Member postings for David Colwill

Automatic transmission fluid.

David

I was bothered by the wider issues.

The general opinion seemed to be that this wheel was unsafe (which I was inclined to agree with) but how many others would have bought and used them and how many of them would have seen this discussion?

I think we can all agree that nobody should be on the receiving end of a dodgy grinding wheel.

Regards.

David.

The process is called erosion testing. There are mentions of it on google but not many.

David.

See my earlier post. There is no doubt that these holes are not for balancing but to test the wheel. They are put in post manufacture and do not affect the integrity of the wheel. At least this is what I heard in a telephone conversation with a chap called Simon Peel who works for Saint Gobain / Norton. This has put this matter to bed as far as I'm concerned.

Regards.

David.

I must admit that I have found this post quite alarming, so much so that I decided to find out more.

I contacted Saint Gobain and spoke to a chap in their technical department. He said that this is probably part of the testing process.

Basically they sand blast the hole near the centre for a given period of time to give them an accurate indication of the hardness of the wheel. This is not done on all wheels but on one or two in a batch.

He also said that putting the dimple near the centre did not affect the wheel in any adverse way.

I told him that there were two holes in this wheel and he did not seem to think that there was anything to worry about.

I should also point out that I did make it clear that this was not one of their wheels.

Regards.

David

On smaller lathes always go for the clamp type as they put less strain on the spindle bearings. I got both of mine from Chronos and have been very happy with them.

Regards.

David.

Let us know how you get on. I recently acquired one and it is still on its original belt but we all know what that means.

Regards.

David.

I have a C3 and find it to be a very capable lathe but..... The way the saddle is held to the bed is rubbish. Clearly some are better than others because some people can part off with no problem. I couldn't so replaced the existing arrangement with a tapered gib. this has improved things no end. Also there is no saddle lock as standard and this is another mod well worth doing especially if you want to part off.

A good but not infallible test is to grab the toolpost with one hand the bed with the other and see how much you can move the saddle by pushing in the direction of the cross slide. If you are happy that it is pretty solid you should be good to go.

Regards.

David.

That certainly is the one, it's still in the same shed!

Thanks for looking through the previous 63 pages Dave

We still need to find a new owner for it.

Regards.

David.

Well can someone please win it! Perhaps Neil can help fund the purchase by publishing an article about it.

Regards.

David.

E.W Lathes are worth looking out for. There is a long thread about them on this forum and they do appear on ebay from time to time. I'm sure you are aware of it but the "lathes.co.uk" website has lots of useful info on many different types.

Regards.

David.

Whilst looking on the "bay" I came across this lathe of a type I haven't seen before and wondered if anyone knew what it was.

**LINK**

It looks like quite an interesting find.

Regards.

David.

If you can find or have found one in good condition then go for it. Make sure that it has all the accessories that you will need eg chucks steadies etc as these are hugely expensive to buy later.

I think that it may be an idea to look out for an old smaller lathe as well though. Although you can do small work on a large lathe it can be a pain. A less well equipped small lathe perhaps bought as a restoration project would not break the bank and would be a good project to get you back in the swing of things. Chucks and other items for small lathes are not too expensive and having access to a large lathe would make it an easier project.

I say this only because putting the 4 jaw on my Dean Smith and Grace is quite a task compared to the Chinese mini lathe.

Regards.

David

Have a look at the youtube videos by Dan Gelbart titled "Making prototypes". They won't tell you everything but there are some interesting bits.

Regards.

David.

RS do an item called a commoning block which I find very useful.

http://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/commoning-blocks/3882861/

is on example. They do various ones. They are however not cheap.

Regards.

David.

Well isn't that a coincidence? I came across the Duncans amps website on Saturday whilst looking for info on an Avo CT160. It's a small world!

Regards.

David.

There is a widely held belief that just owning the castings for a Quorn qualifies you as a fully fledged model engineer and yet you casually state that you have built the thing!

A dark horse this one!

Regards and welcome.

David.

I read "Wings on my sleeve" years ago, an amazing man. He also featured on the documentary about TSR2 which I believe he was involved in testing.

A full life yes but still sad that such an inspiration is no longer with us.

David.

PS in spite of a fairly hectic schedule today I still had to watch the youtube video. So thanks Nick

Dean Smith & Grace 1330. Nothing that really bothers me except that it requires a team of oxen 8 days to pull the tailstock down the bed. No gripes with the Smart and Brown 1024 either though a 3 morse taper tailstock would be nice.

Hi All,

I have noticed a problem on the Z axis ( lathe carriage ) of my Sino DRO. When moving near the chuck a random error of between 1 mm and 8 mm is added or subtracted from the true value. I have 2 bed stops and have set these up to do the tests. The scale is fine further up the bed. I do use coolant when parting and although the scale has a protective cover I doubt this is 100 percent effective.

So, I suspect that dirt has got onto the scale. Has anyone any experience of cleaning these scales? Or any ideas as to how to proceed?

The DRO is about 8 years old so it certainly doesn't owe me anything and I am prepared to buy a new scale if necessary but would rather spend the money on something else.

Many thanks in advance.

David