Member postings for old mart

Since Raglan seem to be uniquely unfortunate in specifying a square thread for your lathe spindle which has no inherent self centring qualities, you need to actually measure the registers and compare the results to the drawings. The rear one is 1.750" on the spindle and the front one is 1.562". Any reduction due to wear will have to be compensated for when the backplate is made.

Traveling steadies do not mount to the cross slide, they fix to the saddle (carriage).

It looks more like a deburring tool for holes in sheet metal.

It would help if we knew the size of the leadscrew. I bought the hollow stock as it saved waste and was cheaper, being sold by weight. Any of the bronzes or brass will do for non industrial use, keeping the leadscrew clean and well lubricated is the key to long life. I use spray chain grease on leadscrews and nuts, it gets in all the surfaces and can be applied easily.

I noticed 1040 yesterday but can't remember just when in the day.

I checked the record online and the winner was in Agata Russia in 1968: 1083.3mb.

Its 1032 in Weston Super Mare now.

Edited By old mart on 30/03/2020 21:53:25

Edited By old mart on 30/03/2020 21:55:22

I bought some of this when I made some:

**LINK**

The common circuit breaker rating for a ring main is 32A and a radial is 16A in the UK. If a radial ends in a double socket, it should have a fuseholder supplying the socket with a 13A fuse in it. This is to prevent overloading the radial.

Regarding the rest of the world system, the circuit breaker/fuse protecting the radial is rated for the largest load allowed, fine for an electric fire, but not much cop for a phone charger.

Turn the topslide 1.8 degrees anticlockwise from zero as Andrew suggests. Set the tip of the tool right next to the end of the work. The work should project the minimum possible from the chuck, say 1 1/8". Lock the carriage (saddle) if you can. Then adjust the cross slide to allow small cuts using the top slide. Each cut should reach a little closer to the chuck. Don't try to cut too deeply, or the work will probably bend with the force. Test on scrap metal until you get good at it. Good luck.

Without cutting the psu case in half, I couldn't say whether it is a switched mode type, although I did mention not getting a reading with my meter set at 20M, could that be a clue. I thought that 20 meg ohms resistance set on the meter would show something through the primary of a transformer.

I would try the 1mm acrylic, after all, it is a precision instrument, not something to splash oil all over.

One good reason for a fuse in the plug if selected properly, (1, 2, 3, 5 ,7, 10, or 13A), is the protection it can afford each individual item. A radial will have a fuse rating for the wiring, not the components connected. A radial in the UK will have a 16A circuit breaker at the consumer unit, not great protection for anything consuming less than 3KW. 

That particular power supply was not bought with the intention of leaving it unatended. I am one of those people who disconnect the power supply from pc's after shutting them down.

Edited By old mart on 30/03/2020 19:52:03

Just look at every mains low voltage charger or power supply you have. I guarantee that most will be cheap Chinese junk. My Nokia, Samsung, Sony, Motorola and Tom Tom ones are. Throwing away all your dangerous ones for safety's sake is great, just make sure you have a box of matches handy, you'll need them.

If you lock the spindle and tighten the chuck a little more firmly than usual, then threading away from the headstock in reverse is not dangerous. Small cuts will be made and you have time to think what you are doing, rather than being in a panic. I actually have a locking device which fits most of the chucks on the museum's Smart & Brown model A, but producing the 1 1/2 X 8 thread for the Atlas chuck backplate used an unmodified chuck. I still ran in reverse, and with a nice tight chuck and care with the cutting forces, all was well.

As for the grooving tool being usable, I would say yes, better if it was narrower than the thread. Tighten up the compound gibs and take up the backlash towards the head. Zero the scale and then you can move the compound to make up the width difference. If you like, you can alternate the cuts as long as you back off enough to be able to remove any backlash each time. The grooving tool must clear the helix angle of the thread.

Edited By old mart on 30/03/2020 18:05:42

Edited By old mart on 30/03/2020 18:07:39

I saw a feature on TV the other week showing a ventilator which was powered by compressed air, an old design which was controlled by a simple circuit board which was about to be mass produced by Sony. Can anyone remember the full details?

I have just removed the plug, the wires are black for live and blue for neutral. I cut the plug up and the wires go directly to the terminals, there is no fuse. I also tried the insulation at 20M, there is no continuity between the mains input wires or between them and the dc output. There are no CE marks of any type, it came direct from China.

Edited By old mart on 30/03/2020 16:10:39

I just got this little 9-24 volt dc power unit through the post today. It works and has a built in volt meter. I was not so impressed by the mains power plug, however, it is so small it has no room for a fuse. Having used the fused plugs for exactly 60 years, I intend to replace it with a proper one and fit a 1 amp fuse.

This is the VFD I bought which powers up to 1hp motors. The sellers quick start guide which can be downloaded and printed made the installation and programming very easy. Many of the products they sell have these guides, and you could look at a smaller unit if your motor is less than 1hp, which would be cheaper.

**LINK**

I have just got a refund from the ebay supplier, so they had probably run out of stock accidently. Another supplier of the same items has marked up as posted, so I'm hopeful this time.

I agree, Servisol switch cleaning lubricant is by far the best, but it is not that common, so far the AC90 that I used has not been any trouble. They do a product called EC90 which is specifically for electrical contacts.

Edited By old mart on 28/03/2020 17:34:12

I phoned up my cousin yesterday evening, he is 86 and his wife is 68, they are both well living in a Hampshire village. Their son and daughter in law both have the virus, but thankfully their children do not. He had been working in London, commuting from Kent, he can, and is, working from home now. They are the only people that I know that have had the virus.