Member postings for Craig Brown

In the interest of completion, for anyone other than me who may be interested, this is the very item as documented on lathes.co.uk

Thanks for all the prompt replies. Top marks to Pete, it most certainly is a "Jones and Shipman radius dresser" and as you say seems to hold a certain amount of value. My illness with anything like this though is, although I have no use for it now, if I ever wanted one in the future I would hate to have to pay face value knowing I once had one in my possession, and to that order I'm probably unlikely to part with it 😅

Thanks again for all the replies

I'm pretty sure that for the time being this is the last tool I have that I dont know its use. If anyone could shed any light on it I would be interested to find out.

The cross hole at the top I guess is for tool holding around 1/4" hole. Undoing the knurled knob that holds that section down gives coarse motion back and forth. The graduated dial (0.1" per revolution) gives fine adjustment back and forth with a scale on the side reading +/- 1".

The whole thing can then rotate freely on a graduated rotary part that has 2 stops that can be adjusted.

Some kind of radius turning device is what springs to mind for me but it's relatively large but obviously that's only relative to the machine it's designed to be used with.

Any ideas?

Thanks again, Craig

Another tool I have dug out of my collection that I'm not sure of its application. It appears to have a diamond in the point, which can be pushed back against the spring tension. Pulling the collar down only appears to increase the spring tension. The rod the point is attached too is a very nice fit inside, what looks like, a polished bore.

Any ideas?

Cheers, Craig

The program, or rather application, that I use is called Onshape. The main reason I use it is because it has an Android application so I can use it on my tablet (I dont use a PC or laptop anymore).

The main selling feature for it is that it is entirely web based so for a PC or laptop there is no software, you just log in on there website and it's all done online. Obviously this means you need a good internet connection, but on the flip side your not storing however many Gbs of data on your PC and you dont need £1000 worth of machine to run it. It runs perfectly well on my 6 year old tablet, and I have also run it on a pretty standard PC at work.

It is free to use but your drawings are public, I was apprehensive about this at first but as long as your not doing prototype invention sort of work it's not a problem, worst case call it John Smith's drawing #1.

You draw in 3D, make individual parts and mate them together in an assembly if required. A 2D drawing can be created from the part (PC only option). I find it pretty straightforward to use, I had previously done a small amount on Soildworks and found it not too dissimilar.

Worth a look if any of the above features suit your needs

By slats I assume you mean something in the size of 2"x1"? The cheap option would be to buy roofing battens that come in sizes of 19m x 38mm or 25mm x 50mm and are treated.

The more expensive option would be to get a local joinery company to cut you some new slats from oak or another hardwood but these would obviously look better and last longer.

Thanks all for the welcomes

Sounds like interesting work David. I consider myself lucky to still be able to work maintenance in heavy industry in this day and age as it is the type and environment of work that I love being in.

My main machines are a Boxford AUD, Round column mill and a Fobco star drill. I used to own a well worn ML7 and a less than perfect 7x14 mini lathe but they have been moved on. The Fobco drill was a full restoration which I enjoyed and have since purchased a couple more drills to restore. I also have a Boxford shaper that is currently in storage until my new workshop is built.

I'm not sure what workshop electrical knowledge I will be able to impart Brian, unless people want to know how to keep a machine running until the end of the shift then I'm your man 😆.

Thanks, Craig

That's a good shout Sandy, something I cant believe I overlooked to be honest.

To give a sense of scale the nut is about 21mm across flats with a 13mm ish hole through.

The wing does have some clamping marks both sides if that's indicative of anything

I wish I could drop my hand on some more, but this is the only one I can find at the moment, I'm sure there were some varieties on the theme so wanted to check if drive dog would fit the bill for them all...

Edited By Craig Brown 2 on 17/05/2020 19:49:19

Hello all

Over the years I have acquired a number of retired engineers toolboxes. Most of the contents are run of the mill tools, as you would expect, but more often than not there are one or more of these little widgets that I'm not sure of what they are and would have been used for. The fact that I have found them from different sources suggest that they are a universal tool rather than a job specific item. The only thing that I could think of was a means of holding a tap for quickly spinning in a hole to clean a thread but that's a total stab in the dark and I could be way off the mark.

Does anybody know what they are and used for?

Thanks, Craig

Hello all

My names Craig, I'm 30 from Shropshire. I work as an electrical maintenance engineer, maintaining machinery in a large factory. I have been lurking around this forum for a while, especially since my workshop time has reduced due to a house project, so this forum has provided a way of keeping a hand in the workshop environment so to speak.

I'm generally interested in old things, especially old mechanical items and workings. I enjoy restoring and repairing items, be it a tool, machine or light fitting for the house. I also enjoy making tools and nick nacks. I have previously built a small oscillating engine too.

Thanks, Craig