Member postings for Brian G

I think the hole and screw are for the length stop (which I haven't made yet, I'm not sure whether to order some 7/16" bar or go down a size for an easier fit). I have already found the drooping problem on some ali box section, luckily only a trimmed end was lost, and from then on I supported the overhang. When I finally work out where it will go I will have to rig up some supports both sides, as it is also hard to get long pieces level.

Fortunately, my son already had a site transformer (on special at Screwfix last year, a 110V Rage cut-off saw and transformer was less than a 240V model, and he thought the transformer would be handy anyway). Trouble is, I cannot safely use the circular saw as my episodes of paralysis begin without warning, hence my desire for a hacksaw.

Brian

You panicked me there Pete, so I cut a thread using the taper tap from my RDG set (bought in April 2017) and set up the plug tap as shown in this photo. 10 turns came to 10.01mm, (+/- perhaps 0.02mm, I don't think my judgement that the wrench was level was more than 5 degrees out). It looks like you got a bad batch, but the worry is, what is in their stock now?

Brian

I have been looking for one of these that I could afford for some time, as although on a good day I can cut through a 2" bar with a hacksaw, doing so would leave me completely paralysed for several hours afterwards. This one came up on eBay, and it appears to have been almost unused (it still had a Reyrolle plug), but has had a nasty bash at some point. The pivot pin and operating rod for the latch were both bent, the latch button was missing, and both the blade lifting handle and the power trip lever had been snapped off. Fixing the trip lever was a first priority so that it will turn itself off if I have an episode of paralysis.

There seems to be very little information on the "90" model on the web, so I thought I would post some pictures of the machine and the parts I made to repair it. The saw still needs a lot of cleaning, but apart from a little surface rust everything seems fine, and it can start work as soon as I make a space for it (I can see why the "60" is more popular). There is a publicity drawing of one on lathes.co.uk that appears to show a similar round motor to mine, as well as a round knob as the release button and some kind of sleeve or roller on the trip lever.

These are the parts I made, together with the original parts they replaced. The machine ball was easiest, as I only had to tap it out, but until I make a rotary broach, the pivot pin will have to make do with a hex head.

I couldn't work out how to spin rivet over the end of the trip lever to retain the delrin roller, so I made a separate cap and secured it with Loctite. I will probably remake this lever later as I gave it too much offset and it has to be installed at an angle to avoid hitting the belt guard when lifted.

Here are a few pictures of the complete machine with the parts fitted. The motor is a mid-1970s Brook Crompton Parkinson, not Hoover or Lemac, and I have only found one picture of another Hexacut with this make of motor, so I don't know if it is original.

One oddity of the design is that the MEM NVR switch (which makes it really hard to set the depth stop) is upside down in order to be operated by the trip lever.

I had to fit a Kennedy blade

Thanks for putting up with me rambling on, hopefully the pictures will help anybody else with the same bits missing.

Brian

I would definitely agree with the suggestions of Drill Service Horley (who I relied upon in my working life) and Tracy Tools, but would also add another. When I repaired my SL tailstock I didn't want to go to the expense of HSS for a one off, so I bought HBM carbon steel taps and die from RDG tools.

They did the job perfectly, and I just re-checked the pitch. (I never thought to do so BEFORE using them as I tend rightly or wrongly to trust anything engraved not just with the size, pitch and direction, but also with the makers name AND the required drill size!

Brian

How about a mortice gauge? Either make a screw to lock it or be really fancy and use a separate locking collar linked to the body by a thread for exact adjustments. You could turn the wheel from silver steel, harden and temper it, or cheat and buy a spare from Axminster.

Brian

It might be worth going for a higher voltage to reduce the current, 120 Watt 24 Volt motors have been recommended on the Unimat Group, and there are plenty of 24V switch mode power supplies about now. I don't know the dimensions of the mill, and a lot of the listings on eBay don't give dimensions, but this 2400 RPM 150W motor looks pretty typical and is 68mm diameter and 108mm long if that is any help.

eBay Item

Brian

Edit: Don't bother looking, it is the same one Hollowpoint suggested

Edited By Brian G on 16/09/2019 21:42:22

There isn't a UK version

Brian

Why is the title of this thread "Rip-Off Britain?

The link Michael posted was to "Homer Fever" whose address is given as:

1206 xinhan street, HnaJiang, Fujian, China.

Brian

Edit:  uk at the start of an address isn't a .co.uk or .uk domain.  Then again, a .co.uk doesn't make it British any more than .com makes it US based.  The only domain names you can trust are .eu as the EU requires registrants to be in the EU.

Edited By Brian G on 16/09/2019 18:35:22

Perhaps because once the fragments of glass have been accelerated inward they keep going out the other side? It looks a lot more "interesting" than a can being flattened.

Brian

Having had a 40 year gap I am still using tallow (not the same batch), and I probably have enough to last me out. Is it worth me switching to one of the newer compounds or tapping fluid?

Brian

I found an oil filter wrench like this jointed wrench worked well, gripping the filter without crushing it (too) much. Providing of course there is room to slip it over the filter.

Brian

If you picture the geometry, with only one rod the front and rear wheels could in theory rotate in opposite directions. In practice, what is more likely is that the whole thing would stop at what is effectively top or bottom dead centre (on a coupling rod this would really be front or rear dead centre). The second coupling rod is "quartered" 90 degrees out of phase with the first, which is why railway locomotives are either left or right hand leading.

NSU bike and car engines used a similar system of two rods to drive their camshaft, although there was of course also a gear to halve the speed.

Brian G

Edit:  Don't look at the picture of the Aveling loco further up the page, on their 0-4-0 geared locos the side rods are just there to keep the axles pointing the same way, which says more than it should about the lack of rigidity of their design.

Edited By Brian G on 10/09/2019 21:30:07

Is Bat a Smithies boiler loco? I suspect he is only referring to locomotive type boilers where water might condense in an external blower pipe.

Brian

Thanks Jason, that is a much better reproduction than in the book. Does the posting on the forum confirm that it was taken at Boulton's siding?

Brian G

(Who is starting to suspect that the confusing number of Brians on this forum may be related to the age profile of its members ONS Graph ).

Touch DRO can do this as well, ours is set up so the head and quill are summed.  (Edit: I suppose it would be more accurate to say subtracted, as the quill extension reduces z-height)

Brian

Edited By Brian G on 09/09/2019 19:15:14

I just now came across these two pictures of the Marshall locomotive in "The Chronicles of Boulton's Siding, apparently taken at Ashton before the locomotive became Marshall's shunter, and without the rectangular box (tank or ballast weight perhaps?) beneath the firebox smokebox (whoops). This came as a surprise as I understood that Hall & Co. returned it directly to the builder.

Did Marshall's try to palm Boulton off with the loco when it was returned to them? Whatever the reason, they provide a lot more information on the loco and its one-sided cab. Other than the length, which is given as 21' 11". (5" longer), the text confirms the dimensions given in "Traction Engine Locomotives", whilst adding that the water capacity was 230 gallons and the bunker 5 1/2 cwt. Despite the evidence of the photos, it is described as having a "solid fly-wheel 4ft.8in in diameter"!

Unfortunately the book and its reprint have been out of print for many years, so hopefully the copyright holders won't object to a single scan.

Brian G

Edited By Brian G on 09/09/2019 16:16:12

Does the tool have to be made in one piece? If the 6mm dimension is to fit the toolpost and is not itself a cutting edge, why not make the tool from a piece of tool steel mounted in a holder. It would be quicker and much less wasteful. Perhaps even mount the toolbit tangentially to increase its strength.

Brian

If you were willing to go up a few kg on weight, perhaps a 55 kg Chester DB7 (or similar lathes from Warco and no doubt others) would suit? They are more rigid than a mini-lathe but have quite short beds, but for your purposes that could be an advantage.

Brian

Edited By Brian G on 09/09/2019 12:58:57

The file names of the photos are a bit of a giveaway...

Brian

First thought is "is there a quill?". You may not need to use the DRO for more than the travel of a quill, and this can be done with a collar around the quill and a vertical scale.

Incidentally, if your present system is the type with remote displays, you might be able to use them with Touch DRO which uses an android tablet (I use a Kindle Fire) as a display.

Brian