Member postings for A Smith

It is a disease. The medical description I, "Arts based degree-ism". Publicly owned museums are now run by professional curators who, having an arts degree, have no interest in engineering and assume that the entire general public have the same outlook.

I was recently at the Black Country Living Museum, all the cars and bikes, especially the bikes, are crammed into small spaces where it is almost impossible to look at them. The curator is, "more interested in the interpretation of history, rather than artefacts", or so I was informed.

It will soon be the case that private museums, run by enthusiastic volunteers, will be the only ones that appeal to those interested in engineering and technology.

Andy

I've owned a Tri Leva since the mid eighties and have changed the belts about every five or six years. Once you get the hang of the adjustment process, it all works well. The speed selection levers double as clutches so stopping, starting and speed changing (between the three speeds available) is almost instant. Engaging & dis-engaging the back gear is a bit of a pain, it's more difficult to raise the spindle/ belt cover on a Tri Leva, so it's easier to leave it in position and just use the cover behind the bearing as Nottingham intended.). I have an Allen key with a shortened business end, just for this purpose.

It is important to tension the motor drive belt first because that will affect the distance between the three drive pulleys and the spindle. I now use one of the segmented, cogged belts & it has been completely satisfactory. To get the right grip, this belt should be tensioned so that there is no slack but it's not tight enough to pull the driving (top) spindle down appreciably.

Having done this, with the other three belts slackened right off, adjust the tension of each belt until it just grips. This may require a lot less tension than you expect. The belt tension should be just about discernible as the speed selection lever is pulled down. If it slips when you're taking a normal cut, just tweak it up slightly.

With the motor running and with all three levers right up, the main spindle (mandrel to some) should not revolve at all.

Hope this helps.

Andy

What an excellent piece of work!

When testing a diving air cylinder with air, with the cylinder in a pit, the test adaptor failed and was expelled at high speed, retained only by the long hose used to connect the air supply. The adaptor hit the leg of a very robust cast iron bench and cracked the leg. The remains of the adaptor looked like it had been through a hydraulic press. I was about 30 or so yards away and thought that a bomb had exploded. The individual conducting the test wasn't great on thread forms and had found an adaptor that "fitted".

I pressure test things as part of my professional life (40 years on from the above) and I would not consider re-purposing a gas cylinder for industrial use. At home? I would only consider it if I could hydrostatically test it to at least twice the working pressure. Darwin rules OK.

Magnets are great for collecting steel swarf -as mentioned above. Like many others, I put the magnet inside a plastic bag that can be turned inside out to remove the bits without them sticking to the magnet.

More of a health & safety thing - wear gloves when MIG welding, you can sunburn the back of your supporting hand if you don't - guess how I know!

Andy

Nick,

Really interesting. Please keep posting.

Andy

I seem to remember that in ME a few months ago, someone, Geoff Theasby?, suggested a design for an EMI projector to deal with these things.......

I see that vacant Moderator/Troll position left by the late lamented JS has now been filled. Good Work!

I use a 2mm inserted tip parting off tool with great success on my Myford ML7. It is fitted in a quick change tool holder. I used to struggle with parting off, things improved when I discovered the carriage lock! and again, years later, when I purchased the inserted tip tool from JB tools. I have a rear toolpost but haven't felt the need to use it, as yet.

Andy

Wayne,

pm sent.

Andy

For my Tri-Leva, I use the Castrol H32 equivalent, "Hyspin" I think. Cromwell tools sell it in 5l containers. Probably about £15 - 20 by now. 5l lasts many years at the rate I use it, so not up to date on prices.

Andy

Just watched Bob Rodgerson's video of his miniature aero engine. Very impressed.

Andy

Splitting this thread is a retrograde step, in my opinion. I think that the new thread will die fairly quickly. As for the complainers who don't want to read about beekeeping or astronomy - if you don't like it, don't read it. If slow downloading is your problem, that's just one of life's many frustrations, don't take it out on others.

Andy

Edited By A Smith on 04/10/2015 16:14:17

Really interesting, I like to see projects in progress. Please keep posting.

Andy

The build up of graphite in the big-end of a motorcycle crankshaft was probably a deliberate mis-direction by people that didn't sell graphied oil. Having drilled out the deposits from several Triumph crankshaft big-end galleries, my belief is that the build up consists of carbon combustion products. (The process involves, unscrewing the threaded plug, usually started with an impact driver, drilling into the deposit in the removable inner tube to make room for a coarse tap, winding the tap in as far as possable and then using the thread cut as a purchase to jack the tube out. Then all that remains is to remove the hardened deposit that was around the outside of the tube..... and a trip to the grankshaft grinder!)

The introduction of an oil filter on the later Meriden Triumphs, when it happened 1969/70 ish, was about 30 or 40 years overdue.

Neil, Please don't be put off. I was pleased to see an electronics project directly applicable to model engineering and don't see why the occasional article should not be included. There is much interest in spark erosion, DRO displays, tachometers etc. As a further example, I would be interested in a DC power supply project that I could use to power the auxillary milling spindle I am (slowly) building.

Andy

I've just taken home a Centec 2 horizontal mill that has an interesting vertical head that I assume was made by a previous owner. The vertical head uses the collets in the photo. Could anyone identify them for me please? 3/8th BSF drawbar. Asking in the (probably forlorn) hope that I may be able find some that will allow me to use metric cutters.

Andy

It's a bit like watching football, horse racing or ballet; collecting stamps or coins. If you're interested, you'll spend whatever you think is needed. Personally, I'd buy ithe Brough if I could afford it.

Andy

You can tell there aren't many rural types on here. Tractor driving at that age was quite common with my contemporaries. After all, if you're too small to lift a bale, you have to find something else useful to do when the grass is comming in.

Reading this post, there seems to have been some misrepresentation of the OP issue. He bought some spare parts, they did not fit. The resolution was unsatisfactory. Some of the usual suspects seized on this to practise their baiting skills, which in one instance clearly matches his engineering ability.

I went to the Myford closing sale, bought some bits and talked to several other Myford lathe owners. We were all universally gloomy at the news that RDG had bought the name. The consensus was that they would sell the contents of the stores and gradually feed in their normal foreign made replacements.

It's a big leap from being a trader to becoming a manufacturer (Les Harris proved this with his rubbish Bonnevilles), I and others thought it would be beyond RDG, so far that's proved the case. (Very unfortunately, as I like using my Myford & would like a source of fit-for-purpose spare parts.)

Regards,

Andy

Edited By David Clark 1 on 16/12/2012 09:52:17