Member postings for Benedict White

Welcome Alan. Could I also suggest finding a local model engineering club. As well as having in person advice they are likely to posses tools, books, drawings and magazines that you will be able to borrow as well as possibly materials.

This will greatly speed your path!

Fair point Howard.

Ajax, I suspect it does matter though aluminium is easier to cut.

I have loads of aluminium bar too, purchased from the scrapyard at £2 a kilo, though I don't have a tool with a profile for round belts.

Ah. Where are you roughly Andy?

You get this:

Where you uploaded to Drive, open a new tab, go to YouTube and publish there. It will be easier. Also people without Google accounts will be able to see it.

Greg, it is asking me to ask you permission to view that file.

Go to YouTube and publish it as a video, that way everyone will be able to see it.

Greg, it says the video is unavailable as it is private.

Many thanks Nick. When ever I hear people asking for help online as regards information sources I always try to point them to local clubs because there is so much on offer there in terms of information as well as that one piece of equipment they need to use for one operation that they don't have and would otherwise need to buy.

Nick, I presume your club has a workshop as well which will provide facilities like a larger mill than a home machine shop might have if there is one in the home shop at all? As well as sets of tap, dies etc that club members can use?

Presumably also an extensive library of back issues of Model Engineer and books?

I forgot to mention they may also have a library to borrow books from at your local model engineering club.

Good advice Howard, joining a local model engineering club will bring dividends in terms of advice but also borrowing that odd tool you don't have.

Interesting idea Greg.

Mick B1, I have just filmed (editing now) a review. The manual claims accuracy of 0.015mm, and I make it inconsistent to up to 2 divisions so that tallies.

I compared it to my Moore and Wright 10ths micrometer and used gauge blocks to check it.

Given that 0.01mm is 0.00039" I think that is acceptable especially in a tool that costs £6.99.

If it is wider at the tailstock end, try tailstock support. Nothing is so stiff it does not bend.

I just want to clarify. Is the test bar 2 thou narrower at the headstock end that at the tailstock end? I thought you said in an earlier post that it was 2 thou narrower at the tailstock end but I have just looked at your graphs and if 0 is the headstock it would appear to be narrower there. That would be what I might expect if you are turning something that long out of the headstock without tailstock support.

Have you tried it with tailstock support?

Also are you measuring the deviation by measuring the diameter of the bar with a micrometer? If so are you cleaning the carbide faces between measurements?

I didn't see the prism in the photos. If your wear is less than a thou I wouldn't worry about wear.

The only question then is, is there any twist. Remind me ho big is the discrepancy along a bit or turning?

If you have or can borrow a good parallel you can check for wear in flat ways very easily. Here is a video of me doing that on my Atlas 10.

The same technique applies to all lathes with flat ways such as the Myford 7" range.

YouTube. The channel is here. There are various playlists, including one for all reviews, Lidl reviews etc.

I have a previous iteration of the Lidl Plasma cutter which requires an external compressor. Works well, though I now have a Simder 10 in 1 which replaces it and in fact all my other welders too.

The Lidl one I have works well. (Did a review on it).

If you don't mind old, you could go for an Atlas 10 (I have one), a Southbend (better) or a Boxford.