What did you do Today 2018

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Posted by Michael Gilligan on 30/07/2018 23:50:28:

Posted by Neil Wyatt on 30/07/2018 23:15:09:

Imaging will only be of things like the moon and planets as it won't track.

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You just know you want one of these platforms, Neil

**LINK**

Hah! Elsewhere I've posted that the words 'bar door tracker' have been forming in my mind.

That looks an interesting design to be inspired by. Getting it to work at angles around 53 degrees may be rather a challenge.

[john carruthersParticipant @johncarruthers46255]

Nice Dob Neil, good size for light grasp and portability.
I use my homebrew 10" F6 more than the refractors.
First light yet?

[Ian HewsonParticipant @ianhewson99641]

How do you manage to get a clear enough sky to see anything? In my neck of the woods you are lucky to see any stars at all most nights due to cloud cover.

Would love to be able to use a scope, but it would be a waste of time I think.

Never saw the moon for the eclipse last week, and last night sat out saw only one star.

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Posted by john carruthers on 31/07/2018 08:35:22:

Nice Dob Neil, good size for light grasp and portability.
I use my homebrew 10" F6 more than the refractors.
First light yet?

New scope! Expect clouds for the next three months…

The mirror is in very poor condition, but hopefully I will give it a try before sending for recoating.

Apparently it is probably a pyrex 1/8 wave by David Hinds.

Neil

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Posted by Ian Hewson on 31/07/2018 09:42:05:

How do you manage to get a clear enough sky to see anything? In my neck of the woods you are lucky to see any stars at all most nights due to cloud cover.

Would love to be able to use a scope, but it would be a waste of time I think.

Never saw the moon for the eclipse last week, and last night sat out saw only one star.

It was a pretty dismal winter and spring, but over the summer there have been lots of clear nights, but not much darkness. The 'eclipse night' was probably the first virtually totally clouded out night across the UK for a month, although at 4am (draining the space lab) it was clear.

Neil

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Today, to my astonishment, I bought MEW issue 1

… complete with the pull-out Plans, which are still stapled in place.

Happy to scan these in A4 sections if Neil would like to host the jigsaw puzzle as a set of PDFs

MichaelG.

[Jim NicParticipant @jimnic]

Ever since I got my Unimat 3 I've thought that the spindle was running a bit faster than the belt arrangement table claimed. Recently there have been a couple of threads on here regarding cheap e-bay digital tachometers so I decided I would use the information given to others and fit one for myself.

I toyed with fitting mains power to the indicator but taking into account the amount of time it would be used and the issue of arranging suitable voltage and cabling I ended up with a switched 9v battery. The sensor is held in place with a dollop of hot melt glue and the magnet is just placed on the spindle and both seem to be secure up to 4000 RPM so I reckon that'll do for me.

The indicator was £7.12, the project box was £3.70 and the battery clip and switch were £0.99 each. Probably a luxury but a good little project which kept me amused for an hour or 2.

Jim

[MuzzerParticipant @muzzer]

Posted by richardandtracy on 30/07/2018 22:50:27:

Have to ask – is the propensity for an astrophysics degree contagious, using a telescope as the vector?

Certainly seems that way. Following her acquisition of a half decent telescope at Xmas, she is about to start a masters in astrophysics at Manchester. Don't worry, she will still be an engineer, albeit a star-eyed one, having got a first in mech eng. Don't know where she got that from….

Proud dad

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Posted by Michael Gilligan on 01/08/2018 22:42:23:

Today, to my astonishment, I bought MEW issue 1

… complete with the pull-out Plans, which are still stapled in place.

Happy to scan these in A4 sections if Neil would like to host the jigsaw puzzle as a set of PDFs

MichaelG.

Wow, did it really take you 27 years to decide?

Thanks for the offer of scans, but Nick Farr got there first:

http://www.model-engineer.co.uk/news/article/free-plan-rotary-table/18440

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Posted by Neil Wyatt on 04/08/2018 08:09:08:

Wow, did it really take you 27 years to decide?

.

The decision was triggered by this particular copy being 40p

For your amusement: You may like to plot the offer price of issue 1 against time

MichaelG.

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Continuing the nostalgia theme … I have been playing with a rather good implementation of CBM BASIC, on the iPad.

Last night; I was frustrated to find that two variables, which I had named LSTPI and LSGEAR, were adopting the same value of 120 despite having been input as 16 and 120

**LINK** gave me the explanation

https://www.c64-wiki.com/wiki/Variable

MichaelG.

.

[quote]

• The length of variable names are optional, but max. 80 chars (logical input line of BASIC). The BASIC interpreter used only the first 2 chars for controlling the using variables. The variables A$ and AA$ are different, but not AB$ and ABC$.

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Posted by Michael Gilligan on 04/08/2018 09:19:38:

• The length of variable names are optional, but max. 80 chars (logical input line of BASIC). The BASIC interpreter used only the first 2 chars for controlling the using variables. The variables A$ and AA$ are different, but not AB$ and ABC$.

A significant advance over those BASICs that only used the first letter.

[JohnFParticipant @johnf59703]

Finally got around to making a Tangential tool holder — been on the "to do" list for some time so drew a plan last night then modified it as work progressed ! Borrowed some ideas seen on here for the design.

Works well on trial cuts with an off hand ground tool to the 30deg angle — tool grinding jig tomorrow maybe plus I'll case harden it next time i have the furnace on.

Most people seem to say the angle for sharpening should be 30deg across the diagonal which is the angle I used for a test but I did some calculations and I reckon 25deg will give a 10deg rake top and side — more than enough — any comments ?

John

Edited By JohnF on 05/08/2018 23:12:06

[thaiguzziParticipant @thaiguzzi]

Posted by JohnF on 05/08/2018 23:10:14:

Finally got around to making a Tangential tool holder — been on the "to do" list for some time so drew a plan last night then modified it as work progressed ! Borrowed some ideas seen on here for the design.

Works well on trial cuts with an off hand ground tool to the 30deg angle — tool grinding jig tomorrow maybe plus I'll case harden it next time i have the furnace on.

Most people seem to say the angle for sharpening should be 30deg across the diagonal which is the angle I used for a test but I did some calculations and I reckon 25deg will give a 10deg rake top and side — more than enough — any comments ?

John

Edited By JohnF on 05/08/2018 23:12:06

Any comments – yeah beautifully made. Very nice.

10 degrees should be fine.

[Jim NicParticipant @jimnic]

A very good looking piece of tooling. I have used a commercial tangential tool for most of my work almost from the day I started model engineering; I'm sure yours will prove equally useful.

Jim

[MeunierParticipant @meunier]

Not strictly today but that's when the Internet was re-connected. With my usual impeccable planning we moved house last week starting on the 1st and finishing on the 4th at the height of the 'canicule' or heatwave 34C-38C
Now to try and re-fit a quart into a pint pot and re-assemble the workshop.
DaveD

[Anonymous]

First attempt this evening at using the hydraulic copy unit for face profiling, on the traction engine smokebox door:

Got the profile spot on but the smokebox door "sang" a little leaving a slight pattern. I'm sure it'll disappear when painted. But on the next one I'll play with feedrates (increasing) and possibly speeds. Main problem of course is that the round part is held on the outside of small recess on the back. Just like a drum!

Andrew

[Mark RandParticipant @markrand96270]

Finished adding a secondary filter to the dust extractor. Hopefully it can cope with the majority of cutting and welding smoke now. The dust extractor is now bolted to the crane rail and column via anti-vibration mounts, rather than standing on its original legs. and the whole housing is on top of the computer and VFD cupboard that I built earlier in the year. It's noticably quieter now than it was. 25mm MDF is wonderful stuff for dampening noise!

[mechman48Participant @mechman48]

Thaiguzzi… nice work on you holder, as with Jim Nic I tend to use a commercial bought one for most of my stuff.

​Started collecting material for my next project… 'Boxer Twin Oscillator', must make a note on getting improved finishes as this will mainly be constructed from brass…

George.

[Mark RandParticipant @markrand96270]

Got to try the improved dust extractor today. Laid down three dozen 3.2x400mm 7018 rods on the milling machine raiser project. There was a slight haze in the shed (30m^2), but nowhere near what it had been during previous welding episodes that were far less intensive. Also no discomfort at all. I did open the door for ten minutes at the end of the work, but I don't like working with the door open because it lets Planet Rock escape into the environment!

[davebParticipant @daveb17630]

Posted by Michael Gilligan on 01/08/2018 22:42:23:

Today, to my astonishment, I bought MEW issue 1

… complete with the pull-out Plans, which are still stapled in place.

Happy to scan these in A4 sections if Neil would like to host the jigsaw puzzle as a set of PDFs

MichaelG.

Are you saying I've been sitting on a goldmine? Dave

[Anonymous]

Machined the second smokebox door last night. I got a better finish than on the first one, simply by reversing the feed direction from inside to outside to outside to inside:

If I'd thought about it that gives a rather better cutting geometry for the tool with less chance of interference, especially near the centre.

Andrew

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Posted by Mark Rand on 08/08/2018 21:21:04:

I don't like working with the door open because it lets Planet Rock escape into the environment!

A man of good tatse

Neil

[Anonymous]

Made another template on the CNC mill (less than 3 minutes machining time) last night and profiled the back of the outer nameplate for the traction engines this morning:

The nameplates are a nice snug fil on the smokebox door with no gaps or rocking:

The lettering on the outer nameplate will be tidied up. But I'm not really happy with the lettering on the centre nameplate. As I see it there are three options:

1. Ignore it and smack any rivet counter who comments on it

2. Buy another casting, from a different supplier, in the hope that the letters are better formed

3. Flesh out the 3D CAD model and reach for the CNC mill

Andrew

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

Yes it does look a bit like they used a bold typeface for the Burrell and normal for Thetford, or is it just the draft angle on the letters and less has been machined off the crests of Thetford?

Option 3 I think, but flow a bit of paint in there first to see what it looks like finished.

Are you going to machine the back of the door to a matching profile so it is the same thinkness all across or won't you let the rivit counters look inside the firebox

[Author]

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