Member postings for Diogenes

Hi Rik, welcome to the forum. I'm surprised no-one else seems to have got here first, maybe they're not home from work yet..

It's a CAV alternator, I imagine supplying 24v and judging from the connector on the back using a screened cable so probably of military origin - perhaps for fitment to a communications vehicle, but I wouldn't rule out an aircraft.

I've no real idea of the age - CAV were part of Lucas for decades, and I think are now part of Prestolite, an American auto-electrical concern.

I wouldn't be surprised to find that someone here knows exactly what it is from.

The Part No. CAV AC5B246M doesn't yield much from Bing except for some bearings in Gdansk, but did throw up a company in Preston called DFJ Auto who handle replacements for CAV alternators - they may be able to help you with further information regarding the intended fitment.

I imagine in terms of value, it's really more of a curiosity/item of historical interest than anything, although the sectioning has been carried out very nicely - a military vehicle auction might be a good bet to find the right kind of customer, or simply go the online route and see what it makes..

Wait and see whether anyone else responds with better information - good luck with the sale

..Having just seen your second post, if you are only planning to bore and finish the rings on the Hobbymat, you could certainly do it, but only if you enjoy the time you spend at the machine and are confident of recovering the costs of the processing involved.

You'd need to step up drill sizes from, say, 6mm to 10 (possibly visiting 8 in between), and then use a boring bar to finish to size. If you can find one cheap, it'd get you started, but I certainly wouldn't spend too much money on one if I could buy a larger machine with a warranty and spares support for very little more..

Have you rejected the idea of a new Far-eastern machine? ..the 180mm-sized machines have a 20mm spindle bore, weigh about 40kg (as a short-bed), and have about 500w, depending on the supplier..

Hi Will.

I think Andrew raises valid points. I can tell you that as far as the Hobbymat goes, I don't think it'll fit the bill - others may disagree, but to my mind it wasn't really designed for repetition drilling of 20mm holes into stainless steel. The standard 3-jaw chuck will only accept material up to 16mm into it's internal bore, and the tailstock only has a 1MT taper to hold tool shanks, which tells one really what the designer and manufacturer envisaged for it.

Parting off tough material will unnecessarily hard work for this small, flexible machine - the "bed" is not much larger in section than the work you are proposing to turn.

Unless someone knows otherwise, the machines haven't been made for (?)some years, and there is no realistic spares back-up other than for the most generic items such as drive belts.

Considering the nature of the work you are proposing, I would make my economies in the bed-length, and be looking for the largest swing/spindle bore capacity coupled with the shortest bed - I too am inclined to think 50kg is likely to be to small to successfully achieve the kind of machining you are considering with much ease.

Could you bore them on your mill?

Hi Shaun. If you do decide to lift the bearing caps, it is essential that any shims beneath them are re-fitted in exactly the same positions as they were originally found - they occasionally stick to the bottom of the cap as it is lifted, so it's worth a quick check here to make sure that you have them all.

No, I see it's a dynamo!

..Although looking again at the photo (particularly the flange), are we sure it isn't a starter motor? ..say, Morris 1000, for the sake of further discussion?..

If you wish to pursue using this motor/dynamo in the engine, there is a short passage in "Electric Motors in the Home Workshop" (p.50) by Jim Cox (Workshop Practice Series No.24) that deals with this very subject, although only from the perspective of obtaining a constant speed motor for workshop use.

I'm not much of an electrician, but the essence of it is that;

As Richard A. suggests above, you will need to separate the supplies to field and the armature so that they can be supplied independently.

Cox claims 12v in the field and 18v (to account for losses in the windings/across the brushes) at the armature are needed to achieve about 2000rpm (the original min. "cut-in" speed) and 12v in the field and 24v at the armature resulted in a 2800rpm constant speed motor giving c.3/4hp continuously rated - he advises that the original rating of the field should be adhered to, i.e. the maximum design voltage should not be exceeded if one wishes to avoid overheating.

Generally these dynamo's gave about 30amps at 13.5v, and should be safe to 6000rpm.

Hopefully you'll receive some further assistance to help you get it sorted out.

Exactly what these two gentlemen say - the head of the allen key is located on one of the two ribs cast into the face of the bull-wheel on the side closest to the chuck - it should be clearly visible.

When running in back-gear it's important to ensure that you lubricate the pulley bearing - there should be an oil-nipple on the "chuck-side"t face of the pulley for this purpose. This bearing doesn't get any lubrication from any other part of the system.

I don't see why they couldn't be fabricated from two "L" shaped "sides" bridged with stepped ends to keep them rigid.

This would open up far more possibilities, as the steps could be cut with an end mill on any a small mill, or as Robert suggested, a router ( -table?), or you might even find that a suitable extrusion is already available..

Well done - I think if the action feels easy, then the CI will be fine, and I'm happy to eat my words! It's always satisfying to complete a bit of tooling that gives good results.

Surely the term "Proper" in either discipline clearly refers to those who abstain from the use of Stainless Steel Socket Head Cap Screws?

Hi Nick

Hope that this doesn't read like there is an "granny egg-sucking" element here - apologies if so..

If it's a standard LH Metric trapezoidal thread with a pitch of 2.5mm, then the only other dimension that you need to establish is the major diameter - I'd expect it to me a whole number integer (perhaps 11 or 12mm?) - measure across the widest part of the least-worn part of the thread.

The designation of the tap would then be something like "TR LH 11x2.5" or "TR11x2.5LH", where the "11" represents the major diameter of the thread and the "2.5" the pitch.

IF the diameter is not a whole number in millimetres, then it is possible that the screw is a "bastard" size and some checking with Boxford owners will be necessary.

To throw in couple of general observations, suitable taps from UK suppliers do seem inordinately expensive if you only intend to do this one job with them. I'm sure that something direct from the Far East will be available at a fraction of the price, and I, personally, wouldn't completely discount their usefulness for a one-off job in bronze. As you already did, I would also drill & tap a test-piece in order to check the fit first, whatever the source.

Having said all of that, I note that in the link that Michael Gilligan provided in the first reply you had to the original post, a Metric feedscrew nut seems to be available for about £60 - (is this the correct part? ..I've never been that intimate with a Boxford) ..considering the costs in tooling. materials, and time, I wouldn't hesitate to buy the spare part - and there's certainly no shame in buying what is, after all, a consumable service item. On the other hand I do recognise the challenge & satisfaction of a completely owner-executed repair, in which case I hope it goes well.

John, hi.

If you have access to the digital Back Issues (see the "Magazines" heading in the green bar at the top of the page) Harold Hall describes building both fixed and travelling steadies for the Myford 7 series in Issue 173. There are dimensioned drawings there.

Please beware that cast iron has very little tensile strength - I think it's possible that it will split along the base of the "V" if put under too much pressure - other opinions?

It's a Reliance Drill Grinding Jig - there's at least one thread on here, I think, and a discussion and possibly instructions here;

www.lathes.co.uk/reliance/

A 'net search should throw up quite a bit more information ..it's safe to say that drill grinding attachments are er, widely discussed.. A search incorporating something like "Reliance Drill Jig Harold Hall" might yield something useful.

There must be something wrong with the facial recognition system - I was actually rolling my eyes, when I wrote that, not winking.

Hi, thanks for your kind responses - apologies for my late reply, I'm currently in process of completing the actual move itself..

I guess that the two projects currently underway illustrate the kind of things that I enjoy doing - I'm cobbling together a Heath Robinson tool grinder from the scrapbox, mainly in order to achieve greater accuracy in such items as threading tools, and reduce the tedious cycle of "offer-up & adjust slightly"..

Whilst I'm happy grinding most tools off-hand, it IS something that I find has to be done regularly to achieve any sort of efficiency - once it's almost habitual, it's a breeze, but when one has to contemplate the moves, it's a bore.

The other project is a little Cyldon that was handed to me as a boot-sale find. The boiler was intact, as was the pipework, cylinder support bracket/port block, burner, and whistle. Rather than a thorough restoration, I've had a surprising amount of enjoyment carrying out a fairly pragmatic repair, making a fabricated flywheel, replacement cylinder and piston, and a safety valve on my little Hobbymat. I'll try and upload some pictures.

I find that I've reached that point in my life when small steam engines are starting to exert something of a pull.. I will have to build one from scratch.

Other than that, and perhaps in common with many other members here, I carry out the usual range of domestic repairs & replacements, and the occasional bit of free ("I don't suppose you could make me a..." motor engineering for friends and family.

Hello.

Although very new at posting, I have a little experience with machine tools and workshop practise. I've been a reader of MEW for a number of years, and am not totally unfamiliar with this forum.

After spending far too much of my life either doing itinerant site-based work or living in unsuitable accommodation, I have at last managed (more-or-less) to manoeuvre myself into both more local work and a place with a reasonable-sized workshop which I am in the process of setting up.

I have a few pieces of tired-but-useable machinery up and running, and a couple of small projects on the go.

Having got this far with the necessary adjustments to my life, I hope my reward will be the ability to spend a bit more time in the workshop.

Kind regards

D

..this kind of thing?

https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/multimeter-test-leads/1247406/

Search the 'net for "vertical shear tool"...