The Big Slide Thread

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did you ever master the slide rule or did anyone ever master it, I go one last week at an estate sale with a bunch of machinist tools and the Kennedy toolbox, I would like to find instruction on the slide rule to see what it is all about, Joe
 
Strange you won't go hunting on Facebook but stick to your arrows:p
Haha I had the same experience except it went like this as I was a good 10-15 years older than the rest ofvthe class . The instructor said “ anyone know what this is? Pointing to the giant slide rule” adding pointing at me and you don’t answer he said. Of course nobody knew what it was. Then he said” again pointing at me, do you remember how to use this?” I being a college boy. I said of course. Would you like me to instruct the class. Everybody broke up laughing. I was in enginering so I had one with even more scales on it. Thankfully I already had a programmable calculator with basic program and I knew it well. So big calculations were pretty easy. . Now I just had an app equivalent.
 
did you ever master the slide rule or did anyone ever master it, I go one last week at an estate sale with a bunch of machinist tools and the Kennedy toolbox, I would like to find instruction on the slide rule to see what it is all about, Joe
Should be instructions on internet.
 
I have no real problem with the break room and often it is a catch all for things that don't easily fit into another forum heading as well as subjects that I skip over.

My comment was that the opening post here was putting down the old ways(slide rule) and wanting to use new ways (calculator) but the OP in other threads has totally the opposite view not wanting to move with the times and use social media. The Emoji at the ends of my posts in this thread are meant to suggest my comments were half hearted so maybe it is not me that needs to chill out.

Same with those random Westinghouse images, in one thread the OP complains that you can't find something on FB that you saw last week. Well who is going to be looking in a slide rule thread for a Westinghouse engine?

Oh and on the subject of FB, someone checking for interest in another casting run for an engine, would suit Pat as it is a decent size 11" flywheels and 2" bore vertical. Those og FB that have expressed an interest will get one those that don't use FB miss out and complain there are not so many casting kits available.:confused:
I am talking to admissions on adding a sticky for few rules.
We may need second thread engine only off subject. Have not talk to Admissions about because goes first. It easy to avoid if some do not like Breakroom. We need to be fair to all and so group is fun place all.

Some all see is model engines.
Others want more relaxed the Breakroom give them feel. Like old time clubs did.
I did help with EAA, 99's and model aircraft.
(The 99's was club my mother was in and need my father and myself help).

Dave
 
did you ever master the slide rule or did anyone ever master it, I go one last week at an estate sale with a bunch of machinist tools and the Kennedy toolbox, I would like to find instruction on the slide rule to see what it is all about, Joe
I found the instructions online, and I am sure there are some ytube videos too.
I can follow the instructions point-by-point, but it is very unnatural, and it would take me a long time for it to feel natural.
Sort of like putting your shoes backwards behind you, and trying to tie them without being able to see them.
Awkward at best.

I have a brother-in-law who used a slide rule, and he is very good at it.
As I recall, there are slightly different steps for multiplication, division, square root, etc.
It is an ingenious instrument, but doesn't feel intuitive at all.
A rock was an ingenious instrument to a caveman when used as a tool to grind grain, or to make arrowheads, but it is still a clunky rock.
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Haha I had the same experience except it went like this as I was a good 10-15 years older than the rest ofvthe class . The instructor said “ anyone know what this is? Pointing to the giant slide rule” adding pointing at me and you don’t answer he said. Of course nobody knew what it was. Then he said” again pointing at me, do you remember how to use this?” I being a college boy. I said of course. Would you like me to instruct the class. Everybody broke up laughing. I was in enginering so I had one with even more scales on it. Thankfully I already had a programmable calculator with basic program and I knew it well. So big calculations were pretty easy. . Now I just had an app equivalent.
That is funny.
And the engineering students wore them on their belts with great pride.
The more expensive your slide rule, the cooler you were.
Engineering students were pretty nerdy back in the day.

I still have a pocket protector, and everyone had one.
I have a few shirts that were ruined by ink stains.
I did the giant ink stain thing on my shirt in the middle of a large meeting with a very important client from California.
Nobody said a word, they all just waited to see how big the spot would get before I noticed it, and finally when I saw it they laughed hysterically.
Life in corporate can be tough.
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Speaking of airhorns, this one is listed on ebay.
They are asking too much for it, but if I could afford it, I would install it on top the van, and use a couple of scuba tanks to blow it.
Around this city you need an airhorn like this, and a lot more too mounted on top the car.

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Humber is still for sale.
Nice antique motorcycle engine, but price is out of my range.
This would make for a good model engine design I think; bore at 2.5" would be just about right.
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This Kermath is interesting.
It is as if they were morphing from individual cylinders bolted to a crankcase, to pairs of twin cylinders, but had not quite evolved into all the cylinders being in on cast block.
I would imagine it would be easier to cast a smaller twin cylinder than to try and cast four cylinders at once.

Watercooled, headless it would seem, marine engine.
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This lathe is very similar to the one my dad had in his shop when I was growing up, with the old flat belt pulleys.
If I had somewhere to put this, I would buy it; reasonably priced, but would be tricky to move.
Check out the mounting location for that on-off switch.
I could machine the Ball Hopper Monitor flywheels on this.

Ironically, this is sort of what I consider the "slide rule" of lathes; ie: it is old, manually operated, clunky compared with modern CNC machines, but a very capable machine in the hands of someone who knows how to use it.
The new guys would say "Where is the keyboard ?".
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A nice little steam engine.
I guess this falls into the Wilesco-toy category, but very nicely detailed and proportioned.

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1906 Cushman 3hp for sale on ebay.
Not my photos.
I don't recall ever seeing a model of this engine built.
It is so small as to almost qualify as a model itself.

My guess is this is a 2-stroke, much like the Maytag variety that were so popular in the day.
I was never into two-stroke engines, except on motorcross and enduro bikes, where they made some really nice ones like the CR500, and the Yamaha 400cc enduro, which had a ton of torque.

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Watchmaker's gear making machine ?
I can't quite follow all the items on this machine.
Nice old school design and look.

It is almost as if it were for making gold chain or something.
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This one is in the Czech Republic, so it would be a long drive/swim.
This has the look and feel of a full sized functional engine, but some of it looks a bit like a model engine too.
Looks old.
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A really nice old-style Briggs.
Seems like I saw someone here build a 1/2 scale Briggs one time.
This one has a Classic look to it.
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Looks like someone purchased the pattern set from a foundry.
These are interesting to study, especially if you make castings for model engines.
There is much to learn from reverse-engineering these old patterns and coreboxes.
Many made from some very fine hardwood.
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The color schemes used on foundry patterns generally had a meaning.
I lost my foundry color chart.
At one time I was going to try to use pattern colors, but life is too short, and I know what is a coreprint, and what is not a coreprint.
Looks like perhaps a pattern for a motor rotor.
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Supposedly a split pattern for a locomotive part.
You would need some good greensand to be able to pull this pattern with its thin fins, but it can be done.
The jolt-squeeze machines are able to compact the sand much better than hand ramming, and I have seem some very deep thin patterns pulled out of jolt-squeezed sand molds perfectly.
They also use a vibrator as they draw the cope off the drag, and that helps break the two pattern halves apart.
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Almost looks like an engine flywheel.
Interesting how they clipped the two corners of the flask.
I can't figure out what is at the center of the pattern half on the left.
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Matchplates for a toy wagon ?
Any mass-produced castings would have used matchplates.
I would guess they may have had oversized master matchplates, and would cast new matchplates as they would wear out, but that is just a guess.
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