Member postings for Paul Lousick

" screw the grub in 'backwards' then grind off the excess, but then I'd be faced with the problem of getting it out again"

Make the threaded hole in the bar a thru-hole and lock the screw in place with a second screw. An Allen key (hex key) can be inserted from the opposite end.

Paul.

SCALE WORKING MODEL 1890s ENGINE LATHE

The lathe is a 1/12 scale replica of a “Charles A. Strelinger Company” 16-inch lathe. Measuring 6-1/2” in length and 4-1/2” in height with a 1” dia. chuck.

The mini lathe parts are available from PM Research Inc, USA

**LINK**

Kit comes complete with 19 easy machining aluminum castings, all required hardware, material, bar stock, gear stock and complete working drawings. Machining and assembly required.

Joe Pieczynski on Youtube has been posting videos of how he has is making the lathe.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_U3j5kY2Cgs&ab_channel=JoePieczynski

Joe is one of my favourite machinists on Youtube and this series is worth a look.

Paul

Another reason for releasing the pressure in the tank is relieve the stresses on the springs in the pressure relief valve and gauge. Leaving the springs in a compressed state can cause a permanent set and they will not return to their normal zero pressure position and could give a false reading. Releasing the pressure is also a recommended procedure when using welding gas regulators.

Paul.

Thanks Jeff, and easier to make than a D-bit.

There are plans on ME to make a steam raising blower.

Recent post on MEW https://www.model-engineer.co.uk/forums/postings.asp?th=167998&p=1

Edited By Paul Lousick on 26/01/2021 22:12:41

Lanolin is now available in spray cans by the makers of WD-40 at the hardware store.

Like Andrew, I mainly use machine reamers. I have a couple of adjustable reamers but rarely use them.

Home made D-bits that Clive mentioned can be used instead of a reamer to produce an accurate diameter hole. Also used for making tapered holes.

Paul

"How big are your chips"

Depends on the size of the potatoes.

Similar to the model planes that we used to fly that were attached to wires (and made us dizzy going around in circles). Still have my old Enya glow plug engine.

Do many people still make them or has everyone gone to RC ? I dreamt of one when I was a kid but could not afford one.

Paul.

Commercial air receivers in Australia have to be registered (AS 43434:2014) and externally inspected every 2 years and internally every 4 years. Home compressors do not have to comply with this design code but recommended for your own safety.

Opening the drain valve will remove the water but not the moisture inside of the receiver. The moisture will condense and will cause rusting. This is why on a steam engine, the boiler is emptied (blown down when the pressure is about 5-10 psi)) while it is still hot. The manhole and inspection bungs are removed and the residual heat in the boiler evaporates the remaining moisture. This will not happen in a air compressor receiver because it is cold and a sealed vessel.

Paul

(PS. When did you check your compressor tank ??? )

Get a Diamond tool holder made by Eccentric Engineering and advertised on this site. It is a tangential holder that uses standard HSS cutters and comes with a simple sharpening jig. Extremely easy to sharpen the cutter and leaves an excellent finish on the work.

**LINK**

Paul

Edited By Paul Lousick on 23/01/2021 21:38:51

Hi Bill,

I'm not familiar witha Markie but it looks like a nice model . If you are unsure about operating a boiler you should join a model club and seek advice. Incorrect operation could damage the boiler and is dangerous.

There are some good videos on Youtube by Keith Appleton about maintaining and repairing a Markie Showmans engine. **LINK**

And Model Steam Engines for Beginners **LINK**

Paul

Hi Buffer,

"everything ends up as decimal inches and not the fractions you normally see. Nothing just matches up with available sections" This is what normally happens when you scale from full size and dimensions have to be substituted for what is available. If you scale a dimension, originally shown as a fraction, you will get a very small fraction, so better to use decimals.

You can make a CAD model, using the original full size dimensions and then apply a scale factor prior to creating the drawings. The problem with this method is that the dimensions will only be a scale version of the original. Not whole numbers and will not match available plate thicknesses, diameters, etc.

Solidworks can display dimensions as fractions in drawings. ** Youtube link **

The fraction displayed are not an exact size of the item, only a rounding to the closest fraction size which could cause problems when you assemble the parts .

I've been using Solidworks for 10+ years and prefer to manually calculate all of the dimensions and mark up a print prior to making a CAD model. Dimensions can then be rounded to suit available material and bolt sizes and I can be confident that everything will fit together when they are assembled.

George,

Refer to Neil's comments in this post.

Paul.

Loctite have some information about a suitable preparation and glue for plastics **LINK**

Paul

Hi Johan, Welcome to the ME forum.

There are lots of helpful members who have interestes in many different hobbies and all willing to share their knowledge and experience. I live in Australia and retired from a mech engineering career. Main hobby is steam engines.

Paul

The Australian code has a similar requirement for water columns (water level gauge), where it has to be independent of steam take off connections.

If the steam port of the column is connected to the same outlet as a steam take off point, the pressure will drop as steam is used while the pressure in the water port of the column remains at full boiler pressure. The water level in the glass will rise because of the difference in pressures, giving an incorrect water level in the boiler.

The pressure gauge is important but not a vital piece of equipment like the level gauge. If the pressure drops, the engine stops. If it gets too high, the safety release valve operates. On my engine the pressure gauge is connected to the manifold for the steam port of the water gauge. It will not cause a false water level reading as it does not use steam, just the pressure in the pipe. Only connected to this point as.it was convenient.

Paul

Edited By Paul Lousick on 19/01/2021 11:18:57

An experienced machinist can measure bores accurately with calipers and telescopic bore gauges but you need a good "feel" to use them. Something that I don't have and like Robin, I use go/no go gauges for small bores. For larger bores I us a gauge which has a dial indicator.

Paul

This topic has been discussed on a number of previous posts. Do a search for "telescopic bore gauges" to see the comments.

**LINK**

Paul

I am in Australia and build boilers to our design code for model boilers and by doing so, calculating the stresses is not necessary because they have already been done to produce the code. If the boiler materials or dimensions were outside of the code, I would have to provide calculations to satisfy the inspector.

Paul