What did you do today? (2014)

[Roderick JenkinsParticipant @roderickjenkins93242]

That's funny, looks like wood from here. I think you were diddled

Rod

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

I wouldn't leave it on that hot tub any longer, its already going rusty

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Today started with trip to Sheffield to fetch a chair. Got back to find my brother has been in hospital with suspected meningitis after collapsing. Good news now is that lumber puncture was negative, and that with 20 bags of saline in him they've let him go home.

Neil

[BazyleParticipant @bazyle]

Planned more work on the shed foundation but cut a few logs first. As I put them on the ple it collapsed. so I decided to relocate the pile. As I finished repiling it collapsed on one side. So I rebuilt that side and as I completed it the other corner went. Finally got it stable at about 9pm. Hope it is stable now as I won't need to burn it for about 6 years.

[OuBallieParticipant @ouballie]

Found out why the H/V generic bandsaw wasn't cutting square.

A bit embarresed at this, but here goes.

I had set the fixed vice jaw against the slot in the base that the blade falls into at end of cut.

Well that turned out to be a bad bad move!

Decided to check the fixed jaw against the actual blade, as I SHOULD have done from day one, and it wasn't square.

Reset the jaw, and it now cuts perfectly square in both planes.

Moral of the story is check against every machined face and part possible before making assumptions.

I just thought yada yada yada.

Geoff – 'Thought' planted a feather etc.

[Clive HartlandParticipant @clivehartland94829]

Perhaps some of you live in hard water areas as I do, the other day i went to was my hands and caught the back of my hand against the build up of chalk on the underside of the tap outlet! A nasty skin breaking graze. Today I went around and removed all the screw in outlets and soaked them in a solution to dissipate the chalk,all nice and clean and shiny now. Used a proprietry descaler from the supermarket. Made sure it was hot.

We have one of those magnetic powered attachments on the incoming mains which should clear the chalk but obviously after many years a build up occurs.

Clive

[HopperParticipant @hopper]

The lad and I spent a little time this arvo welding up the framework on a work bench we are modifying for the workshop, to make it higher and a little wider to fit a kitchen counter top scored at a garage sale for $10. (35mm MDF with laminex type top surface.)

Using an ancient Transarc stick welder we eventually got it together. I haven't stick welded for maybe 25 years or more so there were some ugly results at first. Tightening up the lugs on the ends of the welding leads helped a lot! As did cleaning up the earth clamp and electrode holder. End result: quite good enough for underneath the work bench. The lad even welded a couple of 100 x 25mm heavy square tube reinforcing bits where the 6" vice will mount.

Woohoo! Deluxe.

[TSHParticipant @tsh73987]

Last year I treated myself to a new camera (a Sony SLT), and I decided yesterday it was time to try it out on the telescope I built many years ago. As Saturn is visible in the late evening twilight that seemed a good test.

Today I made a composite of 2 exposures; it came out OK but not brilliantly:

[NJHParticipant @njh]

I think that's pretty good.

Out of interest which model SLT? ( I know it's a bit out of the normal run in photographic circles but I'm certainly a Sony fan – and have just bought my 3rd!)

Norman

[Bill PudneyParticipant @billpudney37759]

Today I paid the penalty for building two similar, but not the same engines concurrently.

I have two pistons from Sugden Specials, and two pistons from Nalon Vipers, to drill and ream the gudgeon pin holes in.

So I set up the mill, centred the spindle in the right place, drilled and reamed the hole, tried the gudgeon pin for a fit, no worries, spot on. Took the piston out of the baby vice and realised that I had drilled a Sugden piston thinking that it was a Nalon Viper piston. Gudgeon pin too close to the bottom of the piston by about 1.5mm…….."Oh, that's a shame, what a pity" thought I.

So I've stopped for the day, maybe cut the grass later on!!

cheers

Bill

[“Bill Hancox”Participant @billhancox]

Posted by Neil Wyatt on 29/06/2014 20:23:35:

Today started with trip to Sheffield to fetch a chair. Got back to find my brother has been in hospital with suspected meningitis after collapsing. Good news now is that lumber puncture was negative, and that with 20 bags of saline in him they've let him go home.

Neil

Your brother will subsequently require an equivalent volume of a sudsy solution to neutralize all that salt.

Bill

[TSHParticipant @tsh73987]

Norman,

It's a Sony SLT-A77. I was initially wary of the electronic viewfinder as I've always had an optical one. But the SLT viewfinder is pretty good. My route to the Sony was via Minolta 35mm film and then a Dynax 5D digital. Having acquired a couple of third-party (Tamron) lenses for the 5D it seemed natural to move to Sony when they bought the rights to the Minolta mount.

The A77 is an astonishing piece of kit and to be honest I have hardly scratched the surface of its capabilities. One downside is that the sensor gives somewhat noisy images when using a high ISO setting.

Trevor

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Hi Trevor

Better than I can get with my bridge camera! What is your telescope?

I'm hoping to get a 5" parabolic reflector and do better than this;

Neil

[NJHParticipant @njh]

Hi Trevor

Much the same route as me then. I too started on Minolta kit and then moved to Sony to make use of the lenses. I had ( and still have) an A100 and I've really liked this camera. I also have just upgraded to the A77 which, at present, is a bit of a steep learning curve! It is a nice solid camera though and sits well in the hand. (I can't imagine using it's movie facility though.) I don't know what you have in the way of lenses but, some years ago, I bought the Zeiss 16 – 80mm – it is a cracker and I use it nearly all the time. If you've not got it save your pennies, go without beer etc etc to get one. You will not regret it!

I think that really my main hobby these days IS photography (rather than ME) but that probably is mostly due to a photography club which, some years ago, "persuaded" me onto its committee! ( That, of course, means that time for other things is limited! ) Be warned.

Cheers

Norman

[Roderick JenkinsParticipant @roderickjenkins93242]

Made a display stand for my 4s side valve (I blame Jason)

Come and say hello at the Modelenginemaker stand at Guildford this weekend.

Rod

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

I went to the mmc2014 Microscopy "Trade Show" today, and was very impressed by some of the micromanipulation devices: Most notably, the products of SmarAct … Their SmarPod 6D system is astonishing.

Have a look at this short demo on YouTube. … The three angled slides are free-running, and each of the driven parts is an X-Y stage, with closed loop control piezo actuators. [The centre of rotation can be set in software.]

The little Gripper device is a delight too, it just fixes to the end of a linear stage.

MichaelG.

[Davey JParticipant @daveyj]

Saw youngest daughter perform with Leeds band Hope and Social at Le Tour kick off ceremony. Had to watch on TV but my wife was there and said it was wonderful. Very proud mummy and daddy – had to tell some one!

[lancelotParticipant @lancelot]

Demonstrated the 10v and the Score running on air for the grand children…went for a nosh at Big Macs…then collect a 2 liter bottle of Acetone for parts cleaning…then home to act as referee to kee the dogs apart….)

[Roderick JenkinsParticipant @roderickjenkins93242]

Finding a moth in the bedroom at this time of year is not unusual but to be woken up by an elephant hawk moth buzzing round our heads caused a bit of a moment.

We had a humming bee hawk moth on the valerian last week.

Incidentally, Jason's "What did you do today?" has become a bit of a miscellany thread. Could we not have a dedicated section for off topic discussions?

Cheers,

Rod

[Bob Brown 1Participant @bobbrown1]

The moth would not last long in our house as we have a cat who loves them, catches and eats them.

[Oompa LumpaParticipant @oompalumpa34302]

One of my dogs has been trying to catch Bees all week. He will only succeed once at that I think!

Anyway, I am still doing it (?) started yesterday when I nipped over to John's to borrow his Chester Crusader lathe:

Back to base and a test fit this morning. Despite the fact we both measured it, twice, in both Metric and Imperial units, against all odds they fit, tightly:

There have been a couple of threads about this recently but this has been my plan for a while. Couple of four jaws, a nice TOS and a Pratt.

Just waiting now for the loctite to go off then I will get them fastened up onto the spindle and machined in situ for their respective chucks.

graham.

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Posted by Michael Gilligan on 03/07/2014 21:37:11:

Have a look at this short demo on YouTube. …

.

? Was nobody impressed ?

[Oompa LumpaParticipant @oompalumpa34302]

Posted by Michael Gilligan on 04/07/2014 13:13:40:

Posted by Michael Gilligan on 03/07/2014 21:37:11:

Have a look at this short demo on YouTube. …

.

? Was nobody impressed ?

I was very impressed Michael. Just trying to work out how to buy one with my pocket money.

graham.

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Posted by Oompa Lumpa on 04/07/2014 13:18:58

I was very impressed Michael. Just trying to work out how to buy one with my pocket money.

.

Me too … but also thinking that the mechanical configuration would be do-able on a DIY basis [probably using stepper motors instead of their ultra high resolution closed-loop].

MichaelG.

[jason udallParticipant @jasonudall57142]

They do use “tripod” type machines for 3d printers too….and have seen machining centers with an end effector capable of swinging 750kg at acceleration of 20 ms-2…
Mmmm micro manipulation. ..can anyone say waldo?

[Author]

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