Where to start

[Blogwitch]

Over the last 5 years, due to a lot of personal circumstances, I have had very little time in my shop compared to what I used to do, sometimes as much as 15 hours in a day.
I am now starting to get things organised and just need to get myself motivated and moving.

Even though I haven't had much time in my shop, I have been keeping it up to date with tooling and engine projects being bought without thinking and just thrown into storage. I have really no idea of what I have as during this time, my memory failed and it is only now that some of them are coming back.

So over the last few weeks, I have started to dig everything out and up to now, these are the projects and engines I have committed myself to making or finishing off, and the deeper I go, I am sure that more will resurface.

Whenever I decide to make something, ALL materials are gathered together to finish it off, hence this key.
These are not necessarily in the right order and is a good case of wallet engineering overtaking logical thought.


RM = Raw materials
C = Casting set

TOOLING

Fit new vice to mill - RM
Floating reamer head - RM
Rotary broach - RM
Spring winding tool - RM
Diamond plate lapping machine (own design proven) - RM
Jerry Howell Ball turning attachment - RM
Finish off a few Jerry Howell small bunsen burners - RM
Make a few gas control valves for the above burners - RM + specialised gasket sets.
Pair of external laps - C & RM
Freewheeling fixture (own design) for spring winding and gear hobbing - RM
Hobbing machine, depending on how freewheeling fixture turns out, might not make - C
Convert older Vertex dividing head to digital control - RM
Convert small RT to digital control - RM
Various backplates and chucks to make and mount for RT's and dividing heads - C & RM
Fit new DivisionMaster to mill head - RM
Finish off commissioning Surface grinder and fit DRO - Everything
Make 4 roll rolling machine - RM
Convert lathe to 3phase with inverter - Everything
Fit tacho to lathe - Everything
Make high speed spindle for large mill - RM
Convert SX2 mill to CNC - Everything


ENGINES

Finish off a full set of 5 Liney Radial engines - RM
Finish off Scott flame licker - C & RM
Finish off Westbury Whippet i/c engine - C & RM
R&B engine - C & RM
Matthew Murray Hypocycloidal engine - C & RM
Robinson hot air engine - C & RM
Borderer - C & RM
Make a set of 3 very large flame lickers by Gerd Litty - C & RM

My personal thoughts are to make the tooling first, just in case they are required for finishing off the engines.

What are your thoughts? Is anyone else stuck in the same situation?

John

 

[blighty]

i know exactly where your coming from and had to do the same thing as you.

i spent best part of 3 years doing other stuff for other people and not getting my own stuff done. so last April i put a stop to it and made the big list as you did.

think your right on doing the tooling first. so when starting a project you can finish it. you dont want to stop half way cos you need to finish that all singing rotary table. or you end up like me with a load of unfinished projects laying around.

 

[gerritv]

Making the big list is great but at some practical stage it needs to be prioritized and then refined. Like iterative design. Otherwise it becomes too daunting a task to complete the whole list.

My approach has been somewhat similar, where I have 3 machines, each of which need additional tooling whilst still making headway on an actual engine build. I intentionally intermingle tooling builds with engine progress, otherwise it gets either tedious or not rewarding. Sort of a Just In Time approach to the tooling production.

Having the raw materials on hand makes the biggest difference IMO. I recently bought a very large (to me at least) amount of steel, CI, brass and aluminum at an excellent price so when I need something it is there for me.

Gerrit

 

[ShopShoe]

John,

Having read a lot of your posts over the past few years I can see that you do have a wide range of interests and perhaps you are one of those people who get bored or stuck with a project, then work on something else for awhile as a plan for the stopped project becomes fully formed. I am one of those people myself.

In my life, I am finding that age and responsibilities to other family members have changed my focus and my abilities to persevere on long-term projects with detail and still keep going with multiple tasks.
I would like to hope that both of us can meet the challenges of change and still make some incredible things, just not so many in so many areas.

Ahem…, i digress… I know what I would like to see you do and what I really want to see here on these posts.

Continue on the SX2 CNC mill: Ever since you started I have been waiting to see how you get it done and I am sure you will add your own twists to come up with an incredible, yet very useful addition to your shop. I know it may be a slow process, so maybe some “fallback” or side projects from the tooling list that are just as interesting.

Choose two of the engine projects to lead with. I am sure you can find two that don’t require ALL of the tooling to be built first.

It goes without saying, that maybe some new project might rise to the surface during the above, but I’m sure we’ll like it when you do it.

Your own sig. line is an inspiration for me, and I am sure for others, so “Try It…” (“It” being a new start)

Best of luck and best wishes

—ShopShoe

 

[gmac]

No, you are not alone John ! +1 on the above comments. I've been mired in the "must build the tools first" trap and it has sapped my interest. I've come to the realization that building engines was the fun part.

So my new plan is to take the engine that interests me the most and git at 'er. When I find I need tooling then I'll deal with it - not before. That will provide the breaks in the project I need.

Like blighty, I have too many other outside influences demanding my time. If I'm just building tooling it's far too easy to set that aside to help someone else. So I'm hoping that an engine I'm keen on will keep me motivated and moving forward with it.

Also - don't get mired in the planning process - remember, we're supposed to be having FUN !!

Cheers Garry

 

[Blogwitch]

Thank you everyone for your thoughts, it has been a bit of an eye opener when you read that there are most probably a few people in the same situation as myself, but caused by different circumstances.

Just to put a few things to bed and one of the reasons I would like to make a few bits of tooling first.

The tooling is fairly easy to make and fairly short projects compared to making a full engine build.

I am definitely NOT the same person who used to post a lot on here, I now have sever limitations on what I can do and achieve, and in an attempt to get back to how I was, I need to take things very steady, building up my skills again which I lost through no fault of my own. They come back sporadically, and to me is like going through a learning curve again about it all.

Shopshoe

With regards to doing the mill conversion.
I would love to be able to do it but I am limited by doing it with someone else who is making an identical machine, and he will be submitting it to MEW magazine, so it wouldn't be fair on him if I showed and finished mine before his.
All problems on the mechanical side have been worked out and solved, giving us a very rigid machine with no crabbing or bits sticking up or out anywhere like you get with commercial offerings, and we think we are going the right way with the electronics, which gets rid of having a computer and a screen in the workshop, just using your home computer to do all the software.

So basically, I have come to the conclusion that I will most probably be doing the first four small tool bits and the freewheeling fixture, then make a decision on how to proceed from there. Maybe finish off all that I have already partially completed purely to enable me to have a bit more bench space, allowing me to fit in larger projects.

John

 

[bazmak]

At my age I don't like making lists.Just one project at a time,finish that then look for another.In your case if you have a long list then do your favourite first
Finish that then start another.

 

[Blogwitch]

Baz,

I don't think I can do it like that.

You have to realise that I walked out of my shop around 5 years ago with a few projects left on a bench. This is when I could jump from one project to another with no problems. Over the years since, I have been buying casting sets and plans hoping to get back in the shop to make them after I finish completing the ones I left behind, but my machining skills were mostly lost and without that being there, I don't think I could make anything other than basic stuff at this time. I even had to relearn how to use my mill and DRO a couple of months ago for an easy job.

I am sure that my list will grow dramatically when I start to search through my six outdoor storage boxes and cupboards, but what I have now is enough to be going on with.

John

 

[Hopper]

my machining skills were mostly lost and without that being there, I don't think I could make anything other than basic stuff at this time. I even had to relearn how to use my mill and DRO a couple of months ago for an easy job.

So you probably need to look through your list of jobs to do and pick something as a starter that is fairly simple and you reckon you know how to do it. The ball turning tool perhaps? You probably need to do a few simple tooling builds like that to get your skills back up to scratch before starting on engine building.

At the same time, if there is simple stuff you can do on one of the simpler, or already mostly completed engines, you could take time out from the tooling work to do that. I find that just working on tooling taxes my enthusiasm after a while and I have to go and do a "real" job on an engine etc.

One thing I have learned since dealing with my own health problems and taking care of 'er indoors with hers, is to take pleasure in breaking projects down into small chunks and enjoy doing just a little bit at a time without worrying too much about rushing to get the whole project done. Softly softly and all that.

 

[gerritv]

One bit of organization that might help is to collect the bits and pieces for a particular project and put them into a plastic shoe-sized box. We have them 'over here' in the colonies at HomeDepot. Cost is maybe $2 Canadian.

My wife has been using them for her knitting projects and I am now using them for machining and plastic model hobbies. A binder or file folder for each project is also on a shelf nearby. This has helped sort out what I need to buy, what I need to make next and at the same time allow me to bounce between projects somewhat.

Gerrit

 

[Blogwitch]

Gents,
Many thanks for your interest and suggestions.

If you look at my list you should find by using the key, that I almost always have all materials ready bagged up with the plans to complete each project, so I should be able to just pick up a bag and I will be ready to go. But then you have to look at my problem. When looking at a set of plans, with experience you normally have an idea of how to make each part. In my case, most of it is like I am a complete beginner, I have trouble visualizing how to make them. That is why I need to start off with easy projects to get me back into the swing of things.

As I said before, the first few on the list look to be the easiest, but having a new surface grinder stuck in the middle of my shop waiting to have a few mechanical things doing to it sort of forces me to get that finished off first and out of the way, just to give me a little more room. I just need to get a friend around to assist in the heavy work of moving it about so that I can get to all the parts.

It is so frustrating knowing that at one time, everything that needs to be done could have been completed with ease, and I am sure (and I have been reliably informed) that eventually things will come flooding back and I will remember how to do everything. It is starting to happen already, by going through old posts and answering questions and looking how other people go about things on here, things are starting to connect together and click into place.

You don't realise what you had until you lose most of it.

I would just like to add that I answered Shopshoe about my mill conversion to CNC.
There is another reason as well that I am not continuing with it at this time. I am following along with my friends build so that he can show me what is required at each stage. Most of the mechanical bits and machining have already been worked out and absorbed by myself, so I am hoping that by the time his is completed, my build won't be far behind and things should go very smoothly. Then I can show how he/we did it as mine will have certain bits that are different to his.

I hope you will understand when you see the state of my shop, pictures taken this morning.
It used to be just so, a place for everything and everything in it's place. This is what nearly 5 years of mental problems do to you, now I have to clean up the mess and get back down to relearning everything.

Brand new tooling and projects just piled up everywhere, not like I used to be at all.

It is either get it all sorted and up and running again or just get rid of the whole lot.

BTW, this is only about 1/2 of what I have, the rest is scattered about outside in cupboards or stored away in my new shed. It is even worse through that back door where my metal prep and processing machinery lives.

No wonder I just open the door, throw in whatever and turn around and lock the door after me.

Where to start or if at all?

John

 

[krv3000]

hi you will get there in the end

 

[bazmak]

Try selling some things you don't need and using the money to buy
things you need to finish a project

 

[Blogwitch]

Baz,

Two major problems with that course of action.

I have more than enough money, I just can't spend it faster than it is coming in (good pensions started off when I was young), plus there is absolutely nothing extra I really need.

The main machinery I have is all custom bought to fit in the space I have, so it is no use buying new machinery when these are hardly used anyway.

I think what I really need is someone to come in, catalogue it all, maybe take a few duplicate bits home with them, and find a safe and tidy place for it in my little engineering empire, so that I can find it when I need it.

Any volunteers or anyone requiring a couple of weeks paid work?

John

 

[bazmak]

Love to but its a long way to travel,last time I was in crewe it was
trainspotting in the late 50s

 

[Ratshooter]

I found out that for me, the space became move valuable than the stuff in it. So, I thinned out the stuff. I'm not sorry, either.

TC

 

[rodw]

Having set a shop up in a tiny space, I think the place to start is a storage makeover. Spend some serious money. I spent $1500 in less than half the space! Best machine tool I ever bougnt! ☺

 

[Blogwitch]

Baz, not even for a bacon & egg butty at tea breaks?

TC & Rod,

It isn't the storage space, I think I have more than enough in my large outside boxes and new 10ft x 8ft shed.
The problem for me is the posting title 'Where to start'.

I know it has got to be cleaned out and stored away, for me at this time, I just couldn't do it because of my physical problems, that is why I really need someone who knows what they are doing to come to my assistance and make up a log of where everything is. I do have a very good couple of mates who could easily do it, but it is getting them here at the correct times.
Then once that is done, the problem is that I lost most of my memories and I am having trouble figuring out which projects I need to start on to get my grey cells working again in the correct order. That was why I would most probably do the small tool making jobs first, to jolt my memories back into working logically again. I did a little job a few weeks/months back, making a prismatic height setting gauge, and that got me back the basics of working my lathe and mill again and was fairly easy to do. I think that if I tried to do something too difficult, on the first few tries, I will get swamped and confused, wanting to turn off completely.

Imagine yourself getting up tomorrow, going into your shop and not knowing some of the more complicated bits, like setting up your RT to machine an arc, turning a taper or even single point threading. It does come back, but it would take me a few hours maybe to remember how to do things. I know what they are but I just can't figure out how to go about it or work things out too well. It is a very weird situation like when I went to my mill and didn't even know how to turn it on or operate the DRO. Then after I managed to fiddle about a bit, things started to come back and I started to understand what I was attempting to do. That was just one thing, there must be thousands of things like that which have to strike a spark with me at the moment. The memories aren't gone, they are sitting in my mind somewhere, ready to be rediscovered.
I was told it might take a couple of years to get them all back, but on the other hand, I might just wake up one morning and they will be there. It is like having spells of deja vu many times a day.
This was all caused when the shrinks at the hospital suppressed my memories to get rid of the problems I was having with PTSD.

I am not wanting sympathy, just people to understand and realise that I am having a little trouble remembering things and that even a little hint from somewhere can bring back a lot of my memories. I go through photos on my bucket account and if I find a picture that might assist or show someone an item in a post, then that helps a great deal, as I also see a series of pictures showing say a build, and that causes me to bring things forwards.

Enough of my ramblings

John

 

[Blogwitch]

A major problem for me has been solved.

In a couple of weeks, an old engineering friend is going to come over and sort the lot out for me, getting the right bits in the right box and labeling them up.

This will give me time to purchase a load of crates and storage boxes, which can be left outside under my covered way until the machinery in the shop has been sorted.

That will be ideal for both of us as he can take away all the duplicate tools in my shop for his workshop, and I get my shop back ready to start work.


Thanks very much gents for all your suggestions.

John

 

[gmac]

Great news John ! Just wanted to add that your notes all sound very logical and organized, so not much I can offer. I have no doubt you will get where you need to be. Stay positive. Your shop looks like my place - recently moved and can't seem to get re-organized !!

Best of luck and I hope you will continue to post so the rest of us can learn from your vast experience.

Cheers Garry