Recent content by Iampappabear

A vote for metrification. Having sailed my whole adult life, I have done my share of navigation and I am talking the old school typre using charts, bearings and of course the 360 degree compasse. For the non sailors of the group, 1/60 of 1 degree on the compasse equals 1 nautical mile on the...

The sharper the angle on a drill bit, they more they tend to wander, consider using a flat bottom drill, you might be pleasantly surprised at the results but you do need to start the hole with a traditionally pointed drill. I can't compete with 1/4" through 3 feet but many times have I drilled...

Perhaps I am mistaken but to me electronic ignition modules are a form of amplifier, if that is so, would DC to DC Solid State relays work as an electronic ignition module to fire an ignition coil perhaps with a capacitor similar to a points system. These relays can be purchased for un $20.00...

Milling machine purchasing is a classic of the statement "timing is everything" I purchased a "Supermax" Bridgeport lookalike which only needed a new drive belt for $500.00 sold it 2 years later for $2,000 and could probably got more if I had not been in a rush to sell.

If you go with a frequency drive, do yourself a favor and procure a Allen & Bradley PowerFlex 40, there is no other drive on the market that has the smooth power at low cycles like this drive. Lots available used on ebay and other similar sites.

Look for Sandvik Coromant, just about the best there is. You will find triangle inserts the best option, try to avoid tips with holes in to lock them just makes them more prone to cracking and a top clamp works fine. Colin

Thanks for all your kind words. Dan, my serial number is 865.

Farm Boy running The above link will take you to a video of my recently completed Farm Boy. Really enjoyed building this model and giving thought to building something similar in a vertical configuration. Sorry the video is kinda jerky, hopefully I will be able to produce something better...

Toronto builder John, do you know who built the middle Minnie? having a completed my Minnie (really just painting to complete) I would very interested in how to procure a similar set of rubber tires. Thanks in advance. Colin

The lathe has some quality features with its chuck mounting system and three shaft saddle, however, way over priced such a machine.

Brian, try to get a Blue Wizard tap and use decent tapping fluid you should be fine. Recommended tap drill sizes are based on the thread depth of a standard full nut (the diameter of the bolt) if you are going deeper, you can cheat a little by going oversize with the tapping drill. Colin

I am having problems with my Jerry Howell buzz ignition and have two questions. Can I test the ignition board without using a hall sensor, ie jumper from the + to the hall input connection? I appear to be burning up hall sensors, what would cause this? Colin

Just one comment on selling deep holes on a Bridgeport is that the swarf tends to fall back into the hole, you can never get all the swarf out. Having drilled holes 5/8" diameter and 50" deep, the flatter the point of the drill, the less it wanders.

When converting my lathe and mill to inverter driven 3 phase motors I gave serious consideration to mounting one inverter on the wall then with a set of cheap relays sending the output to each machine along with a light duty wire for for/rev (would double as start stop) and potentiometer. When...

On lager chucks you sometimes find holes drilled and tapped in the tips of each jaw, that way you can bolt a what looks like a large washer onto the front of the chuck... When the chuck jaws are tightened, the front very end of the jaws are spread out as far as possible which is what you aiming...