Member postings for Russell Eberhardt

Norman, when I did this many years ago I started by machining a pair of circular squares on the lathe, clamped them vertically to the mill table, and then clamped the square to be machined to those. That way you don't need an accurate square to start with.

Russell

I use a VPN called IPVanish. Very easy to use on various platforms. I use it when wanting to access web sites that are normally restricted to UK users but they have servers throughout the world.

Russell

Another interesting book by the same author is "Bomb, Book, and Compass". Well worth a read.

Russell

Do dismantle it for cleaning. You won't get the dirt out of the pivot holes otherwise. If you're not familiar with clocks take photos at stages so that you can see how it goes back together and remember to let the springs down carefully by releasing the ratchet while controlling the spring with the winding key. Don't try removing the springs from their barrels unless you are sure of what you're doing. There is a lot of energy stored in them.

Use clock cleaning fluid and clock oil from a supplier such as Meadows and Passemore or Cousins. The proper cleaning fluid will not only remove old oil and dirt but also the tarnish on brass. Finish cleaning the pivot holes with fine wooden pegs.

Russell

Hi David,

The intermediate wheel doesn't sit on the arbour but is rivited onto a machined taper section on the intermediate pinion. In the magazine article this is shown in Fig 12. I'm not sure if it is the same number in the book.

Russell

QUCS is a relatively easy to use simulator for Linux. Alternatively I find LTSpice works well under Wine.

Russell

Sad news indeed. I used to visit him about 20 years ago when I lived near Cambridge. Always a good stock of components including some obscure parts.

Russell

Now this was seriously noisy:

1934 Fraser Nash fitted with a tuned 1937 BMW straight six engine. The slight bulge that can be seen in the exhaust pipe is a token silencer - no baffles!

Russell

The major diameter of an M3 screw should be just under 2.9 mm so you could start with that diameter. A few thou can make quite a difference at these small sizes. A good lubricant is Rocol RTD compound. I had difficulty with 12 BA (1.3 mm dia.) threads breaking off in the die until I was given a bit of RTD compound to try.

Russell

Agreed. I made one to his design but enlarged a little for a 5" lathe over ten years ago and have been very happy with it. Other than the ease of making the holders it has the advantage that two holders can be fitted at right angles to each other. I would post a photo but both my camera and phone have flat batteries at the moment.

Details of the design are still on line here.

Russell

I made a very crude demagnetiser for my three jaw chuck jaws using an old instant soldering iron:

It took five minutes to make and did the job. Much quicker than buying one!

Russell

Here in France we can buy "Alcohol à Bruler" (burning alcohol) which is 90% ethanol and has no colouring. That should work and is available at most supermarkets. So if you know someone doing a wine buying day trip across the channel you could ask them to get some. It costs about €1/litre.

You might find the potassium nitrate a problem as it can be used in explosives.

Russell

Edited By Russell Eberhardt on 04/09/2019 15:15:54

The best guide to painting models I've seen is "How (not) to Paint a Locomotive" by Christopher Vine.

Russell

When I was at school, on entering the metalwork shop we had to rub a few drops of oil into our hands to protect the machines. I still do the same on hot sweaty days but wash well afterwards and moisturise with O'Keeffe's Working Hands cream. That works for me.

Russell

I would second that. Choosing a supplier known for good after sales service is probably the most important choice for a beginner to make.

Russell

Impossible, it wouldn't be Worcestershire Sauce without the fermented fish!

**LINK**

Russell

Hello Reman,

Have you seen this site?

http://www.lathes.co.uk/ideal/

Russell

Just found this on a French site:

**LINK**

It is a bit expensive but if you need a number of screws . . .

The interesting thing is that the dies are made by Dormer to BS1127:1950!

Russell

It would almost certainly be French Automobile Thread, a slightly different spec. to the old French Metric Thread. I still have a few taps and dies for it from working on vintage Morris cars which used French Automobile thread on their engines but with W.W. hexagon sizes so that UK garages could use their existing spanners. Unfortunately I don't have a 4 x 0.75 die - sorry.

For reference the spec for French Automobile Thread can be found about 2/3 of the way down this page:

**LINK**

Russell

The M & W one is not correctly CE marked so it is currently illegal to sell in the U.K. so is it genuine? Still if Boris has his way any old rubbish will be legally available.

Russell

Edited By Russell Eberhardt on 15/08/2019 09:54:18