Member postings for Samsaranda

Neil, if you still miss your army knife you can obtain a replacement, they are available from the website of "Soldier of Fortune" , they are genuine unissued army knives I recently purchased one, never managed to acquire one during my 22 years service to her Majesty, be careful though they are very sharp, I am sure that you could shave with it the blade is so sharp.

Dave W

Your stated specification is for "precision" , what sort of tolerances are you expecting to work to? I have a Warco Chinese lathe and two Chinese mills, they have always produced work to the tolerances that I have needed, I have been very pleased with all my machines they have always achieved what I have expected. Do not be put off by the current adverse comments circulating on this site about problems with Chinese machines, there are many owners out there more than happy with their purchases. For the prices paid they are excellent value for money, it is important to remember that the operator is an important factor in what any machine can achieve, a good operator gets to know his machine and its limitations and is able to achieve very precise work. I am sure that a Chinese lathe will meet your expectations.

Dave W

Andrew it is a question of economics, to test drive every machine would mean extra man hours dedicated to that task, the suppliers we are criticising are importing and selling machines which they have to do competitively, any extra operations will inevetiably add to their costs, they have rightly or wrongly calculated that the customer wants a rock bottom price which would preclude paying for extra operations. Is the customer therefore part of the problem?

Dave

Ken I appreciate your comments about hearing protection and continuing work whilst Big Ben continues to chime but have you ever stood close to a large bell when it is chiming, I have whilst working on our church bells in our village church, there is a tremendous amount of energy released, way above safe working levels and if that is extrapolated up from a relatively small church bell to a bell the size of Big Ben I wouldn't want to be in close proximity when it was struck. I am coming from the position of one who has a severe hearing loss due to loud noise exposure ( gas turbine engines) and it is something that should be avoided at all costs, in the case I believe Health and Safety have got it right.

Dave

In respect of Big Ben leaning I am sure that was sorted when they excavated underneath for Crossrail and the new Westminster tube station because they pumped concrete grout into the area below Big Ben and subsequent monitoring showed that it had stopped moving, anyway it has only moved a couple of millimetres so we are not into a leaning tower of Pisa scenario.

Dave

I feel for Windows users when I read about all the problems that keep being reported on this site, six years ago I took the decision to buy an IMac after years of frustration with successive Windows problems on my PC. Since that day in 2011 when I unpacked the new IMac I have had no computer problems, life is stress free, well as far as computers are concerned anyway, I would urge those with Windows and PCs to think about the alternative, I know that the capital outlay on Apple computers and systems is not cheap but it is well worth it, sorry if this doesn't contribute to solving the problem under discussion but there is life without Windows.

Dave

I found that work on my projects, yes there are more than one and my wife continually chastises me for not finishing any, was slowed down because I shied away from components which required multiple tool use on the lathe; recently fitted a quick change toolpost, it is now a simple task of only seconds to change tools, I find that I am now eager to tackle some of the components that I steered clear of. Next problem to solve is that of cutting large pieces of stock material, a hacksaw on 3 inch sections of steel is not a pleasurable task when right side paralysis is compromising my activities. Will have to bite the bullet and obtain a bandsaw or machine hacksaw to assist in that area. Problem is avoiding scrutiny by finance control when making large purchases, we both share the same email address so I have to utilise the archive facility on the emails, she never looks in there so purchases can be hidden until the day the delivery arrives on the doorstop by which time it is fait acompli. So how long does it take to complete projects, will let you know when I finish one, but don't hold your breath.

Dave

Reference " peeing " in the quenching tank, years ago was told the story of a metal treatment shop in a large engineering concern, a new manager was appointed and as part of flexing his muscles he decided that the metal treatment shop , particularly where heat treatment took place, had to be cleaned up as it was like a tip. He organised a blitz of the area and in the corner was a tank containing murky not very pleasant smelling liquid which he had emptied and then scrubbed clean. It soon became apparent that the components that were heat treated where significantly below the standard usually achieved, an enquiry took place and the elderly gentleman who worked in the heat treatment area said that they would not be able to attain previous hardness values because the tank that they had emptied and cleaned out had not been emptied for years and he always peed in it and this unsavoury brew was the reason for the high hardness values they used to achieve.

Dave

When a Brittania tail plane was X- rayed, many years ago at RAF Lyneham, inside was clearly shown a hammer which had been left inside when the tail plane was built, apparently not uncommon to find such objects left inside when assemblies are built up.

Dave

If it's a "Pyrex type" glass could be interesting if you have to modify the size by cutting or grinding it!

Dave

Jason thanks for the edit I should have thought more before posting.

Dave

GordonW, cats are enough thanks although did used to have to feed pigs when I lived on a farm, and milk cows by hand, farmer too tight to buy a milking machine.

Dave

Russ B, you need to make contact with a local fire protection fire company that caries out servicing, they will be able to recharge your powder extinguisher, they will however check that the pressure vessel is in date regarding pressure test, if it isn't then it will need to be pressure tested, not a problem they should have the necessary facilities. But don't be surprised if they condemn it if it is an ancient extinguisher. I used to sell fire protection equipment and my preference is for a dry powder extinguisher, your confidence in the product is boosted when you walk thro a blazing pool of petrol with only a dry powder extinguisher to protect you. That was one of our training excercises, I am sure Health and Safety certainly wouldn't allow such training nowadays.

Dave

Hello Silly Old Duffer, how long have we got before the lights go out?

Dave

Hi Karl it's simple to produce an 18 MM M18 thread on a bar, the bar needs to be 18 MM 18mm diameter. To produce a tapped hole 18 x 2.50 M18 x 2.5 then according to ZEUS Precision tables, which are accepted as an industry norm, then you need to drill the hole 15.50 MM  15.5mm. Hope this clarifies your enquiry after all the confusing answers so far submitted.

Dave

Edited to save confusing Karl even more.

Edited By JasonB on 06/11/2017 18:59:47

Remember moving by road one of the Comet pressure test fuselages in the early sixties, can't remember where from, I think it ended up at RAF Abingdon. The remains of the water tank used for pressure testing the Comets at Farnborough were still in place when I was there a few years ago, obviously left as some sort of memorial to our brief lead in world jet passenger liner domination, if only the British aviation industry had the money that the Amreicans had then perhaps we would still be leading the aviation world.

Dave

Michael G , I am convinced that nowadays you only have to think of a subject, not even speak about it, and subsequently spam emails come flooding in from the web. How do they do it? We all know that Amazon track our web movements to bombard us but have they developed the ability to read our thoughts before we even express them. There is evidence that certain internet companies are actually listening to our conversations through software that they implant somehow on our mobile phones and eaves drop on our private conversations when we are face to face without using our phones, somehow the software switches our phones to transmit, makes the prospect of Big Brother more real than we think.

Dave

Not Done It Yet, My comments may appear negative but they were referenced to the commitment of our politicians that the changeover date would be 2040, that appears to be unrealistic bearing in mind the huge financial resources that would be required. My reference to hybrid vehicles doesn't have to rely on our diminishing oil reserves which are rapidly running out and are finite, hydrogen hybrids are already a realistic prospect using hydrogen which can easily be produced using solar energy with the bonus of only producing H2O as a pollutant. My belief is that pure electric traction is not achievable within the timescale our politicians have decreed and will have to be modified to be practicable.

Dave

Hi, Not Done It Yet, the French may well have demonstrated that it is theoretically possible to travel long distances with " on the go " charging but can you really believe that it will become a reality in this country by 2040. The cost of infrastructure and new technology would bankrupt this country if we were even in a solvent state, but we are technically bankrupt now, we cannot afford even basic refurbishment of our worn out highways, our roads infrastructure let alone other areas of our country are little better now than the third world countries. A much saner proposal would be to phase over to hybrid vehicles, not ideal from the pollution aspect but certainly achievable financially. I reiterate my thought that the politicians in power now are promising the unattainable in order to secure our admiration and praise at how clever they appear to be. It is pie in the sky and only time will resolve who is right with their opinions. Dave

Hi , Not Done It Yet, all very well issuing decrees about future policy , I.e. Everything will be electric, but the reality is that the technology doesn't yet exist to permit long durations without recharge, this will affect long journeys and the extended working day of delivery vans and lorries, also the huge amount of electricity that will be required for the recharges has to come from somewhere, we definitely do not have plans in place for that provision. I am of the opinion that politicians of the present are making pledges and commitments that they will themselves not have to honour because they will be long gone from office but they look as saviours to the present electorate, or am I too cynical in my outlook?

Dave