Member postings for Ron Laden

The steel blanks arrived which the supplier says are S275 which is a new one on me. I did a couple of test cuts on one of the spares and it cuts really well with inserts even a GT, havnt tried a HSS tool yet but optimistic it should be ok. It feels somewhere between EN1A and EN3 if I had to guess, any idea what grade its closest to..?

Thanks Ega

I never gave the rear tool post a thought, I have one on the 918 which is pretty rigid. Although the 918 is more than a mini lathe it would be considered "light" and for a Chinese machine I would think it it could certainly claim to be "elderly" (24 years) yes its had the VFD drive added and some well engineered mods but the original bed and other parts are still in very good condition. I will give the rear tool post approach some thought.

Thanks

Ron

Edited By Ron Laden on 02/02/2022 11:41:14

Hopper, my lathe is a Warco 918 (9 x 20 type) 3/4HP VFD drive and all the niggles have been well engineered out by the previous owner so a pretty capable lathe but how it would cope with a full width tool I dont know, I have steel blanks on the way so I guess there is only one way to find out.

Ron

Thanks guys, I think I will go with a semi form tool as Duncan suggests and see how I get on. I dont have castings though the wheels will be from steel blanks so a bit tougher to machine than castings.

Ron

I have 12 off 3.5 inch gauge wheels to make in steel.

Width is 3/8" and tyre diameter 2.7" I was wondering if a form tool would work or would it be asking too much. I have made and used smaller form tools and they worked fine on alu but I have never tried a 10mm tool on steel. If not I can machine in stages but a form tool would be quicker and easier to produce the same on all 12 wheels..?

Edited By Ron Laden on 27/01/2022 10:29:58

If you search for die springs on ebay you will find lots of them and a wide range of lengths/diameters, they are cheap to.

The springs are colour coded for the various strengths but no spec or figures only listed as heavy duty, light duty sort of thing. Its a bit of guess work getting the strength you need but being so cheap I got a couple of each for comparison and trial. I listed them as Blue - Light, Red - Med, Green - Strong, Brown - V Strong. Bear in mind though that die springs are in general strong springs so even the Blue - Light spring is fairly stiff.

Ron

Edited By Ron Laden on 09/01/2022 06:46:44

Edited By Ron Laden on 09/01/2022 06:53:19

Happy Christmas Jason

Your re - design certainly improved the look of the engine not so bulky and more open. It runs nicely, certainly can get a lick on, sounds good to.

Very nice.

Ron

Yep, I've had a few but the ones that really annoy me is when you answer their question with quite a lengthy detailed reply and don't get a thank you, just bad manners.

All my tool steel I have bought from ARC both Cobalt and non Cobalt and its all been fine with no issues, also the pricing is good. I think the 10mm square may be out of stock though so you would need to check.

Edited By Ron Laden on 14/11/2021 06:53:39

On my SX2P I have the locking lever handle on the Z but found a lever handle on the Y can catch depending on where the table is in X. I use a ball ended T wrench for the X and Y, the ball end making it easy to locate in the caphead. Something to note is don't over tighten the capheads a light nip is all that is needed to lock the table. The small M4 capheads threaded into cast iron will strip the thread in the casting if heavy handed over time.

Yes lock the head using the lever when milling but again don't over tighten it's not needed.

Ron

My SX2P doesnt have an extendable quill, the spindle is fixed so I went with a 3 axis DRO.

I use the Z axis DRO all the time and my DRO set is budget, I dont have an all singing and dancing display for the 3 axis just a simple readout for each and I have found the Z more than accurate enough for the work I have done to date.

Ron

Yep I have a Gates 5M730 Polyflex belt fitted to my 920 (Warco 918) I also got the belt from Bearing Shop UK and their current price is £19 including VAT and it is a genuine Gates belt.

Like Bob I have not seen the belt as cheap as John mentioned so he found a real bargain there.

Make sure you check the alignment and set up of the spring loaded idler/tensioner boss when you fit the new belt, I do know it can cause belt failures after time if not adjusted correctly.

Ron

Thanks Roger, I must admit I am a fan of weathering providing its not over done or done badly. If done reasonably well I think it can add realism to the subject, though its not everyones cup of tea and I think the majority prefer their locos looking pristine which is fine, everyone to their own.

Dave, thanks for the explanation on the amplifier circuit and what each component does.

I learnt something today by chance whilst watching a video, although a lot of switched circuit breakers look the same there is AC and DC types and they are different animals not to be interchanged. Not knowing there is the two types I just ordered one at the time and I cant remember any reference to AC or DC unless I missed it. So I think it probable I have an AC type in the loco when of course it should be a DC so will have to get one on order.

Goes to prove that too little knowledge can be dangerous.

Wow Jason those feed rates are impressive, at the 1000mm/min blink and you would miss it plus the surface finish looked very good to me.

Ron

Hi John,

I have built two electric locos to date both my own designs I dont know if any plans exist for electric locos I havnt come across any but thats not to say they dont. The first thing you should consider is what type of loco do you want to build, scale, semi scale or a fun type loco, obviously a scale loco needs a lot of research and build time compared with a small simple fun type one. Pictures below of my two, the little 0-4-0 shunter with a simple 08 style body I built first and it didnt take too long the aim been to produce some thing quite quickly that would carry me and the grand kids around the club track. Its quite simple with a single 12 volt battery and 4 x 65 watt motors giving 260 watts total, 2 motors driving each axle through 6/1 gears, it turned out quite a capable little engine it copes with 4 adults or me and 5 children no problem.

The Class 22 is my latest offering, semi scale as the aim was for a reasonable representation of a 22 which allowed some licence in certain areas. A lot more work and build than the little shunter though, twice as long and almost 3 times the weight 60kgs against 23kgs, 4 motors again but 150 watt each, belt drive and twin bogies driven from 2 x 12 volt batteries giving 24 volt.

I have a build thread for each of the locos 5 inch 0-4-0 Shunter and Class 22 Diesel have a look it may give you some idea but bear in mind that I am no expert they are just my approach and take on things (keep it simple), though there is lots of ways to skin a cat.

That's a good idea Duncan but I,m afraid I am not into electronics to that level. I am OK with basic wiring and ok with simple electronics if I am shown what to do but I don't have the understanding to design a unit as you describe.

I still want to change over the ratio from 4.5/1 to 6/1 which will increase the pulling power and offer some reduction in top end speed.

Ron

Edited By Ron Laden on 16/10/2021 14:15:34

Thanks Jason, just pleased the design worked out OK.

Ron

Thanks Jeff,

Yes I lost count of the number of runs I had there was only 3 steamers and me so a quiet day loco numbers wise, the steamer guys finished early so I had the track to myself and it was a lovely day. I have to say that I was taken by surprise at the acceleration and the top speed when I opened her up on the back straight which is not that long. It really pushed me back and guesstimating top speed at 15+mph and with the club speed limit at 5mph obviously far too much.

The motor pulleys that came fitted to the motors are 16T giving 4.5/1, I have some 12T pulleys which would give 6/1 but they are not one piece the toothed section is turned to a spigot with the boss pressed on and with a 8mm bore to fit the motor shaft the boss would come adrift. I could remove the armatures from the motors run between centres and turn them down to 5mm which would leave enough meat on the 12T pulleys but that is something to consider for the winter months. In the mean time it just needs some throttle control to keep things sensible.

Ron

Thanks Jeff/Roger

Ron