Member postings for Stephen Millward

After a 30 years of working in energy efficiency, I'm now firmly of the view that regulations made by our politicians are the thing that make a difference. Without regulations we would still be buying tungsten lightbulbs, G rated fridges, non condensing boilers, less efficient cars, consumer electronics with high standby power and new homes wouldn't be insulated.

Most manufacturers, if left unregulated, will design products that are cheap and inefficient. Most consumers will continue to buy the cheap inefficient products, which is why most manufacturers don't care about efficiency. Regulations drive the manufacturers to innovate so that high efficiency becomes standard and affordable.

Hi John - confirmation of my subscription was originally confirmed in an email from [email protected].
So it might be worth seeing if you have any emails from that account.

stephen

Let it go rusty, then soak it citric acid - which should result in mild steel taking on a grey pitted appearance.

Hi Jim - I have a Sabel, with similar faults as yours, however I get good results and enjoy using it so don’t give up. I can lift the front of the apron , the only time this has caused a problem was when using a travelling steady, as the steady was lifting the saddle. I can also tighten the screws on the spindle and lock it, which suggests insufficient shim packing. I just adjust the screws to give the right clearance. I’m close to completing a sweet pea loco and all the turning and cylinder boring was done on my Sabel, which has been great. I nearly always use HSS tooling.

stephen

Hi Jim - I have a Sabel, with similar faults as yours, however I get good results and enjoy using it so don’t give up. I can lift the front of the apron , the only time this has caused a problem was when using a travelling steady, as the steady was lifting the saddle. I can also tighten the screws on the spindle and lock it, which suggests insufficient shim packing. I just adjust the screws to give the right clearance. I’m close to completing a sweet pea loco and all the turning and cylinder boring was done on my Sabel, which has been great. I nearly always use HSS tooling.

stephen

The basic ml7 in 1970 was £94

Super 7b £171 price includes norton box, faceplate, catchplate and 4” backplate - but no motor, no stand, no chucks.

Not sure about tax.

the prices for the boxford and Colchester also chucks

I don’t suppose model engineers 50 years ago had the choice of cheap Chinese lathes or cheap second hand. Here are prices from a 1970 tool catalogue, with the price then and adjusted for RPI in 2020.

super 7b £171 (£2806)

boxford aud £286 (£4692)

bantam £460 (£7547)

chipmaster £717 (£11764)

We are spoilt for choice now with cheap new or old lathes.

Thanks Chris - that’s great. It was probably optimistic to expect a foundry in the Thames Valley, I guess Stuart Turner in Henley would have once been an option. A trip up to the West Midlands industrial heartland might be necessary

can anyone recommend somewhere to get one off castings cast , iron or alloy? Ideally in the south near Reading

Thanks

Renewables and hydrogen are the future. In most parts of the world new renewables now work out cheaper than new fossil fuel generation, and that trend is going to continue. We can still enjoy building models of how it used to be done.

Renewables aren't free, but their cost is reducing far faster than anyone predicted and in many places they are now cheaper than fossil fuels. Saudi recently announced $200Bn for solar projects to reduce its reliance on oil. I think the storage issue will be solved by hydrogen. Personally I think a big off shore wind turbine is a thing of beauty, much better than an oil rig or power station.

I'm making some sweet pea displacement lubricators and I'm struggling to make the 6ba draincock handle - with a bend in it. I've tried making it straight and then bending and it snapped in two. What material should I use? Does it need heating to bend? Any tips gratefully received. The handle is 5/8" long, 1/8" diameter, tapering to a 6ba thread, and with a 60 degree bend .Thanks Stephen

I also haven't been able to find the holes in the headstock for pinning down the wicks on my SABEL, although they are definitely shown on the smart & brown drawings. I wonder if they are plugged and painted over?

I do have the original test certificate, dated 3rd Feb 1953, with the names of who tested, checked and passed the lathe.

Two thoughts, 1 are you holding down the wicks when fitting the spindle? Otherwise some wick might get trapped between spindle and bearing. 2. The spindle nose looks different to mine, I'm sure mine doesn't have the bronze bit , so is the chuck fitted securely to the spindle and on the register?

The marking blue will show where the spindle and bearing are rubbing, whereas ball gauges will allow a measurement to be taken. Have you looked on the smart and brown yahoo group, I think there are some posts there showing bearings that look worse than yours but still work ok. You mentioned installing roller needle bearings - was this on the cross slide, or the headstock spindle? Regards Stephen

I still use a solid centre. I've tried a rotating centre but I actually find a solid centre easier, as you know when it's adjusted just right.

I think you need to focus on establishing why the spindle is either locked up or 7 to 12 thou of play.

Ball gauges might help with taking an accurate measurement of the bore in two planes to check if it's oval. I've got a set you can borrow.

I notice someone has added oilers onto the top of the bearing, so perhaps the capillary oilers weren't working.

It's worth persevering with, although my SABEL is 65 years old, I find it's great to use and an improvement on two previous Myfords.

Regards Stephen

Hi, I bought a disassembled SABEL 3 years ago, I was lucky as I've had no problems with it. I live near Reading so could easily come over to see if I can be of assistance diagnosing the problem.

Stephen

I recently visited Didcot and was struck by how basic steam locomotives are, - probably part of their appeal. Also I suspect much of the design work was by rule of thumb and trial and error. A single engineer (highly skilled) could have designed a steam loco, - could a single person design a modern jet? I doubt it.