MEW200

I have Radford's Improvements and accessiories for your lathe. It appears he had access to resources beyond most of us - making large castings and majking and hardening his own tools in high-speed steel.

I find his writing dry and unengaging compared to Duplex, George Thomas or Edgar Westbury - other writers on tooling. Also, his tools were often rather over complex and over finished, to my mind. He made elevating heads for his Myford along the lines of a Bormilathe. Very complex, demanding of great accuracy and with no obvious advantages over raising blocks, yet these days the combination of work involved and cost would far outweigh the alternative of buying an imported machine with greater cpacity and the motor and rigidity to make use of it.

His ball cutting tool is more complex than the one featured in MEW200, yet I doubt that it was particularly superior.

Maybe those who have seen a greater selection of his writings and work will disagree with me.

Neil

Radford's Graduating Tool, and his Headstock Dividing Attachment both look very tidy.

MichaelG.

Someone posted the Radford's headstock dividing head and graduating tool look good, but if I remember correctly, both were modified and written up by GHT. I have made both to Georges words and music (more or less) and have had good results from them. I know that I'm regarded as a total fan of GHT (York . M.E. will concur), but he did so much to foster good and useful tooling for the Myford and similar sized machines. I have been told that at the SMEE he could be a pedantic old B..... . Anyway, I had my rant, been put in my place (nicely, I hasten to add) by Harold and will still keep taking the MEW for a bit longer, as I've done since issue 1.

Regards,

Alan.

Not in the digital editions yet...

russell

Have most people on subscription received this issue now? I've just renewed mine and am concerned that I've missed an issue. As the "on-sale" date was 15th Feb I assumed it would arrive later this week.

Gary

Mine arrived on Saturday

Rod

Hi Gary

Subscription starts 1/02/2013

Subscription expires

28/02/2014

I expect you are being a bit impatient.

It was renewed a week before the current label run so it should be OK.

regards David

Edited By David Clark 1 on 11/02/2013 11:21:41

Thanks for the reply David and Rod. I obviously was being impatient as in the time since I posted the message the postman has delivered it.

Looks like a good issue from my perspective.

Gary

You are lucky Gary mine still has not arrived & neither did issue 199 but I was lucky enough to pick up the last copy of that one in WHS. Looks like I`ll have to do the same again.which kinda pees me of having been a subscriber for many years.

Alan

Hi Alan

Why don't you request a replacement copy rather than buying one?

regards david

I also was rather disappointed with the 200th issue. It seemed somewhat lack-lustre.

I can't help thinking there was a section missing from the Sheet Metal Forming article. It mentions a "main roller" in the text, and specifies to note that the ends are of reduced diameter, but there is no drawing for it. A "main roller" is not shown anywhere.

Not knowing how the complete device is supposed to work, I confess that I don't see how the parts in the drawings are related. A total GA with part names or numbers would be a useful addition. As it stands, I don't understand it sufficiently well to start making one, even though it seems like a useful tool.

In the "Special Interest Books" section of "On the Editor's Bench" is the sentence that starts with "You can find an advert...". It doesn't exist in my copy.

Special Interest adverts.

The Special Interest adverts were placed at the front of the magazine.

I was told they would be in the classifieds at the rear.

This applies to both Model Engineer and Model Engineers' Workshop.

regards david

Hi Gary

Forming machine.

All the details are there.

The moving roller is drawn but labelled as moving bar.

The ends are clearly reduced and dimensioned.

There is a general arrangement on the first page of the article as well as a general arrangement of the moving roller on page 31.

regards David

My copy arrived today, Monday 11th. Found the adverts, bit disappointed in the content, but what I really want to know is why has the Editor put a picture of his car on the front cover?

Phil

That is not a photo of my car.

I drive a bog standard Astra hatchbook.

I prefer Jaguars (not the Ford Mondeo jaguar) but I am fed up of bad drivers wiping them out.

The insurance companies have scrapped them off for a pittance as they are too expensive to repair.

regards David

Edited By David Clark 1 on 11/02/2013 22:26:49

I think that almost anything with a dent gets written off these days as secondhand car values are so low. I got three years out of my Vectra after it was 'written off' because of cosmetic damage to one back panel (I was quoted £200 for a respray, but did a passable patch job myeslf for about £30 of isopon and paint).

I would have been interested to see a bit more of the workshop equipment/techniques in Dave's article, but I like interesting cars.

I was once offered a Ford Corsair plus spare V4 engine for £200 in about 1994 - I bought an Opel Manta instead for rather more

Neil

A "fascinating fact" ...

Reliant Scimitar Coupé used the Corsair windscreen.

MichaelG.

STILL not in digital editions.

I think Issue 200 grows on you. When first opened I also had a slight feeling of letdown. Once I had perused it for a bit I began to get echoes of issue 1 and the complete articles with all the drawings in were really evocative of the first years editions. As for the Bentley , Looked great but most of us will never aspire to own one. But as the success of those prats on Top Gear shows, being able to afford something does not stop the entertainment of being informed about it. After all we have had articles on Motor cycle restoration without major complaint. On another subject you are right Neil about Radford's articles being dry as dust. No explanation of the intent or principles involved, they just start with 'take a 3" length of BMS bar etc etc.' Keep up the good work David. BW to all Andries

Another fascinating fact ...

Lotus Esprit used Opel Manta/Ascona suspension.

Opel Manta had 5-speed Getrag gearbox (much beeter than Cavalier box)

Neil