The Night Mail

[polybear]

55 minutes ago, simontaylor484 said:

I have renovated 2 houses I have done plastering ,electricals painting laying laminate flooring vinyl click flooring learning all the time 

 

Bear is the same (but only one house);  I'll only do patch plastering though, as it's black magic to get anywhere near a decent finish without having to repeatedly sand/apply more/sand.......

 

55 minutes ago, simontaylor484 said:

......but i still have loads of jobs to do in the house I do try to teach my youngest son how to do jobs and he is coming on well 

 

 

One of Bear's great regrets is not having a young cub to teach in a similar way....  Oh well, sh1t happens.  Mind you, the way the world is going perhaps that could be a good thing.

 

[PhilJ W]

7 hours ago, Happy Hippo said:

 I am on tidying duties.

I've found quite a bit of useful stuff relating to model railways among the junk, and going through the box also allowed me to count my watches.

I have more watches than I have pannier tanks!

 

49 minutes ago, SM42 said:

Blimey, a whole armful of watches 

Andy

Just don't try going through customs with an armful of watches.

[PhilJ W]

[AndyID]

I hate to disappoint anyone might be under the impression that it's all sleigh-bells dashing through the snow here in N Idaho. Today it's more like a bluddy wet Saturday afternoon in Campbeltown

 

But it is falling as snow on the mountains. Interstate 90 goes over Lookout Pass on the Idaho/Montana border not far from here and it's not a good idea to try to cross it on a day like this. On one occasion we were very lucky not to be stuck on it for hours. We were heading West and when we got over the top the entire Eastbound side was blocked with stuck big rigs

[Florence Locomotive Works]

On this day the 11th of December 2021 a lathe was first used on the hallowed ground of the Florence Avenue Locomotive Works. 
 

Noting of any use was made. Lessons were learnt.

 

 

 

Douglas

[Happy Hippo]

You might find it easier just to pack the tool up rather than the whole tool post!

[J. S. Bach]

2 hours ago, Florence Locomotive Works said:

On this day the 11th of December 2021 a lathe was first used on the hallowed ground of the Florence Avenue Locomotive Works.

Nothing of any use was made. Lessons were learnt.

Douglas

That reminds of a friend that was given a very good quality "hobby" lathe by his Dad. I asked him if he could turn down a screw head (it was too wide for my application) with a 1mm cut yielding a 2mm smaller head. No problem he said so I handed him the bag of 101!  Actually 100 as the "1" was the original spec screw to use as a guide. Then I told him that I only need a few multiples of 4; probably 20 would supply me for a long time. He told me later that he would probably do them all anyway. His Dad also gave him a machine shop quality mill.

 

Now if only he knew how to two-rail  three-rail steam locomotives! If he were local, I would teach him; well, at least tell him the various things that need to be done and suggestions on how to do it.

[AndyID]

4 hours ago, Happy Hippo said:

You might find it easier just to pack the tool up rather than the whole tool post!

 

I did send our learned colleague a PM with similar advice. It's actually critical that the post does not yield to torque applied at the tool. If it does the tool will advance further into the work and create a lot of problems. If you pack under the tool itself it tends to retract from the work under load. The packing should be hardened steel. Old hacksaw blades with the teeth ground off work quite well.

 

EDIT: Which, BTW, is most of the problem with cheap imported 9" lathes. The way the tool-post is attached to the cross-slide is, to put it politely, a load of crepe (I know this because I have one.) The tool post is far too wobbly. I plan to fix that just as soon as I get a round tuit.

 

 

 

 

Edited December 12, 2021 by AndyID
Moinfo

[Florence Locomotive Works]

Evening all,

 

The shimming has been remedied with brass, but I’ll go through my old blades tomorrow and do it properly. Thanks for the advice form both parties.

 

I actually make something useful today, in the form of a whistle for the engine. I think it came out pretty good as it originally started as a test piece.

 

 

Douglas

[AndyID]

16 minutes ago, Florence Locomotive Works said:

Evening all,

 

The shimming has been remedied with brass, but I’ll go through my old blades tomorrow and do it properly. Thanks for the advice form both parties.

 

I actually make something useful today, in the form of a whistle for the engine. I think it came out pretty good as it originally started as a test piece.

 

 

Douglas

 

There you go! Looks good.

 

How are you soldering the bits together? Copper and brass are so conductive they need a lot of heat to keep the solder fluid. Might need a flame or a large iron with a lot of stored heat energy. Are you applying flux to the surfaces before you add the heat?

[Florence Locomotive Works]

17 minutes ago, AndyID said:

 

There you go! Looks good.

 

How are you soldering the bits together? Copper and brass are so conductive they need a lot of heat to keep the solder fluid. Might need a flame or a large iron with a lot of stored heat energy. Are you applying flux to the surfaces before you add the heat?

At the moment they are all held on to the boiler with blue tack

 

I’ll be using JB QWIK to attach the boiler fittings to the boiler. It’s easier than soldering and as this isn’t live steam I have no reason to solder them. Its what I used to attach the streamlined spectacle plate. Very good stuff.

[AndyID]

28 minutes ago, Florence Locomotive Works said:

At the moment they are all held on to the boiler with blue tack

 

I’ll be using JB QWIK to attach the boiler fittings to the boiler. It’s easier than soldering and as this isn’t live steam I have no reason to solder them. Its what I used to attach the streamlined spectacle plate. Very good stuff.

 

Erm, well I was thinking more about the connection between the boiler and the front of the cab. If you apply some flux and a decent amount of heat from a propane torch to both parts the solder will magically transform itself into a nice smooth fillet.

 

Just a suggestion

[rockershovel]

I've always regretted not learning basic machine tool practice when I was younger, because I don't suppose I'll do it now. 

 

That said, a while ago I ditched my ancient stick welder and bought a new one, nothing fancy but a much better tool than the old one. That has certainly improved my welding. 

[polybear]

6 hours ago, Happy Hippo said:

You might find it easier just to pack the tool up rather than the whole tool post!

 

Or buy a quick-release tool post - or several....

Welcome to the world of machine tool p0rn  (a warning though....it can get VERY expensive....)

[John Besley]

1 hour ago, AndyID said:

 

Erm, well I was thinking more about the connection between the boiler and the front of the cab. If you apply some flux and a decent amount of heat from a propane torch to both parts the solder will magically transform itself into a nice smooth fillet.

 

Just a suggestion

 

If you need to build up a structure by soldering various components together  I solder first with silver solder then high temp soft solder then finish off with standard solder - works for me 

[AndyID]

1 hour ago, polybear said:

 

Or buy a quick-release tool post - or several....

Welcome to the world of machine tool p0rn  (a warning though....it can get VERY expensive....)

 

Good idea but I don't think there are any for a lathe quite as small as this.  They are available for a 9" swing lathe but I think that's about the limit at the moment.

[AndyID]

2 hours ago, rockershovel said:

I've always regretted not learning basic machine tool practice when I was younger, because I don't suppose I'll do it now.

 

There really isn't all that much to it and mastering it is really well worth the trouble. Trades tend to introduce a certain amount of mystique but most of it is just common sense and some basic engineering.

[Mike Bellamy]

 

16 hours ago, Happy Hippo said:

you can be academically brilliant, yet have not one iota of common sense.

 

15 hours ago, Compound2632 said:

some with both academic brilliance and common sense. 

 

As someone who has worked for 20 years in University administration, I can confirm that both statements are true although there are also those who have no common sense and no understanding of their academic subject either - thankfully they don't last too long.

 

 

13 hours ago, simontaylor484 said:

When i did occupational therapy after my first breakdown i did woodwork and discovered woodturning I made an oak bowl a pearwood vase and a pair of candlesticks for my Dads 60th. The candlesticks are still infront of the fireplace.

 

My brother in law did the same - we have a couple of the bowls that he turned. He has now moved on to carving American style caricature figures some are quite ugly with big noses and pointed chins etc - similar to those in the links below

 

Click for Link to wood carving book.

 

Click for link to wood carving caricature figures

.

[Dave Hunt]

When I bought my Unimat 3 back in the late '70s I knew diddly squat about using machine tools but by starting at page 1 of the 'Book of the Unimat' as well as asking advice from a near neighbour who was an engineer I eventually got to grips with it. After a while of learning the basics I found that I could start to work out for myself ways of doing things and although I still wouldn't count myself as a skilled machinist I was fairly soon able to use the machine for my modelling needs. I've even managed to carry out maintenance work on it, again by consulting books, magazine articles and friends.

 

Best of luck with your acquisition Douglas, I'm sure you'll find it a fascinating adjunct to your activities.

 

Dave

[Happy Hippo]

2 hours ago, AndyID said:

 

There really isn't all that much to it and mastering it is really well worth the trouble. Trades tend to introduce a certain amount of mystique but most of it is just common sense and some basic engineering.

10% knowledge and 90% practice is the requirement.

[Happy Hippo]

4 hours ago, John Besley said:

 

If you need to build up a structure by soldering various components together  I solder first with silver solder then high temp soft solder then finish off with standard solder - works for me 

Sometimes this is were an RSU comes to the fore.

[polybear]

4 hours ago, AndyID said:

 

Good idea but I don't think there are any for a lathe quite as small as this.  They are available for a 9" swing lathe but I think that's about the limit at the moment.

 

I've seen Taigs fitted with QD Toolposts quite happily - is this lathe smaller?

[Happy Hippo]

56 minutes ago, polybear said:

 

I've seen Taigs fitted with QD Toolposts quite happily - is this lathe smaller?

I think that some of the newer QD toolposts might fit.

 

It's probably how  to secure the new tool post to the cross slide that is the issue.

 

I suspect a custom T nut to secure it down properly would be required.

 

No problem if you had a milling machine...................

 

And so the machine tool saga shows how it rapidly runs out of control!

[Florence Locomotive Works]

9 hours ago, AndyID said:

 

Erm, well I was thinking more about the connection between the boiler and the front of the cab. If you apply some flux and a decent amount of heat from a propane torch to both parts the solder will magically transform itself into a nice smooth fillet.

 

Just a suggestion

Ah fear not that was silver soldered together months ago when the bones of the engine were first assembled and it was going to be live steam. Thank you though. 

[AndyID]

3 hours ago, polybear said:

 

I've seen Taigs fitted with QD Toolposts quite happily - is this lathe smaller?

 

It's about the same size so it should be possible. I'd be a bit concerned if the tool bit was cantilevered beyond the carriage rather than have the force on the tool bit act near the center of the carriage.

 

Info on the Toyo here

https://toolingaround.ca/tyl.php