Member postings for Fowlers Fury

'had written before" take maximum reading as it's moved around".
Apologies, just realised that should have read take minimum reading.......

This was it in use:-

Valuable comments above ! Kiwi Bloke ! makes observations I can endorse from experience.
I've been through similar exercises recently when trying to determine as accurately as possible the bore of cylinders about 1.5" diameter.
Conclusions for what they are worth:-

• Prime requirement seemed to be a reference standard of known ID. Far too expensive to buy at that ID. I bore out a steel tube segment but then what? I still need its precise ID somehow.
• A digital micrometer (Mitutoyo) was useless since the flat edges of the "inside" jaws obviously do not register the actual, true diameter. Allowance may be possible IF a reference standard was available.
• Spring-bow internal calipers and telescopic bore guages - as others report, very much subject to variation of "feel" and require a secondary measurement adding to the error potential.
• A dial bore guage - zeroed (calibrated) against a 1.5 inch micrometer held in clamp - difficult to achieve but possible and was repeatable. Then insert dial bore guage into cylinder....instructions say "take maximum reading as it's moved around". OK, done that and have to assume value obtained is correct.

I suppose, given my ignorance in such matters, that the least subjective method might be to turn down a diameter of steel on the lathe until it "just" fits and then measure its OD with a micrometer (allowing for temp equilibration). But that's fraught with problems of surface fnish etc and gives no indication of bore ovality.

So Adam, apart from investing in a dial bore gauge........

The subject has of course been covered before here in May of last year.

On 30/05/2018, I posted "Lining up the milling vice....I'm with Clive F's 4th para "Personally I'm not great lover of keyed vices.... etc"
Easiest & quickest way I've found is to lightly grip a (dedicated) laser pointer in the vice jaws, wind out the table to its stop, rotate vice until laser point lines up with mark on workshop wall and then tighten down.
(To accurately position the target (mark) on the wall the first time, needs an accurate parallel in the vice and a dti)."

Further details & Images shown with that original posting.
**LINK**

I still find it takes about one minute that way and is always accurate.

Edit:- Apologies - I tried inserting link to that thread but am getting error.
This is url in full:-

https://www.model-engineer.co.uk/forums/postings.asp?th=136030&p=2

Copy & paste that into search bar should bring up Google link

Edited By Fowlers Fury on 07/05/2019 12:27:11

'have posted on this before, as have others.
When washing hands after machining CI, the tiny particles of iron get into the minute surface cracks of the sink whether it's stainless, ceramic or acrylic. Next morning SWMBO has a fit seeing all the rust "stains". Usual domestic cleansers have no effect but if you paint a rust remover e.g. Jenolite over the "stains" they will disappear and domestic harmony is restored. However, such harmony can be quickly disrupted by black marks on pillows from carbon particles which even face washing afore bed will not remove. Answer here is to get one of her make-up removal pads and solution. Wipe face, neck etc after washing and see the amount deposited on pad from skin pores.
Wearing a cap/hat whilst machining stops it getting into hair - if you still have any.

Meehanite is great stuff to machine but the after-effects can be a trial.

Edited By Fowlers Fury on 07/05/2019 00:03:57

Didn't find either problem you've experienced. Frustrating for you and sympathies but you need to check dimensions from Robin Dyer's (?) plans as I didn't deviate from them.

Before replacing the old & yellowed issue in the book case, here's a fairly hi-res scan of the only other page with images.

Paper & print quality comparatively poor then but assuming you only want to see that one page:-

You're not wrong about it being used in pianos. If you put it to Google you'll get plenty of information. Here's the link to the Wikipedia article:- **LINK**

It's tough, very tough and will mark your wire cutters if you attempt to cut it. I was dissuaded from trying to anneal it by numerous articles describing how difficult it was to restore its original strength. A high speed mini drill is the best tool for working it e.g. grinding disc to cut it, diamond burr to drill it.
Other than the model aircraft applications described above, I believe main use in model engineering is for connecting up locomotive brakes. But then you're expected to thread it and that's where the problems start. I eventually cut threads using a HSS die and a colloidal graphite grease. but the die was quickly blunted. A hole and strong pin behind a washer where "permissable" is somewhat easier.

<Edit typo>

Edited By Fowlers Fury on 13/04/2019 18:14:26

This will work but it depends if you're on friendly terms with your dentist.
You need from him/her one of their diamond drills which are conical - small diameter tapering to a sharp point.
Run the drill at the highest speed of your mini-drill (my German one peaks at 15k rpm).
With a lot of care, you can start the hole in the piano wire and gradually work it through. It won't be a precise cylindrical hole but good enough for a small split pin to fit in a 1/16" hole.
My (non-NHS !) dentist is willing to save such burrs after he's used them on teeth and the genuine dental diamond burrs will grind away HHS and piano wire without annealing.
(They're also good for removing broken HSS taps).

" Where can you buy this paint, (See below). Did you clean off first or just paint over? (Paint over) "

Halfords Tyre Wall Paint Black 250ml £4.99

Another version of Neil's suggestion above.......
I have a target spotting 'scope and the rubber covering went tacky after a few months. I painted over the offending rubber with Al Frauds black tyre paint and it provided an instant cure. Maybe easier to control the application over small areas with a brush than Neil's spray paint?

It's thoroughly worthwhile to advocate a collection of errors on drawings yet there's the inevitable "but".
It's been tried many times before with varying degrees of success ~ ultimately though none has survived to become the definitive source.
One which began with great support and still contains a vast amount of information was on Model Eng Clearing House (M.E. Proboards). http://modeleng.proboards.com/
A search there for "errors on drawings" shows some of the postings:-
**LINK**

It really is a treasure trove of information and enlightenment on just how many errors on popular drawings have been identified over the years. I compiled a detail list of errors found on a certain hot air engine and notified the author. He replied that the errors would be corrected on the next print but as far as I'm aware they never were. There were however posted on the M.E. Clearing House Errors Pages.
Martin Evans (a.k.a. Martin Errors) was not alone in publishing designs full of errors and omissions as perusal of those pages will reveal.

Many years ago in one of the ME mags, it was suggested that you could dispense with gimbals etc and just cut a thin slice of india rubber (= pencil eraser) and fix in a frame. The pointed rod was simply pushed through to provide the magnified "wobble". I remember trying the idea and after cutting a slice from an eraser about 1/16th thick (?) it worked well enough for setting up in a 4 jaw.

Much later, the gimbal below was removed from a broken lab item. The gimbal looks easy enough to make, probably more so than drilling steel balls..

"Why don't they just do what most of the other magazines I read online do and publish these as a PDF. You still have to be a subscriber to access them so what's the problem?"

Possibly because it is considered too easy to redistribute pdf versions e.g.within M.E.Socs.?
Why - I assumed - it was made so much effort (time consuming) to produce a personal reference pdf copy of an issue.

But publishing staff, contributors etc are undeniably entitled to remuneration for all their work.
Publishing and authoring are not very rewarding activities these days as copyright laws are rarely enforced. Numerous websites offer illicit copies of magazines and books within a short time of their publication, denying income to those producing them ~ as well as HMRC - which amongst other taxes, get VAT from e-books etc.

Sorry ~ a digression from the original thread...........

Neil writes "Working from home I listen to a lot of Radio, chiefly Planet Rock..... ".
Have you tried Forces Radio BFBS for that sort of ad-free music and more?
**LINK**
(Well, ad-free apart from a bit of self-promotion and invites to join up !)

My gripe is BBC TV and their ever-increasing amount of self-advertising between programmes. Also their regular annoyance of advertising masquerading as news. They introduce some untopical item on BBC TV News and you know it's going to end with ".....and you can see more on that by watching ***** on BBC1 tonight"

Curmudgeon. defn: a crusty, ill-tempered, and usually grumbling old man.

Your other post might suggest the 'scope has been used in a path lab. Do you know its working history?
My experience of some path lab technicians was that they could get tissue fixative all over the stage of microscopes. Most fixatives are not oil soluble, so WD40 etc won't remove any dried residue. Herewith extract from current Leica fixative data sheet "Cytology Fixative combines a convenient fine-mist spray dispenser with a polyethylene glycol formulation to enable the rapid, high quality fixation of cytology cell spreads.Cytology Fixative covers cells with a tough, soluble film that protects cell morphology for microscopic examination. It is water and alcohol soluble".

Of course if you know your 'scope has never been used in such conditions then the foregoing is totally irrelevant (like most of my postings !).

Martin et al,
I should have written that the carbon particles had deposited on the underside of the pcb on my mill and were causing the tracking. Bill's pictures only show the component side of his pcb and I agree - that side looks clean.
It took me a while to notice the "light dusting" of particles on my pcb, they weren't that obvious on a cursory look.
There was no ventilation on the motor housing and I assume the motor's rotation had distributed the carbon dust.

(It was a design fault cured by fitting the plastic cover over the base of the pcb and later, by fitting a computer-case fan adjacent to the brushes. That fan acquires a suprising amount of carbon !)

Amidst all the electronic experts here, this will be inviting ridicule but....
Bill, seeing your pics of the exposed motor with carbon brushes brings to mind an experience with my (also German) Wabeco mill. Before coming to a final stop, though without a loud bang, the motor started to "stutter" for a couple of minutes. Dismantling revealed that the German "design" had resulted in carbon particles abraided from the brushes covering the speed controller pcb. A blast from the air compressor to clear them all, then covering the pcb with plastic sheet and full function was restored.

Dave wrote "Yes I do but the quality of the image is so poor, it is unreadable ... take a look at my image above, that was captured with the snipping tool."
Agreed, it's poor. But what screen resolution were you using with Win7 ?
Will your graphics (card) allow you to increase it from what you currently ?
My own desktop screen is 1920 x 1080 (default) and that produced the 'snip' shown above.
I can't remember whether Win 7 allowes the Ctrl and + to zoom in on a screen but if it does, try it on that 'snip' of mine above ~ it should show it's quite readable at that 1920 x 1080 resolution.

With Pocketmags I never discovered how to "print" more than 2 pages at once (used Print to pdf), could've been my set up but seemed a restriction of Pocketmags. To capture and collate a complete article was an irritating & time consuming process with Acrobat. Quicker alternative was to use Windows Snipping Tool, save as jpg, then sharpen if needed with (free) IrfanView. The image quality not as good as Print to pdf but certainly OK & much quicker process. Example of image below - much reduced.for posting here:-

With Windows 10, pressing Ctrl and + together will magnify the screen for a particular drawing and another "Snip" can capture it .
No doubt all that's familiar to everyone, but my last sub to MEW expired end 2018 so haven't experienced latest reported problems.