Member postings for Ron Laden

With EN1A I quite often use a GT insert not just for the finish but the turning down as well depends on how much material needs removing and the depth of cut I go with.

I don't know but is the rearward angle of the tool OK for that type of insert, I use CCMT inserts and mainly have the leading edge of the insert perpendicular to the work.

Just wondered.

What I should have said is the insert the right tool for general turning and finishing to size.? 

Edited By Ron Laden on 05/08/2021 07:56:53

Still no track test I,m afraid I haven't been too well recently in fact I haven't been in the shop for over 6 weeks but on the mend now. I was hoping for this Saturday but the forecast is wet just my luck.

Anyway I found a nice set of cast beam furniture which will save a lot of work, an hour with some needle files should see them ready to fit as they are quite clean, the hook and links I will make myself.

I used a pair of 8mm coach bolts where I milled a pair of flats on the head until it was a good fit in the bottom of the T slot, the square at the bottom of the thread needed no mod as its a good fit in the top of the slot.

Turned up a pair of heavy washers and it works fine, never had the vice move.

I watched the video again and realised how small the Gamages is when you picked it up. Out of interest is it the smallest stationary engine you have built or have you built anything smaller.?

Morning Jason, I see from the ad that the Bassett engine is quite small at 7/16" bore and only 3.5" to the top of the cylinder. If you do make it would you go with those sizes or scale it up, I think it would be quite impressive at such a small size.

Ron

Excellent, always amazes me how you find these subjects and more the point how you come up with a design and a set of working parts from just external views.

I thought that it came down to a reasonably low speed considering such a small flywheel.

Looks very nice also.

Ron

One thing is worth noting that if converting a mini mill to a gas strut as I did to my SX2P is making sure the strut has enough stroke. I did mine a couple of years back not long after getting the mill and with little experience followed what I read and the videos I watched. Most were fitting a 6.0mm strut with a 220 mm stroke length and a rating of 120N, it worked well enough and balanced the head nicely.

However I soon realised the 220mm stroke was reducing the head travel. When the strut bottomed out the spindle was 80 - 90mm above the table which is OK with a collet chuck and most cutters but I wanted it lower should I ever need it for some reason. So I changed to a 300mm stroke strut which gets down to 35mm off the table. I also went up to a 8.0mm strut but kept the 120N. The longer strut does mean a vertical mounting bracket fitted to the head but it's simple to make up and fit.

The head is well balanced and feels equal up and down it doesnt have any tendancy to drop or creep up. Having the head set to spring up when released wouldn't suit me but everyone to their own.

I lost 25mm in Y on my SX2P with fitting the DRO to the rear of the table using 25mm angle for the swarf guard. It's not been an issue I have had a couple of larger jobs which where tight for travel but got over it with repositioning the workpiece.

I am surprised you only have 100mm of Y travel my Sieg SX2P has 145mm and I would have thought your Sealey 2502 would have been the same or similar. I don't know how it's set up but does the rear swarf guard reduce rearward travel.? My SX2 didn't come with a guard and I have never felt the need for one.

If I found the guard was interfering with fitting the DRO I would lose it but that's your decision you may not want to. You probably know but the DRO scales need protection from swarf, I used 25mm x 1.5mm equal angle sandwhiched between the scale and the table mounting which works well. I fitted the X DRO to the rear of the table which with the angle swarf guard lost me 25mm of travel at the rear of the Y travel but to date it's not caused any issues on the jobs I,ve done.

If you do a search for my thread New Mill - Starter Tooling and go to page 15 you will find some pictures of my DRO installation it maybe of some help maybe not.

Ron

P.S. The DRO set I fitted are the ARC ones the same as yours and they have been 100% reliable and the accuracy is close enough for all that I do. Some say that this type of DRO eat batteries but the set I have from ARC don't they are still on the set they came with. 

Edited By Ron Laden on 29/07/2021 07:32:43

Edited By Ron Laden on 29/07/2021 08:05:20

Not only would I paint it but I would also weather it, even a light weathering for me makes a world of difference but then I appreciate that a lot like them looking as if they are new and just rolled out of the factory shed.

Each to their own.

Looking forward to Adam Peaty 100 metre breath stroke final 3.30am our time. He has broken his own world record time 13 times, will this be number 14..?

Ron

I have thought about adding a table drive to my small mill but havnt got around to it, if I do I will go down the route I took when I added a power cross feed to my Warco 918 lathe and that turned out to work very well.

I kept it simple and used a MFA 975D 12 volt motor with an inline 104/1 epicyclic gearbox which proved to have excellent torque for its size and I,m sure would be more than enough to drive a hobby mill table back and forth including milling and not just table movement.

I used an inexpensive PWM controller which comes with a Fwd/Neutral/Rev switch plus a variable speed pot and powered that with an inexpensive 12 volt supply of suitable amperage. Total cost including cable, switches etc was around £75.

Apart from the motor mount and the leadscrew connection I fashioned a simple dog clutch to disengage the drive from the hand wheel for manual operation.

I,m sure it doesnt have to be complex or expensive to add a drive to the table.

Ron

I went with the Muncaster Simple Oscillating Engine for my first attempt, I just thought it a nice looking engine for a simple one.

I used the Julius de Waal drawing which is available free on line and with dome guidance from Jason it turned out well. I learnt quite a bit on both the mill and lathe in making it. I did change some of the material on some parts and went with a cast flywheel which I thought looked better than the machined one on the drawing.

Pic below

Edited By Ron Laden on 09/07/2021 08:21:09

Oops, so it does I think I need a visit to Spec Savers.

Very nice Jason the 8 brass part fabrication of the carb looks good. What is the rod/tube between the inlet and exhaust on the manifold is it a brace or something more.?

Well I now have an auto mask so both hands free and have got into the habit of holding the electrode when the rod is new and full length I find it helps. With a shorter rod length I use both hands to steady the holder and with practice I think I am slowly improving, I am striking an arc much easier now without sticking the rod so much.

Thinking ahead to the 25mm x 14swg box I will be welding up for the driving frame I have watched a few videos on welding thin wall box and avoiding blowing holes into it. One guy suggests using 2.5mm 6011 rods and to move quickly across the joint, too slow and you will just blow holes, it won't be the neatest of welds but should be tidy and a strong joint.

Just wondered what people's thoughts are on that..?

If considering a Sieg machine and you can find another £200 over the price of the Sieg SX1LP I can recommend the SX2P.

Table size and machine footprint is the same but the SX2 is a R8 spindle, 500 watt output against the 250 watt for the SX1 and a heavier column.

I am only speaking from my experience with the SX2 which overall I have to say has been very good. Its done all I have asked of it and more, some of which I thought would really test it but used sensibly with the right tooling its always coped well. Reliability has been 100% and for its size as a small hobby mill I really can't fault it.

Edited By Ron Laden on 05/06/2021 05:43:03

The material and parts I get from them is always good, fair pricing, reasonable carriage charges and great service.

Don't know what it's intended for but have you considered Birch Ply it goes down to 0.4mm thickness wise.