Member postings for Phil P

There are a couple of things to try.

1. Sometimes sketches need to be hidden otherwise they show on models.

2. Tangent Edges might be turned to visible and that will show up on bend radii.

3. Have you set it to transparent by mistake, see here for an explanation.
https://www.javelin-tech.com/blog/2017/07/solidworks-transparent-part/

If a model persists in misbehaving for some reason, try saving it as a Parasolid, then opening that again and saving it as a part, that seems to flush out gremlins in a lot of cases.

If you find which settings are best for you, I would save a copy using the save settings wizard in the start menu, then if it goes wrong you can always get back to a known starting point by restoring the settings.

Phil

Edited By Phil P on 05/03/2021 22:17:09

My Alexander mill is in a wood shed, I ordered the shed with a double thickness flloor and the support battens spaced every 12" instead of 24", I thought that would be strong enough.......It wasn't, the mill wobbled around all the time.

What I did was to make some 2" diameter holes with a hole saw under where the mill fixing bolt holes are, then inserted a slug of mild steel bar which was slightly counterbored on the top surface and standing just proud of the shed floor, but importantly they were now bearing down onto the poured concrete base below. A bit of sealant around the metal slug makes sure it is sealed from damp etc.

The mill sits on these using some adjustable bolts to level it up, and it is solid as a rock.

I have since done the same procedure for the Harrison and Myford lathes

Phil

Edited By Phil P on 05/03/2021 13:19:35

The threads on Clarkson cutters seem a bit odd to me, they are 20TPI on the imperial ones which is not unexpected, but from memory the metric ones are also 20TPI.

Phil

Its now getting to the point where it is nearly worth buying a complete machine if it has a decent set of collets with it, and keeping most of the collets and selling the machine on with just a few.

If no more of the internally threaded ones are being made it puts the resale value of those up quite a bit.

I wonder if there are any enterprising folks on here that could set up to produce batches of BCA collets for us.

Phil

Thanks for posting the manual, I have been wanting a copy of that for a while.

Phil

I once contacted these people who sold me a flat belt to use on my Austin 7 fan drive.

https://www.chiorino.com/en/worldwide.php?stato_link=United%20Kingdom&sel=Europe

Phil

Just a little tip about swarf removal..........

I use a 12" long strip of aluminium door bottom draught excluder, the type with a brush along one edge, I give the mill table and the underside of the vice a quick brush over with this each time I fit it.
You get the whole lot in one go and it is much easier than using a paintbrush etc.

Phil

Edited By Phil P on 18/02/2021 14:23:34

Dave

I would be very interested to hear how you get on, if the studding is a good fit with the nuts perhaps you could PM me with a link to your supplier.

Phil

It is a myth that glass bead is not an abrasive. That is only true for the first time it passes through the gun and hits something.
As that happens it starts to break down into smaller, but sharper angular particles which can be very abrasive.
In industry we monitor the size of the beads and progressively remove undersize media during the process, in a home environment this will not be possible to achieve with a great deal of success, so you end up with a mixture.

We have some customers who replace the media entirely after only one use, just for this very reason.

I agree, it is best not to blast any critical surfaces with it, you can mask them off if you need to blast other areas for paint removal. You could use walnut shell media which is nice and cheap and is non abrasive.

Phil

When it arrives I would check how well your 10BA nuts fit the thread before you use it for anything that matters.

I ordered some a while ago and the nuts were a very loose fit and it would have stripped the threads in no time, I asked the supplier about it and he refunded my money.

Apparently they are using a readily available size of metric round bar of a slightly undersize diameter which leaves the finished thread undersize as well.

Yours may be OK, but I would still be wary of it.

Phil

One big pointer I can add is that there are BCA collets and then there are BCA collets. They all look the same but there is one crucial difference.

If you know what to look for, some of the BCA collets have internal threads so you can use Clarkson screwed shank endmills in them. They took forever to find but I have them in 6mm, 10mm, 1/4" & 3/8" sizes. I probably use the 1/4" one 90% of the time for the work I do.

Colin's comments about endmills walking out of the collet are very valid, and for any proper milling work you really need the internal threaded collets to prevent that.

Phil

My gut feeling is get the BCA jig borer, depending on what model it is reflects the price you should be paying for it.

However make sure it is fully tooled up with collets etc, the collets for the BCA are like hens teeth, I have had mine for a good few years and there are still a few odd sizes I would like to find.

The BCA should in theory hold its re-sale value a lot better than a modern new machine might, if you buy the Warco and try to sell it next week you will not get anything like the amount you paid for it, but the BCA should at least get your money back.

The BCA is not the machine of choice for removing a lot of metal, but for precision work it will be a delight to use assuming it is not already worn out. 

I am a bit biased as I am fortunate enough to own a pre WW2 Boley & Leinen jig borer which the BCA was copied from. But I also own a larger milling machine for serious metal removal so I can use whichever one suits the job in hand.
I will wait now for all the flak from the Warco contingent on here.

Have you considered a Centec 2 milling machine ?

A pal of mine has just finished totally rebuilding one, and it will be offered for sale very soon at a fair price.

Phil

Edited By Phil P on 17/02/2021 12:38:51

In Solidworks everything gets an individual identity right down to the last nuts and bolts, then these items can be brought together into assemblies and sub assemblies again each assembly has its own identity.

This is very important when you need to make design changes and record them with drawing revisions etc.
I am talking about industrial use with the above comments, but I use it at home as well for my model engineering, and keep to the same principles, the only difference being that at home I dont use a dedicated document manager software like we do at work, but I keep everything organised in windows explorer folders.

I print one drawing per part for manufacturing purposes, I only have A4 at home so that works best for me.

Here is a couple of images of my mill engine in designed Solidworks, as it currently looks.

Phil

This is a work in progress drawing of the high pressure cylinder, but this is on a much larger sheet and I need to print it at work using our plotter.

Edited By Phil P on 17/02/2021 10:33:41

Page 2 on this PDF should give you the dimensions you require.

http://www.bearing.net.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/SKF-Pulley-Catalogue.pdf

Phil

Neil

Do you have any more details or photo's of Bernard's lantern chuck, it is not something I am aware of.

Thanks

Phil

My feeling is that the Tee slotted table is a red herring, it looks a bit home made especially the Tee slots which are a bit mis-shapen.

I reckon the brass parts have been robbed of another higher quality possibly optical instrument by a budding model engineer many years ago, and grafted onto the the cast iron base in the hope they will end up with a rotary table.

Phil

Maybe you could start the operation with the parting blade only partially extended, then when it is half way through extend the blade for the last bit. You want the least amount of tool overhang you can arrange.

Phil

I think ebay is probably your best bet as well, if someone else can sell them for a lot more, then so can you.

At the end of the day something is only worth what someone is prepared to pay for it, so you have to be realistic with your expectations.

Just set your starting price and see what happens, you can always re-list them for a bit less if they dont sell first time around. The only downside is the fees you end up paying to ebay.

My sister has had some success selling unwanted items on Facebook Marketplace, but I have not tried it myself.

Phil

Edited By Phil P on 04/02/2021 11:07:33