Member postings for Ian S C

NZ is New Zealand, go to around 45* south, and 180 longitude, a bit to the right of Australia. The uniform is RNZAF from the 1960s.

The usual little Dremel has a 1/8" collet, and a little cutter ,3/8" to 1/2" would work well, and you could put a thread in a hole less than 1" dia. I think you are thinking of a die grinder with the 1/4" collet chuck.

This is another way of cutting spirals, I have a nephew a cabinet maker who has one of these in his workshop at home.

Ian S C

The stainless hot cap is not for good looks as SOD says. Some times you can get cans the right size. mut first few motors the hot end was mad by boring out bars of stainless, mostly 316, there was miles pf razor sharp swarf, but one of those motors is still ok 29 years on. For small motors, the steel (?stainless) case of old Nicad batteries works ok they range in size from AAA to D, and there are other ones in old tool power packs. You can use alkaline battery cases, but the + bump is on the bottom. The cold 1/2 of the displacer cylinder can be made of aluminium, or if you use water cooling steel works well, you can solder a jacket around the water space.

The photos are out of order, top as it is now, bottom as built with water cooling, my Ross Yoke ALPHA motor, unpressurised 5 Watt motor, 35 mm bores, and 22 mm stroke. It takes about 20 minutes to cut a bit of 10 mm rebar

Ian S C

At the moment I am repairing a set of Bag Pipes, the little tube bits that join the parts of the drones and chanter are broken(plastic), and I am replacing them with brass.

Welcome Kelly

Ian S C

There is a very realistic "man made ivory", when we installed a pipe organ in our Church, it was missing the ivory top of one of the stops, we got a new one made and engraved, and unless you know which stop it is you won't tell the false one. The organ was built in 1917, and had been out of use for 30 years before we got it about 20 years ago.

Ian S C

When I got a 160 mm 4 jaw chuck to supliment the 200 mm chuck that came with the lathe I used hot rolled steel, I got a 9" round that had been flame cut from a 3" sheet, that was quite a bit of metal to turn away, it worked out well, and it's handy having a smaller chuck.

Ian S C

The only adjustment that I see on that machine is the depth of cut before it contacts the off on switch. The speed of cut is on the high side, I would like it nearer , or below 100 strokes per min, instead of the 170 that it has, could be a bit hard on blades.

Ian S C

Edited By Ian S C on 04/07/2019 12:31:10

Sorry I don't build to plans, but I do have a couple of James G. Rizzo's books, bet to get hold of his "The Stirling Engine Manual" vol 1, and if you take up Stirling Engines try and get vol 2. It is also worth down loading Andy Ross,s book "Making Stirling Engines"(free down load), no plans in this book, but plenty of information.

First a stove top fan, 30 mm bore, 20 mm stroke power cylinder.

Second, a little beam engine 3/8" bore, 1/2" stroke power cylinder, the hot cap is the steel casing of a AA size Nicad battery.

There is about a dozen more motors, you just need to have the correct dimensions and ratios, and a bit of imagination.

Go for it, and good luck, don't be afraid to ask questions.

Ian S C

That looks like an interesting set up, Any thread type would work, and it would be handy to have a number of pitches for fine medium and course, a small machine could use a Dremel tool instead of the router.

Ian S C (one of the guys from NZ)

Next job on the list is to repair a set of Highland Bag Pipes. I have not been working on my hot air motors of late, but I have an open crank IC motor that I should get finished to see if it will go, it only needs the ignition coil wired up, the timing sorted out.

The big V pulley is to drive an old computer cooling fan, hoping it will as well as cooling the motor will work as an alternator, possibly enough to operate the ignition, I need at least 3V.

Ian S C

Edited By Ian S C on 03/07/2019 11:28:21

Edited By Ian S C on 03/07/2019 11:33:54

I agree with Jason and Hopper. I usually dig out as much as I can with an ordinary general purpose tool, then clean up with a boring bar, and using the same tool I do the hub by going past centre, and run the lathe in reverse (very carefully, I have a screw on chuck).

Ian S C

If I touch the pins of the charger for my Android lap top on unplugging I get quite a good little tickle.

Ian S C

If your worried about filing in the lathe(handle or no), hold the file under the work, with the handle pointing to the back of the lathe, if things get caught up for some reason the file will go away from you.

Ian S C

I have a Rexon, also known as Naerok in UK, it has a round column that goes down through the base, it is located by the rack. You must lock the column, and the way that you are not using, also the quill. It serves me ok(could do better), I bought the machine before I took up model engineering, I was into wood turning, and wanted a drill press, and the mill was cheaper at the time.

Ian S C

About the photo album system, I find it easier, and more reliable than the likes of Photo Bucket. Ian S C

When I did my nursing training in the late 1960s, fairly early into our training we went to "theater" to watch a hip replacement, quite brutal, I loved my time in the orthopedic ward.

Ian S C

You think dentists are expensive drilling small holes, take your bit of stainless to a professional engineer to get the broken tap removed, you might then think the dentist is a bit cheap. I think the thing is, the engineer doesn't want the job, and is hoping you'll go away and annoy someone else.

Ian S C

I normally use 1/4" square HSS for general work, but often use other sizes up to 5/8 as I have some that I got at a very low price, 3/8", 1/2" and 5/8". My first thread cutting tool was made from a bit of a 3/8" square file, it was qyite adequate for steel, the first thread cut was in cast iron(all that I had at the time) 1/2" UNC.

Ian S C

I have a line scribed on the blade of my 6" engineer's square, done with the point of the centre in the headstock spindle when I first got my lathe.

Ian S C

William, its better that the key wears, or breaks that you damage the spindle key way, or the gear, keys are cheap.

Ian S C

On my Taiwanese lathe the bed is hardened and ground, the saddle etc are scraped to fit, this forming the oil retention area.

Scrapers, a good second life for old files, or you can braze or clamp an old carbide tip on the end of a bar with a comfortable handle on it.

Ian S C