Member postings for Maurice

I doesn’t need a direct hit from lightning to do considerable damage . Induction is enough. When I started working for the G.P.O. Many years ago, most of the phone lines were fed by overhead lines on poles, sometimes for miles. A nearby strike would be enough to leave just a scorch mark on the walls in the house where the internal wiring ran, and the induction coil in the phone would burst. Quite expensive.

My wife used to work in a very comprehensive iron mongers' shop in Marlow, sadly, long gone. They had a department that just repaired mowers. It contained a machine to regrind the cylinders. It closely resembled a lathe, the cylinder being held between centres rotating"front upwards" i.e. contrary to normal lathe practice. On the front was a carriage with auto traverse, mounted upon which was a motorised grinding wheel about 2 1/2" across the face and about 5" diameter.It was rotating against the rotation of the cylinder. It would go back and forth for a while until the noise reduced indicating there was not much to grind, and then the operator turned a handle to put more cut on and so on, until you could hear that all the blades were being ground; quick visual inspection, job done. By contrast, the fixed blade was just resharpened on a bench grinder! The machine was installed in a corrugated iron building. If the mower was in a bit of a state, the prolonged did in made nearly drove the staff in there mad. The principal mower man had had many years of repairing mowers, and said that most people adjusted the bottom blade much too close to the cylinder. They aimed at cutting a piece of paper with the mower; he said that cutting a cigaret packet a better target.

I have had gout now for about 45 years; fortunately kept at bay by Allopurinol and Naproxen, an anti-inflammatory. The only thing I have to avoid, is any of the alcoholic drinks that are famous for giving you a hangover, like red wine and sherry. As to the diet limitations imposed on other members, when I was diagnosed all those years ago, they were adamant that "nothing you eat or drink has any effect". Even then I knew better but it was waste of time trying to convince anybody.

Maurice

I wonder if there are many out there who have looked at lightning maps.org? It's a real time display of lightning strikes across Europe and the USA. I find it fascinating, especially when a storm is in my area. My question is, what is the time ticking down on the top left of the screen? One is the time since the last strike, but to its left is another countdown going on with no explanation as to what it means. I can't find a reference to it on the site. Does anyone have any idea please?

regards Maurice

Sorry to disagree with Muzzer as regards reaming an "Oilite" bush, but I had exactly this type of query when I refurbished my Super 7 countershaft. I found that it says on "Oilite"s own website that the bushes may be reamed with a sharp reamer.

Maurice

Galvanised steel should be treated with mordant solution. This will turn it black and allow the paint to adhere. Duluth paints make it, as well as other suppliers.

Maurice

I assume that you wish to set the centre of the rotary table in line with the axis of the mill spindle. I use a morse tapered mandrel with an accurate 1/4” reamed hole in it, and a length of 1/4” sliding in it with a circling to stop it falling right out. A piece of steel is fitted in the centre of the rotary table, also with a 1/4” hole reamed in it. Having clamped the rotary table approximately under the spindle, then move the mill table until the rod drops freely into the hole. If in any doubt, check it after with a DTI.

Maurice

Hemingway Tools sell a kit for a set of bending rolls and will sell you just the plans. They seem to be based on the design by George Thomas serialised in M.E. years ago. The rolls were so arranged that the curve went right to the end of the work. I have a set and they work very well.

Maurice

Fair enough. Thanks a lot for you help.

Maurice

I have just dismantled the motor from my lathe to clean it out, as I thought a piece of swarf may have entered the casing. There are enough slots and openings! As I removed the cover with the start switch on it, two wavy spring washers about 1 1/2" diameter fell out. There are none the other end. The housings look identical, as are the bearings. One at each end makes more sense to me. Has my motor been wrongly assembled for all these years please?

Maurice

I have had this problem in the past, and overcame it by soldering short pieces of studding of the relevant size, to the ends of a short length of bar, say 1/4" X !/8", one end at right angles and the other at 45 deg. The nut to be fitted was threaded onto the most appropriate bit of studding, then offered up to its stud and "winkled off" the tool and onto its stud with the tip of a scriber. It sometimes helps if the end of the studding on the tool is hollowed out with the tip of a drill, so that you can get that little bit closer to the tip of the stud. if the nut is not too tight a fit on its stud, the scriber can be used to wind it on to the point where it needs to be tightened.

To get screws into hard to reach holes, I use a doubled over length of thin wire, threaded through a piece of 1/8" brass tube. I lass the screw with the loop and pull it tight which enables me to grip it and insert it into the required hole. The tube can just be pulled off to release it. Hope this helps

Maurice

I visited the High Wycombe branch of Axminster tools two days ago, with a query about "Osmo" wood finishes. (excellent product; no connection to me). A young lady there spent a considerable time trying various colours on pieces of wood to try to match what I wanted. She even called the Osmo agent about it, even though I only wanted a small quantity. Superb customer service. I have been in there a few times now, and always had very good attention. Well done Axminster!

When I joined the G.P.O. back in the sixties, they supplied two kinds of soap, White Windsor, which was ordinary toilet soap, and Glycarin and Borax, which did not lather and felt very gritty, but did a good job of cleaning hands. As to soothing sore hands, my father in law worked on a farm, and swore by Udder Grease!

Maurice

My question was not really about how to set the correct angle, it was really about why each size seems to vary erratically by tiny amounts from one size to the next. It seems to make no sense!

Maurice

I have just turned my first morse tapers; some plugs for the centre of a rotary table. In the process, I refered to the Model Engineers handbook to see what sort of angle I was looking for. I found that there was no reference to degrees, but taper per inch on diameter. Fair enough, but why are they all different tapers? I could understand if the taper increased (or decreased) with an increase in diameter, but they don’t, and the diference is sometimes as small as five, one hundred thousandths of an inch! Can somebody explain the thinking behind these specifications please?

You will be able to machine it on an ML7 ok. I remember others remarking that it needs more gearing down to the road wheels, perhaps via a countershaft under the chassis. Without this it is said to be very fas,t and a bit difficult to control.

With reference to Neil's concern over keeping the parts of the crankshaft aligned when assembling with "Loctite", I use the following method. I assemble the crankpin into the webs with the adhesive, aligning the other ends of the webs with a close fitting piece of steel, and leave to cure. Meanwhile I take a pair of matching "V" blocks with clamps, place them on a flat ground surface and clamp a length of ground steel bar into both, with a space between, wide enough to take the webbs, plus about 1/4". While firmly clamped, I apply a low strength "Loctite" to the undersides of the blocks and temporarily stick them to the ground surface (my drilling machine base). When all is cured, the parts of the crankshaft can be assembled with "Loctite", placed in the "V" blocks, and clamped and again left to cure with all the parts aligned. The last one that I did this way was for a ST No. 9. When finished, I held the first inch of it in a collet and clocked the other end. The runout was four tenths of a thou. The "V" blocks can be removed from the ground surface with a sharp tap with a hammer with a piece of brass interposed.

Thanks Rod, I think that I lay hands of a “Centaur” without too much trouble. I shall investigate and see if they fit. Also, thanks to the moderator for fixing my stupid error!

Maurice

Sorry about that, I forgot to title the post as" sewing machine parts". I'm getting old! Perhaps the moderator could correct my stupid error? Sorry again.

Maurice

Edited By Neil Wyatt on 28/03/2018 22:09:03

I was recently given a defunct sewing machine to dispose of in case I wanted the motor. This motor was in good nick and really quiet, so that came off. I then had a look inside to see what was there. Lots of weirdly shaped rods and levers that could only one use; their original one! However, I found that it also contained a pair of helical gears with a 2:1 ratio; one steel, with a bore of 1/2", the other is brass with a steel cam press into it. The cam has a 1/4" bore and could probably be removed leaving a 7/16" bore. The shaft centres are 3/4" apart. It made me wonder if there are any I/C engine drawings that these gears would suit? Or are they a bit on the small side?

Maurice

Edited By Neil Wyatt on 28/03/2018 22:09:00