Member postings for Henry Brown

I have a Weller TCP soldering iron from the 80's I guess - it was being thrown out at one of my previous employers due to it not being the same as their newer ones.

It works fine but the tip has seen better days so I'd like to replace it but I'm not sure how to get it apart! Any advice would be appreciated as I have a little job for it!

Found this one by chance the other day: Link

That should lead to some imperial to metric charts...

Been using it for some years for all sorts of applications Tug but hadn't thought about testing it like you have, well done, an interesting read. need to have a look at the Devcon adhesive now, I think it was used occasionally where I last worked for casting repairs but I'd forgotten all about it, thanks Martin.

I'm not surprised, I had a feeling they were running their engineering side down when I bought my ex-display mill in 2019, most of the stock in their Leicester branch was biased towards woodworking and their mailshots reflected this.

This is what moisture does, the little pits are just about visible:

It can be heard popping while printing and if it happens on the outer layer is quite visible and it is supposed to weaken the print if excessive. This is the silver silk PLA I mentioned in my earlier post, after drying I have almost removed the moisture and it has printed quite well this afternoon.

I made a spool holder from some 50 x 50 box with some POM wheels that the spool mounts on, I mounted it on a large block of oak as the spool has to be parallel to my printer due to space limitations.

Edited By Henry Brown on 08/03/2021 18:57:27

I've had similar issues with PLA, even though the printer is in the living room and apparently the more exotic filament can be worse! I have some silk silver PLA that seems to be very susceptible to moisture and some Aldi black PLA that has gone brittle as its got towards the centre of the roll.

I started off by putting them in the oven for a few hours at 50 degrees C but found that the enemy wanted to use it for cooking so invested in a cheap second hand food dehydrator that has a timer and temperature control that seems to do the trick just as well. There are several blogs/videos on the web showing how to do this.

Common issue with larger rolling element bearings that are shipped around the world. The Co Iworked for installed support plates that took the load away from the bearings for transport, when the Engineer went to site to commission the gearbox they were removed before start up. Can't imagine that it would be much of a problem with bearings form a computer or printer though...

Welcome Andrew, good to see someone fairly local, I'm near Worcester, and you are well placed for the Midlands Model Engineering show when we get out of lockdown

What are your interests? The folks on here are many and varied so someone will probably be able to help if you need it.

Cheers, Henry.

The RDG 3 flute ones are good. I've got a few, 25mm is the largest, they need to be run slowly with lots of cutting oil, I use CT90.

I can't vouch for this chaps nozzles but his bowden tubs and fittings are very good, I also have his silicone spacers for the build plate.

Link

I have had the GH 1332 since this time last year, bought new.

I can't fault Peter in the spares department, I have had a few teething problems with the machine but parts have been available and sent quickly. I had two microswitches fail that sets the spindle direction in the little box at the end of the shaft, one of the oilers had its ball bearing disappear and I also needed a key for the leadscrew. The biggest issue was the top slide leadscrew that had very badly machined thread flanks, this wore the nut, I spoke to Peter and he sent me a replacement immediately, the replacement is to a much better standard. Everything else has been fine, I did plan to put a DRO on the top and cross slide but the dials are accurate enough to not nned on in my view and I do like to work to the best tolerances I can with my equipment.

The lathe itself was a bit rough around the edges so after unpacking it I went over it with a stone and some fine files, I also changed the awful metal handles for cheap Chinese plastic ones. One thing I would recommend is to make a slipper for the tailstock adjusting screws, a piece of steel machined to suit the angle inside, hard to explain but if you get a similar machine you will see what I mean.

I have also acquired a 10" 4 jaw chuck and a PeWeTools (Germany) size A quick change tool post and holders.

If I can help further please shout...

Nice one Peter, I understand the reservations but you can prove the theory and if you have a problem you can soon print it in PETG (if you keep the files of course) which should be plenty strong enough I'd have thought.

Having done a similar exercise over the past 18 months (and thoroughly enjoyed it!) I'd recommend that you prioritise what you need for your immediate projects. Don't just look at the big boys, except for reference, there are lots of lesser known sellers and plenty of second hand bargains to be had on the infamous auction site, facebook also has some good pages where good engineering tooling pops up.

More great work Fred, really enjoying your adventures!

Not quite a pully but I've printed an idler wheel for my printer mod - 29mm dia by 10mm wide to fit on a pair of flanged ball bearings. I actually made it slightly larger on the OD and under in the bore and then skimmed them back to size. It worked fine, I printed it with PLA at 100% fill. If you do skim any of the diameters run at a fairly low speed as there is a risk of melting the printed part.  Sorry about the lousy picture!

Edited By Henry Brown on 07/02/2021 22:11:17

Wow, thanks for all the replies! To answer them in order:

Brian - I have had a pm from someone who has kindly offered to do the job on their works machine, just the some fine details to sort out.

John - Yes its harder than I would want to mill and possibly wreck an expensive cutter, of course the other problem is holding it securely, even with my 125mm vice it would mean a couple of sets or table clamping the same.

Howard - Yes I'd thought about that but without coolant the workshop will be full of grinding dust, something I wish to avoid. I certainly don't have a magnet strong enough to do what you are suggesting.

Nigel - See my answer to Howard!

Tony - Yes, I'm familiar with hard milling but we're back to the cost of wrecking an expensive cutter and although my SX4 is pretty rigid I'm not sure its ideal for that.

Nicholas - The rail already has a recess, not quite 1mm deep, about 0.8 if I remember rightly, so the job isn't so onerous. Ideally I would make it fit but my problem is that there are some 1mm chamfers on either side and I need a sharp edge to locate off.

So, lets see how we get on, if plan a falls through I'll be back! In fact I'll let you all know how I get on, thanks again...

I have a section of Hiwin linear rail that I would like to have around 1mm removed from the back face. The rail is 310mm long x 15mm wide x 12.5mm deep, its the 12.5 that I need reduced to 11.5. Accuracy is not paramount but the rail needs to be parallel when ground.

I'm located near Worcester so someone local would be ideal but as it would be a small package I could post and arrange collection if necessary.

Any offers of help for a few beer tokens would be appreciated!

Thanks in anticipation, Henry.

Nothing scientific here but have you tried the same test with the standard Prusa slicer? I've been printing a couple of end plugs to go into the end of some 40 x 25 ali box, the Cura sliced end plug came out slightly larger and needed a little more general fettling where as the Prusa supports were a devil to get off but the dimensions were pretty much bang on using the ali as a gauge. All done at standard settings with the same filament in a warm living room.

Some interesting comments since I posted.

I've had my 3 Pro since just before Xmas and have been learning the ropes, firstly with things from Thingiverse and now having kind of got my head around Fusion 360 I've been making simple things for my next project. I have printed the usual mods for the printer, belt adjusters, pcb cover, more rigid Z axis motor support mounts, a modded cooling fan duct etc. I've also printed some holders for my Multifix tool holders from a design on Thingiverse and as I had a few spaced left on the mounting board I designed some bins to put my tool tip boxes in. I can see the printer being very useful in prototyping bits and bobs...

My future plans are to try some linear rails, this brings some engineering input for the purists as I'll have to make the supports, idlers etc. I've picked up a pair of second hand industrial quality item for about the same cost as the (apparently) questionable quality stuff from China. A revised motherboard with quieter drivers and Wi-Fi is on the cards...

Its been a steep learning curve but good to have something to focus on and keep my brain active in lockdown and especially while it has been a bit on the cold side in the workshop.

I've just imported some tooling from Germany that DHL picked up on Friday 15 Jan @ 12:31, it arrived in the UK @ 16:55 on Tuesday 19 Jan and was delivered to me @ 13:49 on Wednesday 20th Jan by Parcel Force. The supplier told me there may be delays in Germany due to heavy snow, all in all not bad for standard shipping.

 

 

Edited By Henry Brown on 22/01/2021 21:03:19