Rotary table extension

I can see a job coming up shortly which is going to be to big to fit on my six inch rotary table. 

A quick look on Ebay finds me a large vehicle disk brake which will fit on the rotary table centrally once I have made an adaptor. With a bit of drilling it will get the job done.

The existing adaptor that fits in the centre of the rotary table and is used to fit a chuck on is to small for the brake disk bore and needs another adaptor on top of it to fit the large bore in the brake disk. This is a simple job to do but gives me a chance to try out my new camera – proving that I’ll never make a living behind a lens. Good job I’m retired then what?

I do it here:    

Car easy exit rest.

Lyn showed me a gadget the other day she had found online which makes it easier to get out of a car. Rather than buy one I dragged one of these old steel brackets out my scrap box and wrapped it round with a bit of insulation tape to save the paint work...........

hung it over her door catch...........

and bobs your uncle - job done.

With her creaky hips and all it makes it just that little easier to haul herself out of the car seat.

Steam at Earls Barton

We spent a pleasant few hours at the Earls Barton country fair yesterday where we saw this pretty little fairground engine. It was built in Kings Lyn by Savages in 1896 and was originally named ‘DORIS’ but has now been renamed ‘LYDIA GRACE’ by the present owner.

It would have powered a roundabout carrying 45+ people and would have been positioned at the centre of the ride. The small auxiliary steam engine mounted at the front end of the main engine powered the organ. This then is the Savage model five and a half ( 5 ½ )

  

More info here:

http://tractors.wikia.com/wiki/Savage_no._657

My moving picture here:

https://youtu.be/rfizppyjB7g

Latest work from the toolroom.

I have not posted here in quite a while so here goes. I've had my eye on making a bit of equipment to help sharpen some of my engineering cutting tools for some time. It was designed by a chap called Harold Hall and I have made it to his design but with a few extras.

This piece of equipment is used as a universal tilting tool rest in conjunction with an ordinary bench grinder. The table is four inches square to give you a sense of size. It can be rotated and angled in any direction to suit the tool being sharpened. I still need to make a range of accessories to go with it before it can be properly useful and that will be the next part of this ongoing project but for now I am pleased that the most important part is complete.

 

Everything was made from bits from my scrap box but I made the ball handles using ball bearings I bought on ebay which I silver brazed onto short lengths cut from a guide rod from a scrapped printer . Stainless steel cupboard handles also came in handy.

 

 

 

There's nothing quite as funny as watching a drunk in motion. Look at this lot - completely withered!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0TaYhjpOfo

...........goodbye Brian.

Today,  Lyns "little" brother Brian went to a better place after a short illness.  In the 'fifties - as now - girls had dolls but Lyn had the real thing. Her mother Pauline had her hands full with a poorly husband,  Lyn's younger sister and brothers, Pat, Trevor and Brian of course, work, and a house to keep, so Lyn became little Brian's surrogate mother.

 I have only known Brian since I met Lyn nine years ago but I do know he was a very popular chap who was liked by his many friends and acquaintances.

Intelligent, clever and sociable, "BJ" will be sadly missed by all who enjoyed his company.

We should take comfort in knowing that he has gone to a place where his trade will place him in the company of the best known carpenter of all - Brian was also a "chippie".

 

R.I.P

Brian Johnson

1954 - 2014

Alba 1A shaper restoration project

Following the relocation of my workshop to a larger building I found the additional space allowed for the install of a machine which will greatly enhance my machining capabilities.

 I had been keeping an eye open for a second hand metal working shaper for a while when I found this sad little article at - of all places - a car boot sale. The Alba 1A - "Made in England" in 1959 was delivered two weeks later and at approaching half a ton was quite a struggle for the delivery chaps to get into the building.

 

Over the next two months I choked over white spirit fumes, plastered myself with car body filler and generally splattered paint everywhere. Here she is with her "makeup" applied and finally transformed from mucky little trollop to English rose. I quite fancy her now!

 

I had already got a tool holder I wanted to use on her but it was to thick to fit so this was going to be an ideal first job for her and a challenge as well as the holder was diamond hard. I machined the required amount from one side then turned it over to do the other.  She may be a lady but  she packs an impressive punch seen here:-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9X7HnZ-HB8&feature=youtu.be

Newton Blossomville spring 2014

We have had our fair share of heavy rains round here just lately so it was nice to get out on a lovely warm late spring day without getting wet. To Newton Blossomville where we made our way down the footpath towards the river, past the church and remains of the old watermill where I took a short clip of film from the footbridge. Its here:

http://youtu.be/ZzU3twzAooQ

Kirk Deighton

 Coming to the end of a long journey today we stopped of to stretch our legs by the beautiful little All Saints Church at Kirk Deighton.

 We were a little disappointed that the church was locked but it’s to be expected these days what with all the ne’e-r do wells lurking around. Fortunately, two very nice ladies turned up to do a little cleaning in the church and let us in.

 We had a lovely chat during which we were told that a church had stood on this site for a thousand years. This is the sort of thing which surely reflects our national identity, an identity - sadly - that is changing faster than is good for us.

  Years on, if I ever need reminding of this church I will recall the engraved stone slab on the floor, the wording partly obscured by pews reading:

 "........52 years         Passenger, tread light! she sleeps"

 So poignant, made even more so by not having a name to remember her by.

 Thank you to Jane and Vickie, we both very much enjoyed our chat with you both.

 

 

 

 

Funny food....

It's a bit stupid sticking cloves on a bit of steamed cod roe but I hope you agree that it looks well dressed!

Knurled adjusting knobs are frequently seen on engineering tools and optical instruments. The raised pattern allows for more of a grip when turning a knob and the pattern is known as a "knurl". These knurls are generally formed using a knurling tool fitted to an engineers lathe. I own a commercially made knurling tool like this:

 

 

 but it will not form a knurl as good as this:

 

 

So I decided to make one that would. Here it is:

 

 

 

I made it from scrap metal, the "arms" were made from a stainless steel cupboard handle. The only things I never made on it are the small patterned knurling wheels and the three screws holding down the keep plate (although I did dress and polish the heads on the screws). This version of a knurling tool is based on a design which was originally manufactured by a company called MARLCO and is considered to be the Rolls Royce of knurling tools. I believe the improvements I have incorporated into my tool make it superior to the MARLCO so I hope I might be excused for comparing it to a Lamborghini!

Overall length is almost seven inches and it weighs one kilo - a hefty tool.

 Doing a bit at a time I worked at it for maybe two months as I am in no rush these days. It gives me pleasure to reflect that at a day rate of say £15 an hour for a toolmaker, someone would need to take out a bank loan to buy my tool :-)

Funeral yesterday for a young friend who had decided that he was no longer for this earth. A very moving farewell with lots of children and lots of tears.

Elliot was the most gentle of men - always remembered, his smile was pure sunshine.

RIP Elliot Longhorn

Back in business!

A new , bigger culvert has been constructed under the road outside the front of the house so hopefully we will not be flooded again. They are tarmacing on Monday, this will take a week and the road should be re-opened after that. It's been over three months now since they started work and although it was a bit of a novelty at first it wore of a month or so ago.

The caravan has been sold, it being a bottomless pit down which we threw money. Also, I am beginning to find lengthy driving spells a mite uncomfortable with my dodgy back. We will both miss our frequent - and sometimes lengthy stays - in beautiful Dorset but things move on and we now find we have the option of exploring other destinations albeit in short hops.

The last place we visited a few weeks back was Lincoln and we both enjoyed the splendid cathedral. A cobbled street nearby leading to the city centre was named "Steep Hill". We both had a case of "laughing knees" walking down the hill and no, we did not walk back up, we got the bus!

 

I have added another nice steam model to my collection. I never had a part in making this, I just bought it because I liked it. It is a seven cylinder radial engine and is fully working. It stands around 24cm high and is very handsome.

 

It works very briefly here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0-UxySyNQs&feature=youtu.be

 

Have replaced the small machining centre with new, larger machinery in the tool room and this will allow me the flexibility of machining larger models. A larger lathe, a milling machine and a floor standing metal cutting band saw will allow me to do battle with bigger chunks of metal.

 The radial engine and the new machines are here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xNce62YhyQ&feature=youtu.be

 

You must remember this....................

Listening to the radio yesterday I heard a mention of something called "The Scarlet Road Study" which is an online website that deals with older folks memory problems.

 Wife has made a number of remarks recently that my memory is worsening and as I am of that age I looked up the website and undertook a questionnaire to determine if I was a suitable candidate for the study.

 When I had answered all the questions the robot inquisitor informed me I was not a suitable candidate for the study.

 After, I told wife what I had done and she asked me what the questions were. I had to admit that I couldn't remember.

 Laugh? ------ we cried!!!!!

Kitchen trashed

New kitchen gets fitted starting tomorrow so here in the conservatory we have new dish washer, ovens, hob everything - including the kitchen sink - piled high. The dining room is piled high with the stuff from the old kitchen and a man with a big hammer will demolish the old kitchen in the morn.

So as I sit typing this surrounded by boxes of new kitchen fittings, camping tables behind me laden with kettle, mugs, condiments, tea, sugar etc. and a pasting table supporting microwave, toaster etc. - what with this and the dining room it's looking like a very big car boot sale. So I should feel at home then?.............NOOOOOOO!

 
"Its like posh camping", I tell Lyn and I think it makes her feel a bit better (I hope)!

But phooey! - after the flood back in June this is peanuts - and it will all be done and dusted within five days.

Lovely sunshine today though.

Silver Birch

Its been pretty much sub-zero around here all week and the forecast is for several days of snow as of tonight. So we out today for shopping and intend battening down the hatches until it all goes away.

I did have to stop the car and take this pic of a very silver birch. The cold is certainly harsh but it can have its rewards when it produces results like this.



Opus Machina

A couple of months back I made contact with a bloke who had made a model steam engine and had offered it for sale. Normally I would not buy such an item but it had a huge flywheel and I cannot machine anything that size.

The engine design owes a lot to Stan Brays "Opus Proximum" but my engine is different enough for me to rename it "Opus Machina" (because it took me a long time to remake it!)

To cut a long story short, I paid the man for his engine but made a big mistake by not taking my reading specs with me. It was only later that day I was able to closely examine the engine with my proper specs on that I realised what a hopeless mess I had bought. It looked like it had been made by a blind chimpanzee. Some of the best finishes had been achieved with a hacksaw or a blunt parting of tool - yes, it was that bad! The sharp edges on the flywheel would have sliced bacon.

So, over the last few months I have ripped it apart and re-machined parts that could be machined and made new parts that could not be re-machined.

The only thing I have not touched is the cylinder assembly - I hardly dare imagine what it looks like inside. Just to give you an idea though, the valve chest is secured with 4BA screws. Trouble is - he'd stripped the threads on one of the holes - his solution? He super glued a 6BA screw in its place.

I have heard some horror stories about chaps buying others "works of art" but I never thought I would end up being a sucker as well.

Never mind though, it's kept me occupied over the last few months and doesn't look half bad now sitting on my desk.

This is a good example of the original finish before I started work.

 

 

This is my refurbed job.

 

 

 

It runs here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SbI0sUSQh8&feature=youtu.be

 

Resolutions

End of another year and time for reflection. Every time my quack prescribes yet another drug to keep me shuffling along it reminds me of just how frail is the human body. So it is no surprise that my annual blood test for sugar is to be repeated - I'm not worried though as it's nice to know that if the second test proves positive it will confirm that I am a sweet old man! My lovely wife consoles me by predicting that I am suffering from "old mans diabetes". I love her dearly.

 As the New Year is rung in this eve I have a cunning plan to avoid my early "snuff".  When we buy our pre-packed meat from the supermarket you will have noticed that inside the pack is a small piece of padding. This is an anti bacterial pad to stop the meat from "going home" to soon. I have found a supplier and intend ordering a job lot. I reckon if I strap a couple to my carcass every morning they should give me another ten or twenty years. Also - and taking a leaf out of the undertakers manual (from the chapter titled "Embalming Fluid") I intend increasing my whisky consumption in order to enhance the overall ethos of preservation.

In the event that my cunning plan goes belly up I will not despair - I have just read in Wikipedia that a well tried method of preserving meat is by burying it in a hole in the ground. No worries then!

Happy New Year

Apocolypse?

The end of the world is due in just over two hours this morning -  so they say. Most  folk round here have taken sensible precautions by either going to work, going to the pub or like us, going to Morrisons for our Christmas shopping. In the event that a bloody great meteorite lands on my head at 11.11 am, thank you for being a reader and I hope we meet in the next world. Merry Christmas!

Post antediluvian

We are both grateful that we have the house back to normal since the flood in July. Since then we have been at serious risk of being flooded again on three separate occasions - today included. I have one of these long telescopic rods normally used for cleaning windows and the like. It came in very handy this morning following continuous rain over several days when I used it to hook free the rubbish that was obstructing the flow of the brook outside the house. The water level dropped immediately.

As I write this it is dark and early evening, the rain is still falling relentlessly and the big worry is that the house may flood again during the night. We'll just have to cross our fingers and hope it doesn't. I hate water, I have even taken to omitting the filthy stuff from my glass of scotch in the evening. Filthy? Think ducks and fish!

We always look forward to Christmas and this year is no exception - if you are reading this (of course they are reading it dope!) a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

HO-HO-HO

Grampy