Member postings for colin hawes

Most times that I use the three jaw chuck I only tighten it in one place and it is accurate, however, if I have particularly heavy machining to do I have found that if I use all tree key holes the job is held more firmly. Can this be due to three times the friction at the scroll gears ? Colin

I repaired a cracked chuck screw with my cheap stick welder. To avoid a problem with penetration into the square socket I placed a piece of square aluminium in it acting on my theory that I can't weld the aluminium. It worked perfectly and I'm certainly no expert at welding. The chuck has been OK for at least ten years. I can't believe that a chuck screw would be made of cast iron. Colin

My cheap bench drill failed to start in the same way and it was due to the under rated capacitor failing; it had a 250v capacitor but for reliability it needs to have a 380v rating .the replacement capacitor is a little bigger and required a larger housing as it is in an exposed position. The original just lasted the guarantee but the replacement has worked for many years. Colin

Regarding power disruption I was taught that "outage" is an accidental power failure whereas "cut" is a deliberate disconnection . Colin

I met Ted at a Brighton Modelworld exhibition where we discussed articles I had written for M.E.; he was very pleasant to talk to and I would like to offer my condolences. Colin

If you intend running two aluminium surfaces together with a close fit you will soon have a problem with embedded metal dust and also run a very high risk of "cold welding " the surfaces together. Colin

If you rely on using the clutch to take readings it is easy to inadvertently include a speck of swarf as it is not felt ; it is my opinion that finger touch on the thimble is more likely to show up such an event . Although I confess I've never experienced it on a micrometer, I have seen a clock digital display with a number giving a wrong figure due ,presumably, to the connecting matrix becoming faulty and losing a part of the digit. Colin

Reading inaccuracy caused by a reading circuit problem giving a believable false reading. A mechanical instrument can't present such a reading. Colin

I have used horizontal mills for many toolmaking years and have never needed keyways even on quite heavy powerful machines but on hard working heavy production work they are used to maintain accuracy with gangs of cutters and to make it possible to unscrew the arbor nut after heavy use I have seen a case hardened arbor nut "explode" under heavy industrial use due to lack of a key tightening a cutter gang. That takes a LOT more power than us model makers are ever likely to see. If the at least one spacer needs to have a keyway to make it possible to use a key with thin cutters Colin

A decent mechanical micrometer will only develop very small errors due to wear or operational "feel" whereas a digital electronic one could introduce unknown errors so for maximum accuracy I prefer the mechanical micrometer. Colin

Seems to me that natural pollution from volcanos and forest fires has a bit to do with excessive CO2 and the loss of trees has a lot to do with failing to reduce carbon absorption .Why didn't we hear so much of global warming in the decades of smoky domestic chimneys? Colin

I use a Warco 6x4.5" bandsaw for mild steel and soft metals, an angle grinder to cut tool and high tensile steels (to save the bandsaw blade) and a horizontal mill to cut steel plate that won't fit in the bandsaw. Colin

Quite often I get a good laugh at subtitles; are the "howlers" created by poor elocution?; also there seems to be vastly more bad language than there used to be; Why?

Quite often I get a good laugh at subtitles; are the "howlers" created by poor elocution?; also there seems to be vastly more bad language than there used to be; Why?

I think that the only reliable natural energy source in UK is tidal rise and fall as it varies all around the coastline so overlapping generation could provide a continuous supply.. More development needed. Colin

I don't consider EN8 to be strong enough for this application. I would NOT risk my neck on this material. Colin

I fixed about 20 data sheets on A4 pages in book form to cardboard backing sheets and hinged it on a cupboard door in my workshop so I can easily flip to the page I want; the page is held in place with a spring clip. This way I only use the area of two A4 pages. Colin

Very interesting setup. colin

It is easy to think a 1/2 " thread is Whitworth 12 tpi when it could be UNC which is 13 tpi whereas most of the UNC threads are the same pitch as Whitworth. Could the machine have UNC threads? Colin

I have cyanide case hardened threads to about .005 deep on tooling that requires a wear resistant tapped hole. It gives long life and greater strength. The taps used were known as "B" taps. Colin