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Bentwings, I was recently looking for a wall chart of drill and tap sizes and equivalents and almost ordered one on eBay, but then discovered that the big Starrett wall chart, as well as the pocket card size version, are available FREE directly from Starrett. I ordered the wall chart and it showed up, totally free, in just a couple of days. You need to go to the Starrett site go to the "catalogs" link, then down the page to "order literature (US/Canada), and then make an account and then go to "conversion charts" and order your wall chart. Other free stuff is under the "Educational" link too. I haven't gotten any email from Starrett after making an account except one confirming my order. By the way, there are people selling the same wall chart on Amazon or eBay for $15--the exact chart you can get free.
I'm not sure if these charts are available outside of the US or Canada.
Yes, thanks for this tip! Just ordered my own copies. I've got an ancient Starrett drill/tap pocket chart that is falling apart; it will be great to update it!
 
Kitty got on their site and found the chart. Jt it looks like I may have to call support to get it I’ll try and call tomorrow after doc visits
 
So far I’ve been sorting out my number drill set I accidentally dropped it of course it could only fall one direction -upside down. At least three missing . I’ll probably have to order a second set. In my haste to catch it I knocked the transfer punch set over all but the stuck one fell out . So I have a big mess of round long thinks to sort out part of the doc visit is cognitive test so I’ll be well practiced . It’s snowing again but I’ll walk up to mail box just for exercise .
 
Maybe you have the gears too close. You needs a tiny space, about the thickness of paper when you set the gears. I always use a strip of paper to space them.
Hello Richard
No I made sure there was backlash in the gears as I said in the post, might have been too much if that would make a difference but I think it is just down to poor gears and you soon get used to the noise, I remember Blondihacks saying in one of her vids that she had spent a lot of time working on the gears to put them in some kind of usable condition, she is one of my GO TO advisers on all things Lathe and Mill related and another is Ades Workshop well worth a look in he's a guy with a huge engineering background and very informative videos if your just getting into this hobby engineering, that's not meant for you Richard.
John
 
Hello Richard
No I made sure there was backlash in the gears as I said in the post, might have been too much if that would make a difference but I think it is just down to poor gears and you soon get used to the noise, I remember Blondihacks saying in one of her vids that she had spent a lot of time working on the gears to put them in some kind of usable condition, she is one of my GO TO advisers on all things Lathe and Mill related and another is Ades Workshop well worth a look in he's a guy with a huge engineering background and very informative videos if your just getting into this hobby engineering, that's not meant for you Richard.
John
It's odd tyhat you should talk about sthe loudness. My lathe is not really that loud--or so it seems. Some times I leave the shop with my ears ringing, but while working, it doesn't seem that loud.
 
It's odd tyhat you should talk about sthe loudness. My lathe is not really that loud--or so it seems. Some times I leave the shop with my ears ringing, but while working, it doesn't seem that loud.
Your right it's amazing that I talk about loudness at all considering I need 2 hearing aids to hear anything,"only joking" but I do wear hearing aids,I think I'm talking of relative to how it is without the thread cutting gears in place. The latest problem I have come across is that there are three gears on the drive shaft being slow med and fast but there is nothing in the manual about how those speeds relate to one another and are called A B and C the fastest of the three is the B setting.Now when you have sorted the correct gear ratios it says to have the lathe set on the B setting but when you check the travel with a DTI which should be a pitch of 2mm per 1 revolution in fact it is only covering half of that ie 0.034 inch which is approx 1mm so what on earth is going on there I find it hard to believe they can print a table of gears to use that are completely wrong, have any of our members come across this on their Chinese lathes
 
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Just fused shoveling 3 inche snow I went out at 10:00 pm last night and shoveled an inch or so glad I did . Fortunately it cad so snow is powder . Plow came by twice and filled my sidewalk up . Pushed snow back out in street on top of yellow speed bump . He should know where it is by now it has marker on both side of te street I see his plow has lots of fresh weld door on it and doe new brackets . If you have to drive 40 + mph plowing light snow , we’ll let live and let learn I heard him hit the bump earlier in the morning . I saw broken brackets last eeek on it in front of the office
 
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Contemplating my BW V8 build that I will be starting this summer. 😂 I hear the weather is bad at home…. Hmmmmm :)
 
Now we're all jealous. That was just rude! :)
Yeah, that's just RUDE! Here I sit in the Philippines and it's all rainy! I've been here three weeks with one sunny day. Even tho' it is around 70deg F, it is muggy all day then rather cool at nite even still need a fan to keep cool enough to sleep. OH such is life?!
 
70° in the PI? Are you up in the mountains?? In the 12 years we lived there, I don't remember it ever getting down to 70° in the lowlands. If it got below 80°, we put on sweaters! :)
 
70° in the PI? Are you up in the mountains?? In the 12 years we lived there, I don't remember it ever getting down to 70° in the lowlands. If it got below 80°, we put on sweaters! :)
Not sure of the actual temperature--just estimating. I'm pretty sure it is not in the 80s, maybe high 70s. It IS muggy which makes it seem hotter than it really is. On the one sunny day we had, I thimpfk it did not reach the usual ~90s. Everyone here is commenting on the unusual coolness and raininess. And it IS unusually cool. I've been here in January when one thimpfks it can't get any hotter to May/June the "dry season" and certainly this is unusual.

One year in December about 10 years ago, I had to use a BLANKET to keep warm at nite. That's how cold it gets once in 20 years!

Where in the Phils did you live ? I am in Moalboal -- the west side of Cebu Island about halfway down.
 
Not sure of the actual temperature--just estimating. I'm pretty sure it is not in the 80s, maybe high 70s. It IS muggy which makes it seem hotter than it really is. On the one sunny day we had, I thimpfk it did not reach the usual ~90s. Everyone here is commenting on the unusual coolness and raininess. And it IS unusually cool. I've been here in January when one thimpfks it can't get any hotter to May/June the "dry season" and certainly this is unusual.

One year in December about 10 years ago, I had to use a BLANKET to keep warm at nite. That's how cold it gets once in 20 years!

Where in the Phils did you live ? I am in Moalboal -- the west side of Cebu Island about halfway down.
We lived in Manila from 1961 - 1972. Two seasons for those unfamiliar with the PI - wet season (hot and rainy) and dry season (hot and dry). But up in Bagio (the mountains) it would be cool and foggy all the time. Lots of good memories!
 
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I went out yesterday and got the snowblower going on the first 4 or 5 inches of snow, and this morning did another foot or so of snow, and the snow is still coming down. I got an Ego electric snowblower, their big self propelled one, last fall, and I'm glad I did. It works well and the batteries allow me to get a lot done, although I did discharge the batteries completely when I was out this morning but I did the walks for 5 houses including ours.
Those beach pictures don't entice me, though, they just make me think of salt and sand on my skin and between my toes. However, southern Colorado, or northern New Mexico or north Texas were mighty appealing when we out there over Christmas and New Years and most days were in the 50s and 60s, dry, with sunshine.
 
Just got in from shoveling the largest snowfall in many years weather says only 5” but it was higher than the top of my shovel blade standing vertical. I had a hard time just getting outside door open Once I got a little space I reached around with my broom and cleared a little so I could squeeze out . I even went out at 10 PM last night but it wasn’t deep yet . I wd 40 sprayed shovel before starting so snow does not stick to shovel . It took 3 scoops per foot of travel my bank is nearly 4 feet high now even after a week of thawing and rain it’s all ice under neath today’s mess it took two hours to get out to the street and dig out trash bins . I’ll go out later and clean rough spots . My little health monitor says I went 61 steps it’s that far just to the trash bins the cold must have got to it it’s only 12 deg f with 15 mph wind so pretty cold out there my little blood oxygen , pulse finger things don’t work on cold hands . The doc reminded me yesterday I’m not supposed to go out in freezing cold and especially not shoveling snow . There are about 20 school kids here but not one out in the snow. When I was that age we all went knocking on doors to do shoveling and lawn mowing in the summer it allowed us to buy big fire crackers and model planes the elderly often gave us a soda or lemon aid and paid us well . So far not a single kid has offered to shovel or mow . The plow went by while I was out . He made one pass down the middle of the street . I saw AAA starting neighbors car. I can’t imagine living here and not having a decent battery . Fuel injection makes car starting a non issue. Or at least have the car checked out once a year . You look at batteries to see how old they are . More than 3 years … out it goes get a new one. A new battery costs less than AAA for a year member ship . I think it’s the third or fourth time the neighbors car hasn’t started already . The neighbor is much younger than me so I’ll forgive their lack of experience. I always had a portable generator and battery charger as standard winter driving equipment I even had an electric blanket just in case . Tomorrow it supposed to get below 0 for a day or two and possibly more dam snow . I’m not going up to the mail box today . It just plain too nasty to go slogging through deep snow not expecting anything either .
 
Just got in from shoveling the largest snowfall in many years weather says only 5” but it was higher than the top of my shovel blade standing vertical. I had a hard time just getting outside door open Once I got a little space I reached around with my broom and cleared a little so I could squeeze out . I even went out at 10 PM last night but it wasn’t deep yet . I wd 40 sprayed shovel before starting so snow does not stick to shovel . It took 3 scoops per foot of travel my bank is nearly 4 feet high now even after a week of thawing and rain it’s all ice under neath today’s mess it took two hours to get out to the street and dig out trash bins . I’ll go out later and clean rough spots . My little health monitor says I went 61 steps it’s that far just to the trash bins the cold must have got to it it’s only 12 deg f with 15 mph wind so pretty cold out there my little blood oxygen , pulse finger things don’t work on cold hands . The doc reminded me yesterday I’m not supposed to go out in freezing cold and especially not shoveling snow . There are about 20 school kids here but not one out in the snow. When I was that age we all went knocking on doors to do shoveling and lawn mowing in the summer it allowed us to buy big fire crackers and model planes the elderly often gave us a soda or lemon aid and paid us well . So far not a single kid has offered to shovel or mow . The plow went by while I was out . He made one pass down the middle of the street . I saw AAA starting neighbors car. I can’t imagine living here and not having a decent battery . Fuel injection makes car starting a non issue. Or at least have the car checked out once a year . You look at batteries to see how old they are . More than 3 years … out it goes get a new one. A new battery costs less than AAA for a year member ship . I think it’s the third or fourth time the neighbors car hasn’t started already . The neighbor is much younger than me so I’ll forgive their lack of experience. I always had a portable generator and battery charger as standard winter driving equipment I even had an electric blanket just in case . Tomorrow it supposed to get below 0 for a day or two and possibly more dam snow . I’m not going up to the mail box today . It just plain too nasty to go slogging through deep snow not expecting anything either .
5” (or double that to be at the top of your blade?) isn’t a lot of snowfall. Although we’ve be lucky this year, we have had single storm accumulations of 30” - 40” in recent enough history that I still have a service permanently on call.
 
Nice spokes .

It’s 8 below zero right now so not planning on outdoor activities untill late in the day even then only limited to daily walk to mail box.
 
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