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  1. M

    Rotary Table vs Dividing Head ?

    My rotary table and my dividing head both have 60 tooth gears. There is absolutely no reason why a dividing head cannot have a handle and vernier dial or a rotary table have division plates and sectors.
  2. M

    My new sub workshop

    It looks a lot bigger from the other side!
  3. M

    Poll How do you aluminum welding

    As of last week, I've got an AC TIG set that will weld aluminium. But I haven't done any yet...
  4. M

    My new sub workshop

    If any of the timber merchants near you can do shuttering ply, that's good. That's also resin treaded on both sides.
  5. M

    High Speed Steam Engine

    Two dumb questions:- Is the line from the outside of the hull/sponson at the start a safety cutout or to ensure that the boat can't turn inwards after release? Has anyone thought about compounding a uniflow engine along the lines of the Willans Centre Valve engine? Regards Mark Rand (at the...
  6. M

    Cost of leaving the EU

    Went to do some work at a power station in India in the '80s when they were trying very hard to control foreign currency flows into/out of the country. Customs guy at Delhi international airport asks me if I was bringing in more than one thousand Dollars. I truthfully told him "No" and walked...
  7. M

    not for the squeamish

    Mine was when I was spending some quality time in the shop with the lad making a Stuart beam engine. Needed to make some 3/8" by 3/16" stock for the entablature and cut it down from larger stock. I was merrily chatting to the lad while setting up for a finish cut on the surface grinder and...
  8. M

    4140 steel as a one piece crankshaft

    Peeled steel is steel that's been through a machine that cuts off the decaurburized/cruddy/damaged layer on the outside. It's not as smooth as ground steel but it's smoother than cold rolled. The machines are rather impressive from what I remember from seeing a video a few years back. they have...
  9. M

    1.75” Minnie traction Engine

    Automatic oil pumps, when fitted, were normally rectangular and were often mounted off a bracket on the back of the cylinder and worked by the valve rod. I've got a picture in front of me of Alchin's 7NHP Royal Chester showing that she had one like that when delivered from the factory. Having...
  10. M

    Miniature cotter pins

    1/32" split pins should be available even if not common. However, a taper pin might be a better solution than a split pin unless wide tolerances are actually desirable. Regards Mark
  11. M

    Cast Iron Body Building Weights

    Last week end I did the shopping at our local Aldi and came back with a 10kg weight. I spent most of today removing the parts that didn't look like a Hardinge faceplate. This particular weight had a few (3) small surface inclusions, but no more than many castings. From the finished surface, the...
  12. M

    A commercial model of a treadle grinder converted to steam.

    Lovely cooling tower. It's a pity the CEGB were never so inventive. :)
  13. M

    Which Cast Iron to use

    Ordinary grey cast iron has angular graphite flakes in it. These separate the iron crystals and cause stress raisers, which make it easy to machine because the swarf breaks up easily. Ductile cast iron (or spheroidal graphite iron) is treated with magnesium metal in the ladle shortly before it's...
  14. M

    Very close call

    It's not just machine tools. Three years ago this month, I slammed the workshop door on my right-hand middle finger. The door weighs 500lbs. The finger nail will never grow right again...
  15. M

    what is monel metal

    It is/was also used for brake pipes in cars when you didn't want them to rust through in a few years.Very good in that application.
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