What did you do today? (2014)

[OuBallieParticipant @ouballie]

Brian,

They are for holding my camera and camcorders, thus doing away with the need to use tripods with their associated risk of tripping over legs, but best of all, freeing up the floor space they consume.

It will be virtually hassle free to get things set up now.

The camcorder show is a Kodak Play&touch.

Have a look in my SkyHook Album, and you will see my Canon HV20 mounted on the first one.

As soon as I get the LCD wall bracket holding my MacBook securely, I can then start recording what I do, the first will be showing how to remove the Apron from a Warco BH600G or equivalent lathe. I still need to replace the parts I did a nonsense to.

Geoff – Hats off to 'doubleboost' for his invention!

[lancelotParticipant @lancelot]

Eric, what size of bore is that engine you are working on for Stew…looks pretty big…I have been rebuilding the 10v after doing the paint job on it…now that was really heaps of fun…I invented words which had never been heard of before. while cooling down after trying to fit a rather difficult nut ,I took the Score apart for its paint job…did the bit with the ''Acetone''…let it all dry out then taped up the bits not being painted…will have to wait till mon or tues to get new tin of etching compound spray.

all the best for now,

John.

[_Paul_Participant @_paul_]

You can never have enough of these, so made a couple more

Paul

[NJHParticipant @njh]

Geoff

I too was interested to know the purpose of your apparatus and the photographic intent is now clear. Reading further however I was a bit stunned to read :-

|" As soon as I get the LCD wall bracket holding my MacBook securely, I can then start recording what I do, the first will be showing how to remove the Apron……..

Detail is always welcome in instructive posts but operating procedures for your overall is going a bit far I think!!

Norman

[Nicholas FarrParticipant @nicholasfarr14254]

Hi, yesterday afternoon I decided to clean of all the old paint and rust from a wrougt iron fire screen that I made in metalwork at school when I was 12/13. It is one of two that I made, but can't remember if it was the first one or not, anyway, the first one took pride of place on the fire half during the summer months at that time and during one of the holiday periods one of our uncle and aunt from away paid us a visit and my uncle was so impressed with my work that asked if I would be able to make him one. When I went back to school after the holidays I asked the metalwork teacher if I was allowed to make a second one and he said yes. Back then you had to pay for anything made in metalwork if you wished to take it home, but was usually a couple of bob or so (10 to 20p in todays money)

This fire screen remained with my parents, but as my farther passed on first and a number of years later, my mother moved in with one of my younger sisters untill she went into seltered accomadation when she was around 78. The fire screen remained with my sister untill just a week or so ago when she was clearing out her outhouse and came acrossed it and asked if I would like it back, which I did.

As you can see, it looked a bit worse for wear, so I removed the rivet that holds the flower shape on in the middle and cleaned it all up with a rotery wire brush on my 4 1/2" angle grinder.

It is times like this when you study your work as a lad and think how well you did, only to realise how much you really learn in your own professonal life and how you increase your skills through experience.

Regards Nick.

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

It's a strange thing to go back and see some of your first efforts at any type of creative activity. As you say surprise at what you achieve, but also realising how much you go on to learn.

I'm amazed whenever i see some of my early electronic creations! My Dad still has my little balsa 'puffer' made when in junior school and an Airfix hussar customised as 'Pocket Hercules' at the Charge of the light Brigade, he's mounted on the wooden base of an (unfinished) desk light project when I was about 12.

<Looks around> I never did learn to paint things properly…

Neil

[Oompa LumpaParticipant @oompalumpa34302]

Well – I went off to the MOSI today (Museum of Science and Industry) in Manchester for a wander about with a few family members. Some really interesting stuff. Primarily we went to see the Looms and Mill machinery but of course that meant wandering about looking at everything else, including the live steam engines running in the Engine House.
Couple of pics of some of the machinery and plenty more in the album I made if you want a look see:

Grasshopper Engine:

Beam Engine, made in Rochdale from the makers plate:

Miniature Workshop:

graham.

[Boiler BriParticipant @boilerbri]

Ah I see, good idea, when I take pictures it's usually from my phone, well that's when I remember to take them!

So today I came home from Wales with a full car, the guys at the track had concreted the traverser base into place and I took all the final measurements for the rest of the structure. So this week I will be busy making the top frame and support for the track to go on.

That will leave only the locking device to make.

Maybe, with the grace of god the outer circle of track will be complete and some serious loco driving can begin. It will be nearly four years since the club moved and will be nice to see locos running on west shore. The chaps at Llandudno are getting giddy.

Brian

[OuBallieParticipant @ouballie]

Norman,

Couldn't at first figure out what you where getting at, then the penny dropped and this sprang into my mind . . .

'Here's another one of those smart*****'

JS is to blame as usual. By the way, how did your jolly to the manufacturing centre of the World turn out? Must have been an eye opener.

Geoff – Had a good laugh when the penny did drop though. Keep it up!

[John Stevenson 1Participant @johnstevenson1]

Yes OK [ sigh]

I ALWAYS get the blame.

Another flat battery in the car park of life…………………………………. [ another sigh ]

[WindyParticipant @windy30762]

On my second outing with the new steam hydroplane at Kingsbury Water Park on Sunday it finally managed to go round.

The first launch was a disaster as water levels being high and being a short arse my arm movement was limited these types of hydroplanes are critical things to launch to get them to plane on the sponsons.

After some help the second run was a success with a speed of 102mph over 500metres as the first time with the new hull plus new cylinder head etc. it was pleasing to see it's first run.

A problem I had that was solved in 2012 i.e. prop jumping reappeared with the new hull after some useful advice a few angles to prop angle and front canards things got better.

122.5mph was achieved on the third attempt but still not right.

Thankfully the organizers let me have a practice run after the competition unfortunately the launch was a disaster.

A problem appeared the water pump requires investigation as at times it stopped pumping on trying to fire up amazing what an engineers favorite tool can do i.e. a small hammer.

Another go next month at Kingsbury I hope the problems can be sorted then.

Paul

[NJHParticipant @njh]

Sorry Geoff !

I've always been afflicted with a sense of humour that causes me take a sideways look at life. It has got me into hot water at times but hey – I'd rather laugh than cry and sometimes it is amusing to others (even if some do think me a twit!). I'm getting too old to bother much about how the world sees me. My wife and family are pretty tolerant ( resigned?) but my youngest son has inherited the affliction!

Regards

Norman

[Another JohnSParticipant @anotherjohns]

Broke an engraving cutter, ordered more, but friend David will have to be happy with these 3 "Simplex" truck bolster end bits (originals are cast iron) for a 7-1/4" Canadian locomotive with Simplex Archbar tender trucks (bogies for our fellow brethren elsewhere in the commonwealth)

Taken from a jpg file directly into LinuxCNC – no other CAM software for producing these. First time loading in a jpg file – it worked wonderfully! (original artwork taken from a straightened picture, then overlaid with a 2D cad drawing, then drawing exported to a jpg file, which was coloured, then sent into LinuxCNC)

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Posted by John Alexander Stewart on 14/07/2014 23:11:10:

Broke an engraving cutter …

Taken from a jpg file directly into LinuxCNC – no other CAM software for producing these. First time loading in a jpg file – it worked wonderfully! …

.

John,

Did the cutter break when it hit a jpeg compression artefact ? …

Seriously though: That looks a very useful feature of LinuxCNC

Thanks for the info.

MichaelG.

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Hi John,

Did you use the background as a template and manually 'trace' the drawing or does LinuxCNC have an autotrace facility?

Using Corel to create artwork for photo-etching I find the autotrace isn't good enough, and ended up replacing letters with reproportioned characters from a 'best fit' font.

Neil

[Another JohnSParticipant @anotherjohns]

Neil;

I took a squinty image, taken through a fence. Cropped it, and straightened it with Gimp on Linux. Then, used it as a background for QCad, drew lines and arcs around the SIMPLEX and the enclosing box. The PATD line was standard QCad fonts. Exported the QCad drawing as a pdf, then filled in the letters, again using the "bucket of paint" Gimp thing to fill in the letters. Exported it from Gimp as a png.

(I think I have some stuff on http://cnc-for-model-engineers.blogspot.com about getting to this stage of this – have to get back to updating this blog again…)

LinuxCNC loads a png,jpg, etc file, and will bring up a screen asking you for parameters; scaling, depth, about 15 or so questions. It keeps this, so if you re-load (or, load a new image) it remembers.

What I did was have it go along the top, left to right, then down a bit, left to right, etc. It uses the picture as a height map, does not do waterline cutting, or whatever.

I used an Arc Eurotrade engraver cutter, 6mm shank, but I think I'll find cheaper ones on this side of the atlantic.

Does that help?

(btw, the recipient will solder these plates to the ends of the bolsters, remove the rough cut "frame" around the outsides, to leave the raised lettering. Just in case anyone was wondering)

JohnS.

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Thanks John, it does help.

Graham,

Looking at your pics, that ain't no grasshopper engine and I'm very confused if the third one is a beam engine…

Neil

[WindyParticipant @windy30762]

Stripped the engine today and the parts that take a great deal of impact the cam and follower are in excellent condition, piston and liner good only down side the outer main bearing near the flywheel is now becoming a slack fit in the ally.

[Oompa LumpaParticipant @oompalumpa34302]

Posted by Neil Wyatt on 15/07/2014 16:23:51:

Thanks John, it does help.

Graham,

Looking at your pics, that ain't no grasshopper engine and I'm very confused if the third one is a beam engine…

Neil

Neil, please don't hit me, I didn't mean it

The beam engine isn't – it is a Horizontal engine much as the Stuart Victoria. I did notice but hoped nobody was interested enough. I couldn't edit it sorry, too quick clicking on the pic. I will try harder, promise. Now to the "grasshopper".

This is a cutout of the board in front of the engine:

It definitely says Grasshopper Beam Engine on the sign in front and there was also a brief description as to why the name Grasshopper, but I have slept since seeing it so that information has been stored away – and I forgot where I put it.

graham.
(that should spark lively debate!)

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Don't believe what you read (except in the hallowed pages of ME and MEW).

I think it's probably one of these:

Double Diagonal Steam Engine

Neil

[BazyleParticipant @bazyle]

This evening I walked up the hill I can see from my bedroom window as I realised I hadn't done that for 20 years. Round trip of 2 1/2 hours. One often ignores the things on one's doorstep. So maybe on past record I will never go up it again before I die.

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

When I was about 22 I cycled 130 miles from Talybont, Ceridigion, to my parent''s home in Barry with a friend, just on a whim*. The day after (and still without feeling in certain parts) I remember thinking "I'll never do anything like that again". It was the first time I'd ever had that thought, and it was a very strange feeling.

There was a lovely episode of 'Ramblings' where Clare Balding revisited a walk with a lady who had lost her husband since the originally recorded walk up her local hill, and the National Trust drove her up in a landrover.

So make a point of wobbling up your hill every midsummer, even if you have to do it in your zimmer frame or on a mobility scooter, while I get out my cycle shorts!

Neil

*A whim is a kind of 5-speed bicycle.

[Oompa LumpaParticipant @oompalumpa34302]

Posted by Neil Wyatt on 15/07/2014 20:58:53:

Don't believe what you read (except in the hallowed pages of ME and MEW).

I think it's probably one of these:

Double Diagonal Steam Engine

Neil

You are quite right Neil, it is exactly like that. I shall not listen toanyoneelseeveragain.

See – Even the bloody Universities/Museums have no idea about engineering. Really is a shame.

graham.

[EmgeeParticipant @emgee]

Machined some more model engine backplates on my old Emco F1 cnc milling machine today, took the time to make a short video, link is below http://youtu.be/KRiiEywpzZk

Some pictures in my album.

Emgee

 

Edited By Emgee on 15/07/2014 23:19:56

[Michael Cox 1Participant @michaelcox1]

posted by Neil Wyatt on 15/07/2014 21:53:35:

When I was about 22 I cycled 130 miles from Talybont, Ceridigion, to my parent''s home in Barry with a friend, just on a whim*. The day after (and still without feeling in certain parts) I remember thinking "I'll never do anything like that again". It was the first time I'd ever had that thought, and it was a very strange feeling.

There was a lovely episode of 'Ramblings' where Clare Balding revisited a walk with a lady who had lost her husband since the originally recorded walk up her local hill, and the National Trust drove her up in a landrover.

So make a point of wobbling up your hill every midsummer, even if you have to do it in your zimmer frame or on a mobility scooter, while I get out my cycle shorts!

Neil

*A whim is a kind of 5-speed bicycle.

Almost 50 years ago to the day I walked 50 miles in one day, from Amesbury in Wiltshire to Camberley in Surrey, as an end of A level celebration, along with several friends. I remember thinking the same thing!!!!

Mike

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