Member postings for Ches Green UK

I've even had an email confirming the time and date of a meter installation, which I never asked for. I just ignored it.

AFAIK, there are a number of different types of smart meters out there (and software versions?) and most aren't compatible for switching to a new electricity/gas supplier.

Ches

The only moving part appears to be the inner disc ie it rotates clockwise?

The ring with the 20 large holes next to the inner disc shows a grey bottom to those holes. I wonder if that grey bottom material is attached directly to the inner disc ie it rotates with it. Were there, at one time, symbols on the grey holes?

The centres of the grey holes seem lightly worn.

The grey holes next to 8 and 9 seem to be slightly dished (under high magnification)...could there have been a circular insert in there?

All the fraction denominators divide in to 240, the number of pennies in an old Pound.

The small table at the bottom right could be Lbs and Ounces.

I still have no idea what device this is though. ;-(

Ches

Edit: The dishing appearance is possibly just a shadow.

Edited By Ches Green UK on 14/01/2022 18:18:15

Edited By Ches Green UK on 14/01/2022 18:20:06

As was posted earlier, there is a much higher resolution image of the device here ... https://www.reddit.com/r/whatisthisthing/comments/bo4dhp/does_anyone_know_what_this_was_used_for/

Ches

I'll have a look at Alibre, thanks.

Apologies to all for dragging the thread away from the original proposition, 'Engineering as Art'. But I suppose Art can only be produced by people and the tools they use

Ches

Pat,

For 12 mths that's very impressive, and the progression is plain to see. And the subject matter (steam engines) is something I am getting interested in.

But the cost of SolidWorks, from what I read, is prohibitive for the home user. It does look like a nice s/w package though.

Ches

That's a good brief, thanks. I shall ponder.

Since I'm retired I don't 'have' to learn 2D/3D CAD for my employer so there is a lot less pressure to get on with it. And I can always find the path of least resistance which means there will probably always be something more interesting to do. I need a CAD brain dump to get me up to speed instantly...or some discipline.

Ches

Thanks Pat.

I used 'Engineering Drawing Practice' by Simmons & Maguire pub 1974. It turned BS 308 (later replaced by BS 8888 https://cadsetterout.com/drawing-standards/bs-308-and-all-that/ ) into a readable and easily understandable format. We also kept a copy of BS308 in the DO.

At home I have a Rotring A2 draughting board plus all my all old drawing tools, so that gets me by.

I don't have any skills in 2D or 3D CAD packages but there is an itch to learn. However, each time I try a package I find the learning curve is too much for a pastime activity. I've got QCAD (2D only) currently installed on my desktop, gathering dust ;-( But this thread has encouraged me to download the extracts from the QCAD .pdf Manual so I'll have a read through that and see if it inspires me.

Ches.

Edited By Ches Green UK on 13/01/2022 10:10:36

Edited By Ches Green UK on 13/01/2022 10:12:00

PatJ,

Thanks for that useful brief on different CAD systems' 'standards'.

Are there actually any 2D CAD packages that rigorously follow

- ISO 128 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_128 or

- BS 8888 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BS_8888 ?

Ches

Edited By Ches Green UK on 12/01/2022 12:05:32

Dave,

Tricky to work out because European weights and measures were a complete muddle at that time.

Thanks. That was a good insight. My curiosity is sufficiently satisfied for now .

Ches

Martin,

Yes, I imagine it has been very interesting helping your daughter. She is absolutely right in using original sources.

The '1826 German Inch'...I'll need to do a bit of digging on that one myself out of curiosity...again, sounds interesting.

I did wonder about the thread holding the needle and how it would need to be 'torqueless'.

Ches

Martin,

Here's a good video on Mr Ohm and how he struggled to get his discovery recognised ....

Ohm's Law: History and Biography - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fk_BpXlfZ8U

As a retired Mech Eng I did do some college courses on electronics/electrical but we never got to really know the background on how theories/laws became accepted. I'm sure you and your daughter will be aware of all this but for folks like myself it was a very interesting 18 mins viewing.

Regards,

Ches

Hmm...the needle (with metal end?) suspended by the thread must be registering some kind of electromagnetic force? I'm not not sure who the inventor is.

Ches

Battery?

Ches

I would add that ...

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder

The phrase beauty is in the eye of the beholder means that different people have different opinions as to what should be deemed attractive. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder means that beauty is subjective. Whether or not beauty is subjective has been debated at least since ancient Greece. Shakespeare wrote of beauty in Love’s Labour Lost, saying “Beauty is bought by judgement of the eye…” Benjamin Franklin wrote “Beauty, like supreme dominion/Is but supported by opinion,” in Poor Richard’s Almanack. Margaret Wolfe Hungerford is credited with coining the exact phrase beauty is in the eye of the beholder in her novel Molly Bawn, published in 1878." (https://grammarist.com/phrase/beauty-is-in-the-eye-of-the/)

Ches

I agree with Pat's comment...

The key to making drawings that look good ("good" being a subjective term) is to use a variety of line weights, and to put the right line weight in the right place. The overall effect of using correct line weights is that the drawing begins to take on a 3-dimensional effect, and you can begin to see the depth of parts, etc.

I was trained to BS308 and started my career as an R&D draughtsman. IIRC, Pentel 0.7mm pencils were used for outlines and 0.3mm for dimension lines, leader lines etc. This made the drawings much easier to 'take in'. I was later to become a senior engineer at that company before moving on. All R&D engineers there had their own desk and a full sized drawing board that they did General Assembly (GA) drawing layouts on of the project they were working on. Those GA drawings would be handed to the Drawing Office (DO) to do the detail drawing work and proper BS 308 GA drawings.

ALL drawings had to have at least two signatures on them eg the draughtsman, the engineer and possibly the project leader before they got anywhere near the Workshop. All the Workshop personel understood BS308 conventions.

I later moved to a company that had large Computer Aided Design/Manufacture DOs. Again, all the draughtsmen were trained to the current British (or European) standard. As time went by the link between the DO and the machine shops changed from hard-copy drawings being handed over to the shops, to DO files being electronically transferred to the machines.

An awful lot of the skinny line drawings I see on the web etc are produced by CAD but there seems to be little DO training behind them. Note: there are some drawings that ARE done by people who have DO training and CAD training.

What is 'art?... from the Oxford Languages ... "the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power."

I think well done engineering drawings can have beauty and emotional power, as can model engineering products.

Ches

Edited By Ches Green UK on 10/01/2022 11:03:55

Thanks for the book title.

Ches

Martin,

Yes, that's a good Foreword. Churchill was a bit of a painter in his spare time and later years so he would appreciate the importance of having a purpose that fully absorbs the mind.

Out of interest, can I ask what book this Foreword comes from?

Ches

Andy,

getting on for 1mm of play. ... Yes, that sounds about right.

I did replace the bearing washers with ball race thrust bearings shortly after I bought the MF70. This Russian chap explained it all   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvgeMu2dYps  

And I see from my notes I was aware of the 'nut adjuster' from this link ...**LINK** ... but I can't remember if I actually did tighten it sufficiently. I'll have another look inside the mill to check the nut.

Thanks for the info,

Ches

(Edit: This German chap has a lot of interesting mods ... https://www.youtube.com/user/mtoynet/videos )

Edited By Ches Green UK on 05/01/2022 09:29:45

Edited By Ches Green UK on 05/01/2022 09:50:33

Jonathon,

I have had the Proxxon MF70 for about 1yr. I used it to help build a Stuart 10V eg milling and drilling. No real issues with it. Max cutter dia is about 3mm and max cut is about 0.25mm.

It faced off the cast iron base parts of the 10V OK but there was a lot of winding the table back and forth since the cutting width and depth is small.

It's lightweight - you can pick it up easily with one hand. It is quick to change tools - I have the collet chuck and drill chuck. Also have the precision vice and dividing head.

The Z axis has a bit of slack but if you remember to tighten the lock it's managable.

It's probably a bit expensive for what it is but it's convenient/easy to use. I had thought of selling it when I bought my Seig SX2P mill but didn't since it is still very useful for 'the small stuff'.

Ches

Simon,

That's a great list and gives me a very good idea of what building one of those engines typically requires. Thank you.

I'll be Googling the items you mentioned and adding the info to my 'Workshop info' Word document.

At the moment I'm sticking with Stuart Models 10V type projects but as I learn more I guess I'll get 'greedier'.

Ches