The Night Mail

[Tony_S]

I generally try to be kind but I can’t  be too concerned for the need to search for assorted criminals remains. Plenty of murderers have refused to confess to the location of their innocent victims. Those families I can have sympathy for. 

[jamie92208]

1 hour ago, PhilJ W said:

Now they need to look for Ginger Marks. But that will mean digging up the M1 between Daventry and Corby, (junctions 18 and 19 which was under construction at the time).

Is Lord Lucan there as well.

 

Jamie

[AndyID]

6 hours ago, Florence Locomotive Works said:

Re Andy’s lathes and Sherlines/Taigs: Dad is somewhat opposed to the idea of a lathe (not sure why he has more uses for it than me almost) and any purchase by me over $700 is strictly banned by higher powers, unless it’s a piece of tech. I will discuss the matter with him.

 

 

Hi Douglas,

 

I believe Toyo lathe was acquired by Proxxon who, I think, still make a derivative of the same lathe. Some of the Proxxon attachments might work on the Toyo but I really don't know for sure. My Toyo is really only suitable for small parts. For more general work you'd want something with a 9" throw. A used South Bend 9" might be a good fit if you can find one in good shape (no wear on the ways). All sorts of spares and attachments show up on Ebay.

 

My SB-9 cost me $60 about forty years ago only because the junkyard guy had no idea what it was and I had no idea either

 

Andy

[Dave Hunt]

7 minutes ago, jamie92208 said:

Is Lord Lucan there as well.

 

Jamie

 

Not forgetting Shergar..........

 

Dave

[AndyID]

1 hour ago, simontaylor484 said:

I thought he was meant to be under a sports field allegedly I can't remember if it was baseball or American football

 

Giants Stadium in NJ. When I lived in NJ I did take a scout around but I couldn't see any sign of him. Hoffa burial locations are a bit like "Shakespeare Slept Here".

[Happy Hippo]

1 hour ago, jamie92208 said:

Is Lord Lucan there as well.

 

Jamie

I doubt it, I have it on good authority that he was last seen out riding Shergar.

[AndyID]

On 19/11/2021 at 17:29, AndyID said:

 

Oi makes me own

 

I made a 17 tooth gear that replaces the 18 tooth gear in a 18/54 compound gear on ye olde South Bend so that I can cut metric and Imperial threads. Actually there is a very small error which would only be detectable on a very long screw. The lathe's leadscrew is 8 TPI. Those who enjoy arithmetic puzzles can calculate the error  (I do have a spreadsheet somewhere.)

 

It's possible to make the very small BA size screws this way but only if they are rather short. Nuts could only be made by using the lathe to cut a tap in tool steel.

 

 I have to say I'm rather disappointed that nobody has so far has responded to my challenge . So that you can again get some beauty sleep, here's the answer:

 

The leadscrew pitch is 0.125" (8 TPI)

An inch is 25.4 mm so the leadscrew pitch in mm is 3.175 mm

54/17 = 3.176470588 (close enough to 3.1765)

So the error is less than 0.047%

 

Inserting the 17/54 compound gear into the gear train effectively converts the 1/8" pitch into something extremely close to one millimeter pitch.

 

Of course it would make things a lot simpler if one inch was 25 mm (24 would have been even better) but it's a bit late for that

[pH]

30 minutes ago, AndyID said:

Of course it would make things a lot simpler if one inch was 25 mm (24 would have been even better) but it's a bit late for that

The inch was there before the mm, so for the inch to be 25 (or 24) mm, the mm would have to have had a different value. And for that to happen, the Earth would have had to have been a different size.  

 

(I hope I got the ‘haves’ and ‘hads’ right.)

[AndyID]

11 minutes ago, pH said:

The inch was there before the mm, so for the inch to be 25 (or 24) mm, the mm would have to have had a different value. And for that to happen, the Earth would have had to have been a different size.  

 

(I hope I got the ‘haves’ and ‘hads’ right.)

 

Oddly enough British Association (BA) threads, which have been around for yonks, are metric but they are pretty much incompatible with Metric threads . Shame really because the BA system is very well designed. The US and Metric systems are a bit of a hodge-podge (IMHO).

[Florence Locomotive Works]

18 minutes ago, AndyID said:

Oddly enough British Association (BA) threads, which have been around for yonks, are metric but they are pretty much incompatible with Metric threads

Not if you try hard enough

[SM42]

1 hour ago, AndyID said:

 

 I have to say I'm rather disappointed that nobody has so far has responded to my challenge . So that you can again get some beauty sleep, here's the answer:

 

The leadscrew pitch is 0.125" (8 TPI)

An inch is 25.4 mm so the leadscrew pitch in mm is 3.175 mm

54/17 = 3.176470588 (close enough to 3.1765)

So the error is less than 0.047%

 

Inserting the 17/54 compound gear into the gear train effectively converts the 1/8" pitch into something extremely close to one millimeter pitch.

 

Of course it would make things a lot simpler if one inch was 25 mm (24 would have been even better) but it's a bit late for that

 

 

My head hurts 

 

Andy

[AndyID]

5 minutes ago, SM42 said:

 

 

My head hurts 

 

Andy

 

It's not that bad really and I'll be happy to talk you through the steps. Then you'll say "Is that all it is!"

 

Come to think of it, it might make a good teaching example or an exam question.

[polybear]

9 hours ago, Tony_S said:

I generally try to be kind but I can’t  be too concerned for the need to search for assorted criminals remains. 

 

Agreed - why waste scarce funds diggin' em up, just so they get buried again?

And as for whoever put them there in the first place, well as far as this Bear is concerned (and assuming the "victim" was a real bad 'un) they've done us a favour where the Court system failed.

Yours,

Subversive Bear

[AndyID]

6 minutes ago, polybear said:

 

Agreed - why waste scarce funds diggin' em up, just so they get buried again?

And as for whoever put them there in the first place, well as far as this Bear is concerned (and assuming the "victim" was a real bad 'un) they've done us a favour where the Court system failed.

Yours,

Subversive Bear

 

Yup. An exercise in total futility. In the highly unlikely event that forensic evidence actually fingered a suspect it's much more likely that said suspect croaked about twenty years ago.

[Winslow Boy]

4 hours ago, Florence Locomotive Works said:

Not if you try hard enough

 

I take it that's with a hammer is it Douglas.

[PhilJ W]

2 hours ago, polybear said:

 

Agreed - why waste scarce funds diggin' em up, just so they get buried again?

And as for whoever put them there in the first place, well as far as this Bear is concerned (and assuming the "victim" was a real bad 'un) they've done us a favour where the Court system failed.

Yours,

Subversive Bear

Wasn't it the Kray's that were responsible?

[PhilJ W]

5 hours ago, AndyID said:

 

Oddly enough British Association (BA) threads, which have been around for yonks, are metric but they are pretty much incompatible with Metric threads . Shame really because the BA system is very well designed. The US and Metric systems are a bit of a hodge-podge (IMHO).

 

4 hours ago, Florence Locomotive Works said:

Not if you try hard enough

Nothing to it, all you need is some valve seating compound and a bigger spanner. 

[Tony_S]

6 hours ago, Florence Locomotive Works said:

Not if you try hard enough

If I bodge or force anything (or worse, misuse a tool) I still get guilty feelings. Dad worked for many years in a business that made screws, bolts, rivets, studs, basically any fastener other than nuts. He knew everything about threads. I had a job where he worked one summer. I even counted rivets for a while (I had to stop every twenty rivets to check they were to gauge). None of the threaded products there were cut, they were rolled.

Tony

[Compound2632]

Once you've memorised the definition: 1 inch = 25.4 mm you're away.

 

Though for modelling at 4 mm/ft scale, it's handy to remember that 3 inch = 1 mm = 0.040" (40 thou) or near enough in the latter case. 

[Happy Hippo]

9 hours ago, AndyID said:

 

 I have to say I'm rather disappointed that nobody has so far has responded to my challenge . So that you can again get some beauty sleep, here's the answer:

 

The leadscrew pitch is 0.125" (8 TPI)

An inch is 25.4 mm so the leadscrew pitch in mm is 3.175 mm

54/17 = 3.176470588 (close enough to 3.1765)

So the error is less than 0.047%

 

Inserting the 17/54 compound gear into the gear train effectively converts the 1/8" pitch into something extremely close to one millimeter pitch.

 

Of course it would make things a lot simpler if one inch was 25 mm (24 would have been even better) but it's a bit late for that

That's exactly how I worked it out as well.......

[Happy Hippo]

As promised, little bit more signal action:

 

The disc which is more in focus this time!

 

I'm awaiting the 3D printed lamp cases from Modelu, so this evening I'll concentrate on drilling out the pivots for the balance weight and replace them with brass tube. The tube will be split into two parts and will be pushed through the casting from each side to leave a gap which is just large enough for the etched balance weight to slide through.  This should stop it flapping around too much.  

 

The operating rod shewn fitted to the disc is 0.3mm brass rod, the untrilled pivot bar for the balance weight in 1.00mm dia, these give some idea of the overall size:

 

 

Whilst I've been sorting through my signalling bits, I found enough parts to start on a GWR lower quadrant home signal:

 

 

 

I am a follower of the Jon Fitness school of signal building, so the 1.00 mm dia axle for the signal arm is replaced with a 14 BA cheese head screw.  This is soldered into the lens and arm assembly, and can be tightened up to hold the arm in position for setting it up.  another JF system I've followed is another rod soldered (0.8 mm) in place, that prevents the arm from going beyond the horizontal.  It provides a physical stop against the main signal post.

 

The enlargement of the picture is rather cruel on my soldering abilities.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 22, 2021 by Happy Hippo

[Canal Digger]

11 hours ago, AndyID said:

On 20/11/2021 at 01:29, AndyID said:

 

Oi makes me own

 

I made a 17 tooth gear that replaces the 18 tooth gear in a 18/54 compound gear on ye olde South Bend so that I can cut metric and Imperial threads. Actually there is a very small error which would only be detectable on a very long screw. The lathe's leadscrew is 8 TPI. Those who enjoy arithmetic puzzles can calculate the error  (I do have a spreadsheet somewhere.)

 

It's possible to make the very small BA size screws this way but only if they are rather short. Nuts could only be made by using the lathe to cut a tap in tool steel.

Expand  

 

 I have to say I'm rather disappointed that nobody has so far has responded to my challenge . So that you can again get some beauty sleep, here's the answer:

 

The leadscrew pitch is 0.125" (8 TPI)

An inch is 25.4 mm so the leadscrew pitch in mm is 3.175 mm

54/17 = 3.176470588 (close enough to 3.1765)

So the error is less than 0.047%

 

Inserting the 17/54 compound gear into the gear train effectively converts the 1/8" pitch into something extremely close to one millimeter pitch.

 

Of course it would make things a lot simpler if one inch was 25 mm (24 would have been even better) but it's a bit late for that

Reminds me of my first job after leaving school, setting up Coil Winding machines in a transformer factory. Measure the thickness of the wire with a microammeter and look up the required combination of gears so that the arm feeding the wire onto the former, tracked back and forth correctly. 

[New Haven Neil]

Just plonked in place for now, have to sort the backscene first before any other work, but....I am MIGHTY pleased with this, thanks to Stubby47.

 

[Florence Locomotive Works]

Afternoon all,

 

Thanksgiving break begins Wednesday so it’s a short week for me. Most of our classes are doing nowt so I spent most of the afternoon reading about the ill fated Franklin Expedition to the Arctic during the 1840s. Very interesting. 
 

On a different note it has been commanded that I cook black pudding hash Wednesday night, without the black pudding. I will try to not make a hash of this.

 

Douglas

Edited November 22, 2021 by Florence Locomotive Works

[Tony_S]

12 minutes ago, Florence Locomotive Works said:

without the black pudding.

I sympathise. Every week Aditi asks if I would like anything to be added to the shopping order, I reply “black pudding please.” She just informs me she assumes I am joking and doesn’t order it. I have a cunning plan, I have an introductory offer for another online supplier of food items. They do black puddings (and white pudding) so I could make a minimum order of £40 for such products.  There might not be enough space in the freezer though!