Member postings for Tim Stevens

The problem for me is that I keep my MEs and MEWs in piles, in the bottom of the wardrobe, and the slippery covers will not stay in a pile. Much anguish ensues, mainly from the distaff side of the family.

I suppose that the True Model Engineer's Answer would be - Before placing a copy on the pile, take a sheet of wet-&-dry paper and fold it across the shorter dimension, with the abrasive side outwards. Lay this folded sheet on the top of the pile, being careful to place it centrally, and place the latest magazine so that the edges align within a sixteenth of an inch.

But I am minded to say a rude word and cancel my subscription.

regards, Tim

So, is Keith the only one to have noticed a problem?

Cheers, Tim

These remarks apply equally to ME and MEW (but the system allows one or the other).

Is everyone entirely happy with the new cover?

I don't want to bias your comments - but I found a problem as I turned the light out in bed, and put the magazine on top of an earlier edition.

looking forward to your comments -
Regards, Tim

There are two major problems likely to arise:

1. The slightest breeze will remove heat very effectively (as discussed above)

2. In sunshine, it is more difficult to judge temperatures. This makes it likely that metals such as brass, bronze, silver, copper, nickel etc will be much nearer their melting point before a noticeable glow appears. And sometimes, above the softening point ...
In addition, the sunlight will conceal any glow at lower temperatures, leading to injury when cool-looking parts are picked up.

regards, Tim

Has anyone mentioned the use, in police circles, of the word 'intelligence' ?

Regards, Tim

And, to follow Kwil's comments - the hydrogen will turn red rust to black magnetite, and the oxygen will, er, oxidise anything - such as aluminium to oxide (= anodising). It can be handy to remember this, as the container can be corroded if you get it wrong.

Cheers, Tim

The method for increasing the diameters by reference to the exiting bore is known as 'line boring'. It is used when re-metalling the main bearings of engines, so you might find someone locally in that business who could help.

Cheers, Tim

Also useful for boring, using a boring head held in the tailstock.

Cheers, Tim

Interesting. I think there is another reason for the first railway carriages to look just like road carriages. This is the problem of public acceptance. People will not travel on or in, or purchase, or have in the drives (etc) a vehicle which is totally unfamiliar.

Look at the electric cars we are blessed with today. Even those which are not spitting images of standard models have dummy radiators.

Perhaps the best example I know is the Suzuki wankel-engined motorcycle of the late 1970s. The designers had fun with it, making it obviously new, and related to a rotary engine, with spherical lamps and flashers etc. As a style exercise, bang on - but Joe Public did not like it at all. In six months it was toned down to look much more like the bikes were knew, and people bought them.

Remember that the first railway carriages had to appeal, not 'merely' to the travelling public, but to the railway shareholders - not the most adventurous folk ...

Cheers, Tim

The actual corrosion product will be Aluminium Hydroxide - which is a sort of jelly in water. The combined water can be lost in a dry atmosephere or which heat, leaving Aluminium Oxide. The only 'solvent' you might have is a water-borne alkali, such as Sodium Hydroxide, (or Potassium ditto), and for a more gentle effect, sodium carbonate (in the UK = washing soda, other household names are available around the empire). But, as you sumise, Alkali will also corrode the aluminum itself.

This process - using aluminum foil and washing soda - is a good way to remove staining from real silver or electroplate. The aluminum will fizz gently - more in warm water, and it changes the sulphide on the silver back to silver itself, and gives off Hydrogen Sulphide ( which can be detected in the smell of the process.)

I am reminded of a ditty which circulated in the Banbury Alcan factory:

Aluminum does not rust,
It crumbles to a greyish dust,
And most of that which you can see
Consists of Al two O three.

Cheers, Tim

When anyone asks me 'Where can I get it' but they do not say where they are, I wonder if they have really thought through their question. It always helps to stand in the shoes of the other bloke, and tell him what he needs to know - even if he might possibly already know it. Or her, of course.

Tim

To SoD who says: Apparently the purist British English is spoken and written in India.

I know exactly what you mean, but I'm also sure you meant 'purest' - most pure. A Purist, though, is one who makes a point of following a set of rules (rather than applying common sense or going with the flow) - and often the rules followed can be out of date or inappropriate.

As the two words sound the same, they should appear in the Ambiguous list - perhaps in a distinct category. When I read them they are distinct, but when I read them to you. confusion may arise.

But I would argue that both slang and jargon are necessary strands of a language, each particularly suited to certain circumstances and not elsewhere - just as 'Pure' language can be.

Cheers, Tim

And PS - to me Shop-made means bought, not home-made.

Edited By Tim Stevens on 29/04/2022 12:02:18

Shop = place to do things occurs in many compound words - spray shop, press-shop, assembly shop, welding shop, etc

And store = place to keep stuff, in paint store, cold store, feed store, etc.

And then, place where stuff just happens = room, as in drying room, wet room, cold room, store-room.

Tim

Bill - my grandfather was a joiner, and he had a top shop with the machinery in, and a bottom shop where he made gates and stuff that wouldn't go down the stairs. And he retired in about 1950. So, at least in the N of England, it goes back a fairly long way.

Cheers, Tim

And how about 'qualified'?

- as in His time at College was only a qualified success.

Along with 'graduated' - marked with a series of lines, or, paid his tutor a large sum on the quiet

Tim

Another Janus-word for your list - fast.

How do you make a horse fast - tie it to a post.

I expect you will end up at University, possibly at Reading, reading reading.

I enjoyed this thread - it was never coarse ...

Regards, Tim

It is my understanding that any book which is likely to be kept, as valuable or interesting to later generations, should be repaired using the same techniques and materials as it was when new. If you don't do this, you create real difficulties for a later conservator, as they won't know how to remove or restore your changes.

So, following Bill Phinn's advice above, use paste which is 'genuine' - original recipe - even if that means animal glue etc.

I try to apply the same principles when working on old vehicles. Sometimes a part has to be changed completely as the original is too far gone (etc). The changes are done using wherever possible the original holes, threads etc, and the old bits are kept in a (quite big) box so they can be handed on to the next owner.

Cheers, Tim

Edited By Tim Stevens on 20/04/2022 17:17:39

I'm sorry, but I have difficulty with an explanation which says 'forget molecular weights' and then quotes molecular weights.

Tim

But, SoD - the OP says he uses brass bulb holders, and four bulbs in series. So many of your concerns do not apply here, surely?

Tim

Threads are mainly intended to allow things to be tightened and remain tight. Friction holds things together, and the slope of the thread is low so that vibration (etc) cannot shake things loose.

But, there are threads for other purposes - I recall the both-ways threads on the spindle of a push screwdriver common in my youth*. But I guess that the threads (more likely to be called a scroll in this sort of case) were milled, rather than die-cut. Even if you could get good results with the first thread, the second is going to be difficult as you would be cutting across gaps in the metal and the die would jam.

*but - I guess - now obsolete because of cheap battery-electric drivers everywhere.

Sorry !

Tim