What Did You Do Today 2019

[Mick B1Participant @mickb1]

2 more salt/pepper grinders for the missus' twin sisters' birthday, in olivewood and spalted beech with black delrin and brass.

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Posted by AdrianR on 02/03/2019 12:46:20:

I think I have found a new hobby, searching ebay for a "hand metal shaper" It is very distracting.

.

Hop over to homeworkshop, and try 'Advert ID: 34687'

https://www.homeworkshop.org.uk

MichaelG.

Edited By Michael Gilligan on 02/03/2019 17:20:05

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Posted by Barrie Lever on 02/03/2019 13:05:25:

Posted by AdrianR on 02/03/2019 12:46:20:

I think I have found a new hobby, searching ebay for a "hand metal shaper" It is very distracting.

Not as distracting as trying to find the elusive 'Chinese electric powered scraper' !!

Barrie

.

Will a German one do, Barrie ?

**LINK**

https://www.biax-germany.com/en/produkte.php?category=schaber

MichaelG.

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

Posted by Mick B1 on 02/03/2019 16:18:20:

2 more salt/pepper grinders for the missus' twin sisters' birthday, in olivewood and spalted beech with black delrin and brass.

Good job! They make very nice presents indeed. I think matching pairs are particularly hard to make – side by side comparisons highlight even tiny flaws.

Thanks also for improving my vocabulary with 'spalted' – wood colouration caused by fungi. I can't wait to use it as if I really was educated rather than being a complete pseud!

Dave

[Brian HParticipant @brianh50089]

I've been working on the boiler for my Burrell-Boydell road locomotive but have almost reached the point where I need to use my clubs oxy-acet so I decided to make the hind wheel guards. These are modeled on those shown in an 1863 photo of the next and last engine to be built.

My drawing of the engine with a guard fitted.

The first guard partly assembled from 0.016" thick brass sheet and lots of 1/32" rivets.

Brian

Edited By Brian H on 02/03/2019 20:14:58

[Former MemberParticipant @formermember32069]

[This posting has been removed]

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Posted by Barrie Lever on 02/03/2019 21:49:51:

… I was rather tounge in cheek connecting with another message thread where electric scrapers were mentioned …

.

Yes, I appreciated the connection, Barrie

… Equally tongue in cheek, I was assuming that if a Chinese model exists, it would probably 'bear some resemblance to' the Biax.

MichaelG.

[Raymond Sanderson 2Participant @raymondsanderson2]

Not today but a few months ago joined up with a local group QMAC

Effectively blacksmiths lots of knife makers with some more traditional fellows as well. I've done some very basic smithing as well as what i did during my apprenticeship days, making bin doors springs, bumper bars for buses 7 coaches. Yet to throw a hammer shoulder injury playing up effecting me a lot..

Just held a 2 day knife show which was brilliant to see the artistry some guys n gals go to.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRjkA9fqDyE

[Mick B1Participant @mickb1]

Posted by SillyOldDuffer on 02/03/2019 17:48:06:

Posted by Mick B1 on 02/03/2019 16:18:20:

2 more salt/pepper grinders for the missus' twin sisters' birthday, in olivewood and spalted beech with black delrin and brass.

Good job! They make very nice presents indeed. I think matching pairs are particularly hard to make – side by side comparisons highlight even tiny flaws.

Thanks also for improving my vocabulary with 'spalted' – wood colouration caused by fungi. I can't wait to use it as if I really was educated rather than being a complete pseud!

Dave

Well, thanks for that, but I only learned the term spalted from the label on the wood I first bought back when I was pretending to try to be a woodturner. I could never be bothered to learn some of the tricks they do, but I did like the colours of some of the woods.

Close visual examination would show that even ignoring the wood, they're not really an identical matched pair.

But hey, that's OK, neither are the twin sisters! (No sniggering at the back there!)

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

Posted by Mick B1 on 03/03/2019 09:18:58:

Posted by SillyOldDuffer on 02/03/2019 17:48:06:

Posted by Mick B1 on 02/03/2019 16:18:20:

2 more salt/pepper grinders for the missus' twin sisters' birthday, in olivewood and spalted beech with black delrin and brass.

…

…

Close visual examination would show that even ignoring the wood, they're not really an identical matched pair.

But hey, that's OK, neither are the twin sisters! (No sniggering at the back there!)

Don't spoil the illusion – I assumed you used different woods to make it obvious which of the pair was Salt or Pepper! I'll take your word for it they're not identical (the condiment set that is), but they look pretty good to me.

Is there not a serious problem though – once you start making objects of desire as presents, don't your whole family want much more of the same?

Dave

[roy entwistleParticipant @royentwistle24699]

Are there likely to be any problems using brass with salt ?

Just wondering

Roy

[Mick B1Participant @mickb1]

Dave – yes, I've made about 10 so far and probably have demand for 3 or 4 more. But amusing family and friends is one of my reasons for doing this hobby.

Roy – the internals in contact with the salt are stainless and ceramic. Nevertheless the brass on the first few was getting spotted after a year or so, so I've started using clear lacquer on it. I've got 2 in regular use at home so we'll see how it goes.

[Mick B1Participant @mickb1]

Oh bl@@dy 'ell – quadruple post – soddin' smartphone – how do I get rid?

[Graham TitmanParticipant @grahamtitman81812]

Place on floor and jump on it a few times or flush down the toilet

[Brian HParticipant @brianh50089]

Not very smart are they?

Brian

[Mick B1Participant @mickb1]

Thanks for clearing the duplicates of my 13:45:47.

[Bill PhinnParticipant @billphinn90025]

Posted by Martin King 2 on 26/02/2019 17:08:11:

Hi All,

Just made these two large bolts for an antique book press that was fiitted with riser blocks so the bolts were too long.

This was my first attempt at a serious thread 7/8" by 9tpi, 36mm AF and it did not go without incident!

I decided to cut both threads using either end of a single bar; the first one went absolutely fine and I was very pleased at how easy it was!

Turned the bar around and did the scratch pass into the dykem and checked the pitch just to be sure. Started taking 5 thou cuts in back gear.

Halfway through the next cut or so I got distracted and turning round I must have caught the cross slide and accidentally wound on 15 more thou! Result was a big bang and my Tufnol tumbler gear disintegrated! Wrecked the HSS cutting tool also.

Got a new one a couple of days later and installed it. Everything else had been left exactly as it was so I carefully did a blank no cut run to see that the alignment was all OK.

At this point my brain deserted me as I reset the next cut at 2 thou to check alignment again TOTALLY FORGETTING that the disaster happened halfway along the work and I should have started the check cut at the high point to the left of the previous cut!

YUP, another bang and wrecked tool and tumbler gear!

Walked away in disgust for a day or two when someone on here very generously lent me a gear so I could finish the job while waitng for a new one. ( Thanks Brian! its on its way back to you!)

Some serious lessons learned and finally got it done.

I am now the owner of what must be the two most expensive bolts ever!

Cheers, Martin

Martin, in spite of your frustrations, I'm very impressed with your restoration work. I hope the press goes to a deserving home.

For the record, these sorts of presses were originally marketed as copy presses for document duplication, not as bookbinding presses, though many ended up being used as binding presses, particularly the ones with generous (i.e. above about 3.5 inches) "daylight" between the platens.

In the pic is one of two dedicated bookbinding presses (known as nipping presses) I own. Its platens are 21" x 15" and daylight is 15". I've also got four copy presses dotted around the house.

[Perko7Participant @perko7]

Made the other two buffer housings a couple of days ago, spent this afternoon making the blanks for the buffer heads from 50×50 squares of 10mm mild steel. Trimmed the corners to make roughly octagonal shapes, drilled and tapped M6 to mount on an arbor in the lathe, then started trimming to size. Interrupted cuts make lots of noise and the chips varied in colour from blue to bright red. Impressed by the resilience of HSS tools doing this, only had to re-sharpen once. Blanks were too hot to handle when done but the tool tip was not hot at all! Now need to re-mount on the arbor and turn to required profile before mounting on shanks (also threaded M6) with a smear of retention fluid.

[EmgeeParticipant @emgee]

Finished off making some tuned pipe support cradles for racing model aircraft, the cradle supports the pipe at the parallel can and the can has a couple of layers of silicone tape and then held to the cradle by passing a cable tie or wire through the slots and tightening from the top of the pipe.

Emgee

[Phil WhitleyParticipant @philwhitley94135]

Today I walked down to the hospital to have a new dressing put on the 4" gash in my leg caused by a wire cup brush on a 9" anglegrinder. Be careful out there people!!

[ChrisHParticipant @chrish]

Phil – bit like a French guy, a few years ago, that I had to drive (in France) to the hossie, who had been trying to saw off a piece of wood held against his leg with one hand whilst cutting it with a circular saw held with the other. Leg cut about 1/4 inch deep. Didn't expect to see him for a couple or three weeks, basing my judgement on experiences with British builders, but he was back on site next morning, a little late at 08:30 as he wife had to drive him. Was limping a bit but he just carried on. Good man, other trying when trying to saw wood…….. !!

[Mike PooleParticipant @mikepoole82104]

Just a flesh wound – come back and I’ll bite your legs off.

Mike

[EmgeeParticipant @emgee]

Sorting some surplus gear came across this Smiths Tacho, this is 1 of 2 that I have so decided best to put it on the classified for sale items, reads up to 50,000 rpm.

Edited By Emgee on 08/03/2019 10:06:10

[Speedy Builder5Participant @speedybuilder5]

Had to replace the bearing in a Guy Noel cement mixer – Simple, take out the top circlip and the drum falls off to reveal the second circlip. Remove that and replace bearings etc. Not so, it wouldn't budge. Tried heat, WD40, brute force including a sledge hammer and aluminium 3" diameter drift. Plan 'B', looked inside drum to see that the bottom of the drum had a rusty hole in it and cement had entered the bottom bearing. Used the angle grinder to cut the bottom of the bearing housing off and with some ugly brute force, and cutting disc, removed the bearings in pieces. The repair is to make a new bottom bearing housing from a disposable CO2 cylinder, replace 2 x new bearings and job done (Perhaps).

[BufferParticipant @buffer]

Phil

I think angle grinders are in the three most dangerous things you can hold after hand grenades and chainsaws.

[Author]

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