Member postings for Ian Welford

personally I would run along the length for "overall lighing" then allow separate spurs from them via pull cords to spotlights located where needed. Having said that my arrangement grew piecemeal as I added "essential equipment" (SWMBO sometimes reads these posts !) .

I found using pull cords for spotlighting gave me control over where and when I wanted extra light. The day light tubes are a good idea as are daylight bulbs for better colour vision..

Lastly PAINT the walls and cailing white, seals the walls, reflects the light and makes cleaning up easier too.

Ian

Well tried less tight and span a 3MT today so maybe a bit tighter than hand tight next time. No damage to 3MT or to new 4mm woodruff cutter- phew!

Ian

Cotton wool buds are good for getting swarf out. Dip in grease, insert into offending orifice and withdraw along with swarf.

The interdental brushes work well for dilodging jammed bits. By the way- always be nice to your dentist-

1 It hurts less !

2 The have old dental probes which are great for extracting things from holes, cleaning small internal threads etc.

Ian

Many thanks for advice . I must admit I have probably overdone it. The mill has a captive drawbar but the tooling was able to not totally disengage when extracting. The adaptor that holds it is just engaged about 1 1/2 turns, needs a longer adaptor- another job!

Especially thanks for advice re bearings, don't want to have to replace!

Regards Ian

Fobco star are excellent but if you can get one with a rise and fall table it makes life a whole lot easier!

I put a cross vice on mine so I can move the work under the drill under complete , accurate control.

Mind you always check belt speed ( friction welded a 10mm drill down a pilot hole some years back- I still wince when I remember that incident and the shriek it made )

Also never try to redrill a hole for a farmer in a "bit of a plough " so he could fit a bigger shear pin! By god that steel was hard. Even after oxy acetylene treatment we struggled.

Ian

Ian

Have you considered an Alexander Master Tool maker?

I've got one ( thanks to the late Gerry Proctor for the guidance- god rest him) and they're a Deckel clone. Well built and very versatile.

See the lathes uk site for details of build , capacity etc.

Good luck- Ian

and if you come accross a slotting head let me know!

Jenny is still trading - just damn difficult to contact ! I speak from much personal experience!

Lovely lady though and very helpful !

Ian

After having to use a copper mallet to extract a 2mt fitting from it. I wonder how hard should one tighten a mill drawbar? After all it's only to stop the fitting being pulled out by the action of the cutter ? vibtration from intermittant cutting isn't it?

If that displays my ignorance please forgive me. It's just reading the recent MEW about an extractor that made me question how tight I need to have the drawbar in the first place? Currently I make damn sure it's tight using a spanner ( 6 inch long spanner) but this is operating a 10mm square bolt head. Perhaps if I wasd a little less enthusiastic with the spanner??

Thoughts please?

Terry

the best one was "the wrong size hole", as in oh heck!. That's not right! - you can see we need a bigger one- get a few spares whilst you're there and we'll try them for size!

Ian

Rick

don't bet on the complimentary copy! Plastic injection moulding- there's a thought ! Some of my recent work has been "remanufacturing" plastic bits in metal to make them more "son resistant"- kind of like "unbreakable" but then you let your kids have a go and they prove ( what ever it was) it is not.

Take care a friend had one of the die's on an injection moulder break and the plastic gave him quite bad burns! Mind you he needed a hair cut and the hospital did a fair job for free- the benefits of the National health Service you see!

Ian

that page is brilliant. I was looking for a reference to a "long stand" or "left handed space hook"- always a good thing to send a junior for when they've got on your nerves for long enough.

Like the tool for cutting internal and external threads at the same time!

Ian

Welcome to the play room Rick. As yet haven't got issue 188 so cannot coment on your writing.

I'll nip and have a look at your web site now .

All the guys I've met, either in person, or by e mail, have been creative people who enjoy making things. Some enjoy making them for the sake of making them- "the journey is as important as the destination". Others just want the final result.

One thing they all have in common is a willingness to learn and to help others to learn and enjoy it. My interests are in making tooling with the long term aim of making a 5" Speedy loco. Also making "gadgets" for my wood turning . Repairing things for my 2 sons also gets a high priority !

Looking forward to getting 188 then will let you know!

Regards Ian

With respect to vapours, as I said I use parafin / neat cutting opil mix and gradually the parafin evaporates and it becomes "neat" cutting oil again. Yes it's flammable but as the parafin is a low proportion not highly so.

WRT Thymol as an essential oil it is flammable but diluted in the Suds mix it will be present at so low a level as not to be a problem. It is a natural antiseptic but has been superceded by more modern and safer ones ( safer as in swallow them and you don't get serious issues, just throw up etc) As it's oil soluble it's not going to attack the machine surfaces but might not be so good for any rubber seals etc. But then again the oil content of suds will attack these eventually, as will metal particles etc.

Ian

Behind the settee? and aim in a different direction?

Well done getting the Tich motoring. I have to get mine boiler tested ( given to me by My Generous Uncle, god bless him ) mind you he wants to monitor my driving it on the club track !

This all puts off working on Speedy again but.... got to have an aim in life.

NJH never tell people you do wood turning, the number of jobs that turn up for " when you've got a minute" is intersting. Mind you I will enjoy the bottle of wine for the draw knobs, and it was a tricky little thing to hold which makes it more "exciting"

Oops can't spell- that shoule of course read "autolock"

Ian

Alan

Think there's an R8 one on there now. try "autolcok" as sometimes it dioesn't pick it up if you specify "Clarkson"

Ian

Bob, Clive et al ,

Can't say where you'de get Wood alcohol, it's not listed in "Martindale" which is the pharmacists bible of what's available world wide.

However if it needs an alcohol either isopropyl would do or surgical spirit ( ethanol with a bit of methanol and castor oil thrown in so it's toxic if you drink it ) or methanol ( "Meths" this just has (from memory) Pyrogallol added to it to make it more toxic and give it a purple colour to put you off drinking it).

I suggest using surgical spirit as the castor oil and methanol won't hurt machines. Dissolve it in this and add to your suds SLOWLY so it's dispersed into the liquid. That way although you're diluting the alcohol and it will start to crystalise out, there should be soo much water around that it will mix in. Thymol does dissolve in the oil phase of the suds quite readily so shouldn't be too mich issue.

Personally use neat cutting oil although I add about 25% parafin to give it some cooling effect. Seems to work OK for me, does pong though not as bad as suds gone off.

Good luck Ian

John

I think I follow your description but could you put a diagram up to make sure I understand you please? Are you saying you leave an unthreaded portion 3 diameters long which protrudes through the "top" jaw?

Also I made some "one sided" tool makers and they are invaluable for standing things level whilst you drill things etc on the drill table. That idea justified MEW for me!

Regards Ian

Just a thought- garden hoes split down one side is excellent at protwecting the edges of reamers ( if kept in a drawer). You can also use it to protcet the teeth of hand saws etc from fingers and vice versa.

Professionally - ask your local chemist for spare tubes etc from stuff people return for disposal. the clear plastic applicator storage tubs from "Zineryt" are excellent for small screws and just right to store a pair of 3/4 knurling wheels in !

Often ( eg "calceos" tablet tubes) they have dessicant capsules built into the lid as well! 35 mm film containers (clear prefferably) are free and good as well.

If anyone knows someone who works for a print works ask for LITHO plate- excellent uniform aluminium shim stock. just down to my last 5 sheets ( but as it's 400 x 500 that's still a good supply!)

Regards Ian

What size tapping drills should one use? I have M3, M4 , M5 and M6 forming taps?

Thanks Ian