Member postings for colin brannigan

I left Secondary Modern school in 65 and went to a Further Education college on a pre-apprenticeship engineering course containing mechanical and electrical practice and theory including technical drawing and science, we were also shown how to write application letters and how to conduct oneself in an interview.

At the end of that college year you sat an exam and if your mark was high you went on to G2, above average was T2 and average you went on to MECP2, needles to say I ended up on the craft course. I had several apprenticeship offers and the company offering me the post was part of the EITB, i was never given any books but the books I bought were Chapmans and Engineering Practice, a blue one, The first year of the four year apprenticeship was fulltime in college, that would be 66 which at seventeen was great, lots of girls attending commercial and pre-nursing courses, I also remember a log book one had to fill in every day.

Anyone remember the forty hour practical exam in year four?

Colin

After buying a SPG 2217 mill in 2016 I bought a Chinese 3 axis DRO off ebay and have had no issues at all with it and it's done a lot of work, infact the whole machine has been fault free. Once you get used to it you wonder how you managed without and don't worry about the features you don't understand or use...... you may one day.

I also bought a M-DRO set up for my very old Myford 7 which again has been fault free and it fitted perfectly and makes life so much easier.

Both of the above have been money well spent and you won't regret it.

Kind regards Colin

PS

Are SPG still trading?

I bought a petrol tank from India for my Ariel Sq 4 and the cost was £207, I was then hit with duty which came to £60 and you have to pay before delivery.

Regards Colin

I can recommend Final Systems paint stripper, it's available at your local auto paint shop but it's not cheap at £40 for 5L but it does work. I use for stripping paint off motorcycles and one tin will do about three to four machines, it is nasty stuff so take care.

Kind regards Colin

Ian

Good advice from Chris, always buy a complete bike even if it's in bits.................

This is the Triton as I bought it, but it was all there

I would love to ride this machine again but at seventy one the body won't let me so I just sit and look at it, but I do have other machines that I can ride and they still bring a big smile to my face,

I used this cellular plastic for my shed base, 12 x 8 wooden shed to be used as my machine shop, the site was part of my lawn and I simply cut the grass as short as i could, laid down some membrane and the plastic squares and filled it with lime stone grit.

Been down six years and hasn't moved so very happy with it, my reasons for using it were cost and if I choose to remove it I can quite easily and recycle it.

Colin

I just ordered another lot of Whit stainless 303 hex from him using ebay, very reasonable price and the quality is good, will continue to use him.

Colin

Try this link Ian it may help

**LINK**

I passed my test in my father's Herald in 67, three point turn was very easy with that amount of lock, great little engine but crap handling and the chassis rusted away in seven years.

Colin

Funny you say that Mart the bike in the photo had cast iron cylinder and it should be alloy, I rebuilt the engine using the iron cylinder as you can see but an alloy one came up for sale on ebay complete with piston, I bought it and fitted it, and engine runs sweet as a nut and it also looks correct.

Colin

I have a 56 MAC and it is a lovely bike to ride it won't win any races but starts easily (without the rituals) and the clutch is the best I have ever come across, light smooth action, but it took me two weeks solid work to get it right, shims were missing, thrust pins wrong length, spring length too long, warped clutch plate, once all the parts were correctly fitted and the clutch set up as per book it's a joy to use

I feel the same way as you Chris another 5 to 10 years will see a big a change in values so my plan is to reduce the number of bikes I have over the next 3 to 4 years, I hope to keep riding until I am 75 although I can't ride the Triton anymore, clip ons and rear set don't suit a 71 year old plus some are getting a tad heavy, but I do love two wheels.

Colin

Edited By colin brannigan on 28/12/2020 11:30:45

I was cleaning the lounge on Thursday and needed the dustpan and brush from the kitchen by the time I got to the kitchen I couldn't remember what I came to the kitchen for, walked back to the lounge and saw the little pile of dirt on the floor and it dawned on me, I just laughed it off, no point worrying about it, it's just old age.

Colin

Around 1000 for edge finders and 300 for wiggler type.

Colin

That is sad news, my deepest sympathy to the family

Nothing at all to do with engineering in any way, shape or form but if you like to relax to music like me, please check out Foxes and Fossils, I have followed them for ten years now and they are very good.

Colin

**LINK**

Any Unified nuts made for MOD were marked with the circles above, the hex bar before issue to machine shop was pushed through a rolling die which marked one flat for the whole length, that was back in the 60's.

Great work Fred,

I am happy with it as is, but what do I know.

Colin

Teleflex, now there's a name from the past along with Morse, Gills, ACCO, Clarkes and Bowden

Colin