Member postings for Terryd

Chris,

Most of my tooling was lost in the genreal debris after the firemen had thrown everything around to get at the smouldering embers and I was not allowed to enter as it was unsafe. I saved what I could but it was precious little. Until you have experienced one of these it is amazing how much debris and carcoal there is and th emen engaged to clear the site did a thorough job of it. My concrete floor had around 50mm of wet charcoal covering everything from the substantial wooden timbers and roof. It was wet due to the firemens efforts and 2 weeks of rain following the fire. The temperature was enough to cause an 8x4 RSJ to bend like a bow.. The damage to the HSS tools is mainly rust.. Just to demonstrate, I attach a couple of pics to show the devastation after the fire and the firemen had done their best.

I an quite capable of grinding general lathe tools but my eyes are not up to the accuracy required for a threading tool and as I have pointed out my grinding rest is not yet refurbished. Many folks find it difficult enough to grind up even basic lathe tools without a Worden or similar.

As for the 4 jaw, you are correct, I find them no problem to accurately locate work and am surprised when others do have problems, but it's a bit of a fag with these modern bolt on fixtures, it's just another chore I'd rather not have to do it I can help it.

And you are right, As I said in my first post it was aimed at newbies, I was not complaining just pointing out that problems have happeed somewhere in the supply chain and that they should be aware o fit. I also said that I am sure that the reputable supplier will change it. I must say that I am finding it a bit tiresome when some posters jump to conclusions without reading posts properly and miss the intentions, I must admit to being guilty of it at times though myself.  Click on the pictures......   If you dare........

Let that be a warning

Best regards

Terry

Edited By Terryd on 14/10/2012 15:34:35

Hi Fizzy,

WW2 -1939 to 45

Avro Vulcan - 1956 to1984

Something odd there. ,

If you don't like where the lottery money goes, don't buy a ticket, simple.

Regards

Terry

Hi John,

I agree that you only get what you pay for and accept the shortcomings, but I paid for and was supplied with ostensibly a 55º tool as I said in my original posting to cut a standard Whit thread. I was not after long lasting tool, just a one off small job. As far as I am concerned it is disposable.

It was advertised as a 55º tool and that is what should have been supplied. If it were 57º then I agree it could be touched up with a diamond hone. But as it is over 80º it needs more than just 'a couple of licks'.

I much prefer HSS and when my grinding rest is up and running I will use that to produce a reasonably accurate one next time.

I was just trying to warn newbies to be on their guard in my OP.

Regards

Terry

Edited By Terryd on 14/10/2012 15:03:39

As has been said earlier in this thread, the Hotzapffel (and other makers) take off (to drive the overhead shaft and cutting frame was powered by the machine spindle, but Ady has moved on from that now towards a seperate but still overhead drive utilising a small electric motor.

You could have foound the image more easily by following the links in earlier posts.

Best regards

Terry

Hi Neil,

Used PC computer PSUs are capable of high power output at 12V. For exaple the ATX 12V standard is capable of -

"Typically, a power supply will guarantee at least 17 A at 12 V by having a current limit of 18.5 A, plus or minus 8%. Thus, it is guaranteed to supply at least 17 A, and guaranteed to cut off before 20 A"

So that should be adequte for the purpose?

Regards

Terry

Hi John

Again I agree as i said in my post above, flush toilets and the sewer drainage system are a huge machine which quietly benefitsd us all.

Here is a quote from the 1841 Crown Comission report into child labour in the Black Country which reported that there were few, if any, individual "privies" and described the toilet arrangements as below, for more see here:

"The working classes of Coseley, for the most part, as I am informed, and certainly the great majority in Lower Gornal, are in the habit of fixing a perch (about the size and length of a clothes prop) horizontally across one corner of their little strip of yard or dreary garden. Sometimes several families combine and carry a perch to the corner of a neighbouring field, which act of undue possession being sure to be very soon imitated by others, a disturbance is apt to ensue, if not a fight, the parties being so utterly ignorant and debased as not to be conscious in the slightest degree of the degradation implied in the whole proceeding."

There had been many deaths in the area from Cholera as well as severe outbreaks of Scarlet fever and God knows what else, not to mention the stench.

I vote for the humble lavatory (and drainage system)

Best regards

Terry

Edited By Terryd on 14/10/2012 11:46:16

Hi Gray,

Spot on, see my posting at the end of P4.

Best regards

Terry

Hi John,

I agree with all you say, but this is another problem with this awful forum Software. As you know most decent forum sites have the posters location and some information about the poster in the avatar box, according to hte privacy settings of the user.

Most also have a 'signature' line below the main text box. These facilities may be available in this software used here but have not been activated, I suspect this because when I registered I ticked a box to say that my location could be displayed, but it has never been displayed anywhere.

Perhaps David or Diane, if David is too preoccupied with his new venture, could ask the tech boys to look into it, I'm sure that they are more than capable. What do you think?

Regards

Terry

HI Michael

The Sale of Goods Act - designed to proect consumers from unsafe and/or shoddy goods states among other things,

Goods should be as described.

If a tool is described as 55º that is what it should be, not 55.5 or 49.5, certasinly not 82º and there is no reason or difficulty why that cannot be done. By accepting shoddy goods and modifying ourselves we are encouraging manufacturers and suppliers that it is acceptable. Besides, many of us don't have the facilities or skill to grind brazed tip tools especially to accurate angles.

My original post was aimed at neophytes who just buy a tool and expect it to do a job. By accepting poor standards we are doing no one a favour.

Regards

Terry

I always thought that spreading knowledge and discussion is useful. I beleived that the ability to reflect, reason analyse and act as well as being able to pass on knowledge is what distinguished mankind from the animal kingdom Now I know it's crap Hmmmmmm..............

Must go and sit on my own in isolation and cut bits of metal as a penance.  Or   --- I could get on with writing crap and those who wish to do something useful could ignore it and not waste their time reading and commenting.

Terry

Edited By Terryd on 14/10/2012 09:18:31

So What if I have something to hide or not, what's that got to do with my ability to post comments. I'm not impressed by the 'holier than thou brigade' who try to impose their own personal standards on others. I don't intend to justify my lack of real name it is irrelevant in regards to model engineering which is what I thought this forum is all about.

Terry.

Hi Jason,

I tried to make the point, acknowledging that the tool was inexpensive at £4.22 (inc) but for a one off, on my limited budget I cannot justify spending £12.00 (+VAT?). A median priced product would just about be acceptable but there appears to be no alternative.

I fully understand that top quality tools are expensive and in my career used Vallorbe, Mititoyu, Moore and Wright etc, the list is endless. However now retired I have to watch my pennies and must compromise. I would love to be able to kit out my workshop with the very best but will have to wait for the lottery to come up. I can buy a set of say 6 Vallorbe files for around £60 but have to settle for much more inexpensive kit. It will probably cost as much in th elong run but t least I can spread the load. Also I'm not producing stuff for sale, just for personal satisfaction and as presents and the cost of materials is escalating all the time, but not my pension.

Despite the apparent poor quality of this particular tool I'm not bothered about the appalling rough ground shank but I would have hoped that it is just as easy to grind the cutting edge to 55º as it is to grind 82º. I cannot forsee needing to use it again but would keep it just in case even though I consider it to be disposable.

Regards

Terry

Hi Edward,

Let us know how you progress, all too often folks ask for help which is freely given - as you have seen - but all too often that is the end, and we never get to see the results. A few posts in the way of thanks wouldn't go amiss. So please keep us up to date, and make some good friends.

regards

Terry

Hi Andy,

As a point of perhaps interest, somewhere I have a picture of the metal workshop at Rugby School (yes, the posh public school where Rugby football was invented) taken sometime earlier last century. In those days it was quite a desireable part of education for sons of the gentry and nouveau riche due to the impetus of the Industrial Revolution and the amateur inventors (who were all rich). After all a Hotzapffel ornamental lathe with all available accessories cost about the equivalent of one and a half substantial homes - no inexpensive Chinese stuff at that time - so it was a very rich man's hobby.

The picture shows all of the machines in the school workshop and it all was all driven by overhead shafting and belts, so it was not just common in factories. There is also a class of boys working with no safety devices in sight. I'll publish it here when I can find it.

Regards

Terry

Hi SB5

CuP Alloys got there first. As far as the refractories go, you should still pack around the outside of the shell to concentrate the heat and insulate. It also slows down the cooling cycle helping to prevent stress cracking.

Just another small point, Citric acid makes a good pickle and you can buy it from the local supermarket (baking section), local pharmacy or winemaking suppliers. It is much less dangerous than H2SO4 but still try to keep fumes out of the workshop away from rust prone surfaces.

Best regards,

Terry

Hi Edward,

Jan Ridder is a prolific model engine builder in the Netherlands who has designed many model engines including hit and miss, Stirling and flame gulpers. They are all made from bar stock which means that there are no expensive castings to be damaged.

He is very generous and offers his plans freely to anyone who asks by email. His site is in Dutch and English (left side top to change) Here is his site, it is well worth a look, if only to see his beautiful engines. There is also a small engines group on Yahoo.

Here is one of Jan's engines:

Regards

Terry

PS I've just come across this Model Engine Makers forum, I found it from Arc Eurotrade site.

T

Edited By Terryd on 13/10/2012 15:17:04

I'm a bit equivocal on this, these tools are bought in in bulk by all the major home hobby suppliers so I suppose it depends on their response and answers to my queries. I will be seeing them at the Midland.

Regards

Terry

Edited By Terryd on 13/10/2012 15:11:49

Hi Ian,

Yes unfortunately it is for sale. The company is well known and I trust that they will exchange it, but that's hardly the point (pun not intended!). Surely there should be some sort of basic quality control, surely whoever picked and packed it could have noticed. It was not expensive, but not super cheap either. Oh well another sign of deteriorating standards in this demand/supply profit driven environment. I can't afford to pay top price for industrial quality tools for a personal 'one off' but there appears to be a very limited 'middle of the road'.. Back to the grindstone - literally.

Regards

Terry

Hi Andy,

The shaft should not actually rotate, it is there to act as a sliding axle for the pulleys which carry the belting over it if a seperate electric motor is used. The pulleys are allowed to run free and slide along the shaft so that the drive can operate different devices at different positions along the lathe bed.

On the original ornamental lathes where this is a necessary part of the lathe (see links above) the shaft is driven, but by a pulley drive from the lathe drive i.e. a treadle operated flywheel.

A better solution for Ady, if he is using an electric motor for the drive may be something like this below which can be bolted to the bench or perhaps the end of the lathe bed. It would be fully adjustable and can easily be moved out of the way when not needed.  A great deal of torque is not needed for such as a toolpost drilling machine or grinder, speed is more important.

Just another approach,

Best Regards

Terry

Edited By Terryd on 13/10/2012 13:06:26

Hi All,

This is a posting more for the beginner than the experienced modeller/turner.

I need to turn a Whitworth thread and this requires a 55º included angle lathe tool. As I lost my collection in a fire I decided against trying to grind up an HSS one as the job is a one off and my tool grinding rest is non operational at the moment. So I decided to buy one and ordered a 55º brazed tip tool from a major supplier.

I immediately recognised that it was not the correct 55º angle as soon as I saw it, and on measuring it is actually 82º .  I might not have noticed it in my excitement if I were a beginner and could have ruined a job on which I already have invested considerable turning time .

Obviously the supplier will replace it but it is an inconvenience and fortunately me and them are going to the same Midlands show this weekend, but it has cost me several days and I don't want to remove the job from the lathe if I can help it as concentricity is important in this particular job.

Here is a scan of the tool and a setting gauge to show the problem and act as a warning to always check that you have received the correct item when ordering remotely.

.

Best regards

Terry

Edited By Terryd on 13/10/2012 12:44:02