What did you do today? (2014)

[V8EngParticipant @v8eng]

Went to the Anson Engine Museum, lots of very good exhibits and knowledgable people, we were due to go on Monday to catch a steaming day but circumstances forced a change of plans.

My working life started on BR during the Dieselisation era so I felt quite at home, not sure the Wife felt quite the same enthusiasm but being something of a country girl she did like the large scenic representation of the area and spent quite a lot of time in there, while I concentrated more on the engines.

The weather was unkind to us so the outdoor stuff had count as a miss but it certainly proved to be a good day out.

I now understand the layout of a Bentley W12 engine, something which I had read about but not fully understood, so that was an unexpected extra benefit.

Edited By V8Eng on 24/05/2014 21:05:15

[martin perman 1Participant @martinperman1]

If you enjoyed the Anson then visit Internal Fire  http://www.internalfire.com they have much larger engines and just as Knowledgeable.

Martin P, Volunteer

 

Edited for clickable link.

Edited By John Stevenson on 24/05/2014 22:49:34

[V8EngParticipant @v8eng]

Martin.

Thanks for the info, it looks good on the website, definitely one to slip into next years summer trips.

V8Eng.

[michael coleParticipant @michaelcole91146]

Full marks to Internalfire for they charging policy. Armed Forces: No charge. I have never seen this before from anyone, well done.

I have not been there for quite a long time ,as my family no longer live in the area, but i visted quite a few times in the early days. They were very wecoming and always adding to the collection.

They also ran the engines not just a static display and would start the engines up when I was the only vistor.

Mike

[martin perman 1Participant @martinperman1]

The Museum is as good as the website but then I'm biased, I volunteer and I'm also a Gofer, if somebody donates or the museum buys something in my area, East Anglia sometimes uk, I collect with my van and trailer and then deliver to the museum on my next visit, I've moved engines, machinery, telephone exchanges,oil you name I've shifted it, even brought stuff back from Ireland when working over there. The biggest project I got a little involved with was helping to dismantle and load onto HGV's a couple of Crossley pumping sets out of the fens from a pumping station. My only restriction is what I can move with a Vivaro van with a two ton rated trailer.

Martin P

[Rik ShawParticipant @rikshaw]

Only managed shopping at one car boot today as I couldn't be bothered getting up early enough for more. This was this mornings haul from one seller.

9 x rippa cutters 6-16mm

18 x slot drills and end mills 0.6 – 12mm

2 x radiusing cutters

1 x 7/8" x 45 degree cutter

1 x 5 degree slot drill (don't know if I'll ever use that one)

1 x 3 fluter with pilot

34 cutters in total, all new in their plastic packets – he was happy with his eight quid but nowhere near as happy as me.

May the good boot continue to flourish and provide.

Rik

[Bob RodgersonParticipant @bobrodgerson97362]

In between unpacking all the goodies that came with my Tormach Mill, cutting up the cardboard containers that all the stuff came in into small easy to handle squares, stacking the half rain forrest worth of plywood that made up various crates that it came in, installing the arm for the LCD display, the arm for the tooling tray and patting the tooling away in the storage cupboard in the mill stand I managed to get My Velocette Thruxton Venom Motorcycle running again after magneto failure when I was last out on it last month. I also fixed the lights on it, the headlight wasn't functioning but a bit of detective work behind the front end of the fairing found a wire had parted. I was well chuffed with the fixing of the lights as the bike is due for an MOT on Tuesday and it has to have them working for that.

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Blimey Rik, the dovetail cutter was easily worth that!

I have committed major butchery on my lathe, making then fitting a poly-v pulley at the back of the spindle. I have had to take a big chunk out of the tumbler reverse mounting plate.

Next stage, I have to bolt the lathe to the new bench, off to Wickes for penny washers tomorrow. Still haven't decided whether he motor will hinge on a plate I've fittedto the bed behind the headstock or sit on its own little 'rabbit hutch'.

Neil

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

More welding practice. 0.75 mm thickness tube is a challenge for me, I had to turn the amps down and wave the rod a lot. Using half-length rods helps my aim and only waste 1/2" of each rod. I actually managed to get a few bits that looked like welding instead of blobbing too!

Finished the 'proper' poly-vee conversion. Instead of the cobbled together layshaft to replace the motor, the belt now directly drives the back of the spindle 1:1 giving speeds of 4-1750 rpm.

If I end up short of torque I'll make a reversible 2-step pulley and shorten the tensioning rod so a speed change will be loosen off motor, reverse pulley and retension.

The tumbler reverse lever is a bit close to the belt, but who changes the tumbler reverse when the lathe is moving?

Just need to modify and extend the guard.

Neil

[John Stevenson 1Participant @johnstevenson1]

You need to write that up for the mag Neil.

[Ian PParticipant @ianp]

Posted by John Stevenson on 26/05/2014 19:20:27:

You need to write that up for the mag Neil.

I second that.

Shouldnt it should be in ME though

Ian P

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Now we are cooking. Carbide tool, 750 rpm, 1mm depth of cut and 1 1/2" EN1A, it doesn't even slow down

Just starting to explore the capabilities.

Neil

[Bob Brown 1Participant @bobbrown1]

It is always difficult to weld thin material with stick welders, MIG is a lot easier and TIG even easier but it all takes practice, lots of practice and not something you can learn in half an hour. If you get really good at TIG welding try welding aluminium foil that's a bit to far beyond my capabilities but I have seen some excellent and unusual things welded at the Welding Institute.

[Raymond Sanderson 2Participant @raymondsanderson2]

Not today but Sunday after 4 years, a love job came to an end. I/we were able to hand over the restored 200 yr old (approx) Hebrides spinning wheel. The full story on our Blog

It didn't take that long to do just how long it was in the workshop in stages of repair/restoration, brought to Australia 1800's from North Scotland and has been in the same family since passed down. Originally a Flax wheel, all Oak.

Parts were missing, parts broken others so badly worn from years of use from the family Crofters

This is the state of it when delivered

Then completed

I am on making a copy for LOML much of its ready just the wheel/fellows to make and assemble everything else is turned.

[Raymond Sanderson 2Participant @raymondsanderson2]

Posted by Rik Shaw on 25/05/2014 14:45:11:

Only managed shopping at one car boot today as I couldn't be bothered getting up early enough for more. This was this mornings haul from one seller.

9 x rippa cutters 6-16mm

18 x slot drills and end mills 0.6 – 12mm

2 x radiusing cutters

1 x 7/8" x 45 degree cutter

1 x 5 degree slot drill (don't know if I'll ever use that one)

1 x 3 fluter with pilot

34 cutters in total, all new in their plastic packets – he was happy with his eight quid but nowhere near as happy as me.

May the good boot continue to flourish and provide.

Rik

Thats some score just wish we had more of it here.

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Made a smaller poly-v pulley to go with the big one, give about 40-1200 rpm, which is probably more useful for general stuff. Swapping over takes less than two minutes: loosen off tension screw, lift motor to loosen belt, swap pulleys, and retighten screw.

Although the motor drops lower with eth smaller pulley to get the tension, because the belt angle changes it doesn''t run any nearer the tumbler lever, which is a relief.

The guard went back on a treat after chopping out a rectangular section – it's main job is holding the tacho sensor in place!

Final task (for now) is replacing my pendant with fixed controls built into the old control box. I've now got a clear run for the control cable.

Neil

[Rik ShawParticipant @rikshaw]

Having bought a set of castings on here for a Double Tangye I have had to discard the two steam chests and covers as they had been drilled by the previous owner (no doubt a student of the Hope & Pray academy) – a right mess!

This main base casting is in serious need of rectification having been previously machined incorrectly (same bloke?) . It is right on the limits of my tiddly WM-16 mill hanging over the table on either side, but I am hoping that having jacked the casting up at the left hand end I can skim the standards pads in two separate passes with the fly cutter to get the topside somewhere near right.

After that it has to be turned upside down and the bottom re-machined as matey has left one end of the casting 3/16" higher than the other.

Setting up and holding down are made more difficult because the hollow casting is so thin and "springy" – the walls are less than 1/4" thick. So tomorrow I will be crossing fingers that when the pads are done and I put it on the surface plate it won't rock. I 'spose that makes me a student of aforesaid academy as well.

Rik

[Rik ShawParticipant @rikshaw]

Should have appended this to my previous:

[Roger HartParticipant @rogerhart88496]

A tale of woe. Recently given a telescope eyepiece and so rummaged in junk box for a front lens, a few bits of brass and rainwater pipe and turned up a nice brass lens cell, all very elegant. Bought a bit of brass tube for the eyepiece to slide into and all worked very nicely – but the eyepiece tube was unfinished. So cleaned up the ends and got to work with wet-and-dry and Brasso – lovely job – tube now slides nicely. So stood 'scope vertically and of course the eye tube dropped straight down the main tube and smashed the objective lens rear element. Of course I should have fitted a collar but ….. At least I now have a magnifying glass project on the stocks….

[Clive HartlandParticipant @clivehartland94829]

My tale of woe, on optical equipment. I am adjusting an Optical plum and the close up point is out of adjustment. The adjustment is an optical wedge rotated against another one which shifts the light path. This wedge has no mechanical fixing but once adjusted is locked in place with 3 spots of shellak. I have now spent 3 hours trying to release the shellak, I made a little flat scraper that goes down into the slot and using Industrial Meths. slowly removed all the softened shellak but the wedge will still not move! I have now come to the conclusion that the last adjustment was by someone who has little knowledge of what is needed as I am sure the shellak has gone down under the wedge and onto the ledge it sits on. I have one last method and that is to heat up the surrounding metal and hope that will soften the shellack. It will have to wait till Monday now.

I have always said and iterated to the engineers about product knowledge, read up about before you do it!

Clive

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Programmed my inverter to show rpm based on drive frequency. Agrees pretty closely with the tachometer.

Hi Clive,

I was going to suggest gentle heat, but you got there in the end.

Neil

Edited By Neil Wyatt on 29/05/2014 21:53:17

[Bob ClareParticipant @bobclare74748]

Yesterday (i.e. 29th.) at last I succeeded in figuring out the correct (more or less) settings for the rotary disc reversing mechanism on the Victorian 5" 4-2-2 model which I am rebuilding. Hurrah.

Next job is to put the block back in the frame, make new crossheads and guide bars and see if the system will drive the wheels in both forward and reverse using compressed air.

Wish me luck!

Bob Clare

[Ian S CParticipant @iansc]

Clive, has someone been in there with the Super Glue? Ian S C

[Clive HartlandParticipant @clivehartland94829]

No Ian, as an oldie and ex Leica engineer I am one of the only people with the experience and equipment to do the work. Leica has a jig but I am sure no experienced engineer so it all comes down, to where I work to be done. This because Leica dumped all the older type instruments and made them obsolete overnight but of course the working market is full of the older stuff like these optical plumbs.

When Leica moved and changed its role from a Service workshop to a center of Excellence it fell on its face as the old engineers were advised to take early retirement and they sought after engineers from subsidaries and paid for them to move location and work at Leica. As one of those engineers I sought work nearer to where I moved to and happily work in a place that sells, services Leica survey instruments . We have the only accredited baseline for electronic distance verification much to the chagrin of Leica themselves as calibration is a lucrative business.

My feeling is that a tyro has had a go and failed to put a film of grease on the ledge the glass wedge mount sits on and then filled the gap with shellack. I will get it out one way or the other and come back and tell you. The evidence will be there. I will take a Pic. and see if I can show what I mean.

Clive

[jason udallParticipant @jasonudall57142]

Ian..as I am sure Clive would tell you..super glue near optics is a very bad thing…tends to fog them up….there are specialist”non fogging” or low fume..but low fume isn’t no fume…

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