Member postings for Chris Crew

I don't know what classes of vehicle you can drive on your license, but when I shifted my 540 you could drive a vehicle up to 7.5 ton. I hired a van with a tail lift to move the machine and its accoutrements which was easy enough with a pallet truck and the machine strapped to a pallet. I had 'grandfather rights' when the license classifications changed but you loose these when you turn 70 and have to re-new your license unless you provide medical and optical certificates which are only available at a price and only last three years, so I can't move the machine again.

I changed these belts on an ML10 earlier this year. Just go on eBay and search, you will get them both for about £4 each. The company I bought from is in Coventry trading under the name 4Bearings on eBay. This service and the product quality was good.

Sadly, questions of this genre seem to be raised fairly regularly. I have every regard for the bereaved who have to dispose of a father's, or grandfather's, cherished workshop which must have been as much a part of their lives, when they were growing up, as that of their late relative even though they may never have used it.

I have no idea what this workshop equipment may be worth and wouldn't even hazard a guess except to say that anything, workshop included, is only worth as much as a potential buyer is prepared to offer or as little as the vendor is prepared to accept. That's life, but there will be costs involved whatever the final method of disposal may be, some that will have to paid by the seller and some that will have to be borne by the buyer which will probably be the commission charges of an auctioneer, advertising costs etc., and the transport costs that the buyer will have to pay. Obviously, all these factors will effect the final proceeds of the sale.

A local model engineering club may be willing assist, perhaps the one the deceased relative was once a member, but my own experience of such sales is that the goods are usually sold at a 'discount' or 'priced to sell' shall we say? Not overtly or greedily sought by other members, because there is always a degree of respect shown, but everybody has an eye for a 'bargain'. So, perhaps the best way of determining the 'market price' is by auction, either online or physical, which should be advertised as widely as possible to encourage the greatest number of potential buyers' interest. However, in my own case, when I have sold items they never turn out to be worth as much as I thought or expected and a little preparedness for this possibility may ameliorate any disappointment.

Edited By Chris Crew on 27/07/2023 08:30:40

I am one of those bleeding hearts who rescues spiders from the bath. I have always been puzzled why they can crawl up a vertical wall and across a ceiling but can't manage to get out of a bath. There must be an engineering or materials science answer to this question which I just know someone will be able to answer.

Given the cost of even 2nd class postage these days I think more people will use Moonpig or Funky Pigeon, but having never availed myself of these online services I have no idea how much they cost. Also, at our age, some of the friends and acquaintances my wife and I did have in our thoughts at Christmas are no longer with us so the list get shorter every year.

Edited By Chris Crew on 17/07/2023 07:15:40

"my Wife told me to try a Pair of Suspenders from my late Father. These were the kind that just snap onto the Trousers".

I am so relieved that you clarified that the 'suspenders' you refer to are to hold trousers up. They are known as 'braces' in the UK, to distinguish them from a ladies' lingerie item.

I'm not sure how I would react if my wife asked me to try 'suspenders', LOL!

It is my understanding, or possible ignorance, that thread chasers are intended for finishing screw-cut threads in the lathe when a greater accuracy of thread form is required, i.e. rounding off crests left flat after screw-cutting. I have a box full of them acquired over the years but I have never actually done any thread chasing even though I did make a hand-rest to facilitate the operation.

It doesn't have to be a scam to be a rip-off, BT are past masters at this sort of thing. Up to a couple of years ago I was paying around £60 for approx. 55meg BB, landline and weekend call package, but over the years they insisted I paid for 'extras' like Call Minder, call diversion and voicemail that went out with Noah's Ark. Whatever the facilities were I never used them but they were added to my account as 'compulsory extras'. (I can't recall what the actual 'products' were because they have gone now, all I recall is that they were compulsory). BT then tried to raise the price, for no extra service or any change whatsoever to around £72 per month. Yes, there have obviously been prices rises but never to this extent. When I threatened to leave, a very pleasant man told me I didn't have to have the 'compulsory extras' at all. Dear Me, whoever told you that? Errr....BT did and in writing too! Anyway, the 'compulsory extras' could be removed which would take the cost down to £50 and if I wanted to keep the landline as PAYG it would be an additional £2 per month. I never use the landline these days but because I am listed in the last printed version of the mid-Lincolnshire phone book, for a couple of quid I agreed to pay. This year BT has again put up the price to over £60, which I am am obliged to pay until next April as I am now locked into a contract but in the meantime a fibre optic company has cabled the village and offered a higher speed, plus the facility to keep the landline number, for about £40 per month, plus installation. After 46 years as a loyal Post Office Telephones, British Telecom and BT customer I can't wait to escape these bandits. Surely I cannot be alone? They will either wake up and start using fair marketing and business practices or they will lose their loyal customer base, and deservedly so.

I am on my second issue of NHS hearing aids as Specsavers tell me they are replaced every five years. Unfortunately they are not Bluetooth enabled which is a pity because I would love Spotify and JazzFM to play through them from my phone but at least they didn't cost me anything, or maybe they did having paid national insurance contributions for 50years. Anyway, it's my own fault, too many loud rock bands in the 1960's and 70's.

Sorry for the double posting, I am in a Barcelona hotel room and WiFi is poor, I am doing this on a cheap Android phone. I meant "delta", when I edited the post and tried to save the changes, it appears to have put the whole post up again.

You don't need any sort of converter/inverter to run a small 3-phase grinder because there is very little starting torque required. Simply put the motor into "delta" configuration and put a "run" capacitor across one of the windings, I think I used a couple out of old florescent fittings. The motor will stutter and buzz a little when the power comes on but it will run up to speed in about 1 second and then it is quite happy to run for ever more. I have been running my Clarkson and another small grinder like this for years with no problems at all. Easy and cheap way of running grinders like this.

Edited By Chris Crew on 07/07/2023 18:50:25

You don't need any sort of converter/inverter to run a small 3-phase grinder because there is very little starting torque required. Simply put the motor into "star" configuration and put a "run" capacitor across one of the windings, I think I used a couple out of old florescent fittings. The motor will stutter and buzz a little when the power comes on but it will run up to speed in about 1 second and then it is quite happy to run for ever more. I have been running my Clarkson and another small grinder like this for years with no problems at all. Easy and cheap way of running grinders like this.

After a lifetime of collecting old British machine tools, some people collect stamps but I collected machine tools and attachments, mostly when it was almost being given away at auctions at a time traditional British engineering was dying. In fact, my wife at the time used to warn me that I couldn't save British industry alone. I know the time is fast approaching when it will all have to be disposed of, at least in fairness to my wife should she survive me, but it will break my heart to see it go. She tells me I never use it much these days, which is true because I never did, but just like for the stamp collector it is just the sheer pleasure of owning it, keeping it in order and pottering around it, women just don't understand!

At 70 I am into my eighth decade now but if 80 is supposed to be the new 60 it sure doesn't feel like it.

If we think about it, firms such as Warco have been with us since the mid-1970's which is only 22years behind the introduction of the Super7. I have never owned a Warco machine or have any knowledge of the availability of spares and technical support provided by the company but they look pretty good to me for the price and have been with us for nearly fifty-years. Perhaps the best tribute to Myford is in the fact that the company, in both its guises, has lasted so long after facing such competition. Boxford ceased production of its non-CNC lathes in 1988, I believe, and I understand Colchester began rebadging Taiwanese machines. There must still be a market for Myford machines otherwise production would have ceased completely, but apart from the introduction of the incongruous 'Big Bore' it remains the same design.

I think it is a good idea to celebrate a great British machine, but the mystery to me is why Myford kept producing the ML7 after the introduction of the Super 7. Cost obviously was a factor, but to produce two machines of the same size and capacity seems odd to me looking back. Most manufacturers delete their older products when new models are developed, but Myford chose to compete against itself in its own market space.

"HMRC is more likely to send you a letter".

HMRC never send me letters, they only send me bills! Other people seem to get away with paying no additional tax above that deducted at source (or so they tell me) but how they do it, or whether they are genuinely not liable, I have no idea. All I know is that HMRC seem to have got their claws into me and won't let go!

I have received an email purporting to be from BT. The opening lines are:

Hello C.J Crew,

In line with our enduring pledge to safeguard your email account and maintain a secure environment, we persistently scrutinize all email activities for any anomalies. In light of our recent system update aimed at enhancing your security, it is now imperative that all users verify their email accounts.

There is then a button to purportedly verify the account. The sender is [email protected]

This really doesn't seem genuine to me but I am not sure. What would others make of it?

Spoiler alert, these things aren't so wonderful. I have had three reciprocating power hacksaws over the years: a Spanish machine which worked well I regretted selling it, a Wicksteed that was almost so totally useless I got rid of it asap and currently a Qualters & Smith that will do the job but really needs a lot of work on the hydraulics that I can't be bothered to do. I have recently, for the first time in my life, used a well worn Chinese 4.5" bandsaw, the sort of thing that Machine Mart and a whole lot of other 'badge engineers' sell. What an eye opener! They cut fast, clean and square and leave the lumbering old British reciprocating machines standing. It's on my bucket list to buy one!

A short while ago I was assisting other members of the ME society, to which I belong, clearing an area of ground for future development when we encountered a defunct hard concrete sewer casing. The site was once the location of a wartime RAF observation post so most obstacles encountered are hard, reinforced and very well made. A clump hammer and chisel wouldn't even mark it so someone suggested we used the club's 'Kango' hammer which is really a Chinese clone of the real thing (or what I think the real thing might look like). The tool hardly looked 'man enough' for the job but it sliced the concrete like a hot knife through butter. I was amazed!

Later, looking on a well known auction site, it appeared that these things (rated 3.5kW because less powerful models are available too) were selling brand new, with a selection of chisels and with a steel carrying case, for the grand total of £110 including delivery, so I bought one. I haven't used it yet, (at my age I can hardly lift it!) so it's just another tool that might 'come in' but having seen one in action I know just how it will perform. Yes, I know I might have more money than sense but you can't take it with you and it was such a great price for what I received and cheaper probably than hiring one with all the inconvenience of collection and return that would entail should the need arise.

I was happy to see this thread as I have one of these carts on my eBay watch list and will hit the 'buy it now' button next pension day.