What Did You Do Today (2017)

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

So we won't be seeing much production from your workshop now

[Mark P.Participant @markp]

Had a clear up in the workshop, amazing how many tiny unusable of metal I save along with knackered nuts and bolts and general detritus which “maybe useful”!
Mark P

[Ian PParticipant @ianp]

Posted by Nick_G on 14/02/2017 14:07:56:

.

Took delivery of some new signage for my lathe.

Nick

Presumably you don't have children or grandchildren visiting you in your workshop.

The interesting bit of your picture, to me, is not the exotic industrial looking (collet?) chuck on the spindle, but the fact that it holds the work about 6" outboard of the headstock bearing. What is the bulk of that length doing?

Ian P

[MuzzerParticipant @muzzer]

It's a Burnerd Multisize collet chuck, although only the 2 shiny parts of the body belong to the chuck. The bit on the left with the square hole is the spindle nose. Given that the collets are pretty large, it's actually about as compact as it can be and more rigid than a 3 or 4 jaw. Fine pieces of kit but a good £400 or so typically, if you get the full set of 13(?) collets.

Nick's even posted a video of it.

[Brian O’ConnorParticipant @brianoconnor49474]

Today I received my Christmas present to myself from the US. It's a kit to build a Star Hit and Miss engine, supplied by Debolt Machine Inc. Here is what I hope it will look like one day: But don't hold your breaths, folks, as I'm the world's slowest model maker. Has anyone out there built one of these? B

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

I have not done that particular one but the other Debolt engines I have done have had good castings and drawings so you should be OK.

One of the forums with more US members would be the place to ask if you have queries such as the model section on Smokstak

[davebParticipant @daveb17630]

Posted by Mark P. on 14/02/2017 15:17:51:
Had a clear up in the workshop, amazing how many tiny unusable of metal I save along with knackered nuts and bolts and general detritus which "maybe useful"!
Mark P

I had a large box of odd nuts, bolts, washers and other odds and ends, used to spend ages sorting through the stuff to see if I could find the bit I needed. Had a clearout and binned the lot, I decided the only thing it was useful for was wasting time looking for something I didn't have.

Dave

[Nick_GParticipant @nick_g]

Posted by Ian Phillips on 14/02/2017 15:31:08:

Posted by Nick_G on 14/02/2017 14:07:56:

.

Took delivery of some new signage for my lathe.

Nick

Presumably you don't have children or grandchildren visiting you in your workshop.

What is the bulk of that length doing?

Ian P

Yes I do at times. But they have to behave and not press buttons etc, etc.

I have no idea about the design logic of the Burnerd multisize. I would imagine others here will know. But I can tell you that whatever collet is in it the chuck the part will run within a 1/2 thou. So I would like to think that whoever designed and made it knows far more than I ever will. – I was lucky and managed to get both chuck and collets new and unused at the right price. I don't know anything about their long term accuracy.

Nick

[Mark P.Participant @markp]

Dave, many years ago I bought a “bargain bag” of nuts,bolts and assorted strange things in a closing down sale, nothing fitted anything. It must have lived in every house I lived in for 30 odd years…..binned it a couple of years ago!
Mark P.

[Brian O’ConnorParticipant @brianoconnor49474]

Posted by JasonB on 14/02/2017 16:06:39:

I have not done that particular one but the other Debolt engines I have done have had good castings and drawings so you should be OK.

One of the forums with more US members would be the place to ask if you have queries such as the model section on Smokstak

Jason,

From a brief inspection of the castings and drawings they both appear to be very good, as you say. There is also a useful DVD showing how to assemble the myriad small pieces.

B

[Bob RodgersonParticipant @bobrodgerson97362]

Today I took my 200 cc flat twin engine to the MMEX to set it up as one of the exhibits that are on the stage as a "Feature" model. I will be back there again tomorrow morning and again on Sunday along with members of the Stockport Society of Model Engineers.

Though in general good shape, years of storage in an overcrowded workshop has resulted in some nasty dents in the inlet manifold for which I apologise, in fact it is the one area that needs attention. The tight bends in the brass tubing are wrinkled and slightly flattened, probably converting it to twin carburettors would improve the look and stop icing of the manifold, to which it is prone.

Obviously I can't run the engine indoors so the next best thing is if you want to see it run is this video I made of it running about 6 months ago.

Edited By Bob Rodgerson on 17/02/2017 19:29:32

Edited By Bob Rodgerson on 17/02/2017 19:31:35

[Nicholas FarrParticipant @nicholasfarr14254]

Hi, had a go at MIG welding a couple of aluminium plates onto a couple of aluminium angles. I had a play about with some bits of scrap first of all, to get the welder set up satisfactory, as I've never used a MIG welder on aluminium before. Practice over I ended up with these.

Didn't turn out to bad for a first attempt at a proper weld, a little bit too hot maybe, but I got good fusion. They looked a little bit blacker than in the photo, but soon cleaned up with a piece of fine Scotchbright under a running tap. Then after a little sanding and filing and then a brush up with an abrasive block or two, they look like the photo below.

OK, they don't look showroom pieces, but that doesn't matter and they will do the job they are made for.

Regards Nick.

[Danny M2ZParticipant @dannym2z]

Today I was cleaning swarf from my mill when I heard a racket in the garden.
Luckily I had a camera nearby.

* Danny M *

[MuzzerParticipant @muzzer]

Central London by the looks of it?

Nik – have you got a spool gun or did you use the std torch? In which case did you bother to change the liner beforehand? Presumably you are using pure argon.

Murray

[Simon CollierParticipant @simoncollier74340]

Danny, yellow rosella by the looks, with crimson top left. So where does that put you, Western Victoria or thereabouts?

[Nicholas FarrParticipant @nicholasfarr14254]

Hi Muzzer, the welder has the std. type of torch. I did look at changing the liner, but it looked liked I'd have to strip the torch itself to do it, so gave it a miss this time, as time was getting on. Yes I was using pure argon.

Regards Nick.

[Anthony KnightsParticipant @anthonyknights16741]

The storage box for the circular saw is just about complete. Now its warmer I can get back in the workshop.

[Danny M2ZParticipant @dannym2z]

Posted by Simon Collier 1 on 19/02/2017 05:31:10:

Danny, yellow rosella by the looks, with crimson top left. So where does that put you, Western Victoria or thereabouts?

Next to Lake Hume, N.E. Vic. The locals call them grass parrots. Sometimes I put out a seed bell and fill the water dish which they love. It's quite relaxing to observe the local wildlife through the workshop window, have had brown snakes and echidna's in the garden, but everything has it's place so I try to leave them alone. Snakes eat mice.

The only thing that annoys me is stray cats (they hunt the birds) but lately I have been having fun chasing them away with a small quadcopter.. The feral one's in the bush (when I'm hunting foxes and rabbits) get a .22 hollowpoint. **LINK**

Trying to make some brass end-caps for my new rotary fly-tying vice, free hand radius.

Carbon fibre vice jaws are useless so I cut the tangs off a few worn out files (they are left soft), filed to shape, drilled and countersunk.

I am assuming that the tangs are carbon steel like the rest of the file so should harden up with a bit of red heat and oil. Then a slight temper to reduce the brittleness.

* Danny M *

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Posted by Danny M2Z on 19/02/2017 09:21:13:

Carbon fibre vice jaws are useless

.

That's interesting … the chap that prescribed them seemed to make a fairly good justification.

Any thoughts as to why perceptions are so different ?

MichaelG.

[Danny M2ZParticipant @dannym2z]

Posted by Michael Gilligan on 19/02/2017 09:37:29:

Posted by Danny M2Z on 19/02/2017 09:21:13:

Carbon fibre vice jaws are useless

.

That's interesting … the chap that prescribed them seemed to make a fairly good justification.

Any thoughts as to why perceptions are so different ?

MichaelG.

They are just too soft and bendy. I used (sacrificed) reputable Bob Violett r/c control horns (2mm thick) for my initial trial pair. No decent grip when pulling hard on the thread. I would rather take my chance with hardened carbon steel jaws and be sure not to catch the barb when clamping the hook.

I suspect that the vice described was more for 'show and tell' with it's fancy woodwork. All credit to the designer but my vice is (hopefully) going to be used quite often so just the basic layout was my inspiration.

* Danny M *

Edited By Danny M2Z on 19/02/2017 13:48:11

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Thanks, Danny

MichaelG.

[Bob RodgersonParticipant @bobrodgerson97362]

I have just got home from the MMEX exhibition in Oldham I have to say that in terms of venue size and the number of people attending , the organisers seem to have got it spot on.

For once at an exhibition you were able to browse the trade stands for bits and pieces without having to jostle for position or getting a swipe from a back pack carrier.Similarly you there was plenty of opportunity to take in all the models on display. There was a good variety of locomotives on display but other areas were under represented but I am sure this will be improved upon next time.

[KWILParticipant @kwil]

Nick_G,

Design logic of the Burnerd Multisize is quite straight forward.

The body has a internally tapered end, rather like an ER, the collets have many individual sprung long fingers, which move inwards radially, much like an ER but without the restriction of having to compress the multi slit ER lump.

The front cover presses the collet into the taper smoothly and easily. Make sure the taper is clean and lightly oiled and that the front cover is also similarly treated. I use mine on a Harrison M300 and have the full 12 piece set.

[Tractor manParticipant @tractorman]

Colleagues I have been hijacked, nee kidnapped from my warm wotkshop to a place of cold and misery. The lady of the house (should that be Mistress of the house) has decreed we need a new kitchen. Today I stripped out the old and started to stud new walls into place pending the arrival of a plaster magician.
Fitted a huge vertical panel radiator with cut off valves to make it easier to empty and remove.
At least there will be some shop work as the mistress requires a steam.punk lighting unit made from scaffolding pole and fittings. Photos when it looks less like a bomb site. Mick

[Ed DuffnerParticipant @edduffner79357]

Fixed my Maplin £10 digital calipers a few minutes ago after a failed attempt yesterday. Not much inside, just a printed circuit board, an LCD display, a rubber button membrane and a small piece of conductive rubber strip between the PCB and LCD header. That strip had a slight tear along one edge/corner – removed it as it was lifting the strip away from its contacts, reassembled and back in action (but not tonight ).

Ed.

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