Member postings for Ajohnw

There is more on the best way to cut stock thread on these things including some work done with a 6x41/2. The machine mart one is 3 speed. Think mine may be 2. That might be useful for harder materials. I've just cut aluminium and mild steel with mine other than a failure on quickly chilled cast iron pipe.

John

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Wow Ian. I knew people have used them extensively.

One advantage I think they do have over small reciprocating ones especially is blade length - more of it to wear out.

Mine has only failed to cut one thing. I came across some ancient 6" cast iron stench pipe and had the bright idea of using a section of it for something to go in the fireplace. I'd guess it was continuously cast and cooled with water almost immediately, I've never used it on stainless or toolsteel. This is with the original blades. I bought several a long time ago. Nothing special. Think I have one left. It may be possible to get bi metal blades for them now. I think mine is 2 speed - cold so not going out to look. The machine mart one is 3 speed.

The blade did run off a few times initially. I just tightened it up more. The vice is a bit naff but has been ok for me.

John

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Edited By Ajohnw on 03/01/2017 13:07:31

Maybe this is Jason's old Rexon.

From the days when it might have used steel guide supports etc. Lots don't. There used to be a made in B'ham brand about.Can't remember the name. One versions used a simple thick steel plate for the table. They were reckoned to be pretty good all round but used prices were pretty high.

John

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I only said might state Jason. What people choose to do with them is up to them and I'm pretty sure some would need care.

John

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There is another version of the headstock bearing arrangement. No thrust race. It uses a hardened sleeve instead. I suspect this is the very high speed model.

There seems to be several different motor drive units with or without a clutch.

Some 1770's use a headstock riser block and 50 head but with a 70mm centre height tailstock.

Surprisingly some slides use normal gib strips rather than tapered ones. I suspect both these and the high speed model were mostly made during the war. Colour and finish etc can be as it usually is.

The headstock bearings clamp down solid onto shims. As they are supposed to run hot and tight and need running in adjustment is unlikely to be just a case of removing shimming.

Just thought it was worth adding this to the thread.

John

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Edited By Ajohnw on 03/01/2017 10:31:57

Looking around as this cropped up on another thread the only people who seem to be selling the original chinese cheap horizontal bandsaw is machinemart / clarke. It too can be used vertically. Axminster do it on a different base. This chester one is not that dissimilar

**LINK**

This is the Clarke one.

**LINK**

Warco etc seem to be cheapest for more recent cheap ones but these may have brushed motors. Hard to tell from photo's.

That's the correct name by the way but sellers seem to have forgotten that in places. Horizontal bandsaw. Personally I would buy based on max capacity. Things can be turned over to increase the depth.

As not done mentioned real metal cutting conventional bandsaws are rather expensive and a joy to use especially if they have blade welding equipment built in. Even these though aren't really intended for cutting thick stock. A typical woodworking one at the cheaper end might state 10mm aluminium with the correct blade. Something like a Dewalt. They could cut thicker with care.

John

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Seeing 8mm bore tubing mentioned I went for 6mm bore for use with the welder. For plasma and argon it's more than ample and needs to be flexible.

I bought 8mm for the main compressor lead. Turns out some one is selling them based on outside diameter. The 6mm bore stuff has a larger OD.

John

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60's 70's ? There were hardly any around then. There were a few about in the 80's but serious numbers came later. That's when they had steel supply limitations. Also near the start of oil technology getting well ahead of car engines and as far as the manufacturers were concerned lasting far to long.

There was a lot of crap mild steel around during wwII. My father told me that they had a name for it in toolrooms - park railings. As they were collecting them and resmelting them. There can still be crap pieces of steel about but sorry I don't think that has anything to do with recycling the stuff.

John

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John

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The hose tail fitting will cost £5-20 plus vat - which I wont get back. £12 plus vat if Rectus made them. If PCL a bit more than the £5.20. The adapters are all £1.xx plus vat. It seems they go by the name of Norgen Mini too.

Part of the reason for using them is what I need to do and usage wont be high. Seems that they are popular.

If I went for Schrader heavy duty the coupler would cost £45 plus. Standard duty about £25. Some others a lot less. Stainless even more.

I did think of making some of my own due to looking at ebay and some other prices but things look a lot cheaper from people who just supply this sort of thing who I assume also supply the others. It would just have been a thread changer if I had made anything. The hose tail on the welder isn't nice if it needs changing over. I'm going to try a quick fit on it. If that doesn't work out change it to a nipple fitting later but that will need more work.

John

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Edited By Ajohnw on 02/01/2017 20:18:22

I didn't think that the suggestion of buying a plasma cutter would go down well Jason.

Also no idea how long the one I have bought will last or how thick it can go neatly. I've been wondering where I could get some cheap boiler plate from to practice on - once the pneumatics are sorted. I may finish up grafting a clark twin head pump onto the the compressor. That's the sort of thing I'd only probably do when I needed to plasma cut.

Kitchen willing I should be able to see if the compressor will supply enough air next week if I get the fittings this week. I can play around while kitchen things are drying. Actually cutting something is likely to take longer. I suspect that I would be wasting my time without something to set the spacing from torch to metal. seems that the need to be 1mm away. I've no idea so have to assume that's correct.

John

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If they are for cleaning up rolled threads the taps should match. It seems some one use a certain number to make what they seem to call nipples to go on the end of the spokes. Size ?? but 56tpi.

John

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Footprint was mentioned to me. I went to a model engineering supplier in Peterborough to buy a couple of things. One of them was a diy kit for a reciprocating saw. He had them in stock and asked if I had much space. Yes for that so he told me to buy one of the cheap horizontal ones. It was what he used for cutting stuff up for his kits. He did point out that the length stop doesn't work well - he was entirely correct too.

That seems to be the choice on a budget. Either the band saw or a diy reciprocating one. Rather than the usual ME designs I'd suggest the Myfordboy one that can be found on youtube. That one seems to work extremely well and I doubt if it's expensive or difficult to build.

Bound to need a hacksaw though or any of the other ideas. I have cut stuff with an angle grinder at times. Usually thin stuff. It takes time. If I needed to cut stuff that wouldn't fit in the bandsaw often I would probably buy one of the metal cutting circular saws. Myfordboy demo's the use of one of those in one of his video's. Think it's on a some metal rolls that didn't work out as good as his own design.

John

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I was curious about taps as they are usually needed to go with dies. It seems that one size of the UNC numbered series is suitable for some size of spokes. Maybe others are too.

John

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That looked promising Bob. Some dimensions. The end of the bayonet on the air tools is a touch under 5/16 dia so I'm pretty sure it's a variant of the one some call industrial. The automotive one just has a shorter 5/16 dia section. Mine seems to be a bit longer than both.

The mini 21 is the same sort of thing with the end length between the 2. Rating usually 35 bar and cheap compared with some.

I'm cautious as I have never had much to do with compressed air and fittings other than some work on fluidic stuff. Even so I am aware of things that should fit together and either don't lock or leak etc. Best bet seems be to get some mini 21 stuff all from the same source and maker and give up on trying to decide what the tools have fitted.

John

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I was going to use PCL and then remembered I have some air tools. Looking at those they use what some call industrial. This style seems to be type 14 however no info i can find gives the same sizes. Also I think called Aro or something like that. There is also a very similar style that is often called automotive.The round bit on the end is shorter,

The fittings on the tools could be type 19 as well.

Then I thought change the fittings on the tools. Turns out that they are NPT but the od is 10.5mm which seems a little big for 1/8 npt. They are more or less parallel so maybe they were forced in and made over size on purpose.

PCL seems to be out anyway as 1/8" pipe doesn't seem to be available and I do need that or would have to use multiple adapters.

I suspect the best answer will be 1/8 npt bspt equal male to bspt converters and then a fitting that looks to be about. from several sources That's euro, massive or type 21 mini.

John

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Edited By Ajohnw on 02/01/2017 16:01:53

The asbestos mentioned may well be glass. It was pretty commonly used for sleeving. I have worked in a company that used a lot of asbestos. You might say that the elderly needn't worry to much about it providing they aren't mining it or breathing in rather a lot of it. It tends to kill slowly and the blue stuff is by far the worst.

I have seen one useful item that it might be possible to make from part of an electric stove.

It starts with a pole say 30" long. One end can be clamped to a bench. The other end has a platform plus insulation, then a space, then a heating element, more insulation and then a cowl.

The heating element glowed orange much like electric cooker ones can. It was used to forge the end of some 3/8" square punch steel into a pretty hefty screw driver blade. It could also be used to harden it. Tempering too I assume if the end was left out. I think one of the idea was that it would take things to a nice cherry red and not overheat the steel. The unit might have taken stuff up to about 1" square. Plugged in so can't have had that much power. Probably 110v so 15 amps at that max.

Rather old idea of an engineers screwdriver. Used when slotted headed screws were often used for fixings. Even on tools such as a toolmaker might be involved with. Press tools and all sorts. Square shaft so that a spanner could be used on it. However as that part wasn't heat treated I have seen some that rounded over.

John

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Does anyone know of somewhere that gives actual dimensions of quick fit air coupling bayonets/adapters. Preferably one that uses the type numbers not some obscure terms such as maker, industrial, automotive etc.

John

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Me too. One of the reasons Japanese cars were pretty well known for not rusting is that they were mainly made there from recycled steel from car bodies gathered from all over the place. Something to stick in empty ships on their way back home at one point.

Education - reprocessed steel will generally be better in all respects than that derived from ore.

Maybe there is some confusion about changes to the steel that is used to make car bodies these days. Pass on that as it's an area I am definitely not up to date on but do know that something has changed. Reprocessing means getting the stuff to the analysis that is required. The fact that some one has already done that to some spec is an advantage.

John

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When I have seen it done - metal work teacher at school he got it hot and just kept squirting oil on it and carried on apply heat. From memory it was for a farm gate and he used a gas air brazing torch with a big fairly gentle flame for that sort of thing.

John

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The one that is still about that looks like mine is this one. Somebody somewhere usually undercuts Machinemart.

**LINK**

Looks like draper and sealy are selling the same sort of thing for more. Jason' is near £400.

I'd guess that the cheaper ones are ok when adjusted correctly but may loose out on using an AC motor. Mine hasn't done a colossal amount of work and is probably 20 years old now. Some people have cut lots with them. The stand is flimsy but does it's job. I wont be changing the one on mine except when and if it rusts through. It's spent it's life in a damp garage. It doesn't look nice now but still works.

John

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