Member postings for steamdave

This is a home brew that I have used quite a lot, gives a pleasing matt finish and resists oils well:

WOOD FINISH – FURNITURE POLISH

1 Part Pure Turpentine
1 Part Raw Linseed
1 Part White Vinegar
1/4 Part Methylated Spirits

Dave
The Emerald Isle

The Newcomen kit from Sussex Steam and sold by Forest Classics has not been available for several years and is unlikely to become available again.

Sussex Steam wound down the business for personal reasons and no-one appears to have taken it over.

I saw one of these model engines working at the last Bristol show and it was quite interesting to watch the (admittedly jerky) motion.

Dave
The Emerald Isle

I've received an email telling me that I have a new private message:

However, when I go to the my Inbox, there is no message. I am logged into the forum and have refreshed the page, but still no sign of the message.

So, whoever sent me the message, please try again.

Dave
The Emerald Isle

Job done!

Followed G.Cowboy's suggestion of using a piece of tube - stainless in my case - and just filed 3 teeth on the end. Coped OK with the soft wood.

I used a normal piece of dowel to fill the (6mm) hole and the screw gripped just fine.

Dave
The Emerald Isle

Trying to remove wood screws from a panel door, I have sheared two of them flush with the surface behind the door handle.

They are of the hardened type, 3.2mm diameter and there is 20mm stuck in the wood. Any suggestions on how to remove the screws please?

My thought at the moment is to make a core drill that will just pass over the screw and OD about 4.5 - 5.0mm. When deep enough, i will try and get long nose pliers on the end and try and break off the peg. Afterwards I will fill the hole with a dowel.

Dave
The Emerald Isle

The part that is not a regular shaped item so it had to be filed to rough shape and then down to the wet 'n' dry.

Following on from steviegtr's suggestion, I used some black trim restorer. That didn't seem to make much difference, so then on to furniture polish and that seemed to produce a satisfactory result.

Thanks to all the other ideas.

Dave
The Emerald Isle

Edited By steamdave on 22/12/2020 12:33:47

Thanks, Steve.

I'll try furniture polish first, then if that doesn't work, I've got some car trim restorer that works well on black plastic.

I'll report back when I've had a go.

Dave
The Emerald Isle

What is the best way to get a shiny finish on black Delrin?

I've got a piece of Delrin that I want to get a shiny finish on, the sort of finish that comes as supplied new. I've used successively finer grades of abrasive down to 2000 and then used Solvo Autosol by hand to try and get a shine. No success, it just remains a dull black.

I don't want to use a buff in case I melt the stuff (which I have done before).

Dave
The Emerald Isle

Electric vehicles are all well and good for urban areas, but for rural areas like the west of Ireland are totally impractical. At the present time there are few charging points and those that there are don't always work or are occupied when required by Biddy doing her shopping.

Public transport is non-existent in rural Ireland. I would have to walk 2-1/2 miles to the nearest bus stop. Great in the pouring rain and even better when going home again with the shopping!

It will take a sea-change in attitudes to get Paddy the farmer to change his Toyota Landcruiser for an electric alternative (Is there one?), especially as a few years ago the Irish government persuaded people to go for diesel cars. Diesel fuel is approximately 10c/litre cheaper than petrol. (Locally diesel = 1.15 EU litre).

There are a lot of old cars on the roads here and with combustion engines, they somehow keep on going. What happens to the batteries in electric vehicles when they are beyond their useful life? The cost of a replacement battery presently is uneconomic when put into an older vehicle, and to my knowledge they cannot be recycled.

As for the infrastructure, who is going to pay for the many, many thousands of tonnes of copper and other metals required to install the charging networks? You can bet your life, the cost will be passed on to the consumer in higher electricity charges and taxes. Never mind the pollution, invest in copper mining companies and make your fortune!

Dave
The Emerald Isle

The Engineer's Emporium Heinrici engine is a Wiggers design. Wiggers retired some 5 years ago and the design 'died' then. As did the Lameter hot air engine that also appears in the EE catalogue.

I tried to get a set of those Heinrici castings and was told by Adrian Grimett of EE that he had one set of the original Wiggers' Heinrici castings that he was going to make up 'one day'. How/why those designs are in the EE catalogue I know not except perhaps that a deal was hoping to be done, but never came to pass.

For anyone interested, the Hubbard marine engine castings (ex- Heinz Kornmuller Classic Motors) are being sold by EE.

Dave
The Emerald Isle

My Thermos 'Ultimate Insulation' flask keeps hot drinks piping hot for at least 10 hours. Had it for quite a number of years and although it was more expensive than other flasks, I consider it money well spent.

Dave
The Emerald Isle

The compressor looks like a Stuart design that is based on their Sirius engine, which is 1" bore and stroke. That should give you a starting point!

Dave
The Emerald Isle

Trust you are a Munster supporter, then!

Dave
The Emerald Isle

Welcome to the forum,John.

Just curious,what part of Ireland? Anywhere near West Cork?

Dave
The Emerald Isle

Does anyone remember Bob-a-Job week for the wolf cubs/boy scouts?

Some of the jobs were easy and I got paid more than the Bob. Others were darned hard and/or dirty work and I got paid just the Bob. One I remember was having to clean an old brass/copper gas geyser that provided hot water for the bath. The housewife kept checking up on me and pointing out all the areas I had missed or not done to her satisfaction. About an hour's work for the Bob. That was as a lad of maybe 10 years old.

Dave
The Emerald Isle

Now, as for technique with your new blade:

With the bar in your vice, start sawing 'uphill' (from bottom front to top mid) then saw 'downhill' (from top mid to rear bottom). This will give you an inverted V shaped slot. Cut off the apex then resume as before. The logic behind this is that your cuts are shorter than just cutting straight across the bar.

Thanks to Tubal Caine (Tom Walshaw) for this method.

Now I've got a power hacksaw, my muscles have become all flabby without the use of Armstrong's Patent.

Dave
The Emerald Isle

The ones linked to are 1/4" shank.

For 1/8" shank, try eBay 282916540783. These are ball end, but he does do radiused end versions. Can't find any square end ones, though.

In times past, I've had some of these and they were good value.

Dave
The Emerald Isle

I asked the question about sourcing teflon sheet for gaskets and one answer was to use oven liner.

https://www.model-engineer.co.uk/forums/postings.asp?th=167211

Haven't tried it because I still have enough teflon sheet for my present project. I don't know the thickness, but I would have thought that oven liner would be a bit too thick for small engine gaskets. My teflon sheet is 0.006 thou thick (as close as I can measure it).

Dave

The Emerald Isle

Edited By steamdave on 30/08/2020 16:17:51

First port of call would be lathes.co.uk

http://www.lathes.co.uk/denham/ Will give you a quick read on your lathe. It states that literature is available.

Dave
The Emerald Isle

Hydraulic rams - how easy/safe is it to remove the rod from the cylinder? There is not much force on the ram and no fluid leak.
Cylinders in question are about 1" OD and about 5" long, the rods are about 3/8" diameter. (All guesstimates at this time of night).

Dave
The Emerald Isle