What did you do today (2015)

Emgee.

I used the Coverstional Programming on mt Tormach mill to do these few jobs both internal and external milling of the threads.

Edited By JasonB on 19/11/2015 13:30:35

This is the restored engine getting it's first start up after many years in pieces in a box. The inlet manifold on the engine is the original, the new one I made will be sent off for Chrome or Nickel plating by the engines owner.

Edited By JasonB on 19/11/2015 19:57:41

Hi Bob

Great milling machine you have there but to do the thread in the 14" long tuned pipe wouldn't leave much room for tooling but I guess it may be possible. For threads in the Tee nuts my choice would be a tapping head, far quicker but I guess you were just demonstrating the machine's versatility.

Emgee

Hi Bob

Thanks for posting those vids - very interesting. You seem to be very pleased with the PP upgrade.

I don't have a Tormach myself but I've obtained the DVD so I can use it on my CNC mill eventually. As you probably know, it's based on LinuxCNC and seems to be the front end that LinuxCNC has been crying out for for years. It seems that it is fairly straightforward to repurpose it for non-Tormach applications.

Did you just launch into it or did you try out a few tutorial exercises first?

Murray

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Hi Murray,

I did go to the Tormach Workshop last month and saw Path pilot being used for the first time there. That prompted me to install the disc that I had bought from Tormach soon after it first came out. Once installed I just launched straight into it, it is so intuitive and relatively difficult to do silly things with because on screen prompts and warnings safeguard the machine.

I am struggling with some things, like using slitting saws, however it is fairly easy to convince the machine to do things the way you want. For instance by telling the machine that I want to carry out a Plane operation on the part that I want slotting (a basic Clevis) and by drawing the stock with a tenon with the lower arm of the clevis being represented by the tenon. By telling the machine that the top surface to be machined is the thickness of the top arm of the clevis + the thickness of the cutter Below the actual top of the workpiece and then tell the machine that the cutter is a cylindrical mill equivalent to the same diameter of the slitting saw the slot cuts OK.

I will try to video it in action and put it on the site. I did have a few problems with some drilling but found that somehow a Z axis feed of 196 inches per minute is not very good for drills but it is amazing just how far into the work a .177" drill will go at 3500 RPM and 196 inches/minute feed. I might have to edit the audio side of this one because there were one or two naughty words emitted as the drill bust.

BobHi Emgee,

I agree with you on the tapping head, I dpi have a tension/compression head with adaptors for carious sizes of taps but I don't have any machine taps and to be honest most of the taps that I do have are a bit too well worn to risk in a tapping head. I will try it one day I'm sure it will work, however after the recent rash of broken drill bits I am not prepared to buy new ones until I am a bit more confident with my machine.

This is not in the 'Workshop Progress' thread because it isn't progress, but several steps backwards. I spent part of yesterday making some cutting tools from silver steel and also made most of the re-designed water pump valve body for my traction engine. Just one thread to screwcut this morning, and it went pear-shaped. Here's the scrap part and the tool made for undercutting the internal wing valve seat:

And worse I live in a dog-owning area, so no cats to kick.

Andrew

Is it still serviceable Andrew, may be OK once screwed into a hole or with a nut on the thread

Spent much of yesterday and today figuring out how to get the driveshaft off my mondeo.

In the end, advice to remove the front bolt from the lower wishbone gave me the room to manoeuvre I needed.

The driveshaft I got has a male splined end and the one that came off is female

But anyway it turns out the loud humming noise is probably the intermediate driveshaft bearing - loose and gritty. These spherical outside bearings are like hen's teeth so off to breakeryard.

Neil

Unfortunately virtually every front wheel drive car today uses the suspension to hold the drive shafts in place, I've got a rumbling belt tensioner I need to replace and to get at it I need to remove a wheel and the inner wing to see it properly and if I change the drive belt I will have to remove the engine mount on that side.

I spent my day at the Severn Valley Railway enjoying the time running up and down the tracks behind steam trains.

Martin P

Probably yes if I clean up the BSP thread. And it's on the underside of the water pump and will have a gland nut on it. But I'm not happy with it and feel I can, and should, do better so in the bin it will go.

Andrew

Andrew, I applaud your dedication for a job well done.

Emgee

Build it up with weld and recut the thread

Neil

Today I took delivery of a Shaftesbury jig borer milling machine and a Terrier saw master 150 power hacksaw from my local used machine tool dealer.

Spent the morning stripping and transporting them to the shop in manageable chunks and will rebuild them in the days to come.

I love renovating machines so can't wait to get cracking and make theses new additions look and work great.

Will add some photos to my album later.

Mick

Spent ages running 'clean print heads' on an Epson Photo mate, unused for a year. I know that is kill or cure - after about nearly a dozen cycles got up to five heads working, just one only partially working - so one more run...

... not to be the overflow pad is full it says (and it isn't fibbing - ink dripped out). At least a refill is only £5 off the 'bay, worth a punt.

Neil

Last Sunday I drove to The Seven Valley Railway, unfortunately from the off I realised that the car heater wasnt working so I spent two hours with my fleece done up and gloves on, I've only had the car since August, my daily drive is a Vivaro Van but because of health issues my wife cant get in it. The car is a very low mileage 2004 Corsa SXi I bought of my Daughters Father in Law.

This morning I bought fresh antifreeze with the intentions of disconnecting pipework, the model is known for airlocks in the heater, I tried to get the hoses off the heater inlet and outlet , there are no hose clips to undo so I visited the village garage and found out that they, surprisingly for me push on fittings, when I got back home I found that there was a fine wire U clip that once released allowed the hose to slide off the pipe. Once I had the pipes off and a hose attached I was amazed how much sediment came out during the flushing, which I did several times in both directions until it went clear.

Having done all this the difference in the heater was excellent, from 6C to 28C, this job has given me an Idea, the hose pipe fitted loosely inside the matrix pipe so I'm going to turn up a nylon adaptor to attach the hose to the heater to make less mess for the next time it blocks up.

Martin P

Neil

I don't know that printer but have you tried running cleaning fluid through it? These folk will supply it and it is well worth a 'phone call to them to get their opinion. ( It has worked for me on inkflow systems in the past! )

Norman

Edited By NJH on 28/11/2015 23:15:30

Andrew...  Flow some silver solder into the threaded bit the recut the thread. It's worked of me when I inadvertently mixed up a brass thread for a unf die when was much younger (or stupid) than I am now!

It looks too good a job to just junk. 👍

John 

Neil: Zap! printhead unblocker brought an old HP A3 printer, unused for years, back to life for me. Available through Amazon at £7.99. It comes with a little syringe for squirting the stuff into awkward places.