Member postings for mick H

Could you repost the photo Keith?

Mick

This stuff is quite definitely not steel. I suppose the mark might be a local code.

Mick

Sorry Hopper.... and well spotted......it is EN15.

Mick

Does anyone recognise the code EN15 engraved onto a rod of what I think is phosphor bronze?

Mick

Thank you for the information and recommendations gents. I am currently perusing their offerings. I didn't realise there was such a range of stuff out there.

Mick

I have been gifted an unused MacGregor Digimac VI remote control set dating from the 60s or 70s. The battery packs , 500mA NiCads in 3 packs of 4 are defunct and require replacement. I have tested the Digimac and it functions well on temporary 1.5V dry cells. My first thoughts are to replace the batteries with NiMH cells which will have a greater output and presumably will work for longer between charges.

My questions are, where shall I source the new batteries from? There are loads on EBay but they vary wildly in price although they all look the same. Anyone had any experience in buying them?

Secondly, the Digimac charger has no markings and is the type that cuts out when full charge is reached. Will this charger handle NiMH batteries say between 900mA and 2000mA?

Any advice appreciated.

Mick

Edit. It is for use on a steam powered boat

Edited By mick H on 28/06/2018 09:14:02

Thanks all for the advice.

Mick

I am lucky enough to have sealed glass windows in my workshop but both have failed over the winter. I have heard of a means bringing them back by drilling a hole and sucking out the air and resealing. Anyone tried it?

Mick

May I ask how other owners of Warco WM14 Mill Drills lubricate the topslide slideways? I can't work out how to do it without stripping it down which is a bit drastic.

Mick

Ordered metal 19th April and it arrived this morning 21st April. First class service as far as I am concerned.

Mick

The superb Garden Rail show is on at Peterborough Arena tomorrow. It is mainly 16mm but also a fair bit of Gauge 1 (10mm or 1/32). A good place to go to appreciate the distinctions between scale and gauge as they all run on 45mm gauge track.

Mick

I think that you may have misread something Chris. Garden (G) Scale is usually 16mm (to the foot). The track on which it runs may be either 32mm (gauge) or 45mm (gauge). "Scale" and "Gauge" are not interchangeable terms.

I usually build Gauge 1 stuff which can be either 10mm to the foot scale or 1/32 scale. Either will normally be built to run on 45mm gauge track.

It follows that Gauge 1 locos @ 10mm scale will also run on the same track as Garden scale 16mm locos.

I hope that this has not muddied the waters further.

Mick

Edited By mick H on 02/04/2018 08:23:10

Why not?

Mick

Published designs of most Gauge 1 boilers with 60psi working pressure and boiler diameter 50mm + are usually copper discs let into the boiler tube and silver soldered or just simply butted up against the boiler tube and silver soldered. I usually use 2.5 - 3mm thickness.

Mick

New Lidl just opened in Boston. Good all round shop especially fruit & vegetables for a healthy life in the workshop and Parkside tools I have found to be excellent value with long no quibble guarantees. I bought a couple of pairs of good quality work trousers at £9.99. There were two types. "Thermally lined" and "unlined". I wanted unlined so took two pairs from the unlined bin only to find on arrival back at base that they were "thermally lined". I went back next day to change them......too late, they had sold out. No problem with a refund but it is an annoying feature of Lidl that you cannot find out when they will be back on sale again.

Mick

My Chester 920 is my second. The first was a Warco which I bought secondhand and despite all the advice freely given about taking someone who knows lathes, I did not know any such person and ended up with a lathe with a badly worn bed down at the business end. In all other respects I found it to be a fine machine and after a fashion learnt to compensate for the worn bed enough to do some reasonable work. I did extend the cross slide travel, which probably wasn't really necessary but it did give me the opportunity to fit the Arc Euro anti backlash bearing set which was. I also made a 4 bolt compound mounting which reduced the top slide flexing on heavier cuts. As I have already mentioned the best mod of all was the inverter drive which transformed the machine and did away with the hassle of belt changing and belt breakages. That clutch knob can easily slip out of an oily hand and bang goes another fragile and expensive belt. This one had a 730 belt which was always a bit loose and could slip off the pulley with the clutch out. It would also run with a 710 but that was a bit tight until well run in. I also made a Steve Bedair type tumbler reverse but never actually used it in anger. I also upgraded the gib strip adjusting screws with the addition of bearings and this smoothed the cross slide action considerably.

Eventually the worn bed got the better of me as I became more critical of my own work and I sought to give it away to a youngster or other impecunious soul who maybe wished to get started but I found giving it away a lot more difficult than may be imagined. I heard a few "hard luck" stories which I just did not believe but eventually it found another home. I did take the inverter drive off and reverted it to original condition.

The features that I liked best about the 920 were its compact size and the threaded mandrel nose but these things were not easily found on other lathes. A Myford for instance was just a bit too big for my workshop. The ability to just screw on / screw off different chucks was a great time saver as well as an encouragement to use the right chuck for the job, & I was not prepared to give it up so I went for another 920 but found that Chester were then the only importers. I have of course refitted the inverter drive and apart from just the odd squirt of oil, the belt drive door is now rarely opened. Cosmetically, the Warco had the edge on the Chester which does have a few rough bits on the castings. It doesn't affect the running of the machine but I am sure that smartening up these areas wouldn't have put a great deal on the price.

Sorry to ramble on but the old hip is twingeing badly and keeping me out of the workshop so I had to find something to do.

Mick

Andrew, I have had no problems running mine at low speeds. I do not have any expertise in inverter / motor technology but I suspect that it will depend on your outfit. I am pretty sure that some knowledgeable person on this site could answer the question for you in more detail. Having said that, with the original setup you are going to get a speed of between 100 - 120 rpm anyway and that can be more than just annoying when you only want 50. I am probably talking rubbish but what about an additional 12v cooling fan eg from a computer? It seems to me that you have not got a lot to lose by trying it out.

Mick

Edited By mick H on 11/02/2018 17:26:04

Just guessing really, but I suspect that it has something to do with the motor mounting.

Mick

I wouldn't argue with anything that Redsetter has given you in the way of dimensions. The set up that Les Jones has photographed is pretty much the same as my 920 except that the belt tensioner bears down on the top of the drive belt. I took some photos this morning but because of the positioning of my lathe it was very much a case of pointing the camera and hoping that something useful was snapped. I think I mentioned that my lathe is inverter/variable drive and I would never go back to the original set up. With variable drive you do not need the upper pulley / clutch setup which would normally be driven from the motor via a toothed belt. The drive is taken from the pulley set on the motor direct to the mandrel pulley. I loop the belt over the centre drive pulleys and don't even use the belt tensioner so I have a built in clutch. I used to get through quite a lot of those drive belts before I fitted the variable drive and they are now mighty expensive. Touching wood, I have not replaced a belt in 2 years since fitting variable. I think that you said you have an inverter/motor.......if you use that you do not need a backplate and in my opinion you will have a much better, more tractable machine. A piece of 8mm mild plate would suffice to fill the gap. If you wished to incorporate the belt tensioner, the design is a bit crude with loads of latitude for a positioning bolt. Have a look at my set up and I will be happy to answer any further questions. Ihope this will have been of some use. Mick

If I get a chance tomorrow I will photograph my lathe set up for you and try and put in some dimensions. You will at least then have some photographs for Chester. I have always found Tony a very nice man to deal with. I would second the 3 phase inverter drive being fitted......it totally transforms this lathe.

Mick