What did you do today? 2023

I already have an Adflow unit for welding, and a spare AX filter cartridge for it, so I would just need to get a headtop, but the 3M semi-disposable filter respirators are fine for short durations anyway.

This said I'm not actually using cellulose, I was originally going to but the specialised gel-coay etch primer I'm using requires the use of a xylene based basecoat paint, which in turn requires a high build clearcoat for protection.

It would have been way more work to take all the gel coat off and get back to bare fibreglass than it is to use a three paint system. The etch primer is weird stuff, and contains some really nasty volatile amines which allow it to soften and chemically bond with the surface of the resin.

I would definitely appreciate the speed of the 2K system, because all told I will have spent three days on this by the time it goes back on the truck, most of it waiting for paint to dry enough for a re-coat.

Unfortunately for the colour match I wanted no-one sells a commercial 2K paint so I would have had to buy it as pigment and mix epoxy, pigment and metal flake to match, which is getting in way too deep, I wasn't good at that kind of stuff even when I was still regularly laying up fibreglass in moulds.

The Basecoat is extremely thin and very awkward to spray compared to the primer, but I have managed to avoid any runs on areas which will show so far.

Initial results seem very promising though.

Edited By Jelly on 09/04/2023 12:16:37

Having, in a recent thread, extolled the design of the Hemingway depth stop for the Myford lathe, I thought it about time I had one. I was disappointed that the carriage would not slide over the T bar when made according to the drawing even though my S7 is not a power cross feed version. Using this button that screws into the 2BA rack fastening I was able to work out the maximum size of T bar that could be accommodated, both in diameter and projection:

And by turning down the head of the 2BS socket screw slightly I was able to work out that I could just about get a T bar design that would allow the carriage to pass:

Rod

Today was cleaning day. I managed to empty half the garage. Also I glued a rubber sheet under each leg of the workbench. I also painted the top plate. The bottom of it, the top will remain unpainted. But I have to invite a friend to help me. I can move it alone but not lift it to the table without scratching it.
I also put in order all the tools and other stuff. Now I can stop buying the same thing again just because I can't find it.

I noticed my kitchen clock above the internal door was slow and reached up to get it down. I immediately felt that the air 'up there' was warmer; heated by fridge, freezer, kettle, minor cooking. As the door is always open excess heat below this line escapes into the rest of the house. A thermometer confirms a 2 degree difference. I'm impressed that my hand is sensitive enough to notice just 2 degrees. I think normally the small amount of extra heat in there conducts into the bedroom but the sun today heated that to 20C. It is not the hot bedroom radiating down as other rooms do not show this.

I have family coming to stay with me for week in a months time. I started the house cleaning process today. I hope to finish before they turn up. Any bets?

Waste of time, it'll only need doing again in 6 months.

Leave it till they arrive, it'll give them something to do...

Successfully got the repainted canopy reunited with the truck, the latter half of which was done the pouring rain, then put the (now sopping wet inside) tent down and stood on the tailgate of the truck holding it aloft to drain all the water out.

I now have about 2lt of that dark metallic blue paint left due to the quantity o had to order it in, so that might become my workshop project colour of choice from now on.

I also moved every machine in the workshop, the phase converter, the 3 phase DB and all the three phase sockets to create a new layout ready for next week, and bought some "high-strength" concrete blocks with a view to lifting the lathe up on them.

... and went for a walk in the woods, and did a couple of hours of "work-work" first thing this morning, I am not entirely sure where I found the energy.

I am not a model maker but today indulged my passion for steam power. A visit to "in steam" pumping station at Clay Mills Burton upon Trent.

I needed to make a wide trough in these lumps of cast iron. Having chewed out the trough I didn't fancy the next 3 hours getting rid of the rest of the material

So I thought I would try and saw it out with my Lidl bandsaw, which responded to the challenge with aplomb

Then tidied it up in the mill

So what's it for? I've tried making my own free vice to give me some more headroom. Although my attempt worked OK in this situation it was otherwise poor at holding lumps.

This is the "Gack" free vice from Hemingway. Works a treat - the pivoting jaw makes all the difference. I had to change the hold down bolts from M10 to 8 to suite my T slots.

Right, that's got the tool-making out of my system for a bit. A major cast iron clean up is required now.

Rod

Jacked my Lathe up on blocks as discussed elsewhere on the forum.

Haven't tested it at top speed (3200rpm!) yet which I would like to, to ensure there's no vibration issues before I call it done, but I need to re-level it first (Joy!).

Total height gain is about 210mm, which feels pretty comfortable... It is actually kind of odd though to suddenly not have to stoop to reach the controls and get clear visibility of the workpiece without having to hover over it.

Jelly now you have got a 200mm high storage space as well.

That may well be true, Baz, but seems somewhat overkill for one self-tapper!

John

I currently use that space to store the oil that's leaking from the headstock after I cocked up by overfilling it but couldn't bring myself to drain it back to the right level after how messy draining it the first time was... The self tapper is a level gauge.

Although the lift should actually make it much easier to drain, and I should do it when I switch the change gears back from Module/DP to Normal threads.

My day has been quite eventful.

Fitted a camper conversion into the back of my truck, with my partner applying a newfound passion for welding and grinding to make all the bracketry for the folding bed, whilst I sorted out stitching a folding mattress cover (sewing a cumulative 26 metres of seams in thick upholstery fabric was bloody exhausting, something she clearly identified and avoided despite normally being the more accomplished seamstress)...

Then moved on to clearing space in the workshop ready for the collection of the new mill tomorrow, which revealed the weirdest thing:

a large flat plane, a bit like a large table but suitable for walking on, which was hidden underneath all the stuff in my workshop, Weird!

I swear I've seen one somewhere before, but it will never catch on.

After offloading the mill tomorrow I also need to make the most of my day off and service the sewing machine whilst I remember because it was making unhappy noises towards the end of its ordeal making the mattress covers.

Edited By Jelly on 17/04/2023 01:31:17

(Yesterday) Brewed 40 pints of IPA (from a kit). Made a new shelf for bottling same. Did a bit of 'make do and mend' to some dodgy fencing. Looked at 'Tina' and told myself I really ought to get back to a bit of machining - perhaps today ?

Made some small progress on the backsplash/toolholder for the ML7.

Found that someone had assembled the hinge pins I'd made into the smokebox door for one of the S160s.

Easily pleased, me.

I'd offered to put in a cross hole for a splitpin or suchlike, but nobody cared . Presumably gravity's adequate.

As previously mentioned collected a new (to me) TOS Kurim FNK25 Finessa mill.

[deleted image containing uncensored reg plates]

The seller arranged crane it onto my trailer with a Hiab, which was undoubtedly very convenient but a bit of squeeze to get both their wagon and my truck and trailer in.

It's around this point where I started to thing "oh god what have I let myself in for..."

However a lot of awkward reversing later it becomes apparent that unlike previous machines where they had to go up the slope and over the threshold, with the trailer all I really need to do is put the legs down and winch it down...

Nae Problem!

It's the heaviest and most awkward machine tool I've moved to date, but was moved entirely on my own with a fraction of the effort of previous machines where I had assistance...

The gravity + rollers + winch approach has much to recommend it.

Hopefully I can get a plug on it (it was a fixed install at the previous location) and in final position after tea ready to make some chips.

Edited By Jelly on 17/04/2023 18:17:25

New toy arrived today an Acorntools shaper, been looking for one for ages, but either been outbid or they are in poor condition. This one is grubby and losing it's paint but in excellent mechanical shape,on its original cast stand with vice.Good clean and repaint coming up, trying to find a nice grey to repaint it in so been studying the colour charts, I believe there's a book called fifty shades of grey, that may be helpful in selecting an appropriate colour! I used to visit the acorntools factory in Acton to pick up spares for work when I was an apprentice, and was always taken with the identical model shaper to this that was in their workshop.I used to ride fron Orpington in Kent on an ancient BSA A10 and was always given a nice hot cuppa by the works foreman, shove a load of machine parts in my jacket and ride back, wonder what H&S would say to that now. Can't wait to get started.

Dave that is a beautiful little shaper, I think Paragon paints do a nice machinery grey. I have got an Elliott 10m and have never regretted buying it.