Member postings for Jeff Dayman

How sharp a bend are you attempting, when it cracks? Maybe try gentler bends.

A good tool to make for bending music wire is a steel bar with two hard steel dowels set it the top face, with 3-4 wire diameters distance (not critical - do experiment with your wire) between them. The bar and dowels assy is set in the vise, and the wire bend around the dowels.

I guess I misinterpreted the OP's statement "but I need to mill at various angles, from 3-10 degrees to get the effects of the oil catch & flow going."

When someone says "I need to mill at an angle" I envision angling the head, or using angled cutters, to make a milled feature with walls angled to the Z axis.

If they say "I need to mill a sloping surface" then I envision a sine plate type setup as Jason sketched.

Just based on my experience over the years in many shops. Your mileage may vary.

Another approach would be to bolt the plate flat on the mill and get some tapered endmills as shown on the attached link to make the angled oilways. The link is to a US site but I expect you can get them in the UK also, at suppliers to the injection mould making industry. Many angles of taper are available.

https://www.mcmaster.com/draft-angle-endmills/high-speed-steel-tapered-square-end-mills/

Depending on what version of windows you have, there is a free accessory "tool" in many versions called "snipping tool" or "snip and sketch". It will make a jpeg on whatever is on the screen. You get your doc file open as you want to see it on your jpeg, then use the tool to make a snapshot of the document as a jpeg by digitizing the diagonal corners of a "frame" around the part of the image you want on the jpeg. You can also select png format as well. There is a destination folder box the file will be stored at, under the "save" icon.

Ah, Mr De Waal strikes again!

If the flutes are a must I'd say splitting the part into two disk based shapes and a fluted drum between them would be easiest. If radii were allowable at the ends of the flutes they could be made with miniature ballnose endmills leaving the part one piece. The flutes could be made by EDM of course, with flat ends or radiused ends (or flat ends with 3-5 degree casting draft, for authenticity to real cast parts on the original engine).

But...

The easiest way by far to build the part would be to delete the flutes and say "the patternmakers was on strike M'Lord."

Edited By Jeff Dayman on 06/10/2022 03:13:02

The OP could save time and money by using a published drill chart and simply measuring the drills with an ordinary digital or vernier caliper. Really no need to have a separate gauge plate for number (or any other) drills these days.

Roy Entwistle - you might mean Barry Jordan. Have not seen anything from him for many years, but his machine tools were great. Malcolm Leafe produced some fine machine tool models as well.

Barrington Hares' aircraft engines were superb too.

Lately, locomotives by Alan Crossfield are wonderful to see.

I have only seen these in Model Engineer, not in person.

Fantastic Tony! well done. Cheers!

Edited By Jeff Dayman on 29/09/2022 21:56:10

That's a fine looking engine! well done.

I'd suggest a gravity feed tank with a lid, and with two outlets, each having a) a ball type on/off valve, b) a needle valve after each shutoff valve to set flow rate. If the flow rate is only a few drops a minute a tank made from a defunct propane cylinder or similar steel vessel should last a while between fills. Pumps and controls for this small amount of flow would be massive overkill in my opinion.

Just food for thought for the OP Philip:

I have used my vertical bandsaw for about 30 years now. It is an all steel framed machine originally made by a local machine shop for wood cutting. I adapted it for metal cutting by adding a pulley speed reduction setup to slow the blade travel to 150 feet per minute. I have never used coolant. I use a 12 TPI high speed steel / spring steel bimetal blade by Starrett. The combo of 150 feet / min and the bimetal blade will cut steel, aluminum, copper, brass, bronze and stainless steel metals down to about 1/8" or 3mm quietly and quickly, and will also cut wood of any kind. If blade speed is higher than this it will be fine for wood but the blade will burn if used too fast on metals. My blades typically last a few years used several times daily at the noted 150 feet/min speed. The bimetal ones do cost more than cheap blades but they work and they last.

also suggest an "auto save" feature while writing a forum response. Have lost many posts due to glitches / loss when posting.

+ 1 on all that Speedy Builder mentioned, but especially a good search engine that actually works to search the forum posts.

You DO NOT need a screw and washer to hold the nut in. Just refit it exactly the way it came out, peen very slightly if it is loose in the hole at all. It will be overconstrained , it may jam at worst , and at least will wear prematurely if a washer and screw are fitted. Not a good idea.

Are all refrigerant lines and heat exchangers intact , and is refrigerant present and at correct "compressor off" pressure? Many modern refrigeration compressors will not run if the refrigerant is not present at the correct pressure. (at least on ones in North America that I have had dealings with)

Suggestions:

1. buy good name brand drills

2. use a bigger /biggest centredrill to get the cone, then change to a smaller one to finish, if needed.

3. use a drop of good cutting oil.

4. get the tailstock aligned on centre before any of the above

Suggest using a coarse grit wheel to rough the shape. Also get a water container and keep it next to the grinder with room temperature water in it. A large tin can 400 to 500 ml size from the recycle bin (cleaned) will work great and won't melt if contacted by a hot part. Hold the workpiece in your fingers so you can feel it as it heats up. When it is uncomfortable dip the tool in the water and hold it there until cool. If you use this fingers / cooling method, the risk of overheating an HSS tool is minimal. It takes patience to grind HSS tools but once made they will last for ages. A very light touch up sharpening in a fine grit wheel will keep them cutting nicely. Some people like a whetstoned or honed edge but I don't bother with that generally, and get excellent finishes usually.

Suggest a mechanical jig to hold the bits for machining, rather than soldering. Better yet forget the babbitt and go with SAE 660 bronze bushings, or cast iron bushings.

Derek you have a PM with a couple of ideas

It is sometimes very difficult to tell on Alley express exactly what it is you are buying, and how many, for the stated cost. I have had a few purchases from them that were very cheap and acceptable quality and the expected qty. However other orders were ultra low quality and wrong qty, or never showed up. Caveat Emptor in the wild west show that is Alley express.

The worst one was a pair of shoes my wife found there, and wanted to order. We ordered them at a reasonable but not low cost. 5 weeks later a box showed up with one left shoe. She's not good at hopping on one foot so overall this purchase went Tango Uniform fast. No response to refund requests or returns enquires - all of a sudden no one in their customer service dept speaks English! ( it's like a Benny Hill skit really)

For about the same money you could get a current production Sherline mill. These are light machines but can do a lot. Very well supported by the manufacturer. Can be fitted with servos etc for CNC later if you wish. Much better known value with one of these than the one in your pics. They are available from many retailers worldwide. I have used Sherline machines at several firms in my day job. They are very capable if light cuts and sharp tools are used. I don't have any connection to makers or the retailer in my link except as a satisfied user of the mills noted.

https://www.robotshop.com/ca/en/sherline-3-axis-5400-cnc-ready-tabletop-vertical-milling-machine-metric.html?gclid=Cj0KCQjw9ZGYBhCEARIsAEUXITXziiPBX5SIXSxxk9_JSSGvTxKnE9hksgWWlFHlG-69TOAfLYUNplQaAvyaEALw_wcB