What Did You Do Today (2017)

[John Stevenson 1Participant @johnstevenson1]

Murray
I put a load of steel shorts on ebay the other week to clear out.
Sizes I thought would be useful to the serious model engineer

Sizes like 6″dia x 8″ which would make ideal riser blocks for the 636 series mills. Or a few backplates for 35 pounds that lump.
5″dia x 20″ for 40 pounds and a few more like that

No bids at all so they went in the scrap skip

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Posted by Muzzer on 14/06/2017 18:22:12:

My generic 4×6 bandsaw has only got a capacity of 110mm or so in round stock and I'm buggered if I'm about to use a hacksaw to chop a bit off.

… and you always wondered why it was called a 4×6…

Neil

[BazyleParticipant @bazyle]

Posted by John Stevenson on 14/06/2017 22:07:19:
I put a load of steel shorts on ebay the other week………………………………………….
No bids at all so they went in the scrap skip

perhaps a listing on this site that doesn't charge massive commission and is frequented by – guess what – model engineers, might have got a better response.

[Bob McParticipant @bobmc91481]

Knocked this together to repair me trains…

[Joseph Noci 1Participant @josephnoci1]

Posted by Muzzer on 14/06/2017 18:22:12:

 

The main issue dawned on me only after I had received it. My generic 4×6 bandsaw has only got a capacity of 110mm or so in round stock and I'm buggered if I'm about to use a hacksaw to chop a bit off.

 

Murray

I often wondered why these saws do not angle outwards from the machine rather than over the vice – I know it makes the machine wider, needing a wider legged base for balance,etc, but one could cut much larger cross sections slices of stock that way – almost up to the opening of the 'jaws'. The stock would foul again if you needed a longer section than just a slice, but slicing wannabee faceplates, etc, would work fine. or am I missing the boat here?

Joe

Edited By Joseph Noci 1 on 15/06/2017 08:10:01

[Raymond Sanderson 2Participant @raymondsanderson2]

Posted by Muzzer on 14/06/2017 18:22:12:

Finally bit the bullet on Sunday evening and coughed up £98 for 500mm of 130mm dia EN3 black, 500mm of 25x100mm EN3 bright and 500mm of 30x70mm EN3 bright from Jenkins Steel online. About half the cost was steel, the rest was Parcelfarce 24h.

The main issue dawned on me only after I had received it. My generic 4×6 bandsaw has only got a capacity of 110mm or so in round stock and I'm buggered if I'm about to use a hacksaw to chop a bit off. And even if I were man enough to part this off in the lathe (I doubt it), it's not something I'd want to be making a habit of. Perhaps another time after a few beers…

Time taken 36 minutes – the last operation was only 3-4 mins after rotating it about 60 degrees. This hacksaw is an old dog (only cost $100 Canadian / £60) but it has its moments!

Murray

 

 

Murray I gather this will be taken to the lathe? Why not use the 6×4 vertical mode table using a fence set up.
I made a wider heavy duty table for mine which allows me to swing the waste to the outside. I suggest a wedge or V cradle for round stock so the pull of the blade doesn't make it roll.
https://woolnwood.blogspot.com.au/2015/06/wandering-round-and-tablee-for-6×4.html

 

Edited By Raymond Sanderson 2 on 15/06/2017 08:31:46

[John Stevenson 1Participant @johnstevenson1]

Bazyle ,
On a previous occasion when I was clearing a supplementary rack out I offer the steel for free, all you had to do was collect and saw up what you wanted, saw provided.
A total of 4 people rolled up and took probably 5% of what was on the rack. I posted on other forums with absolutely no takers

It’s not like I’m in an out of the way place, only miles from junction 24 or 25 of the M1.

As an aside I have a few bars of 2.5″ diameter magnesium. I realise that no one will want the full 2 metres so the question is if you were buying any, what lengths would you prefer?

Edited By John Stevenson on 15/06/2017 08:31:08

Edited By John Stevenson on 15/06/2017 08:32:00

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Posted by John Stevenson on 15/06/2017 08:29:47:

[ … ]

As an aside I have a few bars of 2.5" diameter magnesium. I realise that no one will want the full 2 metres so the question is if you were buying any, what lengths would you prefer?

.

John

On two assumptions:

1. that you mean magnesium alloy, not pure magnesium
2. that you will expect 'realistic' payment for this

What's the specification of the material ?

I would guess that 'Increments of 200mm' [minus kerf with, of course] would be practical.

MichaelG

Edited By Michael Gilligan on 15/06/2017 09:53:11

[thaiguzziParticipant @thaiguzzi]

Posted by John Stevenson on 14/06/2017 22:07:19:
Murray
I put a load of steel shorts on ebay the other week to clear out.
Sizes I thought would be useful to the serious model engineer

Sizes like 6"dia x 8" which would make ideal riser blocks for the 636 series mills. Or a few backplates for 35 pounds that lump.
5"dia x 20" for 40 pounds and a few more like that

No bids at all so they went in the scrap skip

If i still lived there, would of been up there in a flash, like a ferret up a trouser leg…

[thaiguzziParticipant @thaiguzzi]

Posted by John Stevenson on 15/06/2017 08:29:47:
Bazyle ,
On a previous occasion when I was clearing a supplementary rack out I offer the steel for free, all you had to do was collect and saw up what you wanted, saw provided.
A total of 4 people rolled up and took probably 5% of what was on the rack. I posted on other forums with absolutely no takers

It's not like I'm in an out of the way place, only miles from junction 24 or 25 of the M1.

As an aside I have a few bars of 2.5" diameter magnesium. I realise that no one will want the full 2 metres so the question is if you were buying any, what lengths would you prefer?

Edited By John Stevenson on 15/06/2017 08:31:08

Edited By John Stevenson on 15/06/2017 08:32:00

Ditto above post, would have stayed all day, booked a guesthouse nearby, and been back again in the morning…

[John Stevenson 1Participant @johnstevenson1]

Michael,

Yes and yes.
As regards spec I’m certain each bar has it stamped on the end but as I’m away from my workshop I can’t check so basically a generic alloy for parts where lightness matter. Like RC cars and planes as opposed to bits for a harrier jump jet

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Posted by John Stevenson on 15/06/2017 10:12:59:
Michael,

Yes and yes.
As regards spec I'm certain each bar has it stamped on the end but as I'm away from my workshop I can't check so basically a generic alloy for parts where lightness matter. Like RC cars and planes as opposed to bits for a harrier jump jet

.

Thanks, John … understood

MichaelG.

.

For the convenience of others who may be interested: **LINK**

http://www.smithshp.com/metals/magnesium-alloys.htm

gives a summary of various specifications.

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

Probably best to offer it at £x per 100mm and cut to what anyone askes for.

Same with the Steel I would have had some of that 5" but really don't need the full 20" even at that good price, I may well have skipped over it as I'm looking for a bit of 5" but only need a 30mm slice. Also expect you had it as collection only which is understandable for a big lump like that.

It also depends if you want to spend the time and hastle cutting, packing and posting small bits when your time could be better spent doing other bodging etc.

[John Stevenson 1Participant @johnstevenson1]

Not going to happen Jason because I’m not set up for P&P

It’s pure logistics and cost which many people never take into account

Seeing as there is only me who is the highest paid person by default, cutting a bar, packing it, doing paperwork and organising a courier will take 1/2 hour so roughly 20 pounds plus at commercial rates.

So logically if I throw it in the skip I save 20 pounds

[Jon GibbsParticipant @jongibbs59756]

Posted by Joseph Noci 1 on 15/06/2017 08:08:44:

I often wondered why these saws do not angle outwards from the machine rather than over the vice – I know it makes the machine wider, needing a wider legged base for balance,etc, but one could cut much larger cross sections slices of stock that way – almost up to the opening of the 'jaws'. The stock would foul again if you needed a longer section than just a slice, but slicing wannabee faceplates, etc, would work fine. or am I missing the boat here?

Joe

Joe,

Can't you just arrange for the stock to be the other way round in the vice to achieve that?

Hold the offcut in the vice and support the bulk of the stock out-board.

On my little bandsaw I used a couple of mods Neil proposed (Edit: see below) of bolting a short length of angle-iron as a vice bed extension and a bolt through the jaws to take up the empty slack and they help greatly for "reversing" the cuts.

HTH

Jon

Edited By Jon Gibbs on 15/06/2017 11:06:18

[BazyleParticipant @bazyle]

John, you would be welcome to have a stall at our club exhibition at the end of September in St Albans. Think of it as a day out so you are not fretting about making a profit over petrol costs and we will even throw in free tea all you can drink. Anything you don't sell I will, cough, cough, take to the skip for you.

[MuzzerParticipant @muzzer]

A 300mm length of 130mm dia steel weighs about 30kg, so an extension to allow the bar to be held on the other side of the blade would be a bit of a job. Also, as mentioned, this machine is a worn out old dog. You can be pretty certain that if I were to invest any significant time on such a mod, it would throw its hand in shortly afterwards.

I got it done by simply making a second cut….

Murray

[Iain DownsParticipant @iaindowns78295]

John – as a co dweller in Gods country, I would have been delighted to pop up and collect some offcuts had I known. I suspect 20 inches of 5 inch bar would have been a bit daunting, but I've recently become an angle grinder convert which starts to make that bulk of steel a bit more manageable!

I'm not in the habit of scouring ebay, but I probably see most of the posts on this forum.

Worth a post on here.

As I'm barely coping with steel and ally, the magnesium is a no-no, despite the engineers 'I sure it will come in useful someday' instinct.

Iain

[richardandtracyParticipant @richardandtracy]

Posted by Iain Downs on 15/06/2017 13:43:09:

…As I'm barely coping with steel and ally, the magnesium is a no-no, despite the engineers 'I sure it will come in useful someday' instinct…

On the next occasion you get really annoyed with your neighbours? Accidental ignition and a panicked lob over the fence can be simulated quite convincingly if you try hard enough!

Regards,

Richard.

[JourneymanParticipant @journeyman]

Posted by Iain Downs on 15/06/2017 13:43:09:

As I'm barely coping with steel and ally, the magnesium is a no-no, despite the engineers 'I sure it will come in useful someday' instinct.

Iain

The only time a thing becomes useful is a week after you have taken it to the tip

John

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Posted by John Stevenson on 15/06/2017 10:39:18:
Not going to happen Jason because I'm not set up for P&P

It's pure logistics and cost which many people never take into account

Seeing as there is only me who is the highest paid person by default, cutting a bar, packing it, doing paperwork and organising a courier will take 1/2 hour so roughly 20 pounds plus at commercial rates.

So logically if I throw it in the skip I save 20 pounds

.

So the big question is … Will the magnesium alloy be priced cheap enough to justify me driving to Nottingham and back to collect some ?

… or I could travel for free on the 'bus

… but that would take much longer

MichaelG.

Edited By Michael Gilligan on 15/06/2017 16:57:08

[John Stevenson 1Participant @johnstevenson1]

But why would you need any Michael?

You never go into the workshop and make anything

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Posted by John Stevenson on 15/06/2017 19:15:09:
But why would you need any Michael?

You never go into the workshop and make anything

.

Fine, I won't buy any.

MichaelG.

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Now now you two!

[Ian PParticipant @ianp]

I still have about 3" left of a 4" long bar of Magnesium I bought from Whistons in 1968. I am a hoarder but doubt I will ever use it as I have only used 25% in 40 odd years!

What diameter Magnesium are you looking for Michael?

Ian P

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