Member postings for Peter Low 4

Very nice and much more in the appearance they would have had when first bound.

We seldom had the luxury of deciding what lengths to go to. The customers wishes and depth oftheir pockets was always the deciding factor. In Bristol I worked on a lot of books for the university library. These had to be done to a strick specification where durability and matching with the style of the other books was the priority. Do students still use a university library any more?

The trend towards non interferance with the binding and not doing anything to compromise its "integrity" is one which will have contributed to the dwindling pool of binders with th skill to sensitively repair an old book with both a proper regard to its original binding and to preserve it in a readable state.

Quite a few of the problems of older bindings stem directly from a lack of understanding at the time of the materials used. Machine made paper coming into use in the first couple od decades of the 19th cent. had nothing like the lasting qualities of handmade paper. Methods of tanning leather and the developement of chemical dyes later in the same centuary led to many books of that era not lasting as they should. I have had to work on books that had each section held together with rusted staples. And in our own time there is still nothing that can be done for a "Perfect Bound" paperback (or even hardback) which is falling into separate sheets because the glue on the spine has disintergrated, except of course, to keep it in a box!

Douglas Cockerell in the 1920s was responsible for reversing the trend towards unsatisfactory methods but in doing so raised tha actual cost of having good binding done which led to it being a luxury trade.

I'm all for some books being uniterfered with so that future generations can do what they think best with them. But to take my other interest of old motorcycles as an example, There is the choice to be made between full restoration, a usable example or total preservation with no attempt a restoration. As with books its for the owner to choose. What is the book or the motorcycle for? To show off? To ride or read and enjoy? or to preserve in an unridable/unreadable stat? Even in a museum, a fully restored bike gives no actual view of what it would have been like when new (and as a static exhibit, there's no need for it to be all there internally) An exhibit of an unrestored "preserved" example is no more informative. An example of each treatment ehibited side by side could be informative but with limitations. I don't have that problem. My books are done up, as sensitively as I could with materials of the time, to be read and enjoyed and my '52 500 Red Hunter is unrestored, but tidied up, rebuilt wheels, rebuilt mag & Dyno etc to be ridden, not hidden and appreciated as it is by many who see it.

I did a 5 year apprenticeship in bookbinding in Bristol and then worked 5 years at George Bayntun's in Bath. I saw the introduction of PVA adhesive from the late '60s onwards and it certainly overcomes some of the limitations of paste and hot glue.

Hot glue (brown and prepared in an iron pot of boiling water surounding the glue pot itself) came in two forms, hard and flexible.

Paste was used for sticking paper to paper as in making up endpapers. It was used for any leather covering. PVA works well for paper to paper and for applying bookcloth as a covering and for many other general purposes but I think would still be thought of as inferior for use on leather compared to paste. We actually experimented with mixing proportions of hard and flexible hot glues for some purposes and mixing paste with PVA for others

Hot glues were mainly used on the spines of books. For the "Lining Up" using first a layer of Mull (or scrim) with a layer of Kraft brown paper over that. I would say that lining up with PVA works, but does not produce such a firm result Hot glue was the traditional adhesive for applying covering fabric but PVA was a hands dow winner for that.

I agree with Bill's description and with Tim's. But it depends on whether you are aiming for a durable result or one in which anything done can be undone.

I don't know if Copydex produced anything at all suitable for bookbinding, but their products I have known, I would not recommend.

In case anybody wonders, I gave up Bookbinding in 1977 , did a Skill Centre Training course as a Fabricator/Welder and until now, never looked back.

As an ex bookbinder. I served my apprenticeship when PVA adhesive was "the new thing". We learned almost week by week what it was good for. And it was Good!

You could use it to advantage in place of hot glue for some things and in place of paste in others, but for some other purposes the trad glue and paste were still the best and I believe that still holds true today.

I would think that straight PVA would do the job well. Paste will give you more time to move materials about, but PVA will remain properly flexible on any hinged parts.

Pete.

Pleased to discover the Clarke CDP302 through this thread and to find it recommended.

I am looking to replace the very modest Draper bench drill that has served so well for 25 years or so, and upgrade to something larger and this Clarke model seems to beat others from different brands on several poibnts at a lower price.

I'd be glad to hear that these bench drills are lasting well in use.

Pete.

Living not far from Axminster this is sad news for me. I had been reckoning on doing one of their courses, post covid, to avoid just the beginners muck ups envisioned above.

With help on the forum I've got my ML7 just about sorted and much more usable than when I first got it running. Remembering what my older brother told me 50 years ago, mostly "what not to do" , has enabled me to make a bit of a start with no disasters so far.

I wouldn't count myself as into model engineering, but would be glad to hear of a club, local to South Somerset where a bod wanting to make bits for his motorbike would be welcomed.

Pwete.

Thanks that is encouraging.

As my cross slide nut has some play in it, i've been following this thread. Unfortunately nobody seems to be selling these to suit an ML7 with imperial thread. (except Myford listing nut & screw sets at fairy tale prices).

So the brass nut listed on ebay mentioned above (143946170355) seemed my only option, though I also noted the lack of feedback on it etc. Reckoning that if its an obviously bad fit, I can send it back, and if it wears prematurely, well it will have been nicer to work with for a while, than the present set up.

So I ordered one and it arrived today and it fits and seems Ok. The scew action is a little stiff but I'm hoping this will be as i, running in a stiff engine. I will post again if it wears too quicly, though I'm not using the lathe every day, it may take a while.

I have at last got hold of what I hope is a good motor to replace the defunct motor on my ML7 Myford.

The lable says it is a Brook/Crompton "Invensys" 3/4HP single phase I have seen a video of it running. It sounded quiet and it looks in good order. It has resilient mountings and I'm told it dated from 1994.

I have rewired the lathe with an NVR switch, to use the Dewhurst switch only for switching to reverse when the power is not connected, and now all I have to do is connect the Dewhurst to the motor.

The problem I am now faced with is that although the wires coming from the windings seem to match those I have seen in a guide to connecting a Brook crompton I found on line, but the markings on the connections board are very different. They are from left to rightZ2, R, S, U1 & U2 and P (which is unused.

So I'm hoping somebody has a similar motor or is familiar with it. The bare wire links between U1 & S and between U2 & R are somthing that puzzle me.

I really do appreciate all the recent advice, especially the patient encouragement to have a go at fettling the current motor. But this morning, the caution about playing with mains power and what can be expected from old equipment is winning.

I can't afford it on this months buget, but wait 3 weeks and I'll get a new motor and switch. Meanwhile I'll get everything else cleaned & sorted so its really ready to roll when up to date power is installed.

Thanks guys. Sorry that was not the clearest photo. The plate has "1" stamped in the box maked "PH" so I assemd that would be "single phase"

The history is as follows. The lathes serial number dates it as 1974. I bought it from a guy I know and it had been his Dad's. Dad now past away Richard wanted to sell it on (he runs a Boxford) He said as far as he could remember, his dad had it for about 40 years which would make it not an old lathe when he first had it. I don't know when it was last run, but I can ask. Rust on the motor pulley I do not think is significant. The lathe was stored in a lock up. Not a wet one, but not as dry as your average workshop and when placed there no particular precautions seem to have been taken in that respect. The lathe in general has not suffered.

I realise that the motor could be older than the lathe. I haven't taken the board out of the connection box yet. But also not visible in the photo, under the red lead with clth tag marked "Z" there is a vacant hole which would have had a 4th terminal in it. Perversly, this has the only marking on the visible side of the board, with a rather feeble torch, I think its marked "A".

The Motor man's view was that this once had the black wire from the motor that is currently not connected and he thought it Ok th use a "chocolate block" scew connector to make the 4th connection. Unfortunately he's away at the moment so I'll have to wait to pick his brains on it. So I tend to agee that there may well be something odd in its history as a motor.

The unconnected black lead visible in the photo can be seen to have pale discoloured area towards its end. I suspect that this is the trace of a similar adhesive tag, like the one marked " Z" on the red wire. So when I have a go at identifying wires, hopefully tomorrow it will be interesting to find out what might have been on the missing tag!

Friendly electrician? Is there such a thing ? Moved here 3 years ago and haven't met one yet. Not at their prices anyway. But I admit, if I'm going to use this elderly set up, It'll make sense to get it checked.

I'm actually near Langport, but anybody who'd like to call in and offer encouragement will be very welcome and refreshment will be available.

Thanks.

No offence taken. I'm Ok on sorting dodgy electrics on old bikes, but 240 volts mains supply is deffinitely not something I'm comfortable with. I don't have much spare cash, and so I'm anxious not to spend too much on what may not be the best solution. Quite handy for me is "The Electric Motor Man" at Ilminster. I visited him yesterday and he was helpful, doing his best , to explain how I should check which wire does what. Fortunately he is very familiar with Myfords.

I think I can check out the wires coming from the switch as he suggested, but as the terminals on the motor are not marked, I cannot see how I can determine which terminals serve which set of windings. The Motor man did point out that even if the Dewhurst switch worked, it may not do so for much longer and explained he can supply a new switch, and a new 3/4hp motor if need be. He also suggested getting an electrician to sort out the wiring, but of course there is cost involed there and so I wonder whether the smart move would be to go for a modern swith and motor, preferably with wiring instructions which I could follow.

No makers nam at all. Just "J.S. Hatch" engraved on it, one with a hand held tool.

The box is neatly made but dosn't look a factory job.

I can't imagine I'll ever use it so its up for grabs if anybody wants it.

Along with my recently arrived ML7 was a small plywood box and in it was this thing.

Somebody took a lot of time producing it and even engraved their name on it.

Its some sort of Toolholder I presume.

Oh well, don't know why it didn't show the other photos I thought I put in the album, but at least, that's the important one.

Ok, I seem to have created an album. Thanks Neil & Steve. Like you said, its so simple. I was just thrown by so many comments in the FAQs, seeming to make it difficult.

So for staters, the urgent matter of getting blue smoke to the relevant bits of the machine.

Its Brooks "Gryphon" motor, single phase and the switch is the " Dewhurst" with forward and reverse. The wiring to the switch and from it is intact. Only the connections to the motor are disconnected, as often happens I guess removal of the motor making the lathe easier to move.

Cables from the switch, to connect to the motor are: 2 red, 2 black & 1 green. So remembering the old colours, green would be earth, red Live, & black neutral, but obviously 2 reds and 2 blacks are puzzling. (See photo)

The Brooks motor has 3 connections: Internal wires, black to one connector, red to the next connector, and another red with a tag with "Z" (or possibly "N" to the 3rd connector. There is also a black wire coming from the motor unconnected. (see photo)

In use Galvafroid and standard thinners does the job.

Ok, thanks Steve, I'll have a go when I'm in a better mood for that kind of stuff.

I trudged through all that in the FAQs section. Made my brain hurt. Other forums I'm on, you just click on the "insert" icon below the post you are writing and you pick the photo you want from your own files. Why does it have to be so difficult?

I've got enough new tricks to learn figuring out what to do, and what not to do with this lathe, my aging brain can't cope with learning new computer tricks at the same time.

Oops!

Not sure how to add a photo.

Theres just room for my toolchest draws to open at the drive end and just room to get at my bench drill at the tail stock end, and just room for the motor to clear the wall.

I'll post qestion about how to wire it up when I know how to attache photos.

Well it arrived Sunday morning with a couple of boxes of bewildering bits. I now have it squeezed ito my work room and mounted on its cabinet.