Post by ilvaporista on Sept 14, 2006 11:05:05 GMT
For years I wanted to get hold of or make the George Thomas version. Whilst visiting my friend Romeo in Naples he showed me a neat idea which deserves passing on.
In the DIY shops here are cheap (39 Euros) bench drills. Use this as the basis of a tapping tool. Take off the motor and drive system. Take out the reurn spring (watch out as it unwinds) and fit a handwheel to the top of the spindle. The weight of the spdle keeps sufficient pressure on the tap. I have gone down to 8BA no problem.
With a punch in the chuck I have made fake rivets in brass for G1 locos. Punching holes in thin material is possible but the punch and die need to be rigidly fixed and lined up.
I built one in 20 minutes and the leftover parts were put to use motorising an old Randa lathe.
A pic is at www.ilvaporista.it
click on attrezzature and it is halfway down.
In the DIY shops here are cheap (39 Euros) bench drills. Use this as the basis of a tapping tool. Take off the motor and drive system. Take out the reurn spring (watch out as it unwinds) and fit a handwheel to the top of the spindle. The weight of the spdle keeps sufficient pressure on the tap. I have gone down to 8BA no problem.
With a punch in the chuck I have made fake rivets in brass for G1 locos. Punching holes in thin material is possible but the punch and die need to be rigidly fixed and lined up.
I built one in 20 minutes and the leftover parts were put to use motorising an old Randa lathe.
A pic is at www.ilvaporista.it
click on attrezzature and it is halfway down.
