Member postings for russell

intriguing indeed...

at less than $2 per file, i would reckon it would be worth sharpening just about any old file!. ALthough i suspect with shipping from Oz, the economics could change pretty quick!

-russ from Oz

a good New Years Day in the workshop...

i spent a couple of hours cleaning up and putting away last year, then...

first, i repaired (brazed) a kids garden rake, the handle socket had broken away from the rake - not surprising really, with only 2 tack welds originally, about 40 degrees apart...it now has a nice purple highlight to contrast the green tines!

then i brazed the mounting extension onto my parting tool holder, an impulse buy which turned out to be slightly too large for my lathe.

then i started on the cylinder for Jan Ridders vacuum engine, by turning a piece of 55mm dia Al into a piece of 38mm dia..

-russ (from Oz)

hydrochloric acid will dissolve cement - used for cleaning bricks.

it will also react with aluminium - so you'd certainly want to test first!

**LINK** suggests weal acids such as citric or sulfamic - i know sulfamic acid is used to remove grout, which is cement based - that may be worth a try.

- russ

could you take an end-on shot with the change wheels removed? Wherever the locking arrangement is, it needs to be accesible with the wheels on.

-russ

i'd reckon there is supposed to be a set screw to lock the banjo to the boss it fits over.

see pic number 7 here

-russ

The B type is easily recognisable as it has a reinforcing bar over the top of the headstock, bracing the two bearings.

I dont have an M but i believe it is the better lathe, as it includes a traversing rack driving the crossslide and standard half-nuts, whereas the B uses the leadscrew for traverse.

The M also has beefier bearings i understand.

But as Nick says, hit lathes.co.uk.

The real answer would probably depend on the specific lathes available - an unworn B is probably a better tool than a worn or abused M.

-russ

i guess one question is 'why are you drilling it out'? the obvious reasons are that it is 'stuck' and early attempts to move it rounded the head so much it cant be gripped. the other reason is it has sheared off.

You could try tapping an 8mm copper rod through the hole you have and apply heat to that. That may let you get the bolt hot enough to break the bond without damaging the component. Then remove the rod, Could you then put an 8mm bolt all the way through, put a nut on the top and bottom to clamp the 12mm bolt tightly enought to let you undo it? I hesitate to suggest 'easy out' because if you break one of those in the hole you will be in even more trouble. The tapered square ones rather than the left hand thread ones can be driven out from the other end if they do break.

if you do have a clear hole through, could you use one of those carbide 'rod' saws to cut a slit in the side? there's only 2mm to cut. Or a junior hacksaw?

hope some of these random ideas inspire a solution for you.

-russ

so, plan "a" failed, to repair the central heating room air blower. There just wasnt enough meat to allow adding screws, although i broke 2 8ba taps proving that... . however, i turned a new boss as large as i could accomodate, and used a 1/4 cap screws. Balance not quite perfect, and just a slight runout, but it runs quietly, so have averted a $3000 upgrade for now. (the unit is only 15 years old, but manufacturer has gone and spares are very limited. )

but on the upside, i managed to bore to size, included an attempt at a boring bar holder, so all in all a good learning excercise. I also discovered a tool clamping screw hole on my 100 YO drummond lathe has a stripped thread, so that will be another learning opportunity...

(and neil, its getting below 10 on occasion! (actually, down to 1 or 2 some mornings!)

-russell

sounds suspiciously like a lathe for cutting LP records (remember them? they were the 'big black CD's' my son used to beg me to play....)

-russ

pulled squirrel cage blower from ducted central heating to diagnose 'noise like a motor bike'. Discovered the blade assembly is spinning freely on its hub. It was held together primarily by friction, pretty much like a 'meccano' wheel on its boss. I managed to mill off the flange (i guess created under some humongous press),to separate the boss. It wasnt spinning free long, but has seriously undercut the mounting diameter. I've turned the boss down to make a new mounting area, now to reassemble it (probably drill and tap since i dont have a 20 ton press handy..) Then see if i can balance it...or chuck it all out and buy a new one. Since the company doesnt do heaters any more, and its 15 years old, i'm not hopeful.

and its turning cold again...

-russ (from Oz)

my tongue was rather in my cheek when i proposed blacksmithing methods, but it is a perfectly viable approach. re steel selection, absolutely, plain MS would do for both the drift and the spanner, but any form of hardening will prolong the life. Having said that, I'd probably prefer the spanner to wear than damage the machine it's being applied to. But when one starts to wear, the other probably will too.

russ

to make a round hole square: the proper way.

Start with a nice hot coke fire. Take a piece of square carbon steel bar of the finished hole size, heat one end to bright red. WIth a 2 pound hammer, gently taper the end over your anvil so it will enter the round hole. Anneal and temper to straw, but for single use, just let it cool slowly.

Heat the spanner blank, drive the drift into the hole until sized correctly (multiple heats may be required for larger work). Dress off, cool, and you're done. Easy!.

(of course, the proper way to make the round hole in the first place is to punch it!).

-russ (sometime blacksmith..)

i spent a couple of hours making 'mothers day' (next sunday in Oz) gifts for my girls (7yo) to give to mum.

They are acrylic 'stamp holders' for her rubber stamping hobby. (think our toys are expensive... ) involved cutting some acrylic sheet with my contra-rotating saw (google 'dual saw' which sort of lives up to some of the hype), and routing finger grooves in some thicker acrylic offcuts to make handles. I used a woodworking router bit in my mill. A few minutes on belt sander, to get more or less square, then a quick file to get more or less smooth, then onto the polishing wheel and they are ready for glue.

next type will use thicker acrylic sheet with finger grooves directly in the block edges.

hopefully well received.

russ

there is another technique also known as 'engine turning'. Possibly this polishing technique was an attempt to reproduce without the expensive machinery...

**LINK** is a reference i could find quickly.

-russell

My guess as to the reason behind single phase 1/2 or 3 phase 3/4 recommendation is that they are likely to be similar physical size and price, and myford were hinting that 3/4 is better but 1/2 would do if you have single phase supply.

Remember, 'hot' does not necessarily mean 'too hot'! How hot is it?

Some inverters {my 'Powtran' } can happily power a 415v motor from a 240v source. (i presume it uses a voltage doubler or other charge pump process on the input to provide a 1000v DC (from memory) internal bus, which is then switched to provide the required output voltage/frequency. Clever things those chips...)

-regards, russ

Edited By russell on 27/03/2013 01:31:09

Machinery House (aka Hafco) in Dandenong have a good range and moderate prices, as well as other smaller suppliers in Melbourne. . Unfortunately the place i got my mill (Standaco, Nunawading) dont carry them any more.

My lathe is close on 100 years old and came out of 'the trading post' but that is no more either.

Oh, you aren't in Victoria?

Seriously, a little more info is needed. What do you want to make? Do you need rough but big? small but precise? ready to work or 'a project'?

The market for hobbyiests seems to consist primarily of used 'local manufacture' (eg, myford if you are UK), or new chinese, with potentially used chinese as a third choice. The used market is 'buyer beware', with the chinese likewise. You'll find many discussions around the quality of chinese machinery, but basically it comes down to the quality the supplier ordered and where they choose to hit the market - buy good, sell high; buy cheap, sell cheap and wear the possible claims; or buy cheap, finish locally and sell 'in between'...

-just my observations,

russ (Australia)

As Brian notes, the important thing is the lathe/mill whatever has all its bits either 'Plane' or 'perpendicular' as the case may be. Nothing 'magic' about 'level'.

One easy practical way of measuring how well this has been achieved is by using a reference surface. A spirit level uses 'earth' (via gravity) as a reference. The 'plane' surface is therefore 'horizontal', and perpendicular surfaces determined to be 'vertical' by use of a set square.

-russ

STILL not in digital editions.

"but could this be used as a basis for building a good machine that would beat a Chinese mini lathe ?" it may already be a good machine that would beat a mini lathe...

depends on its condition, and whether what is wrong can be easily fixed. My 1915 drummond B type is fine...

-russ

Not in the digital editions yet...

russell