Huloo from North East Scotland

Been lurking on the forum for a week or so,

Some hugely informative and helpful posts by what look to be a really nice bunch. Decided to register and say hello, probably to ask questions and may post on occasion.

I'm semi retired oilfield trash (I get away with staying at home as long as the current Mrs G can put up with me) and work a few months of the year when she can't put up with me any more.

I'm a pretty active glider pilot and part time tow plane pilot.

Ride a motorcycle faster than a man of my limited abilities and advancing age should.

Have had "ideas" bubbling in the back of my greying napper for downhole tools and surface disconnect systems for years and kind of want to "prototype" them.

To this end, I've started to kit out my garage properly, I've now got some decent workbenches on which to start plonking machines on.

Arceurotrade have relieved me of some ill earned dosh and I shall endeavour to launch unsuspecting finely cast metal in various directions from the seig 2.7 Mill and as yet undecided lathe 'till I read the instructions or start to get the hang of what i' M doing.

My only practical engineering fabrication Al experience is breaking things well trained engineers have made for me at work.

I'm intending making up small working models of the half baked wheezes I have. Time will tell how I get on (in the interim, the mill will be placed as far from breakable windows as possible ) my only practical knowledge is that the toys have more than enough grunt to remove fingers, so I'll be very very careful (and be prepared to duck when things get launched)

Roy.

Hi Roy Welcome to the forum. There are a few bikers on here being an ex-biker myself you could be useful on the forum as well as giving information as well. where about in North East Scotland are you there are one or two around there already.

David

Hello Roy, I'm new to this forum also but I've found a very helpful and knowledgeable bunch only too willing to offer sound practical advice on a whole host of engineering topics. Best of luck with your workshop construction.

Guy

Hi Roy,

Learning to master the tools just takes practice and a bit of guidance and is a lot of fun. Lots of help available on this forum.

Good luck with your projects. Paul.

Sunny Stonehaven by the sea.

Gateway to Royal Deeside (Tradesman's entrance...

For short courses, anywhere in Scotland do them or is it all a long drive south?

Are there local (ish) model engineering clubs up here? (I'm fairly time limited due to gliding commitments)

Hi Roy,

Welcome to the forum. I live in Longside near Peterhead. Don't know of any model engineering clubs up here in the N.E. Drive a Yamaha SR500 and restoring a Harris F1 framed ex TT track bike which is road legal (sort of). 75% through building a Stuart 10v which has been a great learning experience. Overhauling 2 Lister D's at the moment as well. Fully retired 2 years ago (every day is a Saturday!) after working on Forties Delta for 35 years as a Tiffy, so may have met you at some point if you were in the Forties. Sounds like you were wire line or drilling. The down hole gear used fascinated me. Remember calibrating a down hole pressure recorder that used to scratch the pressure trend reading with a needle on a black painted brass strip inside the down hole tool in the 1980's. You'll find this forum full of information and chat.

Cheers the noo

John

Aye aye min!
I was wellservices on FC after the CDP changeover (when the BP punters moved to a "supervisory" role) and us grotty contractors were let loose.
Never visited FD much, was on FA a lot and FB occasionally FE more than I wanted.
Had my 18th, 21st and 30th birthdays on Forties, had the opportunity to go visit Forties on a "management" visit which would have covered my 40th, thought about it, slapped myself and went to Dubai instead
The birthdays were pure coincidence as I've been a jobbing service hand all my days, a week here, 3 days there a month somewhere else almost all off rotation bar the time on 40's after CDP arrived.
Roy Westland was Prod Supv on FC while I was there.
The downhole kit is amazing, how you can do so much with something that only moves up and doon is really something (tho, these days you can pump to it, send 'lectricery to it and with the right (expensive) set up have it birling roond too.
I can see I'm on a massively steep learning curve, but all good to keep the napper engaged.
Looking forward to being able to fabricate parts, can see I'll scrap a fair bit in the learning and have figured out that it's going to take time, probably quite a bit of it.
Step 1: Install mill
Step 2: Survive wifelet finding mill in garage
Step 3 Trash lots of bits
Step 4: look insufferably smug with small shiny part (which not another soul on the planet will credit how much work / thought / sweat / swearing has gone into producing)
Step 5: show small part to wife (think that's how the kids came along . . )
Step 6 retreat to garage in sulk at underwhelming reception of said small part, make more (mistakes, probably)
Step 7: Buy Lathe and proceed to confuse the bejesus out of myself . .

Have I missed any steps?

hi roy, i live in boddam near peterhead. no clubs or courses that i know of but you will get plenty help on this forum.och aye gary

Hello-- I stay about 30 mile N of Aberdeen, and am in the middle of moving house etc. Last time I was on a Fortes platform was when it was in Hartlepool. No clubs that I know of round here, but I've only been 30 years. You will get plenty of advice on the forum.

Roy, you'll soon find, or already found or other glider tug pilot. I'm sure you'll be as careful in the workshop as in the cockpit. Welcome aboard.

Ian S C

Hi Roy, welcome to the forum. It's an interesting approach to start with the mill and then get a lathe, although there's nothing wrong with it. I probably use my mills more than the lathes, but I would'nt want to be without the lathes.

I guess you fly from Aboyne?

Andrew

Woo hoo! Mill arrived from arceuro.

The shipping had been subbied out to arr craib big (ish) outfit up here in the frozen North. Driver appeared, in a flatbed 1.5 tonne wagon, no taillift, no handling equipment. I really felt for the driver, he'd been stuffed. His previous drop had been an engine to a garage (that also didn't have a forklift, oddly I don't have a forklift at the house either.....)

Proffered tea and buns to the driver, found a couple of neighbours, opened the box in the back of the truck and got as much out as possible to get the weight down. And through pure unreasonableness got the mill into the garage.

After much stretching, pre lift planning, hoiked up onto bench. Cleaned up, plugged in and tested.

Ooh, it's nice.

Ooh, it's quiet.

Ooh, it's shiny (now that the shipping grease is mostly off) I'm really impressed by the kit supplied by arceuro and know that shipping is not really in their hands when things come this far north.

Mill bolted down, Garage tidied, plans afoot to go skip diving at some of the local fabrication outfits to get bits of metal to launch round the garage .. it does look like a very cool bit of kit. The table operation is very smooth, the mill is amazingly quiet at low revs, very much looking forward to having a play and making "chips" (swarf where I live)

How long do end Mills last

Are they disposable items

Ultimately end mills are disposable.

The ends can be sharpened relatively easily, but to sharpen the flutes you'll need something more involved. These days, with CNC, industry simply doesn't bother to sharpen small cutters. If the cutter is coated even being able to sharpen it doesn't always help.

How long one will last depends on the quality of the cutter the cutter material, the work material, how fast and how hard you run it and on the operator. Running too slowly is just as bad, or worse, than running fast. Decent cutters should last hours to many tens of hours of cutting time. Note that's cutting time, not running time.

I usually buy cutters from professional suppliers, but the ones from the ARC premium range that I've tried have been very good.

Andrew

It seems quite a number of us are in the East of Scotland. I am a little further south of you in the east end of Dundee on the banks of the silvery Tay ( a bit grey rather than silver this morning ).

Doug

Hi Roy

I'm not that far from you, just west of Alford.

Good to hear of another enthusiast in the NE Scotland. I am a member of the Aberdeen Model Engineering Society.

I did set up a face book page "here" as a place for local enthusiasts to communicate, but so far not done much to promote it, the little promotion I did didn't get any interest, but am keeping the page open for a while longer and maybe enough people may become interested in time.

Anyway, enjoy your new mill, it's exiting getting new tools and learning new skills, and it's great to share our home shop/modeling activity.

Nigel

Welcome to the forum Roy,

Neil

Thanks Guys,
Have proceeded to scrap bits of aluminium, the dd bit of steel.
3 things of note:
1) Jaysus that makes a helluva mess, everywhere ! on the "Required" accessory list now Brushes, many, and a dust pan, I suspect I'm in the process of killing the garage dyson sooking up oil soaked swarf . .
2) DRO, I have the attention span of a housefly, keeping track of handle turns . . well outside my paygrade.
3) I accept that it's percieved as a "toy" but what a lovely finish it leaves . . and it just chunks through whatever you put in front of it ! (I am a pussy and starting slowly)

I'll get off the intro thread now and go trawl on the main boards . .

Well, things I've learned so far:
The Vendors I've dealt with (Arc and Machine DRO / Banggood) are ace.
Arc, way above and beyond what could reasonably be expected, to the point of phoning and pointing out a "woops" on my part from a forum photo.
Machine DRO, Patrick has been inordinately helpful by e-mail.

DRO kit was delivered on Monday midday, and machine as shown by 19:00 tonight.
Everything works, all 3 axis.
The Z axis turning out to be the least hassle one to do (butchered the existing DRO to take the supplied bits and fed it off to the display)
Most faff was getting the swarf cover back on with the brackets in place.
Second highest faffage was getting the Y axis read bracket, but Epoxy / Chop saw / Sacrifices to the gods of supplied brackets and all was well.

Wiring the extra sockets in was a pain in the hoop, not helped by my flat dislike of electrickery and associated gubbins. But, no sparks, no fires, no "magic smoke" escaping from components so all good.

Now, to figure out the "curve" function without launching aluminium across the garage . .
Keeps the grey matter engaged this does