Member postings for Paul M

I don't use cutting oil on brass and only a splash of WD40 on aluminium. I still use a soluble cutting oil on steel when using HSS tools if taking a roughing cut or drilling. As it is soluble there are no obvious fumes however there is the potential drawback of soluble oil on the ways etc. Never personally found that to be an issue.

I am sure there will be others who have an in-depth knowledge of the safety of modern cutting oils. Most suppliers seem to emphasise they are non toxic.

A poem from ChatGPT:

A model engineer, with steady hand, Crafts his machines from grains of sand, With precision, he turns each screw, And brings his dreams to life anew.

He measures twice and cuts with care, In his workshop, he's unaware Of the outside world, the noise and strife, For in his craft, he finds his life.

He shapes and bends, hammers and drills, Creating wonders with his skills, A locomotive, a steamship grand, A miniature world at his command.

His workbench is a place of pride, With tools laid out, clean and bright, He spends his days in joyful toil, Creating marvels of steel and oil.

And when at last his work is done, And his models gleam in the sun, He looks upon his handiwork, And feels a sense of peace and worth.

For in his craft, he's found his way, A refuge from the world's dismay, And though his models may be small, In his heart, they stand tall.

I have a WM16 and came to the conclusion that aiming for perfection is not worth the effort. Have you tested the runout along the spindle when locked, as it would be for milling, and unlocked as it would be for a drilling or boring operation. If it's like mine there is at least .002 difference. Apart from tramming the X axis I have left mine well alone and achieve good accuracy for my model engineering tasks.

With my Warco VM16 I use conventional milling for all cuts apart from a fairly light finishing cut climb milling. Tend to use HSS cutters on most materials and coolant. Everything locked down.

Spent most of Sunday trying to set the Stevenson valve gear on my loco. After a few hours decided I really had no idea what I was doing. Watched rugby instead.

Where to begin. Lived in Birmingham as a young lad so spoilt for choice. Spent hours on New Street or Snow Hill stations spotting and trying my best to get a driver to allow me to 'cab' the engine, with occasional success. Standing on the bridge over Tyseley station for hours getting a face full of steam as a GWR King or the like shot by. Sneaking into Tyseley sheds and being chased out by the foreman. Coming home, and underlining all the trains seen in my Ian Allen trainspotters book. In trouble again for being late for dinner.

Last year I purchased something from Holland and after a few weeks got a £300 bill for vat via the carriers. I presume that is as a result of Brexit. I don't know whether that has changed.

I came across this YouTube video which is worth a look. It is quite long, but does make you wonder what goes on with plumbers/electricians who are not thorough or competent.
Would you expect a 3 pin plug to be live even when not plugged in?

https://youtu.be/MQ_XKCf5NTQ

If you have a DRO then use an edge finder otherwise any of the suggestions. If you want to splash out then a Coaxial Centring Indicator if you have reasonable travel on the Z axis.

I have had mostly good service from Reeves although the quality of their castings in some cases can be best described as just adequate.

As far as faulty castings etc, are concerned, as in a previous comment, the Consumer Rights Act comes into play. I would suggest their response is nonsense and should be challenged. If a casting proves to be found defective during the machining process, which was not apparent at first sight, then it is not fit for purpose.

You would not accept that argument if you purchased a car and it developed a fault within a few days of use.

The following video clip is worth a look.

https://youtu.be/BPPQLCMVGpg

Paul

Edited By Paul M on 17/11/2022 09:01:17

This is worth a look:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KG6I2gNGVwM

Paul

We have to be careful that talk of re- nationalising energy supply is not ideologically motivated but evidence based. I seem to recall that when nationalised from about 1948 to 1990 it lacked proper investment and was plagued with high operating costs.

This may be of interest showing live electric generation (excuse the pun).

https://electricinsights.co.uk

I have most of my drills up to 10mm stored in plastic test tubes with stoppers. I managed to get a good test tube stand to hold them. Also keep taps in them. Also have a good set metric and imperial up to 6mm and ½" in the standard flip up metal box. As I am a disorganised and messy worker, I find at least with drills and taps, I can always find the ones I need.

When removed should give access to rod the pipework if needed. Must remain in place to prevent foul air.

Edited By JasonB on 21/02/2022 18:34:56

An interesting and possible cause for concern regarding the new advice when turning into a side road. Motorists should allow pedestrians to cross at a junction where the motorist is turning into a side road. So if the motorist can see a pedestrian waiting to cross they should let them cross. My friend is partially sited and has a guide dog. The guide dog is trained NOT to lead the person across the road until it cannot see any traffic. So a car may be waiting for the person to cross and the guide dog will be waiting for the car to drive past.

Makes me think a new series of Interesting Cases could be based on the Highway Code. Members of a certain age will probably recall the series.

I wrote to the Chief constable of my local police force asking him how many cyclists have been fined for riding on the pavement or footpath, or without lights. No reply as yet.

If a car door is opened and a cyclist without lights riding after dusk hits the car, who is to blame? In our area street lights are now LED and provide little illumination apart from under a lamppost.

Motorists will now have to give way to pedestrians intending to cross a road that you are turning into and don't forget to look out for cyclists on your near side as well as cyclists on the pavement about to shoot across the junction. All makes sense if everyone sticks to the rules but that will never happen.

I have invested in a front and rear view dash cam.

I too purchased a Warco HV6 rotary table with dividing plates etc. As with most Chinese imports it needed a strip down and clean. Apart from the a small adjustment with one of the clamping plates it has served me well. The only annoying aspect are the tee slots not in the vertical and horizontal position when the table was set to 0 degrees.

Hello Jon

I'm in south Dorset and a retired Technology teacher. It's good to see that engineering is appearing on the curriculum after years of national curriculum D&T, that effectively destroyed the subject. As the well known acronym for GCSE D&T went - Glue Guns Can Solve Everything.

Fortunately there were many teachers of Technology who tried hard to keep the subject meaningful and inspiring.

If you need any advice then please message me.

Paul

I have a Warco 250 and had issues with parting off until I made a solid tooltpost that replaced the original. When you look at the construction of the tool post and compound slide it has very little rigidity especially when parting off larger diameter stock. Even with my new tool post I have to make sure everything is locked down. I use a 2mm wide HSS parting tool.

I based my design on this toolpost.

This is the page address if above link doesn't function.

https://journeymans-workshop.uk/wm250qctp1.php

I recall an issue with a similar Ebay seller who was supposedly based in Inverness. I am not sure if there is a post on this forum somewhere. The general consensus was that he was unreliable and never helpful with detail. Might be worth digging around. I hope I am wrong about this person but best to be sure.