Member postings for Sam Stones

Gentlemen

I know there are some of you with specialist knowledge in cameras and lenses.

I'd like to get in close and personal with some inanimate objects e.g. my skeleton clock. I have a Camcorder which has a (58mm) threaded lens for attaching filters etc.

The camera is fitted with a Canon HD Video (3.67 - 73.4mm) 20x zoom lens.

If I attach a quality (i.e. two-element) close-up lens (say 2 or 4 diopter), will there be much (or any) falloff in image quality?

Thanks for any help,

Sam

As I understand it from an excellent program screened on TV Down-Under, after their `completion', the wings are loaded onto a barge; sail up the River Dee; transferred onto a ship; shipped down and into the Bay of Biscay; then transported by road to the assembly plant.

See link - **LINK**

SB5 wrote:

I really must stay up one night to watch the A380 wings come in by road - It must be quite a feat as the route passes thro some small villages.

I reckon the Yanks would simply fly them in, shuttle fashion. Or maybe get extra lift by strapping them crosswise.

Sam

Brilliant photography Jez!

[Danny wrote – I read that this has caused a few house fires already and is being investigated by the ACCC **LINK**]

It makes one wonder Danny, especially after the Pink Batts saga - **LINK**

In case you didn't examine my album, this is the scale of the Grand Canyon inside the tap.

Once again chaps, thank you all for your contributions.

Regards,

Sam

Edited By Sam Stones on 17/05/2016 00:26:17

Same again!!!

What a bugger!!! Must be the brackets ))))))

PPS - I've no idea how the winky icon got into my last post. The line was supposed to read -

To my surprise, I discovered that it wasn’t cast after all, but thin brass only 0.6mm (0.025" thick.

I look forward to more helpful comments.

Gentlemen all,

How very enlightening. Your comments are most appreciated. Everything fits in with de-zincification.

Here’s more of the background:

Having seen (and used) numerous brass plumbing fitting etc., I have always imagined that (especially) taps were only ever cast. Not so, it seems; but please read on.

It was necessary to replace the kitchen mixer-tap after it began to leak (from the barrel section) more than three years ago.

A few weeks ago, a tiny white spot appeared on the chromed surface of the stem of the replacement. The spot stubbornly refused to budge when wiped with a cloth. Closer inspection showed that the spot was actually weeping drops of water. For a while, it remained simply a `point’ of interest.

In the past week or two, tiny jets of water began to appear underneath the tap. See pictures 1 and 2. It was therefore necessary to replace the tap, which we did.

Being a rather inquisitive creature, I attacked the tap with a hacksaw (as you would), cutting away the offending section. To my surprise, I discovered that it wasn’t cast after all, but thin brass only 0.6mm (0.025&rdquo thick. See picture 3.

It seemed that this section of the stem had split. It also appeared to have been extruded before being flattened into an elliptical profile. I now wonder whether there is either a crack or lines which have been overly stressed. Pictures 4 and 5 show in close up, the outside and inside surfaces respectively.

Pictures 6 and 7 were taken after I rubbed away some of the surface.

The right hand edge in Picture 6, shows three layers; brass, copper, and chrome. From my limited knowledge, this appeared to be the correct approach to chrome plating.

Would additional zinc (>15%) in the brass be there for a cost reduction, or would it make forming and shaping etc., easier?

Interesting!?

Regards,

Sam

Addendum - After heavy rain and on other occasions, Melbourne's water smells strongly of chlorine.

Hmmmm

Here's a picture to ponder.

What could it be?

You can find more information from my `Leaking tap' album.

Sam

Hi Michael,

As always, your on the ball. Thank you.

He'll be on to it tomorrow.

Regards,

Sam

Thank you Roy,

I have alerted the other fellow to this thread.

Regards,

Sam

On another forum, a fellow countryman asks -

"Does anyone know how I can get hold of designs for horological tools by
Colin Walton? I understand that he used to sell plans, but cannot find
his details."

I've had a quick `shuftie' but found nothing of direct reference.

Thank Sam

Hi David,

Not much to add compared with these other chaps.

However, back in the 70’s and knowing nothing about clock building, I ground a fly cutter in silver steel, hardened and ground it.

As you can determine from the poorly formed root radius (radii), the cutter didn’t have a full-form profile.

Instead, I approached the locking and clearance faces of the wheel from different angles.

For reference, the wheel was made from silver steel too, hardened/tempered, and the locking faces lapped. The fifteen tooth wheel has an OD of ¾” (19mm) and is 1/16” (1.5mm) thick.

Good luck.

Sam

Edited By Sam Stones on 10/05/2016 21:44:33

Nice work Ed!

I'm also impressed with your clean knurling. That's a job I never enjoyed doing.

Sam

Hi Ed,

When you machine nylon, make sure your cutters are really sharp and with steep angles. More like tools for wood. Otherwise you'll find that you have to do a lot of work de-burring.

Sam

Quite right there young Michael,

I think it's a shame and a sin. To go on and on as I have done, And after Ed paid to come in.

With apologies to Stanley Holloway.

It is hard to shake off a life in the plastics industry.

Sam

I couldn't resist taking a gander at what industry are doing wrt to insert design. See here -

https://www.google.com.au/search?q=metal+inserts+for+plastic&rlz=1C1GGGE___AU555AU555&espv=2&biw=1001&bih=885&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwia9umzlr_MAhVkNqYKHZxpDbwQsAQIJw&dpr=1

Hi Ed,

We have to agree with Jeff that p.acetal is `almost impossible’ to glue or paint. I would add `successfully’.

This applies to various crystalline materials (polymers) such as polypropylene, polyethylene, nylon, polyacetal, etc.

That said, there are situations where these very materials are regularly painted. For example, automotive bumper bars injection moulded in polypropylene are etch-primed before given a top coat.

I’m unclear about p.acetal but I have in the past used an oxidising primer called ThreeBond 1797. (See photograph and link below.)

The label shows it to be for cyanoacrylate adhesives, and I’ve used it to prime polypropylene with some success. The bottle holds 100ml, but how much it cost I can’t recall.

**LINK**

Of the amorphous plastics (polymers) which can be glued with less difficulty, rigid PVC, and ABS should be fine, keeping in mind that ABS can exhibit a lower value of friction.

On balance, p.acetal would be my choice since it machines easily; will hold its shape quite well (i.e. low creep); correctly primed, it can be glued.

I would however, be tempted to introduce grooves into the OD. These would be of the spline type to resist torque, and circular grooves to resist pull-out.

Polyacetal is however, used for bearings and is rather slippery. Since the task seems critical, maybe you should do a few tests before attending to the real thing.

On a final note (or two), acrylics and polycarbonate (and others especially amorphous polymers) are prone to ESC (environmental stress cracking) so watch out for chemical agents which can introduce this hazard.

I’m also very conscious of the notch sensitivity of materials. Far too many parts fail due to notching (lack of radiusing. Good luck!

Regards,

Sam (aka Dennis)

Edited By Sam Stones on 04/05/2016 01:31:14

Many thanks to M.E. contributors.

A special` thank you’ to Percy Shaw, Edward Current, et al for steering me through some of this labyrinth.

From the little I can find out, it appears that the (attraction/repulsion) force exerted between two magnets or between a magnet and another object being attracted can vary between the distance cubed and the distance to the seventh power. Something to do with shape again.

Knowing how to approach and position my car over the loops will never be the same again.

Regards to all,

Sam

I like that idea Michael.

I suppose the next part of the question relates to the power relationship - i.e. Distance relative to the magnetic flux/density. Somewhere in my flimsy memory is the notion that magnetism falls off by the 7th power of the distance, but that doesn't feel right.

Sam

Edited By Sam Stones on 13/04/2016 00:02:31