Member postings for Russell Eberhardt

These do the job well. At that price it's not worth the time to make one.

Russell.

Not exactly robotic surgery but very impressive medical use of cnc : **LINK**

Russell

I use a windscreen washer pump. They are a gear pump and have a DC motor so the speed and thus the flow rate can be varied by adjusting the voltage. Been OK for about 8 years now.

Russell.

Probably the best advice so far!

Russell.

Posted by David Littlewood on 16/07/2012 12:47:155) Your best course may be to buy a cheap set from Chronos and then experiment to see how you get on - for example:

**LINK**

Depends what you call cheap! Compared to this that is **** expensive.

Russell.

Wolfie,

The angles are not critical. Clearance angles (front and side) are usually between 5 and 10 deg. Rake angle zero (ie flat topped) for brass and cast iron and about 20 deg for steel.

You will find a straight knife tool wil cope with 90% of your work and you can grind others as and when required.

Yes, you can use an ordinary bench grinder with Harold's grinding rest. If you look at his book "Tool and cutter grinding" he tells you how to improve it. I use my rest with a cheap 15 euro grinder fitted with cup wheels but straight wheels will handle most jobs.

Ady,

Carbide tools are harder than HSS but certainly not tougher. They can easily be chipped if abused. HSS will also be easier to grind.

Russell.

Good project. With the various accessories he described it will do most sharpening jobs you need.

Russell.

Yes, I live in one of them

Russell.

You should be able to buy a 1/2 hp inverter for under £100 and a new motor for about £50. If someone is asking £500 it must be something very special or a rip-off.

I would however recommend going up to 2/3 hp (0.55 kW) because, as you reduce the speed the torque remains more or less constant so the power output is reduced.

Have a look here

Russell

No problem. Just remove the right hand leadscrew bearing and you should be able to slide the leadscrew out of the gearbox and then remove the gearbox.

Bon chance!

Russell.

Glad you're sorted and to hear that Mike Kearn is still in business.

Russell.

Sorry - no information on Watson chucks.

John is right about the key on he leadscrew. It just needs a bit of "jiggleing" to free things. The gears should slip on and off the leadscrew easily. They are a light press fit on the bushings and it is easiest to make a stepped mandrel to fit in them to press them out..

You should have two 20T gears in the set. Have you managed to contact Mike Kern? He used to list them.

The gears are made from Zamac and are not too fragile if used correctly. When setting up the gear train use a piece of paper between each pair of gears to give the correct clearance. I haven't broken one in 35 years of use. The only real problem with the Zamak parts is if you have a very early model with a die cast top slide.

Russell.

Brief resume:

Started making Airfix models and progressed to control line flying models in the late 50s early 60s. Hated metalwork at school but read Model Engineer cover to cover in the local library!

While at university in the mid 60s I bought an Austin Seven and had to learn how to fix it. Graduated and became a Chartered Engineer (Electronics and computers).

Aquired a 1920s car for restauration in 1971 and bought an old Edgar lathe to help with that. Later having aquired more old cars I upgraded to an Atlas lathe.

On taking early retirement I sold the cars to boost the retirement fund but couldn't bear to part with the lathe so took up model engineering to keep my hand in. Also playing with clockmaking (my grandfather, Great grandfather, and G.G. grandfather were all clockmakers) and am converting a small mill for cnc.

Russell.

You could try something like this: brace

I'm sure things like filling the column with concrete or sand/epoxy are secondary to stiffening up the bracket.

Russell.

Mike used to list both the complete TDI and all the parts in his spares list so you might be lucky. If not PM me and I will take some photos and give you the dimensions.

Russell.

I don't see the point. You can cut metric threads with the appropriate change wheels. When turning to a metric size set your digital vernier to the (metric) size you want. Zero it, switch to imperial and it will tell you directly how many thou to take off the diameter.

You can make a cheap DRO setup from digital verners as well.

Russell

How about putting them in an album here? I'm sure lots of people will be interested.

Russell

I bought one of these (branded Acorn) in the 1970s and I'm still using it. I wouldn't swap it for the overpriced Myford. In fact Myford s seem to have based their lathes on the Atlas design but reduced in size.

I have a copy of the "Manual of Lathe Operation" published by Atlas but can't scan it for you as it amounts to about 250 pages. It is very useful if you can find a copy.

There are a few second hand copies listed here

Mike Kern, formally of Acorn Tools, used to sell spares in the UK. Don't know if he is still trading but you could try telephoning him on 01344 883417 (evenings)

If you have any specific questions please ask.

Russell

Often these switch units have a relay inside but it sounds from the description as if this one is designed to control a separate starter relay.or an inverter. Or does it have a latching mechanism?

It might help to post a photo of the inside.

Russell.

PS. Michael, you beat me to it!

Edited By Russell Eberhardt on 03/07/2012 10:23:49

Provided you dont cut anything off the width or thockness cold rolled steel should not distort. At least it will be better than hot rolled as far as surface fiish is concerned. Drilling holes shouldn't pose a problem as long as you keep things symetrical.

Russell.

P.S. Might you be able to get cast iron blocks in Malaysia?