Member postings for Paul Lousick

Hi JP,

I have the same 9" Southbend lathe as you which is identical to the 9" Hercus lathe manufactured in Australia. It was supplied to the army workshops in WW2 and schools to teach metalwork. Interesting though that you have painted it green. The original color was grey. My lathe is also painted green. (see my photo album)

Spare gears are available from Mick Moles Engineering in Sydney http://www.moyles.com.au

Also advertised on ebay in Australia http://www.ebay.com.au/

Paul.

Edited By Paul Lousick on 11/02/2015 03:09:31

Edited By Paul Lousick on 11/02/2015 03:13:26

Looks like a lathe cutter to hold carbide inserts. The knurled screw at the end could be used to adjust the amount that the tool holder protrudes, possibly used for boring holes.

Paul.

Hi Mal,

Welcome to the forum. I am also building a traction engine, a 6" scale Ruston & Proctor SD. I have been working on it for 3 years and hopefully only one more to finish it. There are many people here who can help with problems no matter how big or small they are.

Best wishes, Paul.

A simple and cheap method to level a lathe with a plumb bob

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qIdsnl5vpg

In absolute mode the position shown on the DRO is measured from the datum that you used at the start of your project. Incremental mode allows you to position the cutter from a secondary position (eg. from the hole which you have just drilled). DRO's allow you to have Incremental datums to allow you to measure from many secondary datums but allow you to always reference back to the main (absolute) datum that you used at the start.

A good explanation is shown on Youtube by Easson DRO's at

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fsw6U5oxnEQ

Paul.

Hi Andrew,

I have an SX3 and am very happy with it although an extra 150mm table would have been useful at times. But as pointed out in a previous post, support for heavy objects at the end of the table could be a problem. The support guides for the table are only 180mm wide. When I bought my mill, it was only available with a 3MT spindle. I would prefer a R8 spindle.

My recent post in "What did you do today" shows a photo of me milling holes in a 900mm length of 273 OD pipe. Supporting a job of this size on the table would have caused damage to the mill, so I supported the pipe with a chain block at each end.

Paul.

Hi Murray,

The engine is a 6" scale (half size) of a 3 1/2hp Ruston and Proctor traction engine which is only a small engine to start with. Originally designed for one man operation. Drawings and castings were supplied by Live Steam Models but I have re-designed it to suit the Australian code and for available material sizes.

The boiler barrel was originally 10" ID and our code requires a minimum wall thickness of 6mm. I chose to use seamless pressure pipe which has an OD of 273mm and a wall thickness of 9.27mm. Therefore everything is a bit bigger than shown on the supplied drawings. Aust. code for firebox plates are 10mm. Tubeplates are 16mm (minimum 12mm). Don't worry about my toes. Always wear steel cap boots around the workshop.

Will have to use a bigger mill to skim the side stays. Fortunately I know someone. The one below should be big enough. (Shown machining the steam chest)

Paul.

Edited By Paul Lousick on 04/02/2015 11:55:43

I have been making parts for my 6" Ruston & Proctor traction engine and today assembled the main components for the boiler. The barrel just fitted on my milling machine, allowing me to machine holes for the manhole and water/steam fittings. After many hours of measuring and machining (and finger crossing) the parts fitted together. A great feeling !

Still some weld preparation to be done to some of the plates before having it welded. Many of the plate edges have a "J"-weld profile. The boiler assembly is held in place by temporary tabs which are tack welded to the boiler plates and barrel. These tabs are bolted together to allow me to remove the plates for final machining. They will be removed after it is fully welded.

Paul.

Edited By Paul Lousick on 04/02/2015 08:37:41

I like the idea of leaving extra steel on the end of the key while machining to the correct fit. then cut off after it is correct.. Paul.

In America they manufactured the Southbend lathe which was also built in Australia as a Hercus. It was the lathe issued to the Army workshops in WW2 and was used in schools to teach metalwork.

Paul.

Hi Jason,

You are correct about the taper ratio. My Machinery's Handbook is the metric version.

Instead of raising one end of the bush with the 1/16" packer over a measured distance (sine gauge method) you can use the tapered key as an angle gauge. You do not have to measure anything. It is already at the exact angle that you are trying to achieve.

Paul.

Edited By Paul Lousick on 03/02/2015 08:49:36

Probably this guy,

Machinery's handbook shows a tapered keyway in the hub.

Easily done by slotting at an angle or using a standard keyway broach by making a guide bush that has a tapered slot.

There is a lot of force on a flywheel key and if only secured by wedging against the corner of a straight keyway in the hub it may come loose. My Ruston TE has 2 x tapered keys at 90 degrees to each other. Also adding a cap on the end of the crankshaft to retain the flywheel in case the keys come loose.

Paul

Just an idea !

How about using the adhesive pads that are used to stick photo frame hooks to the wall. They are double sided tape with a tab that you pull to release the hook.

Paul.

Hi Michael,

Another good site for model traction engine advise is to log onto Traction-Talk and go to the model engine section. Lots of good information and photos of engine construction.

Post a request for model engine clubs which might be near you. Club members are always glad to give free advice about engines and steam.

http://www.tractiontalkforum.com

Paul.

Hi Michael,

To pay someone to make an engine for you is extremely expensive because of the time involved in machining parts. It could take a model engineer more that 1000 hours to build an engine. (1000 hours @ $50/hour = $50,000). Therefore it would be cheaper to buy a commercially made or 2nd hand engine.

I am building a 6" Ruston Proctor SD (similar to the photo below) and bought a set of castings from Live Steam Models for about $5000. The materials for the boiler and other parts are less than $1000. I have been working on it for 3 years and need another year to finish it. For an outlay of $6000 (plus a lot of hard work and enjoyment as a model engineer), I will have an engine worth $20,000. I am not a machinist by trade and have tought myself to use a mill and a lathe. Building it yourself is half the fun.

You have said that you would like a 4" scale engine but the size of the model will depend on the size of the original engine. eg. I am building a 6" scale model of a 3 1/2 HP engine which is slightly smaller than a 4" scale 7HP Foster traction engine.

Paul.

Hi Hamish,

I would not bother about getting a new nut. Most lathe cross slides have backlash unless you have a precision ball screw with back lash nuts. Always back off the cross slide and then advance the cross slide to the new position. This ensures that the nut and screw are in full contact while measuring and cutting.

Paul.

Hi Dan,

Not a 10H engine but this is how I machined the trunk guide for my Ruston traction engine.

1. Made a mandrel to turn the ends of the trunk guide between centres.

2. Turned a mounting plate on the lathe to accept the trunk guide. The mounting plate was made from an old pipe flange which I found in the junk bin and because it was turned and faced on the lathe prior to mounting the trunk guide, I knew it was accurately on centre. Clamps for holding the trunk guide were made from steel angle.

3. Supported the end of the trunk guide with a lathe steady and bored the guide.

4. I had to make a special boring bar holder to face the inside of the trunk guide for the stuffing gland. Made from a piece of round bar to fit the tool post, tapered at the front for clearance inside of the trunk guide and drilled at the end to fit a small (round) cutter that I use in my mill goring head.

Paul.

Hi Rod & Brian,

I originally installed the DRO's shown in Brians's link, then installed these which have a remote display unit. Both scales, on the x and y axis were protected with a cover to guard them against swarf and coolant. But they would randomly lose their reference point and display random numbers.

Paul.

Hi Brian,

I had originally installed the same DRO's on my mill which made machining much easier but they failed after about 6 months use. (kept losing the reference point and displayed random numbers) Replaced them with another set which also failed. Then replaced them with a better set which had a thicker aluminium bar and a common display for the 2 scales. These also failed with similar problems.

After wasting money on 3 sets of cheap scales, I bit the bullet and bought an Easson ES-14 display and glass scales. My advise is not to waste your money on the cheap scales.

Paul.