Member postings for CHAS LIPSCOMBE

I read and enjoyed the link provided by Peak 4, thanks Bill. Has anyone heard of the Enfield inch for rifle etc manufacture? I was told that at one time, a contractor made some parts to Enfield drawings which did not fit. The reason was that the drawings used the Enfield inch which was different to anyone else's inch

Chas

12C is about my minimum working temperature but in this part of Australia temperatures only get that low for about two months a year and not every day is that low.Plenty of clothing covers the situation. I hate being cold (which is why I emigrated over 50 years ago) but heat and humidity don't worry me. My "stop work temperature" in summer is 42C, not so much because I am uncomfortable but because I think heat-stress could arise with dangerous consequences. Maximum temperature recorded in my workshop is 47C.

What is the status of the original PlasPlugs sharpener? Is it still available and from where? Approximate cost?

Rip-off versions are readily available but the reviews above are not that encouraging!

Chas

My pet hate is deliberate bastardisation of the language e.g. the practice of calling one partner in a homosexual relationship the husband and the other the wife. Previously the meaning of these words was plain and unambiguous .

Given that people of homosexual inclination are often intelligent, sensitive people surely they could do better than this? The feminists did a bit better when they succeeded in introducing the (phonetically ugly) term Ms.

Other than that, the repeated and unnecessary use of "like" and "you know" by the young irritates as does the practice by many young people of speaking very, and unnecessarily fast. A real curse for us oldies whose hearing is not as good as it once was.

Chas

Michael G,

Thanks for this info, just what I needed. I stand in awe of your internet searching capabilities

Chas

I hope I am not taking this topic too far from the thread but these "Drive Screws" are of interest to me because they were used by Powell & Hanmer to secure their badge on motor cycle fittings, including their horns. I make replicas of these horns and have had difficulty in knowing what to buy. I have seen adverts for size 0, 1 etc but no indication anywhere of what dimensions these sizes are. Also ones that I have acquired from autojumbles are all too short or too large in diameter. Is there any convention covering the sizes of these screws or are they whatever size the manufacturer thinks will sell? Currently I use Aluminium rivets with the head diameter reduced for appearance sake and using rivets involves a whole lot of messing around

Chas

Thanks Hopper, as usual a very concise and practical answer

I have resorted to banging the taper home with a plastic hammer in the past but I did so with a bad conscience, thinking I was being brutal.

The taper holding capability of my lathe ( a 15-year old Herless) has never been anywhere near your old Drummond so it is time I got the blue out and did some checking.

Thanks also to Emgee and Speedy Builder5, I will search for longer tangs just in case I can't get passable results from my tailstock.

Chas

I have just bought a 3MT morse taper adapter for the tailstock of my lathe and I notice that the tang is shorter than the other adapters that I have. My question is what is the function of the tang? I thought that the taper itself was there to stop a drill etc rotating and the tang was simply there for extracting the adapter by loosening the adapter in the tailstock. My usual practice is to enter the adapter into the tailstock and push and twist the taper to lock it. The tang will then rest fairly solidly against the internal mechanism of the tailstock. If I follow this procedure with my latest adapter, the overly short tang will ride up on the internal mechanism and release the taper.

Are there any agreed standard dimensions for tangs? Can longer tangs be purchased anywhere (the tang on my new adapter is a screw-in affair)? Is my understanding of the function of a tang correct?

Chas

Wow! I had no idea that my simple request would arouse so much correspondence, let alone such interesting stuff. Hopper is right on the money with his comments and I would expect to find a CR of about 5:1 on an engine like this, maybe a bit less.

All the side valve engines I have encountered have flat-top pistons but I'm not familiar with American motorcycles (or any motorcycle made after 1939 for that matter!). My vintage and veteran bikes all get regular airing, or did before covid struck and we were placed on "house arrest" in Victoria, for the duration.

For the duration - now that's a phrase that will resonate with our older UK members!

Many thanks to all the people who replied. I was sure someone on this forum would know....and voila!

I never realised how many factors came into this issue and it was very interesting to learn about the matter in some depth.

I fell into the usual error of people seeking advice on the forum of not providing enough information. I am a focal point for people seeking information (historical, low technical, identification) on New Imperial motorcycles which were made in Birmingham before the war. In this case it was an enquiry about what the compression pressure should be, measured cold, on a 1931 500cc side valve machine.

Chas