Member postings for Ian S C

It would be doubtful if the design with a single screwed rod could be made to work reliably, unless the load is spot on for balance the platform will cant over and jamb, you really need two screw jacks geared together, or a pair of winched, which ever they should be placed as far apart as you can get. You might get away with 4 skateboard wheels, bottom ones on the seat side of the pole, and the top on the outside. There is enough material on the wheel to fit larger bearings and still take the outer diametre down a bit.

A jack arrangement that  I helped design can be seen on the draw bar of this machine for feeding out hay, it will take a load of two or three tons at least. It consists of a 50 sq tube sliding over a 40 sq tube, there is a 24 mm nut welded in the 40 sq and a bit of 24 mm threaded rod down the middle. The jack is designed to be farmer operator proof(almost)

Ian S C

Edited By Ian S C on 03/08/2019 12:51:24

In the 1960s I had A Fiat 500, one evening I set off from Mosgiel over the hill to Dunedin, no problem, it was snowing quite heavily, but I went up and over Three Mile Hill no trouble at all, but when I got about half way down the other side there was a road block and a Traffic cop, he let me through but asked about the road block on the other side of the hill, there wasn't one, and a couple of hours later I went back again the same cop was on the barrier and he told me that they had found the other cop in a ditch a couple of miles from where he was to set up his road block, he would have been driving a Vauxhall Cresta, couldn't handle 6" of snow, he was the bloke who took me on my driving test about 3 or 4 months before. Light weight, out shooting rabbits, got a puncture, 2 mates lift the car change wheel, don't need a jack (back wheel).

Ian S C

If the housing is "soft", you should make the shaft a wee bit on the large size. The correct fitting is a light press fit in the housing as quoted above.

There was a long discussion in ME probably in the 1990s, and in the end someone(seemed to know what he was talking about) decided that on a model loco with unhardened shafts the bearings would outlast the loco, I think the material suggested was silver steel, but I think ground cold rolled steel was also mentioned as suitable.

You can get steel sleeves that fit on the shaft to act as the inner race.

Ian S C

Perhaps a bike chain and sprocket, could even be motorized with a wiper motor, extend the worm wheel shaft so that you can fit a sprocket.

On a similar line to Jon Lawes, I have tacked a chain around a steel disc to mesh with a sprocket. A rough and ready rack could be made with a bit of square tube with a row of suitable spaced holes, and a small sprocket from a bike, the holes could be drilled about 5 mm and squared.

Ian S C

Bill, make it from brass, but don't bother with spares, you'll put them some where safe, and if you need them they won't be where you think you put them, so just leave them in the brass bar for now, they won't get lost that way.

Ian S C

Find someone who sells parts for floor standing drill presses, The rack on them(talking of Rexon), is rubbish. A number of years ago I was working with a mate over hauling Willys Jeeps, and Doug the owner put the cylinder head of the Go Devil engine on the table of the drill press, a bit low, unlock the table height,BANG, oops. A new one was only about $NZ3, don't know about the pinion.

Ian S C

Agreed JasonB, what ever it's like, it looks a good basis for a good little engine even if it needs a few mods to make it a bit more durable. At the price it's not too much as a static ornament.

Ian S C

Seems to be widely used in the cooking up of drugs, I think it's a bit hard to get in large quantities, think you have to sign it out.

Most of the acetone nail polish remover has an oil added to prevent the nail drying out.

Ian S C

Somewhere about the time of the steam aircraft in ME there was a Stirling Engine aircraft (within a few years + or -). I think I saw a steam powered 'plane on U Tube.

Ian S C

Don;t know about the rag (unless it's to cover the area in case the grease squerts out). The punch/rod needs to be a fairlt close sliding fit in the bearing, then a good solid thump, it may need more than one whack, and maybe a little more grease.

Ian S C

Looks like a worth while little motor. If after a while the bore becomes worn, I don't think it would be too hadt to lightly bore the cylinder and fit a cast iron sleeve, you would then need to make a new cast iron piston, the bore would probably be reduced a few thou from new, but it should then run for ever, shouldn't even need a ring with a good fitting piston.

Ian S C

Recently a bit came up in one of the threads about gripping hex bar in a four jaw chuck, it works. This is one place for collet chucks, put it in take it out often as you like. A scroll type three jaw chuck will have varying accuracy through out it's range, and as the chuck ages some areas will wear more than others. If things get too bad a shim under one jaw can help.

Ian S C

According to James G, Rizzo, there is a brand of drink in UK that uses a stainless steel can this is used in at least one of his engines that was featured in Model Engineer. Aluminium cans are far from ideal for use as displacers.
I have a brake cylinder somewhere in the workshop waiting for a motor to need a cylinder, I have decided that to make the best use of it, I will turn the outer diameter, and use it as a cylinder liner. I was looking at a (full size) cylinder liner in the junk box the other day, I think that if I cut it in half I might make a Ross Yoke type ALPHA motor with about a 4" bore. The liner needs reboring (that's why I'v got it).

Ian S C

Mum's father was a plumber in Scotland, and when he came to NZ on holiday in 1952 among the tools and stuff he brought with him was what dad said was easy flow/silver solder, it was a strip about 6 mm x 1.5 mm section, there was about 1 metre of it, and it worked well with borax as a flux using a petrol blow lamp.

Ian S C

We in New Zealand have something similar to "Men in Sheds" (I think), called Menz Shed, our branch, only a year old has a surplus of tools, so each Saturday morning I take a box full along to our town's Farmer's Market, where free of charge I set up a sales table to flog off some of the surplus.

I don't think we have two hammers each, there are two engineer's hammers on my work area .

You have some interesting stuff there Greg.

Ian S C

Bought A Super Adept for 5 pounds NZ in 1962 while still at school, set it up to work about 20 years ago. In 1986 bought a Taiwanese Wey Yii TY-1324 BH lathe, its been used to build hot air motors ranging from 3/8" x 1/2" motor to 2 1/4" x 1 3/8", and bits for vintage tractors, and the latest repairs on a set of bag pipes. Toward the end of last year I bought an Emco Unimat SL1, and set that up, it has a fretsaw, and a router, the extended bed and toolrest for wood turning. The motor can be mounted on a column to make a drill press or even "very" light milling, there is a little table with T slots, and a wee vise. It also has a flexible drive that may yet come in useful. The main thing it has is a shortage of belts, I'v made up some with fusable plastic belting, seems to be working. The lathe has two belt banjos, one with compound reduction.

The Unimat is (even without the extras) twice ++ the Super Adept, and it gets a few little jobs.

I almost forgot, I still have my wood lathe, although it rarely gets used.

This post seems to have got in the wrong spot, it was supposed to be in "What lathes have you had"

Ian S C

Edited By Ian S C on 24/07/2019 12:09:50

MichaelG, interesting line up there, but I think there is a typo with the Ford Popular, I think it's more likely to be 1953/54, rather than 56, as after that the body changed to a more modern design with a boot, sort of a mini Zephyr.     Ian S C

Edited By Ian S C on 23/07/2019 15:18:49

In the between wars period, a number of UK foundries produced lathe bed castings that with a bit of ingenuity the model engineer, or engineer wanting a lathe could produce a serviceable machine, not saying that that is one of them, just saying that there is possibility of an unnamed lathe turning up.

Ian S C

Hi Pete, sorry no pics here, you better go up to the green line at the top of the page, go along to the camera/albums and start an album, you transfer direct from your computer, best to reduce the size, I use 640 x 480. It took me months to get going, I was on dial up, and trying to put the photos direct without reduction, grrrr. Give it a go.

Ian S C

At the Menz Shed I am currently making parts for a tumbler for one of the many rock collectors around this district, there is a good source of aggates in the area. Basicly two rubber rollers 3" dia x 2ft long, and a 1/4hp 4 pole motor from a washing machine. I'v just finished rebuilding a diamond saw for cutting up some of the rocks.

Ian S C