Member postings for SteveW

I thought magnetic chucks were only for surface grinding, but perhaps that reflects where I have worked and their 'custom and practice' Ii guess light cuts & fairly fast cutter speeds but fly-cutting - possibly not !!?

SteveW

Some control line wire is brass plated and quite easy to soft solder a termination. If you found a local club I'm sure they would donate a bit for you to look at. Only issue may be the diameter it would need to be wrapped round and how it would stand up to continual flexing over a period of time.

Although brass coated, in the rugged outdoor conditions its used in it does rust with time. Also in storage. So the coating is only a gnats' thick.

SteveW

My Warco drill has two locking screws (one each side) and a chrome handle that just moves a little, sliding the motor towards the front of the drill (to loosen). After changing the belt the chrome handle is returned to tension the belts and the locking screws tightened up. May be the same on yours (or a variation).

SteveW

My trouble is that I could forget and get a surprise myself. I think I'll stick to more passive methods...

Cartridge drop alarms/traps were popular with gamekeepers as, when set off in a wood at night, they not only scared the breath out of the poacher the also gave away their position.

SteveW

Also have a look at Google Streetview. My garage was shown with the door open revealing my drill and lathe! Good news is that they will remove image or grey it out on request. We are also hounded by scrap men just.about 24hrs service

SteveW

I'm always getting that supper glue down my pullover...

(sorry Stewart couldn't resist)

SteveW

How about soft solder? If its sheet then zinc will 'tin' fairly easily but ali will not. Not so convenient on lumps which I guess was the OPs situation.

SteveW

Thank you for taking the time and trouble to write up. Knowing how you tackled this problem is interesting and useful. Most of us will have budget machinery and a little care goes a long way!

SteveW

I would say go to a couple of exhibitions and see what's going on. Then talk to a few of the punters and possibly join a local club. Many members would love to show you what equipment they have, and what they have produced with it.

If you have to learn there are the SMEE courses as well if they are near enough for you.

SteveW

I think you are looking at 'backlash'. This is the clearance/wear between the nut and screw which means that you should only read the divisions on the handwheel when pushing the tool/crossslide towards the work. Or away from the work if you are using a boring tool.

There is not much you can do to eliminate it altogether without some surgery to the nut/screw.

Really its a fact of life if you use any well-used machine.

SteveW

I don't own any spotting drills, but I'm thinking about it! Could you use a spotting drill to drill a final hole accurate enough to tap? I am thinking of 2.5mm about 10 deep.

I know that's not really what they are for but it could save me a bit of time on a repetitive job

SteveW

Don't hold your breath Russell...

SteveW

Its not a problem with the topics - a wide variety but the detail.

Lynx fine, Bat fine, hand bench shaper (why?), vertical engine (drawings/castings?) small ic engine - lovely but where's the casting?, Storage cabinet (a what?), screw riviter (a what?) and some drawings that could be used if you add some dimensions of your own and get the castings run off.

SteveW

Could I put in a plea for short articles? Just a page is interesting on almost any engineering or model topic. Once it goes to five pages on something I'm not really interested in a publication loses value for me.

Variety is easier achieved in this way. More satisfied customers...??

SteveW

I changed oil in my 250 feed gearbox today, Window nearly impossible to judge level on filling but I measured the drained oil (tad under 200 ml). Old oil looked like flat coke. A job I should have done a while ago and not chosen a day when it was 85 in the garage! Although the oil was pretty thin!

SteveW

I ditched the washers and now just use flanged nuts on the chuck. Possibly not what I should do but I have limited time and fiddling with washers and nuts not really what I want to spend my time doing.

Nuts came from Arceurotrade.

SteveW

John, I think Jason has done well to explain what has to be done. It seems much more complicated in metric - again I think that's just me... I think of it as 'how many times slower do you want the leadscrew to go compared to its existing pitch/tpi'. If the leadscrew was the same speed as the spindle you would cut the same pitch thread as the leadscrew.

SteveW

I'd be happier to calculate myself. Does anyone know what the leadscrew pitch (metric) is? And how many teeth on the headstock/spindle gear? I distrust tables (having been caught once) but perhaps that's just me!

SteveW

My WM250 chuck guard would not stay up. Possibly stop/shear pin damaged by a small boy.. I bent up some 4mm perspex to fit. It will also stop anything rolling from the headstock into the chuck. Seemed a better idea than dismantling and probing deeper! Steve W

Ifound the Arc Euro flanged nuts a help on the wm250 lathe chuck. Dispense with the washers (so long as the washer police aren't looking) and it makes it much easier. I did find this a pain but with experience it gets much better.

Why is it that I always need the 'other' chuck no matter how carefully I plan?

Steve W