Member postings for Paul Lousick

I have used a Benzomatic torch for a number of years which has been excellent. (also use by professional plimbers). It can be used with propane and MAPP gas for a hotter flame for silver soldering. Instant on and off by pressing the button. (also used in the kitchen to char a steak after slow cooking in a sous vide)

Edited By Paul Lousick on 24/06/2022 01:15:35

Why not take off the burr and add a small chamfer with a fine tooth or diamond file ?

Lots of excellent videos about setting up and using a lathe on Youtube, especially those presented by Joe Pieczynski.

Edited By Paul Lousick on 18/06/2022 23:01:20

Lubricate an edge finder ????

I normally have the opposite problem of wiping excess oil off it.

Do a search on MEW for revering motors. Lots of articles have already been posted. (Note.Not all motors can be made reversible)

Your lucky to have rallies so close Paul.

I live in Sydney and belong to a local club but regularly go to another 180 km away. Our next annual model traction engine rally is being held near Adelaide in South Australia. Only 1400km away (870m) (might have to pack a snack to eat on the trip)

Paul.

It's not so much what a car can pull but how big a load it can stop. Many modern cars (in Australia) can tow a trailer and the maximum unbraked load is specified by the manufacturer. Heavier loads can be towed if the trailer is fitted with brakes.

The combined weight of my engine and loaded trailer weighs about 900kg and is easily pulled by my Mazda 6. The car is only rated for an unbraked towing capacity of 750kg and I have fitted electric brakes to the trailer to make it legal. Now the trailer will stop the car.

The biggest problem I can foresee with an electric vehicle is having enough battery power to tow a load over a big distance on one charge.

Edited By Paul Lousick on 15/06/2022 13:15:27

Hi Andrew,

Its not possible to tell what the boiler is for without more information. It could be for anything.

Photos would be a great help.

The 3DConnexion SpaceMouse is more than a mouse. It combines features of a mouse and joystick to manipulate 3D models.

With the main knob/post, twist it to rotate left or right or spin the model. Raise or lower the knob to zoom in and out. Pan left and right or a combined move in one operation.

Details here: **LINK**

When I worked as a CAD jockey, I bought a 3DConnexion SpaceMouse when they were first introduced and big monitors and still have them but no longer use it now that I have retired.

I still use Solidworks every week to model the projects which I build but now use a standard mouse on an old 17" Core2 Duo laptop. A bit slow but fast enough for what do.

Mastering the use of a multiple button 3D mouse and instinctively using the appropriate finger to operate is a very long learning curve and requires constant practice to remain efficient.

The one thing that I taught myself when I first started CAD was to use the mouse with my left hand so I could type with my right. (can't type left handed), making modelling much faster by not having to keep putting down and picking up the mouse.

As already mentioned, the size of your model depends on the size of the original engine. I have a 6" scale Ruston Proctor SD which is about the size of a 4" Fowler 4NHP engine and took 7 years to build.

The capacity of the lathe in workshop should not be the limiting factor for your build. You can get the larger parts made elsewhere. I only have a 9" x 20" Southbend lathe (4 1/2" swing) and the flywheel is 15" diameter, which I did on a bigger lathe owned by a fellow club member.

I found that the majority of the machining was a milling operation and not turning.

Build of my engine found here: **LINK**

Simon says it starts but shuts down when applying a load.

Angle grinders use a lot more power than a drill. I have a Ryobi angle grinder which would only work for 3-4 minutes with a fully charged 2ah battery. When I use a 5ah battery I can get more than 10 minutes of heavy use.

This is not a model engineering question and it would be better to try a search on Google for an answer.

Like this one: **LINK**

I need to wear reading glasses for close work and have an auto darkening helmets but find it cumbersome to wear glasses under the helmet.

I recently bought a magnifying lens on ebay and attached it to the inside screen with double sided tape and can now clearly see the weld without wearing my glasses. The lens is available in different magnifications and not expensive.

My mistake Jason, it's not a BB1. Ross describes it as as just a 16HP Single cylinder ploughing engine in 1/4 scale on the data description sheet that he sent to our club. He started work on it in January 2015 and took 5000 hours to build.

Some good photos of a BB! found on the Station Road Steam site which has some similar features Alexanders engine.

**LINK**

 Hi Alexander, Your engine appears to be a standard traction engine as it does not have a winch.

3" Single cylinder Fowler BB1 ploughing engine **LINK**

Edited By Paul Lousick on 03/06/2022 23:50:43

This article describes it as not just for designers and drafters but more as a child's toy. Made from brass before the use of plastics became available.

The box of old tools were probably used by a pattern maker. The brass protractor is a multi-purpose tool for marking out angles, curves, squares, etc. Concentric circles drawn by placing a pin in the centre hole and a pencil point in one of the small holes and using it like a drawing compass.

Similar plastic tools were used in the drawing office when we used boards for drawing, circles, arcs, ovals, etc.

A BBQ is always covered with fat/grease after cooking. So self lubricating. Steel on steel bearings will probably outlast other parts of the grill.