Member postings for Paul Lousick

Thanks for the tips on using alternatinve products especially using Brylcreem. Have not used it for 50 years when it was the fashion to have oily hair.

Thanks for the feedback, especially the common name products. I live in Australia and we do not have some of the brand names mentioned.

Regards, Paul.

Does anyone have a list of recommended lubricants for drilling, reaming and tapping different materials. (steel, S/S, bronze, brass, gun metal, cast iron, aluminium, etc.)

Can these be used for milling and turning or are they different ?

Also homegrown substitutes if you do not have commercial products.

If you cannot hold the surface plate to a magnetic chuck because of not enough area of contact can you first bolt it to a steel plate and then use this plate for mounting to the magnet.

Edited By Paul Lousick on 28/02/2013 20:52:12

Thanks Ian.

The piston rod is bright S/S and already smooth but will give it an additional polish.. The pump body is bronze and I will polish the bore. Thanks for the tip on seating the ball. Having the seat in a shallow cone was what I thought I should do but was not sure. It should allow for a larger surface area for the ball to mate with.

Regards, Paul.

I am building a model of a Moore pump from the supplied castings and would appreciate some advice about its construction. It seems to be too simple compared to a Worthington or similar and I am concerned about its reliability. Has anyone made one ?
1.The drawing uses O-rings for the piston and gland seals instead of a piston ring and packing for the glands. Are they reliable ?
2. Do the balls for the check valve seal on the edge of the drilled hole or do I machine a countersink (45 deg) ? I have seen this design for check valves on a lot of model valves and wondered how good they seal. Do they leak ?

My mistake, thanks Andrew

Hi Neil,

Join the club. I am not building a canal crane but have found that the supplied drawings cannot be trusted and are riddled with mistakes. I re-draw and double check everything before I start cutting steel. I work as a professional draftman and the drawings which I have been supplied would be rejected by our workshop.

I suppose though, that you only get what you pay for. The set of drawings which I received cost less than $100. If they were drawn properly and checked they would have cost $1000's.

Paul.

Can't see that a slightly smaller bore will effect much. The smaller bore will reduce the output power of the engine slightly but should not be a problem with its operation. In the future if the bore is worn and you have to re-machine you can always take it back to the original size.

Hi Fizzy, The OD of the rings should be the same diameter as the bore otherwise they will not seal properly.

See the link at:- http://users.tpg.com.au/agnet/make%20piston%20rings.html

The clamp kit came with the red plastic rack which already had holes for mounting. The mill only weighs 200kg which is only 50kg per corner. The wheels are rated at 90kg each.

Hello David,

All CAD software can accurately draw levers and linkages. For layouts, draw the gears as circles using the PCD (pitch circle diameter). Drawing the shape of involute teeth is a bit more difficult. I use Solidworks and Autocad which can draw to an accuracy of 0.0000001 mm.

There are many free packages like Draftsight or TurboCad which can be downloaded. Trial versions of professional packages like Autocad can also be downloaded and used for a limited time. As with all software there is a slow learning curve before you can use it properly. The more complex the software, the longer it takes to learn.

This how I made the trolley for my SX3 mill. Easy to move and sturdy to use.

Edited By David Clark 1 on 24/02/2013 10:36:13

Search for metal lathe (not lathe-wood)

Hi les,

If your LED's are too bright can you reduce the voltage with a variable resistor ?

Hi Richard,

If the lathe is in good condition, go for it . The addition of a variable speed drive would be an advantage.

I have restored an old American 9" Southbend lathe which was also built in Australia under the name of Hercus. It still has a flat belt drive which will be replaced by vee belts one day. (refer to my photo folder).

I am still learning how to use it properly and the flat belts slip if I take too deep of a cut and act as a safety clutch. My only regret when restoring it is that I should have used a harder, tougher paint. Some of the paint is already showing some wear from constant use.

Paul.

Thanks for the advice.

(Reference: The key slot is for the flywheel on my 6" scale traction engine which is 1.1/8" ID x 3" long)

I have also found a copy of the Machinerys Handbook which has dimensions of taper keys (BS 4235) showing that the key and slot has a 1 in 100 taper but does not show how to make it.

Also found this site for fitting a gib key:

http://www.utterpower.com/fitting_gib_keys.htm

Edited By Paul Lousick on 11/02/2013 12:37:46

How do you cut a tapered key slot in the hub for a gib head key ?

I have access to broaches to cut parrallel slots.

My first thought was to cut a parrallel slot and then use a tapered shim to angle the broach. Would this work ?

Paul.

I have found that thse types of gauges do not like moisture. The DRO's on my mill sometimes have similar symptoms when it has been raining for a long period. They operated correctly after they have dried out.

Hi Gary, My SX3 came with its own factory made base which is 870mm high. This is a comfortable height to work with. I only have a small corner of my garage to use as a workshop and have mounted the base on wheels so I can push the mill out of the way when not needed.

Edited By David Clark 1 on 24/02/2013 10:34:54