Member postings for GaryM

Hi Jim,

I bought my first lathe two years ago, a Sieg SC2 from Axminster. I didn't know of all the model engineering suppliers at the time.

Thoughts on ownership since then:

I now wish it was bigger (no surprise there), but what I've learnt in the last two years means I have a much better idea of what I would be looking for in an upgrade.

The nut that locks the tailstock to the bed is a pain in the bum. Try to get one with a lever lock. (i.e. Super C3 from Arc or Super Mini Lathe from Warco).

If you decide to fit a thread dial indicator to the saddle for screwcutting you have to remove the leadscrew cover permanently on the Axminster or Arc machines (didn't stop me). Warco has a thread dial indicator fitted.

Turning anything bigger than 3" diameter (e.g. small engine flywheel) gets a bit challenging.

I bought a vertical slide but it is IMHO a waste of money. When I came to machine the bedplate for the Stuart S50 I decided it wasn't worth the hassle of trying to do it on the vertical slide and bought a separate milling machine (bug had well and truly bitten by then). The link provided by Michael Cox 1 above explains why.

HTH

Gary

Hi Rod,

As the magazine opens in a pop-up window when clicked it might be that popups are blocked in your web browser. If 'BT Internet Browser' is a version of Internet Explorer then you can check by going to Tools->Pop-up Blocker to see if it's on or off.

Gary

Hi John and welcome to the forum.

You seem to have a good range of experience and knowledge that beginners like me need regular access to.

Hope you enjoy it here.

Gary

Be careful who you tell about that Derek, someone might find a way of charging you for it.

Gary

Rick,

Are you aware of this firm in East Manchester, they might have something suitable and presumably you are somewhere in the North West so might be worth a visit.

**LINK**

Gary

Very good, Jason. I'm treating it as a "learning opportunity". There seem to be rather a lot of them.

Gary

Errr, today I over-tightened this pin chuck.

Gary

Not today, but last couple of months. Some parts for the Stuart S50. Crank, crankpin, con rod, crosshead, valve rod, piston, piston rod etc. Some final finishing needed but I want to make sure they are going to fit together before spending any more time on them.

Gary

Hi Bob,

I am a complete novice at CAD but since starting model engineering have been impressed by others skills that I thought I would like to have a go at learning it just for fun. I didn't want to buy anything because I don't intend doing any design work or CNC. Just a source of entertainment in the winter months. Anyway I tried Google Sketchup, ProgeCAD 2009 Smart and Draft IT and didn't really make much progress. But I downloaded FreeCAD about a week ago after reading the other thread on CAD programs and I've found it easier to get started with than the others. I realise that you get what you pay for and that it is a steep learning curve but this is just my thoughts as a beginner.

The tutorials on YouTube by Martham Engineering **LINK**

and Bram De Vries **LINK**

are good starting points.

Gary

Hi from Tameside, Graham,

The Manchester Show was cancelled after two shows. It was organised by Meridienne like the Midlands one. Great shame as I thought it was reasonably well attended. Presumably they were charged too much for the venue.

I buy from Noggin End but the postal charges put me off if I only want a small quantity. Chronos sell some metal and include postage in their prices.

Gary

Jason; Thanks for the reply. It prompted me to go and re-read your Galloway build on MEM. Just shows that even though the WM-280 is capable of swinging it you still have to figure out how to machine it.

Bazyle; Thanks for the reply. I have an SX3 mill which should be good enough for anything I'm ever going to make. The point about machining the cylinder base is the sort of useful information that I as a novice would never have guessed. And I really should go and join Rochdale SMEE. Long term I would love to build a traction engine but I'm building my skills (very) slowly.

Ryan: Apologies for hi-jacking the thread.

Gary

That's the answer, put Kate Middleton on the front with a steam engine and sales will go through the roof. We might all ignore it though, thinking it was a misplaced copy of "Hello".

Gary

This is a question I've been trying to answer for a while. As a beginner I thought my mini-lathe (C3) would do me while I got a few projects under my belt. In theory it is a 7" swing but I've learned that there is more to it than that. I struggled to machine the rim of the 3" flywheel for the S50 I'm making because the cross slide would only just retract far enough. I suppose you could use a LH tool in the back of the tool post but I'm not sure how successful it would be. If I decide to buy something more capable in the future I'd like to be more aware of what its limits were.

Any comments from the more experienced members would be much appreciated.

Gary

Hi Bob,

If you bookmark this page

**LINK**

it will take you to the first page of any thread you click on. Or at least it does for me.

Gary

Hi Nick,

When I got interested in model engineering about two years ago I found the following web site useful

**LINK**

For my first project I chose this little oscillating steam engine

**LINK**

but then I like steam engines

One of the best beginner's books, in my opinion, if you've not done much in the way of metalworking is:

Model Engineering: A Foundation Course - by Peter Wright

I've found the majority of people that I've come into contact with on forums and at shows to be very helpful and friendly. Also most of the model engineering suppliers are like a breath of fresh air compared to dealing with most other modern businesses.

Best of luck with whatever you decide to make.

Gary

Unfortunate typo there Neil.

Gary

So do I. I got stuck in the mud in the "car park" last year. Four-wheel drive this year. Hopefully I won't need it.

Gary

Hi Rik

See here

**LINK**

Gary

I'll be there on Saturday. Easy to spot me, glasses, beard and going grey. So that narrows it down to 50% of the attendees.

Gary

Ady,

Thanks for your suggestions. DOC was 5 thou, feed was by hand and I tried varying it without much effect. I should have added that the length of the reduced section is only 2" so I don't think there is room to get a travelling steady in as well. I'm using a rotating centre in the tailstock. I have a RH carbide tool that I could try. It could be that the piece of steel supplied with the kit is not free-cutting. I've read that often poor finish is caused by unsharp tools or incorrect angles. In fact it reminds me of the finish I got when using the cheap set of brazed carbide tools I bought with the lathe (soon stopped using those). I'll try another piece of known FC steel.

Gary