Member postings for Douglas Johnston

I have often cut and drilled stainless ones, since all the ones I have used were never hardened. They are not as robust as hardened steel ones but usually fine and they don't rust.

Doug

A 5" independent chuck was what I got with my Speed 10 lathe and that would seem to be the best size for the lathe. I also have a light weight 6" one which I have often also used on the lathe to hold larger work although one has to be careful since the outside diameter just clears the lathe bed.

Doug

How long before the crocodile clips touch, but the idea is great.

Doug

No wonder quality bearings are so expensive. So many corners to cut with cheaper bearings. The balls from quality bearings make excellent references for checking micrometers etc.

Doug

I had the same problem with a couple of my counterbores in that I did not have the correct size drill before using the counterbore. I simply solved the problem by holding the counterbore in an accurate collet chuck and used a sharp polished carbide cutter insert to reduce the diameter of the front part of the counterbore. Worked a treat on the hard HSS and left a mirror finish. It never fails to amaze me what you can do with this type of carbide insert.

Doug

Edited By Douglas Johnston on 09/07/2020 11:23:32

My only hope is if C4 in UK shows highlights since I don't have Sky.

Doug

Any sharp endmill will cut acetal without a problem. It is lovely stuff to cut and gives a very nice surface finish. Just play around with speed and feed to get the best result.

Doug

I would bet that most people who have changed from Morse taper machines to R8 would not want to go back. I used a Morse taper machine for many years before getting an R8 one and there is just something about the R8 spindle that makes it much nicer to use.

Doug

The postman has just delivered a small package from China that was ordered over 3 months ago, so there is still hope for anyone else waiting for a delivery from China. I had given up any hope of receiving the item so am well pleased.

Doug

I bought a Hakko soldering station a year or so ago and like it a lot. Not cheap but warms up very fast and is the best soldering iron I have had.

Doug

I had to replace a couple of the slats on my garden seat a few years ago and just used some handpicked softwood from the local B&Q store. A treatment with some cheap wood preservative and left to weather for a while and the result was very good and soon matched the much older original slats.

Doug

When I made some gib strips a few years ago I used gauge plate and did as Jon suggested to flatten one surface. Incidentally the thickness of the strip does not need to be perfect since the back face is only in contact with the gib screws.

One other thing I did was to cut the ends with a sharp endmill (a new carbide one in my case ) so that the end edges in contact with the slide had no discernible rounding. This helps to prevent any fine chips getting trapped between the gib and the slide.

Doug

I bought a 50mm and a 63mm one and R8 arbor from ARC after I saw the review in MEW. The quality is superb and belies the low price. I also bought some of the ground and polished inserts and they too are excellent.

The only problem now is the lack of availability due to the pesky virus.

Doug

Just seen the latest email from ARC telling us they are closing for the duration of the pandemic. The picture of the last bog roll in the country did make me smile though. Things must be getting bad if we have no more ARC for the time being. I do hope the lifeline of MEW can keep going to keep me on an even keel.

Doug

Edited By Neil Wyatt on 31/03/2020 16:40:44

Thick kitchen worktop is hard to beat, you can sometimes get slightly damaged ones at a good price from local diy outlets ( I am often amazed at how many they seem to damage during transit or inside the store ). Good sturdy wooden framework under the top, don't use the flimsy kitchen units. If mounting a small lathe, a concrete or granite slab on top of the worktop gives a very good rigid base on which to mount the machine.

Doug

Just got my latest copy of MEW to keep me happy for a short while in between reading through all the Tom Thorne novels by Mark Billingham. Not my normal reading matter but was given the first two Wolf Hall novels a while back and really enjoyed them. Very sad to see the death toll in Italy is now greater than China, this is a year none of us will forget in a hurry.

Doug

Moves like this are very welcome but don't think things are going to get better soon. Current predictions show that we have many months of disruption ahead of us. I don't wish to sound too gloomy but this is going to be one hell of a ride. Good luck!

Doug

Used engine oil is nasty stuff and best avoided. I tend to use supermarket rapeseed oil which works very well.

Doug