Member postings for Malc

The hole has always had a grease / oil nipple in it, which is why I have been faithfully oiling it all this time. I will replace it with a suitable bung and save some oil ! Having had all the usual fun with the Myford oil gun I have considered replacing all these nipples with ball oilers, but the ones on the headstock pulley and back gear might be a problem, what do you think?

Thanks for that Nick, That’s another mystery solved.

Decided to strip and clean my ML7 carriage today. In the process I realised that one of the oil nipples is not a standard one, in fact I am not sure whether it is an oil hole at all. I have always oiled it despite it not being a standard nipple thinking that a past owner may have replaced the original at some time. The hole is on the top of the carriage and just to the right of the carriage lock, it appears to be threaded but bigger than the standard nipple thread (probably about 2BA). I can’t find any reference to the hole in any of the Myford literature so I am wondering whether the hole is original or a later mod by someone. Any opinions would be welcome, I will try to post a picture.

I was in the same position as you. I fancied building a beam engine but, not knowing how well I would manage not being an engineer. I didn’t fancy shelling out on a castings kit because of the cost. I finally decided on building the beam engine by Julius de Waal. It was built totally from scrap or basic metal stock. I started it about 3 years ago and have had it running on air. I am in the process of painting it and making a suitable mounting block to finish it off. It was a wise decision as I had to re-make several bits and have scrapped a fair bit of metal in the process. I found the drawings online and I did depart from the spec on occasions. I haven’t added up the cost but I’m sure it was way cheaper than a beam engine casting kit and of course there was no initial outlay, I bought the bits of metal as I needed them. Hope that is some help.

Malc.

Hi John, I have just finished building a beam engine the bore of the piston is 30mm and the stroke is about the same. I was faced with the same question of how small a compressor could I use to test run it. I only had one of those tyre inflation jobs so I tried it plugged into the 12 volt car supply but it was not quite keeping the engine running - almost but not quite! I have a PSU which I made up to run a cordless drill which had a dead battery it produces about 18 volts. I hooked up the tyre compressor to the PSU and it increased the speed sufficiently to test run the beam engine. A bit cruel on the tyre compressor but it was only for a test run. It was suggested by someone on this forum that a tank such as a plastic bottle would help. Don’t know how your Potty Mill compares to a beam engine? But I thought this little tale might be of interest. Good luck with it,

Malc.

Many thanks for the filler suggestions etc. this has certainly given me plenty of info. Now I have the basic idea I will have a shop around. Once again, thanks to all.
Malc.

I am at the point of tidying up the beam engine I have been making for some time. Prior to painting there are a lot of scratches, dents etc. which need covering. I have been using “Holt’s Cataloy knifing putty” but am not too impressed with it. I didn’t really want to use an epoxy or two part filler. The imperfections are very small and I feel that a very thin brushable filler or primer would be sufficient. I would be grateful of any suggestions you fellows might have?

Your remarks are a real help. I will certainly try introducing some sort of tank into the air supply. You have also made me suspect the size of the inlet pipes to the valve chamber, they are 4mm copper so the inside diameter is only 3mm. Now I know what is required I can have another play! Thanks for the help.

Over the past few years (on & off) I have been making the Julius De Waal "Balanced beam engine with cylindrical valve". I have reached the stage where I would like to test run it before dismantling it to make it look "presentable". However, the only air supply I have is a cheapo mini air compressor for pumping up the car tyres. Having tried it the engine tries to work but will not run continuously. I have tried experimenting with the timing of the valve but to no avail. The mini compressor is capable of pressures up to 10 Bar but it's flow rate is only 35 Lts./min. and of course it has no tank. The beam engine has a 30mm dia. cylinder and a stroke of approx. 40mm. so it's not a big capacity. I had considered connecting it to one of my car tyres and using that as an air source, but I have no idea of the pressure / flow required to run it. Is there a simple way of testing this engine without having to resort to a compressor?

Well I’m glad to hear the problem is not restricted to just me! I had discovered that gently releasing the trigger cured the problem but was wondering whether there was a more permanent cure. Looks like I will have to discipline my trigger finger! Thanks for all the replies fellas.

I have a cheapo 18v. Guild cordless drill, it has served me well for several years now but has the habit of releasing the bit if I stop and start during a drilling job. The drill has a brake which stops the motor very sharply when the trigger is released and I am convinced that this feature has the effect of loosening the chuck's grip on the bit. I am tempted to disable this feature but having looked inside have not found an obvious way of doing so. I wondered whether any of you chaps have had this problem?

Spent most of my life working on sewing machinery. As a lad I remember the local reps asking the head mechanic whether he wanted “Plain or Hairy” leather belting and wondering what the difference was. Apparently the hairy belting comes from the back of the animal and is less prone to stretching than the plain which is from the belly. I am full of useless information!

I think I would be looking to drill and tap the blank first, mount it on a matching threaded shaft. You could then hold the shaft in the chuck and turn the shape of the knob.

I had trouble with this the other day. The curser seems to have a mind of its own. I ended up typing the message with out being able to see it until I moved the message up. As soon as I started to type again the lower message box came up and I was typing blind again. I finished the message by having to scroll back up to my typing window and send it. I am still not sure whether it went or not but it was shown in my “sent” box.

Hi “Grotto”

I fitted the cross slide mod to my ML7. I replaced the cross slide end bracket with the top slide bracket as a temporary measure. To use the top slide bracket I made an adaptor plate which enabled me to fit it to the cross slide. This was simply a 6mm thick plate measuring 90 x 20mm. 2 holes were drilled in the plate to line up with the threaded holes on the end of the cross slide. Another 2 holes were drilled and threaded 2BA to accept the top slide bracket. I seem to remember that I had to space out the cross slide screw to compensate for the difference in the length of the 2 brackets. A bit of a “mackel up” but it was sufficient for the job. To steady the top slide (as it now had no end cap) I tightened one of the gib strip screws. I bored out the cross slide bracket by mounting it on a piece of flat stock held in the 4 jaw chuck, much the same as suggested by Arc Eurotrade. After doing the cross slide bracket and replacing it I also did the top slide bracket. Considering the cost the mod is well worth doing, the action is much smoother. True, it doesn’t reduce the end play, that is wear in the screw assembly. I have found that fitting a DRO takes the guesswork out of end play problems. Food for thought if you decide to have a go at it!

Malc.

Hi Les,

Thanks again, you are a real font of knowledge. Now go and enjoy your Christmas and don’t worry about old farts with dodgy heating!

All the best,

Malc.

Hi All,

Many thanks for the interest. Yes, I have connected it to be supplied from the controller, which is why I was surprised when the indicator came on with the controller off. Thanks Les, I will follow your suggestions after the turkey etc., have checked my shed stocks but, as usual, everything but the thing you want! Thanks again all, and a happy Xmas and new year to you.

Malc.

Hi all,

A little off subject here, but knowing the range of experience between you all I thought it was worth a punt:

I have just fitted a Drayton RTS9 room stat, 4 wire connection, (L,N COM & CALL) with an indicator light. When fitted the indicator light was on when the room was calling for heat whether the system was programmed on or off. I preferred to have the indicator light lit only when the heating was programmed ON and calling for heat. I removed the permanent live and replaced it with a link from the COM as this is only live when the programmer switches on the heating. This is working OK but I have noticed that the indicator light glows dimly when the heating is programmed off and not calling for heat, does anyone know, is this to be expected?

Hi Bob,

**LINK** I bought one of these and attached it to a holder I made from a piece of 75mm “ [ “ section channel. Just cut off one of the webs and drilled it to accept clamping bolts. Tried to send pictures but no luck here. If you send me your E-mail address I’ll send them.

Malc.