Member postings for DMB

Hi Ed,

You could go into ABEBOOKS and create a wish list. There are others. Robert Humm booksellers, e.g.

Good luck with your search

John

Socket head screws will fit relevant nuts. What I mean is metric skt hds will fit metric hexhds, but the right size skt screw will do certain BA hex hds, simply because metric sized stock has been used to make BA screws. I doubt if any BA sized hex is made these days that can be used to make screws like they used to. "World has moved on".

Duncan,

The form was hard copy but at least they supplied a pre-paid envelope to return form!

Many optional answers suggest NPO -Non Profit Organisation. We produce an Annual Income & Expenditure Statement, showing an excess of Income over Expenditure or an excess of Expenditure over Income. Balance added to, or deducted from, Reserves. Simples! None of the club's that I belong to make very much excess Income so would not be of interest to the taxman. The form's last page includes a declaration (of course!) as to it's accuracy and truthfulness but with the let out, "to the best of my knowledge and belief", with signature. Up to 3 "Controlling Persons" giving name, DOB, Capacity, Residential Address and up to 3 Countries ofTax Residency, for each of the 3 Controlling Persons. They also want the relevant TIN (TAX Identification Number) or give a reason for not having one and there is a choice of 4 reasons. None appears to fit our circumstances - (A) country of tax residency does not issue TINS, (B)Country of TR doesn't require a TIN to be collected by Domestic Law, (C)Have applied for one and awaiting issue (plus supply within 30 days), so can't lie over that one - get caught out! (D) Controlling Person is a minor+ not issued with a TIN. Now do you see reason for being hacked off! I would answer B in each case. Staff checking everything filled in may only give it a cursory glance and miss the 'error', if there is one.

My job description, if you like, is based upon the title, 'Treasurer.' The club has a Secretary to deal with 'significant correspondence', so form will be passed on.

John

Edited By DMB on 01/09/2022 21:21:04

Dave W, Michael G,

Thanks for confirming that you have received what sounds like 'my' form.' My club' has around 55 members, small as miniature loco clubs go. We can't just shove the Dosh under the bed, we need a means of paying EDF for the elec., Member and public liability Insurance(£2008+ this year), Alarm company, Southern Fed subs., Business Stream/Southern Water, Rent to the council for land and track, clubhouse and storage shed and rent for another venue for evening meetings. All paid by Direct Debit. Quite a few members now pay by Faster Payment. Our subs are about average, the Dad's and repairs/renewals paid for by passenger fares. Above seems common to all similar clubs.

Howard,

Quite agree. Seems likely that every commercial bank customers are going to be clobbered with answering junk mail like this, regardless of size and all the time the banks continue to get their hands dirty with the filthy lucre from around the world.

John (hacked off!)

The Bank sent a letter addressed to the club, ( not me) at my address this week.  As Treasurer, they normally address Statements to me followed by the club's name.

”Tax Residency Self-Certification Form for Entities."  13 pages of crap questions aimed at weeding out dodgy company directors, I think.

A 2 page list of Frequently Asked Questions, headed "Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act(FATCA) and Common Reporting Standard (CRS)"

Covering 2 page letter containing a threat, do it or we'll pass the buck to taxman along with comments that if help is needed, seek independent advice as we don't offer it. In other words, if you can't cope, find someone who can, at your expense because we don't want to know.

I won't deal with it, that's why club's have a Secretary to deal with 'significant correspondence.'

All those questions which basically don't apply to my (un-limited) club. Dread to think how much extra bumf would be involved if we incorporated which a few inactive members wanted in the past. My reply was if that's what they insist upon, find another mug, sorry, Treasurer. It's only a hobby for me, not back to work.

I wonder if any other clubs have had this rubbish imposed upon them? Do the ME and MEW Editors know? Do the club federations know about all this nonsense?

John

Edited By DMB on 01/09/2022 15:29:39

I still maintain that the hobby doesn't need expensive super accurate pressure measurement. A much lower degree of accuracy is plenty good enough to give a reasonable ballpark idea of the test pressure having regard to the built-in factor of safety which is usually taken to be 8 times greater.

Asking as a large diameter test pressure gauge is used and is itself checked very occasionally against a DW tester and the equipment is kept under lock and key storage, that should be good enough Clubs of which i am a member, do this and have done for many years

Lets suppose that the small piston is .5" dia. and wears evenly around its circumference by .0005". That would mean an annular gap that amounts to the piston having worn by a thousandth of its original diameter. My guess is that would result in tears of fluid appearing similar to small leaks seen during actual boiler testing and would represent a tiny error. When a factor of safety of 8 is included within the design calculation, I don't think that there is any need for the foregoing hysteria about calibration,etc, etc. I am unaware of any serious incidents resulting from "inaccurate" boiler pressure tests. Failure of overheated plates due to lack of water circulation caused by deposit buildup is far more likely but I don't think that's occurred so far.

Edited By DMB on 31/08/2022 21:24:44

I am a bit smarter still! Just won't give 'em house room, ha, ha.

I am quite capable of taking monthly readings and transmitting them myself. If I want a hot drink, I'll simply stick jug kettle on and bugger how much it costs. Carrying on as I have for years, use what I want then switch it off, not standby.

Good tech. and rubbish tech. and smart tech falls in the rubbish category as far as I I'm concerned.

Clubs have managed boiler testing for many decades, often relying upon large pressure gauges. I doubt if many possess a dead weight tester. Such concern over extreme scientific accuracy doesn't seem entirely necessary or even desirable, given the enormous safety margin built into the design calculations. So would it really matter if the test pressure was measured to read say 200lb when the actual pressure was say 195 or 205? As long as experienced club testers weed out dodgy looking amateurish boiler making then I think that we can continue to be as safe as we have been for umpteen decades up to the present. I suggest that the majority of boilers are probably professionally made to a good satisfactory standard. One major problem affecting all boilers is that of being choked up with chalk deposits causing overheating of the plates and a shortage of inspection holes as used in full size locomotive boilers. I know of one club that uses modern electronic inspection equipment to view the inside.

A couple of times recently, I have had an email headed Car Insurance, followed by Confirmation Receipt. Message reads As low as $38/ month for Auto Insurance.

Wrong time of year for a renewal. Not quite sure about Confirmation Receipt and what that supposed to mean. Why would I pay in $ in the UK? If that's US $, 38 is roughly £20 and that's almost more than the last premium that I have paid. Auto is an American expression.

Scattergun approach? or does scammer think that I am a bigger twerp than him/ her.

Have to try a little harder!

I agree with Jason and Bernard on method - looks better. Tried in the past with junior hacksaw, rough appearance and never on centre. It's only a hobby but I'm trying to up my skills and turn out better work. When I need lots of screws, I'll use a quicker way.   Haven't got a 5C device anyway.

John

Edited By DMB on 26/08/2022 16:38:49

Chris M,

I have purchased dozens of items from Arc over the years and all orders found to be satisfactory and arrive quickly, so no worries there. Most of the ME/MEW advertisers have been found to be quick and supply reliable goods

John

Hi All,

Arceuro wedge type probably a lot cheaper than the Dickson type.

I purchased an el cheapo Dickson clone from a local ME supplier at Guildford club's open day many years ago. Unfortunately I didn't buy enough holders and several years later wanted more but said supplier discontinued them. They worked OK, happy with purchase and still using them. Here's the big but! Upon buying more holders elsewhere, new ones don't quite fit. Could never understand why until careful measurement revealed reason. Solution given by article in a recent copy of MEW, dismantle toolpost and shave a bit off the back of the puller that grips the toolholder. An easier solution for others; buy a complete system from one of the better suppliers and get plenty of holders at the same time.

Hi All,

Currently working on a project requiring a couple of small screws which I don't have, so make 'em! It's a Myford accessory so thinking about what I need looks similar to the screws holding the wiper on the side of the cross slide. Don't currently have a ready means of making nice Roundheads so settled for slotted cheese heads, quicker and easier. I chucked a piece of 5/16" steel bar and turned down a half inch length to .186" dia and put starting taper on the end and ran the 2BA die up as far as it would go. I then reversed the die and ran it up again, so as to get thread as close as possible to the head. Parted off with a generous height of head, ready to finish both screw to identical head height. Next, I drilled and tapped 2BA, the same steel bar to make a holder. Time of writing this, it's as far as I got last night. Next step, simple jig making, put screw in end of threaded bar and turn heads down to identical heights. Then mount horizontally in mill vice and set up a thin circular saw central to the screw head diameter and slot both screws in turn. They are to hold the stop plate on the LH side of a GHT rear toolpost, where the plate will protrude below the base against the LH side of the cross slide, providing quick simple alignment.

Hi George,

Just some thoughts on your post for helping beginners.

If I may make suggestions for constructing the above screw punch. Stamp punched hole size each end as per piccie. The screws made from silver steel with the punch end drilled out tapered - centre drill?? Harden and temper light straw at business end so it will do thin steel sheet/.strip poke it thro a spud for heat treatment.

John

Edited By DMB on 26/08/2022 08:50:16

My cheaper, no makers name QCTP works OK with the toolholders purchased to go with it but the supplier has discontinued the system and now I'm stuck as other makes don't fit or only with difficulty. False Economy! Reason seems to be like what was described by a contributor in a recent copy of MEs Workshop. Another darned roundtoit! I did find that fairly small tools fitted, allowing height adjustment as detailed above by Nicholas. Hefty tools are only suitable for very large lathes tearing off great depths of cut or shapers where there are considerable stresses involved with the tool bashing the work at the start of each stroke.

Look under "Thread: parting tool trouble" my posts 4th & 5th August 2022. All I can say is that the PT blade, holder and QCTP works OK for me on my Super7.

John

Hi Chris and everyone,

Look back through my previous posts and you will find that I recommended the tool shown in your photos. However, I use the blade in the QCTP holder supplied by RDG and mounted on the QCTP, allowing height adjustment, which your 4way toolpost doesn't.

John

I want bound vols of old MEs for personal use, not to buy cheap and flog on via the flea market at a fat profit. There are lots of them advertised for £32 / vol!! They can keep them at even half that.If I can't buy them at a reasonable price to read at home, I'll read them on day visits to a club that does possess them. Wonder how much the would be vendors paid?

John H., Last funeral that I attended took little more than half hour, not half day! Talk about "next please" conveyor.

John