Member postings for Paul Lousick

Mark,

Ausee Machine Tools is another site in Aust.

Bargains also available on flee-bay

Edited By Paul Lousick on 28/06/2016 10:50:25

Hi Mark,

Either a face mill and a fly cutter can be used to machine the face of a plate. The face mill has a number of cutting teeth and is much faster than a fly cutter which only has one. Both can achieve the same finish. A fly cutter is inexpensive and could be home made.

The SX3 mill is rated to use a 50mm face cutter but I have used a 75mm dia cutter using light cuts. You could probably fly cut at 150mm diameter. Fly cutting would leave a better finish. (You would not see the multiple cuts of a smaller diameter tool on a plate which is wider than the cutter)

Roughing end mills are good for quickly removing metal when cutting on the side of the cutter. Use a normal end mill for the final cuts. I run a 12mm and 16mm roughing end mill in my SX3. Carbide cutters cost a bit more but last a lot longer.

Paul

Edited By Paul Lousick on 26/06/2016 01:14:39

Driving old cars is an experience not to be missed !

Recently had the opportunity to drive a T-Model Ford on a road run to a private landing strip to see an old DC3 plane which had been restored (a bit bigger project than model engineering).

Driving the car requires constant attention to keep it in a straight line as it wanders all over the road like a kids Billy Cart. (it is said that the only time that you are on the road is when you are crossing it).

No cruse control, no airconditioning except for the cold wind blowing around us thru the non-existant side windows. Manual throttle lever on the steering column, manual distributor advance lever and fuel mixture knob which had to be adjusted all of the time to match the engine speed. 3 foot pedals on the floor for forward gear, reverse gear and brake, plus a hand lever to select top gear, neutral and park brake.

Hi Ron,

You have said that your clacks are in the horizontal position. It is worth checking if they work better when vertical. This should not be a problem but worth investigating.

Paul

Hi Simon,

I have a 9" Southbend lathe and the Hercus was a copy of the Southbend and should be similar to the one which I own. I am always careful not to over tighten the chuck when I screw it on. Only tighten with firm pressure. Do not spin it on at speed or you have trouble getting it off. Too much force on the back gears will break teeth. Luckily I have not had too much trouble.

The spindle drive gear on my lathe has large lugs at the side for the drive pin. I have not done this but you could place a block between the lug and the lathe bed to stop the spindle turning while undoing the chuck (see photograph).

A better option, instead of a block of steel would be to make a special spanner that would fit into the slot at the side of the gear to stop it turning. Use a large spanner or steel bar to turn the chuck.

Paul.

Hi Ron,

Have you tried replacing the balls, they may not be perfectly round.

Sometimes they can get damaged when they are hit to form a seat and it is good practice is to replace them with new balls.

Paul.

Also as a child I saw someone hit the chuck key on a B&D drill with a hammer to remove the chuck. A few years ago tried this trick on an expensive cordless drill and smashed the gears. Will be more careful next time.

Paul.

Thanks Geoff,

I intend to do something similar with the wheels on my traction engine. My rivets are 1/4' dia but I do not have a special riveting tool, instead I am going to make a jig that fits into a standard 20 ton press.

Other options are to use an SDS drill in hammer mode as stated above or one of the small pneumatic chisel guns. I recently used one to bead (roll over) the ends of the tubes in my boiler with the aid of a special form tool.

Paul.

Hi Jeoff,

What diameter rivets did you use ?

How much extra length of the rivet did you leave for forming the opposite side rivet head ?

Paul

Hi,

I cannot help with information about UK model boilers but can give you a link to the boiler codes for copper and steel model boilers in Australia which I believe are built to much higher standards. These codes specify materials, sizes and construction requirements for an amateur to build a model boiler.

**LINK**

See previous post about powering small steam engines

**LINK**

Edited By Paul Lousick on 18/06/2016 06:28:11

Auto parts stores also sell small compressors for inflating car wheels.

T-Slot for end stops ????

The travel of the scales should be slightly longer than the maximum travel of the mill. The scales could be damaged if they bottom out at the ends.

I have an Easson ES-14 readout on my SX3 mill with a 600mm glass scale for the X-axis (this is longer than I need but was on special and they had it in stock), 250mm for Y-axis and 400mm for the Z-axis.

Paul.

"Some years ago we had a big project (a very special wheelchair) that required several people for it's implementation. One of our members, a professed AutoCad expert, decided to do the drawings for us. He produced dimensions accurate to 0.0001" (there was no way we could work to that level)"

Another mis-understood word, along the lines of precision and accurate is "professional".

A professional is a member of a profession or any person who earns their living from a specified professional activity but this does not always mean that they are an expert in what they are doing. The professed AutoCad expert above may know how to create drawings in Autocad but could have no practical experience or qualifications in engineering which appears to be the case with his dimensions. CAD is only a tool for making drawings.

The designer/draftsman (sorry draftperson to be non gender specific) should dimension a component to achieve an acceptable fit or finish for a particular part. The machinist is expected to achieve that which is shown on the drawing and specifying a tighter fit or surface finish than that which is required could be costly.

Paul

Hi John,

Bought my last order from Jay-Cee Cales and Rivets at http://rivetsonline.com/

Paul.

If it's only a few months old, it should still be under warranty. Have it replaced.

Hi Rob,

Bought my castings and gears from Live Steam Models in UK. Finished gears were cheaper than I could have them made in Aust. Everything else fabricated from local supply.

Paul

Hi Mark,

The UT video is for a X2 mill which is much smaller that the X3. Therefore you would need a bigger power feed motor. I have a shop bought, Seig power feed on my SX3 mill.

Motor specification: 150W, 230v DC, 0.9A, 4000 rpm.

The Home Machinist web site has a DIY version suitable for an X3 mill

**LINK**

SX3 mills have also been converted to CNC and have power feed on the Z-axis. Although these use stepper motors, a non CNC mill would need a similar or bigger motor to that used on the X-axis. The torque to raise the head is more that that to move the table. (or use a similar size motor with a gear reduction for added torque)

Paul.

After problems with some of the cheaper DRO's, I invested in some better ones from Easson for my mill. Best investment that I have made. Makes machining so much easier.

A DRO is also great for accurately measuring equipment. I used it to measure the steam chest for my traction engine so I could model it in 3D CAD by clamping the casting on the mill and mounting a pointer in the drill chuck. Measurements could be taken in x, y and z directions with reference to a common datum.

Lots of good instruction videos on Youtube + Easson DRO.

Paul.

Edited By Paul Lousick on 21/05/2016 10:48:53