Member postings for Sam Stones

Hi Mark,

Will you be aiming for authenticity or convenience?

Will you be screw-cutting in the lathe or using standard dies?

Designed prior to 1972, John Stevens' skeleton clock uses BA.

There are other members far better qualified who may come along shortly.

Good luck,

Sam

Just a courtesy rotation, Steve.

At first, and with no connecting text, I thought it was an upside-down picture of part of a milling machine.

Cheers,

Sam

Stephen,

I should have said ...

"Disengage (the lever) BEFORE engaging the back gear."

Cheers,

Sam

Stephen,

As I recall from my time on a Super 7 in the late 50's, it disengages the spindle lock before engaging the back gear.

No doubt you'll get an update shortly.

Enjoy your Myford. I only wish I was younger and had access to one.

Cheers,

Sam

Mr Lickfold, Neil, how dare you mention shrinkage?

Actually, I found it a breath of fresh air when you touched on (mould) shrinkage, with its many ramifications.

Upon reflection, it feels as if I spent a large chunk of my working life dealing with the subject, often against the flow of a few controversial 'recommendations'.

As for potting (either in plaster or epoxy), I ran a bit roughshod over Raphael Golez’ Macro-photography thread with this interjection …

**LINK**

Particularly potting in epoxy resin.to determine how two (M&F) threads aligned.

I could prattle on but won't.

Cheers! (Loud ones)

Sam

I need to eat humble pie for making a momentous mistake.

The green component in these two photographs had, to me at least, every appearance of being a polypropylene injection moulding. As Ed has indicated, it’s actually a metal die-casting.

I stand corrected.

Neil, your tongue-in-cheek humour didn’t go unnoticed, especially when you included pea netting mesh. Clearly, your humour does draw attention to the vast array of non-standard threads.

There’s many a true word spoken in jest.

For those still not bored with my interjections, here’s ‘Your starter of ten’...

"Specify this thread!"

It's fitted to the end of a domestic broom/brush handle.

Cheers,

Sam

Clearly, Ed’s intention is to erect his bird feeder on a pole.

The need to measure and therefore determine whether thread pitch, profile, and diameters, conform with a particular (engineering) standard is understandable. It offers a simple solution to the perceived home workshop limitations and available tools. Howard’s point too is also valid as far as ‘design economy’ is concerned.

This however, is where things come unstuck and why I couldn’t resist a bit of superficial nit-picking. After all it’s ‘only’ plastic not an exotic material, so who cares?

Well, after years in TS often analysing a plethora of design-related product failures, I do for one!

Fully respecting Ed’s plastic ‘bird-feeder-on-a-pole’ issue, my comments are more a message for readers led into the impression that engineering standards are equally applicable to plastics. That is not necessarily true!

Choosing an off-the-shelf mechanical engineering standard can invite failure. Thus we see yet another product assigned into the bl***y plastic category.

While looking up suitable thread standards for plastics materials, and especially responding to Neil’s suggestion, take a squiz at this one.

DIN 6063-1 - Threads, mainly for plastic containers - Part 1: Buttress threads, dimensions.

**LINK**

At least that’ll be a start.

Good luck to all who sail in her.

Sam

Considering the many possibilities Neil, it would be some pull-out.

There was a booklet available years ago that provided 108 (one hundred and eight) thread-profile variations for glass bottle-thread finishes.

I can't recall the title, and my copy probably went out in one of my rare 'tidying up' exercises.

Cheers,

Sam

Hi Ed,

Good look with finding a solution. I couldn't resist commenting as follows...

The notion that the thread of your bird-feeder moulding conforms to a standard, I’d suggest the odds are in favour of the thread having little to no relationship with any standard.

Unless I've missed something, there would be no particular reason to conform.

Ask me why.

Cheers,

Sam

Thanks Jo.

This was the original single frame (best of the bunch snapshot). Hence the loss of definition.

And the branch was swaying in the breeze.

Good luck with the pendulum.

Sam

Reference the above whale flipper link Jo, I couldn’t resist chipping in with this…

…the leading edge of a dragonfly wing.

Apparently, for whales, the tubercles provide swifter manoeuvrability. That would be handy for a dragonfly too.

And how about the leading and trailing edges of a pendulum rod with a suitably shaped (elliptical) cross section?

By the way, that’s brilliant work you are doing Jo!

Sam

Kitchen science can be rather intriguing.

I found mixing Bird's Custard powder fell into that category.

At a specific moment when there was just enough added liquid (milk), the mix would resist stirring as it became a dilatant non-Newtonian fluid. Yet the same fluid would trickle off the spoon, albeit appearing to be (but not quite) lumpy. Is it something to do with corn starch?

So where, in the kitchen, could you easily demonstrate Bernoulli?

Sam

Chilling out in Melbourne

You are most welcome Jim. Thanks for your response too.

As a one clock 'expert', I can see from your profile and albums that making and building a clock is well within your capability. Perhaps I should drop you a separate line?

Cheers,

Sam

You may already have reached this point Paul (& Jim). However, my search took me first to John Carruthers …

**LINK**

Then a reference to Model Engineer !!! c.2016

**LINK**

This led me to John’s thread for the Dark Lady …

**LINK**

Beware - there are nine (9) pages of posts from 1st May 2026 until 12th May 2017. I haven’t been through them.

Continuing on there was this …

**LINK**

with a nice picture of the clock

A quick video of the build. [1:38] can be found here …

**LINK**

Good luck,

Sam 

Not so sunny Melbourne

Edited By Sam Stones on 11/08/2023 21:26:39

Here’s a challenging, perhaps not new idea put to me years ago. Understandably, it may also attract protests from certain members, but that’s the fun that often transpires in this forum.

The idea is to rummage around for an old, relatively simple (spring-driven?) clock (or just the mechanism), that is essentially complete. If repairs are needed this might be a bonus.

Strip the mechanism having first noted (photographed) essential details such as the order of the wheels and pinions. Leave aside the plates, these will provide a guiding template for the pivot centres. Keep any other items such as pillars etc. that might still have a use.

In their correct order, rearrange the wheel/pinion train in a vertical stack. Taking advantage of transparency, I’d suggest using thin clear acrylic as temporary plates.

This is where the real challenge begins. Drawing the scrolling along the lines of something like this ...

Plates from John Stevens Skeleton Clock design. 

I can see this becoming quite a fascinating and lengthy project, with lots to learn and ample opportunity for ‘sculpting’ the front and back plates.

As a footnote, I did take steps towards making a miniature ‘replica’ of my version of John Stevens skeleton clock. Without an in-depth investigation, I simply bought an old alarm clock from the local op-shop. When I opened it, I discovered that the main spring was not captive.

Would I do it to this Wehlen mechanism?

Never! That would be vandalism.

Good luck Paul

Sam

Edited By Sam Stones on 09/08/2023 22:17:12

Martin D 2 - re ... National Service in the 1950s. I've sent you message.

Cheers,

Sam

Q. Is Spain Living in 2050?

I pass this on for pure interest especially for model engineers.

And, since I am excessively long-in-the-tooth, I respectfully advise that I do not intend to engage in discussion.

**LINK**

I did at one time however, consider that a one-stroke engine would simply go bang, then you’d build another.

Cheers,

Sam

The detail is brilliant, Michael.

It’s been almost six months since Peter Greene’s post so thanks for the link.

Earlier this week and somewhat coincidental, I was tempted to open Raphael’s thread by posting a link to an atypical NASA - Astronomy Picture of the Day Archive.

This is their website …

**LINK**

On 21st May ’23, they showed a picture called – ‘Tardigrade in Moss’. Seen here …

**LINK**

The mouthparts captured my attention, especially the ten-toothed ‘gear wheel’. It looks very mechanical.

Machined on a nano-mill perhaps?

Cheers,

Sam

The following may prove useful...

On 3 Mar 2023, during one of his many videos, Big Clive described

Fixing a faulty tachometer

**LINK**

At 2:30 into the video, he begins to use a thermal camera module. He says in his notes…

This is the first task for my new Infiray thermal camera module. It performed flawlessly. By request, here's a link to the AliExpress listing I bought the thermal imaging camera from. The price should be around £200, so shop about if they increase the price too much. **LINK**

Hope that helps.

Sam

Edited By Sam Stones on 13/03/2023 19:39:47

A generous gift Dave, especially for anyone interested in modelling steam engines.

Irrespective, they'll make good reading for those planning to venture into this wonderful hobby.

Good luck,

Sam