Member postings for clivel

Thanks for all the responses - I was feeling frustrated, it is good to know that I am not alone.

However there are two sides to everything, and what I have since realised, is that for every ungrateful git, there have been many more people who have been very pleasant to deal with, some of whom have since become regular correspondents and if anything more like friends.

I just wish there was a way to separate the good from the bad before wasting my time on the latter group.
But, as some wise person once wrote: "it is better to acquit a thousand guilty persons than to put a single innocent one to death", probably a little overdramatic with regard to email courtesy, but the principle still holds.

Clive

Some years ago I wrote a little cross-platform application for my own use. It could be run on either Linux or Windows as I used both platforms about equally at the time.

Thinking that others might find the application useful I set up a simple website and offered the application free (and open-source) to anyone who came across it.

Over the years the application has become fairly popular in its niche category, and as a result of numerous requests for new features and enhancements, it has grown and grown to the point that it is now a far cry from the little application that I started out with.

I also regularly receive requests for support. Fortunately not too many, maybe three or four a week on average. But I do try to answer each one promptly - the same day if possible. However, what has really surprised and disappointed me is the number of people who simply just don't bother to acknowledge my replies. After spending anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes with a personalised email and sometimes detailed explanation, I don't expect accolades or undying gratitude, a simple "thanks I got your email, that worked" would suffice, but even that seems to be too much trouble for many of the people I reply to.

It is as if my emails are disappearing into a black hole. It happens so frequently that at one time I wondered if spam filters were to blame, but after writing to the intended recipient a second time to query if they had received my first response most simply replied that yes they had.

So, you maybe wondering why I am posting this now if this has been happening for years?
Well, one of the most enduring requests has been for a Mac version of the application. But not having had access to a Mac I was unable to do anything about it until recently when I was able to borrow one. Creating the Mac version was no trivial task, mainly due to my unfamiliarity with the MacOS, but still, it came together surprisingly quickly and soon seemed ready for release - just some final testing to do. To assist with this I recruited some volunteers by posting on appropriate online boards. I received about 30 responses, of which about a third disappeared as soon as I had sent them the download link - that black hole again.

For the most part the program came through with flying colours, except for one rather crucial bug that only manifested on some machines. As I was unable to duplicate the bug on my computer it required a significant amount of time and effort to isolate the problem - it turned out to be in the 3rd party cross-platform library I was using. As it would be sometime before an updated version of the library would be available I came up with a work around. I contacted all the volunteer testers, those who had experienced the bug confirmed that it was no longer an issue. I had hoped that those who had not initially experienced the problem would also spend the 15 minutes to confirm that the new version was not causing any issues for them, but all but one had disappeared down that black hole and were never heard from again.

Human nature is strange, I guess that people just don't appreciate free.

Clive

Arc sell a model 000 quick change tool post suitable for the Myford, the 13mm tool gap will only just accomodate a 12mm tool. With the toolholder set to its lowest point, the base of the tool will be 4mm above the topslide. As a result, the top of your 12mm tool will be 16mm above the topslide.

Geo. H. Thomas in his book "The Model Engineer's Workshop Manual", gives the centre height over the topslide as 0.646' or 16.4mm which will allow for only 0.4mm play.
But he also mentions that this distance may vary from lathe to lathe so you may or may not only just manage to get your 12mm tools at centre height using this particular QCTP.

So if you are determined to use your 12mm tools then your best bet would be to place them directly on the top-slide, shimmed up as necessary to centre height, using the standard Myford clamp type toolpost to hold them down.

Clive

I think the article he is referring to is in MEW #240, April 2016. Building an electronic leadscrew - Chris Gabel converts his lathe using the electronics kit from Automation Artisans.

Clive

Thanks Andrew and Hopper, that does seem to be the most likely explanation.

I must admit, it appeals to me too, not sure why though, but the asking price at $300 Canadian is a little too steep, especially for something I don't really have any use for

Clive

This item for sale on a local web site is listed as a "Small metal lathe", it clearly is not.

It looks like the headstock and tailstock are intended to be coupled together by means of the countershaft and serrated belts.

I am curious as to what it actually might be. Any thoughts ?
Thanks,
Clive

I contacted RDG via their website on January 30th to enquire when they would have the 34t back in stock and got the following response:

"Thank you for the email we are out of stock for at least 8 weeks sorry but they will go straight back on the web site once in stock."

They haven't yet appeared, so you might want to try asking them as well, you can contact them here.

Clive

Edited By clivel on 17/04/2019 23:45:50

Actually I find that incredibly condescending. Much software that you dismiss as "low-quality free-ware" is not only of excellent quality but can in fact is be far superior to the overpriced bloatware it replaces which accounts for why over 80% of cloud services run on Linux server software and not Windows, or why the most popular web hosting software is still the freeware Apache. Of course Linux and Apache are not alone, there are hundreds if not thousands of free software applications that are best in class.

That of course doesn't mean that all free software is good, like with everything else there is junk out there. I have long since given up trying to like FreeCad, even though I really wanted to like it. But not only is it far too buggy for my taste but learning it was an exercise in frustration. The multiple workbenches are confusing for the beginner, and the online tutorials all seemed to be geared up to different versions to what I had installed. After countless wasted hours I removed it, installed Fusion 360 (on Linux, under VMware and Win7), watched a few of the excellent tutorials and have not looked back.

So in the software industry, price really is not an indication of quality. but either way I really do not like the gouging subscription model, it is nothing less than a not very transparent attempt for some companies to fleece their users.

Clive

Depending on the age of the machine, it can be in one of two places.
On older machines it is at the tailstock end of the bed on the back vertical shear.
For newer machines it just below the front vertical shear, left hand end of the bed just before the gap.

Clive

Edited By clivel on 13/03/2019 18:38:42

A cheap alternative is to use a 16 Gauge blunt tip dispensing needle fitted to the end of a regular oil can. Searching on eBay will turn them up for a mere dollar or two including free shipping from China.

I am still waiting for the tips to arrive that I ordered from an eBay seller a few weeks ago, so can't personally vouch for the method, but if the above video is anything to go by this definitely seems to be the cheapest way of oiling a Myford.

Clive

An excellent idea Peter, I have just emailed RDG as well and got an almost instantaneous response that the 34t are currently out of stock but are expected back in stock in about 8 weeks.
Clive

For those of us a little less talented than yourself spending a few minutes on a forum trying to find an alternative is an order of magnitude more productive than trying to cut the gear oneself especially if one has neither the knowledge, the cutters, or indexing equipment to hand. Also given a limited amount of hobby time one has to prioritise what interests one most, and learning to cut gears is not high on my list of priorities.

As for waffle, why waste time reading it when you can leave it to us lesser mortals to wallow in

Clive

I have also been on the lookout for the 33 and 34 tooth gears for a Myford. The 33t is no problem regularly being available from RDG but after searching eBay for awhile I have concurred that the 34t are scarcer than hen's teeth.

One alternative would be to have the gears 3d printed similar to these Change gears for Myford ML7 & Super 7 lathe. But not having the wherewithal to draw them up myself nor access to a 3d printer I would happily purchase a pair if some resourceful 3d printer owner would like to recoup some of the cost of the printer by offering the gears for sale.

Clive

Great to see that my invisibility cloak is fully functional

Since posting that I have completed the first tutorial from MEW #274 using Windows 7 guest operating system on Linux mint with a VMware Workstation Player virtual machine.

Initial startup took a few seconds, after which it was completely usable and I did not notice any delays or jerkiness. This is running on a Del XPS 13 laptop.

Clive

It appears that you now have Alibre Atom up and running on VirtualBox, I have just installed it successfully on Windows 7 running on VMware Workstation Player - just the incentive I need to start working through the tutorial.

Clive

I ran Win 7 on Linux Mint in VirtualBox for a few weeks, but was not very happy with it, although I don't recall why. I then switched to VMware Workstation Player.

Although this is a commercial product it is free for personal use, but it does everything I want. If I recall correctly one has to register to download it. That being said, I haven't yet tried running Alibre on it.
Clive

Apparently the Military deployed Israeli developed anti-drone technology. Some details here UK army deploys Rafael's Drone Dome at Gatwick airport

However the system purchased by the UK did not include lasers that can disable a drone in seconds:
"The Drone Dome system intercepts drones using laser beams that burn it in flight in a few seconds. The version sold to the UK lacks the laser beam interception option because the UK demanded that it be deployed quickly and the need to comply with regulation governing the use of lasers."

Clive

For the ML7 you would need the 0XA (also known as the 000) series QCTP. with a body 1.75” square. This size is far less common than the larger sizes and does not seem to be carried by many suppliers. Two stockists that I am aware of are Arc Euro Trade in the UK and LittleMachineShop in the US.

Unfortunately the 0XA toolpost will not fit the standard Myford mounting stud. You can either make a replacement or purchase a Model 000 QCTP Mounting Kit from Arc Euro.

Clive

Nigel,
Excellent advice,
Thank,
Clive

Because when ordering online it is so much easier to order a 5/16" BSF spanner than for example "I need a spanner 15.25mm AF or slightly smaller which I can mill to size"

Thanks Alan,
That is exactly what I was looking for, and thanks to everyone else for the helpful suggestions.
Clive