What Did You Do Today (2017)

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Posted by JimmieS on 30/03/2017 13:30:19:

Just noticed a 25% discount available on two Celestron 'scopes – Astromaster 76eQ and PS1000 through a Daily Mail offer. Wondering if either would be suitable for the 8 – 12 year group?

Well the 70EQ is featured here, which is pretty much the definitive list of beginner scopes – it may be cheaper from FLO even at '25% off':

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/beginner-telescopes.html

ThePS1000 appears to be the Powerseeker 127EQ , it is a newtonian and being fairly long focal length of 1000mm it will be better for planets but not ideal for large objects and will require collimation from time to time – not good for a youngster. It also has a built in focal extender erecting optics (so the tube is only 500mm long) and I have hear criticism of this kind of scope. A refractor or a small newtonian off the above list would be better.

For such a youngster an alt-az mount might be better than a EQ mount, for £95 the Skywatcher Heritage 100p is very good, and holds its collimation well. Don't worry about the lower magnifications – astronomers rarely use high magnification and you could always ad a x2 barlow for planets.

[Anonymous]

Posted by Speedy Builder5 on 31/03/2017 06:45:27:

I am curious. Does everyone mill steel dry these days? I always use coolant, so my mill always looks oily in photos!
BobH

Depends on the milling machine. I rarely use coolant on the vertical mill as it gets flung everywhere. While I often use carbide cutters this item was hogged out using a HSS endmill:

No coolant used and a tooth load of 6 thou. The chips came off blue but the cutter seemed happy.

On the CNC mill I always use flood coolant on steel, if only to help wash away the swarf.

On the horizontal mill I also always use coolant on steel as it is easy to set up and I use secondhand large HSS cutters which are a faff to resharpen.

So not much logic really, other than I tend not to use coolant where it is going to get flung around the workshop. Personally I can't see the point of dabbing coolant, it's not doing anything in terms of cooling. I get reasonable finishes straight off the mill without coolant – see above. The only caveat is that the odd squirt of WD40 can help on aluminium to stop it sticking to the tool and jamming everything up, although it makes no difference to the finish.

Andrew

[JimmieSParticipant @jimmies]

Neil

Many thanks for your guidance and advice – much appreciated.

Jim

[JAParticipant @ja]

Posted by John Gardener on 31/03/2017 08:53:21:

Posted by mechman48 on 31/03/2017 08:07:34:

Depends on the amount of steel some people are machining, from my understanding a lot of members use solid carbide cutters, or insert type tools which generally work well at high speed without coolant. At the moment, with the piddly little bits I do, which is usually aluminium, cast iron or brass, I have no need for coolant, for any threading / tapping in steel a dab of cutting oil usually suffices. others may differ…

George.

Being untrained and inexperienced, and believing some of the stuff I read, I use a dropper to apply neat cutting oil with both my HSS and insert tools. I use this on all metals as it seems to produce a better result. Am I right or wrong?

I don't use inserts but I use neat cutting oil with HSS when machining steel or bronze. I don't think I am doing wrong, my cutting tools last, don't need frequent regrinding and the finish is usually good. I am not worried about production times and a little oil on the floor can be soaked up by an absorbent.

If it works, is safe and not too expensive why change?

JA

Edit:    Brass and cast iron are machined dry unless the brass squeaks too much. Then I apply a little white spirit. It probably does not do anything other than keep me happy.

 

Edited By JA on 31/03/2017 09:39:32

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Posted by JimmieS on 31/03/2017 09:31:32:

Neil

Many thanks for your guidance and advice – much appreciated.

Jim

No problem,.

I looked it up and the PS1000 is a 'Jones Bird' (olr Bird Jones) design that basically has an internal lens to allow the use of a cheaper spherical mirror and give a longer focal length. Apparently this makes it very difficult to collimate (align the mirror to give a good view with round stars) and definitely not suitable for a youngster.

Neil

[richardandtracyParticipant @richardandtracy]

Posted by Muzzer on 31/03/2017 08:09:00:

Posted by John Stevenson on 30/03/2017 12:35:28:

Dunno but from a point of having something like this buried in a What did you do post I feel it would be better moved to a dedicated post and added to by Muzzer for anyone wanting to tread the same or similar path later ?

I'll perhaps make a new thread at the weekend for the latest update. Things are grdually moving along here….

Murray

That would be a good way to keep things together & referencable in the future.

Regards,

Richard

[MuzzerParticipant @muzzer]

Posted by Andrew Johnston on 31/03/2017 09:14:58:

Personally I can't see the point of dabbing coolant, it's not doing anything in terms of cooling. I get reasonable finishes straight off the mill without coolant – see above. The only caveat is that the odd squirt of WD40 can help on aluminium to stop it sticking to the tool and jamming everything up, although it makes no difference to the finish.

Andrew

Funny that Mercans swear by dabbing tiny amounts of Tap Magic and other overpriced oil on their work. It can hardly make much of a difference and half the time it can't even be getting anywhere near the cutting face where the action is. As you say, a small amount of oil for loominum (on a milling cutter or tap) reduces sticking but that's another matter.

Murray

[JimmieSParticipant @jimmies]

Neil

Many thanks again.

Jim

[John GardenerParticipant @johngardener91897]

'Made' Low Tech. 'tool' today. Having failed the 'keep your knuckles away from the chuck test' at least three times I decided to 'do something. So I got a chunk of wood, cut a slot in it and apply my emery strips, when polishing, from a safe distance.

Can't believe it took me so long to pick up on this one! Dur!

[Benny AvelinParticipant @bennyavelin86238]

Posted by Muzzer on 31/03/2017 13:54:16:

Posted by Andrew Johnston on 31/03/2017 09:14:58:

Personally I can't see the point of dabbing coolant, it's not doing anything in terms of cooling. I get reasonable finishes straight off the mill without coolant – see above. The only caveat is that the odd squirt of WD40 can help on aluminium to stop it sticking to the tool and jamming everything up, although it makes no difference to the finish.

Andrew

Funny that Mercans swear by dabbing tiny amounts of Tap Magic and other overpriced oil on their work. It can hardly make much of a difference and half the time it can't even be getting anywhere near the cutting face where the action is. As you say, a small amount of oil for loominum (on a milling cutter or tap) reduces sticking but that's another matter.

Murray

I always use cutting oil as it allows me to take larger cuts without chatter on my small mill, and especially when taking finishing cuts because I get a better finish…. my mill is also very oily.

[JAParticipant @ja]

Posted by Benny Avelin on 31/03/2017 19:09:25:

Posted by Muzzer on 31/03/2017 13:54:16:

Posted by Andrew Johnston on 31/03/2017 09:14:58:

Personally I can't see the point of dabbing coolant, it's not doing anything in terms of cooling. I get reasonable finishes straight off the mill without coolant – see above. The only caveat is that the odd squirt of WD40 can help on aluminium to stop it sticking to the tool and jamming everything up, although it makes no difference to the finish.

Andrew

Funny that Mercans swear by dabbing tiny amounts of Tap Magic and other overpriced oil on their work. It can hardly make much of a difference and half the time it can't even be getting anywhere near the cutting face where the action is. As you say, a small amount of oil for loominum (on a milling cutter or tap) reduces sticking but that's another matter.

Murray

I always use cutting oil as it allows me to take larger cuts without chatter on my small mill, and especially when taking finishing cuts because I get a better finish…. my mill is also very oily.

And there is nothing wrong with an oily machine. The puddle of oil can be a bit embarrassing, though.

JA

[David George 1Participant @davidgeorge1]

In order to make my miniature lathe (stuart Kit) I needed a tailstock die holder and to keep the other half on my side as I am planning to buy a small mill MC I thought I would make one. Here is the start pictures. Ps I use cutting oil on most steel and aluminium jobs.

David

 

Edited By David George 1 on 01/04/2017 07:01:06

[David George 1Participant @davidgeorge1]

Finished the Tailstock die holder. Now to continue with model lathe.

David

[mechman48Participant @mechman48]

Made up the crankshaft, web & crankpin for my S50 engine…

​George.

[martin perman 1Participant @martinperman1]

Next Saturday I'm going to the Cotswold Oil Engine and preservation Society's bring and buy sale at Oakley Airfield nt Aylesbury and I'm taking two of my engines to sell as I'm having a small cull. One of the engines is a 1927 tank cooled, 9 hp Lister L which is way to heavy for me to move around with my health problems.

The engine has spent five plus years sheeted up next to one of my sheds at the bottom of my garden and has slowly sunk into the ground which proved impossible for my friend and I to move so we decided to play, I backed my trailer down my drive hitched to the van as near to the engine as I could get which left approx fifty feet, I then put my winch on the tow ball mounted on the trailer head board and we winched the engine across the garden and eventually onto the trailer. The engine hasn't run for five or more years but after cleaning the magneto points and the plug she was away after only three turns of the flywheels, It upsets me to sell her but its better she goes to a new home than sit deteriorating at the bottom of my garden.

Martin P

[Ed DuffnerParticipant @edduffner79357]

Have been spending a bit of time in Fusion 360 over the past couple of weeks trying some different ideas for a power feed.

Today I started making a temporary mock-up to mount the motor. This will be just to see what the 24V-DC motor is capable of through a PWM controller. I'm hoping to include a high/low gear change inside the final design as well.

Here are some photos of the mock up (I still need to finish making the drive-dog to go between the motor shaft and lead screw end) and also a screen shot of the progress on the Fusion idea. There will be a third lever on the front panel which I mentioned in an earlier post, for the direction and motor speed control. The original winding handle will be re-attached to an extended shaft.

Ed.

Edit: Sorry for the poor quality of pictures but the originals are fine before uploading to ME. I'm not sure why they appear blurry on the web site.

 

Edited By Ed Duffner on 01/04/2017 23:11:19

[JESParticipant @jes]

Picked this up at a local Brocante this morning (20 euro) I woulsd like to find out a little more about its use and the strange "Blob" at the LH end.

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Watchmaker's turns, a cord loops round the pulley, and is worked back and forth with a foot pedal and you cut using a graver.

Neil

[richardandtracyParticipant @richardandtracy]

Made a full size mockup of my motorhome folding bed out of pallet timber over the weekend. Original design didn't quite work, so chopped up a few more planks and then it worked perfectly, I hadn't taken into account the amount the headliner sweeps down at the back in the taxi version of the Vito. Would have worked in the panel van.

I can now convert the design to 25mm square steel box & that'll be lighter, slightly smaller & stronger. Best things are: 1) the timber cost nothing, and 2) showing SWMBO was worth every second it took to make. I can draw diagrams 'til I'm blue in the face & she won't understand what it's going to look like in the end. Now, she's happy.

Regards,

Richard.

[Nigel McBurney 1Participant @nigelmcburney1]

Like Martin Perman I am sorting out items to take to the Cotswold oil engine clubs sale, for anyone in the area its not only vintage itms for sale ,usually lots of tools and materials,last time I came away with some large 26 tpi taps and dies less than a pound each,but get there early.look up details on the cotswold clubs web site.

[Harry WilkesParticipant @harrywilkes58467]

Adapted motorcycle lift to lift my 3" Burrell help save the old knee's and back

[Bob RodgersonParticipant @bobrodgerson97362]

I took a bike life to my last club auction night (exactly like yours Harry) but i couldn'even give it away. It is slowly rusting away but I bet if some of the traction engine builders had seen your use of the bike life they would have snapped it up.

[Harry WilkesParticipant @harrywilkes58467]

Posted by Bob Rodgerson on 04/04/2017 14:43:12:

I took a bike life to my last club auction night (exactly like yours Harry) but i couldn'even give it away. It is slowly rusting away but I bet if some of the traction engine builders had seen your use of the bike life they would have snapped it up.

Sounds like your members are a bit like some it my club 'tight' If you still have it stick it on ebay !

H

[Robert BParticipant @robertb]

I made a T nut for the Myford. Not good enough to show but it works. First turning on the now bolted down ML7.

Several more will be needed.

[BazyleParticipant @bazyle]

Does it fold up to stand vertically on the 4 castors? One of the problems with my lifting table is the space it takes up and temptation to dump things on it making it unavailable when needed. Plus it's rather heavy.

Edited By JasonB on 04/04/2017 18:31:06

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