Member postings for ega

Tom Findlay:

Have you seen the review of the WM250V on:

http://journeymans-workshop.uk

Incidentally, it is interesting that machines in this market sector are sold without a screwcutting gearbox. I don't remember how prominently screwcutting figured in your plans and I didn't read the whole review to see how easy it is to change gears.

I imagine that purchasers looking for a restoration project would prefer you to leave it alone.

Yes, it was Clersite and the product was pink in colour. Soft soap or no, it seemed to work and was also recommended for preventing windscreens misting up.

I can suggest two possibilities:

My GMT brand revolving centre point has a major diameter the same as the body and it might be possible to lock the two elements together with some form of clamp or perhaps a winding of tape.

My "best" RC is a Gepy which has an oil hole closed by a small screw and I wondered whether temporarily substituting a setscrew would do the trick; this was the method adopted by Lawrence Sparey in the design for a shop-made item in "The Amateur's Lathe".

Does anyone know how the makers do this?

Thanks for the tip - I picked up a bottle of this on a recent supermarket run. Initial results are promising.

I recall upsetting the optician by mentioning using washing up liquid for this and imagine that modern dish washer chemicals would be even more exciting.

Howard Lewis:

You have reminded me that I drew attention to an effective and accurate way of setting the topslide in an earlier thread. See:

http://www.model-engineer.co.uk/forums/postings.asp?th=85534

If the aim is to get as close to 8 deg as we can with our equipment, then the conventional graduated scale on a topslide, regardless of its origin, is not the most certain way to achieve it, as I sense you would agree.

Good to have further hard information. I'm guessing that the function of the balls is to allow greater torque to be applied to the closing ring as with a ball bearing three jaw drill chuck.

And presumably the need for maintenance arises from the ingress of suds and oil loss through centrifugal action.

KWIL, I have been feeding my Willson on Ultraglide for some years and now I have another use for it. We gather that there is no use in asking PB for their preferred lubricant.

Muzzer:

Thanks for the reference to the collet dismantling thread - very interesting and I hope it remains of academic interest only as "gum" is horrible stuff. I have tried various solvents including thinners and generally end up reluctantly using some form of abrasion.

Richard Clark 1:

Thanks for the clarification.

Paraffin is apparently the correct maintenance cleaner although I like the ultrasonic idea and there may be better modern paraffin equivalents. The Jacobs rubber encapsulated collets may be better from this point of view - I don't know if they are compatible with the Burnerd chuck though.

Richard Clark 1:

[Repeat summary of first posting which disappeared into a dark hole!]

Rocol claim Ultraglide is "Designed to proved smooth and precise movement of slideways, colletts (sic) and chucks" and, having used it for decades I can say I have never noticed any gumming up.

I shall be glad to send you such iinformation as I have and have PMd you about this.

Good luck with the chuck.

Ian Parkin:

Thanks for the dismantling instructions which I will file along with the warning.

I thought the text of the warning leaflet might be of interest to someone and created an album for a scanned JPG of it but could not persuade the website to accept the upload; I may try again later when I am feeling stronger! The warning reads like a warranty disclaimer and I have no doubt that a competent ME can safely dismantle if necessary.

I use the shop vac to clean my collets and have had no need to remove the blades. They are lubricated with Rocol Ultraglide spray to which I am seeking a more economical alternative as the price of a single can is now bordering on the prohibitive.

Richard Clark 1

I have a KC15 but I must admit I didn't realize there were bearings in it which might need attention. There is a sectional drawing in Westbury's Metal Turning Lathes which suggests that there is indeed a bearing in line with the screw-in cap; I could scan this for you if you think it might help.

As you probably know, the collets themselves come with the warning "DO NOT DISMANTLE THE COLLET FOR ANY REASON".

Paul Narramore:

I clearly read too much into your reference to fitting larger clamp screws to your toolpost. You have my sympathy on the photo-posting point.

Nick Hughes:

Thanks for the link - it looks as though one of the relevant illustrations is from a 1935 catalogue, some considerable time after the vice's introduction. My 1933 Brown Brothers' catalogue lists only parallel bench vices but I suspect that the earlier types continued to be popular with the more agricultural trades; BB were, of course, suppliers to the motor trade.

Michael Gilligan:

I take your point about "Photoshopped" artwork and the manufacturer might have left his brand off so as to allow for others to market the item under their own brand - badge engineering.

Paul Narramore:

I was a frequent visitor to the Hedley Street premises when MES were in Maidstone and do occasionally get down to Staplehurst. As has already been pointed out they do have an online catalogue and shop.

No pictures yet of your Boley which I hope you will not modify without careful thought.

Morse tapers should not be lubricated (although a thin film of oil keeps rust at bay and should do no harm).

Speaking of oil, Warco and others sell in small quantities but I wonder whether you could get some thorough the Maidstone ME club which I believe still has its model railway at Mote Park.

Michael Gilligan:

Thank you. My own vice whilst very similar to the Wright material is not marked with his name and neither, seemingly, is the OP's so both may be post-patent protection. I will read the interesting article about patents also on page 5.

Whilst I would agree that the parallel vice is an improvement on the earlier leg vice hinged at the foot (or higher), they do work on different principles.

john fletcher 1:

"Yes, the inverter can be plugged into the power meter"

Thank you for answering my question

Nick Hughes:

Peter Wright's Patent Parallel vice.

Great to see this documented. Have you got a date for the catalogue concerned and was it an Australian product?

I have just dismantled a 12' long window blind consisting of vertical slats that can be moved laterally and swivelled about their long axes. I was curious as to how when you pull the control cord the slats space themselves out automatically like so many squaddies taking up their dressing. It turns out that each slat has a length of spring steel attached with a hook at each end which connects to the adjoining slat - the same idea as the telescopic swarf guards one sometimes sees.

Anyway, I now have twenty or so lengths of spring steel c 4" long x 1/4" wide x 0.008" thick which seemed too good to throw away without first asking whether they are of any use to someone.

Incidentally, the swivelling is achieved by a very neat piece of engineering: a tri-lobed rod runs the length of the blind and engages in the bore of a tiny worm which in turn rotates a gear attached to each slat - rather like the feed rod on a lathe.

A further thought: one of the new versions of the Eccentric tangential toolholder might help.

http://www.eccentricengineering.com.au/images/stories/Facing%20Layout.jpg

Boring tools can be made as well as bought!

PS:

I know nothing about this lathe but just wonder whether temporarily removing the LH leadscrew cover might allow the saddle to move further towards the headstock (this might involve running the saddle out of engagement with the rack, of course).