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Axel16/10/2010 18:46:28
126 forum posts
1 photos
Best way to remove grease from hands is to use any oil or butter from the kitchen, then soap and wash.
Axel16/10/2010 19:31:29
126 forum posts
1 photos
Posted by chris stephens on 12/11/2009 17:31:54:
Hi Niloch,
As you can see by the overwhelming number of posts, this idea is a non-starter. Such apathy is surely why our Editor has to virtually plead for material to publish. 

 Maybe one of the next Work Shop Practice Series books should be on writing skills, its harder than most think who havent tried! I think younger generations read much less too, so they aren´t as used to text as older generations!

Ian Welford16/10/2010 19:58:14
300 forum posts
Hi all.
 
If you want to get ingrained dirt / oil / muck off your hands try kneeding a nob of " EMULSIFYING OINTMENT " between your fingers / hands.
 
Basically this is a very waxy base material  pharmacists use to manufacture ointments and the dirt / oil is soluble in the wax to a greater extent than it's soluble in / on  your skin  so it migrates into the oil phase of the ointment. This also means that you don't strip the oil from your hands so less skin splitting etc.
 
All you do is rub for a while then add warm water to the traces left on your hands and it gets most of it off.
 
Got to say though that I got some Lemon hand cleaner ( with grit in it) from a guy at York and it's brilliant!
 
Ian
Stub Mandrel16/10/2010 20:33:07
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4318 forum posts
291 photos
1 articles
Washing your hair (if you have any left) helps, but the cleanest handas are those that spend half an hour kneading bread dough. Just don't tell the management...
 
Neil
Jim Greethead17/10/2010 01:23:19
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131 forum posts
8 photos
Dishwashing is good AND you get Brownie points
Jim Greethead17/10/2010 07:23:49
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131 forum posts
8 photos
For picking up swarf:
 
I was using a magnet in a plastic bag but the bag kept developing holes.
 
Then I realised that I have a magnet that I can turn on and off. So now I use my magnetic DTI stand: turn it on, wave over floor, take to bin, turn it off.
 
It is not showing any ill effects from this but, if it does, then I will buy a new one for the DTI.
 
Meanwhile, it works in both roles and it has a nice handle that saves me bending too far to pick up the swarf.
 
JIm
 
David Clark 117/10/2010 12:00:58
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3357 forum posts
112 photos
10 articles
Hi BarneyBoy
I expect all readers of this website would set the job reasonably true with the rings to start.
Never occurred that they would not do this.
regards David
 
Bogstandard17/10/2010 23:04:37
263 forum posts
Just a few more, and for those too scared to go to HMEM, these are all from the Madmodder site
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Hope you like 'em
 
 
Bogs
blowlamp18/10/2010 11:02:09
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1885 forum posts
111 photos
Greetings all.
 
Well I don't know how most of you have been using your calculators to convert fractions to decimal, but up until quite recently I've used a pointless and slightly long-winded approach.
 
To use an example of let us say 17/32, I've been dividing 1 by 32 and then multipling by 17 to achieve the answer of 0.53125, which is of course correct... I'm sure some of you are laughing already.
 
However, I 'discovered' that dividing 17 by 32 also gives... 0.53125. So just enter the fraction into your calculator literally as it is written and it works for any fraction, no matter how bizarre, such as 21/89 = 0.23595... or even 89/21 = 4.238095...
 
It's still not obvious to me why I've been doing it this way for so long, because I know that 1/4 = 0.25 and that 1/2 = 0.5 and so would never dream of employing the first method to work out these examples, but then maths never was one of my strengths. The main thing is that it saves a few seconds and slightly reduces the chances of making a mistake in the calculation. 
 
I hope it helps some of you.
 
Martin.
Andrew Johnston18/10/2010 11:27:10
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7061 forum posts
719 photos
Hi Martin, welcome to the forum. Could be worse; I'm sure some people would add the result up 17 times! Of course entering it as it is written doesn't work if your calculator uses reverse Polish notation.
 
An OT story: At one company where I worked we convinced one of the secretaries that reverse Polish was an advanced 'position' that didn't even appear in the Karma Sutra......
 
Sorry about lowering the tone and all that......
 
Regards,
 
Andrew

blowlamp28/10/2010 14:29:18
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1885 forum posts
111 photos
Any of you struggle to clean your files?
I've never been really pleased with using a File Card to clean them as it never seems to completely remove all the pinning.
 
The best way I've found is to rub a piece of brass bar across the file until it forms to the shape of the teeth. At this point, it can be used to remove all debris quite easily. It always surprises me how much muck gets embedded in there.
 
Martin
Ian S C28/10/2010 21:35:40
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7468 forum posts
230 photos
Blowlamp, I just took a scrap bit of copper pipe, put a handle on one end, and flattened the otrher end, and then used it as you use the bit of brass.Ian S C
Stub Mandrel28/10/2010 22:03:55
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4318 forum posts
291 photos
1 articles
Martin
 
In a similar vein it's not always obvious that to convert an imperial fraction to millimetres just multiply the top by 25.4 and divide by the bottom:
 
3/8" = 25.4 x 3/8 =  9.525mm
 
It's not so easy to go the other way!
 
 
Neil
Jim Greethead29/10/2010 01:23:57
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131 forum posts
8 photos
Neil.
To go the other way, divide the figure in mm by 25.4 and multiply by 64 to get the imperial dimension in 64ths which is probably about as small a fraction as you would need.
Then just simplify: 32/64 = 1/2 etc. You could go to 128ths the same way.
 
Might need to round off a bit when you get 32.2/64 it is probably 1/2 or close enough.
 
Jim
 
Jim Greethead29/10/2010 05:59:04
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131 forum posts
8 photos
Neil,
Sorry about that, I still have most of my marbles but sometimes it takes a while for them to roll into the correct holes.
 
Conversion to and from metric is most easily done with a conversion chart. I have one such chart laminated and conveniently displayed in my workshop. Apart from other information, the relevant column headings are: millimetres, fractional inches and decimal inches.
 
It is low tech but faster and much more convenient than calculation.
 
Jim
 
jomac29/10/2010 10:06:13
113 forum posts

Hi, an old method for sharpening files and rasps is to, first do what Ian SC does with a piece of brass or copper tube, then wash them with detergent, rinse off properly. Then put them outside in the cold nights, sometimes also wet them with weak acid ie lemon juice or vinegar you might need to do this a couple of times. But the ensuing rust has left a sharper edge, finaly brush and oil them.

Good luck John Holloway

Ian Welford29/10/2010 20:13:56
300 forum posts
A Really good source of large donut shaped magnets is the Magnetron found in any kitchen microwave oven.
Just ask SWMBO if you've got a burnt out microwave anywhere ( usually is one in our house but maybe that's just my better half and children making bits for dady !).
 
Cut the plug off, leave it a bit ( got big capacitors in 'em these days and they hurt !), then open up and look for a strange fin covered bit attached to one side of the oven bit. That's the magnetron. pull off the find and CAREFULLY ease the magnets off the central spindle. Carefullt dispose of the unnecessary bits and you shoudl have a nice matched pair of 3" dia magnets.
 
Now if you add a length of broom handle though the centre of one of these, attaching with epoxy and put it in a plastic container with thye handle sticking through the top. You then have a magetic pick up for swarf etc which keeps your hand out of the way.
 
To get the swarf off pull the handle up to the top of the container and the swarf drops away.
 
This gadget is also really good at retrieving the "lost nut, screw or thingumy " that's gone under the bench or even dropped in the grass in the garden 'cos you can roll it around and if it gets wet- so what!
 
Chris and Bogs thanks for the interesting links and comments !
 
 
Ian Welford29/10/2010 20:17:19
300 forum posts
Oh one more thought.
 
Always worth asking shops what they do with their plastic window banners when they've finished with them.
 
The plastic makes really good spacers to place between cutters in storage. It stops epoxy sticking to the bench or indeed anything else.
 
You may get a few funnly looks when you ask but then again....
 
You may just get funny looks anyway!
 
 
 
 
Stub Mandrel29/10/2010 20:45:13
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4318 forum posts
291 photos
1 articles
Hi Jomac,
 
In an old ME there was the advice of pickling files in old battery acid. Obvious precautions i.e. don't do it, or if you do don't blame me if your hand falls off and you pollute most of Rutland ...
 
Neil
blowlamp30/10/2010 23:19:21
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1885 forum posts
111 photos
I recently fitted my Clarke CL300 lathe with a DRO kit from Arceurotrade.

For those unfamiliar with them, these readouts fit directly to the feedsrews of the top slide and cross slide so don't measure actual movement of the axis, but as the provided screws are accurate, the system works well.

They only have 3 buttons, which are, On/Off, Zero and inch/mm and very little in the way of instructions on how to use them, but they do read to 0.001mm!

This could be another one of my "well that's obvious" tips, but I messed about for a day or two and you never know who else is out there that can't see the wood for the trees.

Anyway, to my tip:
 
Take a light cut along your workpiece and carefully measure the diameter. Move the carriage clear of the job and zero the cross slide DRO. Use the DRO to then wind the slide forward a distance equivalent to exactly half the distance you've just measured (the radius).

Press Zero again and you're done!
 
All readings from now on will be of the radius of the part  (ignore the minus sign), which I find much less confusing than zeroing at say 10mm diameter and having the readout display 1.375mm once I've reached 7.25mm diameter.
 
I find I'm using my vernier and micrometer much less after fitting this kit as it really is accurate - far better than I expected.
 
Martin.
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