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Member postings for Ian P

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

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Thread: Problems machining brass - Bad finish !
16/02/2012 19:47:22

Chris

I'm not sure why you would want to use the internal jaws to grip a smaller diameter but regardless the last post does sound as if you are making some progress.

Do you have a grinder that you can use to make youur own cutters (or at least modify existing ones?

If you put some details on your 'profile' so that people here have an idea whereabouts you are located it may be that someone local will offer some practical help.

As others have mentioned you need a tool with no top rake for brass. with a oilstone or a diamond file you could quickly take the rake off just the very the tip of even a steeply raked tool.

Ian P

Thread: New website editor
16/02/2012 18:48:02
Posted by russell eberhardt on 16/02/2012 18:42:01:
Posted by Sid Herbage on 16/02/2012 18:08:18:

Quote is working for me now. Perhaps someone is fixing the stuff in real time here.

As far as I can see, SCAYT, even when disabled, hijacks the right click which may be why my external (i.e. contained in the browser) spelling checker doesn't work now. To me that's a restriction and therefore a negative.

Edited By Sid Herbage on 16/02/2012 18:16:14

Yes, it's working for me again now. Thank you whoever fixed it.

Russell.

Russell

What is working again? Right clicking (and threfore 'IE Spell' is not working on my XP/IE8 machine.

Ian P

16/02/2012 16:57:42

My first impression of the new text editor (which I now know changed after this topic started) is not very positive.sad

I have only used it twice (including this message) and I found the spellchecker useless. Normally when I reply to posts I use the editor rather than pasting from another programme. To spellcheck I right click and use 'ie spell'. That facility is no longer available.

I must have a dictionary somewhere on the PC which SCAYT says it can use. Before I get involved I would like to ask if anyone has any experience with SCAYT, whether it is worth persevering with?

Ian P

Thread: Problems machining brass - Bad finish !
16/02/2012 16:40:54

Chris

Definitely something odd about your problem. In my experience brass is one metal where it is hard NOT to get a good finish.

It might help if you could post a picture of your setup.

Your description of the finish you are getting make me wonder what sort of brass you have, could it be bronze or 'yellow' brass?

Vibration is not normal, noise could be. Its normal for brass to make a squealing noise especially when taking a decent size cut but I assume you are not doing that.

Ian P

15/02/2012 20:56:24
Brass is one of the easiest of metals to get a good finish on so there must be something pretty basic wrong.
 
Carbide is not the best type of tool but even with blunt carbide you should not be getting vibration.
 
2800 is probably a higher speed than you need but if you take a facing cut over the material starting from the centre outwards you will see the effect of different cuttings speeds. Its very low (in fact its zero FPM) at the centre of the face but very high near the OD. Just experiment.
 
Check that the tool is not too high., also it sounds as if the tool is not rigid. Try another tool preferably HSS.
 
Ian P
Thread: New website editor
15/02/2012 20:44:02
David
 
Is the editor going to change, or has it already been changed?
 
Having only a short memory I cannot remember what the old editor was like so I don't know whether what I have just experienced is me or the new editor.
 
A few minutes ago I replied to another post, I had written a few lines when (I think I may have pressed a wrong key by mistake) the editor window enlarged to fill the whole monitor.
 
Most of the screen was the white editor window, with its pale blue bar and toolbar below the Internet explorer menu and toolbar. It went right to the bottom of the screen covering the windows taskbar (which I have locked/set to 'stay on top).
 
Whilst I could still get to other IE tabs I could not get the editor window back to normal size and had to abandon the reply by closing the whole tab.
 
I looked in Windows help but whilst I can see how to minimise/maximise windows none of the commands work on the editor window.
 
On the positive side, I have not been able to reproduce the problems again.
 
Ian P
 
Thread: Windo winder
15/02/2012 20:21:49
Stephen
 
Even with the picture is not easy to see whats needed for the repair.
 
On the basis that at some time after you have fixed it the handle will need to be removed when access is needed inside the door, the repair should be capable of being dismantled.
 
If you drill and tap the shaft and put in a decent thread (M5 or M6 say) you could file the outer part of the shaft to it has a slight taper. If you do this with a coarse file you should be able to end up with what is in effect a tapered spline. Then put a slightly tapered hole in say a brass or aluminium bush which you can attach your handle to. Using a cap head bolt you can securely lock the two parts together.
 
If the shaft is steel and the bush is some softer metal the drive will be very strong, the two tapers dint have to be perfect, the rigged surface and the bolt tension will combine resources.
 
As others have said, a trip to the scrapyard might be easier.
Thread: Automatically 'closing threads' idea
14/02/2012 20:27:43
Well, I did say when I created this topic that I may have missed an obvious flaw. Having now seen the light, I think maybe this thread should be closed!
 
Ian P
Thread: Forum niggles
14/02/2012 19:59:00
Posted by Stub Mandrel on 14/02/2012 19:22:52:
THose of us with Firefox just have to right click links and 'open in new tab'. This is great for the Latest Posts page with our dog-slow connection as I can have six or eight pages loading while I read one.
 
Neil
 
 
For those that do not have Firefox but use Internet Explorer all you have to do is right click and 'Open link in a new tab'.
 
Ian P
 
 
 
 
Thread: What cutting tools for mini - lathe (HSS or Carbide Tipped ?)
14/02/2012 09:28:25
I frequently see people who recommend HSS tooling mention carbide using phrases like, 'Aimed at industry, Suits heavy cuts, Useless for interupted cutting, OK for hard material' Does not have a sharp edge, etc etc.
 
Whilst there is some truth in what they say, like most things there are two sides to every story. I use carbide 95% and HSS 5% of the time. I have used a variety of tips (mostly bought off eBay) that have razor sharp edges, some that cope with VERY interupted cuts, and others that don't seem to mind what material they are cutting, last a long time, and produce a good finish.
 
The only downside is that it is more expensive than HSS.
 
Indexable tooling is like VFDs and DROs, once you've used it you will wonder how you managed without it.
 
Ian P
Thread: Automatically 'closing threads' idea
13/02/2012 20:59:56
Posted by Ady1 on 13/02/2012 20:43:48:
Once a thread gets locked it's gone forever, different follow up threads with different titles then add to the disjointed nature of a subject.
 
In here the stirling engine thread is a good example.
 
 
 
422 posts and counting...

Edited By Ady1 on 13/02/2012 20:44:59

Maybe I was a bit hasty with my 3 week suggestion! When I started this thread I was going to say 12 months, changed it to 3 months but then put 3 weeks. Certainly at 3 months the hot air engine would still be active (it might even pass the 3 week test!) but my intention was to prevent dormant, off topic, posts being resurrected.
Ian P
13/02/2012 20:49:57
Surely when you were ready to update a post you started it would be better to create a new one with a link or reference to the original? Your original post might have wandered off, or be full of extraneous posts so when you add to it at a later date members would have to trawl through to get the whole picture.
 
The new one could have a similar title to the old, and could have links to all the relevant photo or file albums but its content would have the full up to date story and and any new replies would be properly focused.
 
Ian P
 
13/02/2012 20:29:47
Would it be sensible to automatically 'close off' threads after a fixed length of time to avoid the situation that Les pointed out (in his Forum Niggles topic) where a thread (especially one that had drifted significantly) gets woken up after being dormant for about a year.
 
To me once the flurry of the conversation has died down, if there have been no new replies, for say, three weeks, then it could be closed to further comment.
 
The thread would still be there for reference so it could be found by searches etc.
 
This should not give the editor any more work to do as it could be automated, I cannot see any disadvantages with an 'autoclose' like this but maybe I've missed an obvious flaw.
 
Ian P
Thread: Forum niggles
13/02/2012 20:07:41
Posted by Colin G on 13/02/2012 16:45:00:
My niggle : as a newboy
Just posted an extensive reply on mini lathes and carbide vs hss.
Why after spending time composing the reply has it come out with gaps
and looks very disjointed ???
Colin
 
 
Colin
 
Its just a thought, but now this topic is not the topic it was....
 
When you created your reply, did you perhaps use the 'return' key to create new lines? because there is no need to, the text normally flows by itself once a line is full.
 
Ian P
 
Thread: Price increase for MEW and ME
13/02/2012 19:59:20
Another related question.
 
How can I find out or check when my 2 year subscription expires? I have forgotten when I took it out and cannot even remember how I paid.
 
I have not done a thorough search on this before asking so I apologise in advance for being lazy.
 
Ian P
Thread: Rulers - my pet peeve
11/02/2012 19:18:33
Posted by NJH on 11/02/2012 12:28:34:
Hi Michael
 
I have sent you a message. ( Look in " My Messages" in "My Account" at the top left of the home page )
 
Regards
 
Norman
 
 
Norman
 
Dont keep it a secret!
 
If you have found a rule that suits Michael, its one that would suit me too. Where can I get one?
 
Ian
Thread: Metal work at schools
09/02/2012 22:53:39
My granddaughter is 7 and is hooked on soldering!
 
Like most children she is inquisitive and a quick learner, in fact I am flabbergasted at how competent her and her sister (3 years) are at using computers and smart phones. Once they know which button accesses a 'app' or saves the drawing they've done they remember it. They even cope with different operating systems without thinking about it.
 
The soldering I mentioned is on printed circuit boards, I bought some of the simpler kits made by Velleman and let her read and follow the instructions, insert all the components and solder them. She has made a LED star and a LED Xmas tree on normal PCB, also an illuminated badge on a surface mount board. I think its too early for her to do mechanical work in the workshop but the biggest satisfaction I get is seeing how she has become interested in what makes things work.
 
Apart for guiding her I let her do everything herself, she installed over 60 LEDs on the star, and every one was the correct polarity, probably a better success rate that me!
 
Ian P
 
Thread: wind up torch
09/02/2012 21:49:34
Neil
 
I wondered where the coronation connection came from. It never crossed my mind about the soap opera, I'm glad you worked it out as I read through the thread twice and decided to stay puzzled.
 
Ian P
08/02/2012 19:45:48
Neil
 
Well, the last coronation we had in the UK (if you discount the Gordon Brown one) was in 1953.
 
I think about that time and a bit later, quite a few radio amateurs an electronic wizards made televisions (and oscilloscopes) with government surplus radar display tubes. They were about 5" diameter and very green.
 
Ian P
 
 
07/02/2012 21:14:43
I know Baylis invented? the wind-up radio, but who gets the credit for the wind up torch I wonder?
 
I know these torches have been arround for a while now but I first saw a hand powered torch over 60 years ago! As a child (in about 1958) one of my uncles took me with him when he visited a neighbour who had built his own television. I remember seeing two big metal chassis with lots of valves and a round CRT, it was during the daytime so I did not see it working. To amuse me he showed me a remote controlled (via a wire) model car, which I now know was made in Germany.
 
He also had a torch (which I vaguely recall he got from a german soldier) that illuminated by moving a lever. It was a rectangular shape with a lever similar to a hand stapler which you squeezed against the casing. There must have been a rack and pinion, a freewheel and a flywheel so that repeated squeezing against a return spring built up the speed of the flywheel and generating device. I am sure there was no battery so the light went out as soon as you stopped.
 
I'm curious, does anyone know anything about the thing I saw?
 
Ian P
 
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