Member postings for RJW

I was probably one of them, and the Canadian buyer was extremely pissed off when their customs offices nailed him for stonking excise duty on top of the price plus International signed for postage, but it made up his set and he'd been waiting a long time for that (mint and complete) copy to turn up!

Curiously the scrap was between Canadian and Australian bidders!

99p listings are free of listing fees on eBay, and the seller probably knows he's going to get a good price, otherwise these days, stuff has a high start price or listed as a BIN (Buy it Now)!

John

Edited By RJW on 08/02/2013 00:18:53

The spec below was lifted off the web for the Jun-Air 12-50 compressor, and to be honest other than for very small localised blasting jobs, isn't up to any serious blasting work at all, the tank is way too small anyway and would have nothing in reserve!

I use a 15cfm twin cylinder 3HP compressor with a 200 litre tank bought new, and that runs out of breath fairly quickly!

If the engine is going to be stripped anyway, I'd cover any blasting and paint stripping on an individual basis, also be aware that blasting will not get rid of any paint that is in any way 'soft' it will simply absorb the energy in the grit, ditto any oil or grease!

Just my 2p's worth

John

Motor 0.68KW/1HP

Displacement up to 100 Lit/min depending on pressure

Max pressure 8bar/120psi

Air receiver 50 Litre

Voltage 220/240Volt

Power 680Watt

Weight 55Kg

Noise 45dB

Years ago I started to make a routerlathe, but life got in the way and it never happened,
I took all the pulleys and cables off an old draughtsman's drawing table, those massive ones about 4 ft across with tilting table,
Not sure if I've still got all the pulleys somewhere or whether they got junked in the move!

If you can find one, possibly from an ex WD or machinery dealer etc, they have 3 alloy pulleys plus a larger one with a helical cut groove, the cable was under spring tension and the arrangement allowed the square to be pushed up and down the table and retain parallel travel,

It wouldn't be too difficult a task to use screw or fusee cutting methods to cut different grooves on something either to replace or slip over the original pulley to suit different helix pitches, and cable can be bought off the roll in various places!
You'd need to then rig up steel rods, a mounting for the router to be used, centres for the stock and a handle to wind it along!

John

Edited By RJW on 03/02/2013 09:45:53

Russell, I drew out a few styles before I got the shape I wanted, and they had to be the correct length from the centre to the outer line of the chapter ring,

To stick the template down, I first give the steel a good rub with 180 grit abrasive paper, then wipe it over with lighter fuel to degrease it, then spread the area for my template with fast drying liquid superglue, not the thick stuff!
You need to do it outside ideally because the vapour is a bit grim if you get a whiff, and the heat it generates is awesome, so keep you fingers off it,
I usually wipe the paper over with a lolly stick or something similar, enough to ensure the paper is stuck down all over and to squeeze out excess glue, I used a bit of scrap cotton cloth once, but the bugger stuck to the paper and I had to start over again, fortunately I'd scanned the template and saved it in my 'Clock Hands' pattern folder, so all I had to do was print off another, I'd recommend anyone do that!

If (when) the paper does come off during cutting, which it will when you get onto the thin neck of a hand, just put some more glue on it and dab it down!

Make sure you cut on the waste side of the line too, you can see I got a bit too close on one bit where I wasn't paying enough attention, which meant some extra filing to get the shape back, fortunately the neck was a bit on the thick side, the rest is 'eyeballed' once the paper is removed!

Derek, to put a link into a posting, if you look on the top toolbar, the third icon on the bottom row is the 'insert link' tab, it will open another box where you can paste the url, just open the photo you want to use and copy the web address shown in the browser address bar, there's also an insert image from album'  icon which i missed, it's the camera icon on the top row.

No disdain about the fibre optic clock BTW, I'm watching it with some interest even though I've no real interest in electric clocks (I'm a bit of a luddite and would make a clock the old fashioned way without jewels just because I can)
I just stand back in admiration anyway of everyone who is able to dedicate the time to their project whatever it is!

John

Edited By RJW on 02/02/2013 17:38:12

Ian, it's called a 'Routerlathe', made by Trend, they get snapped up very quickly on eBay and fetch relative fortunes compared to what they originally cost!

I've been looking for one for quite some time, but none ever become available within sane driving distance to me, and no one will post them due to their length (postal restrictions).

John

Edited By RJW on 02/02/2013 09:42:52

Thanks Michael, a second smaller 'V' is a good idea, although I've always managed with the 'V' in my table because it's mostly longcase stuff I get to hack around with, so even escape wheels are fairly big,
I tend to be cheap so an offcut of some old plywood suffices for my 'V' table, I'd imagine your tufnol table is easier to keep clean though, mine's looking decidedly disreputable now!

A table fixed into a bench vice would be luxury for me because I have to take the under bench drawer out every time to use the table, but my bench has to double up as a watch bench, so it's high enough with my office swivel chair set low for that work, but low enough for clock work with the seat set high, so a table set in a bench vice (has to be a clamp on type) would be too high unfortunately,
Hopefully when my garage extension is done I'll enjoy a dedicated clock bench and area so I'm not comiting the cardinal sin of fixing clocks and watches in both the same room and on the same bench and because it's in what was a spare bedroom, regular earache from SWMBO (clock work is unutterably filthy)!

This link shows the minute hand fettled and fitted up, and for anyone interested, the Avenell shown, is a high quality 5 pillar 8 day movement, it was a rare treat to get my paws on that one, but it was butchered beyond belief!

**LINK**

The link below is a minute hand for a Georgian 30 hour clock, fretted out of steel before any work done to it, again no pattern to work to as the original hand was lost!
People tend to push clock hands backwards, and when near the hour, the motionwork locks up on the lifting piece but they keep shoving anyway, and the hands being very thin in all cross sections, plus work hardened and brittle, snap like carrots!

**LINK**

John.

Merlin, I can only agree with what everyone else has said about powered scroll saws for clock work, the best advice I could give would be to really get some practice in with your hand fret saw!

The secret really is 'slower is faster' when it comes to hand cutting brass or steel, and use a 'table' of wood clamped to the edge of the bench, a 6" x 3" rectangle around 1/2" thick or a tad less is good for most work, with a deep 'V' cut into the front edge.

I tried a powered scroll saw to fret out a steel hand I was making, it was a very harsh cutting action because as said, they run far too fast, and in this case turned the blade blue in a heartbeat, I was also damned lucky not to have a stray bit of blade impale my hand when it lifted the pattern off the table and went bang!
Not tried the power saw with brass, but the cuttting action will still be quite brutal and not a little scary!

The hand in the link below was one I made from scratch in steel, hand cut with a fret saw with no design to work from other than the hour hand, this was prior to bluing it, I'm certainly no Mr Miles, but the owner was happy with it, and considering I only make maybe a couple or three clock hands a year, I wasn't too disappointed with it either, but it shows what can be done with a bit of patience even with not a lot of regular practice!
I use the same method for crossing wheels too, so I suppose I do get a bit of practice there, but brass is a damn sight easier to hand cut than steel, you just have to be careful to ensure the blade cuts where you want it to cut otherwise it will run off very quickly!

John.

**LINK**

Jimmie, for years I used to port and polish 2 stroke cylinders (Lambretta LD's & LI's) with a Black and Decker drill, flexible shaft and rotary carborundum grinding wheels, you should be able to pick up cheapo packs of grinding wheels at general hardware stores, car boots or eBay etc,

I later graduated to using proper steel die grinder cutters when porting and polishing everything from Mini (A-Series) heads to F5000 Chevrolets (Chev 283's), did quite a few Stag alloy heads too!
I had to hand high speed electric and air die grinders for those honking great chewing jobs though, but the cutters work just as well in hand drills if a bit slower and scruffier, you just have to watch for them vibrating out of the chuck if you get a bit too ambitious about the metal you're chewing out!

You will probably need a flexible shaft with a smallish chuck to get the cutters deep enough into the ports though, seem to remember the Bantam has deep exhaust and transfer ports!

The Clarke Rotary tool kit comes with a small die grinder thing a bit like a Dremel but a lot cheaper, and also has a flexible shaft in the box plus small versions of the grinding wheels!
You're likely to burn out either a Dremel or a Clarke size grinder on that job if there's a lot to do, but if you let it cool down for a while between shortish bouts, you may get away with it!

For polishing ports after chewing them out, I used 6" lengths of steel rod (1/4" - 5/16" dia) with a deep sawcut across the end, slip some emery tape into the slot and wind a good length of it around the rod, (remembering which way the chuck revolves) it wears off as it polishes, or you can just rip a bit off the end as it dulls!

By eck, takes me right back to me good old days does this!

PS. wear a mask when grinding ports out, it's incredibly unspeakably filthy work, latex gloves too (as long as not allergic to latex)  if you value clean finger nails and cuticles!!
And before someone mentions it, goggles too, those carborundum bits and metal shards hurt like hell, and the eye clinic medic's get a bit peeved if you make too many visits!

Edited By RJW on 22/01/2013 16:32:55

<I'm just waiting to get a round tuit>

No need to wait any longer Sid, there's one in my albums ready for you to use, all you need do is copy and paste it into a blank document and print off to hang on your wall

Enjoy

MEW over 3x pages, the second page dated Feb/March 1992, not sure if all pages were in a single issue, or spread over a couple of them!

I scanned all construction articles and plans covering about a 20 year span before I sold all my magazines, so I've got the filing rest archived,

The project was taken from Stan Bray's book 'Making Small Workshop Tools' Argus Books!

John

Are the cartridges similar to these by any chance?

**LINK**

If selling on eBay beware of their prohibited items categories, otherwise you could end up with the listing being pulled and a policy violation recorded, I got done recently for a similar misdemeanour!!
Also check the courier's prohibited items, because any pressurised container with the potential to explode in an aircraft is likely to be banned!
Although some carriers will take them, I haven't found one with sane carriage costs!

I've got a couple of similar unused Butane cart's here, they're like rocking horse crap to find, but I can't sell them because I can't post them!

They have their own website, and well worth a good browse, all their meets and 'taxi' booking schedules are on there!

**LINK**

Happy Christmas everyone, and hope you all have a Wonderful 2013,

Thanks all too for the helpful help and advice I've been freely given since joining the forum, even as a 'lurker', also to the site owners and staff for making this forum available, and finally to David as magazine editor, for his endless patience and valuable time spent dealing with hassles on our behalf, often beyond his remit!

All the Very Best,

John.

Morgens, Yes you've got it, the figures Russel has since added are for the corrected mainspring, the decimal point was missing from the sizes in the reply I quoted from, and I never checked M&P's site first to confirm sizes beofre posting, apologies for any confusion!

John

Mogens, the sepc's given of 20 x 45 x 45 are:

20 = 0.20mm which is the thickness or 'Force' of the Spring,
45(1) = 45mm = 'Height' of the spring, which is the depth of the barrel with cap fitted and allowance for working clearance,

45(2) = 45mm = Internal diameter of the mainspring barrel!

The spring will be supplied fully coiled and wired, you will need a mainspring winder to release it from the wire so you can clean and lubricate the spring before fitting, and then to wind the spring again prior to fitting to the barrel.

Note that with both Height and Barrel diameter, for purchasing other sized springs, you will need to check which way round M&P specify those dimensions, I've numbered them 1&2 for the purpose of this reply only, they may be the other way round!

Spring 'diameters' are sized on internal barrel sizes, and have no bearing on the actual diameter  of the coiled spring you will be supplied with, it would depend how tightly M&P wound it before wiring it up!
Although it's most likely it would drop straight into a barrel, you wouldn't want to do that without cleaning any preservative and dust off, then lubing it first!

Hope this makes sense,

John

Edited By RJW on 17/12/2012 19:35:24

Mogens, the part number is useless if you don't know the supplier to whom the numbers pertain!

If it helps, you will find that when buying mainsprings from a supplier, the dimensions you will use to select them from stock charts are:
(a), the internal diameter of the mainspring barrel
(b), the working depth of the barrel, which is internal measurement from the bottom of the barrel to the inside face of the barrel cap, you can get away with using a depth gauge using the seat for the cap as a datum!
Allow for working clearance inside the barrel when closed, the springs available will probably determine this, too wide and the cap won't fit, so select the size down where it will!

(c), the 'Force' or thickness of the spring, this is the main dimension you will need because you already have the others if you have the barrel to hand!

Meadows and Passmore usually have a good stock:
**LINK**

It's a bit of a faff going from their homepage because there's no direct link to their mainspring listings (robots), but click 'Buy Online' > Enter M&P Store > The Driving Force + enter 'mainsprings' in the search box > this will take you to their mainspring listings, you'll get an idea then of their sizing conventions and increments of dimensions between sizes, it's the same for all of the suppliers I've used.

John

Hi Merlin, Your post reminded I've got one of these part done and stored away somewhere, I've just dug it out!
I lost the book for it a while back during a move, and until I find it again, I doubt much will get done!

Photo's of all the 'spare bits' are in my albums!

John

Mick, if you could give us a better idea of the sort of parts you will need to clean and the material they're made from, it might help folks suggest more appropriate means of cleaning!

Some materials don't take too kindly to acid in any form, or blasting for that matter, Mazak (Monkey metal) for instance!
Also an idea of scale would be a big help, 'small parts' could be anything from jewellery items to loco castings!!

Wet blasting might be ok for bits with some substance, but there's a lot of power in a pressure washer, so if it's a 2" diameter cast iron loco wheel, you'd have to nail it to a plank first, otherwise you could end up fetching it from your neighbour's garden!

I have a jewellery tumbler here, which works great for cleaning and de-burring small items, and can be done wet or dry, but it's a slow process, days in some cases, although this does depend upon the grit used and the finish you need!
The drums range from about 6" diameter x 3" long up to about 9", but we don't know if the stuff you're proposing to clean would fit in one!
Drums are costly to buy individually, but complete kits can be had at reasonable money, I picked my set up still boxed and virtually unused at a car boot for a fiver!

John.

Mick, your rig is nowhere near big enough!
I have a 15CFM twin cylinder compressor with a 200 litre tank, and using a standard machine mart gun of the type you stick in a bucket of grit, it practically ran non stop when I was blasting!

Blasting is Not a fast process either, in fact it's infuriatingly slow at times, and if anything on the surface you're blasting is soft or oily, especially soft paint, it won't get it off, it cushions the grit!
You will also find it creates a fair amount of water in the air feed system, so if you don't have a water trap, you'll need one!

I used my guns in two different situations,
(a), I made my own blast cabinet, modelled on a big floor standing Guyson type with filtered extractor, in which I've blasted everything from small suspension components to Aston Martin & Ferrari V8 and Jaguar V12 cylinder blocks using everything from aluminium oxide, to glass bead and walnut,
(b) the same type gun with a hose stuck in big bags of grit to blast hundreds of square metres of stone wall on an C18 French farmhouse - I wore thick overalls, ear defenders and gloves, plus an air fed helmet ....... and a goodly supply of visor lenses, they frost up in a heartbeat!

One of the biggest annoyances with the hose feed type gun for me, was grit plugging the hose in the hopper, so I'd be forever sticking a thumb over the nozzle to back pressure the plug out!

The gun did a cracking job in each case, but the consumption of air (and nozzles) was astronomical, and in some instances when really going for it, consumption outstripped what my compressor could turn out, and it was New, and as grit rapidly wears the (tungsten) nozzles, they get bigger and use more air!

Whatever you use to blast, Do make sure you protect your lungs, ears and, eyes especially: grit in any form, dry or wet, is bloody merciless on skin tissue wherever it hits, get it wrong and in your face, it's Very nasty, and the dust even from an accidental lungful will have you coughing for days, any sort of grit is nasty stuff no matter how small the components you're blasting!

Whenever you blast media against hard material under pressure, it degrades and creates dust in varying degrees of fineness, and the really fine dust if breathed in, acts in a similar way to diesel particulates, your lungs cannot filter it out and it goes straight into your bloodstream where the body's natural defences attack it with antibodies, so at best, you end up with flu like symptoms and you won't feel good ............trust me, I've been there, fortunately my lungs are still giving 100% oxygen (check up at the quacks last week)!!

If you're going to try blasting some parts, I would strongly recommend you use a cabinet and extractor to contain the dust and, use good ear nd eye protection and at least valve equiped face masks!
I can't say whether wet blasting would work any better because I've never done it, but the grit in the feed will still go every which way when it hits the target, and you'll have some cleaning up to do, unless you contain it!
............and make sure no stray pressurised grit Ever gets near glass or paintwork on your car or house or anything you value in your workshop, it will at best cover it in fine dust, and at worst if close enough, etch it, and if you carelessly wipe that dust off your car or anything polished, you'll make a wonderfully indellible imprint of that wipe, it's incredibly abrasive, so keep it well away from machinery!

If you're not doing much blasting too often, I'd recommend shopping around engineering shops in your area to see if any of them have a cabinet and offer to cross their palms with silver to have them do it for you!
Basically, it is a ball achingly slow, noisy, filthy, gritty job that will have you standing around for an age getting back ache while you run up a big electricity bill and, probably pee off your neighbours with the racket, compressors hammering away and high pressure air hissing for a long time gets a tad irritating to others, and can cause tinitus if you're close up!

Personally, unless you can do it yourself properly equipped, I'd forget it!

Just my 2p's worth!

John

MAC, I thought you were a MAC fanatic, so it's odd to see you waxing lyrical about Microsoft after the drubbing you gave me on my MAC topic!

BTW, I bought the MAC! ..................

John