Member postings for Swarf, Mostly!

Andrew,

Do I remember rightly that you have a dedicated repetition lathe? It might interest some members to recap on such a machine's capabilities?

Best regards,

Swarf, Mostly!

Hi there,all,

I've recently had a gentle disagreement with someone about the diameter of the through drilling in the mandrel of the Myford ML7 lathe (i.e. the back end). Well, not so much about the diameter as about it's consistency, lathe to lathe. This dimension is of interest in connection with mandrel handles or depth stops and, more loosely, with draw-bars or bumper bars.

The published specification for the ML7 states that the through drilling is 19/32". (The same figure is given for the Super Seven. ) Please note, I'm not 'talking' here about 'big bore' or similar machines.

Please may I use this thread to take a 'straw poll' from ML7 owning members, requesting them to post the size of the through drilling of their ML7 mandrel, together with their machine serial number?

Thanks and best regards,

Swarf, Mostly!

Sounds like a wrapping of shim-stock to me!

Best regards,

Swarf, Mostly!

Hi there, Harry,

I agree with Brian about 'EasyOuts' - they can expand the bolt and make things worse.

My preferred method is to use a left-hand drill. It will centre well enough in your socket grub screw and, eventually, bite and wind out the screw.

I believe there are a few videos on YouTube.

As well as the simple left-hand twist drill, you can get a screw remover that has the same shaped tip.

Best regards,

Swarf, Mostly!

My stepson did something similar with a railway sleeper (actually, five * railway sleepers! ). Five years later, he had a spell in hospital for neck surgery. Might just be a coincidence?

* One at a time.

Best regards,

Swarf, Mostly!

Go to the Myford web-site and click on ML7. You will be presented with links to several pages, one for each of the major sub-assemblies of the ML7. Chose one. Scroll down until you reach 'Exploded Parts Diagram' and then click on 'View Page'. You will then be able to download (aka 'save as' ) the Parts List and the exploded diagram. Go back and choose the next sub-assembly of interest, 'rinse and repeat'.

Best regards,

Swarf, Mostly!

If it were me, I'd research the local geology before committing to the cellar. What is the local sub-soil and at what level is the water table during the wet season?

'Tanking' has been mentioned - I'm sceptical about the efficacy of tanking on the inside of walls & floor, the water pressure from outside can push it off.

Back in the late 1800s & early 1900s houses in some districts were built with 'stock' bricks which are porous. The walls were often built with no damp-proof course but with air bricks and a large ventilated space was left beneath the lowest habitable floor. While there were often pipes and cables down there, it wasn't intended as a cellar. The idea was that damp rising up the walls by capillary action would evaporate from the surfaces of the brickwork and be removed by the ventilation in preference to proceeding further up the walls to the inhabited floors of the house.

A friend of mine was helping clear the cellar workshop of a deceased neighbour. It seemed to be dry. He encountered a piece of paper into which had been inserted several very small (e.g. #61 - #80 ) twist drills, as is often done with sewing machine needles. Over time the paper had acquired enough moisture to completely rust through the drills at the points of contact!

Best regards,

Swarf, Mostly!

Edited By Swarf, Mostly! on 26/02/2019 13:33:09

Edited By Swarf, Mostly! on 26/02/2019 13:33:39

Off Topic but here goes:

Back in 1969 I needed a 28 Volt dynamo for a project. Watson's Eastern Motors (a long-time ME advertiser) was listing the 'Type O Engine-driven generator, 28 Volts DC 1500 Watts'. (I'm relying on memory there. ) So I drove out to Aldeburgh and stated my requirements. 'Oh, we don't keep them here. Let's go the the other store' was the reply. The 'other store' proved to be a bungalow some distance from the main shop. I was ushered into one of the rooms whose walls were lined, floor to ceiling, with cardboard boxes each containing a Type O and addressed to the CO of some RAF Station. The labels all said 'Rotax'. I purchased a few for my requirement.

Some time later I heard that the proprietor of Watson's Eastern Motors had died and the succeeding proprietors were more interested in house clearance. I still wonder what happened to all those Type Os. I later donated two of the ones I had bought but not used to a restoration group at Duxford.

The type O was one member of a family of aircraft dynamos that had a standardised interface to the aircraft engine gearbox via a splined shaft and a flexible coupling. I wonder whether that equipment practice is still used today?. Some (most? ) were 28 Volts but the family had 12 Volt members. Each type letter denoted a different power rating,

Best regards,

Swarf, Mostly!

Stephen,

I believe that Stuart Turner are now at the Bridport Foundry.

Best regards,

Swarf, Mostly!

Hi there, Alan,

I wonder if Wilkinsons provided you with a copy of this:

My Tauco has a female spline in the upper spindle extension and a die-cast component with the male spline that sits within the pulley. This die-cast piece doesn't show very clearly in the diagram! When I acquired mine, the male spline had worn paper-thin but I was able to obtain a replacement from Wilkinsons.

Best regards,

Swarf, Mostly!

Sorry, I quoted AJW but I actually intended to quote Chris Trice.

Best regards,

Swarf, Mostly!

I believe that UNC and UNF threads are NATO-ised versions of ANC and ANF respectively, the 'U' standing for 'unified'.

The threads on authentic (e.g. Amphenol ) UHF and N-type coaxial connectors were/are 5/8" by 26 tpi ANEF but there are some Far-eastern made connectors on the market with 5/8" by 1 mm pitch threads. Some mate - some don't!!!!

Best regards,

Swarf, Mostly!

At the risk of going from the sublime to the ridiculous, here's a suggestion for anyone who has the time but not the money:

Find a neighbour who's disposing of an upright piano, the older the better. The one I dismantled (back in the 1970s ) had a cast iron frame on a wooden frame. The cast iron had a bell-shaped cross section, fairly suitable, I thought, for an engineer's level. Not out of the question for a straightedge either? The material I acquired from this source machined beautifully. The piano could easily have been fifty years old when it fell into my hands so aging was probably not a problem. I still have a piece about 24" long under my bench.

I never did make the base for the engineer's level - a complete level turned up in an estate disposal.

The material of the wooden frame was rather special too, softwood by definition but age hardened in condition, 4" x 5" in pieces four feet long and not a knot to be seen!!!

(Before I get accused of vandalism, the neighbours concerned had made long and valiant but unsuccessful efforts to find the piano a good musical home.)

Best regards,

Swarf, Mostly!

Hi there, Mark,

In my applied mathematics course (many, many years ago!! ) we were taught that 'a couple has the same moment about any point in its plane'.

Best regards,

Swarf, Mostly!

I seem to remember reading that Edgar T. designed a portable ('luggable? ) steam driven electrical generator used by the 'Chindits' to power their radios in the jungles of Burma (now Myanmar).

Precursor to Drax?!?!

I don't know who would have made them.

Best regards,

Swarf, Mostly!

Here are a couple of web-sites that might be of interest:

**LINK**

and

**LINK**

I hope these help.

Best regards,

Swarf, Mostly!

The effect of 'Health & Safety' on accessibility of scrap metal yards.

Now, before I go any further, I'm not against 'Health & Safety'. Several years ago, there was a nasty accident in a scrap yard some thirty miles from here and I wouldn't want anything like that to happen to anyone.

But still, I miss the sort of relationship I enjoyed with my local scrap metal yard when I lived in Essex. The first time I visited them they treated me as though, if they were to turn their backs, I'd put the whole yard in my pocket! However, after a few visits, I'd be greeted with 'What are you looking for?'. I'd answer and then be invited to browse among the skips. I'd move stuff out of the way to see what was in the nether layers but I ALWAYS replaced it tidily. The scrap yard guy came to realise that he didn't need to supervise my every movement and that I'd always buy something (for 'stock' ) even if I couldn't find anything that fitted my answer to his initial question.

As some say 'that was then and this is now!' .

Best regards,

Swarf, Mostly!

Thank you all for your replies.

In each case the sender's email was as follows: [email protected]

Best regards,

Swarf, Mostly!

I've recently received a second pair of emails offering me subscriptions to ME and MEW.

Both sets addressed me as 'Dear Franco'. I use an alias on this forum but the name behind it isn't Franco. Who should I tell so that this (small) wrong can be righted?

Best regards,

Swarf, Mostly!

An off-topic comment!!

I once had a Citroen GS Club Estate on which many, many, fasteners were M7. I guess when you're buying as many fasteners as Citroen do/did, the quantity discount exceeds the non-standard premium. Apart from which, their use keeps most owners as captive customers!

Best regards,

Swarf, Mostly!