Member postings for Rob McSweeney

Have you considered a steam powered outboard? From a quick look on Google, there seems to be quite a lot online, including some converted from dead petrol outboards. One American site shows one fitted to a canoe.

Well done! Can we have some more photos when you have set it up please.

Hoping for some pleasant surprises for you when you collect the box!

Anyone come across the word 'oofle' in another context? When playing cribbage with my late Dad many years ago, he used to use 'oofle' in the context of 'turn, as in 'it's your oofle now, come on'.

Am I the only one to see the thread title and assume that it referred to a loco of that number?

Obscure question I know. Google and my limited collection of books have failed to produce an answer.

Can anyone give a rough timescale for the transition between the use of a circular clickspring and the pivoted catch with a flat spring on 30-hour longcase movements?

Until someone comes up with a brass magnet, the elves will always have the upper hand.

The little ******s in my workshop also have a particular liking for the screws from tct tooling.

As I was typing that last line I realised that I should buy one of those magnetised trays and rest the toolholder on that when changing tips - bet the elves still get the last laugh though..

If it is aluminium, we should bear in mind that back in 1908 when this device was made, aluminium was regarded as 'the new wonder metal' and was being used for jewellery and the like, so not necessarily inexpensive.

Could it be possible we are not seeing the complete device? Might this be the 'setting' element?

Just checked Wilkinsons (10 minute walk away) website and they claim to stock it.

Many thanks,

Highly likely that it is down to water being absorbed then, given that it is a roughly 1/4 full 2 litre bottle that has been sitting in a shed for some years. I presume the dye has lost its colour due to exposure to sunlight.

Now then, how do I find a bottle of meths in these days of essential retail only?

Having failed miserably to anneal the end of a clock arbor, using the spirit lamp that came with my chemistry set some 50 years ago, and then trying with a vintage Valtock meths blowtorch and failing to get a good flame - both of which should have dealt with the job easily - I am wondering, does meths lose its potency with time? This bottle is several years old and has lost its purple colour.

Thank you Rod and Peter.

Rob

On a longcase clock with repeat, where does the operating cord emerge? Does it hang down inside the case, or emerge from the side of the hood?

On the movement I am currently working on, the hole in the little projection on the warning lever (does it have a name?) is tiny, less than 1mm, and I am wondering how a cord could be attached - was it a very thin but strong thread, such as silk, or would there have been a wire ring through the hole?

Many thanks in anticipation, Rob.

May I suggest a couple of books, both of which are readily available secondhand on ebay for not a lot of money.

The Amateur's Workshop, Ian Bradley - this will give you both a valuable oversight of what is required.

An Introduction to Benchwork, Stan Bray - your son can launch himself straight into this one, which will teach essential skills with hand tools.

On skill I would suggest he should learn early on is silver soldering (which may also be of benefit for your craft work)

A gas cannister blowtorch, some solder and flux and a suitable surface to work on will cost you £40-50 to get started, and will open up a lot of possibilities .

Once car boot sales are open again, set your son to work gathering a comprehensive set of spanners, hammers and other useful hand tools.

Would it be possible to drill and tap the hole for the locking plunger (possibly smaller than finished size) ahead of schedule and use it to secure a packing block?

Iooks like a 5" Drummond to me.

Plenty of info on www.lathes.co, plus a group on facebook and what used to be a yahoo group which has now migrated elsewhere.

Do I spy a Walker Turner bench drill?

www.westontooling.co.uk have them listed at £20 each Doesn't necessarily mean they are in stock, of course.

If you are looking for a bit of "spectacle" how about a table-top fountain?