Member postings for old mart

If I was listing it, I would be honest and say that it could be repaired by an expert.

Thanks for the tip, their website has been added to my bookmarks.

Motalia is another source of stainless fasteners and other motorcycle goodied, and also my go to for thread charts.

**LINK**

In my experiance using many different bars with carbide inserts, I would say no. Different shape inserts fitted to identical diameter bars project different ammounts. I try to mark each container with the minimum size hole that that bar requires, found by trial and error. The catalogues from the main industrial manufacturers usually state the minimum hole size for each of their products.

We have a large round column drill mill at the museum as well as a Tom Senior light vertical knee mill. Having two is slightly extravagant, but the DM has a slightly bigger capacity. I fitted a laser on the side of the head reflecting back from a window about 9 feet away and with care can repeat within 0.002". Planning the setup before cutting metal can make the drawback of the round column less of a bother.

Edited By old mart on 23/07/2021 17:26:31

Any size you like, it is only for making a spot.

The centre drill on the left has a wide flat at the tip which is not ideal for starting a very small drill. When it is used for its intended purpose, the 60 degree flanks provide the seating for a centre, and the tiny extended nose makes sure that the tip of the centre is not touching the workpiece. A proper spotting drill has very little length of flute for stiffness and a much sharper point which leaves a better starting hole for any size of drill. The drill on the right looks like a sheet metal drill rather than a centre drill.

What you should have done was to have reversed the turned bar in the chuck, set it true at the jaws and then checked the runout at the far end of the turned section.

These inexpensive chucks are ideal for home shop use.

You seem to require a three phase supply in your workshop to run several machines when the only input is single phase. This would need a large converter, which would be expensive and might cost more than individual VFD's for each machine. Also, individual VFD's can be programmed to suit each machine for motor start and stop characteristics and speed control, plus forward and reverse if needed.

Having a three phase supply from the mains would seem to be the best long term solution for such a large workshop.

Edited By old mart on 20/07/2021 18:26:09

Its very easy to make one if you have a mill. I made two, one each side of the saddle and used 1/2 X 20 UNF threads on the adjustable screws. Then an engraved wheel with 50 graduations gives 0.001" per division. I am more likely to simply use slip gauges, or the compound to set the movement than use the scale.

I have an account with them and buy a small ammount of stuff, and only once have they messed up a sale, but they redeemed themselves by texting me very quickly to let me know of their error. The rely on being high quality as most of their buisiness is with the trade, and time is money.

There's another one west of Gatwick airport in the village of Northchapel in West Sussex. The outgoing aircraft used to switch off their landing lights when passing over the beacon. I believe the morse code was MID, for Midhurst.

There is a section of Bletchley Park which has an interest in old calculators, yours might be of interest to them.

**LINK**

Space the new holes evenly between the old ones and you will always have the choice of two fixing methods.

I bought one of their little 100mm independents, and it is better than the original on my 7 X 12 lathe, it is not in the Pratt Burnerd or Bison league. It is, however, much better value for money.

You might find it comes with only rear mounting near the periphery and being a four jaw, you could easily make it front mounting if required.

Vertex chucks might be within your price range, worth a look.

Edited By old mart on 18/07/2021 14:59:03

Edited By old mart on 18/07/2021 15:00:51

If you don't mind offending the purists and there is enough metal to safely retap the holes, then it is entirely up to you. As the lathe is destined to be actually used rather than made pretty and looked at, then improved oiling is a good idea.

Welcome to the forum, Ian. There is a fair bit of info on the lathes UK website:

**LINK**

If you have the space and really want to use different fixings, there is nothing to prevent you doing so. Look at this backplate being modified to take a smaller chuck. It looks a bit like a swiss cheese, but works perfectly.

Hi Tony, welcome to the forum, it looks like you will be having fun just getting the lathe running, metric threads can take a back seat.

Looking at the gap in the photo, and knowing that the ring can be screwed up and down, I would try a pair of motorcycle tyre levers. A block of wood placed underneath to limit the sudden movement to about 1/2" when the taper breaks would prevent any damage. The thread seems like being a choice of 10mm and 3/8 Whitworth. Tom Senior mills with MT2 definitely used 3/8W.

You will be able to get a 12" (300mm) length of 3/8 Whitworth studding on ebay which is just under 10mm so the 8mm you tried wouldn't screw in. You might have been able to break the MT2 taper with the 8mm just by hitting the projecting end with a hammer. The thread on that collar with the tommybar hole in it is left hand.

Edited By old mart on 15/07/2021 18:43:10

Edited By old mart on 15/07/2021 18:44:24