Should have a health warning prior to the clip.

I find it amusing when buying goods with cash when the sales assistant cannot work out change without the use of the electronic til or calculator. It would seem that mental arithmetic is beyond them. Is this a sign of being lazy or poor basic education? How would they have got on with pounds, shillings and pence?

I remember at infant school we had to recite our times tables every day, and had mental arithmetic tests every Friday afternoon. A good grounding in my opinion.

As for units of measurement, I prefer base 12 to base 10. Might be because I like to work with fractions. Half of ½ is ¼ etc.

To sum up this country, in my town you can find direction signs for pedestrians that make me laugh. Any distance less than a mile is in metres and any distance above a mile is in miles.

I recently had a similar problem trying to cut M3 and 5BA threads with a die. I used the tailstock barrel to butt the holder up to the work as I have done many times. The resulting threads were way off and binned.

The problem seemed to be with the 3 jaw chuck and the material not running concentrically.

I turned part of a length of ¼" bar to 3mm diameter in the same chuck and then cut perfect threads.

Serves me right for being lazy and not fitting my collet chuck!

I could say the same for a number of companies. Ordered a set of cast wheels form A J Reeves about 12.00 on Thursday and they arrived the following day by 10.00am.

Speed of delivery depends very much on the postage you pay.

Paul

I would use them but tend only to use companies that accept PayPal. I don't like leaving a trail of my credit card details around companies. Very few companies don't accept PayPal so plenty of alternative choice.

My grandson threw his box of lego over the lounge floor. My daughter asked why he did it. He said that he wanted a messy room like grandad's workshop.

Draw your own conclusions.

Tony

I have a 500kg engine hoist which I used to lift a Warco250V lathe. I haven't tried to transport mine but wouldn't try it without help and probably on a trailer given the weight and its structure.

Best thing is to go and have a look.

I purchased mine with the idea of selling it on after fitting my lathe. I have kept it as it will be so useful if I need to shift my machines in the future.

Paul

I purchased a Warco WM16 milling machine last year with a small vice. Although the vice is adequate for most work I would like one that is capable of holding larger work.

Rather than take pot luck buying an alternative, I thought some may have recommendations from their own experience regarding a vice and a rotary table.

Having trawled previous posts, I remain unsure of the appropriate Loctite (or equivalent) to lock threads on my steam loco. I have recently removed the horn blocks that had been fixed with countersunk bolts and nuts. The previous owner had machined the hornblocks poorly and they needed replacing. I can see the advantage of not using rivets as I would have a problem removing the existing ones.

I would appreciate advice on which Loctite to use to lock the nuts given they will be close to a source of heat, oil and vibration.

I have used QCAD for some time now and find it perfect for 2D drawings. Plenty of help on the QCAD forum also.

For 3D work I use Fusion360.

For anyone thinking of fitting a DRO I recommend this chap on Youtube : Stuart de Haro.

He has just done a series of videos showing in detail how to fit a Sino DRO to a milling machine.

Thanks for the advice provided. Seems I might be ok or not depending on individual boiler inspector.

I am confident the copper is ok as it was purchased from A J Reeves be it before they changed ownership. Unfortunately I don't have a receipt. I will have to hold my breath and hope.

Would an older loco built prior to the tightening of regulations satisfy current testing procedures. I would expect there are plenty of them about with no proof of copper grade used?

Many years ago I purchased all the copper for constructing a boiler for a 31/2” locomotive. I recently began work on my loco after some years. Recent discussion with fellow model engineers raised the issue of boiler regulations and having to have certified the grade of copper. I don’t have any receipts to prove the grade. All the copper is formed, drilled and virtually ready for soldering. Am I going to have to scrap the copper and re purchase? Is it possible or viable to get the copper tested?

I recently pulled apart a PC hard drive (not solid state) and discovered two very strong magnets.

I have used them frequently for holding ferrous parts together when marking out and spotting for drilling. They are small flat and very useful.

Not something I would have thought of using in the past, but worth retrieving if you have a dead hard drive.

I have watched a few videos on YouTube by a chap called Jim Browning (Tech Support Scams). He gains access to scammers computers and strings them along eventually exposing them for what they are. It is alarming to see how much money these scammers make in a week which seems to suggest there are many gullible people about. Although it mainly centres around support calls for Windows computers he does touch on other scams.

So far all the scammers have originated in India and it seems to be a very sophisticated set up to fool people into thinking they are contacting genuine support. As far as shutting the companies down, it seems that there is so much money involved even the authorities (for some reason) don't act very often when informed.

If you have 40 minutes to spare take a look at one of his videos.

Certain things have. My father taught me to be accurate, have patience and not to look to blame others for my mistakes. He made do with mostly poor tools and not much teaching from his father but always finished a job to the best of his ability. What I appreciate and try to always apply, is not to criticise and be constructive. I think my daughter has taken on board my love of making and creating well made products. My son now he is married and building his home is beginning to develop his practical skills which is great.

When I first started building a loco many years ago I dealt with Reeves when they were B'Ham based. The quality of castings was excellent, and as a company they were very helpful and knowledgeable.

A recent casting purchase proved a different story. It was poor in quality and required a great deal of machining to clean it up. Given the cost of metal castings generally, I would expect top quality and fitness for purpose with as little waste as possible.

Chris

Just noticed this thread.

Having no luck (never reply to emails) from various laser cutting companies for my request to cut some frames, I wondered wether you could let me know the company you use in Tamworth. Although I live on the south coast, my daughter lives in Cannock and regularly visits her inlaws in Tamworth.

I have done the CAD files.

Paul

I have used QCAD for a few years now. As an ex AutoCad user, I find it similar and very easy to migrate to.

Also starting using Fusion360 for 3D work.

Agree with others not to touch AutoCad at £8.95.

Thanks Nick.

Much appreciate the reply.

I purchased most of my castings etc from Reeves in the late 70's and at that time it was called Lickham Hall.  Family life and work got in the way of making any significant progress, but now have the time and equipment to get started again.

I have just managed to acquire some of the ME Ivy Hall articles so need to read them in depth.

I have memories of Lifford Hall in Kings Norton, B'Ham, from my childhood when I lived in Brum. I assume Reeves renamed Lickham Hall to Lifford Hall because they were Birmingham based in those days.

Paul

Edited By Paul Mills 1 on 22/02/2019 12:43:24