Member postings for Mike Poole

Phone Phreaking became something of a problem in America in the ‘60s and ‘70s where students in particular could access the system and make free calls, the more malicious activity of tying up all the lines between exchanges was amusing to some just because it could be done. I remember the technique of making a local phone call but routing it via remote exchanges was called tromboning which entertained a mate of mine while we were supposed to be maintaining our private micro link system between plants.

Mike

Grinding aluminium and steel provides you with the ingredients of Thermite which if it succeeds in igniting causes a very violent reaction. They may be concerned that mixed use grinding can result in a fire which could take time to establish and be a risk to your workshop. A comprehensive clean of the machine would be wise if grinding steel is to follow wood or Aluminium. My cheapy belt sander seems happy to grind whatever I offer it but it is underpowered if asked to work hard.

Mike

Bear in mind that copper tube will crush in a 3 jaw chuck so it is near impossible to grip it tight without a mandrel to support it. For a one off ferrule I think I would avoid the breakthrough and finish cutting off with a junior hacksaw and tidy up with a file. If I was going to make a bag full for stock I would make an expanding mandrel. A six jaw chuck can be useful for thin walled tube but is quite an investment unless you do a lot of tube work, of course it is useful for ordinary work and is often seen on Stefan Gotteswinter’s lathe as his regular chuck.

Mike

If it has a brushed motor as some do then check the brushes are not worn and are free in the holder and contact the commutator. Bypassing the soft start and control gear should not be a problem but if you are not confident with mains power then seek assistance. The fuse may fail with the inrush current but is likely to survive. The startup will be quite brutal compared to the soft start so be prepared.

Mike

I think the wiring regulations require the wiring to be vertical or horizontal from any wall mounted sockets and switches, a band below the ceiling is also specified for wiring. Of course the shortest route cowboys may have been at work so it is best to check as far as possible.

Mike

Neslein, Union, Emir and Moore & Wright are classic British makers but none in current production. Used and restored are often available on eBay and other online sites. Gerstner have produced a budget version of their boxes but not made in America as far as I know and the ones I have looked at were well short of the high standard of the top of the range boxes, probably value for money though. A box in good order will cost a fair bit but compared to a new Gerstner will be more affordable.

Mike

Edited By Mike Poole on 04/06/2022 10:27:02

I do read reviews but I also take them with a pinch of salt. The glowing reviews for a product you know is average and the awful reviews are probably posted by people with an ulterior motive. YouTube reviews are often valueless as the reviewer is gifted the item or in the pay of the maker which is why linking to them is not permitted on this forum. The Amazon marketplace facility allows some suppliers of poor products to wear the cloak of Amazon and sometimes fail to satisfy. Of course peoples expectations and needs vary. Cheap tools may meet the requirements of a one time user whereas they could never meet the requirements of a professional user or have an unacceptably short life. Some people do not read the product description or know what they are buying, one classic is leaving a poor review for a sweet wine because it is sweet. A topical product was a poor review for a flag with eyelets at the side and none at the top, had they selected the banner rather than the flag option they may have been happy.

Mike

I think the do not grind on the side of the wheel is a general piece of advice to cover the activities of complete idiots. To list exceptions will become a subjective list that an idiot will be unable to interpret sensibly. Tool rests often do not extend to the side and a light touch grind and a heavy grind are very different, wear on the side will eventually be an issue as will dressing. A diamond dresser is very different from a Huntingdon type starwheel dresser. I think the picador type tool is aimed at occasional use and is not a heavy duty tool. A cup wheel is designed for side grinding but they are for precision tool grinding rather than fetteling castings. These are my opinions and I am not at all qualified to advise on grinding operations but as an occasional side wheel user I have not had any problems but I have never needed to dress the side of the wheel either. If I used the side enough to need to dress it then I think I would consider using a grinder designed for this rather than an off hand workshop grinder.

Mike

Although the Myford bed is at the light end of substantial lathe beds it is still fairly substantial. The motor and pulley drive are mounted on the back of the bed and may put a load on the bed that is inclined to twist the bed. I think it would be a fair assumption that the bed was true when it was manufactured but it would not be impossible that it could no longer be true due to being bolted down carelessly or age has moved it. When you set the lathe up it is desirable that it will machine the same diameter on as long a piece of work as possible so many people talk of twisting the bed to make it cut true but I think the exercise is to bolt the bed down without imparting any twist. The desirable bench needs to be stable and strong. Wood is material that is affected by humidity and does move so a metal bench or cabinet should be stable whatever the humidity. If the bed does actually need to be loaded to turn true then the bench or cabinet will need to be stronger than the bed to move it. As the Myford is mounted at 4 points then care should be taken to adjust the riser blocks so they do not twist the bed or if the bed has acquired a twist then it can be corrected with careful adjustment.
Mike

+1 for one of these, they all seem to have a threaded end to attach a rod of your desired length to pull through the headstock bore. 12 gauge seems ideal for the 2 morse taper on my Myford . The self ejecting tailstock taper is more of a problem at it tends to push any debris up the taper which either needs the shop vacuum or the barrel removing to clear out the rubbish.

Mike

The drawbar for the Myford Rodney milling accessory has a simple steel bush to centralise the drawbar and bear on the end of the spindle. The drawbar will need little more than nipping up to retain a collet chuck, removing the chuck can be difficult if tightened enthusiastically. I would consider making an ejector that fits the spindle nose thread that will eject the chuck without having to strike the drawbar. The ER type of collet chuck that screws on the nose has the benefit of being able to still use the spindle bore to mount long work if you want to work hold and not just mount cutters.

Mike

Edited By Mike Poole on 29/05/2022 17:26:25

People can certainly produce some corrosive sweat, Rory Gallagher’s famous guitar suffered badly over many years of live performance. The metal fittings corroded badly and the body finish suffered.

Mike

I cannot speak from personal experience but any sort of engineering degree course is going to be hard work. My sister went to university and her friends studying engineering had much more work to do. An engineering degree is often attractive to other industries so even if your interests move away from engineering it is always a valuable asset. Maths at a good level will make life easier and will be essential for many courses. My son studied maths and economics at university and had a very tough first year as he had only done pure maths A level and the course was pitched at having done pure and applied maths at A level, he came close to switching courses but worked hard and succeeded. It is very hard to plan your future but a clear idea of what you would like to finish up doing will help to select the course to suit your ambition. Adrian Newey has a degree in aeronautical engineering but is one of the most gifted and successful Formula 1 designers so skills are often transferable to related industries.

Mike

I had to lookup consanguinity, it could be a struggle to fit in to many conversations. Could be a candidate for a Susie Dent award.

Mike

Edited By Mike Poole on 24/05/2022 13:10:06

The Really Useful box company make a variety of boxes that are really useful for storing magazines and solve many storage problems.

Mike

I don’t think a Reilang is really intended as a high pressure oil gun that can pump oil into nipples intended for a high pressure oiler so I am not surprised that they are not great at that job. An oil gun like the Wanner or Tecalemit can produce very high pressure compared to a Reilang or Wesco type can.

Mike

My Wesco must be close to 50 years old now and I used to keep it full of 20/50 motor oil as it could pump oil through the rocker shafts of my Trident when reassembling the head and give a good squirt to everything that was going to wait for the oil to arrive on first startup. A Reilang is filled with 32 weight hydraulic oil for Myford general oiling but a Tecalimit oil gun does all the nipples. None of these could be claimed to be oil tight but the Reilang returns the oil that dribbles down the outside of the spout to the tank so the outside of the tank stays relatively clean to handle. My hands seem very tolerant of oils but many people are vulnerable to dermatitis and the thin membrane gloves offer protection and may be the only solution, a dusty oil can I am sure does not exist.

Mike

Do you remember if you were doing anything unusual or a non drilling activity the first time it came loose? The tapers may have collected some damage when it first came loose and no longer locks like it should, a very close examination and cleaning and then check with engineers blue to see if they still have a good match.

Mike

Did the cat get to it first?

Mike

It could be worth doing a blue check to establish the tapers are not damaged and match each other. They should not need hammering as the taper is designed to self hold and should not need much more than a good tap to mate firmly. A job that causes vibration or side loads can loosen a taper. Is this a machine with a chuck taper as the spindle nose or a chuck mounted on an arbor to fit a morse taper spindle? Is the taper that comes loose the one in the body of the chuck or the arbor to spindle taper?

Mike