Member postings for ChrisH

Sam, I no longer sail but when I did there were a lot of inconsiderate sailors on the water, in dingys, sailing yachts, gin palaces and noisy stink boats, from the motor boats that roar past your yacht on a calm day 50 yards off in an otherwise empty day, leaving you bobbing in their wake with your sails flapping after you have spent the last half hour trying to get the sails to fill and pull on a calm-ish day, to the dingys and Hooray Henrys in their hired yachts flaunting the rules of the road and expecting you to get out of their way "because we're racing, don't you know". No I don't and I don't bloody care if you are, you stick by the rules of the road like every other vessel, and if I'm the stand-on vessel I'm standing on and you keep clear of me.  Then getting into port and finding the Hooray Henrys noisily drinking and loud voice partying well into the early hours, disturbing the peace and quiet of everyone else unfortunate to have moored up close by.

Just sail down the Solent on a sunny summer Saturday, and then more up overnight in places like Yarmouth or Cowes or Lymington, and see what I mean - it shocks you. Why it shocks I don't know, as you see the same on any road in the UK where 'me first - I can do what I like' prevails. Total lack of consideration of others, just me me me.

So I can quite believe Mike and agree with him when he complains of yacht-ties and other water users upsetting fishing folk - if only people would think and have consideration for others.

Chris

Edited By ChrisH on 07/04/2018 22:52:44

Thanks for the replies on how to do brackets without the smilie - would have been OK but didn't have a 5 year old around when I needed one to put me right.

Would have had a brew day today but had to go to a funeral instead, no brew day tomorrow as lunching with a long long time friend from way back (1966 would you believe ) so brew day/shed day coming Friday for sure! First full grain brew for me, looking forward (hopefully ) to 40 pints of my version of Timothy Taylor Best Bitter coming my way soon!

Chris

Going back to Baz's comment yesterday about doing a job and having a load of, shall we say, less than fully trained engineers comment on how a job was done and then finding a better way of doing things. In the late 1980's I had a young engineer on a' year long release -work experience' course for his Bsc or something assigned to my department. One day I asked him to work out the slope across the dairy floor - we were milk bottling 'factory' - so the new conveyor we had coming would have the right sized legs at each station as the conveyor crossed the floor.

I explained the quickest way was to to use a water hose - run a clear hose across the floor, filled with water, with upstands at each end, and then measure the height of the water level above floor level at each end and the distance between them, and from that the slope was easily arrived at. I'm not using that 16th century technology he said, before spending nearly 3 hours trying to work out a 'quick and easy' 20th century way of doing it and failing miserably, and then resorting to doing it as I had suggested in no time at all, before coming back muttering that perhaps in the 16th century they knew a bit about measuring relative heights after all!

What this illustrates is that the young may think they know it all, but they dismiss age and experience at their peril

Chris

PS How do you get rid of these blooming smilie things when you just want brackets?  Other than by changing brackets for dashes?

Edited By ChrisH on 31/03/2018 23:49:45

Edited By ChrisH on 31/03/2018 23:50:04

Edited By ChrisH on 31/03/2018 23:51:46

Edited By ChrisH on 31/03/2018 23:54:04

The powered stuff, instant (so-called )coffee, is absolutely disgusting and should be banned.

My predecessor at one job I had was a Dutchman. The Dutch know a thing or two about good coffee. When the secretary made him a cup of instant (so-called) coffee he told her she should put it down the drain as that was all it was fit for, he was that impressed. Very true.

I have given up on digital calipers, wherever from, - not really due to battery life, more down to erratic readings - the digital ones I have owned seemed to have an undesirable 'snowflake generation' side I couldn't cope with.

I now have gone back to vernier calipers for rough work, or work that doesn't call for really accurate measurement, and micrometers when accuracy is required. OK, it may be a tad slower, I'm a slow worker anyway so no odds there, but it is always reliable, and they don't fail just when I need it most. And I can trust them!

Chris

Harold Hall has designed a very good 'holder' to fit grinding wheels, it should be on his web site I guess. I have made one, excellent!

Chris

Many thanks for all the replies - they have steered me in the right direction I am sure!

John, I have sent you a message.

Chris

I am looking to replace my single phase motor on my mill to a 3 phase motor with inverter control. That bit doesn't worry me. However, what does puzzle me is how to incorporate an emergency stop without causing damage to the inverter as I understand to shut-off the power supply to the inverter in such a sudden is not desirable and could cause damage to the inverter.

How have other folk done it?

Chris

In all the years I have had my 100A, the only problems I have had is the rubber drive band on the drive wheel went so no drive - easily fixed, a spare was bought and fitted (a very easy job), the auto cut-out at end of cut is not set up to cut-out - I've lived with it and been too idle to spend the time to sort it, and on Saturday the blade snapped. That was the original blade and has been on for several years now, so fitted the spare that came with the machine and away we went again, no worries. For me, that's a good record.

Chris

Edited By ChrisH on 12/03/2018 09:30:16

Robin, I have the same bandsaw and it has been absolutely spot on with me, wouldn't be without it, was most impressed with it's performance and to me having one that I could stuff under the bench when not required was well worth it as my shed is small.

My bandsaw has always cut reasonably straight, within a few thou, not actually measured it but it's straight enough; it certainly has never given me cause for grief with the cut it's made. As 'not done it yet' says, are you sure you need to shell out for a newie; is the one you've got not worth a look at fixing and setting up straight? There's not not much in it to fix really, as it's quite basic. Axminster carry spares and even if they haven't got it straight away for the MCB 100A they might have the spare you want as it's probably the same as what fits another of their saws - happened to me when the drive rubber went, the spare for the machine was going to take a few weeks but the same part was fitted to their current equivalent model and was in stock. Why not give it a good dose of looking-at and see how you go?

Chris

Hi Clive,

I am getting fuel through, don't think it's flooding though but as the plug remains quite dry. The fuel is a standard glow fuel with part synthetic oil and part castor oil lub added.  I have lubricated all the working parts with castor oil and left a bit more in to swirl round the crankcase.  My carby is quite different to yours but your comments on needle position and air shutter are relevant as I have pondered this and mine is all a bit hit and miss. Could be a major factor. Not happy with my carby and may make another.

I calculated what the clearance between top of piston and underside of head should have been from the drawing and then measured this by inserting the end of a bit of lead wire in through the plug hole and then turning the engine over so the lead wire was crushed, and then withdrawing the lead wire and measuring it with a mic.

Sorry to hear of your lack of success with Easy Start - I was hoping for great things from that!!

The piston is of course a sliding fit in the sleeve not the liner, a senior moment error in my previous post - didn't proof read it!

I need divine intervention not luck I think!

Chris

Edited By ChrisH on 09/03/2018 18:37:33

Trevor, from memory the capacity is about 0.3 cu.in. The EN24 sleeve is a sliding fit inside a CI liner, with a aluminium piston a sliding fit in the liner. The piston has 2 CI rings, the junk head has 1. The timing has been checked and is OK, but I cannot hear any hissing as the piston goes over TDC compression. The sleeve is driven off the end of the crankshaft via a 2:1 gear reduction. The CR I calculated at being about 10 or 11:1, a bit difficult to do accurately by calculation as the junk head has a small inverted dome in way of the glowplug to ensure the end of the glowplug is standing proud (4 stroke engine), but I thought that OK for a glow engine. Bump clearances were taken and was to the drawing. Should add a friend 'Down Under' has also failed to start this engine, and his has been double checked against the drawing too. We've both run out of ideas to start it, other than a try with Easy Start.

Clive, sorry if I am hijacking your thread, was just answering Trevor's question - I can ask the moderators to move this to another thread if you wish, but info on starting tricky engines is worth having whatever it is I think!.

Chris

Hi Clive, can't answer your question re spark ignition and glow plugs, but was interested to hear how, after seemingly many attempts to start your engine without success, you managed to get it to run; what did you do different?

I ask as I am in the same position, with my first engine which is a glow plug sleeve valve engine refusing to start. I was going to try some Easy Start and give it another go when the weather allows, but the engine seems to have little compression, a pressure gauge in the glowplug hole shows about 15-20lb/sq.in when turned over by electric drill which doesn't seem enough, even though it is made exactly to the drawings with all the correct clearances everywhere, but am looking for other hints, hence the query, what did you do different?

Chris

The main problems with road accidents to seems to me is that the majority drive too fast, too close and with no consideration to weather or road conditions, then wonder why they crash. All simples really.

All the fault of the nanny state trying to think for people and not teaching common sense and thinking for oneself anymore, coupled with the modern trend of I want it all and I want it right now, I'm entitled to it.

Then when you try and tell them the poor sad snowflakes throw a loopy, they can't cope with real life, no one told them.

Chris

Humm, have always thought that a proper engineer can't spell to save his life.........

+1 for a power cross feed on the lathe, a power feed on the mill x-axis (did anyone say that?) and a dro on the mill for all 3 axis if possible but the Z axis if funds are initially tight.

The basic advice to go for the best lathe spec you can now and worry about the tooling later, just getting what you need when you need it, and to go for the biggest heavist mill you can (heavier the better - makes so much difference to what you can do) is very sound. Far better to get the best lathe and mill you can now rather that spend the next 20 years thinking 'if only....'

Also, to restate, get what you need when you need. Then you will have just what you do need, not a lot of stuff sitting on the shelf gathering dust there 'just in case I need it' - dead money and taking up stowage space. Available stowage space seems to follow one of those laws that say words to the effect of if you have any it will be quickly filled, then where do you put it? HSS toolsteel for the lathe and grind your own. 6 and 10mm end mills to get you going on the mill. Centre/edge finders, cheap ones are OK, essential. Fly cutter not too expensive and good if you are doing big lumps on the mill, and get a decent finish too. Digital calipers - beware, cheap ones can be unreliable, an old fashioned vernier calipers don't fail just when you need them. 0-1", 1-2" or the metric equivalents if you deal in metric, are worth their weight in gold, check e-bay, second hand ones come up frequently and are quite good value, charity shops are often a good source there I find. a clear 6" / 150mm steel rule and a cheap calculator are very useful too. Read/get Harold Halls books Complete Course on the lathe and the mill in the Workshop Practice Series - and use it to get good basic instruction and practical projects to help use both machines.

Hope this helps - good luck, it's a great hobby!

Chris

Clive yesterday suggested one should do say an hour a day on a shed project if possible, in order to progress it at at steady pace. Having given this some thought I find I am in general agreement with the suggestion, but, there has to be a but. This falls down typically right now in England when it's so blooming cold outside, frost and in some places snow lying all about. (No snow down here in Somerset at the moment, give it time, but cold and frosty all the same).

OK, you clever dicks who've wangled a shed within the house all centrally heated will have no problems, but we less favourable enabled folk with outside sheds find that the shed is blooming freezing, so an hour out there is an hour to be endured not enjoyed, as it usually takes more than an hour for the shed to heat up to a temperature safe for brass monkeys to inhabit.

Otherwise, the 'hour-a-day' suggestion has considerable merit, providing Senior Management approval is given for random odd hour disappearances from other domestic duties of course.

Chris

Edited By ChrisH on 06/02/2018 22:59:02

HS2 - a vanity project, not needed especially when the money is urgently needed elsewhere on the railways and roads.

Hinkley Point - definitely needed to help keep the lights on, as we have allowed the Greens amongst us to close down the coal fired power stations without adequate replacements to cover our ever growing needs, and we have flogged off our nuclear power station building companies to foreign buyers.

Sad reflection of the UK today when so much essential industries seem to be in foreign ownership - should never have been allowed to happen.

Chris

My now quite old (late 1960's/early 1970's) German made Weiler lathe, graduated in imperial for the English market, the cross slide is in cut depth. So when reducing a diameter I just measure it, subtract the measurement I'm looking for, divide the result by two, and that's what I have left to dial in to remove the excess. OK, so it adds a quick bit of basic maths to the job, but no big deal. You just have to go with what you have. A calculator helps the little grey cells so no worries.

Chris

Going back to Ian Hewson's two photos posted 03/02/18, what a lovely looking engine, beautifully finished, a credit to you Ian.

Chris