Member postings for John McNamara

Hi All

Well I thought things were looking up?

This morning I received an email note saying my next payment amount was 100 pounds 50p
"Pending"

Looks like I was double charged? in spite of removing the second line

Can the accounts office look into this please?

Regards
John

Hi All

Thank you Neil and Jason for trying to fix my subscription issues.
Thanks to the other posters also.
The office did say they were looking into it but..............they must be still looking.

I tried today again had similar problems to those listed before it tried to sell me two subs today as it has done before also.

it then gave the dreaded "Sorry, we are currently unable to complete your order because either we don't ship to your country or you have products with mixed payment types in your basket." message. I know it by heart.

I tried deleting one of the lines that did not work. then I noticed on the left of the line "update" near the quantity, for some inexplicable reason clicking that as well as remove appeared to remedy the problem, who knows if that points to the actual problem on the web page. Quite frankly as Clark Gable said frankly I don't Give a ......

Certainly a case of My time Wasters disease for me.

Anyway I managed to actually make a payment. I must admit with somewhat mixed feelings. Were it not for the fact that the magazine supports the work of machinists around the world I would have reconsidered my position.

Regards
John

Edited By John McNamara on 17/07/2017 16:44:52

Hi Choo Choo Baloo

An interesting question

All the books above in this post are good, they will get you over the basics, However at the risk of generating a chorus of consternation You Tube has to be one of the best sources for solid machining know how. You have to form your own judgement, some are not that good but many are.

Being able to look over their shoulder and watch tells you many things you wont see in a book.

I would start with Keith Fenner. He does mostly repair work machining and welding, he does it very well.
On the bottom right of his main page you will see a heading "the tube shop community", look towards the bottom of that list and click "see all".... there you will find links to many machinists from countries around the world.

a few of my favorites are (in no particular order) there are many more

Keith Fenner
**LINK**

Tom Lipton He works for a US University at Berkley. He did a tour of Caltech around the research machine shops.
**LINK**
His page
**LINK**

Adam Booth. He works in a hydraulic cylinder repair shop.
**LINK**

Stefhan Gotteswinter From Germany he is very precise..
**LINK**

Mr Pete222 Good for beginners, he used to teach machining.
**LINK**

NYCNC if you like CNC and fusion 360 CAD, Apple pie and boundless enthusiasm.
**LINK**

Clickspring .Clock making, making small tools, done with very basic machinery, and a lot of skill.
**LINK**

Regards
John

Edited By John McNamara on 11/07/2017 16:23:50

Hi Nige

You do not have to have a perfectly aligned test bar, it will help a lot if you have a good piece of ground bar the same diameter throughout its length. 250 to maybe 300mm is fine overall length allowing for 50mm in the chuck.

First put the bar in the 3 jaw or better still the 4 jaw and center it the best you can with an indicator.
Then mount an indicator on the tool post nicely centered on middle of the the bar.

Then maybe with a felt tipped pen mark the bed every say 1cm. for the length of your test bar.

Finally rotate the spindle until you find the low point and the high point and note the readings on a sheet of paper

Do this for every mark.

Buy subtracting the high from the low point You will get a reading of the mean....
Stick to one convention Always low from high or high from low, don't calculate some of each. some numbers may be minus. You will be writing down thous or tenths plus or minus creating your graph line 

The result will not be the same for every position unless the spindle is perfectly aligned to the bed
If you graph the results you will get either a straight line if the error is constant or it may be curved if the bed wear is uneven.

Hope this makes sense, Its easy to do and is not affected by any error in the spindle nose taper. You are measuring the true axis of rotation.

Regards
John.

I posted this a while back,

On testing the cross slide alignment assuming that (first) the the spindle is correctly aligned to the bed. The cross slide and saddle can get out of square due to wear.

It will help if you put a (tested straight) bar in the four jaw chuck, then firmly but no more tighten the bar in the chuck. It is very important not to over tighten and distort the bar.

Then rotate the chuck and bar testing against an indicator mounted on the cross slide or the lathe bed touching near the end of the bar, If the indicator measurement is not the same when the bar is rotated end for end lightly tap the bar until both ends have the same indication.

Once this is done you know that the face of the bar is at 90 degrees to the axis of the machine, and you have eliminated any error that may have been introduced by the chuck or face plate.

Then once set rotate the bar until it is horizontal, and move the cross slide with an indicator fitted touching the bar it in and out You be able to see any errors at any point along the bar.

It is accepted (By some) that if there is an error it should make the lathe face slightly concave. maybe .0002" over a foot but never convex.

Cheers
John

Edited By John McNamara on 10/07/2017 06:58:50

Hi

I guess the question really is how do I align the vice fixed jaw to a plane at ninety degrees to the axis of the spindle. The alignment of the vice jaw must be both vertically and horizontally in line with the plane. The plane will later be the path swept by the cutter or fly cutter.

On method that would work quite nicely would be to remove the 3 jaw and replace it with a face plate assuming you have one. You could then fit a dial indicator or pin with a rounded end on the face plate at the diameter that allows the measuring device to clear the vice as it is swept, A small bracket or fixture made from scrap maybe. to hold it.

If you don't have a face plate then make up a crank and fit that in the 3 jaw, attach the indicator to that.

If you don't have an indicator a piece of feeler stock could be used to check the gap at the end of the pin, testing at various positions for a similar tension.

You will also need a piece of material of known flatness to fit in the vice jaw Long enough an wide enough for the indicator to run on over its sweep of 180 degrees.

Maybe a piece of polished kitchen stone ofcut or plate glass lightly clamped in the vice if there is not a flat surfaced object to hand. I would put them between 2 pieces of copy paper to reduce the chance of cracking, unless the job required super accuracy. Modern papers are pretty even.

This method cancels out any error in your face plate because you are measuring 2 points at 180 degrees
Three points if your flat surface is wide enough to check against it at 90 degrees.

So your vice will be aligned in 2 planes.

Regards
John

Hi Mathew

Will send him an email

Regards John

Hi

I just read the post re Warco linear scales on the forum today

I thought that maybe the unit was similar to one I had seen on a lot of the turret mills sold by machinery house in Australia, Made by a company called Carmar in Taiwan. the colours are different but the styling was similar. The scales they sell are maybe a bit more industrial?

**LINK**

I guess it is about time i fitted my mill with a DRO and had been considering these units, Is anyone in the forum familiar with them?

Regards
John

Hi Jason

As far as I can remember that was not an option last year?
Is there a way for me to check my current account status and find if that box is ticked?

In my several tries I was unable to actually present a card number, the system stopped just before that point.

Or maybe you can get the office to check my account and see if that option is already in place?

Regards
John

Hi

Surely there is a plan B?

Having purchased every MEW since the first isssue #1

"All I need is a page where I can enter a credit card number and pay my bill."

Regards
John

Maybe it is a particular computer that is causing the problem?

My first try(S) were on a Win7 machine using chrome.

Ok what about an XP machine?
I tried on that. Same scenario as above, this time got a "cannot register Maybe you are already registered message"

Well if I am already registered surely it will accept a payment?

What a mess

All I need is a page where I can enter a credit card number and pay my bill.

Regards
John

To the subs department............................

Well I am glad to see I am not alone.
Joy had no joy also,

Tried again tonight same old story.
It will not let me pay, although it knows who I am and has all my details delivery address etc.
Terrible software.

Regards
John

Hi Jason

Thank you for your response.

I received an email warning of the end of the subscription period.

I press "simply click here to renew today". SIC

A form pops up with my details.

It has my name and my subscription number on it.

I select (rest of the world) There is no option in the drop down list for Australia.

It shows the cost STG 53.15 for continuous credit card debit annually next to that a green renew button.
I press the button!

It shows me my basket 1 item

There is a checkout securely button. (I press the bottom one there are two)

It asks for my email address (I Give it) but it already knows it!

I do not have a password so select (no)

I press continue!

Up pops all my details..... name, address, post code, country, etc (Note it knows my country)

It knows who I am already

It offers me (Optional) account setup
It filled in my email address after the optional line
I gave it a password and reentered it
There are no more options.

I press Proceed to secure payment

5 minutes painfully filling in forms then this.

Sorry, we are currently unable to complete your order because either we don't ship to your country or you have products with mixed payment types in your basket.
Please call Customer Services on 0844 543 0064 (UK), +44 1604 251043 (International) to complete your order.

What have I done wrong? and if so could a direct link to the correct page needed to fill in the details be posted.

Regards
John

Edited By John McNamara on 22/06/2017 16:50:58

Hi Neil

I am having trouble subscribing.

I can find my details using my account number and the renew page so the software knows who I am

Sorry, we are currently unable to complete your order because either we don't ship to your country or you have products with mixed payment types in your basket.
Please call Customer Services on 0844 543 0064 (UK), +44 1604 251043 (International) to complete your order.

Yes I did this.
Please change your delivery address country or remove this product from your basket, return to the product page and select the delivery region 'Rest of World' instead of 'Europe'.

Using Windows 7 and Chrome browser

Got this from accounts. via email.
I am sorry to read you are having problems ordering online. Please try using another browser, if the problem persists please contact our customer service team who will be able to place your order for you.

Chrome should work.

Surely I do not have to ring the UK to pay

All I need to do is in some secure way transmit a card number

Oh..... And I have not been around here for a while because of work commitments. I Still enjoy the monthly read and looking forward to getting back to the workshop soon.

Regards
John

The parallelogram section reduces the travel of the screw compared to the distance travelled by the lift at the expense of leverage hence the large hand wheel.

Regards
John

Hi

While I do have the beginnings of cataracts they are not "ready" according to my opthomoligist. I do wear glasses for long sightedness, from age 50 I needed them. Now I need glasses for all distances. I wear them nearly all the time.

I switched to continuous varifocals a few years ago. The standard type are heavy. Thinner lighter types are available at higher cost the refractive index of the is different making them thinner and lighter. The benefit is my nose can cope with the weight better, as your prescription changes and if your glasses are getting thicker worth looking into.

Yes the days of levelling work by eye are gone.... varifocals put paid to that, there is too much distortion. You get used to the distortion within a week or two, the human brain is a wonderful thing it adjusts to them. I would never switch back to separate reading and distance glasses.

As you can see from my photo I prefer aviator style glasses with wire frames, better protection and a wider field of view. They also tend to stay on when I am looking down into a piece of machinery, they don't fall off. They are sturdy. I also look for big softish nose pads for wearing comfort and request they be fitted no charge when I order a new pair.

My worst experience with glasses was when a pair was fitted too high.
When you order your glasses they will ask you to look into a device that looks a bit like a pair of binoculars or alternatively they will put the glasses style you are ordering on and mark the dummy plain glass lenses that are fitted to the shop samples with a felt pen. What they are actually doing is measuring your eye height relative to your nose and the lens.
They got the measurement wrong; they did not fit properly, now I pay particular attention when they take the measurement. Ideally you want an experienced specialist fitter.
For something you wear 16 hours a day it is important to get it right.
The same applies for the eye test, repeat each step until you are sure that A or B is better, don't let them hurry you.

Regards
John

Edited By John McNamara on 01/12/2016 11:09:49

For high quality facing it is hard to beat a fly cutter; easy to make and reliable. With a high speed steel tool easily ground when it gets blunt. or a brazed tip carbide tool if you can grind it.

Make one with a thick heavy disk, the thicker the better to reduce chatter. My biggest is 150mm diameter, made from an old transmission flange. Make the biggest disk your mill can drive.

**LINK**

Hi

Here is one in action cutting an epoxy casting, sorry the photo below is blurred.
I got mine with a mill drill. its a pain to set it up for steel, you have to set the cutter heights with the cutter mounted in the spindle, there is no centre hole at the cutter end to mount it between centres in a cutter grinder, so unless you have a cutter grinder with a socket to mount it in your machine spindle is probably your best option. You also have to set the carbide tipped tools all to the same radius at the same time.

As you can see it worked well on the castings and topped off the steel inserts as well so they can be made to work.

I have tried it on mild steel, I did not get a nice result. I will keep it for the epoxy work, the silica sand is quite abrasive, Its not worth blunting a good cutter for this sort of work.

**LINK**

**LINK**

Regards
John

Hi Spurry

Being an Autocad user I cannot speak for Turbocad, Autocad also has the ability to make blocks, they were all that was available in early versions, when is started using it I used blocks a lot however they have a number of limitations the first on being that the block editor does not offer the functionality if the standard editor. Working in 3D you want all the tools at your fingertips.

Also as your CAD abilities improve you will find that making a full 3D representation of a complex mechanism the lathe I mentioned or maybe a steam engine, you generate quite large files, the speed of the program slows with large projects as it has to recalculate and draw all the objects on the screen; fine if you just want to view the main file if it takes a second or two to draw but annoying if you are editing. By using separate files you are only working on a small part of your project editing will be really fast.

Blocks or separate files? Creating a new drawing for a new part in Autocad is trivial, just type qnew in the command line, give it a name and save. Open it and start creating your part. (It is good discipline to locate a known point on your part at 0,0,0 in 3D space) then when you place the part in the assembly file you have an accurate reference point. To me the limitations of blocks outweigh any benefits.

Strangely most of the CAD books I have read do not cover the file structure very well, Annoying really I wasted a lot of time until I developed the methods I use every day.

Regards
John

Edited By John McNamara on 27/10/2016 23:49:19

Hi Chris H

A drawing file is simply a container in a particular format that allows you to place drawing objects in it. These objects can be basic lines and arcs or more complex objects like a 3D solid model. Additionally many CAD programs allow you to place a link to other files, when you do this the drawing objects from that file are placed at the point in the current drawing you specify. The Cad program sorts out the details, all you have to remember is that you are actually using more than one file to create your drawing. This is a hierarchic system that uses a top down methodology the top level master file can contain many levels below it.

There is no requirement for a file to contain any drawn objects most do but not all need to, I find it useful to use certain files to contain assemblies of parts but not any drawn objects.

Lets think of a simple example, say a basic lathe:

First make an assembly file called "_Main Lathe" it will not contain any directly drawn objects.

Then create a drawing file called "Bed Casting" in this you would draw the 3D Bed casting
This file would be inserted into the main file as a link,
Whenever you open the main file you would see the bed but to edit the bed you would open the bed file, that would also change what you see the next time you opened the main file.

Thinking on a lathe
Next we create an assembly file with no directly drawn objects in it that contains links to parts that relate to the saddle. this file will also be linked to your main file allowing you to position the saddle on the bed.

Next we create an assembly file linked to the saddle file with no directly drawn objects in it that contains links to parts that relate to the cross slide.

Next we create an assembly file linked to the cross slide file with no directly drawn objects in it that contains links to parts that relate to the top slide.

I like to group parts that move together in assembles and sub assemblies. this makes moving groups of objects very easy.

Before you start a project sketch out on a piece of paper where assemblies will be useful and where various parts will be placed.

I like to make every part in a separate file. No exceptions If I am going to make that part, purchased parts can be drawn as is. Editing a single object on the screen is far easier than working within complex mechanisms.

After a while you will have a library of many parts, You will find it extremely valuable, the parts represent many hours of drawing time and the can be reused in other projects.

It is best to place all the parts of a project in a single directory and to make all the linkages within assemblies to files within that directory, a copy of files that you have set aside for your parts library should be placed in that directory.

Regards
John

Autocad using the 3D solid modelling features works for me. I am also working my way through Fusion 360.

An Autocad methodology I have found very useful:

I make each part as a separate file (right down to fastenings in separate files), then I create empty files that I insert the links that link the parts together and position them into assemblies, and these assemblies may be positioned into into bigger assemblies and so on. It takes a little discipline to do this in the beginning but in the end it becomes second nature.

Beginners make the mistake of creating one file with many solid model parts in it, This makes editing tedious, and unnecessarily difficult and the program slows for larger projects. If you right click on a linked part you can open the containing file by right clicking this will open the part file it in a new window where you can edit it than save close you will land back in the assembly window.

It can be frustrating learning 3D once learnt you will not know how you lived without it.

Fusion 360 is rather different from Autocad. the editor uses a different paradigm to Autocad, and Autocad can't directly create G Code for CNC machine control. On the other hand Autocad can work with huge projects incorporating Buildings plant and machinery in 2 or 3D this Fusion cannot do, I would hate to try to design a complex building or house with it. However Fusion's editor is better at creating sculpted 3D shapes for say ergonomic furniture a telephone handset or car bodies.

Autocad is expensive (there are student versions available)
Fusion 360 is free for non commercial use by individuals. (Check the web site for details)

I have no connection with Autodesk maker of the above programs apart from being a User.

Oh and I still have pencil and paper for brainstorming an idea!

Regards
John