Member postings for Fowlers Fury

Agreed !
I ordered both a tap & die 3/8" x 32 M.E. for a one-off job & in carbon steel, as they were for cast iron.
Several teeth broke on the tap (tapping hole was adequate) so I emailed Tracy and simply asked for their comments.
A couple of days later I received a HSS tap AND die at no charge. At the next exhibition I made a point of thanking them on their stall. "No problem" was the response "we want to keep our customers happy".

Quotes ex David Noble, which when together ring so true these days:-
(1) "I am pleased it is not just me that has this problem"
(2) ".......my wife says that I am becoming a grumpy old man".
(in my case delete "becoming"

Then there's " Another thing that annoys me is when you go to a website but cannot see it for a load of stuff about Cookies. Some sites have a "no thankyou" button,"
Agreed it's an infuriating recent development on websites.
Not a total solution but one which has made life much easier:-
If you use Firefox as a browser d/load the add-on called Behind the Overlay Revival. This will put an "X" icon in the search bar (always visible). Now when the annoying overlay appears demanding you accept n thousand cookies etc., just click on the icon and the overlay disappears. Unfortunately, until the developer addresses this, you have to click the icon on each new page of the website. For sure there will be other add-ons which can perform a similar function but this one works well..

Edited By Fowlers Fury on 22/01/2019 12:56:55 = failed attempt to get rid of unwanted 'smilie'

Edited By Fowlers Fury on 22/01/2019 12:58:04

Nice sequence images Neil.
Though not far from you, here in Warwickshire, it was fog & dense cloud.
In fact the last clear exlipse I captured was in 2004. A 15 sec exposure with a Leica and P/shop only to correct some colour noise.

Apologies for a 2nd post but as the thread is "Flying experience" another, non-ATC, civil flight, later in life is remembered. Business required regular trips from MIA to Brussels and one night myself & colleague were booked to return to Manchester with SABENA (aka Same Awful Bloody Experience Never Again). The 737 had just lifted off when there was a loud bang & judder. The captain announced "some problem and we would return to Brussels after we'd flown around to dump fuel". After 20 or so minutes we made several low passes over the now closed airport with the undercarriage down. Next from the captain "Seems one of the starboard tyres on our landing gear has disintegrated on take off and we're going to do an emergency landing". As all adopted the crash position my now very stressed colleague said "how many wheels on each side does this have?" I thought it best to say 4 !
As we gingerly touched down with all the fire trucks trying to keep pace, the remaining starboard tyre blew and the aircraft slewed around. Once down the emergency 'shutes there were some very relieved passengers with no doubt reclosed anal sphincters. Apart from the uneventful replacement flight, that was the last time I'd fly with SABENA.

Bill, thanks - it was interesting to view that YouTube vid you posted on the X-Y table.
I've little doubt that my Warco version was no better than his but I've never dismantled it to find out. I certainly wouldn't devote the time & care he has devoted to improving it.
(I see on his follow-up vid that he's modified a cheap drill press to use as a mill with his improved table and induced some critical comment for doing so).
My X-Y table serves the purpose for drilling holes only and as such its 'roughness' isn't an issue. 90% of the time it is useful for precise location of hole centres by putting a pointed "wobbler" in the drill chuck, especially when a component needs to be bolted down. Altho' a sticky pin on the end of the twist drill seems just as accurate.

The somewhat negative comments about the ATC and gliding bring back one unpleasant memory.
As a teenage member of a school squadron in 1960 we were offered Sunday training days at RAF Spitalgate. Lincs (home of the Central Gliding School). The objective being to gain our A & B licenses. On the final Sunday the RAF officer insisted that those deemed capable of flying solo must be pushed through. By early evening, the winch operators were getting fed up and there were still about half a dozen of us to go.
Unfortuantely as it got later and darker, I was the last to be called. By the time the Kirby had been hitched up and I was strapped in, it was practically dark. No lights on an airstrip, just a large grass field.
On my 3rd launch I couldn't even see where the hell the field was. I didn't believe anyone could see me either. Eventually Aldis lamps were randomly flashed skywards, headlamps put on the Land Rovers and rapidly running out of height, somehow I got it back. It must have been after 23:00h by the time I got to very anxious parents.
But overall, in those days, the ATC experience was great.

Bill...."I'd be interested to know where you got your x-y table or where one of decent quality can be had".

As before, I purchased mine at one of Warco's sale days - quite a bargain. However and subject to correction, I cannot find that item on their website now.

A quick search turned up this one on Fleabuy. superficially it looks identical:-
**LINK**

Whilst preparing this I see Clive has replied - all of which is good !

Bill., you wrote, "......had tightened the nuts the necessary two revolutions to lock things up I found that invariably one or both axes had shifted slightly out of position."

Regarding my earlier reference to the Geo Thomas write-up on gibs. He laid emphasis on the shape of the ends of gib adjusting screws and the holes (in the gibs) on which they contact. It was his view that it was important to prevent what he termed a "wedging action" whereby when adjusting - the gibs would move 'laterally' as it were.
This was his diagram:-

(In the upper dwg, if the ends of the screws were left unfinished, the problem would likely be as bad)
His lower dwg was advocated as the preferred design, as adopted later by Myford, to prevent the wedging action when adjusting the gibs.
As ever, I found the old sage's advice to be sound with respect to the X-Y table although producing a good hemispherical end was easier said than done.

I've no wish to be critical, but from your images, I wouldn't consider your drill press column or table as 'substantial' in relation to the set up shown. In addition to Clive's suggestions, it might be worth using a heavy block of wood under the table to prevent flexing when doing any heavy drilling.
With apologies for the evident surrounding mess, this is the set up on the Startrite with X-Y table and little hydraulic jack which supports/lifts the table. The T slots permit that little vice to be removed in seconds:-

Edit: Loads of distortion with the small camera used - the table is not at angle to the column !

Edited By Fowlers Fury on 19/01/2019 12:50:28

The link to the earlier thread provided by Michael G made for gratifying reading ~ thanks.
Always good to learn "you're not alone" !

After getting rid of the appalling cross vice (by name and nature) I purchased a hefty X-Y table at one of Warco's sale days. With an accurate vice on top, this has proven a much more usable bit of kit. There are two problems with the set up (1) the extra height of the X-Y table plus vice (2) the considerable weight which altho' the Startrite has a very substantial pillar & table, it was a big (age-related) effort to move the table up or down. This was solved by acquiring a small hydraulic jack.
The far-Eastern X-Y table required shims underneath to bring it exactly 90 deg to the quill but it does have locking screws for the slides, furthermore the (metric } dials are reasonably accurate. If the OP has a big enough drill press & plastic card, an X-Y table might be the way to go.

" I've broken my share of Kipp / Bristol handles and bent the odd ........ "
Likewise Clive ~~~~ repeatedly on the mill !

Some years ago I purchased a similar vice to that of the OP (Bill Phinn) for fitting to the table of the Startrite drill press. I hope his version is better than mine although that one did have single "locking" screws on each slide. After a while it was gladly taken to the club auction night. The amount of backlash with the screws was hopeless as were the graduations on the handles. The "locking" screws didn't hold when drilling > 1/4"D holes.

If Bill does "want to drill and tap for two locking screws" then I'd suggest inserting dowels at the same time as recommended by Geo Thomas. His write-up on gibs and their behaviour in The Model Engineers Workshop Manual is worth reading. I followed his guidance for fitting a lock and dowel to the top slide of my S7 and it made a big difference to surface finish & accuracy.

If you've already made your pistons and cut the grooves then go with graphited packing but search for comments about graphite yarn/packing as doubts seem to exist about what you get, from where, these days.
Be careful how tight you pack it into the grooves; too tight and the wall pressure will be far too high especially before eveything is up to temp.

IMHO it is well worthwhile reading Tubal Cain's section on piston rings in The Model Engineer's Handbook (summary of his series in M.E. 1994). If you decide to make your own CI rings then you will need to make a sizing sleeve on a machining fixture for final skimming otherwise it is highly unlikely your rings will be concentric with the bore (with apologies to NDIY).

If all else is OK, why do all that dismantling? 2 screws ought to be sufficient to retain a wiper + plate.
A flat plate of m/s is easy enough to cut to shape. I gave up paying the high price for replacement Myford felt wipers a long while ago and instead purchased an A4 sized sheet of self-adhesive felt from an 'art shop'. Cut to shape 2 or maybe 3 pieces with scissors and stick together. Quick, easy and cheap to replace.
If you want a template of the wiper, post again and I'll scan it on here for you.

Re: "Unless you happen to be of the fairer sex you will no doubt have been forcefully, at some point or other, made aware that as a male we are incapable of multi-tasking. Given the source of this revelation it must be true"

To that hypothesis*, I encountered this riposte on the web t'other day:-

"Women are always bragging about being able to multi-task... it's really just a side effect of their complete inability to make up their mind".

(Not yet enlightened SWMBO with it however).

* defn:-"a supposition or proposed explanation made on the basis of limited evidence as a starting point for further investigation."

Bikepete, you raise an interesting question, I often wondered whether such activities were commandered for war work.
But pulling a copy of M.E. from the shelf for Jan 30th 1941, it would seem that model engineering was continuing as before - herewith the front page and note "In this issue":-

Further evidence (?) is shown by the back cover where lathes etc are being advertised. Yet inside in the Classifieds, Buck & Ryan state "Lathes can only be supplied for war work". Note the block advert "STEAM CARS IN WARTIME" !

Maybe of course that things changed after 1941 but my bound volume of 1943 M.E. suggests that the contents are pretty much similar to that above. ME Societies are having regular meetings, the letter pages are mainly concerned with model making and the "make do and mend" attitude in war time.

Edit for typo.

Edited By Fowlers Fury on 02/01/2019 21:54:23

Don't use alum if the carb is aluminum, if it's brass (or a bronze) then try it.
You may find it of interest to read this article if the carb is aluminium: "How to dissolve steel without affecting aluminium alloy" :-
**LINK**

8BA is a bit small but I've had success with a diamond bur in a hi-speed mini drill. Ask your dentist for a used narrow, cone type; it will rapidly remove the bulk of the tap even if HSS. The remains can be picked out then with a needle. However with an 8BA tap you'll need a steady hand & good eyesight !

Brilliant swarf tree !!

Must be worth a £25 voucher from here:- **LINK**

I've relied on a quick test before now, no guarantee of its infalibility.
Thoroughly degrease and immerse the metal in dilute mineral acid (I use HCl). Those bronzes containing Zn usually acquire a "copper colour" as the surface Zn is dissolved away. PB, containing no Zn, remains uncoloured.

Your dilemma isn't too dissimilar to acquiring a female (wife, partner or whatever).
With time you get used to idiosyncracies, benefits, shortcomings and performance characteristics.
Some days you might wish it could do more & better; other days you find yourself very comfortable with your acquisition irrespective of minor annoyances.
Whether to go for performance over style? New Far Eastern models are increasingly popular and seem initially cheap.
Whereas others in the market opt for a used, solid, well cared-for, locally-produced model with a good pedigree.
How much aggravation and cost would be involved in a later switch to a different model is also a consideration.
Yet Another factor is the inevitable cost of necessary accessories as all models seem to require costly enhancements after acquisition.
As others have commented above:-
"I think what you are using it for is the key starting question".
"Flat surfaces are so much easier to work on manually and check for 'truth'"
"As is always said, get one bigger than you currently have work planned for".

......and seldom will two men agree about your final choice.

You don't write what type of engine is being rebuilt but if it's petrol or diesel then DG1's opinion should be followed. Decline the offer.
The consequences of you trying to grind sodium-filled valves are horrific.
Check on Google if you've got any doubts and watch this idiot:-
**LINK**

(Edit typos)

Edited By Fowlers Fury on 04/12/2018 23:30:28