Member postings for merlin

I don't want to intrude on a private conversation but if you are talking about simply meshing two clock wheels of different modules, I would be intererested in that, if only to add to my bank of knowledge, such as it is.

That is interesting, George Thomas being a mod eng hero of mine.

Does anyone know any more about his background before he began writing in 'M. E.'?

Drilling a hole down a pin will weaken it and the passage of the drill will put fine ridges ie stress-raisers in the bore.

These disadvantages won't matter so long as you bear them in mind when selecting dimensions and materials.

Yes, that is very close and therefore something to be careful about, because an unsecured taper has to be a perfect fit otherwise it isn't a fit at all.

I still think that relying on a light tap, on an important speed controlling device, is optimistic.

I presume that Maurice is using pins and reamers of the same system.

Or a matching head, an interference fit onto the shank.

No-one has mentioned a separate head fitted with Loctite.

Does Loctite really have reliable magical powers? I think I am right in saying that there has to be space for the retainer (sic) so in this case the head would be rattly until cured.

Is Loctite used on model locos in place of interference fits?

I am sticking my neck out here because I have no experience of governors but is it wise to rely solely on a taper?

The governor is vital in stopping the mechanism 'running away' in the case of a fault, so I would want a tiny split pin or even just a steel clockmakers pin at the smaller end.

There is only a very little difference between imperial and tapers. A while ago when I cast around for a small stock of brass and steel pins with reamers all to either one system or the other, the people I spoke to didn't seem to know what they were selling.

The fact that there two systems, almost identical, could lead to dangerous mis-matching.

Which system does the model eng fraternity favour?

Have you considered clockmaking or making just a model of the escapement?

They look complicated and to a high standard of tolerance. but a lot of it is handwork, the only fairly precise bit is making the gears to mesh with each other and even then aclock will run if there is enough slack.

Also bear in mind that there will be some distortion after removing such a large chunk from the middle so, assuming that it is important, allow a good few thou for final cleaning up of the two large faces.

Another philosophy: big fat black lettering on big labels, and you will soon get used to it.

Whereabouts in the UK would a piece of wood 6 inches by a yard be called a plank, without first knowing the thickness?

Even if it were three inches thick, I wouldn't call it a plank if it were, say, only one yard long.

Blimey! Why is posting photos kept such a secret?

These are racks for homemade lathe tool posts and for needle files so that I can immediately choose whichever shape I want.

These things always happen to other people.

I have recently had a reshuffle and now I have all round and square files together, which simplifies things.

I also have a board six inches wide and about a yard long,,,,,,,,, well, I can't describe it and I'll try to send a photo.

People might be joking about keeping a list of all tools on the pc but one would be useful in the event of an insurance claim and in assessing the total value of them.

I find it useful to have a printed-out list of my stock of silver steel (partly to avoid running out of a size) and reamers and eventually I am going to have to settle down with imperial and metric mics and go through all my small to tiny drills. Just how I will store them then, I don't know.

This store-keeping job would be more satisfying if one had unlimited finances for fitted racks and drawers.

If we are being particular, surely just saying 'for the use of' is meaningless. It would be 'Mugs, Tin, Other Ranks, for the use of'.

Sorry about the errors in the above posting; it took me so long to compose it that I expected it to somehow disappear when I pressed the 'go' button. I panicked!

There is a good range of plastic boxes for sale at the Newark Autojumble.

A few hours or even days spent organising your workshop storage systems is very well worth the time taken. Of course, you have to abide by your own housekeeping rules and if this goes against your nature or abilties, then you just have to try to enjoy subsequent time-wasting.

I think it helps to think more clearly about the logics if you

I would never put things e.g. taps of different systems together. I can go for weeks not needing SAE/Whit/BSF taps, so why have to sort through them? All my 'popular' taps and drills; tapping, taper, second, plug and clearance are fitted into marked holes drilled in an overhead wooden beam, so are immedately accessible but out of the way.

Wherever possible it is helpful to have such things as O-rings, washers, nuts and bolts in shallow trays or boxes, stacking if necessary, so that they can be picked over without having to tip them out onto a cleared area of bench.

Home-made wooden dividers in drawers are handy for stopping calipers and mics, depth gauges etc from entangling.

I keep the dozen or so different grades of emery paper in individual A4 envelopes to stop them contaminating each other but I would prefer very shallow drawers.

Heavy items stored on shelves under the bench are useful for holding it down.

Something as important as this needs to be thought about and sketched before even going into the workshop, because once you are there you might be tempted to take the easy wat and cut corners, resulting in illogical arrangement.

If you have a wooden door to the workshop you could fit one of those little spy-ball thingeys that will allow you to see what is going on in the outside world, front or rear. They are cheap and easy to fit and no-one can see in.

On Saturday a cheap barber could have done a roaring business and would have been able to spend all this week filling scatter cushions.

I think it was at Harrogate about 6 years ago that I saw a wonderful display of clocks, mounted by, I think, a club from the Southern Counties. There were one-off clocks with ingeneous mechanisms, many of them being gold plated.

Nothing like that this year.

The boats are always good to see and admire but the one lasting memory I have is of a small boat being rowed by a skeleton man. Perhaps that was at Ally Pally a few years ago.

Years ago I would half-listen to favourite radio programmes of the time, but not now. There are often little irritations that are unwanted in the workshop.

I don't want to dilute the sheer pleasure of workshop faffing, not to mention the concentration required.

Consider having one small bench that is higher than usual - perhaps about 44 or 46", close-up work is much easier with your elbows resting on it. I have never regretted building mine.

As to swarf pinging all over, fix a clear Perspex sheet about 6" square or bigger, screwed to a 6" strip of copper or something bendable and that in turn fixed to a decent strength magnet. This can be positioned close up to the source of the chips and angled to bounce them downwards into the lathe tray etc.