What Did You Do Today (2016)

[Roderick JenkinsParticipant @roderickjenkins93242]

Posted by Neil Wyatt on 17/09/2016 21:28:06:

Except for storks…

They have them in East Anglia these days

Well….. Cranes certainly (and on the Somerset levels) but storks are still a bit hard to come by except the occasional fly over but here's hoping – they have a breeding programme just across the water in The Netherlands.

Cheers,

Rod

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

Sounds like a new one for the photo caption contest – is it a crane or a stork?

[MWParticipant @mw27036]

Posted by Roderick Jenkins on 17/09/2016 23:58:28:

Posted by Neil Wyatt on 17/09/2016 21:28:06:

 

Except for storks…

They have them in East Anglia these days

Well….. Cranes certainly

Yes, the white and black stork is still very rare (to see in the UK) and almost certainly originate from the continent if they do come at all. Lucky thing to see if you can boast it. 

M W

Edited By Michael Walters on 18/09/2016 08:00:52

[roy entwistleParticipant @royentwistle24699]

We used to have quite a few cranes on Salford Docks. They've all gone now

[Danny M2ZParticipant @dannym2z]

Posted by JasonB on 18/09/2016 07:48:04:

Sounds like a new one for the photo caption contest – is it a crane or a stork?

Well I hope it's a stork. Imagine telling your kids that a crane delivered them.

* Danny M *

[John Stevenson 1Participant @johnstevenson1]

Bitting and bobbing day today, did a couple of Bridgeport motors [ aGain, best Forrest Gump voice ] and played catch up with another couple of motors. Not worth a picture, so run of the mill. Went to repair a simple 5 minute brush box terminal and hit a snag.

Now I use softjaws for a lot of my jobs, probably got 7 or 8 sets with various jaw combinations but these are my favorites.

This is the 'after' shot, never though to get a before shot. I like this setup as I can hold shafts and know they are true, important when working on bearing diameters all the while and the small jaws will fit into seal track on motor end plates so the bearing housings can be bored and sleeved. Saves keep fitting a 4 jaw and dialing in every time.

Problem that cropped up to day was because the bore had been cleaned so many times I couldn't hold the 14mm terminal, Add to this because to OD bits had also been cleaned up a few times what was left was getting quite tender.

So bang them on the welding bench, build up three big snotty lumps of MiG weld then mill the angles back to 30 degrees, pit of filing to clean the sides up then refit, bore and skim the OD.

That should give me a few months before it all wants doing again. One day I WILL get round to making two piece jaws.

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Posted by Muzzer on 17/09/2016 23:02:59:

Incidentally, Omega who are respected suppliers of IR and other temperature measurement equipment actually recommend (black) BBQ paint to ensure a consistent emissivity of 1.0. If you can tolerate black paint on your target, it's as good as any and is also good for red heat.

Astronomers use BBQ paint rather than blackboard paint for blacking things as it reflects much less IR (which paradoxically means it will emit more when heated).

Neil

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Posted by Roderick Jenkins on 17/09/2016 23:58:28:

Posted by Neil Wyatt on 17/09/2016 21:28:06:

Except for storks…

They have them in East Anglia these days

Well….. Cranes certainly (and on the Somerset levels) but storks are still a bit hard to come by except the occasional fly over but here's hoping – they have a breeding programme just across the water in The Netherlands.

Cheers,

Rod

There were reports of a couple of Storks nesting in 2014?

Neil

[Roderick JenkinsParticipant @roderickjenkins93242]

That's true. They were a pair of free flying birds from a wildlife park and sadly, as far as I am aware, they did not raise any young.

So, not tickable as wild birds (these things are important to some but, fortunately, not to me – I'm just happy to see them. )

However, the success of habitat re-creation in many parts of the UK does suggest that it is a strong possibility that we could have storks nesting in the UK within our lifetimes.

Cheers,

Rod

[MuzzerParticipant @muzzer]

Is it St James Park in London that is almost infested with Herons? Quite a bizarre sight when I saw them. Obviously plenty of food and very few predators.

[Ian ParkinParticipant @ianparkin39383]

Muzzer

I think theres a quantity of pelicans not a sight you generally see in britain other than in zoo's

[John CoatesParticipant @johncoates48577]

Not quite today but on Sunday I managed to secure my second Barker lathe from ebay which I hope to collect this weekend. #2 will enable me to fix the broken bits on #1 to end up with a 100% perfect Barker I hope!

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Posted by John Coates on 20/09/2016 12:47:33:

Not quite today but on Sunday I managed to secure my second Barker lathe from ebay which I hope to collect this weekend. #2 will enable me to fix the broken bits on #1 to end up with a 100% perfect Barker I hope!

You must write this one up for MEW!

Is it as flimsy as it looks? The picture on lathes.co.uk suggests the bars are heavier than your picture makes them appear bit beefier.

I can't believe it would be built like that and have an MT4 spindle!

Neil

[John CoatesParticipant @johncoates48577]

Posted by Neil Wyatt on 20/09/2016 14:25:55:

You must write this one up for MEW!

Is it as flimsy as it looks? The picture on lathes.co.uk suggests the bars are heavier than your picture makes them appear bit beefier.

I can't believe it would be built like that and have an MT4 spindle!

Well the bars are 1 1/2" OD and 38" between headstock and tailstock on my #1 Barker and I have the cabinet as well. There are three bars – one is hidden behind the one above the leadscrew.

Will write it up for "One blerk and his lathe" for you Neil

 

Edited By John Coates on 20/09/2016 19:01:32

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Posted by John Coates on 20/09/2016 18:59:43:

Posted by Neil Wyatt on 20/09/2016 14:25:55:

You must write this one up for MEW!

Is it as flimsy as it looks? The picture on lathes.co.uk suggests the bars are heavier than your picture makes them appear bit beefier.

I can't believe it would be built like that and have an MT4 spindle!

Well the bars are 1 1/2" OD and 38" between headstock and tailstock on my #1 Barker and I have the cabinet as well. There are three bars – one is hidden behind the one above the leadscrew.

Will write it up for "One blerk and his lathe" for you Neil

Great! Looking at your pictures the bars seem much smaller than that, but I can believe it of the ones on Lathes.co.uk

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Wondering what the hell (sic) is happening to AC/DC! Will their next album be an Angus Young solo effort?

N.

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Snapped my workshop key (the other one) and silver soldered it back together, now they both match…

N.

[Gray62Participant @gray62]

Decided it was time I made the ER32 collet chuck I'd been promising myself. So dug out an old 3MT adapter and turned it into this. Pleased with the outcome, almost zero runout which was quite a surprise considering a less than ideal setup to machine the internal taper!

[WindyParticipant @windy30762]

Sorting my collection of spare cams and followers some to finish machining to replace the damaged follower from last of my 2016 runs.

The cam has cleaned up OK it's very difficult to ruin it and very hard wearing considering the high loads on it.

I have a question to ask if I make another cylinder head out of mild steel (the 129.33mph head was with inserted valve seat but seat works loose) then weld a built up valve seat with hard surfacing stellite.

With the seat and head reaching high temperatures and sometimes cooled rapidly could the built up valve seat crack or will it expand and contract with the mild steel?

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Decided to exercise my vertical test boiler.

The gauge glass wouldn't fill – the bottom part was blocked.

Basically I wanted to check it was all working before I get around to making a hand pump and manifold for it.

The pressure gauge is one off a small fire extinguisher, minus a small ring or plate (I don't remember which) that had the effect of stiffening it and increasing its range. Without it it reads 0 – >30 psi nicely.

Pressure got up to just below 30 with no sign of the valve lifting, started to get a tad nervous then it popped and whooshed for about three seconds and snapped off! Phew!

After that it was simmering nicely, just lifting more gently now and again.

Neil

[Nicholas FarrParticipant @nicholasfarr14254]

Hi, this evening I finished cutting a 90 degree V in a block of steel on my mini milling machine. The block which is 68mm wide, was set at 45 degrees on my tilting table, I actually started this about six weeks ago, but it hasn't taken six weeks to cut, it just got delayed. The block is for the base of a large fixed steady, that I'm making for my Boxford lathe.

The size of the V was measured from my standard Boxford lathe steady, which was a bit of a task to do, because it isn't quite cut true from one side to the other. After I decided that I was satisfied that it was cut to the right depth, it was taken off the mill and tried on the lathe and to my delight the fit looked good and had no more shake than my standard steady.

The next photo shows the first contact marks that I got and this showed that the two opposite corners which had a very slight rock were not making much contact at all.

After a little light filing and remarking a few times, the rocking became zero and some contact across the whole width of the block was achieved. I'm sure with a little more fettling I can improve the amount of contact, but it's already better than my standard steady.

Regards Nick.

Edited By Nicholas Farr on 26/09/2016 21:38:39

[henrybParticipant @henryb]

Been doing my first project.the simple oscillating engine. i got the piston to go in the bore drilled a couple of holes in the cylinder one for the pivot shaft which i drilled right through so i could tap the threads, i think that should be ok if i use thread lock and seal.

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Welcome to the forum Henry.

You should be OK as long as the pivot is usually below where the top of the piston drops to.

Neil

[Perko7Participant @perko7]

Spent most of yesterday welding up an exhaust manifold and muffler casing out of 0.6mm steel sheet and tube for a 25cc brushcutter motor earmarked for my 'diesel' loco. Plain stick welding using 2mm rods at 50Amps, managed it all with no holes, not the prettiest but a bit of work with the grinder soon made it look presentable.

Offered it up to the engine today and realised that it will be too wide to fit inside the loco body, so back to square one

[Nick_GParticipant @nick_g]

.

As Stephanie is away working in various parts of Europe for a month the lounge seems an obvious place for engine building. ………. 'innit'.!!!!

And yes Jason, I have started work on the V twin again.

Nick

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