Member postings for Bill Phinn

One of the nice things about the cyclone burners [I only have the larger one - the 3525], apart from the way the flame wraps around objects up to a certain diameter, is their relative quietness; they emit a much more muted sound than standard burners of comparable size, so you can solder and hear yourself think at the same time.

Hopefully the 3525 is suited to your present job, Peter.

Which Sievert burner were you thinking of, there, Dave? The only 38mm one I know is the soft flame burner intended for "cable work and other heat shrinking applications", and it is rated at 15KW.

For big heating jobs I use the Pro88 handle [with pilot flame] and one of the burners in the range 2942-2944. These are rated at 26KW, 43.5KW and 86KW.

Yes, a parallel evolution of sorts, making the chuck an auspicious choice for lathe owners everywhere who have one Maori-speaking parent and one Chinese-.

This is the manufacturer. The name on the chuck in Pinyin just means "splendid brand".

Bear in mind that automatic centre punches, as opposed to traditional ones, will only be useful if you can firmly hold the work with one hand [or in a vice] while you depress the punch with the other. If it's not convenient or possible to do this, then traditional centre punches are a better choice.

I have a similar sized mill to yours, always use the quill [it gives invaluable feedback up the hand] rather than the head for countersinking, and get excellent results on mild steel using three flute, single flute and zero flute csks.

It's a little difficult to tell where things are going wrong without seeing you actually doing the work. To help narrow down the cause of your problem you could try locking the head and using the quill. See whether this improves things.

Some 5/16" UNC and UNF have a 1/4".

Arthur, to minimize the risk of ongoing frustration, can you at least show us a close-up photo of the parts in the position you were attempting to solder them in, and also of your torch alongside?

I'm sceptical whether getting the parts bright red as opposed to dull red was the solution you needed; your torch being too small and/or being directed at and played over the parts in a less than optimal way, or your joints being too gappy or too tight or too dirty are a more likely cause of failure.

On another note, I too have bought Tenacity [and Easyflo] off eBay in nondescript packaging; they worked exactly as expected. I bought a 500g tub of Easyflo from Zoro recently when it was on offer at £19.99, and the 250g tub was selling [or probably not selling] at £29.99. Price-setting algorithms are clearly convenient for the big-volume sellers, and sometimes for their customers too.

That's interesting, Nick, because I bought two of these a year ago for their fine tip, and the ink from my two is highly delible on steel and brass in the presence of acetone, carb cleaner, lighter fuel, and even oil - so delible, in fact, that I've abandoned using them.

Is there some special limitation on their use that I'm missing perhaps?

I suspect MC is talking about the type of T handle wrench that has only one business end, i.e. at the foot of the T. Presumably these do not always have the short arm of an ordinary allen wrench hiding somewhat redundantly inside the plastic handle.

Come to think of it, if I'm right, I'd be interested to know what they do have.

Edited By Bill Phinn on 08/05/2021 18:49:10

I don't think oxy-propane would give you much if any advantage over straight propane for that job, as long as the burner is the right size to get the work up to temperature reasonably quickly.

Personally, I wouldn't buy any of the oxy-propane off-the-peg kits I've seen; the oxygen tends to run out astonishingly quickly, and I don't think the kits are good value.

If you are serious about oxy-propane, consider oxygen cylinder "hire" through Hobbyweld or similar, or, if you aren't planning to use the torch for cutting, maybe choose an oxygen concentrator instead.

Could the two leaks be attributable not so much to the torch but to your soldering preparation and technique?

The Park Tool "P wrenches" I've had for many years are good quality. They have ball ends. Kennedy Pro-Torq T-handled hexagon ball drivers also seem decent quality.

Faithfull and Neilsen are an unknown quantity to me. They could well be quite serviceable, like a Toolstation set of hex keys I bought about 18 years ago, or they could be like the Tesco set someone once bought me that I think were made of old Camembert.

It's perhaps worth noting that in their Standard Torch System instruction leaflet Bullfinch stipulate surprisingly large minimum cylinder requirements for the medium-sized burners upwards.

I'm not sure how necessary it is to slavishly follow their advice on this count; I have used large KW-rated Sievert burners at 4 Bar off a 13kg propane tank, when, according to Bullfinch, burners of theirs this large should only be run from a 47KG cylinder.

Of course if Bo'sun is only after the kind of Bullfinch torch that screws directly on to disposable Bernzomatic-style cylinders, Bullfinch's caveat won't apply.

Three reviews of it here suggest it does:

https://www.bernzomatic.com/Products/Hand-Torches/Instant-On-Off/TS8000T

Sorry to hear about your tribulations dealing with Rothenberger.

I still use Bernzomatic [i.e. "plumbers'"] cylinders occasionally, but I do so using the regulator in the link, which obviously requires the use of a hose but as a result gives you much more choice on the torch you can use with it. It also has a useful output gauge.

https://www.thewelderswarehouse.com/Welding-Supplies/MAPP-Gas-Regulator.html#SID=341

Edited By Bill Phinn on 07/05/2021 11:00:29

Can I take it you've seen the video below, Bo'sun, and the comments?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvUOjdZ-wxc

Another thing to look at if other suggestions haven't identified the source of your problem: my first ever R8 collet, bought from a reputable supplier, was fine out of the box on its first use. On its second use I couldn't get it to close quite firmly enough onto the cutter.

A careful look along the full length of the collet's slots revealed an inch-long curly strand of metal hiding away in one of the slots that was still attached to the collet at its upper end. It had clearly not been machined away as it should have been by the manufacturer during the cutting of the slots. On its second use it must have moved position to interfere with the proper closing of the collet. Once removed, everything worked as it should have done.

Edited By Bill Phinn on 04/05/2021 11:03:41

Yes, I turned it over, after pausing for 30 seconds, to run more solder down the other side.

The setting up was rather fiddly; making sure the two parts were sitting where they needed to be in relation to one another and not under any tension that might work to drive them apart once heat had been put into them took a lot longer than the actual soldering.

Bit of a rush job preceding a hospital visit, but this is how I held the work:

Edited By Bill Phinn on 30/04/2021 13:19:39

John, I answered your question about where to get millboard here: **LINK**

You can also buy millboard from Hewit's, but theirs is not Gemini, and not guaranteed PH neutral afaik.

For applying adhesives in the circumstances you describe I would use a brush, not a spatula.

Contrary to what you say to Peter Low, I use PVA regularly for bookbinding, just not on the backfolds [and on certain other parts] of antiquarian books.

If you want to learn the difference between greyboard [lined or otherwise] and millboard, or any other definitive information on bookbinding, I'd suggest reading an authoritative manual on the subject such as Arthur Johnson's, or the invaluable works of the late Bernard Middleton. Your suggested disambiguation for the two classes of board isn't accurate.