Member postings for alan frost

An opportune post maybe to point out that Axminster do a range (well at least 3 models ,maybe more ) of radial drills meant for metal working. i have the cheapest one which IMO is still incredible value and was even more so when I bought it. The ability to tilt the head and to increase and decrease the throat I have found incredibly useful over the 7-8 years i've owned it. I have no connection at all with Axminster apart from always being left a happy customer.

The range also have rack operated tables ( once you've had one yoiu won't ever want to return to lifting and lowering tables with muscle) and the keyless chuck on mine is high quality and saves hours of time when constantly changing drill bits.

Alan Frost

If I could be forgiven a short commercial,apart from my unrecognised (but successful) efforts in eliminating rivet poverty in the UK , I now have the means available to commence the project to eliminate ball bearing poverty amongst model engineers in the UK. I know this was one of the major concerns of the Cameron government and as soon as I can get off my backside and classify the bearings adverts will be flooding the country. Toyota at Derby and Honda at Swindon (or is it the other way round ?) have now been satisfied and we now have capacity to release bearings to the model engineer market . As Theresa said to me only yesterday "Thanks, Alan,thats one less problem to lose sleep over".

Afraid I don't understand what all this c---p has been about,nor why we need another marathon series on short lengths.. For 99% of us who are happy just to get the job done the solution is pretty obvious ,ERs, and if some lucky model engineer has a machine that is powerful enough that these give problems then reduce the cut,or is this too easy ? Judging by the "Guhring " video any cut classed as just short of "Brutal" should not be a problem.

For the small number who are reading a model engineering site but are involved in production then reducing the cut may be less welcome and increase machining time and cost. However if they can't analyse their problem and come up with an alternative method of work/tool holding they should n't be in the business of producing metal parts,and probably won't be for long. So who has a problem ? No one, except production machinists who should know enough to solve their own problem . In other words no one has a problem. Model engineers can't produce the problem and those who can should know the answer.

i do find it instructive that Mr. Stevenson has typically ,IMO, offered to come up with, and will no doubt do so, a solution to the problem for the amateurs who are determined to spend their time machining short lengths but refuse to adopt the recognised and simple solution.

JS,I know, has his own Swinglite (and is no doubt a black belt in its use ) and does n't need me to defend him. However it is probably easier for me to say that in my opinion he is far from an ordinary machinist in that his bodges are actually far from bodges and demonstrate good lateral thinking in solving engineering problems that benefit and amuse us all. Also I have for one gained great benefit from his willingness to take the trouble to write up and publish articles on solving model engineers problems e.g. taper turning using a boring head, making gear cutters etc etc. When you add to this the extraordinary efficiency and effort he put into taking up the Chris Heapy site and ensuring its survival, the improvements he has instigated in simple accessories at Arc, and his work at exhibitions sharpening for a charity fee and not least the improvement in the general tenor of the posts on this forum since he became a moderator I can think of few others who do more for model engineering. I speak as one who's efforts in eliminating rivet poverty in the UK failed to be recognised by the Palace.

I could add more but will limit his embarassment. I felt compelled to add this paragraph in view of some extraordinary posts submitted recently. Not that JS is above criticism . I have in the past taken serious issue with him when certain items have been rapidly sold on another website he has connections with ,without his checking with me first as to whether I required the said items . I'm never more than a phone call away. I also never proved anything but there was a time long ago when QCTPs hardly ever appeared on the aforementioned website and I often wondered whether he was trying to corner the market in QCTPs and holders in order to hold us all to ransom. I believe he has more than a few.

Alan Frost (brown belt , pink Swinglite,green engineer)

Edited By alan frost on 27/09/2016 15:15:25

Well,John. i've written off tonight for a manufacturers report from Ledfilled (my usual supplier although I occasionally carry a Swinglite) .i'm not sure they know what an FEA report is,but i'll ask.

But only in self defence,officer

Oh dear,after a couple or so years of grown up discussion I felt encouraged to use the site occasionally but I see that handbags have again been procured. What do you mean we don't have to read it.? Who could resist it ? Now can we get down to something useful ? What is recommended as giving the firmest grip on a handbag strap?

Oh, a useful addition. I intend to use the bag ,speaking technically as a tool.

Edited By alan frost on 22/09/2016 13:19:55

Edited By alan frost on 22/09/2016 13:23:35

I must also say I agree with practically everything he says so hilariously. The first book was funny,as was "A complete etc " in places (a great book ) but this one is hilarious and so true. My only complaint is I bought it as soon as published and then got two more for Christmas , one along with "Kolymsky Heights" , probably the best thriller ever written (not just my opinion.) I 've owned KH 4 times. Every time I loan it it never comes back. I just buy another.

i rarely re read books but I must have read the first 50 pages and the last 50 or so pages 20 times. The middle ain't bad either. If I have trouble getting off to sleep I often get up , get KH and read until sleep hits me.

Alan

Just a thank-you to Mike, Graham and Bazyle for their help in tracking The Jacques Maurel articles ,videos, and other relevant threads down.

I sometimes have long absences from the site put off by the sometimes in my view ,petty criticisms and back biting (much less now , under the current moderators and editor) . I must plead guilty to occasionally having been involved myself,to my regret.

It is therefore very pleasant to say thanks for help , which has always been available from many members even through the "medieval period" when "feuds" were more common. Many thanks.

Bazyle many thanks. If I did n't know better I would think you were a young whippersnapper of a member with the consequent infallible memory.

I did do some research myself and came up with two issues of another magazine with articles by Jacques Maurel, one of which apparently described the retracting tool holder,which thanks to your kind link I was able to watch a quite impressive video of. The other in December 2014 apparently describes a saw blade alignment tool.

The video you referenced lead me to quite a bit of information on the thread compensating tool including a utube video but regretfully I was unable to find another article by Jacques Maurel , or the threads on this website referring to his articles (no surprise there then).

Anyway your help.believe me was much appreciated. It now appears I will need the help of someone with the legendary memory power for articles on any sort of work with metal of a John Stevenson although I will continue with my own researches. It is said,but I can not confirm that JS remembers the date of the original article in "Temple Building for Beginners" by the original Tubal Cain. He must have been fairly young then.

Alan

I would love to have more details of the Jaques Maurel threading attachment. Obviously I will be googling it etc. but just in case I come up with nothing thought I'd ask.

I must admit I don't visit the site that often and have n't read Brian's thread , but as John S's trip to China a few months back made clear , China gives you the choice. You can buy cheaply and get reasonable quality at staggeringly low prices, or you can pay something nearer western prices and get top quality.

I must admit I do have some admiration for the Chinese based on a lot of history. Despite being the biggest boy in the class for centuries they have seldom bullied , the Tibetan "invasion" being their only transgression in some eyes .although there is little historical doubt the Tibetans were for most of history seen as a province of China paying homage to Beijing. The Chinese I presume did not subscribe to the view that anything had changed this.

Remember also they signed a deal to lease us Hong Kong for 100 years and honoured the deal fully , even though they could have walked in at any time. I don't think Margaret Thatcher would have done a Falklands had they done so. Do you ? You would think that any nation with our record in China would keep very quiet about human rights and moral superiority .

As for their track record for hard work and technology contributions its been going on since before the Ming dynasty. Anyway this is n't metal , but neither is making cracks about the Chinese.

Just a mild reproof. This seems a good and useful video to me, I believe many welding instructors recommend running a weld with the power off as initial practice and this seems an advance on that.

The mild reproof is the posts making cracks at the Chinese. Reminds me a bit of years back when I was an apprentice in Rugby and we used to attend occasionally the motor cycle racing at Silverstone. This was the early sixties and Hondas were just appearing initially with little success. Very soon race results were Honda first,second and third. Eventually I believe the Association of British Motorcycle Manufacturers belatedly took a Honda to pieces and were astonished to find it was built like a watch. We all know what happened next.

The Chinese are now well into the "what happened next stage" and I don't think we need be unduly worried by what happens at Hinckley Point. What is worrying is how slowly some of us get the point.

I'm more impressed with John's knowledge of the financing of WWII . Pretty accurate--we should have finished paying it off in about 2006 I think but have gone a bit over as there was a clause enabling us to hold things for any year we were struggling for cash.

I don't think we did ever pay off the loan for WWI but on the whole we did better than most of the people who owed Uncle Sam money.

I don't mind particularly the large ES holders except for the fact they are yet another type of light holder. I would n't like to list all the different type of lighting connectors I have in my "spare light bulb" cupboard. For Gods sake we're not talking rocket science here , Just 3 wires at most and a few amps to get in and out.Can it be that complicated?? I know the answer.,Apparently yes.

As I worked for Philips for years I suppose I must be guilty by association with all these b----y different types of lighting connections. Every time I buy some bargain bulbs and get them home there is a groan as I realise I was n't paying full attention and I need yet another type of bulb holder.

Ron, the welds in Jason b's post were obviously done by someone who had progressed beyond expert. I've done a bit of arc welding long ago and keep putting off using my posh new arc/TIG welder (despite an input from a welder friend who tells me "if you've done it then half hours practice and you'll be flying".) I'm not convinced.

One thing I do believe is that a good quality welding kit (and if you have a foot pedal it suggests yours is) makes all the difference. Even so unless you're naturally gifted at welding I think a lot of practice would be needed to weld a small boiler that passed all tests. Let us know how you get on.

Regards Alan

I have an Emco V10P with the earlier 4 speed milling head. The lathe is a fine lathe and very pleasant to use. The milling head is useful and has far more daylight under the quill than either my Haighton Major mill or Fritz Werner 5.16. Both are highly regarded mills. It also has great versitilty in positioning. IMO daylight under the quill is one of ,if not the most important of mill dimensions.

That said the milling head is not capable of heavy cuts,any more than is the Rishton ,Rodney or similar design of mills. It does accurate work within its capabilities but compared with the lathe itself it can only do light work. I would have thought Emco would have done better to mount a vee way column on the back of the bed,altho this would have lost some flexibility in positioning the head..

Despite all this they hold their value very,very well and often sell ,somewhat illogically for as much as the lathe complete with milling head will sell for.. 

Edited By alan frost on 25/11/2014 00:00:14

Can only agree,Roger. I bought some stuff from Lionel about 3 years ago.

I don't know however about the wisdom of announcing publicly info. the subject may not wish publicsed Am I being paranoid ? I usually feel pretty relaxed compared with the paranoia accompanying many of the security threads on this site and wonder if in this case the reverse is the case. Would genuinely appreciate some guidance on this. Personally my tel. no is not ex-directory , my email address contains my name, and I usually use my real name as my user name on sites.Is all this wise ? I hope so as anonymity always seems to me slightly cowardly.

I do use an iMac instead of a pc (one of the best and most time saving decisions I have made) and have found this gives me much improved security but obviously I do not expect it to give me 100% security.

Edited By alan frost on 20/11/2014 23:57:39

I think you have a point ,Frank, compressing glass fibre wool or similar must still leave a lot of air voids ,if smallish, with many small voids presumably being better than fewer larger ,possibly convection prone voids.

.I decided against "wool"of any kind as most of the knowledge and I think the science says that with timber cladding you will get under storm or even less conditions some external water getting through the cladding layer. I have used 36 mm cladding well tongued and grooved ,mitred and rubber sealed at key joints and carefully applied which will have 3 coats of Butinox , but was under no illusions about some water ingress. I did n't fancy wet "wool" and with many of the air voids wet I imagine insulation values drop sharply.

I don't know if Kingspan is closed cell but it is certainly I have observed quite resistant to soaking up moisture which would obviously cut insulation values. I also prefer working with any material I can shape to a dimension to guarantee a good fit and where I don't get one 3 or 5mm cheap neoprene draught sealer will go a long way to curing any lack of what I jokingly call craftsmanship on my part. Pretty impossible with wool . Stuffing in glass fibre probably scores as well over looseness in that its less prone to movement and sagging but must be still far more likely to do this over time, than Kingspan boards,especially if wetted then dried ,then wetted etc..

Also should I need to pay a little attention to any weak points after construction and use I would far rather remove a panel of Kinsgpan than rifle through wet or even fairly dry wool trying to find a more severe "leak'". I am using Kingspan here as the generic name, I'm too mean to buy the lead brand , and would like to have indulged my meanness a little more by using "wool`" but.........

Trouble is opinions differ . Everyone else says oi be wrong but oi says oi be right.I guess quality of build varies so much that all you can do is build the best you can with the best advice you can get and suck it and see.

One thing I am sure of is that building it yourself , providing one can find cheap good timber gives you a quality of shed that exceeds all but the most expensive bought ones., and custom made to fit, in my case a fairly complicated floor plan.

Edited By alan frost on 17/11/2014 23:25:13

Edited By alan frost on 17/11/2014 23:32:36

I only raise the point again 'cos its quite important to anyone building a shed.,not life and death,but important Reading througn these posts it would appear that practically everyone including myself and apparently "Building a Workshop" (post 1 ) think the vapour barrier should be on the cold side of the insulation. Having looked into this a lot recently (still building ) thats where the manufacturers say it should be for the simple physics reason warm air can hold more moisture than cold air. Put the vapour barrier on the inside and and where does the "precipitated " moisture go , obviously somewhere you don't want it.

There are it is true "commentators" on line who say put it on the inside but I prefer to run with the manufacturers, builders, and the science.

Where it does get a bit complex I admit is when the successive layers listed from inside the shed go (typically) Board Liningl, al.foil (on kingspan or similar), insulation,al.foil,small air gap,vapour barrier, larger air gap, cladding. I may omit the board lining but as according to the manufacturers the al.foil on both sides of the insulation will act as presumably two additional vapour barriers it all gets a little complicated. One thing I do know is that with timber cladding some external water will get through the cladding layer (pressure differences, due to wind gust conditions during storms) and I want that in the air gap between the vapour barrier I will add and the cladding where later drier air movement will dry it out. The added vapour barrier will pretty well keep these cold air movements outside the vapour barrier so that they don't appear as draughts, although I am hoping to achieve a good fit with the Kingsspan accurately cut,aided by a few miles of very cheap neoprene rubber draught seal strip.

The additional vapour barrier outside the insulation I can assure all only has a snowball in the hot place's chance of being installed if I decide when I start insulation operations there is no chance I shall be found a few years hence as a suffocated mummy wrapped in several hundred layers of green vapour barrier plastic . I certainly think it might be tricky as I intend to minimise punctures by nails and staples if at all possible and to tape any punctures (a la Bazyle) I do have to make to keep me from being driven even more insane than usual , by the sq. miles of green plastic.

Do we have a physicist in the house ??

Alan

Only just through the letter box but it promises to be the best MEW I've received in many a year.

Thought provoking too, seeing the pic of a debonair JS standing on his more tidy than usual milling table I could n't help but wonder whether he'd considered indexing the rotary table to at least a degree accuracy by windlassing in a hawser with knots at six inch intervals.

Regards

Russell , as you worked in the maths dept. I'll take your word that 2 to the power of 25 odd is 500 million,. Its not a hard sum but you mathematicians probably just know that. I tend to know only up to 2 to the tenth is a thousand (more or less).

Regards