Member postings for Mike Poole

It sounds like an ideal job for the eccentric engineering Turnado but that would be quite a lot of money for a one off job and it may be a while before the next job came along. Of course once you have one it might become very useful.

Mike

I have run a Delonghi compressor type for quite a few years and it seems to pull quite a lot of water out of the air. Although the compressor type are poor performers in the very cold it seems to me that I don’t have condensation problems when it is cold. The nightmare scenario is when everything in the workshop has dropped to a very low temperature and the the weather changes to a warm wet wind and as soon as this gets in the workshop the water drops out on to all the cold metal surfaces. As soon as the air is warm and wet the dehumidifier gets to work but water condensing on the cold machinery is near instant but the dried air from the dehumidifier seems to absorb the moisture. Of course humans produce moisture so removing the moisture we produce is useful to prevent it condensing on cold surfaces. The dew point seems a very complicated thing to calculate but there seems to be two important ways of combating it, heat everything above it or dry the air so the moisture doesn’t condense. Continuous heating is expensive and wasteful if the air is dry and not going to unload its moisture. I imagine a control system could be designed to run heating and a dehumidifier to keep a well insulated room always dry. One thing I notice is that items in still corners of the workshop can get rusty so air movement is probably useful to make sure the moist air gets dried.

Mike

Edited By Mike Poole on 27/02/2023 17:12:38

Jacobs 34

This says made in China, there is no reason that China cannot meet the Jacobs quality but maybe Jacobs don’t pay enough or specify tightly enough. It looks like the made in China is on the box and not on the chuck so once the box has gone it’s just a Jacobs chuck

Mike

Edited By Mike Poole on 24/02/2023 16:54:56

I rather doubt they would be BSP as that is 0.383 diameter, just a touch over 3/8”. 1/4” BSF is 26tpi and quite likely was used before the motor industry moved to UNF and UNC.

Mike

I think Stefan Gotteswinter and Joe Pie demonstrate the safe and useful use of compressed air for clearing swarf from a job. Like most people who served an apprenticeship the use of compressed air was forbidden in the training machine shop, a wise rule as apprentices given a toy like a blow gun will find it impossible not to fool about with it. Part of our 3 days of induction into factory safety and a multitude of other stuff was a warning to not point a blowgun at anybody, in particular applying it to the anus will kill and does not even need to be in contact to rupture intestines fatally. Once you are a grown up and realise that gentle puffs do the job and a full pressure blast will blow stuff everywhere usually straight in your or someone else’s eye or into parts of the machine you don’t want swarf in then I feel a blow gun is useful. I don’t have a compressor but I would use a blowgun as it is useful and can be used safely.

Mike

The myfordlathes group on the groups.io site have most of the available documentation for the ML 1-4 series. The info is downloadable for members of the group and the forum is very helpful.

Mike

Edited By Mike Poole on 20/02/2023 09:20:17

It would probably help to bolt the lathe onto a frame to make it easy to pick up and carry. The weight is not unmanageable but getting a secure comfortable grip on a bare lathe is not easy. The problem with just two people is a stumble or back twinge can be disastrous. A frame for an easy four man lift means one man can drop out and the rest carry on.

Mike

I was wondering if a grub screw will be hard enough for a tappet adjuster? They are usually very hard whereas socket headed fasteners are made from material selected and heat treated for toughness. Depending on your application the grub screws may have a shorter than hoped for life. Of course they may last for ever if they are relatively lightly stressed.

Mike

Amazing how they do so much with so little. I suppose having a team of helpers handy is useful but I think a hoist would be handy when jobs get that heavy.

Mike

2hp is a small motor that would normally be quite happily started direct on and typically wound for 400V star, when motors get larger star delta becomes useful and the motors may be wound for star at 690V and delta at 400V. Electronic soft start units are probably very competitive with a contactor based star delta starter these days. As larger motors will not be run from a single phase input VFD then winding for 230V delta is not very practical as it will not be possible to use star delta starting.

Mike

Oxfam have an online book shop as well as high street book only shops. They seem aware of the value of books. They may not be a cause the family wish to raise money for and other charities may also check book values.

Mike

Star point

was this the thread you had in mind John?

Mike

At the price shown for a Dormer step drill I can see why you want to grind your own. As they are so expensive I guess they become economical for production jobs as you avoid the counterbore operation. The drill modified as in the picture was widely used in our tool room for producing a counterbore but of course the hole needs drilling first.
Mike

Providing the three windings are all the same polarity the order of connection will only result in the motor running forwards or backwards. Companies who make motors ensure that they run in a standard direction so that quick change plugs can be used and the motor direction guaranteed. The star delta bridging is also included in the plug top to save installing links in the motor terminal box. Obviously in a home workshop it is easy to swap the direction if necessary and fitting links for star or delta will usually be a one off job. When you aim to build a car every 60 seconds the few minutes saved on a motor change if the failed unit can be unplugged and the replacement can be just plugged in can save thousands of pounds.

Mike

If you have a 100V DC supply it would be very useful.

Mike

They certainly found the needle in the haystack. Being radioactive probably made it a bit easier and a sensor that picked it up at 40mph.

Mike

Fresh pipe is pretty malleable and I have hammered it flat without splitting but it may age harden a bit. I would be inclined to give it a go but have plan B ready to go if it does split.

Mike

Probably not a good idea to be around an induction hob if you have any electronic equipment fitted like a pacemaker, defibrillator, cochlear implant etc. Be careful with VFDs as well, especially as many of us don’t comply with emissions control with our installation.

Mike

A 12” inserted tooth facemill with a 100hp spindle drive produced most unfriendly blue chips on a Herbert Ingersoll planomill. Strategically placed steel screens were required to control the spread of chips and shelter the operator. More interesting chips were created by the Stirk planer with a single point tool, hot chips of crushed steel were produced, a single chip would just fit in your hand after it had cooled of course.

Mike

Pure aluminium is a gummy material, is it possible to drill a clearance hole to avoid tapping the full thickness of the material?
Mike