What Did You Do Today 2019

[Philip RoweParticipant @philiprowe13116]

Blimey a strimmer, I'm still using shears, you don't get any one sided cutters with those just aching arms.

Phil

[Nigel Graham 2Participant @nigelgraham2]

Mowing the lawn…

I think that will Sunday's task! In the coming months I have to be careful doing that not to kill any of the frogs that have adopted my garden. They hide in long grass.

Bit more accomplished with fitting the "Machine-DRO" set to the Myford mill, still so far on the X-travel. Allendale obligingly supply some die-cast allow brackets and plates with assorted slot to help the task, but I still had to mill rebates on one so it would fit the front face of the cross-feed saddle.

Also rang Allendale because the digital micrometer I had bought, would not switch off. Well, it would but as soon as I so much as looked at, it would come back on. After a couple of phone calls between their very helpful sales staff and me, they established that movement of the barrel over-rides the ON switch, and it takes the barest movement, too. Lock the barrel and it stays off.

(I do have manual mics too, but these days their little divisions are smaller and fainter, rather like the "thirty-tooths" on steel rules.)

[BazyleParticipant @bazyle]

Posted by Nigel Graham 2 on 29/03/2019 20:09:53:

Mowing the lawn…

I think that will Sunday's task!

Please think of your neighbours and refrain from all noisy activity apart rom ringing church bells for a few minutes. Some of us who still work want one day a week of quiet contemplation.

[ChrisHParticipant @chrish]

George,

Strimmer cords break so you have to wind more on, and on, and on, then eventually when you have tired of that go buy another reel. All down to manufacturers profit requirements!

Chris

[Mark P.Participant @markp]

Strimmers, instruments of the devil!😈

Mark P.

[Nick WheelerParticipant @nickwheeler]

Posted by Bazyle on 29/03/2019 21:18:13:

Posted by Nigel Graham 2 on 29/03/2019 20:09:53:

Mowing the lawn…

I think that will Sunday's task!

Please think of your neighbours and refrain from all noisy activity apart from ringing church bells for a few minutes. Some of us who still work want one day a week of quiet contemplation.

We ring for nearly an hour on Sunday morning. Then St Margaret's 1/2 mile up the road start.

And once a month we have a quarter peal on Sunday afternoon, so that's another 55minutes plus ringing down. Slow bells at Rochester Cathedral…..

[Nigel Graham 2Participant @nigelgraham2]

Don't worry – a push mower doesn't make much noise, and my lawn's quite small!

Unfortunately I can't hear my local church bells from home – just a bit too far away and shielded by houses.

[martin perman 1Participant @martinperman1]

Nothing better than the sound of the church bells on Sundays and practice Tuesday nights, we also have an hour stricking clock in the tower.

Martin P

[CirclipParticipant @circlip]

Strimmer strings/cords break cos the water has dried out of them over winter. I always boil old cord reels before use when they've been left in dry conditions. You could always revert to the wisdom of the late Sir John and replace the Nylon with a couple of short bits of push bike gear change cable fixed to a modified centre spool.

Regards Ian.

[Perko7Participant @perko7]

Would not like to accidentally hit my leg with a strimmer having bicycle gear change cable instead of nylon cord!! Could result in a very nasty wound. Also the end tends to become frayed and 'unwound' so they do not cut as cleanly as a solid nylon cord.

Strimmers may be instruments of the devil Mark P but they do have very useful little engines and lots of lovely metal bits that can be re-purposed!

[Anonymous]

Posted by JasonB on 28/03/2019 19:55:20:

Looks good, do you have anything to hold the strake at the correct angle on the former or are you just doing it by eye?

In a word, no. It was done by eye. I had plans to provide fences all round, but I now think they'll just get in the way. I'll probably put a fence at the back, and possibly one side, so that I've got one reference point without the fences making access difficult. I'll probably clamp the lower tool down as well.

Andrew

[Nigel McBurney 1Participant @nigelmcburney1]

I tried motor cycle clutch bowden cable on my strimmer,it just comes apart and shreads,though I must admit my strimmers on wheels with a 6 hp engine,

[BazParticipant @baz89810]

Can you crimp or solder on about 1/2 of thin wall brass or copper tube to the end of the Bowden cable to stop the fraying?

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

Posted by Baz on 30/03/2019 17:03:34:

Can you crimp or solder on about 1/2 of thin wall brass or copper tube to the end of the Bowden cable to stop the fraying?

Bit scary!

Big problem with using metal cable for strimming is the amount of energy stored in the spinning wire is proportional to its density and Steel is over 8 times heavier than Nylon. When a steel cord breaks it will have much higher striking power, whilst the fragments make more effective projectiles, travelling more than 8 times the distance of Nylon bits of the same size.

As the guard on a strimmer isn't as complete as a rotary motor, I'd be wary of using Bowden cable in one. It's a lot riskier than the plastic wire recommended in the manual.

Dave

[martin perman 1Participant @martinperman1]

I spent today preparing an engine exhibit for the rally season, I bought it last year to go with my collection of 30 VDC and 15VDC generators, built under licence by BSA to charge radio battery sets for the British military. The new one was built in America and is 15VDC and 240 VAC 85 watts, its fitted with an external flywheel to balance the rpm.

Initially I had no spark from the magneto so pulled a spare parts engine from stock and removed the coil and fitted that to the new engine then cleaned the points, the fuel system needs looking at as it will only run with full choke, chances are its the fuel filter/one way valve, then new grandson arrived so cleaned up and spent time with him, apparently I stunk of petrol.

Martin P

[Nicholas FarrParticipant @nicholasfarr14254]

Hi, today I did a test lift of my Warco Major milling machine. Firstly I made a suitable lifting beam to fit the machine, which is just a 660mm length or 75mm square hollow section which is drilled at each end to take an eye bolt and a short piece of the same section was welded on the same side midway between the eye bolts. The short piece locates into a square hole in the underside of the casting that moves up and down the column. Two pieces of self adhesive rubber are stuck each side of the short section, so as to act as a buffer between the casting and the lifting beam.

A test lift was then done to test my setup and to ensure that I would get enough height for the stand needed. It may not be apparent in the photo below, but the tube that the chain blocks are hanging on, is only about 60mm or so below the ceiling, making difficult for any other way.

Needles to say, it went very satisfactory indeed and I have a little extra height to spare if needed.

Regards Nick.

Edited By Nicholas Farr on 31/03/2019 00:07:01

[Nigel Graham 2Participant @nigelgraham2]

Nicholas and Martin –

One of the delights of the MSRVS Rally in Tewkesbury is the venue being close to the Abbey, so a striking clock, and the ringing on the Sunday morning.

I was in Alston, up in the Northern Pennines, for a weekend a couple of years ago, and was surprised to hear a definite melody from the church bells on the Sunday morning. I remembered it as a hymn-tune, but also remembered a friend who is a Tower Captain telling me tune-ringing is not done in England. (She told me this when showing me the bells in her local church, in Somerset.) So I investigated: the tower is no longer able to take manual-ringing stresses so the peal was converted to a carillon. I can't recall when, but I think it must be unique in this country.

A break from the workshop today; caving instead.

Only not quite away from model-engineering as we were using a winch I'd made from, among other materials, some lengths of scrap 7-1/4"g track rails long past their best for railway use; and I collected some angle-iron from a club clear-out to make a trolley for my small horizontal miller! (So I can push it back against a wall when not in use, as my workshop is becoming quite cramped.)

Also realising I may need thin, non-magnetic shim / feeler-gauge material for setting the Myford mill's DRO pick-ups, I went round the house with a micrometer, investigating assorted plastic items…

A lid from a "bread-grease" tub, a B&Q store-card, even last year's British Caving Association membership card (similar to a bank card but without the chip and embossing). Best not cut up the B&Q card but otherwise, all viable shim material <1mm thick!

[robjon44Participant @robjon44]

Hi all, a few years ago a chap that I worked with tried the Bowden cable trick, 2 minutes in & a 4 inch piece detached itself & penetrated a nearby fence, end of experiment!

Meanwhile back at the ranch I stumbled on a ready supply of the black acid proof plastic used as seperators in large lead acid batteries, about an eight of an inch thick & bound to come in handy for something, which turned out to be, that after tiring of faffing about with cord in strimmers I set to & crafted a diamond shaped plate with the grooved pins that Mr Flymo used to attach the plastic blades on his machines, blades available in shed loads for pence at a car boot near you, long lasting, take seconds to change, result!

robjon44

[Roderick JenkinsParticipant @roderickjenkins93242]

Made some pulleys and converted the mill to Poly V. 2 step pulleys and VFD gives top speeds of 2900 or 1160. Beautifully smooth and quiet now, no rattling intermediate pulley or wheezing size A belts.

From ( in the old workshop)

to

I also made a top hat washer to centre the draw bar in the spindle bore for better balance at the new higher top speed.

Rod

[Peter SpinkParticipant @peterspink21088]

Interesting Rod, been thinking of doing the same on my Sharp mill.

Do you get any 'flap' with such a long belt?

[Jim Young 2Participant @jimyoung2]

Re brittle strimmer cord, I moaned at my local mower repair place about the short life of coils of strimmer cord. They recommended storing in an ice cream tub in water. Seems to help but of course it soon dries out when left on the strimmer.

[Roderick JenkinsParticipant @roderickjenkins93242]

Posted by Peter Spink on 31/03/2019 17:50:46:

Do you get any 'flap' with such a long belt?

Belt flap seems well controlled even when working hard. I put this down to very low stretch, good flexibility and good wrap around the pulley ( unlike the round flexithane belt on my new milling spindle, I need to make a bigger belt cover )

Rod

[Ian PParticipant @ianp]

Posted by Peter Spink on 31/03/2019 17:50:46:

Interesting Rod, been thinking of doing the same on my Sharp mill.

Do you get any 'flap' with such a long belt?

I cannot answer for Rod, but I have converted two different machines to PolyVee drive and both were transformed in terms of smoothness and quiet running. On has quite a long belt run but does not flap at all.

Ian P

[Peter SpinkParticipant @peterspink21088]

Posted by Roderick Jenkins on 31/03/2019 19:42:44:

Posted by Peter Spink on 31/03/2019 17:50:46:

Do you get any 'flap' with such a long belt?

Belt flap seems well controlled even when working hard. I put this down to very low stretch, good flexibility and good wrap around the pulley ( unlike the round flexithane belt on my new milling spindle, I need to make a bigger belt cover )

Rod

Many thanks for that Rod, I had put off this mod thinking I may have to incorporate an idler in the middle.

If I could be cheeky and ask you to PM me with the belt length and pulley ODs that would be much appreciated!

Regards

Peter

[Paul LousickParticipant @paullousick59116]

Today I added a new tool to my mill.

I am at the stage of painting the parts of my traction engine and for the flywheel, clamped a piece of round bar in the mill chuck as a pivot. Then used the DRO and a pen in the chuck to mark the outline of the black circle as a guide for applying masking tape prior to spray painting.

Additional colours were added with a Beugler striping tool held in the chuck.

[Author]

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