Member postings for Philip Powell

Iain. Have you tried removing the collet and measuring the runout on the inside face of the chuck? Within reason it doesn't matter if the outside of the chuck is not true. This should determine if it's the chuck or collets that's causing the problem.

I presume you have a ER32 church not a ER2?

Phil.

I too worked at Cincinatti in Biggleswade , late 70's. I finished off my Apprenticeship there working in the machine shop. I was on the turning section running a Churchill copy lathe churning out machine spindles from forged billets. Then worked on a Cincinnati CNC machine centre programmed with punched tape.

In another of the machine shops there was the mother of all planers churning out machine bases.

It's a housing estate now.

Phil.

Looks like a sonic screwdriver...

Sorry, I'll get my coat.

Phil.

+1 for the Femi. I got mine from Stakseys last year, not cheap but works well with a good vice. I keep the saw under the bench a pull it out when needed and it has a surprisingly large capacity for such a small saw.

Phil.

They came from the direction of St Neots, flew down the RAE Bedford car park, sorry runway, then turned 90 degrees left heading for Cranfield.

Phil.

I was was at Keysoe, about 1k east of the end of RAE Bedford's runway and saw them about 13:20. Fumbled my attempt to take video and stills but pleased I got to wave them off. Farewell Tornado.

Phil.

Adrian. I have a Chester Craftsman, it does have a single T slot at the rear of the crosslide. Not used it yet but I do intend to fit a rear toolpost when I get round tuit. Not sure it was designed for milling, but I'm sure it could be done.

Phil.

I bought a Femi bandsaw last year, it's brilliant. Does exactly what it says on the tin, also it's so compact I just get from under the bench cut what I need then put it out the way again. Came with a free spare bkade as well, not cheap but very good. Wouldn't be without it.

Phil.

Useful stuff that pallet strapping it's made from some kind of springy steel. I use slightly bent as a parallel retainer on the mill.

Phil.

Keep the half nuts engaged and reverse the motor to traverse back to the start. Then it doesn't matter what number you engage on.

Phil. Keep it simple dept.

I agree that rapeseed oil should be a lot nicer than engine oil, but I wonder why people pay for blackening kits for mild steel?

Used cooking oil from the local chippy should be good as well.

Phil.

We used to dunk our hot bits of steel in old engine oil to blacken it, is this now forbidden?

Phil.

I think you will find 316 or 316L much easier to machine. 316 cuts nicely but can be a bit stickey when tapping. 316 will also give a lovely finish especially if you use coolant.

Phil.

That's just asking for trouble sticking the bar that far out of the chuck then parting off.

Phil

Edit typo.

Edited By Philip Powell on 14/10/2018 12:48:09

I can vouch for those Arc vices, I've had mine a couple of years now and very pleased with it too. I first baulked at buying it because it seemed too cheep, not quite up to Kurt standards but for the home workshop a great vice.

First thing I did with it was to remove the swivel base which gives a bit of weight to the stand and gave the machine a bit more headroom under the quill.

Phil.

A 7 or 8 inch grinder must run slower rpm than a 6 inch.....

Phil.

My local minicab company uses Mondeo's, so I still see quite a few of around. Stopped buying Ford's years ago, bits kept falling off them and them and customer service, don't get me started on that one. We went Korean, long warranties, well made, well specked and good customer service.

Phil.

There are no electronics in my Craftsman, one of the reasons I chose this lathe as I'm wary of those variable speed machines. It does have a box full of electrics to control the various safety cutout switches and the reversing lever. When I got the machine I wiggled all of the connections and found a couple of them loose. I hope it last more than 10 years, fingers crossed.

Phil.

Blake. I have a Chester Craftsman that I purchased the back end of last year. Underneath the paintwork that must have been applied with a trowel lies quite a decent and reasonably priced back geared gap bed lathe. The machine is very similar to the Grizzly 9249 and I use the Grizzly manual as the Chester one is useless.

The machine has not had an awful lot of use yet and I'm still in the process of setting it up. The supplied and fitted DRO is of pretty good quality and so far seems to be quite accurate. The stand supplied is not the same as the one they show on the website and needs some work to make it useable.

Chester customer service leaves a lot to be desired, nice people but not always delivering what they promise although I'm told that they have a new customer service service person who will sort things out.

Make sure that you don't install the machine too close to the wall or you will never be able to change the speed on the motor pulley. You also need to remove one of the covers to get at the motor pulley. I've read that some people modify the motor mounting plate with a lifting arm to make the speed changing much easier. I intend to modify mine at a later date. My machine is installed with the tailstock to the wall so I have unhindered access to the back of the machine.

Phil.

How about a 2 jaw independent chuck! **LINK**