What did you do today? (2014)

Wife on holiday. Time for some me time. 2.30 pm phone rings, break down in Purfleet, begger.

Finished off the Monitor flywheel I started in the week and also got teh second one done, just a few holes to drill an tap and a bit of fettling.

J

A while ago I couldn't find my trusty AEG drill. After a search i found it where i'd left it in the garden about 2 weeks earlier. Battery had water in it and was completely ruined. Tried searching on line but the price of similar ones was too much,even if I could have got one for this 10 year old model. Bought 15 ni cad cells off ebay for £20 and YESTERDAY i soldered them all in the oldbattery case. A bit fiddly but works a treat.By the way I don't normally treat my tools like this but had been mending the fence and completely forgot about the drill...

Well done John, saves it going in the bin. I wonder how many cordless power tools are thrown away by tradesmen because the battery pack is knackered.

Gary

Hi John , Have you looked at "Battery trader " they have batts for everything.Got one for my bosch drill .£40 delivered ,instead of £125 from shop that sold me the drill and I got it 2 days after I had ordered it instead of two months quoted. Maurice

Finished the milling vice today just need to tart it up on the surface grinder and make it look pretty.

Al.

It's a poxy photo album on here even when i rotate the pics it still comes on here sideways.

Al.

John,

Great job! Could you send me a link to those eBay cells?

Geoff~

Charcoal heater going a beaut, mill wizzing nicely, job going really well, then - nothing. Flaming power cut for four hours, half the village out, end of story!

Still, a nice Ruby carry out tonight in compensation, well the oven needs electric too, and there was none! On a Sunday too.

Chris

I started to make some special toolholders to machine Polyurathene, it is proving a challenge and a bit like re-inventing the wheel:

graham.

A helpful forum member (not too far from here) sent me a spare saddle for my Mini-lathe. I've always suspected my saddle of being 'out' and turning slightly convex instead of concave. (1 thou over the travel).

I discovered that the 'new' saddle lacked the finish that my old one had, largely due to 15 years use - now silky smooth, but no 'wear' apparent on the old one. I swapped the gib strips, however, as in the early days I distorted mine by not understanding the role of the adjustment grub screws.

Also the saddles were slightly different heights, so the 'new one' didn't allow thesaddle rack and pinion to properly engage.

I compared the alighment of the ways on the two saddles this way:

1. Fit a small silver steel bar in the cross-slide dovetail.
2. Lightly clamp an angle plate to the bed.
3. Lightly squeeze parallel sides of an accurately ground V-block between the bar and the angle plate, and frimly clamp the angle plate.
4. The face of the angle plate is now parallel with the ways.
5. Now swap over the saddle, and put the bar and v-block back.
6. You can now compare the alignment.

This test showed the ways on both saddles were exactly aligned as far as I could measure. I must look elsewhere for the source of error.

I took the opportunity to clean up a few things and get everything into good adjustment. I also rounded the end of the feeed nut, wihich, combined with a milled notch in the bottom of the topslide, gives nearly 1/2" of extra travel.

Neil

I don't think that we Myford lads want a bend in our lathes. Flat is good but the Schlesinger limits for toolroom lathes allow for a concavity of 1 thou in a foot but zero convexity. That is probably too good for our ME lathes (Tubal Cain reckoned 2 thou in a foot was acceptable on a 3 1/2" lathe). So, I suggest that any deviation of a DTI across the faceplate that shows convexity is unacceptable but 1 thou concavity is acceptable - better if you can manage it. But, within the limits of what we can measure in our workshops, what appears flat may actually be slightly convex so seeing a slight concavity means that we are within the limits.

Regards,

Rod

The story of my life. Ahh well, had a couple of hours soldering practice (yes I know I need some more)

Good advice though,I'll remember them for when the other one goes. Thanks John

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Geoff .. The ebay item number is

What did I do Today, well not a lot in the workshop because I am working away from home but I did sign up to the Model Engineering Site. so I would like to introduce myself.

My interests in Model engineering started at an early age when my father used to build the odd stationary Engine which he would run up from time to time. After leaving sSchool I served my apprentceship in The Wallsend Slipway & Engineering Company at Wallsend England . From there I left the shipbuilding and Marine Engineering industry to enter the Oil Industry, where I still work to this day.

When home on leave from work in Brunei in 1979 I bought a Myford ML7R which still serves well, albeit in my son in laws workshop. On returning to the UK permanently the following year I started work on 5" Gauge Simplex which my wife never thought I would finish but did some 5 years later. The next model was a 5" Gauge "Enterprise" LNER V3 to the Martin Evans design but with modified boiler to give a larger grate area. This took just over two years to make and proved to be a very good steamer and I got a lot of pleasure from it. I also started a Don Evans Doncaster Pacific loco in 5" Gauge that is languishing unfinished in the loft.

My son, as he grew up got interested in model aircraft. Needless to say I got pulled into the hobby and started making model aircraft and eventually model aircraft engines starting with a 27cc flat twin fourstroke. this was followed by a 5 cylinder radial of about 150cc, a flat twin of 200cc capacity and there lies under my workbench an unfinished flat 6 of 360cc.

Once my son left home for University I progressed or degenerated (whichever you prefer) into vintage and classic motorcycles which I still am heavily involved with. I have specialised in making components such as crank cases from the solid that you would find difficult to tell are not cast. My son in law is also a petrol head and I quite often end up making things for his vintage cars too.

My son has expressed an interest in the machine shop and presented me with Lew Blackmores book on the Bentley BR-2 so we are making a pair of these at the moment.

I moved from the North East of England to the Manchester area about 8 years ago and I live opposite the Stokport and District Model Engineering Society club track in South Park Cheadle Hulme. I have watched the track being built and the public attending andenjoying rides on their locos and this is making me think about getting the Doncaster down out of the loft.

When I get a bit of time I will post a few pictures of some of my engines and the motorcycles I enjoy keeping on the road.

i'm not going to leap to any more conclusions unless I get hold of a decent MT3 test bar and a machine level first.

Neil

I have both of these things on my desk.

And that is where they are going to stay. God knows the tin of worms if I actually used them. There is very good reason that parents tell their children the Pandora's Box fable!

graham.

Welcome aboard, Bob Rodgerson !!

... Nice introduction.

MichaelG.

You know if i had been told that I would be quite happy out in the workshop filing away at chunks of metal, trying to get them flat and square I would have said "Nah I haven't got the patience to do that!"

What did i do today ?

Not a lot but 20 electric motors have just hit the deck, watch this space..........