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Member postings for The Harper

Here is a list of all the postings The Harper has made in our forums. Click on a thread name to jump to the thread.

Thread: The Case for Clocks
04/01/2011 23:13:54
Hi Norman, Glad to make comments that are of help or interest. I agree with you on the Cousins tool prices, parts prices are very competitive though. Although, I must say the clock cleaning solution is worth it ?35+ for a gallon, but it is diluted 7-1 and one tank will last a considerable amount of time as long as you don't put really greasy dirty movements in it! It is always best to clean really bad muck with petrol or jizer or something similar first. Good luck Paul
04/01/2011 01:45:02
Posted by NJH on 04/11/2010 10:35:15:
Hi Sam
 
I've been waiting and hoping that you would get a flood of replies detailing good ways to remove excess polishing compound from clocks -  but there is a deafening silence !
Yes it is slow and tedious and the traditional peg wood still has its place. How about dental floss for some of the internal angles? I would be interested to know the success of your ultrasonic cleaner, and , if it works, where such a tool can be obtained.
 
Regards Norman 
 
Hi Norman,
 
You can get a very good heated or unheated Ultrasonic cleaner from Allendale Electronics http://www.machine-dro.co.uk. They have plenty of sizes, so one will be big enough for you. The prices are very competitive too. It does depend on how often you will use it though! I use mine daily as I am a part time clockmaker / repairer. I would recommend you use a proper Horological clock cleaning solution though, I have the ammonia based ones give the best results as this cleans the brass to a very nice yellow colour and needs very little polishing as a rule. You can get the solution from Cousins http://www.cousinsuk.com.
 
The other thing is cleaning inside angles etc, I was taught to use a soft bristle brush or a soft brass wire brush to clean awkward areas, I have since found pipe cleaners and cotton buds to be of great help, although you stillhave to clean off fibres afterwards.
 
I hope this helps a bit?
 
regards
Paul
Thread: Ferris Wheel Clock
12/12/2010 21:29:46
Martin,
 
Unless you like polishing? I suggest you use some clear lacquer, I have found the paint on variety the best. Hang the item on a piece of fine wire while you coat it, this will also help with drying. Note that you should not coat any parts that come into contact with other parts, ie teeth, pinions or pivots. Also, only give it a fine coat, allow the first coat to dry before you apply another, if needed.
 
Regards
Paul
Thread: Pinion Milling Attachment MEW 164
05/11/2010 01:26:08
Hi david
 
I am in the process of making mine now.
 
Rather than machine my base out of mild steel or cast iron, I used 8mm thick gauge plate. You can get this from many suppliers i.e J&L Industrial Supplies, for a reasonable price and it is already ground to a better tolerance than you are likely to machine at home. Plus, you will have quite a bit left over for other jobs.
 
I have also done away with the block/ key for locating in the tee slot, it is as easy to clock the side of the jig when clamping it to your machine bed. If you still want to use the locating block / key on the bottom of the jig may I suggest using two 3mm (1/8") dowels to fix the key in position. It may also pay you to dowel the two blocks as well, something like 5mm diametre diagonally opposed to the two tapped holes. this will make the jig much more rigid and accurate. When cutting pinnions or wheel teeth it is important that the job stays as rigid as possible allowing you to get the best finish possible, this will save a lot of hand finishing work later. Depending on how accurate you want to be, a couple of 2 or 3mm dowels on the index plate and support block could be useful. I am sorry if this seems over engineered, it is my Toolmaking training coming through!!
 
I hope this is of some help.
 
Regards
Paul
Thread: The Case for Clocks
31/10/2010 01:24:56
Hi Sam,
 
Following on from all the other ideas and tips etc.
 
If you are trying to machine Perspex  / acrylic try using WD40 as a lubricant, this will give you a very good clear finish to the machined edge, believe me it works. It is also very good for keeping the walls of holes clear when drilling.
 
A further thought for you case. Why not make a 'Four Glass' case, similar to a carriage clock? You could use a brass or hardwood frame that could be easily joined together and could include a pin type hinged door. It could incorporate a wooden base too. The brass or wood sections could be slotted to suit glass or acrylic. Plus you would still have a very visible timepiece that could be surrounded by nice clear glass instead of acrylic.
 
Regards
Paul
Thread: Myford ML7 - advice needed please
17/07/2010 14:25:40
Hi Bob,
 
I bought my ML7 off of Ebay, it was located 'up north' about 230 miles away from me in the darkest backwaters of East Anglia! I arranged with the seller to put it on a small pallet and then arranged for a local haulier to pick it up through the pallet line organisation. This went very smootly and only cost me £40, which would have been a lot less than the petrol it would have taken to make the 460+ mile journey, and it was delivered the day after collection. The driver even wheeled it in to my garage with his pallet truck, result! Just thought you should know that you don't have to go down the buyer collects or expensive courier route.
 
Paul
Thread: What am I doing wrong???
19/10/2009 00:29:01
Hi
Further to the above, make sure the brass rod is 3mm dia and not 1/8" (3.17mm) as the die will find this too much for it to cope with. Infact, anything above 3mm will make it awkward to get a start, also make sure you put a chamfer / lead on the front of the rod too as this will help the die to get going.
 
Cheers and good luck
 
Paul
Thread: End mills in a drill chuck
24/09/2009 22:15:42
I'm sorry, if I had been caught using a drill chuck for milling during my apprenticeship, I would have been sacked! A drill chuck is for drilling there is a clue in the name.
If you use a drill chuck successfully for milling then you have been lucky. If the cutter picks up it will jump or kick and this can damage the jaws of the chuck (I have seen this happen), as it only has contact on 3 points. Whereas a milling collet has virtually total contact with the cutter shank giving less chance for jumping or kicking of the cutter. I don't mean to criticise, it is just how I have been taught, swapping toolholders over only takes a little while, so don't cut corners that may take a lot longer to put right.
Thread: Old craftsman - hope to become new "Model Engineer"
10/09/2009 18:42:48
Good luck with your workshop David.
 
I know exactly where you are coming from as far as work moving away from my skills is concerned. I have had my 'machine' side of my workshop for nearly 4 years now and have thoroughly enjoyed getting back to designing, making and fitting all sorts of bits and pieces (see pics for some). Which, I must say, is why I got into engineering in the first place, making things.
 
You might want to consider a bench or pillar drill too, I have found mine invaluable. The trouble with working in the engineering industry is that you are spoilt at work, so you have greater expectations of your own kit and a bigger shopping list of tooling you would like at home. Hey, but it is fun and I get from under 'her indoors' feet.!
Thread: Subscription number going AWOL?
30/08/2009 00:38:24
I have to save everytime too, even though my information is already there!
Thread: Myford ML7 Headstock bearings
20/08/2009 17:03:53
Thanks for the reply Robbo,
 
Unfortunately I think you may have the wrong end of the stick.
 
I want to do away with oilers all together and fit needle roller bearings that require little or no lubrication, as per my other lathes. I just wondered if anyone had done something similar, or if it is feasible to fit a Super 7 headstock if I were to come across one for example?
 
Thanks for your time though.
 
Paul
Thread: Metal filler?
20/08/2009 16:56:54
Hi,
 
Is it possible to drill / ream the hole out bigger and press a new piece of aluminium into the hole and remachine it? Or you could tap the increased hole and fit a larger aluminium threaded insert and secure it with something like Loctite Retainer 638 and then remachine your hole. Believe me Loctite Retainer will work wonders especially if the part is not under any strain.
 
Just an idea and most probably cheaper and more successful for you, plus Retainer has a very good shelf life once opened. (I don't work for Loctite, I just use a few of their products in my day job!).
 
Regards
Paul
Thread: Metric vs Imperial - Practical or Traditional?
17/08/2009 23:11:13
Does it really matter? Metric or imperial measurements can be very easily converted to suit your preferred way of working. After all we are all meant to be keen engineering enthusiasts, so a little simple mathematics shouldn't strain the grey matter too much. It could be worse, you could have no DRO's with met / imp conversion buttons, only imperial dials when you are working to metric drawings, or even worse no calculators only slide rules!
Thread: Myford ML7 Headstock bearings
08/08/2009 23:20:20
Hi,
 
I don't know if it is possible, but is there a modification to the ML7 head stock bearings? Is there a thrust bearing modification rather than the white metal bearings that were fitted as standard? I would love to get rid of the rather annoyingly obtrusive and slightly leaking (even with PTFE tape) oilers!
 
I apologise if this is a ridiculous question.
 
Paul 
 
 
Thread: Outrageous Set-ups!
17/07/2009 18:28:22
I can't help but agree with Circlip & Meyrick, H&S elfins put pay to common sense and getting jobs done sensibly sometimes.
Many a work place I have had the pleasure to either work for, or sub work to, have encouraged safe working but at the same time allowed the person doing the job the flexibility to carry out the task in the best way they feel will achieve the end result.
 
I have found clamping (work holding) to be be the main problem on awkward shaped jobs, sometimes you may have to take some time to make a specific clamp or packing block to make a job safe.
 
The golden rule is:- you should not try and carry out a task if YOU feel the setup is unsafe. If you have any doubts then revisit the setup. You can never stop all accidents, but most are caused by trying to hurry a job through, sometimes you will have no inkling that there is a chance of an accident, they are just sod's law, ie cutters or drills breaking or, perish the thought, a machine breaking down.
 
I wish now that I had taken a picture, or two, of a job I was doing in my workshop about two months ago. I had to put a keyway 5/32" x 5/82" (4mm x 16mm ish)  by 5/32" (4mm)deep in a 3/4" (19mm) diameter  shaft. Very easy so far I hear you say, but the shaft was attached to 36 inches of 9 inch diameter gang mower blade and my milling machine bed is only 33" (850mm) long, plus I had to be able to cut the thing. The clamping set up was a health and safety nightmare, but it was safe and secure to me, I managed to machine the keyway cleanly and repeated the operation 5 further times to complete the set. But photos would have been fun!!
 
To reflect on some words my old boss said to me during my apprenticeship "Charlie (my then nickname), Swiss engineers have always been respected for their precision, the Germans have always been noted for their working methods and the English engineers will get you the job done whatever it takes!"  I think this should sum up the attitude of the safe model engineering.
 
Just my thoughts, good luck.
Thread: Latest Special is in Smiths
29/06/2009 22:40:37
King's Lynn's WH Smiths had them in on Saturday. I am now the proud and happy owner of one of them!
Thread: Wheel cutting
14/06/2009 22:27:20
Me again,
 
Just another point, if you were to carry out this operation on a milling machine you would only have to move the dial 0.069, as that is the distance wthat the table would travel.
 
Welcome to the strange but thoroughly interesting world of engineering!
 
Regards (got that right this time!)
 
Paul
14/06/2009 22:21:15
Hi,

I think you will find you need to go in double the amount. If you think about it, you would take 0.069" off of the diameter of a bar if you move in 0.069" on the dial, but here you need to go 0.069" deep on the tooth only (radius). This would in effect reduce the diameter of you blank by 0.138".
 
I hope this makes sense, it is easy sitting here knowing what I mean, it is not so easy putting it in words.
 
Regarsd
Paul
 
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