What did you do Today 2024

[John HinkleyParticipant @johnhinkley26699]

To ease the pain of waiting for the slow boat from China, I spent a few hours drawing up and printing some trays for bits for the new mini lathe.

Parts storage for the ER11 collet set (not used on the lathe) a place to store the extra set of chuck jaws and storage for the change wheel gears with three slots for the TDI gears (16T on the machine).

And for a set of reamers that I’ve had rattling around in a drawer for too long.

Getting there, slowly,

John

 

[Martin ConnellyParticipant @martinconnelly55370]

A few weeks ago I bought a rechargeable tyre inflator as I have a tyre that gradually goes flat, apparently it is an issue on older rims sometimes. The messing about with getting out the 12 volt compressor, uncoiling a cable, plugging it into a socket in the car, turning on the ignition and then reversing the process after tyre inflation gets old with the cables of the compressor having to be squeezed into a small space in the body of the compressor (and I do not have a foot pump, the rubber tube on the last one perished).

Today I bought some bolt in valve stems, removed some of the unwanted metal and the valve and tapped to suit the inlet on some of my model steam engines. I am now able to exercise or show off these models without having to run up a large compressor and run hose around to their location.

Martin C

[Nigel Graham 2Participant @nigelgraham2]

Those tool-holders look good, John!

…..

Mark –

If that engraver-stand is a “tulip” I’d hate to meet a bunch of tulips in a blind alley on a dark night!

Anyway, it is a very good stand but the complete assembly is too big and bulky for my workshop. I removed the foot-rest for indoor storage, gave the bolting face a couple of coats of spray primer and placed the stand in a corner outside, with temporary weather protection. The machine itself, part-dismantled, is in the workshop and the house.

The “tulip” was actually quite easy to transplant. I could just about lift it but it was much easier to roll it like a gas-bottle. It now stands on two paving-slabs with some intervening plastic to limit corrosion.

This afternoon and evening I managed to move the Myford milling-machine a few inches sideways and backwards, and rotated it a trifle – gave myself much more room round the side and access to what had been a very restricted corner, without impinging on adjacent machine-tools. I don’t know why I’d not thought of it ages ago!

[Nigel Graham 2]

On Nigel Graham 2 Said:

This afternoon and evening I managed to move the Myford milling-machine a few inches sideways and backwards, and rotated it a trifle – gave myself much more room round the side and access to what had been a very restricted corner, without impinging on adjacent machine-tools. I don’t know why I’d not thought of it ages ago!

It must be the 4th law of thermodynamics:- Sheds always shrink so they barely fit the machines in them…

[Nigel Graham 2Participant @nigelgraham2]

They do! Mine has shrunk so much it’s squeezed two small lathes and lots of tools and materials out into the house!

[Martin ConnellyParticipant @martinconnelly55370]

I thought work space follows Parkinson’s Law 2.0, clutter expands to fill the space available for it.

Martin c

[AStroudParticipant @astroud]

I put a video on Youtube of my Jowitt I mentioned previously, a little bit shaky but you get the idea

https://youtu.be/uGQ3PGcoIy4

[Nigel Graham 2Participant @nigelgraham2]

Very true Martin. So does house space!

….

Another little repair task.

You’ve heard of The Lost Chord*.

This is The Lost Key!

Having moved the milling-machine slightly and tidied the mysterious realms thus now accessible without manoeuvres more like caving than model-engineering, it was worth replacing the lost key for the right-hand end leadscrew hand-wheel. Since that had been hard to reach previously, I’d not bothered about it.

I milled the end of a 40mm width scrap of 6mm mild-steel plate to 5mm thickness, trued the end then hack-sawed off a 6mm “length”.

Errr. Now what? How do I set that up to gain the second 0.197″ dimension?

File it of course! I managed it within a couple of thou. too.  In fact as close as that milled first thickness.

Yes, I know it’s a 5mm square key – I was using an inch micrometer.

Rounded off one end by eye, (sunk key), sawed to length, filed the second end. Gently. Back and forth from vice to mill until it fitted.

Finally eased the top with a small, smooth file until the hand-wheel was a push-fit.

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Only a small task but really rather satisfying!

While the hand-wheel was off I also removed its adjustable dial to clean and oil its bearing surface.

…

Oh – yes, I had searched the newly-accessible floor for the missing original, to no avail. And the catalogues to see who sells 5mm sq. key-steel.

…

 

*The Lost Chord” : song by Arthur Sullivan in 1877. Originally a poem by Adelaide Anne Procter called A Lost Chord, published in 1860. [Wikipedia]

[Speedy Builder5Participant @speedybuilder5]

Today I made an “Electric harp” .  These are used to kill off Asian hornets that attack the bee colony.  Typically, hornets buzz up and down along the front of the hives. placing the “harp” at right angles to the line of hives is supposed to zap them in their tracks.

I take no credit for the design, but essentially, about 30 metres of stainless wire is wrapped from top to bottom of an insulated frame, with alternate wires being neutral and live.

A solar panel feeds a voltage converter – about 20 volts Dc down to 5 volts, then a voltage booster takes the 5 volt up to about 18,000 volt ac.  Bees can fly through the harp as the wires are spaced 25mm apart. Hornets with a larger wing span get zapped.  Time will tell if it is successful and what the inquisitive cats think about it !!

Minor problem is the voltage drop along the length of the stainless wire hence the crudely attached red and white wire links – I did wonder if it would be beneficial to feed from both ends in parallel however it does give a healthy “crack” when you short it out with a bit of “insulated” wire.

[Brian Baker 2Participant @brianbaker2]

I attended the Norwich & District Society of Model Engineers display stand at Science week at The Forum, Norwich.  This was Technology day and we had a fine display of steam, petrol and hot air engines, mostly running on air, plus several locomotive models some in steam on rolling roads.  A great day out, well received by the public.

Brian B

[Speedy Builder5]

On Speedy Builder5 Said:

Today I made an “Electric harp” .  These are used to kill off Asian hornets that attack the bee colony.  Typically, hornets buzz up and down along the front of the hives. placing the “harp” at right angles to the line of hives is supposed to zap them in their tracks.

I take no credit for the design, but essentially, about 30 metres of stainless wire is wrapped from top to bottom of an insulated frame, with alternate wires being neutral and live.

A solar panel feeds a voltage converter – about 20 volts Dc down to 5 volts, then a voltage booster takes the 5 volt up to about 18,000 volt ac.  Bees can fly through the harp as the wires are spaced 25mm apart. Hornets with a larger wing span get zapped.  Time will tell if it is successful and what the inquisitive cats think about it !!

 

 

Minor problem is the voltage drop along the length of the stainless wire hence the crudely attached red and white wire links – I did wonder if it would be beneficial to feed from both ends in parallel however it does give a

healthy “crack” when you short it out with a bit of “insulated” wire.

I doubt voltage drop is causing a problem

If the pos and neg outputs of the 18Kv converter are only connected to alternative wires of your screen then the current in the SS wire is close to zero. The screen would work just as well if it had damp cotton thread instead of wire.

Ian P

 

[brickyParticipant @bricky]

I have spent the day reading the articles in Model Engineer again with an interest in making the engine serealised of the two pistons and three cranks  oposed engine.The problem is that there is a lack of some dimensions.Understanding the articles was difficult and the only way was to draw it out with the dimensions given and try to work it out.I can now draw up a proper drawing to work from .I have looked at this engine some time ago and I have made a start on the (cylinder head) which is in the middle and has turned out alright so far.Tomorrow I will sort out materials for the cylinder which is 112mm long and as I plan to use stainless I am not looking foreward to drilling and boring true at this length,I might try from both ends as there is a minimum of 4mm comression space between the piston .

[Mike HurleyParticipant @mikehurley60381]

Infuriated the other day by wasting so much time searching boxes and drawers for the right sized allen key for a job, I (foolishly) decided to ‘sort them out’. By the end I was staggered at the number of duplicates I had of some sizes – OK, quiet a few were the indifferent quality ones provided with some flat-pack furniture, which should have been binned after use – but you don’t do you. We all tend to accumulate loads of stuff as it ‘might come in useful’ but  even I was surprised with this lot. Examples:

23 x 4.0 mm

18 x 5.0 mm

Mike

[BazyleParticipant @bazyle]

by the middle of next week you will not be able to find a 4mm one anywhere.

[Martin King 2Participant @martinking2]

Hi All,

Today just finished repairing/restoring this nice old leather skiving machine by RODI:

It was in a bad state when I got it but now works as it should; I made a new feed roller with no serrations to allow the use of finer leather without damage to s”show” surface; new 3d printed knobs etc;

Cheers, Martin

 

[Martin King 2]

On Martin King 2 Said:

Hi All,

Today just finished repairing/restoring this nice old leather skiving machine by RODI:

It was in a bad state when I got it but now works as it should; I made a new feed roller with no serrations to allow the use of finer leather without damage to s”show” surface; new 3d printed knobs etc;

Cheers, Martin

 

Nice job

H

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[Mark RandParticipant @markrand96270]

I discovered that some of the knee-to-column gib screws on the milling machine needed to be tightened a bit. Irritatingly, I discovered this when the Z axis of the DRO moved by over half a thou when tightening the vertical lock on a job where I was trying to get as near perfect repeatability of cutting depth as was possible. I now need to go through the existing cuts and take a few more thou out to ensure repeatability.

It’s not the end of the world, since this part is some aluminium fixture plate that I am milling slots into to hold the part that I want to machine accurately.

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Sunday morning, actually:

Attended my PSR ‘Supercar Experience’ at Hooton and got to do eight laps of the tiny karting circuit in a Lamborghini Gallardo.
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https://www.psrexperience.com/track/north-west/hooton-park/
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Great fun, and all too brief !

Needless to say: I was still barely acquainted with the car by then … and I am sure it was less impressed by my dawdling pace than I was by its potential.

MichaelG.

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[mike robinson 2Participant @mikerobinson2]

Completed machining the main bearing blanks on the Bolton Triple and after lightly chamfering the alloy bedplate stands, was very happy they slide in with a satisfying light push fit. Next job is to cut in two with the slitting saw and machine what is then the bottom and top half to final height.

Next job is to make a faceplate jig to clamp them in the same way as when fitted to the bedplate so I can bore the 3/8” crankshaft holes.

 

[DiogenesParticipant @diogenes]

Michael, how did you end up with a Supercar experience? – do you know how far a lap was, just to get a sense of the scale of the track?

[Diogenes]

On Diogenes Said:

Michael, how did you end up with a Supercar experience? – do you know how far a lap was, just to get a sense of the scale of the track?

It’s a long story, but the gist of it is that my brother and sister-in-law bought me the unexpected gift of a ‘Woucher Voucher’ to spend with PSR

We had been chatting a few months ago, and I was reminiscing that [50 years back] I was seriously tempted to buy a second-hand Lamborghini Espada with the profit we had made on selling our first house … but common-sense prevailed.

They picked-up on the story, and sent me the voucher.

Costs escalated a bit when I then bought ‘double-distance’ and the insurance waiver [if you don’t have that, you are liable for the first £5k of any accidental damage]

A good time was had but it was all too brief, and the track is very short

For scale … Google Earth tells me that from the entrance to pit-lane, to where you can see that Kart about to enter the 90° right-hander, is a mere 120metres!

… it’s basically on the scale of driving around a few roundabouts on a typical A-road.

The Gullado dates to when Audi bought Lamborghini, and is quite low but about the width of a Transit Van; has four-wheel drive and about 600 bhp from the V10

I certainly didn’t do it justice in that brief acquaintance, but I was delighted to have a go.

MichaelG.

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Incidentally … the faster Karts get round that circuit amazingly quickly !!

Ref. __ https://results.alphatiming.co.uk/hootonik/e/171964

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Edit: __ for another bit of scaling … here I am after the fun, with lanyard and ticket having just been returned to me by the tutor. The wheel rims are 19” diameter.

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[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Oops … just spotted a typo ^^^

Gullardo Gallardo

[Bruce VoelkerdingParticipant @brucevoelkerding91659]

while disposing of some industrial Machinery, I liberated a good “Aerospace” brand 0-2″ Dial Indicator. I knocked out some Brackets so it could be applied to the X-axis of the Mill-Drill. By using the sliding 1/4″ dia Rod it is possible to keep moving along a Part. I found an identical Indicator on Amazon for $35 (US), so I made some Brackets for the Y-axis. Unfortunately I could not get a “reversed” Indicator so the Y-axis counts down from 2.000″ when the Y 0.0 Datum is the fixed Jaw of the Vice. For a total Outlay of $35 and 2 days Time, it has already prooved its Worth.

The Shop is in the Basement of the House – I can work thru the Winter.

[Nigel Graham 2Participant @nigelgraham2]

Reported, blocked and deleted three attack attempts by the same scum, but of an unusual type (of attack, not scum… those are all alike and not unusual!). E-posts from curious addresses ending in “de” and “ca”, notifying me of voice-messages, please press here… allegedly. Voice messages on a PC? Perhaps the gang thought I use a “smart”-‘phone for the Internet.

…..

Then hied hence I unto the club for demonstrations of 3D printers by two members; one using plastic filament, the other liquid resin.

The latter is a sort of photographic process, as each extremely thin layer is cured by UV light from the image on a screen under the resin bath.The completed print is then washed in water to remove the residual water-soluble, plant-based resin; and finish-cured in a small UV version of a microwave oven. A yellow acrylic cover protects the resin from external UV light while allowing the operation to be watched.

The owner of the filament machine said it uses ‘G’-code, which I’d long known (though never used) is used for CNC machine-tools but I’d not realised its obvious application here. He was printing name-plates and some accessories for a game belonging to his young daughters. Talking about printing times of hours, for large work, he said they could leave it and go out, able to monitor and if necessary pause progress remotely via his ‘phone.

The other resin-printed a batch of name-plates with the club’s initials, showed 16mm-scale, narrow-gauge outline, railway rolling-stock he’d made earlier by both filament and resin methods – and finished by making of all things, several “guz-unders” for carriages to the same scale!

These, in case one is wondering how large is a 16mm-scale chamber-pot, are about 8mm dia. However they also showed the fine detail this technique allows, in that the tiny handles are loops, not simply discs.

His lap-top showed a sample carriage compartment, his own work, drawn in the printer’s CAD system, but both demonstrators pointed out one of their sources of images for 3D-printing use, is a www-site called “Thingiverse” (or similar – I might have misquoted or misspelled it slightly).

 

It was very interesting and informative evening, and we were all impressed by what can be achieved with these systems.

….

Incidentally one of those members has also rescued a locomotive…

Well, actually, a solid resin-cast model of an LNER-style Pacific, A3 perhaps, very roughly 3.5″ gauge.

It had graced a garden in Weymouth Hospital grounds. I encountered it first when attending a Covid vaccination clinic in an adjacent building. It stood on wood-and-slate track on a low wall, under a “Waterloo – Weymouth” banner. An LNER loco on SR rails?

It seems the area is being rebuilt, the ivy-marked locomotive would have been merely thrown away as no longer wanted and our member, an NHS employee, was allowed to take it away. He says his daughters are going to refurbish it. (The garden may been the work of the League of Friends, but they have basically been banished.)

I do not know who made these models but I think I have seen one other, in a private garden. I did photograph it in the hospital grounds when there for an appointment, but my PC cannot read the ‘phone!

[DiogenesParticipant @diogenes]

“.. ..my PC cannot read the ‘phone!.. ..”

I discovered I can email ‘myself’ from the same account – i.e. attach a picture to an email in the phone, put my own same account name as the recipient and email it to myself and then open it on the PC..

..I think by a complex manipulation of attachments and forwarding I may be able to send myself backwards through time – I’ll let you know how I get on..

[Author]

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