What Did You Do Today (2017)

Just engraved a scale on the angular slide on the compound slide of my lathe. The printed degree scale wore off a few years ago, and I scratched a few marks just before the last of the printing came off. This afternoon I dismantled the thing, fitted it to the rotary table and used a boring bar in the tailstock chuck to cut different length grooves. Worked surprisingly well. Also extended the angular range of the scale a bit.

Regards

Richard

Phew!

Well 3D printing has taught me an awful lot about 3D design in Turbocad!

Currently watching a test piece that virtually fills the bed, it's operating in 'fine' mode and even with just 15% fill the estimated time is over 24 hours! That said it seems to over-estimate by a fair bit so I reckon nearer 18-20 hours. Much of it is a large flat plate with rivets on, which will be interesting to see made, if the top prints before bedtime. There are also some really challenging overhangs with minimal support so it will be a good test.

Also had some fun in the workshop, making bushes and shortening bolts to make axles.

It's model engineering, Jim. But not as we know it!

Tomorrow evening, fun with springs!

Neil

Hving several hours machine minding in the workshop as the CNC mill carved out some nameplates, I thought I'd make a small height gauge for which I bought a digital scale and lump of CI a couple of years back. Having bought them, I yielded to temptation and bought a Wixey one from Allendale, but though that's very useful its the wrong hand for measuring workpiece height on the mill and I'm forever having to crane over to look at the scale from teh "back". So put together the new one having spied the scale in a drawer and the CI block still in College Engineering's newspaper wrapping on the floor.

This is the finished item...

....compared with Mr Wixey's. It's deliberately shorter too so it doesn't foul the milling head so easily.

Today I'm recovering from core drilling three 4" holes through a red brick cavity wall for 2 fans (just below gutter height) and a soil pipe (near ground level). The core drill itself didn't struggle, although progress was slow, not least due to the fact that the brickie had carefully positioned the adjacent Catnic window lintel so that its end overlapped both of the fan holes (this is the part finished lower hole). The diamond core drill ate through it in the end but this didn't speed matters up.

The local shiny Lancashire red bricks are damned hard and blunt normal drills quickly. I ended up off-hand sharpening the 6mm masonry drill (for the grilles) several times with the angle grinder (diamond disk). Doesn't look much like a drill now but got the job done.

Given the rate at which the masonry drill blunted, I removed the pilot drill from the core drill and instead used a piece of wood to start the core. That required a couple of 6mm screw holes but they were surely easier than drilling right through with an 8mm drill.

Murray

Good job, John. I have one of those wixey height gauges and they are good value for money for what they do. But the aluminium base is a little annoying for a sturdy base and the iron makes for a much better choice.

Might have to "accidently" break it so I can make a new iron base for mine :P

Michael W

Having drilled a toilet waste pipe hole by making a circle of 6mm holes and finishing off with a cold chisel, I think you got the easy job!

Neil

I'll be interested to see how that goes. I find a problem with large flat plates is shrinkage as it cools causing distortion and sometimes detatching from the bed. Better with PLA than ABS though.

Russell.

Will be back to my plumbing at Hospital for Chemo

Over the Xmas period there a friend brought me an article on reconditioning Lucas PI injection systems so next time I saw him told him I had reconditioned my personal injection lines(Hickman line).

My classic bike friend has loaned me a laptop while there so got my drawing program  on it plus my drawings and other speed related bits and pieces.

WiFi is iffy in my ward as other patients tried to connect to it last time I was in at least I can do something instead of watching boring TV.

Still have the competition spirit while there it's a race to the Bog I just win by a short arse.

One of the previous patients repaired tipped tool holders some for certain clients had to be to fine tolerances apart from building the damaged holder with weld would have liked to know how he finished the aperture for the tips he said burrs are used.

Have someone at home and all alarmed plus booby traps for them that don't know the scum that rob people they deserve all they get never mind protecting the criminals from being hurt.

Elderly family member and friends have had frightening encounters with burglars they have encountered so bugger the PC brigade. 

Edited By Windy on 11/01/2017 17:18:48

Edited By Windy on 11/01/2017 17:21:27

Edited By Windy on 11/01/2017 17:40:19

Made an 8mm collet / chuck adaptor for my watchmakers lathe. Now looking for a chuck to fit - see WANTED section please.

Chuck sorted now.  Thanks for the interest.
BobH
 

Edited By Speedy Builder5 on 11/01/2017 18:05:31

BobH

check your mailbox on the top menu.

Emgee

Gross apologies - I tried to correct things without going out on a cold wet night BUT, the drawbar thread is 7mm by 40tpi. (not 9/16 x 40 as shown on sketch) Please ignore the previous couple of attempts to put things right.
I guess its the problem of making things to fit as opposed to making things to drawing !!

As an aside, I looked on the Lathes site, but did not find 'my collets' there. The lathe in question doesn't have a makers name or serial number etc, just a number on all 'matched' parts.
BobH

BobH

Being pedantic and given what is being written on the "Gas" Threads thread you should state whether the thread form is Metric or Whitworth.

I will now duck and try to avoid the bricks.

JA

Only depends what angle you grind on the end

There's a bit of curl once released, not a lot though, about 2mm over 220mm length on the long thin side, the other edge has a bulky 'upstand' and no noticeable distortion. I think gently clamping it on a flat surface and pouring hot water over it very carefully should get rid of the set. I've had more issues with small 'lozenge' shapes. One answer seems to be to hollow out shapes as much as possible.

Interesting one going now, a little 'cottage', which will just be white walls with no detail and a black roof with a couple of chimneys. the 45-degree roof should print without supports which will be interesting to try.

Neil

Thought I'd fettle my second engine, to take some photos to put in an album. I'ts a simple reciprocator, and I've been some time finishing it, due to getting impatient and starting on my Stuart Beam!

Anyway, started stripping it apart, only for the tension spring to launch itself into space! Even after fifteen minutes of searching, I still don't know which bit of space it's occupying! So, search my "resources " boxes, and eventually find a replacement, albeit slightly stronger. Finish off cleaning and polishing and start to re-assemble, struggle slightly to fit the new spring, but it goes on OK. All together, looking good, just connect up the air pipe to give it a gentle blow-through. Turns over four or five times, then something whizzes past my ear at a rate of knots, off into further space! It's the complete cylinder pivot pin, Spring, washer and nut, pulled itself out of the cylinder and launched itself to that space in the universe bits use when they don't want to be found!

Oh well, back to the lathe and start again😔

JA, Regarding the 8mm lathe collets.
Metric OD, probably thread form BS Brass. I cut a lot of my threads using either some old hand held chasers (held in the toolpost) or chasers from Tracy Tools. Sometimes we MEs get a bit hung up on exact dimensions and fits. Sure, when we are talking safety critical items we need to pay attention. The Tracy chasers are inserts from Coventry style die heads and can be bought in sets with a holder or odd ones.
BobH

Odd one this week; a ww2 air raid siren. Had to replace missing gear teeth and generally fettle it. Interesting one way gearless ratchet on the crank handle. Testing it gave the neighbours something to worry about

.

Be aware that some of the Watchmaker collets have buttress threads.

Do you have any photos of the lathe and/or the collets ?

MichaelG.