Member postings for Mike Crossfield

Chid

That's very interesting. I did like the Heimann design. Can you give me some more information about adding the motion work? Did you use the arrangement used on the month going version? What changes are needed to the plates?

Thanks

Mike

Thanks chaps, that's 4 votes for the Timmins design. Interesting because it was not one that I had considered. I will definitely investigate further.

I'd still be interested in hearing from anyone with experience of the Heiman and/or Reeves regulator designs, or any other designs which might fill the bill.

Mike

I want to build a long case clock, but I'm having difficulty choosing a design. This is going to be a major investment in time and cash, so I want to get it right.

I want the clock to be accurate, and I'm not concerned about it striking, so a regulator is attractive. However, most regulator designs seem to have separate dials for hours and minutes, and this does not go down well with the domestic authority. I bought Peter Heimans regulator clock book thinking this might be an appropriate design, but only his month going variant has a conventional dial, and I prefer the simplicity of an eight day movement. I've also seen the Claude Reeve gravity escapement design, which also looks interesting, but I've read that the escapement is difficult to get right, and it looks as though the plates would be a life's work to fret out.

Any comments on the two designs I've mentioned would be appreciated, as would any suggestions for other designs which might be appropriate.

Thanks

Mike

No photos showing, so can't help re. raising blocks.

A paint which I can highly recommend is Tractol enamel. Very tough and oil resistant. High solids content so covers well, and slow drying, so even if you brush apply the finish is good. You can usually source it on line from flea bay, or from suppliers like Smith&Allen (who incidentally are also the cheapest supplier I've found for Myford spindle and slideway oils). Agricultural suppliers often stock it as well.Ferguson Grey is a very close match to the grey used on older Myford.

Mike

-agree 100% with Michael.

I have made various items to support my good lady's handicraft hobbies, and earned lots of brownie points in the process. Things like a lace bobbin winder, a stand for sewing frames, a sewing stiletto, and tools for inserting and removing drawing pins.

Mike

"What is the advantage of the Meek apron handwheel over the leadscrew handwheel? "

1. The apron handwheel dial can be zeroed at any point, and is 1.00 inch/rev

2. The apron handwheel is more conveniently placed than the leadscrew handwheel.

The leadscrew handwheel calibration is more accurate than the Meek handwheel, but for most of my work the apron handwheel is good enough. Out of interest I checked the calibration against the leadscrew handwheel over several inches of travel of the rack, and it was within +/- 3 thou.

Mike

I successfully repaired similar damage to my drilling machine using araldite loaded with cast iron dust. I made the dust by filing a lump of scrap cast iron, then added as much as I could to some pre-mixed standard araldite without it it getting too stiff. Degreaser the damaged areas, pressed the mix in firmly, then filed back flat when set (24 hours). 15 years later the repairs are still fine.

Mike

Martin

Graham Meek's design drawings show a backplate with alternative fixing holes for machines with and without PCF. If you have a commercially produced handwheel you may find that both fixing holes are present. As already pointed out, no drilling of the lathe apron is necessary for PCF machines, so at the very worst you may need to drill a hole in the handwheel backplate to align with the oil filler plug.

I made one of these handwheels last year, and it is an excellent addition to the lathe. I use it all the time, and would now be lost without it.

Mike

Apologies- l misread which dimension related to which arrowed lines on the thread and register diameters. Bearing taper is definitely a typo however.

Mike

"Here it is, courtesy of Tubal Cain. Model Engineer's Handbook"

Treat this drawing with great caution because it is riddled with errors. Just to point out a couple, both the thread diameter and the register diameter are incorrect. The taper on the bearing is also shown as 2.25 degree, instead of the correct 12.25 degree.

Mike

As John has said, rotary table would be safer than pivoting on a bolt, and give a better finish. But either way you should start at one end of the arc, rather than in the middle, and move in the correct direction to avoid climb milling.

Mike

My very early Super 7 does not have this ball and spring, and the clutch works just fine. I am guessing they were added to keep some tension on the mechanism to reduce any risk of rattles. I can't see that it would do any harm if they were not fitted.

Mike

If the original parts are suitable for reconditioning, I can recommend Lathespares (lathespares.co.uk). They can restore Myford parts at very reasonable cost. I had my cross slide reground and was very pleased with the result. Fast service too. Mike

If you do a search on Google for "diprofil manual" you will find just what you need.

Hth Mike

I did a similar swap some years ago without difficulty. I seem to remember that I needed to drill and tap a new mounting position in the back of the ML7 bed for the Super 7 countershaft arm.

Mike

Thanks all.

After checking with ems and machine DRO it seems the current deal at mDRO is hard to beat.

Ordered a complete 2 axis milling package with 5 micron magnetic scales for £330 including carriage.

Mike

I'm looking for a 2 axis DRO for my small Dore Westbury milling machine. Since space is very limited I've decided to go for magnetic scales. Machine DRO offer a kit for £360 which seems to fit the bill, but they are the only supplier I can find who offer low cost magnetic systems. It would be nice to have someone else for comparison . Does anyone know of another supplier?

Mike

Like Ian, I found the RLS scales very interesting, but couldn't find prices or a stockist.

Any further info appreciated.

Mike

Thanks Brian. PM sent.

I'm considering fitting a DRO to my Dore Westbury milling machine. There is not much space for the scales on this small mill, and there are many options on DROs. I would therefore be very interested to hear from anyone who has experience of installing a DRO on a DW.