Member postings for Mike Hurley

And most of the scruffy oiks on the BBC don't even wear dinner suits and bowties, what is the world coming to?

Unfortunately most plastic type guards just seem to get in the way no matter how cleverly desgigned or positioned. A magnetic swarf picker-upper tool is great for around the machine and on the floor. I made my own out of copper tubing in an hour or so, but you can buy them.

Obviously of little use for non-ferrous stuff though! That's a vacuum / brush job.

regards. Mike

Have a look at Neil Wyatt's web site ( Stub Mandrel ), in the model engineering section there's an excellent overview of materials and their working properties - including PB. Hope that helps

Edited By Mike Hurley on 04/03/2021 09:58:57

Fairly recently I had an issue with a piece of PB when using a brand new slitting saw. It was quite thin (about 1mm) and I ran it pretty much as I would for brass. It contstantly struggled, jammed ( tried with and without lubricant) but finally siezed and stripped several teeth off the saw.

In desperation I stuck it in a vise and attacked it with a hacksaw (32 tpi blade) and it cut like butter!

So if its heat or 'springiness' causing the seizures, slow and steady seems to be the byword.

regards Mike

After years getting oval, off centre or chattered countersinks with these type of cutters, I now get pretty well 100% success with the following 'rules'

1. Work firmly clamped down

2. Slow speed

3. (Probably the key one) be decisive! By this I mean, decide on your depth of countersink, set your stop on the drill press or equivalent on lathe/mill, then 'drill' in ONE FIRM motion to full depth. It always seemed to be the intermittent and 'bit less / or a tiny bit more' approach that causes issues.

regards. Mike

Old Scrap tools, materials, bits & bobs lying about? Stuck for a novelty project to exercise your mind and body during these (hopefully) last few weeks of lockdown? How about a bit of industrial artistry like the example below -

This is a sculpture (one of several) in my local nature reserve that always brings a smile to my face every time me and the pooch walk past. Get the arc welder out and go wild......

Thanks guys, bit as I suspected just didn't want to be ham-fisted and break anything, which is what I seem to do quite often! The vent hole is minute so it will probably be a case of unscrewing the adjuster, that will pull the needle right out and I'll fill it via that orifice.

All the best, keep safe

Bought a couple of tiny drip feed oilers 'Suitable for a Stuart' but am obviously having a dose of thick-brain syndrome as I can't grasp how to put oil into them! (Just had my Covid shot - perhaps I could blame that ) Don't want to heave on them too much and damage as they are quite small (as per the name), is the top supposed to come off or do you feed with a syringe through the minute hole in the top where the adjuster goes through? Apologies if I've missed the glaringly obvious somewhere along the line.

Regards Mike

Totally agree with John Olsen. Push yourself with a project and you'll learn as you go. I have made this and that over the years and have a lot of general skills but since I went the route of a big 'Challenging' project (see Ongoing projects...) boy have I learned a massive amount - including how to 'make do' with tricky parts and not having the 'right' equipment or tooling. Scrap box got very big over the last few years and there have been times when I've felt overwhelmed by problems and at the point of calling it a day, but persevere and you get such pleasure from succeeding!

Best of luck whatever you go for. Keep the forum posted as you go along. Regards Mike

SoD - Thanks for taking the time to put this 'guide' together, clarified many points I was confused about! One query though - "Brass prefers a sharp new drill " I was always taught that you should take a tiny amount off the edge of new drills for brass to stop any risk of them grabbing. The drill equiivalent of zero top rake on lathe cutting tools. Its something thats been discussed a number of times before in the forum, but there seems as many opinions as contributers? So I remain confused (as usual!)

Regards Mike

Edited By Mike Hurley on 08/02/2021 11:56:25

Roger, Norm thanks for the comments. It was a brand new slitting saw, 0,75 not 0,5 as I originally mis-typed! Perhaps it was just down to poor quality (although I tend to buy stuff from reputable suppliers normally). Will just be a bit more cautious if I have to try this again? Regards

Allied to this issue, a while back I was working on some 1 1/2" Dia PB I'd bought at a ME exhibition, so unsure what type it was. I had no problems working it with normal tools, turned / bored 'a treat', however I needed later to split these so attacked it with a unused .5mm slitting saw in the mill. Started OK then jammed, freed up and retried a few times - different speeds/ feeds etc then tried bit of paraffin lubricant - seemed to make things worse. Pushed on though thinking there was perhaps a 'hard bit' to get past. Ended up totally jammed fast. when I extracted everything the saw blade was a total wreck about 1/3 teeth missing all the others blunt.

In frustration I manually split these with a fine saw blade (it cut dead easy!) and faced the cut sides up - job was OK in the end. Anybody any ideas why I might have had these problems (incase I need to do this process again in the future)?

I added one to my mill as per the MEW article and found it OK, but even after playing about with small shades & reflectors etc found it still tended to leave the business end in shadow. Ordinary work lights tend to get in the way a bit, Some time back I found some 'goose neck' fine spotlights with a clamp, the head being quite small (say 2cm in dia and 4cm long) and a flexible stem about 250mm long - which proved perfect for getting sharp light right onto the cutter. I got these from Chas Ohlson the Swedish hardware store which has unfortunately now stopped trading in the UK, but I think their products are available now through Amazon

Regards

Personally I tend to use washers most of the time for stuff I'm making, just feel they give a better 'fit' to things. If you study the vast majority of early industrial / victorian engineering they never seemed to use them. Was this because of the extra cost or just considered unecessary? When did they start to become in regular use, and was it one of these trends that started perhaps in America and spread over here or vice versa? Have often wondered. Regards

Certainly looks like the Economy mill - I think it was 'badged' by a number of companies years ago. Good and solid assuming its not been abused, not much to go wrong otherwise (i.e. no Iffy electronics)

I'v got a similar sized more modern machine (but dovetail column etc) and generally find that I use my ARC Precision Tool Vice Type 3 most of the time for a lot of things. I've 3 or 4 other vices of varying types but rarely use them, I do have an 'economy' tilting one that I bought when first starting out but don't think I've ever had call to use it.

I would consider getting a couple of assorted slotted angle plates though if you don't already have any. So many clamping options avaiable with a bit of ingenuity!

Enjoy your new toy. Regards

Agree most likely a Stirling engine, Most are quite sensitive to friction as they are not renowned for having much power (certainly the small / model engines) so the slightest bit of corrosion or stickiness may cause it not to start up. Make sure everything is nice and free, don't use any heavy oils. There's little to go wrong so probably just something simple, follow Bo'sun's suggestions and you should be OK. regards

Postscript: Just to close the subject, I finally received my order this morning! Only took 5 weeks. To be fair, they did say the delay was due to a 'stock issue' ( I assume that means they hadn't actually got an 'in stock' item) and then Christmas, lockdown ...... Still, stuff arrived perfectly OK and well packed so I've got no excuse not to get on with my projects now! Regards to all Mike

Fair comment Dave. I had ignored signs that I was overworking it as was desperate to get a job finished, so no one to blame but myself. However, when looking into info on motor failures, it struck me how many other people had tried a 'fix' like that I mentioned so I assumed (possibly wrongly) it was a common fault as opposed to 'user error' which in reality was probably more relevant!

Regards

Hads the same problem with my WM14, allbeit non-dro and about 9 years old. (So assuming the motor is still the same type? i.e. has brushes?). When mine went due to overwork, I fortunately got a Warco replacement from stock in a few days.

I would think a rewind would be a costly operation, but a simple motor of that size and power would be easily available via an internet search? Sorry that's not direcly helpful in your current situation just an opinion.

One thing I would say however is that when you replace it, to look at the cooling of the motor housing in that model. The closed box with small louvres at the rear does little to stop overheating if working hard (the winding insuation melted in mine!) I cut a large hole in the top of the case (adding a protective mesh over it) and it seems a lot happier. I've seen a number of postings where people have done similar or even adding powerful 'computer' cooling fans also.

Best of luck, 12 weeks is a pain to wait, but only the same length of time as awaiting a second Covid vaccination!