Member postings for Trevor Steele

Hi Gray,

A pleasure, your suggestion was spot on as always.

Best regards

Ttevor

Hi Everyone

Just to update you on the tests I have been doing on the end stop accuracy issues. In my last correspondence with Gray, he had suggested using a double lever linkage between the operating rod and the shortened operating lever. This would be more rigid and still allow the greater sensitivity of using the short operating lever. I had previously considered a similar idea but dismissed it on the grounds of complexity.

Having decided it was with a try I have now built the linkage and tested it. It is a significant improvement over the previous versions, with the end stop position being much more repeatable. Those who had requested drawings have been sent updated versions of the new design. It will also be easy to change for the various versions of the X10 Boxfords which have differing swings, by simply altering the lever lengths.

A picture of the new linkage is shown below.

Hi Tony,

Gray is correct in saying that the STS drive to the gearbox is 1/3 of the spindle speed. So long as the ration between spindle and gearbox is a whole number of turns, the dog clutch will work. If the ratio was for example 1:2.5 then it would not. The disadvantage of a slower gearbox speed is that engagement of the clutch may be a bit slower as it only comes around every 3 revolutions of the spindle in the case of the STS. In practice is is not really noticeable. The advantage is that it is kinder on the dog clutch as the speed of the clutch is lower, which reduces the impact on the drive dog.

Best regards

Trevor

Pete,

There are drawings for the Boxford clutch available, although they may require further explanation for some of the parts. I'm happy to supply these to anyone who is interested. If you PM me your details I will email you a copy. They are in AutoCAD format.

Trevor

Just to let everyone know how I have been getting on with the tests on the Boxford clutch. I replaced the long operating arm with a shorter one to help improve the sensitivity of the end stop as can be seen in the photo. The final result was a bit inconclusive. The original system was a bit insensitive due to the long operating arm, while the modified design has a bit more 'spring' in the system due to the long extension to reach the shorter arm. In the end I believe either setup will work. I will stick with this latest version to see how it works out in practice.

Thank you all for you kind words on my work. The bulk of the praise should go to Gray, as without his excellent design work this would never have materialized. In use I have found there is a small issue with the accuracy of the end stop. Due to the long operating arm this is not as accurate as I would like. I have done some tests and am currently modifying the design to address this. I hope to have this completed in the next week or so and will send updated drawings to Gray as well as some more pictures..

Best regards

Trevor