Member postings for Baldric

I have had a few problems with making two parts that have a hole on each end of the rods, where the holds must end up exactly the same length.

My procedure was to drill and part of the ends for the rods, and put a counterbore in the side where the rod will go. The rods were created and machined to length, I made a jig so the rod ends could be located with the rod between them, assembled with flux ready for silver soldering.

Once silver-soldered, which seemed to go OK, I struggled to get the parts off the jig, to the point where the joint failed. The parts showed no signs of having being soldered to the jig, I assume it was flux or other "scale" created during the heating.

Questions.

1. What clearance should I have on the jig to allow for expansion/contraction?

2. Will the jig cause the joint to be weak as the part is put under tension as the rod cools and shortens?

3. If I was using free-cutting steel, would that cause an issue with silver solder? I know lead in steel can cause issues when welding & soldering to brass alloys with lead in.

4. Am I better off drilling the rod ends undersize to start with, then opening them out later using a slot drill to get exactly the correct spacing, allowing a bit more movement within the jig?

Unfortunately I can not put a picture up as I was going to re-do parts so took a file to the solder.

Baldric.

Russell,

That link shows various BSW dies at exact mm diameters, I am fairly certain older imperial dies would have been expected to be used in an imperial sized die, possibly using an metric sized holder with an imperial die was part of my problem.
Baldric.

I was using the die in a tailstock holder, I compared the ID of that to the holder supplied with the set of taps & dies, it was about 20 thou under size compared to that, the screw was not as sharp an angle either so I think that both of these caused the dies not to open as far. Having used the holder before with no issues I did not consider it may not match the die, I guess there is a tolerance issue.
Has anyone found anywhere that specifies standard die holder sizes? Looking at several tool suppliers most of them only specify imperial sized holders, so is there any such thing as a metric holder or just someone making it to the nearest mm?
Baldric.

I had turned the bar to 1/2" so don't believe that was an issue, and the die holder seems OK with the 3/8" BSW die, I will double check the screw points and holder to make sure that they are all OK, I had made sure they were clean, so no swarf trapped, also I suspect it is the correct holder as the die went in easily, I did not have to push or compress it.

While it could easily be operator error I have used a dies to thread many parts before, adjusting to get a good fit, hence the question. Would a blunt die dig-in and cut under-size?

Seems the bathroom extractor has packed up so bang goes my time in the workshop this tomorrow

I will update on my findings when I have any.

Baldric.

This is exactly what I did, the outer ones just nipped after the middle one done up.

Recently I was using a split dies to cut 1/2" BSW thread, however the thread seems to end up undersize as a purchased nut is a rattle fit, the same nut is a good fit on a new bolt.

I put the die in the holder, did up the centre screw (which does have a pointed end) and then lightly nipped the outer screws but not enough to do any squeezing. I expected I would then need to look to adjust the dies to cut the thread to the correct size. I did try the bolt in the die and it went in without trouble so seems the die is set larger than the bolt.

The die is from a second hand set purchased from eBay that seems to be in a good quality old box, marked Marconi Radar so I believe was of reasonable quality.

Any thoughts on what could cause this?

Baldric

Today I got fed up with cleaning the Y-axis lead-screw on my Boxford, this is exposed as I have the taper turning attachment, although I don't often fit it.

I did a quick model in Fusion 360

Printed it and hey presto, it should keep the screw clean.

This is the first time I have designed & printed something, yes I could have made it out of metal but it made a good learning exercise. Now to make and print tools to clear the t-slots in the Bridgeport, I have no idea how long they will last, but another learning exercise!

Baldric

On my later Boxford the back gear has a screw on the lever to lock it in position, that screw also operates one of the interlocks so you can't start the lathe unless it is fully engaged, I guess that was done as a result of lots of people doing what you did.

Baldric.

Thanks for all the posts.

Just to follow up what I ended up doing, I ordered a unit from Gloucester Tooling, there are 2 sheets with holes I spaced about 20mm apart, although not originally designed for vertical mounting I have used it that way. Since taking the photograph I have put it on a shelf on the wall, I have added 2 holes to the "base" so it can also be screwed to the wall for additional support.

Baldric

Thanks for the replies so far.

Clive,

Your links look like they are what would be suitable, and your idea of how to make my own matches with the thoughts I was having.

I have found this **LINK** which is from Gloucester tooling, also on page 6 here for a far cheaper price, this looks like it is fairly thick so hopefully will hold the collets better than a thin sheet metal one.

Chris,

I have seen the rotary ones, but for the number of collets I would need quite a few, although one may be useful for the commonly used ones or for the ones to be used for the current task.

Baldric

I have acquired about 40 collects with my Bridgeport milling machine, and I would like to store them on a rack on the wall. One option I have seen it to use they type of rack sold by Arc Eurotade **LINK**

I have seen pictures of similar ones mounted vertically, does anyone (Ketan?) know if the one sold by Arc can be mounted that way rather than sat on a shelf? I have sent a message to Arc but wondered if others have done it.

Has anyone got any other ideas on how to store them on the wall? I have considered varnished wood with holes in it, perhaps mounted at an angle to fit more in the given space. Would a similar idea be good for morse taper drills?

Baldric.

Just to provide results, I cut the crown wheels using a No.2 cutter and the pinions with a No.8, the depth was 0.180", the offset for the 2nd & 3rd cuts was 0.0625", the end results seem to work.

During the cutting I did have an issue with a crown wheel that meant I had to start again, I think the job moved on the table, so I made an adapter to hold my 4-jaw on the rotary table, this seemed far better. The attached photo shows this, along with use of an old drinks bottle held in place with a jubilee clip to contain the coolant.

Unfortunately I the order of assembly does mean that access is limited, the axle box holds the brakes and both fit in the wheel so the wheel goes on last.

I have left 2-3 threads showing as that is the rule-of-thumb I have been taught, I could remove the top thread for a lead-in which may make it easier to get the nuts started, next time I have the wheels off I will look to get the studs out of the wheels.

Baldric.

I have no taken a picture of the studs.

I can get a spanner on to finish tightening the nuts, it is getting the nuts started on the stud starting that is the issue. I like the idea from Maurice, I think I will see if I can get that to work in this space, I probably won't get a chance to try for a few weeks but will try and remember to let you know how I get on.

Baldric.

As part of the model I am building there are some nuts on to studs where I can not get my fingers in, the space means I can get pliers/tweezers in from one side, but not a nut spinner/socket from the end. Has anyone got a suggestion of an easy way to fit nuts in this type of space? Currently I am holding the nut in pliers, trying to put it on the end and turning 1/4 turn before I run out of room and hope it turns enough to engage the thread.

Baldric.

As I understand it premises rented from Network Rail normally have this as a restriction so that any fires are less likely to cause delays to the trains.
​Baldric