Member postings for michael m

Needing some ER collets and not too happy about taking a chance quality wise I followed Old Mart's advice and went with APT. As he said they sell different run-out tolerance grades.

I'm totally pleased with them.They're all within the quoted spec. and were delivered very quickly. Their website gives a warning, of which I was unaware, that the very highest precision grade should be used with stock close to the collet's nominal size to ensure minimum run out.

The prices I thought quite reasonable.

Michael

If you can get acess to the ME of 21/11/69 a Mr. Drakeley gives an account of building a successful 2-1/2" gauge engine with a Super Adept lathe. The work done on the kitchen table.

There has been some recent interest in the proposed Myford Super7 tailstock micrometer dial design by Graham Meek. I'm fortunate in owning one of the imperial version prototypes made by Graham himself and thus am able to report on same.

The design, in similar fashion to Graham's saddle handwheel dial design, uses a gear train built into the assembly to rotate the dial such that tailstock barrel travel can be accurately determined from the dial graduations. As Graham has mentioned in one of his posts the gearing methodology is perhaps counter intuitive but he has cleverly achieved the required ratio in a reasonably sized unit. The unit incorporates needle roller thrust bearings which in addition to the Myford tailstock thrust races, which are retained, give a silky smooth handwheel action. The dial can be positively set to zero with a smooth action using a friction arrangement as on the saddle wheel. Perfectly reliable.

Aesthetically the design is very pleasing, and is complementary to both the lathe and the saddle handwheel micrometer dial. It doesn't look like a bolted on after thought. Note that a complete turn of the handwheel gives 0.3" travel to the barrel whereas a complete turn of the dial indicates 0.5" travel of the barrell. This sits readily with the 1/8" graduations on the barrel. No alteration is required to the tailstock feedscrew or barrel nut.

Graham has been described elsewhere as a worthy successor to the late George Thomas. He also designed a tailstock micrometer dial but I believe that Graham's design is an advance on that with a larger parallel dial that improves readabilty and an improved correlation between the dial and the barrel graduations. The friction lock for the dial is much simpler.

In conclusion I happily recommend the dial for those in pusuit of accuracy, those who have the saddle wheel version will not need telling.

My understanding is that Graham will eventually publish a constructional article, possibly MEW would be an ideal candidate. There is also a possibilty that someone, albeit not Graham, will take up commercial production.

Michael

Try here

http://www.longs.co.uk/acatalog/Longs_Shopping_Site_Oilers_83.html

No keep plate? Where's the evidence for that assertion?

Come on Kiwi, this is the ME forum. Uninformed opinion, half baked guesswork; maybe even something a little subversive will suffice.

Yes,I would also recommend the Femi saw. In addition I bought the table sold for it which converts it from a cut-off saw to a bandsaw. Furthermore I found the company in the link to be excellent. I was invited to visit the premises and try it out, took some bits and pieces of materials I tend to use to assess it's suitability, no rush, and came away with one.

Andrew, I'm aware of the distinction between advice and an opinion hence my comment that advice is generally subjective. But you are correct of course in that subjective/personal advice =opinion. Unqualified advice is only possible, as you state, with a complete analysis of every vice available and as per SOD's post a full understanding of the users requirements and machinery. Hence the futility of such questions as "what is the best lathe" appearing occasionally. Clearly from your postings your work tends to be large, mine's further down the scale so a good example of differing requirements.

Any way, the object of this post is not to get into semantics, plenty of that already, but to point out another option that I'd overlooked despite owning one. "Precision vice no.2" from Arc Eurotrade. I have a small hand shaper for which I required a low profile vice and have been more than pleased with that purchase. It has the benefit of no jaw lift and a large capacity. Available in different sizes and reasonably priced. Again a company with exemplary customer service.

Maybe we could make this thread into a more useful thread providing advice rather than opinion?

There you go. Despite Ian's reasoned and common sense question two posts later we're back to facile comments.

Bearing in mind that advice given is generally subjective there is possible no one correct answer. Personally I've been more than happy with vertex vices, K4 and K5 are within your price constraints and are very widely used by model enginers. If you want to move further upmarket you could perhaps consider Bison. In my experience the major suppliers will resolve any problems if you're disappointed with the product . Chronos, RDG, Rotagrip, MSC. The latter certainly give exemplary service. No doubt there are others just as good.

Again, a personal view, I wouldn't want to be without a swivelling vice. You're not obliged to use the graduations for angle setting, use any means you choose. If you do a lot of angular setting, as I tend to do, then it's well worth having. It's argued that a a swivelling vice is less rigid than a fixed, and I'm sure that's correct but it's created no problems for me. If you're wanting huge cuts with red hot swarf it could be another matter.

Another factor to consider is if you have a small mill table, as I have, you occasionally need to remove the vice to fit something else; rotary table, angle plate, whatever. A swivelling vice offers great facility in quickly resetting true to the table axis.

Bear in mind that whatever you go for will depend to a large extent on the work you're doing.

Pete, well said. Unfortunately the forum seems to becoming increasingly an outlet for vanity publishing, pedantry and puerile attempts at humour. Though there are still a few bright spots, it's perhaps not surprising that some of the well respected no longer post. Sadly, your objective assessment doesn't seem to fit the bill anymore.

Michael

Whilst appreciating that all advice is well intentioned I do feel that some comments are ether gratuitous or ill-considered.

The OP has already discovered that oil won't make a faulty clock run. It wouldn't, no matter how administered.

The OP has told us that drop is 1/3 of the tooth thickness. Assuming a tooth thickness of .015" which would be reasonable then the drop would be some .005". All else being OK the clock would run. So shortening the pallet arbor and escape wheel centres may reduce an already tiny drop but won't alter the impulse faces. That's not the function of that adjustment. (Assuming it exists on that clock). Agreed it is done by poor repairers in an attempt to compensate for worn pallets but is a poor bodge and affects the overall escapement action.

The OP has told us that the pallets and wheel teeth have been brought to a mirror finish. Polishing the wheel teeth may not be advisable on a first build given the risk of affecting the tooth profile for minimum benefit on an anchor escapement.

Filing the escape wheel teeth in the lathe is I think risky advice for someone new to clock making. The teeth are delicate. Does he have a suitable file? I appreciate it's done but normally to correct an inaccurate or damaged escape wheel, not to try and compensate for an innacurate pallet. Given his small drop it's unlikely there's a proud tooth or it would manifest itself by catching on the pallet and he'd be aware of a short tooth skipping through. If he succeeds in accurately reducing the diameter of the escape wheel then he's upset the whole escapement geometry and a new made perfect pallet may not work. He's now introduced a second variable. What's he to do then? Bend the pallet arbor?

Anchor escapements are incredibly tolerant of wear and abuse and the fact that this clock fails to make any attempt to run suggests that there is a radical fault in the manufacture.

I concur with John Haine who has summed it up thus "I fear the solution most likely to succeed is to make a new anchor"

You could initially of course make one more easily from aluminium or brass as a try out before going for carbon steel.

Lack of recoil will not stop the clock from running, many escapements are designed without recoil at all and some with a minimum amount. In the case of the anchor escapement such as yours it would however cause poor time keeping. Given that your clock is only running for the period of the pendulums natural decay I would suggest, as has already been touched on, that the problem is lack of impulse. If the movement is free running and there's adequate side play on the arbors you may have to re-check the pallet geometry. If, as already commented on, the pallet face is radial to the pallet arbor then no impulse will be given. Filing metal from the pallet may facilitate some degree of impulse but it will be very small, that's why clocks with worn out anchor pallets are only capable of small and unreliable pendulum amplitude. It will also create excessive drop. Although it's necessary for reducing friction and wear in a working movement, if a new movement will not work without oil on the pallets there is an underlying problem. Arbitrarily attacking the pallets with a file is likely to finish you up in the madhouse so I think you should carefully study the pallets you've made and consider making a replacement set.

Sorry Richard, forgot to post picture but it's in my album ER Chuck.

Michael

Hi Richard

I experienced the same problem with my ER chuck and some two years ago became sufficiently exasperated to resolve the problem. I machined a steel ring to be a push fit on the chuck body and then prior to fitting machined two C-spanner slots into the ring. Having lightly abraded the chuck body at the place where the ring was to fit I loctited it in. It's been fine ever since, but with the wisdom of experience if I were to do it again I would incorporate three C-spanner slots for greater utility in use.

Regards

Michael

Just viewed some of my posts, I noticed the post counter (number of posts) seems to be stuck.

Why does it matter? Or is there a competition I dont know about?

Michael

This problem was cleverly addressed on an LMS 3F by a Mr H A Taylor in an ME article in the early seventies. Access to the clamp was via the chimney. The edition should be possible to locate via the ME online index.

Michael

Some years ago I had the same problem and eventually I drilled and tapped the spindle, in situ, to facilitate the use of a draw screw. I no longer have that lathe, but from memeory I believe I used 4BA. The method worked perfectly. I now have a later Myford and clearly they had altered the fixing method and the spindle is now threaded and the handle held by a socket screw.

Michael

Posted by John Stevenson on 04/09/2016 09:08:00:
"Anybody else thinks we have missed the point and are now onto armchair semantics ?"

Sorry John, you've missed the point. Thats what the forum's all about. Are you still stuck in those halcyon days when it was about mechanical craftsmanship?

It seems to have moved on from armchair engineering, wonder what's next.

Michael

Ken

If you look beneath the handle you'll see a screw head. This retains a keep plate and this can be levered out after the screw is removed. Although this facilitates removal of the handle to clean and lubricate the screw, it may not be possible to dismantle any further as judging by the splines visible on the plain end of the screw it was probably force fitted into the moving jaw when manufactured. They are a super drilling vice and it's a pity such are no longer made.

Michael

Is there anything good that has come out of France?

Lots. Just a few more along with those already mentioned would be........

Descartes

Pascal

Lavoisier

Berthollet

Breguet

Saunier

And Laplace.

Michael M

Some two years ago I purchased what may be the same product, albeit under a different name, from an ME exhibition. I was initially sceptical but the gentleman selling, (not a colonel Sanders look-a-like) demonstrated the product on my own specs and I was suffiently impressed to buy a jar. It works very effectively and in addition it's proven his claim that it's far more cost effective than buying boxes of spectacle wipes. I still have plenty left. It's a very pale yellow colour and is called "Sparklebright"

**LINK**

Michael