Member postings for Roger Best

Ta Stuart

I had hoped to avoid that, but if needs must...

Fortunately there is some guidance available on the matter.

https://youtu.be/0wSbjLyvvXI

Edited By Roger Best on 07/09/2020 16:08:34

The milling machine is at Warco, its due to have the DRO fitted before being delivered.

Its going to be a big job to get it on the bench so I have asked for a quote for that.

I realised that the lathe was where it could be erected, not as close as it could be to the wall, so I pushed it over using a car jack. there is now just enough space to get the mill in if we take off the front crank handle.

Edited By Roger Best on 06/09/2020 22:19:26

I have a pneumatic thing I now need to dig out and have a close look at!

Hi Nigel

Thanks for posting this and the link to your blog site in your first post. Loads of interesting reading there.

I was instantly attracted to the post as I am very much into toy engines, Mamod, Wilesco and Mercer for traction engines. Like you I am inspired by Cherry Hills work; I am a Fellow of the IMechE and I have made the pilgrimage to see her models more than once. They are breathtaking, so small that the close-up views in the book hardly make sense.

Your idea to make this pretty and fat-boilered Burrell is a sound one. There is plenty of space for heating area and transmission in the design, where a more efficient, more modern (is that the right word in 2020??) prototype would be a tight fit. You might want to nudge the size of the cylinder a little bit but it won't be much; the DM Mercer has a tiny cylinder, no steam jacket, only two small wicks and can pull a child, that is powerful enough.

Your engine will be more like a Myfordboy, due to the techniques used. That is a good runner but not very pretty and I am glad you are putting the work in to do a classier job.

I look forward to further instalments with great interest.

Thanks

Rog

Welcome Terry!

I am a sort of new starter too.

Hi Matthew,

Although this is described as an economy mill it is a beast relative to modern mini-mills intended for hobby use. Its only an economy machine relative to "proper" industrial machines. I am sure you will have a lot of fun playing with it.

Thank you all for such helpful advice and information. I have a copy of Sparey, from 1998, which may be about when I got this lathe. It has followed me around ever since awaiting some free time and space.

As shown in Sparey's excellent book a modelling lathe is a supremely flexible machine and far more adaptable (or easily adaptable) than an industrial lathe. I would encourage anyone who can get one at reasonable cost to have a go with it to enable some of the more interesting jobs.

Yippee lots of info on my lathe! Thanks guys.

It desperately needs some extra-TLC on the spindle, a previous owner tried to convert it to V-belt and didn't re-assembly the spindle, which has since seized. It lacks a makers plate so I can't date it accurately but it does look like the older model Ms. I will post some better pictures before I ask any questions.

The "manuals" look to be more like sales brochures, they lack instruction for setting up the change gears. I guess such instruction was encouraged in person?

All this conversation has been about improving the quality of something by careful manual attention. Its still a useful skill, if you want it better than the best machine you have, hand finishing is a good way to go.

The way to start is to make boilers of less than 3 bar.litres, get used to the skills, seek competent instruction, test a few joints destructively and get to know how to use your desired materials properly.

The rest should be less worrying.

The issue is making the best of the resources available, not being restrictive; innovation is king in the real world.

I say ply is wood enough.

Plywood gears? - no problem.

https://youtu.be/tVbh_FEiF2E

https://youtu.be/IvUU8joBb1Q

Edited By Roger Best on 22/08/2020 01:03:00

OK Paul - I do see your point - that it is too difficult for a vendor to keep track of a design if the originator can't be bothered to record the corrections.

Thanks for reminding me about silver-soldered boilers - that's another problem I have elsewhere.

I don't know about the rules but I would suggest that the cylinder is a structural component because it sustains mechanical load as well as pressure.

John - how important is picking it up? Do you need to carry it into the house?

Also how big is your garden - they have a dreadful turning circle?

It may be that a too-heavy engine can be made acceptable by using a lifting frame or device.

I have had a bad back most of my adult life and can probably lift more now than at any time in the past twenty years so I am very aware that bending down to lift 20kg+ is not a good idea.

These guys have the right idea - I have visited their factory and seen their kit. Something to pick an engine up onto balloon wheels would take a small effort compared to all the work in the engine.

https://youtu.be/F4QXG5cvNSc

Great thread - you have covered a great many issues over the years.

Fabulous work Brian!

You are more than welcome, not a new idea though.

Here we go:

You can do a lot worse than copy Kevin:

https://www.ita-shop.co.uk/ourshop/prod_5496551-Mamod-14-BSF.html

https://www.ita-shop.co.uk/ourshop/cat_1283563-SAFETY-VALVES-cc-pg_2.html

Its nice in la-la land Paul!

If the design has been updated then they should sell material for the updated design. Its not difficult. Bob wants the safer design so he is allowed to return the goods.

Equally if they are selling certified material they should control the material certs properly; its why certified material is expensive. If you are saying they can't do either competently then shout louder as there will be a lot of boiler certificates that aren't worth wiping your butt with.

Selling a photocopy of someone else's copyright material is not relevant to this issue.

Don't bother calculating it Martin.

Instead make the valve adjustable my having a threaded stem (towards the end) with two nuts. This is how some other manufacturers made theirs, Fleischmann comes to mind I think.

Find yourself a nice stainless spring out of a pen and give it a go. If its a bit soft you may have to look around a bit but it is likely you will find it works fine.

There are far too many parameters to design a Mamod SV without encountering tolerance problems; with a little adjustability you can be spot on.

I have only seen it done, not done it, but I am sure the answer is push, like wood chisel.

have you tried Youtube?