? ]

Yes there is a some noise from them, but I built a cover around mine and can live with it.

Better than listening to S-W-M-B-O ,and can be switched off !!

The colour of a machine makes no difference to its performance. The last place I worked in painted everything, machines and benches and everything else a bright yellow ! Maybe it reminded them of Spring or else they got the paint cheap. Made no difference ,everything worked the same, so go for your colour of choice.