Member postings for Paul Lousick

A simple solution ifyou don't have one of the flexible hoses is to insert a piece of bendable wire inside some plastic tube to hold its shape. Cheap and nasty but will get you out of trouble .

They are not pieces of hose but specialy moulded plastic shapes that clip together. They can be bent to different anges and retain the shape.

Another option is a nozzle with a flexible metal hose. Will also require a valve to control the flow rate.

Edited By Paul Lousick on 29/08/2021 10:43:24

I have a commercial coolant pump but use use one of these to control the coolant flow. Cheap on ebay and does the job. Also available with metal valves.

The tank has 2 compartments where the return coolant is drained to the 1st tank and has to flow over a wall to the 2nd where the pump is. Metal is trapped at the bottom of the 1st tank and only clean coolant flows into the second. There is also a magnet at the bottom of the 1st tank.

Paul

Martyn,

You have said that " if I bought a nut of the same thread as that on the neck of the header tank, I could turn off the hex on the lathe, mill a bronze replica of the original cap and solder or braze it to the nut"

Therefore you must have access to a lathe and mill so why not make a cap yourself. Not too difficult and will be a good learning curve for some new skills. Try plastic or aluminium for a trial first, then make one out of brass or bronze, A good feeling after you have mastered it.

Paul.

Edited By Paul Lousick on 28/08/2021 14:11:42

An option for neater connections is to use silver solder paste. Jewelery makers use ground silver solder which is mixed with the flux and is not as messy. Comes in a syringe applicator and good for delicate pieces. Do a Google search for suppliers.

Paul

Edited By Paul Lousick on 26/08/2021 09:32:23

As mentioned, the lower % of silver in the solder is more brass coloured. The higher % grades flow better and has a lower melting temperature. The Donatus kit looks as though it is made with lots of turned parts and if finish machined after soldering, the small amount left will be hard to see.

This is a brass spindle that I am making, the large flange has been joined to the spindle with 45% silver solder. The silverish colour is hard to see because it reflects then colour of the surrounding brass.

Paul.

Micky,

I'm running Win 7 with Chrome and Firefox and have the same problem with both. Ok to open the recent archives which are in a different format to the old.

Are you able to open the old magazines from the last pages of the archive library ?

Paul.

Thanks Jason. I have seen some of the new format ones but it was some of the earlier copies that I was interested in.

Has anyone found a work-around for viewing the archives now that we can no longer use Adobe Flash.

Some recent copies can be viewed in PocketMags but not the early editions.

There was talk that they would be converted to another format that could be viewed but I have not heard of an update on its progress.

Lightspark and Ruffle have been mentioned at a replacement viewer but I have not had any success with them on MEW.

Paul

We are never too old to learn something new

I always wondered what the feature was on the tailstock of my 9" Southbend lathe (protrusion cast on the opposite side to the locking lever) was for until I found this video on Youtube.

**LINK**

The question was for a " toothed (cogged) belt suitable for a lead screw drive". I would assume (I know, should never do that) that it is not for a smooth pulley. All of the electronic lead screw projects that I have seen use a timing belt, especially if used with a stepper motor for CNC.

Try searching for timing belts.

I just did a search on ebay for 16mm (and 20mm) timing belts and found dozens of examples of belts and pulleys.

Paul

" The only extra comment I could think of was ‘where is the other one, of the pair, and an eight furrow reversible plough? "

There is another being built by someone else. Will just need a plough for when they are finished.

M ount a boring head in the tailstock and set the cutter to the required radius for the finish cut.

If I am working on a drawing which is on my computer (eg. converting and old imperial drawing to metric), I just use a calculator program on the computer called Calculator Plus, free to download from Microsoft .

It sits in the taskbar and always ready to convert vertually everything. Area, Lengths, Currencies, Power, Pressure, Volume, Velocity, Weights to almost every other form of that unit.

Calculator types are Standard, Scientific, Conversion

For Imperial fractions to mm, use the Conversion calculator, Set convert from inches and Convert to mm. Enter the fraction and hit the convert button and get an answer to about 25 decimal places.

If you are making a CAD drawing, (and you are like me with a bit ol oldtimers memory loss) you do not even have to remember the calculated answer, use the calculator copy function and paste the answer into the CAD dimension.

Paul.

I'm assuming there is no filler plug. Can you add a tee piece to the pipe from the hand pump to the boiler to make filling easier ?

Another option, which we have done on a full size Avelling & Porter roller which did not have a filler plug was to connect a hose to the blow down valve and fill it from there. Air has to be released from somewhere at the top to stop pressure buildup. (open blower valve, whistle, etc).

(Note, it is good startup practice to release any air in the boiler when you are raising steam)

Paul.

Thanks Jason,

My engine drawings, castings, etc. are from LSM.

Paul

Similar to staples but it is a power transmission belt and is stronger and joined together

I am making a governor for my traction engine which uses a 20mm [or 3/4"]  wide x 2mm thick flat belt from a pulley on the crankshaft.

I need to find a supplier of small quantities of belt lacing clips to join the ends of the belt. Cannot use a continuous belt as it has to be removable.

Lots for sale on ebay for larger sizes and in USA but in large quantities and exorbitant postage.

Anyone recommend a supplier ?

Paul

Edited By Paul Lousick on 13/08/2021 08:53:13