Member postings for Steven Vine

Spot on Ian. It's the lack of face to face that causes things to kick off, with many toys out of prams.

Please carry on Allan, you've brought us this far, thanks. I want to see how the crankshaft fits your corrected bearing etc. I'm not gonna beg though.

Steve

If you only have the one to do then drill it with the biggest drill bit you have and open it out using a boring bar. You can probably have it done in less time it takes to read all the replies and get your hands on the necessary equipment.

Steve

Interesting. And the guy with the long hair is just an accident waiting to happen. I'm surprised he's allowed to wear his hair like that at the plant.

Steve

| If it has an up and over door be careful about the spring which can have a lot of energy in it. Just releasing it can | | | be problematic. Sorry this an HSE thing I shouldn't mention it.

Bazyle

To tell grown men to be careful of springs under tension is insulting. The worst part is that you are probably serious.

Can you hear my gears grinding.

Steve

| I thought the categorisation for taps was :- TAPER, SECOND, PLUG / BOTTOM ................

Only last week I read that the Yanks call a Second a Plug.

Steve

Haven't you guys heard. Windows fixes itself now. My new Windows 8 laptop has been repairing itself for the last 3 days, after it ran into a problem during the 8.1 upgrade. The laptop keeps restarting and then goes into repair mode. I'm hoping it will be done by the weekend as I have some work to do on it.

Steve

In the periphery surface of the disc, drill suitable sized holes at equal distances. Insert balls in the holes, Solder up or glue the balls in the holes.

I'm also thinking of those feed sprockets for tractor fed paper on the old dot matrix printers.

Steve

Crikey Tim, that's a bit of a let down and feels like a bit of a time waster. I was following this thread closely and giving the square bar problem a lot of thought.

Steve

Hi Gordon

The home tinkering books on Robot building mostly have good discussions and simple practical examples of small DC motor control. I have a few books packed away, else I would give you the titles.

Steve

Russ

Intriguing. I have never heard of bitcoins until today.

What can you actually buy with the coins, and what do you plan on buying with them? Can you use them at Tesco, or can you pay the electric bill with them?

Steve

I've been using the Primus 2000 bottles and equipment for 36 years now. I did domestic and industrial heating and plumbing for over 15 years a long time ago (still keep my hand in now and then). Most heating engineers use these bottles (at least they did in my day).

You can get the Primus 2000 type bottles anywhere, though lately (last 15 years) I get the equivalent Calor 340 (340g) bottles. The Primus 2000 were blue when I first started. It is propane.

I am on my second neck tube as the first got worn out (at the regulator) with use. I use 2 different sized nozzles (15mm and 9mm ish), which will easily soft solder brass and copper tube up to 40mm dia. I also use it a lot for small electrical work such as shrink sleeving and larger terminals. The bottles are just the right diameter to easily hold and manipulate close up and at arms length. I am on my 3rd or 4th 15mm nozzle, as the metal at the tip burns away after a few years constant use. The system is great for surface work as it gives a nice steady flame. I've done quite a bit of silver soldering (non pipework) with the system, but it struggles with big stuff (I dunno, say 40mm cubes of steel). I bought the large Sievert pro system for that work.

This is all probably overkill if you have been used to a Ronson all your life. The price to get set up might put you off as well.

Steve

Well, that's animal husbandry crossed off the list (and I was going to change the idea to battery chickens as they can be stored away far more neatly).

John, check that themometer out, it could well be broken. It's been showing a constant 43.5 degrees in there for quite a while now.

Steve

You could keep pigs in there. Feed them on scraps, get useful heat from them, Get them to breed, then kill eat and sell the parents, Use the droppings for insulation. Forgive me, I have not done the maths but it sounds like a plan.

Mick Charity

You seem to hate Machine Mart with a vengeance. Have they wronged you?

Steve

Hi Chris123

I have the CBS45md. I bought it over 5 years ago from Chronos for about £185. I am extremely pleased with the Clarke model and would recommend it if it is in your price range. I would not be without my saw and would recommend the CBS45md as it feels like good quality. I am not a heavy user. It cuts great and straight, the motor is fine, the gearbox is still good. I use the cheap Clarke blades (about £30 for 5 I think I paid) and these last very well if you treat them right. The stand is flimsy, but you can just make a new stand if it bothers you.

The vat free weekend will make the purchase a lot more pleasant.

I have bought quite a few Clarke machines and they suit my price bracket. I find the fit and finish on some of the Clarke products is quite acceptable, and you can see that a bit of care has gone into the assemblies. Saying that, some of the electrical fittings on these Clarke machines are done on the cheap. The stop switch broke twice on my CBS45md, I got the first one replaced under warranty. After it went the second time I just made one to replace it so it was no big deal. I had a Clarke sander and the cheap motor failed on that after a couple of years. I had a cheap Clarke rotary tool and the motor failed within a year.

If I were you I would go with Machine Mart seeing as they are on your doorstep. If there is a problem then you do not have far to travel to exchange it or sort out any problems. I had a problem with a Warco machine and could not resolve it because they were just too far away.

Steve

<< I think it's just a question of tone really, with perhaps a touch of humility e.g. "I could be wrong but...>>

I quite agree with you Rod, it is a question of tone, and if you get it wrong you come across in a way that you probably did not intend. A lot of posts I read come across as scathing, overbearing and holier than thou. I try to see through this because it just might be me interpretting the tone incorrectly (even though know I am not in most cases).

I recently posted a comment of my observations on the ML7 pulley and the lack of an oil point. Because I was unsure without looking into my notes, I raised the point that the set screw is probably a dust cover, or could bear down on a key? The reply I got in the next post was ""No it doesn't locate a key! Otherwise the pulley could not rotate on the spindle when back gear is engaged!"". The tone and exclamation marks made me feel as though I was being chastised and I felt like I had just had my knuckles rapped, from someone with the knowledge. If the reply had been something like ""Hi Steve, the set screw is in fact a cover. It should not be tightened else there is a risk of damaging the spindle"" I would have walked away from the forum in a happier state.

I could go on, but I will leave it at that for now.

Steve

Hi Richard

A few years ago I bought the Clarke bds model that is quite similar to the Warco above, and other 'hobby' types like that, which are around the £100 mark. On mine, the non standard motor that was made to fit in the casting, behind the circular sanding disc, only lasted a couple of years and I ended up scrapping the machine. Other than that it was not too bad to use and I got a lot of good work out of it, Maybe I just got a wrong-un, but I would not get that type again.

If I get another I will get one where the motor is a standard size and type and easily replaceable.

Steve

Ah, thanks Rick. It is very reassuring to get that confirmation. I had loosened it and have left it like that.

Steve

Hi Jon

I have an early ML7 and there is no oil nipple on the pulley. There is a flat for the oil nipple, and there is a machined cone shaped indent on the flat, but no hole at all. I have been trying to find an early ML7 manual that discusses the lubrication for this set up, because all the later manuals discuss it showing the oil nipple.

There is a tapped hole in the middle pulley. I removed the grub screw from this and dripped some clean oil in. The oil disappears down the hole, but whether it lubricates the correct parts I do not know. It seems to be going into the right area?

If I recall correctly, when I got the machine the previous owner mentioned something above some problems they were having with the pulley. I found that they had jammed in the grub screw in an attemp to prevent movement and figured out that they misunderstood how it worked in relation to the backgear? I'm under the impression that the grub screw in the centre pulley is just to prevent dirt getting in there (or does it bear down and locate a key?).

Steve