Member postings for Mike Poole

A German owned British car factory was something of an embarrassment to its owners, the productivity was best in group until a plant was opened in what was East Germany. That plant had a different rule book from the other plants, as did we.

Mike

Edited By Mike Poole on 20/08/2023 16:16:53

You may experience strobe effects with unsmoothed DC, fluorescent lighting is also a strobe risk but most of us use it in the workshop without having a problem. Being aware of the possibility is probably enough to avoid grabbing hold of a rotating job that appears stationary.

Mike

Decent thread gauges settle the what thread is this debate, it is very satisfying when the correct thread gauge is offered to the perfect matching thread. My thread gauges are all pre owned Moore & Wright so I don’t know if the cheaper sets provide the same satisfaction. It is unlikely that anyone will wear out a set of thread gauges so they will last a lifetime even if they are used items.
Mike

When my parents were having central heating installed the plumber had a Ford Thames van, he kept a large pack of wire wool behind the drivers seat but unfortunately the Thames battery is also located there, inevitably the wire wool met the battery and there was lots of smoke and glowing wire wool. For a young lad it was quite exciting but I think the Norman the plumber was less impressed.

Mike

**LINK*

https://youtu.be/Iz9KnPZWOgs

If you want to fill your swimming pool with custard you can walk on it.

Mike

Edited By Mike Poole on 14/08/2023 10:34:28

Edited By Mike Poole on 14/08/2023 10:35:27

Is 32mm a standard size? or a generous rounding up of 31.75mm which is 1 1/4” exactly I would rather machine a 32mm arbor down to 31.75mm and deal with the gap if 32mm wheels arrive.

Mike

I had to pay £250 for a BMW key fob after my son lost one, as I understand it the old one remains operational, unlikely the finder will ever be within 500 miles of my car. I noticed the front brake callipers on a A6 were VW but it was an old car so may not be factory fitted.

Mike

If the “quality remains long after the price is forgotten” then it could be worth the cost. There is with out a doubt some pleasure in using good tools but sometimes a cheapy for a one off job is sufficient.

Mike

I built an MSF receiver and had a hell of job setting it up until I switched the computer monitor off that was nearby, this was years ago when monitors were CRT based. It was emitting a strong signal close to 60khz and swamping the MSF.

Mike

Edited By Mike Poole on 20/07/2023 11:21:57

They seem to be busy overnight so you walk into their web in the morning, apparently they don’t like lavender so I sprayed it round the workshop, it didn’t seem to bother them as much as me, although lavender is not too unpleasant I can’t say I like my workshop to smell of it. I wonder what these spiders live on, flies seem rare in the workshop.

Mike

If you do decide to wind coil then make sure you remove the wire coating before measuring, an easy way is just heat it in a flame and burn it off.

Mike

The ban on carrying a knife is qualified by the “without a good reason”, being a member of a drug gang and claiming it is for self defence is not a good reason but if it is a tool of your trade and you are engaged in that trade at the time then you have a good reason.

Mike

I have never sent a Christmas card in my life, my wife has a long list and composes the dreaded news letter which the recipients say they enjoy, they may just be polite though. The present thing is also wasted on me, I can’t think of anything I actually want as anything in the normal range of presents I will already have. My wife insists that presents must be a surprise but I have long ago confirmed my belief that I am useless at choosing a present so don’t bother.
Mike

Despite my earlier post that nitrile gloves may be useful and be low risk I must say that I never wear gloves when working. Looking at nitrile gloves they do seem to come in various thicknesses and combinations with other materials. What I had in mind was the thin examination type of glove, my very limited personal experience of these is that they are very fragile and would probably be unlikely to drag your hand in like a cotton glove would. I don’t fancy doing the testing to find out if some gloves are safer than others and my default position would be no gloves, but for anyone with some need of protection the thin nitrile would be my limit. When operating machinery there are endless temptations to clear swarf and slow chucks to take a quick measurement, doing these things can go wrong in a heartbeat so recognising danger and resisting the temptation to take an unnecessary risk requires constant vigilance.

Mike

A friend broke both his wrists falling off a motorbike, I imagine his dear wife had this task. Fortunately he was off work until his wrists healed.

Mike

51 years after the safety lecture on my apprenticeship induction I have a clear memory of a finger and it’s tendons that was torn off it’s owner by a glove caught by a drilling machine. Disposable nitrile gloves are the only gloves I would consider using on a lathe as they tear easily. Many people with sensitive skin use nitrile gloves and probably a good idea for anyone using oils and solvents. They should be fairly effective against brass chips which can make most unpleasant splinters.

Mike

Great care should be taken to keep such an important part in good working order. Clean hands should be a requirement before handling and after the task is completed washing hands is important. Particularly with urinals a bit of splash and small droplets can be produced so after the purple headed warrior is put safely away wash hands. Take care with turning on the taps in an unfamiliar washroom as some are not throttled and splashed trousers can be rather embarrassing.
Mike

The standard motor for the ML7R is a 4 pole. Doubling the speed using a 2 pole motor could run into questions about the max safe speed of chucks and whether the headstock bearings would be happy, in particular the bronze cone bearing. If you want extra speed the 4 pole motor can be over speeded with the VFD if required but I would be wary about massively exceeding the design speed of any machine. The standard motor for the ML7R is 4 pole and 3/4 hp or 550W. I fitted a VFD to mine and fitted a 4 pole 1hp or 750W motor as I felt the motor would give just a little bit more power at low frequencies but never avoid changing the belt ratios and using the back gear if required.

Mike

Hi Steve, I am sorry I don’t know what the selling price was as I came across it after it was sold. I suppose Station Road Steam might tell you if you drop them an email. I would tend to agree with you that the fast and loose pulley setup would be an option and maybe be an indicator that this may have been built from a kit. The differences between the machines may be an owners mod at any time in history or maybe the design was modified during the production life. As Nick explains the fast and loose setup would be for a shop with line shafting. Today I think I would do the same as Nick and power the drill from its own motor and this could be started and stopped when required. Motors do have a recommended number number or starts per hour but in a home workshop this is unlikely to be an issue.

Mike

Station road steam Sold this drill last year, it looks to be much like your’s, the name remains a mystery but it appears to have some additional features.

Mike