Member postings for Gray62

Just to clarify, the declared voltage in the UK is now 230V AC +10% to -6%. Therefore it can be anywhere between 216V and 253V.

This will vary depending on where you are within the distribution network and the loading on the network. I often see voltages at the higher end when working on properties that are close to a pole transformer, sub station or line transformer. It is very rare to see voltages much below 220V

I've had the 'generic' 6x4 saws in the past and would agree they are not the greatest, bought one of these from Axminster a couple of years ago and it has not let me down, cut accurately straight out of the box, can be used vertically (although you do need to make a decent table for that mode of use)

Hi Paul,

I currently have 2 Warco lathes (have had others and a mill from them in the past), a GH1330 which I've owned for about 14 years, fitted a 3 phase motor and and IMO inverter. Been very happy with the lathe, no problems with reliability or accuracy. I also have one of their newer WM250V lathes which come standard with 3 phase motor and Delta inverter. Again very happy with the machine.

I buy a lot from Warco as they are quite close to me and I have always been very satisfied with their service

The implementation/integration of a replacement feature still needs to be carefully tested to ensure it is fit for purpose, that's the R&D to which I refer.

It so obviously needs its configuration 'fine tuning' something which should have been done long before it was 'inflicted' on an unsuspecting readership.

I echo the sentiments of others, put it back as it was or find a reader that is suitable for the task. I read many other publications online and none are as bad as this one.

I'm so glad I didn't give up on the print part of my subscription. Even the pocketmags reader is better than this and that frequently crashes!

Gray

There's a lot more than print that needs working on.

Why oh why has this been thrust upon us without any thought for functionality or usability.

For instance, in the old viewer, once you had zoomed in to a readable size, you could turn pages and continue reading, the new viewer instantly returns to its default zoom level (100%) each time you turn a page, so you then have to zoom in again.

Another thing, clicking the full screen view does not do exactly that, it turns off browser toolbars etc but the magazine image remains the same size AND, if you then try to use zoom and move around the page, you are only viewing a window on the page, so the rest of the page disappears under the grey background.

So typical of a web R&D dept doing very little R and absolutely no D!

These changes should not be released until they have been fully developed and tested 'in house' to ensure all functionality of what is being replaced is fully replicated (or improved) in the replacement.

Why don't they just do what most of the other magazines I read online do and publish these as a PDF. You still have to be a subscriber to access them so what's the problem?

Gray

The meters currently being installed by the majority of suppliers are SMETS2 compliant and will work with any supplier. In fact a lot of the SMETS1 meters can be firmware upgraded over the air to make them SMETS2 compatible, so they are a little smarter than some would have you believe.

Gray

All I can say to most of the above is what a load of bull. This is so typical of the misinformed scaremongering around smart meters.

A smart meter cannot 'tell' what type of load is on the metered circuit. The metering element of a smart meter is no different to that of a heritage meter. The 'smart' part is that it is capable of communicating your usage data back to the energy supplier. It maintains a record of your usage history and displays that on your 'in home display unit' so that you can track your usage and make changes in usage if you choose to.

Let's be realistic, the meter is connected to your incoming supply , it is monitoring the whole of your property BEFORE your consumer unit, so within that property there will be a mixture of resistive and inductive load.

As to changes in charges dependent on time of day, that would have to be declared in your T&C's for particular tariff.

Smart meters are smart for both the customer and the supplier. This is not the thin end of the 'Big brother' wedge

Using VFD's has no bearing on whether or not you have a smart meter, I have both and have no issues before or after the Smart installation.

I work in the energy supply sector and and very closely involved with the smart meter rollout so if anyone wants clarification please ask, I will give chapter and verse but be assured, smart meters are NOT a 'spy in the cab' , they are designed to assist everyone in monitoring and optimising their energy usage.

Alan, the link below will take you to a thread describing how to post images.

**LINK**

Gray

What an absolute abomination of a magazine viewer, whilst the previous one was far from perfect, it functioned and was usable. What were they thinking when changing to this one, IMHO totally unfit for purpose.

Not an entirely factual statement.

True it is not compulsory to have a smart meter.

Some suppliers are offering incentivised deals which require having a smart meter to take advantage of lower energy costs however, they must also offer packages which do NOT require installation of smart meters. If they didn't do this they would effectively make smart meters compulsory, OFGEM would be all over them like a rash!

Depending on the meter type you can switch supplier and move the meter with you (applies to SMETS 2 meters, SMETS 1 meters cannot be transferred between suppliers.

Smart meters do NOT cost you money to run, as with any electronic/digital electricity meter, the meter is powered from the incoming supply, therefore the cost of running the meter is born by the energy supplier (alright, they may well 'hide' this cost within the cost of your energy but they'll never admit to that) but there is no additional cost to the consumer to switch from a heritage meter to a smart meter.

'The only advantage is for the company' - I cannot agree with that statement, after having my meters installed, being able to view my energy usage and usage history allowed me to easily experiment with how my heating was timed to turn on and off and optimise my gas usage. Additionally, I was able to prove to SWMBO that the workshop didn't actually contribute to the major part of our energy consumption - BIG WIN.

To be honest Michael, The standard of articles and the magazine as a whole, have improved by an order of magnitude since Neil took on the Editorial role. That said, I didn't find the current issue any better than others of late, there were 2 or 3 articles which interested me specifically, the rest is just background reading, so maybe there is something in the figures you quote.

Doesn't look right for an original Floyd Rose, almost certainly one of the far eastern copies that were around at that time. IF your making a new block, I would recommend brass over any aluminium alloy. The block helps with sustain on a floating trem. I used to make these and most customers wanted a bigger block so they were made almost double the thickness of a standard sustain block. Floyd Rose now sell them as a replacement part. Is yours fitted with fine tuners and the double locking type?

Ah, fond memories of Blanik R11 at Bicester RAFGSA. Didi most of my initial flying in that (probably because no one else wanted to fly in a tin can!) Great aircraft with lots of character. Moved on to K21s and then K13 to do final solos then into the K8 and K18 for many enjoyable hours, further flying plans were thwarted by an overseas posting and there endeth my flying days, with a young family the beach clubs of RAF Akrotiri (Cyprus) were more attractive and so began my days as a windsurfing beach bum

Went to the show today, was one of the first people in and the first thing that struck me was the amount of free space compared to previous years. The only machine tool supplier with a significant amount of machines and accessories was as usual Warco, Both Axminster and Chester had seriously downsized their stands from previous years. Allendale (Machine DRO) had also taken a much smaller stand with limited stock available to walk away with. RDG have their usual extensive range and large stand as in previous years. The club stands also appear to be a little smaller although still some very impressive work on display on all of the club stands. Managed to pick up a new DRO from EMS-I which is a four axis LCD type allowing two of the axis to be either combined or displayed separately, just what I was looking for to replace the iffy unit on the big turret mill. Already have one of their 3 axis heads on the lathe, very gooed piece of kit.

All in all still a worthwhile visit and a show worth supporting, it got quite busy by mid afternoon. The steampunk is definitely interesting but, as with Mike, the artistic side somewhat evades me.

Iain, you mentioned Stahlwerk, I have owned a Stahlwerk Tig/Plasma/MMA set for a few years now and it performs admirably. I would hazzard a guess that their MIG sets are just as good although, I would suggest looking at a model above the 135 as that does not have a euro connector torch.

For MIG, I use a R-Tech MIG160. I don't think they do these now and their MIG180 may well be out of your budget but they are darn good, never let me down.

Both companies have given excellent after sales service.

Harry, the same (or similar) QCTP as sold by Arc Eurotrade are also sold in Australia by Ausee machines and tools (https://www.ausee.com.au/shop/category.aspx?catid=8351)

Gray

Finally got around to a trial assembly of a much modified Quorn based on Mk2 castings. Still some work to do but the end is in sight. A trial grind on a few drills (4 facet) and HSS lathe tools showed promising results. Not quite got the right settings for the drill geometry so need a little more thought on that and maybe a setting jig for consistent results.

Edited By Gray on 07/12/2018 16:35:14

There are quite a few on here with Warco lathes myself included. I have a gh1330 gear head lathe which is 14 years old and still going strong and a wm250v which also serves me well. Always had good service from Warco. If I was to buy now I would probably go for the 250v with dro fitted. If you are local to Warco its always worth popping in for a chat and have a look at the machines in the showroom.

Can you post details of the tester you bought, had a search but can't find any details in other threads.

tks

Gray

Michael,

thanks for those links, Think the first one will fit the bill as it's only 16mm diameter which will be perfect for this application.

cheers

Gray