Member postings for Thomas Cooksley

Hi everyone, looks to me like the electrics have been altered as well. The light gray box on the front is a modern starter that has been fitted in the original electrical compartment. This would have had a blue door similar to the other doors on the machine with the start/stop buttons fitted in the door. It may be OK but I can't see how you start it in reverse. It could need some work to sort the electrics out. IMHO leave well alone. Tom.

Hi everyone,

I have a 15W Antex with a 1/8" tip that I bought second hand as an apprentice in 1974. A bit like Trigger's broom its had some new elements and tips but I use it for 90% of my soldering, including electronics and whitemetal model railway kits. Only use a bigger iron if the 15W can't get the work hot enough.

Tom.

I thought the point of the drain cock being on the bottom of the receiver was that is where the water collects. The tubing should run downhill all the way from the drain point, taking the tube up above the receiver is like a trap on a sink or toilet it will never drain completely. Tom.

Hi Kevin, You should have some form of control gear that is held closed by a coil, to provide a no volt release. This prevents the drill automatically restarting after a power cut. Don't forget if you turn down the motor shaft it will most likely make any warranty invalid. I have just been looking through April's MEW, it may pay you to contact someone like Newton Tesla they seem to specialize in just what you are trying to do. Best of luck Tom.

Hi Kevin, there are several other factors to take into consideration. Not least the power of the motor and the way the motor is mounted. You say the shaft is 5/8th inch, that suggests that the motor is an imperial one. The power will most likely be in horse power (hp) and the fixing holes will be in imperial dimensions. There are still imperial motors available but I don't know how easy they are to get hold of. You may be able to make a metric motor fit but you may have to make an adaptor plate and then either alter the bore of your pulley or the diameter of the shaft to fit. As far as the control gear is concerned you may be able to retain some of it but until you have your new motor and it's wiring diagram you won't know. Any contactor coils will be 400 volt and these will need to be changed to 230 volt ones. I would price up the cost of fitting an inverter to the original three phase motor instead, it may prove to be cheaper than fitting a new motor. Hope some of this helps, any questions feel free to ask. Tom.

Hi Raphael, I would recommend that you disconnect the wiring at the motor and make the ends safe, either connectors or insulating tape. Then power the lathe up, if the RCD trips then the fault is in the wiring or the dewhurst switch. If the RCD doesn't trip then it looks like the motor. Unbolt the motor and take it indoors, put it somewhere warm and dry for a few days. Refit the motor and try it again if it still trips then you are going to have to get the motor looked at. Hope this helps Tom.

Hi everyone, I have to say that I do like Paul Lousick's idea of a ready machined kit that can be assembled with simple tools. He can put it together and take it apart as often as he likes and learn how a steam engine works. He can also examine each part to see what goes into making them. Then he could start out trying to copy some of the simpler parts and build up his abilites that way. Viv I read in one of your posts that you were interested in a lathe for yourself if you have the funds available you wouldn't go far wrong with a SIEG SC2 quite a nice little lathe with lots of accessories available to build in to a very useful machine. Hope some of this helps and keeps your boy interested, Tom.

Edited By Thomas Cooksley on 15/02/2021 15:56:56

Hi Vivienne, we need to encourage everyone especially youngsters and I hope your boy goes on to make some lovely engines. Have you enquired locally if there are any model engineering clubs he could join? Or what about school could he take metalwork as a subject? I first learnt to use a lathe at school and I built a static steam engine for my exams. I would not spend a lot of money to start with, wait until he knows what he wants and how to use it safely. Few engineering machines come with instructions on how to use them. You might try a monthly engineering magazine or some books, Neil Wyatt's lathe book looks to be very good but I haven't read it myself yet. I can recommend the Workshop Practice Series of books, I have several of them myself. Good luck to your son; full steam ahead. Tom.

Hi everyone, I had a copy of Tim Peake's autobiography Limitless for Christmas and I enjoyed it a lot. On the engineering side I found David Carden's The Anderton Boat Lift very interesting. When it comes to hobby engineering I always find the Workshop Practice Series of books very useful. Tom.

Hi everyone, I agree with what others have already said: start with a few basic tools then get others as you need them and you gain experience. I bought a starter set at first and I still haven't used 3/4 of them. Tom.

HI, I am not familiar with the Stuart dynamo but you should be able to do it. It depends on the excitation. Reversing the direction will reverse the polarity of the output. You may need to build up the remnant flux in the field coils in the opposite direction to make it work. Tom.

Hi everyone,

Robin I am so glad it was only your glove that got mangled and not your hand. I only takes a moment's inattention for an accident to happen and we have all been gulty of that at sometime. Tom.

As KWIL said a Megger 1720 is a installation test meter not a PAT. Why was the tester using the Megger and not a proper PAT tester? Tom.

Hi everyone,

We still have 8 hours to go here in the UK but happy new year to all forum members. Tom.

Hi everyone,

Bob the answer to your question is yes. A standard PAT test includes an insulation resistance test at 500volts DC this is quite capable of frying any electronics.

For that reason we deleted the insulation resistance test for any equipment that had electronics inside, such as: radios, televisions, computers and inverter speed controlled machinery. To name but a few. Sorry to hear about your washing machine. Tom.

All the best to everyone, merry christmas and I hope the new year will be better than 2020.

Hi everyone. I haven't got a 3D printer yet. The idea sounds good but I wouldn't have a clue where to start or how to use one. Tom.

Hi there, most modern soldering irons have coated tips to stop corrosion and make the the tips last longer. Filing the tip can remove the coating and increase the corrosion. If the coating on your tip has already been damaged then filing it may provide a short term solution but I would get a spare tip asap because the old one won't last very long once you take a file to it. Tom.

Who's a lucky engineer then! go on then make us all sick how much did you get it all for? Tom.

Hi Everyone, I don't have a mill but have ordered from ARC euro several times and have always been very happy with their service. Tom.