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Member postings for Douglas Johnston

Here is a list of all the postings Douglas Johnston has made in our forums. Click on a thread name to jump to the thread.

<< First < Prev 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 Next > Last >>
Thread: Top Slide Self Act?
07/12/2011 09:54:48
I tried to program some pic chips a while ago and found the learning curve too steep and gave up. Recently however I discovered the picaxe website and find this system much more user friendly for non experts. Arc Euro in the UK do quite a good range of stepper motors and controllers.
Doug.
Thread: Myford / RDG
06/12/2011 09:14:05
Well these posts have convinced me that a Myford oil gun may not be the answer so does anyone know of an oil gun that works well and does not leak like a sieve?
 
Doug
05/12/2011 09:15:39
It will be interesting to see what prices they charge for new lathes. I was looking for a Myford oil gun from them but I see they wanted over £71 for one. Looking at other items the prices seem rather high and I do wonder if they will price themselves out of the market and go the same way as Myford.
Thread: Cleaning ER collets
26/11/2011 17:56:39
Thanks for the replies, some excellent ideas for cleaning the collets. I like the idea of the brass bottle or test tube type cleaners so I must get some if I can find a source that does not charge an arm and a leg for postage.
I need to go now as I have to polish the lathe before puting it on the mantlepiece.
26/11/2011 09:51:56
Does anybody have an easy way of cleaning out the debris from ER collets. A toothbrush can get to most of the slots but the bore seems to be rather tricky. Cotton buds tend to get caught up on the sharp internal edges of the slots, leaving strands of cotton inside. Has anyone got a (cheap) solution?
Thread: ER32 Myford Collet Chuck
26/10/2011 09:05:59
As a matter of interest John did you buy the chuck and collets seperately or the set of chuck and collets in a case? There may be no difference in quality, indeed the items may be identical but I am a little wary and was wondering which way to go.
Doug
Thread: Setting up a bandsaw
05/10/2011 09:42:34
Thanks for the link to the Grizzly site, I have just downloaded the manual for my 6 by 4 bandsaw and it is really superb compared to the one I got with my machine. You would think the UK suppliers could have done something similar years ago to help their customers. Thank goodness for the internet and broadband speeds!
Doug
Thread: Lathe and mill or combination
29/09/2011 22:13:43
Go with separate machines if you can, it is so much more flexible and each machine is designed for its job and not a compromise. You won't regret it.
Thread: Hex shank drills
20/07/2011 15:35:40
Thanks for the input on this matter. The drills I bought were probably somewhere between poundshop and decent, but nonetheless very shoddy.
I was doing a lot of drilling with a cordless drill (in wood) and the keyless chuck kept letting the drill slip, and of course when you try to pull the drill out you find the drill stays in the wood as it slides out of the chuck. Trying to tighten a keyless chuck with a thin drill stuck in a piece of wood is no easy task and runs the risk of bending or snapping the drill.
 
The chuck is probably quite worn but not worth replacing so hence my need for the hex drills. I have decent chucks on my "proper" machines and they rarely give a slipping problem.
 
The answer might well be to make my own but I seem to have a problem with the length of a day. I will seek out Fisch, Bosch and Trend drills to try and get a solution to the problem.
 
Doug
20/07/2011 09:02:12
After having a problem with drills slipping in a chuck I bought a set of hex shank drills but was less than happy with them. The hex shank part was simply pressed onto ordinary round shank drills and the result in most cases was very drunken rotation.
 
After looking online for better quality drills with the hex part and drill made from one piece of steel, I could not find anything suitable. Has anybody found a supplier of quality hex drills?
 
Doug
Thread: The SURVEY !!
18/05/2011 08:43:34
Just completed my survey and posted it off but felt this could have been done online.
Thread: Building lathe/mill in cast of concrete?
10/04/2011 09:59:10
one of the best ways to mount a lathe or mill on a wooden bench is to place a concrete slab on top of the bench using a bonding agent between the concrete and wooden top. The concrete should be a decent thickness, made from a thick paving slab or cast in place.
By this means you ensure there is no distortion in the machine if the wooden structure moves slightly over time. There is probably some damping benefit as well when the machine is solidly bolted to the concrete.
Thread: drilling HSS
21/02/2011 14:30:40
A lot of good ideas for me to think about. The reason I went with the HSS blades was mainly the low cost (ebay is a wonderful place) and the convenience of having the cutting edge ready formed. I did previously think of using gauge plate but was put off by the thought of hardening it without distortion.
 
The more I think about it I feel I might get away with superglue since the main cutting force will be provided by the stepped carrier. Perhaps loctite 603 might be used here instead of superglue so I must do some experimenting.
 
Doug
20/02/2011 18:36:22
Hi Keith
 
What you say is pretty much what I had in mind, but the problem is how to hold the blade in position without any clamping device protruding from the surface which would interfere with the fixed blade. Perhaps superglue might do the job if I can't drill the HSS.
 
Doug
20/02/2011 15:20:44
I am in the process of building a PCB cutter using a pair of HSS planer blades picked up on ebay. In order to mount the blades on a carrier it would be beneficial to drill the blades but do not know if this is possible.
 
The blades are about 300mm long and 20mm wide with a thickness of 3mm. Is it possible to cut a 4mm hole through HSS of this thickness with any sort of carbide or diamond cutter.
 
Doug
Thread: pcb guillotine
10/02/2011 10:09:04
Thanks for the replies to my query, the hook shaped cutter looks like a good idea and reminded me of hooked carpet cutting blades for a stanley knife so I must give that a try.
In response to the comment about really needing a guillotine, the answer has to be no, but a neat solution to a problem is always appealing to me. There is also the safety aspect to think about since I don't like the idea of breathing in fibreglass dust which is produced from any type of sawing.
Paper guillotines might be another answer but the cheap modern ones don't look beefy enough to tackle pcb material, although a good old fashioned one might be up to the task.
 
Doug
 
04/02/2011 10:23:50
I have been thinking about getting a guillotine for cutting fibreglass pcb material for some time but the cost of commercial units is prohibitive. My thoughts then turned to making one and I searched the web for inspiration without too much success.
 
Has anybody ever seen plans for such a tool or any technical details such as the best blade angle to use.
 
Doug
Thread: Late delivery of magazines due to adverse weather
11/01/2011 16:10:24
No sign of my subscription copy of MEW 172 here in Dundee. I emailed customer services yesterday (no reply as yet ), but was that the best email address to use?
 
doug
Thread: Surface Rusting in Workshop
27/12/2010 13:50:37
I have been using small silica gel units under a double layer polythene cover on both lathe and mill for the past few years with good results. The workshop is an outside wooden shed which is insulated but not heated.
                  The silica gel units run for about two weeks or until the gel changes colour and are then reactivated by connecting to the mains overnight. I tend to abandon the workshop for a few months over the winter and let the machines stay cold. With the workshop insulated I do not get rapid changes in temperature which is the main cause of condensation and rusting.
 Doug
Thread: HSS v Carbide Tipped Tools
16/12/2010 11:46:09
Sumitomo T12A grade tips are a pleasure to use if you get the ones with positive rake. I too had mixed results with carbide tips in the past with the surface finish being a bit hit and miss.
                  It seems to come down to the quality of the cutting edge, with a ground finish being far superior, along with the positive rake. I picked up some tips a while ago which were designed for cutting aluminium and were very sharp and had a high positive rake. These tips produced a superb finish on aluminium as you would expect but they also gave a super finish on steel and I use them for finishing cuts on steel (including stainless 303 )
                  I think the answer is to use any old carbide for roughing but change to a better tip for finishing. Ebay can be a very good place to pick up tips ( I really should not be saying this so just don't be bidding against me!) having picked up some amazing bargains over the years.
Doug
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