Member postings for Nicholas Farr

Hi, I'll be going on Sunday, for three reasons really. Thursday and Friday I'll be working, Saterday I have one of my niece's wedding to go to, so it only leaves Sunday and anyway I'll have to collect my exhibit then also.

Regards Nick.

Hi Sam, don't get to downhearted, you may strike up a new one anytime.

Regards Nick.

Hi Sam, your latest flame maybe petite, but is quite attractiive.

Regards Nick.

Edited By Nicholas Farr on 12/10/2013 08:22:37

In my previous employment there was just myself and one other person in the machanical maintenace dept., that were still being employed by the company. All our collegues had natuerally retiered or had taken voluntary redundancy and had been superceeded by contractors. Out of the two of us, I'd had almost 36 years of static plant maintenace expereance, while the other person had spent around 25 years on mobile plant maintenace and his last five years on static plant maintenace as his work was all farmed out to contract.

Then came the time the company changed thier policy on machanical plant maintenane, whereby every site in the country would be put out to contract, we were given the choice of being transfered over to the main contractor or taking a genorous voluntary redundancy.( guess which option I took) Now I had probably turned every nut and bolt, on the site that I worked on, that was ever likely to be turned more than any contractor, but I don't work there anymore, but the plant still runs although a big chunk of it has now been out of use for the last 18 months and is now demolised.

Just as John points out, with all the expereance that I and my collegues had over the years, there is no hole left, the plant that is still there is still producing what the company wants and the machinary still gets fixed.

Regards Nick.

Edited By Nicholas Farr on 07/10/2013 22:42:12

Hi, the bars above the posts appear dark green to me as they always have done, however depending on the angle I look at the sceen the darker they look towards being black. It may be a contrast thing, being as the sorrounding areas are much brighter now than the old look.

Regards Nick.

Hi Corey, welcome to the forum, your question has been asked many times in different ways. Have you tried typing "What lathe" in the Google search box on the home page, this will show many of the questions that have been asked here.

If you have had no experience with using a lathe, it may well pay to seek some kind of instruction before buying one. Lathes are like many other things, in that what will suit you won't suit others. One of the best ways of getting ideas is to go and have a look at them in a showroom or at one or two of the many model engineering exhibitions dring the year and ask the various companies about what they sell.

You could always buy a cheap socond hand one off ebay or somewhere similar which you won't be to afraid to damage during your learning curve, but it is far better to get some practical training first.

Regards Nick.

Hi Neil, anticipating your proposal of a mirror image of an A1 with some eager enthusiasm, below is my atist's impression of what it might look like. (More like artistic licence me thinks)

Regards Nick.

Hi, no, not got mine yet and yes they have seemed to be slipping just lately.

Regards Nick.

Hi Katy, thanks for the blue unclicked links, makes it so much clearer, and the 10 latest forum posts.

Regards Nick.

Hi, it certanly looks different. I personally prefer blue links that you haven't clicked on already. Shame there is only 5 latest posts instead of 10 in the latests forum posts on the home page, also a shame the latest picture thumnails are not on the home page, so that you can see if there are any new ones without going into the albums.

I do think it looks crisper though and I guess given a little time the old style will be forgotten.

Regards Nick.

Edited By Nicholas Farr on 30/09/2013 20:45:00

Hi Russell, I'm still waiting, I also pre-paid on the 30th August and it still shows as pending.

Regards Nick.

Hi, I first became aware of HF back in 1970 when I started working for my previous employer. The dangers of these sort of substances were not always made fully aware to those on the workshop floor in those days. However, my late elder brother who was already employed by the company as a lab technician in quality control had access to all the data sheets and he told me all about the dangers of these things. luckily for me the use of HF was discontinued in the production plants shortly after I started working there.

Many years later I asked for a small quantity of some HF, which I knew they had in the lab, for my personal use at home for an experiment on some glass. The departmental head in the lab gave me consent to take some off site on two conditions, firstly he had a disclamer drawn up exonerating the company of all liability of any damage to property, injury to any person and disposal of any unused HF or resadues thereof, which I had to read and understand and sign and witnessed by one of the lab technicians (not my late brother as he had left and was deceased by then) and secondly I had to accept and understand when and how to use a special cream in the event that I or anyone else should get HF on thier skin. I also had to asure him that I would be using appropriate PPE and extreme caution while I was using it.

You really do need to know what you are dealing with and all the dangers to yourself, others around you and any damage to the enviorment that HF may cause. I really do agree with Jason that it is not really suitable in hobbyist hands.

Regards Nick.

Edited By Nicholas Farr on 26/09/2013 00:30:32

Hi Kevin, don't know exactly what they represent, but the blue and yellow could be an easy referance to the size and profile of the rail and the red circle could be some lengths allocated to what is persumably a job number written on the top, but don't assume I'm correct.

Some info on the piece that you have may gained from this **LINK**

Regards Nick.

Hi, paid for mine on 30/8/13 and it is still pending. Sounds as if I shouldn't have bothered.

Regards Nick.

HI, while hydroflouric acid has many uses it is pretty nasty stuff to handle. First of all don't put it into a glass container, secoundly don't breath the vapours and thridly it will burn through your skin before you can feel it. See **LINK**

Regards Nick.

Hi Kevin, as Jason says you can use it as it is. Although you say you don't want a point on the end, you may find it very useful, even though you are not planning to make horse shoes ect

Here's a couple of photos of my one that I made 30 or so years ago from a a brand new offcut piece when I had to cut some profiles on six lenths of rail for a new rail wieghbridge installation.

From the point to the other end is 360mm. This was gas cut out, although the point was only roughly cut by gas and then ground to the final shape with a 9" angle grinder.

Even if you only cut it to the shape at the blunt end, you will find it very useful quite often, well at least I have. I didn't bother to mill the top as I didn't feel the need to.

Regards Nick.

P.S. I have also found the hole in the side useful a time or to as well.

Edited By Nicholas Farr on 20/09/2013 21:50:45

Hi, while reading John's post, it reminds me of then number of times, especaily in my previous job, I've heard someone say; "well I wouldn't have done it like that" to which I reply "well you didn't do it, I did" that normally shut them up.

Regards Nick.

Hi Lee, there could well be a question mark in what you say, but I haven't said that I agree to the general consesus. However any freeplay will allow microscopic movments both axially and radially under varying load conditions. The angular contact bearings normally refered to are the taper roller bearings, which have more contact in thier elements and are less prone to the same distortions as ball bearings have under the same load conditions.

You can get angular contact ball bearings of course, but they are a differentrent ball game (excuse the pun) they are often refered to as thrust bearings which can withstand large axial loads but not so good radially. When angular contact ball bearings are used which also have a large radial load involved, a paralel roller bearing is also used on the outer side where the radial load is.

One has to draw thier own conclusions as to whether changing the bearings is viable or not. As I said the ball bearings sould cope within the limits of the machine and its design and the level of accuracy one is looking for. It is nearly always a matter of cost.

Regards Nick.

P.S. I will say that I would choose taper roller bearing in a lathe spindel over ball bearings, for a few reasons.

Edited By Nicholas Farr on 15/09/2013 22:58:40

Hi, the ball bearings as fitted will no doubt be up to the job and you should have no major trouble with them in normal use as specified by the the lathe manufacturer.

Apart from the cost, one main differance between ball bearings and angular contact bearings, is that with angular contact bearings all freeplay can be eliminated when they are configured correctly as a slight preload can be applied. This allows a constant preloading of the bearings throughout changes in temperature without any freeplay.

Ball bearings have to have a clearance in them to allow expansion and contraction during temperature changes and also for the lubrication medium, this is not very detectable to the feel on a new bearing but it is there. This is the main reason that the consesus makes angular contact bearings being able to produce a better finish ect.

Regards Nick.

Edited By Nicholas Farr on 15/09/2013 14:25:05

Hi, maybe John had some cheap Chinese twist drills, if so they would be Chinese holes, wouldn't they?

Regards Nick.