Member postings for SteveW

I too lived near the Dick Simmond's establishment. In the early 60's I'd park my bike against the green painted shop and venture inside. Chaos appeared to reign but Dick would proudly show off whatever he was making. He was very proud of any steam passages that went 'round corners' and how he had drilled and plugged the holes. While at school a small group started on an Ajax. My bit was the lever and latch for the valve gear(?). We had the frames and some castings. I wonder what happened to them...

Thanks for the info. When I got new brushes I gave the size of the brushes. The lathe model was insufficient. When they duly arrived the package was marked WM290 so I may have a larger motor than I thought! In any case it's still running like new so no complaints.

My WM250 has been playing up and new brushes did not work any magic. I tested the motor with 12V and all looked fine. Looked at the board and again all looked fine. I noticed the resistor marked in the photo was not seated evenly (it is removable) pressed this fully home. On the advice of my wife (who's knowledge of electronic fault finding I previously doubted...) she said" Put it back together and see if it works". Now all working fine. May help others.

I'll never know if this was the cause of the poor/none running!

SteveW

Make the bench a bit taller and not shorter - you can stand on a duckboard if you find you have to for some jobs. As mentioned stooping is not comfortable long term.

That is a lovely engine. Sounds good too. Looks good naked but I expect you've got a paint scheme in mind. Hope there will some plans sometime!

Do the M8 bolts have a clearance hole to stop them pulling the collet chuck? I can't believe it's the collet or even the chuck itself.

Should you be near Warco in Surrey they have this mill fitted with a DRO in the showroom.

Unless you are really sure there is an issue and confident you would make it better: No. I left well alone on the basis that my WM250 was better than I was...

I don't think it's too onerous to keep necessary shims with each tool. But I did have a kind friend who produced a box of suitable shims various thicknesses the week I got the lathe. This saves scratching round for odd bits and has saved me hours!

My son was interviewed in his lunch hour for a news item about model flying. He turned up at the flying site and shook hands with the interviewer, cameraman. The interviewer then said "Oh! I didn't think you'd be wearing a suit". The clear expectation was for some scruffy idiot who couldn't string two words together. The item did make the news!

We did just that - changed to an electric roller door. It made a huge difference. No draughts, less noise and a little bit of heat from a fan fire makes it much nicer to use. Ours faces south and I'm also pretty sure it helps it stop being like an oven in the summer. Downside was the cost. SteveW

Just read this post and went out to do a bit gentle turning and my WM250 is now just the same. Made a couple of cuts then speed varied and did not sound like a happy chap. Off and on and now reluctant to start. I'll be on some new brushes on Monday from Warco. Perhaps worth getting a second set - then it will last 20 years! SteveW

Having tried a lot of unsatisfactory ways to store old copies of magazines I have settled on trying these:

Lid just slides over the bottom so will accommodate fat magazines. I am hopeful that they will at least keep them flat and relatively good condition in the loft. Whether I can find the one I want is another matter...

Search for 'A4 plastic storage boxes' on eBay. Bit expensive perhaps but so are the mags!

SteveW

Nothing wrong with inexpensive but cheap is a different matter! I find inexpensive tools from the 'usual suppliers' generally OK; some of the 'best' are just too expensive for my budget.

SteveW

Trouble is Neil that the politicians use these figures now after flirting with less reliable data sets. I think that just reflects on the politicians. Maybe its the 'fear of crime' figures we should look at?

When we were burgled the PC seemed disappointed that we had serial numbers and, though he did appear to write them down, nothing ever came of them.

Good locks and vigilance seem the best way forward.

SteveW

You may well find the stuck lever will move when the other lever is in one position only or once the lathe has run. Harrison's can be a bit like that. Force last resort.

SteveW

I made my lathe 'high' but kept a bit of pallet so that if I need to get on top of things (or a grandson comes) I can easily step up to the job.

SteveW

If you can get to Warco they do have an excellent showroom where you should be able to see,play and ask. I have a WM250 and have been very satisfied with the quality and ease of use. I think they exceptional value for money. It is still better than I am...

SteveW

I don't think its a fussy formula. Just dissolve as much copper sulphate as possible and don't worry about the acid. I cant remember ever putting any in. Bright steel with emery and dab a bit on.

SteveW

Not good timing for you perhaps but I measured the oil I drained out to give me an idea of how much to put in. I then looked at the sight glass (not too easy...) and added the 10% or so that it needed to allow for losses (on floor, clothing, hands etc)

SteveW