Member postings for Steve Withnell

Type "perspex rod" into fleabay -

I notice that a lot of people here seem to use Firefox. I was told yesterday that Firefox stores passwords in clear text - might be worth verifying if you use it for secure applications like online banking.

My Grandad used to say "it's funny as everyone knows how to manage t' kicking Donkey - 'cept bloke as owns it..."

Found this. Also the elusive A69108 SCR appears to be a S8010L device from littelfuse. This makes sense as the Diodes are D8010L also from Littelfuse.

**LINK**

Just thought I log this somewhere.

Steve

I just thought I'd warn you about this "self assembly furniture" that's being punted on line.

I've had some in the back bedroom for three weeks now and it still has't got itself out the bloody box.

Steve

I have an old electroplaters handbook,  where the remedy for cyanide salt burns is to wash the wounds with dilute sulphuric acid...I assume followed by copious amounts of fresh water!

Edited By Steve Withnell on 25/08/2012 13:04:17

Thanks for the kind offer Les, but I doubt I'll be able to trace out the board. He did say when he subsequently tried to use it it did go to full speed and could not be controlled. Dad (82) isn't in a rush (he has his Grandad's Brittania set up for rush jobs...) so I'll try and get hold of the schematic and see if I can find the board on Google to give me a clue.

I'll let you know what I find.

Had another word with him, apparently when he tried controlling the speed, it then went flat out and he could only stop it by switching it off at he mains... as per previous post the pot seems fine.

My Dad just pointed out he used to pay 30 shillings to get a large oxy bottle filled and £4 for Acetylene. No rental on the cylinders, just a deposit...

My Dad's Conquest has developed a weird speed controller problem. He went into the workshop one morning and the spindle was just rotating slowly, and he could only switch it off at the mains. I assumed the pot was faulty (it's a double switch type) through some failure of the switch contacts.

I've just checked the pot and it's fine. So doesn't seem much point fitting the new one!

Appreciate some clues as to what to look for. He has this five or more years now, I seem to remember the Ad boasting "American controller electronics" or some such. The board is similar to, but different from, the that in Les' link above. It has no branding on the component side of the board.

Any ideas of what to look for appreciated.

Steve

I tried to get Acetylene off BOC, and they just cannot deliver it. They've had massive supply problems, my local BOC agent almost refused to take my order... Ended up with Air Liquide (I think they own Air Products) its c£21 a month for a small acetylene and a small oxygen. The gases are then a small fortune on top. I think the Acetylene refill is now £50. Great Grandad had a tank full of carbide to supply his welding kit...

PS:  They charge you for collecting the stuff too!

Edited By Steve Withnell on 14/08/2012 22:07:21

My point was rather there is no branding on these engines at all. The S50 has a steam connection on the cover plate, but thye marked the sole plate "Stuart".

Or the Stuart name.

I built a Victoria and have the table engine kit once I get a round tuit.

I puzzled for quite a while why these engines do not bear any Stuart marks. In the end I eMailed Stuart and asked them. (The Guernsey Stuart), they didn't know either.

Then the penny dropped. They are not Stuart designed engines, but engines designed by other model engineers using Stuart bits, that Stuart then put into production.

If you read either of the third party construction manuals for these engines, it appears rather obvious.

Steve

HI John,

My understanding was that the "old" pre 1920's were all cast as you describe and nice stuff, after that the weights were cast every which way and those are the ones that are useless for most things.

I guess there will be foundrys that stuck to the original methods for a quite a period, until they got priced out!

Internal bores very slow , using very sharp HSS works for me. It will polish to a mirror finish using fine grade wet & dry and brasso. (At least my Stuart cylinder caps did!)

I must be a dozy bugger - I thought my C6 manual was pretty good and I can source all the spares by reference to it from Arc.

It describes setting up the machine in a straightforward way that a novice can understand.

What's not in it that I should be complaining about?

Steve

I think you were had! Aldi were selling these for £14.99 a couple of years back. The instructions say use a drop of liquid detergent in water. Works absolutely fine for jewelry etc. I have used paraffin in mine, for cleaning workshop parts, but not usre how safe that is.

Clive - I didn't think they called in the black powder vintage hand guns?

I have used this (but with a drop or two of sulphuric acid as per Sparings book). It works, but to be honest I've resorted to using a big fat permenant marker. It's cleaner and does not flake off. I also use both blue and black so that pairs of components can be colour coded.