Search results

I'm asking about the types where you pull a plunger, and oil is ditributed automatically to all slideways. Has anyone refurbished one here? -Andrew UK.

Mine was able to do steel and cast iron OK, as long as the cuts were relatively small. 900 rpm is quite a clip, and a range of speeds would have helped with the chatter. The headstock isn't "weak", but it has the mandrel running directly in it. Mine was errrr... Well used, and the limited...

Your lathe is an abbreviated copy of a Ross & Alexander. It lacks a backgear, or screwcutting capabilities. Look on lathes.co.uk for their "RandA" machine. Gamages originally bought these for resale after grinding the maker's name off the front of the bed. You must be careful when adjusting the...

Thank you for the tip- I'll check it out! Also, thanks for helping my Dad with his Stuart 600 project.

Hello Folks! I own an H32 "Britan" repetition lathe, and need to get it fully up to scratch. Now Andrew Engineering have finished up, can anyone tell me of a source of spares? Specifically, I'm looking for a 2 MT tailsock quill, the plate for power drilling that pivots off the tool tray, the...

Hello Folks! I own an H32 "Britan" repetition lathe, and need to get it fully up to scratch. Now Andrew Engineering have finished up, can anyone tell me of a source of spares? Specifically, I'm looking for a 2 MT tailsock quill, the plate for power drilling that pivots off the tool tray, the...

You were only supposed to blow the bloody doors off!

No-one has pointed out that with just a little forward planning, a 3D printer can be left running overnight... -Andrew UK

little plugs are becoming excessively expensive in the UK, but if you can go from 1/4" to 10mm, the NGK CM6 (as used in weed whackers) is less than 1/5th of the price, which is more like it! The thread is M10 by 1mm fine series. Check Ebay for a tap- you can buy cheap 'cos you won't use it...

I'm glad you've enjoyed the "J" type, Richard! I bought it from Ted Hartwell, an early M.E.W contributor, in Poole. Dunno what it is with people and Hammerite, but when I got it, it looked like it had been dunked in a bucket of sky blue... (Gags on vomit...) Sky blue?! On a machine tool...

I also found the conrods and the pistons, also (different design) enough tiny cylinders to build not just a Whittle V8, but also a four of the same pattern!!

That's lovely work, Richard! Those little hand shapers are great for keyway cutting up to a flange, aren't they? I sometimes wish I'd kept the little fella. I had been away from home for about three years, and I'd forgotten how much I'd actually done on the Gnome. I found a bag of gears...

When I was working at the University, I spent a fair amount of time in pharmacy. I saw some disturbing things. Students who couldn't read an analogue clock. Students trying to swipe the handset of an analogue 'phone. You just couldn't make this stuff up. It's going to take the older generation...

As soon as the concept that steam and fire are hot has sunk in, it's safe to have an engine. It's not as if things will be unsupervised - Dad will always know to check the safety valve, and will probably be hanging around to watch the fun! I don't remember my first engine experience, but I did...

I'm an ETW fan, and note that his little engines often specify the conrods as bronze or duralumin. On my engines I always go for the latter. Looking at my Kiwi last night, it struck me that there is nothing on the drawing about amending the crank counterweights, ditto for the Seagull or Wallaby...

Just a thought, why not prepare the block as a patten, and cast a new one in bronze?

Hello Charles- we meet at last! Your Seagull was the inspiration for my own take on the air cooled approach- but I refer to mine as a double Seamew. My question is how to dial in the cams (as drawn) to the specified timing. -Andrew UK

Thanks, Craig, I've seen that one (petrol) but there's also a clip of a black one, running off a gas cylinder. I'm pretty sure my dad's going to use petrol, but he hasn't started making swarf yet... Thinking is free- f&£k ups cost money! Andrew UK

Wow! Thankyou for that, JasonB!

We'll this is actually a Kiwi cam, but it's exactly the same... I've made four of 'em now; the help I need is setting them against the piston TDC. I don't know how to use these diagrams. Andrew UK