Member postings for Mike Poole

Being a somewhat cynical bloke I have often thought “lost in the post” was a euphemism for stolen by the postman, of course the vast majority of posties and carrier personnel are honest as the day is long but you can guarantee that there a some crooks in any organisation. I think they get caught in the end as large mail users track the postcodes where claims for non delivery are abnormally high so action can be taken. It is a credit to the postal service that they regularly deliver the undeliverable with addresses like the house with a green door and two oak trees in Oxford.

Mike

One of the most elegant solutions was Mr Urwicks triangular key used on the metalmaster universal machine. Read about it Here on the lathes page.

Mike

Just noticed DC31k mentioned the Urwick Metalmaster key earlier. I must read more carefully.

Edited By Mike Poole on 14/11/2022 08:44:59

I would strip the spindle and check that the bearing seatings are not damaged, it may be that the bearings have been replaced and not been seated correctly, maybe picked up or some other damage. Some careful checks should reveal where the problem exists. I doubt that the error existed when manufactured so is likely to have occurred with a crash or careless rebuild. I suppose the error could have existed since manufacture but I would find it incredible if it was allowed to be shipped without such a basic check not being made.

Mike

There are too many people on this planet. Covid only managed to shrink us by 16 million but I expect lockdowns led to an increase in everyones favourite pastime probably leading to a population increase overall.

Mike

Pete is our Evri man and does a great job, if he is on holiday there are usually a few mis deliveries but the power of the village Facebook page often seems to unite the package with the correct recipients. One of the problems is that we are having 2 new building developments tacked onto the village but sat navs and postcodes don’t seem to get updated until some time after people have moved in, Pete is up to speed on where the new addresses are but some of the other carriers are totally lost as they are not local.

Mike

We used to let the earth wire go on our oscilloscope as some checks needed to allow it to float, the plug top earth wire was kept very long so it could be pulled out of the plug top and be obvious to all that it was disconnected, I casually plugged the scope in but didn’t notice the flying earth had found it’s way under the plug top and was touching the live pin ( this was before shrouded pins were around). All was well until the unshrouded croc clip was in my hand and I leaned on the chequer plate of an access platform which earthed me nicely with an arm to arm shock, that certainly wakes you up! I replaced the earth after the job but it did need to to float while setting up the sin and cos supply for the inductosyn position feedback for the Numercal control system.

Mike

A 24” main recently burst and soon drained the local distribution reservoirs. Thames water set of a couple of distribution points for bottled water and were apparently delivering to their list of vulnerable customers. I don’t recall ever being asked about my status as a customer but they must have assembled a list somehow. Apart from being retired I am fortunate to be fit and well and would not regard my wife and I as vulnerable in any way. Of course that can always change in the future.

Mike

As Clive mentions the iron coating on a bit does extend its life, when I did a lot of bench work and the iron would be on all day it was noticeable when the iron coating was compromised that the copper would erode very quickly. For the work I was doing the pencil point tip for the Weller TCP iron I used would lose its point and become hollow once the iron coating was lost. Still using my Weller with the black base that predated the pale blue update that arrived in the late 70s.

Mike

I don’t see a problem with the “what is this” questions from anybody, Martin has been upfront about his reasons for enquiring and many people seem happy to help. I read most of the “what is this” posts and am always interested in the answers. Anyone disinclined to help or not interested does not need to read the posts.

Mike

Ok Gerry if it is complete and switches on and off reliably then I suppose it would be usable. I just have a personal dislike of that version as I have encountered so many that were in poor working order. A friend had a very nasty accident with one as a common method of testing with these switches was to open the door and then switch back on using a screwdriver to operate the mechanics, unfortunately the screwdriver slipped and a short to earth resulted in an explosion resulting flash injuries to his face and hand but fortunately he was wearing safety glasses. He escaped any permanent scarring and that style of isolator was phased out of use in our factory. The later models in the squared off casing were much better with a proper hinge.

Mike

ps. Just had a bit of a Google and thre are some pictures without a neutral block but the newer square case versions seem to have a neutral block. They are usually mounted in the top left corner of the enclosure and there does seem to be a hole in that area. Many machines were just 3 phase input and a transformer was fitted if control voltages were required or a lighting supply.

Edited By Mike Poole on 07/11/2022 20:44:29

You appear to be missing a square Tufnol rod with the blades that engage in the slots on the ceramic connection block and the mechanical parts that engage with the door switch handle. They were not my favourite isolator as the mechanical parts were not difficult to damage if the door was not properly closed. Personally I would not use it and buy a more modern unit. The neutral was not usually switched and if required a neutral block was fitted, I don’t think it was optional so it also appears to be missing.

Mike

Edited By Mike Poole on 07/11/2022 19:56:47

Edited By Mike Poole on 07/11/2022 19:59:48

A friend of mine hand painted this bug for his son, the paintwork is stunning, 9 coats were applied but the old joke is 8 get rubbed off. No scooby engine in this one though. Meanwhile back on topic, another lovely job Jason and an interesting twist with the Scotch Yoke.

Mike

I think the fax machine was a most useful device in its day but that is long past. There are plenty of solutions to the passing of the fax machine. Our office machine was retired about 1999. Spam used to be when the fax machine burst into life and some unwanted advert used up the heat sensitive paper of our long in the tooth Toshiba fax machine.
Mike

I thought the original poster wanted something for his timekeeping equipment, this is a more specialist lubrication area.

Mike

That might explain why so many gas ships are parked up around Europe at the moment, most European gas storage facilities are near full so somewhere to offload could be very useful or maybe they are waiting for the price to rise again.

Mike

Live steam models are often not a pure scale model of an original machine. They are modified to work at the chosen scale and may not be a faithful scale copy which would not perform satisfactorily.

Mike

I doubt the BSA Goldstar model that won a prize at the Midland show is a runner. Live steam is a particular branch of model making but there are many other areas. Ship models seem quite happy to have categories that have nothing below the waterline and others that are radio controlled with all sorts of power sources. You can’t tell whether a model loco works on steam unless it is in steam or shows evidence of having been fired. The inner complexity of a boiler could be left out and just a dummy constructed to build everything else off. I suppose it could be just soft soldered or even glued together. It would save a lot of cost to just build a dummy in steel as no need for copper if just a non steaming showcase model.

Mike

The existing motor would seem to be for the American market, or at least non UK. That style of winding and the 60Hz on the rating plate would indicate non UK. I don’t think you will need to access the star point as the windings can be arranged for 220V as the motor stands.
Mike

Starlight was like making love in a punt, recently had Corona draught lager which I struggled to detect any taste whatsoever, I suppose the wedge of lime served with the bottled version is there to at least add something to a taste free product.

Mike

To quote (who?) :- "Rules are made for the guidance of wise men and the obedience of fools."

I think Douglas Bader said it shortly before losing his legs in a crash, not sure if he was the originator though.

Mike

Edited By Mike Poole on 23/10/2022 14:36:18