Member postings for I.M. OUTAHERE

Ok I will keep an eye out for the panthers show but other than that there is not much in Sydney that I know of .

i know there is a sewing and knitting show each year at rose hill along with the camping and fishing show and these are packed out for two weeks running ,even if they tacked some sort of model exhibition on to them it would be better than what we have now which is basically zero in the way of shows .

the model park at Luddenam do an open day once a month that is usually fun to watch .

If you are into woodwork as well maybe model boats / ships would work in well for you and they have the lake there as well to run them on - you would of course have to be a member though.

Ian

The next tool I buy !

A book with a list of every tool I own and where it is located , last weekend I had to cut an 18mm x 1.25 L/H thread on a spindle so I went rummaging through toolboxes,drawers,cupboards and storage containers looking for the screw cutting gauge I was sure I bought a few years back.

after an hour I gave up and bought a new one the next day and when I got home I was playing around on my lathe and needed to drill a centre hole so guess what I found under a pile of centre drills in a drawer in my toolbox marked CENTRE DRILLS - the damned screw cutting gauge I bought a few years back !

Oh well two is also better than one !

Ian

Nice to have met you and your wife also Raymond.

True it was only a small show but I bet most clubs wouldn't know it exists so maybe some advertising may help.

I didn't mind the trains as I always marvel at the detail they put into their layouts and watching a few people sift through the old copies of Model Engineer was priceless , I was waiting for an argument to erupt but fortunately every one kept their cool !

I was amazed with the model rc trucks and spent 20 min or so talking to the guy about these , it was amazing how they set them up and even the sound module was astonishingly realistic - they even have a vibrator unit to make them shake when idling !

unfortunately there was a distinct lack of steam powered models , IC engines and Planes but I suppose they can only accept what ever turns up.

i occasionally go out to the model park at Luddenam on their open day to watch the loco's,traction engines , planes and RC buggies get a run .

They have a bit of room there and it would be nice if a couple of stalls were set up so people could buy stuff .

Other than that there is Steamfest up at Maitland and here you can go for a ride on a steam train ,check out some models and buy stuff at the stalls.

I got my double choc top ice cream cone so I was happy !

Ian

Hi Sam,

Try your local Tackle World or BCF store and look for multi strand stainless trace wire and you can get little crimps to form the loops you need .

The stuff in the photo is from memory 80- 100 LB breaking strain PVC coated and measures .65 mm diameter but I think you can get just bare wire also.

Have a look at those stores online and see if they sell what you want .

Braid is very strong for the diameter and has no stretch but does not like abrasion of any kind .

Ian

Edited By XD 351 on 03/07/2014 02:34:55

Edited By XD 351 on 03/07/2014 02:36:45

Hi Danny,

I would first check that the chuck housing / body runs true then I would strip it bare so only the chuck body is left then mount it back on the lathe and see if the problem gets any better - if it does then the problem is with the parts left on the bench and if it doesn't it is time to take a real close look at the chuck body .

The casting could be thicker in one spot or it could have casting faults (voids ) that were not picked up on at the factory .

If it is the chuck body then I would then make a mandrel out of steel ( either turn one up or use silver steel ) then drill centres that run true in each end .

Then set this mandrel up in the four jaw chuck so it runs true and make sure there is enough sticking out of both ends of the chuck to allow mounting between centres

if you then mount up a dead centre in the spindle and one in tailstock you can use the lathe as a crude balancing jig by running this mandrel between centres loosely give it a spin and look for the heavy spot .

You can use small discs of steel held on with supa glue to play around adjusting the light spot to get it in balance and it is then a matter of removing the same weight of material from the heavy side , either way it will at least show you where the heavy and light spots are .

By using steel to add weight to the light Side that is round and of a know thickness ( a disc shape ) it would be easy to use an end mill of the same diameter to plunge cut to the same depth as the metal disc thickness to remove the equivalent amount of material from the heavy side

Ian

I hope the pivot bushes are replaceable as would wear them out in no time !

Ian

Thanks Raymond !

I have been wondering when a local show would be run as everything I see in the local model engineering mags seem to be about Melbourne .

Looks like I will be going for a drive that weekend !

Ian

I have some 3 in 1 brand spray lube that supposedly has Teflon in it - used it once and now it sits on a shelf probably until the bottom rusts out of it as it was useless as was the white lithium grease spray they make.

For protection against rust lately I have been using Lanotec and I'm happy with it.
I was considering doing a home brew version using raw lanolin and shellite but I'm not sure it would be worth the effort.

Ian

Hi Clive ,

take a look at YouTube and search for joining dissimilar metals by oxtoolco , not a boiler but it will let you see tig brazing in action.

Ian

Martin,

I would also check the threading dial for engagement with the lead screw and wear as it may be jumping a tooth as you wind the saddle back

if you are not using the compound slide set at half the included angle method for threading (ie it is set parallel to the spindle axis or similar )then also check your compound slide for end float

Ian

oops!

the correct name for the turbocad video is paultracy

andydaviesbythesea did some electronics videos also worth a look.

Ian

Another couple that I watch are:

abom79

oxtools

you will find the above two on Keith Fenners site as well because they made a few videos called face off where they took turns designing , grinding and testing lathe tools to take some unbelievable cuts on their lathe.

andybythesea - he did a video on turbocad that I found usefull.

another is myfordboy he does a lot of videos about casting metal .

Ian.

I fitted a similar if not the same unit to my C2 lathe and it works well although I didn't use a magnet as depicted in the photo , I found it worked well just sensing a gap in a metal disc but yours may differ .

I tested the spindle RPM with my optical/ laser tachometer and found there was only a few RPM difference between the two readings- luckily as I bought 4 of them and I think they were aroud $20 au each with free postage .

Ian

So we are looking at a voltage drop issue then ?

Paul,

The main issue a was having was with the display flickering and the readout was very unstable which indicated to me there was an electrical noise issue .

If your display is stable the noise issue may not be present with your unit and the 0.02 offset seems to only be present when the battery is removed from the scale so maybe the scale is not getting the correct voltage from the display which could be something simple like a bad connection in the cable or maybe the manufacturer has not accounted for internal resistance etc , maybe you could plug the scale into the display and take a voltage measurement at the battery terminals on the scale ( with the battery for the scale removed ) to see what you get .

Ian

Hi John Fletcher,

They were 4700 uf - 16volt low ESR ( low impedance ) but you won't get them into the battery compartment like Bogstandard has shown as they are much bigger than the monolithic capacitor he has used which is also a low impedance type as well .

The unit I built is nothing more than a 12v transformer type plug pack with 2 separate regulator units mounted inside the motor control box of my X2 Mill , there are 3 dc power sockets fitted also ( power in from the plug pack ,power out to the DRO display and power out to the digital tachometer ) .

I think the important part was that the transformer type power pack operates at 50- 60 hertz compared to a switch mode type that operates at many thousandths of hertz and may be close to or a harmonic of the frequency of an internal clock or oscillator in the DRO .

Ian.

I'm not sure if it is the same issue you are having but I fitted set of dro's to my X2 ( I think ARC sell the same type ) and they ran well on battery power but connect the power supply that came wth them and the readout would flicker and was impossible to zero.

I deduced that it was noise from the switch mode power pack and a quick check with an oscilloscope confirmed this.

I decided to try and smooth this out using some large value electrolytic capacitors ( standard and low ESR types in parallel ) and I got pretty close but there was still some flicker.

I decided that the frequency of this noise may be also causing a problem for the display so I changed over to the good old transformer rectifier type power pack and hooked up the 2 low ESR capacitors across the terminals and was rewarded with a nice stable readout.

I would guess that some where inside the display there is a clock or oscillator that was being affected by the noise from that cheap switch mode supply.

Occasionally the readout on the Z axis will not zero but will read 0.02 mm and I found that when this happens if I press and hold down the zero buttons on the display and the scale ( mine has a small display on the scale also ) the readout will settle on 0.00.

Neil,

I wonder if there is a diode in that DRO that would stop the power supply from charging the battery?

Ian.

I just spent a week cleaning up my workshop after a flash flood so I don't want to read about cleaning

Ian

It becomes even more of a mine field when you delve into the U.S market.

Steve I sent you a PM.

Ian

Bump.

Neil, how is the survey going ?

I hope you are getting plenty of replies.

Ian

Edited By XD 351 on 11/04/2014 05:33:37

Hi Mick,

the cross slide measures as follows :

length = 154 mm

width = 65 mm

thickness = 16mm measured where the slide way is and 8.5mm where the dovetail slot is .

dovetail slot depth is 7.5 mm.

dovetail width is 50mm at the widest point and 43.5 at the narrow point

tail stock bolt is M10x 1.5 pitch

the gap in the bed between the slide ways is 26mm

hope this helps!

Ian