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Post by Deleted on Nov 20, 2020 7:37:34 GMT
I finally plucked up courage and put the house up for sale. It was fun with the photographer trying to keep anything hobby related out of the pictures. The portable track is hidden and no pictures of the workshop. First viewings tomorrow..... Moving the workshop is going to be fun! Well done you....I'm still searching for my courage to move and yes, clearing the house will be easy compared to what's involved with the workshop. Good luck with the sale.. Pete
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Post by ettingtonliam on Nov 20, 2020 12:01:30 GMT
What I did yesterday actually. As a break from all the fiddly valve gear bits for Locomotion, I'm building a Robinson hot air engine from an old set of Alyn Foundry castings, c 1991. Hot air engines have miniscule amounts of power for their size, and friction in the mechanism, especially in a model, is a real killer and can make the difference between an engine that runs nicely, and one that won't run at all.
The advice I got is that when dry (no oil) the piston should drop freely under its own weight from one end of the cylinder to the other (without being loose), and when lightly oiled the movement should be slightly sticky.
I bored and honed the cylinder some time ago, so yesterday morning I turned the piston to be a light push fit in the cylinder, using my 100 year old Drummond lathe. I then spent the rest of the day honing and polishing the piston to get the required fit. Taking off that half thou or so took about 4 hours but I'm pleased with the result. Somehow I'd lost motivation for doing things in the workshop in the last couple of months, but this piston exercise has cured that now!
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JonL
Elder Statesman
WWSME (Wiltshire)
Posts: 2,909
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Post by JonL on Nov 20, 2020 14:38:51 GMT
Fantastic, I love hot air engines. I have a 1/3 started one in the workshop, a prototype two cylinder one my grandfather designed for Africa, as you say the tolerances are critical so my skills will have to jump a bit before I attempt it!
I'd love to see some pictures when you have some.
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Post by silverfox on Nov 20, 2020 18:52:07 GMT
An apology and explanation
Decided to drill the holes in the tender ( whilst it is in 100 pieces ad getting it 5th and last rebuild!!) for the lamp irons and handrails.
Got the bag of the completed irons from the pileand took one out out to check what size bolts reqd and I put it back, scribed the lines for centre popping and got the irons from the bag but only three! the one i put back with the bolt in was there.So where was the fourth?
Spent the next hour clearing the work top TWICE, going tyhrough every zip bag with parts in TWICE 30mins on knees feeling around the floor note to oneself..it needs a hoovering. going through the drawer under the worktop in case it got knocked off and dropped down another note .thar needs tidying up as well. looked around the lathe Why i do not know but the magic elf could have moved it Still nothing
RFinally accepted a new replacement will have to be done ( Now my workshop is only 9x7ft with the swing circle of a medium cat... dont ask how i know but after teas was going to empty the hoover bag.... just in case
Pick up phone, turn of the internet radio Golen fifties and sixties and put phone on pocket as the finf=ger got the th bottom of the pocket it felt something rather fsmiliar ... no not that.. And on pulling my hand our found the missing lamp iron....No i don't know either
A miilisecond after this came the wailing and rather decibel breaking language so if you heard it i apologise
A nice Rose with the mushroom filled chicken breast wrapped in thin streaky bacon has certainly put my body equilibrium back to where it should be
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Post by coniston on Nov 20, 2020 21:57:48 GMT
Having finished this weeks job installing electrics into the garden log cabin yesterday, I managed to get back in the workshop today. Doing some re-design work on the A3 at the moment on CAD and waiting for O rings to arrive, so as the stainless steel arrived yesterday for a replacement grate on my B1 I thought I'd better make a start on that. The original cast iron one is showing signs of distress after only a year of steaming a couple of cracks and some obvious twisting of the central bars. I don't know why anyone would even consider a cast iron grate, they just don't last and are easily broken either by dropping with the ashpan or accidentally cooling with water after dropping the fire. I bought some stainless bar 3mm x 12mm off ebay, cropped from sheet, not drawn, so easily worked. Marked each one 2 1/4" from one end and in turn put them in the vice and a few appropriate hits with a hammer had them all bent to shape. Here I'm just checking the first one: I clamped all the bars together then milled slots across them. I will TIG weld rods across to hold the bars together at the right spacing. 9 off 3mm bars with 4.5mm spacing makes the 2 1/2" width of the original, or as near as damn it. I used a couple of tool makers clamps to keep the ends of the bars from chattering and used an FC3 cutter, these really do cut well in all sorts of materials, definitely preferable to HSS cutters especially as I don't have the means to sharpen HSS cutters. Here the slots are finished: To hold the bars at the right spacing whilst welding the rods across. I milled slots in a couple of bits of Ally angle from the scrap box, it was a bit of extrusion used to make electrical enclosures, something else put to good use at last. I didn't like milling below the vice jaws but had no choice, just had to keep my wits about me not to turn the handle the wrong way and break a cutter or damage the vice jaws. 3mm FC3 cutter 1mm deep cuts, total 7mm deep slots. Yes I did at some time in the past turn the Z feed the wrong way into the top of the jaw. And now it's all ready for TIG welding sometime over the week end. I put the pen marks on when the bars were clamped together and slots milled so that I get them in the same order on the fixture.
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Post by runner42 on Nov 20, 2020 22:26:31 GMT
And now it's all ready for TIG welding sometime over the week end. I put the pen marks on when the bars were clamped together and slots milled so that I get them in the same order on the fixture. Hi Chris, a simple yet unambiguous method of marking the items. It's something that I shall remember for future use. Brian
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Post by delaplume on Nov 21, 2020 1:11:48 GMT
Quote}---"Yes I did at some time in the past turn the Z feed the wrong way into the top of the jaw."..........Snap !!
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Post by delaplume on Nov 21, 2020 11:17:19 GMT
Hello everyone, Yesterday, despite my great reluctance to do anything ( Man-flu still hanging on by a thread ) I created this useful space within the workshop....... Question is, what to do with it then ??
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Post by chester on Nov 21, 2020 19:05:26 GMT
Fill IT dear Lisa Fill it
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mbrown
Elder Statesman
Posts: 1,720
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Post by mbrown on Nov 21, 2020 19:10:16 GMT
Or acquire a cat and demonstrate how wide you can swing it...?
Malcolm
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Post by delaplume on Nov 21, 2020 19:52:55 GMT
Or acquire a cat and demonstrate how wide you can swing it...? Malcolm First----------- catch your cat !!
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Post by coniston on Nov 21, 2020 21:03:12 GMT
Hope that's not David and Lilly's flowering cherry tree LoL!!
Chris D
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dscott
Elder Statesman
Posts: 2,438
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Post by dscott on Nov 22, 2020 0:51:13 GMT
Next door have 2 black cats of the outside in all weathers and rain variety. For an inside pet they got a Cockapoo... It is a dog not a parrot!! I spent some time today lifting up the branches of said tree to add sheets to the Workshop roof. Then painting it for waterproofing. As it went dark.
David and Lily.
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timb
Statesman
Posts: 512
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Post by timb on Nov 22, 2020 10:13:58 GMT
Next door have 2 black cats of the outside in all weathers and rain variety. For an inside pet they got a Cockapoo... It is a dog not a parrot!! I spent some time today lifting up the branches of said tree to add sheets to the Workshop roof. Then painting it for waterproofing. As it went dark. David and Lily. Why were you painting the tree David, surely they are waterproof anyway??
;-)
Tim
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Post by coniston on Nov 22, 2020 19:28:53 GMT
Finished my new grate for my B1 today, just a bit of TIG welding to stick all the bits together, went well and managed most without the need for filler rod. I made a couple of new bearer stretchers and fitted them across the ash pan to support the grate, then I welded a couple of rods across the bottom at front and back to locate on the new stretchers. I welded a third one in the middle to help prevent the bars from twisting due to the heat of the fire. All fits together ok so now have to wait until I can get at the loco which is stored away from home so a couple of weeks I guess before I can make a visit to check it still fits ok. The original cast grate was fixed to the ash pan so the whole lot had to be dropped as one, my idea is the loose grate can now be lifted and dropped through the ash emptying door in the bottom of the ash pan. THis will negate the need to disconnect the damper door linkage every time I want to drop the fire. Another little project finished. Chris D
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Post by delaplume on Nov 22, 2020 21:48:29 GMT
Very nice, Chris !!............I can see a niche contract business forming, perhaps ??......... Is it your own Tig set or works ??
I wish I had access to, or owned one...No matter, Oxy./ DA will have to suffice for now..............Just out of interest what would a full Tig set-up cost ??
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JonL
Elder Statesman
WWSME (Wiltshire)
Posts: 2,909
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Post by JonL on Nov 22, 2020 22:12:31 GMT
I'd dearly love a tig welder. I wonder if I could do a college course or similar.
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Post by coniston on Nov 22, 2020 23:07:09 GMT
Very nice, Chris !!............I can see a niche contract business forming, perhaps ??......... Is it your own Tig set or works ?? I wish I had access to, or owned one...No matter, Oxy./ DA will have to suffice for now..............Just out of interest what would a full Tig set-up cost ?? I'll answer this one here as it may be useful info for others. Always a difficult question - how much to pay, there are so may options and levels of quality to choose from, you can pay as much as you like. I bought a cheap 'Chinese' one off Ebay from a UK supplier mainly because I wasn't sure how much I would use it, as it turns out I will probably get a better one if and when this one pack up as I have found it a great tool for so many tasks and is much easier and more flexible in use than the MIG set I have or most other types of welder. Mine is 200A but realistically you can only get to about 160A on a 13A 3 pin socket. IIRC it cost about £280 a couple of years ago, it is DC only so cannot weld Al but does steel, stainless etc. ok, mine also came with a gun spool MIG torch and inverter so it can also be used for Al welding as a MIG set. You can get cheaper sets but they tend to be 'Lift Tig' where you have to touch the electrode on the workpiece to start the arc, you really want an HF set to prevent contamination from the tungsten on the work and/or damaging the tungsten tip which then needs regrinding. In addition to the basic welder and torch you will need: Argon regulator and a flow meter these together will be about £50 including a hose. Replacement tungsten electrodes - approx £10 for 10 Argon gas - I use Hobby Weld bottles, you pay a deposit, approx £60 and a fill charge of the same, then just the fill charge from then on, see their website, they have outlets all over the country. Welding rods of material you are welding, not expensive about £20 will buy you plenty. All up it was just over £400 to get started, not that expensive for such a versatile tool depending on how much you will use it. You can then add smaller or bigger torches as required, mine came with a reasonable size torch so I bought a small one for delicate work, that was less than £30 off Ebay complete with hose etc. all ready to plug into the welder. As far as using it I had no TIG experience at all, only MMA, Oxy and MIG so I just viewed some You tube videos and had a go, it is very much like oxy welding but more controllable, my best advice is just have a go. Here's a picture of mine, it has some useful adjustments like post flow gas, pulse time and base current etc. these are nice features and I would recommend them over a more basic set, I think this is why I went for the 200A version as the 160A one was more basic. I was actually recommended this one by a friend as the company he works for buy them for 'industrial' use on the basis that they last long enough not to worry about throwing them away if they go wrong, which he assures me is not very often. A more reputable source would be R-Tech welding, I think Roger bought one of theirs. You will pay more for it e.g. £460 for a similar model - www.r-techwelding.co.uk/tig-welder-240v-dc-160amp/ onto which you still need to add the other bits. Hope this helps and ping me a pm with any more questions if you want to Chris D
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dscott
Elder Statesman
Posts: 2,438
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Post by dscott on Nov 23, 2020 0:59:48 GMT
Why were you painting the tree David, surely they are waterproof anyway??[/div]
Yes it is a cunning plan to use up any left over paint and extend the flowers next year!!! He jokes. The tree has been a constant pain to dig round, build a wall round, build the building round and now do the roof round.
Spent today jacking up a branch of said tree and putting under a prop to curve it upwards over the roof. Added a main outer beam and then sticky black glued the outer covering in place. One 8 foot by a meter done. Even the sun came out which was nice. Normally a lovely job for a summer evening... But our timetable is out somewhat this year.
David and Lily.
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Post by delaplume on Nov 23, 2020 18:43:54 GMT
Hello everyone, Yesterday, despite my great reluctance to do anything ( Man-flu still hanging on by a thread ) I created this useful space within the workshop....... Question is, what to do with it then ?? and the answer was this}------->
A Boxford CUD, Mk.3 Metric lathe...It arrived on a pallet at 09.30 this morning and I took this photo at 18.00......Just myself ( and PC the cat !!) and a lot of humping and heaving but we got there in the end........As you can see I removed as much as possible to get the weight down....the tailstock and splashguard are just resting there for the photo.. The rollers were cut from a scrapped patio awning frame whilst the 2 pry bars were made from scrapped track pins from a Multi Launch Rocket System (MLRS) vehicle at the old 32 Base REME Workshops, Donnington when I first started there... The electrics will be completely overhauled, with the addition of a foot-operated, on/off pedal switch on a length of lead.... This will act as a "Deadman's Protection" should the need arise..... This is why I'm selling the Clarke Mini-lathe....
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