Member postings for Robin King

Jamie,

Mid Wales Model Engineering Society - 'http://midwalesmes.org.uk' - have a track site in the park off Back Lane, Newtown. I don't know of any other ME societies in the mid Wales area or any other groups as such; otherwise Oswestry/Shrewsbury/North Wales are the only others I'm aware of in striking distance.

Where are you based?

You might glean some useful info from Alec Trianti Ltd's website 'tiranti.co.uk' who supply all of the white metal/RTV mould making materials you're likely to need. I bought one of their white metal hand casting starter kits some years ago and that included a useful guide to the process allowing me to make moulds and castings fairly easily - as usual it comes with practice.

John,

Boxfords were never intended to have one, the saddle feed being either under power from the leadscrew or by using the apron handwheel. You'll find it near impossible to operate one at the right hand end of the leadscrew anyway if working near the headstock because of the length of bed - unless you've got remarkably long arms, that is

John S,

I know exactly what you mean but I promise I don't wear bifocals and yes, I've stood behind some of these bods at stands and wondered how they survive - truly a 'different' human species, and not dissimilar to some that I've encountered when manning an ME society stand at shows, an education in itself!

I've also now taken to planning trips to suppliers with a shopping list as and when needed, much simpler.

R

My biggest disappointment with traders not being at shows is that I like to be able to see and handle what I'm buying 'in the flesh' so that I can check it over and also talk to the traders about any particular queries there and then before buying. You can't do that online and I'm not content with buying something unseen and then having to go through the inconvenience of having to return it if it proves unsuitable or poor quality.

So as you are aware there is a problem with Colin Binnie's bender design in that you can't pull back both arms parallel to allow feeding in a straight length of tube first - I'd built it before the penny dropped! It needs redesigning with the pivot offset from the centre line of one arm/aligned with the centre line of the other so the arms fold back flat against each other. This might not be important to you depending on what form your pipework takes; otherwise there's a lot going for the simple construction.

Robin

If you've managed to log in to post this message presumably you can also access the digital edition, issue 2 on the last page of the digital listing - would that help?

Robin

Ken,

Just for info - I've never had any problems getting in touch with John Ward, but am aware from others' comments that when he is very busy it can take a little while for him to respond to emails - a 'phone call early evening might get you a quicker response and advice, if you don't hear back from him shortly.

Robin

Ken,

You need to talk to John Ward - www.latheparts.co.uk - who makes/supplies replacement gears and parts for these machines and Boxford/Southbend which are very similar, at very modest cost. He'll be able to supply the correct gears. If you check his website you'll find contact details.

Robin

I bought the Drill Doctor 750 some years ago, but found it impossible to achieve the correct drill point geometry despite religiously following the recommended procedures shown in their video - negative rakes occurred several times and I ended up spending an inordinate amount of time experimenting with different settings of the drill in the collet holder to try to achieve a halfway usable result. It now sits on the shelf unused.

The four facet drill sharpening jigs are a complete contrast and well worth the time to make one - I made Dave Lammas' version as described in ME many years ago, and it's straightforward to build and use, produces consistent results with a little practice, apart from which it costs a heck of a lot less than the DD!

Brian,

The quick way to remove the screw is to tackle the burred end with an angle grinder fitted with a thin cut off disc - a file would work but if the screw is of the hardened variety you'll find it slow going. Replacement screws of the square headed pattern are difficult to find so if you can re-use the existing one all well and good, but an alternative Allen socket head screw can usually be sourced; Emkay Supplies can supply in small quantities (even singles) so it's worth a look at their website, if needed.

Robin

Brian,

Well done on your acquisition - you'll get great satisfaction just from cleaning and adjusting it as part of becoming familiar with the machine.

From what I can see in your photos your Sabel is very similar to the Southbend/Boxford models - for more information on disassembly and adjustment I suggest you have a look at **LINK** - this details an owners problems with a newly acquired secondhand Hercus lathe which is another of the Southbend 'clones' ,and includes sections on the apron/saddle etc which I found immensely helpful as a guide when rebuilding my Boxford. The feed gearbox is also a straightforward job to strip/reassemble if needed so don't be put off attempting it if you have any problems with it - my Boxford's box was exceedingly stiff in operation but a strip/clean/reassemble and lubricate solved that problem.

Robin

An old chum of mine used the simple rule where bearings were concerned of 'just enough clearance to keep some oil in'; always struck me as a good approach. With my average machining skills I find it easy to produce a hole that's always a thou or two too big and on my 16mm stock that works fine. Add a bit of wera in use and it runs in ok.

Robin

Ken,

Best approach would be to read Edgar Westbury's original construction series in M.E. which ran through volumes 115-116 (late 1950's if i remember correctly); you can look it up in one of the on-line indexes for actual issues involved and shouldn't have too much difficulty in obtaining the relevant back issues from the usual sources.

Robin

Brian,

I'm a bit late on this thread but well done - sound move, and you'll enjoy it. You'll find parts for Smart & Brown lathes come up from time to time on a certain auction site but if you need anything specific such as change wheels, T slotted cross slide etc have a look at John Ward's site 'latheparts.co.uk'; he makes/supplies parts for all of the Southbend lathe clones, i.e. Boxford, Hercus, S&B, etc at modest prices and well worth a look - quality is first class.

Robin

Chris that's good advice, but our experience is that having signed up with TPS some ten years ago we find it doesn't stop cold calls by any means - even more irritating when it's an ex directory number (and no, their complaints procedure isn't effective, either!). Since adopting my tactic the number of repeat calls has dropped significantlly - good enough for me.

Robin

No doubt about it - the phone and those damned cold callers who interrupt my train of thought and it then takes me another hour to rethink and pick up the thread of what I was trying to do. Found a solution, work especially well with those from Far Eastern call centres - learnt a bit of basic Welsh and now as soon as I hear the telltale signs asked 'Pwy ydychi chi?' (who are you?) - repeat several times if they don't comprehend (trust me, they don't) - they always hang up and for some reason never call back - dunno why but it now lets me get on undisturbed. BBC Wales 'Catchphrase' series, unit 3, will tell you how to pronounce it - go on, give it a go, you know you want to!.

Robin

Joe,

Just to add, like KWIL earlier, I've checked three of my toolholders, from both earlier delivery and the latest, and all have 0.225" thick bottom ledge. Incidentally the centre height on my ML10 is greater than the nominal 3 1/4" at 3.3125" so might be worth checking yours (if you haven't already, of course).

Robin

Joe

Don't worry - given the rate at which they are selling and the write up's here I'm sure A & R will be producing more and possibly expanding their range. There was talk of a rear toolpost appearing on the market later this month; I'll be interested to see it.

I use mine on my ML10 and I haven't encountered any problems yet although most of my tooling is 1/4" square HSS.

Robin

David,

Sincere thanks for everything you've done with ME, and be assured Diane can expect our continued support in the future. Don't forget to write up your workshop activities for us in future though, we'll be looking forward to seeing wht you get up to now

regards

Robin