Member postings for Martyn Edwards 2

Now retired but back in the day many moons ago when teaching metalwork we had a tank of 'Whale Oil' that was used for blueing.

Funnily enough I've just made some steps up to the door today!

All the machines were manually lifted up with the exception of the Sieg Mill, which I used a planks and sack truck then internally an engine crane to get it up onto the bench.

Due to a house move and losing a double garage a new 'man cave' had to be built. A 14'x8' insulated build with most of the essentials 'shoe horned' in. Still more to do.

Best purchase were the 4K LED Batons, I've lost count of how many glass tubes I've inadvertently smashed in the past!

Also the non slip 'coined' rubber sheet on the floor and bench tops. Very easy to keep clean and totally resistant to oils etc.,

.....and you can never have enough sockets!

Have a look at Sieg bench top Mills. Personally I believe they're a step above Warco offerings in terms of quality. Have seen both being manufactured in China in their respective factories.

I popped into Lidl this morning and bought a very nice double size stainless rectangular magnetic tray and also the the soldering station with magnifying glass with LED lighting.

For me the biggest advantage is the ability to swap between imperial and metric measurements. I'm of an age where I experienced the change to metric late teens and thus find myself swapping between the two systems, something in the brain working on mental visualisations of key measurements in each system comes into play.

Edited By Martyn Edwards 2 on 22/12/2021 16:49:46

Same kit but slightly different approach on the Y and Z Axis.

Back in the day it was Whale Oil.......Oh my!

Hi Rob

I went through the same dilemma last year and having in a past life visited the Sieg Factory in Shanghai opted for the SX3 mainly due to the build quality and low down Z Axis adjusting wheel. So far it's been faultless.

I fitted a good quality 3 Axis DRO with magnetic readers from Machine DRO and have a photos and details of how it was fitted.

Has taken Lockdown two and three to build from castings. Fortunately was able to obtain a S/H 504 boiler recently off EBay which was always going to be an issue due to current cost of new ones.

Just the main steam pipe to make and lag and water level gauge to fit, although the plant also has the facility to run off compressed air from the turret.

Started to plan out a steam plant for my two lockdown built Stuart engines. Decided to incorporate an economiser/condenser although it's probably overkill.

Many years ago I used to teach Metalwork at a school next to Boscombe Down Airforce base in Wiltshire. Some of the students used to go on to start an apprenticeship at the base. The first 11 weeks of their apprenticeship was spent hand filing a block square to fit into a filed square hole!

Thanks chaps, now sorted and running very well. It was the valve being a bit too tight on the valve nut so it didn't seat on the port face properly. Now free enough for the air pressure to push it onto the port face.

Thanks chaps, I previously suspected the valve not seating properly and checked the valve float. I'll have another look in the morning and see if there is any way it's being held off the port face.

I have a Stuart 10V which is very free running but it appears to be blowing a lot of air straight through to the exhaust pipe. When running I detect the 'pulse' of air at each end of the stroke but there seems to be air running straight through.

what could be be causing this?

The slide valve is centred, with a little free play and exposing the top and bottom port at each end of the stroke. The piston is a good fit in the cylinder.

Linseed oil based finishes are very good and can be refreshed very easily but mixing your own can be a dark art. Firstly the Wood has to be sanded and the grain filled before the thinned oil can be rubbed in, just a few drops the using the palm of your hand to rub and generate a little warmth which adds the oil penetration. Multiple applications and each time allowing it to dry will give what's known in the gun trade a 'hand rubbed finish' which is very resistant to water and oil. If you want what's called a 'London finish' the oil has to have some dryers in it and will give a gloss finish with a lot of depth but takes many applications, search for Tru Oil if you want a high depth gloss finish. Using it you can get a finish such as this

The Burgundy is an old British/LMS Rail colour

RailMatch 1306 BR Maroon/LMS Crimson Lake